Later that evening, Patsy was back in her flat, laid up on the sofa trying to read a book she picked up at the library that Lucille had recommended, a conversation with that woman leading Patsy to believe that she was a complete book worm and really knew how to gauge a person's preferences just by chatting with them a little.

During their conversation, Lucille had prattled off novelists such as Virginia Woolf, Fitzgerald, Salinger, all authors that Patsy had read before, if not in school then on her own.

Patsy was about to dismiss her when she suggested something Patsy had never heard of before, in a medium she had never even thought of reading before. A graphic novel called Fun Home, to which, as Patsy turned the page, she mused just how uncanny it was that she identified with the protagonist so much.

A young girl growing up in the 70's realizing she prefers to wear boys clothing and is attracted to women, her relationship with her father, whose relationship with her and the rest of their family was frosty and full of tension most of the time, sometimes violent, which was something Patsy was all too familiar with. The girl grows up to come out as a lesbian at age 19 and is shocked to find after her father's death that he carried on affairs with other men such as the gardner and their old babysitter.

Patsy flipped through the pages of the novel, reading slowly and taking her time to admire the artwork. She was so engrossed, George long ago settling in as a purring little ball on her lap to keep her warm, that she plum forgot that she was expecting Delia to stop by, only remembering the woman was coming over after she heard a knock on her door.

Not wanting to disturb George, Patsy merely tilted her head back and shouted 'Come in!'

She closed her book and placed it on the coffee table nearby, listening as the front door to her flat opened and shut, and Delia called out a friendly 'Hello' to announce her presence.

'I'd greet you at the door but I'm not capable of moving at the moment,' Patsy called out.

'Not capable?' Delia asked as she entered the lounge, looking to Patsy as she unfurled her scarf, 'Ah, I see,' she said as she noticed George on Patsy's lap.

Delia unzipped her coat and tisked.

'Come on George, off with you,' she snapped her fingers and whistled through her teeth, and Patsy could only laugh as George didn't move an inch.

'Deels, he's not a dog, that won't work on him.'

Delia huffed and took off her coat, laying it on the coffee table and moved to grab George.

'Scram, kitty. You're encroaching on my time with your mama,' Delia said as she wrapped her hands around George to pull him off.

Patsy yelped slightly as George dug his claws into her flannel shirt before Delia successfully tugged him loose and gently tossed him towards his kitty bed on the other side of the room. She settled in on top of Patsy, laying flush against the taller woman as she sighed contently from her spot above her.

'Much better,' Delia quipped as she snuggled in, and Patsy happily wrapped her arms around her.

Delia smiled as she leaned forward and placed a sweet kiss on Patsy's lips. The redhead happily reciprocated, her grip around the smaller woman tightening as they shared a few more kisses.

'Hi,' Patsy said softly, a shy smile appearing on her face.

'Hi,' Delia replied, a grin breaking out across her features.

'George won't be too happy with you later,' Patsy warned playfully.

Delia tisked, 'I don't care. It's hard enough as it is being the number two person in your life Patsy. Competing with a cat is degrading enough.'

'Well in that regard I have some bad news for you.'

'Oh no, what is it?'

'You've been demoted to number three, I'm afraid, as of today.'

'What?!' Delia's eyebrows shot up as she looked to Patsy incredulously.

'It's true. As of today you're not only competing with a cat for my affections, but now also a baby.'

'A baby?'

'Mmmhmm,' Patsy hummed and nodded with a deep sigh, taking her fingers to gently brush the fringe out of Delia's eyes.

Delia's eyes quickly moved back and forth. Reading Patsy's face, 'Did something happen today?'

Patsy nodded, swallowing a lump in her throat, feeling nervous all of a sudden, 'Um, yes… I… well, I went and visited my sister today.'

'Your sister…' Delia looked away slightly, looking as if she were racking her memory for any mentioning of Patsy's sister, 'you never talked about your sister that night, did you?'

'No.'

'I'm sorry for not asking sooner… I just figured you would tell me about her when you were ready…'

'Well, I'm ready now…' Patsy sighed, 'and all I really want to do is buy you some dinner and tell you all about my day. I feel like if I'm going to unload on you I can at least feed you.'

Delia grinned and nodded in agreement.

The two chatted a bit more and shared more kisses on the sofa before they gathered their things and headed out into the busy London streets for some dinner. They settled on a quiet hole in the wall Italian place that was so small they had to sit in a booth by the window side by side. This did not perturb the couple in the slightest as they took the opportunity snuggle in against one another to share a bowl of hearty gnocchi and a bottle of wine and feed one another the potato pasta as they chatted. Patsy rather enjoyed having Delia so close to her after having been apart the entire day, and the hearty meal and wine made her body warm and her cheeks tinge the slightest shade of red and she felt absolutely content and happy. The entire atmosphere made Patsy feel loved and relaxed as she relayed her day to Delia and how it all made her feel; her appointment with Tony and her reconnecting with her sister and meeting her nephew for the first time.

'So did you really just bump into your sister by chance?' Delia asked as she popped a gnocchi into her mouth.

'Well, after talking with Tony, I suppose my mind was on my past. I didn't really have any plans afterwards so I had some time to kill and… well, my feet just kind of carried me to her house and she happened to be returning from a walk,' Patsy shrugged as she sipped her wine.

'Wow,' Delia mused, shaking her head slightly, she paused for a moment to take a sip of her wine, 'So you have a nephew now?' she asked, looking up at Patsy with a smile.

'Yes,' Patsy smiled fondly, 'His name is Teddy and he looks just like his Mum, I think.'

Delia smiled and leaned into Patsy's arm, 'Oh, Pats, that's wonderful. Did you happen to take a picture? I would love to see what he looks like.'

Patsy opened her mouth to say something but paused, remembering her sisters offer.

'Actually, well, no, I didn't take a picture, but,' Patsy bit her lip as she was overcome with nerves suddenly, recalling what her sister had asked of her.

'What is it?' Delia asked.

'Well… I hope you don't mind, but my sister asked if I was seeing anyone and… well, I mentioned you.'

'Oh, really?' Delia gave a charming smile that abated Patsy's nerves.

'Yes. I mean, I said it was new and everything but, um, she says she wants to meet you. Have you 'round for tea if you…' Patsy used her free hand to fiddle with a napkin on the table, 'and I mean, you can say no. I know this is still really new and meeting family is kind of a big deal and-'

'Patsy, hush,' Delia said and fed her some gnocchi, 'I would love to have tea with her. Will Teddy be there too?'

Patsy nodded as she chewed, 'Grand,' she eked out, swallowing her food, 'How's Sunday?'

Delia smiled, 'Sure. We can do our grocery shopping afterwards?'

Patsy smiled and nodded as Delia fed her another bite, feeling rather relieved and happy that the two important women in her life were going to meet.

'So will you go back to him? Tony?' Delia asked as she sipped some wine, changing the subject.

Patsy nodded, 'Yes. I quite liked talking with him, actually. He and I have a similar background and it was nice to talk to someone who understands what I had gone through as a teenager.'

Patsy's arm was placed behind Delias head on the bench were they sat. She rested her head in her hand and leaned down slightly to kiss Delia on the temple.

'I'm sorry for dragging my feet on it,' she said softly.

Delia smiled and leaned into Patsy, 'Sweetheart, it's alright. I'm glad you went and I'm very proud of you.'

Delia put down her fork and used her hand to cup Patsy's face, leaning back slightly to place a lingering kiss just below her ear.

'In fact, I'm so proud of you that I think you deserve a little reward for everything you've done today.'

Patsy's heart lept in her throat with excitement. She turned her head to speak softly into Delia's ear while her hand found the smaller womans leg, grazing slowly yet firm from her knee up her thigh.

'And just what did you have in mind?'

Delia sipped her wine and shrugged, responding just as low and soft as Patsy, a sly smile on her features, 'I was thinking we could play tonight, if you want?'

Patsy's heart lept in her throat in excitement, but she played it cool on her features, and continued slowly rubbing Delia's thigh, kissing her ear as she responded, 'I would like that very much, I think.'

Delia swired her wine and grinned, 'I thought you would. Though I do think we should go shopping for some inspiration.'

Patsy pulled back slightly, looking a little confused, 'Shopping?'

'So this is a thing that actually exists,' Patsy said as she looked down at the display that was oddly placed for the particular shop they were in, 'Someone actually came up with this idea and patented it,' she marveled, 'and someone else actually thought it was a good idea, invested their hard earned money in it, and marketed it.'

Patsy picked up the small can and turned it over, and it mooed like a cow.

'Yes Pats, I do believe that is how things like this happen,' Delia replied, bemused as to why this was bothering Patsy so much.

'What I fail to understand is why this children's toy is in a shop for adult toys,' Patsy said looking around the brightly lit shop, the walls and tables adorning a myriad of things she would typically blush at the sight or mention of, but this can that mooed was much too distracting, it's mere existence bothering her.

'What's it matter? A toy is a toy,' Delia said, collecting all the cans from the shelf, 'here, watch this.'

Delia proceeded to turn over all the cans at once, emanating a loud chorus of moo's and Patsy was inclined to turn around and walk away from her girlfriends silly antics, leaving Delia giggling by the stand as Patsy found an elaborate bookshelf filled with erotica and instruction manuals for whatever such kinks stuck ones fancy.

Patsy looked through the books, leaving Delia to flit about the store from table to table, picking up the displays and examining vibrators of all sorts, seemingly having a lot of fun seeing how embarrassed she could make Patsy.

'Wow,' Delia mused as she picked up a magic wand, 'better not drop this one or wood chips will go flying everywhere,' she laughed to herself as Patsy tried to ignore her.

Patsy turned her attention back to the books in front of her and pulled them out at random, reading the titles, not finding anything particularly interesting until she came across a red book of photographs of very attractive women tied up by thin ropes. She slowly flipped through the photos, not only taking in the gorgeous, mostly naked women, but admiring the geometric, intricate shapes of the rope tied around their bodies.

'Interested in Shibari?'

Patsy nearly jumped out of her skin as she turned to the source of the voice, a small blonde with a bridge piercing that sounded as if she were from Belfast.

'We have classes on that, you know. Instructions and live demonstrations and whatnot on how to practice Shibari safely,' the woman flashed a grin and suddenly laughed at Patsy's confused look, 'Sorry! My name's Emma. I work here. I swear I'm not some random off the street come in here to talk about shibari!'

'Erm,' Patsy began shyly, slowly closing the book, 'Thanks, but I'm just looking, actually. I honestly don't know what that is…'

'Japanese rope bondage, essentially,' Emma smiled up at Patsy before continuing, 'The aesthetic arrangement of ropes and knots on the body in Shibari rigging emphasizes characteristics like sensuality, vulnerability, and also strength,' Emma gently reached for the book in Patsy's hand and opened it to a specific page, showing Patsy a model tied intricately, their hands bound bound behind their back as they hung suspended in the air looking rather calm, 'The positioning of knots in appropriate places stimulates pressure points on the body, very similarly to acupuncture techniques.'

Patsy listened on as Emma continued enthusiastically, 'I personally love it. When I'm tied up like this I get into a head space and experience something like a runners high. All the endorphins in my body just go nuts and it feels so amazing,' she

Patsy shrugged, bashfully blushing as she replied, 'I will admit, these pictures are beautiful,' she said, regarding the book in Emmas hands, 'I just… I've never been tied up like that. Actually, the whole thing makes me a tad anxious, actually. I don't think I would like to have my hands and feet bound like that…'

Emma's eyes lit up, 'Oh, you can absolutely still partake in this without having your hands or feet bound,' she licked her finger and flipped through to the beginning of the book to a page that showed a woman with the thin rope around her with diamond patterns down her body, her arms and legs remaining free, 'this is called a rope dress, and it leaves your arms and legs completely free, if you like. What I personally like about it is that your partner can give you a bit of a happy knot to make things a bit more interesting,' Emma said wiggling her eyebrows slightly, 'and it also leaves the most beautiful rope marks after you take it off.'

'Huh,' Patsy said, looking at the picture and thinking that it looked rather impressive.

'And we have a selection of ropes on sale over here,' Emma said, gesturing to a wall of colorful, thin, corded ropes. It was all a bit overwhelming for Patsy, who clutched the book to her chest.

'There's more than one?' Patsy blinked.

'Of course! It's all up to your preferences.'

'What is?'

Both Patsy and Emma looked behind them and saw Delia looking at them questioningly, a few pairs of things in her hands that Patsy couldn't quite make out at the moment.

'Your girlfriend?' Emma asked Delia, her thumb to Patsy.

Delia smiled and nodded.

'Just showing her the ropes!' Emma snorted at her own joke.

'Really?' Delia said, looking to Patsy.

'Erm,' Patsy stuttered, showing Delia the cover of the book in her hand, 'Just thought this looked interesting, I suppose.'

'You do?!' Delia asked, her eyes lighting up like Christmas.

Patsy merely nodded and blushed as Emma, hands on her hips regarding the wall of ropes, proudly continued to pontificate her knowledge on the matter.

'We have cotton here,' Emma said, her hand directing to the colorful ropes to her left, 'nylon, hemp, and jute. Now, cotton is fairly cheap, fairly soft but able to hold enough friction to feel something, but can be a real bugger to unknot these, which can really kill the mood...' she continued on, going over the expense and the pros and cons of using each.

Patsy silently eyed both women next to her, marveling at Emma for her enthusiasm and at Delia, who was engrossed in learning all she could in the moment. Her eyes drifted back to the material in Delia's hands, and her head tilted as she pieced together what it could be.

'Deels,' Patsy said as Emma finished her spiel, 'is that a harness?'

Delia nodded and held up the material with a smile, 'I came over here to see what would fit you; the harness or the boy shorts,m' she finished as she held up the material against Patsy's hips for measure.

'Fit me?!' Patsy asked, feeling her ears turn red.

'Unless you want me to wear it?' Delia said with a smile, 'This is your treat after all.'

'Aw, are you two shopping for strap-ons?' Emma asked, clasping her hands together in front of her, her smile wide as she looked between the two of them.

Delia nodded happily, 'Our first as a couple!'

'Oh my gosh, you two are so cute,' Emma gushed and Patsy fought to roll her eyes and she felt herself turn completely red in the face, 'here, let me show you some of our customer favorites,' she said as she gently placed her hand on Delia's shoulder and whisked her away to another wall of appendages that Patsy had never quite cared for, real or not.

As Emma and Delia tittered enthusiastically on the other side of the shop, Patsy turned her attention back to the wall of ropes, eyeing the selections and reaching out to touch and feel them. She reached out for the jute and liked the way they felt, but in Emma's explanation she mentioned that this was a favorite of bondage enthusiasts, and it was rather pricey. Patsy didn't know if she wanted to spend the money on something that she might not end up liking in the end. The cotton, however, as she reached out to feel it between her thumb and fingers, felt nice and soft, and strong. Emma mentioned it had a good hold, even if it was a pain to untie in the end. Patsy figured for the price it would be worth the headache if she didn't like it.

Patsy blinked and stepped back for a moment.

Was she actually considering this? Being tied up like these people in the book she was holding? Before this evening the thought would have seemed so daunting, something completely outside of her comfort zone that would otherwise have her anxiety through the roof. Would Delia even be willing to do something like this for her? The way people were tied up in these photos seemed so intricate and looked to take some concentration and attention to the person who was being tied up. Patsy didn't think Delia would have the patience to do this for her, would she?

'Hey.'

Patsy turned to Delia, the woman breaking her from her thoughts.

'So?' she asked.

'So what?' Patsy asked, noticing the new toys in her hands with a skeptical glance.

Delia's eyed the rope on the wall before looking back to Patsy, 'So have you picked what you wanted?'

Patsy sighed, 'Deels, I don't know about this. The very thought of being tied up still feels… well, it makes me nervous. Anxious.'

'Why?' Delia asked softly.

'Because…' Patsy trailed off, imagining herself bound at the wrists. The thought of not being able to move her hands while being intimate made her feel vulnerable in a way that she wasn't ready for. She didn't know if she would ever be ready for something like that. She and Delia had been together for such a short amount of time and she trusted the woman enough, but there was this nagging feeling that she should hold back. Despite all that Delia knew about her and all that she had shared with her thus far, there was still this feeling of not being able to quite let go less Delia think less of her or take advantage of her in some way. It was the fault of the people who had come before Delia that had made Patsy feel she needed to put these walls up, and she hated herself that she couldn't quite shake them.

Patsy shook her head and nervously tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear, 'Don't worry about it,' she shrugged, 'we can do something else. We can do what you want to do,' she said, nodding to the bundle in Delia's arms.

'No, I want to worry about it,' Delia said stubbornly, placing the things in her arms on a nearby table and reaching out to hug Patsy around her waist. She looked back up at Patsy with inquiring and gentle eyes before continuing, 'Sweetheart, we can try something new if you want to, and if it makes you really anxious we can stop.'

Patsy looked away shyly, not wanting to admit how good Delia felt in her arms, as the smaller woman continued.

'It's all about you and your pleasure in the end, you know,' Delia said into Patsy's neck before kissing her there, 'I just want to make you feel good.'

'Really,' Patsy said, her cheeks red as she didn't want to admit how turned on her words made her, 'and what about your pleasure, hmm?' she asked slyly, nodding to the toys on the table, 'It's a little bit about what you want, too.'

'Yes, a little bit,' she grinned as she playfully leaned forward and kissed at a pulsepoint on Patsy's neck, 'but it's all about you, in my head.'

'Is that so?' Patsy said softly in Delia's ear, holding her close.

'Oh, yes,' Delia said, closing her eyes and leaning into Patsy's embrace, 'the look on your face when you come, the way you feel, the way you sound…,' she trailed off slightly, sighing sensually in Patsy's ear that had the redhead weak in the knees, 'that's what I love. I truly love everything about it, Pats,' she pulled away slightly to look at Patsy, who felt rather shy in the moment, 'and anything I can do to make you feel that way… well…,' Delia trailed off once more, leaning forward to graze her nose along the shell of Patsy's ear.

Patsy couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spine, her anxiety dwindling as Delia held her close and her desire growing for the brunette with each passing moment. She held Delia tight as she brought her finger under her chin to crain her head slightly to meet her lips in a chaste kiss.

'I feel the same way about you,' Patsy said, her eyes closed as she grazed her nose along Delia's jawline, 'I just want to…' she trailed off, kissing the spot under hr ear, 'I just want…' she trailed off again, unable to finish as she sighed against Delia, kissing her temple.

'I think I know, cariad,' Delia smiled as she slowly pulled away, 'and we'll get there soon enough as soon as we get back to your flat.'

The distance, albeit small, was enough for Patsy to remember they were in public and she was able to collect herself.

Patsy clutched the book in her hands to her chest and looked down at it, wondering if she should purchase it.

'Which one was your favorite?' Delia asked out of he blue.

Patsy looked up, an eyebrow raised inquiringly until Delia nodded towards the wall of rope.

Shyly, Patsy plucked a bit of the cotton rope off the wall and felt how soft it was between her fingers, thinking it would feel wonderful against her skin.

Delia reached up and plucked the cotton rope off the wall, practically skipping towards the register with her bounty. Patsy had to jog across the store to catch up up and insist she at least pay half for their bounty, her heart thumping with excitement at the prospect of them actually using the rope sometime later that evening.