Page 12 of The Curious Incident of the Great Cookie Snackcident of 979
“That needs to rest for a bit ... and I think you and I might need to talk.”
1. Her appearance can shift over time. Berne reports that as a boy, she looked similar to his mother, but shifted to have darker hair once he met people outside of Sanctuary. To many people from Sanctuary, she has white hair, though as with Abi, she doesn’t always.
2. One can imagine that these hallways are rarely used. They are only kept as a courtesy to non shades. There are several areas accessible only to shades, though from Senka’s telling, they tend to be their child-care facilities and religious locations.
Chapter six
Abi
IN WHICH CONFESSIONS ARE MADE, PASTA IS RESTED, AND NEW TECHNIQUES ARE DISCOVERED
Dusting her hands offon a tea towel, Abi pulled in a deep breath, willing her nerves to relax. She turned away from Senka’s penetrating gaze, hiding her struggle and hoping her voice wouldn’t betray her. “About what?”
“You say I’m not making you uncomfortable, inviting me into your space, but you are shaking like a leaf. I just don’t know what is going on with you. One minute I think I’m terrifying you, the next we feel more comfortable than I’ve ever felt, and then other times ...” they trailed off, and Abi turned to look at them. They were shaking their head, one hand running through their wisps like hair.
“And other times?” Abi whispered, her breaths shallow and quick.
Each breath hinged on what Senka said next. Their relationship hung in the balance; tension pulled taut between them. The next few moments would determine if Abi felt like soaring or be enveloped in despair. Senka tugged on their own hair tendrils, their eyes pleading with Abi.
“Other times ... I feel like something is there, between us. A seed that, if we plant it, could grow into something beautiful. Do you know what I am trying to say?” they asked, their hands and every tendril straining for Abi where she stood across the kitchen.
“Yes, I think so,” Abi answered, hope filling her chest. “I feel it, too.”
A wide smile dawned on Senka’s face, their glowing eyes crinkling in delight. “You do?” they asked. “How do humans do this? Do I need to ask your parents to court you or something?”
A squealing laugh burst from Abi’s chest. “No, no, nothing like that. Just me, and I’d love to,” she said, feeling like she was leaping off a cliff without looking.
She closed the space between them, Senka’s tendrils lengthening toward her and caressing her as soon as she was within reach. They didn’t tug at her, each place they touched her they skated over her skin, as if checking she was real.
“I’m sorry, I only have so much control over them,” Senka whispered, their glowy blush lighting their face. “I can make them stop if you want, with conscious thought, but they are just drawn to you. If you are close, they want to be touching you, probably because I do, too.”
“They don’t bother me at all, I love them,” Abi said, reaching out to brush tentative fingers over Senka’s face. Their hair wisps intertwined with her fingers, already beginning to melt into her skin.
“Good, because they are entirely obsessed with you. I’ve been spending a great deal of time trying to control them of late,” theysaid. “I’ve been trying to figure out if you felt the same, but it’s only been the last week or so that I felt like you might.”
Abi nodded, her cheeks starting to hurt from smiling so much. “I can take a while to warm up to people, I’ve found. It seems to take a bit longer for me than other people. I’m sorry if it was confusing.”
Senka caught her chin with their hand, staring into her eyes. “We can take as long as we need, for everything. The only people concerned with our schedule are the two of us, and frankly, I don’t see it as waiting. I’m happy to savor every stage with you. Pining for you was extremely pleasurable torture, and I’m confident I’ll love every phase of our relationship. There’s no need to stress or feel pressured, I don’t.”
They rubbed their thumb along her cheek and their tendrils gave her the lightest squeeze. Senka bit their lip and Abi’s eyes were drawn to them like a lodestone.
Drawing in a deep breath, Abi reined in her nerves and met their eyes. “Do you think—I mean to say—would it be all right if I kiss you?”
“I’d love that,” they said, lowering their head to hers.
Their lips brushed against Abi’s with featherlight pressure, sending a thrill through Abi’s entire body. Her stomach flipped with joy, her nerves clanging riotously through her frame. She pressed back against Senka, wanting more pressure from them. Kissing Senka was a full body experience, their tendrils massaging her body all over. Gentle presses that individually would be barely detectable, collectively, it felt like being carefully but firmly squeezed.
Senka hummed against her mouth and it emboldened Abi to deepen the kiss. She opened her mouth and gasped when Senka’s tongue slipped against hers. She hadn’t known what to expect, if their mouth would even be moist, but at first it felt like kissing a human. Their tongue tangled with hers, slow andsensual. They moved and touched her in ways that made her feel cherished, and she could hardly believe her luck.
In the past, she’d had some trouble with relationships. Other partners had always fallen first, fallen harder, and had been confused when she didn’t return their ardor as quickly. Their annoyance had always gotten under her feathers, putting her further on edge. She’d had a girlfriend who’d been especially hurt by Abi’s occasional difficulty with arousal, or that sometimes she just didn’t feel like sex. She hoped that Senka really meant what they said about not pressuring her. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t let anyone pressure her into physicality she didn’t want ever again. Oddly enough, with Senka it just felt easy. There wasn’t any pressure, but she also felt comfortable to explore this budding relationship between them.
Senka kissed her breathless, until Abi could feel their fronts melding into one another. Their tongues hadn’t yet, but their lips were so enmeshed that she felt their subtle shifts inside her own. It was startlingly intimate, especially knowing that Senka could feel her from the inside.
Pulling back, their own breathing coming ragged, Senka smiled ruefully. Abi’s lips missed theirs, bereft of their exciting fullness.
“I think it might be time to roll out the pasta,” they said, several tendrils curling to tuck some of Abi’s hair behind her ear.
“Oh,” Abi said, flushed and somewhat dazed. “I suppose we should.”