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A month’s worth of time in the circus, and Pomni was sure she understood everything she would ever need to: her cartoony jester body; the personalities (and problems) of her fellow performers; Caine’s dangerously off-kilter methods of trying to make everyone happy; the general arrangement of each adventure; where she could go to get some privacy.
When she woke up this morning, she quickly realised that she had once again underestimated how strange this place could be.
Her skin was prickling with uncomfortable heat, like she was trapped in a sauna for too long, and her head was spinning with a dizziness that had no discernible origin. She’d managed to kick her covers off overnight, and had apparently half-stripped as well, because her garish jester ensemble was half-hanging off her legs, leaving her to watch her chest rise and fall to her heavy panting.
Stranger yet, her typical chalk-white skin was flushed a pink tint all over, something that normally didn’t happen unless she was completely out of breath (and even then, blue was always first).
As much as she wanted to run herself a cold shower just to feel the simulated relief from the heat, Pomni knew that she had precious little time before Caine inevitably called them all up to the stage, so she reluctantly pulled her outfit back up and buttoned it up, before dragging herself out of bed.
Inspecting herself in her mirror, she deigned to straighten her hair out before donning her hat, feeling herself wobble a bit under its weight. It normally felt light as a feather, but with how her head was spinning, she was keenly aware of its weight and the quiet jingling of its bells as she swayed on the spot.
“GOOD MORNING MY DELIGHTFUL DARNERS!!!”
Caine’s voice was agonisingly loud, as opposed to its usual painfully loud, but Pomni heeded the call anyway, making her way to the stage. She couldn’t help but drag her feet a little, showing up as the ringmaster was halfway through explaining today’s planned adventure.
When Ragatha turned to give one of her usual smiley greetings, she stopped mid-wave with a concerned look.
“Oh, Pomni, you look terrible! You haven’t got a bug, have you?” She asked, waving Kinger’s inevitable interest in the conversation off as she inspected her.
“A what?” Pomni slurred, shuffling closer and rubbing her temples to try and ease her headache under the circus’ glaring colours. She looked around at the others, who gave her various looks of pity (except Jax, of course, he was already scheming how to make it worse) before turning her attention to Ragatha, the doll in question approaching and offering a hand to keep her steady.
Only to stop, about a pace away.
“… Oh. Oh… Right, okay, we can work with this!” Her entire demeanour shifted without warning, but Pomni didn’t have it in herself to notice, too distracted by the feeling of her skin suddenly crawling as she’d drawn close. She rubbed her arms uncomfortably as Ragatha turned away, rubbing her own arm to try and still her nerves, or something.
“C-Caine?”
“Yes, Ragatha?” He whipped around and zoomed down to be slightly above the doll, his undivided, overwhelming attention on her.
“Can, uh- can Pomni skip today’s adventure? She looks unwell, and I think she won’t be able to enjoy it properly!” Distantly, Pomni recognised the practise behind Ragatha’s request, as if she’d asked it a hundred times before. The crawling of her skin was quickly getting overwhelming, however, and for some reason her legs felt weak, so she sat down on the spot, drawing her knees up to her chest for comfort.
“Why, if it’s a bug, I can just fix that up in a snap!” Caine gestured, but Ragatha quickly reached out to stop him. As she leant forward, away from Pomni, the crawling stopped just as suddenly as it had begun.
“Wait- nononono, that’s won’t be necessary! It’s, uh- just something we’ve talked about before, she gets overwhelmed sometimes, and it makes it hard to enjoy your hard work!”
They’d never spoken about anything of the sort.
“… Well, alright then! It’s a shame she’ll miss this one out, but if she can’t enjoy the work I’ve put in, then it can’t be helped!” Ragatha sighed in relief, before tensing herself back up, readying up another request.
“Phew, thanks, Caine! I don’t suppose I can keep an eye on her, can I? I want to make sure she’ll be alright!” Pomni lifted her head up enough to look at Ragatha, and then the others – all of whom were looking at the doll with varying stages of realisation, as if they knew something the jester didn’t. Even Kinger seemed to have a clue, which was especially surprising.
“But then you’ll miss the adventure, Ragatha! I can’t have two of my superstars missing out on the fun!”
“Caine, please-”
“Hey, Caine,” Zooble interrupted, “what if I said I’ll go on your dumb adventure today if you let Ragatha skip?” They offered, and just like that, Caine was straight in their face, his dentures stretched into an excited smile.
“Absolutely! Oh, Zooble, I’m so excited for you to join in the fun today! Come on, everyone, The Temple of the Celestial Prism awaits!” In an instant, everyone was ushered through the portal, and Caine was gone, leaving just Pomni and Ragatha.
“… What’s going on…?” Pomni asked, uneasy and unsteady. As if Ragatha asking for a two-person pass on an adventure wasn’t weird enough, Zooble offering to join in if she got it was downright concerning.
“It’s, uh… better if we talk somewhere private. Come on, I know a place.” Ragatha gestured for her to follow but, unusually for her, didn’t offer a hand to help her up. Shoving that note away for now, Pomni pulled herself to her feet and followed as the doll slowly trotted away, keeping a pace that she could follow – but never getting too close.
Soon enough, they were in one of the quieter corners of the circus, a place Pomni herself knew was away from Caine’s prying eyes (somehow). It was a comfy little place, emulating a classy bedroom with a fireplace, facing a tea table flanked by two plush armchairs, and a four-poster bed reaching out from the opposite wall.
Pomni had spent more than one night here instead of her own room, using it to hide when she got overwhelmed by everything going on around her.
“You doing alright? Have a seat, come on.” Ragatha gestured to one of the chairs, still noticeably keeping a fixed distance between the two of them, about the same distance as was between the two chairs. Pomni crawled into one of them without question, pulling her knees back up to her chest and resting her head on them.
Ragatha sat down in the other chair, leaning back comfortably in it, leaving the two of them in silence for a few moments, moments that were rare in this crazy place. The crackling fire was the only sound in the room, its dancing warm light casting mesmerising shadows across the wall behind them that Pomni let herself relax to.
“So,” Ragatha broke the silence, “you’re not feeling well.” She said it more than she was asking, but Pomni nodded along anyway.
“It’s like… pins and [HONK]-ing needles, I’m way to hot, it… you said something about a bug?” She explained, Ragatha nodding patiently with an anxious, forced smile.
“Y-yeah, those happen sometimes. They’re kinda like the sniffles, a day or two and you’ll be fine again – or you can ask Caine to fix the bug, but that’s actually pretty exhausting, so sometimes it’s best to just tough it out!” Pomni slumped back in the chair with an exhausted, frustrated groan, Ragatha watching her vocalise her feelings patiently. After a few seconds of it, she slumped back forwards.
“If Caine can fix it, why didn’t you let him?!” She grumbled, giving Ragatha a tired glare.
“It, uh- you haven’t got a bug.” Ragatha held her hands up defensively, flinching a bit at the fierce look.
“Then what the [SHWOOP] is wrong with me?!” Pomni demanded.
“That’s- it’s really, uh, kinda awkward to explain, so try not to freak out, okay?” Pomni cocked a brow at that, folding her arms and crossing her legs to give Ragatha a chance to explain herself. The ragdoll stood up, took a deep breath, and took a step closer.
The effect was instant.
Pomni felt the crawling in her skin all over again, shuddering and rubbing her arms to try and get it under control. Ragatha herself seemed to wince a bit, taking another breath and another step forwards with an uncomfortable grimace. The crawling sensation only grew stronger, making Pomni shrink into the chair a bit as she realised where – or, rather, who – it was coming from.
“W-what’s going on?!” She demanded, and Ragatha took a step back this time, the feeling diminishing.
“So, uh, when our avatars are made, we all get assigned one of three, uh, states, I guess? Gangle calls them A-B-O, but she won’t tell me what that means.” She took another step back as she explained, the feeling going away entirely. Pomni sighed in relief, relaxing a bit as she nodded along.
“Right, so- well, it’s like- gosh, why is this so awkward…” Ragatha trailed off, rubbing her arm again as she composed herself, “… Okay, so, they basically give us the occasional weird day, where we feel like we have a bug, but it’s not a bug so Caine can’t fix it!”
“And I’m having a weird day, I guess?” Pomni asked, Ragatha nodding with an uneasy smile.
“Yyyyeah, basically. It’ll go away by tomorrow, but the problem is that if we get too close to the wrong people on a weird day, we give them a weird day, too.” She continued to explain, now rubbing the back of her head.
“… So… I gave you a weird day, then…?”
“Yeah, uh- yep. I wasn’t due up for another few days, and I was gonna just skip out on whatever Caine had planned, but you kinda bumped the schedule up.” Paying attention now, Pomni noticed that Ragatha was shuffling on the spot, anxiously moving her weight around and looking anywhere but Pomni, digging her mitten-like fingers into her arms and chewing her lip a little. She almost looked like she was… restraining herself?
So now they both felt weird, all because of another stupid thing about this circus that Pomni had no way of knowing was a thing until it was too late, because apparently this is really awkward to talk about so no-one told her. She didn’t know why it was awkward, but apparently it was, so this was probably the best time to leave before it got more awkward.
“Right, so… I’m just gonna go then, if I’m making it worse.” She went to leave the chair.
“Wait!” As if a bolt had struck her body, Pomni felt herself lock up, Ragatha’s voice was unlike anything she’d ever heard from her before. For that single word, there was non of her forced cheer or anxieties; only a clear-stated command.
A command she almost instinctually followed.
“… Oh my god, I am so sorry, Pomni you can leave if you want, please ignore what just happened, I promise I didn’t mean to do that!” And like that, the anxiety was back in force, Ragatha taking a nervous step back and holding her hands up defensively. Pomni, however, was paying barely any attention to that, instead paying more attention to the sensations she was suddenly feeling.
All that heat that was prickling under her skin had suddenly shifted, pooling in her core and making her body burn. A shudder raced down her back, her breathing was even heavier, and no matter how much she thought about leaving like Ragatha was saying, she couldn’t will her limbs to move.
“W-what just…?” She mumbled in a slight daze.
“Oh, oh no, no you- I didn’t mean to do that, it’s just part of the A-B-O thing, I- I’m sorry, I…” Ragatha trailed off, forcing herself to look away. Pomni felt her limbs starting to respond again, releasing her white-knuckle grip on the chair’s arms and cocking her head in confusion.
“What was that?” Ragatha slowly turned to face her again, but struggled to meet her curious gaze.
“… It’s the awkward bit. I’m a, uh, A-state, and you’re an O, so… gosh, is it hot in here? Maybe I should leave!” She spun on her stubby little feet to do exactly that, but Pomni felt a sudden need, what exactly for she wasn’t so sure – she just knew that she wouldn’t get it if she was left alone.
“Wait, wait!” Two steps out, Ragatha stopped, as Pomni had lunged forward to grab her hand, her own stretchy arms helping her reach. Her skin was crawling again, but that quickly became the least of her concerns when Ragatha turned back in surprise, her eye blown wide, her chest rising with her own heavy panting.
“P-Pomni, I can’t… you need to let go before I do something bad.” A shiver raced across her body at those words.
“… Like what…?” She whispered, not sure where her confidence had gone. Watching Ragatha’s little linen throat bob as she gulped, she felt it fading even further away.
Whatever happened next, she couldn’t entirely parse it all together. One second they’d been stood in front of the fireplace, Pomni anxiously trying to stop Ragatha leaving, the next second she had her back pressed into one of the chairs, her whole body crawling with something as Ragatha leant over her, caging her into the chair with a frantic look in her eye.
“You need to let me leave.” She hissed, shuddering with some sort of strain. The tone of her voice only made Pomni shiver, the crawling intensifying to the point that she felt like she was going to fall apart, but she couldn’t even find her voice anymore, not with the way her body was rapidly losing strength.
Ragatha didn’t seem to have an end to her strength, however, the wood frame of the chair straining under her grip on its arms, and the bright red locks of her hair seemed to be bristling now, frizzing out a bit and standing up slightly. She looked like she was barely holding herself together, and suddenly it all clicked into place.
“… Isn’t this place supposed to be family-friendly?” Pomni mumbled in disbelief, before flinching slightly as Ragatha leant in closer.
“Just don’t tell Caine.” That was the last thing she said as she leant into the chair, resting one knee on it and closing in on Pomni, pressing their foreheads together.
A soothing cold raced across her skin, chasing that maddening crawling sensation away and making her shudder, as if she’d just been plunged into icy-cold water. She instinctually reached up, trying to loop her arms around Ragatha’s neck to hold her close, but she was stopped halfway as the doll grabbed her wrists and pressed them into the back of the chair.
The force of the movement tipped the chair back slightly, but neither of them cared, Pomni couldn’t help but squirm as she finally got relief from the feeling that had been torturing her, Ragatha was gritting her teeth to try and keep her composure.
“Th-the bed, get on the bed.” She hissed, standing up and pulling Pomni with her, before dragging her over to the bed in question by her hands. The jester was uncoordinated, stumbling after her, but she managed to make it, collapsing onto the soft matress before she felt herself being pushed up to the pillows with alarming force.
Ragatha was over her once again, her dress hiking up her legs enough that she could comfortably straddle Pomni’s hips, she pinned her wrists down in one hand and used the other to firmly grip her rounded cheek, tipping her head up to meet her gaze.
“You need to tell me to stop…” She whispered, trailing off as she waited for any sort of response. Pomni couldn’t find it in herself to say anything, however – whatever Ragatha was doing to her, it was making her chest tight, her gut coil, her head spin, sure, but her throat felt numb, her tongue felt heavy, her limbs felt weak.
With no pleas for mercy, Ragatha leant in, pressing their lips together in a languid kiss. Pomni squeaked in surprise, but couldn’t help but whine at the sensations as she melted into them, the feeling of her soft lips, her warm breaths, the slight taste of candy on her tongue, it sent her head into a hopeless spiral.
She whined again when they parted.
“Oh, Pomni, don’t do that… this is already hard for me…” Ragatha whined in turn, clearly struggling to hold herself back again. Missing the sensation on her lips, however, Pomni ignored the words started chewing hers to try and fill the void, squirming mindlessly under the ragdoll’s inhumanly strong grip – at least it felt that strong, she wasn’t sure with how weak her own body felt.
Ragatha just watched her with an awed expression, as if she was beholding something truly beautiful, but the attention wasn’t helping the jester still herself any. The hand at her cheek began to softly stroke her face, a linen thumb brushing across her lip, teasing it free of her teeth.
And then forcing its way into her mouth, an intrusion that Pomni couldn’t help but purse her lips around, softly suckling on it to sate her need for contact that was quickly taking over every corner of her brain. Ragatha gasped, then cooed delightedly, releasing her wrists to cup her other cheek.
“Look at you… oh, you’d do anything for me, wouldn’t you…?” She purred, pressing her thumb down on the jester’s tongue and shivering at the groan it drew out of her. Pomni nodded numbly, any understanding she’d once had of the situation had long escaped her in favour of doing whatever it took to keep Ragatha close, closer, she needed this.
The loving, if slightly deranged, look in her plastic eye was only making it worse, making any sense of self-control she had bubble up into a pointless foam that could blow away on their heavy breaths.
“Good girl.” Oh sweet god the way she said that, Pomni felt a full-body shudder wrack her form in response, her mouth falling open in a high, keening whine. Ragatha drank it all in with a shudder of her own, groaning in satisfaction before withdrawing her thumb, trailing both of her hands down the jester’s front and to the first bright yellow pom-pom button on her outfit.
“R-Ragatha, please, what’s-” Her mindless mumbling was cut across as Ragatha softly shushed her, a murmuring sound that made her breath hitch and her chest tight, eager to do as commanded.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you…” She said as she popped the top button, splaying the outfit to reveal her pink-tinged chest. A linen finger dragged down the exposed skin, and Pomni felt like sparks were shooting right through her heart as it pounded in her chest, something Ragatha could no doubt feel as she splayed her hand over it.
Her other hand began to pull the shoulder of the outfit down, slowly dragging across Pomni’s rubbery skin, the friction between the two of them making her squirm all over again, only to be held down by the hand on her chest. She looked up pleadingly, but Ragatha’s sweet smile gave no room for argument.
With little else to do, Pomni clawed at the covers beneath her like a lifeline, her head pushing back into the pillows and her eyes screwing shut in an effort to control her own body better. It was a hopeless effort, she instinctively knew as she was slowly exposed more and more, but the unspoken demand weighed heavy enough on her that she had to at least try.
“Good girl, so good for me…” The words echoed in her ears as she felt her chest being fully exposed, soft hands palming over her meager breasts and making her back arch off the bed with a startled, choked cry at the raw intensity of the sensation. She knew her body was sensitive, but she didn’t realise it could feel anything like this.
Ragatha knew, however, she already knew, and those little kneeding motions she was doing were enough to make her writhe and buck under her efforts, no matter how weak they were – any more would be too much, she must have known that, too, as she waited for Pomni to adjust to the overwhelming feelings before she put more pressure on.
“There, good girl, it feels good, right?” Unable to control her own voice, Pomni just nodded frantically, feeling her whole body grow tense under such a simple act. Ragatha hummed in delight, continuing her ministrations for a few moments longer before she moved her hands up to her shoulders, holding her prey still as she desperately tried to get her breath back.
“Enjoying it?”
“Y-yes, yes, [DOING] it feels so good!” Pomni babbled, before biting her lip again to control herself, forcing her eyes open to see Ragatha again – the wild look in her eye was stronger, taking over the tenderness of her smile as she scrutinised the woman beneath her.
“Good.” She growled, leaning down and capturing her in another kiss, much more intense than before, all tongue and teeth on her lips, making Pomni moan and whimper from the way they were both falling apart. When they parted, she barely registered the hands pulling at the second button of her outfit until it popped open, her navel now exposed to the cold air.
“Tell me what you want.” There was no room for argument in her voice, and yet Pomni still struggled to answer, a million different desires flitting in and out of focus as those soft hands pulled her outfit lower, lower, barely keeping the last shreds of her modesty as it was dragged down her arms and off her hands, and slowly pushed down her hips.
“Pomni…” Ragatha was fervent, her voice strained with her efforts to control herself, it was making it even harder to form a solid idea. Feeling more and more of her body exposed, Pomni forced her own turbulent thoughts into submission long enough to open her eyes and look at the woman that was driving her so crazy.
“You, p-please, I want you!” She pleaded, and Ragatha visibly convulsed at the words, a trembling moan escaping her and making Pomni’s heart skip a beat. She realised that, yeah, it wasn’t just Ragatha driving her crazy, she was having as strong an effect on her, too, like some deranged feedback loop that she feared would have no peak.
Part of her hoped it didn’t.
“Ngh… Oh, Pomni…” Ragatha sung her name, before firmly gripping her outfit and tugging it off without a second thought, fully exposing her. Before she could even squeak in surprise, Pomni felt those soft hands turn harsh, fiercely gripping her hips as the doll ducked down, burying her head between her thighs and dragging her hot, slick tongue up her dripping folds, sending thrilling shocks popping up and down her spine as she finally got the relief her body so desperately needed.
All self-control was gone, Pomni’s head tipped back in a sharp, shrill moan that echoed around the quiet room, and she only got louder as Ragatha carried on, lapping at her pussy like a woman starved, groaning and growling from the exertion. She looped her arms over Pomni’s front to hold her still as she dug in, but she kept her eye wide open, watching the way her victim writhed in ecstasy, the way her fingers scrabbled at the covers for purchase, the way her back arched and her chest strained with her cries of pleasure.
Pomni’s whole body was running taught, she’d never felt so much before, like every simulated nerve from her head to her toes was devoted solely to the ecstasy that wracked her. She couldn’t stop her convulsions as Ragatha redoubled her efforts, pressing her tongue into her entrance and reaching down to thumb at her clit, sending static sparking across her vision and making her throat hoarse with the way she cried out.
The pressure was building too fast, she knew with how sensitive she was that this wouldn’t take long, but it was just too fast, too much, like she was a rubber band about to snap. Ragatha’s tongue swirling in tight circles around her entrance, her thumb pressing down on her clit, a teasing combination that made her back arch off the covers, barely teetering on the edge – and then she felt those soft lips capture her clit, sucking and flicking at the sensitive bud, and it was all over.
“RAGATHA!!!”
Pomni shrieked her name as she came undone, every muscle in her form seizing up and her sharp teeth gritting into her gums enough that she distantly recognised she was bleeding – she didn’t care. The feeling of Ragatha’s efforts dragging her climax out as long as possible, and then slowly working her down from her stratospheric high, until her muscles all gave up at once and she collapsed like an over-stretched pile of rubber, Pomni had no idea she could find such heaven in this hellish world.
Ragatha pulled herself free, heaving deep breaths as she propped herself up on her hands an knees, her eye raking up and down Pomni’s defenseless form in satisfaction. She wiped her face off on her arm, and leant down over the jester, pressing a soft kiss to her sweaty forehead.
“Was it good?” She spoke in a hushed tone, still strained under self-control.
“Y-yeah, holy [POP] that was incredible…” Pomni’s tongue was heavy in her mouth, but she just about managed to get the words out. A soft chuckle was her reward, making her heart flutter, she couldn’t help but reach up to Ragatha in some lingering need for contact.
She felt a twinge of hurt when the doll pulled away reflexively.
“Y-you should keep your distance, for now.” Ragatha warned, and Pomni quickly realised why – she’d gotten her fix, and was slowly resetting to something more normal, but Ragatha herself was still worked up, and worried about hurting her. It didn’t sit right with her.
“… What if I don’t want to…?”
She knew she was playing with fire after everything that had just happened, but Pomni couldn’t help herself – it didn’t feel right getting what she needed, when Ragatha wouldn’t. The way the doll’s eye widened made it well worth the risk, a mixture of surprise and amazement that quickly faded into something dark and needy.
“Oh, you are a good girl…” She purred, leaning in close – not for a kiss this time, she pressed her mouth to the crook of Pomni’s neck and gently pinched the sensitive skin between her blunt teeth, making the jester gasp.
Her own body was still overly sensitive, but she gritted her teeth and forced herself through it, she knew it’d be worth it. She wrapped her arms around Ragatha’s neck.
“Ragatha…” She gave a pleading whisper that made her shudder.
“Hngh… god, say it again…” Ragatha pleaded back, grabbing a handful of her skirt and pulling it up, petticoats and all, to shove a hand between her thighs. Pomni couldn’t fight the devious smile pulling at her lips, realising where this was going.
“Hmm… you were amazing, Ragatha…” She shuddered again, a distinct wet schlick filling the comfortable silence as she began to pump her fingers in and out of herself, chasing her own high. Pomni was really starting to enjoy just how much Ragatha was hanging off her praise, desperate for validation – sure, it was a bit mean playing off it like this, but the show she was getting was more than worth it.
“Again, please!” Ragatha’s pleading took on a desperate note as she propped herself up on the pillows, her back arching against Pomni’s front, nuzzling into Pomni’s shoulder and softly nipping at her. Watching Ragatha, the most composed and controlled woman in the circus, falling apart like this was starting to work Pomni back up, chewing her lip between sharp teeth to try and stimmy the feeling – she knew she couldn’t take a second round of this, no matter how much her body disagreed.
“Ragatha, Ragatha…” She began to whisper her name over and over, pleading in time to Ragatha’s own desperate pleas for more and watching her hips buck frantically into her own fingers, working herself up to her climax surprisingly quickly – or maybe not, given how sensitive this whole thing seemed to make them both, but it hardly mattered as her moans got higher and higher, rapidly nearing her peak.
“I need it, Ragatha please, I need you, I need you!” Not entirely true, but Pomni knew that’s what she wanted to hear, a belief quickly proven true as Ragatha went silent, her voice failing on its highest note, her head thrown back with her silent scream of ecstasy. She trembled and shook with the intensity of it all, before catching herself as she collapsed, her chest heaving with exertion as she tried to hold herself up.
When Pomni wrapped her arms around her soft back and pulled her down, she didn’t fight it, cuddling up to her with a contented sigh. The two of them laid there like that for a while, catching their breaths and letting themselves come down from their shared high.
“… Did you mean it?” Ragatha eventually murmured between heavy breaths, pressing her face into Pomni’s chest in an instinctual effort to hide herself.
“Huh?” She hadn’t entirely been paying attention, too spaced out in the comfortable sensations to register the question.
“W-when you said you… need me.” Ragatha mumbled, barely audible now, but she tensed up a bit in Pomni’s arms.
Pomni, herself, was at a crossroads – she’d only really said it because Ragatha definitely had a thing for it, but she couldn’t just say that. After a few moments of running her fingers through Ragatha’s woven hair, she decided to take the plunge.
“I meant it.” She whispered back, pressing a soft kiss to the doll’s scalp. Sure, it was a lie, but she knew better than to say the truth when Ragatha was so vulnerable. Besides, lying here in her arms, gently playing with her soft hair and feeling Ragatha relax, practically melting into her embrace?
It didn’t have to stay a lie.