Pillow Talk (Belle POV)

Olivia climbed off of Belle and laid next to her, the two of them cuddling after another intense lovemaking session.

They’d barely been able to keep their hands off each other for the past 3 days. Making it through training was getting difficult, because they both had something else on their minds.

Belle was loving every second of it. She felt finally at peace.

Olivia looked up at her as they were cuddling.

"I am so glad you're around again. Properly." She said, a broad smile on her face.

Belle smiled back, a warm glow in her chest. "I'm glad too. This is great. Having you back is awesome." She confessed.

Olivia poked at her teasingly. "And to think you wanted to leave this." She said.

Belle groaned. "Stoooop, I was scared!" She exclaimed.

Olivia sighed, massaging Belle gently. "I know. I am sorry. I am happy to compromise though, as long as I get to keep you." She said, tracing a finger over Belle's toned stomach.

"Me too. I can hold myself back from killing some people who deserve it, if I get to keep you." Belle echoed, kissing the top of Olivia's head.

"Will you try for me, to keep it only to extreme cases?" Olivia asked.

Belle nodded. "Only the worst." She agreed.

Olivia sighed again. "I must admit, it is difficult to stick to my principles with you." She said.

Belle chuckled softly. "I know what you mean. How could anything else be relevant now that I have you with me again?" She asked, nudging Olivia for emphasis.

Olivia giggled, a sound very much contrasted to her usual image of poise and professionalism. "I love you." She said.

"I love you too." Belle replied.

A comfortable silence fell between them. It had been years since they shared this feeling, and Belle was basking in every second of it.

On reflection, it was easy to see that her anger towards Olivia had been because she was hurting.

She’d never let herself admit that, because it was easier to pretend otherwise.

Belle had always been an independent person. She didn’t like the idea that she needed people in her life, even though that was the reality.

She was too smart not to know that.

Her independence came from her parents. They had always taught her to be able to live for herself, do things herself, live the life she wanted to.

They’d been supportive of her being a trans girl, and had helped her start transitioning at a young age.

That was in keeping with their philosophy that Belle should be able to make her own decisions, and she was eternally thankful to them for it.

Because of that, she’d been lucky enough to be able to live as who she truly was, for her entire life. It was not a privilege that a lot of trans people had, and she knew how lucky she was.

Her parents were not so lucky as to decide their fates. And that was not something she wanted to remember, or to forget for that matter.

She supposed what happened had probably influenced her decision to join forces with Olivia when they met. They were both in need of somebody who understood them in the abyss.

Sydney was a rough place, and having a friend helped tremendously.

Both incredibly powerful, they’d put their powers together to try to use them for the common good.

Olivia had told her about her upper class upbringing, how she came from money and had always been taught to be formal in her conduct and speech. How much she resented her upbringing, because it was stiff and inflexible, which made it incredibly hard to make friends.

Olivia confided in her about how her magic had manifested. A traumatic safari gone wrong when a small pride of lions attacked them, apparently hungry and sick of people poking around.

In the ambush, most of Olivia’s observation group was killed. Olivia was the only one who managed to survive, and only because she got lucky and managed to shoot one that was coming for her.

The noise had scared off the other lions, while the one she shot had died soon after. Olivia had absorbed the energy from the lion, and transformed into one herself soon after.

She hadn’t known what was happening, and was terrified at the time. She only understood it later, when she came back to Sydney, to find she could never see the home she knew, the same as she had.

Eventually, it was Olivia who broke the silence again.

”So are you going to join the guild now?” She asked.

Belle thought for a moment. “Well I suppose if I’m sticking around, there’s no reason not to.” She replied, kissing the top of OIivia’s head affectionately.

“Splendid. Gemma will be pleased. She has a quest about getting ten members in her guild.” Olivia says, smiling.

“And what about you? Are you pleased you got me to stay?” Belle asked, amusement heavy in her voice.

“Couldn’t be happier.” The lady of monsters said, beaming widely.

The two of them shared a tender kiss, before going back to cuddling.

“I hope the next part of the raid is more interesting than this one.” Belle confessed, her mind wandering to Gemma and their training.

Olivia sighed. “I know, facing mostly the same enemies is getting uninteresting. At least that mage is spicing things up a bit.” She threw out there.

“That thing is the only reason we haven’t won yet. We know how to kill the damn Balder Knights and we’d have dealt with them already if it weren’t for the blasted Channeler enhancing them and taking potshots at us.” Belle replied.

“Undoubtedly. However, it is useful for improving our effectiveness as a team.” Olivia pointed out.

“Can’t deny that. What a strange concept: me, the Scarlet Witch, working in a team.” Belle said.

“Never thought you had it in you.” Olivia poked fun at her.

“Shut up.” Belle said.

“Make me.” Olivia teased.

Belle pulled her into a kiss again, and a comfortable silence befell the two of them once more.

A thought struck Belle after a few minutes, and she had to ask. She was too curious now that she had thought about it.

“Hey, so are we…dating now?” She asked, almost tentatively.

Olivia turned an amused eye onto her. “We have told each other ‘I love you’, and you’re still unsure?” She asked.

“Well I guess I’ve never actually…dated anybody before.” Belle said, uncharacteristically bashful.

“That’s fair. I’m sorry for teasing.” Olivia said.

Belle waved off the apology.

“Do you want to be dating?” Olivia asked a more direct question.

Belle thought about it. And in all honesty, there really wasn’t too much to think about. She knew what her heart wanted.

So she decided to say the words that were on her mind. “If I was going to call anybody in the world my girlfriend, I’d want it to be you.” She said.

Olivia smiled at her. “Well look at you being all sweet!” She teased, and Belle shook her head, smiling.

“Asshole.” The Scarlet Witch said, with a grin on her face.

Olivia rested her head on Belle’s chest and looked at the ceiling. Belle stroked the older woman’s hair, running her fingers through the soft, dark strands lovingly.

“I think I’d really like to call you my girlfriend.” Olivia said, with a smile on her pretty face.

Belle couldn’t help but smile herself. Olivia’s smile was infectious to her. “So you’re my girlfriend then?” She asked, the happiness she felt leaking into her voice.

“Yes. Yes I am.” Olivia said, with as much contentment and joy as Belle felt.

The two of them snuggled into each other, holding each other tightly. Belle hadn’t ever dated anybody before, but if this was how it felt to be with somebody she loved? She was pretty sure she could get used to this.

“Do we want to tell the others?” Olivia asked her, kissing Belle’s chest in an affectionate gesture as she did so.

“I’m not sure.” Belle answered. “Do we need to tell them?”

“Probably not. I’d probably want to tell Skylar if that’s okay.” Olivia said.

Belle chuckled at that. “Ahhh, so she’s the one you like.” She teased.

Olivia giggled. “I’m not sure about that. She’s the one who helped me through all the emotions of what’s happened with you.” She replied.

Belle couldn’t help but notice her new girlfriend didn’t deny it. She also couldn’t help but notice that she didn’t feel jealous at the prospect. Was that weird? She wasn’t sure.

When she relayed her lack of jealousy at the idea to Olivia, the older woman laughed. “No, I don’t think it’s weird. Have you seen Skylar and Gemma’s group? They’re all dating each other. They make it work.” Olivia replied.

“Huh.” Belle said, processing the words. “Anyway, yeah it’s all good if you tell Skylar. I don’t care if you wanna tell the others too, I probably won’t though. Maybe if they ask.” She said, shrugging.

Olivia nodded. “As long as we’re clear on what’s okay. I love you. I want this to work.” She said, and her words filled Belle with a warmth that she wasn’t sure she’d ever experienced.

“I love you too. We’ll make it work.” Belle promised, kissing her now girlfriend with all the love she felt in her heart.