Sue Storm Tells Reed About The Sauna

"...and then we went into the sauna, and she was telling me about her life," Sue Storm said, as she poured half a glass of wine. "And she showed me her piercing!"

Reed Richard's smile was quizzical.

"Where was she pierced?" he asked.

"Her clitoral hood," Sue said, and she passed him the bottle. "Honestly, at first I was weirded out, but I think she's really into the whole holistic experience of treating the body and mind, and it was—I mean, I thought I would be gross, but really it was just sort of cute."

"Cute," he said as he poured himself a little of the rosé. "You don't think she's coming on to you, is she?"

Sue shook her head. "I think I would pick up the signs. She hasn't made any passes at me yet. And when we were in the sauna, she kept her distance. I really just think she's one of those women that likes to show off her body. She's worked hard for it, after all."

Reed nodded and took a sip. "Well, I'm glad you're amused. But is the therapy actually helping?"

The Invisible Woman took a sip of the dry wine before she answered. Let it coat her tongue and slide down her throat. No matter how much **** she'd had over her life, she couldn't quite forget the subtle wrongness of it, the sense of fruit juice that had gone off.

"I think...it is, actually. I mean, I feel comfortable with her. We can talk about things. She's given me some exercises to try and deal with my stress. It's nice to be able to talk with another woman. I mean, I love you darling, but..."

Reed's smile this time was genuine. "I understand. And I do think it's good you have someone to talk to about things. Just remember that she's a professional, and you're a client. It might be difficult if you start to think of her as a friend."

"I'm a grown woman, darling," Sue assured him. Her foot reached out, under the table, to rest her toes on his knee. "I know about keeping boundaries."

The Invisible Woman met his gaze as her toes slid along his thigh. Inside Reed's pants, something stirred.

Then Valeria poked her head around the corner.

"Mom? Dad?" she said. "Franklin said he found a puzzle even I couldn't solve, and now there's a class three dimensional breach and there's all these chains everywhere."

She paused to let this sink in. There was a small scream from the direction of the children's bedrooms. Sue and Reed were on their feet in an instant, their rare, warm moment lost as they dealt with a slight dimensional incursion from one of the lesser hell dimensions.