Take It Or Leave It

Walking home with Lucy, holding her hand, it was pure bliss. She was tempted to allow herself to believe that she'd earned it, that it was the culmination of a long courtship, rather than a ten minute conversation and an online form. What made her even more self-conscious were the looks people shot her from time to time. Yeah, fuck you too. It got under her skin but didn't seem to bother Lucy, if she even noticed. The soundscape was typical of the city, cars racing past, the indistinct shouting and conversing of strangers, the occasional rolling and grinding of a skateboard but between two of them, there were only Lucy's contented sighs.

'I'm so happy,' she said, eventually.

'You haven't even seen my place yet.'

Lucy shook her head at that, 'it doesn't matter. Home is home.'

Thu didn't know how to respond to that so she said nothing and they returned to their quiet contentment for the rest of the walk. Eventually, grey paving slabs and glass buildings turned to rows of red brick and they arrived home. 'So, this is it,' she said, motioning to the steps leading up to the lobby, and Lucy responded by racing in. By the time Thu joined her, she was smiling and bouncing on the balls of her feet.

'Which number are you?'

'Ten-oh-four.'

'Race you,' she then said, giddy with excitement, before disappearing up the stairs.

Thu rolled her eyes but smiled, as she began her own brisk ascent. By the time she finally made it up there, Lucy was waiting at her door, beaming. 'You win,' she said before shooing her out of the way. 'Now, maybe set your expectations quite low.'

The doggirl seemed to pay that comment no mind as she watched her unlock and open the door with bated breath. As soon as she could, she barged past her and bounded inside. 'Wow,' she said, staring in wonder at the small, spartan, apartment. Thu found herself rolling her eyes again as she turned and locked the door. Once she'd turned back around, Lucy jumped at her, barking, 'I love it,' and making her jump. Seconds later, the blonde had her pinned against the door, her face less than half an inch from hers.

Thu reddened and turned away. 'Um, so, what do you eat?'

'Cookie!' Lucy shouted, without missing a beat.

Thu pried the girl off of her and walked to the kitchen, 'I mean, like, do you eat normal human food? Do you have any allergies?'

'No,' Lucy beamed, 'I'll eat anything you give me.'

'Well, I'll make some sandwiches. I guess, make yourself at home.' Lucy bounded off at that, running through the living room. For her part, Thu was beginning to feel strange. She could probably count on one hand the number of guests she'd ever had, and this was the first that would be staying overnight. The thought was exciting but unsettling and she had to focus her mind on the task at hand.

Lucy came racing back from wherever she'd been as soon as she caught a whiff of bacon. 'Ooh, yummy!'

'Get out of the kitchen, please.'

Lucy reluctantly did as she was told and sat down - or, rather, propped herself up on her knees, staring back into the kitchen - on the sofa.

'I don't have a dining table,' Thu said, once she'd finally come through and handed the girl her plate, 'sorry.'

Lucy smiled at that, 'that's alright,' she said before devouring her BLT at an impressive rate. She then spent the next few minutes staring at Thu, expectantly, as she ate her own.

Thu ultimately gave in, sighing, as she held the final bite out for her. Lucy simply opened her mouth and she was torn between indulging her and laughing at her. To her embarrassment, she popped the morsel in her mouth and earned herself a thankful smirk. 'Right,' she said, purposefully diverting her mind, 'I'm going to order you some clothes, and a few other things. For now, you can wear a set of my pyjamas.'

At that Lucy immediately began removing her clothes.

'Uh,' Thu stumbled, 'you can get undressed in the bathroom,' and then directed her to the shower.

'Will you be joining me?' Lucy asked, trying to sound seductive.

'No, I'll be setting up a delivery, like I said.'

The girl pouted at that, and Thu waited to hear the water running before heading to her computer. She organised a same-day delivery and ordered a large number of things, before waiting patiently for her own shower. It pained her to cut a hole in a pair of her pyjama bottoms but it was apparently part of the price she had to pay for a mail-order girlfriend. They didn't fit Lucy very well, being too long but also too tight, but she didn't complain.

The image stayed with her, as she entered the shower, Lucy's large breasts threatening to pop the buttons on her pyjama top right off. It took a lot of self-control not to masturbate but she, ultimately, thought it would be shameful and rude. Get a fucking grip, Thu. Shame was a powerful motivator. Once she was washed and dressed, she was met by an extraordinary sight. Lucy had apparently become uncomfortable and undone the top five buttons. It was hard not to stare, and Lucy certainly noticed, but she managed, eventually, to create another diversion, 'so, do you wanna' watch a movie, or something?'

'Sure!' The doggirl happily bounded back to the couch and took up a position, sitting cross-legged with her back held straight, pushing out her bust.

Thu had very few DVDs and only one that was unlikely to bore her guest. It was important to her, though, and she didn't know how to feel about showing it to her. Lucy would have no way of knowing how much it meant to her, and Thu didn't know whether she dreaded the thought of her disliking it or the thought of her loving it. Did she really want to risk discolouring the memory of watching it with her father? It was the last movie they'd seen together. Fuck, I am such a mess.

'So,' Lucy said, startling her, 'are we gonna' watch it?'

'Yeah,' she replied, reflexively, ashamed to have been caught just standing around and staring at an old movie cover, 'yeah, sure.' She put it on and sank into her seat. She didn't watch the movie, which she'd seen a hundred times, but watched Lucy instead. The doggirl was entranced almost immediately, wagging her tail excitedly when it was funny and growling at the villains whenever they were on screen.

'Wow,' she said when it was all over, turning to her and furrowing her brow, 'why weren't you watching it, though?'

'I was,' Thu lied, before taking the disc out and switching off the television.

Lucy sneezed dramatically and Thu turned to see if she was okay. 'Ah,' she said, mimicking a line from the film, 'I'm sorry, I'm allergic to bullshit.' Then she beamed, supremely proud of herself.

Thu couldn't help but laugh and Lucy seized upon the opportunity, of her eyes briefly closing, to spring to her feet and shorten the distance between them. She put her hands on her waist and Thu's stomach began to perform somersaults. Just before she was tempted to lean in, however, she was saved by the bell. 'Delivery's here,' she said, tearing herself away from the blonde. When she opened the door, however, she found a young woman waiting for her. She was gorgeous, tall with golden skin and silvery hair, and her ears were pointed.

'Hello,' she said, 'my name's Nalaea, I'm here from the AWIO.'

As soon as Lucy heard that, she squeaked and hid behind the couch. 'Of course,' Thu said, a little confused, 'come in.' Eventually, it clicked, 'oh, is this the home visit?'

The elf, dressed in a translucent blue gown, murmured her affirmation as she went from room to room. Her demeanour was strange, as though she were dreaming. She scribbled some things down on a small notepad as she went but it was all over relatively quickly. 'Alright, everything seems to be in order. These visits are usually just a formality. I won't take up any more of your time.' Thu thanked her and showed her the door. Just before she left, she said goodbye, and, with a wry smile, called out, 'it was nice to see you too, Lucy.'

Thu wanted to ask her what that was all about but the delivery arrived seconds after Nalaea had left. Lucy eventually came out of hiding but left the unloading to her. 'Mind telling me what that was all about?'

Lucy stared down at her feet as she answered, shyly, 'we paired off quite a lot, back at the AWIO.'

'Paired off?'

'Slept together.'

'Oh,' was all Thu could say, and the surprise caused her to loosen her grip on the dining table. 'Shit!' she exclaimed, as it crashed down on her bare foot.

Lucy squeaked again, 'are you alright?'

'I'm fine,' Thu said, as she limped to the sofa. Her mind raced as she tried, and failed, to focus on simply massaging her foot.

Lucy seemed to intuit where her head was at, 'are you mad at me? You know monster girls need a lot of sex, right? Those of us that don't get sponsored quickly, we pair off, or at least take care of each other, you know?'

Thu grimaced at that, 'no, it's fine. I'm not mad at you, I guess I just didn't realise that you'd been with someone before.'

'I've been with lots of girls. Even a few boys,' when she saw the nauseated look on her sponsor's face, she hastily followed that up with, 'but I really didn't like it. I'm girls all the way, now, you know?'

'It's fine.' It's not fucking fine, I'm such a fucking idiot. 'It's good that it's out in the open.' I'd have preferred to go my whole life without knowing.

'It'll be different with us, though,' Lucy said, her tone almost pleading, 'you're my sponsor, you know? With us, it'll be more real.'

Thu just rolled her eyes and went to work on the dining table. 'I think, maybe, we could put it here,' she said, motioning to the wall adjacent to the kitchen door. 'Come on, you can give me a hand.'

Though seemingly disinterested in physical labour, Lucy seized upon the opportunity to make herself useful and the two of them got it set up in a pretty decent amount of time. She didn't let Lucy rope her into a discussion afterwards, however, and simply went to work on dinner. Whilst she was making lasagne, Lucy came into the kitchen to whine, 'I can't find your games console.'

'I don't have one,' she replied, absently.

'What?!' The shriek startled her somewhat.

'I don't play games, Lucy. I've got some CDs, if you want to listen to music.'

'Yeah, I saw,' she said, derisively, 'Coldplay and Maroon Five.'

Thu rolled her eyes, yet again, 'and plenty of others, and a computer, don't push your luck.'

'What's your password?'

'One-two-three-four.'

'That's stupid.'

Thu ignored that and resumed cooking. Not even the detestable sounds of electronic music could break her concentration, as she tried to get her head around making something for two. When it was finally ready, she set the table and called Lucy over. Though she'd put her sponsee's plate at the other end, Lucy took it - and her chair - and sat it down right next to her. 'I hope you like it,' she said, detecting a hint of vulnerability in her own voice.

Lucy smiled and began shoving forkfuls into her mouth. 'I love it,' she said.

'Don't talk with your mouth full,' she replied, softly.

It was Lucy's turn to roll her eyes but, thankfully, she did as she was told and waited until she'd demolished the whole lot and taken a swig of water and a performative gulp before speaking again. 'You're a really good cook.'

'Thanks,' Thu said, before wiping a bit of sauce from the corner of Lucy's mouth with her serviette. When the girl's cheeks reddened, so did hers, and she hastily directed her attention back to her own plate and resumed eating. By the time she'd finished, Lucy was fidgeting in her seat.

'What're we doing now?' she asked, awkwardly leaning towards her.

'I'm washing up, you can do whatever you want.' That seemed to mollify her and she shot Thu a wry smile. Once she'd finished and emerged from the kitchen, Lucy grabbed her and pushed her up against the wall. 'What're you doing?' she asked, breathlessly.

'Whatever I want,' Lucy replied, before working on undoing the buttons on Thu's pyjama top.

'Wait,' she exclaimed in response, before thinking of a way to get out of her predicament, 'I've got a present for you.'

Lucy stopped, upon hearing that, and one of her ears perked up adorably, 'present?'

'Yeah, I got something other than clothes and furniture,' she said, picking up the small package she'd placed underneath the phone table earlier. Hastily tearing it out, she presented Lucy with a squeaky toy in the shape of a rolled-up newspaper.

She made a face at that, 'you know I'm not actually a dog, right?'

Thu said nothing, merely giving the toy a squeeze. She smiled devilishly when she noticed Lucy's tail begin to wag and her eyes begin to shine.

'Don't you dare!'

After another squeeze of the toy, Lucy launched herself at her but Thu dodged out of the way and took her on a merry chase all over the apartment. It only ended when they were both thoroughly exhausted, wrestling over the toy on the carpeted floor of their bedroom and giggling like schoolgirls. 'Looks like it's time for bed,' Thu eventually said, ending play as the victor and disentangling herself from the breathless doggirl with no small amount of ****. Lucy simply pouted, and found that she didn't much care for the squeaky toy once her sponsor had simply left it on the floor.

When they were brushing their teeth together and elbowing one another, playfully, it finally fully dawned on Thu that she'd be sharing her bed. Any minute now, I'll wake up from this strange dream. Once their new routine was set and done, Thu placed her pager on the bedside table and slid into bed, where Lucy was holding the cover up for her. She looked so inviting, reclining on her side with her undone pyjama top practically falling open. Thu couldn't stop herself from stroking her hair and the side of her face. Lucy shot her a look of bliss and nuzzled her hand. 'Aren't you gonna' kiss me goodnight?' she asked without reopening her eyes.

Despite the butterflies in her stomach, Thu chose not to give in to her more foolish impulses. Instead, she placed a chaste kiss on Lucy's forehead. 'Good night.'

Lucy returned a wordless whine but settled down to sleep nevertheless.

Hours then passed by comfortably until Thu's pager went off. The first thing she saw, upon stirring, was the compromised position she found herself in, with her legs tangled up with Lucy's and the girl's face pressed dangerously close to hers. She pried herself away, gently, before softly waking her. 'Hey, I'm getting called in.'

The doggirl groaned at that and mumbled, 'I thought you were off-call.'

'It's one o'clock. Sorry, I usually don't get calls in the middle of the night but it happens from time to time. Try to get back to sleep but if I'm not back by the morning, there's half a grapefruit in the fridge, there's bread for toast or some bran flakes in the cupboard.'

'Don't be gone all night,' Lucy said, her voice wavering.

'That's not something I really have any control over,' she replied, as she hastily got dressed. Just as she was ready to get gone, Lucy got up out of bed and stopped her. 'Lucy, I really need to go.'

In response, the blonde simply planted a soft and lovely kiss on her lips. Thu was initially stunned but soon realised that she couldn't afford to stand around processing it. 'See you,' Lucy simply said, with a large smile on her face.

'Yeah, uh, see you later. Try to get back to sleep. I'll, yeah, I've got to go.' Thu then took her helmet and left, racing down the stairs and heading to her motorbike.

She felt a nervousness build up in her that she'd never experienced before, as she rode to the station. For the first time in my life, I think I'm actually worried about not coming home. She shook the thought from her mind once she'd arrived and, thankfully, found it easy to switch work mode on.

Getting home at around five o'clock, she tried to enter her apartment as quietly as possible. It turned out to be for nothing, however, as Lucy came running up to her. 'Thu!' she cried, pushing her up against the door before she'd even had the opportunity to lock it and peppering her with kisses, 'I was so worried, I couldn't sleep.'

'It's okay,' she said, pushing her away, 'we'll just sleep in, a little.'

'Okay!' Lucy then ran into the bedroom, practically jumping into their bed. Thu got changed, locked up, and then joined her. She sighed with relief and contentment when Lucy snuggled up next to her. 'That was really scary,' the girl confessed.

'It's my life,' Thu said, with a shaky exhale, 'take it or leave it.'

'I'll take it,' Lucy replied, without missing a beat.