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Karone had the excuse of missing the majority of a social upbringing. Maya had been raised in a community that had zero use for paperwork and chain of command. Kendrix herself had been the only one to have any issue with how she amalgamated back into Terra Venture / Mirinoi – Commander Stanton had hugged her briefly and asked her when she would return to work. And that was it.
Not that she wanted any trouble in returning to her life. After however many months floating as some sort of morphing energy attached to points between the Galaxy Sabers and Mirinoi, even spreadsheets held a certain attraction – let alone biologist work that needed to be done in their new ecosystem. The Earth plants that remained on what was left of Terra Venture were quarantined while the scientific staff surveyed the surrounds of the main landing and settlement site. That was Kendrix’s main job.
Karone had settled into basic child care – the crèches set up for both the young Mirinoi and Terra Venture children were more necessary than ever considering the amount of construction work needing every man & woman building infrastructure and repairing everything on Terra Venture that had been declared damaged but repairable. Karone delighted in small children, even if she didn’t particularly remember or want to remember her own childhood.
Maya was simply readjusting to the two halves of her life coming together. The Galactabeasts had remained for a time, drawing a lot of her attention. But even simple mediation between Jera & her home people and Commander Stanton & the people in power aboard the space colony was a full time job. Balancing two philosophies on life didn’t exactly describe what she was doing, but living with both communities had made her uniquely positioned to explain their mindsets.
It was a standing date, however, that any of the three available in the early evening would meet up for an exploration. If Maya was present then it was a walk to a place she’d known as a child, if only Karone and Kendrix then to somewhere they’d previously enjoyed. Even if they went alone, some time in the outdoors with no pressing engagements gave them some relaxation time. And it was exceptionally rare that only one went on her own.
Every pair had their own habitual topics of conversation.
Karone and Kendrix shared little history with each other, so they had very few hangups about revealing private things to each other – there were things that Kendrix wouldn’t even tell Maya, and Karone shared her feelings towards her brother and her sort-of previous boyfriend. The reasons she had for leaving Earth, or perhaps more accurately the reasons she didn't have for staying on Earth.
Maya delighted in showing Kendrix particularly beautiful species of flora and fauna. Each had attached their own legend or story from Maya’s childhood, which Kendrix listened to with rapt attention. If any struck a chord with Kendrix’s memory of Earth legends she would share with the same enthusiasm – and Maya would listen with the same attention.
There was a different mindset to Maya that Karone had never found in her circle of friends before. She shared stories of her time as Astronema to no judgment, no condemnation. Maya even smiled when she talked about Ecliptor. She loved Andros and his team, she did with all her heart, but no one wanted to listen to a child’s memory of the only being who had loved her for more than a decade when that being had come close to destroying them.
And then there was a day when Maya decided to take them swimming.
As per her normal attitude towards what she deemed unnecessary clothing, Maya had shucked her skirt and top, while Karone and Kendrix had been prewarned and come with swimming wear. Neither was particularly complaining about a skinnydipping Maya, even if their eyes did occasionally wander below her shoulders slightly when she reached a shallow part of the rock pool.
During a game of water tag Karone had managed a sneaky grope or two. Maya must have noticed, but just at that moment Kendrix had wrapped two legs around Maya’s waist and demanded a piggyback ride. Maya had conceded once she was told what a piggyback was.
Kendrix and Karone’s fingertips had well and truly pruned up by the time they called it quits, sagging down onto a sun-warmed boulder. Kendrix settled her head into Karone’s lap, offering her flower-white body to the sun. Karone allowed herself one long look at the wet fabric hugging Kendrix's gorgeous curves before determinedly pulling her eyes away and starting to play with Kendrix's hair.
Maya continued her slow swim, doing laps of the pool and investigating the mosses and lichens growing in quiet rocky corners. If Karone divorced herself from the very appreciative carnal part of her brain, Maya looked like a selkie or a mermaid from Kendrix's stories, or one of the dolphins at the zoo Ashley and Cassie had taken her to back on Earth. The long smooth lines of her body cut through the water like magic, like this was where she belonged, weightless and wavy through the haze of water.
Just as Karone started getting mentally poetic Maya scooped up a double handful of water and threw it at them.
It splattered across Kendrix's stomach, avoiding Karone entirely. Kendrix squealed in mock indignation and aimed a playful kick at Maya which never came close to hitting its target. Maya stuck her tongue out at them both.
Kendrix laughed as Maya pulled herself out, slowly displaying every inch of body down to the light curls of hair between her thighs before turning to sit on the side of the rock pool.
“Still dry,” Karone smiled, stroking Kendrix’s braid and spider-walking her fingers back over her temple.
Maya smirked as she stood, stalking over to them. Without warning she collapsed on top of Kendrix, giggling as she rubbed her wet body over Kendrix’s nearly-dry swimsuit. Kendrix squirmed and laughed as Maya quite intently and thoroughly dried her hair all over the upper half of Kendrix’s body. When Maya was satisfied that enough of the water had transferred from her to Kendrix she nonchalantly settled on top of Kendrix entirely. She dropped her head next to Kendrix’s in Karone’s lap.
Entirely of its own volition, Karone’s hand migrated down Maya’s neck and traced the muscles of her shoulder. Her eyes traced the same path, down to the bare curve of her ass. When her view flickered back to the two heads in her lap she found one pair of mischievous eyes and one single eye staring at her thoughtfully.
“You a bit distracted there?” Kendrix smiled.
Karone shrugged hesitantly. “It’s a very nice view.”
“It is, isn’t it?” Kendrix agreed, moving her hand to manage a quick caress of most of aforementioned view.
Maya’s single thoughtful eye turned determined, and before Karone could say anything more Maya had lifted her upper body off Kendrix. There was one more moment of consideration as Maya studied Karone’s face, and then she swooped in for a kiss.
She was soft, and tasted sweet. Even as Maya slowly pulled away, Karone’s eyes stayed closed to preserve the feeling in her memory.
She opened her eyes in time to see Maya considering Kendrix in the same way, and Kendrix staring back in a way that suggested she was all for this plan.
Watching the two kiss was possibly the hottest vision she’d ever seen.
When they separated, breaths for both coming a little quicker, Karone paused before tentatively stroking the curve of Kendrix’s bottom lip with a finger. Kendrix searched Karone’s eyes and must have found the same answer Maya did, as she kissed the pad of Karone’s fingertip.
Karone found her voice at last. “We’re going to need to talk about this.” Everything she’d felt for the two women beneath her was swirling through her head – could this work? Did what she wanted match what they wanted?
Maya grabbed Karone’s free hand and entwined their fingers. “Later. Now I'm just enjoying this.”
Kendrix smiled her agreement. “I'm extraordinarily comfortable.” She yawned quietly. “Talk later. But for now – all kisses are good.”
“All kisses are good,” Maya grinned.