tickling birds

houseguest

Laura tapped her fingers listlessly on the kitchen counter. Cleaning day always came around too fast, and she was in too much of a morning haze to get started. Shuffling through her apartment in pajamas and a tank top, she surveyed the scene; nothing too horrific, some clothes strewn about here and there, some dusty spots, nothing major. Yawning, she stretched, causing her short top to ride up, revealing her smooth, slightly chubby belly. Her navel just barely peeked out from under the fabric, a shallow spot of light against her dark skin.  

She was snapped out of her drifting by a sudden flicker of movement over by her bookshelf. Something small had flitted down its side, into one of the apartment's corners. She let out an exasperated sigh, crossing her fingers that the building wasn't having one of its cockroach epidemics again.Tiptoeing over to the corner, she crouched, squinting to try and catch a glimpse of the home invader. 

Sure enough, a small creature sat cowering, pressed against the wall. Dark brown and folded up, she couldn't exactly make out its shape. Gently, she reached forward and placed her hand in front of it. Even if it was a roach, she had never really minded them, and would rather just usher them away to safety. The bug reached one of its legs out, revealing a long limb tipped with a tiny pair of claws. 

Laura almost jumped back, realizing it was a pretty good-sized spider, but it had already made its way halfway onto her hand, its large eyes darting around. As carefully as she could, she rose, the spider clambering  all the way into her palm. It hunkered down, trying to make itself look smaller in the harsh light. With a chuckle, Laura curled her fingers to just barely stroke its back, admiring its delicate features. 

The spider was only content to put up with this for a few seconds, and suddenly bolted, dashing up Laura's arm. Before she could react, it was on her shoulder, staring directly into her face. She stood still, her mind racing for a way to transfer it back, but by then the spider had positioned itself and made a huge leap, bouncing off her cheek and landing with a scramble on the front of her tank top. 

Still shocked, her belly rising and falling with her heightened breath, Laura looked down at the spider sprawled on her midsection with something between amusement and admonishment. Leaning against the wall, she watched as it crept its way downward. Against her better judgement, she found herself hoping that it would find its way onto her bare belly. 

As if on cue, the spider reached one of its legs forward, tapping it on the exposed part of Laura's belly. She giggled quietly, questioning internally why she would want this. She felt a sudden kinship with the spider, wanted to be close to it somehow. The arachnid scooted forward further, placing its thorax against her skin. 
She shivered in anticipation, almost whipping her shirt up as soon as the spider's abdomen reached her lower tummy. 

Backing her way slowly to the couch, Laura laid back, smiling down as the spider scuttled in a tiny circle on her lower belly, getting used to its surroundings. Its thin legs tapped a soft rhythm on her belly, and she let her breathing synchronize with it. 

The spider made it's way in a spiral, crawling across her sides, eliciting another laugh, pausing to brush itself on her upper belly, then making its way back down, pausing every so often, as if scrutinizing and enjoying its new home. Laura cautiously reached forward to pet the spider. Each time she did, it scurried faster in a wild pattern all over her tummy. She closed her eyes and sighed each time, loving the feeling of her "roomate's"  feet.  

Eventually, the spider came to halt, right at Laura's shallow navel, peering down into it. Without a second thought, Laura tapped on the spiders behind, and it rushed into her belly button, scrambling around inside to turn itself around. The spider's fuzzy body and flailing legs inside the bottom of her navel gave Laura an indescribable feeling of contentment. 

Carefully, she stood again, and just as she had hoped, the spider remained firmly planted in her belly button. She strode over to a mirror, grinning as she saw the spider's eyes staring back at her, directly from the center of her belly, it's whole body snugly packed inside her navel. She stretched, admiring the curves of her tummy and the soothing feeling of her new friend getting comfortable inside her belly button. 

Convinced that they could stay this way for awhile, she began to go about her business, cleaning and moving things around. Every time she bent over, the soft folds of her tummy enveloped the spider, but after awhile it didn't seem to mind, simply snuggling further into the back of Laura's belly button. At the end of the day, she sat back, drumming her fingers on her smooth tummy. Sure enough, the spider poked itself out, glancing around curiously. Laura sighed as she looked out the window at the sunset, allowing the spider to sleepily find it's way back into the deepest part of her navel, wondering how long she could keep this up.