What You Are Is Beautiful

The Quiet Before The Storm

A/N here's a longer chapter than usual. I'm working away at another one today because this one was so late. I'll update tomorrow too to make up for the delay.

Beatrice woke up later than usual. The sun was streaming in through her window illuminating the scene around her. She rubbed her eyes, realizing she left her contacts in all night long. She moved to grab the bottle of eye drops from her nightstand to quench the burning she felt in her eyes.

That's when she noticed the weight on her side. She stopped mid-motion and looked down to see an arm loosely thrown over her from behind. She turned more and saw a sleepy Ava laying on the bed beside her. Her hair was messily tousled on the same pillow that Beatrice had been laying on with her. Her slow breathing made a few strands of her hair dance in front of her nose.

That's when Beatrice looked around the room at the clothes strewn across the floor. Memories from the night before came flooding back to her, almost overwhelming her emotional capacity. She saw red marks on Ava's shoulder and remembered digging her nails into her out of pleasure. She remembered Ava's skin burning hot against hers. She remembered the soft kisses and the ones that left her lips bruised. And she remembered the gentle caresses that started and ended the eventful evening.

Ava stirred lightly. Her nose scrunched up when her hair swiped against the tip, tickling her in her sleep. Beatrice watched her, enchanted by the idea that this woman could even be capable of liking her that way. She had thought it was impossible. She moved a hand to lightly pet along the length of her hair. Her hand fell down to her shoulder and Beatrice felt a small twinge of guilt for marking her up, but that soon vanished when Ava scrunched up her whole face. She let out a little sneeze and raised herself so slightly off the pillow.

"Bless you," Beatrice murmured, voice still weary from sleep.

Ava cracked open her eyes slowly, allowing them to adjust to the light. She looked up at the beautiful figure silhouetted in sunlight. Her lips quirked upward in a warm, sleepy smile. "How long have you been up?"

Beatrice sighed and lowered herself back to the pillow. She faced the halo bearer and smiled. "Only a few minutes. We slept a lot later than we should have. We'll need to get down to the dining hall quick if we want to eat breakfast today."

Ava puffed in dismissal. "Who needs breakfast?" She leaned in for a kiss. She could feel Beatrice smiling against her lips. "This is all I need right now."

"Just a few more minutes. The other Sisters are probably already suspicious."

"Mmm," Ava pushed Beatrice against her and grabbed her hips. "I can work with that."

Beatrice grabbed her thigh, throwing it over her own and pulling the girl even closer. "How did you sleep last night?"

"Amazing," Ava sighed. "Now come here and kiss me before we can't." She leaned in and caught Beatrice's bottom lip. She kissed her slowly and gently, still a bit sore from the rougher kisses they shared the night before. Beatrice let a calm wash over her unlike anything she had felt in ages. She rubbed her hands up and down Ava's bare sides, trying to memorize every dip and curve while she could. She was mesmerized by the circular scar on her back, a reminder of her duty to the Order. But strangely enough there wasn't a worry in her mind as she enjoyed the world they had created in the little bubble of this room. She hoped that they would do this tonight and tomorrow and forever. And from the feel of it, Ava wanted that too.

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A few minutes turned into thirty and Ava was standing in Beatrice's room making some last minute adjustments to her habit and veil while she watched Beatrice mess with the planner on her desk.