Chapter Text
Frustration: Alara
It’s quiet in the lounge of the District Five suite apart from the background chatter coming from the television as Alara flips through the channels. She’d only stopped off in her quarters long enough to change into something comfortable before settling on the sofa. Orville is out handling the bulk of - well, the entirety of, really - the scheduled meetings with their regular sponsors. She’d made a cursory show of flipping through the financial reports he’d left on the bar for her before slumping into the couch to wait, all glowing. Alara has to admit to herself, begrudgingly, that he’s doing excellent work. It’s been hours since she last saw her girl, and not knowing what she’s up to on the training floor only adds to her growing frustration. There’s nothing good to watch, nothing productive to think about, nothing to do but sit around impatiently waiting for Voltaea to show back up and give her something useful to work on - she digs her nails into her thighs just to feel something else for a second. If you don’t hurry up -
Ding! Alara whips around as the elevator door chimes and the doors slide open, pulling a smirk together just for her girl only to have it shatter the second she sees the two Peacekeepers pushing her out of the elevator - oh gods above, what did you do this time?! The taller officer turns to Alara, his clean white helmet reflecting one of the bright overhead lights into her eyes and making her flinch - “This one stays on this floor apart from officially sanctioned appearances, understood?”. We hadn’t been going very far anyway, but I’m very interested to know how you managed to get yourself put on lockdown, darling. If Voltaea is at all upset about her current situation, she doesn’t show it - her girl stands a few paces in front of the uniformed officers with an ear-to-ear smirk on her face like this was exactly the outcome she’d been looking for.
Before Alara has a chance to properly ask them what all the fuss is about, the Peacekeepers have turned to leave - “You could at least do me the courtesy of telling me why I’m being assigned additional duties as a curfew enforcer?” She calls after them but there’s no response - the doors slide shut behind them leaving the two other women alone. Unbelievable! Not a single person I’ve spoken to today has been reasonable with me! Contorting her face into the most skeptical scowl she can muster, she spins to see Voltaea hasn’t so much as squirmed - her girl just stands there, staring, smiling, waiting for her to say something first. You’re never going to win this sort of challenge with me, my love.
It’s less than a minute before she breaks and asks - “Are you going to tell me what you did now that you’ve made a scene or are you going to continue testing my patience?”. As much as she tries to keep her tone snappy it comes out sounding almost like pleading - Pathetic, pull it together! The infuriating smirk on Voltaea’s face just gets wider - she shakes her head and spins on her heels, disappearing down the hallway at a near-sprint. Do you expect me to run after you? With this sort of behavior?!
Alara’s teeth itch, she grinds them together - I’m not stooping to this level. The burning of her claws digging into her own flesh does nothing to center her - You can’t seriously believe this would work!? She reaches into her purse to grab her vial of stimulants only to realize she’d taken the wrong drugs in her rush to leave with Selica this morning - So to top it off, she’s completely sabotaged me! Swearing under her breath, she pushes herself up off the couch and starts - slowly, of course, I’m not desperate - making her way towards her quarters. As she rounds the corner, she sees no sign of her girl - already inside gloating to yourself, I’m sure. I’d leave you to rot in there if I didn’t need a pick-me-up right now.
She stops at the door, gathering her composure - shoulders back, eyes sharp - Time to show you how badly you’ve miscalculated this attempt at playing me. Bursting into the room with all the confident fury she can muster, Alara stops short when she sees the curtains on her bed have been drawn - completely childish! “Voltaea, come out here right now!” There’s no answer from her girl - just the ragged edge of her own flustered breathing and the involuntary tapping of her claws against herself. With a huff, she stalks across the room and flings back the curtains to reveal a perfectly-made bed with smooth silk sheets. Then where -
There’s no time to think - there’s barely even time to turn around and make sense of what’s happening when she hears the rapidly-approaching footsteps and Voltaea smacks into her with enough force to knock her off-balance and send them both crashing into the bed behind her. “What are you-” A hand pressed over her mouth drowns out the rest of the question - Alara lets out a muffled scream of anger that the girl propped up on top of her shakes her head at, shifting her weight back to her feet so she can hold one of her free fingers to her lips - Don’t you dare shush me! The protest comes out as garbled noises against Voltaea’s palm and she leans an uncomfortable amount of her weight onto it once again to keep the older woman quiet. Enough! In a last-ditch effort to regain her pride, Alara grabs hold of her girl’s arm and pulls it off her face yelling angrily- “Voltaea, I swear to e-”
Calmly, firmly, but very loudly - her girl interrupts her mid-sentence - “Do you want to know what happened in there today or would you rather it stay between me and the Gamemakers?” Oh, is that how you’re playing this? Voltaea untangles her arm from Alara’s grip and pushes herself to her feet, standing up and looming over the bed with a condescending look on her face.
“Of course I want to know what happened, I’ve only been asking about it all day!” The pathetic note of pleading that still hangs over her words makes Alara’s stomach clench. “I’d also like to know why you’re being so ridiculous about all of this - I mean, really, tackling me in my own room?!”
“I’m being ridiculous?” Voltaea raises her voice, incredulous - “You told me you loved me and then spent half the night trying to argue yourself out of it whenever I tried to talk about it!” Alara, already halfway to sitting upright, slumps back again at the mention of her embarrassing show of vulnerability. Her girl softens herself again, just slightly, before she continues - “So when you went to sleep-”
“When you got me drunk enough to sleep, you mean.” Alara protests.
“You weren’t being helpful while you were awake, I needed space to think through my plan for today.” Voltaea says bluntly - “So anyway, when you went-”
Alara scoffs - “I’m not being helpful ?! All I’ve done since we got here is help you, darling! Not that you’re acting like you deserve that help right now, not with that-”
The hand claps over her mouth with more force this time - “I don’t think you’re acting like you want to hear what happened today.” Voltaea turns Alara’s own words back on her. “If you did, you’d be quieter.” I should hit her - no - kill her for that! Instead, her body relaxes under her girl’s grip and she sighs heavily - raising her hands above her head in a gesture that feels uncomfortably like surrender. Alara dear, you don’t have an ounce of self-respect in your body, do you? Why it’s Selica’s voice that chides her at this moment, she doesn’t know. What she does know is that despite every thought she has protesting, she can’t stop herself from looking up at Voltaea with desperation in her eyes. I’m going to die worthless if I can’t pull it together for something as simple as a lecture. “Are you going to be quiet now?” Her self-loathing thoughts are once more interrupted by the girl standing above her.
There’s a silence between them - mostly an attempt to salvage some shred of dignity on Alara’s end - before she nods and Voltaea uncovers her mouth. Part of her wants to scream the second her girl lets up but she can’t muster the energy for it - just lies there, bested for the second time now by her own masterpiece. An angry blush overtakes her - she can feel the burn start in her chest and slide into her cheeks leaving her completely exposed in a way that she’s become unsettlingly familiar with this week.
“Like I was saying before, you weren’t being helpful - and you definitely weren’t listening to anything I was saying. So when you went to sleep I had to figure out some way to get you to hear me again.” Voltaea breaks the silence to start explaining herself and this time, Alara keeps her mouth shut - better to put you in your place after I’ve gotten what I need, I suppose. “You hate secrets.” True, though I hate that you’re saying it so smugly even more! Her petulant reply stays firmly in her head as her girl continues - “So now, if you want to know my secrets - you’re going to do something for me first.” Oh really, is that so? Voltaea looks down at her expectantly - And I suppose I’m meant to ask what that is?
“What exactly do you have in mind, darling?” Alara sounds almost breathless when she speaks - a far cry from the neutral tone she’d intended.
Voltaea closes her eyes and tips her head back, taking a deep breath, face contorting just slightly like she’s been suddenly struck silent by nerves - If you’re going to act like this the least you could do is stop hesitating about it! As if on cue, her girl whips back to look at her with something more like fire in her eyes than amusement now. She raises two fingers - “Two things. First, you’re going to be honest with me about what you said yesterday.” You’re not dropping this, are you? Voltaea shifts herself onto the bed so she’s on her knees straddling Alara’s waist - it upsets her more to know that she let her girl do it than the act itself did. “And then, you’re going to teach me how to do that thing you do with your tongue.”
Her first request feels like a slap - her second is more like being tossed in front of a stampeding horse and left to be trampled. “Absolutely not!” I’m done playing this game. Alara moves to sit up but Voltaea presses her back into the bed.
“Why not?” Her girl raises an eyebrow at her, smiling softly - is this fucking funny to you?!
Alara practically spits her next words, venomous - “I don’t owe you an explanation for anything when you’re the one behaving like a childish brat!” This time she puts her whole weight into pushing Voltaea off of her - she doesn’t budge. How is this even possible?! I spend eleven months a year keeping this body in PERFECT fucking shape, how are you stronger than I am!?
“Okay.” The flippant, flat way Voltaea says it makes Alara want to scream again but she clenches her fists instead - don’t give her a single INCH of satisfaction here - “I don’t understand why you keep avoiding this, but I’d like to get it figured out before I end up dead in a couple days so-”
“Don’t you dare suggest-” Alara hisses straight through Voltaea’s fatalism but she cuts her back off again-
“Well, it’s pretty distracting trying to figure out how you’re feeling and how to survive at the same time-”
“Oh, for FUCKS sake!” Alara slams her fists into the bed as she cries out in a pained voice - “You’re COMPLETELY insufferable!” Stop it there, don’t slip. Don’t give her a reaction! “You’ve been shamelessly attracted to me from the second we met-” Voltaea opens her mouth to protest and Alara yells louder to shut her down “Don’t even start! It was written across your face clear as crystal. And then - SOMEHOW - you managed to pin me in a position where I’M the one who’s confessing my love to YOU like a desperate whore and I DESPISE myself for it.” Hot tears of rage streak her cheeks as she betrays herself yet again with her mouth - “And then you ask me to open myself to you like it wouldn’t completely destroy me to do that and then LOSE you somehow-”
Voltaea cuts her off with a kiss that rips the air from her lungs and leaves her gasping when she pulls back all-too-soon - “That explained a lot, actually. Thank you.” Her girl flashes her a smirk so sharp it could cut steel, then locks eyes with her - why do you insist on keeping me waiting like this?!
“I’m getting very tired of these staring contests, V-” Alara gasps as she feels a slender hand slip inside her silk robe and slide over her sensitive breast “-Voltaea!” She barks in protest but doesn’t move except to arch her hips involuntarily into the girl straddling her lap - fuck - “What are you doing?”
“I told you there were two things, didn’t I? I think you started on me like this, right? Or was it this that came first -” Voltaea leans down, crashing her lips into the side of Alara’s neck and scraping her teeth down the side - half-bite, half-kiss. The moan escapes before she can stifle it and she can feel her girl smiling triumphantly against her skin as she mumbles something that sounds like “That worked out well.” and unties the robe to pull it open entirely.
“I’m fairly certain I kissed your neck gently , I didn’t try to devour it.” Alara, now fully exposed to the girl on top of her, tries to drag her ego out of the mud it’s drowning in with a raft built from sarcasm - “If you can’t even pull off decent foreplay, it’s going to be hopeless to try and teach you the finer points of - mmmgh, fuck !” A sharp nip to her collarbone forces another guttural noise of arousal from her that she stifles with a loud swear.
Voltaea stops for a moment to mutter - “I guess you can just keep telling me what to do this way, if you’re not going to be any help when you talk.” You ridiculous, overconfident, smug-mouthed little f - Alara’s train of thought derails as her girl leans in and kisses lower, biting down as she trails over the peak of her breast and drawing out another desperate noise of approval. Voltaea looks up at her, sounding amused when she speaks- “Huh. The first time was an accident, but that’s the third time that’s worked. Do you like to feel pain?” Before she can answer, her girl pinches the other nipple sharply between her nails and Alara whines desperately through gritted teeth - useless! “That’s a good insight to have, thanks.” A dull ache at the base of her skull throbs in time with her rising heartbeat and she silently curses herself for not properly medicating the second she walked into the room.
“You think you’re… so smart… don’t you…” The pathetic, breathless way Alara’s voice sounds to her ear right now makes her wonder why she bothered to say anything in the first place. A sudden press of fingertips against her inner thigh - “I can’t- you can’t-” A quick bite to the spot her girl kisses just below her navel breaks any hope she had of seeing that sentence to completion - “Gods-”
“I’ll assume that’s a good thing.” The deadpan way Voltaea says it might have made her laugh if she wasn’t pinned underneath her girl struggling to keep the growing wetness between her legs from overtaking her sensibilities. A second hand grips her other thigh and pulls them apart with more force than she’d thought possible.
Suddenly, there’s an absence as Voltaea pulls back to look her over - eyes narrowed, chewing her lower lip almost nervously . It’s then that Alara notices the shaking in both of the hands that hold her in place - “Really? You’re hesitating now?” Perhaps I haven’t lost control after all. “You almost had me convinced you were past that, darling.”
That gets to her; a crack forms in Voltaea’s calm demeanor and her next words come out sharper - “I’m not hesitating! I’m thinking.” Of course you are, and that’s why I’ll win. She tries to put out of mind the rest of the evening’s losses - You caught me off-guard then, but I see you now.
Alara takes her chance - she sits up, a hand on either of Voltaea’s shoulders, and shoves . It’s enough to knock her backwards with a soft thud as she catches herself from landing on her back and sits flat on the carpet, looking up at Alara with wide-eyes. No hesitation - she strikes, slipping off the bed and onto the floor where she leaps on top of her girl in a fluid motion before pressing her back into the floor. I really should stop doubting myself. Alara grins triumphantly as she presses one of her thighs between the girl’s legs and draws a soft whimper from her lips - “See, darling? This is why you sh-”
She’s flat on her back before she can finish her taunt - Voltaea wraps her arms and legs around Alara’s body and grapples her onto the floor. Her girl shakes her head and smirks at her - That’s… I… Gods! Even her thoughts can’t find traction, and it’s not any better when Voltaea starts talking again - “I learn a lot of things from you, but I got that move from Cymbria.”
Alara struggles against her but she can’t get any leverage - tries to tease but it comes off weak and pleading - “Good to see… you were… paying attention.” After a few more weak wriggles, she goes limp on the floor - staring up at her girl with a sour look.
Voltaea sighs heavily. They stare at each other like that for a while, unblinking, unmoving, until finally she says - “Can you be helpful and talk me through the rest of this now or do I have to go back to guessing?”
Unbelievable. There’s another weighty pause between them - You keep besting me at every turn. Her heart hammers in her throat - I could still put you in your place, you know. She doesn’t say it out loud, she’s too busy losing herself in the heat tearing through her core - But why would I bother when I could just…
Alara gently wraps her claws around Voltaea’s wrist, guiding her hand exactly where she needs it to be. Tensing when her fingertips first brush against wetness, her girl quickly relaxes under her grip. “Have you ever touched yourself before?”
Voltaea turns scarlet and looks away - “What does that have to do with anything!?” Must everything be such an embarrassment for you?
It’s hard to do anything other than writhe impatiently against the contact between her legs, but she does her best to speak calmly - “I’d like to know how much you’ve already figured out - no use teaching you something you’ve worked through on your own.”
The poor thing has to take several deep breaths before she can even look back at Alara to answer, sheepishly - “I don’t really have anything figured out” Oh? Alara had known she had a lack of experience with others - but I’d have assumed you’d need at least some outlet for release in that cesspit of a home. “It’s not like I’ve ever had any space for myself to do something like that!”
“No need to be defensive, darling. We all start somewhere.” Alara releases her girl’s wrist and pulls back. First things first, you only asked me to talk you through this - not guide you by hand. Voltaea tenses immediately, eyes darting around like she’s looking for an escape. Alara ignores the nervousness pouring off of her - “Take your fingertips from there and trace upward tow- oh!” The girl is incredibly responsive. She hasn’t even finished her instructions when Voltaea jumps into action on instinct - Alara has to grab her again to stop her in the right place before she overshoots it - “Mhhm - right about there. Make one of your notes about that spot - you’ll want to remember it.”
Voltaea runs her fingers in a gentle circle over Alara’s clit as soon as she loosens her grip again - “ Fuck - mhm, keep doing that would you? Ah - NOT faster - slow back down. ” At least you’re listening now - Her girl smooths her movements and Alara’s eyes roll back in her head slightly as she tries to keep her composure. She absentmindedly digs her nails into Voltaea’s wrist as she pulls it toward her entrance. “Same… principle… start slowly -”
The girl stops moving, looking at Alara expectantly. What could possibly be the hold up? It takes every ounce of restraint she has not to rock her hips against Voltaea’s palm, and even more not to scream when she asks - “Do I just… slide them in there?” Gods above-
“For the love of - YES - right now, if you don’t mind-” Alara hisses impatiently. She’s answered by a sharp jolt of pleasure that shoots through her core as her girl finally enters her, fingers curled just slightly - Perfect, exactly the way I… “That’s it, keep going just like that darling-” Her thoughts scatter as her girl finds a sensitive point that sends her hips bucking forward - “Mmmmmm.” She hums to choke the moan that tries to escape her lips and her eyes slam shut.
Keep it together Alara, you’re a professional - One of her greatest fears has always been coming undone in front of an audience. No matter how many times she does it - and she has done it, on too many occasions now - the lack of control always makes her feel like she’s choking on ash. Sex is no different - just a performance, stay composed . Another finger slips inside of her and she whines helplessly through gritted teeth - focus! I’m above this! She closes her grip around her girl’s wrist and pulls her even deeper - fucking- I cant- ugh! I’m so close, how is she so -
Voltaea’s voice cuts through the overwhelmingly pleasurable haze wrapping itself around her last cohesive thought and drags her back from the edge of release - “Alara! Are you listening?” She hasn’t stopped moving her fingers - which is making it very difficult to listen, thank you!
“Please… just… gods - just finish this before you start talking again!” The pleading sounds pathetic to her ear but she can’t stop herself - I swear if you keep me waiting -
“I was saying you still didn’t show me what to do with my tongue-” Voltaea slows the motion of her fingers- Oh no-
“I- you-” Alara stammers, then yells - “For fucks sake, Voltaea - LATER!” She tries to pull her deeper but she can’t so she rocks against the girl’s touch in a desperate attempt to get her to pick up the pace.
“But I thought the deal was-” Voltaea moves quicker but every time she opens her mouth it breaks Alara’s focus.
“Stop talking-” She slams her eyes shut and whines pathetically as she’s ripped back from the edge once more.
“But you said-”
“ Please stop talking -” Frustration creeps into Alara’s voice as her girl tries to protest.
Voltaea stops moving entirely and taunts her now- “I can’t tell you about today if you don’t-”
Alara’s eyes fly open and she yells with a desperate, wild edge- “IF YOU DON’T SHUT UP AND FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED- nnngghhh, gods- ” her words are cut off by a breathless cry of pleasure as her girl plunges her fingers back into her with renewed vigor.
When she looks up, she sees Voltaea smirking at her triumphantly - “I really do get why you like being in charge, this is fun.” I-
There isn’t even a chance to protest in her thoughts before a well-placed thrust of her own hips against Voltaea’s palm shatters her. Alara can hear herself screaming her girl’s name as she comes undone and slumps limply into the carpet. I suppose no one else ever has to know I gave up my edge for the night - It’s the only way she can reassure herself as she lies beneath the girl shaking in a pool of her own sweat and desire.
They sit there for a while - bodies locked together, hearts in sync - before Voltaea slowly slips herself out and examines the shine across her fingers with a curious expression. She giggles to herself then looks straight at Alara and says - “I think this is the part where you usually tell me that I’m a good g-”
Alara cuts her off abruptly with a sharp hiss - “ Finish that sentence and I swear to every fucking god I will strangle you .”
“Maybe next time.”
Alara shakes her head and crosses her arms, trying her best to scowl at her girl. “Absolutely not.”
Voltaea shifts herself off of Alara’s lap and lies on the carpet next to her, crooking her neck so her head lies on the older woman’s shoulder. Alara makes a half-hearted attempt at pulling her robe shut, then wraps an arm under the girl’s neck and gives her arm a tight squeeze - “I may never grow tired of losing to you, darling.” She mutters it under her breath without thinking but can’t be bothered to chase away the taste of sentiment it brings with it. You’ve destroyed me completely, you know. And it’s my own fault, really, for letting you. That part stays in her head, at least.
There’s a long silence between them as they lie there, the ragged sounds of heavy breathing in the air receding as the two manage to fall into something close to relaxation. After a while, Voltaea finally sits up - looking down at Alara with a huge grin on her face - “I guess I should probably tell you about today - a deal’s a deal, right? You’ll at least be happy that I took your advice about making an impression…”