Author's
Notes: Let Me Tell You About the Birds and the Bees was supposed
to be a one-shot fic. I mean, really, what else could I do with it? But
y'know what? I have really pesky friends. So I wrote a second chapter.
And I'm actually planning on there being a third and fourth. And after
that...no more R/J for me.
***
Like they had been for
the past few nights, Rachel's dreams were filled with Jake. It was driving
her crazy. She loved Tobias. There was no denying that. And she loved Cassie,
her best friend. Anything she could possibly feel for Jake conflicted with
those two facts. She would never betray them again.
But her subconscious mind obviously didn't see the one-night stand as a betrayal.
"You wouldn't believe the night I had," Cassie announced to Rachel at breakfast the next morning.
"Huh?"
Cassie glanced around. "I'll tell you about it after breakfast. Hurry up."
Rachel obeyed. She wasn't used to seeing Cassie this cheerful. She had to know what this was about.
It wasn't until Cassie was dragging Rachel toward the woods that her sleep-deprived mind remembered what she'd seen last night.
Cassie and Jake. Walking hand in hand. Into the woods.
Duh.
Once Cassie had judged them a safe distance away from prying ears she turned to Rachel and blurted out her news. "Jake and I did it last night."
Rachel about choked at Cassie's bluntness. "Um, well, that's....." Cassie was beginning to look concerned, so Rachel forced a teasing smile. "About time."
Cassie giggled. "It was the most amazing experience ever. You know, you hear stories about first times being awkward and pretty horrible, but this was. . . absolutely perfect. I don't know if Jake's psychic or what, but he knew just where to touch me when -" Cassie broke off suddenly when she noticed Rachel blushing. "Oh, you probably don't want to hear this about your cousin, do you?"
Rachel shrugged. "I subjected you to the same thing after my first time, so it's fair now."
"Are you sure?"
"Who else are you going to talk to? Marco?"
Cassie looked mortified. "Oh, my God, no! If he knew -"
"He probably already does," Rachel said gently. "He's Jake's best friend, you know."
"Oh, God. He is. Crap. The entire Valley is going to know more about my sex life than I will."
Rachel laughed, glad for this distraction from her own problems. "If he breathes a word to anyone, I'll go grizzly on him, 'kay?"
"So you really don't mind?"
"Come on, Cassie! Just tell me!"
Cassie blushed slightly, then launched into the story, with full details. She caught Rachel blushing a few times, but Rachel assured her she was all right. She wasn't embarrassed to be hearing the story. She was blushing at the memory of how it had felt when Jake had done the same things to her. But she couldn't tell Cassie she had taught the guy everything he knew.***
"Are you sure you don't
want to?"
Rachel sighed. "Yes, Tobias, I'm positive. I'm. . . still sore from last night." That usually gave him enough satisfaction to drop the subject.
And tonight was no different. "Then I'll see you in the morning." Tobias kissed Rachel deeply, then demorphed.
Rachel waited until Tobias was on his way to his tree before she turned to leave.
And ran straight into Jake.
"I was hoping I'd find you out here," he said.
"Why?"
"Well, Cassie and I did, y'know. . ."
"Yeah, I do. She told me."
"What?!"
"Jake, we're best friends. Best friends tell eachother when they've had their first time. Well, girls do, anyway. You didn't tell Marco about last night?"
"Well, yeah, I did," Jake admitted. "I just didn't think Cassie would - never mind. That's not the reason I need to talk to you."
Is he having the same issue I am? "What is it then?"
"I need to know more. Doing the same thing every time is going to get boring fast."
Rachel stared at Jake for a moment, not believing what she was hearing. "I can't do that Jake. You know that! Besides, Cassie knows, in theory, everything I know. She can talk you through it." Rachel hesitated a moment, debating whether to continue her diatribe or leave. She chose the latter. "I'll see you in the morning." She pushed past Jake.
"Did I ever thank you?"
Rachel stopped in her tracks. "For what?"
"Everything."
Rachel spun around. "Everything as in taking your virginity, betraying my best friend and breaking a few laws? Oh, and my boy friend. Let's not forget how I screwed that relationship up."
Now Jake turned to face Rachel. "What are you talking about?"
Rachel shook her head. "This is wrong on so many levels, Jake. Like I said, not only is it technically illegal, but I can't have a normal conversation with Cassie or Tobias anymore. As much as I want to. . . I can't forget what we did. What we did with each other, and what we did to Cassie and Tobias. And I don't know how many more stories like the one I head today from Cassie I'll be able to sit through before I just snap and tell everyone what happened and how I wish it would happen again!" Rachel's eyes widened in shock when she realized what she'd said. "Oh, shit," she muttered.
Jake reached forward and pulled Rachel into a gentle hug. "I don't know what to do, either," he admitted, "but I feel the same way."
"But Cassie. . . Tobias. . . ."
"I don't know. I love Cassie. . . but I love you, too. I just don't know how."
"It has to be as family." She pulled away from Jake slightly, just enough so she could look him in the face without letting go of him. "I can't do this to Cassie or Tobias anymore. I love them both too much. And they deserve better."
Yeah, we do. > Rachel and Jake pulled away from each other as Tobias fluttered down from a tree and demorphed.
"Tobias, what are you -" Rachel began to ask, but Tobias cut her off.
"Y'know, what you two did. . . I don't care that you're cousins. I've heard of stranger things and the laws be damned. My problem is you two did this, and want to do it again, while you say you love other people.
"I do! I swear," Rachel insisted. "This - what Jake and I - you don't know the story, Tobias. Let me explain."
Tobias began walking past her. "Let me get Cassie. You can tell her, too."
Rachel grabbed his arm. "No. Later. We - I - promise. But not now."
Tobias glowered at Rachel, then Jake, then leaned against a tree. "All right. I'm listening. For now."
Rachel began to speak, but Jake stopped her. "This is my fault, Tobias. Don't blame her."
"What?!" Rachel demanded. Jake ignored her.
"I needed advice. I wanted to start having sex with Cassie, but I. . . " Jake was blushing, obviously embarrassed by what he was about to admit. "I didn't really know the best way to go about it. C'mon, I'm sure you can relate."
Tobias' expression didn't change.
"Okay, so, I went to Rachel," Jake continued. "I figured no one would know what Cassie might want better. She didn't want to tell me, but I wouldn't leave her alone. It was my fault."
Rachel shot Jake an exasperated look, then moved to take Tobias' hand. Tobias jerked away, but Rachel stayed close and talked softly so Jake couldn't quite hear. "Tobias. You know what it's like. How often have you teased me by telling me, in private thought speak, just what you want and plan to do to me later? You know what that does to me, even if I can't see you, and I bet you aren't unaffected either. Would we be able to stay away from each other if we were in a private place?"
If it was possible, Tobias' frown grew more severe. "Fine," he said so Jake could hear as well. "I still can't believe you two did this, but I won't tell Cassie. She deserves to hear it straight from you two." Without waiting for a response, he demorphed quickly and flew off.
"I should tell her," Jake said when he was sure Tobias was out of hearing range.
Rachel shook her head. "Stop trying to be a martyr for me, Jake. We'll both tell her. We both screwed up."***
Rachel was quiet the next
morning. Abnormally so. Cassie noticed, of course. She also noticed how
Tobias was no where to be seen. He never ate with the group, of course,
but he always dropped by after his hunt to sit with Rachel.
Maybe he's having a hard time today, Cassie rationalized. But when he still hadn't showed up by the time everyone, except dawdling Rachel, had finished eating, Cassie knew that something had to be up.
"Come on, girl talk," Cassie said as she pulled on her best friend's arm.
"Can't it wait?"
"No. Come on." Cassie dragged Rachel into the woods where they'd talked the morning before. "Okay. What's up?"
"Nothing." Cassie fixed Rachel with a hard stare. "Really. I just didn't get much sleep last night. You know what it can be like."
"You're really tense today. And Tobias never showed up. What happened?"
"N-nothing." A long pause. "All right. Tobias and I had a fight last night. Okay? I couldn't sleep."
"Oh," Cassie said softly. "Rachel, I'm sorry."
"Don't be. We'll be fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!" Rachel snapped.
Cassie wasn't put off by Rachel's abrasive behavior. She put an arm around Rachel's shoulder, and felt her tense at the touch.
Something still wasn't right.
"Rachel, you're not telling me everything, are you?"
Rachel shrugged out of Cassie's half-hug. "Everything's fine, Cassie. I'll talk to you later." She started to leave, but Cassie stepped in front of her, blocking her path.
"We've all begun to lose contact with eachother out here. We focus more on fighting than on what's up with each other, which is just as important. I'm not going to let this drop."
Rachel sagged. Cassie was worried for a moment that Rachel was actually going to pass out. Her knees seemed to buckle, her posture drooped, and her head fell forward so her hair hid her face."
"Rachel?" Cassie asked softly.
"I'm sorry," Rachel whispered.
"For what?"
Rachel sighed. She leaned against the tree, then slid down the trunk. "Sit down. You're not going to like this."
Cassie sat next to Rachel. "Just tell me."
Slowly, Rachel told Cassie what had happened between her and Jake three nights ago now. Then the confrontation the night before. She sped up slowly, and was almost tripping over her words by the time she finished telling the story. "I swear, Cassie, I didn't mean for this to happen. I never wanted it to! But -"
"But now something's changed," Cassie interrupted, her voice flat. "Something has changed between you and Jake. Unexpected though it was."
Rachel looked surprised. "You. . . understand?"
"I understand why Jake talked to you. I understand that now everything's changed. But I don't understand why neither of you said stop, why you would risk everything for a few minutes of pleasure."
"Cassie -"
"I need to be alone for awhile."
Rachel stood up. "I'm sorry, Cassie." She waited a moment to see if Cassie would respond. She didn't. Rachel turned to head back towards the camp.
She didn't head back directly, however. She wandered in the woods for awhile before stumbling back into camp unexpectedly, out of sight of all of the humans in the Valley. Good, she thought. Cassie wasn't the only one who needed to be alone for awhile. She sat down against a tree and rested her head against her knees.
Rachel didn't know how long she'd been sitting there, when she felt someone tapping her shoulder.
"What?" she demanded, her head still on her knees. The intruder had interrupted her much needed nap.
"It's me."
Jake.
"What do you want?"
"When Cassie came back without you, I got worried. Especially when she wouldn't look at me. Did you tell her?"
"I had to," Rachel whispered.
"Why?"
Rachel finally looked up. "You know what Cassie's like if she thinks you're holding something back. She wouldn't drop it, so I told her and now. . . I don't blame her for hating me. I don't blame Tobias. But I don't know how we - the team - is going to survive now." She sighed. "We - I - screwed up."
"No, it's we," Jake corrected. "You're right. You had to tell Cassie. We should have told her right away, but I didn't want to face her. We did screw up, but we'll get through it." He placed a tender hand on Rachel's shoulder, but she pushed him away.
"Don't," she warned. "I don't. . . I don't know how I feel about you, Jake, and I'm not going to let hormones dictate my actions twice. Not before everything gets sorted out."
Jake nodded and stood up. "Okay. Yeah. That sounds smart. I'll, uh, just go then." He started to leave, but Rachel called him back. "What?" he asked as he stepped close again.
"You thanked me earlier," she said slowly as she stood up. "I shouldn't have snapped. What I should have said is. . . you're welcome."
"Thanks," Jake said as he smiled slowly. And seeing that smile, Rachel really began to understand, for the first time, what Cassie had seen in the guy.
If I knew who wrote the song that inspired the name of this fic and all its chapters, I'd give the credit here. But I don't know. The title of the song is 'Let Me Tell You About the Birds and the Bees', like the original title of the first chapter. Speaking of that first chapter, since it is very NC-17, it can now be found at http://www.megspace.com/arts/moriath/Animorphs/Fics/LMTYA/BridsBees.html . At the moment I don't intend on any of the other chapters being rated that high, but you never know where the muse will take you....
Let Me Tell You About...
Chapter Two: The Flowers in the Trees
Tobias leaned down and
caught Rachel's mouth with his just before he came. Rachel returned his
kiss eagerly, biting Tobias' lower lip gently as he groaned.
As he came down from
his post-orgasm high, he had a slightly troubled look on his face. "What
about you?"
Rachel knew what he
was referring to. He'd had his climax, but for the first time she hadn't
had one of her own. But she smiled for him. "It was quiet this time. Don't
worry." She kissed him again.
But Rachel was worried.
Two nights ago she and Jake had had sex not far from this very spot. And
as much as part of her wanted to, Rachel couldn't forget that night. She'd
tasted blood, and part of her wanted more.
After getting dressed,
Rachel picked up the blanket they used to protect themselves from the forest
floor. She kissed Tobias one last time before he demorphed, then made her
way back towards the cabins.
As usual, all the cabins
were dark. Everyone had blown out their candles for the evening and was
sound asleep.
Or were they?
Rachel caught movement
out of the corner of her eye. She jumped behind a tree, not wanting to
be caught by anyone. A parent would demand to know what she was doing out
in the woods in such a disheveled state, and so would a Hork-Bajir, though
for different reasons. And a Yeerk would kill her on sight.
But when she looked
out from behind the tree, Rachel saw Jake and Cassie walking hand in hand.
They looked happy. Rachel sighed in relief, and happiness. It was about
time..
Jake looked over Cassie's
head and happened to catch Rachel's eyes. He smiled at her, a slightly
goofy grin conveying his excitement and nerves. Rachel smiled and nodded
her encouragement. As soon as they were out of sight, she made it the rest
of the way to her cabin without seeing anyone else.
But her subconscious mind obviously didn't see the one-night stand as a betrayal.
"You wouldn't believe the night I had," Cassie announced to Rachel at breakfast the next morning.
"Huh?"
Cassie glanced around. "I'll tell you about it after breakfast. Hurry up."
Rachel obeyed. She wasn't used to seeing Cassie this cheerful. She had to know what this was about.
It wasn't until Cassie was dragging Rachel toward the woods that her sleep-deprived mind remembered what she'd seen last night.
Cassie and Jake. Walking hand in hand. Into the woods.
Duh.
Once Cassie had judged them a safe distance away from prying ears she turned to Rachel and blurted out her news. "Jake and I did it last night."
Rachel about choked at Cassie's bluntness. "Um, well, that's....." Cassie was beginning to look concerned, so Rachel forced a teasing smile. "About time."
Cassie giggled. "It was the most amazing experience ever. You know, you hear stories about first times being awkward and pretty horrible, but this was. . . absolutely perfect. I don't know if Jake's psychic or what, but he knew just where to touch me when -" Cassie broke off suddenly when she noticed Rachel blushing. "Oh, you probably don't want to hear this about your cousin, do you?"
Rachel shrugged. "I subjected you to the same thing after my first time, so it's fair now."
"Are you sure?"
"Who else are you going to talk to? Marco?"
Cassie looked mortified. "Oh, my God, no! If he knew -"
"He probably already does," Rachel said gently. "He's Jake's best friend, you know."
"Oh, God. He is. Crap. The entire Valley is going to know more about my sex life than I will."
Rachel laughed, glad for this distraction from her own problems. "If he breathes a word to anyone, I'll go grizzly on him, 'kay?"
"So you really don't mind?"
"Come on, Cassie! Just tell me!"
Cassie blushed slightly, then launched into the story, with full details. She caught Rachel blushing a few times, but Rachel assured her she was all right. She wasn't embarrassed to be hearing the story. She was blushing at the memory of how it had felt when Jake had done the same things to her. But she couldn't tell Cassie she had taught the guy everything he knew.
Rachel sighed. "Yes, Tobias, I'm positive. I'm. . . still sore from last night." That usually gave him enough satisfaction to drop the subject.
And tonight was no different. "Then I'll see you in the morning." Tobias kissed Rachel deeply, then demorphed.
Rachel waited until Tobias was on his way to his tree before she turned to leave.
And ran straight into Jake.
"I was hoping I'd find you out here," he said.
"Why?"
"Well, Cassie and I did, y'know. . ."
"Yeah, I do. She told me."
"What?!"
"Jake, we're best friends. Best friends tell eachother when they've had their first time. Well, girls do, anyway. You didn't tell Marco about last night?"
"Well, yeah, I did," Jake admitted. "I just didn't think Cassie would - never mind. That's not the reason I need to talk to you."
Is he having the same issue I am? "What is it then?"
"I need to know more. Doing the same thing every time is going to get boring fast."
Rachel stared at Jake for a moment, not believing what she was hearing. "I can't do that Jake. You know that! Besides, Cassie knows, in theory, everything I know. She can talk you through it." Rachel hesitated a moment, debating whether to continue her diatribe or leave. She chose the latter. "I'll see you in the morning." She pushed past Jake.
"Did I ever thank you?"
Rachel stopped in her tracks. "For what?"
"Everything."
Rachel spun around. "Everything as in taking your virginity, betraying my best friend and breaking a few laws? Oh, and my boy friend. Let's not forget how I screwed that relationship up."
Now Jake turned to face Rachel. "What are you talking about?"
Rachel shook her head. "This is wrong on so many levels, Jake. Like I said, not only is it technically illegal, but I can't have a normal conversation with Cassie or Tobias anymore. As much as I want to. . . I can't forget what we did. What we did with each other, and what we did to Cassie and Tobias. And I don't know how many more stories like the one I head today from Cassie I'll be able to sit through before I just snap and tell everyone what happened and how I wish it would happen again!" Rachel's eyes widened in shock when she realized what she'd said. "Oh, shit," she muttered.
Jake reached forward and pulled Rachel into a gentle hug. "I don't know what to do, either," he admitted, "but I feel the same way."
"But Cassie. . . Tobias. . . ."
"I don't know. I love Cassie. . . but I love you, too. I just don't know how."
"It has to be as family." She pulled away from Jake slightly, just enough so she could look him in the face without letting go of him. "I can't do this to Cassie or Tobias anymore. I love them both too much. And they deserve better."
Yeah, we do. > Rachel and Jake pulled away from each other as Tobias fluttered down from a tree and demorphed.
"Tobias, what are you -" Rachel began to ask, but Tobias cut her off.
"Y'know, what you two did. . . I don't care that you're cousins. I've heard of stranger things and the laws be damned. My problem is you two did this, and want to do it again, while you say you love other people.
"I do! I swear," Rachel insisted. "This - what Jake and I - you don't know the story, Tobias. Let me explain."
Tobias began walking past her. "Let me get Cassie. You can tell her, too."
Rachel grabbed his arm. "No. Later. We - I - promise. But not now."
Tobias glowered at Rachel, then Jake, then leaned against a tree. "All right. I'm listening. For now."
Rachel began to speak, but Jake stopped her. "This is my fault, Tobias. Don't blame her."
"What?!" Rachel demanded. Jake ignored her.
"I needed advice. I wanted to start having sex with Cassie, but I. . . " Jake was blushing, obviously embarrassed by what he was about to admit. "I didn't really know the best way to go about it. C'mon, I'm sure you can relate."
Tobias' expression didn't change.
"Okay, so, I went to Rachel," Jake continued. "I figured no one would know what Cassie might want better. She didn't want to tell me, but I wouldn't leave her alone. It was my fault."
Rachel shot Jake an exasperated look, then moved to take Tobias' hand. Tobias jerked away, but Rachel stayed close and talked softly so Jake couldn't quite hear. "Tobias. You know what it's like. How often have you teased me by telling me, in private thought speak, just what you want and plan to do to me later? You know what that does to me, even if I can't see you, and I bet you aren't unaffected either. Would we be able to stay away from each other if we were in a private place?"
If it was possible, Tobias' frown grew more severe. "Fine," he said so Jake could hear as well. "I still can't believe you two did this, but I won't tell Cassie. She deserves to hear it straight from you two." Without waiting for a response, he demorphed quickly and flew off.
"I should tell her," Jake said when he was sure Tobias was out of hearing range.
Rachel shook her head. "Stop trying to be a martyr for me, Jake. We'll both tell her. We both screwed up."
Maybe he's having a hard time today, Cassie rationalized. But when he still hadn't showed up by the time everyone, except dawdling Rachel, had finished eating, Cassie knew that something had to be up.
"Come on, girl talk," Cassie said as she pulled on her best friend's arm.
"Can't it wait?"
"No. Come on." Cassie dragged Rachel into the woods where they'd talked the morning before. "Okay. What's up?"
"Nothing." Cassie fixed Rachel with a hard stare. "Really. I just didn't get much sleep last night. You know what it can be like."
"You're really tense today. And Tobias never showed up. What happened?"
"N-nothing." A long pause. "All right. Tobias and I had a fight last night. Okay? I couldn't sleep."
"Oh," Cassie said softly. "Rachel, I'm sorry."
"Don't be. We'll be fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!" Rachel snapped.
Cassie wasn't put off by Rachel's abrasive behavior. She put an arm around Rachel's shoulder, and felt her tense at the touch.
Something still wasn't right.
"Rachel, you're not telling me everything, are you?"
Rachel shrugged out of Cassie's half-hug. "Everything's fine, Cassie. I'll talk to you later." She started to leave, but Cassie stepped in front of her, blocking her path.
"We've all begun to lose contact with eachother out here. We focus more on fighting than on what's up with each other, which is just as important. I'm not going to let this drop."
Rachel sagged. Cassie was worried for a moment that Rachel was actually going to pass out. Her knees seemed to buckle, her posture drooped, and her head fell forward so her hair hid her face."
"Rachel?" Cassie asked softly.
"I'm sorry," Rachel whispered.
"For what?"
Rachel sighed. She leaned against the tree, then slid down the trunk. "Sit down. You're not going to like this."
Cassie sat next to Rachel. "Just tell me."
Slowly, Rachel told Cassie what had happened between her and Jake three nights ago now. Then the confrontation the night before. She sped up slowly, and was almost tripping over her words by the time she finished telling the story. "I swear, Cassie, I didn't mean for this to happen. I never wanted it to! But -"
"But now something's changed," Cassie interrupted, her voice flat. "Something has changed between you and Jake. Unexpected though it was."
Rachel looked surprised. "You. . . understand?"
"I understand why Jake talked to you. I understand that now everything's changed. But I don't understand why neither of you said stop, why you would risk everything for a few minutes of pleasure."
"Cassie -"
"I need to be alone for awhile."
Rachel stood up. "I'm sorry, Cassie." She waited a moment to see if Cassie would respond. She didn't. Rachel turned to head back towards the camp.
She didn't head back directly, however. She wandered in the woods for awhile before stumbling back into camp unexpectedly, out of sight of all of the humans in the Valley. Good, she thought. Cassie wasn't the only one who needed to be alone for awhile. She sat down against a tree and rested her head against her knees.
Rachel didn't know how long she'd been sitting there, when she felt someone tapping her shoulder.
"What?" she demanded, her head still on her knees. The intruder had interrupted her much needed nap.
"It's me."
Jake.
"What do you want?"
"When Cassie came back without you, I got worried. Especially when she wouldn't look at me. Did you tell her?"
"I had to," Rachel whispered.
"Why?"
Rachel finally looked up. "You know what Cassie's like if she thinks you're holding something back. She wouldn't drop it, so I told her and now. . . I don't blame her for hating me. I don't blame Tobias. But I don't know how we - the team - is going to survive now." She sighed. "We - I - screwed up."
"No, it's we," Jake corrected. "You're right. You had to tell Cassie. We should have told her right away, but I didn't want to face her. We did screw up, but we'll get through it." He placed a tender hand on Rachel's shoulder, but she pushed him away.
"Don't," she warned. "I don't. . . I don't know how I feel about you, Jake, and I'm not going to let hormones dictate my actions twice. Not before everything gets sorted out."
Jake nodded and stood up. "Okay. Yeah. That sounds smart. I'll, uh, just go then." He started to leave, but Rachel called him back. "What?" he asked as he stepped close again.
"You thanked me earlier," she said slowly as she stood up. "I shouldn't have snapped. What I should have said is. . . you're welcome."
"Thanks," Jake said as he smiled slowly. And seeing that smile, Rachel really began to understand, for the first time, what Cassie had seen in the guy.