The Only Exception

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Perhaps if Zoe realized that she had the recurring tendency to make people feel those warm fuzzies, she'd get a little more confident in herself. Then again, this was Zoe: she was likely to be doubtful of herself as she walked up to collect an award for her photography while a wedding ring sparkled on her finger and her wife sat in the audience applauding through tears. Though any such moments lay far in the future, as teenage Zoe now shifted in the water, giggling a little as she felt the water bubbling up around her.

"They certainly should," she agreed, nodding along with her girlfriend's assessment. "Though I suppose that the one at school wouldn't be as, um, clean," Zoe paused for a moment, looking around, before flushing slightly. "I don't---this is probably clean, right? They'd clean it at the beginning of the day..."

And she'd just been in the pool too. The butterflies came back and Zoe had the urge to just crawl into Alice's lap. It would be absolutely useless against bacteria or water or anything along those lines, but it would at least make Zoe feel better.

[Alice Hobbs]

Shrugging, Alice followed Zoe's gaze. "I'd assume so. This place is pretty luxurious. Doubt they'd get so many customers if they didn't clean their stuff." She looked back at Zoe, arching her eyebrow as a smirk formed on her lips. "Don't worry," she chuckled. "I'm sure it's fine. Have you ever heard about anyone getting any diseases from sitting in a bubble bath?" Grimacing at that, Alice held up her hand, as if to stop Zoe from saying anything. "Don't answer that." Some things were better kept a mystery.

Moving her gaze to the tattoos lining down her arm, Alice pursed her lips. "This is the main reason I don't like my ability," she began, looking at Zoe. She hadn't told this to anyone before. The thought made the brunette smile. "The tattoos I mean. I don't particularly like the wings, but these..." she gestured towards the tattoos. "They're kind of tacky." Not exactly the tattoo she'd pick for herself, but hey, it wasn't like she could remove her own ability.

Though, it did make her wonder. What happened if her wings ever got cut off? Would they grow back, or would they disappear along with the tattoos? Of course, it wouldn't remove the mutant gene, or the hallucinogenic dust, and it would probably leave some kind of freaky winged deformation, but it was something to consider, right?

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

The assurances did made Zoe relax. She sighed and settled in, enjoying the bubbles around her. Though she did recall reading that someone got some sort of disease from one of these. Zoe was betting that wouldn't be a place like this, where their rooms probably cost as much as Zoe lived off for a month. Which probably was why she almost felt guilty enjoying herself here.

Alice's movements distracted Zoe, and she followed, looking down the to the markings that stretched around her girlfriend's ribs. "They don't really suit you," she agreed, flushing. She moved forward, raising a hand tentatively. Zoe chewed her lips for a few moments before extending her hands, tracing the markings on her girlfriend's skin. She ran her fingers all along it, feeling the contours of Alice's skin and marveling at what lay just beneath her fingertips.

"But," said Zoe, pausing, her hand resting on her girlfriend's side as she looked up, "it's not as though we picked our mutations. I certainly didn't want to make everyone I touched feel numb," she ran her fingers along her girlfriend's side before pulling away, rubbing her fingers together. "I do like them though. on you, even," she flushed. "You just... you're so... not a pixie or a fairy and... I like the contrast is all," she looked away then, feeling like she'd just said something phenomenally silly. "I'm not trying to make you feel better, well, I am, but, um," she chewed her lip. "I just... sometimes its the bits of us that contrast with the rest that make us... us. I guess..." she shifted again, still feeling as though she'd mucked up that explanation. Well, it was better than declaring that she loved Alice or that she'd sent the last two girls she'd kissed to the hospital.

[Alice Hobbs]

Smiling at Zoe's honesty, Alice couldn't help but to chuckle in amusement. "They really don't," she repeated. She was glad though, that Zoe felt comfortable enough to say things like that, without worrying that Alice would get mad -- and she was glad that she didn't get mad over the honesty. Had it been someone else, they probably would have found Alice's fist smashed against their jaw. Alice did however raise her eyebrows curiously at Zoe's outreached hand, though her expression softened when she started tracing the markings.

Laughing again, Alice nodded in agreement. "Not a pixie is right," she smiled slyly. No, she was as far away from many of the tales containing fairies. They were usually good-hearted creatures who loved everyone, and Alice generally hated people. She tilted her head to the side and lifted her hand, tapping Zoe's nose before shaking her head. "Don't worry. I won't slap you for being honest." She felt that was important to note. "But I do understand what you mean, even though I think Fate could have come up with a more creative way of making a contrast between my personality and my power." Even though it was totally Melusine's fault, and not Fate.

"But hey," she added, smiling. "At least I don't have the power to shift into mud or something stupid like that. I can fly -- which is fairly cool, I guess." Not that she was very good at it, which their first encounter had proved.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

No, not a pixie, unless maybe those kind that were supposed to be as dangerous as they were beautiful. Zoe chewed at her lip, looking up at her girlfriend again. There was a slight tap on Zoe's nose, one that made the normally shy Brit wrinkle it, fighting against the urge to giggle. She did smile though, unable to. And somehow, she still believed that Alice wouldn't do anything to her for being honest. Which was... certainly refreshing.

Zoe nodded. "Sometimes it does feel as though Fate's just being cruel," she let out a little laugh. "it's all just so odd, isn't it? That we get powers, that they're like... they are," she let out another wry laugh, shifting slightly. "And yes," she said, nodding, "it is very cool that you can fly. Just think," she smiled up at Alice, "if you couldn't, then you wouldn't have run into me, and that would have just be dreadful."

Zoe flushed a little as she said it, lowering her eyes for a moment, just a bit of a smile leaking into her face. She still kept looking up at her girlfriend though, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

[Alice Hobbs]

"You mean, powers that don't fit our personalities at all, and would have matched us much better had they been reversed, but not only that, seem to even each other out? Yeah, I'd say that's pretty odd," she teased, leaning forward to place a soft, slow peck against Zoe's chin. The mention of their meeting had the brunette smiling. Even though she hadn't been very happy about the encounter at the time, she was honestly glad things had turned out the way they had. It had taken the Pixie some time to admit to it, but at the end of the day, it was as clear as the sun. "Very dreadful," she agreed.

She did however wonder if her own dust would work on her British girlfriend. They'd already figured out that somehow, Alice could touch Zoe without worrying too much about her power. Sure, she still felt the effects of it, but it seemed to be much slower than what Zoe had explained before. Did it work both ways though? Did Zoe's power allow her to be immune to Alice's dust?

She was almost tempted to try it out. Almost. She wasn't too sure how Zoe would react to hallucinating. It wasn't for everyone.

Patting the seat next to her, Alice pursed her lips. "Well, for whatever it's worth. I am happy I ended up crashing into you, even though I probably could have made a more elegant entrance," she winked.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

It did seem odd, how very well their personalities... err, powers balanced one another out. Zoe had often thought that perhaps Devyn would have been her opposite, but... no, perhaps it wasn't opposite that she was thinking. Compliment: Alice was her compliment. The other girl's personality and power worked in tandem with Zoe's, creating a whole better than the sum of its parts.

It certainly helped that she looked quite attractive too. Zoe flusehd at the little peck, feeling the flush go to her cheeks, a flush that likely went quite well with the merry spark in her eyes that came from her flirtation. Alice patted the seat; Zoe moved, though she was careful to align herself so that she didn't touch Alice overmuch, careful both of her powers and wanting to respect Alice's personal space and all.

"Well, if you'd been elegant, then I simply would have been flummoxed instead of upset and annoyed," Zoe pointed out, smiling at the memory. "Then I wouldn't have been able to gather enough courage to actually ask you out, and well, we never would have happened." She smiled at that, looking up at Alice. "And that would certainly have been quite awful," she took another breath, looking around the empty pool area for a while. "I suppose everyone's out skiing," she said. "I'm not really, um, good at that,' she flushed, remembering her earlier attempts, which would be more accurately called "earlier failures."

[Alice Hobbs]

A pleased smile spread over Alice lips as Zoe moved closer. The fact that Zoe respected her personal space didn't bother her, but it wasn't neither. Lifting her hand, she placed it on top of Zoe's, interlocking their fingers and giving her hand a squeeze. It was almost a little funny how such a small event, like Alice crashing into Zoe would lead them to this. And to think how much Alice had opened up, and warmed up over the course of the few months they had been together... Molly would have had a heart attack.

"That's true," Alice chuckled. "You're braver than you think, Zoe. You gotta give yourself a little more credit." She wasn't scolding her. In fact, her words were said with as much warmth as Alice could muster. At Zoe's admission though, Alice chuckled softly, nodding. "Yeah, I'm not particularly great at it either," she admitted. "Never did it much when I was a kid -- or even now." Now her time was evenly spread out between her girlfriend, school and her part time job. She didn't have much time for skiing, and all the things like that.

It surely didn't help that she was practically raising her baby sister, Molly, and their drunkass father. Granted, he was rarely around anymore, but that was another story for another time. One day, Alice would tell Zoe about it all, but this hardly seemed like the time, nor the place.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

"Everyone says that," said Zoe, smiling as she looked away. Everyone kept insisting that she had some sort of bravery, her own version or something. It always sounded like they were just trying to make her feel better, but, well, Alice didn't lie, she didn't say anything to make Zoe feel better. She may touch Zoe or move to reassure her, but Alice didn't use words like that. There was... admiration in there too.

"I do suppose I've managed to go through quite a lot and come out alright in the end," Zoe admitted, smiling. she let out a laugh, more about skiing. "You always sound so mature when you say things like that. I hope you didn't miss out on anything," she turned, looking up at Alice. "Though if you have, I can certainly help," she gave her girlfriend's hand a squeeze, then seemed to remember something else. Zoe straightened a little more, looking Alice in the eye.

"earlier, you mentioned a massage," she said. She ran her hand along Alice's, knowing that the paralysis already would start to spread, if slowly, through the contact. "Did you forget that your girlfriend has the whole touching thing? Or did you have something else in mind?" she smiled a little at that, flushing as she realized the possible naughty connotations. Zoe just wondered if Alice had some sort of plan, though she certainly wouldn't mind if Alice offered to give the massage...

[Alice Hobbs]

"Exactly," Alice nodded in agreement. Grimacing a little at Zoe's next words, Alice simply shrugged. She had missed out on a lot, but at the end of the day, it didn't really matter. "Well, I was kind of forced to grow up at a very early age," she admitted, pursing her lips as her brown eyes studied Zoe's face for a few seconds before looking away. "That kind of thing generally doesn't just vanish. As for missing out... Well, in a way, I did, but I don't really mind. I have few regrets." It wasn't like she knew anything else, anyways, so why would she complain?

Her train of thoughts were quickly shut down as Zoe decided to take a different route. Shooting Zoe a quick glance, Alice laughed. "My, my, look who grew a pair," she said, smirking. She had to admit though, she was rather surprised that Zoe actually dared to. She didn't mind of course, she just hadn't expected it. Leaning closer, Alice brushed her lips against Zoe's before moving her hand to place it at the back of Zoe's neck.

"Turn around," she said, pursing her lips as the amused smirk grew on her lips. Lifting her free hand, she used her index finger to motion a circle, as if again, telling the Brit to turn around.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

That sounded sad, the forced to grow up... though at the same time, Alice said it as though it were simply a fact of life. This was how things were for her; she'd always been like that, and, well, it was what made Alice Alice. Alice also naturally wouldn't mind that she'd missed out on things. Zoe was tempted to argue that she'd mind for Alice, but that felt a little presumptuous and, well, Zoe used up a lot of her presumption in a few moments.

Alice's comment made Zoe smile and flush. Alice didn't know that Zoe had been forward before: she'd had to with Devyn, to try and keep Devyn interested. Now, now she initiated because... because she cared about Alice and wanted to express that with her body too. It just felt right. Like the gentle kiss that Alice gave her did, or the light touch on Zoe's neck, the one that sent a shiver down Zoe's back.

Zoe bit her lip and nodded, shifting, turning in the water. She reached up for a moment, as if she had hair to move, and ended up running her hand along her shoulder. "I used to have long hair," she said, looking over her shoulder at her girlfriend, not even sure where the comment really came from. "I cut it off when I got my power," she bit her lip, looked forward. "I thought it, um, paralyzed people too." she flushed again, feeling silly, feeling like this was another awkward thing to share at an awkward moment in time.

[Alice Hobbs]

Alice tried picturing Zoe with long hair; it had probably looked super cute, though, Zoe looked cute no matter what length her hair had. "Do you miss it? Having long hair, I mean?" she asked as she placed both of her hands against Zoe's shoulders. At first, Alice ran the tips of her fingers softly over Zoe's skin, caressing it. Then, the brunette leaned forward to place a kiss against both of her shoulders. Pulling away, Alice chuckled softly. "You probably looked really cute with long hair. Then again, you look cute now too," she added.

With that, Alice started rubbing and massaging Zoe's shoulders. She could feel the slight tingle in her fingertips, but it wasn't something that really bothered her. She was starting to get used to it, and she had learned when to pull away, and just how long it would take for her to take a break from touching the Brit. So far though, that hadn't really been an issue, which seemed to make the both of them happy.

Moving her hand to Zoe's chin, she turned her head to the side and leaned forward, kissing the corner of Zoe's lips before smiling against her skin. "You are wonderful," she whispered, feeling her own cheeks flush slightly.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

"Sometimes," Zoe admitted. She shivered again, feeling Alice's fingers running along her skin. The Brit had to suppress tension, that unconscious reaction to feeling skin touching hers, knowing that her power leaked through and caused all sorts of reactions to happen. She could feel lips pressing against hers. Heard the words that came after. "I looked very feminine," she said, turning slightly, half-looking over her shoulder. As if Zoe didn't look feminine now: "I---" she paused, feeling the hands going along her shoulders, digging into her. How long had it been since someone touched her like that? Just that human contact: it nearly made Zoe cry. She could strangely feel her reactions tensing up, as if her subconscious desire not to spread her paralysis interfered with the motions.

Another shift, and Zoe felt Alice leaning forward, felt the lips pressing against the edge of her mouth, almost felt the smile. The words slid into Zoe's blood, pumped throughout her, nestled down in her warm core, forcing another smile.

"From you, I believe that a little more," she whispered.

[Alice Hobbs]

"You can always grow it back," she shrugged. "That's the nice thing about hair. It'll never stop growing." That was the excuse Alice made whenever she changed her hair. It would grow back out again, so at the end of the day, it didn't really matter.

She could feel Zoe move under her fingers and the thought caused the brunette to smile. She wondered, how it must feel like for someone who could barely have anyone touch them, to finally have it happen again. Alice would never really understand it, but at the very least, she could try. She tried picturing herself in Zoe's position -- though, then again, Alice would probably have welcomed it -- or at least, once upon a time she would have.

Moving her hands to wrap them around Zoe's slender waist, Alice rested her cheek on top of Zoe's shoulder. "Good." She found herself enjoying these moments a lot more than what she ever thought she would have. Just sitting here, cuddled up like this? It was an amazing feeling and just for a moment, Alice wanted time to freeze.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

"Maybe I will," Zoe replied, smiling, imagining an older version of herself with longer hair. It did feel so odd, having her hair like this. It also felt like some way of moving on, saying that she'd accepted herself, that she'd be who she wanted to be, and wasn't that precisely what she was doing?

Well, right now she was simply enjoying the contact of someone she cared about. It actually surprised Zoe to feel Alice's hands on her waist, feel that cheek against her shoulder. It sent more shivers down Zoe's spine, and she could feel that tension again edging forward, though this time less like an instant reaction and more like a motion that simply didn't want to be any more. She heard the good, closed her eyes.

"Is it horrible that I almost wished we could just stay like this?" she wondered aloud, still not opening her eyes, merely leaning back against her girlfriend. "Just... stay here, away from everything and everyone else and---and be like this," she took a breath. It was probably just being in love. Though Zoe knew she couldn't anyway: her power would cause numbness to spread throughout Alice eventually.

For this moment though. Zoe lowered a hand to run her fingers across Alice's again, just marveling in being about to touch someone intimately like this. She could just feel her walls, perhaps not crumbling down, but at least weakening, letting someone in.