When the Bombs Fell

Author's note: As much as I love London, I am not from there, nor even from the UK, and I have spent cumulatively about a month there. I have tried to get the cultural touchstones as accurately as I could. There are errors that I'm sure will stick out for any Brit. I apologize in advance for anything I've missed or gotten wrong, and I expect to get corrected in the comments. That said, I hope you enjoy.

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When The Bombs Fell

Sirens.

Nell knew fighters would be scrambling, and in a few minutes Archie batteries would light up. And, no doubt, would shower Dagenham with shrapnel again. Even here, an hour's train ride east, they couldn't escape The Blitz. Some people in central London would be retreating into tube stations, but, like Nell, warm in her bed with the blackout curtains drawn, most Londoners just got on with it.

Right on cue, the Archie started up. Right on cue a few moments later shrapnel rattled off the roof.

A soft knock sounded on Nell's bedroom door. She turned on her lamp, threw off the covers, and got up to answer it. Her flatmate, Letty, stood in the entryway between their rooms in her night dress, arms wrapped around herself, shivering, her eyes wide.

"Letty, are you alright?" Nell asked.

"I don't want to be alone," Letty replied, her voice shaking.

"Oh, you poor thing, you're freezing. Come inside."

Nell drew Letty into her bedroom, closed the door behind her, and sat her on the bed. She then went to the tiny coal stove in the corner of the room, knocked open the vents, and put in a scoop of coal. She returned to the bed and lifted the duvet.

"Under the covers with ya. Let's get you warmed up."

Letty scuttled under the covers, Nell got into the bed beside her, and pulled the covers over them.

The bed was only barely wide enough for the two of them if they snuggled right up close. As their hands touched Letty grabbed on to Nell's hand in an icy, trembling grip.

"I don't know how much longer I can go on," Letty said. "I should've never left the Yorkshire Dales. After I married Ian I should have just let him knock me up and stayed right there with my family. I should've never come to London. I should've never gone to secretarial school. I try to put on a bra-ve face and just get on with it, but I don't know how much longer I can keep it up. I'm cracking. I know I am."

"I understand," Nell replied. "I sometimes wonder if I should have ever left Lancashire. Life in Preston was boring, but it was normal. Nothing like having bombs falling every night for weeks and months. My father wanted me to go to work at the mill, but my mother wouldn't hear of it. I sometimes wonder the same thing. After I married Alexander should I have just gone to work at the mill and stayed in Preston? It wouldn't be London, but at least there wouldn't be bombs falling every night bringing the whole city down around our ears."

Nell felt she had to keep a brave facade for Letty or she would crack. Truth be told, she wasn't in much better shape herself. She longed for her husband to hold her, to assuage her own terror when the bombs fell. Unfortunately, Alexander was off somewhere he couldn't talk about. Loose lips sink ships, and all that rot.

The rumble of the bombing sounded louder, causing the still trembling Letty to grip Nell's hand tighter.

"I'm so frightened," Letty said. "I wish Ian was here to hold me."

"I wish Alexander was here to hold me," Nell replied. "But it's just us, so we'll have to hold each other."

Nell took a deep breath. Maybe it was the bombs falling, maybe it was the loneliness with her husband abroad, maybe it was just sheer physical need, but she found she really did want to hold Letty. Maybe it was the winter chill, and the desire to have a warm body next to her own.

Archie lit up again as the bombing sounded closer, and again shrapnel rattled off the roof.

Nell let go of Letty's hand and drew her into an embrace. Letty wrapped herself around Nell as Nell held her close.

Above the background rumble of the attack louder reports of exploding bombs sounded. Closer they came until they sounded right on top of the house. Boom, boom, boom, Boom, BOOM! The house shook, the windows rattled, and dust fell from the ceiling. The two women screamed, cried with fear, and held each other tight, fearing that the next explosion would bring down the house on top of them or blow them up.

A few moments of silence gave them a respite, and they caught their breath while holding each other tight.

Nell felt Letty's heart beating next to her own, in concert with her own pulse pounding in her ears. Letty's breathing rapid as her own, and her breath warm in letty's hair. Letty held her face in the curve of Nell's neck, her own breath warming the space between them.

Another stick of bombs dropped its way toward them, boom, boom, boom, Boom, BOOM! The drumbeat of death sounded closer and closer.

The two women screamed and cried, and held each other tighter, intertwining their legs, trying to hold each other as tightly as possible.

Debris thumped on the roof and clattered around the house.

The two women held each other, waiting for the fallout to subside.

Nell became aware of the feeling of Letty's breasts pressed against her own. She felt the pressure of Letty's arms around her ribs, and her own hand in Letty's hair. Her pulse pounded, and she felt a warmth more than fear in her loins. She felt a desire she had not felt before, which burned with a sudden intensity.

As the terror that she was going to die subsided, Letty felt Nell's arms around her, Nell's breasts against her own, and Nell's hand in her hair. She felt Nell's breath warm on her head. She felt her right leg between Nell's and her left leg wrapped over Nell, holding her close with legs as well as arms. Heat. Warmth. The awareness of her private parts against Nell's leg, separated only by the thin cloth of their night dresses. Warmth and moisture between her own legs.

The sounds of the bombing and the Archie batteries, and the bells and whistles of emergency response, faded into the background. Some part of their minds knew the battle still raged outside, but they only heard the sounds of their synchronized breath and the beating of their hearts.

Nell relaxed her embrace enough she could look Letty in the eyes, and smoothed a strand of hair out of her face.

"I really want to kiss you," Nell said.

"I want to kiss you too," Letty replied.

Slowly, gently, Nell leaned in to kiss her, and Letty felt Nell's breath on her lips. The touch of Nell's lips to her own sent a spark through Letty that went through her heart to her stomach, to her private parts, down her legs to her toes, leaving a warmth and a wetness, and a longing ache to be touched.

The touch of Letty's lips felt so good that Nell couldn't silence a small moan. She kept kissing Letty as if her life depended on it. They devoured each other's mouths as their hands began to touch each other, to explore. Letty released her embrace and let her hand slide down Nell's back and rest on her buttock. Nell released her hand from Letty's hair and rubbed Letty's back from the nape of her neck to the swell of her lower cheeks, and on down her leg. The feeling of Letty's leg wrapped over her, and the other leg between her own further stoked the flame in Nell's loins, and the wetness between her own legs, and she began to move her hips and gently hump Letty's leg, who echoed that motion with motion of her own.

Letty cupped Nell's breast, drawing a sharp breath and a moan. Nell worked at the buttons on the front of her own night dress and opened it up so Letty could have access to touch here directly. Nell moved to touch Letty's breast and Letty shifted to give her access. Nell worked apart the buttons on Letty's night dress and pulled it open, exposing Letty's breasts, which she fondled in response to Letty's touches on her own.

Nell released Letty's breast and pulled her into an embrace so that their breasts touched skin to skin, which brought moans and sighs of pleasure from both of them, and they kissed with renewed vigour.

Letty left Nell's mouth and kissed her way down Nell's neck, bringing gasps from Nell as she went. She laid a line of kisses down Nell's cleavage, which struck her like bombs, creating ripples through her body. Tension built in Nell's body as Letty kissed her way closer to her nipples. When Letty took Nell's nipple into her mouth all of that built up tension snapped and released with waves through her body, and a new wave of moisture in her nether region.

Nell didn't hear the battle outside or the civil defence, or anything else but her and Letty's breathing and cries. As they lay facing each other Nell supported Letty's head with her left arm as Letty continued her ministrations on her breasts. With her right hand she reached underneath Letty's night dress and stroked her leg up to her buttock. She caressed Letty's lower cheek through her knickers, then found her way up the leg hole and caressed her bottom directly. She slipped her finger between Letty's legs, feeling the wetness there.

Letty gasped at Nell's touch on her womanhood, and drew back from her breasts. She raised her face and renewed her kiss on Nell's mouth with passion. She wanted Nell's touch on her whole body, everywhere. She pushed Nell away and disentwined their legs. She pulled her night dress up, lifted her bottom to work it up to her waist, and lifted it up over her head and off, dropping it to the floor beside the bed.

Seeing Letty's now bare breasts, Nell leaned in and kissed them, first on her left nipple then on her right. Letty ran her hands through Nell's hair and gently cradled her head toward her breasts. She leaned back onto the pillows, pulling Nell with her. Nell followed her toward the bed, settling over her, and kissing the buds of Letty's nipples. Letty let her head drop back onto the pillow and accepted Nell's attention.

While continuing to give her attention to Letty's breasts, Nell caressed Letty's body along her ribs to her belly, and down to her legs, which Letty parted to allow her access. Nell gingerly felt the wetness between Letty's legs through her underpants, and found it excited her.

Letty pulled at Nell's night dress. Nell left her ministrations to Letty's breasts and wriggled her night dress up and over her head, dropping it with Letty's beside the bed. While Nell worked at her night dress, Letty pulled off her underpants, Nell following suit and pulling off her own, leaving their clothing in a pile beside the bed, and both of them beautifully, gloriously nude.

For a moment they just looked at each other, neither before having seen an adult woman nude in all her glory. They drank in the sight, each finding it strange to be so excited by the sight of a nude woman, each finding it strange to be in bed with a nude woman. At last, giving in to their mutual desire, they drew close for an embrace and a deep soul kiss, skin on skin, trying to touch as much of each other as possible.

Letty settled back on the bed, parting her legs invitingly, drawing Nell down to her. Nell lowered herself down on top of Letty, and Letty wrapped her legs around Nell and pulled her into a full body embrace. The feeling of their pubic hair intertwining excited them both.

Nell wanted to make love to Letty just as Alexander made love to her. Lacking a male member, she couldn't fuck Letty as a man would. She thought about it for a moment, and decided that whatever else happened she would do the best by Letty that she could. She pressed her pubis into Letty's and began thrusting, grinding their womanhood together. She found that if she positioned herself just right then her vulva touched Letty's, sending sparks through her, and eliciting gasps of pleasure from Letty.

Slowly at first, then gaining tempo, Nell thrusted into Letty, who matched Nell's thrusts with her own. The feeling of Nell on top of her, their bodies together, drove all of the terror out of her and she gave herself totally to loving Nell, the beautiful angel who had taken her into her arms, driven the cold away, and driven the fear out of her. She laced the fingers of her left hand into Nell's hair, and with her right she caressed and squeezed Nell's arse in time to her thrusts.

Nell did her best to drive the fear not only out of Letty, but also out of herself. Throwing her fear not only of the bombs but also of any consequences to the wind, she made love to Letty with her whole body, with everything she had, and with her heart as well. More and more she thrusted, feeling Letty's body under her own. There was no war, no bombing, no shoebox size flat with matchbox size bedrooms, no secretarial job, no War Office. At this moment there was only Letty, with arms around her, meeting her thrusts, amplifying them, and giving them back to her, Letty's fingers in her hair and hand on her arse, their bodies melding together, each filling a void in the other, creating a glorious whole.

Letty lost sense of time. Nothing existed except Nell on top of her, thrusting her toward ecstasy. Closer and closer she climbed to that point, as she reached for it. She threw her head back, and Nell kissed her neck. Nell's hot breath on her neck and her ears created a splash with waves that traveled through her body, and drew patterns as ripples on a pond, triggering more splashes and more ripples, which combined and built, rising to a tidal wave which threatened to overwhelm her.

"Oh yes!" She cried, her hands flying over Nell's sweat slicked back.

Close she came to that crest, so close. Almost, almost, almost, so close.

Nell slipped her right hand between them, and cupped Letty's right breast, rolling her nipple between thumb and forefinger. With her left hand she laced her fingers into Letty's hair, behind her head, and lifted her face to a deep soul kiss, their tongues intertwining.

The tidal wave crested and broke, crashing over Letty, washing her away, taking her further, her insides rolling in the surf. Between her legs her cup ran over, spilling her cream. She broke the kiss and threw her head back with a cry and breathless gasping.

The wave that crashed over Letty brought Nell with it and carried her over into ecstasy of her own, magnified and multiplied by the shared ecstasy echoing between them. Nell's own cup ran over, spilling her cream onto Letty and mixing with Letty's own. Ripples of ecstasy built into waves which reverberated between them back and forth as Nell kept thrusting for all she was worth.

Nell collapsed on top of Letty, the left hand in her hair pulling Letty's head back so that Nell could bury her face in the curve of Letty's neck. Nell kept thrusting as the tide receded, leaving the two of them washed up on the warm beach of their passion.

Their mouths found each other again, with less urgency but more passion, Nell drawing Letty into a deep kiss, and holding her there in the afterglow of their shared bliss, as warm breath passed life and love between them.

As the last of their passion faded into a warm glow, Nell found she was exhausted. She carefully separated herself from Letty and rolled over onto her back. Letty wrapped herself over Nell and snuggled next to her.

Nell reached into her night stand, pulled a cigarette from the pack she kept there, lit it, took a deep drag, and offered it to Letty, who took a deep drag of her own, and handed it back. They passed it back and forth until it was gone, and Nell stubbed it out in her ash tray.

"I love you," Letty said. "I've said it, and if we both die tomorrow you know it."

"I love you too," Nell replied, embracing her closer. "With all my heart."

Letty caressed Nell's breasts, and traced the curve of her belly, and ran her fingers through Nell's pubic hair, eliciting a sharp intake of breath.

"If you keep that up we'll have to go again, this time with you on top. I'm knackered," Nell said.

"And if we don't get to do this again?"

"We will. Unless we both die tomorrow we'll do this again, and soon."

"I hope so," Letty said, snuggling as close as she could. "Facing the neighbors in the morning will be interesting."

"Bugger the neighbors. What they don't know won't hurt them. Or us. Besides, half of them were probably doing the same thing, or close enough."

"Does this mean we're deviants? Sexual inverts?"

"No. I still love my husband, I still want my husband, I still miss my husband, but for here, for now, no matter what happens with our husbands, for here, for now, we have each other. And that's wonderful. I'm glad I have you. But we will have to be careful in public, and we can't let anyone at the Office find out."

"If they do then I expect back to the Yorkshire Dales without a job and no prospects for one will be the best of it," Letty said.

"Yeah. I don't think the mill back in Lancashire would hire me after that, and I don't want to work there anyway."

Nell turned out the light and pulled the covers over them.

"Whatever happens, we'll always have this," Nell said. "If nothing else good comes out of this war, at least we have this."

But Letty was already asleep. Nell took a deep breath and drifted off as well, to the deepest sleep she'd had since the bombs fell.