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“Commoner!”
Claire’s voice rang through the bedroom door, exciting Rae’s half conscious brain as she turned in bed.
“Hehehee Claiiire, I’m trying to sleep, we can't… Wait, Claire?!” She startled awake and tossed her blanket to the side, rushing to the door in a panic. “What happened? Is everything alright?"
Claire stood on the other side, her formal dress billowing slightly in the draft of the door’s violent motion; she hadn’t shown earlier that day, but it seems she still dressed up.
Magnificently so, Rae noted to herself. As to be expected.
“It most certainly is not!” Claire pouted, her puffy sleeves pushed to her sides. “Your behavior this past week has been absolutely unacceptable. Your subpar cleaning alone would be enough to revoke your title as my maid!”
Rae stared in stunned silence for a moment, watching the late night shadows dance in the hallway. Despite her ridiculous timing, Claire sounded hyper-serious.
Rae dipped into a deep bow, the most exaggerated deference in her voice. "My dearest apologies, my dearest lady. I do hope that you will forgive me." She lifted her head in the bow slightly, looking up with a smile. "Though if you don't forgive me that's totally okay too, heh-heh."
"What are you going on about?"
"Just sayin': if you wanna take your anger out on me, that's great! I'm more than willing to be your footstool, Miss Claire!" she nodded fervently.
"I cannot believe you would make lewd comments at such an unreasonable hour!"
"Are you sure about that? ‘Cus I feel like late-night is exactly the time to make lewd-"
From within the room, Misha noisily stirred from bed, rubbing sleep from her eyes. “Really you two?”
“Misha! I’m terribly sorry, I forgot that you and Rae sleep in the same room,” Claire peeped, turning red.
“It’s alright Miss Claire,” she sighed. “On the other hand: Rae, I understand that you might miss her, but you shouldn’t disturb Miss Claire this late in the night, and you especially can’t bring her to our room.”
Rae turned to Misha with a grin, unable to hide her satisfaction. “Ohoho! You misunderstand. Claire is the one bothering me. ”
“Oh. Is that so?” A glance to Claire for confirmation and she quickly turned away, only huffing in annoyance. “I’ll give you two some privacy then,” Misha continued, sitting up in her bed and beginning to slip on her shoes.
Claire shot back towards her. “W-What?! We don’t need privacy! You can stay, Misha.”
“If you say so,” she shrugged as she pulled on her jacket. “I have some work to catch up on anyway. Goodnight Miss Claire, goodnight Rae. Have fun.”
“Fun? I don’t know what you’re implying!” Claire protested, taking a step into the room as the door closed. “Hmph.”
“You were saying, Claire?”
“Oh, right...” she sighed and dropped onto Rae’s bed. “Your work has been entirely unsatisfactory lately.”
“Yeahhh, you already said that though? Besides, why not just tell me in the morning?”
Claire scraped a dress frill with her nail, unsteady as she looked up. It was certainly a poor excuse--Rae did good work, despite her many quirks--so…
Why did I come here?
The thought played in her mind for a minute until Rae broke the silence.
“Do you want some tea, Claire? Might help you relax.”
Claire shook her head, forcing herself out of her daze. “Absolutely not! It’s much too late for tea; I was trying to sleep before your incompetence distracted me. Really, how am I supposed to sleep in a bed so improperly made?” She straightened up, attempting a show of her regality.
“I guess that makes sense. But, why are you still in your dress then?”
Claire turned pale, her regalness shot through. “Why, I- I didn’t want to take it off, that’s all.”
“Oohhh, I understand.” Rae grinned mischievously. “You were having trouble on your own, so you came to ask me to help take off your dress for you,” she teased, dragging the words in her mouth. “You should’ve just said something, you know I’d be more than happy to take off your clothes Miss Claire.”
Despite her indecent phrasing, Rae sounded all the more genuine as she spoke. Though her genuine tone didn’t help Claire feel any less embarrassed--the opposite, in fact.
“That is enough! What I meant was… I was having trouble sleeping, so...” she shrank away meekly.
“I’m not sure I follow.”
Claire shifted anxiously on the bed, desperately trying to keep eye contact, her arms pulled close to her chest.
“Sometimes wearing the dress helps me sleep. It’s nice to have something beautiful when I’m feeling… Less than that.” The words started in her throat quicker than she could stop, and she nearly dropped the phrase between breaths.
Rae watched Claire pick at her dress, her perfect blonde curls framing her now misty eyes. And, still, following her frame; her manicured nails, her pearlescent skin. In what world is she less?
“Claire.” Her tone shifted, turning low and pitying. She sat down beside her and placed a hand on her leg, brushing against the fine fabric.
Claire quickly turned away, spiraling with embarrassment.
It’s beneath me to get so upset about this. A noble lady, not being able to use her words, not being able to look someone in the eyes? Ridiculous.
As Rae moved to speak, Claire quickly flashed back to meet her gaze. “I am not in the mood for some empty platitude or innuendo!” She took a few shallow breaths to collect herself, straightening up again. “Forget that I said anything at all. I’m fine. Don’t bother me any further, Commoner.”
There was a twinge of pain in her as she finished, the phrase hanging heavy between them. Of course, Rae is a commoner, but they'd long since moved past that--now, it only made distance between them. Claire much appreciated that now.
“I understand, Miss Claire.”
“You don’t,” she snipped. “I- ... I’m not sure I do.”
Claire bowed her head low, chiding herself again.
Pick up your head! This is no way for a lady to act.
Rae shifted closer on the bed, slowly moving an arm around her waist. “I think you're beautiful Miss Claire.”
“Yes, I know .” Claire motioned Rae’s arm away weakly, barely an attempt. “Really, Commoner, won’t you say anything else?”
“No can do Miss Claire!” she smiled. “I refuse to lie to you--I think you’re the most beautiful woman in the world!”
“Hmph!” She pulled back from Rae’s arm with a frustrated look. “Are you calling me a liar then?”
“Nope!”
Claire burned with anger. Rae, always with that same smile, mocking her; the gall, to openly disobey. Is she even going to try to apologize? And when she’s trying to be honest. God, where does she get off? ... No. It’s not Rae’s fault, it’s hers. Some noble she is. So pathetic.
Claire worked her face into her best haughty sneer and sat up straight.
“I suppose I’ll have to punish you then.”
“Oohh Claire, that sounds fun. How are you gonna-”
Claire gave an unamused look and shifted forward on the bed.
Oh. For once, Claire was ahead of her on this.
“Fun? You think I care about your fun?” She yanked Rae by the hand, pulling her low to her lap. “Fun for you is only a side effect of what I want, Commoner. Don’t get ahead of yourself.” Claire held her wrist tight, marking it red with another squeeze before letting it drop. “You know what to do.”
Rae quickly worked her hand under her lady's dress; soft frills tickled atop her hand, Claire’s delicate skin ached below. Never having been great with emotions, she saw this as a workable solution.
However, as Claire flinched at her touch, an uneasy expression on her face, Rae quickly pulled her hand back.
"Claire?”
"What?" her voice cracked, her pompous inflection giving way to weariness.
I...? Why did she stop? Am I really that detestable? Rae, of all people...
“Do you really want this?” Rae said.
“I- This is your due punishment!” She huffed, her thoughts ricocheting violently.
“Claire...” she pursed her lips. "Listen, I really appreciate you doing this for me."
Claire looked down at Rae, her hand still resting on her thigh, clearly itching to move. "What a profoundly odd thing to say right now."
"I know, but I mean it. You'll probably never admit it, but you know how much I want this. And I also know it's a lot of work for something that's supposed to be fun."
"I'm not sure what you mean, humiliating you comes as easy as any of my other duties."
"That's exactly what I mean! You work so hard every day to make other people happy, to fit an image, to talk right. I can only imagine what that's like. Heck, I learned all about etiquette and I could never get close to doing what you do."
"I- I-” She stammered, caught off guard by Rae’s sudden callout. “I'm not sure I like what you're implying! This isn't some act, it’s who I am!"
“Claire, my point is-" Rae sat up on her knees and laced her hand with Claire’s. "Please, just let me take care of you. Not because I don't like when you order me around--I really do--but, you deserve a break."
Claire paused, ready to hurl an insult, but she couldn't help sighing as she stared at Rae's lap; she couldn't help feeling tired--beyond just the hour, the moon’s taunting silver through the window, the exertion of the day. So very tired.
"Hmph. I suppose it's only right that you'd start to do your fair share." Claire explained, desperately clinging to any sense of nobility. She fell onto Rae’s lap with a rigid thump. "Really, Commoner, it's not as if..." Her words trailed off as Rae rubbed her head, letting her fingers run through her hair.
“It’s okay Claire. You’re always so good to me. You don’t gotta prove it, just relax.”
Rae's heart skipped a beat as two delicate arms squeezed around her, the full weight of Claire's body being pressed down into her.
“First the dress, now this. I’m supposed to be better than this," Claire muttered into her lap, curling her legs and nuzzling her face closer into the folds of Rae's pajamas.
“Do you know what happened?”
“No... It’s not that sort of day...” Her head felt like a block of iron, any thought bouncing off of it with a cold and aching pain.
“Oh Claire,” Rae sighed, stroking Claire’s hair soothingly. “You’ve been doing so good.”
Claire’s shoulders relaxed slightly at her kind words, easing further onto Rae, urging her to continue.
“You work so hard from the moment you wake up, and you still manage to squeeze in being adorable. It’s amazing, of course you need a break.” Rae stopped for a moment, parsing through her hundred odd compliments. “I’m sorry I didn’t notice earlier, you just make it look so easy. You’re just so smart, and decisive, and... Do you wanna know the hardest part of being your maid?” She slowly reached her free hand around the side of Claire’s face tenderly. “It’s just keeping up with you.”
Claire’s breath grew labored by the minute as the words sank in, until she shivered at each pass of Rae’s hand.
"Claire, do you want me to-"
She kept her head close to her chest as she turned up towards Rae, an embarrassed look on her face. "Please.”
Claire stopped dead in the changing room. “Rae, I’ve changed my mind, this is ridiculous! What if someone sees?”
“Well, it is a public bath; we aren’t doing anything wrong. Nobody is gonna be out this late anyway.”
“Commoner...” she grumbled with an adorable scowl.
“It’s fine, Claire! I locked the door behind us.”
Claire narrowed her eyes. “Really? How?”
“Maaagic,” Rae gestured emphatically.
“And you’re sure your magic will hold?”
“One hundred percent, knight’s honor!” she smiled with an ensuring thumbs up. Sure, her “magic” was a wooden bar on the door, but it was certainly effective.
“And the towels? Soap and the like?”
“All accounted for!”
“I see...” Claire paused, searching for another delay. “Mmmmf... Fine. I suppose we should get on with it then.” She gestured to the back of her dress and Rae quickly got to work on the strings--fine purple ribbons, laced across each other. With a yank, the dress loosened enough to be removed.
Claire reached a hand under each side of her collar, motioning to get the dress off her shoulders, but was unable to get her arms to pull. She took a deep breath in, then out, hoping the motion would have her hands follow in turn, but no such luck.
Damn it... I can’t even...
Rae quickly moved her hands up and onto Claire’s shaking hands.
“It's alright. You can keep it on Claire. We can go back to your room and lie down, no matter what. Okay?” Rae whispered softly, each word a breath felt on Claire’s neck. “But, if you really want to,” she coaxed a thumb under Claire’s hand “then I’ll help.”
Claire moved her hands abruptly--urged on by Rae--stopping again just before the dress loosened fully off her shoulders.
“It isn't just the dress... This is embarrassing, all of it,” Claire whined, looking down.
“You’re gonna be alright Claire, I’ve helped you bathe before. Nothing I haven’t seen already."
"This is different and you know it!” She turned over her shoulder. “This isn’t my maids helping me get ready. It’s just us, it’s late, and, well..."
Rae quickly moved to distract her as she began to look down again.
"Worried you won't be able to control yourself? Heh heh."
"I- Stop it!" Claire scrunched her hands into balls under Rae’s, tensing and un-tensing them a few times. “Rae. This isn’t... I don’t want this to be sex. I don’t want to even think about it. Do you understand?”
“Of course, you got it,” Rae responded without skipping a beat.
“Hmph, that easy? Really? You’ve always been quite persistent.”
“Yep. That easy.” She turned the edge of her lips, squinting her eyes with the breadth of her smile.
Claire’s heart skipped, Rae’s casual tone urging her to a brief calm -- ‘It always will be,’ it seemed to continue.
She slipped the dress off her shoulders with a start and wriggled it past her hips. Rae crouched down to the dress as it fell, careful not to let it fully drop onto the ground.
“Hahh...” Claire took a deep and shaky breath as she stepped out of the dress. She knew it was going to be bad but, this? Her skin felt heavy in all the wrong places. Her chest hurt, and she was somehow sure it was her fault.
“I’m gonna go put this away. I’ll be back in a minute, okay?”
Claire winced. Rarely could she admit it, but now of all times she didn’t want to be alone, even if only for a minute.
Don’t be a child.
She gave a quick nod.
“Alright. I’ll be back soon.” Rae gave a quick squeeze to one of Claire’s shoulders, then hurried away.
Claire rubbed her arms, tracing goosebumps. She grabbed a ribbon from a nearby cabinet and tied her hair out of the way with practiced ease as she made her way to the water’s edge, careful not to catch herself in the reflection.
Truly, profoundly, embarrassing. She took her frilly underwear off with a toss and left it near the edge--before she could second guess herself--then began into the bath, relishing in the warm water on her skin. Despite its surrounding comfort, she winced again as she looked down. Her normally perfect skin seemed to carry all new disfigurements, refracted ten fold in the water’s surface.
Why? What changed? Any sort of insecurity was unbecoming of her, but the ‘why’ pressed in her mind especially. If she can’t figure that out, there goes any hope of fixing it...
“Alright Miss Claire, I’m comin’ in!” Rae called out from the changing room, quickly disrobing. She slipped into the bath behind Claire with a splash, the ripples distorting away her gloomy thoughts.
“Good idea, moving your hair out of the way,” Rae said as she adjusted her position.
“Of course, we aren’t going to wash it before morning. That would be-”
Rae reached her arms around Claire’s sides and nestled a soft kiss into the crook of her neck.
“Rae!”
“Couldn’t resist,” she grinned, grabbing the soap from the side of the bath. “Sorry. I can start there then.”
Claire quickly reached up to the side of her neck, blocking the spot with her hand. “Don’t be stupid...” she mumbled, blushing.
“Hehe, shoulders it is then.”
Rae lowered her hands slowly onto Claire’s shoulders, hoping not to shock her too much with the cold of the soap as she worked it into a lather.
Immediately, Claire felt vindicated--though it wasn’t the foremost emotion. She was right: this is different. Soft candle light bounced off the walls, Rae’s hands were let to move slowly and deliberately over her arms, and she couldn’t help but feel every bump and shift in movement behind her. It was soft, and romantic, and it gave rise to a heat in her chest that sank lower and lower.
Rae finished cleaning Claire’s arms, giving a lace of her hands as she went, intertwining their fingers for a moment. She reached up beside Claire’s arms and began at her chest, her hands scrubbing over delicate skin with ecstatic delicacy.
Claire took great care to stifle a moan as Rae’s slick hand ran over her breast.
Yes, it feels nice, but it was important not to give Rae the wrong idea. She said herself she doesn’t want that, and she meant it.
Still, as Rae worked the warm soap, Claire couldn’t help but lean back onto her chest in mellow pleasure--to which the even and velvety warmth of Rae’s body pushed back against her. The needling sensations of the day only heightened it, cutting sensitive marks in her mind that were ran in easily by attention. Never had she felt so needy, yet those needs were readily satisfied.
Fine, it feels good. For the love of God, just don’t-
“Ah-!” Claire let out a gasp, sharp, faint, and with clear intent. “D-Damn it. Ignore that. I just said, too...”
Rae stopped, the tips of her fingers just barely brushing against Claire’s skin. “It’s alright Claire, you can still enjoy yourself. I know I am,” she giggled. “Doesn’t mean we’re gonna do anything. Relax, I’ve got you.”
She squeezed her arms tighter in affirmation as she spoke, coursing a shiver up Claire’s spine. Slowly, the shiver made its way through her mouth, and she eased out another whimper.
“Rae~”
“There you go Miss Claire! Just do what feels right.” Rae moved her hands down to Claire’s ribs, slowly moving her hands in circles. “Whatever you want.”
She watched over Claire’s shoulder as she winced and shivered, her lips cutting thin lines. Claire's flustered face could never get old, but there was an especially profound cuteness to her then. She was just so adorable when overwhelmed--so sensitive, so easy to read.
“Mmph,” Claire squeaked as Rae washed off the soap with cupped hands. She squirmed in place between Rae’s arms, each time turning her to wriggle more as Rae’s wet skin rubbed against hers. Despite her thrashing, she tried to keep herself at least moderately still, so as not to break the routine.
“You doin’ okay?”
Claire nodded slightly, her face betraying her and flushing pink. It clearly wasn’t easy.
“So brave. Good girl Claire.”
Mmm... Good girl... Claire smiled absently. Good... Girl...? ... Good girl?!
Her heart pounded in her ears. Excuse her?!? Those are words for a pet, not a noble! How dare she! It’s so- so- If she must be so crude, Rae would be more fitting for the title, obedient as she is.
She took a deep breath in and stifled the thought, but her heart wouldn’t stop pounding. Strange. If it wasn’t in anger, though...
She turned over Rae’s shoulder with a groan, entirely overwhelmed by her warring emotions. Rae shifted closer, cradling her in her arms.
“You’re so cute Claire,” she whispered, her hot breath playing on the curves of Claire’s neck. “Every time I see you, it’s the first thing I think. Or, well, ‘Miss Claire is so beautiful, so pretty, so hot.’ It depends on the day, heh.”
“... What if I wasn’t,” Claire muttered meekly into Rae’s ear.
“Hm?”
“You heard me.” Her voice was flooded with desperation, on the verge of breaking. “What if that changed.”
“You don’t have to worry about that Claire. You’ll always be beautiful to me.”
Claire pouted, clearly unsatisfied with the response.
“Oouf, alright. It’s an easy question anyway. I’d still love you. No matter what. Even if I couldn’t see you, or talk to you, or hold your hand...”
Rae reached for Claire’s hand as her mind turned with memories of her past life. She cradled a pillow in place of a lover, the soft glow of the Revolution game playing through her eyelids as she dreamt of a life with Claire--the life she has now.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re beautiful. It matters that you’re here.”
“I see...”
Claire stared off. Rae had always made it abundantly clear how much she loves her, but it felt strange to hear something so unconditional. She’d certainly met people with no care for her appearance, and plenty more who only cared about her for it. But Rae--
Rae’s hands wandered slowly across her stomach.
--Rae is a pest. A shameless pest with no regard for boundaries. A fool who, despite everything, loves her, and would still love her if she wasn’t- ... What an awful idea. She has no intention to stop trying, to let her looks go. It would be a disservice to herself, to the joy she finds in it, to her late mother who she so resembles.
Still absently cleaning, Rae’s hand ran over a bump, the smallest bit of fat, doubled over as Claire sat in the water.
Adorable.
“Rae!" Claire yelped as Rae's hand mindlessly pinched at her skin, shaking them both out of their daydreams.
“Sorry, sorry! ... You must really like my baking, huh Claire?" she giggled.
"You're an excellent pâtissier," Claire responded, matter of fact. She often found Rae to be a woman of trade-offs, but her baking was an unmitigated positive. It only made sense, after all, for a servant of the Claire François. “Though I’m not sure why you’d bring it up now. Are you trying to curry favor with me again?”
“Not really! You just got a little bit of a belly going on.”
The words couldn't seem to form and chide that. Instead, she leaned back slightly and looked down. Of course, Rae was right, ever so slightly. She had in fact fallen behind on her form. Tch. Though, as she stared down, the uneasy feeling of the night didn’t seem to find any purchase there.
Claire chuckled, a quick breath out through her nose.
“What’s the matter Claire?”
“Nothing...”
“Ah, sorry. Should I not have said that?”
“What? No, no.” She glanced down again, wistful. Oh well, no backpedaling now. “It’s like... a reminder of you, somehow.”
“Oooo, I see! Well, I can certainly give a few more reminders." Rae roughly kissed Claire’s neck again, threatening a hickey.
“Enough, enough.” Claire tapped at the back of Rae’s head and smiled slightly, a rare tenderness slipping out her lips.
Swaddled in her towel, Claire searched desperately for a spare change of clothes. If she went back in the dress she might never get it off, but this simply wouldn’t do.
“No need to worry Claire!” Rae said. “I keep a spare of yours in my room for just this occasion!"
Claire scowled at her. “What? It better be.”
“Promise!”
“Hmph...”
The closet was a thing of dread. For a maid, Rae certainly didn’t take care of her own storage well. Claire scrounged through stacks of unfolded laundry and assorted accessories before finding an outfit she recognized, dropping her bath towel and slipping into it.
As the door closed, the closet rattled slightly, shaking a small notebook off the shelf and splaying it open. Claire delicately picked it up and looked it over.
“Oops! I'm sorry Claire, my closet can be a bit of a mess.”
“What is this?” She turned and raised the book towards Rae.
“Oh! It’s uh. A scrapbook.”
“Scrap... book?” Claire flipped through the pages, countless slips of paper and various souvenirs pressed between the pages.
“Yeah! I’m not super good at journaling, so it’s nice to have a reminder of where I’ve been.” And it makes up for not having a phone gallery anymore.
Claire laughed. Starting from the back, it really was sort of miraculous. She’d certainly never forget their first year together, but the memories were growing sort of fuzzy. Each page brought new memories with it--though largely tangential, it was Rae’s scrapbook after all.
“Perhaps you can teach me," Claire smiled, making a final flip to the front page. “Wait. This is...” Her eyes shifted wide, completely thrown.
“Claire?”
“You actually kept this?” She turned and raised the page to Rae’s view, revealing a pressed flower. “One of our first days at school. You said you would, but I didn't believe you.”
“Of course I did! It was your first gift to me after all, even if you didn't wanna admit you liked me.”
“Rae.” Claire sniffled her nose. “I really did hate you back then. You know that, right? It wasn't a gift.”
Rae’s smile softened wearily. She had tried to delude herself at the time, but... “Yeah. I know.”
“And you... You still kept it?” Claire's voice cracked and her eyes began to well with tears. “Even though you had no clue that we'd come around. Even if every time you looked at it you remembered that fact. Oh Rae...” She scrunched her hands together tight.
“Don't cry Claire! I was totally alright, I still am. I can't say I didn’t enjoy when you'd push me around anyway, ya know? And-”
Claire burst into tears, her pent up feelings all coming out at once in great torrents that streaked her cheeks. “I thought. Nobody. Could love me like that. And- And- Even now, I thought. Even though you love me, you- You love me more when- And- And it’s so hard to do what I want- I have to work so hard just to. To be her- Even if I- And- Raeeee!
Rae rushed to Claire’s side, stroking her hair as she dropped onto her knees and heaved into Rae’s chest.
“Hey, hey! It’s okay. You’re okay. I love you Claire.”
“I know that- You’ve always said that, but... Sometimes I tell myself otherwise and. I get carried away for no reason at all! It’s so awful, I’m so stupid...
“You’re not-” Rae laughed, and Claire looked up at her with a scowl, her cheeks red.
“Don’t laugh at me!” she shrieked.
“I’m sorry, I'm sorry, I’m not laughing at you, I promise! I laughed because... This is normal, happens to mere mortals like me all the time.”
“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?”
“Not necessarily. Not on its own, at least.” Rae matched the tilt of Claire’s head with a weak smile. “The point is: I’m never gonna hold it against you for feeling stuff. And I know it’s scary. And I don’t ever want you to get used to this.” Not like me.
Rae closed her eyes and nuzzled her head over Claire’s as she continued to take great heaving sobs.
“Rae... Tell me I’m pretty... Please...”
“You’re so pretty Claire.” Rae’s voice was tender and low, easing its way into Claire’s ears. But Claire tugged at her shirt, the words not holding enough potency.
“Show me.”
“Are you sure?” Rae bit her tongue, careful not to let her neediness clear past her teeth.
“Yes.” Her voice was dripping with exhaustion; yes, please, I mean it, don’t make me say it again.
Rae helped her up to bed with quick kisses as she went. At Claire’s wish, it was easy enough to hold back until now, but her confirmation felt like uncorking a dam.
She leaned forward, lapping over any bit of exposed skin she could find, kissing and biting, and- God, Claire even tasted sweet, somehow. It's a cruel world that would allow such an amazing creature to feel down on herself.
“I love you so much Claire,” Rae cooed between breaths. “Your eyes, your hair, the way you laugh, and think- I think I’ve run out of ways to say it." She gave Claire a deep kiss, biting at her lip--Claire squealed. “Eugh, your voice too. More of that beautiful voice please, Claire!”
Claire hung her mouth open to pant and Rae jumped on the opportunity, leaving only her mouth for her to whimper into.
Rae groped over Claire’s shirt, not daring to slip under the fabric, yet worried to lose her without raw contact. Instead, the clear care only pulled Claire closer, desperate to thank Rae for her service. She tensed her hands frantically, pulling at the back of Rae’s shirt and occasionally swiping up at her own misty eyes with a jolt.
“Do you want me to take it off?”
“A-Absolutely not! Not mine, I mean...” Claire grew more red by the second, stumbling over her words and feeling all the more foolish for it, causing her to stumble more. “I wanted to- I meant- I- Aeghh!”
“Ohh, you're having trouble talking. Don’t worry.” Rae tried not to slip into a teasing tone as she spoke, lifting the hem of her own shirt slightly. “Hands work too.”
Rae giggled as Claire leaned into her, her villainess proclivities returning slightly as she pushed her down roughly. She worked her hand up Rae’s shirt with a feverish vigor, searching for her bra clasp. But-
“Really, Rae? You aren’t wearing a bra?”
“Ehehe. I made a guess when we got out of the bath. Sorry.” She clearly wasn’t. Not that Claire minded.
Still, the thought bared down on her. Rae had no intention of trying anything, but she did plan for it, she did want it. Despite herself, Rae pretended. Oh God...
Claire burst into tears again, wrapping her arms underneath Rae’s shirt.
“Oh, Claire! It's- It's alright. Cry it out. Don’t worry about figuring it out right now, just try and feel.” Rae snorted as Claire reached her hands around her chest. “Ooohh, Claire~ Feel all you want," she giggled.
Claire was let to run wild in her own head as they fondled each other, drowning out each terrible self-loathing thought with a new vulgar one. If she had to vocalize how she felt about Rae in that moment she might as well have combusted, but instead she was able to keep a thin veneer of nobility over her.
Very thin. She moaned desperately as Rae squeezed her chest, unable to catch her breath as the gown’s fine fabric ran against her, playing double with Rae’s hand.
“Rae- Rae- Rae, I-”
“Uh-huh? What is it?” she teased, her hands still moving.
Without warning, Claire pinned Rae's arms to her side, causing them to retract. The contact made Rae’s heart thump in her chest, resonating through the other.
“Claire? Are you-”
“Thank you.” She choked the words out breathily, squeezing tighter around Rae with a pulse. As much as she wanted to continue, it was proving all too much in her state. “That’ll be all, for tonight.” Claire closed her eyes and rolled to the side, bringing Rae down with her to the bed. “Stay.”
Rae turned towards Claire for a last kiss on her forehead. “Of course, Miss Claire.”
Claire blinked her long lashes slowly, stirring awake as Rae peeled herself from her arms.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Aww, feelin’ clingy? No need to worry Claire, I was just gettin’ food. Thought you might want some refreshments after last night.”
“No, you’re not. Sit. I want my Rae,” she whined petulantly, still too asleep to moderate herself.
Rae smiled, happy to see Claire return to her demanding self.
“Don’t gotta tell me twice!” She fell back onto the bed and cupped her love's cheek with her hand. “You feeling any better?”
“Mmph...” Claired instinctively pressed her head into Rae’s warmth. “I think so.”
“That’s too bad. I spent all night dreaming up new ways to make you feel pretty. Not that I can’t still try though~”
"Waking up in the same bed, hm?” Misha said blandly from the door, entirely unsurprised. “I see I made the right decision then.”
Claire shot fully awake, her bed raggled hair flopping over awkwardly. “What!? Is it that time already?!” She glanced at the window, then back to Misha, red as a tomato. “Th- This is not what it looks like at all! Right, Rae?"
"Yeah Misha! It's only a little bit what it looks like.”
“Rae!”