It did not take long before Tina started losing focus on the conversation. Her yawns were anything but elegant. When she started dozing off, Caroline moved next to her and pulled Tina’s head onto her lap. Her sleeping face was peaceful as an angel.

Heidi wondered what their relationship was, for this to feel completely natural for the two of them. Then again, maybe Tina hadn't really registered what happened through her sleepy daze? Regardless, she decided not to satisfy her curiosity.

The meeting rounded off around ten. Heidi managed to get a half-asleep Tina into her car, and then she disappeared into Dreamland again without even fastening her seatbelt.

Heidi had to rouse the girl again when she parked in the garage. She was hardly capable of carrying a teenager.

When prompted where they were, Heidi explained that they were at her apartment, located in the city.

She unlocked the door, allowed Tina to step inside first, and followed her only to freeze in surprised awkwardness. In front of the two, clad in a practically see-through outfit, stood Annie, her lover and roommate. Heidi could see candlelights from the living room behind her, as well as a flask of wine and two glasses. No guessing what Annie had planned. It would normally have been a really pleasant surprise, but just now it was more like awkwardness and bad timing had grabbed the spotlight.

“Ehm… hello there,” Tina spoke up first while the other two were still stumbling in their thoughts, “I really needed a place to crash, and Heidi offered me a bed in your office.”

Impressive recovery, Heidi thought to herself, but how did she know that I was planning to put her in the office? Wouldn't it be more natural to assume it would be a guest room? Then again, maybe she guessed it because it's a small apartment…

“I'm really sleepy right now, so I'd appreciate if I can retire immediately,” Tina continued before Heidi had time finish her line of thought.

Annie recovered somewhat, and have the girl a warm smile. “Of course,” she said, “I'll show you the bed.” Heidi had known her long enough that she was just happy that the situation had been upgraded from ‘completely ruined’ to ‘maybe an opportunity after all?’.

Heidi barely had time for a trip to the bathroom before Annie returned again. Not even giving Heidi a chance to talk, she practically pounced on her and gave her a deep, passionate kiss. Heidi knew that look. There'd be no sleep until her lover was satisfied.

When the alarm pulled her back to Earth, the bed was empty next to her. As usual, Annie was halfway out the door by the time Heidi saw any need to get up. She dragged herself into the bathroom, counting on the shower to wash away her sleepiness. It worked a lot better than usual, owing to the fact that there was hardly any hot water left.

She emerged from the bathroom just in time to catch a kiss from Annie, already in her outdoor clothes.

“Thanks for yesterday, feisty girl,” Annie whispered into her ear.

“I'm pretty certain you were the feisty one,” Heidi whispered back and caught Annie's earlobe between her teeth. This obviously prompted a counterattack.

Unfortunately, there was not enough time before Annie had to leave. They pulled away from each other.

“By the way, I’d appreciate it if you leave enough hot water for me next time,” Heidi commented to Annie as she was halfway through the door.

“Wasn’t me,” Annie shot back, “Ask your guest. I really like her, by the way.” And then she was gone.

She found the kitchen by following the lovely smell of Coffee. “Good morning, sleepyhead!” Tina greeted her, already pouring a cup. The girl added a bit of cream and handed the cup to Heidi.

“Well, that’s some nice service,” Heidi brightened up, sitting down to sip the steaming, delicious liquid. “You also got on Annie’s good side, which arguably isn’t that hard.” Annie was the type of person who could see the good parts in any person. She was almost too good for this world. Thankfully, she had her less flattering sides as well, otherwise Heidi would never find herself adequate for their relationship.

“She is really nice,” Tina agreed with her assessment, “It was she who tipped me off how you liked your coffee.”

“I see you managed to find a tea bag somewhere,” Heidi commented on Tina’s own choice of brew, “I didn’t even know we had any.”

“Yeah, for some reason I suddenly think coffee tastes like slightly diluted acid,” she said with a grimace. “Something to do with my new body, I suppose. On a related note, I suddenly find myself to be an early riser. Both of which feel extremely weird.”

Heidi took another sip of the coffee. She was not hungry when she woke up, and instead ate a rather big lunch.

“By the way, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t claim monopoly on the hot water,” Heidi mentioned as a matter of fact. For some reason this caused Tina to look uncomfortable. Was she blushing?

“I’m sorry about that,” she apologized, obviously not interested in pursuing this topic further. Why was she so troubled about this?

Heidi decided to oblige Tina’s wish and changed the topic. “We heard from Caroline how much you lamented your debt. Camille immediately offered to settle it, saying something about never paying for the private tutoring.” It was obviously just an excuse, but between the four present yesterday, Camille had the most disposable income by a wide margin.

“Also, I’ll pick up a prepaid SIM-card for you on my way home from work,” Heidi continued, “No need to live without a cell phone longer than strictly necessary.”

Tina asked her to pick up a charger as well, which Heidi promised to do.

“I hope this is not a troublesome topic, but I see you’ve found happiness with Annie,” Tina smiled warmly, ”I didn’t even notice you were lesbian during middle school.”

“Neither did I,” Heidi admitted, “I just knew I wasn’t comfortable dating boys. It took a lot of time and encouragement to come out of the closet. I think I was afraid of what my parents would think. They’re both devoted Christians.”

Tina patiently waited for Heidi to go on or stop the story. Well, why not? She had told the story to all of her other friends, and it wasn’t like she distrusted Tina.

“Turned out they were capable of being supportive, despite their general prejudices. I find that more than a bit hypocritical, but wasn’t about to complain about it then and there. Believe me when I say I had plenty of bad dreams about their possible reactions.”

She still considered them hypocritical; not only did they support their lesbian daughter, they even allowed Heidi’s younger sister an abortion despite being against it on general principle. But she was afraid confronting them about it would incur their wrath or worse, and instead just accepted the current situation.

“Well, judging from the sounds last night, it certainly sounds like you’re comfortable with it now,” Tina smiled amusedly.

“You heard us?” Heidi burst out, “But you said you were sleepy?”

“No need to be embarrassed about it,” Tina ensured her, “It’s both natural and beautiful. I wasn’t actually trying to listen in, it’s just that … someone’s a screamer.”

Heidi blushed. Annie could do things to her that made her mind go completely blank until her only response was crying out in pleasure.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“No, seriously, I meant it: There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I'm sorry about bringing the topic up.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have any more time to talk; I need to leave within ten minutes,” she said putting the empty cup in the dishwasher. At least she had a good excuse to escape the situation.

“Wait, can you tell me what the plan is now?” Tina almost desperately pleaded. Heidi mentally chided herself. How inconsiderate to not think of Tina’s feelings first, she had good reasons to be nervous about this whole ordeal.

“Sorry, I should’ve shared that first,” she apologized, “I’ll call one of my contacts during the day, to find eligible places for you to hide. Once we decide on a place, I’ll help you get there, and then you’ll just lay low for a while.” Not the most concrete plan, but hopefully a good starting point.

Tina nodded. “I’ll stay put,” she promised, “or at least be back before you return from work.”

Heidi handed her a set of spare keys before darting out the door.

A little over nine hours later, she returned home to find Annie and Tina chatting in the kitchen. She dragged herself onto a chair with a heavy sigh. Annie walked over to give her a well-deserved hug.

“Long day, dear?” She asked, her voice full of sympathy.

“One boy, in particular, drove me nuts,” Heidi shared, “Or more precisely, his mother did. He was terrified of syringes, and she just sent his fear into overdrive. I had to chase her out, but there was just no way to calm him down. Had to schedule another time. I begged the mother to let the boy's father come instead next time.”

She released a sigh of pleasure from Annie's massage. “What's smelling so good?” she turned her eyes to the oven.

“Spaghetti bolognese,” Tina answered, “One of the few dishes I'm fairly confident about.”

“See? She can even make dinner,” Annie exclaimed, “Can we keep her?”

Heidi chuckled at her lover’s joke. “Last time I checked, she was not a stray cat,” she replied to the joke.

Tina placed a plate in front of Heidi. “Dinner is served.”

She noticed that Tina seemed to be humming to herself while pouring meat sauce and parmesan over the spaghetti on her own plate. “So happy being called a stray cat?” Heidi asked.

“Ah, no,” she replied, still all smiles, “I found a music instrument shop within walking distance. They let me test various violins for the better part of an hour before hinting that I needed to stop or buy something. I was not aware of how much I had missed playing.”

“What made you stop playing?” Annie wondered between two mouthfuls.

Heidi was a bit worried that Tina would speak of the massacre. She didn't want Annie to know too much, in case it came to bite them later. Fortunately, Tina knew how to be subtle.

“My old violin got ruined, and I haven't had the money to replace it yet,” she diplomatically phrased it. Heidi was surprised how good of a liar she was, though she supposed it could be argued whether it was a lie at all.

“That's unfortunate,” Annie commented, “Have you been playing for long?”

Tina nodded. “Quite a lot of years, actually. I consider myself to be very proficient. Too bad I can't give you a quick concert right now.”

The meal was quite good, in Heidi's opinion. Rich tomato taste with just the right balance of sweetness. While she greatly appreciated Annie's positive sides, cooking was not one of them. Unless she took the initiative herself, their dinners would be takeaway and frozen pizza seven days a week.

While they ate, Annie shared her own day: How their latest customer had changed their mind on the logo design three times already. Annie didn't mind, though; she got paid by the hour.

After dinner, Heidi handed Tina her new sim card, eliciting much happiness. Just as they were about to exchange their numbers, Heidi's phone rang. It was an unknown number. She excused herself and went outside on the balcony before accepting the call.

“Thank God you answered. Have you any idea how hard it is to find a payphone?” It was Caroline, and she sounded alarmed. Or afraid?

“Someone was at the farm last night,” she explained, “They left before I returned, but I'm afraid they'll be back again.”

“Try to take a deep breath and relax,” Heidi adviced her, “Did they break into your house?”

She heard Caroline breathe several times. Had she been running, or was she just that scared?

“No break-in,” she said, sounding no calmer at all. “I just found some faint traces in the barn. If September hadn't told me, I probably wouldn't have looked at all.”

Heidi vaguely recalled that Caroline named her horses after the months. Also something about August dying young? Not important right now, she reminded herself.

“What did September tell you about the intruder?” she asked.

“Not much useful, I'm afraid. Horses don't perceive humans the same way we do. The only useful part was that September didn't recognize the intruder's smell.”

Was that good or bad? “If it was one of the agents visiting your farm earlier, would it have recognized the smell?”

“September's a She, not an It,” Caroline snapped, obviously agitated. “But to answer your question: I'm not sure. Horses have decent sense of smell, but they're not bloodhounds.”

Heidi sighed, trying to let Caroline not hear it. “So basically, we hardly know anything,” she summed up.

“Well, don't you think the timing is peculiar?” Caroline counted, “exactly while I'm gone, and leaving hardly any trace at all?”

“But you said…,” Heidi started, but was quickly interrupted.

“Whoever was in the barn deliberately tried to hide all evidence of their visit. It was just not possible to hide every trace when it rains hard outside. There were faint marks from muddy boots which don't belong to anyone in the house. I wouldn't have noticed unless I was intently looking for something out of place.”

It struck Heidi that this was the week Caroline's children were with her. She was probably extra afraid since it was not only herself she needed to worry about.

“Do you think your uninvited visitor was an agent?” she asked.

“I believe that's a reasonable assumption, yes,” Caroline answered, in a tone hinting that was rather obvious. “There's a reason I deliberately called you from a payphone and not my own.”

Smart thinking, Heidi agreed.

“Listen, Caroline. If they come and question you again, just lay your cards down on the table. I'll make sure Tina is outside their reach by then, so you won't be betraying her. Resisting might lead to a very undesirable treatment.”

“But then they'll come straight for you,” Caroline burst out in fear.

“They will, and I'll make sure they won't find her easily.”

“How do you…” Caroline began, but was quickly interrupted by Heidi: “Just trust me, okay?”

At this point, Caroline was almost whimpering. “T-thank you for helping Tina,” she stuttered slightly.

Heidi once again wondered exactly what the relationship was between the two. She highly doubted Caroline had lesbian tendencies. In any case, this was not an appropriate time to ask.

“We're in this together,” she assured her friend. They might not be as close as Caroline and Britney, but they still cared for each other.

Caroline drew in a breath, hesitated, and finally muttered goodbye before hanging up.

Heidi gave herself a minute to formulate a plan before heading back inside. They were on a timer. Also, her fingers were freezing in the chilly Autumn weather.

“Annie? Can you give us a few minutes alone?” she politely asked upon returning inside.

“Sure, no problem,” her lover responded and retreated to their bedroom. It was something of an enigma to Heidi why she seemed to possess so little curiosity, or at least how well she could control it. She was aware that Heidi was part of a secret group of some kind, and simply accepted it without asking any questions.

Tina turned off the screen on her cell phone and met Heidi's eyes. She hesitated for a moment before her eyes widened.

“That was Caroline, wasn't it?” she asked confirmingly, “She's in trouble?”

Heidi was impressed with Tina's quick reasoning. “Possibly?” She repeated the contents of the conversation.

“I have a plan,” she explained to Tina, “I contacted an old acquaintance in the regional office, pretending to be looking for a kid I discovered with self-taught magic a few years back. As I suspected, he didn't know exactly where the kid went, so I asked him for a list of villages that belongs outside the Veil in the greater vicinity.”

She fetched two folded sheets of papers from her handbag. “This is the list. I want you to decide on one of the places on the list without telling me. I'll take you to the bus terminal, and then you pick a suitable bus to your destination. Be aware that practically no public transportation actually visits these places: They are for the most part extremely remote. I'm sure you'll figure that out, though.”

Tina accepted the list and started scanning through it. “So basically, I'll try to be a needle in a haystack,” she surmised, “and when they ask you, you honestly won't know. Sounds like a plan with reasonable odds as far as I am concerned, but what about you?”

“I won't lie: While I doubt the agents will do anything to me, I'm not 100% confident," Heidi responded, “But I'm much less comfortable with simply turning you in. If they do anything unpleasant to you, that'll be a decision I will regret the rest of my life.”

Tina walked over to Heidi and gave her a hug. There was still work to be done: She was obviously uncomfortable with having their chests touch, but it was a start. “Thank you,” she said, “I really appreciate it.”

She broke away from the hug. “How soon do we leave?”

Heidi thought for a moment. “Considering they haven't actually brought Caroline in for questioning or anything, I think it's safe to stay here for the night. I'll take you to the bus terminal first thing in the morning.”