When Helen opened her eyes, she didn’t immediately recognize her surroundings. She blinked, wondering if she were in one of Winston’s homes that he was letting her family use, but then everything came crashing back. She flinched and felt her back collide with another warm body, which stirred.

“Hmm...Helen?” Evelyn asked sleepily, turning over.

Helen found herself remembering Evelyn’s soft lips on her neck the previous night. “Morning,” she mumbled, reaching for Evelyn. Evelyn wrapped her in a warm embrace, one hand caressing Helen’s sleep-mussed hair.

"Everything okay?" Evelyn asked softly. "It didn't freak you out to wake up in my bed?"

“I didn't know where I was at first," Helen mumbled. "But I like you being there when I wake up.”

A sleepy meow sounded from the foot of the bed; Sabina was yawning and stretching. She walked over to the two women and headbutted Helen’s leg, purring loudly. Evelyn smiled and stroked Sabina’s head, keeping one arm around Helen. Helen did the same, feeling a smile come to her face. She pressed a kiss to Evelyn’s shoulder. “Can we snuggle?” she whispered.

“I need coffee or I’ll have a headache,” said Evelyn, “but after that, yeah. Sure.”

Helen touched her lips to the side of Evelyn’s neck and felt Evelyn shiver. “More kisses too?” she asked softly.

“Yeah,” Evelyn whispered. “I’m just…I’m just going to go make some coffee and brush my teeth, then I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” said Helen. She leaned back from their embrace. “I should brush my teeth too, if we’re going to kiss more.”

Evelyn’s cheeks turned slightly pink. “Sounds good.”

Both Evelyn and Helen got up (much to Sabina’s chagrin) and Evelyn headed to the kitchen, Helen to the bathroom. Helen gave her teeth a thorough brushing and walked to the kitchen, where Evelyn was pouring herself a cup of coffee. Helen waited until Evelyn put the coffee pot down, not wanting to startle her, then rested her hands on Evelyn’s hips and lightly kissed the back of Evelyn’s neck.

“Hey, you,” said Evelyn warmly. “Feeling sappy this morning?”

Helen kissed Evelyn’s neck again. “I guess you could say that. When I first woke up, I remembered that I didn’t have my powers...but then you were there.”

Evelyn turned around and wrapped her arms around Helen, guiding Helen’s head to her shoulder. Helen sighed and hugged Evelyn tightly. “I’m so glad you can hug me now.”

“Yeah, me too.” Evelyn stroked and kissed Helen’s hair. “You’re a hugger, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.” Helen closed her eyes. “What about you?”

“Not usually. But I can make an exception for you,” said Evelyn. “I’m going to have to drink my coffee before I keep hugging you, though. You don’t want to deal with me when I’m in caffeine withdrawal.”

“Okay.” Helen kissed Evelyn’s cheek and drew back.

Evelyn finished her coffee as quickly as she could without burning herself while Helen helped herself to some cereal. When they were both finished, Helen took Evelyn’s hand and led her to the guest room that Helen had been using, then onto the bed. “Hey.” Evelyn rested a hand on Helen’s face. “You aren’t still thinking what you were thinking last night, are you?”

“I’m thinking that it felt good to have you kiss me like you did last night, and I’d like to do that again,” Helen replied, resting her forehead against Evelyn’s. “Can I sit in your lap?”

“Of course.”

Helen climbed into Evelyn’s lap, wrapping her arms around Evelyn. Helen’s pajama top was still unbuttoned from the previous night; Evelyn nuzzled Helen’s uncovered shoulder. “It felt so good when you kissed my neck last night,” Helen whispered.

“You want me to do that again?” Evelyn asked, her voice low.

“Yes.” Helen cupped one hand around the back of Evelyn’s head.

Evelyn pressed her lips to the spot where Helen’s neck rounded into her shoulder. “Goddamn,” she breathed. “You’re beautiful.”

Helen sighed as her head lolled back. “Thank you, sweetie.”

Evelyn leaned back. “What did you call me?”

“Oh…” Helen flushed. “Sorry, Evelyn. I didn’t mean to...”

“No, it’s okay.” Evelyn dropped a tiny kiss on Helen’s shoulder. “No one’s ever called me a pet name like that before. I kind of like it.”

Helen pulled Evelyn close again and Evelyn resumed her kisses on Helen’s throat. “Evelyn, honey, you make me feel so good,” Helen sighed.

“You really like having your neck kissed, don’t you?” Evelyn teased gently, kissing Helen just below her ear.

“Yes,” Helen breathed. She licked her lips. “Do you like neck kisses?”

Evelyn paused in the middle of kissing Helen’s shoulder. “I don’t know. I’m not very ticklish, though. We could try.”

“Can I?” Helen asked softly.

Evelyn kissed the curve of Helen’s throat. “Okay.” She sat back far enough that Helen could lean over and kiss her slim shoulder, which was bare owing to the fact that Evelyn was wearing a tank top. Evelyn made a low noise that sounded almost pained.

“Are you okay?” Helen murmured.

“That feels really intense,” said Evelyn, her voice strained. “I like it. But it’s a lot.”

Helen caressed Evelyn’s hair, touching another kiss to Evelyn’s shoulder. “Does that feel good?”

“Yeah,” Evelyn breathed. “Yeah, that’s good.” She let out a long breath. “It feels more...intimate than I expected.”

Helen trailed kisses up and down Evelyn’s neck, listening to the small noises Evelyn made in response. She couldn’t help but smile; introducing Evelyn to new forms of intimacy was a pleasant distraction from…

Helen froze as she remembered just what she needed a distraction from. Evelyn noticed. “Everything okay?” Evelyn asked, moving so she could look at Helen’s face.

Helen laid her head down on Evelyn’s shoulder. “I’m sorry,” she said, her voice weak. “I was...reminded of how I don’t have my powers. And that I…” The words stuck in her throat.

“You miss your family,” said Evelyn slowly, sliding a hand up and down Helen’s back. “I know. It’s okay, cara.”

Helen blinked. “What was that last thing you said?”

“You shouldn’t be the only one who gets to use pet names,” said Evelyn. “I called you cara. It’s Italian. I don’t speak it that well, but I’m not a fan of most English pet names.”

“Did you study Italian?” Helen asked, not moving.

“Nah, not really.” Evelyn absentmindedly stroked Helen’s hair. “Dad spoke it with me and Win sometimes. But not until we were a few years old; he didn’t want us growing up with accents. He changed our names, too. ‘Deavor’ is Americanized.”

Helen kissed Evelyn’s jaw line. “Can we snuggle?”

“Sure.” Evelyn kissed Helen’s temple and lay down, Helen still in her arms. Helen laid her head down and closed her eyes. “Feel any better?”

Helen closed her eyes. “Yeah. Can we just stay like this for a while?”

“Of course.”