strangetrip | [GP] Midnight Carnival

Once, back at the beginning, Songrans had started the Carnival at midnight and ended it an hour later at one minute past. At least, it was reasonable to suppose they had, but, in truth, it had been such a long time ago, it was an article of faith rather than fact. Nowadays, Midnight Carnival began when the sun went down and ended when it came up again. It had been wryly suggested by many more than one Songran that it ought to be renamed "All Night Carnival," but somehow it never was. It made for convenient fiction on the Day of Kosal that all licentiousness had taken place in a single, short, non-existent hour, and so it remained as it was.

What it was depended on who did the describing. It might be wild twists of fortune at games of chance tended by sloe-eyed men and women in brilliant costume. Or it might be fine rice wine sampled from one end of the street to the next until the world spun like Samnang's wheel. For lovers of the Youngest, it might be greasepaint and cartwheels or blindfold-tag in a crowd or blowing soap bubbles at passersby. Chanda's devotees spent the night in sexual revels or romantic trysts under firework strewn skies, while enterprising followers of Vanna might find selling candy or trinkets or operating currency exchange more to their delight.

As soon as the sun set, buildings vomited forth a brightly festooned sea of humanity lit by colored silk or paper lanterns. The night smelled of sweetened puffed rice, rich and salty fish dumplings, spicy chili-fried insects. Turn a corner and chocolate, sugar, cinnamon, gave way to sweat, smoke, wine and sex. By midnight, the Carnival resembled nothing so much as a bejeweled caterpillar comprised of myriad masked and painted faces, in wild distortions of ecstasy, agony, and joy.

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Regina flashed a quick smile at the familiar touch against her neck and then tipped her mouth to Rebekah's. Different Rebekah, since she didn't soften or hunger in answer, but still Rebekah in that first, surprised sharing of breath between them. It had been that way from the beginning, both of them so unused to being touched with kindness and affection that a kiss had the power to startle, to soothe, to make safe...

And because it was the same, Regina knew to keep it light, the brush of lips and breath and noses against skin, more caresses than kissing at first. Until Rebekah's jaw softened under her fingertips and their mouths joined in earnest.

The small voice in the back of her head that worried this whole thing could be a trap was silenced when Regina's mouth started to tease her own. Even if she didn't remember the other woman, there was something almost familiar in the way their noses and lips brushed. She knew that it wasn't actually familiar to her but the intimacy was nice.

Relaxing, she tightened her fingers against the back of the other woman's neck but not enough to hurt. Just enough to give her a gentle tug so she could press their lips together in a firm kiss, one that wasn't all teasing and caresses. No, she wanted a real taste of her kisses before tasting her blood.

The tug of Rebekah's impatience was also familiar. Familiar enough that Regina smiled against her mouth before sliding her fingers into that spill of golden silk and giving in to the desire that had gone unquenched for months. Even if she wasn't the Rebekah Regina had known, she still felt a kinship to the other woman.

After a short while, she drew Rebekah's body flush against hers and held her with an arm around her back and fingers splayed between her shoulder blades. She drew her mouth of Rebekah's and tipped her head to the side, offering. "Go ahead, Goldilocks," she murmured, teasing.

"Please tell me that the other me liked that nickname." Rebekah murmured huskily, amusement softening her tone before she focused fully on the curve of Regina's neck before her. Her whole body was aching with a need that the stranger had stirred up in her but there was no denying the hunger either.

Bending her head down, she teased her lips over the soft skin there, drawing a slow kiss from the curve of her shoulder up to the spot behind Regina's ear. Then she nipped at the earlobe, the corners of her mouth twitching a little as she listened to the little jumps in her heart rate.

Drawing her lips down to the perfect spot, she drew in a soft breath before biting down gently. There was no avoiding the first bit of pain when her teeth broke the skin but she figured Regina knew it would be brief before it would start to feel good for them both. Which it did as the taste of Regina's blood made Rebekah moan when she started to drink.

Someday Regina would tell her again why Rebekah had a fairy tale nickname, but not tonight. Tonight it was enough to have the beginnings of the friendship back, and some of the intimacy.

Unexpectedly, she'd missed being needed in this way, trusted to provide something so essential. It wasn't physical pleasure that provoked her moans and the hints of whimpers in the back of her throat, although that was there as well. Instead, she found it seemed to heal some of the ache in her heart and perhaps some of the blackness.

The heady swirl of emotion and sensation loosened her grip on her tongue enough for her to sigh, "I've missed you." And after, she gave in to the familiarity and let herself feel her love for her dear friend. Just for a moment.

It wasn't a surprise to hear the woman enjoying herself during the feeding but it was definitely nice to hear the soft moans and whimpers that came out of her. They were almost a distraction from how closely Rebekah listened to her heart but she wouldn't slip. The woman cared for her and that meant something to Rebekah even if she had no real idea who she was. It soothed something in her too because it had been a long time since someone had cared so opening.

Then she heard the soft whisper of how much the woman had missed her and she tightened her arms around her in response. She only drank a little bit more after that, just enough to sate her for awhile, before running her tongue over the bite mark and lifting her head.

Licking the blood from the corners of her lips, she eased back to look at Regina. "Are you okay?"

Regina's tongue dragged over her own bottom lip as though she'd been the one feeding and her eyes came back into focus gradually. "Hardly. But that has nothing to do with the feeding."

She felt the emotion churning and the tears trying to form and flow, but she swallowed them back like she'd done for the better part of her life. Then forced up a smile instead. "A man, of course."

One brow lifted sharply when Regina first started to answer because she was sure that she had been careful in feeding on her but the look switched to one of understanding when the other woman clarified that a man was at the heart of the issue.

"Isn't it always?" She asked somewhat dryly while running a finger over the bottom of her own lip. "Do you want to get a drink and talk about it?"

"Yes," Regina answered with an uncharacteristic lack of reserve. "I do. Very much." She wanted the comfort of friendly commiseration so much that Rebekah's presence tugged at her like a magnet.

"But not tonight." She reached out again, her fingertips to Rebekah's elbow in a gentle caress that promised it wasn't a rejection. "You need time to get used to me again. And I need--" Not be holding her against the standard of her other self, expecting what Rebekah couldn't yet give. "To get back to the inn before Snow worries. Maybe we could have breakfast this week?"

Rebekah started to nod before pausing when Regina decided that they would meet another night instead of continuing where they were. It made her wonder but she didn't argue as she nodded her head slowly, allowing herself to be soothed by the touch to her elbow.

"Of course." She hummed. "I'm in Room 183 if you should ever need to find me."

"195," she answered. "And likewise."

Resisting the urge to lean in and kiss Rebekah again, Regina instead brushed the hair off the other woman's cheek and smiled, unknowingly wistful. "Please don't be a stranger." I couldn't bear it.

[GP] Midnight Carnival

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