Talking to an ex about your current love life felt like taboo territory, but Rebecca was also not well-versed in proper ex etiquette. She tried to give her two cents in videos, but that was usually theoretical. There was a difference between the best practice and how those practices held up in the face of a gorgeous ex looking at you across the table. Rebecca chose not to go into details because Agnes did not need to know about any steamy sessions with a certain mirrorwalker. They had their own lives and some things were not there to be shared; Agnes was not owed access to her love life.

It did take a sip of her chocolate martini to nudge Rebecca in the direction of admitting she was not a good girlfriend to Agnes or Vanessa. The redhead waited nervously as Agnes took a moment to weigh the words before replying. Goosebumps ran the length of Rebecca’s arm as Agnes took her hand because it renewed old muscle memories.

In the end, Agnes made the point they were both dancing around: they were not good at being together. They got tangled up in their own little microcosm and it affected their ability to interact with the world around them. ”Ah’d ne’er want tae be th’ thing ‘at holds ye back. Ah’m glad yer finding a life fer yerself.” Eventually, they had to find the right balance to make things work and Rebecca was feeling good about the newest version of their friendship.

They were on the same page not just with their own relationship but with all romantic entanglements. Casual, fewer strings, and fewer complications to worry about. A few casual encounters flashed across Rebecca’s thoughts, including the first one highlighting the usefulness of an office desk. ”Aye. We’re still yoong, reit? We deserve some fun.”

Desserts were set down on the table by the waiter, who tried to strike up small talk but was met by the indifference of two women who had better things to do than entertain him. Rebecca took a moment to indulge in her first sweet, caramel-and-cream bite of her panna cotta while she let Agnes reply to her inquiry regarding the hive queen. It was a realistic concern; Agnes was cleared to be out in public, but her doctors were not expecting her to make sweeping changes to her life.

It was nice to know there were no new incidents, but something about Agnes’s smile felt wrong to Rebecca. She was surprisingly… what? Nonplused? It was like Agnes did not want to be asked about the hive queen. On the one hand, it was a traumatic event, so it was hard to blame her; on the other, Agnes had to realize anyone who cared about her would ask about it. The hive queen was too big to ignore.

Rebecca decided it was not worth pressing the issue, laughing at Agnes’s joke. ”Ye hae a point. Ye’ve been through a lot; a wee thing loch th’ hive queen isnae gonna stop ye noo.” Raising her glass to Agnes’s, she grinned. ”Tae ur new lives; unstressed, uncomplicated, and fun.” A new start she could certainly toast.

Oh Agnes knew that it wouldn’t have taken Rebecca long to move on from her. If history had been any indication, the woman couldn’t stand herself alone so she always needed to occupy her space with another. Sure, this time she was not destroying anyone’s relationships, but true to form she was keeping herself occupied by bedding others as casually as possibly. To be honest Agnes wondered why it was something that the whorish redhead hadn’t considered before. She certainly had already developed the notches on her bedside; why try to ruin it by “loving” something, an act she was seemingly incapable of?

It took effort for Agnes to not immediately agree with her ex that she was a horrendous girlfriend. She had to remember that she was playing the long game here and she needed to keep breaking her down, piece by piece until all that was left was the gooey center for her to reshape how she pleased. So, for now, she would continue to pine for her lost love, reached out, and softly took Becca’s hand. In silence she shook her head and admitted that Becca wasn’t terrible, that they were just bad for one another -- nothing more.

>>”Ah’d ne’er want tae be th’ thing ‘at holds ye back. Ah’m glad yer finding a life fer yerself….Aye. We’re still yoong, reit? We deserve some fun.”

Becca seemed to take solace in Agnes’ words, smiling a little, maybe with some relief, at the fact that Agnes didn’t blame her. Deep down, on some level, Agnes knew it was true, they were bad for one another. However, unlike Becca, Agnes was looking forward to just how “bad” she could be with the redhead. She bite her lip at the thought, at the things that she had in store for this woman, but those were plans for the future. For now she was going keep paving the way towards her eventual goal.

”Right,” Agnes agreed with a tender smile. Her eyes flitted across the woman’s arm, up to the face, and down the woman’s body before rolling back up to her mismatched eyes. She grinned sheepishly from ear-to-ear and just shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. ”We deserve as much fun as we can get.”

With that she let the other woman’s hand go and looked up when the waiter returned with their orders. Agnes gave him a sly, if somewhat annoyed look for being interrupted, and merely muttered her thanks for the desserts that were laid out in front of them. The apple pie tacos certainly looked delectable and sweet enough that quench any sugar craving she could have. Carefully she picked one up, balancing it between her hands, and looked to Becca when she inquired after the Hive Queen.

She didn’t want to lose it then. The Hive Queen certainly was a sensitive subject, especially since now the two of them were bonded together. Agnes did her best to answer the questions as unsuspiciously as possible, admitting that there had been no events with her royal insect-ness, and that it was something attached to her stress levels. Out of a relationship and back in her hometown, Agnes joked that there were only so many times her life could be threatened before it got repetitive and boring. It was a dark humor that Becca seemed to appreciate.

>>”Ye hae a point. Ye’ve been through a lot; a wee thing loch th’ hive queen isnae gonna stop ye noo...Tae ur new lives; unstressed, uncomplicated, and fun.”

Her drink was lifted and Agnes responded in kind, tapping the glass against her ex’s. ”To new lives...and to us getting everything we deserve.” A sip of her drink was taken and Agnes smiled to the other. Holding her taco up, she briefly met the other’s gaze as she pulled the confectionary treat to her full lips. Her tongue darted out, rolling across the fold of the shell, lapping up a chunk of gooey apple and pulled it into her mouth. She bit and a sigh of such bliss and satisfaction emitted from her throat. The sound itself would have brought to mind other, more carnal memories, but for Agnes she was simply enjoying an excellent dessert taco. After she finished chewing she sighed and smiled dreamily as she turned her attention back to Becca. ”You ought to try this,” Agnes said with a grin. ”Messy...but you’ll regret it you don’t.”

It was nice to know Agnes was not planning on making her life more difficult by convincing her they needed to try things again. A part of her would always love Agnes, but she knew they needed to explore the idea that there was life outside of their relationship. They both seemed to understand that, though Becca was not going to make things more complicated by dragging her sex life out into the open.

Things did not need to be complicated, but damn if the way Agnes bit her lip did not make Becca feel some kind of way. The way Agnes looked at her—all of her—did not help, either. Those feelings were definitely complicated.

Best to focus on her dessert. Her nice, sweet, safe dessert. Nothing questionable about a jiggly treat. ”Mmm, thes is phenomenal,” she muttered to herself. She motioned to offer Agnes a bite when she caught the display of Agnes eating her apple pie taco. It was… evocative. It invoked the kind of memories that drew a crimson hue to Becca’s cheeks.

There was no way Agnes did not know what she was doing. There was benefit of the doubt and there was denying the obvious. What was Agnes doing? They made it clear they were not looking to reopen old doors.

Then again, they had also just toasted. What to, exactly? Unstressed, uncomplicated fun. It was not what Becca would have expected from Agnes, but maybe she had to allow for the possibility that Agnes was exploring a new side of herself, too. The offered dessert might have been just that, but she could not shake the feeling Agnes’s words held more promise than that.

And how would the older, more guarded Becca respond? ”Weel, Ah’m nae gonna be scared coz it's messy. Nae when it looks sae... delicioos.” What on earth was she doing? It flew in the face of every past experience she had with Agnes that she was unable to control. Any path she chose to go down would be dangerous.

And yet… ”That's whit thes new life is abit, reit? Enjoyin' new things? Nae regrets?” Becca leaned over the table, ready for a taste of apple pie tacos or… you know, whatever else might be offered.

>> ”Mmm, thes is phenomenal,”

Agnes grinned as she watched her ex-lover dig into her sweet and tasty dessert. She knew she had her on the ropes already. Her new looks, her apparent new attitude, the distance that had been between them, all of it meant that Rebecca was just ripe for the picking. All she needed was one more little nudge in the right direction. Of course, when the dessert was placed before them, Agnes had the absolute perfect method for ensure that she could fully ensnare the other’s senses.

There was nothing wrong with eating a taco; inherently anyway. Of course when one goes out of the way to eat it in a particularly provocative manner, it was bound to cause a stir of memories. Agnes lapped out one of the chunks of apple, pulling it into her mouth with her tongue and blissful bit into the cinnamon and sugar coated treat. She sighed with such satisfaction, the sound itself could easily stir up memories for the redheaded Scot -- so long as she was paying attention. With a glance, Agnes knew that she was.

Subtly, or not, the brunette licked the remains of the apple pie from her lips and gave her ex the most mischievous of grins. Really it seemed that she was consistently knocking the poor redhead off balance but she could hardly be pressed to care. This was the purpose of this meeting, whether Becca wanted to admit that or not; she was merely making the possibilities known to see how far the redhead wanted this go.

She praised the flavor of her chosen dessert and charged the other with having a sample. Of course, with the manner in which she spoke, she could have meant so much more than just the taco -- but what mattered was how Becca interpreted it and responded.

>>”Weel, Ah’m nae gonna be scared coz it's messy. Nae when it looks sae... delicioos...That's whit thes new life is abit, reit? Enjoyin' new things? Nae regrets?”

”Absolutely...”

The smile that curled the ends of Agnes’ lips was quite wicked. In the dim light it could be interpreted as sultry, teasing, but deep down there was such malice in that simple grin. Of course, coming from such a pretty face, anyone would have just accepted it as being little else than their own imaginations. Becca wanted to flirt back -- so Agnes would respond in kind; she was essentially given permission to, after all.

Becca leaned across the table, her lips poised to taste whatever Agnes would place there. Still smiling like a Cheshire, Agnes carefully plucked out a chunk of the apple pie taco between her two thin fingers. She too leaned across the table, though not as much as Becca, and carefully held the piece of apple pie in front of her. She passed it along Becca’s lips, smearing the sugar and cinnamon confection there before Agnes slowly set it between her ex-lover’s lips. But it wouldn’t end there. Rather, as Agnes pulled her hand back, she let her fingers softly graze across Becca’s full lips, seductively removing any remains of the apple pie.

Sitting back down, she raised her fingers up and licked the remains of the dessert from her fingertips, eyeing the other with teasing smile. ”What did I tell you?” she grinned. ”Have you tasted anything better?”

Part of Rebecca knew she should doubt the signs she was reading with Agnes. There was surely room for error and everything she saw in the insect queen’s actions flew in the face of the woman Rebecca spent years of her life with. It was like she was flirting with an entirely new person who was also somehow still her ex-girlfriend, and she was having a hard time pretending what they were doing was not flirting.

If Agnes was intentionally flirting, then the Sapphic display she made with her dessert was an act of torture to the highest degree. The way she licked her lips deserved to be a war crime. If Agnes really wanted what Rebecca thought she wanted, it was hard to believe she’d have the power to say no.

And why should she? Okay, bad question. There were so many reasons. The slippery slope. The possibility of one of them getting attached again. Potentially undoing all the personal growth they had accomplished living their own lives.

And even with all that… well, maybe this time it could work. It was blatantly disregarding all previous lessons from their time together, but Becca’s commitaphobic mindset was the perfect thing to have in the new burgeoning situation. Besides, if Agnes was really shaping herself into a new person, there was no saying it would be a person Becca would have the same attachment to as she did before. (Conversely, there was no telling if the new Agnes would be someone she would grow even more attached to, but Rebecca shooed away those thoughts.

With the offer of a little taste, Becca was unsure of what to expect, but Agnes did not disappoint. With a smile that did several things to Becca’s body, Agnes offered a chunk of the gooey apple filling between two fingers. Becca parted her lips just enough for the sweet treat to smear across them on the way. Agnes’s fingers, meanwhile, lingered. She pulled away slowly, and when the gentle fingertips finally broke contact, Becca instinctively moved to follow for half a second, as though her lips wanted the touch to return.

Becca licked away the small smudge of sweetness before nervously biting her lip. She was in far too deep. Had she tasted anything better? ”Weel… Ah can think ay ain thing…” When did her voice get so breathy?

She was at the point of no return. She could back away or slow things down, but if she did not, then she was going to have to commit to the risk she so desperately craved. ”Ye know, Ah ne’er asked: is there anything ye want fur yer birthday? Anything… Ah could dae fur ye?”

Oh this was so much fun. Sitting back in her seat, across the table from the blushing redhead, Agnes could feel the other’s resolve slipping away. It seemed that whatever said and unsaid rules that they had come up with were quickly thrown out the window. The old passion, fanned by new flames, were beginning to bubble to the surface, so much so that the air itself felt thick with the haze of lust that both women exuded. All it would take was one gesture, one extra touch, and they would easily find themselves leaving, in search of some quiet, dark little corner to commit release some very frustrated tensions.

Retracting her hand, Agnes gave the Scot the most dangerous of smiles, inquiring as to whether she had tasted anything better than the portion of her dessert that she had hand fed her. Really, even someone just coming into the conversation partially could take one look at both women and knew that something far more was being discussed than simple desserts.

>>”Weel… Ah can think ay ain thing…”

The look on Becca’s face was enough to make Agnes grin. It was a knowing grin, one that hinted back to things from their past, moments of intimacy that they only shared with one another. Of course now it only fueled Agnes’ anger towards the whorish woman in front of her, but she played a cool headed game, knowing that the rewards at the end of her particular rainbow would indeed be worth the wait. So she pursed her lips, blowing the other the softest of kisses in the air, before another smile split across her lips.

A pause grew between them but judging from the looks in their eyes, more than enough was being said. All that mattered now was who was going to speak first. Given the fact that Agnes knew she held the power here, she kept her lips sealed, wanting the redhead to be the one to break first. It was a simple enough task as she wasn’t as lustfully charged as the other was, it was simple a matter of time.

>>”Ye know, Ah ne’er asked: is there anything ye want fur yer birthday? Anything… Ah could dae fur ye?”

Oh there it was. There were those sweet words that she wanted to hear from Becca. While it could have meant anything, deep down, the both of them knew exactly what the redhead was implying. What could she do for her? Break a leg? Jab out an eye? Drop dead in a ditch? The possibilities were endless! But now wasn’t the time for such dark demands, rather, now that she had the fish on the hook, she needed to reel her in as painfully slow as possible to ensure the maximum amount of suffering was applied to her.

Agnes tilted her head, thinking for a moment. Taking a napkin in her hand, she carefully brushed off her fingertips before she dapped the lilywhite cloth at the corners of her lips. When that was done, she turned and smiled a sweet smile to Becca. She stood up, partially, leaned forward, across the table, her arms pressing just close enough together to offered a tantalizing, bulging view of her cleavage. Her chest on display, a fitting distraction and sensory overload for the redhead, she purred in reply.

”Ooommm….” she said, waiting for Becca to lean forward so she could whisper in her head. ”...how about...a dance?” she asked, the sensitive skin of her lips brushed against Becca’s earlobe. ”You were always such an amazing dancer. I want to see you move.”

Rebecca was really putting herself out there by joining into what she saw as blatant flirting. She was acknowledging what was going on and all but signing up for some kind of renewed fling with all the related consequences.

The breath caught in her throat as Agnes leaned toward her, putting plenty on display as her arms squished… well, there was a lot to see and she would leave it at that. Becca was essentially paralyzed in place, waiting for Agnes’s final confirmation that, yes, they were doing this again.

Except that was not what Becca got. Agnes got close enough that her pillowy lips brushed Becca’s earlobe, sending a jolt of sensation down to her center. Instead of asking for what Becca was honestly expecting, Agnes seemed to want to play coy, asking for a dance. It had to be a way to tease her a bit because there was no way Becca was misreading the signs; there were just too many of them.

But fine. If Agnes wanted to play things slowly, that was fine. Playful was fun and this new Agnes was nothing if not playful. ”Weel, Ah’m nae sure if thes makeover ay yers affected yer memory, but Ah’m pretty sure yoo’re th’ amazing dancer. Ah was jist th’ lass trying tae keep up.” Agnes could bring the dancer out of Rebecca, but the redhead was still convinced her raven-haired dance partner was the real star of the show.

Pulling away with a drawn-out sigh, Becca shrugged. ”But if it’s whit th’ birthday girl wants, sae be it. Ah’ll move fer ye.” Becca took one last quick bite of her dessert before getting to her feet and offering a hand to Agnes. ”Shall we?”

The purr in her voice would have driven anyone up the wall. It was evident in the way that Agnes looked at Becca that her ex-lover was at her supposed weakest. At this point, her lips tingling the woman’s ear, the vision of beauty she was, all she would have to do is utter one word and she knew that Becca would fold like a cheap suit. Just a single suggestion and the two of them would be off, calling for an Uber, and a night of promising escapades that Becca would never forget.

But Agnes wanted to do better than that. It wasn’t enough for Becca to want her, she wanted to be needed, obsessed over, craved. That was the only way to ensure that Becca’s fall would be complete, would be by breaking her down, piece by piece, so that when the redhead did eventually topple, the hole would be dug so deep that even light wouldn’t be able to escape it.

Another teasing graze of her lips and Agnes whispered the one thing that she had been wanting for her birthday from the lovely redhead. As much as she was sure the other wanted her say something like one last “roll in the hay” or other such innuendo, Agnes went for a far more coy suggestion -- a dance. That was a all, a simple dance, a chance to see her ex-lover move to music and rhythm again. Surely that would not be too much to ask for, right? And surely it was the safest option for two women who were trying to start over as just friends.

Becca looked partially shocked by Agnes’ suggestion, even going so far as to look disappointed that all she wanted was a dance. Given the fact that they had just finished talking about how bad they were for one another, the insect queen took particular pleasure in her ex’s surprise. With a sweet grin she pulled back from across the table, smiling as she took one last bite of her treat.

>>”Weel, Ah’m nae sure if thes makeover ay yers affected yer memory, but Ah’m pretty sure yoo’re th’ amazing dancer. Ah was jist th’ lass trying tae keep up.”

Agnes waved her hand dismissively. ”Stop it, hun,” she teased. ”You had some unforgettable moves, if I remember correctly.”

>> ”But if it’s whit th’ birthday girl wants, sae be it. Ah’ll move fer ye….Shall we?”

After taking another bite of her dessert, Agnes grinned as she slipped out of the booth. Her long, elegant legs stretched out, firmly setting themselves on the ground. The rest of her body followed, another display of the gorgeous transformation that the woman had gone through. Her dress clung to her body, highlighting all her best curves, as she smoothed out the fabric with her hands and dusty away any crumbs. Moving around the table, a teasing bite of her lip, she smiled as she held out her hand to the redhead, waiting for her to crawl out and join her.

”Let’s go,” she said with lightly, but with a firm tone. Going with it, she played it sweetly as she followed it up with, ”You’re Birthday Queen demands a dance.” She waiting until Becca stood before Agnes squeezed Becca’s hand. She lowered her voice, and throwing in an eyebrow waggle, ”So me yours and...I’ll consider showing mine.”

Dance moves. Clearly she meant dance moves.