Chapter 20 – Nenes Perdudes

Lauren listened as the raindrops pitter pattered against her window. 4pm. It had been raining, off and on, since they'd arrived in Barcelona, though the massive thunderstorms had moved off into the Mediterranean Sea. It was much darker than it should be at this time of day. She moved the curtain aside, to look out the window of her five star hotel onto the La Rambla below. The puddles on the cobblestones reflected the light from the buildings in such a way that it seemed the entire pedestrian boulevard was aglow. The rain wasn't keeping anyone from being out and about. As she watched, a fire-dancing street performer tossed a flaming baton at least thirty feet in the air and caught it behind his back.

Lauren wondered…if she opened the window, and tossed a one Euro coin as hard as she could, would she be able to reach his busking hat? She decided against it, for fear of striking someone in the head and causing lacerations to the skull. Instead, she sat back on her mattress and stared at her laptop screen.

Dyson and Ciara had disappeared off into the city not long after they'd arrived at the hotel. Dyson claimed they were on a 'scouting run', but Lauren had her doubts about that. Hale had gone 'searching for senioritas'. At least he was honest with his plans. Kenzi had gone looking for paella and sangria in the Gothic Quarter. Lauren wasn't expecting her back any time soon.

As far as Lauren could tell, Bo was still in the next room, asleep. Bo had thralled the front desk clerk into giving them rooms next to each other – connecting doors and all. But as soon as they got up to the rooms, Bo had passed out on the bed, a combination of jet lag and residual exhaustion from her panic attack. That was two hours ago. Lauren stared at the door that separated them.

It had put her in a difficult position, this door. This door, in fact, seemed to represent a potential turning point in her…whatever...with Bo. Relationship? Arrangement? Mutually beneficial sexual partnership? Either way, the door represented a simple choice with wide-ranging implications:

Locked, or unlocked?

If she left it unlocked, she was allowing Bo full, unfettered access whenever she pleased, inviting openness and suggesting a certain level of emotional intimacy and trust that Lauren wasn't quite sure she was ready for. If she left it locked, she was forcing Bo to ask permission to enter, leaving up a physical and psychological barrier that yes, was safe, but was also potentially destructive and hurtful.

She stared at the latch, and frowned.

She'd decided to keep it locked.

She slammed her laptop screen shut. She was in Europe dammit, for the first time in almost ten years. Why was she just sitting on her bed, moping about doors? She got up and dug around in her suitcase, until she found what she was looking for. Low cut black top, dark skinny jeans. Euro chic. Perfect for a warm-ish evening in Barcelona. She pulled off her sweats and t-shirt, to get changed.

There was a soft knock at the front door.

"Just a second!" Lauren hiked her jeans up over her hips, and haphazardly threw on the shirt as she scurried over. She opened the door.

Her jaw dropped.

It was Bo. Holding a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates, wearing the most well-fitting sexy little black dress ever tailored in human history. Bo grinned.

"I…uh," Lauren found herself temporarily lost for words. "I thought you were asleep?"

"Fifteen minute power nap," Bo replied. "It's all I needed."

"What are you doing here?"

Bo laughed, a sound that sent pleasant shivers down Lauren's spine. "What does it look like? I'm asking you out on a date. I even brought roses and chocolates. The guy at the market says they're dark chocolate with catamaran macaroni acorns. At least, that's what I think he said. His accent was kinda thick."

Lauren tilted her head to the side, comprehension not quite dawning on her features. "You want to go out on a date?"

"…yes?" Bo was confused. "I thought you'd be happy."

"I'm just…flabbergasted. I didn't know Succubi went on dates."

Bo stepped past Lauren into the room. "Usually we don't. But I thought maaaybe I'd make an exception with you, since I kinda like you. It's only fair that I try and romance you a little bit before I get back in your pants." She placed the flowers and candy onto Lauren's TV stand, and whirled on the Doctor. "Nice outfit, by the way."

Lauren looked down. Her top was askew, and her jeans were unzipped. She hastily corrected both, as her cheeks burned red.

"There's no rush," Bo teased. "I like seeing you when you're all…messy."

Lauren rolled her eyes, and turned her back to Bo. "There's a button, just at the top of the shirt, here. Can you get it for me? I can't reach." Lauren pulled her hair up and out of the way, so Bo could see.

Bo grinned. Boy, could she ever see. Slender, graceful neck, smooth, tanned skin. She crossed the distance between them, and placed her hands gently on Lauren's hips, sliding them upward towards her neck. Bo leaned in and kissed the bare skin there. She heard Lauren gasp (god how Bo loved that sound) as she buttoned the shirt, simultaneously tracing a line with her lips from Lauren's neck to the sensitive triangle behind her ear…

"Bo?" Lauren whispered.

"Yeah?"

"What happened to romance before pants?"

Bo sighed. "Right," her tone was mildly disappointed. "Right!" She spun Lauren around wildly, and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. "Get your shoes on, and let's go."

Lauren frowned. "It's raining…I don't have a jacket…"

"No problem. I'll keep you warm. And," Bo pulled a small, plastic something from her bag. She hit a button, and it expanded to full size, nearly taking Lauren's head off. "You can stand under my um-ba-rella ella ella hey hey hey, under my um-ba-rella ella ella hey hey…"

Lauren rolled her eyes skyward at Bo's ridiculous, but vocally in-tune, R&B ditty. "Let's get out of here."

It wasn't until they were outside that Bo realized what a good idea the umbrella was. The rain wasn't even rain so much as an occasional mist, thickening the air and rising from the pavement. The key benefit to the umbrella was the necessary closeness it fostered between the two women. There was only so much space under their shelter, which meant Lauren's arm wrapped around her waist, turned inward, upper body pressed firmly against Bo's shoulder and arm as they walked.

And more bodily contact with Lauren made Bo a happy, happy girl.

But even for all that, Bo could not keep her eyes off of their surroundings as they walked down the Las Ramblas. Never being out of North America, Bo had never seen these styles of architecture before, or the care and artistry put into everything from a building to a simple street lamp. She didn't have to know much about anything to know that this stuff just looked cool.

Lauren, for her part, could not keep her eyes off of Bo, and couldn't keep the goofy smile off of her face. She loved reading Bo's expressions, and loved that she was getting to watch Bo's eyes light up at so many new sights and sounds and even smells. She looked like a kid at Christmas. Lauren gulped at the warm, fuzzy feeling growing somewhere in her stomach.

"You've been here before, haven't you?" Bo asked, as they passed a vendor selling songbirds, next to a street performing magician.

"I have. A long time ago."

Bo squeezed Lauren tighter to her. "I want you to show it to me."

"Show what to you?"

"All of it. Barcelona. Be my tour guide."

Lauren laughed. "I didn't know I was going to be working on our first date."

"Well, it won't be working. It's more like volunteering. I don't plan to pay you."

"Oh really?" Lauren pulled back, grinning. "What incentive can I possibly have, then?"

Bo kissed her, lightly, on the lips. "My eternal gratitude. Two free backrubs, to be redeemed at a time and place of your choosing." She dug around in Lauren's jean pockets, grinning as she found what she was looking for. "And the return of your precious one Euro coin." She held the coin in her fist, as far away from Lauren as she could get it.

Lauren tried to snatch at it but Bo, supernaturally stronger, easily held her in place. "Thief."

"Takes one to know one. It's why we're here in the first place."

"Touché," Lauren replied. "Two backrubs and a foot massage, and you can keep the Euro."

"Deal." Bo stuck out her hand. Instead of shaking it, Lauren brought it up to her lips, kissing the knuckles one by one. Bo laughed. "You're already the best tour guide I've ever had."

"Come on." Lauren smiled excitedly and pulled Bo towards the subway station. "It's getting late, and we don't have a lot of time."

For being a science geek, Lauren prided herself on the fact that she'd always had a healthy appreciation for the arts. She adored the collection of paintings and sculptures in her apartment. She took art history classes in college, as electives. One of the happiest moments of her Euro trip ten years ago was finally getting to see Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" in person. Lauren did not care if that made her pretentious. Art, like science, made her happy.

She suspected, however, that Bo would have little patience for museums…being a more visceral person in general. Bo, Lauren had quickly discovered, liked to touch and experience, not just look from a distance at an object behind glass. Luckily Barcelona's most famous architect, Antoni Gaudi, designed his buildings for people like Bo. So when she took Bo to the Casa Batllo ("It looks like a bony, scaly dragon.") and the Park Guell ("It's like being inside a Dr. Seuss book.") she was lucky enough to catch that glimmer in Bo's eye of excitement, discovery, and joy.

Now that she'd seen it, Lauren was sure she would never, ever get tired of it.

The air had dried out long ago, the umbrella cast aside and forgotten. Lauren grabbed Bo's hand and interlocked their fingers, as she led her, practically jogging, up the Passeig de Gracia. "Now, this is my favorite place. It's called the Casa Mila, or La Pedrera. You can go up to the roof, and the whole terrace looks like a wavy orange chessboard, and the ventilation towers look like Storm Troopers, and the view of the city is just gorgeous and the whole thing looks like…"

"A cave, turned inside out," Bo finished, as they rounded a corner and the building came into view.

"Precisely. Or maybe a grotto. And it also looks like…"

"It's closed." Bo frowned.

"Nooooooo..." Lauren let out a disappointed groan and sank down, slumped over, like someone had just told her that her favorite mathematical formula had been disproven. She looked up. Bo was right, all the interior lights had been turned off, and the only person still around was a night watchmen sitting in front of the large double doors. "I thought we'd make it in time. Sorry. I'm a failure as a tour guide. You can knock one back rub off of my fee."

"Don't be dumb." Bo lifted her back up. "Who cares if it's closed?"

"What are you talking about. We can't get in, Bo."

"HellOOO? Succubus." Bo pointed to herself. "Come on, follow me."

The pudgy, mustachioed security guard seemed bored, like he'd rather be anywhere else than sitting in front of a building the rest of the night. But he stood and immediately perked up as the two women approached, and Bo threw him her most winning smile. "Buenas noches. Habla ingles?" She asked in a horrible accent, as Lauren stood behind her and tried not to laugh.

"Si," the guard answered.

"We'd like to go inside, please."

"Sorry." The guard shrugged. He really did seem apologetic. "Closed."

Bo took a step forward. She ran her palm along the guard's hand, slipping it underneath the cuff of his blue uniform. "Are you sure you can't let us in? We'd really, really like to see what's inside."

Lauren could see the transfer of energy, as Bo's hand and arm glowed red. The expression on the guard's face went from apologetic to enamored to punch drunk in the span of about a half a second. "Okay." He nodded, pulled the keys out from his pocket, and heaved open the heavy front doors. "Be quick."

"We will." Bo slid a hand along his cheek. "Promise."

Lauren gave him a half grin half grimace as they walked past, and he closed the door behind them. "What if we get caught!?" Lauren whispered in the darkness of the atrium.

"Would you just relax? If we get caught I'll charm the pants off of everybody, and you can run away."

Lauren scoffed. "Whoever coined the phrase 'you can't always get what you want' obviously never met you."

"Obviously," Bo agreed. "Where's the elevator?"

Lauren glanced around in the darkness, until she spotted the glow from the up/down buttons. "Over here." She put her hand to the small of Bo's back, and led her to the end of the room. She pushed a button and the doors opened immediately, casting fluorescent light over the polished wood floor.

"Going up or down?" Bo asked playfully.

"Up, for now. Maybe down later, depending on how the night goes." Lauren winked cheekily as Bo pressed the top button for the roof and the doors ding-ed shut. The elevator started its rise to the top floor – not much faster that a snail's pace.

"Do I look like that, when you…thrall me? Do I get that vacant expression on my face?" Lauren wondered aloud.

"Yes. But you take it one step further, and drool from the left side of your mouth."

"No I don't…do I?"

Bo grinned. "No, I was just messing with you. But you do make this unbelievably attractive soft, moany noise." Lauren stared at her shoes in embarrassment, as Bo leaned against the wall. "Anyway if it makes you feel any better, I told Kenzi I thought you had a Fae superpower too."

Lauren looked up at Bo, and pushed a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Really?"

Bo stared back at Lauren – the Doctor's brown eyes smoldered. "You're doing it right now, in fact."

"I'm not doing anything."

"You so are, even if you don't realize it." Bo teased, as Lauren's gaze slid down to Bo's chest and back up again. "Lauren Lewis, your Fae superpower is 'eye sex'."

Lauren closed the space between them. She placed a hand on either side of the Succubus, never taking her eyes off of Bo's. "And what on Earth is eye sex?"

"It's when you look at me, and your aura is scorching hot all around you, and it feels like you're already stripping me naked and throwing me down on the bed without even touching me."

Lauren grinned mischievously. "How interesting. And I'm doing this right now?"

Bo bit her lip and nodded. Lauren internalized this new information about eye sex, and pondered how to use it to her advantage in the future. The elevator doors opened, and the women were hit with a blast of cool air.

"Come on." Lauren grabbed Bo's hands in hers and walked backwards, leading her out of the elevator and onto the roof. As soon as Lauren set foot on the pavement, a set of automatic lights kicked on, bathing the space in a soft, orange glow.

"Oh, WOW." Bo's eyes grew wide as basketballs as she stepped into a surrealist dreamscape, where everything was waves and colors, and elaborate chimneys were silhouetted against the starless night sky. "This place is incredible. I can't even…wow."

"Let me show you," Lauren sucked on her lower lip to keep from grinning like an idiot as she led Bo up a set of stairs, to get a better look. "Gaudi built this entire terrace without straight lines. He wanted all the elements to be based on naturally occurring patterns, or shapes reminiscent to what you might find in nature. It's called biomorphism. But that's just where it starts – he wanted to build something that caused people's imaginations to spiral out and to impact not just their thoughts but their feelings and their moods."

Bo watched Lauren's face light up as she spoke. Bo couldn't get enough of 'geeky' Lauren – the way she talked faster when explaining things, the way she used her hands to accentuate certain words. "So, what do you see and feel up here?" Bo asked.

"I see an intersection of science and art. Structure is achieved through mathematic principles, but beauty is achieved by the power of a brilliant mind to take the basic principles and turn them into something truly creative by finding inspiration in the mundane. Look here…" She led Bo to the edge of the roof. "Most buildings, you see angularity. But what Gaudi did is say, 'screw angles, let's use undulation." Lauren grabbed Bo's hand and set it on the railing. She slid Bo's hand across the concrete, so she could feel the way it dipped and curved. "You feel that line?"

"Yeah," Bo replied. Lauren removed Bo's hand, and placed it on Lauren's own outer thigh. She slowly slid Bo's hand up her side, from thigh to buttocks, hip to waist, all the way up to her chest.

"And you feel that?"

"Yes," Bo breathed.

Lauren grinned. "It's the same line. Same curvature. Gaudi married biology and art, science and imagination, in a way that is truly amazing. I'm up here, and it makes me feel…free, and excited, and horny, and inspired, and…" Lauren paused. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Bo stared at the Doctor, and slowly her mouth curled into a sideways grin. "I've never seen you like this before," she answered.

"Well." Lauren stared at her feet, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "I don't normally…uh." She shook her head, "I don't usually…it's just…"

"Hey," Bo put her hand under Lauren's chin, and forced it back up. "I like it."

Lauren exhaled. Without meaning to, she'd revealed a little too much of herself to Bo. Badasses and scientists weren't supposed to have a soft side. The wind picked up, and she pushed her hair behind her ear. "Want to see the view?"

"Heck yeah. Lead the way, tour guide." Bo followed closely behind as they circled the perimeter, coming to a stop next to one of the ventilation shafts.

"We can't see it because it's too dark, but over there is the harbor and the Mediterranean Ocean. Over there is Montjuic and the 1992 Olympic Park. You see that big, phallic looking building lit up in about a hundred different colors? That's the Torre Agbar." She pointed toward the south. "And that cathedral with all the towers? That's another Gaudi building. The Sagrada Familia. It's where we're going tomorrow. Ciara did some research, and she thinks it's the most likely hiding place for the handcuffs."

Bo had not been listening. Not carefully, anyway. She was too busy watching Lauren's hair blowing in the breeze. "Can you say that name again? I love it when you speak Spanish."

"The Sagrada Familia?"

"Can you roll the r's?"

"The Sagrrrada Familia."

"Oh yeah. That's hot," Bo teased.

"Oh, shut up." Lauren gave Bo a playful shove. "I'm better at it than you are. Hablay anglays Mr. Night Watchman? You couldn't sound more American if you tried."

Bo scoffed. "It didn't matter what I said. The guy was staring at my chest the whole time anyway."

"Can you blame him?" Lauren chuckled. "Speaking of the guard…as much as I'd like to spend all night here, we should probably head back before your mojo wears off."

"Wait…show me that Sangria Family thing again." Bo asked. "I didn't get a good look the first time."

Lauren cocked an eyebrow. "What's there to show? It's right over there. Big towers? All lit up? Right there?"

Bo turned away, so Lauren wouldn't see her face. "I still don't see it…"

"Seriously?" Lauren stepped directly behind Bo. She physically shifted Bo's hips and turned her head, so she was staring right at the building. "There it is. See it now?"

Bo bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Nope."

"What? Are you blind, Succubus?" Lauren pressed in closer so their bodies were flush, and lifted Bo's hand in the air. She pointed it at the building, and pried Bo's index finger open, stretching it out with her thumb. "It's right there. Do you see it?"

Lauren felt Bo's body start to shake beneath her. "N-n-nope," Bo managed to squeeze out, before bursting into laughter.

Lauren sighed. "Think you're funny, do you?"

"Yep, I do." Bo turned to face Lauren and, on seeing the look on her face, burst into laughter again.

"Having a laugh at my expense, are you?"

"Yeah, I am." Bo said, wiping a tear from her eye as a few more chuckles escaped. "You're a doctor, don't you know that laughter is the best medicine?"

"I have heard that before. Never tested the theory." Lauren scratched her chin. "In the interest of scientific discovery, I may have to perscribe a preventative dosage."

"What the heck does that –AH!" Bo shouted as Lauren dove for her stomach, nimble fingers latching onto Bo's sides and tickling her mercilesly. "Wait, no, stop!" She shouted between laughs, but Lauren had her pinned against an air vent. "Lauren! Ah!" Her voice echoed through the night air.

"Do you give?"

"I give, I give, you win!" Bo shouted. Lauren's fingers stopped moving, but she didn't let go of Bo's waist as an evil smile curled across her face.

Bo stood up straight, to regain her composure, and fixed her eyes on Lauren's. "That was a bold move, attacking a Succubus."

"And what are you going to do about it?" Lauren pulled Bo closer, until their hips were pasted together.

Bo grinned. "Nothing, for now. I can be patient." She leaned in, so that their foreheads touched. "I can wait. And wait. And wait. And then, when you least expect it," she ghosted her lips over Lauren's, "that's when I'll pounce."

They hovered in place for what seemed like ages.

It was Lauren who initiated the kiss.

It was soft. Sweet. Sensual. Perfect. Lauren ran her hands through Bo's hair, gently massaging her scalp and turning her head to just the right angle to force the kiss deeper. She moaned softly as Bo massaged her lips and tongue with gentle strokes in a way that spoke of intimacy, experience, and inexhaustible craving. Lauren had never felt anything quite like kissing a Succubus.

The breeze swirled around them, gently blowing Lauren's hair against Bo's cheek. Bo sighed contentedly into the kiss as she realized – she had never felt anything quite like kissing Lauren.

Somewhere to the South, a clock chimed eight. Reluctantly, and with a Hurculean effort, Lauren pulled away. "We really should go," she whispered.

"I'm pretty happy with just staying here," Bo replied.

"Trust me." Lauren stepped back, motioning toward the elevator. "I have one more place I want to take you."