Christmas in the Sun
"I don't know if I'll ever get used to this," Sarah Rainmaker admitted,
her long black hair falling in a silken wave down her back as she
continued, "though I do like it." She and Caitlin were leaving the mall
with their packages, both of them dressed in just light T-shirts and
shorts in the still warm weather.
"It is odd," Caitlin agreed, her golden brown hair tied back simply,
"the weather being this comfortable even in winter." She looked over her
stuff critically as the taller woman asked, "Do you think we've got
everything?"
"Cds for Roxy," Sarah noted, "new shirts for Bobby, Grunge's disgusting
swimsuit DVDs, a certain gift for you and I'm certain there's a book in
your pile for me."
"You know me too well," Caitlin admitted, the two reaching the car.
About half of the stuff went in to the trunk, the rest carefully loaded
into the back seat. As usual Caitlin drove, heading back home to their
safehouse here in La Jolla, California. She looked at Sarah a moment
then looked away, focusing on the road ahead.
"What?" Sarah asked curiously.
"How did you first know you were gay?" Caitlin asked softly.
Sarah blinked at her in surprise, wondering where that question came
from. For Caitlin her lesbianism had mostly been a non-issue, unlike her
other teammates. Bobby had fantasies of converting her, Grunge had
dreamed of threeways and Roxy had been jumpy around her for weeks... but
Caitlin had just calmly filed away the information and moved on.
'So if she's asking about this now,' Sarah reasoned, 'it must be
important to her.' Aloud she said, "The girlhood crushes that didn't go
away was my first hint." With a grin she added, "And I had my first
relationship in my teens."
Caitlin puffed out her breath, "Wow. I don't think I've had a serious
relationship yet..."
Sarah nodded, feeling a pang of sympathy for her. Caitlin had originally
been a computer nerd, a small girl peering out at the world through her
round glasses. All that changed when her Gen-factor was triggered and
she gained the body of a amazon.. but none of the social skills to deal
with it. Add in the fact that most men responded to just her looks, and
you had a frustrating situation.
"Can I ask why you're asking?" Sarah asked mildly.
Caitlin blushed faintly as she looked towards the road, not meeting
Sarah's eyes. "There's someone I've been getting to know recently," she
admitted, "I've begun to think about her in ways that I'm not quite
comfortable with."
"I understand," Sarah smiled, despite feeling a bit of regret that
Caitlin wasn't talking about her. 'Not that I'm not keeping busy,' she
reminded herself, 'it's just that I've had a crush on Caitlin for what
feels like forever.' Curiously she asked, "Do we know her?"
"We've met a few times," Caitlin agreed. She eased the car into a turn,
"Are you bringing a date for tonight?"
"Well, yes," Sarah smiled, deciding to let her get away with changing
the subject this time, "Rebecca Alvarez is in town, we're going to the
party together."
"But I thought you were seeing 'Voodoo doll' Sadie, Sarah?" a visibly
confused Caitlin asked her curiously.
"I am," Sarah grinned, "we're non-monogamous."
Caitlin made a soft choking noise at that then laughed. "And they don't
have a problem with that?" she asked.
Sarah looked thoughtful as she answered, "Sadie.. doesn't want anything
serious, in fact she describes us a fuck-buddies." She grinned as
Caitlin made those odd noises again, "I think Rebecca is a bit more
serious, but she doesn't want me getting too lonely while she's gone."
Caitlin shook her head wryly, "I think I'd be ragingly jealous."
Sarah tilted her head to the side, then nodded slightly. "Maybe so," she
agreed, "and I think I'll be breaking it off with Sadie if Rebecca does
move here full time."
"Good," Caitlin smiled slightly, "I think Rebecca will be good for you."
The car pulled in to the safe house, a summer bungalow that was financed
by all of Mr. Lynch's old 'black project' slush funds. It looked just
like any two floor summer house and it matched the neighbor's homes, but
underneath the surface it was a little different. The latest in weapons
systems protected the place, along with advanced holographic shields to
maintain their privacy, all provided by their robotic maid, Anna.
The blonde woman in question smiled as she met them at the carport,
looking just like a traditional maid in her black and white uniform, but
in reality she was a retired combat robot. "The others are back at the
pool," she confided cheerfully, "you can sneak the gifts through the
house while I keep them occupied."
"Thanks, Anna," Sarah laughed, watching in awe as Caitlin easily loaded
up with heavy items, not even straining as she headed inside.
Caitlin nodded as she quietly added, "Thanks for suggesting we do a
Christmas party, Anna. I don't know if we would have even thought about
it otherwise..."
Speaking equally softly Anna replied, "I still owe you for saving me
from my sisters, it was the least I could do."
Caitlin considered arguing with her that she didn't owe them anything,
but decided it would be pointless. Not long ago Anna's crazed robotic
'sisters' had attacked, intent on completing their creators work, and
after leading them on a wild chase they fought it out in the old Project
Genesis compound. Only Ivana Baul's unexpected assistance had prevented
disaster, leaving the group with mixed feelings about their former
adversary.
'Especially me,' Caitlin thought as she returned to her room with a
stack of gifts, wrapping them quickly and efficiently.
Calling Ivana in to help them had been hard, but even Caitlin had been
surprised at how quickly she had responded. She had fought side by side
with Caitlin, using a EM Pulse gun against the androids and providing
technical skills to disarm the gen-factor bomb. Part of Caitlin wanted
to believe that Ivana had just been preserving her investment in the
team, but her conscience made her wonder if something else was going on.
Almost as soon as Caitlin hauled out her gifts to add to the pile in the
living room Roxy ask, "What'd you get me?" Her little half sister was
nearly bouncing with eagerness, her purple streaked hair flowing around
her face.
"You'll find out Christmas morning," Caitlin said firmly.
"We aren't even opening up one tonight?" Bobby Lane smiled, the blonde
shaking his head as he sighed, "Bummer."
Grunge gave her a puppy dog look, his black hair falling into his eyes,
"Please?"
"I wouldn't mind getting one gift tonight," Sarah added with a slight
smile.
"All right," Caitlin finally conceded, "but just one gift each." All
four of them cheered and Caitlin rolled her eyes.
Anna cooked them up a turkey with all the fixings, and they dug in
happily. The guests loved the food and company, including the friends
they had made in the superhuman community here not to mention old
friends from back east. It was just after Grunge and Tommy were trying
to out-macho each other and Sarah and Rebecca were necking on the couch
that Caitlin slipped away to the relative quiet of the library.
"Peace and quiet," Caitlin sighed, leaning against the computer desk.
Part of her wanted to surf the net, but instead she picked up the phone,
dialing a number she had memorized.
"Yes?" the smooth, cool woman's voice asked.
"Ivana?" Caitlin tried not to fidget, "It's Caitlin."
"Well, well," Ivana Baul warmed a bit as she asked, "what do I owe this
pleasure?"
"I guess," Caitlin hesitated, "I just wanted to wish you a merry
Christmas."
Ivana actually sounded a bit surprised as she answered, "Thank you, you
too."
"Ivana..." Caitlin started, only to realize Ivana was a bout to say
something more. "Go on," she offered quietly.
"You recall that club we visited?" Ivana waited for Caitlin to agree and
carried on, "There's a new years party coming up, and I seem to lack a
date."
"And I'll be bodyguarding?" Caitlin asked with a faint smile.
"No," Ivana answered cheerfully, "I intend to take advantage of you, if
I can."
"Like that would ever happen," Caitlin scoffed, despite feeling a little
thrill at the idea. Not giving herself too much time to think about it
she said, "I'd love to go."
"Then I'll pick you up on new years," Ivana laughed and hung up.
Caitlin put the phone down, smiling faintly. She still wasn't sure this
was a good idea, but she was confident that whatever happened, it would
at least be interesting.
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