They snuggle, chat, and masturbate each other

"...I dunno, I guess I just liked Upstream Color more," said Amber. "I'm pretty sure I still have the soundtrack on vinyl." She rubbed Reese's temple with her own. "But I get it. Primer is still really good. I don't know if I'm, like, a science-fiction person."

"Wasn't there an Atwood book on your couch?" Reese asked. "And didn't you use said Atwood book as an excuse to show off your butt?"

Amber snorted. "First of all, that's because my butt is fucking adorable."

"Agreed."

"And second of all, Atwood is speculative fiction, not science-fiction."

"Spoken like a true grad student."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She playfully flicked their chest. "Do not slander my people." She stretched; Reese heard something in her lower back pop.

They were lying, mostly nude, in a tangle of limbs by the headboard. Amber was still wearing Reese's hoodie. Playing with Reese's hair, caressing their chest, she didn't seem able to stop touching them. Not that Reese minded. Not that they could ever mind.

"Ugh. Speaking of..." Amber huffed. "Classes start next week."

"Oh."

"Yeah... it's gonna suck."

"Why?"

"'Cause I have to teach." She rolled her eyes. "Imagine me. Teaching."

"I bet you'll do great!"

"But it's gonna suuuuuck. I'm gonna be stressed out."

"Yeah?"

"And anxious."

"I understand." Reese nuzzled her. "I can, umm... give you some space, if you want. I don't want you to feel, y'know... overwhelmed."

"You're so silly."

"What? I would feel really bad if I monopolized your time."

"Reese..." She cupped their head and tilted it against hers. "Can I say something super selfish?"

They shrank a little. "Yeah?"

"When classes start, I'm going to need a few days."

"Okay."

"And then I'm going to need some Reese time."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Like, after I've acclimated... I think I'm going to want to hang out with you more. If that's okay."

"Of course it is. I just..."

"Don't feel bad, if that's what you're about to say."

"Maybe..."

"You're sweet. And thank you for worrying. But I already have my lesson plan, I've been talking with my professor, and I'm pretty sure I have everything ready. And yeah, I am absolutely going to be stressed out, and anxious, and exhausted, whatever. But I'm also going to..." She pursed her lips, thinking. "I'm going to need time with you. I'm going to need help relaxing. And you're very good at making me feel comfortable."

"Oh..." Reese blushed.

"And not just in the way you're thinking." She snorted. "Just in general. But, umm... I'm, like, being totally presumptuous, of course. It's not like we've known each other that long."

"Of course I wanna spend more time with you." They nuzzled her. "You're awesome."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. And, umm... we're... friends, right?"

"With benefits!"

"With benefits!" They giggled. "I wanna be a good friend." They shrugged. "And, umm..." Reese blushed. "I like having sex with you." They said it so fast it sounded like one word. "So there's that."

"I see." Amber giggled. "But what if I'm too tired to have sex?"

"Then we can cuddle. Eat dinner. Talk. Be normal." They snorted. "Plus I can always go down on you if you want."

"O-oh." She played with a stray lock of Reese's hair. "You're sweet."

"I try."

"Thank you." She sighed happily and rested her head against Reese's shoulder. "This is okay, right?"

"Is what okay?"

"...this. Like... hanging out... fucking... it's okay that we're not labeling it, right?"

"I thought you called it 'a friends with benefits situation.'"

Amber giggled. "True. But, like..."

"I know what you mean."

"Okay. And...?"

"And it's okay with me. Do you think it's okay?"

"I do." She cooed happily. "I think, umm... I need this."

"Which part?"

"All of it? Just this... this lack of pressure, y'know? Something casual. But..." She snorted.

"What?" Reese smiled, not knowing why.

"It's just nice having someone who I like being around and I want to fuck. Usually it's one or the other."

"Ah." Reese giggled. "Well, umm, same to you."

"We're buddies!" Amber snickered. "Fuck buddies!"

"Yes!" Reese laughed. Without thinking they planted a kiss on Amber's cheek, making her purr. "It's, umm... that was okay, right?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"'Cause you said -- "

"Just because I said I like being casual and friendly with you doesn't mean I don't wanna kiss you."

"Oh."

"Nor does it mean I don't want to, umm... hold your hand."

"Yeah?" As if to test that statement Reese brought their hand to the one caressing their chest. They teased the back of Amber's hand; she reached up, laced her fingers with theirs, and squeezed.

"Yeah." She huffed. "To be honest, I don't know what the fuck I want."

"That's okay."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. And, umm... so... if I call you 'baby...'"

"...I will blush and smile like a goof."

"Ah." They smiled goofily.

"That's okay with you, right? That I just kind of let things like that... squeak out?"

"I've already said it's okay." They squeezed her hand. "And I told you I like it."

"It's not, like, fucked up, 'cause we're not dating?"

"I liiiike it." They squeezed again. "You can call me whatever you want. I just like being around you."

"Okay... sorry, I can be fretful."

"I know. Me too."

She kissed their cheek. "I'm glad you have a horrible caffeine addiction."

"Me too."

"Can I confess something?"

"Please."

"I wish we had the energy to go one more time." She yawned. "But I'm tired."

"Yeah?" They let go of her hand so they could squeeze her tight against them. She made a happy purring sound in the back of her throat.

"Yeah..." She giggled. "Oh, you taste good, by the way. I feel like I've neglected to mention that."

Reese giggled, too. "Have you?"

"I dunno." She stroked their cheek. "But you do."

"So do you."

She blushed. "Y-yeah?"

"Mmhmm..." Their hand glided down her back. They gently groped her buttock.

She cooed. "That feels good..."

"Yeah?" They traced sloppy circles on the pliant flesh with the tip of their fingers.

"Mmhmm..." She curled tighter against them, giving them better access to her cute rump.

"Amber..."

"Yeah?"

They snaked their hand down her buttocks, tracing the cleft with their index finger, until it rested between her legs, brushing against the bottom of her labia. "Do you want me to?"

"Oh..." Amber shuddered as Reese caressed her clit with their middle finger. She scooted up until her head rested just under Reese's chin, allowing them to bring more of their fingers up to her sex. "Are you sure?"

Reese nodded against her head. "I wanna make you cum," they said simply. before kissing her scalp.

Amber shuddered. She curled her leg over Reese's pelvis. Her knee brushed against their cock... she reached down and teased the head with her fingers. "What if we came together?" She groaned. "I wish I wasn't so tired..."

"Yeah?" They teased the bottom and side of her slit.

She nodded. "I was serious earlier..."

"About..."

"About the 69," she drew the last word out; it became a sigh as Reese slipped two fingers inside of her. "I love it."

"Really?" They were teasing her now.

"I love it," she repeated. She began jerking them off, just enough to keep them hard, not enough to make them cum.

"Tell me about it..."

"What's not to love?" she cooed. "I have your mouth..." She sighed. "And you're in mine... it's just... comfy..."

"I love it, too... do you want to...?"

"I really want to, baby. But I'm so tired..."

"That's okay." They kissed the top of her head. Amber's fist tightened around their shaft. She jerked them harder, faster, with a sloppy rhythm that betrayed her exhaustion.

Reese, meanwhile, was teasing Amber's clit with their middle finger while they penetrated her with the index. It was clearly having an effect, judging by the way Amber giggled and sighed, by the way she dragged her toes up and down their leg.

"Baby?" Amber nuzzled their neck.

"Yeah?"

"Can I tell you something?"

"Yeah."

"I'm too tired to swallow."

They snorted.

"I'm serious!"

"I know, I know! Sorry."

"Jerk." She kissed their neck anyway.

"But that's okay."

"You sure?"

"It's always okay."

"Okay. I love doing it, though."

"Yeah?"

"Mmhmm..."

"I like it when you cum on my face," said Reese, blushing.

"Really?"

"It's really hot."

Amber giggled. "Good. Are you close, baby?"

Something about the way she said it made Reese's face hot. They smiled stupidly and giggled.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Tell me..." She stopped jerking them off, spat in her palm, and resumed. The cooling slickness surrounding their tender flesh brought them even closer to orgasm.

"I just like it when you call me that."

"So you've said."

"It just makes me feel good. I don't know how to describe it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I know it's silly."

"It's not silly... and I like saying it, anyway."

"Really?"

"I don't know why... oh..." She sighed as Reese hit a particularly sweet spot. "It just feels right, y'know?"

"Even though --"

"Mmhmm... even though." She giggled and kissed their neck.

"I'm really close, by the way."

"Thank you for answering my question."

"You're welcome... baby."

She giggled again. "I like it when you say it!"

"We are very silly."

"The silliest." She sighed. "I'm close, too... oh..." She tightened around them, raising one leg just high enough to sort of clamp down on their hand with her thigh. "Let's cum together, okay, baby?"

"Okay..." Reese shut their eyes, dissolving entirely into Amber's grip.

When they came it was more or less in sync with one another. Their mutual orgasm was more of a quiet epilogue to the night's lovemaking than it was a dramatic moment in itself. Amber clamped her hand against Reese's cheek and pressed their head against hers as she squeezed their hand in her thighs and slicked it with her juices. Reese gasped as their semen ran over Amber's fist. They kept pleasuring each other until Amber's legs parted and Reese went soft in her grip, which, given their exhaustion, was fairly quickly.

Then they were slack against each other.

Reese brought their hand to their lips and sucked off Amber's cum.

She blushed. "Fuck, that's hot..."

"Yeah?" They winked as they sucked on their ring finger. "You taste good, remember?"

Amber giggled. "Fuck... so do you..." She licked her palm, lapping up the semen Reese had deposited there, before turning her hand over and running her tongue between each finger.

"I thought you said you were too tired..."

"I'm not swallowing your load, babe." She giggled. "I'm eating it. That's different."

"Spoken like a true grad student."

"What on earth does that mean?"

"It's a callback. To... earlier?"

She rolled her eyes. "You absolute goof." She licked up the last bits of seed from the side of her hand.

"Sorry." Reese blushed.

"C'mere." She pulled herself up so she could kiss them.

Reese squeezed her tight as their lips met.

"I'm sleepy," said Amber as she settled on her stomach beside them.

"Ugh, I'm weirdly awake. I blame you." They poked her in the butt.

She giggled. "You're the caffeine addict."

"Which would make you my dealer!"

She rolled her eyes. "You are impossible." She poked their foot with hers. "If you wanna stay up, that's okay. I'm gonna get some sleep, though, okay? Work tomorrow."

"Sure you won't mind?"

She shook her head. "It might help me sleep, honestly." She yawned. "Thank you, baby."

"For what?"

"For just... for being here when I need you."

"Same to you."

She made a happy little sound. "Good." She yawned again. "And don't freak out if you wake up this morning and I'm not here, okay? I need to go running."

"Oh --"

"Don't wanna miss two days in a row."

"Oh, I see. What time are you gonna get up?"

"Probably around 6:00? Maybe 7:00."

"Jesus."

"What?"

"I will never understand you people."

Amber snorted. She leaned over and kissed Reese's chest. "Goodnight, you night owl."

"'Night, babe." They blushed. But Amber didn't say anything; she just made that silly, happy, chirping sound and rolled onto her side, mostly uncovered. She stroked Reese's leg with her foot. When, minutes later, her foot fell still Reese knew she was asleep.

They put their earbuds in, watched videos until they were sleepy, and then curled up next to their friend, took her in their arms, and fell asleep.