Hi guys! Just me.
I've got some serious writer's block on my other story 'Close to Home', as I've had so much going on lately so thought I'd try starting a little side-project that's a wee bit more happy-sunshine-times and put a bit of positivity out there for you. As it stands, this is just one-shot but there may be room to extend…sound like I'm building a conservatory but never mind! Set just after the end of Season Two but before Hecuba, our girls are in need of a little R&R.
Disclaimer; sadly, I own nothing, characters belong to the wonderful people at Prodigy.
Mild profanity warning.
Enjoy!
Bo flitted about the clubhouse frantically stuffing things into bags as she went. The haphazard fluffing of cushions created little puff of dust in the air almost in protest at being disturbed after the last couple of years of contented hibernation.
"Kenzi, I can't find them!" she complained loudly, smacking the seat of the sofa in a great sulk.
"Can't find what Wondersnatch?" grinned the compact Russian smugly as she sauntered over still clad in her pyjamas and dragging one of the kitchen barstools behind her, cereal bowl held aloft in her other hand.
"My keys, Kenzi! I can't. Find. My. Car keys!" The Succubus grunted as she continued to rifle around various bits of furniture and the foot-high piles of Kenzi's fashion magazines scattered about their home. Infuriatingly, the younger woman's only response was a giggle before Bo spun on her heel at the sound of jingling coming from behind her.
"Jeez, paranoid much?" Kenzi chuckled, jangling the offending metal rods in mid-air. "You've been spending way too much time with Doc Hotpants- when did you get so uptight?" She said with a grimace, her tongue almost reaching her chin as her face convulsed in only semi-mock disgust.
Bo huffed, one hand thrust firmly on her hip while the other reached out to catch the keys from Kenzi's grasp. She knew she had been acting a little off that morning but it was only because she wanted everything to be perfect and the nerves of spending a whole fortnight with just her and Lauren were beginning to kick in.
"I'm sorry Kenz," she offered placatingly in her best 'humble-pie' tone, "I guess I'm just nervous, y'know?"
Kenzi sighed. She really did wish that Bo was taking this trip with Dyson. She had still never quite gotten used to the stiff-lipped doctor, never mind the fact that as far as she was concerned, Lauren was not to be trusted even as far as her own puny arms could throw her. Couldn't Bo see that the leggy blonde just wasn't right for her when there was a perfect specimen of hot, hot Wolfman Wangness just waiting in the wings for his chance? Still, she knew better than to try and change her friend's mind about this. With any luck, Bo would come to the same conclusion soon enough. It was just a shame that she would probably have to wait until the next time Lauren let them down. With an effort, she swallowed down her immediate response and looked the other woman square in the eye with as much sincerity as she could muster;
"I know sweetie but you'll do great. I'm sure you two will have some hot lurvin' times out there on the open road, stars all up in the sky kinda shit…" she said, waving her hands in the air, milk flying off the spoon still clasped in her mitt in all directions.
"You're right," breathed Bo resolutely, settling her shoulders firmly beneath the half-corseted leather jacket she had opted for the day, "thanks Kenz, you're the best!" she smiled sweetly.
"Yeah…ain't I just." Grumbled Kenzi sardonically but the Succubus barely noticed as she busied herself with her two bags, slinging one casually over her shoulder, car keys now comfortably within her fingers as she seized the straps of the other, slightly heavier one with her free hand.
She was going to have a good time this week, she told herself decisively as she marched purposefully out the door to whatever this trip had in-store for her while Kenzi waved weakly from her perch.
Bo's distinctive canary-coloured Camaro rolled smoothly into view just outside Lauren's Living Room window as she swiftly gathered a final few essentials and stuffed them into her handbag. She took a moment to note that the easy motion of the car probably wasn't a sign of the vehicle's reliability and more to do with the Succubus' own confidence as a driver. She only hoped that the rapidly rusting bucket of a car was up to the several-hundred-mile trek they had plotted. Still, she surmised, even if they did happen to break down in the middle of nowhere, would that really be such a terrible thing? After all, they would have each other.
Wait…she thought…precisely. They would have each other. She found herself gripped by a sudden moment of lust-filled panic as the idea hit home. She didn't know why this was only just dawning on her. There they would be. Out there in the big, wide, scary world with nothing but the two of them to distract each other. A part of her thrilled by the prospect but the other part of her had become very, very nervous. Would Bo make her bare her soul as well as possibly her body? Would Bo demand that Lauren come clean about her past as the Succubus had to her from day one? The doctor swallowed hard. There was simply no point in worrying about things until they happened.
After the incident with the Garuda and Hale had taken over as interim Ash, Lauren had been quick to plead on his good nature for a brief leave of absence to which he had agreed albeit with a touch more reluctance than the blonde had been anticipating. She had believed their status as friends would allow her some leeway, not to mention her clear statement of loyalty to the cause when she had turned away from her option to run among all the confusion of the previous weeks. She couldn't understand why he'd had to be such a…such…dick, she heard Bo's voice clearly in her mind. Bo…
She shook herself abruptly. The Succubus was waiting outside for her, the engine running rather noisily, audible even through the toughened glazing of her apartment. Tissues, hand-sanitiser, First-Aid kit…she ticked off on her fingers the 'essentials' she had crammed into her bag. Perhaps less of a dirty lovers' getaway and more like picnic for a family of five, she mused, a gentle smile gracing her lips. Maybe someday…
It was with relief that Bo waved across the driveway when Lauren finally emerged from her apartment, shutting the door firmly behind her with a clunk, trundling a large, green wheelie-suitcase behind her and another rather cumbersome-looking bag hanging heavily from the opposite shoulder. Bo leapt out the driver's side without bothering to open the door and dived round the front of the car to take the hefty canvas sack from the blonde.
"Bo, it's okay, it's heavy." Lauren protested, even after the younger woman had begun to stride off with the bag, awkward shapes jutting out at odd angles through the material.
"It's okay," Bo grunted, frowning out of the doctor's sight as she felt something hard digging into her shoulder blade while she lumbered determinedly towards the car trunk. "Jeez, woman! Just what the hell have you got in here anyway?"
Lauren bit her lip, her face flushing a sheepish red before quietly replying;
"Just some sampling kits," she mumbled, "the geology where we're going is quite unique and harbours some very rare species of bacteria within the moss. I wanted to see if any of it…could be useful…" she trailed off, embarrassed by her own obvious nerd-dom. "But those things sticking into your back are probably coat hangers!" she finished brightly.
Bo rolled her eyes in half-amusement as she turned back to slip past Lauren, opening the car door for her in an uncharacteristic display of chivalry, making a play of ushering the blonde into her seat.
"Honestly?" she said, slipping into the driver's side, "I think I was less weirded out by the sampling kit!" she grinned, brushing her fingers lightly over the hand that rested on Lauren's nearest thigh, letting the other woman know that she was only teasing and that yes, her dedication to the 'Geeky' was utterly adorable before speeding off into a watery Canadian afternoon sunshine.
Lauren shivered a little in the passing breeze, bringing her hands up to rub at her exposed biceps. As it happened, Bo chose that moment to sneak a surreptitious glance in the doctor's direction. She really was spectacularly beautiful, the Succubus decided, as if she hadn't already noticed the fact long ago. But there again, that was exactly how she felt every time she looked at the blonde. Like each time was the first.
They had spoken relatively little since they had hit the road, speeding West out of Toronto. Getting used to each other's company all over again, she supposed. Still, it was a comfortable quiet, each woman simply content to drift aimlessly in their own silent musings for a while. After all, they had a whole fortnight to talk.
"Hey, you cold?" She asked, concern lacing her voice. "Want me to pop the top up?"
"No, I'm okay. I love this actually," Lauren replied, her eyes twinkling in a bright smile, though she did stretch over into back seat to grab an intricately laced stole, draping it gracefully about her shoulders; "the feel of a cool breeze prickling at my skin. It's like the wind just blows everything away and I'm free. No shackles."
"You are free Lauren." Said Bo simply. Lauren only smiled a little sadly in return before uttering a barely audible;
"No, I'm not Bo." And she prayed the Succubus hadn't heard.
Bo had been driving a straight seven and a half hours and Lauren had insisted she take a break, citing a number of statistics on driving fatigue that the Succubus was certain would sound absolutely terrifying if she even understood what the heck the doctor was babbling about. Still, she could not deny that her concentration had started to slip, between the blinding Autumnal sun and the frenzied panic of the morning not to mention that her nerves had kept her awake for most of the previous night, having ended up calling Lauren herself, several times during the evening to check that yes, everything was fine and yes, the doctor still wanted to go with her. Still, she had agreed that the whole point of this little trip was to take things easy for a couple of weeks. They would get as far as they got and that was that. So reluctantly, Bo pulled off the Highway onto a small, bumpy country road that led to a guest house Lauren had been Googling when they reached Sault Ste. Marie.
The Guest House itself, looked idyllic in its own private setting down by a river and surrounded by thick woodland. A perfect place just to recharge their spent batteries for the evening and watch the darkening sky. Bo thought it looked like something straight out of a horror movie but Lauren seemed happy and who was she to spoil that?
When their overly cheery landlady showed them up to their room, however, the Succubus had to grudgingly admit that, although a little dated, it wasn't half bad for something that a load of teenage dropouts might all get murdered in someday and she went off to investigate the shower in the en-suite.
Lauren was vaguely aware of the click and creak of the pine bathroom door followed by the light pad of Bo's bare feet on the thick-piled pink carpet but her eyes were fixed on the constellations making a glorious appearance in the un-polluted skies. Bo was content merely to observe for a few seconds, gently continuing to towel her hair as she did, hunkering against the draft from the open balcony doors into a thoughtfully provided white, fluffy bathrobe.
"Hey," she tried delicately, edging carefully closer to the doctor as though she might startle if she were any louder. The blonde's gaze was soft and she looked so peaceful. Bo felt it a shame to disturb her but the selfish part of her wanted to share in the moment, wanted to be a part of that blissful expression in the woman's features.
"Hey," replied Lauren without turning back but Bo could hear the gentle smile in her voice, obviously open to sharing her space with the Succubus; "Did you know that Pegasus was one of the original forty-eight constellations listed by Ptolemy in the 2nd century?"
"Why no, Doctor, I didn't." Said Bo in amusement, slipping further onto the balcony and settling herself close into Lauren's side.
"She'll be disappearing soon. She only appears from Summer through to Autumn." She continued and Bo thought she could hear a touch of sadness in the older woman's voice. "Every year, I look forward to seeing her."
Bo scrunched her eyes in confusion;
"Wait, I thought Pegusus was a guy."
"That's the beauty about heroes Bo," Lauren chuckled, turning to meet the Succubus' molten chocolate eyes, "they can be whatever you want them to be."
For several instances neither woman uttered a word, allowing the energy to crackle between them. Lauren lowered her hazel orbs to Bo's lips before raising them once more to stare deeply into her eyes once more, seeing the reflection of a thousand ancient lights probably all long-gone by now flickering in the tiny contractions of Bo's irises but in this woman's eyes everything was alive and new. She imagined those stars smiling down on them but the intensity was suddenly too much for her mind to process. She swallowed as she fought to catch her breath before taking Bo's hand tightly within her own, turning to raise their joined hands high above their heads to point to the individual stars that made up her favourite constellation.
"See," she said shakily, "Epsilon Pegasi…uh, that's an orange supergiant…that's the horse's nose…then Markab, Scheat, Algenib and finally the Delta Pegasi." She said, manoeuvring their linked fingers through the air in patterns.
"Uh huh…" gulped Bo, still recovering from the moment herself. Clearly Lauren was holding back and dammit, she needed to know why but she also knew that going into full bull into china shop mode wasn't going to work. Clearly her doctor was going to need some coaxing. Wait…her doctor? When did Lauren agree to become hers? She kicked herself mentally as she struggled to catch up with the blonde's train of thought. She sensed a break in the conversation; "So why don't you tell me why Pegasus is such a hero of yours?" she asked, reaching to up to tuck a stray strand of hair back behind Lauren's ear from where it had fallen in an effort to soften the abrupt change in subject.
"Well," coughed the blonde, "Hippos, or Pegasus, was the perfect balance of divine wisdom and heroic ideals. Pegasus represents everything that is good and honourable but is her…or his" she admitted reluctantly, "own master. He does as he is bid from those who are perceived as more powerful but she/he creates his own freedom and finds respect."
Bo thought she could detect a slight watering around the blonde's eyes as she stared off into the distance and happened upon a theme that had been slowly emerging throughout the day. She shifted her body towards the other woman and switched hands, replacing the one Lauren held with her other while she raised her now free hand to the blonde's shoulder.
"You'll always be free with me Lauren. You know I don't see you that way."
"But Bo," the woman's voice broke as she met Bo's warm gaze, "we would never be accepted. You must see that."
Bo shook her head vehemently;
"I don't care. Like it or not, you're stuck with me Doctor." She grinned winningly though her tone brokered no room for argument. It was all the persuasion Lauren needed to break her own rapidly weakening willpower. Without another word, she leant forward and pressed her lips to those of the waiting Succubus'. It was light and gentle but Bo thought it was the most delicious taste she had ever known and she decided she could never get enough of it. She returned the caress eagerly, reaching around Lauren's neck to pull them closer together, feeling the heat of their meshed bodies through the poufy dressing gown, distantly aware of the ties slipping open and the chill of the night air gracing her thighs. Their parting and the need for oxygen was highly begrudged, the two of them remaining as close as their respective clothing would allow.
"Lauren, I want you to know, we can take this as slow as you need. I don't need anything here except you. Here. With me. Where you belong."
Lauren did not speak but led Bo back into their room, shutting out the night behind them and turning off the lights as they went.
"So…you're telling me Pegasus was a hippo now?" asked Bo confusedly.
Lauren chuckled heartily, grateful for the lift in tension and proceeded to pull Bo over to their shared bed where she continued telling her bedtime stories until the wee hours of the morning. After all, they had plenty time.
Bit sappier than I normally write but I needed a little sweetness tonight. Hope you enjoyed my fluffy musings.