Hey folks! It's fluffy funfair time. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 11 – A Fair Bit of Fun
"Wow, this place is loud!"
"What?", Lauren mock-inquired and Bo laughed.
The cheerful music blaring from the speakers of brightly lit booths all around mixed with the buzzing noise of the voices of hundreds of people, who apparently, just like Lauren and Bo, felt it was a great idea to come to a funfair on a mild summer afternoon such as today.
Minutes ago, the two had met up at the entrance, where Bo had insisted to pay for both their tickets, before they'd entered through a large archway, that consisted of hundreds of colourful lightbulbs. The entire funfair was a giant cliché, with its smells and sounds and impressions, but Lauren was happy. She'd looked forward to this afternoon all week and had driven Emily crazy with her constant blabbering about what she was going to wear. If she was completely honest with herself, she'd even driven herself crazy. Usually, she didn't much care about clothes, but for some reason, today, she wanted to look especially pretty for Bo. So, after much debate, she'd opted for white flat sandals, tight dark blue jeans, and a white tank top, which she'd covered with an airy see-through poncho-like top. Her hair was flowing freely across her shoulders, because she had a feeling that Bo liked this look best on her.
But as soon as she'd seen the brunette standing by the ticket booth, where she'd arrived a little earlier, Lauren forgot all about her own look and only had eyes for Bo.
She wore a beautiful red summer dress that accentuated her delectable cleavage, combined with white sneakers and a light cardigan, which she currently held in her hand, planning to put it on later, in case the evening got chilly.
"So, first things first", she said, holding out her arm to Lauren. "I promised to shoot you a plushie protector, didn't I?"
Grinning from ear to ear, the blonde nodded and linked arms with her. She felt as giddy as ever when Bo's skin touched hers, and butterflies erupted in her stomach. Her rational side couldn't help but find her reaction a little silly, but for once, she shut it down. For today, science would have to take a break and make way for happiness and butterflies. Because today, Lauren felt happier than ever before.
On her way here, she'd been a little nervous, because she was determined to really kiss Bo this time, but for some reason still harboured doubts that the brunette wouldn't reciprocate. But as soon as she'd seen her, those doubts had flown out the window. Her face had lit up the second their eyes met, and Lauren had shamelessly basked in Bo's open joy at seeing her.
As they walked to the shooting gallery, Lauren surreptitiously moved closer, looking around to take in the atmosphere. It was indeed loud and under different circumstances, the many colourful stands and booths and stalls might have stressed her out. But today, she enjoyed them. Her last visit at a funfair dated back at least ten years. It'd been her brother's birthday, she remembered, and as a child, she'd loved every second of it. The memory was both painful and beautiful, which was probably, why she'd never attended one since. But when Bo had asked, she didn't even have to think twice. Walking across the gravelly dirt road, Lauren took a deep breath and took in the cacophony of aromas surrounding her.
This funfair had it all – food trucks offering funnel cake, churros and mini donuts, snack vans with popcorn, hotdogs, corndogs, candy apples and cotton candy on the menu, and stalls selling snow cones, roasted nuts and all kinds of ice cream. And in between all the food stands, there were rides upon rides to choose from, the largest of which being an impressive Ferris wheel in the centre of the fairground.
"Here we are", Bo announced, as they arrived at the shooting gallery, which housed the largest amount of plushie toys Lauren had ever seen in one place.
She let go of the doctor's arm and bought a single set of ammo. Catching Lauren's raised eyebrow, she gave her a cheeky grin. "I told you, I got skills", she said with a wink.
It was the truth, but of course, this younger Lauren couldn't know, where Bo had acquired them. Images of the many dead bodies of their enemies flashed before the brunette's eyes, but she quickly pushed them away. She had no illusions, that someday, she'd have to tell Lauren the whole truth about their shared past, as it was now, at least partly, their future, but that day wasn't today. Today, it didn't matter that Bo's exceptional weapon skill came from countless hours of sword training with Dyson and gun practice at the shooting range. Today, the only thing on Bo's mind was making Lauren happy, and judging by the blonde's excited expression, her mission was a roaring success already.
Picking up the rifle, she weighed it in her hands to familiarise herself with its characteristics, then aimed and fired.
"Bull's eye!", the stall owner cheered.
Lauren did a little jump and clapped her hands, ignoring her rational side's inner eyeroll at her childish behaviour. She was elated to be here with the brunette, and even though she wouldn't have cared one bit if Bo had fibbed about her talent, she had to admit, that now that she'd witnessed it with her own eyes, she was the tiniest bit turned on. An insight, which her inner scientist answered with yet another eyeroll.
Out of the corner of her eye, Bo registered Lauren's obvious enthusiasm and flaring aura, which stood in stark contrast to the stall owner's very fake joy. He was anything but happy with her flawless marksmanship, but alas, she couldn't help him. She was here on a mission and like it or not, he'd have to live with it. Once again, Bo aimed at one of the moving targets with the highest number of points, pulled the trigger and scored.
"Second bull's eye!", the owner fake-excitedly called into his mic.
When Bo was done with all five rounds, she put the gun down and looked at Lauren, whose eyes were sparkling like she'd just won the lottery.
"We have a new Highscore!", the man exclaimed, coaxing cheers and applause from the flock of random people, who had gathered around the booth, while Bo was busy demonstrating her skills. "That's a whopping five hundred points!" He bent down to address the brunette. "So, what will it be, little lady?"
Bo snorted at his patronising tone and dumb choice of words and ignored him, looking at Lauren instead. "Which one would you like?", she asked her.
Five hundred points meant that Lauren could've taken the largest plushie on display, but looking around the offered toys, she found one of the smaller ones much more appealing.
"That one", Lauren quietly said to Bo, also completely ignoring the rude stall owner, as she pointed at a white weird-shaped thing on the far left.
Bo faced the man to pass on Lauren's wish, and his aura lit up like a fricking lightbulb, as he realised that, A, he'd just got massively lucky that Bo hadn't rid him of the most expensive piece on display, and B, that he was looking at a couple of actual real-life lesbians. It took all of Bo's willpower to not laugh out loud at his obvious-but-useless instant-boner, as she snatched the plushie from his hands, took Lauren's arm and quickly disappeared in the crowd.
"Wow", Lauren huffed and shuddered, after they'd walked a few meters. "What a disgusting person."
"Yeah", Bo agreed with another snort. "Next time, we'll take a different stall."
"Next time?", Lauren inquired with a smirk.
Bo looked at her, returning her smile. "Well, you know… in case there's another emergency that needs plushie assistance." They stopped without noticing and stared at each other for a short while, light brown eyes locked on dark brown ones. Bo bit her lip. Should she lean in now? Was it too soon? Lauren certainly looked like she was ready to take the next step, but…
A child bumped into them, snapping them from their haze.
"Shane, get back here this instant!", an exhausted voice called out. "At least apologise to the nice ladies, will you?"
"Sorry, nice ladies!", the boy shouted, as his father threw Bo and Lauren an apologetic look and went after his whirlwind of a son. The two women laughed.
"I'd say it's official", Bo declared. "You really do need this one for protection." She handed her the soft toy. "Here you go, there's your… um, what is it anyway?"
"A protozoan", Lauren said, accepting the gift and pressing it to her chest.
Bo was enchanted at how lovingly the blonde treated the oddly-shaped plushie and smiled gently. "Right!", she exclaimed, eyeing the funny creature. "Well, she may consist of only one cell, but I know she'll protect you with all her might for as long as you live."
"She?", Lauren asked with a giggle.
"Oh, definitely", Bo replied confidently, taking another good look at the toy. "Don't you think she looks like a girl?"
"Oh, she definitely does. I shall call her Amoeba."
"Sounds about right to me."
They linked arms and continued walking, as Lauren explained to Bo all the reasons, why "Amoeba" wasn't even close to a realistic rendition of a protozoan, while at the same time caressing and so affectionately observing her new toy, that Bo could've cried with joy. The entire time she watched the blonde, her heart seemed to grow with each word coming across Lauren's lips. She hadn't thought it possible, but she felt like she was falling in love with her wife all over again.
"I love her", Lauren said, concluding her science talk and snapping Bo from her haze.
"I'm glad", she replied. "I'm sure she loves you, too."
They exchanged a look, loaded with meaning, when an eerie sound caught Lauren's attention.
"Ooh, look!", she cried excitedly and took Bo's hand to drag her to the ride they'd arrived at without noticing. "A haunted house!"
"Oh!", was all Bo managed. She was torn between letting herself get carried away by Lauren's childlike enthusiasm, and her own absolute dread of these types of rides. Her fear stemmed from a long time ago, when at the age of twelve, she'd visited a funfair with her adoptive parents, back when they still loved her unconditionally and the world still made sense.
At that age, she was anything but confident, because, despite her inherent succubus nature, she'd been a late bloomer. Which, in the tiny town of Grimley, where everyone knew everyone, made her a prime target for the local bullies. That afternoon, a bunch of her older schoolmates pretending to be her friends had dragged her away from her gullible parents and forced her to enter the haunted house with them.
She was stuck inside with them for no more than five, ten minutes, but they ended up turning into the longest of her life. By the time those kids were finished with her, she was a crying mess, clinging to her parents for the days that followed. It had taken her mother a lot of patience and many attempts, until she'd finally figured out, what exactly had happened to her.
Ironically, in retrospect, the painful memory had turned into one of the better ones of Bo's childhood. After her mum was done giving the bullies – and especially their parents – an earful, reminding them of the grace of charity and all kinds of other good Christian values, they'd left Bo in peace. To this date, she didn't know, what exactly Mary Dennis had said to them, but given the outcome, she must've come over them like a fiend to defend her daughter's honour, and that was something Bo valued to this day.
Which was likely part of the reason why up until just now, she'd totally forgotten about her dislike of scary funfair rides. But before Bo could protest or react in any way, Lauren had already bought them tickets. The expression on her face was so cute and adorable that Bo ended up deciding that she couldn't possibly deny her. So, taking a deep breath and pulling herself together, she grasped Lauren's hand a little tighter and climbed into the cart next to her.
However, despite her best efforts to get through this without making a quivering fool of herself, the experience turned out being anything but harmless. On the contrary – it was just like last time. Bo wasn't used to fearing anything… After all, she'd fought the most horrendous underfae and intrepidly crushed even the scariest of her kind with ease. But this haunted house was… pure terror. The entire time, she clung to Lauren's hands, her eyes closed, so she at least didn't have to look at the daunting darkness, but each sound made her wince violently. She felt like a terrified child all over again… and terribly embarrassed.
When it was finally over, she took a calming breath, put on a brave smile and sheepishly let go of Lauren's hand as she climbed out of the cart with shaking legs. She couldn't believe, how relieved one person could be at the simple sight of daylight.
The blonde eyed her, her gaze full of compassion. Bo couldn't fool her. During the whole ride, she'd felt her unease, even though Bo had tried hard to hide it, and now that she was looking at the brunette's ashamed expression, she felt even worse. Bo had no reason to be ashamed – Lauren did. She'd let her excitement cloud her judgment, and that went against everything she believed in.
"You really hated it in there, didn't you?", she asked quietly.
Bo sighed. "Yes", she admitted, still trying to get her hammering heart to calm down. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything… I guess I forgot, just how bad… it's been a long time and…"
Lauren wrapped her in a hug, interrupting her torrent of excuses, because she didn't deserve any of them.
"No, I'm sorry, Bo", she said. "I didn't mean to pressure you. I let myself get carried away, and… I'm sorry."
"It's okay", Bo replied equally quietly. It really was. Plus, if reliving a childhood nightmare was, what it took to find herself wrapped tightly in Lauren's arms, then it was… well, kind of worth it. Warmth flooded her body and washed away the terrors of the last few minutes. Bo felt like she'd come home and her heart swelled with love for the woman in her embrace. For a while, they stood like this, surreptitiously inhaling each other as they basked in their shared closeness.
Lauren's growling stomach caused them to part, first with a chuckle, then breaking out in laughter, when Bo's joined in. Lauren took Bo's offered arm and together, they went to the next food stand, where the blonde insisted on buying them some "comfort food", as she called it.
"The scary ride was kind of my idea, so it's only fair that I provide some relief", she stated, handing Bo her portion and taking her own from the vendor.
They started walking and Lauren wasted no time biting into her hotdog. The flavour was indeed comforting and strangely familiar. It tasted of a long-forgotten past.
"This is so strange", she said, frowning. "I usually don't even like fast food anymore, but in certain situations or surroundings… there's just nothing like an old-fashioned, greasy, highly processed hotdog, covered in way too much sauce."
Bo took a ridiculously large bite from hers and chewed with her eyes closed. "Aww, yisss", she hummed. "That's the stuff."
Lauren laughed at her contented noises, which reminded her of a purring cat, and took another bite. She closed her eyes, just like Bo had done, and allowed herself to let her memory carry her back to her childhood once more, to the last time she'd come to the funfair with her parents and brother. The day had been warm, just like today, and she'd loved the lights, the colours and the whole atmosphere. It was a perfect memory of a careless time.
Opening her eyes, she caught sight of Bo, who was looking at her with a small smile that mirrored her own. She had a bit of mustard on her cheek, so Lauren took a tissue from her pocket to wipe it away. As she was busy cleaning her off, the brunette's smile grew wider, and Lauren found herself getting lost in it again. She couldn't believe, how out-of-this-world beautiful Bo was, and that her smile was focused solely on her. Her hand lingered on her cheek, as her eyes wandered downwards. She bit her lip, unsure of how to proceed. Her desire to feel Bo's lips on hers grew with every passing minute, but she was also very aware of her surroundings. The man at the shooting gallery had acted particularly disgusting, but it wasn't only him, who noticed the couple – by now, more and more people were looking and whispering to each other, and Lauren did not enjoy being the centre of the attention in a group of total strangers. This was 2004, for god's sake, why couldn't people just accept that being queer was not only real, but completely normal.
Bo sensed her hesitation. The other funfair visitors' irritated auras hadn't escaped her notice, so she made a decision and took Lauren's hand, placed the ghost of a kiss on her palm, and announced: "I think we need ice cream."
Lauren shivered at the feeling of Bo's lips on her skin, but couldn't help being a little disappointed at yet another missed chance of kissing her. She hated, how much it bothered her, what others might think of her, but on the other hand, she still had more than enough time to put her plans into action. And ice cream did sound amazing. She loved ice cream.
With their arms linked, Bo led Lauren to a stall owned by a particularly smiley man, whose aura gave her nothing but kind grandfather vibes, where they bought two large portions of vanilla and chocolate ice cream, which they luxuriously devoured, intently watching each other the entire time. It was as if they'd made a silent agreement – a mouth-watering show only for them, inconspicuous enough to not draw too much attention, but sexy enough to make their hearts flutter in anticipation.
Ever so slowly, Bo let her tongue swirl all over the vanilla treat, holding Lauren's gaze, who simultaneously wrapped her lips around the chocolate scoop to keep herself from moaning out loud. Her aura was flaring like the sun, and Bo basked in the glow, as they wandered from ride to ride, paying no mind to any passers-by, as they let themselves get lost in their secret foreplay.
"Mmh. That was… especially delicious", Lauren said, when they'd finished. Her eyes remained fixated on Bo's lips, but she was still too self-conscious to make a move.
Without noticing, they'd arrived at the Ferris wheel in the centre of the fairground, and Bo had an idea. Up there, they'd be undisturbed, she thought. No curious stares, no ninja kids coming out of nowhere… no distractions whatsoever. Lauren followed her look, and her face broke out in a big grin.
"So… do you like Ferris wheels?", she asked innocently.
"I love Ferris wheels", Bo replied, mirroring Lauren's expression, and together, they headed for the vendor.
A minute later, Lauren got in the gondola and took Bo's hand to help her inside. The space was limited, so they sat close to each other. When the cabin started moving, they took in their surroundings. The noise grew quieter, and the lights gave a beautiful contrast to the slowly fading daylight. The sky was clear, so they could see the stars taking shape, as the sun had almost completely disappeared.
It seemed that, totally by coincidence, they'd picked the most romantic setting possible for their excursion into the sky. Entranced, they watched the sunset, while the softly swaying gondola took them higher bit by bit, as more passengers joined the ride on the ground level.
Lauren enjoyed every second. Without thinking, she'd put her head on Bo's shoulder, and with immense joy, registered that the brunette had her lips pressed into her hair and entwined their fingers.
"Bo?", Lauren said when they were all the way at the top.
"Mh?"
"I'm really happy… here, with you."
Bo squeezed her hand. "Me too."
Silence encumbered them, as they let themselves sink into each other's warmth, fading out the remaining noise, only focussing on each other and the spectacle of lights created by the vanishing sun.
Bo deeply inhaled Lauren's scent. Once more, she realised, just how big of a hole her wife's violent death had ripped into her life, and how grateful she was for this second chance. She closed her eyes. Being this close to Lauren was like a trip down memory lane, only that here and now, there were no dangers, no enemies to constantly look out for. Bo's heart swelled with happiness, as the gondola was starting to slowly descend again.
Lauren slightly lifted her head to look up, her eyes searching for the brunette's lips. She was torn between the ever-present desire to finally kiss Bo and never wanting this wonderful moment of peace to end. Her gaze flickered towards the other woman's eyes, which were half closed. Seductively. Expectantly.
"Bo, I…", she whispered, hovering her mouth in front of Bo's.
"Yeah?", came the breathy reply. The tension was palpable, as they softly rubbed their noses against one another, building up to the tempting promise of more.
Lauren looked deep into Bo's eyes. "You already know, don't you?"
"I think I do."
The blonde smiled, vaguely registering the noise and hubbub of the funfair re-entering her senses. Then, she moved away. There was no need to rush. If there had been any doubt left before their magical moment, she was now certain that they wanted the same thing, and she much preferred sharing their first kiss in a more private surrounding.
They arrived back at the bottom, got out of the gondola, and re-linked arms to continue their exploration of the fairground. The rest of the evening was spent eating junk food and trying some of the wilder rides, before eventually deciding to head home.
Without haste, they strolled along the path leading to Lauren's apartment. Over the past weeks, they'd made it a habit – Bo walking Lauren home, chatting away, and enjoying each other's company. It was easy, being around the brunette, and some minutes ago, Lauren had snuck her hand into Bo's, hesitantly at first, carefully entwining their fingers, and then more firmly, when Bo hadn't shown any resistance.
Lauren's heart made a little jump. She was giddy and nervous at the same time, but mostly happy to be here with the beautiful woman, who had stumbled into her life and quickly settled down in her heart.
When they reached the pathway, they stopped, where they always did, and Lauren turned to face Bo. She was trying hard to keep the anticipation out of her expression, but judging by the brunette's knowing look, failed. The whole afternoon and evening had been wonderfully frustrating, with all the interruptions, all the teasing and that almost-kiss in the Ferris wheel gondola. At this point, the tension between them had reached an almost unbearable level.
Lauren felt like she was about to explode with desire to finally feel Bo's lips on hers, and still, she was hesitant to make her move. A thousand questions shot through her head, as the brunette stood there, looking at her with that enchanting, irresistible smile of hers, that unveiled her dimple. Over the last weeks, Lauren had found that she could completely lose herself in that smile, stare at it until the world exploded, and not even notice that the end of time had arrived.
Then, Bo moved… away from her. Lauren vaguely heard her wish her a good night, and out of the blue, the urge to make her stay became overwhelming. So, as if grabbing a lifesaver to prevent from drowning, she grabbed her wrist.
"Bo, wait", she said, louder than intended, but she didn't care anymore if she came across as desperate. She was desperate.
Bo looked down at where her hand was and turned back around to face her with a questioning frown.
For once, Lauren's brain stopped firing questions at her. All the what ifs and maybes flew out the window, as she looked at Bo's perfect face, beautifully illuminated by a nearby streetlight. Instinct took over, as without thought, her hands moved upwards to cup her face. She closed her eyes and leaned in slowly, trying to engrave every nanosecond of this moment in her brain forever – the moment she would kiss Bo for the first time.
Their lips touched. And Lauren left this earth. Euphoria took possession of her entire being, as she floated above the ground.
Bo shared the elated feeling. For a second, she allowed herself to indulge in it; get lost in the heavenly sensation of finally, finally kissing her wife again after all this time. But then, something happened. Something she hadn't thought possible…
Without warning, her succubus came roaring forth and took possession of her body. Helplessly, she observed, as her Queen started feeding from Lauren, felt her eyes shift and panic rise. But her beast wouldn't let go. On and on, the kiss went, and Lauren was moaning into her mouth, greedily returning each stroke of Bo's tongue. She clearly hadn't noticed, what was happening yet, probably caught in the same bliss that the succubus' past lovers had experienced, before they'd died with grotesque smiles on their faces. Instinctively, Bo knew that her Queen would never harm the blonde, but right now, that wasn't her concern. All she could think of while powerlessly succumbing to the cursed beast within her was, how she would ever explain this to Lauren, without revealing herself and the fae.
After what felt like minutes, her Queen seemed to finally be content, as Bo was regaining control. Immediately, she pulled away.
Lauren was panting, her body flooded with such unimaginable bliss that she no longer knew up from down. She felt dizzy. She felt high. She felt happy.
Then, she opened her eyes, fully expecting to see an expression on Bo's face that matched hers… when instead, she found utter shock. But that wasn't the only thing that was strange. She also saw the remnants of a blue substance entering the brunette's mouth – like she'd sucked something from Lauren – and blazing blue eyes, instead of the chocolate brown she knew.
But before she could inquire or even express her amazement at the sight in front of her and Bo's obvious conflicting emotions, the brunette pushed her away.
"Bo…?", she started, a frown creasing her forehead, that spoke of wonder and confusion alike.
Bo couldn't cope. Overwhelmed with guilt and sadness and fear, she stood there, staring at the woman she loved more than life itself, and couldn't form a single thought.
"Lauren, I…" That was all she managed. Her face scrunched up, as tears pooled in her blue eyes.
And then, she ran.
Away from Lauren. Away from life. Away from everything.