After their little moment, flaunting the freedom and excitement of being freed from the convent (and with it, the abbess's clutches), the five women all decided to try and relax. They'd do their best, if nothing else.
The idea was posed, by Lucretia, that they should all pile into the bed and watch a movie, or listen to music, or both. This idea was met with resounding approval - Zofia nearly leapt at the promise of outside media, something she had long been forbidden within the confines of the convent. Purity was, initially, surprised: Lucretia was adjusting well, and rapidly, to this new life outside the watchful eye of the church. Still, a movie sounded good... and even more so if she could snuggle up to her twin lovers at the same time.
Esthrielle wasn't shy of the idea of cuddling. Frankly, she was glad for an excuse for them all to just get some skinship, and any reason to nestle herself up to Purity and EJ was a good reason. Esper James, the last woman polled for her answer, was delighted by the prospect: her lips were pulled wide before she even had time to register that she was smiling, mouth full of ivories on full display to demonstrate her eagerness.
Purity, then, approached the wall directly opposite the bed, as the other women watched and waited. After all, Purity was the only one with a phone out of the five of them... and frankly, Lucretia had kind of been banking on using said phone as their mode of consumption for whatever media they ended up on.
However, a chorus of gasps and wonder-laced 'oohs' and 'ahhs' arose as Purity reached the dresser, and the wall just behind it. With an experienced hand that spoke more of familiar muscle memory than a clever guess, she reached around the back of the solid wooden furnishing - then, the other four ladies could only hear a small, near-imperceptible click. The click came and went, silence rushing to fill the void which followed; the silence was short-lived. A long rectangular slot opened on the ceiling, a section of the tile sliding away to make room for a full-sized flat screen television to be lowered down by the grace of a single mechanized arm.
She turned back to the peanut gallery as the TV lowered itself to rest a foot or so above the dresser's flat, polished top. "So, ladies? What are we watching?" Blue eyes had returned to pink, now, as felt most characteristic of the least fatale of the room's femmes. Seconds ticked away as each woman in attendance considered their own preference, then considering what would be most apt for a group viewing... voices came up in disparate measure, Lucretia starting the inevitable cascade of opinions.
"I'm the one who suggested a movie, and I'd feel kinda selfish if I decided on everything, yeah? No comedies, though. I'm... I'm not quite comfortable enough for one of those, yet." She gave an apologetic smile to the pinkette, feigning sheepishness in the face of Purity's inquiry. Zofia was quick to chime in, nodding so rapidly her umber hair whipped about from the unbridled enthusiasm. "Yeah, I, ah... I don't wanna watch a comedy! It's too soon after, ah... You know, yeah? Too soon for me to feel ready for being light hearted."
The former researcher offered a similarly bashful grin, gaze snapping away to her left - not to anything in particular, save for her desire not to be looking at Purity. Only Esper James and Esthrielle yet remained, and (for once in her life) EJ decided to take the initiative. She sat up a modicum straighter, having still been sat on the foot of the bed. "No comedy - but what about a romance, yeah? Romances are fun!"
Romances are fun, EJ! Good girl.
As Lucretia nodded her approval, and Zofi's smile bloomed into nervousness at the idea of anything romantic, Esthrielle interjected her own preference. "Romances are fun, but y'know what else is fun? Fuckin' action movies. Let's watch, like, James Wick or something; you know, the hit-man movie? I saw so many posters for it during ops, but I never had a chance to watch it..." She trailed off to silence, her fellow Waywards beginning a new wave of nodding and approval at this suggestion. To be honest, EJ was pretty sure they'd say yes to anything, so long as it wasn't a comedy.
Purity sighed with theatrical exaggeration, cocking her hips and head in opposite directions, eyes now drifting up to the ceiling. Her hands went to her hips to complete the full-body gesture, her mock exasperation landing with the sort of accuracy that even classically-trained performers could only ever dream of achieving.
"Fi-i-ine. I'll be the deciding vote, then. Hmm... Romance or action... Action or romance..." As with her prior actions, the performative way she pretended to think long and hard about this choice was more than commendable: her sights lowered but only so she could stare at the opposite wall, lips screwing up as though deep in difficult thought. Eventually, after a few seconds had ticked away while her audience waited in mute anticipation, she shut her eyes and gave a single affirmative nod.
"Okay. Action. Romance. Both great options. However... I think I know exactly what to watch." That was all she said, then; the top drawer of the dresser was slid open, and from beneath a neatly-folded stack of spare panties, she drew out a minuscule remote. Remote in hand, she shut the drawer and made her way back towards the bed - taking a seat upon its edge even as she powered on the television and began to flip through its inbuilt streaming directory.
Lucretia, meanwhile, had begun to shimmy out of her nun's habit. This was met without protest from the girls who were paying attention (everyone other than Purity), though not without curiosity: Esper James could only speculate as to what the hell she was doing, her eyes then affixing the bob-headed deserter with a curious, scrutinizing gaze. Lucretia noticed the collection of stares after only a few moments, laughter bubbling up from within her even as she tossed her old headdress into the nearest corner.
"What? We're gonna be chilling in the bed, right? No one sits on their bed's blankets while watching a movie in the bedroom. It'd just be fucking weird. I'm gonna get down to my undies and chill out under the covers. You frigid prudes are welcome to join me, if you can help each other pull the sticks out of your asses!" She stuck her tongue out at the assembled party and winked, then going straight back to disrobing.
Huh. That... That sorta made sense? Esper James had never really, well, never really been at a sleepover before... not a girls-only sort of sleepover, anyways. That's kind of what this was, wasn't it? A sleepover with the girls - both lovers and friends. Just a gaggle of gals being pals; just some femmes being friends. Just some... no, no, she couldn't think of another one to keep that little alliteration train rolling; she did, however, hop to her feet and begin to strip down as well.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Esthrielle wasn't far behind; Purity, however, was too busy finding whatever movie she had decided upon to join in. Zofia, the last lady that Esper James thought to check on to gauge her comfort, was shell shocked. She opened her mouth, closed it, opened it anew, and settled on keeping her lips shut; meanwhile, her eyes were positively frantic, darting between Lucretia, Esthrielle, and Esper James, in that order. If her pupils were pinballs, the Pole would have been getting the high score with little effort involved.
EJ smiled to herself, snickering under her breath; she turned away from Zofi, knowing that seeing any more of the nervous woman's girlish apprehension to semi-nudity would just keep her giggling. After a few moments more, the sound of shifting, shuffling cloth indicated that she had been swayed - just as Lucretia had finished dismissing her own outfit to the same corner she had thrown her headdress into.
Our ghoulette heroine couldn't help but look over to the black-and-purple-haired field operative, telling herself that she was just curious about the kind of garments nuns wore beneath their habits - and, to her surprise, what she saw nearly floored her. Lulu was wearing a lacy black bra with matching panties, a single hot pink bow sitting just below her waistline and just above her lap; the bra had a similar bow on either strap, but was otherwise unadorned save for its inherent lacy nature. Looking at Lulu now, in her shockingly modern (and shockingly lingerie-like) ensemble, EJ couldn't help but think that Lulu looked more cut out for Vitus life than the secretary ever had.
Delicate fingers took black-dyed tips in their grasp, their owner having turned her gaze down to consider them with something akin to envy forming a hot leaden block in her chest. The dyed tips were cool, she reminded herself; she assured herself, really. Just as cool as Lulu's black bob with the neon purple inner layer... EJ's plain white panties and bra were just as enticing as Lucretia's lovely lace attire... She was just as interesting and hot and-
To get herself away from becoming a literal green-eyed monster, EJ let the lock of hair drop from her hand, diverting her gaze now to Zofia. What was she hoping for? For Zofi to be dressed much the same as Lulu, to prove it was part of their uniform? To be dressed plainly, like the blonde herself? To be, who knows, naked? None of these options really made Esper James feel much better about the state of affairs.
Thankfully, she was snapped from her petty bitterness by a strong hand, with coffee-coloured synthskin and bearing all the characteristic softness of said skin, placing itself on her cheek. It only required a small adjustment of her line of sight to notice Esthrielle had snuck up right beside her, a smug, catlike smirk on the Italian's cocksure mug. "Oh, EJ? What - me and Purity not enough for you, ya little hopeless romantic? How long until you make a move on my former coworkers, eh, EJ~?" No laughter followed, but her smile did in fact widen; Est's other hand wound back about a foot from EJ's rear, then rushing towards her with a not-insubstantial amount of force.
EJ yelped. Before she had a chance to reply, though, Purity found the movie she was looking for - and, after releasing a triumphant cheer, the pink-haired princess turned over to see what EJ was yelping about like a kicked puppy. What she found, of course, was Esper James trying not to put a hand back to rub at her new soon-to-be-sore spot. The blonde figured that such a thing would really just be a confession of weakness.
Purity chuckled, turning as she stood up so as to better observe her new roommates. When she saw Lucretia, she allowed her gaze to linger all the way up until Lulu had pulled back the bedspread and slipped in beneath the covers and silken sheets; Purity didn't have the same sort of shy nature that Esper James did, it seemed. However, there was a stillness in the air around Esper James that seemed heavy, and odd, as if something was left unsaid - and a single glance back over to Esthrielle, who was now fully smiling with all of those steely fangs, told EJ why.
Oh, fuck. That's right. Est had asked her a question, hadn't she? Fuck, fuck, fuck, what was it... What to say here... "Yes?" EJ threw the word out like leftovers she'd forgotten in the fridge, the combination of the sting in her ass and the assessment of the other Waywards (and her assessment of Purity's assessment) having thrown her brain into disarray. What had Est even asked her?
It turned out not to matter, or maybe EJ had answered correctly; either way, Esthrielle burst into laughter, gathering EJ up in an impromptu embrace that put both women flesh-to-flesh in their partial nudity. Inside the confines of her mind, EJ high-fived herself for managing to slavage that awkward situation with the 'correct' answer. She returned Est's embrace happily, shutting her eyes and resting her head upon the Italian's shoulder, breathing deeply so that she might drink in the moment, before releasing it in a huff of singular contentment.
"Hahahaha~! EJ, EJ, you are... You are so fucking cute, you know that? Hahaha! God, you dunno what I even fucking said, do you, blondie?" And just like that, EJ's confidence and pride melted like wax before an open flame, dribbling down to form a warm puddle of shy amusement. Okay, seems like she hadn't actually knocked that one out of the park like she'd thought... and Est, having been trained to be able to pick up on these things, saw straight through her bullshit. Oopsies.
EJ simply squeezed her lover more tightly in response, turning her face down so she might bury it into the crook of Esthrielle's neck. Lips against skin, now, she muffled out a simple response - words were unnecessary when mere vocalization would do, of course. Or, so she hoped. "Mmmh-mmmh..." Admitting it didn't hurt at all, and the immediacy with which EJ confessed her lack of situational awareness only seemed to delight Est further.
The Wayward lifted her in the hug, torso swiveling upon its hips so as to shake Esper James with the tender elation and affection of a child receiving a new stuffed animal or pet. This, too, was happily accepted - this acceptance then doubled down upon, as Purity's arms went around her back to snatch the both of them up. For a few moments, Esper James was the filling to a first-living, second-living, and New Way sandwich. Frankly? She wouldn't have had it any other way. Feeling Est's chest rise and fall with every breath, feeling Purity's chest smooshing into her from behind, and knowing that they truly did care for her? Nothing could have made her quite so happy as this.
Purity leaned down to kiss Esthrielle, giving her a strong but brief liaison of lips, before providing a very similar sort of comfort to Esper James. Pink lips touched pale skin, imparting the tingle that always came from sharing a tender moment with a lover; no need for anything more extreme than that, and for this, EJ was happy.
After a few moments, Purity let EJ go, with Est letting her down. The ladies scrambled into the bed after only a moment's delay to giggle, to rest their head upon the pillows, and to feel the comfort. Once EJ had met them, and all seemed to be becoming right with the world, those in assembly actually turned their attention to the movie. Said movie was some Western schlock about the a vampire and her lover, and fighting off vampire hunters to keep he safe; it's a bit contrived, EJ thinks, But it's better than nothing.
Minutes turned to hours as they slogged their way through this, but it was already about bedtime anyways. It was exceedingly easy for them to stumble up, rush to the bathroom one-by-one to freshen up, and then snuggle back in to their assorted cuddle-pile for a proper sleep. They'd have plenty more of this to come, EJ hoped: plenty more casual, domestic comfort. Plenty more casual embraces, and sharing skinship with friends.
She'd have to see, though she was certainly optimistic. Est still wouldn't tell her what she had asked the ghoulette, though, even as they decided it was truly time for bed - she just laughed any time EJ brought it up. The blonde fell asleep with Esthrielle as her blanket, Purity as her pillows, and the two other women offering comforting background noise.
Maybe things would finally be alright for them, yeah?