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Calliope is outspoken.
She can definitely be a bit awkward, it’s very clear that her thoughts move faster than her words can express in the moment, so she stumbles when she’s nervous. But she never lets that stop her. She’ll stumble, she'll “um” and “uh” and “guh” her way through, but she always gets it out. It’s adorable.
And when she writes? When she has time to process her thoughts, express them in just the way she wants? Hearing her sing and rap confidently when she’s well prepared is enough to make your heart flutter any day, but the juxtaposition between that and how she usually is is a whole other beast.
You love every way that Calli talks. You’ve known her for so long, you know all of the parts of her personality, and every one is perfect.
But your favorite?
Your favorite is just how quiet she gets when you’re together a little more intimately.
The first time the two of you progressed past just kissing, it scared the shit out of you. She clammed up as soon as your lips went lower than her chin, and you immediately jumped away from her, worried sick that you had crossed a line. Calliope’s face had already been beet red, but she looked even more embarrassed when she saw the look on your face.
“It’s— Kiara, you’re… fine.” She rubbed her face aggressively. “Is it too cliché to say ‘it’s not you, it’s me?”
You figured you must have looked pretty embarrassed then, too. “Oh, I think I must have misinterpreted some signals, I thought… I’m sorry, it won’t happen again!”
“Wh— no! No, no, that’s not what I meant!”
You cocked your head to the side.
“What I meant was that you didn’t do anything wrong, it’s—” Calliope paused to compose herself. “What I’m trying to say is that I just. Don’t really make a lot of noise. In… situations like these. When I’m given more, um, personal attention.”
That was quite a way to talk around “I’m really quiet during sex.”
If you were honest, it made you want her even more, if that was possible.
You nodded slowly, trying to organize your thoughts. “Okay… so, that’s normal for you? It’s not about being uncomfortable or not enjoying yourself?”
Calliope cleared her throat. “It’s not about that at all.”
That was a good sign. “Do you have any other tells? About if you’re enjoying what’s happening. Usually I’d try to go off of verbal cues, but, well, you know.”
“I don’t really know? I never paid attention to it, I only even noticed the quiet thing because it’s caused me a few issues in the past, haha… ha.”
You hummed. “Okay. Will you tell me if you want me to stop, then? You won’t just go radio silent on me, even if you’re not having a good time?”
Calliope nodded.
And that was how you two got started.
You were touch-and-go in the beginning, to be sure. Your previous partners had all been pretty universally talkative, whether they were the more dominant party giving you orders and telling you just what they were planning with you, or the more submissive one whining and begging and moaning under your ministrations. Being with someone who made virtually no noise at all took some getting used to. Not to mention a lot of check-ins throughout.
As you were able to become more familiar with Calli’s body, though, you were able to find the little things she did to let you know you were on the right track.
If she wants to escalate things while you’re kissing, she grabs your bicep. If she’s content with just making out and isn’t feeling anything more, she almost completely subconsciously avoids that part of your arm. Which, while you’re on the topic, demonstrates how much your partner can affect your interests after you’ve been with them for a while. Would someone brushing up against your bicep have ever made your breath hitch before? No, never. But now? Phew.
After you take that clue, she has a habit of tugging on her clothes. This girl is such a pillow princess (pillow reaper?) that she doesn’t even want to focus on taking off your clothes, but on you getting off hers. If you didn’t love her, you swear.
Though, in all fairness, that’s also your main focus. So you suppose you have similar goals. Must be why you work out so well together.
The next usual step is her own example of partner influence. Instead of removing her bra entirely, she pulls one of the cups down, exposing her breasts that way. It was what made you realize that she pays as much attention to you as you do to her: you always had an inexplicable thing for girls pulling their bras down rather than off at first. Somehow, she’d picked up on that from how you would act without you even having to say it. It was one of the hottest possible things she could do.
You would know about hot, you’re a phoenix.
One of the only parts of the process where she makes any noise (other than the deep, shuddering sighs and squeaks and mewls which you can’t believe so few other people have noticed for so long, after both of you have been around for what feels like multiple eternities) is when you hyperfocus in on your (secondary, beside the obvious) goal of every sexual encounter with Calli: making her laugh.
You switch up your method often, you have to keep her on her toes, but you do have a few you particularly like. Your most recent favorite is working your way down her torso, all the way to the waistband of her underwear, and taking it into your teeth. You make like you’re going to pull it off with your mouth (which you can tell is something she is very interested in from the way the pace of her breath changes), and then you switch tracks and lick a stripe up her stomach. It’s caught her off guard every time so far, and always makes her giggle.
You take the time from this detour to kiss and nip and lick her abdomen, leaving hickeys wherever you can. You would love to do this all over her body, leave more reminders of your time together, of who she always comes back to. But you’re always aware of what parts of her skin are visible under her usual outfit, so you make sure to avoid her upper breasts, her arms, her throat. You don’t want to cause any trouble for her just for a couple of hickeys.
Though you are able to leave quite a few marks on her inner thighs, which you thoroughly enjoy seeing the healing remnants of when you go down on her.
Speaking of which.
With the success of Operation Make Calli Laugh, you return to her crotch and press your tongue flat against her vulva, over her underwear, relishing in the little muscle contractions you can feel as she squeaks, barely audible. You lick and suck over the fabric for a while, thinking about how the moisture from your mouth is barely going to make a difference in how wet the fabric is, since you’ve done your job right. Calli moves her legs restlessly, unsatisfied by this level of contact, so you finally fulfill your earlier promise.
You take the fabric in your teeth and (with some assistance from your hands, you’re only so talented) pull it off of her, finally getting a full view of her as you do. She’s flushed all over, covered in a light sheen of sweat, and the only more beautiful sight you can imagine is her, every other day, every other time, always.
The rest is mostly a blur of moments and feelings. You take in every stimulus as well as absolutely nothing. You feel her hands in your hair, her fingers on your scalp, the tugging. You feel the heat radiating off every inch of both of your bodies, though the sweat makes her thighs cool to the touch as you grab them, hook her legs over your shoulders, massage whatever you can reach.
You’re quite a fan of chicken, but you would be highly satisfied if you could have Calli for every meal.
This is the other part where she makes a noise: while she arches her back, her face twisting and untwisting as she lets out a high yelp and then stills, except for the shaking. She stays that way for a heavenly moment, then collapses backwards again, panting.
You crawl your way back up to her mouth and kiss her, gently leading her hand to your clit and using it to finish yourself off. Though a lot of the things you know about each other’s interests and boundaries were gathered “in the field,” so to speak, this is an example of something you’ve discussed outside of an actual sexual experience.
You know she’s not much of an active participant much of the time, but just getting yourself off while she laid there panting wasn’t really cutting it for you. You could do it, and definitely do sometimes even now, but you asked her once what exactly she’d be comfortable with regarding your own orgasm, if you had just given her one without finishing yourself. She stuttered and blushed the whole time (fuck, she’s so cute), but she ended up admitting that being used like that was “ahem… not… it’s not unappealing.”
You moan into her mouth, bury your face into her neck, squeeze your eyes shut much like she does, and collapse on top of her. You can feel her heartbeat through her chest as it regulates itself. You talk to her, softly, letting her have time to come back into herself. You tell her how beautiful she is. How much you love her, how you have through so many lifetimes. You’re a little extra sappy, you’ll admit.
Calliope is outspoken.
Even when she’s not talking, during sex and directly after, she’s saying things to you. How beautiful she thinks you are. How much she loves you, how she has through so many of your lifetimes. You say it with words, but she says it in the way that she interlocks her fingers with yours and squeezes three times. One for each word in “I love you.”
“Okay,” Calli croaks, clearing her throat, “we have to go get cleaned up now. I’m all sweaty and disgusting.”
You smirk at her. “I can think of a way to get you clean.”
She smacks you on the arm, but there’s no real force behind it. “Kusotori.”