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Sometimes, Charlie needed to take a step back and let Vaggie breathe.
This was one of those times —kind of. What had at one point that night started as a heated make out session had swiftly turned into something that would be considered semi-solo, after they both suddenly realized that their boundaries had readjusted themselves again that day. Charlie had done her best not to show her frustration, but for her, that was probably just a little more difficult than expected. The last thing she wanted to do was make Vaggie feel bad for something that was not even remotely her fault. Besides, it wasn’t like Charlie didn’t have her own set of boundaries as well.
Charlie had figured out a number of things while trying to be intimate with Vaggie:
On good days, everything was normal. Sometimes they fell into bed together, and the grabbiness factor didn’t really matter. Not at first, anyway.
Some nights had a lot of starting and stopping, and most of those ultimately ended with needing to stop altogether. Vaggie would always apologize profusely even as she shook terribly. Always, Charlie would be so confused, but could never get any answers. It was never a good time to talk about it. That was okay though, because Charlie was all about cuddles if Vaggie was as well.
On bad nights, Vaggie wasn’t even comfortable with spooning, but Charlie could fortunately count on a single hand how many times she’d accidentally set Vaggie off during what had started out as a regular night of regular cuddles. It was more than ideal, but still.
However, on really bad nights, Vaggie would not want to cuddle at all, and would just curl up into herself and just — shake . She didn’t talk about it much and Charlie never made her, even though her curiosity burned to know why it seemed her partner hurt so much. Sometimes even after successful nights...
“You’re so beautiful…” Charlie whispered, fingers gently grasping the back of Vaggie’s twitching shoulder. Vaggie sighed, and a few seconds later she gasped sharply, back arching into Charlie’s front. The she-devil didn’t have her hands anywhere on Vaggie’s front, where they would normally be, instead one just barely touched her shoulder while the other was tucked underneath the pillow.
This night they opted for the extra privacy of engaging beneath the comforter, aside from the privacy their nightwear already provided. They were fully clothed; specifically, Vaggie wore a t-shirt and a long pair of pajama pants, while Charlie had opted for a cheerfully-patterned nightgown. As Charlie pressed a kiss to Vaggie’s shoulder, the other girl shivered and whimpered. Charlie mumbled softly, her lips pressed against Vaggie’s shirt, just saying cute sweet nothings filled with love and tenderness. The comforter moved rhythmically by Vaggie’s waist and Charlie could feel her motions despite the distance she tried to keep. Soft, semi-frustrated grunts escaped the moth's lips as Vaggie curled tighter around herself.
It wasn’t even the first time this had happened. Vaggie would sometimes have a bad day, and intimate touches would hurt terribly, but she still so desperately needed some kind of contact and relief. No matter what, Charlie was willing to provide Vaggie with anything she could. She didn’t really know what happened that day, and apparently her girlfriend didn't either, and as far as Charlie was aware, not knowing was okay-ish? In reality she’d rather Vaggie not be hurting at all.
The hand on Vaggie’s shoulder slowly drifted down to the sinner’s elbow. A soft, slow movement, with every finger touching her arm, never breaking contact with her heated skin. For a second Vaggie tensed and froze, then turned her head slightly.
Her wide-eyed expression only softened after her gaze met Charlie’s. Those golden eyes, that small and loving smile, the way her cheeks seemed to make her expression glow even in the dim light of their bedroom; it all soothed Vaggie, giving her a moment to take a deep breath and just take in the moment.
“Would you…” Vaggie tried and hesitated for a moment, “Would you come closer?”
“How much closer?”
“I want you to—” Another moment of hesitation, and Vaggie shifted and turned toward the wall again, “I want you to hold onto me. Please.”
Charlie gave Vaggie a few moments to reject her if she changed her mind, then scooted forward and let her arm lay loosely over Vaggie’s waist. The shape of the moth demon fit into Charlie’s front so perfectly. Her arm brushed against Vaggie’s wrist, tucked firmly beneath the hem of the pajama pants, and for that brief second, she felt the rhythmic motions of Vaggie’s hand, and could see how their rhythm almost perfectly matched the moth’s breathing.
Vaggie’s arm paused and her shoulder tensed up slightly at the accidental contact, and for a second, Charlie almost pulled back. With a small breath and a sigh, Vaggie resumed what she was doing, and her girlfriend sighed quietly in relief.
Charlie pressed her nose into the crook of Vaggie’s neck, merely feeling her partner in this moment. Vaggie’s moment. She could feel her own heartbeat, and feel that of the woman in her arms pulsing in her neck, against Charlie’s temple.
The hands of the she-devil were pressed against Vaggie’s stomach, mostly as a way to prove to the sinner that that’s where they were, not moving an inch. It was hard to keep this distance; her arms almost ached to hold Vaggie and pull her close. However it was clear that a boundary had been set not of their volition that night, and if this was what Vaggie wanted —needed— then Charlie would do it until she felt okay again, no matter how long that took. Until then, she tried to keep her mouth shut, preoccupying it instead with gentle kisses against Vaggie’s neck.
One of those small kisses eventually caused a different reaction. A small shiver, paired with a soft whisper that simply called a name: " Charlie… "
For a moment Charlie paused, even began to pull away a bit. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, “is this not okay? Should I—”
"No, no, it's okay, please…" Vaggie tried, her voice squeaky, having tensed up as soon as Charlie spoke the first word. "Could you… Could you keep on… Kissing my neck?"
The princess blinked, considering for a moment before lightly kissing her girlfriend's neck once more, feeling how goosebumps appeared on that spot, being watchful of any other reactions. For now, those were just small sighs, little huffs, sometimes a small dip on the bed as Vaggie shifted her hips or legs. That was good.
It was fairly realistic to say that Charlie still didn’t really know how to deal with all this. Not in many ways at least, and Vaggie wouldn’t talk about it —not that Charlie had tried too hard to pull any of that information out, if their moments in bed were anything to be considered.
Sometimes she just needed to let Vaggie breathe. Sometimes it was all her lover really needed and the boundaries would move on their own, return to some kind of normalcy. Few times was it ever that easy, but Charlie found herself always running to try to help either way. Sometimes, obviously, that help wasn’t wanted and she tried her best to make that feel as if that was okay. And it was.
"I love it when you t—…" Charlie began, but cut herself off with a whimpering falter, swallowing her own words. She really barely had a filter, didn't she?
Vaggie trembled and huffed. If she had noticed Charlie said anything, she wasn't acknowledging it, far too involved in her own delight. Charlie smiled. It really was so cute when Vaggie enjoyed herself…
Almost suddenly, Vaggie tensed up, her whole body erupting in shivers, shoulders quaking as Charlie's name was on her lips. The princess stroked Vaggie’s hip, her motions small and slow, and she felt the way the sinner’s legs lightly trembled as well, until that softened into sporadic little shivers. Vaggie sighed deeply, and that quiet little sound was music to Charlie’s ears. For a few moments, she waited in silence, content in just lightly touching her girlfriend’s hip and kissing her neck and the back of her head. Even though she wished she could’ve been a more active part in Vaggie’s bliss tonight, she was happy, and more than that, Vaggie seemed happy: the small little sighs, the way the moth demon relaxed, that hint of a smile Charlie could see if she raised her head, all that was more than enough reward for the hell-born.
“Vaggie?” she whispered softly. The smaller demon hummed in response. Charlie continued: “Do you feel okay?”
A small stretch of the back pressed Vaggie a bit closer against her girlfriend’s chest, before she relaxed again, then nodded.
“Good.” Was all Charlie could think of saying. Well, not really all of it. There was another thing. “Can I… Can I hold you tight? Would that be okay?” A moment of silence passed them, and once more the smaller demon sighed softly.
“Please do” she replied, to the princess’s delighted surprise. Strong but gentle arms pulled Vaggie close, wrapping around her waist and staying there. Charlie waited, hoping Vaggie wouldn’t feel uneasy with that touch. She didn’t. She relaxed into the hug, allowing the afterglow, the warmth of her lover’s body pressed so close to her own, and the small melody hummed by Charlie to lull her to sleep. Maybe tomorrow would be a better day, maybe not, but right now, it was a good night.