Disconnected

She was considering how she could work riddles into an interesting lesson plan for her students, when suddenly she was thrown off balance by someone barreling into her from around a corner. The breath was knocked out of her for a moment as they careened together in a tangle of limbs. A pair of hands caught at her, and she was able to get her feet under her again as her bag of costumes and tablets slid down her arm. Gasping an apology, Cassie pushed her hair out of her eyes and was immediately startled by a face coming towards her. Instinctively recoiling, her hands pressed against his chest to ward off the approach, but he was pulling her close just as quickly. By the time she identified his face, it was an inch away and he was already kissing her, his eyes focused only on her mouth.

She froze in uncertain surprise and exclaimed, "Seth?" but the sound was swallowed up against his mouth. The shaping of his name opened her lips, and he apparently took that as an attempt to return the kiss, because he slipped one hand behind her neck and the other behind her back to pull her tighter into him, playing his tongue between her teeth for a second. His arms wrapped around her, solid and immovable—and all the while his eyelashes remained lowered.

Flushed and crushed deliciously up on tiptoe against him, she thought wildly about why he could possibly be kissing her. Was he drunk? She could taste a bit of liquor on his tongue, which was teasing the inside of her mouth in a way that made her want to suck it in. Had he decided he cared about her in a new way and it was time to show her, or was this a spontaneous urge by which he was just as surprised? The moment lengthened, suspended, and her thoughts whirled on. Should she push him away, since they'd always had just a familial or professional relationship? He was stronger than she; it was doubtful that she'd make a dent in his chest by pushing. Of course, she could always use her self-defence techniques to really shut it down, but that seemed like overkill. And anyway why not let him kiss her? He was an adult now, and many years off his innocence. It definitely wasn't her role to protect him anymore.

It only lasted a handful of seconds, but it felt much longer, in the way those things do. She'd just found herself kissing him back, heart pounding and body tingling, when a small group of people rounded the same corner and nearly mowed the two of them down again. Abruptly, the little crowd started to cheer. She pulled her face from the kiss to look at them, embarrassed, and then heard Seth blurt, "Cass? Oh shit!" Her gaze jerked back at him to witness his face as he registered it was her that he was holding. They both glanced back and forth from the group to each other, changing lightning-fast expressions and emotions as they each processed something different.

Cassie realized that Seth was surprised—not at the group's presence—but rather at hers. How could he look at her as if she'd just appeared in his arms from out of the blue? He had been the one to grab her in the first place! She was confused by his confusion, and embarrassed from being observed, and then she felt horrified by her own reaction, still humming with pleasurable remnants of the exhilaration of having his body pressed against hers so suddenly. She flinched away from Seth.

One teammate who was familiar with their history laughed at Cassie's blush and tried to reassure her, saying, "Don't be mad, it could have been anyone! It's just the Hunt." Inundated by the speed of circumstances changing, it finally hit Cassie that Seth wasn't intentionally kissingher specifically. She immediately wondered if it was a prank. Mortified and angry at his betrayal, despite knowing that her visions of his intention may only have been illusions, her face deepened its hot flush.

Feeling trapped by the group's presence and lighthearted burble, she desperately tried to control her face but felt completely unsure of what the'right' reaction would have been if... if what? She was utterly discombobulated. She detangled herself from Seth and his team, and walked away as if she was unaware of what her body was doing.

*

Seth had been keeping the game's challenge list in his mind as he charged ahead of his teammates, his competitive streak running strong. And yeah, maybe he was a little tipsy and riding the buzz, sure. Coming around a corner, he'd accidentally banged into someone—just saw a tangle of hair and arms and fabric, obviously a female—and remembered one of the challenges, so he'd thought'I'll take what I can get,' and went for it. Whoever it was, she was preferable to having to kiss a guy or an old person, and he was blithely confident he could handle the explanations afterwards, no matter who it was.

So, alright, he'd swooped in, grabbed up the face firmly and zeroed in on the mouth as the target. Intending it to be a brief contact, just enough to satisfy the requirements of the challenge, he'd been derailed by the little sound she'd made as the tip of her tongue offered itself. He'd taken that as an invitation to kiss her deeper and, enjoying the spontaneous moment—what idiot would argue with that offering?— he'd obliged, pulling her closer and kissing her deeper. The little female felt delightful, curved so nicely against him, and her hair was still silky under his fingers despite being tangled from their tumble. Her mouth was hot and soft, precisely what a guy would want in a kiss.

When he finally had lifted his eyes to take in who he was kissing, he had been unnerved. It had never occurred to him it could beher. Shame had swept through him that she'd caught him doing something she would surely think was inappropriate. But then he'd felt unexpectedly glad it was Cassie. It had felt so right for just that sliver of a second, as if something had said'Of course it's her. She should always be right here.' He had been mostly swept up in the challenge and fun at the beginning, but the pleasure and possessiveness he'd felt in realizing it was her body and mouth threw him for a loop.

Looking down at her, seeing her confusion, he wanted to kick himself. What could she be thinking? An urgency hit him, to make sure she didn't think he would kiss her so flippantly; yet that was the state of things, so what could he say, as he watched her walk away? Clueless as to a way to salvage that convoluted mess, Seth allowed himself to be swept up with the team without saying more than—"Ah shit."

Someone—oblivious to his true thoughts—laughed at his expression of alarm and regret. "Were you hoping for someone who would kiss you back?"

Another chimed in, "Just watch out for the old ladies who will rip you a new one for stealing her dentures!"

***

Watching the games continue throughout the day, Cassie talked herself through the situation. She simultaneously reprimanded and comforted herself that she had simply been surprised at how nice it was to kiss someone again. It had been quite a while since she had been in a relationship of any level of intimacy; she had forgotten how exhilarating it could be, just to be held and kissed—by anyone—that was all.Nothing further to read into it.

When Seth approached her later, with his funny mix of faux-casual posture and hang-dog face, she closed her teeth on a laugh and tried to give him a cheerful smile. "Hey, you found me! I'm just wrapping up here; do you finally have a chance to sit and catch up?" As she made the first verbal peace offering, she could almost meet his eyes normally.

"Ah, yeah, heh... Well, no, actually, I don't have a lot of time. I just wanted to check in on you." He scuffed his foot on the floor distractedly. "Listen, about before, I-I wanted to explain. I must have caught you off guard."

"Oh, yes. That." She'd been hoping they could move on without hashing it out, but he was a responsible guy. Honesty and clarity was best. "I have to admit, I felt pretty silly about it later."

"You feltsilly?" His face said he hadn't expected that description, and wasn't sure if it was a good thing. "I mean, you shouldn't, it was—"

"I realized that the Jubilee committee had sent out a noticelast night, warning everyone to watch out for the Scavenger Hunt challengers today. I had read it, and even pointed it out to Becks, my roommate. It said the list included objects, experiences, and people..." Cassie splayed her hands out in front of her as if saying the data had been laid out plain as day. "I just hadn't even imagined a kiss as a potential public dare. I guess I'm not as creative as the game organizers... Can you imagine having to come up with all those ideas?" She tried to make the conversation as natural as possible.

He wasn't ready to be distracted. "I could tell you were pretty upset, as you left. I guess I kinda jumped on you. I'm sorry I surprised you. I mean, I was surprised, too." He shoved his hands into his pockets and hunched his shoulders in a shrug. "I should have paid more attention, been more careful."

"You don't have to apologize, Seth. I understand you were just playing the game." She was proud of how easy and reassuring her voice came out, but she couldn't look up at him at all.

"Right. But... It was a nice kiss, Cass. I mean, I didn't know it was you, but... I enjoyed it."

Gods, this was so awkward it was painful. Was he really trying to reassure her, like a retroactive pity kiss? She twisted her lips up in an attempt at a playful smile, "Yes, I have to say—based on my limited knowledge—you must be an excellent kisser when you want to be... Which is probably all the time." She added silently to herself,'If you took out the reason for it happening, and the entire ending, it could have been the hottest kiss I think I've ever had.'

He smirked bashfully at her compliment and shifted closer so he could lean his shoulder against hers in a slow, cautiously-affectionate bump. "I was surprised, but, I was also really glad to realize it was you in my arms."

She had to think for a second, what did he mean by that? Was he saying that he had enjoyed the memory of the kiss more after he knew it was her,because it was her? That he'd be happy to take her into his arms again? Or was he just glad that he didn't have to get into trouble for accosting some old lady or be challenged to lock lips with a man? She tested her theory with a response: "I imagine a different person as unprepared as I was might have left you more concerned about reprisal. But you know you get away with anything pretty much scot free around me. You're going to be really surprised when someday I stop giving in, aren't you."

"So, you're not mad?"

"No, not mad. It just pushed me out of my comfort zone. Which is something you've always been good at," she teased him, "even without the game organizers' help." His relieved smile was a ray of sunshine that told her she'd read him correctly. "Now listen, come find me when you have time to sit and talk; I want to hear all your latest stories and bore you with all of mine. Ok? Go have fun, and we'll talk soon. This festival is mostly for you Missioners, after all." She shoved at him.

He let her push him away, then turned around to face her again, walking away backwards for a moment as he responded. "Yeah, maybe I can come to the house for dinner tonight?"

"That sounds perfect." As she watched him retreat, she decided she definitely deserved more fun for herself. Her famished libido was kicking her imagination into overdrive, but Seth was just being Seth. It was ridiculous to be so hungry for intimacy that she started pining after her brother, or student, or whatever he was supposed to be to her now. Someone who she'd known for so long and was so much younger than her, at any rate. Maybe she could push herself more out of her own comfort zone this week, and meet someone nice. Jubilee week was the ideal time to make new connections, after all.

***

Cassie had been kept late with a necessary rearrangement of performance venue assignments, which meant she'd had to also help rearrange her students' stage layouts. She was glad that she'd passed a note to Becks earlier in the day, regarding dinner plans. By the time she tiredly returned home, her previous and current roommates had finished the food prep and were found relaxing with mugs of spiced hard cider, sharing comfortable banter like old friends. The conversation had presumably started with the standard getting-to-know-you rigamarole, and had extended to sharing anecdotes about living in the house by the time Cassie entered.

As Cassie freshened up from her long day, Seth and Becks had laid out the spread, so it was all ready for the three of them to sit and eat as soon as she was. Cass watched Seth move around the kitchen and table with a warm, itchy feeling in her heart. Despite the changes in his physical dimensions, he fit back into this setting with a familiarity that bypassed the subtle differences from Becks' filling the space he'd left. Cassie was relieved not to feel any hint of resentment or awkwardness between them. There would always be a place for Seth wherever Cassie was, and she had to trust that he knew that.

At dinner that night, the talk around the table continued warm and easy. Seth offered accounting of his travels and assignments since he'd last been home to Maltic colony, and a broader summation of what Becks didn't know from before that. Cassie and Becks traded his information for an update on colony doings and gossip, until they were all decently caught up for one night of dinner conversation.

"Seems like Jubilee week is a success so far. No colony wars have broken out, no fires started..." Becks joked contentedly.

"Yeah it's been pretty great. I know of a couple fist fights, but that's to be expected," Seth agreed, appreciatively spooning himself a second bowl of pear cobbler dessert.

Cassie lifted an eyebrow at him, playfully reproving. "You weren't involved, I trust."

He grinned back. "No, Cass, I've only been in Mission-approved fights, I promise. And the scavenger hunt didn't have any listed as challenges, either." He caught her narrowing glance and faint blush, before she dropped her view and tightened her lips in what could have been either a restrained smile or grimace.

"So what have been your highlights?" Becks continued. "Cassie knows my favorite parts are the animals. I am a sucker for a furry face that can't talk back."

"Oho!" Seth smirked suggestively and they all laughed at the implicit dirty joke.

"I love the flash and music of the entry parades. Especially the percussion instruments," Cassie offered with a tap of her palm to her sternum. "I can feel them resonating in my bones, as if they're playing me from the inside."

"Maybe someday you should be a student again and learn to play?" Seth contemplated. Cassie just shrugged, and nodded her chin at him to indicate it was his turn to answer. "Oh, let's see, I got to see my friend Steiner thrashed in a game of Cambo today; that was fun."

"And you participated in the scavenger hunt?" Becks prompted. "That looked like complete and utter chaos."

Seth shot a look at Cassie again, wondering what she'd told her roommate, but she was glancing cautiously between Becks and him, and he decided she hadn't shared the events of the morning. "Uh, yeah. My team didn't accumulate enough points to win, unfortunately."

"There was a point system?" Becks scoffed, "I guess they had to create a competitive edge, for people like you."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" He was playfully offended.

"The competitive people," Becks pushed her palm at him as if it were obvious. "People who don't know how to enjoy experiences just for the sake of living them." Seth was taken aback by this thought. She continued her exposition. "There was a team that stopped by my work at one point today, asking for some wire. They had already scavenged a random assortment of stuff—toothpicks, differently colored plant parts, bottle caps—and the next step in the process for their challenge was to create little animals out of all this motley, by usingonly what they'd collected."

"Ooh, that would be a challenge in deed," Cassie put in.

Becks nodded. "Next they had to find some children—or adults young at heart—and do an impromptu puppet show of sorts, using the creatures they'd just invented."

Cassie made a mental note about using that idea with her students to encourage creativity and resourcefulness. "Oh how clever! Did you get to see that part?"

"No, I left to go watch the martial arts display. You had said you might participate in that, Cassie. I was disappointed I didn't see you in it, but it was still excellent. Anyway, that's what I was talking about: the challenge of making something out of nothing, and then having fun with it. How do you award points on that? You can't. It's just done for the sake of the experience."

Seth spared a nod for Becks' point, but looked at Cassie with surprise. "You've been training with Master Barto?"

"Yes, a bit," she responded with a shy grin. "It's an excellent workout. It gives me a healthy outlet for my frustrations so I don't throttle the children!" They all laughed.

"Well, good for you! We'll have to spar some time; see if you can take me down." He winked at her, then cocked his head at Becks. "But you know, I disagree with your claim that I don't know how to enjoy life for its own sake. I think my competitive streak just shows that I'm that much more hungry for experiences. I think it's people like Cassie, here, who worry and over-analyze everything so that they can't just take a moment for what it is."

There was a thoughtful pause. "Hmm. Interesting thought; I'll have to think about that."

Before it became awkward, Becks stood up and began gathering dirty dishes. The other two were galvanized to help clean up the shared meal, and they gradually wrapped up the evening.

As Seth headed out after dinner, Cassie walked him to the door. He reached out for a hug and, after a slight hesitation, she curved into his arms to return it. They both thought of the last time they were in this position, but neither voiced anything besides a fond and familiar 'Good night'.

***

That night, Cassie's dreams re-created and extended the scavenger hunt encounter, as the subconscious mind is prone to do.

He pulled her deliberately into a close corridor and kissed her hungrily, savoring her mouth and murmuring her name into it. They clung to each other, panting together; sharing breath. Cloth barriers melted away like sugar crystals in a waterbath. She could feel every inch of his skin; the edges of his delicious body merged into hers. There was no thought, there was only Seth. The world was darkness except for the light that seemed to spill out from their pores.

When the crowds of people approached and loomed chattering around them, laughing and cheering and questioning, she could feel the embarrassment like a breath of wind on her bare body. But Seth was already inside of her, and all the two of them could focus on was grasping each other's naked bodies, wrapping tightly as sweat made them slippery against each other. Disregarding the judgements of the onlookers, for her hunger made her bold, she lifted a foot up high to prop up against the invisible wall behind him—to open herself to him as much as possible—and pulled his hips deeper between her thighs.

In the exquisite sensory detail of the dream, every inch of contact felt like fireworks. His face scratched her neck and she tasted gold sparkles. His hands slid their callouses in a savory journey along her curves. The ribs of his hot cock seemed to send ripples of magenta pleasure into her flesh. They delighted in each other with urgent need and decadent lasciviousness.