Title: Basis of Comparison
Rating: PG-15
Warning: Girl on girl action, though technically mild
Summary: Flora loved Helia. She really did.
"It's hard to know which rules to follow, which rules to bend, and which rules to break." Leila
Flora loved Helia, she really did. At least she was sure she cared very deeply about him, for of all things that the shy flower princess was, she was at least honest, most especially to herself. But words escaped her completely when she was near him. At times she almost vaguely wished that she were more like Leila, for at least her heart would not be so troubled by her own timidity and reticence.
Leila was free like the wind, wild like an autumn breeze that encircled the world in one fell swoop and went from the cold winter mountain steppes to the warm forests of the south. Nothing stopped it, or her. Leila was feminine yet so very sexless. She had little interest for boys, for romance. Her heart may have ached until it was raw, but it was for companionship, friendship, not for romantic love. She didn't need a prince to rescue her from her tower; she had long since climbed from it.
All of this, Flora knew. She knew that Leila felt more familiarity with Musa, as both were quite similar, in disposition and in ambition. Yet, Flora and Leila had something just as special. It was a quiet relationship, as Leila was reticent at the best of times and Flora wasn't nearly as verbose as her pixie. It was a relationship in which they were content to sip at tea and when they truly needed help, they spoke up, while the other mutely listened. No judgments were made and advice was un-pressed upon.
It was in one of these times that Flora decided to ask a particular pressing question.
"Leila… have you kissed a boy before?" Flora's warm cinnamon skin blushed, and not from the sunlight gently dancing in through the window of her bedroom.
A dark eyebrow rose in response. "I can't say I have. Why do you ask?"
"I- was just wondering."
"It's about Helia, isn't it?"
Flora's silent was her assent. Leila's mouth parted in a broad smile. "I know you're not used to making the first move but you should at least try, you know."
"I can't even give him a letter, Leila. How can I- kiss him?"
"You bend over and do it. Like this." And Leila promptly bent over and brushed her lips against Flora's.
Flora tasted the wild princess's sweet berry lip gloss, one concession to femininity and as much part of her protective wardrobe as treaded boots and legwarmers, protecting lips that were surprisingly soft. Leila's lips were so very warm, undeniably gentle. The princess of Tides drew away slowly and Flora missed that caress, that contact the very minute it left.
"It isn't so hard, isn't it?" the girl asked with a sly wink, though Flora could see the traces of a blush high on Leila's dark cheeks.
Flora loved Helia. She really did. But she had never kissed him. She had only kissed Leila. And she liked it, with no basis for comparison.
Author's Note: Yes, this is somewhat out of character for Leila but I couldn't help but notice that Leila is quite nice to Flora in the series and Flora certainly isn't reticent enough to not lean against the tomboy. Flora is an interesting character to write for, because she's so innocent yet she can be shockingly stubborn. However, I don't like the manner of her crush on Helia. I thought she had more sense than that, for some reason… Ah well.