Author's Note:
Heads up, this is the NON-EXPLICIT version of this chapter. The explicit version has sexual content, but I wanted there to be a non-explicit version of this story too.
You can find the so-called M-rated version of chapter 3 on A03 (archiveofourown). If you google "Girls of a Feather Purr Together", it's currently the first result.
archiveofourown.****org/users/Arcturius/ (without the stars. I know you can't copy/paste on here, but I don't know what else I can do to make it easier for you all...)
The word count of this (T-rated) version is a fair amount shorter, but it's not like you'll be missing out on important stuff. This version is a complete story. I like both versions.
Regardless of which version you decide to read, I really hope you like it too... ~Arcturius
Chapter 3:
Laughter bubbled forth from Kat as she soared through the air, falling horizontally feet-first across the night sky with Raven's hand clasped in hers. She just couldn't keep it in, the tears slipping from her eyes and into the air. Raven was laughing too, her long hair whipping up from her head like a black and red jet-stream. The wind rushed by them, howling in their ears as the sounds of the government party faded away quickly, replaced by the whoosh of skyscrapers whizzing past.
Kat took a moment to quell the laughs and catch her breath, wiping her eyes with her free hand, and she shouted to Raven over the wind, "Oh my creator! Do you think anyone saw?!"
Raven, still laughing, shook her head, her hair coiling with the motion, "I know one person did! But…" She broke out into more giggles, then choked out, "I… I think it was only him!"
"Did… oh my… did you… " Kat burst out laughing again, more tears springing forth.
They flew past the clocktower, which was dutifully pointing out that it was late, late into the night by this point.
"Did you see… ahaha…" Kat finished, with difficulty. "…His face?"
"Poor Syd, he couldn't handle it!" Raven was grinning, the stream of streetlights below reflected in her blue eyes and on her glowing blue skin as they soared past.
"Oh… my goodness…" Kat said, as she tried to calm herself down.
"Well honestly," Raven yelled, "I'm not blaming him! I can see how he'd find that hard to handle. I kind of did, and I was part of it!"
Kat smiled at Raven and said back, "Yeah, wow! You're… uh, really good … at that! And I know I should be embarrassed about Syd seeing us, and, like, even what I just said right now? Because it's really embarrassing? But you know what?"
She stretched, letting her arms spread out, enjoying the feeling of the wind in her hair. "I think I am just all out of embarrassment! Syd's face knocked it right out of me!"
Kat lapsed into giggles again at the memory.
Raven looked over at the girl falling next to her, and after a moment said loudly as the air tried to whip her words away, "Kat… you know you're wrong about that! You don't need to feel embarrassed about it. About… us!"
She squeezed Kat's hand, "I know it may not be what you originally considered? But… you and I… well, I don't want to hide it, you know? If you want… I think we should make it official!"
Kat blushed, and squeezed Raven's hand happily, "Are you asking me out on a second date?"
Raven smirked, and pulled on Kat's hand so they drifted closer, the air still whooshing all around them, "No, Kat, I'm asking you to be my girlfriend."
Kat grabbed Raven's shoulder and pulled her close, planting another kiss on Raven's lips. When she pulled away, she smiled, her chest feeling like it was glowing (which it was, coincidentally), and said softly, "Only if you'll be mine too."
Raven smiled back at her, and then pulled her into a hug. The two girls' hair whipped together, mixing and flowing like two dragons, holding each other close as they fell faster, not caring about the city flowing beneath them or where they were going.
Kat broke away first, her fingers still entwined in Raven's. She looked at the other girl with a suddenly serious look, "Alright, so I get that I don't have anything to be embarrassed about when it comes to you… But… listen, Raven, there's something I know… that you might be embarrassed about."
"And… what is that?" Raven asked hesitantly, raising an eyebrow.
Kat bit her lip and pointed down, smiling. "You're wearing black panties."
It was true, after all. Raven had apparently forgotten she wasn't wearing her normal outfit that she used to shift, and thus hadn't noticed that her dress had been flipped up against her waist this entire time by the wind rushing past. Kat had been sneaking glances ever since they left the court. It had gotten her pretty hot and bothered, really. Somehow it was different seeing the thin garment and the girl's long, slender legs under Raven's dress than it was seeing her in her usual revealing and tight outfit.
Confusion flitted over Raven's face for an instant but then her eyes widened and she used both hands to hold her dress down, covering herself up as they fell.
"KAT!" Raven shouted, rotating mid-air so that she was flying headlong into the wind, her hair now streaming past her back, some of it whipping in front of her face. She kept needlessly holding her dress down though. "Why didn't you say something earlier!?"
"Becaaause… " Kat laughed, "I knew you'd probably cover yourself. I was enjoying the view. Those are some pretty damn nice panties, I must say. Lacy and all… Really fancy."
While Kat was talking, Raven was steadily turning a deeper shade of purple, the red of her blush mixing with the blue of her skin, and her hair now covering most of her face as she hid her eyes. She spun around as they kept on falling, her back to Kat.
Kat grinned. She knew she was enjoying this too much. But she couldn't help it. Having Raven ask her to be her girlfriend had made her so happy that she was feeling a little giddy and silly.
So she floated closer, and let her hands rest on Raven's shoulders as she said, "Oh, and Raven, seriously though? I do actually know how you feel… when you said how you don't want to hide this or anything. To be honest, I really just want to tell the whole world…"
Raven's shoulders relaxed a little, and she started to turn around, but Kat pushed off her, floating away, and faced downward at the empty city streets flying by beneath them. She cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted as loud as she could downwards, "MY GIRLFRIEND HAS CUTE PANTIES OOOOON!"
—-
A little old lady below who happened to be taking her dog for a walk at this late hour of the night was the only person out on the streets in this part of the city. She paused as she heard a faint noise coming from above, and looked up into the sky. To her surprise, she saw two girls soaring through the air above.
"Oh my goodness, that must be the Gravity Queen!" She said to herself as she beamed, giving the two girls overhead the largest wave she could manage.
As the two girls soared out of sight, the old woman watched the sky for a while longer, and then turned to her dog, "I wonder what they were talking about… Don't you, Rufus?"
Rufus snuffled as if in response, and then calmly peed on a tree.
—-
Right after the words left Kat's mouth, Kat heard a yelp and she felt Raven's hand clamp over her mouth as the girl yelled and punched at her.
Kat spun around, laughing, and said, "Mmmmmff? Mmh mmmfghhh!" (Whaaat? It's truuuuue!) into Raven's fingers.
Raven was just shaking her head, pursing her lips, but Kat could tell that the anger was a farce. Raven removed her hand from Kat's mouth and promptly replaced it with her lips, pulled Kat into a hard kiss.
It was not necessarily an easy task, kissing someone while falling at almost terminal velocity through the air. But Kat and Raven managed admirably. Their arms wrapped around each other, clinging together as they fell into the night.
They were, in fact, so engaged and distracted by one another that they didn't notice a red orb suddenly appear around them. Just like at the courthouse, it enveloped the two entwined girls, and disappeared, taking them with it.
(WLLLAAARP)
—-
"…Ahem."
The two were broken from their reverie by the sound of a man clearing his throat. It occurred to Kat simultaneously that she could no longer feel the wind rushing by them. Kat disentangled herself slowly from Raven, panting slightly, her face flushed. She slowly opened her eyes, and looked around, her mind very distracted by thoughts of Raven's tongue. Thus, when she made eye contact with the old man standing behind upside-down behind Raven, looking at her placidly, it took several moments for her to sort out what she was seeing. The two stared at each other a moment, and then Kat's mind clicked into place.
"AAAAHHHH!" She shrieked.
Her gravity suspension flicked off due to her panic, causing her to fall straight the few inches down to the ground, straight onto her head. She gritted her teeth as a clang went through her spine from the impact*, and she lay crumpled on the ground for a moment. She felt Dusty rub up against her, purring softly.
Raven looked around, considerably more composed, and realizing the two of them had been floating suspended upside-down over the ground, quickly re-oriented herself and landed on her feet smoothly.
Kat pushed herself up onto her knees, still holding her head, and stared at Gade, who she had made eye contact with, and who presumably had been the one to clear his throat earlier.
"What in the world are you doing here?" she asked, hotly.
Gade raised his eyebrows and smiled innocently. "Whatever do you mean, Kat? This is where I spend my time these days, in case you ever want to revisit any of the Rift Planes. You know that."
Kat stood up and looked around properly now and for the first time realized where they were. The two girls were now standing right outside the entrance to Kat's makeshift home in the sewers. The old Creator, Gade, was standing on one side of the entrance, beaming at the two of them. She glanced behind her and surely enough, the odd little girl named Cyanea was sitting crosslegged on the other side of the entrance. She had her head propped up in one of her hands, but was clearly fast asleep, as usual.
"Ohh," Kat said to herself as the situation finally started to make sense in her head.
"Kat," Raven said cautiously, as she tried in vain to smooth out her hair, which had gotten quite windswept and tangled from their flight. Her bird was perched on her shoulder. "…What's going on? Is this…?"
"Yeah, uh, ok… so Raven," Kat coughed, "Um… welcome to my home! You've… met Gade before, right?"
Raven eyed the old man and his fanciful robe suspiciously, but spoke again to Kat, "He's that Creator, right? The one who supposedly made this world or something? Did he teleport us here then?"
Gade raised his hands in a gesture of pacification. "I did no such thing! For one, I don't have that kind of power anymore, and for two, I wouldn't want to interrupt such a private moment between the two of you!"
He threw a big wink at Kat.
"Gade… " Kat grumbled, throwing a look at the man, "You kind of did interrupt, you know."
"Kat," Gade said apologetically, "It's not my fault the two of you appeared in front of me, locked in your passionate embrace."
"Gade…" Kat said pointedly, her face burning.
Raven glared at him, then turned back to Kat, "So how exactly did we get here then?"
"Well, ok," Kat said, "You remember that trick I did to get us out of the courthouse? With the red portal thing?"
"Oh yeah, I was meaning to ask you how you did that. So did you do that again to get us here?"
"Not exactly." Kat explained, reaching down to scratch Dusty behind the ears. "We… must have gotten… uh, so… distracted that we didn't realize we were flying out past the edge of Hekseville. I've already told Dusty a while ago that if for some reason I head outside the bounds of Hekseville without consciously intending to, Dusty should teleport me back using that power. And I said that if I don't have a place specifically in mind when Dusty uses the power, to just take me back to the last manhole I exited from**. This time, that meant right here!"
Kat gestured around at the wide open sewer-entrance-turned-home they were standing in front of. Dusty meowed proudly.
"Ahh.." Raven said. "So we got too far away from Hekseville and Dusty, following your earlier orders, teleported us here, to your… home."
She looked around at Kat's little set up, and said, "Huh, interesting."
Raven had never seen Kat's home before, Kat knew, and so she wasn't sure whether Raven's comment was directed at the appearance of the place, or the situation that had gotten them here.
"Yes!" Gade piped up, his hands in his robe pockets. "The two of you appeared with Dusty's power in a red energy, and when it faded you were floating upside down, kissing!"
"Gade!" Kat said sharply, less embarrassed and more irritated by now, "Ok really, that's enough about the kissing!"
Raven leaned over to Kat and whispered, "Hey, uh, Kat, can you… make him go away or something?"
Kat glanced at the smiling man, and whispered back, "Yeah he's kinda annoying sometimes."
She turned back to Gade, and put on a sweet voice, "Hey, Gade?"
"Yes, Kat?" Gade asked gently.
"Do you think you could… y'know… maybe find a different place to stand for now?"
Gade tilted his head, his wild grey hair rustling, "But, how will you find me if you need to again reach the Rift Planes?"
Kat pursed her lips, "Uh, well I don't think I'll need to access them for the foreseeable future, since I pretty much did everything I needed to do in there, so…"
Gade leveled a serious look at her, "Kat, no one can foresee the future. It is a product of all the actions of the present, and the factors are too many for it to be understood or accurately predicted, even for a Creator. To be safe, I think you should be able to access the Rift Planes, should you find the need…"
Kat let out an exasperated breath, "Ok, then please just go somewhere else in the city, nowhere near here, and if I need to find you, I will do so."
"But how will you—"
"Ohmycreator, Gade!" Kat burst out, "Please! With all due respect, jus—"
"Yes?"
The three of them turned at the sound of the small voice from behind them. Cyanea was still sitting, her chin propped in her hand like before, but her eyes were open, staring at Kat. In fact, her pose had barely changed from when she had been dead asleep, but somehow now Kat could sense that the little girl's body was poised and tensed with energy that seemed ready to leap out. Imperceptibly, Cyanea's energy had shifted from non-existent to fully alert. Kat knew what that meant.
"You called?"
The little girl's mouth had moved again but Kat knew who was talking. This was the "Dream Guardian" that Kat had first encountered in Boutoume, the other being that inhabited Cyanea's body alongside the little girl's true personality. And as Cyanea, the Creator, slumbered, supposedly creating and maintaining this whole world within her dreams, the Dream Guardian watched over her, protecting her body and the dream. That was the story, anyway. Seemed a little crazy to Kat, but she'd seen Gabe and Cyanea do some weird stuff so their power was real to some degree at least.
"Oh, hi, uh, Cyanea. Er… I didn't mean to wake you, sorry."
"You didn't.." came the voice. The little girl sat, still motionless except for her eyes, which flicked from Kat to Raven and back. "What seems to be the problem?"
Kat said, trying to sound casual, "Oh, it's nothing, really. Raven and I were just wondering if you and Gade couldn't move your… base of operations for the time being?"
The thing inside Cyanea eyed her closely. "And what if you need access to the Dream world that Cyanea constructed for you? I am your only access and if I am not here…"
Kat covered her eyes with her hand tiredly, "Not you too… Listen, honestly. If I need, I can find you guys! I know my way around this town by now. It's not going to be hard to find two people as conspicuous as yourselves. So please… could you two give us a little privacy? This is my home, after all!"
The gaze from Cyanea's eyes never wavered. "It is of little consequence where we are. If you have need of Cyanea, she will find you."
Kat had no doubts about that, remembering when she had woken up to find Cyanea sleeping in bed with her one morning, almost scaring Kat out of her skin. Cyanea had a way of just showing up places unexpectedly. Most likely thanks to the Dream Guardian's intervention.
"Thank you…" Kat smiled at the girl, hoping that meant that they intended to leave, finally.
Cyanea said nothing, but the girl's eyes closed slowly, and then when they reopened, all of the tension and crackling energy was gone from her frame. She looked blearily around, then finally noticed Kat and Raven standing in front of her. She stood up slowly, wobbling slightly, and then walked toward them.
"Hi Kat, hiii…. Raven," the little blue haired girl said softly with a voice like a song, rubbing her eyes and yawning.
Kat smiled genuinely. She was much more comfortable around this Cyanea, even if she was a Creator.
"Hi Cyanea," she said.
Raven looked nonplussed.
Cyanea padded past them over to Gade, who had been watching the conversation silently. She stopped in front of him and reached out taking his hand in her small one.
"Mr. Gade, I think we should go now," she said sleepily. "I had a dream that Kat and Raven wanted to be alone for a while."
Gade smiled softly. "Yes I believe you are right, Cyanea." He nodded at Kat and Raven, then started walking away, hand in hand with the small girl. Kat barely heard him say "It is rather late into the night, you know. You should be asleep. Let's find somewhere you can rest."
And then the two Creators were around a corner and out of sight.
Kat breathed a sigh of relief.
"Those two… are quite the interesting pair," Raven said finally.
"No kidding," Kat agreed.
The two of them looked at one another for a while, and then little smiles grew simultaneously on their faces as their newfound relationship flickered back to the forefront of their minds.
Raven looked back at Kat's home, "So, this is where you've been living, Kat?"
Kat chuckled embarrassedly, "Ahehe, yeah…. It's… not much. But it's home."
"It's good," Raven said decisively, her hands on her hips in her usual pose. She paused for a moment, and then looked back at Kat.
"So…" she started, sounding less upbeat than she had a moment ago, "So I guess this is the end of the night, huh? It's pretty late, might even be morning already. I should probably get back to the apartment; let us both sleep."
She smiled at Kat, sadly. "It's… kind of hard to say goodbye, as dumb as that is. I just don't want to leave… Maybe we can meet up in the morning after we wake up, for breakfast?"
Kat bit her lip, and stepped forward into Raven's arms, entwining her fingers in Raven's hand and leaning forward to kiss her gently. After a moment, she regretfully pulled back.
"What if…" Kat said, looking searchingly into Raven's eyes. "What if… you didn't? Leave, that is."
Raven froze and then asked hesitantly, "Wait, what do you mean, exactly?"
"Why don't you stay the night? You can sleep with me tonight, here…" Kat gestured to the little opening she called home.
Raven looked back at her, seemingly not sure what to say. She repeated what Kat had said, to herself, "Stay… the night? With you? Here? Kat are you sure that's ok with you?"
Kat blushed and continued, "Yeah, well… it's what I want, so, yeah. I'm sure. This place was the first thing in Hekseville that let me feel like I… belong, you know?… And I've realized being with you makes me feel kinda the same way. You make me feel like I belong here, somehow. So… um, will you stay here with me tonight?"
Raven smiled happily, and stood on her tiptoes, leaving a quick kiss Kat's forehead.
"Honestly, Kat, I can't think of anything that would make me happier."
Kat grinned. Her chest felt like it was full to bursting. She took Raven's hand and led her inside.
—-
After pushing past the cloth flap hung over the entrance, Raven took in the view of Kat's house. Although truthfully, there wasn't much to take in. It was literally just a room made from a section of an unused drainage pipe, so there wasn't a lot of space inside. Kat had painstakingly cleaned it and arranged what furniture she could fit, however, and had somehow turned the entrance of a sewer pipe into a functional room. There was a sheet hung up to separate the room from the rest of the sewer system, and a wood-framed bed that took up the width of the pipe. Pictures and newspaper clippings were hung up on the walls, with a few wooden shelves also somehow attached. These shelves, as well as the small dresser next to the foot of the bed, were stacked with books and candles, as well as various was a single blue chair by the bed, and a circular red rug covering most of the "floor" space. Also on the floor was a small basket with padding inside, apparently a cat bed. Adjacent to the head of the bed a crystal-like mirror was hung.
Kat blew out the match she had just used to light some of the candles by the head of the bed, and looked at the dark haired girl looking over her room. It excited her to have Raven in her home, it felt like Raven could now become a part of her everyday life, just like the makeshift room had.
"It's… kinda messy." Kat said, apologetically, kicking a few crates of fruit and empty bottles under the bed.
Raven just looked back at her and smiled. "I love it," she said decidedly.
Kat realized that if anyone would appreciate having a place to call home, no matter what it looked like, it would be Raven.
Kat sat down on the bed and flopped back, taking out the headband she always wore and letting her straight blonde hair fall out. As she hit the bed she could feel the fatigue of the hour set in finally.
"Mmmm…" she murmured. "I love beds."
"Beds are good," Raven said, kicking off her shoes to the side of the room and stepping forward, shaking her still-messy black and red hair out. She stood right between Kat's knees and looked down at her, hands on her hips.
Kat rested her hands behind her head, and looked up at Raven.
"But…" Raven continued, glancing around again. "Where do you wash?"
Kat looked around the room too as if hoping a bathtub and sink would magically appear. "Uhh, well, ok I do shower… obviously… It's just…"
"And what about cooking?" Raven asked, smirking a little.
"Oh, come on. You try getting any sort of cooking stuff working down in a sewer." Kat said, sticking out her tongue.
"What about…" Raven said slowly, openly grinning now, obviously thinking of something to criticize.
"I'll give YOU a 'what about'!" Kat said playfully, reaching up and grabbing Raven's hands, and pulling her onto the bed on top of herself.
Smooth one there, Kat. She thought to herself, sarcastically. Good comeback.
Raven let out a giggle, landing on her palms with her knees on the bed, with Kat's prone form right underneath her.
They locked eyes, Raven's hair cascading down over them, so that all Kat could see was Raven's face. The atmosphere was suddenly charged.
Kat swallowed and licked her lips. "So… this is the part of the night where you kiss me again, right?"
Raven's eyes were sparkling in the light of the candles that flickered through her hair.
"Mmmm, very astute," she murmured in agreement, lowering her head ever so slowly towards Kat.
"Hah! See, Gade said the future wasn't forseeable but I totally jus-"
"Nooooo no no" Raven shifted her weight, resting a finger on Kat's lips to quiet her. "You don't get to talk about anyone else but me when I'm about to kiss you."
Kat's heart was beating hard in her chest.
Raven leaned forward, and caught Raven's lips with her own.
Kat let out a pent-up sigh of expectation and she brought her arms up and around Raven, pulling the other girl down as she returned the kiss fervently.
Letting her weight off her knees slowly, Raven pressed herself onto Kat. Kat could feel Raven's body against her, Raven's belly against her own. The weight of Raven's soft form against her own stoked Kat's passion, and she brought her hands up to tangle in Raven's hair as they deepened the kiss.
Kat felt Raven's tongue flick against her mouth and teeth again, and let out a moan in her throat as she let her lips open slightly, allowing Raven's tongue to slip past, seeking deeper. Kat realized that because Raven was lying on top of her, she had free access to the girl's body with her hands. Still engrossed in the dance of Raven's tongue, Kat let her hands slip down from Raven's hair, gliding them over the girl's smooth shoulders and dress, letting them linger on her back and stroking her fingers over Raven's body. She could feel Raven breathing deeply on top of her, and Raven shifted her weight to her elbows as she brought her hands up to tangle her finger's in Kat's hair.
Realizing she was getting distracted, Kat focused again on her hands, moving them lower, slowly, her pulse pounding. She could feel Raven suck in a breath, pausing in the kiss as Kat's hands ran down over Raven's skirt, letting her hands cup Raven's round, firm butt.
But at that moment Raven pulled away, breaking the kiss and lifting herself off of Kat to rest on her outstretched palms. Kat looked up and saw Raven overtop her in the flickering light of the candles, her eyes closed, panting.
Raven squinted her eyes tightly, and with a little whine, flopped herself over onto her back next to Kat on the bed. She brought her hand up, running it through her hair and sighed, trying to catch her breath. She then opened her eyes, glancing over at Kat and smiling that gorgeous smile of hers, made all the more alluring in the candlelight.
Kat was worried she'd gone too far or something, and her face must have betrayed some confusion.
Raven reached down to hold Kat's hand as they lay on their backs, looking at each other, each still breathing heavily, hearts racing.
"God, I could kiss you forever, and never get tired of it," Raven mumbled, looking back at the ceiling and letting her eyes flutter shut.
Oh, good… I guess I don't suck at it too much…
"So why don't you?" Kat asked quietly, rolling on to her side to face the other girl, letting her thumb play over Raven's.
Raven let out a soft noise halfway between a sigh and a laugh. "It's late. If we don't sleep now I really will keep you up until the morning. And we need to be able to sleep so we can wake up to get that breakfast together, remember?"
Kat bit her lip disappointedly. I guess that makes sense, she admitted. Getting breakfast with Raven for the first time would be fun…
Raven squeezed her hand, noticing the downhearted expression. "Don't worry, you're my girlfriend now. I'm gonna be kissing you a lot from now on."
That made Kat smile. "That's a promise, yeah? I.. really like kissing you."
Raven nodded. "Duh, I like it too. Easiest promise I'll ever make."
Kat laughed, "Okay then… should we get ready for bed?"
"Yeah, sounds good.'" Raven said, looking over at Kat again with a smile.
Kat sat on the edge of the bed, drinking some water while Raven stood in front of the mirror hanging on the inside of the pipe-turned-room, brushing her hair out with a comb Kat had lent her. Kat smiled as she watched Raven run the comb through her long, flowing hair, working out the tangles. It felt wild having Raven in her home, being together, just the two of them. The only other person who had been in her house with her was Cyanea, and since the odd girl had just sort of appeared there, uninvited, out of thin air… Kat didn't really count that as a proper visit. But now it was especially exciting for Kat, considering that her and Raven's relationship had changed so drastically…
Kat realized they hadn't said much to each other since they had started getting ready for bed. A silence had settled over the room. Not a particularly awkward or cold silence… just… probably a nervous one more than anything.
My girlfriend is sleeping with me. RAVEN, my girlfriend, is sleeping with me. I have a girlfriend and it's Raven and she's going to be sleeping. With me. In my bed. Ok. Ok? Ok…
Kat ran the idea through her brain over and over, but it still felt so unreal, so… fantastical. Like this was some dream she would wake up from and realize that she'd only imagined those kisses, those hands around her waist pulling her closer, those beautiful blue eyes sparkling at her…
At the thought, Kat felt an illogical rush of… something bad. Like a leaden pendulum swinging through her chest, pressing on her heart. She hopped off the bed and lightly stepped over to Raven, grasping the girl from behind in a tight hug. Raven paused in her brushing, surprised by Kat's sudden embrace, but she was being squeezed too tightly to turn around and return the hug, so she just stood still, letting Kat hold her. After a few moments Kat let go and took a step back, her fleeting moment of senseless worry already gone.
Raven turned and smiled confusedly, comb still halfway through her hair. "Hey you…What was that for?"
"Oh, nothing really" Kat grinned, sitting down on the blue chair. "Just happy you're here."
Raven smiled, "Me too, thanks for having me."
"Oh don't thank me, that's weird," Kat said, waving her hand dismissively .
As Raven continued brushing her hair out, Kat reached over for her nail clippers. Having Raven here made Kat want to make sure she definitely cleaned up as best she could. She hadn't been able to fit a bath in tonight, but she'd definitely do everything else.
She pulled over a trashcan but paused. I should do this outside. Maybe it's weird to cut your nails in front of your girlfriend… Or maybe not, maybe it's normal. Either way I have to brush my teeth outside anyway.
She grabbed her toothbrush and clippers and started for the flap that led out into Hekseville.
Raven turned, having just put her long hair up into a bun on her head for sleeping, and said, "Hey, where are you going?
Kat paused, wondering whether or not she should mention the nails or if Raven would think it's gross or something. "Oh, uhhh.. Just… brushing my teeth. And… clipping my nails?"
I suck at thinking under pressure.
"Ooh, actually…" Raven said, wryly looking down at her own hands, "I have this terrible habit of picking at my nails when I'm nervous… And tonight had me reaaaally nervous at times. So… my nails are kind of a wreck now. Would it be super gross of me to ask to borrow your clippers just for tonight?"
She looked embarrassed and shy.
Kat laughed, mostly at herself, "That's so funny, I worry too much apparently. I was just thinking that you might find it weird if I cut my nails with you around. Yeah that's totally fine! You can use them first if you like."
She handed them out and Raven took them, but the other girl paused, and said, "Um… and I know this is asking too much, but do you happen to have an extra toothbrush by any chance?"
"Oh! Duh! Actually…." Kat turned and rummaged around in one of her drawers. "Tah daaaah!"
She held up three toothbrushes, blue, purple, and green, to Raven. "For some reason I could only find packs of four. Worked out though, I guess! Take your pick!"
Raven grabbed the purple one. "Thanks Kat!"
"Yeah! And when you're done, I'll put it with mine, so that one can just be yours whenever you stay over."
Raven's eyes widened a little, and she whispered to herself, "Whenever I stay…"
Kat grinned and handed her a glass wine bottle filled with water. "Here, for rinsing. Sorry I don't have a sink."
"It's ok! Be right back."
Kat watched her slip out of the flap. She looked around and realized that this was the first moment tonight that she'd been alone since she'd met up with Newt and Echo all those many hours ago. She clenched her fists, unable to keep the grin from her face as she did a little happy dance. The excitement and intensity and happiness had been welling up inside her and she felt like she needed to find a way to release some of that energy before she exploded.
Dusty looked up at her dancing from the basket where the cat had already been sleeping with Raven's bird and said, "Mroww".
Kat spun on her toes, "Oh, hush. I can dance if I want to. I have a girlfriend now."
If I don't get this all out now I'm never going to fall asleep. It's so late but I'm so not tired… She thought.
Dusty blinked at her and let out a little sleepy noise that was more chirp than meow, curling up again.
"Thanks. I am happy," Kat said, twirling again.
—-
After the two girls had tidied themselves up and everything, Kat stuck Raven's toothbrush in a holder by her own.
"Ok then, um… I don't really have a change of clothes," Raven said.
Kat froze.
Oh crap.
She wondered what the heck she was going to do. Raven noticed the movement and said hastily, "I can just sleep in this dress or something, no worries. I've… already been asking you for a lot."
"No no… I… uh… I have extra clothes, for sure," Kat said biting her lip, as she rummaged around in her drawer. She pulled out a t-shirt and tossed it to Raven.
"What I don't have… is real pajamas. I just don't use them."
"Oh, that's ok," Raven said, "I can just like wear this and my underwear. Thanks."
She paused suddenly as if a thought crossed her mind, and then said slowly, "So… what do you sleep in then?"
Kat said, trying to sound casual, "Well I usually sleep nude, but I'll throw on a shirt or something."
Raven's eyes went a little wider and Kat could see Raven's gaze flick over her body from her toes to her head and back. Raven then caught Kat's eye and looked away, embarrassed.
"Ohh, uh, ok. I mean, I don't want to step on your routine or anything, you know. You can sleep however you normally do…"
"No no it's ok, I'll just… I'll make do!" Kat said quickly.
Somehow the idea of sleeping next to Raven without any clothes on seemed a little too forward, although there was a sizable part of her that was excited by the idea. She had never slept with clothes on as far as she could remember, but she'd give it a try tonight. Surely it wouldn't be too different.
Raven bit her lip but didn't say anything, letting her eyes roam over Kat's body again.
"Here, I'll off the lights," Kat said, and blew on the candles, sending the room into darkness. A fair amount of light from the street-lamps and other lights outside seeped into Kat's room at night, despite the cloth hanging over the entrance. So it was nowhere near pitch black in Kat's home. But it was dark enough that with her eyes unadjusted, Kat could only see Raven as a silhouette as the girl stripped off her dress and reached around to unclasp her bra. Kat swallowed and looked away, deciding that focusing on Raven undressing was not going to help settle her mind. She shimmied out of the shorts she'd had on all night and unbuttoned her shirt, wondering without turning around if Raven was stealing glances at her as well. After removing her bra she slipped on another t-shirt and decided the best plan would be to keep her panties on. They were a plain white, unlike Raven's fancy black one that Kat knew she was wearing… right… now.
Ahhh stop thinking about her panties… Kat slapped her face a little. It's time for bed.
The two girls climbed into the bed together, slipping under the light sheet, side by side. Kat rolled onto her side, facing Raven. Raven did the same. Kat could just barely make out Raven's face. The two of them just lay there, looking at each other, for a minute.
Kat reached forward and grasped Raven's hand in hers and gave it a squeeze, "We're not going to get to sleep at this rate."
"Mmm, you're right…" Raven said quietly. "Ok."
The black haired girl raised her other hand, cupping the side of Kat's face gently as she leaned forward, pressing her lips to Kat's in a soft kiss. A moment later she pulled away and stroked Kat's face.
"Goodnight, Kat," Raven said.
"…Goodnight, Raven." Kat said, biting her lip.
Kat thought she saw Raven smile as she rolled over to face the other way, curling up slightly.
Kat paused for a minute, then whispered, "Raven… Are you still awake?"
"Duh, it's been like 30 seconds," came Raven's voice.
"Well… um… can… can I get another goodnight kiss?" Kat asked, rubbing her legs together as she fidgeted. "…That one didn't take."
Raven sighed, "What are you, a little kid?"
But she rolled around and grabbed Kat's neck, pulling the two of them together as she locked Kat's lips with hers, kissing her deeply. Kat purred in her throat and let her fingers rest against Raven's shoulder as she fell into it. Her fingers tightened on Raven's shoulder, gripping it tightly.
But Raven pulled away from the kiss, planting one last quick peck on her lips as if it was a punctuation dot on the sexiest and most teasing sentence Kat had ever heard.
"How about that one? Better?" Raven asked, and Kat, her eyes adjusting to the darkness, could see the girl lick her lips.
"Mmmm… much better…" Kat breathed honestly, although she was still feeling a little disappointed that Raven had broken the kiss before things had gone further…
"Good," Raven said, and rolled over again, to face away from Kat. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight… girlfriend." Kat said, smiling. She heard Raven chuckle.
Kat took a deep breath and thought, Ok, leave the rest for another time. Now it's time for sleep.
She tried to roll over and face the other way, but the t-shirt she was wearing caught around her neck, twisting maliciously around her. She squirmed, trying to get it straightened.
How do people even sleep with clothes on? It's so constricting… Kat thought plaintively.
Over the next several minutes, which stretched on for days, Kat tried closing her eyes, counting imaginary birds, and as many unsexy thoughts as she could come up with. But her mind kept rolling back to the amazing feeling of Raven's lips against her own, and the uncomfortable feeling of the clothes on her body.
She tried for another minute, but couldn't stand it anymore. She shimmied out of her panties and t-shirt, and tossed them off the side of the bed.
She whispered over at Raven's side of the bed, "Hey, sorry Raven, but I just don't think I'd be able to fall asleep with the pajamas on. I'll stay way over here on my side though. Goodnight."
A faint noise of what sounded like acknowledgement came from Raven's curled up silhouette.
Kat rolled over onto her back and closed her eyes, sighing. She enjoyed the feeling of the sheets against her bare skin.
Much better.
With a smile, a minute later she drifted off into a deep, calm slumber, dreaming of many beautiful things like Raven and… cats and… Raven, and flying wine bottles and… Raven, and Raven and Raven and…
Kat opened her eyes and groaned mentally, far from asleep. This wasn't working. She was just too worked up. Having Raven sleeping next to her was driving her crazy. She couldn't keep her mind still. Every time she tried to let her mind drift off, it always drifted to the sexy, beautiful, stoic black-and-red-haired girl with deep blue eyes, the one that had a crush on Kat.
And that's when her consciousness reminded her that said girl was wearing nothing but panties and Kat's own t-shirt, lying only a couple of feet away from Kat.
Ugh, I'm still doing it. Even if I get to sleep I bet I know what I'll be dreaming about… Kat thought, her face turning red as the image of Raven's panting, flushed face over her own flashed through Kat's mind.
No, no, ok. This is bad. I need to…. calm down. Maybe if I just stay really still. Focus on not moving. On slowing down my breathing.
Kat wasn't sure how many minutes it had been since she'd said goodnight to Raven. She just hoped the girl wasn't having the same problems Kat herself was. Kat, still lying on her back, took a deep, slow breath, and held it; trying desperately to slow her quick heartbeat and calm down.
But none of it was working.
She called out to Raven softly, "Hey psst… Raven…"
Raven replied from the other side of the bed, "Again? What?"
"Well… I just…" Kat asked, fidgeting a little. "I was thinking… would it be ok if… if we cuddled a little? I'm having trouble falling asleep. I just keep thinking about you."
Raven turned over onto her back and sighed, "Yeah, I can't get to sleep either. I'm too… worked up. So much happened tonight. It's all jumbling around in my head." She glanced over at Kat's face peeking over the covers. "Thing is though… you are naked, right? Is that… I mean… uh… are you ok with that?"
Kat blushed, inching closer. "Yeah, I can't really fall asleep otherwise. And I was having trouble sleeping because of you here next to me… so I thought, if you were even closer to me, maybe it wouldn't be so distracting."
That made Raven laugh. "In what world does that logic even make sense? You're just trying to find excuses to cuddle." But she lifted her arm and said, "But its not like I don't want to, so come here."
Kat grinned playfully and fell limp on the bed, "Raven, I'm just so tired. I can't move. You'll have to come over here and kiss me."
"You're a goof, you lazy cat", Raven said affectionately, reaching her arm down under Kat's neck and pulling the girl gently closer, until Kat was curled up against her side. "Kisses will just get us both more worked up. But we can cuddle."
Kat let out a little noise of contentment, and snuggled closer, resting her head on Raven's t-shirt.
—-
She actually does sound like a cat purring, Raven thought with a smile. But hah, so much for not being able to move.
But it's not like Raven minded. The weight of Kat's head on her chest, the feeling of the girl's eyelashes against her skin, and having her here next to Raven made the dark-haired girl feel truly happy in a way that she hadn't for many, many years.
Raven reached up and stroked Kat's hair and Kat purred again. The two girls lay there, cuddling, for a few more quiet minutes.
Kat spoke up quietly, her voice quiet and faltering, "Um... Raven... is there... a reason you seemed a little distant after we got here?"
Raven closed her eyes. Ah, damn, she noticed.
"I'm sorry if I came off as distant, really Kat... I didn't mean to." She exhaled, trying to figure out what she wanted to say. "I just felt myself getting... a little carried away. I didn't want to push you to do too much in one night. I didn't want to scare you off the idea of liking me."
That sounds kind of stupid when I hear it out loud, Raven thought.
"That's kinda dumb," Kat's voice from Raven's chest echoed her thoughts, and Raven laughed.
"I guess it is," she said.
They left it at that. A few minutes passed, Raven stroking Kat's head softly, running her fingers through the soft, blonde hair.
Eventually Raven heard the girl's say softly, ""Wow… ok. Yeah this… helps. I'm actually… feeling super tired now, no joke."
"Good…" Raven chuckled jokingly, "If you snore, though, I'm sleeping in the other room."
"What other room?" Kat said sleepily, not looking around.
"Wow, you really are tired," Raven said, raising her eyebrows. "That was a joke."
"Oh…" Kat mumbled. "Ha… ha…"
She was quiet for a moment, then said with a little more energy, "Raven, you should know… I'm so… I dunno, 'happy' just doesn't feel like a strong enough word. But for lack of a better one: I'm so, so happy right now. You don't even know…"
Raven thought she did know. "No, I feel exactly the same way Kat. This… you liking me? It's… honestly a dream come true."
Kat snuggled her head back against Raven's chest, happily. "I've never been in a relationship before," she said. "I don't really know what the next step is."
"Well," Raven said slowly, thinking about how crazy this one night had been, how much closer they'd gotten, and how deep her feelings already were for the small, blonde girl now curled against her. "I don't really know either…"
Suddenly something occurred to Raven that she'd been reminded of earlier.
"Oh, but speaking of… so Kat, remember when we had left the party, and we were just sort of… going? Without thinking, we just flew together? Not worrying about where we were headed?"
Kat giggled. "Haha, yeah, when I saw your panties and shouted it out at the whole town? Good times."
Raven tapped the girl's head lightly in admonishment, "Yeah, that time. Anyway, thinking back on it afterward reminded me of something Zaza said to me."
"Oh? And what was that?"
Raven took a breath, and pictured her big brother in her head, trying to remember the exact words he used.
"He said once that every life was like a meteor that had split off from a meteor shower… That we don't know where we came from, and we can't even know how far we've really come to get to where we are… And most of all, we don't know where we're going, either… All we can actually know… is that we're currently hurtling through pitch black space, going somewhere."
Kat was listening quietly. Then as Raven paused, she spoke up, "That's… kind of sad actually."
"I thought so too," Raven said with a smile, "Until tonight. Tonight I realized that even though so much about my past is fucked up, and even I have no idea what's going to happen in the future, with the Nevi, with Boutoume, with anything…"
She looked down at Kat, hugged her tightly, and finished, "Now that I know I have you here, Kat, hurtling alongside me through all this darkness… I'm not afraid or sad anymore. I… couldn't be happier, actually… At every instant, all I'll ever need is you."
She swallowed. She felt like she was so bad at this say-how-you-feel stuff, but she had been doing a lot of it over the past hours with Kat. Maybe she was making up for all the lost years she kept everything bottled up inside herself.
Kat sat up a little and looked up at Raven, beaming shyly. She leaned in and gave Raven a soft, sweet kiss on the lips. Then she said happily, returning to rest her head on Raven's chest, "Gosh, careful Raven… If you keep saying stuff like that, I might just fall in love with you."
Raven's heart thumped loudly and she had a feeling Kat could hear it.
"You're just delirious from tiredness," Raven said, jokingly, although her insides were all fluttery.
"Mmm… I wonder…" Kat mumbled quietly from Raven's breast. "All this talk of meteors though, kind of—"
Kat's words cut off abruptly and her body went still. Raven felt the girl's hand slowly clench into a fist against her stomach. She craned her head down to look at Kat.
She waited a few seconds, but Kat didn't say anything, just lay there, frozen.
"Uh, Kat…"
Softly, in a voice barely above a whisper, Kat began to sing:
"You and I, across the sky
Making an ark we twinkle and fly
Together we are, a shooting star
One constellation from afar
A blanket of clouds, to keep us warm
And hide away from the rumbling storm
It's time for dreams now, so we fall down
Born and vanishing in our meteor town"
Raven lay stunned. She'd never heard Kat sing before, much less realized that she had an amazingly good voice, even when used so quietly.
"That was.. really pretty. I've never heard that song," she said, finally.
But then she suddenly felt Kat's shoulders tremble, and with a start, she realized Kat was quietly crying.
"Wha.. Kat? What's wrong?" Raven said in alarm, sitting up slightly, confused, and worried.
Kat wrapped her arms around Raven tightly, not looking up. She said, her voice quiet and sad, "I had… forgotten that song until just now… It's… I think it was a lullaby from… wherever I came from. Up… above Hekseville."
Raven held her breath, not sure what to do or say. She knew Kat had lost her memories of everything of her life before landing in Hekseville, but if she was remembering things now… Raven wasn't sure what that meant. Maybe a normal person would be happy by the idea of Kat regaining her lost memories… but Raven had been through enough to know that sometimes the distant past has more sad memories than good ones.
Kat pressed her face into Raven, squeezing her even more tightly. She said weakly, her voice full of tears, "Raven… don't leave me, ok? Please… Just… Don't ever leave me."
A pain shot through Raven's heart, and she squeezed Kat back, running her fingers through the girl's soft blonde hair again, gently, in a gesture she hoped was comforting. She didn't know what had happened in Kat's past, and she didn't feel the need to know. But she did know what it was like to feel scared of being alone. And she knew neither of them had to feel that way anymore.
"I'm not going anywhere," Raven said, and she meant every word with all of her heart. "I'll never leave you, Kat. I'll always be here to protect you. "
Kat sniffled a little, but seemed to calm down, her arms relaxing from around Raven.
Raven continued, her voice gentle, "Now get some sleep, ok? I'm going to stay right here, and when you wake up, I'll still be right here, in your arms. And we'll get breakfast together, as girlfriends. So don't worry. I won't ever leave. Ok?"
Kat nodded slightly, not saying anything.
Raven held Kat close, stroking the girl's head as the minutes ticked by. Soon she felt Kat's breathing was slower and steadier, the girl's chest rising and falling gently, lightly brushing Raven's side.
"…Kat?" Raven asked, in a whisper.
But there was no response from the girl cuddled up against her. Kat was already fast asleep.
Raven looked down, and smiled at the sight of Kat's face, slack with sleep. And her expression was calm and serene, not sad, which eased Raven's worries. Raven slowly, so as not to wake her, wiped away the lingering wet trail that the tear had left down Kat's cheek.
But Raven still felt a sliver of fear in her heart.
"'Don't leave'… That's my line, silly Kat…" Raven said softly, brushing Kat's hair behind her ears gently.
"If this is a dream," Raven whispered to the sleeping girl, "…then I don't want to wake up. I don't want to lose you, Kat. But… I don't know… I'm scared. What if it is a dream? Is it my dream? Your dream? Someone else's? What if whoever's sleeping wakes up? What will happen to you and me?"
She swallowed, and forcibly closed her eyes, letting her head rest back on the pillow.
Ugh, look at me. Worrying about all these 'what-ifs'… I'm so dumb. She thought.
Zaza's words floated back through her mind.
The future doesn't matter, the past doesn't matter… all that matters, Raven thought, her tired mind finally slipping into sleep, …is that we're together now. Two meteors… Flying together…
She let herself go, and fell into a deep sleep. The two girls slept calmly, their arms wrapped around each other.
From the basket on the ground, Dusty opened one eye, glancing over at the bed. After a moment, the cat purred gently and settled back down.
—-
Far above the sewer entrance, above the sleeping city of Hekseville, above everything, the stars twinkled and gleamed. In a few hours the sun would rise and it would be time for the worlds to wake and go about their day. But for now, everything was calm and peaceful, especially the two magical girls cuddled together in a make-shift home built out of a sewer pipe entrance, deep in the heart of Hekseville.
Overhead, a shooting star silently zipped across the sky.
*~Fin~*
Footnotes:
* I figure that Kat really doesn't take any damage from falling anymore, considering you really can jump off tall buildings in the game and land just fine. But that doesn't mean she won't feel the impact somewhat!
** You can actually experience this effect in the game! Just start flying out beyond the bounds of Hekseville and Dusty will dutifully return you as per Kat's instruction. ;)
Well, here we are. The end. Finally. Thank you for reading, you wonderful person.
But don't be sad! Kat and Raven will live on. They will have their breakfast together, and many more happy times. This was just a recounting of their first night together. And what a night it was.
I don't really think I'll be writing more of this story, but who knows. I do have some ideas...
And besides, I'm going to write more Gravity Rush anyway! Other stories! I've got like... at least 3 others rattling around in my head. The next fic I'll write is Kat/Syd. Get excited!
Once again, thank you for reading my long, awkward, and sometimes cute story about two girls falling in love.
*heart* ~Arcturius