Chapter Text
Katie is spending her evening working on her new home in the north. There aren't many people around, so she can focus on decorating the way she wants without starting a new side quest or getting wrapped up in some drama. She borrowed some furniture from Molly earlier, so she's been working on adding it to her barren house.
As she walked around, straightening her brand new couch and setting up the TV with music, she heard something behind her. A gentle shuffle. White fur caught Katie's eye as she turned to look at the intruder. When she saw who it was, her voice exploded through the room before the other got time to her their bearings.
"My man!" Katie straightened up and skipped over to Tomate, who kept their emotionless complexion despite Katie's excitement. This didn't scare of Katie in the slightest. She welcomed Tomate with a sort of awkward side hug then walked backwards, eyes still on them.
She spread her arms to show off the living room, "Welcome to my humble abode." She looked around with a grin, "I'll give you a tour!" Before Tomate was done panning over the room, Katie turned on her heel and made her way up the stairs. Tomate followed, adjusting their camera as to not jostle the video stream. They couldn't help but look around as well, taking in Katie's attempt at decorating. The most Tomate had ever seen of Katie's decoration and building was the KFC—and that was almost entirely done by Mike anyway.
Katie's heeled boots hit the top floor, "This is the bedroom." She waved around again, a bit of pride in the way she smiled. Tomate made sure to get that on camera. Katie approached them again, not looking into the camera but at them directly, as she usually did. It was definitely different from how all of the other occupants of the islands looked at Tomate. They tried to hold their composure, panning around the room.
The room itself was nice. The furniture was a bit sparse, and the photos on the walls were… confusing, but all in all it was nice. Tomate found themselves looking at her bed, It's messy but warm looking, just how Tomate likes it. The cameras gaze hovered on the bed for a moment too long, causing Katie to raise a brow and ask, "Is it too messy for you?"
Tomate glanced at her, not shaking their head nor nodding. A little ear twitch gave it away, though. Katie was starting to understand more and more of Tomate's body language, the little twitches of their ears or how they couldn't help but raise their eyebrows in surprise sometimes. Katie stepped forward once again, her hands clasped innocently behind her.
"Nod if you like it," Katie leaned in a little more, her grin never fading, but instead growing stronger. Again, not many people decided they wanted to communicate with Tomate. They'd talk to them occasionally, but they were always looking down the barrel of the camera, not at Tomate themself. It wasn't very intresting to talk to a blank-mute, they understand why people don't take the time. It seems, though, that Katie thrived on the one sided conversations. She got to talk her heart out, and then when she needed validation, she could turn to Tomate and ask for a nod—one of the only things they could do without getting fired.
In a quick jerk, Tomate nodded, eyes on Katie instead of the screen of the camera. The feed went wonky for a second before they got their mind straightened once again. Tomate could feel their boss' displeasure in the back of their mind. Each mistake felt detrimental. Katie chuckled, noticing Tomate's flustered blinks as they looked back at the screen, adjusting their paws on the handles of the camera.
Their gaze shifted up again when Katie stayed silent—something unlike her. There was a thought brewing inside of her, Tomate could see it. Her smirk was gone, leaving a look of… certainty? Passion? Tomate wasn't exactly sure. Instead of continuing to stare at her, they shifted the focus of the stream to look around the room again, starting to get all of the angles they needed for the viewers.
As they made their way further into the room, they hear a faint beep. The sound made Tomate's eyes widen and look down. Katie's pale hand was on the camera, her thumb pressed against the 'live' button, effectively shutting down the stream. Fear shot down Tomates spine, followed by warmth. Warmth?
Past the camera in their paws, they could see Katies other arm slowly wrapping around their middle, her fingers curling possessively into their soft stomach. Tomates head turns as they look at her, eyes still wide. They aren't able to feel much other than pure shock and their own heart pounding in their chest. Katie's expression fills Tomate's stomach with a fluttery nauseous feeling. Despite them trying to collect themselves enough to be professional, a light pink hue covered their pale white fur slowly as their face warmed.
Katies smile reappeared, her face closer to theirs than it ever had been. She could smell Tomate, feel their body against hers. Her grip tightened around their middle. "Just tell them you lost connection." Katie whispered in Tomate's round, fluffy ear. It twitched at her words, their paralysis heightening the more Katie spoke.
"You know something i found out recently?" Katie turned Tomate around to face her. She took the camera and set it to the side, freeing Tomates paws. Her hand settled on their hips, allowing her to pull them closer. Tomate didn't answer, but Katie continued, knowing she wouldn't get a response just yet. "You're a woman." Katie's watched Tomate's expression, "And you were letting me call you 'my man'. C'mon."
Tomates ears fluttered again. Being seen this closely, as something more than a bear that held a camera, was making her heart beat hard in her chest. She still wasn't sure if this was a good feeling or a bad one, as it was all still so new and so scary. Her newly free paws felt too empty, too uncertain. She clutched her hands to her chest absentmindedly, feeling the beating in her chest.
"You're so cute." Katie's hand raised, taking one of Tomate's ears between her fingers. She stroked the soft fur for a moment before Tomate turned her head away. Her ears are too sensitive to be played with, especially now when all of her nerves are on fire and every move Katie made had her feeling like she was being set on fire. "Sensitive?" Katie dropped her hand to Tomates cheek, turning her head back. She smiled at Tomate's little black eyes as they blinked rapidly.
"My woman." Katie stroked Tomates cheek instead, her thumb feeling the softness of Tomate's fur. Inside Tomates chest, fireworks exploded, filling her whole body with a new, thicker warmth. Her mouth opened just slightly, but she didn't trust herself to speak. Talking with guests was one of the worst things she could do, and she knew it. Was Katie worth risking everything?
Katie needed no words to see the want in Tomate's eyes. It was bright and new, nothing like her usual blank look. Slowly, Katie backed Tomate up until the back of her knee's hit the bed. Tomate looked back at what she'd hit, then quickly back at Katie with an expression of surprise and a little bit of fear. Giddy fear.
"We have a couple minutes before they come looking for you, right?" Katie pushed Tomate down onto the bed, standing over her. A new thrilling feeling came over her. She was doing something bad—worse than joining the regime and north at the same time or defacing Quackity's giant statue with her face. Right now she was messing with the federation, the big dogs. This wasn't some silly beef, she was messing with the rules of her existence here. None of this stopped her hands from wandering and her body from leaning in.
Tomate nodded quietly to her question, her arms spreading up over her head instead of where they'd been tightly hugging her own torso before. Katie's fingers sent tingles through Tomate's body as they explored expanse of her shirt. She bit her tongue to stop herself from making any sound, as if keeping quiet made breaking the rules less bad.
Then Katie did the unthinkable. Even she didn't see herself going this far. She fully bent over Tomate and pressed her lips to the ones under hers. Her hands made their way up and into Tomate's paws, squeezing them gently. The kiss was slow, half taken up by mutual shock. They both took had moment to enjoy it before Katie pulled back, reality creeping up on her quickly.
"Wow, um sorry—" She was about to pull up but Tomate's paws kept her there, squeezing her hands back. The touch immediately froze Katie. She didn't expect that Tomate would make a single move this whole time, especially with her shyness.
Tomate averted her eyes, uncertainty filling her—but not fast enough to stop her from mumbling, "It's okay." Her words were almost inaudible, an extreme difference to Katie's average volume.
The room went silent for a moment, the only thing interrupting it being their soft breathing. After the moment, Katie's face lit up, a smile unlike her usual smirk painting her lips. She let out a giddy little giggle, "You can speak?" She asks squeakily.
Tomate watched Katie's reaction, her happiness melting the fear that had consumed her just moments before. She nodded quietly, a smile coming over her lips to match Katie's. In a moment of pure happiness, Tomate lifted her head and kissed Katie back. This was definitely worth breaking the rules. Someone liked her, someone saw her as more than just a camera man or a worker. Katie even saw her as a girl, which was nice because everyone thought she was a boy when she had her hair up—which was always, pretty much.
The moment was short lived. The two heard a familiar sound behind Katie. The soft shuffle of a new body in the space filled the room, similar to what Tomate sounds like when she appears. Both of the girls looked towards the noise.
Before Katie could process anything, the body below her disappeared, causing her to fall forward into the bed. The figure behind her disappeared too. She could only faintly make it out for half of a second. It looked like one of the guards they had in the court room a couple days ago, but she wasn't sure.
Katie sat up quickly, looking around for any traces of the two. It was just her, no girlfriend on her bed anymore. As she sat there, the quietness growing louder, a small feeling crept up from deep in her chest. Guilt. She hoped Tomate wouldn't get in too much trouble for doing that with her. Katie also felt selfish. She had started it knowing that actually doing something with one of the camera people was a big rule breaker, something that could get one of them sent to jail. She might be the reason she never sees her girlfriend again.