In her dream, Jennifer was falling down Splash mountain again, Matilda wrapped in her arms in the same intimate position as before. Matilda looked up into Jenny's eyes, and they kissed each other as they fell, Matilda's head turned toward her own. Jenny's hands made lazy, lazy circles on Matilda's stomach. They were naked and falling, falling and naked as one of Jenny's hands brushed over Matilda's nipple and another went further south. South was wet and warm in her hand. She was falling into wetness and warmth. Falling falling falling.

She fell

-in to her bed and woke up gasping, sweating with heat and need. Without thought, she rolled on to her stomach and pushed her hands under her pajama bottoms. She used both hands to press through the damp fabric of her underwear, and came quickly with a shudder that went through her whole body twice.

"Oh Matilda," she muttered out loud, breathing deaply. She felt the stiff edge of a piece of thick paper digging into her side and found she had rolled onto the picture of the two of them going down Splash Mountain. It was slightly wrinkled. She frowned at it, then tossed it into the trashcan by the side of her bed. Then, irritated at herself, she got up and pulled it out, hidding it again between the covers of the Hans Christian Anderson Anthology in her bookcase.

It was Matilda's birthday today, July 28th. Jenny crept down to the kitchen, not wanting to wake Matilda up. Once there, she put together a perfect breakfast of pancakes, toast, orange juice, and an egg scramble with bacon and potatoes. She placed the full plate on a tray along with a small vase of flowers and carefully carried them up to Matilda's room.

Matilda woke at the sound of the door opening. Still fuzzy with sleep, she stretched, her blanket falling down around her. Sometimes after she took baths at night, she went to bed naked, luxuriating in the feeling of clean sheets against her skin.

Jenny was not expecting this sight. She saw breast, then nipple, then dropped the tray. She pried open her eyes when instead of the crash she expected, she heard nothing. She saw the tray hovering, without even a tremble, about two inches below where she had been holding it.

She looked up at Matilda, who, blushing furiously, had pulled her blanket up around her. Jenny said the only thing that had come to her mind, "Good dream?" she asked, an eyebrow raised. Matilda pulled the tray towards herself and set it in her lap.

"The best kind," Matilda replied. Somehow, she had already started to collect herself. "I'm sorry," she said, offering a small embarrassed smile, "I should have remembered you liked to make me breakfast in bed on my birthday. I'd have warn a shirt." She picked up a fork and dug into the eggs, placing them in her mouth and moaning happily. Then she looked over at Jenny. "Where is yours?"

"I uh, I uh..." that stutter again, Matilda's moan had interrupted her train of thought.

"We can share," Matilda said decisively. She offered a syrup drizzled slice of pancake toward Jenny and her blanket slipped an inch.

"I have my own." And Jenny was backpedaling out of the room to go downstairs to pick up the tray that she had made for herself.

"You are so mean!" Matilda told herself, smiling ruefully. She did not put on a shirt though. That would mean getting out of bed, which defeated the purpose of breakfast in bed in the first place. Besides, she was curious about Jenny's flustered reaction to her. It was irritating; Jenny was so hard to read, and she did not have a power that constantly betrayed her feelings to the world.

When Jenny returned with her own tray, and sat down on the side of Matilda's bed - no other seats being available - she concentrated only on the tray and refused to do more than dart glances at Matilda that did not go below her face.

"So, who have you invited over for your birthday today?"

Matilda still did birthday parties, or rather, Jenny still gave her birthday parties, and even though she was now 16, Matilda still liked them. She liked having all her friends together, liked the games (they played hide and seek last year, childish but fun) and even liked being the center of attention.

"Shauna is coming, and she's bringing her boyfriend Mack." At the question in Jenny's eyes, Matilda smiled. "You'll see, Mack is cool. And Lavender is coming."

"Oh Lavender! I'm so glad."

"Yeah, she is back from the States for a holiday with her grandparents. I ran in to her on accident the other day and invited her."

Jenny nodded, pleased. Lavender had been Matilda's friend since 1rst grade, but her parents had moved to the United States two years ago, and Matilda had been struggling without her 'best friend' ever since.

"That's all actually," Matilda said.

"Alright, then I'll grab your tray and you can get dressed." Jenny leaned forward to pick up the tray.

Matilda had been noticing the nervous looks Jenny had been giving her while she ate. The first time the blanket had fallen had been an accident. But now she wanted to test her, or tease her or provoke her in some way. As Jenny put her hand on the tray, Matilda let her blanket drop another inch. Her nipples didn't show, but that was about all that did not.

She did not imagine the tremble of the tray in Jenny's hand. Jenny looked up, and caught her eye. Matilda could not help the mischievous smile that that crossed her lips, even as Jenny's gaze became a glare.

Jenny stacked the trays angrily, and closed the door with more force than was necessary. Matilda knew she might regret it later, but right now she couldn't be sorry at all. Jenny was attracted to her. Perhaps it was only a little bit, and there was no way she'd ever admit it, but her reaction could be nothing else.

Matilda got dressed in a tank top and jeans. She combed out the tangled locks of her mohawk, but didn't make it stick up. As a last touch, she pulled a certain scarf out of the drawer and wrapped it around her neck. Perhaps a black silk scarf did not match her clothes. But that would only make it stand out all the more.

When Matilda arrived downstairs, Jenny was washing dishes. Matilda started helping out drying them. They worked in silence for a while, Jenny obviously still peeved. It wasn't until the last dish had found its way into the cupboard that Jenny actually turned to look at Matilda and saw what she was wearing.

"Don't wear that," she said, her voice tired.

"Why not? I thought it was a birthday present."

Jennifer looked more angry than Matilda had ever seen in her life, even more angry than she got at Matilda's father the first time she met him and found out what an uncaring idiot he was.

Struck by that anger, Matilda unraveled the scarf from around her neck and handed it to her, feeling hurt, although she knew she rather deserved it.

Jenny took the scarf in her hands and stared at it, confounded, as Matilda left the kitchen and went outside before she could react.

Matilda's birthday went well enough. Mack charmed both Lavender and Jenny with her gentlemanly ways (faintly ridiculous when you took in the fact that she looked like a punk teenager.) Jenny and Matilda avoided each other's eyes.

Then it came time for presents. Shauna gave Matilda a pair of goalie gloves, since it was a position she had played occasionally and wanted to continue with. Mack gave her a mixed CD with some bands she had recommended. Lavender gave her an IOU for a coffee date in the near future.

Then came Jennifer's turn. First, she handed her an oddly shaped object that was wrapped hap-hazardly in Mickey Mouse wrapping paper. Matilda took the object and squeezed it lightly. It gave a little in her hand when she pressed. A frown of curiosity on her face, she unwrapped the gift to find it was a stuffed Tigger. Immediately, a smile bloomed on her face. She squeezed him to her, grinning from ear to ear. At the strange looks her friends were giving her, she explained.

"When I was a kid, I was pretty rambunctious. One day, I knocked the Urn that held Jennifer's father's ashes off on the floor. I felt really awful, of course; I locked myself in my room and wouldn't come out. Finally Jenny said that I was like Tigger, and she was like Roo, and no matter the mess I made, I would always be Roo's friend."

All three of Matilda's friends looked at each other, then chorused, "Awww."

After the cooing had ended, Jenny hesitated then brought out a certain object, spilling the soft black material into Matilda's hands. "You are right," she said. "I did get this for your birthday. You can wear it whenever you like."

Matilda looked down at the silk scarf. She was conscious of the audience they had, all of whom watched with bated breath, recognizing that there was a subtext to their interaction. She wished Jenny had done this in private, but couldn't help but think she was doing this in public on purpose. It was safer that way.

Matilda put the scarf back in Jenny's hands, explaining cryptically. "I only want to wear it if you put it on me."

The message was clear as air to Jenny, and everybody else in the room could pretty much guess, even Lavender. Jenny shook her head minutely, but took the scarf back. Then she leaned forward and wrapped it securely around Matilda's neck. As her face passed close to Matilda's, she said quietly, "I do love you Matilda. No matter what."

Lavender leaned over and murmured into Shauna's ear. "Lover's quarrel?" she asked.

Shauna nodded slightly. "It's complicated," she muttered.

Lavender snorted. "Obviously."

Matilda and Jennifer pulled apart, once again looking anywhere but at each other. Shauna loudly called for a game of charades, intentionally breaking the awkward moment.

Later, after Shauna and Mack had taken their leave, Lavender stuck around. They went up to Matilda's room to play catch up some more.

"Soo," Lavender drawled, "You're gay and you are infatuated with your adoptive mother.

"She's more like my friend than mother," Matilda explained hastily, blushing

Lavender smiled indulgently.

"And I am way beyond infatuation," Matilda moaned morosely.

"Spill all."

Matilda did, even stuff she had never told Shauna. There was some stuff you just couldn't tell an ex - like how a soft touch on your arm had been the hottest thing you had ever experienced in your life - but you could tell a best friend, even if you hadn't seen said best friend in two years.

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