Sneaking in to ones own bedroom wasn't something Bo was accustomed to. The last time she'd done it she was sixteen years old. It was an unusual feeling to say the least. But she wasn't sneaking she reasoned as her hand closed on the ornate door handle and slowly twisted it. She wasn't checking up on Lauren and Crystal - she was checking IN with them to see if they needed anything. Yeah. That was what she was going to go with if Lauren questioned her. You know. If Lauren was actually speaking to her.
She needn't have worried. When she entered the softly lit room (for function, not for romance), she saw that Crystal was sleeping soundly in her bed and Lauren had drawn an armchair close enough to stretch out and rest her endlessly long legs on and was herself asleep, though not nearly in the same comfort zone that sleeping on the bed would have provided. This thought both concerned and reassured Bo. Yes, she should be resting comfortably in the bed. HER bed. But not with any other woman but the succubus herself.
Bo paused in front of the IV bag hanging near the bed. Hours earlier, Lauren had unpacked all sorts of medical supplies from a storage box stashed in the basement, giving no explanation as to why it was there. Not that she needed to. The good doctor was always prepared for any situation. "Always looking out for us," Bo happily observed, hoping to break the ice. The only response she received was a brief tight lipped smile from Lauren. Listlessly, Bo reached out and grasped the IV bag, her hand gently squeezing it. She had no idea what she was looking at, no idea why she was even pretending to. Turning her attention to Lauren in the chair she crossed her arms over her chest and watched her sleep. With the interaction she'd observed between Crystal and Lauren she'd picked up on enough to know that the relationship wasn't strictly platonic, though it was also obvious that they didn't know each other very well either. She snorted at her own observation. A succubus judging Lauren for not knowing much about the person she was having sex with? Judging Lauren for letting anyone other than her caress and kiss her or bring her pleasure?
The more she allowed herself to think about it, the angrier and more irrational she felt herself become. Unable to stay in the room any longer without throttling the woman in her bed or re-staking a physical claim on Lauren she moved to retreat from the room, but not before carefully and tenderly tucking a blanket around Lauren. She allowed herself to lean in close, feeding off the warmth of Lauren's body, inhaling the familiar scent that was one hundred percent uniquely Lauren. It soothed and excited her just like every other time she'd basked in it. Knowing she was playing with fire, she pressed a soft kiss to Lauren's forehead before quickly and quietly withdrawing, missing Lauren's eyes open without any trace of sleep in them as soon as she heard the door click shut.
Awake the whole time, Lauren swallowed thickly. The physical ache in her chest that she'd lived with since the decision was made to end things with Bo was too much to bear in silence this time and she involuntarily let out a choked sob that sounded remarkably like her ex-lovers name.
"Feel better now?" Kenzi questioned from her spot on the couch, examining a piece of popcorn before tossing it into her gaping mouth. When she received no answer from the succubus at the bottom of the stairs she looked over her shoulder and took in Bo's reflective expression and the way her shoulders slightly sloped in defeat. "Oh my god! Were they banging in your bed? Nobody bangs in my besties bed! Except you, obviously. And often!"
Her accusation spurred a reaction from the unaligned warrior. "What? No! Kenzi, there was no banging going on. Just sleeping."
"Then what's with the long face?" Kenzi questioned as her best friend sat heavily beside her.
"She won't even talk to me," Bo lamented.
"Well duh. Why should she?" her best friend questioned as if it were obvious.
"Well for one, I saved her and her.. " Bo gestured emphatically, searching for the right word to describe Crystal that didn't sound overly crude.
"Bang buddy? Friend with benefits? Ho-bag hookup? Sexy time skank?" Kenzi supplied.
"You're not helping," Bo pouted.
"And you didn't rescue her," Kenzi pointed out. "You more like picked her up thanks to a text from Vex."
"There was an element of danger there!"
"I suppose they could have died from boredom," Kenzi rolled her eyes and hopped off the couch at the sound of knocking on the door. "What's up, Pup," she greeted Dyson and closed the door after he strolled inside and took a seat next to Bo, cozying up to her before dropping a kiss on her smiling lips.
Kenzi resumed her spot on the other side of Bo, discreetly rolling her eyes at the ridiculous triangle that Bo was still firmly entrenched in.
"Did you find anything?" Bo questioned, resting her hand on Dyson's thigh. Dyson smiled at the intimate gesture, picking her hand up and bringing it briefly to his lips before letting it rest upon his leg once more. Dyson and Hale had conducted a thorough search of the location Lauren and Crystal were kept at.
"Very little. There was evidence of the cell being monitored, but we don't know who was doing the watching. We collected some samples from the makeshift lab and we're trying to see if we can get a match on who the tissue samples belong to. It's not much, but it might lead us back to who was holding them captive. Where is Lauren? Is she doing okay?" Dyson was genuinely concerned. The doctor had risked her own life to save his and countless other Fae. Now that it seemed like she was no longer competition, he could afford a little good will.
Bo nodded. "She and her friend are resting upstairs."
"So what bed are we supposed to use?" Dyson questioned, a wolfish grin on his lips that would have ordinarily turned Bo into a little pile of lust. Tonight however, it just made her feel uneasy.
Lauren stood quietly beside the partially opened bedroom door, listening for any signs to indicate the knock she heard meant someone was there for her. She would gladly give herself up if it kept Bo and Kenzi safe. She next heard the unmistakable baritone of Dyson and knew they weren't in any danger. "Amber?" Crystal called out quietly from behind her.
Turning, Lauren quickly made her way to the side of the bed. "Crystal," she greeted calmly. "Is something wrong? Are you having any trouble breathing?" She pressed her fingers on the pulse point on Crystals wrist, counting the beats as she held her watch up to see the second hand.
"No. No, I'm fine," Crystal reassured her, moving to sit up in the bed once Lauren released her arm. "Just hungry," she admitted sheepishly.
"I'm not surprised. Antihistamines sometimes increase hunger. Although in your case, it could simply be that we just haven't eaten anything in the last 36 hours, or so," Lauren smiled, feeling her own pangs of hunger now that food had been mentioned. "What would you like?"
"Pizza. Beer," Crystal answered quickly, drawing a quick laugh from Lauren.
"I think we can handle that." Lauren smiled easily, knowing that both items Crystal requested were staples in this particular household. "We can probably find something for you to change into as well," she offered as she noted that the blouse Crystal was wearing was missing most of its buttons and her skirt was a wrinkled mess. She stood, going to Bo's dresser and pulling open the drawer that she knew held Bo's most practical clothing consisting of yoga pants, t-shirts and the like. It was vastly different than the drawers on either side of it that held some of the most breathtakingly sexy lingerie she'd ever laid eyes on. She didn't pull out any of Bo's clothing however, and after a few seconds of searching through the drawer she withdrew a pair of sleep shorts and a lovingly abused t-shirt with the periodic table on it. If she was being honest with herself, she was surprised the succubus hadn't removed all traces of her from her bedroom. She didn't have her own drawer, her stuff had just always been mixed in with Bo's. She closed the drawer and ended any further reflection about what it meant or didn't and presented the clothing to Crystal.
Crystal accepted the clothing, unfolding the t shirt and examining the graphic on it. With a sly smile she spoke. "I once asked Potassium how their date with Oxygen went."
"Let me guess, they said it was OK?" Lauren gave a surprised but pleased laugh. Crystal was evidently not the airhead she came off as and it prompted the scientist in her to break out her own elemental funny. "A Higgs boson walks into a church. The priest says "I'm sorry, we don't serve your kind here." The Higgs boson replies "But without me you couldn't have mass!""
"Boooo!" Crystal groaned as they shared a laugh. "Are you sure your friend won't mind me wearing these?"
"Bo." Lauren supplied the name, realizing that in all the confusion, Crystal likely had no idea where she was and who she was with.
"That's Bo?" Crystal's eyes widened a bit.
Lauren nodded. "Those are my clothes, not hers." As gently as possible, she removed the IV from Crystal's arm, allowing her the freedom to move around without being hindered. Finished with her task she crossed to the door, taking a second to prepare herself for a trip downstairs. Dyson noticed her almost immediately, quickly standing and vacating his spot next to Bo but not quickly enough. Lauren had still seen them cuddled up together on the couch. It wasn't her business she reminded herself, taking a deep breath through her nose and plastering a surprisingly sincere smile on her face as Dyson moved to meet her at the bottom of the stairs. "I knew you'd be sniffing around sooner or later," she teased as the shifter drew her into his arms.
"Good to see you, Doc." Bo watched the embrace with mixed emotions. Lauren was apparently happy to see everyone except her. But at least the doc and Dyson were getting along. That was great. Right? Right. Best fucking day ever. She felt herself glowering at the two. Kenzi had taken and received a hug from the good doctor. Dyson was still holding her. But if she hadn't stolen a kiss - a really hot, frantic and fantastic kiss she wanted to repeat again and again and right now - by the car earlier, she's fairly certain Lauren would have been perfectly content to never touch her again. Well maybe not never. She gave a self satisfied smirk as she noticed Lauren's aura brighten considerably when she looked Bo's direction. Unfortunately, the smirk did not go without notice and Lauren returned it with a scowl.
"Is there any pizza?" Lauren asked, finally extricating herself from Dyson's embrace.
"Please. Does a bear poop in the woods?" Kenzi scoffed.
Bo jumped up from her spot on the couch, all too eager to be of assistance. "There's some in the fridge and in the oven." She nearly collided with Lauren as she tried to beat her to the kitchen so that she could make both options available.
Noting how hard Bo was trying, Lauren gave her a polite thanks but avoided touching the pizzas while Bo was still holding them. Instead she bypassed the succubus and retrieved a couple of beers from the refrigerator. Her intention was to take the food back up to the room, but those hopes were dashed when she heard Dyson greet Crystal. From her vantage point in the kitchen, Bo remained out of view from her guest, but could see that the other woman was wearing Lauren's favorite sleepwear. The pizza boxes in her hands were forgotten and dropped on the stove and the blue eyed devil did more than flash this time. She did not appreciate the way the curvier woman filled out both the t-shirt and the short shorts impressively. All she knew was that those clothes belonged on Lauren's body, only to be removed by her.
"You have no right," Lauren moved to block the succubus' view, standing right in front of her and speaking in hushed tones. When Bo's eyes still refused to return to their normal shade, Lauren grasped Bo's hand, forcing her attention to focus on her. "If this is going to be a problem, we can find somewhere else to go."
Whether it was Lauren's touch or the suggestion of her leaving, Bo's eyes quickly returned to their normal shade. "No," she barked out, horrified by the thought of Lauren walking away again. "You're right. That was totally out of line," she apologized, not believing any of the words she had to say to convince Lauren to stay.
"Are you sure?" Lauren pressed. "Because if this is something you'd rather not deal with, I totally understand."
"I'd rather not have to deal with you being dead, so yeah. This is just fine," Bo huffed. "It's peachy."
"I'm glad I can count on you to act like an adult," Lauren countered none too gently. Bo's temper flared and Lauren didn't shrink back, instead taking a step closer.
"Whoa, you two. Don't make me put you in timeout," Kenzi intervened, breaking up the standoff that was about to turn ugly. "Blondie! What's your poison?" the little Russian called over her shoulder before listing the contents of the liquor cabinet.
Aware that she had just walked up on some kind of confrontation, Crystal tread carefully into the kitchen. In a show of brevity she approached Bo and stuck her hand out. "I'm Crystal. Thank you so much for getting us out of that place and for taking us in."
Bo looked at the proffered hand for a long second before taking it. "I'm Bo. And you're welcome. Any friend of Lauren's is a friend of mine," she said with so much civility she thought she might just gag.
"Wow. That's some personal fucking growth right there," Kenzi commented dryly, handing Crystal a beer. The next few days were going to be interesting, to say the very least.