Chapter Text
It's been a couple days since Katie and Tomate had their moment together on Katie's bed. There has been no sign of Tomate anywhere, no camera, no red shirt, no girlfriend. The more time passed, the more Katie worried about her. It was lonely without Tomate by her side everyday. The guilt was eating away at her.
She had to do something. She was a spy after all, right? Spies find out stuff—like what happened to their girlfriend and where she might have ended up. Katie stayed hopeful that Tomate was at least alive. Well, she tried to stay hopeful. She'd heard so many horror stories about the federation kidnapping and killing people it was hard not to worry.
While trying to do spy-related things, Katie got lost. She traveled far beyond any land that she'd step foot on, all the way to the boarder of the map. She stood on the edge of a cliff out-looking the water. The sun was just coming up out of the ocean, shining light on Katie's face.
The beams of light illuminated something below her. It was a patch of ice floating on the water. There were large glaciers with snow dusting the tops of them. Katie watched them, a sinking feeling in her chest as her thoughts grew louder.
All she could think of was missing Tomate. She sat down on the edge of the cliff, watching the snow below her shimmer and shine in the warm morning light. It was almost beautiful, though Katie couldn't enjoy it at the moment. As the sun grew higher, something sparkled against the glacier. Katie squinted, trying to make whatever it was out. It wasn't ice or snow, it looked manmade.
The distant shine was now distracting, she couldn't not care. After a moment fighting with herself, she stood up and scouted out the cliff she was on, looking for a way down. There were no stairs, no easy slopes. She'd have to slide down.
The ride was bumpy and a bit painful. She landed on the ice on her back, feeling like a turtle stuck on its shell. Slowly, she sat up, dusting herself off before searching for what she'd come down for.
The ice itself was extremely slippery. It had her grasping onto cold lumps of ice for support. Her dress shoes definitely weren't cut out for this terrain. The only way to move was to slide, sort of like ice skating. So, she waddled and slipped deeper into the ice, squinting at each glacier as she passed.
Finally, she saw something. There was a rectangular piece of iron cut into the ice of one of the glaciers. As she slid closer, she could see it was an iron door. The window slots were covered by snow—seemingly packed intentionally.
Katie leaned forward to get a closer look. There were engravings on the door itself, though she couldn't make them out. As she leaned, her feet slid out from under her, sending her face first into the door, her glasses smashing into her face painfully. For a moment she sat there, stunned. Her hands had caught her before her face met the ice, but now her palms were freezing and her knees were wet. There was absolutely no way that she'd be able to get up on her own. She couldn't even teleport, her Warp stone had slid ten feet away, out of reach.
Just as she lowered her head, another wave of hopelessness hitting her, the door in front of her opened a crack. Her gaze shot up, eyebrows raised in surprise. She tried to scrambled backwards, but she only managed to land on her butt.
The figure in the door couldn't be fully made out yet. The only thing that Katie could see was a white paw gripping the door. It only took a moment for the door to open more, revealing a familiar face. Tomate was standing there, her eyes wide but puffy with sleep. She wasn't in her normal working gear, she was instead dressed in a tank top and simple shorts—as if it wasn't freezing down here.
The two stared at each other for a moment, absolutely in shock. Tomate broke the eye contact first, nervously looking around before crouching down, her paw extending to Katie.
Katie took the paw, letting Tomate pull her up. "Tomate!" She exclaimed happily, finally processing that she was seeing Tomate alive and well. As she threw her arms up in the air, she slipped again, right into Tomate's firm grip. Katie could faintly hear Tomate huff as caught her, backing up slowly to pull Katie through the door and onto the carpet, where she could finally get stable footing.
Katie was able to get herself straight, standing there looking proud—though she was dripping wet and shivering with blue lips and raw red palms. Tomate stared at her again, a look of disbelief on her face. "How'd you find me?" Her voice in tiny and softer than Katie remembered. It warmed Katie almost immediately.
"I was looking for clues and I saw the door and slid down here." She grinned, unable to keep her happiness contained. Before Tomate could respond, she spoke again "I can't believe you're alive!" Without warning she hugged Tomate, a real—not slipping—hug.
Almost immediately, Tomate's thick arms came around Katie's middle, holding her close. Katie could feel the tension drain from Tomate's body slowly, as if the touch recharged her. The hug didn't last forever, as Katie had secretly wanted it to. Tomate pulled away and stepped backwards, looking over Katie's disheveled appearance. Her lips curled as she chuckled. Quickly, she turned, hiding the emotion from Katie. She made her way to her bed in the corner of the room, grabbing a thick blanket from the mess. Katie followed, observing Tomate's every move.
When Tomate turned, she wrapped the blanket around Katie. Katie took it without fuss, clutching it around her. She raised it over her pinkened cheeks, trying to discreetly smell the blanket. It smelled like Tomate, of course.
Tomate did notice. She stared at Katie with a flush on her cheeks—unlike Katie, it was not due to the cold. She tore her eyes away, sitting on the bed. Katie sat next to her, looking around the room with interest. It wasn't decorated much. She had a table, a small kitchen, a bookshelf carved into the ice, some books laying on it—somehow not soggy.
"Did you get in trouble?" Katie asked, the silence really getting to her already. Tomate's quietness seemed to be a habit even outside of camera work.
Tomate stared at her paws on the carpet, her lips pouted as she thought. "Yeah," She answered quietly, "But I told them that we had a spell cast on us."
Katie nodded slowly, watching the little movements in Tomate's face. "Do you regret it..?" Katie wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer. She didn't really even know if Tomate actually liked her, or if it was all something she fabricated and forced Tomate into.
The speed at which Tomate's head lifted caused Katie to leaned back a bit, surprised. On her face there is a look of utmost certainty. Her head shook vigorously, one of her fluffy white ears twitching with emotion.
"Wow, okay." Katie laughed, raising her hand to pat Tomate's shoulder, "So you really like me for real?" Her smile grew into a sort of giddy grin.
Tomate smiled too, just slightly. She nodded, much softer than just moments before. "Yeah." She confirmed quietly, "You're my favorite."
The warmth in Katie's chest grew double the size. Tomate's words were music to her ears. "Do you think we should kiss again?"
Tomate blinked once—twice—then looked away, her shoulders pulled up. "Maybe." She mumbled, her cheeks growing warm again at the thought.
Katie pulled her closer, bringing her into the blanket with her. The proximity was suffocating, but in a good way. Katie could feel Tomate's soft fur and her warm body, it was so welcoming.
"After we kissed there was fur in my mouth." Katie commented, watching Tomates expression turn to horrified embarrassment. She laughed at her reaction, squeezing Tomate's shoulder, "Don't feel bad. I don't care. Some fur wont hurt me."
"That's gross, Katie."
Katie's name coming from Tomate's mouth made her heart stop. Her smile immediately faded, leaving an expression of surprise. That felt good, like really good. On impulse, Katie leaned into Tomate, her arms falling around the bear. She let out a happy noise, squeezing harder than she probably should've.
Tomate propped herself up before they both fell onto the bed. She allowed Katie to hug her, unsure of exactly what to do. "What?" She asked, moving one arm to come up and pat Katie's back.
"You said my name!" Katie exclaimed into the fur of her neck, burying herself further instead of pulling away.
Tomate sighed and let them fall, both arms around Katie now. "Mhm." Her legs found themselves around Katie, holding her close. This all felt amazing. Tomate had never liked anyone like this. She never thought it possible, being born into the federation. But there she was with her girlfriend.
Katie looked up at Tomate, chin propped on her chest. She smiled a little, watching Tomate's dark black eyes. They were pretty, like gems surrounded by thick white fluff. Katie inched forward, their lips meeting once again. Tomate's eyes fluttered closed, leaning into the kiss as much as she could. Ever since their moment a couple days ago, Tomate had been missing Katie. The moments they shared together were addicting, nothing like what Tomate had with anyone else.
Katie pulled away first. There were practically hearts in her eyes as she looked at Tomate. Then—because of course she had to ruin it—she stuck her tongue out, revealing white fluff.
Tomate wrinkled her nose, "How'd that even get in there?" She asked slowly, wiping the fur from Katie's tongue with disgust, "Are you secretly licking me?"
"I think you're secretly licking yourself. The fur is coming from your mouth." Katie said smugly.
Tomate looked away, shaking her head, "I don't lick myself, that's gross." She announced.
Katie giggled, reaching up to tug on one of Tomate's ears, which was twitching in irritation. "Whatever you say." Her hand moved again, touching the tufts of fur on her cheeks, tugging gently.
Tomate looked back at her, smiling a little now. "I can do that too." Her paws poked at Katie's big mouse ears. They weren't nearly as sensitive as Tomates.
The moment was sugary sweet. They were both where they wanted to be. Neither wanted to leave—maybe ever.
"Are they going to let you be the camera guy again?" Katie asked, tilting her head so that her cheek smooshed into Tomate's chest. Katie was respectful, but not a saint. She subtly nuzzled into the fluff there, trying to act nonchalant.
Tomate hummed, "Yeah, they will. I've been gone because my boss wanted me to recover from the 'spell'. He said I needed to be more careful though… especially around you." Her voice grew smaller and smaller the more she talked, as if talking itself had stamina that ran out if she spoke for too long.
"Careful around me? They don't think I did the spell, right?" Katie asked, frowning.
Tomate shook her head, "No, but the…" She cleared her throat, "The people are scared of me catching feelings." She laughed softly. The sound rumbled through her chest, sort of gravely but soft. Katie closed her eyes momentarily, enjoying the sound against her ear.
"Oh no, well you better not." She peeked one eye open, grinning.
Tomate mimicked her expression, her eyes shining slightly. "I don't know what they're thinking. You call me your boyfriend, so obviously something is happening. They're a bit stupid."
"Thank god." Katie released Tomate's cheeks, letting her hands lay flat on Tomates chest instead. Her focused moved to her tank top, "How are you not cold?" She raised her brows at Tomate.
"I've got thick fur… and skin. Clothes are just like… an accessory. Not necessary." She shrugged, "Unlike little mice who need all these layers to stay warm." Tomate smiled and poked at Katie.
"I like it. You're warm and soft, two of the best things." Katie's hands disappeared under the blanket, making a slow journey to the hem of Tomate's tank top. Her fingers slid under the fabric, meeting sweet warmth.
Tomate tensed a little. Nobody has ever touched her stomach—no reason to, really. It was weird and new and… cold. Katie's fingers were still icicles, not yet thawed out. It made Tomate shiver once.
"You're so soft." Katie hummed happily, absolutely lost in the feeling of Tomate's fur. She was like a big stuffed animal—maybe even better.
"Katie…" Tomate squeaked out. It wasn't a proest, she didn't hate this. She didn't even know what she was feeling, only that it made her heart pound and her mind race. Katie looked up at her, still smiling lazily. "You warming up?" She asked hesitantly.
"Mhm." Katie nodded, "My nose is cold too." She burrowed her face back into Tomates chest with a little chuckle. "Oh, and my arms…" Her hands slid up, up, up—Tomate let out another squeak, grabbing Katie's hands. The sound she made was louder than Katie thought Tomate could ever possibly make.
She glanced up at Tomate, "I won't, though its very tempting."
"Just… wait." Tomate's face was burning, very unlike a polar bear. She honestly might be overheating.
"Are they fluffy too?" Katie grinned.
"Katie!" Tomate pushed Katie off of her, rolling onto her side in a ball of embarrassment. "Don't ask that." Her voice came out in something very similar to a whine.
Katie couldn't stop laughing. She grabbed Tomate's shoulder, pulling her back. "Im just teasing you, Im sorry." She leaned over, placing an apologetic kiss on Tomate's cheek.
Tomate turned her head, a frown on her lips—as if she was actually mad. She huffed gently and kissed Katie. There was not enough strength in her to care, there probably never would be, honestly. She liked how weird Katie was, loved it even.