Chapter 9 (M)

I was sitting on a chair in the middle of the lab, Walter questioning me over and over again. He was pacing back and forth right in front of me, scratching his chin absently, and it really was starting to get on my nerves. Peter standing a few feet away from us, his hands crossed on his chest, and Olivia absorbed in the contemplation of her nails weren't helping at all.

'That's really tricky,' Walter stated, finally pausing.' Can you tell me precisely how it all started?'

'I already told you, I don't know.' I replied with a heavy sigh. 'It just... Happened. I don't know why or how, but one thing is sure, I did not want it.' I said, giving Peter an intent look.

'Oh, well, I might have a theory. Astro!' he called through the lab, snapping his fingers impatiently. 'Bring me six Q-tips, a milk-shake and some muffins! I can't work with an empty stomach!'

Astrid nodded and she disappeared for a moment in the office before coming back with some test tubes, a glass of Walter's favorite drink and small white box full of cakes.

'Would you please sit here, my dear,' he said to Olivia, and she quickly let herself fall in a chair next to me. 'Oh, and take off your tee-shirt.'

She gave me a questioning look and I shrugged, not knowing where this would get us. We could never know what was running in Walter's mind, anyway. She did as she was told, but she didn't feel quite at ease and was trying to cover herself with her arms.

'Okay, what now?' she asked with a shiver while Walter was handing me an oxygen mask.

'Now you just need to get aroused,' he said very seriously. 'And you need to put this on. I wouldn't like to witness what could become an orgy in the middle of my lab.'

'You're kidding me, right?' Olivia said, apparently thinking it was a joke. 'I'm not doing this here.'

'Oh but you have to if you want me to find a cure.' Walter said, lifting his eyebrows.

'Maybe it'll help if you tell us your theory' I tried, thinking that the only reason why she didn't want to comply was she didn't know what Walter's intentions were.

'Haven't I yet?' he asked, surprised as usual. 'Oh well, I think that both of you release some kind of pheromones in the air. And as you are the same person, you produce exactly the same molecule that fits perfectly into the same enzyme of the same enzyme substrate complex you both have. That is something theoretically impossible, and that is probably why no one has ever experimented on such a reaction. My guess is that if you produces enough pheromones', he explained, showing Olivia, 'then you will inhale the molecules which will inevitably find their enzyme. That is responsible for the production of proteins which trigger a sexual and affective attraction. Sexual activity increase the production of pheromones, that's why I need you to get aroused. Then, I'll be able to collect some molecules in your sweat and develop a substrate of substitution which should fill in the enzyme before the pheromone does. Is that clear enough?'

Olivia turned to me with a pleading look as if the scientist was speaking chinese, and she looked so pitiful that I would have wanted to stop this ridiculous experiment and find another way to fix things. But on the other hand, I believed that Walter was probably right – at least his supposition didn't sound as fanciful as usual – and both her and I wanted to get rid of the thing. We couldn't miss an opportunity like this, even if that meant doing things like that it front of everybody. I smiled lightly to encourage her, forgetting that the mask was now covering a great part of my face, and she smiled back. The corners of her lips were shaking slightly though, and her fingers trembled a little as she slowly unbuckled her belt. I stopped breathing, wondering whether I would feel something or not. At least the tiger hadn't woken up yet, that was a good sign. I lifted my thumb and she nodded before slipping her hand in her pants. I exhaled deeply, a thick cloud of steam escaping my lips. Nothing. I felt nothing apart from the intense heat of my breath reddening my cheeks. I was starting to believe that Walter was right, that those pheromones were the ones responsible for all of this, that it wouldn't be long before he would find a cure and that we would finally be able to live a normal life soon. Unless Olivia wasn't willing to help...

'I'm sorry, I can't.' Olivia said, quickly retrieving her hand from her pants. 'It's not working, I just can't do this here, with all of you staring at me.'

I sighed heavily and took the oxygen mask off, wiping the moisture of me face with the back of my hand. All my hopes shattered into thousands of pieces because she was too shy to do such a trivial thing as masturbation in front of grown up people – as if none of them had seen what sex looked like in their lives. I grabbed the test tubes with one hands and Olivia's wrist with the other, and turned to Walter.

'Where do you want me to rub these Q-tips?' I asked him, ignoring her whispers ordering me to let her go.

'Oh, well, first the armpits, and then any other part of the body covered with sweat should do nicely.'

'Okay, give me ten minutes, fifteen at most and you'll get what you need.' I finished, dragging Olivia behind me to the little office. I put the test tubes on a chair, careful not to spill the solution with the Q-tips, and then pushed her against the table.

'Are you sure you want to do this?' she asked, a bit tensed. 'Peter is right behind that door, maybe we shouldn't...'

'Just shut your mouth and try not to make too much noise.' She nodded with a suggestive look and kicked off her shoes , while I was tugging on her pants to take them off. I swept the files that were laying on the table with a quick movement, and lifted her delicately so she could sat on the edge. Her breath was already shallow, and she clasped my shoulders forcefully as her panties finally joined the small pile of clothes on the floor. I could feel her excitement in my own limbs, but I tried not to pay any attention to it – the last thing I wanted was to realize that it felt too good to give it up. She slipped her hand behind my neck, and drew me to her, her legs wrapping around my waist. I kissed her deeply, my fingers tracing a burning path on her back, until they reached her firm butts stuck against the wood. She moaned against my lips as my left hand cupped her breast, my thumb stroking her nipple playfully, and my other hand slid tenderly on her thigh. I was struggling to keep my eyes open, because I needed to concentrate on something else than the heat rising in me. I watched her face as my fingertips brushed against her folds, her mouth half-open, her nostrils dilating, her eyebrows frowning... She was so beautiful... Her teeth scratched my lower lip when one of my fingers found its way inside her, and her heels dug into the small of my back. The position was uncomfortable and I couldn't do much more. Only, we were running out of time and I needed to find a way to reach my goal more quickly.

'Lay down' I ordered in a whisper, climbing on the table. Her red hair spread around face, like an angel surrounded by an aura of fire. I propped myself on an elbow, one of my leg intertwined with hers, my eyes still examining the small wrinkles that appeared on her face when my hand caressed her flat stomach smoothly, traced a way downward and finally reached her sex. I knew that I shouldn't be too gentle – with six minutes left that was something I couldn't afford – and my finger roughly went back inside her, followed by a second one, my thumb pressing against her sensible spot. Her back arched a little and her toes curled on a sheet of paper – I just hoped it wasn't the warrant I had waited for three weeks.

'Come on, baby,' I whispered in her ear, my nose pressing against her cheek. My wrist was seriously beginning to ache and the muscles of my arm were weakening rapidly. It wouldn't take long before I would give up and the last thing I wanted right now was to use my mouth. 'You're gonna have to help me.'

'Okay,' she moaned with a nod, panting. She lifted her hips a little and that allowed me to rest my forearm, and she also put her hand above mine so that I didn't have overdo it. Her nails dug in my skin, drawing blood to the surface, and her waist began to undulate, loud groans escaping her mouth. I tried to hush her, she was way too noisy – I didn't want the others to hear anything of what was happening or I wouldn't be able to look at them straight in the eyes for an eternity – but there was no way she could control her whimpers and I perfectly knew it. I could feel she was close, because the tiger was purring with all its strength behind my ribs, and because the wave of heat I was now used to was slowly creeping in my veins. She bit her lower lip and her hand pressed harder against mine, she was doing her best to not let the feeling overwhelm her but she didn't try hard enough. She was writhing uncontrollably and the only solution I could think of to prevent the table from collapsing was to roll on top of her. She finally wrapped her legs around my waist, my fingers still deep inside her, and I knew this was the last beeline. She moaned something almost incomprehensible that I didn't catch at first, but when I felt her inner walls contracting with an intensity I didn't know could be this powerful I understood. My eyes grew wider when I saw her mouth opening and her eyebrows frowning in a way that was saying it all. I kissed her deeply, hoping it would suffice to muffle the scream I knew was coming, but unfortunately it didn't work. It resounded loudly against the walls of the office and there was no way the others could have not heard it. I sighed deeply, already imagining a mortified Peter behind that door, and Walter's grin, the one he always bore when he got what he wanted. I slowly got on my feet, my legs a little trembling, and I cleaned my fingers on a rag while she took a moment to catch her breath and compose herself.

'Okay,' I began, taking the test tubes on the chair. 'Can you lift your arm, please?'

'Do you think this is gonna work?' she asked as I rubbed the Q-tip on her skin. 'I thought only males had pheromones in their sweat.'

'Yeah, me too,' I replied, pushing her hair away from her neck. 'But I trust Walter. I know his methods aren't really orthodox, but most of the time they work. And he's the only who can help us, isn't he?' She nodded in acknowledgment, and I finally finished taking the samples Walter needed. She dressed quickly, her legs still trembling a little, and I built my courage up before pushing the door. I froze when I realized that Peter wasn't there. I had expected him to be disgusted, looking at me with all the resentment he was feeling, and if it had been the case I would probably have been petrified. But as much as I hated showing how weak I could be, in the end I had rather liked him to give me one of his hateful stare than to be gone. Peter gone, I couldn't guess what his true feelings were, and that was even more terrible to face. I could deal with a Peter screaming at me, with intense blue eyes riveted on me, with whispers of disapproval slipping insidiously in my ears. I could deal with a lot of things, but not with a Peter gone. I wanted him to finally understand that none of this was our fault – which should have been easy because there were scientific proofs – but I also knew that he could be a real stubborn when something was bothering him, particularly when that something was a lesbian affair between the woman he loved and her alternate version. I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts and I cleared my throat before handing Walter the test tubes, trying not to look too ashamed – because he and Astrid were actually staring and I only noticed it when Olivia pushed me in the small of my back.

'I hope this is what you need' I said, wiping the sweat of my hands on my pants. 'I'd rather not... Do this again.'

'Oh, don't worry' he smiled, already putting his latex gloves on and turning his microscope on. 'If I'm right, everything should go back to normal by the end of the week for you two.'

I felt really relieved, it was good to know that it would be all over soon. I only wished Peter was there because he would never believe it if I was the one to tell him. There was a long moment of silence only troubled by the sound of Gene chewing half-heartedly her hay and Walter's mumbling. Olivia finally put her hand on my shoulder, her fingers gently pressing my tensed muscle.

'Maybe we could go for a coffee?' she asked softly.

'Yes' I replied, knowing there was nothing more to do but wait. 'The cafeteria is open, if that's okay with you.'

'Sure' she nodded with a smile, already heading to the exit. I followed her with a sigh, not entirely sharing her enthusiasm. The only thing I could think of was Peter, and what would I tell him when I would see him again. And unfortunately, that moment would come sooner than expected...

I finally managed to finish this chapter ! :) I'm sorry, I tried not to put mature content in this, but I just had to ! ^.^

I hope you still like it, because I have plenty of ideas for the next chapters ! :) (and there probably will be a lot of them!)