A/N: This was actually the first chapter I wrote for this story. It's been waiting a long time to be published, so it had better get lots of reviews! :) BE WARNED: This chapter contains lovely, M-rated, femmeslash lemons! You've reached the end of the dialogue copying- from here on out the characters' words are my own (but sadly, not the characters).
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fried Green Tomatoes or any of its lovely sexy women.
Ruth
As I sat on my bed, reading the Bible- what else?- there came a knock on my door. I knew Sipsey was down in the kitchen; I could hear plates and pots banging around. The sky outside my window was dark, so most of the Threadgoode family, I knew, was asleep. There was only one person who would be walking around this late.
Had it been anyone else, I would have rolled over and hidden the Bible under the sheets, so that in case they came in, I could pretend to have fallen asleep with the lights on. But I knew it had to be Idgie, so I softly called, "Come in," and sure enough, the door opened silently to reveal my best friend standing in the doorway.
When she saw the Bible in my hands, she looked relieved and said, "Oh, good, I didn't wake you up. I hoped you were awake."
I shook my head. "Couldn't sleep," I replied hoarsely. "There's too much going on."
"Ain't that the truth," Idgie laughed nervously. Then she shivered.
"Oh, sorry," I said, scooting over. "Come in here." I lifted up the blanket and Idgie gratefully crawled in, taking care to stay far on the other side of the bed. Then we lapsed into silence. And as Idgie stared at her hands, I watched her. I watched her chest rise and fall, her hands tremble slightly. My hands were shaking too, and I didn't know why. Five years ago, that summer, we had been as close as sisters. Now she was making me nervous. Five years ago her hair had been long and unkempt, but now she wore it cut above her shoulders, and it was clean and shiny. She still wore men's clothes, long pants held up with suspenders and a white shirt. There was still a look of pigheadedness on her face, masking pain. So she still hid pain behind that face. My same old Idgie.
Finally, something made Idgie look up. "I missed you," she remarked quietly, touching my shoulder for a second. Her eyes found the bruise on my face where Frank had hit me; a moment later, her fingers brushed against it. Involuntarily, I flinched and pulled away.
"Sorry," Idgie said quickly. "I shoulda known you'd be all jumpy." More slowly this time, making sure I could see that she was going to touch me, she placed her fingertips back on the bruise.
I should have expected the feeling. I'd known I loved her for over five years. But I was still surprised when my heart started pounding as her skin made contact with mine. Keeping my face turned toward Idgie so she could inspect the injury, I glanced away with my eyes.
"What're you scared of?" Her thumb brushed lightly against my cheek. "He ain't gonna hurt you no more."
A tear leaked out, despite my rapid blinking. I wiped it away quickly, but Idgie saw. "Hey," she whispered. "Hey, don't cry…"
Her gentle tone set me to sobbing. Idgie held me and let me cry on her for a few minutes, and then I shakily sat up and drew a hand across my eyes. "Sorry," I rasped, even hoarser than I had been when she first knocked on my door.
Idgie shook her head and drew me into another brief hug. "I figure you got a right to cry. But you're safe now." And we resumed our silence. I could see that she was still hurting. So I told her what I had told her parents earlier that night.
"Idgie, I'm so sorry," I blurted out. Flinging my arms around her, I squeezed as tight as I could.
"Sorry for what?" she asked, trying to play dumb. But she had started crying, I could tell, and she knew exactly what I was talking about.
I squeezed tighter and smoothed a hand down her hair. "I'm sorry I left. I'm sorry I married him. I'm so, so sorry. I love you, Idgie."
She pulled back, tears streaming down her face, genuinely surprised. "What?"
Very gently, I took her face between my hands. "I love you, you silly Bee Charmer." Then I leaned forward and kissed her.
She tasted like honey and cigarettes and… herself. There was no other way to explain it- it was the very essence of Idgie, mysterious and brave and crazy and somehow forbidden, everything that made her what she was. Everything about the summer we spent together all those years ago came sweeping over me. The nights on the porch swing, laughing and talking; running around in the woods like wild animals; Idgie bringing me a jar of honey straight out of the hive, scaring me to death. The way she had looked at me when I told her I was leaving… I remembered it all, and wrapped my arms tighter around her.
When I pulled back, she brought one trembling hand up by my ear and stroked my hair. "You mean it?"
"'Course I do. I've always loved you." It hurt, almost physically, to see how surprised she was. She hadn't known I loved her. "I wish you had known that. I wish…"
She shook her head. "I knew. I just…" Apparently she didn't have much interest in finishing her sentence, however- instead she leaned towards me and kissed me, gently at first. After a moment, she wrapped her arms around me, holding me tightly, and parted her lips a little. I raised my eyebrows, but didn't object.
Frank rarely kissed me, and his touch certainly never made me feel like Idgie's did. My heart leapt as she pushed me until I was laying back and she was on top of me. For a moment I wanted nothing more than for her to continue what she was doing. Then an image flooded my head- me on my wedding night, and Frank on top of me.
I shuddered and gasped, and Idgie pulled away. "What- what'd I do? Oh, honey, I'm sorry; just tell me what it is…" For I had covered my face with my hands and was lying back on my pillow, shaking.
Taking a few deep breaths, I slowly lowered my hands. "What'd I do?" Idgie whispered again, pushing my hair out of my face.
"You didn't do anything," I murmured. "It's Frank- he… he…. On the night we got married- and some other times- he…." I frantically shook my head and brought my hands up again to cover my face. But Idgie didn't need me to say any more.
"I'll kill him!" she almost yelled, yanking my hands away, kissing me on the forehead and cheeks furiously. "I'll kill him, Ruth. Nobody can do that to you!" Squirming in her grip as she continued to press her lips to my skin, I fought to get hold of her shoulders so I could push her away and talk to her.
Finally I succeeded. "Idgie," I said firmly, "it's done. You're not gonna kill him and you're gonna forget I ever told you that." She started to protest, but I cut her off. "It's done."
Incredulously, Idgie said, "But you can't expect me to ignore what you just told me!"
"It doesn't matter anymore." I wove my fingers through her hair. "I'm far away from Frank Bennett now."
"How can you say that?" Idgie cried. "'It doesn't matter'? Of course it matters, he- he beat you and now he raped you, and you tell me to forget you even said anything? I mean- God, Ruth, I love you! I can't let him get away with that!" She hugged me ferociously until I nearly couldn't breathe.
I kissed her on the back of the neck- the only part of her I could reach. Then I began to whisper in her ear. "Idgie, I swear I'm alright. Calm down… tell me a story or something if it helps."
Slowly she untwined her arms from around me and shook her head. "I'm fine." And once again she started pressing her lips to my cheeks, less urgently this time. I grew impatient after a moment, though, and turned my head to catch her mouth with mine. As she grinned, I felt her lips move apart and then rearrange themselves around my own. "Ruth," she moaned into me, and her hands raked down my body, over my breasts and to my waist.
I shivered out of pleasure, but also from fear that this was summoning from memories of Frank. Once again I pushed them aside and tentatively grasped Idgie's waist. She sighed and her legs moved apart, wrapping themselves around my hips. I knew what came next, and though a part of me wanted it, I couldn't stop myself from gasping and pulling away.
"Idgie," I panted. "Wait."
"Wha- oh," she sighed and shook her head, understanding. "I'm sorry, you keep making me forget."
I had to laugh at this- the thought of me making anyone forget themselves was entertaining, and the fact that it was Idgie doubly so.
"I'm serious," she said. "I can't think straight!"
Frowning, I felt my brow wrinkle. "Do you want this?" I didn't have to clarify what I meant by 'this,' the fact that she was straddling me was a hint enough. Idgie nodded. "I do too," I continued. "But I'm scared."
Idgie couldn't suppress a grin when I said I wanted her. "It's okay," she soothed. "I'll help you. It'll be different than Frank, I promise."
"It's not only that," I replied, shaking my head. "I think… I think there must be something wrong with me. 'Cause I've never felt anything when Frank…"
Once again, Idgie silenced me. "That was rape," she said flatly. "This is love. You'll feel it." Her certainty was contagious. I took a deep breath, feeling my heart flutter in my chest, and nodded. I leaned up and she leaned down, and our lips met in the middle.
For a while we just kissed- I think she was letting me get comfortable with the idea. Our hands wandered a bit, and finally hers found its way under my nightgown. Very, very carefully, she slid it inside my panties, and her fingers brushed against something that sent a small convulsion throughout my body.
I gasped, and Idgie grinned at me, still panting. "Feel that?" I could only nod back, quite out of breath myself. "I told you so." When she pulled my nightgown off and threw it to the side, my heart leapt nervously again, but I let her do it. I want this.
Now naked except for my underwear, I lay flat on the bed, letting Idgie look at me. After a moment she smiled and slid her suspenders off of her shoulders. I helped with the buttons on her shirt and pants, and before long I was undoing the clasp on her almost unnecessary bra. I wasn't surprised to see that she had very small breasts, barely bigger than a child's, but I was a bit shocked at how much I suddenly wanted to reach up and touch one. Even more shocking was the fact that I did.
Somewhere along the line our underwear got kicked off, and it finally registered with me- I was about to have sex with Idgie Threadgoode. Arguments against it sprung up in my head- most having to do with God, and a few about me being a married woman and what Frank would do if he found out. But after a few moments, I gave up. I was going to do what I wanted, and I wanted Idgie more than anything. So all I did was deepen the kiss.
Finally, apparently after she decided I wasn't going to pull away again, Idgie's hand crept lower and touched the same spot she had brushed with her fingers earlier. My legs twitched and I gasped, breaking the hold her lips had on mine. Then her fingers began to move.
It was extraordinary, the feeling she sent through me. Every time Frank had come to my room, I had only prayed it would be over quickly. This was nothing like those nights. I felt sweat break out on my skin and Idgie's, and each motion she made with her hand sent another tremor through my body.
Gradually I felt myself longing to make Idgie feel the way she was making me feel. Very uncertainly I placed my hand on her body where I thought hers was on me, and I was surprised to feel her legs jerk as mine had. She smiled, panting. "Don't be scared," she managed to gasp, kissing me on the neck. And I wasn't scared anymore. I mirrored Idgie's motions and even tried a few things of my own, noting what she seemed to like and what she didn't.
As we continued on with what we were doing, I felt a burning start between my legs. It wasn't unpleasant- merely unfamiliar. Our breathing grew uneven and higher-pitched. Then all of a sudden I couldn't think. Convulsions wracked my body as Idgie's fingers continue to move. It was all I could do to keep moving mine. After a moment I felt her body begin to shake as well. Maybe I screamed, I couldn't tell. But I did understand why Frank always yelled as he came- it was pure pleasure, pleasure that filled every cell of my body and made me feel as if I was going to explode.
It was over as suddenly as it began, and Idgie collapsed on top of me, both of us breathing hard. I lay there dazed for a while, recovering from the astonishing power that had rippled through my body. I felt Idgie's lips press to my forehead and realized that she had regained the ability to think. Then she kissed me on the mouth and slid off of me. Without thinking about it, I rolled onto my side, facing away from her. She flung an arm across my shoulders and pulled me close, and my eyes slid closed.
