Disclaimer: The words fashioned together into some semblance of plot = mine. The characters and the Hollows world = all Kim Harrison's. Just borrowing for non-profit.

Time frame: Sometime after ODW. Ivy and Rachel are in an established relationship.

The rating should be warning enough. ;) But if you need one: May cause irregular heart palpitations, tho' I'm pretty sure you'll live through it. Keep a towel handy at some point, just in case. XP Enjoy!

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A Many Splendored Thing

By Athena, a.k.a. il0vesunfl0wers

After taking a languorous bath together, Rachel and Ivy lay in bed in each other's arms. Rachel had returned from her weekly lesson in the ever-after not too long ago, and it had become routine for her to bathe after she got home. She knew that she reeked of burnt amber and something else she couldn't quite place, but one look at Ivy was all it took to do something about it. The living vampire never complained, at least not vocally, but Rachel had seen her nose twitch the first few times, however discreet she tried to be. Rachel thought that whatever it was that made her lover's nose recoil paled in comparison to the anxiety the vampire experienced during her absence.

Ivy didn't like to show weakness, yet Rachel felt her apprehension as much as she heard about it. According to Jenks, Ivy rarely traveled far from the church while she was gone, just in case, and spent more hours practicing martial arts in the sanctuary. Rachel could only imagine that Jenks had a wild time running a commentary as Ivy wielded her deadly katana against unseen foes. He admitted that sometimes he wished that he was big again just so they could train together. Sometimes, he waved his tiny sword at her anyway, flitting about and trying to break the vampire's concentration.

"A verbal joust can only go so far," he'd said. "She's coiled even tighter than a straight man's butt cheeks in prison when she's sulky."

Rachel had giggled at that.

"And since that isn't enough," Jenks continued, "Ivy tidies up everything in sight, save your room and part of the kitchen since you wouldn't know where to find your ass if your spell depended on it."

Bis mentioned that he and Ivy were getting to know each other better since Ivy would come up to the belfry to visit. "Miss Ivy almost cleaned the church bells one day. But she changed her mind, muttering something about going nuts from the slightest echoes."

The lovers had taken to cuddling after a nice, hot bath upon Rachel's return. The witch knew that the simple act of cleansing helped to ease her lover's tension. Embracing Ivy afterward made it even sweeter, reassuring Ivy that she was really there. Rachel didn't mind their little ritual since she felt safest in her lover's arms. They may both be independent, free thinking women, she reasoned, but clearly they needed each other more than they ever thought possible, and that was okay. Besides, she liked to wash off any and all reminders of having been in a world occupied by demons, demons who tolerated her for the time being yet wouldn't hesitate to kill her. Most of all, Rachel loved coming home to someone who missed her just as much as she did, and who was eager to show her devotion and affection.

Ivy stroked Rachel's still-damp hair, as was her habit. Running her hands through the red curls always relaxed her, as if each stroke of her fingers moved a lead weight off her shoulders.

It was a new thing for Rachel, having a lover who liked to play with her hair. She loved that Ivy did so, even though she still couldn't understand the vampire's obsession with it. To Rachel's surprise, she had also taken to curling her own fingers around long, raven locks, which always felt incredibly silky and luxurious. Though her hair was as dark as a moonless sky, Rachel marveled at its luster and the way it glinted at the barest touch of light.

Still staring at them, Rachel asked, "What is it with vampires and group sex?"

Ivy's brow curved upward. That Rachel blurted out a random thought or question was nothing new. It was the subject matter that had her wondering, however. "Hm?"

"I mean, Rynn wrote about it in his graphically illustrated piece of literature."

Ivy chuckled softly. There were many reasons why Rynn's dating guide continued to be a bestseller, and apparently Rachel had been doing some more 'research' lately. "Well, there's a reason we call it sharing blood," she replied, gently pulling on a curly strand till it straightened. When she let go, it coiled back to its original state. It never ceased to fascinate her when it did that. "And it's not like threesomes and orgies are anything new."

The witch snorted. "So it's like a 'sharing is caring' sort of thing?" Rachel looked up at her lover, the curve of her mouth deepening. "Does that mean you'd care enough to share little ol' me?"

Ivy frowned. "When you put it like that, then I don't care for anyone else."

"Aww, how sweet." Rachel kissed her chin. "And so possessive! Am I some kind of trophy to you?"

"Not just any trophy, darling." Ivy leered, earning a small slap on her arm. "How often does one get to shack up with the loveliest, most notorious, baddest witch of them all?"

"That's true." Rachel tapped Ivy's nose. "Aren't you lucky?"

"Mmm, yeah." Ivy grinned like a Cheshire cat, eyes glinting. "And then some."

There were many flavors to her smile, Rachel mused. Sometimes Ivy resembled a little girl for all its innocence. Sometimes it dripped with sarcasm, goading and taunting at the ready. Sometimes it was just absolutely sinful, like right now, and Rachel couldn't decide whether she liked this one more versus the contagious kind that radiated happiness and mirth. Then again, it was pointless to try to decide which smile she liked best because, no matter what, a smiling Ivy took her breath away. And since Rachel couldn't resist the look she was getting, she didn't bother to, opting to make out with Ivy instead.

"Mmm, you're so fun to kiss and cuddle," Rachel said. In fact, they had become two of her favorite things.

"Back at cha."

Rachel gave her one more lingering kiss before settling back down on Ivy's bare chest, purring in contentment. Ivy gave her a gentle squeeze and resumed playing with her hair.

"Ivy," Rachel began after a little while, "if you had a twin and you both liked me, would you get jealous?"

The vampire laughed. "I don't know. Maybe?"

"I think so. You vamps are territorial."

"I would definitely get competitive and get you all to myself."

"Hmm." Rachel smiled at her, eyes twinkling as she traced languid circles on Ivy's hip. "I kinda like the idea of having two babelicious Ivys at my fingertips." She waggled her eyebrows.

"Yeah?"

"Uh-huh." Questing fingers reached around and squeezed Ivy's ass. "It'd be like my very own Ivy sandwich."

Ivy chuckled. She pushed off the bed with utmost care to roll Rachel onto her back and nuzzle her throat. "Well you are quite a tasty snack."

"I thought I was a feast?"

"That, too."

Rachel's heart raced and her scars tingled when Ivy began planting butterfly kisses along her neck. She raked her nails lightly along Ivy's scalp, her voice turning husky. "Just thinking about two of you doing naughty things to me is getting me all hot and bothered."

"Mmmm." Kiss. Nibble. "I like you all hot and bothered."

Rachel moaned as Ivy captured a plump earlobe, which she nibbled and suckled. Breathlessly Rachel asked, "What would you say if I told you I can make it happen?"

Ivy paused. She pulled back to stare at her love. "What? How…? And why are you smiling like that?" It wasn't that a smiling Rachel was anything peculiar. The devious and smug expression she wore, however, was worthy of suspicion.

"It so happens that I recently learned how to make a doppelgänger."

"No way," Ivy replied. At Rachel's nod, dark brows shot upward. "Seriously?"

"Mm-hmm. It's pretty advanced." Rachel pushed Ivy back down into the mattress and leaned over her. "How would you like to make my little fantasy come true?"

The vampire studied her for a moment. "You're really serious about this."

"Very." Rachel bent down to her neck and planted a kiss here, a nibble there, adding a grope each time for emphasis. "So, how about it?"

"You mean, like right now?"

"Now would be nice." Kiss. "But no." Lick. "It needs prep time." Nibble. "And only if you're okay with it."

Ivy wrestled with indecision. They had dabbled in some kink, but this was by far the kinkiest yet, and she was having a hard time resisting. "How does it work exactly?"

Rachel paused to gaze at her lover. She traced Ivy's collarbone with her fingertip, which earned a sharp intake of breath. "Basically I say a few magic words with a flourish, abracadabra, and then poof, another sex goddess appears!" Ivy's jaw slackened, and Rachel couldn't help but giggle. "Just kidding. I need you in a circle with me to complete the spell."

"Spell?" Dark brows furrowed. "Or curse? If it's a curse, you don't need any more smut on you."

"I don't like curses any more than you do, but it's not like I'd do it all the time. What's a little more when—" She paused at Ivy's dry stare. "Okay, technically I could use my familiar to take the smut for me."

Ivy barked a laugh. "I seriously doubt that Trent would like that."

"Yeah, he'd be royally pissed at me." Rachel grinned. "But it's mighty tempting just to spite him."

"Still…"

"Come on," Rachel persisted, trailing her fingers over and around the fleshy mounds on her lover's chest, circling but never quite touching the areolas. "It'll be far better than porn. Better than a homemade sex video, right?"

"You know," Ivy replied in low tones, "on any other given day I'd be happy to make your fantasies come true."

"But?"

"This one's costly. What if something goes wrong?"

"I know." Rachel sighed. She knew Ivy would need more convincing, but she wasn't giving up. "At least think about it? Pretty please?" She bent down to kiss and lick the areas where her fingers had been. "With me on top… bottom… sideways…" Rachel smiled wickedly. "And you can bite me aaanywhere you like."

Ivy groaned, finding it impossible to reason with her like this. "All right. I'll think about it," she finally said, then rolled her favorite witch over and kissed her senseless.

~~~oOo~~~

Once the seed was planted, Rachel didn't bother bringing it up again, as if the conversation never took place, which made Ivy wonder if she had imagined the whole thing. The redhead made no more sexual advances that week. It didn't help that they'd been too busy, had mismatched sleep schedules, and hadn't been able to fool around for the next few days. Rachel touched Ivy casually, sure, and sometimes her gaze was hot enough for Ivy to want to kick out a client from the church so they could lock up and get it on. And though Ivy felt as much as scented Rachel's desire, there was no follow through. When they actually managed to make love, Rachel responded with fervor, but she just wasn't her usual, sexually aggressive self. Though Ivy often dominated their lovemaking, Rachel always put up a fight to get her way.

The truth was that Rachel knew how sensitive Ivy was about her getting more smut than she already had. Ivy knew that Rachel hated it bitterly. However, in this case, Rachel didn't mind because it wasn't too bad and the rewards outweigh the consequences. Still, she knew that she had to give Ivy some time and a little space to mull it over. She just hoped that Ivy would be open to the possibility.

It's not like we'd bring an outsider to the mix.

Since they got together, Ivy didn't bother with any of her old blood partners anymore, whom Rachel surmised Ivy had also bumped uglies with, as Jenks would say. The witch didn't like to think about what other kinds of nibbling went on back then, but she wouldn't be surprised if there were other nibblers involved. If Rynn's book was any indication, vampires didn't mind having more enthusiasts in their horizontal exercises. Kisten had wanted a threesome with her and Ivy. Hell, even Skimmer wanted it when they first met, back when the blonde probably would have liked to slap her ass, instead of her face.

It used to irritate Rachel how possessive Ivy was when they weren't together yet. Nowadays, though it still irked her sometimes, she felt flattered that the last living Tamwood heir and Cincy's number one candidate for future master vampire wanted to be exclusive with the Wicked Witch of Cincinnati. There was just something extra special about being the one and only person whom Ivy loved, and Ivy loved her fiercely. Ivy was incredibly devoted to her well-being, happiness and satisfaction.

The vampire was beyond phenomenal as a lover by any standard. Sex with Ivy was like being on crack, not that Rachel knew what being on crack was like other than from what she'd read and heard about, but if it was anything like she felt, then it would be like being a crack junkie. She craved Ivy constantly, which was a total shock at first. She still couldn't believe how addicted she'd become in just a short time since they embarked on a sexual journey together. Rachel was monogamous by choice, but the thought of a threesome excited her, especially if it involved another Ivy.

Twice the fun, twice the pleasure!

She hoped that Ivy wouldn't make her wait too long, but she was willing to wait. For now. Unfortunately, far too soon for her liking, the moment arrived for Rachel's weekly lesson in the ever-after.

Already in a funk, Ivy followed her to the graveyard, hanging on to Rachel's hand for as long as she could.

Rachel linked her arms around Ivy's neck. "Have you given any thought to my fantasy?"

"Um, not particularly." Ivy bit her lip. "Well, maybe a little."

"Hmm." Rachel tried to contain the shit-eating grin that threatened to split her face. She failed. "Fair enough. How about I give you something more to think about?"

Before Ivy could ask, Rachel supplied her answer with her mouth and whole body, and she delivered it with all the passion she could muster. If her tongue, lips and wandering hands could talk, they would have said, "I'll miss you like crazy, and you better miss me just as much!" Rachel moaned deeply, echoing Ivy as their lips grazed, their tongues dueled, and hands played with fire, their bodies pressing together as if they were trying to make fire. Her kiss also promised, "You mean so much to me, and though I say goodbye for now, I'm forever yours. And when I return I'll make you remember why you're mine."

Rachel's nose twitched. A sneeze threatened to let loose, signaling a certain demon instructor's impatience. I'm busy, Rachel channeled with ire, trying to prolong what little time they had left. All right, all right! Keep your pants on!

With one last searing kiss, Rachel threw in everything she had for good measure. A few moments later, as they both struggled for breath, Rachel rasped, "Just think of two of you getting more of where that came from. See you soon." She winked and blew her lust-addled girlfriend a kiss goodbye.

Brain destruction. Kisses. Guhhh… Ivy thought. Barely. By the time Ivy could think a bit more clearly, the witch was already gone, leaving the vampire with too much time on her hands to contemplate those parting words.

TBC

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