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Seeing as she's had that important conversation with Eugene, Annie has been texting back and forth with Polly to arrange their next date. Right now, though, she's just hitting send on one last message to let the other woman know she's arrived before putting her phone away. In the pocket of her jean cutoffs, because it's too hot for anything longer than that.
Polly arrives a short time later. It's up near 90 again, with some clouds in the sky. Perfect Polly weather, really. She's wearing a bright yellow sundress which matches her hair and eyebrows, at least when you're looking at her mask. She's still a rainbow tinted oil slick in human form to Annie's vision. She's hard to miss walking in on account of the vibrant corona of color that follows her along, and the way the saturation intensifies as her mantle passes over an area. Once she spots Annie, Polly heads her way with a wave, "Hey!"
"Hey yourself!" Annie returns the wave with a smile. "How have you been? I like the dress." Once Polly gets close she's offered a hug. Which may come with a side of kissing, but nothing too makeout-y. Since they're in public and all.
The hug is eagerly returned with a big squeeze and a long 'oooh' sound of faux exertion in performing said hug. Then she claims the kiss, too, smiling in the wake of it. She grins more broadly, too. "I take it you caught up with Yu Jin. I've been good! Had that date with Jeremiah, as I noted. Had a great time. Would repeat. And-- actually, let's find a table and get our drinks, then I'll dish."
"Sounds like a good plan to me," Annie nods, leading Polly over to the counter to order. Where she gets a strawberry mocha and bowl of fried potato bits. Probably to be delivered separately, but you never know. "Do you have any preference for where to sit? Somewhere well lit, I assume?"
"By the window if you don't mind?" Polly gestures towards the sunlight, preferably. If she has to choose which sort of light, it's going to be natural. She orders her coffee predictably complex and predictably sweet. She also orders herself a peanut butter cookie from under the glass. She can pick at that for a while. She gets the cookie immediately, the drinks will be swung by momentarily. Once they're all paid up, she heads over to claim a seat. "I need to let you know that someone kissed me and I kissed them back. I was working with them in my capacity that I serve within our organization, you know? I wasn't planning it, or anything. Was just trying to help the girl out. I told her I had to be able to talk about what happened, but she asked that her name not be used. I'm not sure why, precisely, but I'm trying to build up trust with her. So I hope that's okay."
"By the window is fine by me," Annie shrugs one shoulder, following Polly to the table in question. "That is okay. I can respect the desire for privacy, particularly when it relates to someone you have been working with in that capacity." Which shouldn't be especially surprising, since she's a medical student. "Did you enjoy the kiss, at least?"
"I did. She's a real sweet girl going through a real hard time. I don't like getting involved with people I'm helping in that capacity, but I'm not a licensed anything and it's not really a breach of professional anything or ethical whatever. I was just trying to be her friend, you know? She wants more. And I'm... open to the idea. I think she's awesome, so." Polly hunches her shoulders in a slight shrug. "Thanks for being understanding about everything. I don't like keeping secrets from partners."
"Honestly, that you were upfront about it definitely helps," Annie admits. "I might like to meet her, at some point, but only when she is comfortable with such a thing." She smiles at Polly, then. "Though I do approve of not wanting to get involved with people you are helping, licensed anything or not."
"Yeah. That's a conversation for another time. I'll probably hand off the official duties to someone else and just focus on being there for her. Because you're right." Polly frowns a little at that, self-aimed clearly. But then she just flicks her hand as though waving off a pesky fly. "Anyway. I only brought it up because I agreed I would, and you needed to know. I don't want that to dominate our time together."
"Fair enough," Annie nods, accepting the request for a change of subject. "How is your music coming along? Any compositions you need to fine-tune, pardon the pun?"
"Slowly. I'm in the 'gather inspiration' phase of it all. Jotting down hooks and lyrics that pop into my head. We're all just back from tour, so the band isn't even going to be anywhere near ready to hit the studio again for a while yet. I've got time to come up with some stuff, you know how it is. Now's the time to try new instruments and explore new sounds and so on. Jam sessions and the like. If I try to force it right now, it'll all suck at the end. In my experience, anyway. How's about you?" Polly drops her chin onto a palm and smiles across the table at Annie.
"Well, there is the one I was practicing when we met, that was finished recently," Annie says, returning the smile. "I have not had a chance to play it publicly yet, though. Not that that has stopped me from starting the next one, but I only have the rough outline of the lyrics right now. No tune to go with them, either." Beat. "I could be interested in a jam session some time, though. Meeting new musicians is always fun."
"Is the Violin your only instrument, or do you play others?" The coffee is brought around, at which point Polly breaks off a little bit of her chewie cookie and dunks it into her coffee like a cretin, then pokes the bite into her mouth with a pleased smile. "Mmm. That's precisely as tasty as I thought it was going to be. I'm tired and I don't even really know why. Hopefully this coffee kicks me in the pants."
"My voice does not count, I assume?" Annie says wryly. "The violin is the one I am most familiar with, but I am competent with most stringed ones. And a few of the wind instruments, as well." Beat. "It is rather hard to sing while playing those, though, strangely enough." The mention of being tired gets Polly a curious look. "How have you been sleeping? It can be hard to notice you are not getting enough for your body, sometimes."
"Not the best. Nights are hard for me. So I take a lot of naps during the day, sometimes. And I've had busy mornings and afternoons, stuff to do. I'm just trying to do too much in a day, is basically what it comes down to. I'll probably head home and take a nap this afternoon, honestly. Try and catch up. And maybe be so asleep that when night comes I won't wake up until like 4am. Which would be nice." Polly lifts her coffee for a gulp and notes, "Your voice counts, sure. I just need to know what all you can bring to the table when I start suggesting jam sessions. Not all instruments complement, you know?"
Annie nods at that. "Sometimes the discordance can be interesting, though, but it is not something to do all the time." There's a pause as she takes a sip of her own coffee. "If you want help wearing yourself out to make sleep come more easily, feel free to let me know."
"Are you asking me if I would like to borrow a cup of sex?" Polly reframes the allusion in more direct terms. Cos enthusiastic consent is one of Polly's jams, see. "Would you be up to sticking around cuddling me until I fall asleep after? Because that sounds as pleasant as the other stuff does right now, if I'm being completely honest. That does sound like a fun way to shut off my brain, though."
"I mean, yes, but I am open to other methods as well, so," Annie chuckles quietly. "Sticking around and cuddling after is definitely on the list of possibilities, though."
"I'd be down for that, if you're cool with the putting me to sleep after. Otherwise, I'd probably like to hold off for another time when you can stick around after. That would be great, honestly, yeah." Polly takes another nibble off her cookie, dunks it, and pops it into her mouth. "My place probably makes the most sense, given the givens. My house is all prepped for night time."
"Probably," Annie chuckles again. "Not that I am opposed to you meeting Yu Jin, but it might be better for the first time not to happen in the bedroom, or even the apartment, I share with them." Beat. "Shall we go for a walk once we have finished here, and maybe meander back to your place?"
"I wouldn't want to awake in the middle of the night in a room I hadn't prepared for such an event, is all. I'd love to meet Yu Jin sometime. That would be great." Polly breaks off a bit of cookie and offers it to Annie to hasten when they can be on their way. Then she takes a proper bite of the cookie and washes it down with coffee. "Sure. We can mosey. It's pretty warm out there, though. So if you tap out, we can grab a Lyft or something."
"Fair enough," Annie nods, accepting the cookie piece happily. "Let me just get my potato bits to go and then we can be on our way." Beat. "I do not think I am likely to tap out, but the willingness to grab a Lyft if I do is appreciated, thank you." She leans in to kiss Polly, then.
Polly receives the kiss with a smile, placing her hand against Annie's cheek for the duration. When Annie heads off, Polly glances after her for a few moments, then smiles back down at the last of her cookie and coffee, doing her best to waste not and therefore want not. She busses her plate and mug up to the counter and places it where the dirty dishes go, then heads back to wait by the door for her company.
Annie may or may not be aware of Polly's glance after her, given the little extra sway she puts in her step as she approaches the counter to ask for a to-go box. Which gets tucked into her satchel once it arrives, before the nymph makes her way over to the door to rejoin Polly, offering the other woman her arm on arrival.
Polly is not usually the arm taker, but she offers a curtsy and settles a hand onto Annie's arm primly before rising from it. She's a bit of a ham. But that's to be expected. Once they're outside, Polly brightens up both figuratively and literally. Her colors are more vibrant in the direct light of the sun, her body less transparent. More there somehow. "I could do without the heat, but I love Philly summers for their sun. It feels so good on me."
"Looks good on you, too," Annie admits, admiring Polly shamelessly. "I will say this for the heat: it makes going for a swim that much more pleasant." The play of light bouncing off (or just emanating directly from) Polly and hitting the scales of Annie's legs is probably pretty neat, too.
"I've not been swimming much this summer. I should! Maybe when all of this nonsense blows over we can catch a weekend down in Cape May or AC or someplace like that. Get a room in walking distance of the beach, eat boardwalk food. Something nice to consider." Polly glances aside at Annie with a grin, then briefly rests her head on Annie's shoulder as they walk.
"I am not sure how I would deal with the sea, honestly," Annie admits after a moment. "I know I am fine with bodies of water where I can see the other side, though." Beat. "A weekend away together could be nice, though." She's more than happy to let Polly rest her head on her shoulder for as long as the other woman wants.
"Have you not seen the ocean since you got back?" Polly inquires as she lifts her head from Annie's shoulder. "You've picked an awkward spot to summer, then. Everyone who can around here ends up vacationing on the shore. Though we could always do a trip to DC. Plenty of touristy things to do down there, and very little in the way of ocean to be found. Though sunning myself on the sand does sound absolutely decadent, I will admit."
"I have been very busy, honestly," Annie admits. "First with getting myself settled here, and then with classes and work. Not to mention the duties for our shared organisation." Beat. "I am not opposed to watching you sun yourself on the sand, though. Just maybe at a lake or something, rather than the ocean?"
"If this is a thing like with me and darkness, then absolutely. No ocean for us. That's perfectly fine. I'd be fine with a hotel with a pool, to be honest with you, Annie. I just figured you would like the ocean, so that's my mistake." Polly leans in to place a kiss on Annie's cheek, then straightens back up again to walk easily at Annie's side, still holding on to her arm. "Most of the lakes around here are kinda awful, or are manmade and not fit for swimming in. Reservoirs and such. But a nice hotel pool would be fine, if that works?"
Annie shrugs the shoulder opposite Polly. "I am not saying the ocean is entirely forbidden, just... do not be surprised if I turn out not to be able to handle it." She glances to Polly, then, smiling softly at the kiss. "A nice hotel pool definitely works, though."
"I think testing your tolerances is a thing we can do when that's the thing we want to be doing rather than relaxing somewhere with sun and water and recharging our proverbial batteries and all that. I'll do some looking for places to vacation that aren't too far away. Good food, good shopping, stuff like that. Maybe catch a show, or something." Polly's brightened up a bit just thinking about it. "It'll be fun!"
"Good company, too," Annie adds, leaning in to place her own kiss on Polly's cheek. "Thank you for being understanding, though. I appreciate it." There's a pause to consider, then. "What shows are running at the moment, do you know?"
"I do not know. Hamilton, naturally. I'd pull out my phone to google them but that would mean letting go of your arm and that seems like a really bad trade to me. We'll find one. Or we'll go see a movie and sit in the back row and not watch it like teenagers. That's always good for a laugh. Rock Horror Picture Show is perfect for that sort of hanky panky." Polly hangs a left to head own towards her apartment. Another few blocks yet, but not terribly far.
"Oh, yes, I have heard of Hamilton. A bunch of my coworkers adore it." Beat. "What is this Rocky Horror Picture Show? I am not familiar with it."
"It's a cult film. Made in the 70s. Really awful. A musical send up to the horror classics of the 50s and 60s. Involving a transvestite anti-hero who builds a hunky himbo lovemuffin in his secret lair. And the two cleancut kids who happen upon it all. It's just... it's bad. But it's bad in such a way that queer culture picked it up and adopted it and made it theirs. Really problematic at points, but it was sort of a rallying point for queer kids in the 80s and 90s. And today, even, to some degree. They do, like. Re-enactments in front of the screen while the movie is going on, there's crowd response lines, the whole thing. It's great fun. AND nobody cares if you fuck in the back row. Usually."
"Sounds like something we should check out at some point, then," Annie grins. "Possibly even twice, once in the back row and once somewhere closer to the front."
"Oh, the first time you have to go up front at the beginning anyway. There's a little cute hazing ritual that's done for first timers. You definitely have to experience it a few times to really appreciate it. It's madcap stuff. Blink and you'll miss it kind of humor, too. You go for the crowd more than anything, because the actual movie itself is horribly awful." Polly's apartment is coming up on the left. Hard to miss the vacuum repair shop which commands the ground floor. Polly begins fishing in her pockets for her keys. "And we're here."
"Good to know," Annie admits, then, releasing Polly when they arrive to make the key-fishing easier. "Shall we Netflix and chill, or just one of those two?"
"That's up to you, I suppose. I was under the impression you were dragging me off to the bedroom, though. If that's not the case, that's cool. I'll be happy to be in the air conditioning, regardless!" Polly gets the door unlocked and holds it open so that Annie can sneak through before Polly shuts the door behind herself. Then it's up the stairs to her apartment door which she also has to unlock, though this time she heads in first.
The place is just as cluttered with art supplies and works in progress as it was before, though about twenty degrees cooler than the air outside. "Do you want a drink, or anything?"
"Just water, please," Annie responds to the question first, sighing in relief as she enters the cooler air. "And I do not like to assume consent, so it seemed like a good place to check what the plan was."
Polly grabs a glass from the cupboard and a bottle from the fridge, pouring Annie a nice cold glass of water. "This has been through a filter, so it's really quite clean. If you prefer room temperature, I can get you that, too. But. Here you go." Polly passes off the glass and then goes to unload her pockets of her billfold and keys, setting them into the dish on her worktable. "C'mon up, I'll show you around." Polly leads Annie through the living room and her art studio, past the soul devouring couch, and then up the stairs to the second floor.
The stairs empty out into a large music studio. Wood floors, sound baffles on the wall, and a full array of musical instruments on stands or hanging on the walls. Drum kit, mics, a mixing deck, and the whole shooting match. She then gestures to two doors on the back wall. "That's the bedroom on the left, and that's the bathroom on the right. Though there's an en suite door, too."
"Good to know," Annie says, admiring the music studio set up shamelessly. "Are there any explicit turn ons I should know about?" She asks after a long moment, attention turning back to Polly. "BDSM is off the table, of course, I remember you mentioning that." And some of it even if the Elemental hadn't, because, well. Seeming curses are An Thing.
"This studio is more of a sketchpad than a recording space," Polly remarks when she sees Annie eyeing it all up. "I do my best work with a producer riding my back. But this is good for scratching an itch and just... like. Jotting down musical thoughts into digital format so I can share them more easily and such. Good jam space, too!" Polly heads for the bedroom door and steps on inside, revealing that the clutter and mess downstairs is just by dint of lack of space more than anything. Her room is tidy, neat, and orderly. There's a big bed, a surround sound system, a nice stereo set up, and a big ol' flat screen plasma TV. Sized appropriate to the room, though. So it's not terribly huge. Plus, it has its own AC unit. Which is doubly nice, given the weather.
She goes fishing in the dresser for something more comfortable than a sundress to wear, however. Pulling out a long and faded t-shirt instead. She tosses that onto the bed and peels out of her dress, tossing it at the hamper. The t-shirt is slipped on thereafter. "Specific turn ons? Goodness. I don't really have any kinks if that's what you mean? Nothing I need to get off, or anything. I really enjoy making out. Oral. Giving and receiving. I prefer having the lights on. Obviously. Um. Communication, oddly, is really hot? Feedback. I like skin. The more the better. Not a fan of headgames at all, though. Of any sort."
"Making out and communicating were on the list of things to offer, honestly," Annie admits, glancing over Polly's body in the brief interval between the dress coming off and tee-shirt on. "I only have so much skin, though, unless you would prefer to be seeing the lie for this?" There's a gesture towards the scales of her legs, then.
"Scales are skin," Polly protests lightly, "they're your skin. I've no... no. No desire to see the lie. At all. And certainly not for this, Annie." Polly settles down on the end of the bed and pulls the scrunchy from her hair, letting it all fall down about her face in a mop of wild curls. Polly holds out a hand towards Annie, inviting her closer in order to take it. "What about you?"
Annie doesn't speak for a moment, even as she's taking Polly's hand, letting the other woman pull her in. "I prefer to see you as you are, honestly," she confesses eventually. "What was the phrase you used on our last date? Treat you and taste the rainbow? That definitely appeals."
Polly's corona of light is a tactile thing. All elementals are capable of that trick, of course, but with Polly's being light itself, it's a bit like walking into aerogel. The light has substance light should lack. Polly takes both of Annie's hands with her own and tilts her head up to watch Annie carefully, nodding her head just enough for it to be visible. "That's what I'd prefer, too. To be who I am. And you being who you are. That would be wonderful."
"Good to know," Annie says softly, leaning down to kiss Polly deeply.
Polly's eyes open wide for a moment as Annie's coming in for the kiss. Guess she didn't need reassurance after all! She nearly giggles when the kiss is met and releases Annie's hands to settle her hands on Annie's hips instead, as much to steady Annie as herself. No arguments from her in the deep kiss department. After a short bit, Polly begins to sloooowly lean back, encouraging Annie to chase the kiss. If this happens to foul Annie's balance, oh no! What would be awful.
Annie does indeed chase the kiss! At least until she loses her balance and topples onto Polly, anyway. Which has her giggling, so she's clearly not unhappy about it.
Objective: achieved! Polly also breaks into giggles when Annie flops forward atop her, though she also lets out a shrill yelp of surprise and delight. Once Annie's flopped down, though, Polly easies her over onto her side and props her own head up on her palm to look down on Annie from above. She walks her fingers up Annie's arm and then boops her nose gently with a fingertip. "I would like to point out for the record that you are rather overdressed for the occasion."
"Yeah? Maybe you should take them off me, then," Annie almost purrs as she tilts her head to look up at Polly. "Cannot have my tanktop and jean cutoffs being too fancy for something, after all."
"Very highbrow. Quite pretentious, really," Polly agrees as her hand slides up under Annie's tank top to work it up her stomach and towards her shoulders for subsequent peeling away. Then she's scooting down the bed to stand up briefly. Long enough to unfasten Annie's shorts and tug them gingerly down her hips and off her legs. Fwip! They are tossed towards the hamper, too. Polly leaves her own night shirt sized tee on, though, as she craws back up the bed and flops down half atop and half beside Annie. Her hand just settles in to pet at Annie's stomach, making good on the tactile desire of skin contact. "An improvement," she allows grandly.
Annie even cants her hips up to make it easier for Polly to remove the shorts, once that stage is reached. "Mmmm," she agrees, one hand coming up to play with Polly's hair. The other, meanwhile, is getting slipped under the back of her night tee shirt, to rub circles on the lower half of the rainbow's back.
She's solid under there, well Annie knows. She just seems like she shouldn't be, somehow. Being essentially translucent has its drawbacks when it comes to imagining a whole self. She also squirms just the tiniest bit at the curlicues being drawn on her back. In the good way, mind you. And then, rather than fill the gap of silence with words, she simply leans back in and claims another kiss from Annie, this one decidedly more purposeful than the last.
That kiss gets met gladly. Which is probably to be expected, given the way things have been progressing so far. It lasts for as long as Polly wants to let it, too, curlicues on the back continuing being drawn all the while. "I think you are the overdressed one, now," Annie points out once the kiss eventually finishes, looking up at Polly through her eyelashes.
"Feel free to rectify that particular error," Polly counters with a kiss to Annie's forehead. Now it's her turn to roll over onto her back and stretch her arms up over her head. She opts to go ahead and just stretch her whole body out at that point, shivering a little and murmuring stretchy noises until her body relaxes again down onto the duvet cover. Her back popped at a point or two along the way. That was probably quite pleasant. Her matching yellow MeUndies are certainly a look. A comfy look, but a look. "Add in our underthings and I think I have enough for a full load of laundry."
"Maybe I will, then," Annie grins, sitting up to do just that. Ever so slowly, drawing out the reveal. Only to toss the shirt aside in turn once it finally comes off, landing half in and half out of the hamper. "Something to do later, probably," she says then, lying back down and resting her head on Polly's shoulder. "Though I do hope you have the necessary equipment within the apartment, because I certainly do not intend to get dressed until I have to leave." The Nymph's own undergarments are somewhat lacier than Polly's, and in purple rather than yellow. Someone clearly has a theme of her own, given they match the tone of her scales.
Once her arms are free of the shirt, she drapes herself down on the bed again with a happy and contented sigh, moreso when Annie snuggles up and rests her head on her shoulder. Polly scoops Annie up in her arms and tucks her in close, combing her fingers back through Annie's hair in slow and soothing strokes, coupled with soft little kisses now and again. With a sudden thought, Polly reaches up to the headboard for the remote and pokes play, kicking the stereo to life. It begins playing through whatever playlist Polly had queued up. Rather on the poppy-EDM side of things, this. The remote is set back up, and Polly turns a bit to nestle in closer to Annie again. "There. Now I'm quite happy."
"Excellent," Annie says softly, turning her head to kiss at Polly's collarbone. "The music is very you, honestly," she adds after a moment, one hand stroking the rainbow's side idly.
"Yeah," Polly agrees airily, "it definitely speaks to me. I figure there's a reason for that. I'm glad it does, frankly. Makes it easier for me to send you playlists that way." Polly grins again before dipping her head down and going for Annie's neck. Hopefully she likes gentle play nips along with throat kisses, because that's what she's getting.
Annie's certainly not complaining about the throat kisses, though the first play nip has her pausing in stroking Polly's side. "Nothing that draws blood, please," she says softly. "Not everyone Over There with me was as reluctant to consume flesh as I was, and there were not a lot of options available in that regard."
"I'm sorry. Nibbling wasn't on your list of no-nos, I didn't know." Polly calls off the nippers once that's pointed out to her and settles back in against Annie's side again, instead. She settles in to monitor Annie's reaction to all of this, frowning just a hair in concern. "You okay?"
"It is not a never thing, just... not hard enough to break skin," Annie says quietly. She's looking just slightly to the side instead of directly at Polly, now. "I think so? I do not feel out of sorts, but I know it can be hard to notice, from the inside."
"Yeah, I'm not really into pain and blood and all that. So. That was never going to be a thing. But I do like nibbling. Or being nibbled, anyway. It can be hard, sometimes. Navigating all of our peculiar triggers and stuff. Just. Rest assured I'm willing to put the work in, okay? Figure it all out." Polly looks over at Annie, even if Annie's not looking directly at her. Just watching her for signs of trouble and soothing her arm with a hand. "I'll keep an eye on you. If you seem out of sorts, I'll let you know."
"Thank you," Annie says, leaning into the rubbing hand. Which probably meets the loophole to use Read Lucidity on her, even if the Nymph doesn't realise that's what she's doing. "I did not realise this would be one, sorry. It is not your fault."
Sadly, that's not one that Polly has in her repertoire as yet. But she's got other tricks. "Even so, I'm going to go ahead and let you do the driving for now. I'm spooked off being assertive, and I figure it'll help us both feel better about all of this if you were to set your own pace for things. Even if that winds up being mostly naked cuddles until we have a nap." The soothing of her arm turns into combing fingers back through Annie's hair again reassuringly.
"Okay," Annie nods, seeming neither relieved nor especially disappointed. "Naked cuddles are good, honestly." She rests her head on Polly's shoulder again, curling into the other woman's side. "You playing with my hair is nice, too. Keep it up, please?" Still careful not to give orders, and risk the rainbow's clarity as well.
"I will be happy to do so," Polly assures her quietly, turning her head to press a soft kiss against Annie's brow, resuming the slow combing back of her hair with her fingers. Every third stroke or so, she stops part way through to scritch her blunt nails against Annie's scalp gently. Soothing and petting and generally offering warm tactile stimulation amid the cuddling. "I love your hair. It's so smooth."
Annie definitely enjoys having her scalp scritched, judging by the soft sigh she makes whenever Polly does so. "Really? I always wanted curly hair, honestly, even if straight hair like mine is easier to take care of."
"I'm surprised you don't, a nice yid girl like you? Mine is just a mess half the time. I stopped trying to tame it and just sort of embraced the mop. Dying it a bunch of different colors helps, too." Polly resumes the petting and the scritching lightly, watching Annie's expression with a smile, "I could curl your hair for you, though? If you wanted? Style you up all glaaaamorous, do your face. Make you look like Liz Taylor." She's probably teasing. "But seriously. I'd totally style you some curls. They'd look good on you, I think! Not that I think you don't look fantastic now, clearly."
Annie shrugs one shoulder. "I might just be conflating the things I did want and the things that got taken away during my time Over There, for all I know." There's a grin at Polly's last statement. "What, mostly naked and cuddling up to you? I would hope you thought that looked fantastic."
"With straight hair, silly," Polly admonishes with a light thwap to Annie's shoulder. "But, yeah. Also mostly naked and cuddled up to me. It's a good look. Also, it's especially pleasant. I'm basically a lizard. I soak in warm things. Sunlight, peoplecuddles. Ooh! Puppies." Polly combs her fingers back through Annie's hair again slowly, resuming the slow scritches at her scalp, "Did you have curly hair before you were taken?"
"I am not sure anymore, honestly," Annie admits. "There are things I remember very clearly, but... Even for our sort, this is rather different to the body I grew up with."
"Memories from Arcadia and even from before can get really muddled, yeah." But Polly seems to sense this is more than idle conversation, and so she draws her head back a bit and fluffs her pillow up so that she can rest her head on it and turn to face Annie on the bed, watching her face carefully. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Annie hesitates for a long moment, clearly considering that question carefully. "Maybe? It is not exactly something I keep a secret anymore, that I did not fit the body I was born with, just... It is not especially relevant to who I am now, I think." She shrugs the shoulder she's not lying on. "I mostly remember trying to hide it from outsiders, really. That and courting the local sofer's daughter."
"Hey, if you're gonna court, court high!" Polly grins at this, adjusting her head on the pillow to watch Annie again with an easy smile. "If you want to talk about it? We can. If you don't want to talk about it? We don't have to. I just wanted to make it clear I wasn't trying to just blow past what seemed like an important conversation in the making." Polly reaches out to tuck some of the aforementioned hair behind Annie's ear, "You're happy as you are, though?"
"I am, yes," Annie smiles softly at Polly, reaching up to stroke her cheek gently. "Thank you for being understanding, though."
"If you're happy as you are and who you were is of no further consequence to who you are, and if that's enough of a nod to your past for your tastes? That's good enough for me. Springs tend to be a lot more accepting of life as it is now, I've found. For whatever reason. I definitely fall into that category. I'd rather look to the future than obsess over what I lost in my past." Polly reaches out a finger to boop Annie's nose gently. "Especially when my future involves potentially naked cute girls."
"Fair enough," Annie grins at the nose boop. "More naked cuddling with you is definitely something I would like to happen, so. Speaking of which..." The hand that had been stroking Polly's cheek stops that, instead reaching behind Annie's back to unclasp the strap on her bra. "That's better," she adds, lifting herself up to remove it fully before tossing it towards the laundry hamper.
"Sadly, mine doesn't have a clasp to undo tantalizingly. You just get the peel off." Polly does sit up, likewise, and do just that. Lifting her lemon colored bra up and over and off, tossing it away. "I'd been torturing myself with underwires for forever, and when I discovered MeUndies I basically bought them out of everything I could find. They're not the sexiest of underthings, but wow are they comfy." Perhaps the slightest bit self-conscious of her underthings game, here. "Anyway. Come here." Polly opens her arms up to invite Annie back in again.
Annie shrugs one shoulder as she does as requested, nestling back in to Polly happily. "Even if the wrapper is plain the contents are still beautiful, which is the important part, I think," she counters after a moment. "Being comfortable in what you wear is a good thing, too."
"The contents are ample, in any case," Polly jokes with a soft laugh, wrapping her arms back around Annie's shoulders and pressing a kiss to her temple. "I shouldn't joke about myself when you're trying to be complimentary. It's just habit. Keeping positive self-esteem can be a chore in this business. So it's nice to hear you say nice things, especially since I believe you when you say them. It helps."
Annie watches Polly for a moment before responding to that. "Were insincere compliments something you often had trouble with, before you moved back here?" Her tone is gentle, not accusatory. "I do not make a habit of saying things I do not feel are true, in any event. That feels like a bad one for any of us to cultivate, really."
"Yep. Insincere compliments. Or outright denigration. Gaslighting. Yep yep yep. It's toxic. Part of why Jay left, too. We both traded some war stories about how awful it was back there. And we're both genuinely happy to be here instead. I am not Los Angeles pretty. I'm like an LA 5. Not that this is how people should be measured anyway, but. Yeah. When it comes to physical compliments, they can be hard to accept at first blush."
"Well, I am more than happy to provide you with sincere compliments as often as is necessary for you to take them at face value once more, then," Annie says, leaning in to kiss Polly.
"Ooh, yes. Stroke my ego," Polly jokes with a scrunched nose smile before accepting Annie's kiss and looping her arms just a little tighter around her shoulders. In this manner, Polly ensures the kiss will linger until she's darn good and ready to end it. Which could be a while at this rate. Eventually, she does nudge Annie's cheek with her nose to break the kiss so she can catch her breath and pepper Annie's cheek with a trio of small kisses thereafter. "Or you could keep doing that. Words are overrated."
"Showing instead of merely telling you how beautiful you are in my eyes? I can live with that," Annie jokes right back, smiling softly at Polly, free hand moving to rub curlicues on the other woman's back once again.
"It's hard to argue with heightened pulse rates and gooseflesh," Polly confirms with a smile, trailing her fingertips down Annie's arm and resting her hand on the other woman's hip. "So clearly I'm doing something right." She leans in again to press a smooch on Annie's nose, "Those are definitely sensations I should like to encourage."
"That sounds like a good plan to me," Annie admits, leaning in herself to trail a series of feather-light kisses across Polly's collarbones. "How do you feel about being kissed hard enough to leave a mark?" She asks after finishing that. "Whether somewhere that is generally hidden under clothes while in public or visible for the world to see?"
"I'm a spring with healing contracts, so if it bothers me after the fact I can fix that right up. Don't worry too awful much." Polly combs her fingers through Annie's hair again as her kisses traverse Polly's collar bone, her eyes lidding shut with a contented sigh. That's quite pleasant, that is. "You're more likely to have them stick around, though, if you hide them. I usually like looking presentable to camera shutters."
"Fair enough," Annie admits. "I am not in the media eye so much, so that is not something I would have thought about." And then she's inspecting Polly's body to decide the best spot to leave one, eventually selecting the bottom of her ribcage, just above where it becomes stomach.
Polly makes wordless sounds of pleasure as Annie works her way down Polly torso, her hand once more pets back into Annie's hair, though this time her fingers curl into the back of Annie's skull to hold that kiss in place and give a little tactile feedback on whether good becomes too much somewhere in the midst of it all. But rather than speak more words, she just lets her eyes roll shut and rocks her head back into the pillow to drink in the sensations.
Annie is more than happy to let Polly decide the point at which it becomes too much of a good thing, instead just focusing on lavishing her partner with attention.
Apparently her tolerance for this treatment is rather high, because apart from a small mewling sound in the back of her throat at points, there's no real negative feedback forthcoming. Her eyes flutter open after quite some time and she sighs out a sharp breath towards the ceiling. "You do that any lower and it's going to get real NC17 in here real quick," Polly doesn't so much warn as promise as she bends up a leg to drape it over Annie's back lightly.
"You are still okay with that, yes?" Annie checks in response to that, leaving off the hickey-making to glance up towards Polly's face. "I do not want to go any further than you are comfortable with, after all."
"Oh, yep. Yep yep yep! Mmmhmm! Yes." Polly does enthusiastic consent with an emphasis on enthusiasm. She even offers a big thumbs up with her free hand, doubling down on the affirmatives. "I've not really done something like this since, like. High school. So. Bit surprised to discover I still like it, honestly."
"Really?" Annie seems surprised to hear that. "You have never had the chance to just laze around with a lover who takes the time to work out what makes you feel good, instead of focusing on their own selfish pleasure, in all that time?"
"Oh. No. Not that. Selfish lovers aren't long for my bed. No. I meant ... hickeys," Polly actually has to laugh at the explanation. "That whole 'marking' thing sort of lost its shine around college and I just... never gave it much thought until you asked about it. It's... surprisingly pleasant, actually." Polly tilts her head so that she can look down at Annie, combing back her hair again with her fingers so she can have an unobstructed view of her eyes. "It's novel. Novel is good."
"Fair enough," Annie admits, smiling up at Polly. "I definitely enjoy making you feel good, so trying new things sounds like it should stay on the agenda." She stretches up to press a long kiss to Polly's lips, then.
The neat thing about being an Elemental is that light itself becomes prehensile with a thought. So it's entirely possible for Polly to lift her hips up off the bed and shuck off her undies without ever having to remove her actual hands from Annie's person. So when that kiss is rejoined, Polly suggests, "That sounds like a really great idea for after we do what I know I like." Which is when Polly rolls Annie over and begins to work her own way down Annie's chest with slow kisses of her own.
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