Hope Is A Lovers Staff
Watching Lusa’s head rise and fall in time to her breathing, Kerr felt like an elf a giant had chosen for a pillow – ridiculous and possessive and heartbroken at the same time. This couldn’t work. It could never have worked. But Kerr had chased it – chased her, anyway.
What options were left? Leave Tyton? Move to where the Adlets lived? She’d never met anyone from a different city. The last train was still in the Gare, abandoned before she was born. How Lusa got here, she added to the growing pile of things she didn’t know.
They would probably kill her on sight. Even if they didn’t, how would that conversation go? I know I took one of yours. I dunno where she’s at but we fucked a couple of times, so we’re good, yeah? Lusa probably thought this was temporary anyway.
Carding her fingers through thick, black hair, Kerr could feel herself falling in love. At what point would it be too late to recover? How long could she linger before the heartbreak lasted months instead of weeks?
She should get up. Detach herself now, but every part of her was perfect. Every line and curve, every swell and dimple. She couldn’t have designed a more perfect body and somehow, she had been born like this.
Kerr knew. Someone this perfect could have anyone they wanted. No single person could possess her. Her jealousy flared anyway.
Cementing the decision for her, Lusa nuzzled in tighter. It would be devastating. There was also nothing either of them could do to change that, so she might as well take as much as she could get.
“They’re going to kill us all, aren’t they?” Kerr kissed the top of Lusa’s head. Her heart shone at the scent of her shampoo on Lusa’s hair, an olfactory mark that she was hers, for now.
Lusa craned her neck to look at her. “Who?”
“The Adlets.”
Sliding her arm around her waist, Lusa pulled tightly. “Probably. But I’ll keep you safe.”
Kerr shook her head against the mattress. “I deserve it.”
Lusa traced a pattern against her arm. “And I deserved it for Piston.”
“We would have, if we’d known where you were.” Kerr laughed joylessly. “But no-one knows where the Adlets are.”
Lusa sighed with a million emotions Kerr couldn’t parse. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
Knowing she couldn’t understand, Kerr reached for humour.
“I didn’t believe I’d tame a lioness either.
” Kerr dug her fingers against Lusa’s scalp.
Like a cat, she leaned into it. “We thought you were still here, living under our noses, watching. You have tech that none of us can come close to replicating.”
Settling into her chest, Lusa remained silent. Kerr didn’t pry. “They’re real, you know,” Lusa said after a few breaths.
“Cloaking tech?” Kerr ran a finger across Lusa’s spine. “That would explain a lot.”
“No, lionesses.”
Kerr nuzzled into Lusa’s hair. “I know. I have one right here.”
Lusa smiled sadly. Kerr could tell something else was there, just out of reach and locked behind a door for which she didn’t have the key.
Drawing a finger across her arm, Kerr found the ridge of a long scar interrupting the pristine expanse of skin. “When did this happen?”
Lifting her arm, Lusa examined the remnants of a deep gash. “Training on a balance beam. I fell and caught my arm on a splinter. I was trying to show off for my sisters.”
“You have more than one sister?” Kerr frowned. “Do you not have DocPods? Even our old ones can fix this.”
“We do.” Lusa pressed her lips together, like she was trying to avoid blurting out the real reason.
“So why…” Kerr started, but Lusa bolted upright suddenly, throwing Kerr off balance. She scrambled to prop herself on her elbows. “Sorry? I didn’t mean to pry.”
“No, not that.” Lusa scanned the room looking for something.
“What is it?” Kerr sat up.
“Alana.” Lusa rummaged through her rucksack and pulled out the device.
“Oh fuck!” Kerr held up her hands. “I swear, I had no idea you had a girlfriend. I would never…”
“Alana is my aunt.” Lusa attached her monocle.
“Your aunt is your girlfriend?”
Lusa looked amused and horrified. “Just my aunt. And she hates me.”
“You’re going to need to explain a lot more.”
“I don’t have a girlfriend,” Lusa added.
Relief washed over her, but that wasn’t what she was asking. “Not about that. About your aunt. She hates you?”
“Yes.” Lusa paced the room waiting for a connection. “But we still work together. Like you and Chalice.”
Kerr could understand that. Lusa sent and received several messages while Kerr allowed herself a few more moments to admire Lusa in her state of undress.
Yanking her monocle off suddenly, Lusa swore.
Kerr ran the tip of an artificial finger across her teeth. “What?”
“I might not have an aunt when I get back.”
“Alana?” Kerr asked.
“A different aunt. Alana is on her way.” Lusa dug around in her rucksack.
“Okay, slow down.” Having flashbacks to the way Chalice would barge ahead with plans she never had time to explain, Kerr tried unsuccessfully to calm herself. “I need you to tell me what’s going on.”
Lusa softened. “I’m sorry, I got carried away, but I had an idea and we need to move quickly.”
Chalice never apologised to her. Her breathing eased.
Noticing her distress, Lusa took her hand. “We need Model 2 to get Pinga. And Chalice. To do that, we need a specific type of DocPod. We know exactly where one is, we just need to get it.”
Kerr’s stomach dropped. “There’s no way we can get past the Styx. How is your aunt going to fix that?”
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Lusa squeezed as much reassurance as she could into her hand.
“I went after Pinga unauthorised. My aunt let me use her bike, which is how I got here and why they’re probably going to kill her.
My other aunt is already on her way here on a rover with fuel.
It’ll take her another day to get here, then she’s going to take the transport Pinga stole and collect a rescue team.
But.” Lusa paused for dramatic effect. “While she’s here, she can help us get the DocPod the Styx left at the docks.
No-one called off the delivery. If we’re lucky, we can get Pinga first and stop a gang war before it starts. ”
Kerr squealed in delight and threw her arms around Lusa’s neck. Lusa only indulged her for a moment before throwing her off. “We need to go now. Otherwise, we’ll miss Alana.”
Finding some clothes, Lusa put on her TacPants before turning back to Kerr. “The rest of my things are on the bike. Do you have anything I can wear?”
Staring at the obscenely beautiful topless woman towering over her, Kerr salivated at the way her muscles flowed and rippled uninterrupted by mods or prosthetics. And then her…
“Yes these. I need to cover these,” Lusa pointed at her breasts.
Kerr’s eyes refused to budge.
“Because otherwise this happens.” Lusa directed her point to Kerr.
Shaking her head, Kerr hunted for the largest top she owned.
“It’s like you’ve never seen tits before,” Lusa muttered with a note of amusement.
“In my defence,” Kerr held out a top “They’re fucking amazing.”
Blushing, Lusa snatched the top. “And you say that to every pair of tits you’ve seen, I’m sure.” Kerr found it impossible to believe that Lusa didn’t know her breasts would be the most expensive design specs on every DocPod model that could make them.
Lusa writhed her way into Kerr’s artfully distressed baggy boyfriend-cut shirt, but it was so tight across the chest that she looked even more scandalous than she did topless. Kerr kept catching herself flicking her eyes across her body. It wasn’t nearly as subtle as she had hoped.
“Are you recording me?” Lusa found her jacket.
Watching her pull it on over the shirt that was now so stretched out, she’d never be able to wear it again, Kerr admitted, “I am now.” She raked her teeth across her bottom lip.
Perhaps she would stuff it and use it as a pillow until Lusa’s scent had faded.
It would either prolong the heartbreak or lead to some very pleasant dreams.
Lusa breathed a laugh and zipped up the jacket. “Now that you’ve finished eye-fucking me, hurry up and pack.”
“Where are we going?”
“Ever been camping?” Lusa threw the rucksack over her shoulder.
“I don’t know what that is.” Kerr stood still, having no idea what she needed for camping.
“Camping is when you sleep outside. You’ll need a change of clothes.”
Kerr couldn’t fathom why anyone would want to do that, but she’d shown enough ignorance for one day. “More than one?” Turning to the closet, Kerr flashed a lewd smirk.
Ignoring the comment, Lusa still flushed. “We’ll be outside the city.”
Kerr stopped. “What? Why? There’s nothing outside the city except for broken turbines.”
Sighing, Lusa sat back on the edge of the bed “I can’t explain more without compromising things. I promise I’ll tell you as much as I can.”
Kerr knew Lusa wasn’t Chalice. She didn’t treat her like an idiot and there were very real reasons why Lusa couldn’t spill gang secrets. It still felt off.
Lusa swallowed. “If you don’t come, I can’t protect you,” she said quietly.
Lusa was putting herself on the line for her. Like she did for her sister. Kerr could trust that, at least long enough to take the leap. She turned her hand, palm up. Lusa took it. “Thank you”