Life Hack

"I think I'm listening."

They sat in silence for several breathless moments until Bri eased back- Mel started to turn but before she knew it the woman had repositioned behind her with her legs pressed against Mel's. She didn't ask, she didn't wait- before either of them could really question it Bri wrapped herself around Melissa and hugged her from behind. They shared their warmth, they felt each other's heartbeat, existing in that moment as both strangers and maybe more.

There was nothing either of them could say, the idea of trying to felt profane, but as Bri's arms encircled Mel's waist like a life preserver she found herself reaching for them. Clinging to them as Bri did her. Her shoulders slumped, she leaned back, there was nowhere they'd ever be able to escape to anyway so what was the point of trying to overthink this?

Two scared people living in an iron frisbee flying around a black hole at the edge of time, what could've been more hilariously absurd? Trying to deny themselves their humanity seemed almost criminal at that point.

"Maybe I was wrong. . ." Melissa whispered.

"You were."

"Thanks."

Bri kissed her back, squeezed tightly. "Was I?"

"About what?"

"To try and help you."

Mel swallowed, ran her finger over Bri's arms. Had she been? "You said that we give meaning to our lives, right? If you thought it was the right thing to do, then it was. Wasn't it?"

"Maybe-"

"Don't go wussing out on me now."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm a colossal wuss."

Mel scrubbed her own face with her hands trying to will away the visage of the black hole that'd seared itself into her mind. "You stared into the face of oblivion and smiled. . . .I tried to run away from it."

"You forgot the part where I was going to wait out the cancer-"

"What language did you program in?"

"Huh?"

"Every Hacker I've ever met has been a programmer, what language did you code in?"

Bri touched her forehead to the back of Mel's skull, sighing into her hair. "You're getting more human by the second- not everything can be broken down to bits of code and routines, y'know? Sometimes it's just the living of life that shows us the Great and Terrible Oz."

"But you figured out the black hole, you rewrote the simulation to make this place possible- you overwrote my desire to be unseen. . ."

"I collaborated with a lot of people to figure that out! The house, well, I was expressing myself. . ." Bri fell quiet for a long moment. "As for you, well, I was looking for someone and it looked like you were too."

"But you're not a scientist or something. . ."

"Nope, just some homeless wanderer."

Mel brought her hand to the one circling her waist, she strummed against the woman's flesh almost hoping someone would pull the rug out from under them both and say it was all a big joke- the ultimate Candid Camera skit.

But no one did. No one was going to. They truly were on their own.

Bri kissed her shoulder, squeezed her again. "Does that bother you?"

"I don't know, I don't think so."

"Everyone's got a different take on how the whole thing works, but it's only when we communicate and work together that we can really understand the whole scope of this shit show."

Mel chuckled. "I guess so. I spent a lot of time tinkering and wandering, but I guess I never got closer to the truth of it- it just hung there, it was the thing that made me wonder if any of this was real."

"And now?"

Mel slid her fingers between Bri's experimentally.

At the touch Bri purred against her ear and kissed her neck, her entire body squeezed against Mel with a comforting pressure. They may have been alone in the grand scheme of things but they were alone together- there were no answers that'd be necessary, even if the universe was going to give them.

Was the gift worth it's price? Did their living impart any special meaning on their place in the universe or was it derived from that place in the universe? Mel mused on this while she stroked Bri's arm. They weren't mutually exclusive concepts, in fact they could've fed into one another if she squinted hard enough. Bri had shown her an entirely new way of looking at the situation and yet it was her closeness that made those revelations matter: she shared her fear of the universe and did it with a smile and a hug. She insisted she wasn't alone just as she promised Mel wasn't either.

Melissa turned to Bri, not sure what she'd say to make sense of the tumult within her. Gazing upon those bright eyes, though, she couldn't find anything that needed to be said. They intrinsically knew their pain, maybe not the specifics, but they felt it. They could empathize and share in the fear even as they reveled in the act of being as absurd as the universe.

Where words failed, courage took root: Melissa kissed this stranger. They shared their breath and their truths and gave as much for the other as they could; seeking one another, seeking to feel and to be felt. To be reminded of what they really were in it all.

As they fell back Bri wrapped her legs around Melissa's back. Pinning her. Clutching her as much as she held on to Bri. Their hearts thumped a mile a minute, a Greek choir against their defiance of the fear that'd numbed Melissa. They both knew it wouldn't last, but did that make it wrong to try?

"I was hoping you'd see it my way," Bri whispered.

"Coming around, I guess."

Bri smiled warmly and reached up over her head, arching her back to make the swells of her chest all the more obvious. An invitation. A request. Melissa braced herself on her hand, looking over the young woman beneath her. How had she missed something so obvious?

As her fingers glided up the buttons of her dress, Mel eased her fingers against Bri's body here and there, feeling it react, feeling the muscles under her touch release and tense. Bri giggled when she found a specific spot under her ribs.

"Sorry. It's been a while."

Bri ran her hand up Mel's- in a surge of strength and playfulness she wrapped her arm around Mel's shoulders, shoved off with her foot and pinned Mel to the deck. She explored everything Mel was, up and down her sides to her neck. Every touch was firm and sensual, trailing lines that hadn't been seen by anyone in years.

She straddled Melissa, cupping her breasts and diving in for a deep kiss that left them breathless. In the heat of their kiss her hands took Mel's arms up over her head and she planted them down against the wood. Her voice was hot, needy and aching as she purred out her desire: "Then let me lead."

Melissa swallowed- she felt teeth nibble along her jaw. Her heart pounded against her chest she knew she was in over her head, that this woman would and could take from her anything she wanted. The idea of surrender invited her, played on her insecurities and begged her to release herself into the care of someone else.

Wasn't this what it meant to be human? To be vulnerable and complicit in the sharing of someone else's vulnerability? Bri was nuzzling into her neck, kissing it. Cooing against her body even as she pressed Melissa down against the deck.

In mere seconds Melissa found herself breathing for the first time in years. Breathing in only to moan out a languid purr of contentment. To savor what was offered to her. Bri rewarded her moan with a kiss, nibbling at the tip of her tongue while her free hand stroked up her belly. Teasing, pulling. Sliding her shirt up dangerously until her stomach was exposed.

"What else would bring that sound out of you?" Bri panted in her ear.

Melissa heard the words distantly, she was lost in the feeling of this woman, her captor and guide. Her reply was little more than a whimpering gasp fought for while she tried to bring Bri's lips to her own. It was a vain effort but a heroic one she thought- with her body pinned as it was there was nothing she could do without Bri's consent.

Fortunately for her, Bri was incredibly generous with that consent; they shared a panting breath in fits and starts, exploring each other's mouths with abandon until they couldn't stand it any longer. When they broke the string of saliva joining their mouths glistened in the early evening light.

Neither gave ground to the other even as they surrendered everything they could, Mel freed her hands and raked her fingers down Bri's back as firmly as she could until she found her real prize when her fingers dug into the frills of her dress. Her hands felt sloppy against the fabric but she couldn't stop herself- she didn't want to stop herself.

As Melissa's fingers kneaded Bri's meaty thighs and ass the woman sat up proudly and stripped her coat off. She ran her hand through her hair such that it swept from her shoulders like tendrils of a golden cloud draping down her back, parting to emphasize her generous bust- her dress could barely contain her any longer, the pressure of her nipples hardening against the fabric dared the button to hold it much longer.

"God you're beautiful," Melissa whispered.

Bri's pride swelled along with her twisted little grin. She splayed her hands through her hair and arched her back until she was practically leaning on Mel's thighs. She displayed herself with the kind of reverence that made her earlier confidence seem timid- in moments she was rolling her hips smoothly, juking and shimmying down on Mel's pelvis as she reached for the sky.

Her rhythm was hypnotic, her motions fluid and powerful, captivating every part of Melissa with the strength and grace of a sidewinder prowling her sands. Melissa found her courage in that display, a sloppy and bumbling attempt to match her pride by wrapping her arm around Bri's waist and- rather firmly, she thought- undoing the top two buttons of Bri's dress.

The woman met her gaze with an encouraging smile, grinding harder against her pelvis and painting her jeans in the natural warmth of a woman who knew exactly what she wanted. Jealousy swelled in Melissa at this vulgar display of power and confidence, but it passed just as quickly when Bri set upon her again.

Their kissing turned into feeling, their hands explored without reservation and their breath came from one another- Bri pulled Melissa's shirt up over her breasts while Mel fumbled around with the buttons that contained her in turn. They found their differences and where they melded together almost perfectly- puzzle pieces that'd been left out in the rain but still worked together and could still find enough grip to make an image.

Melissa broke their latest kiss, panting out a haggard: "Bed?"

"I thought you didn't sleep," Bri teased as she pushed Melissa's bra up. After freeing her prizes she set upon them without hesitation.

The sensation of someone's mouth on her body was familiar. So very familiar. Perversely Mel brought her hand to Bri's head to support her. Half expecting for the briefest moment that she was providing for a hungry mouth. The notion faded when Bri circled her areola with her tongue. Once, twice, she devoted herself to Mel's flesh with tender ministrations- her tongue massaged and savored and the longer it went on the more Melissa found herself inviting the touch.

"I'll sleep with you," Mel whispered.

Bri cooed her approval as she ran her hands up Melissa's body to shuck her t-shirt and bra off. Right over the deck.

"Fucker," Mel said absently.

"I plan to."

This girl was too damn proud for her own good. "Good."

Bri giggled, planted her elbow on the deck beside Mel's cheek. She smiled down warmly, taking in her nudity while her own breasts strained the buttons of her dress. "So I have a confession. . ."

"Yeah?"

"Iiiiii. . ." she drew the word out while her hand explored Mel's stomach. Her fingernails wandered over the little stretch marks they found, up to her belly button for a quick circle and then they rode the crest of her ribs to her breast. She circled her nipple one more time with a confident touch and kissed her. When they broke she whispered: "I want to drown you between my thighs."

Mel blinked. Blushed furiously. She realized where she was and what she was doing, her reprieve broke with the startling realization.

Bri grinned playfully. When Mel tried to rise a hand stopped her. "I'm so incredibly wet right now, you have no idea." She kissed Mel's chin. "But that can wait for another time- I still have to show you my bed.

"I- uh- y- yeah. . ."

"Don't go wussing out on me now."

Bri rose and offered a hand. Mel stared at her for a moment.

"What, you think I'm going to rewrite us to be in my bed? Nuh-huh. We walk just like everyone else."

Melissa scoffed. The invitation was too damn good to pass up, though. She took the help up and grabbed Bri's ass. "You didn't have to throw my clothes off the side."

"You need a change of wardrobe anyway- maybe. . ." she spun in front of Mel, hands to her chest and chin raised so they were eye to eye. She leaned in with a tiny smile at the corner of her lips. "Maybe you'll wear the dress tomorrow."

"I, uh, I might. . ."

Bri pressed herself closer still, chest to chest. They were opposite sides of the same puzzle piece, Mel found: where Bri was chestier she had a petite outline under it all compared to Melissa's more stout and thicker curves.

As if reading her thoughts, Bri ran her hands down her back and grabbed her ass with both hands. Firmly. Powerfully. She smiled- then hoisted Mel up as if she was a stuffed toy. Mel flailed and clutched Bri's shoulders to keep from falling.

"Hey! I thought we weren't cheating!"

"I never said that," Bri said teasingly as she adjusted Mel's weight and urged her to lock her legs around her waist. Once she did Bri kissed her and started the long journey up to her bedroom. "I just said that this was a walking zone."

Melissa ringed her arm over the younger woman's shoulders, half turning so she could watch all the plants and things they passed. There were a ton of road signs dotting the walls between sprigs of plants from all over the world. There were no photographs or paintings or anything that indicated Bri had memories she wanted to share- unless those signs and plants were those memories.

They crested the stairs into a loft style bedroom with a beautifully angled skylight which painted the king sized bed in cool shades of white and soft blue. The shadows were almost enough to hide the milk crates which the whole thing sat upon. Almost.

Mel chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"You could rewrite the rules of the universe here and you go with milk crates, street signs and plants."

Bri was silent until she eased Mel down on the bed- they sunk in quite a bit until it seemed as though the bed was enveloping Melissa in a hug as firm as the woman on top of her.

"Mmm, this is nice. . ."

A second later Bri was undoing her jeans. In an effort to help, Mel kicked off her shoes and worked at the buttons of Bri's dress.

"My signs were stolen fair and square, so were my milk crates. Thank you very much."

"A philosopher and a thief, I'll have to keep an ear out-" her words died on her lips when Bri's fingertips swept down under her jeans. They unerringly massaged her nethers, pressed against her firmly while teeth sunk into her neck. Melissa completely lost herself to the sensation, panting and grabbing for anything familiar.

"Listen. The way I do."

Mel nodded in agreement though she couldn't remember what for. Her fingers found purchase in plaid, this only encouraged Bri to massage her all the more.

Incomprehensible words ran from her lips seeking meaning; agreement, perhaps? It sure as hell felt like agreement.

"That's it, louder."

Melissa clawed down Bri's back, panting. Her body rolled into that touch on its own, reaching and grinding into a pleasure offered.

"Pants off," Bri instructed. The massaging stopped immediately.

Mel whined and pushed against the hand, jerking her hips.

"Off."

Another whine.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Bri chided her playfully. "If I do it, I'm going to get trapped between your thighs and I won't want to come back up.

"I- I won't. . ."

"Never said I wouldn't." Bri kissed her. She was smiling so gently, haloed by moonlight that made her hair seem ethereal and heavenly. "Buttt if you insist."

"W-" was as far as she got before the woman eased back and yanked her jeans off in one smooth motion. Bri undid her dress to the last button, letting it hang from her shoulders. She was wearing one of her crooked smiles as she surveyed what was soon to become hers- her warmth enveloping, inviting, lusting.

Melissa remembered the 'dance' Bri had performed for her and the feelings it'd inspired- there was something she could do to return the favor. Mel drew the sheets up around her breasts and down the plunging arc of her waist to her hips, she churned in such a way that made the sheets act almost like a shawl, teasing her curvy outline and highlighting the thickness of her thighs and flanks.

Bri let out a soft 'mph' as she watched and nibbled her lower lip. That look said more than words could have- she was desired and desirable- this was what it meant to be human: to make a friend and share in their fears and loves and even their bodies. . . .to be appreciated in spite of their flaws and to touch one another.

Mel drew the sheets out to become coverings, she reached up and took Bri's hand- fwumping back down against the bed with her on top. She didn't waste this chance for anything: she took her cheeks and kissed her deeply.

Not about to be outdone Bri straddled her thigh, rolling and massaging her lips while they explored one another's mouths all over again. Each moment, each heart beat could have been thousands of years but Melissa didn't care- each one was more precious than the last. Shared with a friend or a lover, they were critical when each breath was a promise that they were alive.

Bri raked her fingers through Mel's hair and massaged her scalp while she rode. Bri was attentive and excited, exploring she found spots that Melissa had never realized did anything for her, and she didn't even need to be told about the new discovery. The subtle turns in body language and breath, she drank it all in the way Melissa did.

There was nothing Bri wouldn't know about her by the end of the night, she ground down against her, squished their chests together and massaged her entire body against Mel's. In brief moments of lucidity Mel found it within her to ask for things- to guide a hand to some new discovery- but for the most part Bri maintained a firm but welcome control.

The boundaries of that control expanded as things went on, Bri's touch became steadily more confident even as Mel's invitation to that touch became more demanding. In a display of that mutual understanding Bri ran a hand through her hair and balled up a hand full, pulling Mel's head back to expose her neck. When her teeth grazed her throat, Mel didn't fight- she embraced herself and her surrender. Her reward was prompt and generous: Bri's slender fingers parted her nether lips so gracefully she didn't even feel herself being stretched until Bri spread her fingers.

The moan that erupted from her throat echoed throughout the entire house driving Bri to further explorations, pushing her fingers in. Massaging inside her while Mel clawed at her back. She pushed and pulled, spread and stretched, curled her fingers and moaned hotly against Mel's throat full of desire and pleasure.

"God-" Mel heard herself whimper. She wrapped her leg around Bri and was rewarded even more with a gentle thrusting push against her body. Bri asserted herself against Mel's plushness, rolling her hips as her fingers worked their magic inside. With every thrust Bri curled her fingers and ground her own pelvis into Mel's- soon Mel was wrapping both legs around her. She locked her legs behind the woman and pawed up and down her body, rolling faster and faster to keep up with Bri's increasing demand.