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5 minutes!
5 minutes until they can start going up the levels!
As she walked from her dorm room to the kitchen, Graecie's heart sped up.
She was just so…
Excited!
Everything had changed in the last couple days.
Yet, somehow, nothing had changed. Her and Zam were still close, still best friends, still holding hands, cuddling, being together all the time.
But, now, there was just so much… more, that they could do — Graecie hadn't even thought of touching Zam's body, or kissing her lips. Neither of them even knew there were levels to complete before marriage!
And now, they could do so much!
Graecie skipped into the kitchen, the romantic lighting buzzing around her. Vines and glow berries filled the walls, while yummy foods and snacks sat on the bench tops. Zam and her had made it a little sanctuary for them two, with everything they liked most.
As the Divine Soul walked through the room, she noticed Zam wasn't there. She must still be coming.
At first, they had planned to visit Juniper in her village. Graecie had made her favorite food!
But as they walked, the pair had ran into AJ and Drift, who were bickering on their way to the Academy.
Drift stopped to say hi, to ask what had been going on in the Academy. Drift was always so nice.
Of course, Graecie informed her and AJ that she was to be married to Zam! The shocked, slightly confused expressions on AJ and Drift's faces made the couple giggle as the two Mages in front of them struggled to find a response.
They both congratulated them, but AJ made a face. She asked, were you two even dating?
Graecie didn't know what dating meant. Zam didn't either. Drift explained it was like courting — courting before marriage. AJ said that dating was important before marriage, because it showed you whether or not you would like to be married to the person.
Graecie and Zam figured it made sense. Still, Zam asked what are the parts of dating?
AJ and Drift gave each other a weird, funny look, before Drift laughed awkwardly. Well, you know, there's kissing. Going on dates, hanging out. Doing more than kissing…
Like the making out steps? Graecie smiled, finally understanding what AJ had meant.
Sure, Bright One. AJ nodded slowly. I mean, if you guys want to get married, great. Congratulations! You don't have to date. It just, you know, ensures you won't break up in the marriage so easily.
That was what caught Zam's attention. You can break up in Earth marriages?
Of course. That's why people date first. So they know if they really want to get married or not. But, I mean, you guys are good friends. I'm sure you'll be fine. Drift comforted them, before going off with AJ.
Zam had looked at Graecie, and Graecie looked at Zam.
Graecie, I… I don't want to break up. Zam whispered to her.
Me either… The Angel had nodded. Maybe we should date now. Do the kissing steps before we get married!
Yes! Zam smiled so big when Graecie said it, it made her mind go woozy. We can go back to the Academy, and go up the levels. The ones we found with Megii.
That's such a good idea, Zam!
So now, after they both cleaned up in their own rooms, Graecie and Zam were going to kiss. Then, touch while kissing. Then, make out!
There were other levels, but no one had actually given Megii a guide on how to do it. Ros, Juniper, and Amber just started blushing and getting flustered, trying to move on from the conversation.
But, she was kissing would be amazing.
If only Zam were here right now.
Graecie loved it when Zam was here. Zam… she brought light with her. She made Graecie feel happier, calmer, more relaxed than she'd ever felt before. As if every dark and dirty part of Graecie was under the spotlight, but neither of them cared. No part of the Divine felt hidden, or ignored, or bad, when Zam was there.
Zam just— saw her.
It was a nice feeling. Who wouldn't want to be married to that feeling? To the person who blessed you with it?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door opening.
Graecie's head swiveled to the entrance of the kitchen, where the most beautiful girl in the world had just walked in.
Zam's hair was getting longer, and since she no longer needed the astronaut suit anymore, it was finally able to bounce around naturally on her shoulders. Her antennas stood tall and pretty — Graecie always wanted to touch them when they were like that.
Her… girlfriend? had changed into more comfortable clothes. When Ros and Juniper found out that neither of them really had any other clothes besides the ones on their backs, the girls had given them a whole heap! Graecie didn't even know where they'd gotten them from, but they ranged from pajamas, to something called sweatpants, to adventure clothes.
Zam really liked them. The day they came in the mail, the girl had given Graecie a whole fashion show, which Graecie loved more than anything.
Graecie didn't wear the clothes, though.
The Shepherdess didn't believe in excess.
They were really pretty, but Graecie didn't want to upset the Shepherdess. Plus, she was… fine, with her only dress.
"Hi." Zam stuttered as she came into the room. A deep purple T-shirt covered her top, her stomach showing since she was too tall for the shirt. Zam wore short black shorts, too, showing off all her purple leg.
"Hi!" Graecie smiled happily as Zam slipped inside the room and walked closer. "Are you excited?"
"Yes. Really… really excited." The Alien giggled back at Graecie, nearing the table by the kitchen that Graecie was sat in. "Are you?"
"Oh, yes. Very excited." She rang the bells in her hand, body overcome with the knowledge of what they would be doing. "I think this will be so fun!"
"Me too." Zam turned a deeper shade of purple while she slid in next to Graecie. "Everything's fun with you."
"Everything's fun with you, too, Zam." Graecie smiled up at the Stella fondly. "Oh! Megii also gave me her book — the one with the notes — a while ago, so I found it! I figured it could be helpful."
"That's a good idea. I think… level one—" Zam began to recall what they learned with Megii during the sleepover, but stopped as Graecie began reading the book aloud.
"Level one, kissing. Characterized by a light or quick touch of two people's lips, consensually. You must ask before kissing the other person." The Divine announced to the kitchen. She turned to face Zam again. "That sounds easy."
The Stella hummed in agreement. "Should we… now?"
Graecie felt her cheeks get hotter at the thought of them actually kissing. "If you want to! We can wait, as well."
"No, I don't… I'd like to do it now." Zam laughed at herself, hands fidgeting.
"Me too."
"Okay. Um."
Neither knew what to say.
Zam moved her eyes from the table to Graecie's, and Graecie, for the first time, felt intimidated by how close their faces were.
It wasn't the first time they'd been physically close! The closer to Zam Graecie was, the safer she felt.
But it was the first time getting close while intending to…
Kiss.
"Zam, can I kiss you?" Graecie asked clearly.
"Yes!" Zam smiled nervously back. "Graecie, can I kiss you?"
"Yes, please." She gave her a grin.
They stared at each other.
They did not ki—
Uh.
Graecie didn't know what happened to her. It just— happened!
Because, suddenly, her lips were on Zam's.
They were pursed and scrunched, wet from the gloss she had applied earlier, placed firmly on Zam's lips. Her eyes were closed as well, shut tight as Ros had said most people did when they kissed someone else.
One. Two—
She pulled back.
Zam's eyes were still open, black voids staring at Graecie in shock as her lips were still and relaxed.
"Oh." Zam whispered quietly.
"That was…" Graecie said, confused. "Okay?"
"Yeah. It was— okay." Zam agreed, glancing down to the book. "And… that's— level one, right?"
"Yes! Yes, let me… I can tick it off…" The Divine took a pen from her pocket, putting a tick mark next to the level one line.
"So— that's kissing?" The Stella asked, sounding incredibly confused. "That's it?"
"Well. I guess so?" Graecie squinted at the book, rereading the lines. "Yeah. That's it."
"Hm." Zam bit her lip. "I think I prefer hugging…"
"Me too!" Graecie giggled, putting her pen down. "We can— try level two? If you still want to!"
"I do, yeah."
"Okay! Um." She read the next sentence out loud, feeling more comfortable with the idea. "Level two. Kissing with touching. Characterized by longer, more sensual kisses with moving hands, often in hair, around the neck, or the waist and hips. I wonder if…" She trailed off.
"Yeah?"
"I wonder if we have to choose one part. Choose the hair, neck, or waist and hips." Graecie mused quietly, frowning as she looked down at the table.
"I think— hm." Zam frowned as well. "Probably. Maybe we both can choose one."
"Yeah! That sounds good! Can I…" Graecie stared up into Zam's eyes again, her stomach turning into a melting mess. Zam's eyes were just so pretty, so dark. "Could I touch your hair? And your antennae?" She spoke hopefully, eyes raking over Zam's short pink hair and antennae.
"Oh. Oh, uh, sure… I can do… your neck, maybe, if you'd like that…"
"Oh, I'd love that. I love it when you touch me, Zam." Graecie nodded quickly and happily. "Should we… go to level two now?"
"Okay," Zam nodded as well, a tiny grin on the side of her mouth, "ready?"
"Mhm!" Graecie smiled, her face inching closer and closer to Zam's, until she could feel the Mage breathe lightly on her face. Zam's eyes got bigger, eclipsing Graecie's vision, as her hands reached up to the sides of Zam's head, feeling her soft, pink, curly hair for the first time.
The hair strands felt nice in Graecie's hands, as her fingers twirled around it, lightly scratching Zam's scalp. She didn't want to hurt her.
This time, rather than going in straight, Graecie managed to tilt her head a bit to the left, making it easier for her to softly kiss Zam on the lips.
At the same time, Zam's lips moved in the same way Graecie's did, no longer shocked and stationary like last time. They parted in the kiss, letting Zam's mouth come open just slightly, as she pecked on Graecie's bottom lip over and over.
Sounds of lips kissing filled the room, this time loud and consistent. Both Mages remained cautious, unsure how exactly to keep kissing, but doing so nonetheless. Something warm filled Graecie's stomach, like balls bouncing around or bells going off, as her fingers crawled closer to Zam's antenna. The tips of her fingers lightly grazed the base of them, making Zam shudder in her mouth, but continue kissing.
Now, Graecie could actually taste Zam's mouth. It was sweet, and kind, a taste that Graecie could only assume was banned by the Shepherdess.
Zam's hands held her neck in place, thumbs on her cheeks, not pushing her at all, just holding.
It's probably time, Graecie realized.
But…
She didn't want to withdraw.
Regardless, the Angel did. The Shepherdess praised discipline.
Her hands snuck out from Zam's hair, causing Zam to put her own hands back on her lap, leaving Graecie's neck feeling abnormally empty.
She missed it. Already.
"Oh. That…" Zam whispered immediately. Her eyes were big and black again, and even though Graecie couldn't see her pupils, she knew Zam was staring into her own eyes. "That was—"
"Really nice." Graecie giggled back, which made Zam nod her head happily. "I liked that a lot."
"Me too. When you touched… um—" The Stella turned a deep purple, making Graecie laugh, which, in turn, made her even more purple. "My antennas… it was really…"
"You liked it?" Graecie gasped in excitement. "I liked it too!"
"That's great. I'm happy you liked it." Zam glanced at the book. "Is that… level two done?"
"Yup! Or— I think so?" Graecie frowned. "I'll tick level two off now…" She took the pencil back into her hand and pur a proud tick next to the sentence. "I think level two was my favourite."
"Me too."
"Okay! Um. Level three!" She giggled again. "Wow. We're going through this so fast!"
"We must be really good at it." Zam agreed.
"Yes! Okay. Level three. Making out! Characterised by extremely long, sensual kisses, with hand movements all over the body. Note: long kisses may leave the mouth, often going around the bottom of the face, neck, or collarbones, leaving things called… hickeys."
She looked up to Zam, who seemed a bit shy. "Maybe we should just start with just the mouth?" Zam offered quietly.
"Sure!" Graecie nodded and turned her body to face Zam fully, body still buzzing with excitement. The level two kisses were… much nicer than she thought it would be. Graecie could understand why Ambear kissed AJ so much now!
Graecie's eyes slowly dipped down to Zam's lips, watching the black lines part once again, and come closer. Her own lips opened slightly as well, suddenly wanting desperately to suck on Zam's.
They tilted their heads in opposite directions — it was a good idea when they did level two, but their lips felt like magnets this time. With each jump of a level, Graecie found herself understanding the appeal of kissing more. Her head kept getting lightheaded, heart exploding into stardust as Graecie inhaled the sweet smell of Zam's hair, and placed her lips on hers.
Zam's lips were thin but soft as Graecie focus on the bottom lip this time, sucking and pulling on it as Zam did similarly to her. Her hand went straight for her antennae, grazing the bases of them, which, again, made Zam shudder. This time, the Stella let out a small whimper into Graecie's mouth, which in turn made the Angel giggle.
She felt hands back on her waist again. Zam's arms were so long they wrapped all around it, pulling her waist slightly closer, making Graecie's stomach do a tumble turn.
"Oh." The white-haired Mage muttered when Zam began to kiss just a bit stronger, both their mouths almost wide open now. The kisses were progressively getting sloppier, more comfortable in the actions.
Graecie had the sudden urge to kiss Zam's neck.
She didn't know why, it just—
She needed to.
Despite Zam's powerful kisses, the girl pulled back slightly and began pecking the sides of her mouth, tasting Zam's yummy skin for the first time. The Stella moaned in surprise, giving Graecie the confidence to go down further.
It started as small pecks at first, but as the girl got to her fiance's jawline and neck, Graecie found it was easier to suck.
Is this what hickeys are? She found herself wondering.
I can see why Ambear likes them so much.
Because Graecie did, too. She didn't know if she was doing it right, of course! But… the feeling of Zam moaning quietly, writing around as Graecie tickled her antennae, burying her face in the crook of Zam's neck as the girl's hands roamed over her waist?
It felt too good.
Even better than hugging Zam, which Graecie just couldn't believe.
Slowly, the girl found herself getting lost in Zam's body.
They took turns kissing each other's neck, then kissing each other's lips.
Graecie just… couldn't seem to stop.
It was so nice!
If this was what being married to someone felt like, Graecie wanted to marry Zam a thousand times over.
It turned her mind to mush, only a mess of giggles and whimpers and kisses as she couldn't pull back anymore, and couldn't even remember what level three was.