It had been two days since the autopsy, and Cosima has yet to say a word about it. Didn't it affect her too? Looking at a dead body that had looked so much like Cosima's had disturbed her. Cutting into it was strange enough for Delphine, she couldn't imagine what it had been like for Cosima. It was easier, Delphine knew, that she had not dealt with Jennifer directly while she was alive - though she had been involved somewhat in her treatments from a research perspective.
Cosima watches Jennifer's video diaries almost obsessively when they are in the lab. It is one now, a fully functional lab, complete with the rug and couch Cosima had wanted. Cosima was delighted with it when she first saw it, beaming at her. At least she gets to give her that, the lab of her dreams. Her heart stops every time she hears Cosima cough, it's happening more often than before, Cosima's always quick to brush off her concern and reassure her that she's fine. Sometimes Cosima's kiss is tinged with the coppery taste of blood, Delphine chooses not to notice.
Every time she steps out of the lab to work on other things she returns to find Cosima, sitting under a blanket watching. She's paler, Delphine has noticed, but Cosima constantly brushes off any concern. She's refused a CAT scan at DYAD twice now. Though, her stamina was still quite exceptional. Delphine finds herself smiling at a particularly difficult to forget memory of having Cosima in their new lab. The rug and couch were being put to good use.
Her phone rings, it's Aldous. She pauses before answering, "Dr. Cormier."
"Delphine, please come to my office."
He's away, she's certain that he's still away, but she goes regardless. Security is used to her walking into Aldous' office whenever, and basically disregard her presence altogether. They know, a small part of her mind insists, it frightens her. Delphine does not want Cosima to know.
"I thought you were still away." She says as she enters the office and sits down on the couch, a safe distance away. It's not going to happen anymore, surely he must know that.
"Briefly back, we're having some trouble with the security in your lab." Leekie remains seated at his desk.
"Cosima's lab." Delphine corrects without thinking.
"Cosima is your subject, you are responsible for her - I want to keep her contained. Some of our higher ups have met Rachel; having them meet both subjects, would be, unfortunate. Come here."
"I understand." Delphine nods, standing to move over to sit opposite to him.
"I'm sure you're aware that there is a sociological and psychological side to the study."
"Of course." Delphine doesn't bother to clarify that she was not permitted access to this data. No one had even told her that Cosima preferred women, Dr. Leekie had thrown her in without a clue.
"I do apologize, the survey is somewhat heteronormative," Aldous hands it to her directly, "I've taken the liberty of making some notes."
Delphine glances down at the page, finding herself reading descriptions like: 'Subject performs cunnilingus on monitor; duration 32 minutes'. A list of other 'alternative' sexual activities follows.
"No intercourse of course - I think I have a good start on a list for you. Though if Cosima's stamina keeps up like this, it gives us more time health wise to devise some sort of experimental treatment. I do want any indications she's declining noted in your next email. Which really should be the priority during work hours." Aldous seems entirely calm, "Have you made any progress?"
"Where did you get this?" Delphine stands up, one hand going to her head.
"The security cameras in your lab." Leekie looks nonchalant, bored, "Just circle 'daily' as the frequency of sexual activity. We don't have a selection for multiple times a day." With one hand he twists his monitor around, there's no sound obviously - the clip that is playing doesn't need one. She remembers what Cosima said, what sounds she made, how she moved and felt against her hand. How she'd kissed all over Cosima's face after she climaxed.
Delphine had suspected there might have been cameras, but she hadn't cared. It turns her on, having sex with Cosima in the lab, more than she wants to admit. "Security forwarded you the footage?"
"Yes. They found it very interesting."
Delphine's not sure how to react, she'd used to being the good girl - the good employee. Playing by the rules, his rules. She'd always played more or less by the rules, but was it enough anymore? Delphine doesn't care if half of her superiors know she's involved with Cosima, better than having them spread rumours about her having an affair with Aldous. It's probably killed those rumours completely, an unexpected benefit.
"Just fill out the form and hand it in Delphine, I don't need to question you directly." Aldous shrugs.
She sits, filling out the form as he watches her, and the screen. It bothers her - it takes a few minutes to figure out why. It's not like he hasn't seen her naked before, and most of the lab sex had been mostly clothed. Then she realizes; she doesn't want him watching her with Cosima, that should belong to her alone.
"Why do I have to? Isn't developing a treatment for Cosima more important than how often I fuck her?" Delphine fills out the form and throws it back on the desk.
"It's part of the study, Dr. Cormier. As long as Cosima is living, she is still part of the experiment in its entirety." Aldous leans back in his chair and watches her leave. She hadn't even had to tell him she wouldn't be sleeping with him anymore, he seems to have figured that out on his own.
She makes her way across the DYAD buildings, through the indoor passageway to the old building, down to their lab. The anger and frustration wears off on the way, when she arrives Cosima is still watching the video diaries, cuddled up under a blanket on a chair.
"Are you cold?" Delphine asks a hand coming down to rest on Cosima's shoulder. She catches sight of a bloody tissue, but decides to ignore it.
"Just a little, it's fine." Cosima smiles, but it doesn't feel genuine to her.
"Was the autopsy too much?" Delphine asks. Or is it the video diaries? Cosima watches Jennifer decline over and over again as if it might change the outcome. Or to see what she assumes will happen to her.
"No. Well... it was a little weird for me. But I can handle it. I told you, don't be a bitch."
"I know you can." Delphine half-smiles back, dipping her head to kiss Cosima's cheek softly.
"Actually?" Cosima's head tilts again, "I wondered if you could tell me who my former monitors were."
"Does it matter?" Delphine asks. Cosima's lovers. Friends. Whoever they'd been, it was done now.
"Not really." Cosima nods standing.
"I only knew tag numbers, chérie, medical information. You were the first one I saw in person." Delphine smiles.
"I think I'm ready to call it a day anyways. You find anything?"
"No. More autoimmune disorders - no match. Let's go home." Delphine offers her hand to Cosima and pulls her to her feet.
"Hey... we could like go to the hotel. Order room service on DYAD... it's Saturday tomorrow and we could just, you know, stay in bed all day." Cosima is giddy when she asks her, expecting delight at this suggestion.
"Okay." She agrees, even though she doesn't like hotels. They make her think of heavy make-up and Aldous's weight pressing her down into the mattress. Of larger hands pinning hers above her head or of being on her hands and knees, a carefully chosen dress hiked up around her waist.
"There's a king-sized bed." Cosima whispers huskily under her breath, "I'm sure we can make the best of it, plus you don't have to cook for me this way."
Delphine smiles at Cosima anyways, unable to help herself, "I like cooking for you." It's like having their own little world outside of DYAD. A world comprised of food, conversation, sex and pleasure. She often finds herself looking up recipes during lunch and planning something for the two of them after work. She's tempted to do silly romantic things like light candles, which only make Cosima tease her about trying to get lucky. Or kiss her senseless and nearly let her burn their dinner.
"Nice to have a break though, obvs." Cosima holds out her hand, standing, they gather their coats and leave together.
They take a cab to the hotel on DYAD's money - Cosima wants to spend it - that much is clear. They stand too close in the elevator, close enough that some of the other riders raise their eyebrows and stare a little too long. Delphine briefly considers giving them a show, tilting up Cosima's chin and kissing her - but thinks better of it, for the moment.
Cosima fusses with the keycard a few times before Delphine grabs it from her and expertly opens the door. She's done this a lot - but Cosima doesn't notice.
"Shower first?" Cosima offers, beginning to strip off her clothes as soon as the door is closed. Cosima hasn't spent much time in this room. Her suitcase sits open in one corner, filled with some of her clothes - the others left at Delphine's. Cosima's clothes land haphazardly on the floor.
"No." Delphine hangs up her coat, and Cosima's, before starting on the buttons of her shirt, she hangs her clothes over the chair, and removes her underwear before darting for the bed and pulling herself under the covers.
"Hmm, bit cold, wait a sec." Cosima walks calmly to the thermostat, increasing the room's temperature slightly.
Cosima slides in beside her, kissing her, being instantly skin on skin is different. She's used to getting worked up through clothes first, and honestly she prefers it. But Cosima's hands are slow, mapping her skin, lips kissing her body without any kind of rush. Delphine increases the passion of their kisses, tongue invading Cosima's welcoming mouth, her hands on Cosima's body. Is she...thinner? Delphine finds herself wondering, her brow furrowing slightly as her hands retrace their path from Cosima's hips to her breasts. She palms her breast and Cosima arches, pushing her breasts into her hands, humming at her, kissing her back the same as before. Maybe she's imagining it? But she feels... smaller.
She finds her lips suddenly free as Cosima flops back on the pillows, dreads scattered behind her head, when did she take them down?
Cosima looks mischievous once again," Hey, Delphine, wanna sit on my face?"
She honestly has no idea what to say, she stares at Cosima blinking, she cannot possibly be serious. That is insane. And especially dangerous given her respiratory condition.
Cosima pauses before beginning to sing the words, "Sit on my face and..." Cosima trails off, "Never seen Monty Python then? Probably better that way. Still, what do you think?"
Delphine gapes at her, "Mon amour, no... you'll suffocate."
"No I won't." Cosima assures her.
"You need to be able to breathe, Cosima, if you want that - I'll lay on my back, there's plenty of room to spread out."
"Hmm, new idea, flip over." Cosima seems to be waffling on what she wants. Maybe it's just for novelty, everything they do is still novel to Delphine. Cosima's smaller stature, her softness, her smell. Everything is new, different and completely captivating.
"Why?" Delphine asks even as she rolls to lay on her stomach, Cosima tugs off the blankets to fully expose her.
"I want to see you." Cosima moves to straddle her thighs, hands wandering up her ass and to her back, rubbing, massaging. There's tension in her muscles she was not aware of until now, Cosima's strong fingers working the muscles gently. Delphine rests her face to the side but she cannot see Cosima, only feel her. It bothers her slightly, but if this is what Cosima wants... Her hands feel amazing on her body, another of Cosima's talents.
She feels Cosima's hot lips near her shoulder, kissing down her back, tracing her plethora of moles with her tongue. She groans quietly in response.
"I want to hear you make noise." Cosima murmurs, hovering above her back, hands massaging lower now, her ass, her thighs.
"Cosima, they may be watching us." Delphine remembers, she should have warned her days ago, before they started having sex in the lab. Cosima had argued that she was the experiment, the science so it technically counted as work. Delphine knew she hadn't needed much convincing, but she let Cosima insist regardless.
"Figured." Cosima mutters between fervent kisses placed against her ribs, the curve of her ass, "Don't care, let them see."
"I want to see you." Delphine whispers as she feels Cosima's hand slide up her inner thigh. The heat of Cosima's body presses down into her back above her own.
Cosima leans over into her field of vision, "You can see me. I'm right here." Cosima drops to grind herself against the back of one of her thighs, it causes her to arch up, to cry out just a little. Fingers tease at her sex once more.
"No, let me... I want to touch you." She reaches back for Cosima, but it's awkward grabbing for her like this.
Cosima slides off her pulling her into her arms, "What did you think? Do you like that?"
"Je crois que tu aimes mes fesses." Delphine tilts her head back at Cosima, flipping her over.
Cosima's grinning, "Okay, not sure exactly what you said.. I like your...something? Really hot though."
Delphine hovers over Cosima, and finds herself reaching for her knees. Why shouldn't she follow this instinct? This new desire to press her sex against Cosima's. If it didn't please her, she could simply do something else. Use her hands, her mouth...
"What are you doing?" Cosima looks up at her intrigued as Delphine spreads her legs and shifts forward. It won't be a perfect contact for her, but it should be for Cosima.
"I want to try something." Delphine responds, looking down at Cosima spread beneath her, admiring her.
Cosima gasps as she pushes forward and lowers herself, wanting to make better contact. "Oh god, Delphine."
"I want this. I wanted to know what it would feel like." She rocks her hips, feeling them slide together, hearing Cosima whimper and rock upwards. Feeling Cosima, swollen, gliding through her own wetness.
"Spread your legs more." Cosima demands, and when she does, Cosima reaches down between them to adjust, hands both taking hold of her ass, forcing her closer. Short nails dig in to soft skin, and she's sure they're leaving marks.
Her breath catches, and Cosima's looking at her through lidded eyes, "Do you like this?"
"Yeah." Cosima moans, "Push into me a little more." Cosima's hands have done the work for her though, she's pressed tight against Cosima, she rolls her hips again experimentally.
Delphine grinds down against her, enjoying the quick flickers of pleasure that radiate across her body in the brief seconds the contact is perfect. Cosima whimpers at the intimate contact.
And Delphine knows she's teasing her, she can tell she's rubbing against Cosima's entrance but she doesn't want to stop, even if it's awkward, not when it's hitting her just right. Not when Cosima is making those perfect needy little sounds under her.
Cosima's rocking up into her, her eyes close and she loses her balance several times, rolling her hips until she tenses, orgasm radiating through her body, and collapses forward onto a somewhat surprised Cosima.
She's still spasming and breathing heavy, when she remembers to grind again, she's mewling at the feel of Cosima, still hot and swollen, pressed to her now over-sensitive flesh.
"So hot...oh my god..." Cosima's groaning again, beneath her gently rolling hips.
"Embrasse-moi." Delphine says as she dips her head down, capturing Cosima's mouth with her own in a desperate kiss.
"Inside." Cosima demands suddenly, releasing her death grip on Delphine's ass, "Get inside me."
It takes a moment to readjust, to bring her fingers down, "D'accord." She strokes her, enjoying her sounds, the hitch of her breath as she glides her fingers lightly between them.
"Stop teasing me," Cosima whines, undulating underneath her. She's never sounded like this before, "I want you to fuck me. Don't you want to?" Cosima whispers, in what is either a plea or an attempt to regain control of the situation.
"Je veux te baiser," Delphine reassures her, entering Cosima swiftly, easily. The words are wrong, she makes love to her Cosima. As often as possible, as tenderly as she can.
Cosima pleads with her, clinging to her, so wet she can smell her. Delphine lets out a whining breath, three fingers buried deep inside her Cosima, filling her. Cosima's breath catches, she moans with every thrust, every movement. She's never been this in love before, Delphine sighs contentedly, gazing down at Cosima's body, flush under her, Cosima's eyes, constantly watching her. She loves her, and the feeling consumes her, especially now.
"Comprends-tu?" Delphine says aloud without meaning to, stroking deeper into Cosima. She can see evidence of Cosima's copious arousal clinging to her hand as she continues her slow, firm movements. It's all so sexy.
"What?" Cosima groans, rocking her hips beneath her.
"The way I feel when I'm inside you." Delphine answers, lips going to Cosima's neck, kissing there, feeling her frantic pulse against her lips. She knows what to do now, she has learned Cosima's body well, nevertheless she always watches her.
Cosima only moans, clutching her tighter, arching up under her. She's flushed, achingly beautiful and hers. She can tell she's close, tensing beneath her, around her.
"Mon bel amour." Delphine croons at Cosima as she moves within her, "T'es trop belle comme ça."
Cosima cries out, contracting around her fingers, arms crushing Delphine against her chest.
"Was that okay?" Delphine looks down at Cosima, smiling beneath her, she watches something shift over her face, "The first part?"
"It was great." Cosima giggles, shaking off whatever it was, "I haven't done that in years."
"Why not?" Delphine laughs, cuddling into Cosima's side, holding her.
"Mostly? Women who weren't into it. Infection risks, things like that." Cosima laughs then stops, "But you always used condoms, right? I mean, I know there's a half-empty box in your bathroom... And you ovulate, so no hormonal contraception, obvs, so condoms?"
"Yes." Delphine nods before she realizes; Cosima is seeking reassurance she won't be catching anything from her. And why wouldn't she be? Cosima has no idea where she's been, what her history has been like. Delphine hopes Cosima never finds out. Not about Aldous, at least. Delphine has wondered if Cosima suspects, she seems skilled at getting a read on situations, but Cosima has said nothing. She's never even asked.
"Just checking, better to know, you know? Want to order room service? I'm kind of in the mood for thai food if you'd rather shower and eat out. But then we'd have to get dressed again."
"Room service. I'm really hungry."
"You're always hungry after." Cosima reaches for the phone breathing heavy, she tosses the room service menu at Delphine, "No Eskimo Pies for dessert, but I think you'll be the perfect after dinner taste."
Before the sun is up she's unexpectedly awake, Cosima's hands moving against her in the dark. She's unsure if Cosima is awake or asleep for a few moments, hard nipples brush repeatedly against her back and Cosima begins to kiss her neck. She's sleepy at first but easily aroused, as she always is with Cosima.
She doesn't like this, being taken from behind - but when Cosima's arm snakes around her body early in the morning she doesn't stop her. Cosima says nothing, perhaps it's too early for her. On hand finds her breasts, palming them and teasing them in turn. Delphine lets Cosima stroke her, rock her hips into her ass, gasp and moan into her neck as she does.
"Spread your legs." Cosima speaks softly into the back of her neck.
"Cosima..." She whimpers her name as she feels her slip inside. It feels different like this, she feels like she's surrounded by Cosima, even though Cosima is smaller than she is. Delphine wonders what this would feel like in reverse, curled around her Cosima as she takes her, feeling her arch back against her like Delphine is now.
"I love the way you say my name."
Cosima's breathing comes faster, more laboured as her hand works faster, as her hips move, she's almost rasping into her and it's... sexy. In the moment Delphine forgets to be the physician, forgets to be concerned. Until Cosima coughs hoarsely, losing her rhythm, Delphine feels something warm splatter against her back. Blood.
