This particular interlude may or may not be canon. I wanted to write a cathartic, loveful piece for these two that spoke to a better future. I do not know whether this is for certain the route Autumn Wind will end up going. But for now, please enjoy with me a short story with our two favorite lovers and an unexpected Valentine's Day vacation.

 

--

 

“This is such horseshit.” Autumn grumbled, glaring out the window at the falling snow. “There wasn’t a cloud in the sky last night, and now we have this?” She muttered a few more swear words under her breath before raising her steaming mug of coffee to her lips and slurping a sip. It turned out that beer wasn’t the only bitter drink she’d developed a taste for since coming into her own as Autumn—not that she could taste the coffee, anyway. She swished the acidic drink around her mouth before swallowing, making a quick mental reminder to brush her teeth again soon.

“Does it normally snow here in February?” Samantha said, coming up behind Autumn and wrapping her arms around her waist, her hair tickling at Autumn’s ear. Autumn felt herself melt a little at the touch as Samantha continued, “I’d hoped because we’re nearer the coast—”

“Exactly!” Autumn growled. “We don’t even get snow in December. It’s too damp.” She tensed her muscles, anxious to dosomething to change their circumstances. Unfortunately, despite the borderline-magical possibilities at their fingertips granted by Samantha’s CHANGE app, there was nothing they could do about the weather but weather it out.

But “weathering it out” wasn’t exactly what Autumn wanted to do this Valentine’s Day. This day wasn’t just supposed to be special—it was supposed to be perfect. She reached to her pocket before realizing what she was doing and stopping herself.

“It’s okay, Love.” Samantha said, kissing her on the back of the head and nuzzling her nose in her hair, still damp from the shower. “It’s just another thing, right?”

“Yeah.” Autumn sighed, a weight in her chest. “Just one more thing.”

That had been their mantra since the lockdowns started in March of 2020. To them everything was “just one more thing,” because if together they could handle anything, then what was “just one more thing?”

The lockdown had been “just one thing”. Before that it was the fires in Australia that had devastated Autumn who grew up dreaming of visiting the amazing landscape. Then it was the unrest. The politics. The sickness. All “just one more thing.” It had been “just one more thing” when Autumn lost her taste and smell, left unable to enjoy her cocktails or Samantha’s cooking—not even the CHANGE app had been able to fix that, since they were afraid of using experimental tech on a mystery virus. It had been “just one more thing” when corporate laid off half her workplace, forcing her to make one of the most shameful phone calls she’d ever had to make. It was “just one more thing” when Samantha had showed up to help carry Autumn’s stuff out of her little editing office she’d worked so hard for. She knew there wasn’t shame in being let go in times like these, and that because of Samantha they’d have the financial security to get through it all, but that didn’t help. It was “just one more thing.”

Just like today. The perfect Valentine’s Day she’d had planned, ruined by the deep snow piling up outside the window. Stupid, she berated herself. Stupid for thinking one day could undo the past year.

“Come on, girl.” Samantha said, kissing her again. “We can still go out. We can order from King’s and have another movie night.”

Takeout’s wasted on me. Autumn didn’t say it, though. Samantha would enjoy it, and that was good enough for her. “Maybe we can start another Lord of the Rings marathon?” She suggested, a broken smile splitting her face when she felt Samantha flinch.

“Sure.”

“Don’t even!” Autumn laughed, turning out her her embrace. “This day is about us, right? Let’s watch something we’d both enjoy.”

Samantha furrowed her brow in thought, then snapped her fingers. “Porn?”

Autumn paused, caught off guard by the deadpan suggestion, then she burst into laughter. Tears came to her eyes as peels of laughter filled the room.

“I mean, the really dirty stuff, you know?” Samantha continued, “The stuff you need a VPN for—”

“Stop!” Autumn laughed, spilling a little coffee on the hardwood. “Oh, fuck me…”

“My thoughts exactly.” Samantha said, leaving and returning with a towel from the kitchen. “We don’t have to go outside for that.”

“Could be fun, though.” Autumn chuckled, sitting down and trying to catch her breath after Samantha’s joke—that had been harder since the sickness, too. “Imagine the cold—”

“Imagine the frostburn…” Samantha grumbled, bending over to clean up the coffee. Then a sudden smack! resounded and a sharp pain lit up her butt cheek. She rounded on Autumn, grabbing her sore ass and glaring at the smaller woman sitting on the chair and wearing that mischievous smile. “What was that?!”

“Frostburn.” She said, sipping from her coffee.

Samantha narrowed her eyes further, “Frostburn my—” She stopped. They both realized what she had been about to say and she groaned as Autumn broke into another fit of laughter.

“That was the idea,” Autumn managed to get out.

Samantha stuck her tongue out. “I’m going to get changed. You should, too.”

“Why? I thought we were watching porn?”

Samantha rolled her eyes and started for their bedroom. “Because I made plans, too. Mine just weren’t contingent on the weather.”

Autumn raised an eyebrow , looking out the window at the frozen layers piling up on the ground. Then, sighing, she extricated herself from the chair, finished her tasteless coffee, and followed Samantha down the hall.

-

Samantha grinned as soon as she left Autumn’s line of sight. It had been weeks since she’d heard her best friend laugh like that. Not since before she’d been laid off, really.

The last year had been difficult for Samantha, too, but nothing like what Autumn had had to endure. Sure, Samantha couldn’t go out like she liked to. The malls were closed and most of her favorite smaller restaurants had disappeared—King’s had miraculously stayed open, thanks to a sizable donation from a mysterious angel donor—but that was fine. She’d been learning how to cook from YouTube channels and often spent hours engaging the part of her that loved learning by picking up new hobbies. Her favorite was making bread and pasta from scratch. Hearing Autumn moan in ecstasy from the other room from waking up to the smell of fresh bread had been one of her favorite things to come out of the past year. Back when Autumn could smell.

She’d never explicitly told Samantha, but Samantha knew that Autumn was frustrated about being let go. Not in the normal way. Samantha had been let go before, too, and while it sucked she could understand why. Companies bite off more than they can chew, hiring too many people, etc., or they just come on hard times. It was part of the deal and wouldn’t look bad on her resume at all.

But Autumn shouldn’t have been let go. She was the most passionate photographer Samantha knew, though she didn’t know many. Certainly she was among the best at the station. The problem was that Autumn had only worked there for about a year. Ethan had worked there for another few years before that, working his way up from an internship. But the only ones who knew Autumn and Ethan were the same person were Autumn and Samantha. She knew that Autumn blamed her life change as the reason she was let go. They might have fabricated a good enough work history, but as the “newest” member of the team she didn’t have their loyalty. That, and Autumn had complained several times about being the only girl in the department. It pissed Samantha off to no end, thinking that the best thing to happen in Autumn’s life might have been the reason she was fired.

But enough of that. Today wasn’t about the past—it was about the present, and the future.

Samantha forced a smile on her face as she picked out some white leggings and a red sweater dress, letting the smile become more natural when she found some naughty undergarments to wear under it.

Then, when Autumn came in to change, she grabbed the suitcases she’d packed for them and snuck them into the trunk of the car.

-

“It’s been an hour, Sammy. You still won’t tell me where we’re going?”

“Call me ‘Sammy’ again and I’ll give you boobs the size of your head for the rest of the trip.”

Autumn grinned, adjusting her bra strap in a way that had become second nature to her. “I didn’t pack any other bras, so I hope you have some way to make me some clothes if you plan to follow through with your threat, Sammy.” When Samantha did nothing but glare at the road she laughed. “I thought so. But seriously, where are we going?”

They’d been driving for well over an hour, actually, and had worn through the first half of Hamilton already. They’d just passed city limits and Autumn was starting to get anxious, and when she got anxious now she teased. Samantha had taken it as a sign of trust and growth, since Autumn trusted her enough to just get irritated with her when she pulled stunts like this. She hadn’t had a panic attack in over a year—at least until the last few months.

“We,” Samantha said as she took an exit, “are going to the mountains.”

Autumn looked off in the direction the road went, up the winding path in the distance. Then she looked down at what she was wearing—yoga pants, sneakers, a zip-up hoodie and a v-neck, then she frowned. “I’m not exactly dressed for the cold weather.”

“That’s fine.” Samantha smiled knowingly, more sensing than seeing the scowl coming from the passenger’s seat.

When Autumn’s scowl didn’t work to get more information out of Samantha, she changed tactics. “Well then, Sammy. If you’re not going to tell me anything, Sammy, I’ll just have to wait it out, Sa—”

“That’s it!” Samantha shouted. “You know I hate that name.”

Autumn grinned. Finally! She’d gotten some reaction out of her, and even though it was a loud reaction Autumn could see Samantha was more annoyed than anything else. “I do know you hate that name.”

“You know what?” Samantha’s pursed lips told Autumn she may have gone a step too far. “Maybe you’ll hate it now, too.”

“What does that me—”

“Hey, Holly?” Samantha spoke over her.

From the dashboard console came a disembodied voice. “Yes?”

“Samantha, really, don’t—”

“Don’t worry,” Samantha said. “I’m not putting any new changes on you, just letting you in on the current one.”

“The current one? What does that mean?”

“Holly, cue Autumn in on what’s been happening to her, mkay?” Samantha smiled.

Autumn frowned. Cue her in on what? She looked at Samantha, but she wasn’t giving her anything. Then she lowered the visor and looked in the mirror. “Oh, no.”

“Oh, yes.” Samantha giggled.

“What did you do?!”

“I figured since you were acting like a child, you could fit the part.”

“I’m like, fifteen!” Autumn gasped, looking at the youthful face in the mirror. Her cheeks had that puffiness of teenage youth, with the baby fat that lingered.

“Actually, you’re…” Samantha counted quickly on one hand. “Eighteen, I think? Maybe nineteen. Holly?”

“She is currently aged to nineteen years old.” Came the voice.

”Fucking what?!” she squealed. Even her voice was higher! “I swear to God, Sammy—” she began, but she didn’t finish her sentence. There was an immediate, profound shift in her body as the car around her got larger. Or, rather, as she shrunk another inch. She adjusted herself on the seat, grimacing at the realization that her clothes didn’t fit her anymore. Not that they had a moment ago, either, but the changes were more pronounced now.

“I guess Autumn had a bit of a growth spurt between eighteen and nineteen, eh?” Samantha giggled.

“I wasn’t even Autumn when I was nineteen!” Autumn said, her voice noticeably higher than even a few seconds ago.

“According to your biological history,” came the voice from the console, “you experienced a growth spurt in your eighteenth year.”

“That’s made up!” Autumn said, vaguely remembering the past she had crafted for herself. Ethan had had a growth spurt, but nothing like this. “Holly, how tall am I now?”

“You’re an even four foot, ten inches.”

“Ha!” Samantha laughed, “I’m a full foot taller than you!”

Autumn was aghast. She looked down at her strange, younger body. She’d been twenty-five this morning, right? But when she examined herself she found the vast majority of her muscles were gone. Her legs were thinner, and though her hips were still wide they’d shrunk significantly. She pulled off her hoodie, stretching her arms in front of her and looking for the line of her triceps, but it was barely there. And when she looked down, her mouth opened in shock when she saw that her breasts were almost entirely gone. Beneath her oversized shirt was a bra that was fartoo large for what she actually had. She grabbed at her chest and turned to the giant sitting in the driver’s seat. “What did you do to me?”

“You wouldn’t stop calling me ‘Sammy’.” Samantha shrugged. “And like I said, I thought it was kind of childish, so…” she waved a hand up and down Autumn’s body. “I made it so that every time you called me “Sammy” you’d get younger by a year.”

If Autumn’s jaw could have dropped a second time it would have. “And you made me forget?”

“Not forget, really. Just… not notice it.” She smiled. “I thought it would be worth it to hear that stupid name so long as I got something out of it. But I overestimated my patience.” She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, craning her neck to look up at the foot of the mountain they were beginning to climb.

“And how long am I going to be like this?” Autumn asked.

“Oh, chill out, dude. You can change back whenever.” Samantha offered a reassuring smile, pointing at the dash where a couple of custom controls hooked up to the CHANGE app were on display. “I just wanted to mess with you, not ruin Valentine’s Day.”

Autumn took a deep breath. Had that been particularly fun? No. Was it worth ruining the day over? Not at all. Had she done worse to Samantha? Oh, absolutely. She smiled, remembering how two Christmases back she’d made it so Samantha’s IQ would drop every time she heard a Christmas song, and that she’d get just a little hornier whenever she saw a Christmas tree, and then she took her to the mall. “All I Want for Christmas is You” turned out to be the truth as soon as they got in the car and Samantha jumped her in the back seat.

Autumn looked at the dash and saw her profile with the custom change attached to it and hit a button marked “REVERSE”. A pleasurable tingle came over her body as small changes began to take place. They built like small waves of light under her skin and she moaned softly, her youthful voice annoyingly high to her ears.

“You okay there?” Samantha asked.

“Nnh… yeah. Just… Oh, shit.” Autumn gasped as a sharp pulse of pleasure began to overflow in her chest. “Why does this feel so good?” A feeling like her lover’s tongue between her legs began to grow more and more as her chest slowly began filling out, moving at a teasingly slow pace.

“Now that might be my fault.” Samantha said. “It’s Valentine’s Day, after all. I figured I’d help get you in the mood as we finish up our drive. I know how you hate switchbacks.”

It was true, Autumn got carsick easily. But Samantha was right, she was too distracted to notice the winding road. “But why… oh fuck!” she arched her back, moaning and reaching under her shirt to grab her breasts as her nipples and areola grew. She gritted her teeth, trying to hold back another moan and failing. “Why is it so slow?”

“No particular reason. The default’s set to aging you one year every five minutes for the reverse function.” Samantha smiled. “Seems like you’ve got some fun ahead of you, Autumn. Try to keep the seat clean, will ya?”

But Autumn wasn’t listening to her anymore. While the outside was frosty and cold, she was heating up. A tingling had begun to vibrate through her hips as they widened slowly. She gripped her chest with one hand, using her forearm to hold her breasts, and used the other to grab at her ass. It was like an itch under her skin that she couldn’t reach—if the itch felt like the most amazing vibrator ever. Grabbing at her ass helped as she was able to push on the expanding flesh, but in the end it was too much for her. She felt muscle form under her fingers and fat tissue build up under her arm as her body grew several inches. She bit her lip, her eyes rolling back as the muscles in her thighs began to grow as well. It was so close… She was so close!

Eventually it was too much. She’d tried to be decent—as decent as one can be while grabbing their tits and ass—but she couldn’t hold herself back anymore. She thrust her hand down the waistband of her yoga pants, seeking out and finding the wet folds of her pussy. A wave of pleasure came from her expanding thighs and she pulled her legs up to her chest, moaning louder and louder. The position made it impossible for her to do much with her fingers, but as the pleasure built from every part of her body just the pressure of her palm against her clit was enough to push her over the edge.

“Oh, fuck!” She shrieked, pushing her legs out and down against the floor of the car, spreading them as wide as she could and pushing her fingers inside her. She curled them, driving them in and out in a wild abandon before something new happened as her ass expanded. Apparently she’d begun her yoga and squatting workouts when she was nineteen, because she could clearly feel her butt expanding beneath her.

But it wasn’t just the expansion. The pleasure that came from it was unlike anything Autumn had ever felt before. It was like being held down and fucked in the best way, but the pleasure wasn’t coming from her pussy. It was coming from her asshole.

She looked up at Samantha to see if she was watching, too embarrassed to touch herself otherwise, only to find they had stopped and Samantha had her hand down her own pants, her wrist making small rotations. She gasped and smiled, forcing out, “Don’t stop on my account. I’m just enjoying the show.”

And it tipped Autumn over the edge. She tried to push her other hand down the back of her pants, but they’d grown too tight. With a furious, lust-filled roar she pulled down her pants, frustrated when they got caught at her knees but she left them there. Her right hand kept thrusting in and out of her pussy, now soaking wet as her left hand reached behind her, searching over her panties for the smoldering hot point that marked her asshole. She found it and pushed against it, but even she didn’t expect the scream of pleasure that came from her. It was as if her entire body was a single orgasm that would never stop. She heard Samantha’s moans vaguely in the distance and they drew her back into the moment and she locked eyes with her.

Samantha’s face had the dazed expression she got after she came. Her hand was still down her white leggings, and her other was grasping at her tit. She looked at Autumn with a hunger Autumn had rarely seen, but when she looked down she realized why.

She was lying on her side, her knees held together by her yoga pants, making her ass and hips look wider than they were. Her shirt was up around her exposed breasts, which were still growing. Her skin was pale from not getting a tan in over a year, and it was covered in sweat. One hand was down the front of her panties, moving of its own accord, and the other was pressing hard against her rosebud, and even though she felt embarrassed at being a quivering mess, cumming nonstop from her ass and pussy at the same time, she knew she’d never be able to pull her hands away on her own. Moans of pleasure continued to fill the car as Autumn bucked back and forth as the origins of her orgasmic bliss changed constantly from her ass to her breasts to her stomach to her arms and her legs until finally it stopped. She’d grown all the way back up to twenty-five.

Curled up in a ball on the seat with her hands between her legs, her shirt, bra and pants gone ages ago, Autumn trembled as the last orgasm came over her. Her throat was raw and her lungs were on fire, but the sleepy grin plastered on her face told Samantha all she needed to know about how Autumn felt. She quickly wiped her fingers off on a moist towlette from the backseat and started the car again, cracking the windows to let the fog clear out.

“Good girl.” Samantha said as she reached over and stroked Autumn’s hair, chuckling when she moaned in pleasure. It was her favorite sound in the world.

“Samantha?” Autumn’s tired voice was a whisper.

“Yes, Autumn?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too. Get some sleep, you horny mess. We’ll be at the cabin, soon.”

“Mmkay.” Autumn yawned. “Samantha?”

“Yes, my love?”

“Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Samantha smiled and began to respond, stopping when she heard a tired snore from the woman next to her. Happy Valentine’s Day.

----

The “cabin” wasn’t much of a cabin at all, at least in Autumn’s eyes. The multi-story building was indeed made up of logs, but the word “cabin” felt like it should belong to something much smaller. This was more like a lodge.

She finished getting dressed, having changed into a fresh pair of panties when they’d parked, and opened the car door. Her first step felt a little woozy, but after a moment the crisp air woke her up a little more and she was able to walk in a straight line.

“Come on, Love.” Samantha called from the back of the car. There was a click as the trunk closed and soon after Samantha walked around dragging two suitcases. “It’s freezing out here.”

Autumn blinked. What was happening? “Why do you have suitcases? Is this not a day trip?”

“A day trip to a cabin?” Samantha raised an eyebrow and set the suitcases down.

“I mean…” Autumn trailed off. She looked for the right words. “I only heard about the cabin when we were halfway up the mountain.”

“Ah, right.” Samantha nodded. “Sorry. Well,” she took a breath, “I wanted to surprise you for Valentine’s Day with our own little retreat.” She stepped forward and held her hands out. Autumn took them. “We’ve been cooped up forever, and I knew you wanted to do something special for Valentine’s Day. I planned to surprise you with this tomorrow after your surprise plans for today, but since the weather made your plans impossible…” she shrugged. “Is this okay?”

Autumn looked up at the lodge, moreso to hide the tears that were flowing freely down her cheeks than to study the building. “It’s—” she began before her voice broke and she felt that pain in the back of her throat that comes with crying. So instead of speaking, she just nodded. She quickly wiped at her cheeks and turned back to Samantha, nodding again.

Samantha smiled and pulled her in tightly. They stood there for a moment, holding each other against the wind. The world down below may be lost in flames, but here on this mountaintop, surrounded by snowy pines and the silence that comes with fresh powder, they could have peace.

“Come on,” Samantha said, letting go of the shorter girl. “You need a shower.”

“And who’s fault is that?” Autumn accused, but Samantha just laughed.

“I’m not even talking about that—though you can bet that won’t be the last time that happens. You need a shower,” she said with a wink, “because there’s a jacuzzi.”

“A… ooh!” Autumn perked up, grabbing both suitcases and running ahead. “I hope you packed swimsuits!”

But Samantha just laughed, watching the girl ahead of her jog awkwardly through the snow. What was she thinking? Of course she hadn’t brought swimsuits.

----

“Oh, God…” Autumn moaned. “Yes, just like that…”

The water was steaming hot, opening up her pores as she dipped her toes before taking the first steps into the bubbling bath. “Hot tub” wasn’t the right term for this pool in much the same way “cabin” hadn’t encapsulated the size of the lodge.

The first floor of the lodge was made up of three areas. The foyer was small with cubbies for shoes and a rod to hang wet clothing on. The living room was larger, with coffee tables, a wood fireplace, a projector and projector screen that rolled down along the wall, and a comfortable couch overtop a large polyester rug that felt like walking on clouds. But the pride of the ground floor was the pool.

It was circular with a small island in the middle. On the island was a small bar filled with plastic bottles of alcohol and mixers alongside clear, plastic cocktail glasses. The one wall that divided the pool area from the rest of the house was made of wooden logs, but each of the other three walls was transparent glass that provided a view of the surrounding mountainside. The pool even jutted out a little bit from the rest of the house and a glass sunroof provided access to view the stars. The pool carried with it a small current that flowed in a circle like a lazy river and Samantha had already expressed her plans to spend an entire day sometime that week floating in a circle, drinking wine and listening to episodes of Critical Role or The Adventure Zone while watching the snow fall.

Autumn, for her part, was just trying to stay sane while wearing a bikini. When Samantha told her she hadn’t packed bathing suits, expecting it to be sexy, Autumn had thrown a tiny fit. Of course it didn’t make sense, and swimming nude would be fine, and there was no one else up here on the mountain but them, but still. It was the propriety of the matter, or some bullshit like that that kept Autumn mentally from feeling okay swimming and lounging in the nude in front of three windowed walls. And besides, she’d never gotten the chance to wear a bikini before. She’d never felt comfortable wearing one in public since becoming Autumn and so hadn’t spent much time thinking about it before, but now was the perfect time to try one out, so she had Samantha use the CHANGE app on her to give her some choices. They’d had fun picking them out for her, as every change had filled her with pleasure that she’d had to fight down, but eventually she’d settled on a one-piece with an open back and sides. Of course that meant that Samantha had given her a triangle top colored a dark violet the color of twilight with a matching pair of hipster-styled bottoms. Well, first they had been Brazilian-styled bottoms, but while Autumn was usually fine letting Samantha have her fun this was something she needed to get used to on her own. So she’d settled for the triangle top and hipster bottoms. The color suited her dark hair and her cool skin tone.

And now she was getting into the water, one step at a time. She held her arms tight around her chest, self-conscious of the large amount of cleavage she was showing. She was fine with a little cleavage now and then, but this was different. It wasn’t even like wearing underwear around the house. Underwear was something she could use to make her feel sexy, or to look sexy for Samantha. Bikinis were designed to make her look sexy to everyone. It was just… different. The same way nobody would wear a bra and panties to a pool party. When in intimate situations she was fine showing skin. It was just her being comfortable at home. But this was something different, and for a brief second she had a flashback to her first day as Autumn when Samantha had taken her to the mall in a pretty pink dress that had showed off all of her curves and skin. She’d had a panic attack then, but she’d grown since then. This was her. This is who I am. I am Autumn.

So she took a deep breath, lowered her arms to her sides, and stepped the rest of the way into the pool. She closed her eyes, trying to imagine what she looked like and how she wanted to look for Samantha. She knew her hips and ass were her best feature, so she put just a little extra sway into her step. The water only came up to mid-thigh on her here, so she hung around a bit to give herself time to adjust to the temperature.

Outside the snow continued to fall. She’d hoped it would let up, or at least let up in a day or so, but the forecast said it was supposed to snow for the rest of the week. She sighed again, putting her hands on her wide hips and glaring at the weather.

This isn’t how it was supposed to happen. She thought. This Valentine’s Day was supposed to be different. It was supposed to be special, because it was supposed to be the day she wasn’t helpless. It was supposed to be the day when she could offer something to Samantha, instead of constantly being needy and mooching off of her.

She’d had a life, but Samantha had given her a new one. She’d lost her job, but Samantha had provided for her. She’d gotten sick, but Samantha had taken care of her. She woke up at night in cold sweats and panic attacks she didn’t tell Samantha about, but even then she’d wake up in Samantha’s arms before leaving to dry herself off and get some water. Everything she had and everything she valued came from Samantha, and she wanted to do something for her. Something monumental. Something that could pay her back and show her her thanks for everything. She was the happiest she’d ever been, and it was all because of the tall, annoying blonde who strutted into the room wearing a white one-piece bathing suit.

“How come you get the one-piece?” Autumn asked, glad her hands were already on her hips.

“Because I like it.” Samantha smiled. “And I can tell you do, too. But don’t worry, I can take it off later if you’d like.” She offered a playful wink.

Autumn scowled before rolling her eyes. Samantha was right, she did like it. Its shape emphasized Samantha’s length, complimenting her legs and bust. Plus the color was perfect for her, contrasting the warmth in her skin tone. Somehow, despite living and working indoors for a year, she still managed to have some sort of a tan. “How do you make everything you wear look so good?” Autumn grumbled before taking another few steps toward the deeper part of the pool.

“Excuse me?” Samantha scoffed. “Are you kidding me right now, Girlfriend?”

Autumn smiled. Samantha hadn’t called her that for a while. “No, I’m not.” Autumn kept up her pouty attitude, turning and rolling her eyes at the other girl. “You walk in here like a fucking goddess, with golden locks and legs for days, daring us mere mortals to look at you with any other thought than of pure sex. Whereas I stand here,” she motioned at her partially-submerged body, “all ass and thighs and five feet of baggage.”

“Oh my God,” Samantha groaned. “You can’t be serious.”

“I’m not. Truth is I’m actually five-foot-three.” She smiled at her joke then turned to see Samantha looking at her with an expression she hadn’t seen before. “What?”

Samantha didn’t move. She just stood there, holding a pair of towels for them with that strange expression on her face. Then she said, “Really, honestly. You’re not kidding, are you?”

Autumn blinked. “Huh?”

Samantha put the towels down. “Do you really think of us like that? Of me? Of yourself?”

Autumn backtracked. What had she said? “No. I mean, I don’t think so. What did I say?”

Samantha set her shoulders and walked into the water, hardly flinching at the heat. “Do you really think of yourself that way? Just ‘ass and thighs and baggage’?”

“I was joking, dude.”

“No, you weren’t.” Samantha said before coming to a stop a few feet away from her.

Autumn looked away for a second, but there was nothing else to look at. Samantha had that presence about her that she only had when she was carrying a whip and some fuzzy handcuffs or some important piece of truth. The sort of presence a person had to confront. So she caught her gaze and held it as best she could. “Fine. Maybe I wasn’t entirely joking, but what does it matter?”

“What does it—?” Samantha shook her head, the tips of her locks throwing around water like a tiny storm. “Do you remember when you made me watch that show with you? What was it called?”

Autumn frowned, trying to stay on track with Samantha’s unconventional reasoning. “What? Supernatural?”

“No, the other one.”

“Game of Thrones?”

“No, the other—” she sighed. “Dammit, you make me watch so much TV. The ginger who played chess?”

“Oh. Queen’s Gambit?”

“Yeah, that one. You remember that fight?”

How could she forget? Autumn had argued with her for days to get her to watch the show. “But checkers is boring,” Samantha had said, which had started its own fight. In the end Autumn had to wage a weekend-long change of Samantha’s choice in order to get her to watch it. It had quickly become her favorite show. “Yeah, I remember it.”

“How did you know that I’d like it so much?” Samantha demanded.

Autumn was confused. “I just did.”

“No, that’s not what you said.” She crossed her arms and glared when she caught Autumn looking at her breasts. “You said the show was ‘objectively good’, right?”

“I guess so. Yeah.” Where was this going?

“You didn’t get mad at me because I ignored your suggestion. I do that all the time with food or drinks or music or whatever.” She took a step toward Autumn, the slope of the pool making her seem taller than she already was. “You didn’t get mad at me because I said ‘checkers’.”

“I actually did—”

“You got mad at me,” Samantha continued, “because the show was objectively amazing, and I disregarded it.” She took another step forward. “You got mad at me for acting flippantly about something you cared about. Something that you knew I’d love, too. Not because I have an interest in chess or Anya Taylor-Joy, cute as she is, but because I was ignoring a masterpiece.”

Then she took a final step closer and held her hands out. Autumn looked at them, but turned her head away. She knew where this was going, and she wasn’t ready to hear it.

But Samantha didn’t lower her hands. So eventually she took them, even if she didn’t meet her eyes.

“Autumn,” Samantha said in a quiet voice that seemed all the louder for it, “you are an objective masterpiece. When I look at you I see perfection. I see love. I see a future.” Her voice broke, and when Autumn finally looked up she saw they were both in tears. “You are objectively amazing,” Samantha said, her throat clenching and her lips pursed against emotions that threatened to overwhelm her, “and I know things have been hard for you. I know you’ve lost so much this last year, and that it’s hard to say ‘just one more thing’ after months and months of things.” She spat out the last word like a curse. “But you are amazing. And I know, I know it’s hard to see the forest through the trees, but I’m here, and I can see it, Autumn.”

“And what do you see?” The question came out like a shout. Months of suppressed anger and bitterness overflowing like the bubbling heat of the pool. “Because I can’t see shit, Samantha.” She tasted salt at the crease of her lips. “I don’t see anything.” She said, then stopped. The tears were too much.

“I see you.” Samantha said, crouching until she was level with Autumn’s eyes. “I see us.” She poked Autumn in the sternum. “I see you in an amazing position doing something you care about, surrounded by people who appreciate you for who you are and what you can do and what you care about.” She closed the distance between them, tucking a few strands of stray hair behind Autumn’s ear. “I see you, right next to me every morning, with that crazy bedhead you get.” She ruffled Autumn’s hair, mussing it up.

“Stop!” Autumn said, but she found herself laughing all the same.

“I see you on the couch,” Samantha continued with a smile, “forcing me to watch another show you know I’m going to get obsessed over when I’m already so busy.” She rolled her eyes, making Autumn laugh again. “And I see myself right beside you,” she whispered, leaning in and grabbing Autumn in a tight embrace. “I’m always going to be there for you, girl. Always and all ways.”

Autumn stood there, sweating from the heat that begged her to relax while simultaneously as cold and stiff as one of the frosted pines visible through the windows.

“Just one more thing” had helped at first. It had been a joke at the expense of the struggles of 2020, something to help keep them sane as their worlds seemingly fell in around them. But then it changed for Autumn. “Just one more thing” no longer meant, “we’ve got this”. Now it meant, “it’s just one thing in the scope of all of everything else”. Now it meant, “it’s not important”.

And maybe that had been fine. Maybe “it’s not important” was an okay way to deal with loss sometimes. But not for Autumn, suddenly finding herself with an abundance of free time while Samantha worked from home. Not for Autumn, who could no longer enjoy Samantha’s new cooking skills, or practice her own. Not for Autumn, who felt such shame at losing her job because she simply existed. Going back to work as Autumn had set her apart. Nobody knew she had been Ethan—she was just “the new girl”, or “the girl”. And when the ax fell nobody batted an eye at her getting cut away. After all, she’d only worked there a year or so, right?

But that was “just one more thing”. Unimportant in the grand scheme of bullshittery in the world.

But everything to her.

Could she admit it? To Samantha? To herself, even? Could she admit that while she was who she was meant to be, that maybe it had cost her too much?

In the end of that small moment, Autumn realized that all the little things had become something more. Something dark. Something heavy. But something she didn’t want anymore. Didn’t need anymore. Maybe the only “little thing” that was actuallyunimportant was the pride that kept her from admitting her pain. Maybe she could get rid of that one little thing?

She wasn’t sure if she could, but when she closed her eyes she felt something different. Not the frosty cold or the damp heat. She just felt… right. She felt Samantha’s shoulder blades, the curve of her back, the subtle press of their breasts against each other, and she felt right. And that was enough.

“It just hurts so much.” She said, the words almost drowning in the sound of the pool around them. But Samantha didn’t use words. Instead, she held Autumn tighter, and that said more than words ever could.

----

They talked for hours there by the pool, cycling between resting on a floaty together, Samantha sitting under Autumn and holding her by the waist as they floated in circles, admiring each other and the landscape, or resting on the island by the temptation of the liquor, though Samantha insisted they talk before either one of them drank anything but water.

Autumn confessed her pains and her worries. She confessed her frustration at feeling small, having nothing to offer. She confessed that she hated that the thing that brought her the most joy in life had been the thing that had hurt her the most when it cost her respect and eventually her job. She confessed that she sometimes didn’t like the way she looked, but confessed it was because she looked up to Samantha so much that it was hard to feel perfect. She confessed that the fear she felt when she caught covid had kept her up for nights. She confessed her night sweats and her hidden panic attacks. She confessed that the last year had all but beaten her, and that if it hadn’t been for Samantha she didn’t think she would have made it. And then she confessed her love.

“I love you, Samantha.” Autumn said as the last of the sun went down over the trees.

“I love you, Autumn.” Samantha said, her first words in hours. “And I’m sorry.”

And then they watched the sky turn from blue to orange to violet, lying in each other’s arms as if they were the only thing holding them together.

After a while Autumn shivered, then shifted and sank back down into the water. “Make me a drink?”

“Sure. But I won’t know how.” Samantha sat up and looked over the liquor.

“Doesn’t matter.” Autumn smiled sadly. “The flavor will be wasted on me anyways.” When Samantha narrowed her eyes she followed up with, “Just saying. I’m not being a sourpuss or anything.”

“I never called you a sourpuss.” Samantha grumbled, reaching for a bottle of something clear and pouring it into one of the plastic cocktail glasses. “In case you forgot, I actually told you how amazing you are and how it pisses me off when you say spiteful things about yourself.” Then she handed it to Autumn.

Autumn rolled her eyes and took a sip. She expected the heat of the alcohol, but she didn’t expect the soft, rounded sweetness of cane sugar.

“What?” Samantha asked, caught off guard by Autumn’s slackjawed expression. “Oh shit, what did I give you?” She began frantically looking for the bottle she’d set back in the pile.

“Rum.” Autumn said, a small, tentative smile sprouting on her face. She took another sip and smiled wider, coughing when the movement sent alcohol down the wrong pipe. But she didn’t care. She could taste!

It was subtle, and she guessed that she was missing out on a lot of the lesser notes in the flavor profile, but holy shit! She could taste something! When had that happened?!

She tried to remember and realized that she’d tasted her own tears just a few hours ago.

“Girl, are you okay?” Samantha’s worried expression quickly turned to exulted joy when Autumn managed to convey what had just happened.

They sampled the liquors together, comparing tasting notes as best they could to see how much of her senses she’d gotten back. They confirmed that she hadn’t gotten all of it back, but she could still taste the major flavors. The peat, the agave, the coconut and the citrus all came through strong.

“Thank you.” Autumn said as she kissed Samantha on the neck. “Thank you for everything.”

“Oh, this old place?” Samantha joked. “Don’t mention it.”

“Oh, whatever.” Autumn rolled her eyes before splaying herself out on Samantha’s lap, granting her a wonderful view of her breasts as her top struggled to hold them in place against gravity. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the tingle of alcohol on her cheeks. “This place is incredible. Much better than what I had planned.”

“And what was that?” Samantha cocked her head, trailing her finger down Autumn’s sternum and belly until she squealed and squirmed away. “No, come back!” She laughed, holding Autumn in place. Autumn just stuck out her tongue. “Seriously though,” Samantha said. “You were really excited about today, and you’ve been hinting at it for a while now.”

Autumn turned her head and looked outside at the falling snow that had simultaneously ruined her perfect day and granted her a perfect day with Samantha.

“Hon?”

“Wait here.” Autumn said.

“What?” Samantha leaned back and helped Autumn sit up. But the shorter girl just repeated herself.

“Wait here. I’ll be back.”

“Okay.” Samantha hesitated, then asked, “Is everything alright?”

Before Autumn slipped from the island into the water she gave Samantha a kiss, her lips smiling against Samantha’s confused expression, then said, “It’s going to be perfect.”

----

Autumn didn’t bother drying off. She knew exactly what she was looking for and where to find it and didn’t much care to wait any longer. She’d already waited plenty enough.

The ring was in her jacket pocket in a small clamshell box. She opened it to make sure it was still inside, and it was. Fourteen-karat gold, chosen for its durability, studded with three diamonds at its center. Inside the band was etched a line from their favorite song, “I can’t help falling in love with you”, along with the date of their anniversary—the day Autumn had fallen for her, whether she’d known it then or not.

She closed the box and turned, walking back to the pool. A familiar icepick of anxiety struck her in the heart, but right now she could shrug it off. She’d been through worse than the best thing that would ever happen to her.

And so she walked through the doors into the pool room. She walked past the towels on the floor, down the steps, through the water, and then swam to the island where Samantha waited trustingly for her. She climbed up and stood over Samantha, not moving for a few seconds.

“What is it?” Samantha asked, concern expressed openly on her face.

“Stand up.” Autumn had to keep her sentences short. She was shaking too much.

Samantha stood. “Okay.” She wrapped her arms around her torso, protecting against the chill. “Is everything okay?”

Autumn’s laugh rang like a bell. How was she supposed to answer that? Nothing was okay, yet everything was perfect. “You wanted to know what my plans were for today?”

Samantha nodded. “Mm-hmm.”

“I was going to take us to our favorite park, to that spot by the pond,” Autumn began. “I was going to wear that dress you keep asking me to wear, even though you know I hate dresses.”

“But you look so cute in it…” Samantha pouted, then stopped when she caught Autumn’s gaze. “Sorry.”

Autumn took a deep, calming breath. “I was going to bring your favorite lunch, and your favorite wine, then play our favorite songs,” she said. Her breathing deepened and quickened, her body entering fight-or-flight mode, but she was done running from this. “I was going to ask you about our future…” she took a step forward. “About what you wanted…” another step. “About what you hoped for…” One final step. “And if you thought it included me.”

“Autumn,” Samantha’s eyes were wide with shock, “Of course it includes you!”

“Shh, I know that now.” She smiled, took a deep breath, then took the plunge.

The rough material that coated the island scraped her knee. So that’s why people kneel, she thought, thankful for the added support against her quaking body. “I know it better now than I ever have before, Samantha.” She smiled as her best friend in the entire world went, in a microsecond, from confusion, to concern as she fell to one knee, and then to a pure and brilliant awe as she lifted the clamshell box.

Samantha raised her hands to her face and began to swear, “Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit, oh shit shit shit…”

Autumn laughed at the insanity of it all. Her, kneeling in a bikini, shaking so hard she was sure her tits were about to pop out of her top, in front of this gorgeous, beautiful and perfect woman in front of her who loved her so much she changed the world for her, swearing like tomorrow wouldn’t come.

She took another breath. “I know that you are everything to me. You have loved me when nobody in their right mind should. You have supported me, cared for me, and,” she motioned up and down her mostly-bare body, “quite literally made me the woman I am today.”

Samantha barked a quick laugh before swallowing it, unwilling to compromise the pureness of the quiet.

“Samantha,” Autumn continued, annoyed that yet another tear was dripping down her cheek, “I don’t want to go through life without you. I don’t want to live without you. You are everything to me, and I love you.” She smiled and opened the box. “I love you, I love you, I love you, and I want to be your wife. Will you marry me, Samantha?”

Samantha stood still as a statue, smiling a grin that lit the world like a sunrise. But when she spoke, it wasn’t what Autumn expected to hear.

“Hold tight,” she said.

“What?” Autumn blinked in confusion.

Samantha started jumping up and down in place, looking frantically around the room. “Just hold tight!” And then she dove into the pool, swimming frantically for the stairs.

Autumn felt like she was about to fall over, but fuck if she was waiting anywhere. She slid into the water, barely getting to standing depth by the time Samantha ran out of the room. “Samantha, wait!”

“I said ‘hold tight!’” her voice came from the other room. Autumn heard something crash and Samantha swear loudly before something else fell and bounced on the wood floor.

“Samantha?” Autumn didn’t know what was happening. Samantha was supposed to say “yes” or “no”, right? Why was she running around the house?

“Gotcha, you sonofabitch!” Autumn heard from the other room as she climbed out of the pool. Then there was a wet pat, pat, pat as Samantha ran into the pool room, sliding a few feet to a stop, her arms out awkwardly to balance herself.

“What the hell is happening?” Autumn fought, struggling to quell the fear of rejection building in her gut. But then Samantha stepped up to Autumn and held her head in her hands, something hard enclosed in one of them.

“Yes, Autumn.” Samantha said, gasping as new tears came. “Yes, I’ll marry you, you perfect, amazing, wonderful, sexy woman!” She stepped back. “But first…”

“But first what?” A flood of emotions filled Autumn.

Samantha laughed loudly before stepping back and kneeling down. She hefted the small box in her hand and opened it, revealing a magnificent ring of white gold with a single diamond embedded in it. “Will you marry me, too?”

Autumn froze, then grinned. A flood of energy and passion swept through her and she giggled, then laughed hysterically. She nodded her head, “Yes. Yes! A thousand times, yes.”

“Whoo!” Samantha sprang to her feet and fell on Autumn in an embrace. “We’re getting married!”

They held each other, and then they kissed each other, and then the night devolved into heated and passionate throes of lovemaking that melted the snow on the mountain, or at least that’s what Autumn said when they woke up to clear skies and green trees the next morning.

They woke in each other’s arms, naked as they day they were born save for the rings on their left hands.

Autumn stared into Samantha’s eyes, and Samantha stared back. “What do we do now?” Autumn asked.

“Well,” Samantha lowered her gaze to Autumn’s bare breasts and ran her thumb along the inner curve of one of them, “I can think of several things.”

“Stop,” Autumn laughed, though she didn’t push Samantha’s hand away. “I mean, are you worried at all?”

Samantha frowned. “Worried? No. Sure, I have concerns about the future.” She sighed. “I wanted to propose months ago, but with everything going on…” she trailed off.

“Yeah.” Autumn deflated a little. “I saved up a couple of paychecks to get that ring. I got it less than a week before I was laid off.”

Samantha’s thumb paused on its journey momentarily. “I’m sorry.”

“No,” Autumn laughed. “It’s fine. I’m not sorry I got it at all. It’s honestly the best purchase I ever made.” She giggled when Samantha’s thumb found her nipple and stayed there a while. “I don’t know why, but I honestly didn’t expect you to propose.”

“Really?” Samantha gave the nipple a playful pinch, smiling at Autumn’s little yelp.

“Yeah,” she said, glaring, but still not making a move to remove Samantha’s hand. “I don’t know… It’s…” she sighed. “It’s going to sound stupid.”

“No it won’t, Love.”

“Ha. Okay.” She took a deep breath. “It’s just… it’s always the guy who’s supposed to propose, you know?”

“Oh. Ah.”

“And considering I’m the only one of us who’s had a penis…”

“Not true! Remember those times when—”

“Hush! Yes, yes I remember that, you doofus.” Autumn grabbed Samantha’s hand and playfully bit her thumb. “But you know what I mean.”

Samantha smiled. “I know what you mean. You grew up with an expectation, right?”

Autumn nodded, keeping Samantha’s thumb in her mouth.

“And that’s fine by me.” Samantha smiled, then reached down with her other hand to the warmth between Autumn’s legs and began to play, moving in tight circles.

Autumn moaned unintentionally, closing her eyes in ecstasy before blinking them open and swatting Samantha’s hand away. “Stop!”

“But why?” Samantha raised herself up on an elbow, moving over top Autumn.

“Because we have so much to figure out!” Autumn protested as Samantha grabbed her wrists in one hand and held them over her head.

“No we don’t.” Samantha giggled, tickling where Autumn’s breast met her side, then moving up to her armpit and tickling some more.

“Yes!” Autumn forced out. “Yes we do!”

“Hush.” Samantha said, putting a finger that smelled of sex over Autumn’s lips. “It’s not a big deal, Girlfriend—sorry, Fiance.” They both smiled when Samantha said that word. “It’s just a wedding.”

“Just a wedding?!” Autumn shrieked against the finger, her eyes going wide. “How can you say—”

Then Samantha grabbed her chin and leaned in close, biting her lip in that soft and sensual way that drove Autumn mad. She inhaled as Autumn moaned into her mouth, smiling the biggest, dumbest smile. Then she said, “It’s just one more thing.”

Even in the throes of passion Autumn couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the stupid joke. But as Samantha continued kissing her, licking at her neck, then her collarbone, then at her engorged nipples, she reconsidered. They’d used that phrase to joke about so many horrible things in the past.

It was about damned time they used it for something wonderful.

“I love you, Autumn.”

“I love you, too… fiance.”

-THE END-