Burning Desire

DISCLAIMER: All characters depicted in this story are legal, consenting adults.

"A friend with weed is a friend indeed," Luna touts with a grin as she walks away from her dealer with a shiny new bag of Purple Train Wreck. She makes sure no pigs are lurking around the side street, and when she is certain she is safe, she pulls the sack out to have a better look at it. Ten crispy grams of the dusty green stuff practically glimmer inside, even without the sunshine shimmering off the sylvaphane baggie.

Train Wreck had easily become her favorite strand of marijuana. It didn't put her straight to sleep like Lemon G or Berry Bomb. It didn't freak her out and tweak her up like Papyrus' Spaghetti. And Deaf? Well, she couldn't hear shit when she smoked that stuff. Train Wreck though? It was perfect. It was the right balance of everything she wanted from her grass; taste, smell, buzz, she couldn't be happier to have scored a dime.

Kind of like her girlfriend Carol Pingrey.

People often questioned what it was that brought them together. They really had nothing in common on the surface. Luna was a punk who loved playing guitar and skipping class to go play video games at friends' houses. She wasn't a bad kid, heck no. She knew where to draw the line. But she was more of an underclass hero than a white knight. Not like Carol, who was pretty much the singing example of what a high school student should try to be.

She got to skip a grade back in elementary school for exceeding normal academic behavior, and that reputation preceded her through her high school career. Straight A student, leader of the speech and debate club, varsity golf champion, homecoming queen: the only girl to ever win the crown in her junior year… Carol was perfect in the eyes of everyone in Royal Woods, not just Luna. People either wanted to be her, or hated her because they couldn't be.

But somewhere along the line, through detentions and working together on class projects, they fell in love. Carol liked having someone to bring her down to earth, and Luna liked having someone make her feel so good about herself. And with time, they found they really did have a few things in common. An affinity for playing instruments, watching romantic comedies on Fletnix, spending time with loved ones…

Smoking dank kush and then eating everything in the fridgernator before passing out on the couch...

It certainly took Luna by surprise when she learned that her seemingly perfect love interest had taken a liken to Mary Jane after trying some at a party, but she wasn't disappointed. After all, people probably assumed she smoked pot anyway. They weren't huge stoners or anything, but yeah, every once in a while, they liked to buy some dope and toke up on Friday nights. It was fun, it was relaxing, it made them feel cool for doing something they weren't supposed to be doing.

The best part though? They had each other.

All those thoughts, (as well as killing quite a few brain cells from smoking the stuff), distracts her from really paying attention to where she's going, and it's only when she hears the familiar call of her sister's voice that she breaks from her cigarette daydreams.

"Moon moon!"

"Huh?" she elegantly utters before she hurriedly crams the baggie bag into her pocket. Her eyes then look over to the source of the call, where she finds Luan, Maggie, and Sam Sharp all gathered around their usual morning hang out spot. Making sure that her party favors are safe and snug in her skirt, she hikes over to the girls and offers them a greeting nod. "Sup bitches."

They laugh a little. "How graceful of you," Sam greets back. "Sup with you, crack whore?"

"Oh, just another wholly glorious day in my neck of Royal Woods," she happily answers. "I got me a nice bag of green stuff for later when I go to Carol's house."

"Soylent Green?" Maggie sardonically contributes, earning her a charmed laugh from Luan.

"Dahaha! I knew you were a people person, after all!" she jokes.

Maggie snidely smirks. "I occasionally like to taste human flesh," she says to her, and the brunette just looks back to her with a sultry grin of her own.

"Mmm… I could give you some flesh to munch on."

Sam disregards their flirting to focus on more pressing matters pertaining to her best friend and her best friend's girl.

"So, Carol's tonight, huh?"

"Oh yeah. Me, C, and a house with no 'rents. Shit's gonna be mad lit. Literally, as Lori would say," she trails off with a little chuckle, visualizing her and her paramour putting their green herbs to better use than Jill Valentine. She disengages from her own sophomoric humor to focus back on Sam though. "What are you getting into this weekend?"

"Not joining you guys, that's what," she curtly responds. "That stuff freaks me out. Besides… I'm sure you and Carol will be making the most of your alone time, huh?" she questions with a suggestive little smirk.

Maybe it's the dope she's smoked, or maybe she's just a little slow this morning, but it doesn't quite register with Luna just what the other girl is really saying to her. "Uhh, not quite sure what you're getting at here, Blue."

All three of the girls roll their eyes like Luna rolls her joints, grinning and unperturbed. "Riiiiiight."

Now she raises a brow. "Okay, am I missing out on some sort of inside joke?"

"Come on, Luna. We all know what you two are going to do after you smoke that stuff," Sam states.

"Yeah, you said it. 'Come on Luna!'" Luan jokes, prompting Maggie to elbow her rib a little.

Sam laughs though, and Luna again just feels lost. That is until she shines an epiphanic light bulb over her lamp of a head, finally reading between her sister's punny, sexy quips.

"Ohhhhh!" she sounds before feeling herself tense up a little, and it shows with how she scratches the back of her neck and pinkens her freckled cheeks. "Well, um, I mean, I hadn't planned on anything like that happening…"

Now Sam raises a brow. "Really? You guys just planned on hanging out?"

"Well, yeah! We were just gonna get stoned, order some food, and probably watch Aggretsuko or something," she explains, and the others just shake their heads. Except Maggie. She just kind of stares with her traditionally bleak expression of listlessness.

"I expected more from you," Sam teases.

"Yeah, honestly, that sounds pretty boring," Luan chimes in. "You're not even gonna make out?

Luna feels a little attacked by that, and offers to defend herself. "Hey! What would you know about how to spend a date night? You used to spend your nights with Mr. Coconuts before Spooky here!" she retorts to her and Maggie.

"Well, let's just say there's a reason Luan calls me 'Magpie'," the emo girl quips after a moment of consideration.

"Because it's cute?" Sam speculates in a way that makes it hard to decipher whether or not she's joking.

Maggie's eyes widen with the sudden assault of fluffy sweetness. "Well, uhm. Yes…"

But before things can get too saccharine, Luan lives up to her reputation as one of the anstier Louds. "We don't need takeout for our dates! When we get together, Maggie eats my pussy like shrimp fried rice!"

Sam joins her in busting a gut with laughter, and Luna wears a dumbfounded expression as Maggie just frowns with conspicuous hatred.

Apparently, the rumors of Luan and Maggie taking each others' V-Cards over a dark side of the pillow are true. And realizing that her younger sister has had more sexual activity than her, added to the way Sam almost seems to be mocking her... It lights a bit of a fire inside akin to that of the Bics she uses to blaze up at 4:20. But only for a moment…

Because her brief feeling of anger is soon replaced by doubt. "Huh. Why haven't me and Carol taken that next step in our relationship?" she thinks aloud.

Seeing that she might actually be concerned, Sam and Luan ebb on their laughter. "Hey, we were just teasing. We didn't mean anything by it," the blonde apologizes.

"No, you guys are cool. Or, you're lame as fuck and will never be as cool as me, but you get what I mean," Luna stoically jokes back before getting serious again. "But now that you guys bring it up… I don't know. I guess I just always sort of figured this sort of stuff is supposed to be spontaneous, ya know? Afternoon Delight and whatnot."

The other three girls exchange thoughtful looks, trying to decide who should attempt to address that first. Sam makes it clear that it should not be her, though.

"Don't look at me? The furthest I've gotten is flicking my bean to Frankie Foster porn."

"Gee Sam, you really Bloo it! Hahaha!" Luan jokes.

Maggie rolls her eyes over their tomfoolery, and decides she has to be the one to be a voice of reason, even if she is really convinced this ultimately doesn't matter in the long run and that all religions are probably wrong about the possibility of an afterlife. "Don't listen to these idiots," she begins. "Look, you're right about one thing. The timing does have to be right for your first time. But sometimes, you have to give these things a little push, ya know?"

Luna ponders her words for a moment with a hum. "Hmm… Well, I reckon you're probably on to something. But I don't know. Tonight?"

"Hey now, don't dream it's over!" Sam assures her. "Maybe tonight will just be good for, well, being boring nerds. But maybe Carol thinks about this stuff too?"

That thought sends a surge of adrenaline into Luna's racing heart. "Oh shit, what if Carol does think of this stuff? What if I'm the only one who's an idiot?"

"Woah, chill," Luan interjects. "If anything, that's good for you! I mean, you wouldn't say no if Carol flung her naked self onto, would you?"

"I wouldn't," Sam murmurs, and the others scold her with their scowls. "What?"

They ignore her, and Luna takes a deep breath. "Well, maybe you guys are onto something. Maybe… Maybe tonight could be something more," she wonders, and with the idea that she and her (very attractive) girlfriend could consummate their love with sex, a blushing smile comes to her face.

Its glow is contagious, as the others smile too. Except Maggie again, but it doesn't stop Luan and Sam from gushing. "Awwww!" they both sound.

To sacrifice herself, and let Carol have what's left, she knows that she can find a fire in her eyes and blow it all away. And she will! Nothing is stopping her! So with newfound confidence, she smiles brightly and fixes her posture with confidence. "You know what? I'm gonna do it! And by do it, I really mean 'Do it'!" she promises. Then, she kicks over a nearby, conveniently placed wooden crate, and steps her foot on top of it to really convey her exuberance. The fist she throws in the air is a nice touch too. "Tonight, I'm going to have sex with my girlfriend!"

Luan and Sam applaud her for her declaration, and even Maggie has to sniffle as she slowly begins to clap too. However, through their caterwauling, they fail to realize that they are not entirely alone. A short distance away from them, the creepy ol' janitor named Samuel watches on, and they only notice him after it's gotten pretty awkward. Then, he just casually throws up a hand. "Hey, you do you, kid. I talk to squirrels, so…"

And of course, it's Luan to ruin everything cool that was just said with a dumb joke. "Well, that's nuts."

While Sam and Maggie are easily convinced to attack her for making such a stupid, obvious pun, Luna allows her mind to wander to images of her girlfriend. Her beautiful smile, her gorgeous eyes… her chest, only covered by a button-up blouse that could easily be discarded…

Part of it makes her nervous. But the truth is… it actually makes her excited too. And she smiles at that.

"I can do this. I love her."

A little later on that day, the very same girl that Luna considered sits at a table in the cafeteria with her best friend, a girl who just so happens to be her girlfriend's oldest sister. Carol and Lori both take time away from their casual small talk about how goofy that Benny kid is and how the newest SwiftyPic update actually sucks to check their phones and have a sip of their non-pulp health drinks. While Lori likely lurks around on her social media accounts, Carol finds herself in her feelings. She pulls up her SwiftyPic app, and while the update actually really does suck to a pretty distracting degree, she doesn't let it disturb her reverie. Why? Because she's the luckiest girl in the world to have a girlfriend like Luna.

So many great pictures… Selfies, candids, all of them just as lovely as the last. Luna's freckled cheeks always make for some wonderful smiles, and they're just so kissable, as made evident by a couple shots of Carol pecking them for the camera. Not that what mattered most to her was what other people thought, that was something that fell to the wayside a long time ago. But it was pretty nice to show the world that Luna was hers. Hers and hers alone.

That thought makes her contently sigh, and while she scrolls through the pictures, she can't help but let so many familiar feelings rush through her veins like Badflower's Heroin. Memories of the two of them spending so many nights together, just talking about life, being moms one day together, sharing music, playing board games with the family. Yeah, the family. She considered all of Luna's siblings her family at this point. Especially Lori.

But not all of her thoughts are so wholesome… Sometimes, she liked to imagine much naughtier things about her girlfriend. She always suspected she might have a tattoo, and she'd like to try and find out for herself some time. Even if it meant inspecting every inch of her freckled, dainty skin… She liked to think of how nice, thick, and cushiony her buttcheeks must be. She's grabbed a handful of them before just playing around, but never for as long or as well as she'd like to.

Her mouth practically waters, and, well… something else gets a little wet too as she begins to visualize Luna taking her top off after teasing her, but she isn't allowed to enjoy these images for too much longer as Lori finally speaks up again to bring her back to Earth.

"I think I might ask Bobby to see the new Ace Savvy movie with me tonight. He complained about the last one messing up his 'head cannons' or some shit like that, but boys like superheroes. And I know he'll buy me food. So yeah," she says before realizing that her companion must've been a little distracted from the lost look on her face.

Her theory is proven correct as Carol only mutters, "Huh?"

She rolls her eyes. "Nothing. I was just talking to the wall, I guess," she quips.

"Sorry, I uh… I was just thinking of Luna," she nervously responds, earning her a little smirk from her future sister-in-law. Yes, totally. She'll be her bridesmaid too.

"Well, I guess we're both in our own little worlds today," Lori says before somewhat murmuring, "And I guess I'm not the only one looking to get laid tonight."

The other blonde sort of hears her, but just to be sure she heard her right, she follows up with, "I'm sorry?"

Lori laughs and brushes it off. "Nothing. Nothing… So, what are you guys getting into later, anyway? Fletnix and literally chill?" she jokes.

"And literally smoking our fuckin' knee caps off," Carol considers answering, but she imagines that Lori probably doesn't know about their pot smoking escapades. So, to avoid any potential risk of upsetting her, she just feigns a little laugh. "Uh, yeah, we've been watching this new anime that's pretty cool. We probably won't burn the house down, heh heh..."

"Yes we will."

Lori nods in a way that is totally meant to be condescending as she takes another sip of her juice through her straw, looking at her phone screen that is apparently a lot more interesting than anime. "Ahhh… I see."

Carol kind of winces with chagrin, unsure of where the sudden snark came from. "Oh really now?"

"Yup," Lori curtly responds, taking her sweet time finishing her drink and savoring whatever image her screen offers her before fixing her eyes back on Ms. Pingrey. And the look she gives her is just so fucking snide and skewed with connotative meaning that Carol can't fight the urge to actually, literally scoff.

"What?!" she asks with a defensive tone.

The other girl just shrugs though, trying to play it off like she doesn't really care, but Carol knows she cares. She totally does! "Oh, nothing."

Nobody says, "Oh nothing," and really means "Oh nothing." So of course, Carol has to egg her on like a total spaz to see what she really means. Which she wouldn't do for just anybody, but she trusts Lori's judgment for the most part. Except when it comes to things matching with blue jeans. But that's something she's learned to just keep to herself for the sake of everyone's happiness.

So she swallows her pride and tries not to make it completely obvious that she feels defeated asking, "Seriously. What's wrong?"

Lori takes comfort in knowing this conversation is going exactly how she hoped it would, and she puts her phone down before looking Carol straight in the eyes. "So, be real with me a second, Carol. Was this all set up just to get Luna in bed tonight?"

The noise that comes out of Carol's dumbfounded mouth treads a fine line between a gasp, a guffaw, and a choke. But she certainly conveys her uncertainty well enough with it, and the "What?!" that follows.

Lori doesn't get excited though. She just keeps it cool as she reiterates. "Come on. Your parents are out of town for the night, you have the house to yourself, it's Friday? You probably started thinking of the types of candles you'd buy for your sexy time the minute you heard about it."

Carol's mouth drops. How… How dare Lori accuse her of being some sort of sexual deviant? How dare she think that she would go out of her way to set this date up all as just a way to seduce Luna, the girl she loves, Lori's little sister?!

And how dare she be the one to think of all of this first?!

"Like, damn! Why didn't I think of that?" Carol thinks as she imagines slapping her forehead.

Lori can see that Carol is thinking of how blindly stupid she's been, and while she doesn't like to be arrogant (all the time), she does take some pride in knowing she's helped guide Carol to the light. Or, dark… whatever. So she just anticipates whatever bullshit Carol will try to feed her, readying herself for any sort of clever interrogation she can offer back until she can get the other girl to either crack, or grow flustered until she has to cut her some slack. Being a mean girl is fun sometimes.

But in a way that's all too serendipitous, or maybe just predictable, Carol doesn't argue. She just sort of wears the surprise on her face for a moment before slouching back in her seat and groaning. "Ugggggggghhhhh I'm such an idiot."

Lori nods. "Yes, yes you are. But so am I," she jokes, reaching over to pull Carol up to proper posture by her shoulder. "So, idiot to idiot, what's the deal, seriously?" she asks, putting trickery back where it came from.

Carol takes her time to think it over. "I mean… I won't lie, I do think about… you know, with Luna," she tells turthfully her, somewhat embarrassed. But she keeps her usual collected nature to herself as she furthers her point. "But I wasn't like, making any plans for tonight to be the night or something, you know? I just… I want it to be…"

"You want it to be spontaneous?" Lori finishes for her, smirking.

Carol frowns. "You're no fun. I was going to say 'natural.'"

"No you weren't," Lori surely and surly retorts before getting back to brass tacks. "Real talk though. I get it, I really do," she begins. Then, she tenses up a little as she carefully words herself into a deeper conversation. "Like, okay. The first time for Bobby and I was… perfect. It really was. But it wouldn't have happened without a little premediation, ya know?"

Carol simply perks up an eyebrow, offering her experienced friend her attentive ears. And Lori takes advantage of that to press on.

"So, I mean, I don't know. Maybe Luna will make a move and you just have to be ready. Or maybe you, being the older partner, being the one to invite her over to your house while your parents aren't home; maybe you just need to make like Carol Pingrey here and take some initiative."

Flabbergasted. Just… flabbergasted. That's how Carol feels in this moment. And her face makes it clear with the same jaw dropped open she gave Lori on the day they met in that crafts store. Much like then, she is shocked to realize just how oblivious she's been. But also like then, she soon realizes in her heart that, the things Lori has to say to her… they're enlightening. She may as well be stepping out of Plato's Cave, because it's like a whole new world of possibilities is being opened to her.

"You're… you're on to something," she begins. And when Lori realizes that she has only begun to spaz, she takes another cool sip of her juice, deciding to pay close attention to the epiphanic sounds of madness her BFF has in mind. "Tonight is perfect! I don't have to worry about my parents or homework, I just cleaned my room yesterday, and I did buy some scented candles!"

"Yesterday?" Lori calmly asks.

"Yesterday!"

"That's so you," Lori happily says before relaxing some more. For a moment, Carol takes pause to consider all of the ways the stars are lining up, seemingly just for her and her Moon Song. As long as she's feeling good later the way she is now, it should go perfectly!

"I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner!" she touts with a charmed grin. "It's going to be fantastic! All I have to do is freshen up good before she gets to my house, drop a few flirty hints and looks here and there, stock up on lots of Fritos and chocolate-" Lori meets that last blurb with some skepticism, but Carol just casually swims by her accidental burn-out blurb to really drive home her point. "Uh, for after we uh, you know… Heh heh…"

Lori warmly smiles now, waving away all her previous snarkiness and sarcasm to show the generosity and sincerity that makes her such a great BFF. "That's great, Carol. I'm really happy for you guys," she says, affectionately resting a hand over hers to display her conviction.

Carol returns the sentimentality with a smile of her own, but only until she has a little bit of a wake-up call. "Okay, uhm, don't get me wrong. I appreciate this. I really do," she starts. "But why are you bringing this up? What does it matter to you?"

Lori takes a second to compose her thoughts. "Well, I care a lot about you guys. Both of you. I just, I don't know… I want to make sure things are going well for you. I wanna be a bridesmaid, dammit!" she jokes. But it's mostly serious, and totally sweet. Carol can see that much.

"You're not worried about us?" she follows up, hoping to eliminate any doubts.

"I mean, it would be different if, you know, you had a penis… But you don't. So…" Lori jokes again. "That, and I'm actually surprised Luna hasn't tried anything. She seems kind of freaky."

"Nobody sees Luna the way I do!" Carol thinks in a way that's kind of sort of supposed to be a joke for herself but not really because it's true and lowkey sad.

But the jokes stop as Lori returns to form once more, trying her best to stay steady with her following words of encouragement. "I know you two are perfect together. I know I don't have to worry about you guys. But, I do. Not in a bad way, though. Just, if I can do anything at all to help you guys with what you have, you bet my senior parking pass I will. Anytime, anywhere."

"She really likes her senior parking pass!" Carol thinks with a sniffle, truly touched by her words. With the trust that she means the things she says, she warmly smiles. "Thanks Lori. I'm glad she has a cool sister like you."

"Oh, don't get all cornball on me," Lori teases with her cheeks pinkening just a little. "I'm just shooting the breeze here."

For a moment, they allow some silence between them. With the silence, Carol allows her mind to wander back to where her evening will go later on. A big bag of weed, some fun surprises for her girlfriend, and possibly even taking their time together to make the biggest step in their relationship ever? Their biggest step as adults, even? Gosh… It's kind of scary. And she inadvertently lets it show with the way she winces.

Lori picks up on the shift in demeanor though. "What's wrong?"

She sighs. "I don't know. What if we're not ready? What if I try to make this happen and then… it doesn't go well…"

Lori considers that plausible possibility for a moment, but with a shake of her head, she puts an optimistic foot forward. "Look, I don't see that happening. Worst case scenario, Luna has cramps or something tonight, and you two just end up watching stupid anime."

"You're stupid," Carol quips.

Lori disregards it to return to her point. "Luna loves you. She really does. Heck, sometimes I wish you two would shut up about it," she teases. "So yeah. If tonight's the night, it's the night. But if it's not, then it's only a matter of time."

Again, her best friend's words put her at ease, and she finally lets herself put all of her guard down. "Yeah… Yeah, I guess you're right," she simply says before allowing herself to grace another smile with thoughts of Luna. Sex, drugs, and rock n' roll never seemed like they would be their type of song, but in a way that's all too familiar to their coming together in the first place, it all somehow works out. It all seems pretty wholehearted, actually.

And if that's the case, then the only thing she might have to fear is fear itself.

"I'm so going to jam out to Let It Go on the way home tonight," she thinks as she and Lori both go back to looking to their phones, one checking out her own profile picture full of sweet #Caroluna goodness, and the other… well, actually doing the same as she looks on her little sister's profile page. A smile comes to her face as she rests easy knowing her BFF is in good hands.

Maybe even literally before the day is over.

At a certain 0312 West Sanford Street home, Carol Pingrey takes a gander at herself through the reflection of her mirror. She strikes a few poses to get all the best views of her figure, checking to see that she likes what she sees. After all, if she isn't happy with herself, how could Luna be? Fortunately though, all seems well. Not just the way her thighs are a teasing view between her crew socks and plaid skirt, or the way her hair is perfectly coiffed. No, it isn't only her vanity that seems to be wonderful tonight.

The scent of her unlit November Rain candles offer her a small taste of what they'll permeate with their fires matched, and it already tricks her into a sense of bliss. Her room is perfectly dimmed, creating just the right amount of chiaroscuro for a nice, trippy (and maybe even sexy) atmosphere for when they begin their partying. She was also sure to take down some of the pictures of family members and some of her friends, or at least cover them up so it doesn't feel like they're being watched when things get real.

And of course, she turns on her little radio, one that Luna gifted to her as part of a joke about them being hipsters together, to put on some variety hits from her favorite radio station: Brighter on the Sunny Side. She clicks it on halfway through the chorus of In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins, and well… how apropos?

Yep, for once, something is perfect. She doesn't have to worry about her set up at all. Now she has ample room in her mind and her heart to focus on, well… everything else.

"Okay, Pingrey. Game face. Luna will be over before you know it. So be ready," she thinks to herself as she leaves her bedroom, going down the stairs and into the living area to run another play in her mind. "Tasty food? Check," she thinks as she takes another look at the dishes of cupcakes, boneless wings, nachos, Fruit Loops, and other munchie-snacks that she and Luna have had strange cravings for in the past. "Febreze? Check." That one should be obvious. "Emergency flashlight just in case shadow monsters try to ruin our buzz with a bad trip?" Oh shit, where's the emergency flashlight just in case shadow monsters try to ruin their buzz with a-?! "Oh, there it is!"

Cool. Cool. Things are copasetic here as well. But what about Luna? How will she be doing? "If she's in a bad mood, then what? What if stupid Mr. Andrews gave her a pop quiz? What if one of her siblings did something to mess with her? Lola is a pretty conniving kid. I should know. I was a conniving kid…" A lot of things could have possibly dampened her spirits since their last conversation. And if that's the case, then any chance of them making sweet snoo-snoo is practically out the window. So long, sexy times!

"But, then again… I could always comfort her into a sense of security, and then maybe she looks to me with those vulnerable brown eyes, basically asking to be given all of my love, and then…"

Ahh… so many things could right, too! So many things~

She doesn't really have time to dwell on the delicious possibilities though, because the sound of a forbidding doorbell rings, stopping her dead in her socked tracks. She's able to snap back to reality, grab a single M&M in her midstep, and then brush herself off and take a deep breath once she gets to the door to open it for her future wife. "She'll look so pretty in a wedding dress…"

The door is almost magically whisked open with the finesse of a Disney Princess as Carol pulls on the handle, revealing her gorgeous girlfriend with a bubbly smile on her face. It warms her heart, not only because she just looks totes adorbs, but also because she's happy! Yay! Good omens!

"Hey babe," Luna cooly greets as she steps forward, not even waiting to be invited in.

Her babe just smiles back at her, trying to conceal just how excited she is. "Hey yourself," she greets, and before any other pleasantries are exchanged, their mental synchronization leads them to exchange a quick peck on the lips. It's a good indicator for both of them that things are looking bright for their dusk, so Carol sweeps that worrywart shit under a heavy rug as she gestures her shorty boo to come inside.

The brunette than follows her girlfriend into her house, and she promptly kicks off her purple boots to make herself comfortable in the quaint suburban home, one a little more frequently occupied by all the Pingreys lately with their agreement to be home and spend more family time together. However, a certain two-day trip to upstate Michigan meant that the only daughter of the Pingrey family would have the house to herself for a little while, and in a way all too similar to old times, she finds herself with only Luna now.

Many things have changed since their days of being awkward project partners though, and one of those things is just how easy it has become for them to talk to one another. "How was your day?" Carol starts by asking her while they make their way to the couch to take a seat.

"It was good! I'm just happy to be here now," she answers, choosing not to go into a lot of details about a business as usual day. There was buying the party favors, that was cool. And talking to the OT3 about kinky shit wasn't so bad either, but it would probably be smart to keep it on the DL. Best not to create any sudden pressure to kick more than boots off and go straight to stuff that Saving Abel would sing about.

Carol can see that at the very least, she's not interested in talking about the boring bureaucracy behind high school tribulations, so she instead decides to simply reply with some saccharine stuff. After all, their night is literally just getting started, and it can't hurt to set a pleasant mood early, right? "Well, I'm very happy to have you."

A little loving laugh is shared between the two, and while it could easily transition into some awkward silence for any other couple, Luna knows a thing or two about playing it loud. Maybe not always with decibels, but with her gift of gab. And speaking of gifts...

"Aaaaaand… I brought the party favors!" she announces as she takes the hefty ten ounce sack of shiny, sparkly weed out of her pocket.

It practically makes Carol's eyes bug out of her head with its magnificence. She can already imagine just how tasty and smelly and dank it is, and she can't help but let out a spazzy: "Holy shit! That's- wow!"

Luna takes pride in her reaction, playing it cool as she takes a little bud out of the bag to get a big whiff of the stuff. "Ahhhh… This stuff is supposed to be really zen. My guy says it's like, really good," she explains before offering the bud to Carol, who doesn't even hesitate to take it for herself and get her own smell of the stuff. It's not quite as elegant as her Yankee Candles, but she'd be lying if she tried to tell anyone she didn't absolutely love the odor of it.

However, she's Carol freakin' Pingrey. Not even for her beloved Luna does she stoop so low to just keep spazzing all annoying like. So she does what she likes to think she does best; project herself with confidence.

"And how did you acquire the currency to purchase such a large sum of marijuana?" she asks with a flirty, troublesome tone that makes her girlfriend only briefly tense up. But only briefly. Because she's spent more than enough time with Carol freakin' Pingrey to know just how to walk the wire with her.

"I sucked a rando's dick on the street," she cleverly responds, earning her a casual nod from the other girl.

"Oh, so you're sucking dicks now?"

"Yup. Big ones. Uncircumsized."

"Mmm, I don't believe you."

"Taste for yourself," Luna flirts, stepping closer to her to where their faces are only inches apart. What started as a cutesy little exchange of pleasantries is now caressing the borders of careless whispers, ones that could lead to the very things the girls talked with their friends and sisters about earlier in the day. The lustful looks in their eyes and the way the mention phalluses only helps in exciting them, provoking them to make a little leap of faith into more tumultuous territories as they close those eyes and invite their lips to lock with each other.

As expected, that usual spark that they always feel comes over them, surging through their veins like they're Captain Carol and the Night Club ready to take on Thanos himself. It's powerful, it's palpable, it's pleasurable. It would be very easy for them to take advantage of that, and possibly even each other~

But they're not quite ready. Carol's only tingling a little in her panties, and Luna's heart is racing only a little bit. Hell, they just got here. They haven't even broken into their party favors yet. So, they disengage from their kiss when the moment feels right, spontaneous, and perfect, readying to lose each other in their bright eyes again.

"Nope. Just regular skank taste. No dick though," Carol jokes to break the silence, making Luna laugh a little.

"You would know what they taste like," she teases back.

Their teasing testing of the waters went very well, they both like to think to themselves as they break away from each other's embrace to sit back and relax a little bit, contently getting comfortable on a big fluffy couch that would be perfect for some Fletnix and actual chill. Not fucking each other's brains out or any of the dirty, naughty things they've considered pushing each other to try to do through their respective journeys through the morrow. Just chilling out and watching some Dragon Prince or some shit before cuddling and passing a blunt.

Those thoughts are nice, but what makes them truly wondrous are that, what seems like for the first time in way too freaking long, it's just the two of them, and the rest of the world left out of their doors. No stupid projects or stupid Sunderlands, no cancelled plans or drama with friends and family, no excuses. Just Carol Pingrey and Luna Loud, ready to focus on nothing else but their love for one another.

And maybe some DP. Maybe.

And then maybe some Dragon Prince.

"So how was your day, my dear?" Luna decides to ask Carol, realizing in the moment that she didn't return her politeness with some of her own thanks to some stupid dick jokes. Carol almost wants to be a buzzkill and turn it into more sarcasm and joking around, but she decides not to for two reasons. One, the only thing she likes more than being silly with her is being sweet with her, and two...

"Boring. Tiring. My feet hurt from walking around so much."

"Oh yeah, you had to give tours to the underclassmen today, didn't you?"

"Yes. The little dorks kept gawking at me like their moms don't feed them."

"Can you blame them? You're super hot," Luna ripostes, earning her a little glare from the now high school senior. She puts the silliness to the side though to grant some of that sweetness, going as far as to put an affectionate hand on her lap. "Well, I'm sorry you're tired."

Carol just smiles, resting her hand over top of hers and gazing gayly into her eyes. "I'm not too tired though. I've got plenty enough in the tank for you."

She can tell that she mostly intends to be loving in a Disney sort of way, but something in those eyes convinces Luna that maybe, just maybe she's thought some of the promiscuous ideas she's pondered herself. So yeah, she won't go too crazy with the amorous talk, but she might cast out a line and see how she bites. What could it hurt?

"Goody. Because I fully intend to make the most of our time together here tonight."

For a moment, the two girls only stare into each other's eyes, trying to read just how far these little quips and nuances really go. Like, of all the songs called So Far Away, where do they stand here? Staind? A7X? Or are they just messin' around?

But if they're not messing around, if there really is something to all the flirting and teasing and dick jokes… How do they make the next move?

Sadly enough though, it becomes a little harder to think on that for Luna as an awful, horrible, totally shit thought comes to her head. One that had to come eventually, one that was as inevitable as a dusting snap from the big purple guy she felt like they could take on as they shared that kiss. It's not only distracting, it's depressing. "Oh shit..." she states, letting it be known that she suddenly doesn't feel so good.

"What's wrong?" a concerned Carol asks.

It's enough to break her heart. Her achy, breaky heart. She won't blame Carol if she just dumps her now to find someone eight times more reliable. Even if they listen to fucking Simple Plan. But it must be done. The hardest choices require the strongest wills, and actually, she doesn't really even have a choice here. She just has some shitty luck, and too much dope has made her a bit of… well, a dope. So finally, she tells her the unbearable, terrible truth. One that is sure to weigh heavily on them for the rest of time.

"I forgot to get papers," she tells her with the heaviest of hearts. "I'm sorry, C."

The papers. You can't have joints without papers to roll them with. Normally, Luna was slick to just whip out her little box of white wraps, sometimes flavored, and start rolling J's like Afro Man rolls on Dayton rims through Eastside Palmdale. But today, all she can give her sweet Carol is bittersweet sorrow, a look of defeat that asks for mercy as she hangs her head lowly.

And while she at least expects her to be like, "Dude, seriously? Fuuuuuuuuck," Carol doesn't even frown. She just kinds of rolls her eyes and shakes her head before casually standing up.

"Fret not, fair Luna. For the goddess of thunder doth prepared for this occasion!" she proclaims with her best Hemsworth impression. Then, she makes her way upstairs, quickly yet calmly as Luna simply watches on with a raised brow.

Not long later after admiring the smorgasbord of munchie-foods Carol prepared for their date (thank god she remembered the Sour Patch Kids), the blonde returns to her with a big, clear, glass beaker of a badass lookin' bong in her hand and a shit eatin' grin on her face. It prompts Luna to look to her with the very same baffled expression she got upon revealing her dimebag, and all she can do is dumbly utter "Woah."

"Henceforth, we shall smoke from the Stormbringer!" Carol announces, holding the bong up as if it were actually a weapon of the gods. It may only be a mortal man's creation, but it is actually just as intimidating as an Asgardian hammer with how big it is.

"Yooooo! How do you even walk around with that thing?" Luna asks with awe as the other girl carefully takes a seat back by her, cautious not to spill any of the water inside anywhere.

"I know right? I picked this up at the adult book store the other day, and I wasn't even sure if I could fit it in my car!" she tells her girl as she measures it up with her eyes once again, still impressed by just how amazing drug paraphernalia can be. Luna seems to be in a similar stupor as she can only watch the bong like it's some sort of wild animal, one that she realizes must not be anywhere near as dangerous as her heart leads her to believe. Even so, there's great trepidation with the thought that this mama might be too hard to handle, and it shows with the way she gawks at it.

Carol, being Carol, takes the opportunity to have some fun with that. "Wanna hold it?" she asks with an almost childish tone.

"Uh, sure," is all Luna is really capable of mustering out. Part of her is still nervous, yeah. But like a newborn baby, she feels a stronger urge in her chest to take the chance for this adorable little beaker (which she notices Carol gussied up with a neat little SpongeBob sticker). "Jesus… It's bigger than John Holmes' dick," she comments with a little more wits as she firmly grasps it in her hand.

Once the trade off is complete, Carol just kind of relaxes as she preens her hair and fixes her posture all cutesy like, totally amused by just how bashful her little Bambi is being. "If she's this way over a silly glass bong, imagine what she'll be like on our wedding day," she thinks to herself, all while Luna keeps wearing the same cute disbelief on her freckled mug.

"You're not scared are you?" the blonde teasingly asks with a little laugh.

Luna perks up a little as she scoffs. "Me? Scared?... A little..."

Carol decides to ease up on her though as she ebbs on the flirtatiousness and scoots comes a little closer to her baby. "Yeah, I won't lie, I kind of am, too. I don't think you can overdose on pot though," she thinks aloud, quickly noticing how it doesn't seem to help any of Luna's worries. "Uh, but the point is, I spent fifty bucks on this thing, and we don't have anything else to blaze up with now. So…"

"You just wanna see how I look like sucking on something," Luna jokes, earning her a little shake of the head and smile from Miss Pingrey. Then… it gets quiet. The two girls exchange little looks at one another, the clock, the glass beaker, their munchie snacks, each other some more, and super fascinating little spots on the carpet. If fascinating had another meaning.

That's when they both realize what's really up, and it's Luna to make it clear first. "Oh, I see how it is!"

"What?"

"You're too chickenshit to hit it first!" she claims. "Oh, you're not scared are you, Lu? What a crock of rubbish!"

Carol dons a shocked look, one that shows she's more offended of being called out than being wrongly accused. "But-!"

"Rubbish! Hobknocker…" the rocker teases some more, wearing a little sneer that conflictingly tells her girlfriend that she can't judge her for feeling the same way, and simultaneously challenging her to make a move and be the bigger person.

She thinks it over for a moment, but her inner spitfire gets the better of her. She's always been the girl to stand above all others and take leadership, and if she can become the first junior to win the homecoming queen crown, she can certainly become the first girl to wield the mighty Stormbringer in their fight against a boring Friday night. "Fine," she simply retorts, swiping the beaker right from Luna's hands and granting her a look of surprise.

But it doesn't seem so easy to project her usual confidence as she carries this talisman in her mortal hands once again. Like the egg of the Dragon Prince, it's all shiny, sparkly, and pretty important to fate of all #Caroluna. It's supposably unbreakable according to the creepy Otto dude who rang her out at the Adult Book Store, but she's also skeptical of that considering this is like, the fourth least expensive bong available. One that was a fraction of the price of the other thing she purchased from the book store just in case her master plan to seduce Luna into nookie doesn't work out so well tonight. Which might be a little difficult if she never gets to smoking out of this thing…

Luna can see the same apprehension of her behalf, and while she could resort to even more ball busting, she feels more compelled to take a different approach. After all, if there's anything she's learned from her baby bro, it's that positive reinforcement is a heck of a motivator. So, rather than make a joke about her freezing up, she scoots a little closer, and rests a loving hand on the shoulder of her purple blouse. "Yo, for real though. I bet that thing has to be really badass to smoke out of," she says with a smile as Carol looks back to her.

They lock eyes for as long as they need to reach this new science of understanding, then Carol looks back to the mighty Stormbringer, one whose stem is still fresh and not stuffed with dank kush. "Yeah… Might help us save some bud, too," she speculates.

Again, they fall into silence as they both know what to do but no one does it. While Luna learned about positive reinforcement from Lincoln though, she learned about initiative from Carol. "You uh, you gonna go for it?" she finds it in herself to ask, not being pushy, but not at all pussyfooting either.

Hearing this tone from her awakens some of that usual Pingrey poise, and she perks up like she's going to flare up her fists and take to the wind and sky. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm gonna hit it already," she proudly tells the other girl, and she places the bong on the coffee table beside some delicious looking cupcakes to prepare their burndown. Of course, to do that, they'll need two very important items. One, a lighter, which she remembered to grab while finding that flashlight. And two…

"You wanna give me a bud?" she asks Luna, holding her hand out expectantly, almost impatiently.

It makes her smile seeing her woman take charge the way she likes to do, and without a word, she reaches into her bag of tricks to pick the finest, stinkiest, fuzziest ball of green she can find. Her hubris gets the better of her though, and she risks taking a big whiff of the stuff before handing it off. "Ooooh yeeeeeah," she lets out with a grin before finally giving up the bud to Carol, who mockingly huffs before taking it and gently placing it into the stem of the beaker. Of course, she has to pause to have one more smell of the sticky stuff herself, letting out a nice little "Ahhhh," of her own before completing the process.

With the first vital step completed in their pot smoking ritual, all that's left to do is ignite the fire and let it burn. There's still a little anxiety on the part of both teens, but the excitement to indulge in some sweet stoner stress relief begins to exceed any doubts they may have. After all, they have each other.

Which might be greater on more than just a sentimental level as Carol tries to actually start toking from this thing. It's a bit of a pain in the neck with how long her hair is getting in the way of her face, and how big the neck of the bong is, and the way the lighter keeps flickering instead of actually doing it's fucking job as she makes herself look stupid trying to work with all of this while bringing the mouthpiece to her lips. "Ughh," she groans as she leans back again with some defeat, and Luna has the audacity to actually laugh at her for it! The bitch!

She's sure to let her know she's unamused with a glare, but Luna doesn't take it to heart as she calms down and just smiles. "You mind if I give you an extra hand?" she asks now.

"Oh, now you decide to be helpful," Carol quips. But of course, they just smile at one another before fixing themselves to get closer together and work in tandem to make this thing work. Carol gives her the lighter, and then she lets herself get a pair of loving arms wrapped around her to help hold onto the bong. Then, she fixes her hair back, using a fist to keep it in place as she uses the other to steady the beaker.

Luna keeps smiling at her as she brings her lips to the mouthpiece again, and then she starts flicking the lighter until a steady flame has risen. Then, she offers one last look at the blonde. "You ready, C?"

All Carol has to do is meet her with an affirming look from the corner of her eye, and with that consent, Luna brings the flame to the stem of the bong, catching the bud on fire for her. Then, Carol begins sucking in like she's about to take a deep breath of fresh air. Instead though, she only serves to bubble up the water inside of the bong, almost magically creating a whirlwind of smoke inside that fogs up the glass to the very top. All Luna can do is watch with awe as her girlfriend creates such an amazing cloud of smoke, making her heart race more and more as the moment seems to finally come to its fever pitch.

Finally, Carol stops sucking, freeing herself from the beaker as she quickly wraps a hand over the mouthpiece to keep any smoke from leaving the inside. She catches her breath with actual inhalation of oxygen, then looks to Luna for only a moment to show her she's ready to really have some fun with her. "Ready?" she asks the brunette.

"Blow me away," she simply tells her with a smile.

Then… Carol puts her lips back to the bong, and sucks up every last vapor of smoke from inside. Luna's eyes widen once again as she takes it all like it's child's play, puffing up her cheeks and really savoring the taste and nuance of marijuana smoke engulfing her insides.

"Holy shit, you actually did it!" she comments; proud, excited, kind of turned on by the impressive display.

But before she can feel too good about Carol's feat, the girl's toke gets the best of her. And she starts coughing up a fit something fierce. It shouldn't be as funny as it is watching the poor thing cough and cough and cough the way she does, doing her best to fight it and stifle the way she chokes up while her eyes water and turn beat red. But it is. It's hilarious. And Luna can't help but burst out into laughter over it. "Oh shit, dude. That's too rich!"

Normally, Carol Pingrey would be pretty upset at someone for having so much fun at her expense. The burning sensation in her chest and throat, joined with the new swooning in her head, keeps her from really paying any mind to that though. "I might literally… cough up a lung!" she says through her coughing.

Eventually, her coughing and Luna's laughter subside. For a moment, the blonde just looks skyward, doing her best to recover and wrap her head around this funny new feeling coming over her. It starts with what could almost be called dizziness, but not in a bad way. In fact, it feels pretty okay. More than okay...

"So… how was it?" Luna finally asks her.

Carol turns to face her. It takes only about one whole second, but for her, it's as if some divine intervention has pressed a slow motion button. They also managed to somehow add dreamy screen effects, ones that make everything a little more vibrant, a little more iridescent, a little more… woah… By the time she even manages to maneuver her irises into meeting Luna's again, she's completely forgotten what she even asked her.

"Whuh?"

Luna can see that her eyes have already reddened significantly, and that maybe she's already begun to lose herself in a relaxing world of pleasure. It causes a little smile to creep on her lips. "Does it hit good?"

"Does it hit good?" Carol mentally repeats to herself. "What does she mean, 'Does it hit good?' I didn't hit her? I would never! I love her a whole bunch! Luna's… awesome! She's great! And pretty… A heh…"

What she doesn't realize though is that she meant to keep those thoughts in her head. However, they managed to find their way out of her mouth too, perfectly audible for Luna herself to hear. She doesn't want to be one to burst her happy little bubble, but… "Uh, C?"

She's just met by another hazy look.

"You do realize I heard everything you just said, right?"

…

"BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Carol cackles, holding her ribs the harder she goes. It's the funniest dang thing she's ever heard! Luna, she, it- Dude! She just keeps laughing and laughing, happy as she can be to have just made a mess of herself in front of her best girl.

Normally, such behavior would be concerning. If Luna walked in on any other time with her practically convulsing with laughter the way she does now, eyes all red, clothes all smelly; she'd probably call an emergency hotline. But knowing full well that it's just the sublime effects of her favorite strand of Purple Train Wreck working their magic, she just grins a Joker pickin' grin and eases her way into taking Stormbringer for herself before Carol can spill dirty bong water everywhere. "Okay, so it hits good."

Carol finally eases up a little bit, enough to muster out actual King's English for a bit. "Okay, okay, okay. Okay. Okay… Whew! Luna! Baby.. That thing right there? That thing?... It's fuckin' dope," she tactfully says to her before laughing just a little more at how silly everything in god's creation suddenly seems to be.

Part of it is charming, but it's also a little obnoxious. "Okay, I can see you're just gonna start annoying me if I don't hurry up and get my own buzz on. So… Jesus take the wheel," Luna states, working her eyes from the lady she wants to share a nice day for a white wedding with one day to the eye of the Stormbringer. Like Sauron, it's opening seems to be almost devilish, but she ain't never been scared of nothin'! Let alone a good time with Carol Pingrey...

So, she does her best to get both hands on the bong, trying to steady it between her thighs as she works to get her lighter and start blazing up. Unfortunately, it gets super awkward, and she finds herself cursing British obscenities under her breath as she staggers to get the damn bud to burn for her.

Despite her newfound bliss in a dandy headrush, Carol is able to recognize her baby girl is struggling. And that's not cool, man! Luna's always been so nice and good to her! Heck, she even helped her light shit up a couple seconds, minutes, uh, something like that… Yeah. A little bit ago, yeah. So she keeps that in mind as she straightens herself up a little bit, getting super serious again as she scoots a little closer to the brunette. "Here, let me help you."

Luna just meets her with a warm little smile, and Carol returns it with one of her own. Then, she wraps her pretty little arms around her girlfriend's pretty little waist, letting herself take the lighter and an assisting grip of the bong to make Luna's job a little easier. Then, just like she did before, the younger girl places her lips to the mouthpiece, and starts sucking in with all her lungs' wherewithal as Carol burns the bud in the stem. It's smooth going, burning good with a nice fruity taste at first. But then she inhales all the smoke, doing her best to hold it in for as long as possible, trying not to make the same mistake her girlfriend did and biting off more than she can chew.

It impresses the heck out of Carol, who even with a pretty damn good high going on, can tell with clarity her girl's got some mad skill. "Huh. You actually took that like a-"

Until she starts going into a coughing fit.

"...champ."

"Fuck, fuck!" Luna cusses as she tries to get a grip, failing. It's kind of adorable watching Luna go from being so cool and collected to this far cry, but Carol doesn't laugh at her. Instead, she just shakes her head a little and eases her way into taking Stormbringer and resting it safely on the table. Right next to the fucking awesome looking cupcakes. It doesn't help Luna with her discomfort any, but at the very least she won't be breaking anything. So Carol just patiently waits for her to get over herself, sneaking a finger to preen some of her chestnut brown hair behind her ear before resting her hand on her back. Her shirt is so… soft…

Eventually, Luna collects her bearings without losing any internal organs, and she finds it in herself to be able to lock eyes with the taller girl. She has to blink a few times to fight off all the shaky, squiggly dots in her eyes, but when her vision is a little clearer, she gets a good look at her bright, smiling face. Her lips are all glossy and smooth looking, probably great for kissing. Her cheeks are rosy and free of any blemishes, smooth as satin and sleek as silk. Her hair is perfect, as always. Her eyes…

Well, her eyes…

She doesn't want to slip, but she does. She starts pursing her lips like someone dropped Warhead candy on her tongue, and little stifled chuckles escape her nostrils as Carol begins to question just what has her acting foolish all of a sudden.

"What are you laughing at?"

Ever so gracefully, Luna tells her, "Your eyes are as red as mine!"

It takes a moment for the gears to really get turning in Carol's head, but once they do, it's like a fog has been lifted. Her eyes are free of sties, her ears can pick up on all songs clearly. Most importantly, she comes to a complete, total understanding of what Luna has just said to her. She's made sense of it all.

And it's actually the funniest fucking thing ever.

"BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" she busts out again, just like before. But unlike then, Luna doesn't pass judgment. She doesn't meet her with curiosity or inquisitiveness. She just lets the wonderful sound of Carol's contagious joy sing to her like a ballad, and she doesn't relent from joining in to share some of the glorious laughter for herself.

The first of many on this fateful Friday night...