"If you were a boss room," Vella said, "what would you look like?"

They stared up at the massive doorway carved in the visage of a human skull. The only way forward: through its gaping mouth, the scattered surviving teeth inlaid with swooping engravings written in a language that hurt her head to look at, indecipherable words radiating a power that made her nauseous, forced her eyes to slide away.

"Like that, I’d assume," Katia said flatly.

"Figured.”

“It’s about time,” Katia huffed. “Cheri and Moshe have certainly finished their Cascade by now. Two whole days  … how am I going to explain?”

“It felt pretty fast to me.”

“It’s your fault, you know. With how we've had to… accommodate your class.”

Vella couldn’t help the grin that touched her lips, which had Katia narrowing her eyes.

“So,” Vella said, not addressing it. “Battle plan? Or are you still too awesome for that?”

“While not necessary, it’s probably worth discussing.”

“Lay it on me.”

“I can see this going two ways. Based on the encounter patterns of the previous floors, it’s highly possible it’s a swarming-type boss. But also, the Tower could be clever, and purposefully do the opposite, mix it up from how it’s structured the mundane floors, and offer us a single deadly opponent. One or the other, I think, more complex options unlikely in the first Cascade … so we should discuss each.”

Vella tried to fight the smile creeping onto her face. She’d always thought it adorable when Katia started into these spiels of hers. Delving, while maybe a profession that had been thrust onto her by position of birth, was clearly something she held real passion for. And Vella had always been a sucker for listening to someone spill their passions out, regardless what it might be. 

“So,” Katia said. “Swarming type … you’ll want to get your back to a corner as soon as possible, and I’ll position myself accordingly. Even a swarm-boss will need to have the main avatar handled, and since I’m the better duelist, obviously I will.” A pause. “That wasn’t a pun, don’t laugh.” She glared when Vella did anyways. “You might have to fend for yourself at least a portion of the fight. Since it’ll just be the add-ons, you shouldn’t have to worry much … no more difficult than this floor, and you’ve proven well enough at handling yourself. If it gets too overwhelming, I’ll break from the avatar and assist you.”

Which it very well might. Floor six hadn’t been easy … Katia’s advice to stay back and not enter the brawl had been well-advised. It’d be tough to handle, even with Katia occupied with the sturdier foe. But she’d already known the boss room would be the first genuine threat to their health. Katia had said as much. Vella sobered up, the severity of the situation settling in.

“If it’s a single powerful entity,” Katia continued, “that’ll be much better for us. Which is perhaps a reason to expect it won’t be – but anything can happen. Our strategy won’t alter much, in this case. You stay back, I’ll keep its attention. Keep an eye for weak points; almost all bosses have one, but especially when there’s no shenanigans occurring, and it’s a straight fight. Eyes, throat, ears – obvious potentials. But could be stranger. The Tower’s creations are ever more inventive. My father told me once of …” She paused. “Well, that’s irrelevant. To discuss every possible weak point is impossible, so simply pay attention. Or watch what I go for.”

Vella nodded. All very salient, so far. To the point, dense. Very … Katia.

“There’s still thirty minutes duration left on {Empowering Gaze}, so I don’t think it’s necessary to refresh; this should last no more than ten, in the absolute most drawn-out of situations. Much faster, probably.” She pursed her lips. “But, it’s probably wise to use that new skill of yours. Unlikely to matter … but no point in not. Preparative health regeneration could come in use, assuming I somehow slip up.”

Some heat crept up Vella’s neck. Again, after having had Katia’s hands wrapped around her cock, the idea of a kiss really shouldn’t have had any serious effects.

But it did.

Funny, how a kiss seemed more embarrassing than a handjob. Such was the bizarre situation she’d found herself in, thanks to her class.

“Yeah,” Vella said. “I suppose we should.”

Neither of them moved.

“Well,” Katia said. “Go ahead. Get on with it.”

Vella knew it’d only be even more awkward if she continued hesitating, so, rallying herself, she stepped forward, closing the gap between her and Katia.

She had a inch or two height on Katia, and their proximity made it apparent. Katia had to look up, just barely, to hold eye contact.

This wouldn’t be Vella’s first kiss, but she’d admit it’d been a while. Eight months? Time had been funny, the past year, with Dad’s imprisonment, Vella scrambling to find a solution. Her eventual determination: the Tower.

But eight months sounded right. Not entirely out of practice … hopefully.

She wondered if this would be Katia’s first.

Not that she’d be trying to set an impression. Quick and practical, this needed to be – the past day had made it clear how important it was to Katia that these interactions followed the script of practicality. Lust, like Vella had noted, certainly existed between them … but there’d been no hint of romance, and she’d been looking. 

The secret, deep-down part of Vella hoped that was because Katia was simply good at hiding her emotions … but that was a dangerous path to tread, and so it remained deep-down: not to see the light.

Vella knew better.

She leaned forward, pressed her mouth to Katia’s.

And then …

Faced with Katia, the softness of her lips, the gentleness, vulnerability she’d seen on her face the moment before …

Vella made a mistake she’d just determined not to.

Because things just … melted away. Her nervousness, the stress of the upcoming confrontation. Her concerns, past, present, future – everything. Gone, lost to the ether.

Her hands went to Katia’s hips, firmly, and without hesitance. Pulled her closer, pressing her body into Vella’s. Naked as they were, with what was pressing into what, it should’ve been erotic. But Vella was lost in something else: something hotter and sweeter, as mind-erasing as anything else they’d done. 

Instead: Katia, consuming her, the aching want. Not low in her stomach, this time, not pulsing and twisting, demanding release, but higher, in her chest, soft and warm and suffusing, like she’d submerged herself in a hot spring. Floating away. Pounding in her head, the rhythm of a drum.

She used her mouth to pry Katia’s open. Not part of the plan, and not necessary. Didn’t matter.

Pulled her tighter, closer, and slipped her tongue in. 

Katia squeaked in surprise, but didn’t push away, didn’t protest. Melted like warm chocolate in her arms, her own stress melting away, her own hesitations. 

I did that, Vella thought.

Katia pushed her head forward. Met with an equal fervency. Explored Vella’s mouth at the same rate Vella tried to Katia’s. Made sense. Fitting, for Katia. Always a conflict. Always heated. A fight as much as a kiss.

Vella didn’t think about how the reciprocality didn’t fit into the act of hers. Didn’t think about anything. Just Katia. The taste of her. The hot slickness of her mouth. Her tongue. Lost in the sensation. A floating bliss.

It went on. 

Katia was the one to finally break the contact, a quiet pop as she separated, gasping for air. Vella did too; felt the same, dizzy from oxygen. But she’d rather have passed out than be the one to emerge. Had needed Katia more than air, in that moment.

“You still haven’t used it, idiot,” Katia mumbled into her ear, still pressed into each other, bodies still entwined.

And Vella snapped back to reality.

Katia returned her lips to Vella’s, a prompting. Vella activated the skill. 

That easy. 

Hadn’t needed any of the extra stuff. 

They detached, and the missing heat of Katia’s body was physically painful.

They stared at each other. Both red faced, both panting.

Katia cleared her throat. Vella did the same.

“That was … part of the skill, right?” Katia asked.

She didn’t want to lie, so she didn’t answer.

She should have. 

“Um,” Katia said eventually, the silence deafening. “Let’s, um. Let’s continue. The effect only lasts a few minutes – we should make use of it.”

They walked into the boss room, and Vella knew she'd seriously fucked something up.

 

---

 

The boss went fine. Big bony thing. Didn't really matter, because at the end, when Vella offered to heal the scrapes Katia had acquired, she received a:

"It's fine."

A mumble. Not meeting her eyes. Nothing unusual for Katia, but this time different.

There'd been a number of points in Vella's life she'd wanted to sock herself in the mouth for being a gargantuan fucking idiot, but this one took the cake.

They divvied up the loot. 

Good haul. 

A significant dent toward freeing Dad. Even some clothes, finally. They put them on. Vella would've made a joke about how seeing Katia clothed was weird, and Katia would've laughed -- in that small, instantly wiped away way of hers.

Instead, didn't happen. 

They handled the end of their first Cascade in silence.

Walked through the sparkling black portal, also in silence.

Like someone had fucking died.

Vella had known better, and she’d done it anyways.

God damnit.