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You really don’t realize how good you have it until it’s taken away from you. Ariane Yeong had had many things taken away from her in her lifetimes-her mother, her home, her lovers, her life. And while this was certainly nothing close to how awful those losses were, it was a loss nonetheless.
She stared at her own cooking, a simple mix of ground beef and noodles with a flavor packet mixed to make it taste a bit better. Elster cocked a grin at her wife from across the table as she scarfed down her meal without a care in the world. Ariane was also attempting to, but she was clearly not enjoying it too much. Eventually, with a sigh, she placed the fork down and rubbed her face.
“I miss Falke’s cooking.”
“We can’t eat five-star meals every day, Ariane. She’ll be back soon, this’ll just help you appreciate it some more.”
A groan resulted from her as she picked up her fork and ate away at her food. When you have your own personal 10+ feet tall Goddess to help prepare your meals, you get used to the decadence after a while. Taking a bit of noodles and meat into her mouth, she vowed to herself that she would never ever forget to savor another dinner of Falke’s for as long as she lived.
Falke was out for the day, working on seeking apartments for the three of them-more space, a bigger bed, and hopefully a taller ceiling. Her benefits as a Falke would definitely help just a little bit, even as much as the two protested and swore that it was okay. Paying just a little bit less on rent wasn’t abusing the system too much, right? Nothing wrong with taking a shortcut every now and again if it meant you and the people you loved could be happier.
Eventually, Ariane stopped grumbling and complaining at the non-gourmet cooking, and finished up with a happy hum to herself. If anything, she was at least happy the meat turned out well, and that she hadn’t forgotten how to cook or something like that in the months that had passed. A little bit of reassurance helped! Ariane stood up after not too long, stretching her arms and closing her eyes-only to open them and squint as she heard a noise from Elster.
“Something..wrong, Ellie?”
The now-Gestalt wore a blush on her face as she stared right at her midsection, with her shirt pulling up enough to let a bit of her belly and love handles spill out. A blush spread on Ariane’s own face as she quickly put her hands down, to which Elster coughed into her fist, coming back into reality. “Sorry..it’s just wonderful to see you like this.”
She couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as she moved over to collect the dishes. “To see me gaining weight?” Elster gave a simple nod in response as Ariane got to work.
“Yes, uh..yeah. You were always very anxious about your weight., especially..” Especially during the tail end of their first life. The one they tried to keep behind them at this point. But, well..she was right. The Penrose had sometimes brought out the worst in her vanity, convinced that Elster would never love her if she did something as simple as gaining weight. It took a lot of time and convincing for that idea to shake out of her psyche, but the rations weren’t much help in gaining them anyway.
The problem reversed when they started having to ration.
Ariane bit her lip as she thought back, to Elster’s hands roving down her body. Bones starting to outline her skin as she sobbed to herself in the night, another on the list of growing imperfections and wounds on her body.
The sensation of Elster’s hands on her body pushed her out of the memory, glancing back to her wife as she was-grabbing her love handles. “Uh-?”
“You were thinking about it too much.”
“Thinking about what?” A hilariously bad attempt to dodge the obvious.
“Things we don’t need to think about anymore, love.” Calloused fingers squeezing those pockets of flesh spilling out, then roving around to her front. Squeezing and shaking her belly up and down a bit. Ariane giggles uncontrollably, the area having grown especially ticklish in recent months. “Hey-s-s-stop that-hey-Ellieeeee!”
She protests, only for the assault to get worse as hands dug up into her armpits. Ariane attempts to kick and squirm away, but she’s no match for the might of the mechanic. “HeyYYyy-yahhahhh-ahuhhg-fhhey-nofairRRrr!” Her legs give out after a moment, properly falling into Elster’s grip as she has to momentarily stop the assault to make sure her wife doesn’t take them both down tumbling.
“Careful now, don’t wanna hurt yourself..” Elster coos, as protective as ever. She takes a look around while Ariane recovers from the assault, only to wrap both hands underneath that stomach, and suddenly lifting her over her shoulder!
“WhUH-HEEYYYYY!” Squirming and kicking even more as she’s womanhandled, Elster starting her way over to the bedroom with a shit eating grin on her face. “Time to make you unable to think, Offizier.”
“I’mghonna-kill you! Put me doooown!”
“The only thing that could stop me know is God, and she-”
Click. The sound of the door unlocking.
“oh.”
Elster’s voice shrinks as her bluff is immediately called by the world, swiveling over to the door.
It doesn’t take long for Falke to show her face, ducking through the doorway as she shrugs her undersized coat off and placing it on the rack, only for her gaze to drift over to her partners. Falke simply stares for a moment, a smile placing itself upon her face after not so long.
“Am I interrupting a private moment?”
Ariane’s frazzled appearance did not help the assumption, panting with a blush on her cheeks as she looks back at her other partner. A quick glance down at Elster to confirm that it wasn’t indeed private, and then shaking her head.
“N-No, uh..no? No-uh, Elster was just..tickling me, and then picked me up, but..things haven’t escalated to privacy, no!” Giving a beaming smile over to her partner-Falke had been working on it, but she knew just as well as anyone else that reassurances can fall flat in your head. So, Elster also gave a reassuring, if still blushing, smile.
Falke’s gaze, to her credit, stayed gentle and smiling. “Do you want help from your tormentor, Ariane?”
Elster shot her gaze up to Ariane as a shit eating grin fell upon the white-haired angel’s face, aggressively nodding her head. The crystal’s on Falke’s head started to glow.
“Hey-no-hey! This is unfair!” Elster’s mock-protests fell unto uncaring ears as Araine was gracefully lifted away from Elster’s grip, floating into Falke’s grip as Elster was simply left there alone, giving the both of them her best puppy dog eyes. Falke adjusts the hold of Ariane to cradle her in one arm, as the other holds itself out for Elster. “Do you wish to be with us like this, Elster?”
Elster considered it for a moment, before nodding. Stepping up on her own and hopping into the air, letting that bioresonance take her into the other long and loving arm of the former goddess. Falke adjusting the hold on both of them, cradling against her chest. Ariane’s arm looped around the back of that neck, with Elster’s holding onto her back.
“I believe we may have a potential apartment-they’ll need you both to talk to them, as you have proof of employment and active income, but they seemed amicable to the idea of renting to us.” Ariane’s eyes lit up, squirming happily in Falke’s grip.
“That’s-wonderful, oh my god! Thank you so much!” Leaning in and pressing a gentle kiss onto Falke’s lips, to which the both relished for some time. Once Ariane had gotten the taste of her partner, she pulled away, and Elster wasn’t very far behind at all.
Ari couldn’t help but smile as she watched her two partners kiss, eyes closed and held together. It was becoming an increasingly common, yet absolutely welcomed sight. She would never even dare dreaming of something like this back on the Penrose, and yet, here she had it. All she had gone through, all she had suffered..all Elster had, all Falke had. They finally had their slice of heaven, in each other.
“She’s thinking too much again.”
“Mhh..is that what that look on her face means?”
“Mmhm.”
Blink, blink. Being pulled out of her thoughts by the callout, leaning away from the group and coughing. “Uh-sorry! Sorry, I just..I-I don’t know, you both are just. So wonderful, and I’m so lucky, and..”
“We are lucky to be graced with your presence, Ariane.”
Elster couldn’t help but raise the slightest eyebrow at the verbal worship from a literal god (to another, in fairness), but she had said similar things when she was a Replika. So, no reason to not let it slide, right? Picking up where Falke had left off, nuzzling into her partner’s neck with a gentle nip of the skin.
“I’m the luckiest not-Replika in the universe.” That one was rewarded with a snort, Ariane rolling her eyes. “Oh, c’mon, now you’re just beiaaH-”
A sudden yelp as she was nipped in the neck by Elster, Falke quickly following suit, gently pulling at that skin with her teeth and lips. “Mhh..shall we rest for the night, then?” The Gestalts nodded, Falke quietly stepping over to the bedroom, ducking inside. Letting go of the hold of her girls over the bed, Ari and Ellie yelping as they both were suddenly on the bed.
Falke took a seat on the end of the bed as Ariane sat back up, working on getting her shirt off for the night. Huffing as she struggled a bit with the bottom of the fabric making the chubbier areas of her skin wobble. Slowly wiggling her pants past her hips as Elster was working on her own clothing, sliding off with ease on the well maintained body. A pang of jealousy flows through her mind-but she shakes her head, pushing it away.
“Is something the matter, Ariane?”
Ever the perceptive woman, Falke catches that micromovement-tilting her head to the side in response. Ariane bites her lip as she pulls her legs in to her chest, resting her chin on her knees. “..wish I was a bit skinnier, I guess.”
Elster and Falke scooch a bit closer to comfort the woman, Elster petting her lap. Ariane interprets this by simply laying her head down in Elster’s lap and letting her legs shoot outward, laying across Falke’s lap-causing the Replika to laugh under her breath.
“What?” Ariane leans up a bit, tilting her head in return. Two can play the head tilting game..
“Nothing. I simply appreciate your inclusiveness, love.” Ariane involuntarily shudders a bit-that pet name always did great things to her..
“Do you want to talk about it, Ariane?” Elster posits after some time spent together, Falke having let herself lean against Elster some as they scooched together. Ariane looks down at her body, the extra weight she had put on, the stretch marks left behind..
She sighs for a moment, before nodding.
“I just..it sucks. You see all these people, with their perfect bodies, and they’re all. Skinny. Maybe it’s just cause of the rationing back then, or because that’s what the Nation considers beautiful, but even then! I don’t..feel happy when I look at myself, sometimes, and sometimes it gets worse because of..all of this.” Her hands go and pinch to her stomach. Elster gives her a sympathetic look. Falke doesn’t have the same understanding, but in some ways-her memories mixing in with Elsters-she does. Her hand goes to Ari’s wrist, squeezing it for support.
“And I mean like- fuck, even on the Penrose, even before, I..Isa and Erika, they were so pretty, and that was definitely because of the rationing, but their bodies were fucking-perfect! Even from the little I saw, I just-I felt wrong looking at them, and then seeing myself. This..messed up body full of imperfections, and now chub, and now, just..I don’t know.” Ariane can’t stop herself from letting out a sniffle, her legs pulling in on herself a bit. “I don’t know. I don’t wanna feel like this..”
“But you do anyway.” Elster finishes for her, her hand resting on top of Falke’s. “I know how it feels, Ari. In a way, on the Penrose, I wished I could’ve been like you. To change, to let my hair grow out, to feel the same way you did and not have to worry about programming. And now, I have all of that, and..sometimes, I just wanna be a Replika again.”
Falke can’t offer much, and it starts to visibly frustrate her. Watching as she does the same lip bite she’s done before in response to emotion. Ariane’s other hand goes, clasping around the little hand pile they had made.
“..I love your body, Ariane. And I love yours, Elster. Every day, when I get to look at the women I love, who I would sacrifice everything for-your bodies are sculpted from divinity itself. I myself cannot begin to compare, even if I was made in the image of the Great Revolutionary’s daughter.” A brief pause as she considers her next words. “The Nation may have its standards for appearance, for the best bodies, for the best citizens. But without your defiance, without your..imperfect, yet divine body, I would not be nowhere near as happy as I am today.”
Elster nods, before speaking on her end. “My love for you is partially for your body, yes. But it’s not just for it. If it was just for it, I wouldn’t have held you close when you were starving, and I wouldn’t be here when you’ve grown happier. More complacent. No matter what you look like, no matter who you may be, I love you, Ariane.”
Her legs press in further as she sniffles, tears wicking on her eyes. Falke leans in and lets her body encompass her view, providing a bit of that comforting weight. Elster leans in next, leaning around Ariane and wrapping her arms around the two.
“..I love you two, so much.” She murmurs, sniffling to herself as the tears don’t materialize. A quiet shuddering breath, just curled in on herself.
As much as a certain part of her mind wants to admonish her further, let herself drown in that self hatred, she knew it wasn’t worth it, nor true. If she loved Elster, and she loved Falkes-worshipping their bodies with her words, with her body, with her touch, then why should she be different? She deserved as much love as she gave to her partners, even if sometimes it didn’t feel like it was true.
And, in a way, she wanted her body to change more. To carry a child, to start a family with the women she loved. She’d been trying, but this little piece of her scared that part of her that admonished her constantly. That her body would change into something she hated, that motherhood would make the people she loved most not want to be around her. But that, too, was just a mirage in her head.
Knowing these two, becoming a mother would probably just make them more ravenous for her.
Eventually, she uncurled her legs, Falke and Elster leaning back and stroking their hands along her soft, plush skin. Tracing hearts and declarations of love on the skin, never to be marked, but to be felt and internalized within her. “..I love you both, so much.”
“I love you too, Ariane.”
“As do I.”
“..can we get some rest, now?”
The night came and went, the lovers curled together in their bed. Ariane’s eyes fluttered open as the dawn spilled through the blinds, yawning and taking a look down at the mess of sheets and women before her. Elster was resting her head right on her belly, with Falke curled right against her shoulder, the saliva remnants on it probably meaning she had been kissing it all night.
She had work today, but-fuck it. She could let it wait. Sinking back down, and closing her eyes. Letting herself be engulfed back into the love of her partners, their warmth, and their dream that they had made together. As much as the universe had tried to pry them apart, as much as the world hurt them-made them angry, scared, sad, unable to go on-it had lost. She-no, they had all won.
And what a glorious reward they had received.