Hey all! Thank you for being so patient with me when I was on vacation! I had a great time and I am ready to get back to writing. But when I got back from vacation, I came back to a lot of work from my actual job. With my therapy caseload increasing, that means less time during work that I can sneak in some time to write (shhh don't tell my job I am writing during the work day lol). With that said, I am going to switch my update days from Friday to SATURDAY. I think that would work better with my schedule. I want to have consistent update dates because it really keeps me on track but it looks like Fridays are gonna be a bit tough for me to keep right now. So I hope that I will see you all on Saturdays for new chapters.
On with the story…
"Flora, you were amazing!" Aisha exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Flora.
The ballet had finished and Flora came out to the lobby to see her friends and family who were waiting for her. She was dressed in a simple pink dress and her hair and makeup were still stage-ready. Nobody would comment on the plush boots that she wore, knowing how sore and tired her feet were. Her father handed her a bouquet of flowers and gave her a hug after Aisha was done.
"Where is Miele?" Rhodos asked.
"Greeting her adoring fans," Flora laughed, "but she better come soon, I am starving."
The rest of the group let out a collective laugh, knowing how Flora got when she was hungry. Well, almost all of them would get into moods when they were hungry, save for Tecna.
Timmy didn't let go of her hand the rest of the show but decided to let go when they joined the rest of the group in the lobby. He didn't want to field any questions or any I-told-you-sos from Helia. To them, she was just a friend and classmate. That was the lie that he gave them and that was the lie that he was sticking to. Though, something deep down told Timmy that Tecna wasn't his friend because he hated her but because he wanted her so much more than a friend should.
As the group talked amongst themselves, Timmy just stared at Tecna as she smiled politely listening to the conversation. His mother had always told him that it was rude to stare but it was hard not to when the woman that he had been hand in hand with the whole second act of the ballet was so stunning. Was it because she wasn't from this world or was Tecna just naturally that stunning? He needed to stop staring because when he stared, he started to think, and when he thought about Tecna, there was no stopping his imagination.
However, the spell that Tecna had on Timmy was broken when cheers rang out in the group when Miele approached from the other side of the lobby.
"Miele!" Helia was the first to greet her, acting like the future older brother-in-law, "You were absolutely breathtaking! A true work of art!"
Miele, like her older sister, always blushed under Helia's compliments and this time was no exception.
"Really?" Miele asked, her green eyes hopeful as she looked up at Helia.
"Of course," Helia leaned forward to whisper into Miele's ear, "I have a giant bouquet of pink roses with your name on it in my car."
Miele's lip stretched into a large smile as she heard of the present that she would receive.
"But, I have flowers for my little star now." Rhodos gave Miele a similar bouquet of flowers that he had given to Flora but instead of orange roses, they were purple.
"Thank you, Papa."
"You really were great, Miele." Musa smiled as she adjusted the strap of her cello case over her shoulder, "We all know how hard you worked for this moment and it really paid off."
"I was so nervous that I wasn't going to be good enough," Miele replied timidly.
"Nonsense!" Stella exclaimed, "You were fabulous! And I know what it means to be fabulous and you were it."
"I think that Odette is in your future." Bloom smiled at the teenager, "I remember when we all came to see Flora dance the part of Odile. Too bad she lost the role of Odette to that witch Icy."
"Bloom…" Flora scolded.
"If anyone is a black swan it is her. What a nasty woman." Bloom folded her arms across her chest and held up her nose.
Flora just shook her head and giggled, "Well, as much as I would love to stay and chat, I am really hungry and would love to eat and then crawl into bed and sleep." Flora would leave out the part of spending the night with Helia in front of her parents.
"We need to get back and pick up Kenna. But Sky and I would love to have you all over tomorrow for brunch. Tonight reminded us how much fun we would have together and I know that Kenna would love to see you all."
"Nabu, Timster, and I are waking up early tomorrow to get Doomsday Battalion V." Riven shook his head.
"Ugh," Musa rolled her eyes, "I will be glad when you three get the game so that you will finally stop talking about it."
"Agreed." Aisha sighed with a smile.
Timmy looked over at Tecna to see if she would say anything but she was silent. It appeared that the only person who was looking at her to say anything was Timmy. He was the only one looking at her. While he was happy that he was the only one, Timmy knew that the fact that he was the only one was just inviting trouble.
"We will see you all tomorrow then. Brunch should be ready around eleven. If you are late, no guarantees that Kenna won't have eaten all the berries for the waffles."
Riven glared at Bloom, "I will be there at eleven."
Bloom grinned, "Good. See you tomorrow."
Bloom and Sky walked out of the lobby hand in hand, followed by Helia, Flora, and her family.
"Aisha and I are going to head out too. I'll see you two tomorrow?" Nabu addressed Riven and Timmy.
"You know it. I'll see you there." Riven said before he reached towards Musa's cello and took the heavy case off of her back before swinging it around his body.
"Timmy?" Nabu asked.
Timmy snapped his head over to Nabu before nodding, "Yeah, I'll be there."
Nabu smiled before walking out with Aisha, Riven and Musa following closely behind.
"Do you want us to give you a ride home?" Brandon asked Timmy and Tecna as they were the last ones left.
"It is out of your way." Timmy replied.
"It's no problem." Brandon smiled, "We would hate for you to be stranded here."
"And those shoes are not for the bus or walking," Stella pointed to the heels on Tecna's feet.
"I can walk well now." Tecna remarked matter-of-factly with a hint of confusion.
"No need to be brave," Stella grabbed Tecna's hand, "you two will come with us and we will drop you off."
Timmy was in no mood to argue and Tecna simply went along with Stella. He watched Stella walk away with Tecna, leaving him and Brandon behind.
"Stella seems to really like Tecna," Brandon said, bringing Timmy's attention to the brunette. "Are you two…"
Timmy quickly shook his head, "No! No. Absolutely not."
Something in him hurt as he responded to Brandon's unasked question. They weren't together in any way and there was no way that they would ever be together. Tecna would go back to Zenith and Timmy, well he would never see her again. He had to bury whatever thoughts he had in his head concerning Tecna. But the way her hand felt in his as they watched the ballet made it so hard to not feel whatever it was that he was currently feeling for her.
"I might be a bit dumb at times," Brandon leaned over and whispered, "but I'm not an idiot. I saw you two holding hands during the performance, and I saw the way you looked at her. Every time I looked over to the two of you, you were just staring at her."
"I wasn't staring," Timmy grumbled.
Brandon gave Timmy a look that told Timmy that he was not believing whatever he had to say. Timmy sighed in resignation. Perhaps he had been looking at Tecna more than he would usually look at someone.
"And so what if I was looking at her? That doesn't mean that we are together."
"No," Brandon smiled, glad that Timmy finally was admitting the obvious truth, "but you like her, right?"
"It doesn't matter."
"What do you mean that it doesn't matter? You two held hands the entire second half of the performance and she has been living with you for the past few weeks. Are you telling me that there has been nothing going on between the two of you? You're telling me that it doesn't matter? If you like her, you should go for it. It is clear that she likes you too."
Timmy wanted to tell Brandon what was happening but he hadn't even told Helia Tecna's true identity and he actually lived with them. Timmy wanted to let Brandon know that it didn't matter that he might like Tecna because Tecna was not here to stay so why would he want to tell Tecna that he had developed feelings for her? Why should he waste his time? Timmy looked from Brandon to Tecna who was listening to Stella talk about something, a smile stretched across her light pink lips and her blue eyes sparkled under the bright lights of the theatre lobby. If things had been different…
"She and I are never going to happen." Timmy replied, "It's not a big deal. Let's just go, it Is getting late."
Brandon sadly stared at Timmy. He knew that his bespectacled friend was shy nor did he show much interest in having a relationship. But Brandon could see that Timmy liked Tecna who was just as awkward and nerdy as Timmy. In the short interactions that Brandon had with Tecna and from what he had heard from Stella's ramblings about her friends, Brandon could tell that Tecna was perfect for Timmy. Still, Brandon could not force his friend to express himself and tell Tecna how he felt. Brandon just wanted Timmy to be happy, whether that was with someone or not. Though Brandon could tell that Tecna made his friend happy.
"Fine," Brandon sighed as he placed a hand on Timmy's shoulder, "let's get you too back to your place. Just know, I want you to be happy."
"I know, Brandon, I know."
Timmy unlocked the door to his apartment and walked inside, Tecna following him and shutting the door behind her. Timmy hung up his coat and took the coat that Tecna had borrowed from Stella to hang inside of the small closet by the door.
The car ride had been silent, save for Stella's ramblings about the ballet and all of the things that she had to do the next day. Timmy was too afraid to talk, not knowing what to say and when he didn't know what to say, Timmy didn't say anything or else he would just start talking nonsense. Tecna had just been listening intently to Stella, trying to follow along with Stella's wildly detailed and wildly inconsistent stories.
Tecna made her way into the living room where she took off the heels that she had squeezed her feet into. Timmy walked into the kitchen and pulled down a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water.
"Stella sure does talk a lot." Tecna remarked.
Timmy shot Tecna a crooked smile as he turned off the faucet and walked into the living room with the glass of water.
"Yeah, but we have all learned to love it."
"And this love is not the romantic kind?" Tecna asked as she watched Timmy sit down next to her on the small couch.
Timmy chucked before taking a drink of water, "Yeah. You are learning fast."
"I have always been an astute individual. Though I was assigned for the special operations team and not assigned to continue my studies as a scholar."
"Well," Timmy leaned over to Tecna, "for what it is worth, I think that you are the smartest person that I know."
Tecna shook her head, "No," she sighed, "I am finding that the longer that I am here on Earth, the more that I am realizing that I don't know everything. There is so much that I have learned since being here and most of it, I have learned from you."
Timmy took in Tecna's soft smile, coming to terms that he would never be tired of seeing her smile.
"We have a saying here on Earth that a foolish man is one that thinks that he knows everything, and a wise man Is someone who can admit that they do not know everything."
Tecna let out a soft laugh as she stared down at her hands, "I was a fool and I can now see how insufferable I must have been. I still am unfamiliar with many emotions but I know that the Federation does not tolerate foolishness and…I am sorry for any frustration I have caused."
Timmy finished the water in his glass before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Well," Timmy rose to his feet and turned to look down at Tecna, "you're forgiven. I should be the one apologizing for yelling at you. You are the one who crash-landed on a planet. That was probably quite an adjustment, and I wasn't being very…empathetic."
Every time that Timmy thought about the times that he yelled at Tecna when they first met, he inwardly cringed. Sure she was annoying but he shouldn't have treated her the way that he did. She didn't know any better and getting to know Tecna was definitely the lesson in patience that he didn't know that he needed.
When Tecna didn't say anything in response, Timmy looked away.
"Well, I am going to bed. I have to wake up early to meet the guys at the store for…" Timmy cleared his throat, "feel free to do what you want."
Biting down slightly on his lip, Timmy made his way to the kitchen to set his glass down on the counter. Timmy gripped the edge of the counter, readying himself to walk back out there and past Tecna. He had never felt so nervous before but now that he allowed himself to admit that he might like her, he suddenly found himself not knowing how to act around her.
He made his way back out to the living room where he saw Tecna was still sitting on the couch. Making a beeline to his room, Timmy looked behind him.
"Well, good nig-"
"Can you help me?" Tecna asked quietly, cutting Timmy off and stopping him in his tracks.
"What do you need help with?" Timmy asked. He looked at Tecna again and didn't see the communicator in her lap nor anything that she might need help with.
"I don't…" Tecna stood up and turned around, her back towards Timmy, "I can't…" she pointed to the back of her dress.
Oh…
OH!
Timmy's eyes widened in shock as he realized what Tecna was asking for help with. He could see the small silver zipper in the back of her dress and gulped whatever saliva was in his mouth. Making his way back into the living room, Timmy nervously stood behind Tecna and he could swear that she could feel him shaking behind her, even though he wasn't touching her.
Raising his hand, Timmy brought his fingers to graze Tecna's back, her skin soft against his fingertips. Surely she could feel him tremble now. He had dressed and undressed her before, but that was when he hated her and saw her as nothing more than a petulant child. It was like he was dressing and undressing a tiresome toddler but now, Timmy saw Tecna not as a child but as a woman. A woman that he was helping to undress.
It wasn't the first time that Timmy had undressed a woman, he was no stranger to intimate relationships. But Tecna was different in so many ways. He liked the women he was with before or else he would not have slept with them but they paled in comparison to Tecna. Timmy didn't really know what that meant, but all he knew is that Tecna was special and he felt as though he was going to melt into a puddle just by a simple touch.
"Timmy?" Tecna's question brought Timmy back to his senses.
"Oh, sorry…"
Timmy quickly grabbed the silver zipper and slowly brought it down Tecna's back. He couldn't help but to stare at the pale skin of her back that had been exposed as he brought down the zipper. He could see the hint of the dark purple lace of her bra that matched the dark purple of the gown. Stella must have told her to wear it. The zipped stopped past the small of her back before where the curve of her backside began. His hands lingered on her hips, unable to pull them away as Tecna just stood in front of him. In his dressing and undressing of her before, he had touched her hips to help her button the pants she wore and to help her put on a belt but once again, this was different.
But he had to pull away.
"Um," Timmy cleared his throat, "there you go."
Tecna slowly turned around, her eyes cast down to the floor before nervously looking up at Timmy, "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
They were so close, the only real distance between them was Tecna's small fist as she held up the dress. Timmy could swear that his glasses were fogging up as he and Tecna held each other's gazes but that was probably all in his imagination. When Tecna first landed, Timmy hoped that it was all a bad dream but now, he never wanted to wake up.
"Timmy?" Tecna asked, her voice a whisper.
"Yes?"
"I think that something is wrong with me."
Timmy was flooded with concern, "Something wrong?"
Tecna nodded her head, "My body wants to be close to yours and something in my chest is pulling me towards you."
So she was feeling it too?
"Is there something wrong with me?" Tecna questioned as she looked up at Timmy, her eyes full of worry.
Timmy smiled and shook his head, "I don't think so. Unless you don't want to be close to me."
"I do." Tecna replied, "Is it correct?"
"Feelings are not meant to be correct," Timmy said, noticing he was going to sound a lot like Nabu and Helia, "feelings just are."
"It does not feel correct. I feel that I am about to explode on the inside. How can I make this feeling go away?"
Timmy didn't respond with words but instead leaned forward and brushed his lips against Tecna's. It seemed like time stood still as he did what he had been wanting to do for some time. But he didn't press further, not sure if that was truly what she wanted. He could barely call it a kiss, but as his lips grazed Tecna's, he could feel the softness and something in him begged for it to one day turn into a kiss.
"Timmy…" Tecna sighed, her breath hitting Timmy's nose.
"Tecna, I have been-"
Timmy was once again silenced as he felt Tecna's soft lips against his again. This time it was a proper kiss, and he must have been begging to the right person for Tecna to kiss him. Maybe his mom was right about her devotion to religion.
The kiss was soft and tender. Timmy wanted, no needed, more of Tecna and was yearning to deepen the kiss, but he wouldn't. He would let Tecna lead. She was new to this. All of this. She hadn't even been on Earth for two months and Timmy had to remind himself yet again that she was learning. But Timmy was surprised when Tecna leaned in further, deepening the kiss much to Timmy's delight.
Timmy's hands landed once again on Tecna's hips and pulled her close to him. She felt like a woman but it quickly hit Timmy that he was kissing an alien. But her hips in his grasp and her lips on his felt so natural to him. Banished were his thoughts of the silver or green aliens in cartoons.
With her body against Timmy's, Tecna removed her hand from her grip on the dress and wrapped her arms around Timmy's neck. She was desperate to get closer to Timmy. She had never felt this way before and she wanted more. What would the people of the Federation say? How could they keep away these feelings from her for so long? Now that she knew what it was that she had been missing, she knew that she could never go back to the cold and apathetic woman that she was.
She didn't want to leave these feelings behind. She didn't want to leave the new friends that she had made behind. She didn't want to leave Earth. And she didn't want to leave Timmy.
But she was suddenly hit with a reminder of the Federation when a bright, static noise came from the communicator. Her body froze and she pulled away from Timmy, out of breath and a sinking feeling hitting her chest when she heard the deep voice of her commander.
"Federation Member 83262, do you copy?" the voice rang through the communicator and both Tecna and Timmy stared at it in shock.
"We have established your coordinates and we are gathering clearance for entrance to Earth from the transportation approval department. Federation Member 83262, do you copy?"
The communicator worked. The communicator had been fixed and they knew where Tecna was. Timmy's hands felt heavy on Tecna as she looked between him and the communicator, worry filling his eyes. The sound of the voice and the static suddenly reminded Timmy that Tecna was going to be leaving. This wasn't permanent. She wasn't going to be here forever and he had been foolish to act on his feelings, even if Tecna felt the same. He wanted her, he wanted to spend the rest of eternity with his hands in hers, his hands on her, and his lips pressed against hers, but he logically knew that could never be. He was stupid for allowing emotions to cloud his judgment.
No matter how much he liked Tecna or how much he had begged whatever higher power there was, Tecna was going to leave. Tecna would leave, he would be dead, and whatever feelings he had for the fuschia-haired alien were futile.
Timmy was an idiot and the Federation was coming for Tecna.
Dun dun duuuun...