The arm around her waist tightened, pulling Matilda back against a warm, soft body. Breath fanning across her neck, a nose nudged below her ear before a kiss fell on the same spot. A hand slipped lightly below Matilda's sleep shirt, tracing soft circles on her skin.
"…Jenny," Matilda mumbled sleepily. Hazily, Matilda opened her eyes, registering the darkness persistent of her knotted curtains. With a growl, she flicked a hand in their direction and they yanked apart, unwound.
Now, Matilda frowned, running a hand through her hair in bewilderment. Blinking against the residual sleepiness, she recalled her dream. Jenny, she'd been saying as she woke up.
Oh. Shit. She'd been dreaming about Jenny? A myriad of curses ran through Matilda's head. It was understandable though, right? She was a gay eighteen-year-old with a healthy libido, it was only natural that an attractive older woman would feature in her dreams. Right?
Shit.
Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Matilda studied the curtains again. Her powers were the more pressing matter at hand. It's not like her dreams even mattered. She didn't actually feel anything towards Jenny. So, focusing on the powers.
When Matilda met Jenny at the breakfast table that morning, she explained her theory about the curtains and her powers unintentionally causing the knots. Jenny hummed at all the right places, nodding along as she poured their tea.
"The only common denominator is daydreaming," Matilda added. "But I've tested that hypothesis, it doesn't stand."
Jenny leaned forward, hair falling about her face. Matilda's hand twitched against the effort not to tuck it back in place.
"Well, before, your powers were tied to anger, right?" she confirms. "So maybe it's more linked to how you're feeling than what you're thinking. What were you feeling the last time it happened?"
Matilda refrained from mentioning this morning's dream and cast her mind back to the cards yesterday. She'd been confused that her powers were back and frustrated that she couldn't figure them out. And then…
Matilda nearly knocked over her chair in her haste to stand. This morning had not been the first time she'd noticed Jenny in a more-than-platonic way. She was so goddamn screwed.
"I… have to test something." she said hurriedly. Jenny frowned, and Matilda took special care not to notice the pretty way her eyebrows framed her face.
"I'll be back later, promise." With one last anxious glance, Matilda scurried back up the stairs to her room.
Back in her room, Matilda lay down on her bed and closed her eyes. Cautiously, she let her mind wander back to the dream she'd had that morning. She imagined Jenny lying next to her, hand dipping under the hem of her shirt to touch her, teasingly. She imagined the expression on her soft, pretty face; one of gentle adoration and half-impressed amusement, fading into desire. She imagined watching Jenny's eyes flutter closed, her mouth part, sounds escaping that could only be described as wanton.
Suddenly confused, Matilda recognized the heated pressure behind her eyes, pushing to be released. Tugging futilely at her collar to cool down, Matilda floated the pack of cards in front of her, shuffling them mid-air and sending them flying in circles.
A quiet knock sounded at the door. Upon hearing Matilda call her in, Jenny pushed open the door and stared in amazement at the scene before her.
"Matilda," she breathed, and Matilda fought desperately not to imagine hearing it under different circumstances. "You figured it out. You clever, wonderful girl."
Matilda flushed, but nodded uncomfortably. Jenny sat beside her on the bed, narrowing her eyes when Matilda shifted away from her.
"What's wrong?" she asked, confused. "I thought you'd be excited! I know you missed your powers."
Matilda sighed heavily. "It's not the powers that's upsetting me. It's what triggers them."
At Jenny's expectant face, she rallied all her courage and continued:
"It's definitely not anger. I think it's – it's attraction. Or, maybe even arousal."
"Oh." Jenny's face betrayed her shock.
Matilda let out a reluctant laugh. "Yeah. Oh."
"So, you were thinking about a boy?" Jenny put forward. Matilda shook her head unthinkingly then blushed at the understanding that clicked on Jenny's face.
"A girl, then."
Matilda refrained from shaking her head again. A woman would be more accurate, but Jenny didn't need to know that. She peered up at Jenny through her lashes, uncertain of her reaction. Jenny only smiled.
"Like mother like daughter then," she said. Matilda cringed inwardly at the familial terms before Jenny's meaning hit her. She gaped up at her with wide eyes and Jenny laughed, light and gentle.
"Yes, I prefer women too," she confirmed. "It's not a widely known fact about me though, sweetheart. I'd prefer it stays that way?"
Matilda only nodded, unblinkingly frozen.
"Well then," Jenny cleared her throat. "Now that you know what causes it, we can work on controlling it. What do you think?"
Unbidden, a thousand images flooded Matilda's mind as she pictured situations in which she'd have to control her power around Jenny. Mistaking Matilda's red face for embarrassment, Jenny quickly backtracked.
"Or, you can work on that yourself. Whatever you like."
Matilda nodded mutely, battling the heat in her cheeks. Jenny hovered a moment longer, but then stood and left the room with a final pat on Matilda's shoulder.