Tiny Tina's Teacake

Tina sat down on the edge of the chair slowly, "So do I. It's... It's not just you. There's no real reason for it... But I'm feeling things as strongly as you are, I think."

"I've got a crush on you. It's a little different." Aliss rolled her eyes.

"I had a wet dream about my ex last night."

The woman laughed, "Ew. Gross. Did not need to know that."

"Didn't... Mean to tell you..." Tina flushed, still feeling the same panic as when Aliss hadn't been at the museum. "It's... Um... Try not to read into it? And just laugh at me? He kept turning into you. No idea why."

Aliss' jaw dropped, "Wooow. You actually think I'm hot?"

"I dunno!" Tina protested, "Like... Maybe? A little? The dream was a wet dream. So it was kinda focused on something that maybe you don't like, and I definitely haven't seen. But my stupid brain made it... Big... Forget I said that."

The blonde nodded slowly, "Huh. Hey, that gives me an idea. It's been a minute since I did any kind of portrait thing."

"Oh! Um, you can draw me. Or paint." Tina nodded, "I decided that last night, by the way. Before all the panic, this morning."

Aliss shrugged, "Sure, sure. Not where I was going with it. You're right, there's part of me I hate. Just like I expect you don't think much of yourself, either, do you? Not if you have to be honest."

"God, I hate being short. I'm just... Dumpy." Tina's face fell. "No idea how you're supposed to make me... Look nice. Though, I chose the boots! They're nice, right?"

The woman grinned, "Well... I was about to suggest we both do something. If it was just me, I wouldn't. Because I'd hate it too much, and end up in tears and maybe burning stuff. It's an old artist's exercise. Give me some practice, and give you a chance to calm down a bit."

"... Sorry." Tina mumbled.

Aliss shook her head, "Nah. You're going to fight me on this one. So... I want to do some selfies. Both of us."

"I can't draw for shit." Tina rolled her eyes, "We've been through that. I hate art, because I can't do it."

"This'll be private. Either we keep the pictures for ourselves or... You know, exchange them."

Tina hesitated, "Draw myself? As a present for you, to make up for being such a horrible friend... You have a weird idea of what makes a nice present."

"It's from you, so of course I'd like it." Aliss scoffed, "But... You're still not quite getting it. Art people never really do things by halves."

"Noticed." Tina nodded, "The others are... Crazy! Over the top with absolutely everything. You're crazy, too. Like crazy skilled. How in the hell can you paint two things at once? Different things!"

"Tina. Still missing the point." Aliss said slowly and quietly, "Uh... Self portraits? You've got to have heard of the exercise or seen it, or something. Your boots wouldn't matter."

She blinked and then her eyes widened, "What!? N-nudes!?"

"It'd help me prep for exhibition." Aliss said innocently, twirling a finger in her hair.

Tina glared at her, "Are you just trying to see me naked?"

"We could put a divider in the middle of the room, if you want." Aliss shrugged, "It's a confidence thing. You're going to hate it, no matter what you do. Drawing nudes is one of the hardest things that there is. Even masters struggle with it. People like Da Vinci hated it, because they could never make it as good as they wanted."

She took a deep breath, feeling all kinds of emotions, and realised that Aliss was sort of right. She did need to calm down. She'd been flustered since before she'd woken up, and had been barrelling along ever since. "You have a big mirror?"

"Several." Aliss moved over and opened her wardrobe, before pulling out what sort of looked like doors with full-sized oval mirrors on them. She leaned one on each opposite wall, and then looked at Tina curiously, "So... Are you in?"

"Divider?" She asked sheepishly.

Aliss gave a disappointed face, but strung up a line across the middle of the room, and then yanked the sheet off her bed and tossed it over the top. She spread it out, and from where Tina couldn't see, spoke, "Stripping down, over here. Just warning."

Tina gave a shake of her head, and looked around, "What am I drawing with? On?"

"There's a bunch of white canvas in the back corner." Aliss replied, "Can you grab me one, too? Also... You can use whatever you want. Charcoal, pastel, pencil, or paint. There's stuff everywhere. Um... Paints are under the bed, and there's a blue sheet to protect the floor if you wanna use 'em."

She grabbed a handful of pastels, and slipped one of the canvas squares underneath the sheet. Then, she paused, hands on the top of her skirt, "You know... You find it way too easy to get me to do stuff I've never done before."

"Life is for the living." Aliss replied lightly, and Tina heard her jeans hit the ground.

She slipped out of her skirt slowly, before pulling off her knee high boots, "I actually did choose the boots for you. They're supposed to be... Um... Sexy? But like in a practical way. I can run in them, and I was worried you'd hate me for abandoning you."

"I hated myself." Aliss whispered back, "That I'd pushed you too hard. I'm not the easiest person in the world to get along with."

Tina dragged her top over her head, and shivered despite the room not actually being that cold. She felt goosebumps as she stood there in her underwear, looking at the mirror.

Her tummy had a little pouch, still all bloated from the dairy. Reminding her that she didn't know how to take care of herself, and that she was barely average at the best of times. Right now, she felt like she was damned ugly.

Aliss had said something about slender ankles, yesterday. All Tina saw today was an overly tight tendon, sticking straight out. A big vein wrapped around one of them, as if to reinforce just how horrible they really were.

There was a wisp of two or three hairs, just below her bellybutton. They hung down, so light that they were barely visible, but enough that Tina found herself wanting to shave them. The only reason she hadn't, was because she knew it'd be worse if she did.

"Hey, awkward question. Because we're being awkward." Tina very slowly pulled down her panties, "I've uh... Never shaved. I know some girls do. But... Is that different for you? None of my exes did. But they also didn't care if they were shoving hair up my nose when they were forcing something down my throat."

"Jerks." Aliss said instinctively, "Um... No, I never shaved. I mean, I know some people who do. Apparently it gets incredibly itchy right before you need to shave again. Mostly though I... Kinda avoid it. Looking at it. Touching. I hate that I have it. Not the healthiest thing. You're supposed to at least check over yourself, now and then. But I avoid it, even in the shower or whatever."

Tina winced, "Sorry. I've never had a friend who is... Trans... Before. I have no idea. And I failed to come up with any questions when you were open about it, yesterday."

"When it comes to romance stuff? I try and make it all about the other person. So that they won't think about touching me there." Aliss replied quietly, "That'd be my preference... So your little dream was probably very wrong."

She giggled as she tried to undo her bra, "Uh... Yup, yup. Considering my dead head couldn't decide who was on top of me, you or him, you have that right. Oh god. I just gave away, way too much information."

"I get wet dreams." Aliss laughed, "Though, none about you, just yet. Mmm... At a guess, it'd start out with a nice long kiss. Maybe at the top of a Ferris Wheel or something. Ooh! The Melbourne Eye. Now there is a romantic spot. Love it."

"I've never been." Tina replied and finally knelt behind the canvas and started eyeing herself off in the mirror. Her hard as hell nipples, her bright red cheeks. Her awful nose that was both too small, and looked like someone might have broken it, even though it never had been.

"I went once. With the last boyfriend." Aliss replied lightly, and Tina heard the scraping of charcoal on canvas, "He... Was not nice about it. He didn't just want me to blow him, or something like that. He actually wanted to full-on fuck me, right up against the glass. I mean, it's public and you're on camera, already. You can't exactly be sneaky, so... Keep it small, right? Petting. Not full sex."

Tina laughed nervously, beginning to try and shape her waist onto the canvas in front of her, "What an asshole! Oh, sorry. I know he -"

"He was an asshole. Mighta loved him, but he was an asshole's asshole." Aliss replied lightly, "I... I've moved on. That part of my life ain't fun to remember. But, it does come in handy if you want a story or three."

She sighed, "Still hurts to remember, though. I don't like hurting you."

"Okay... Then how about I balance it with a fun one?" Aliss came back, "This one was all me. And you can say I was terrible, too. So... It was my birthday, or whatever gets called my birthday. Zane was actually being nice for once, and took me out to a fancy Italian place. Suit up, type place."

Tina nodded, and then noticed she was chewing on the end of the pencil in her hand. She pulled it out and hoped that Aliss wasn't about to kill her when she discovered it. "Sure."

"I'd just turned twenty four." Aliss stated, "And for some reason, I had woken up in a serious mood, that day. The horny kind, not the bitchy kind. Though... Not a lot of difference between the two, for me. Uhm... Anyways, it was taking forever to get our food. Ten minutes for bread rolls. Thirty after that, and we still hadn't got our entrees."

"Italian places can move pretty slow." Tina glared at her fifth attempt at shaping the curves of her face. It was looking a little better than a stick figure, but not by a lot.

"Mmm. Sometimes. Well, feeling annoyed with that, and in my mood, I decided it'd be kinda fun to act out a bit." Tina could just about hear the grin in Aliss' voice. "So I uh... Dropped my fork on the floor."

"No. Way." Tina giggled, "Seriously?"

"I don't think anyone would have noticed much if I just climbed straight under the table, but yeah. I went with a porn trope." Aliss snickered, "Zane was... Not prepared for it. He really struggled to keep himself quiet."

She shook her head in amazement, "Well, I've done exactly nothing in public. You, on the other hand, seem to have a thing for it."

"It's fun doing the wrong thing." Aliss said without a hint of guilt.

Tina made a face, staring at her canvas, "How the fuck do you draw boobs!? This is beyond frustrating. I hate this so much. If you burned this picture at the end, I think I'd feel all kinds of good things."

"With great difficulty. It's all about the curve. I've been doing it for years, and I still reckon my teats come out looking like those overhead sprinkler systems." Aliss replied lightly.

She sighed, "Yeah, no one is going to mistake this for an actual artist's attempt at anything. I suck."

"I lick."

She flushed red, "Aliss!"

"Sorry, it was too easy!" The blonde laughed, "Though... If I actually do let you see this, when I'm done... You might decide that you don't want to do the modelling thing anymore, which would suck. I really do want to paint you, but I dunno if I have the skill for it. I like my cityscapes."

"That garbage slash clean hologram is still blowing my mind." Tina said, glaring at her canvas with hatred, "How the hell did you get all the building lines to stay completely lined up as you walk back and forth in front of the canvas?"

"An absolute shitload of math. And a lot of sketching." Aliss replied, "That painting just about killed me. And it's still not right! But, it is what it is. Decided to just leave it be, and move on to more fun things."

"Your art is amazing." Tina said quietly, "Really. I'm... Grateful. That I get to see it, you. You feel like a friend I've known for years. But even if that goes away, I'm always going to hang onto the art I've seen. I'm not an art person, all I can do is call it pretty, but it has been amazingly pretty."

"Oi. No making me cry whilst I'm painting." Aliss said, her voice trying to sound humorous, but cracking as she said it.

Tina turned around slowly, looking at the shadow through the sheet, "Aliss?"

"It means something. That you like it." The woman murmured quietly. "Got a crush on you, remember?"

"I... Don't really have friends." Tina said slowly, still staring at Aliss painting, or her silhouette. "I lost most of them because of my ex, and the rest... I always, always, have to be the one to put in the effort. Is... Trinity said you weren't really friends, but that the artists kinda try and protect you. Am I the only loner, in this room?"

"I gave up on people, after Zane." Aliss replied quietly, "Decided I hated them all, I hated me, and I hated living. Lived that way for a year or two and completely trashed my entire life. Still rebuilding. Friends... They haven't happened."

Tina stood up very slowly, and very quietly tugged at the sheet.

She wasn't sure what it was, but she wanted to see Aliss.

She wanted the two of them, to see each other without the burdens of preconceptions or the lies that people used to cover up their flaws. There was something so real about what they were sharing, that she wanted it to be more than just talk.

It seemed like there were no secrets between them, somehow. So she didn't really want there to be a... Physical one.

"Whatcha doin'?" Aliss asked, as the sheet pulled to the side.

Tina swallowed nervously, "I... Don't know?"

The woman bent forward, her muscular thighs and butt flexing, drawing Tina's eye, as she put down some charcoal and chalk. One hand was powdered black, and the other was a bright white.

Aliss swallowed audibly, and then turned around nervously, her entire face flushed a bright red. She crossed her arms nervously underneath her small chest, looking at the ground.

Tina couldn't help but stare.

The woman's ankles were thin and gorgeous, the kind that any high heels would show off with ease. Her thighs were a tad more masculine, with the muscle of a runner or a sportsman, and her butt seemed like nothing but muscle.

Her knees were rough and a little nobbled. Faded scars from childhood falls, and her left knee looked like she might even have had surgery on it, the once. Just above that, ominously hanging downwards, was the uncircumcised elephant in the room. Not an elephant's size, thankfully.

At the base, Aliss' bush wasn't blonde like Tina had expected. The wiry mess was a brilliant red. Twisted spikes of a dark blood red, intermingled with a near-fluro orange, with some hairs tipped in the opposing colour.

Her stomach showed rock-hard abs that tried to tell Tina's brain to start with the drooling.

All of it leading up to a face staring at the ground in utter shame.

"Holy fuck." Tina breathed, "You're... Gorgeous."

"What?" Aliss said in surprise, forgetting herself and looking up just a little.

Tina shrugged and waved at herself, "Look at me. I'm fat and ugly and... Eugh. You? Holy shit. You're a catch, if ever there was one. I mean, I'm still straight. Your breasts do nothing for me. Not even a tingle. But... You could get a guy, if you put your portrait in the exhibition. Lotta guys."

"You... Are not fat." Aliss shook her head slowly, "Uhm... Trying not to stare. Because if I let myself look at you, I am definitely going to get more than a tingle downstairs, and I can't hide it, like you can."

Tina poked her stomach, "This isn't fat, to you? I'm bloated!"

"I really... Really... Want to kiss you." Aliss said, breathing with difficulty. "So, please, stop insulting yourself. You are one of the sexiest girls I have ever seen. I'm trying to come up with excuses to get you to let me paint you nude, because your body is... One of the most beautiful I've ever seen. Just... Even your tits are symmetrical, Tina. Do you have any idea how fucking rare that is? You're a goddess."

"Symmetrical?" She said in surprise.

Aliss nodded seriously, still not quite looking at her, "Symmetry is like... The ultimate sexy thing. You never really see it in nature. The uncanny feeling you get when looking at a beautiful portrait, and your brain is yelling that they're ethereal, more than human? The angelic feeling? That's symmetry. Screaming at you. You actually have it. Your smile. That button nose that I freaking adore."

"My nose look like I broke it." Tina scoffed, "That's symmetrical?"

"Every bump." Aliss nodded. "Also, doesn't look like you broke it, and I freaking love it. It is fucking adorable."

With that last sentence, a tiny motion caught Tina's attention, and she noticed that Aliss really was rising to the occasion, like she'd been afraid of.

Tina turned around quickly, and swallowed, "Uh... I guess... We should get dressed."

"Yeah." Aliss said sadly.

She shuffled her feet, "I... Nevermind. It wouldn't be fair to you."

"No, probably not." Aliss agreed, noisily picking up her jeans, "I want to hold you, too. Dunno where the feeling is really coming from. Maybe a little idol worship. I liked you, before I saw you. Now... Now, I know for certain I never deserved you."

Tina started pulling her underwear back on, "Are you inside my head? I can't believe you actually guessed I wanted to... Snuggle. It's a weird thought!"

"Not that weird. Humans have a thing for touch. All of us do, in some way or another." Aliss replied lightly, "I... I wanted all of you. Not like sex. More... To be..."

"Close. Just to be close." Tina finished for her.

Tina zipped up the side of her skirt, and then remembered one of the things Aliss had said. "Idol worship? I still disagree with you. I'm nothing to look at."

The woman instantly jerked her around, towering over her and only half-dressed, before planting an affectionate kiss to her forehead. "Tina. Don't talk crap. I want to do a lot more than just this."

Her cheeks flushed and she half-stumbled backwards, her heart beating frantically in her ears at the surprise. As brief as the kiss had been, it had simultaneously set every alarm off in her head, and also made her feel like someone cared about her.

She felt dizzy, and her feet slid apart, dropping her down onto her knees and then her butt. She blinked slowly, holding the side of her head as she tried to get her breath back.

She'd felt how strong Aliss really was, in that brief moment. The panic of knowing the woman could do whatever she wanted to her was right there. The same feeling of being cornered by a guy who you didn't trust at all. Except she did trust Aliss. She'd stripped for the girl.

However, she'd also felt... Loved. Not just the peck of a friend trying to cheer her up. Not the gross thing from someone she wasn't interested in. It had felt every part like the first nervous kiss at the end of a date.

"Sorry." Aliss sighed, finishing pulling on her clothes and flopping backwards onto her bed, "Guess I screwed that one."

Tina shook her head, even though the blonde couldn't see the motion, still unable to talk as her heart hammered away, violently trying to escape from her chest.

Half her instincts were screaming at her to run from the room.

The other half were telling her that she needed to do or say something, because she was risking losing Aliss. Friend, or more, it didn't matter at all. They hadn't really crossed any lines, and she really did want to stay a part of the girl's life.

Her shaking hands pulled her t-shirt and jumper on, and then she fumbled with her socks. Those took her several attempts before she could draw them upwards, all the while the world kept on spinning as the adrenaline kept on pumping.

Tina swayed in her sitting position, knowing that she was way too out of it to work out how to stand up. Let alone stay that way. She tried blinking, breathing, and rubbing her heart and head, but nothing really seemed to calm her down.