fandomtownies | 'Dite's Decadent Delights, Friday

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'Dite's Decadent Delights, Friday

There was mistletoe. It wasn't a Greek thing, and 'Dite wasn't sure she understood why people were supposed to kiss under it, but hey, it was Christmas/Solstice/Whatever time, and she was big with tradition. So there was mistletoe.

And of course, people stopping under it. Stopping and insisting they get a kiss. Which, for the first hour, she obliged happily.

But then more and more people showed up. And 'Dite was kissing people more than she was doing anything else. And some of them were . . . really bad kissers. Really. She had to wipe slobber more than once.

"That's it! No more!" And the mistletoe was gone.

A genuine groan went up from the people in line to stand under it. Some of them were there for the second or third time. They all grumbled, whether they'd gotten a kiss or not.

"Enough! What, d'you think I'm gonna spend the whole season doing this?" The grumbling lessoned, but other enthusiastic replies were mixed in. "Noooo, I'm not!"

"S'not fair, Aphrodite." It was a younger man with just a hint of a mustache that she'd already kissed once. 'Dite remembered that he'd had decent technique and no slobber. "You can't leave it down the whole month!"

Others joined in and 'Dite sighed. "Fine! Tell you what. We'll have a kiss-off." She glanced at the calendar as the people in the store looked at each other. "On Thursday the 23rd I'll put the mistletoe back up, and for two hours I'll kiss who-ever stands under it. But!" She raised a hand. "One kiss a piece! You have to give at least five bucks to some kind of charity -- bring me cash or a receipt. And . . . " She looked coy for just a moment. "Best kisser gets a prii-iiiize." That made everyone's eyes pop.

With that, she moved back behind the counter and perched on her stool. "If you're here to buy something, you can stay. Otherwise, I'll see you in a few weeks. And practice your technique!"

Decadent Delights was open. Sadly, the mistletoe stayed hidden.

(OOC: I blame

theotherpeter -- he suggested something with mistletoe and this is what happened. Rules and other info will follow in a day or so, since this happened kind of . . . spur of the moment. If you're interested, leave me a tag in the OOC.)

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Just don't ask her to kiss you.

Long after the line had gone, Karla stopped by the store. Pausing in the threshold, she glanced up. "You know what this door needs?" she mused aloud. "Mistletoe. It would work well with the store."

Oh, the look 'Dite gave her.

"You know, it's a good thing I like you. Or I'd put it back up and make you kiss everyone who came through the door!"

Oh, look at the hurt expression you were getting now, 'Dite.

"I thought you liked getting suggestions from me and Raven about the store!" Karla protested, bewildered. "I even made a display!" She pointed to the holiday-themed costumes in the window.

'Dite took a deep breath and sighed, then held up her hand. "They're awesome. I know. Really. And I do like getting suggestions, and the suggestion was awesome. Problem? I tried it. And suddenly had a line of people looking to be kissed, with some getting in line two or three times!" 'Dite looked exasperated. "I was getting chapped lips!"

"That's why at the kissing booths, we usually have chapstick. Why not make it a promotion--you have to buy something to get kissed?"

Not that Karla was blaming the enterprising individuals who were claiming multiple free kissed from the goddess of love and beauty.

"Um." Where was Karla a couple hours ago? "Kiiiind of had a different idea." She held up her sketch pad where she'd drawn a pair of lips, something that seemed to masquerade as mistletoe, and the words, 'Kissing Contest!'

"Check it. What d'you think?"

Karla looked at the poster and grinned. "Would it count as a charity if I opened started some kind of school to teach people to kiss?" she teased. "I could bankroll my holiday shopping with it."

Not that she'd actually go through with it--ew!--but it was fun to tease.

The sketch pad hit the counter with a bang, and 'Dite stared a moment before laughing so hard she dropped her pencil.

Then she stopped and grinned at Karla. "You know, to see that, I'd bankroll your holiday shopping."

And since Karla was obviously teasing, she added, "Are you gonna teach Ra-a-a-ven how to kiss?"

Karla flushed a bit. "I'm pretty sure she's picked up the basics by now, at least." You know. From the number of times they'd kissed already. La.

"Though Raven's not going to be coming to me for lessons any time soon. Not with a private tutor like she's got now."

But, depending on how Karla's talk went with Jono, they might be doing a fair bit of kissing soon anyway. Hmmm. She should talk to 'Dite about that, yes.

'Dite blinked. Then blinked again.

"Raven? Has? Private Tu-- OoooOoooh!"

On one hand it was hard to miss the blush on Karla's face, but on the other it was good to see there was no sign of jealousy, either.

"And how are things going with Warren?" She held up the sketch pad. "Will you let him be in the kissing contest?"

Karla was keeping that jealousy tucked away in a private corner of her mind, where she occasionally fed and watered it and clutched it to her meager bosom.

"Things with Warren are good," she said with a happy smile. "And he gets to be in the kissing contest, but only when I'm judging."

She adored 'Dite, she really did. But she wasn't silly enough to believe she could out-kiss a goddess. And Warren loved her, he did, but...teenage male. Goddess. Come on.

"Though, there's something about Raven that I was sort of hoping to talk to you about?" she added a moment later. "Not about-about, like there's something wrong. But I kind of have a plan..."

"A plan! Ooh, goody!" 'Dite wriggled to get a little more comfortable on her chair and grinned. "Is this like a plot type plan, like on a tv show when someone gathers a group of people and says, 'Well, we'll drive the minis into the square and load the cheese in the back of the minis; then we drive it at you during a football match.That’s right. Wallop, wallop, wallop, into the big coach driven by William, round in the Alps, and we’re free!'"

She looked at Karla with a huge grin, which faded only a little when Karla stared and didn't move. "Hm. Not that kinda plan, huh?"

There was some movement from Karla! Mostly the widening of her eyes and the furrowing of her brow as she tried to parse what the Hell 'Dite had just suggested.

"Uh, no?" Karla said, finally just giving up after spending a few seconds attempting to remember if she and 'Dite knew a William. "Actually, it's for, um, my Virgin Night."

That took the smile off 'Dite's face.

"That - um - you - there -" Don't worry, there was a sentence in there somewhere. "You haven't -- I mean, he --"

What she was trying to ask, Karla, is if she needs to kill Warren or someone. But she'd settle for, "Sure. You can always talk to me about that."

Karla raked her hands through her hair, pulling over a crate for her to sit on. "No, no, nothing like what I think you're thinking. Warren hasn't--he wouldn't. Hell's fire, I don't even know if he's interested or ready for that yet."

Well, she was betting he was interested. But ready? She needed to talk to him about that. It was on her List, okay?

"But...after giving it some thought, I think I have a way that doesn't involve you picking some stranger for me. It, well, it involves Raven."

It involved Raven. Of course it involved Raven. It took everything 'Dite had not to smile, or say something snarky. She even turned her head for a minute and bit her lip before turning back.

"Um. I thought there had to be a guy involved. And, I would never have just chosen a stranger, Karla." That part stung. "Did you really think that little of my skills?"

"I'm at a loss to think of who else you could have chosen," Karla said, with a fair bit of bitterness of her own, though not directed at 'Dite, simply the situation. "Who else is there for me, 'Dite? Max? He's a possibility, but I'm pretty sure he's had enough of difficulties with his female students. Bliss? I met him what--twice? And I stole from him the very first time!"

That memory still stung. Hateful gremlins.

"Who else is there for me, 'Dite? Who could have helped me?"

"Well, whoever it might have been, it wouldn't have been a complete stranger. If I chose someone you didn't know, there would have been plenty of time for you to get to know them, get comfortable with them." She sighed and put her chin in her hand. "Three thousand years old, and she thinks I just floated to shore yesterday." Another sigh, and then shook her head. "Okay. What's your plan? And what does Raaaaven have to do with it?"

There might have been a wink there. But only maybe.

Karla set her bitterness aside since she wasn't upset with 'Dite. It was just the whole, well, stupid thing. Like Raven had said, no one had ever been in this situation before and it sucked.

Besides, why bitter when you could blush? Which she was. A lot. "You're right when you said it has to involve a male," Karla said. "When I said it would involve Raven, I didn't mean just Raven."

Oh, hello bright red Christmas decoration. Let Karla show you what crimson truly looked like.

Aaaaaand this was 'Dite back to trying really hard not to laugh in Karla's face. Cause that would really help right now, yes.

"Um. Are you talking about. . . a threesome?"

If Karla said yes, she had no idea how she was going to keep herself from bursting out with laughter.

"Hell's fire and Mother Night, yes," Karla said, dropping her face into her hands.

It began softly. Just a giggle. Then a snort. And then a stream of hearty laughter.

As a point in 'Dite's favor, it didn't last long. She took less than a minute to get a hold of herself and put a hand over her mouth.

Even if the giggles lasted a few more moments.

Finally she sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Wow. That was a great joke. You're not serious, are you?"

Karla just looked up at 'Dite and let her expression do the talking.

'Dite put her hand to her chest and gasped. "You ARE serious! Really? What-- Really? Did Raven agree to this? Who's the thi-- Warren?" Her eyes narrowed. "Was this his idea? Am I going to have to have a talk with Mister Two-For-One-And-All-For-Me?"

She was already planning Warren's demise, and it wasn't pretty.

Poor Warren. 'Dite was convinced he was a scheming bastard. Ever since the BDSM orgy he didn't even go to.

Karla was torn between laughter at 'Dite's righteous indignation and her own righteous indignation on Warren's behalf. "No!" she said quickly, before 'Dite could go much further down whatever track her mind was set on. "It's mine. All mine. I haven't even talked to him yet to see if it's something he'd be okay with. He might not."

He and Raven had some...issues.

"But, yes, I've talked this over with Raven. She agrees that this is a good idea."

"Uh-huh." 'Dite leaned forward on her elbow. "And . . . why . . . would it be a good idea to have Raven there?"

She really wanted to hear this explanation.

Something other than, 'Because it would be hot' would be good.

In Karla's defense, 'Because it would be hot' wasn't even on her Top Five reasons. It was number six.

"Because of her empathy," Karla explained. "So, during a usual Virgin Night, our minds and emotions get so tangled, it's hard to say where one person ends and another begins."

It didn't have to be that way of course, but that was how it was properly done. "When the pain comes, the male can choose to share it, to take it all...or to shunt it onto her. If that happens, it feels like the witch is causing this pain to herself and usually tries to flee. But there's nowhere to go and she could panic and tear through her inner web. That's how a witch is broken. Falling or being pushed through her inner web."

"Warren--or any male here I'm comfortable enough to do this with--doesn't have the experience of sharing emotions like that, and he doesn't have the sexual experience to minimize the pain. I'm fairly certain he's a virgin." And would just love to know Karla was sharing that detail with her employer. "Raven, besides being someone I can trust implicitly is an empath and a Healer. She understands emotional bonding and can take the pain so I don't even feel it."

Which sucked for Raven, but she could expel it quickly. And didn't have an inner web to break. "Two people I love and trust--if he agrees--working together to help me through this."

That . . . actually made sense. 'Dite raised an eyebrow in surprise. Still, she had to play devil's advocate. It wouldn't do to make things too easy for Karla.

"You're putting a lot of pressure on someone who's never had sex before. Did you think about that? And Raven. Is she going to be actually involved, or are you asking her to just sit nearby and watch you have sex, experience your pain or pleasure, without having any of her own?" She tilted her head. "Do you really want to do that to her?"

'Dite wasn't against the idea, but she wanted Karla to really think things through. This was the kind of favor that could ruin a friendship, and she wouldn't want that to happen.

"Raven and I talked about that part already," Karla said, shifting a little bit in her chair. "She would be, uhh, involved. It would be way more awkward that having her sit next to the bed and say things like, 'a little to the left now, Warren,' than actually having her, uhh, helping?"

Also? Hot.

"And this is contingent on everyone involved agreeing. I won't pressure Warren into saying yes. If he's not comfortable with it, we won't do it and I'll be back asking about your 'not-quite-strangers.'"

'Dite stood up, her arms folded, and walked away for a moment. Part of her wanted to say no, absolutely not. This was too much pressure to be putting on Warren, on Raven, too much danger. Both Bliss and Max could do exactly what Karla was talking about, and there were others.

But would she be comfortable enough with anyone else. That was the question.

She wanted to protest that Karla was too young, that she shouldn't even be thinking about this yet. After all, she'd originally told 'Dite they had a year. But it sounded like it had become a more urgent issue, and 'Dite thought she knew why. She didn't like this vulnerability any more than Karla did.

After straightening a shelf and picking up one of Herc's toys she came back and sat down, looking at Karla again.

"When are you thinking you might want to do this? If Warren says yes, I mean."

It wasn't approval, but it wasn't a veto either. 'Dite would just have a few . . . conditions.

"I--I don't know," Karla faltered. "Soon. Weeks maybe."

She glanced away. "I know what I said last year, 'Dite. But...circumstances change."

"I get that."

'Dite's voice was very soft. She watched Karla carefully for a moment, picturing the young woman as she first met her. It had been a long year for both of them, with lessons learned and challenges passed. The serious Karla that sat in front of her now was so very different, and yet the same.

She knew she couldn't really say no. It wasn't her decision, after all. But . . .

"Okay. It looks like you've thought about this, and not just jumped in like you sometimes do. I'll support you, IF!" 'Dite held up a hand before Karla could get too excited. "IF, you meet my three conditions. I'm serious, Karla."

Karla considered that. "I'll hear them," she said, nodding slowly. As 'Dite had guessed, she wasn't here to get 'Dite's permission, but to ask for help. If 'Dite wanted to put conditions on that--conditions that stemmed from love and concern--Karla was willing to listen at least.

"Though if one's about making sure that all four of us are really and truly willing to let this happen, don't worry," she promised. "If I think this will end up jeopardizing any of the relationships involved, I won't go through with it. It's not worth it, not when I have other options."

"That's good. It's good to hea--" She stopped. "Four? Wait. Raven -- oh, Hades." For a moment, 'Dite put a hand over her eyes. Well, she'd been planning to come to the shop anyway on Tuesday . . .

She took a deep breath. "Actually, no. That's not one of them." Raising a hand, 'Dite ticked off on her fingers the first two. "First, I want to know when, and where, so I can be prepared if something happens, if you need me for anything. Two, I want to meet and talk with Warren before hand." Raising her hand, she made a stop motion toward Karla. "I'm not looking to embarrass him, to ask him a bunch of personal questions, and it doesn't have to be here. I just want a chance to look at him. Just a precaution." She hoped Karla understood what she meant by look.

Well, neither of those were too bad. "I was going to tell you the first one anyway," she said with a small nod. "Maybe even get some tips and pointers," she added with a flush.

Sorry! But Karla only academically knew how regular sex worked. The mechanics of a threesome was completely beyond her.

"And ~~so long as Shannon's okay with it~~, I want you to meet Warren. He's..." She gave 'Dite a soft smile. "He's wonderful. Besides, he's met the rest of the family already anyway."

"Good. That's good." She really meant that.

Part of her was tempted to tease Karla because of the blush on the blond's face. But 'Dite knew this was too serious, and it must have taken a lot for Karla to admit she might need more than support.

"Okay, one more condition. It's a biggie." She took a breath. "I want you to choose one person in Kaeleer, preferably a healer, but one person, one friend, who you will tell, and get approval from. I think it's really important you do that."

"I can't get approval," Karla said, shaking her head. "I'm too young. Twenty is the usual age for a Virgin Night. I'm not even seventeen yet. That would be like a twelve year old asking for permission here."

Telling someone she could do; could and was planning on it. But having them approve? That was slightly beyond her abilities.

Reaching over, 'Dite put a hand on Karla's shoulder. "Do you really think, with all she's been through, knowing how vulnerable you are now, knowing everything you have to face, do you really think Jaenelle would disapprove of this?" She squeezed gently. "Besides, I think it's best that someone from home be ready. I think it's actually a good plan and will work perfectly, but-- in case it didn't, I would want someone from your world able to assist." 'Dite dropped her head and smiled just a little. "After all, who knows if we could get that group together again to go find you?" There was a wink to let Karla know she was half joking.

There are lots of stocking stuffers at 'Dite's!

Does this mean I have to make 'Dite kissage icons?

!!!

Leda would of course love to participate. I imagine Robin would too but to prevent possible damage to Dite's psyche, I'll keep him out of it.

Can I come back from the grave for this? ;)

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'Dite's Decadent Delights, Friday

Talk to 'Dite

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