Day 36
Cosima wakes feeling aroused, she cannot quite remember her dream beyond perfect legs and Delphine's face. No point ignoring her fantasies now, Cosima decides.
She gets herself off to blissful thoughts of giving Delphine head. In her fantasy, Delphine is as enamoured as she is, clutching her desperately to her dripping core, begging her for more. It's too easy, and she lets herself moan softly, fingers working quickly against her clit. One orgasm does nothing to ease the tension inside of her, she doubles her efforts imagining Delphine whimpering for her, Delphine wet for her. Delphine looking at her, looking at her body, feeling her under her own hands. Delphine pushing inside her eagerly as soon as she's recovered from her own high. Comme ça? Cosima imagines Delphine asking bucking her hips into her own hand until a second climax hits. Afterwards she lets herself flop face first onto the mattress.
"Holy shit." Cosima breathes into her pillow and a new warmth walks across her back and settles comfortably on her ass.
"Hi Kiki." Cosima greets the cat without looking at her. "You ready to pop yet?"
Kiki merely lets out a plaintive meow. She's definitely overslept. And the cat was supposed to give birth any day.
"Yeah I'll feed you." Cosima pries herself out of bed and serves the cat a heaping portion of wet cat food,
A black furry head headbutts her in thanks. Cosima scratches the cat briefly behind her ears and leaves her to her breakfast. Kiki eats very little and wanders off again.
Shrugging Cosima lets her mind return to her fantasy. Fantasy Delphine was definitely easier to deal with than real Delphine. Real Delphine needs to get a fucking clue, Cosima surmises taking a deep breath and stretching in her living room.
A quick knock to her door and the click of her spare key prove to her that she's not going to get to enjoy her fantasy for long.
"Hey… I'm not dressed Delphine." Cosima calls loudly. She quickly grabs an oversized t-shirt and throws it over her head. Knowing Delphine will hesitate long enough to let her do that. She was hoping to dress better for Delphine, to show off her assets, to attempt a gentle seduction but there isn't time now.
"How goes the dissertation?" Delphine asks, seemingly unaffected by the sight of Cosima in what she probably assumes are pyjamas.
"I'm reading articles on neuroplasticity and aging. Which from a strictly linguistic bent is tangential but I don't think I can finish my dissertation without it. I may need to branch into speech language pathology. " Cosima grins, because she knows it means more time with Delphine. Delphine's mind is eager as ever to engage with her. Even if her body is reluctant.
"Neuroplasticity?" Delphine repeats impressed. "Induction of neuroplasticity?"
"Hey, learning is lifelong! " Cosima grins. "Keeping your mind active can help a lot. Or perhaps help recover language."
"Definitely. Never too old to learn. Makes me think I should learn a fourth language." Delphine trails off.
"A fourth? Now you're just showing off," Cosima teases.
"Europe is like that. Many people are polyglots."
"Oooh, great word Dr. Cormier! Polyglot." Cosima lowers her voice, trying to excite.
"I don't have my doctorate yet." Delphine blushes.
"No, but you're going to be amazing." Cosima insists. "Anyone is lucky to get to work with you." She leans in, grabbing her laptop from the coffee table. As Delphine still didn't have a couch, hers was where the two often ended up.
"Cosima... " Delphine pleads gently.
"I mean it." Cosima insists. " Do you want to look over what I have so far? I'll make you an omelette?"
"Alright. Link me to the article." Delphine nods, reaching for Cosima's laptop. "And yes to breakfast."
"Done." Cosima jumps up and goes to her kitchen. She cannot help but be gleeful. Delphine had said she was too old. But maybe she could change her mind.
Delphine looks very relaxed when she slides a plate containing half an omelette in front of her.
"The article is good, but you're branching out far past linguistics." Delphine tells her. "It's… it's psychology and speech language pathology… it's bigger than you might want."
"Maybe bigger is ok." Cosima shrugs. Sitting down and beginning to eat her own breakfast. "You working today?"
"I have one follow-up session. The child is largely non-verbal, it won't last long. He isn't doing well with remote sessions."
"Why not?"
"He is not neurotypical." Delphine summarizes. "Remote sessions lack the cues he needs I think. But we'll try anyway."
"Complicated." Cosima states, knowing this is far out of her realm of expertise.
"More complicated than a not-mobile enough tongue!" Delphine offers.
"Definitely." Cosima smiles. "If you like private practice, why are you going into research."
"Because I want to do more. I want to look at bilingual and multilingual households. I want to see if there's a way to do this job without having to tell parents - drop to one language only. And sometimes, sometimes I think you have to. But...maybe not always."
"Catering to polyglots?"
"It is an excellent word." Delphine laughs, taking a bite of omelette. "I just want more… I didn't plan on it at first. I figured, I had a good career and that would be enough. But I love research, I love academia… I don't want to leave it. But I don't want to stop helping people either."
"Which leaves you… working 50 hours a week?" Cosima offers.
"Pre-pandemic, yes." Delphine nods. "Workaholic. I know."
"I guess things will always be pre-pandemic and post-pandemic." Cosima finally says aloud. "Things aren't going to be the same. It might actually end up being death of the handshake, for example."
"Many companies moving to remote work, what can be done from home."
"Yes, when they can." Delphine agrees.
"Life may never be exactly the same. Even if or when they come up with a vaccine."
"They probably will." Delphine states decisively. "There's a lot of money going into it, and a lot of effort. But they take time."
"Yeah. Until then, some form of restrictions."
"At least we have our bubble." Delphine smiles at her.
"Yeah. At least we have that." Cosima agrees. It will likely be month, they both know this, they must. Plenty of time to learn new things.
"I have to work for a couple hours." Delphine tells her finally, clearing both their plates.
"But you'll be back?"
"After lunch, yes. I have some calls to make."
"I'll see you later." Cosima calls after Delphine as she watches her leave.
She wonders if she should Skype her own family, or friends, but sometimes it doesn't really feel like she's bridging any distance at all. Her parents are quarantining with friends of theirs in Vancouver. Her friends are mostly stuck in apartments not this nice or quarantining with their parents. Kiki chirps and paces around, rubbing against her leg.
"Well, at least you're happy." Cosima tells the cat. "At least I think you're happy, though you look uncomfortable as hell. Like your nipples look huge. But I honestly don't know much about cats. Your birthing box is in my closet by the way. Don't forget it. I don't want you having kittens on my bed. Or under my couch."
Kiki meows in response.
"Ughh." Cosima sighs at another knock at the door. "Delphine?"
"No. It's not Delphine." A somewhat familiar voice answers. She opens the the door and looks into the hallway.
Her neighbour from 302 is standing in the hallway. In drag. Cosima lets herself take in the wig, the impeccable drag makeup and the large silver heels. The queen spins around. "This is how it's done!" And with that, he turns and sashays back into his apartment.
Cosima can only giggle, and close the door. Maybe she wasn't the only one bored in quarantine. And definitely was not the only queer-identified person on the floor. No surprise there.
"I'm back." Delphine calls, coming through the door with a large padded manilla envelope in her hand.
"What is that." Cosima perks up at what looks like a package.
"I bought you something. Online, don't worry. I just checked the mail."
"What is it?"
Delphine produces a smallish box and waves it in the air.
"A tofu press?" Cosima sits up. "You bought a tofu press?"
"Well, you said it's better if it's pressed and you don't have one so this way we won't have to worry about the kettle falling over when we stack things on top of your cutting board."
"Thank you. I mean it Delphine. This is really thoughtful." Cosima takes the tofu press and looks at it. "It's not a cheap one either."
"It's nothing. Just something to make our pandemic meals a little better." Delphine smiles.
"What do you want to do with it? Like recipe wise?"
"I don't know. Maybe press, marinate and grill? Or make something crispier?"
"I'll do this one." Cosima yawns. "It is definitely my turn."
"Alright. I think I like that." Delphine stretches. "My morning was long. Too many meetings."
"Feeling like your brain might explode?"
"Possibly. Then what will you ever do for company?"
"I don't know. Skype? Read my smutty books." Cosima laughs. "Watch way too much Netflix and get baked almost daily?"
"What do you want to do now?" Delphine asks, settling herself down gracefully on Cosima's sofa. "I'm done for the day. Or done enough."
"Mmm. I don't know. I guess I am just happy to be around you." Cosima shrugs. Some of her ideas of how to pass the time are probably best kept to herself anyway. At least for now. Offering to get Delphine off a few times on the sofa is probably not the best seduction method.
"I think the cat is in labour." Delphine comments, glancing over at Kiki. "She looks uncomfortable, she keeps chirping, and her belly is contracting."
"Probably." Cosima agrees nervously. She'd been ignoring Kiki's increased nesting behaviour in hopes that the cat would just birth in the box unattended.
"You should probably tell your friend Scott. Or the rescue people. Or both." Delphine says aloud.
"Please stay." Cosima asks. "I… I can't be alone with a birthing cat. I mean what if something goes wrong?"
"Then you call Scott and he takes her to the vet for an emergency cesarean. Like he told you." Delphine answers calmly. "But cats are usually very self-sufficient. Even while birthing."
"I need you here." Cosima tries again, pleadingly.
"I will stay. We'll get takeout and order dessert and watch Kiki." Delphine soothes her with her words and a soft hand to her exposed arm.
"You pick." Cosima tells her. "You choose the food, I'll… go take Kiki to her box."
"Her box?" Delphine repeats, but following Cosima the same.
Cosima points at the propped door to her walk-in closet. A large cut open box sits inside, lined with a fleece blanket.
"Oh! For Kiki to birth in!"
"Yeah that's my hope. I don't want kittens being born in my bed. Which is Kiki's preferred napping location."
"Oh no… then where would you sleep?"
Cosima laughs. "Probably on my couch I guess."
"Or with me." Delphine offers. "My bed is big enough."
"Delphine, are you inviting me to your bed?" Cosima practically leaps up in excitement.
"To sleep, Cosima. If Kiki births there." The cat takes this moment to wander over to her box and continue her restless behaviour.
"How long do cats labour for?" Cosima wonders aloud.
"I'll look it up,' Delphine offers, grabbing her phone. "You order us food."
"Done."
Day 37
"I think that's all the kittens?" Cosima says hopefully. It was nearly three in the morning and an hour and a half had passed without any more kittens emerging from Kiki. Kiki, for her part, seemed very pleased with her babies and was intently cleaning and nursing them.
Delphine leans in, trying to palpate the cat's abdomen around the five pink and blackish mewling jellybeans that will someday be fluffy kittens. "No more kittens." Delphine sighs. "They're all nursing too, they look ...good? Not that I know much about newborn cats."
"Thank God." Cosima giggles. "I was so anxious."
"You were adorable. You just, you really cared." Delphine smiles.
Suddenly, Delphine is very close as they creep away from the nest Kiki has settled into in Cosima's closet. Delphine leans in and kisses her softly, and her arms go immediately around her. Cosima cannot help but respond ardently, wanting. Her knees press into the carpet and she hauls Delphine in closer, inviting more.
"Why?" She asks when Delphine breaks the kiss.
"I just, I really wanted to and… I couldn't justify not anymore."
"Justify how?"
"You being a woman as reason enough to… to try to ignore this." Delphine waves a hand between the two of them.
"You're attracted to me." Cosima grins. She had hoped so, she'd certainly wanted it. It wasn't totally surprising, and yet, Delphine making the first move was a little shocking.
"Yes. I am… very." Delphine admits with a slight blush. " And it feels like more than that to me."
Cosima cannot stop smiling back. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." Delphine leans in for another soft kiss. It's perfect, Cosima decides, the perfect first kiss. But she craves so much more. She cups Delphine's cheek in her hand, works on kissing her as softly as possible. Trying to convey feelings she is nowhere near ready to verbalize. Trying to be inviting, non-threatening.
Delphine breaks the kiss with a tiny whimper and it sends heat rushing to her face.
"Do you… want to stay the night?" Cosima offers quickly. There's an intrigued look on Delphine's face. Definitely. But she sees the reluctance too.
"Not tonight." Delphine responds finally after some consideration.
"Breakfast tomorrow?" She offers hopefully.
"I have an early Skype meeting. I should go... " Delphine pushes herself up to her feet.
"Delphine!" Cosima calls after the blonde. Unsure of what to make of her speedy exit.