First Light Revisited

Maya brushed Jan's hair away, fingers light, sending a shiver down her spine. Like she kind of...got it? Understood there was more to Jan than the tough-girl act. Jan wanted to melt into that touch.

Still, a spike of worry twisted in her gut as she fumbled with the hem of her shirt. "They're..." Damn, why couldn't her voice work right? But Maya was waiting, patient, so Jan took a breath and pulled the fabric up.

There. Her past, printed in angry lines across her skin. Some were old, silvery. Others still livid, raised above the flesh. Each a story she'd never told -- fights, protecting someone, that side of her nobody saw. She felt naked, more exposed than if she'd stripped down to her skin. She held her breath. Rejection would be a physical blow now.

Maya sucked in a breath, not quite a gasp, but close. "Those scars... they're incredible." It wasn't about how they looked -- there was something powerful in their existence, like proof of battles fought that Jan held private.

"Can I...?" Maya started, then trailed off. Her fingertip hovered over a raised line, then gently landed. There was no flinch from Jan, and a tiny jolt of excitement sparked inside Maya. This wasn't pity, it was... fascination. Brave, sure, but something deeper.

"Wonderful," Maya breathed, no longer just about the scars. Jan was a half-open book, and Maya was flipping through the first pages at lightning speed. Then it hit her-- her own need for something beyond the surface wasn't so unique.

"I wish I could've seen you fight..." Maya blurted out. Not in a creepy way, but damn, the honesty of it made her cheeks burn anyway. She trailed her finger along another scar.

"There's darkness in me too," she almost whispered, eyes locked with Jan's. "Not, like, evil or anything. But I want...more. To be tested, you know?"

"Something inside Jan snapped into focus. It wasn't the wine, or the way Maya's hair caught the candlelight. It was... god, there was something in Maya's eyes. Not pity, not judgment, just this wide-open willingness to see her, the good and the ugly. A feeling Jan hadn't dared to hope for in years. Suddenly, all those stupid little jokes felt like flimsy armor that didn't fit anymore.

The joy that bubbled up inside Jan wasn't the carefree kind. It was defiant, messy. Like yeah, she carried baggage, but dammit, there was still this spark inside her. And Maya, with that faint, half-knowing smile, saw it too. She leaned in for a kiss, and for once, Jan didn't flinch away. It was hungry, hopeful, and just a touch desperate.

"Whoa," Maya breathed, her hand coming up to touch Jan's cheek. "Yeah, let's get out of this hallway." There was a smirk in her voice, but something more...like she was just as caught off-guard as Jan.

The bedroom wasn't some magazine fantasy spread. It was lived-in -- a wrinkled blanket kicked to the floor, a half-read book on the nightstand. The candles smelled cheap but good, like vanilla birthday cake. Jan suddenly felt so damn grateful she'd bothered to tidy up at all. It felt more real, somehow.

"Well, this is nicer," Maya said, kicking off her shoes. "But for the record, I'd probably still follow you into a dark alley. Just, uh...talking would be nice too." She raised an eyebrow, a playful challenge. The tension in the room was thick, thrilling...but there was an honesty to it now that made it feel safe, as if they were on the verge of sharing something bigger than just their bodies."

Jan's grin answered before she did. "Girl, you know that ain't happening," she said, voice low with amusement, taking a step closer. "We spent too many years hiding, pretending. This..." A wave of her hand took in the room, not the grandeur, but the way the shadows lingered. "...this is about catching up."

She leaned in -- not some practiced move, but a bit off-balance, a little too eager. Her breath tickled Maya's ear more than her cheek. "Lemme show you how damn good 'talking' can be." The playful challenge in her eyes was there, but shadowed by something softer. This was more than heat; it was about baring everything -- the rough bits, the secrets, the whispered-in-the-dark wants.

The hush wasn't planned, just sorta happened as they drifted towards the bed. Nobody was choreographing this. Every touch lingered -- fingers tracing a faded scar on Maya's shoulder, the brush of knuckles as a shirt came off. There was worship in it, appreciation for bodies that had lived a little, had stories written in their lines.

Their eyes locked from across the room, a jolt of heat and nerves and...god, I've waited so long for somebody to look at me like that. Each look was a page in a book they were just starting to write. When they finally fell onto the bed, it was a messy tangle of limbs and laughter-laced breaths. They'd find their rhythm soon enough, this dance of skin and sighs.

"Words weren't enough anymore. They mumbled sweet nothings into each other's skin, gasps and sighs filling the gaps between sentences. Maya's hands explored his body like she was charting a new world, his fingers tracing the line of her jaw, the curve of her hip. Some kisses were soft, testing the waters. Others were hot, messy, and desperate, like they only just realized how long they'd been starving for this.

It wasn't just the sex, though that was... damn good. There was something about the way their bodies fit together, how their breaths synced, like they were speaking a language older than words. It was soul-deep, the kind of stuff you only read about in bad romance novels, until it smacks you in the face one sweaty, glorious night.

When the first light started to bleed through the curtains, they were both a wreck -- panting, flushed, and grinning like idiots. Sleep tugged at them, heavy and sweet. They collapsed in a tangle of limbs, the smell of sex and sleep and something just them hanging in the air. Exhaustion was its own kind of bliss. There, secrets spilled in the dark and bodies bared, they'd found something safe. The bond between them, this weird, intense thing, felt even stronger now that they shared a rumpled bed. Sleep came on a wave of relief -- it was like a promise, scary and wonderful all at once."