A Feather Stolen
Just Being with You
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Between them, Ano and Ly finished their ice cream fairly quickly. As quick as Ly can lick her spoonfuls, anyway, because Anoel started stealing bites the longer Ly took with them.
It all ended too fast, but Anoel was more than happy to keep Ly in an embarrassed fluster the whole time.
They both ended up in mutual agreement to return to the Black Stallion when they were done, mainly because Ly was satisfied with the minor tour of the city.
She wanted to take everything little by little. But as long as Ly was satisfied, Ano had no problem taking them back to the bar to settle down.
"I know that you said that you took the day off…" the blonde thief voiced timidly. "But… I'll be completely fine if you have any work you do wanna get done… If you want to, at least…"
Anoel glanced up from their interlaced hands, the two walking back from the ice cream parlor as she gave a cheeky smile. "Did I say day off? I was thinking of taking the entire week off, since you'll be here for that long."
An audible intake of air sounded from Ly as the girl turned to meet Anoel's eyes. "I'm only gonna take my cousin to the mountains… Once I know he's okay, I'll be coming back… I just… don't want you to fall behind on your work stuff while I'm here…"
Ano hummed in response, giving Ly an inquisitive look before looking a little apologetic. "Are you really okay with me working while you're around though? I wanna spend time with you, and I don't want you getting bored."
Ly enthusiastically shook her head in response. "I'm more happy just being with you than doing something with you…"
The girl sounded serious as she spoke, and her eyes only reinforced that as she stared intently into Ano's own.
"I saw that you have a bookcase in your room… I'm okay with reading while you're busy." The girl's tone of voice spoke as though she was desperately trying to convince Anoel.
So, Ano just slowly nodded her head, stopping the swinging of their hands for a moment as she realized she needed to be serious. "Okay. I'll work. But if you do get bored or want a nice place to read, you should come down to the bar. It may be a little noisy, but you can watch me work and I promise nobody will bother you."
Lylac visibly grimaced when Ano mentioned the bar, but nodded anyway before taking a slow breath. "If you need to go downstairs to the bar… I'm okay with that, but…"
She turned her head to the side slightly, a clear discomfort crossing over her face. "I… don't know if I'm ready to sit in the bar yet…"
"Don't worry about it then," Anoel immediately said, stopping the both of them on the sidewalk as she took Ly's other hand up into her grasp and stood in front of her. "I work in the bar, so I kind of have to be down there. It's my job to cycle around and gather information from everyone. I don't want you sitting down there if it makes you uncomfortable."
Ano held up their interlaced hands and smiled, stepping a little closer to Ly. "I'm never at it for long. Just a few times a day. So if you wanted to wait for me upstairs… I don't mind it." All Ano wanted was for Ly to get a little more used to crowds, and she was also being a little selfish.
She just… liked it whenever Ly was in the same room as her.
Ly slowly nodded, her eyes shying from the info-broker's. "I would rather stay in your room when you go downstairs…"
The girl took a deep breath before she finally met Ano's gaze. "I'm just not good with lots of people… Especially strangers…"
Anoel gently let go of Ly's hands and delicately held the girl's cheeks instead, partly to show that she personally didn't care about crowds. That she wasn't afraid of doing this kind of thing in public, even if she didn't know anybody around them.
"I get it… Neither was I when I first started, but I know everyone who walks in and out of the bar. I can promise that all of them are good people, despite their reputations."
Anoel brought one of her hands down to Ly's waist and ushered them off the sidewalk, taking the girl and herself just inside the opening of an alley.
"If you ever wanted to get used to them, I'd be happy to help you. They're a fun crowd, but they can be intimidating. They were intimidating for me, too, for a while," Anoel said, stopping them in the shadows as she gave Ly a reassuring grin. "It'd be good for you… if you ever wanted to, anyway. It's not something I'll ask you to do."
Ly closed the distance between them, letting her head rest against Ano's shoulder. Something Anoel was a little shocked to feel.
"I'm not ready yet…" Her voice was barely above a whisper when she spoke, burying her face further into Anoel's collarbone as her arms wrapped around the info-broker's waist. "They… scare me, which is why I don't want to be down there for too long, not without you near me, at least."
Ano slowly brought her own arms around the girl's body pressed against her, holding her by the waist and back as Anoel dipped her own head into Ly's shoulder.
"You can take all the time in the world, if you need it," Anoel muttered quietly, raising a tender hand to softly thread her fingers through Ly's hair and support her head. "I don't mind waiting for you. I… never minded waiting, if it was for you."
Anoel's voice grew quieter by the end, her cheek brushing warmly against Ly's own as she nuzzled her for just a few seconds before pulling away.
"So, whenever you're ready, I'll be there to help you. No matter what," Ano spoke firmly, her voice falling into a light flutter near the end as she brought her hands down to hold Ly again.
"Okay…" Ly's voice came out breathless as her multicolored eyes glanced up to Ano's, her head dipping into a tiny nod as her grip loosened.
Anoel smiled in return to it, taking the tiniest step back to slip her hand back into Ly's again to interlace their fingers. "Wanna head back now?"
Ly gave another tiny nod to that, and Ano gingerly led her home.
Ano entered her room after working her shift, another round of gathering information from the patrons in the bar. Her shifts were weird like that, because she could circulate through the room and gather all the information needed in an hour.
Then have time to kill, because no new information would come in after that point unless new patrons walk in.
So, her shifts were generally short and scattered, and never have a real schedule to them.
Ly chose to stay upstairs through it all, something the info-broker didn't mind agreeing to. She didn't want to force the girl into anything she wasn't ready for, but she was a little worried. The thief did stress she'd be fine on her own waiting for Ano to finish, at least.
Ano still finished her shift extra fast, just in case.
As the info-broker kicked her boots off by the door, she saw Lylac peacefully sleeping on the bed, a bookmarked novel laying on the nightstand next to her.
She'd taken off her coat and shoes, jeans bunched up on the floor to make herself comfortable. And as Ano looked at her, she couldn't help but smile softly at the cute sight of her curled up partially beneath the covers.
She decided to nap through my shift, huh?
Anoel left her jacket by her desk and silently made her way over to the bed, crawling onto the mattress to situate herself near Ly, but not close enough to wake her by accident.
If Ly wanted to nap, Ano didn't mind that. She wasn't supposed to work again until later tonight, when a new round of patrons roll in.
And there was a little paperwork to do, but she could push that off for now.
This was a better way to spend her time.
Anoel slowly curled up next to Lylac on the bed, sliding herself over just far enough to lie next to the girl, but keep out of touch for now. She wanted to wait for Ly to wake up on her own.
So, she lied there, just like that, until she did.
Ano wasn't sure how long she did lie there, but by the time Ly finally stirred, the info-broker was roused from her drowsy state, awoken by the sudden shifting of Lylac's legs as the girl stretched.
A soft groan made its way out of the girl's mouth, moving out of her curled up position to lay on her back and extend her limbs before her eyes fluttered open.
Anoel watched every move with a look of tired adoration, a quiet hum filtering through her quirked lips as she stayed lying down next to the girl.
"Have a good nap?" Ano asked quietly.
Lylac turned to face her, a noticeable amount of liveliness in her pink and blue stare as she nodded.
"Mhmm…" she hummed as a she yawned a little, her eyes closing as her right arm wrapped around Ano's slim frame. "Did you finish your work?"
Ano couldn't help but giggle a little as she let the arm loop around her, feeling Ly pull her in. The info-broker calmly but cheekily pecked the corner of Lylac's yawning mouth before resting her head back against the bed.
"I have one more shift in an hour when the later patrons come in. But that's it," Ano replied quietly.
Ly nodded tiredly as her body shuffled into Anoel's, growing surprisingly close with her as she melted into Ano's enwrapping arms. "That's okay…"
Her voice came out in a light whisper as her eyes closed, her lips curling into the tiniest of smiles as her face burrowed into Ano a little more.
Anoel was admittedly a little taken off guard. This was the first time Ly was initiating it, so she was a bit unresponsive for a few moments before she accepted it.
She just affectionately cuddled the girl with her own warmth and nuzzled back, smiling as she tucked her chin against the top of Ly's burrowed head.
"Not gonna touch my wings this time and turn me into a purring mess?" Ano joked quietly, her drowsiness still settling in as she pressed an appreciative kiss into Ly's hair. She wanted to nap too, but she knew she had work to deal with.
Information never rests. So, she couldn't let herself get left behind.
Lylac shook her head while it was buried into Ano's chest before sleepily responding. "I don't wanna do that unless you're comfortable with it…"
A soft, quiet sliding of cloth and brushing sheets filled the air for a moment as Anoel lifted her lips from Ly's nestled head. "Is it bad that I want it, though…? It felt good… the last time you did it…" Ano admitted, smiling despite the faint blush reddening her cheeks.
Ly lightly hummed as Ano felt the hot air against her chest. "Are you asking me to do it more?" The thief's question came out in a completely innocent tone, but the info-broker couldn't help but feel like she was playing a little.
"I… think so," Anoel returned, one of her wings sliding down between them to nudge into Ly's fingers and palm. "If you're okay with it, I… wouldn't mind getting used to you touching me like that."
Ano felt her embarrassed blush spreading even more as she said that, but she meant it.
Ly giggled a little as she pulled away from the embrace, just enough to look into Ano's eyes as her little smile widened. "I need to be able to reach them first…"
Anoel's wings shifted out of the way as the girl nodded, pushing herself up on her arms to crawl slightly over Ly and gaze down at her. "How do you want me?"
She could always lie on top of her again, but wanted Ly to move her where she wanted. To make it comfortable for both of them.
"Still, but comfortable," the girl replied bluntly, her hands already moving to feel their way through the glossy black feathers within reach, Ly's delicate touch sending shivers down Anoel's spine as it reached the crook of her wings. The same spot she abused in the morning when they woke up.
Ano desperately tried to keep still like Ly said, but her slim arms holding her up quickly started to quiver as a visible struggle formed on her face. And after another small stroking touch, Ano's arms crumpled into a heap as she fell on top of Ly beneath her, sighing in bliss and blushing in embarrassment that she couldn't hold herself up.
"Am I doing okay?" Lylac asked curiously as her thumbs firmly massaged into Ano's feathers and mirrored sensitive spots, practically playing with her nervous system with steady circular motions.
The melting phoenix felt like heated putty again as she stammered out a squeaked, affirmative hum, body settling into Ly's in a loose, but limp grasp.
The cute aggressor only doubled her efforts in response, really taking advantage of what she was doing and moving away, trying to find other parts of her wings that were just as sensitive with reckless abandon.
It all turned Ano into mush as the girl's wings quivered and stretched, craning into Ly's touch wherever it went to seek out more of it as Anoel lost all tension in her body.
Her eyes slowly closed away, face lax and flushed as it pressed firmly into Ly's neck as that touch continued to wander.
And she was pretty sure it was her embarrassingly whimpering whenever those fingers drew closer to the other sensitive places of her wings, her body actually quivering softly at how much she wanted the girl to find more of them.
And as it turned out, Lylac was exceptionally good at just that, using Ano's tiny squeaks and whines as audible cues, indicating exactly where the most sensitive spots on the phoenix's wings were.
Ly was only interested in giving them the same treatment as the first… and turning Anoel into a puddle as she did so.
Ano didn't even realize her purring had come back until then, and she didn't try to stop it. She knew she couldn't.
The cooed purrs just rumbled out of her as she whimpered and bent into the touches, losing herself into it the longer it went on.
An hour passed before Ly slowed down, her head turning to the clock on the nightstand, completely ignoring the book she had been reading to check the time before she sucked in a gasp.
"Hey… Ano? Aren't you supposed to go back downstairs…?"
It took Anoel a few long seconds to even realize Ly was saying something, but as that touch slowed down, the info-broker whimpered and nipped needfully at Lylac's shoulder and neck to bring it back.
She didn't care about work right now. She didn't care about any of that right now. She needed Lylac's touch. And her selfish nipping didn't quit until it finally came back.
After gasping at Anoel's instinctual response, Lylac decided to continue massaging her wings, wordlessly acquiescing to Ano's neediness as her fingers explored the black silky feathers again.
Ano couldn't remember waking up again until the following morning.