gay shit

Mouse sighed heavily as she sat down in the equipment room on the bench in between the lockers. The sortie was a long and hard one, giving both her and her pilot, whom she and all the others affectionately called 'Kitten', plenty of trouble. Osea had been much more stout to push back across the mainland than had been predicted; sure, the Erusean military had made gigantic gains in territory but these did not come without a steep cost. 'Not the least of which is my sanity,' Mouse thought to herself grimly as she sat and stared at the wall, too exhausted to even shed her flight gear and try to relax. Kitten's demeanor, on the other hand, seemed to be the polar opposite. A lifelong thrill seeker and smack-talker, no one enjoyed the rush and danger of jet flight quite like Kitten did. She viewed flying a fighter jet as an exciting pastime rather than a life-threatening occupation, and nothing at all was going to convince her otherwise, not even the close SAM detonation that had damaged their right engine on their sortie earlier that day; right then the ground crews were hard at work repairing the damage and preparing their F-14D for the next in what had been head-spinning sequence of sorties.
Mouse was jarred from her reverie by a light pop to her shoulder. "Hey, Mrs. Potatohead! What planet are you on?" Mouse came back to the present and looked up at Kitten, standing over her with a wry half smile, hands on her hips.
"This one," Mouse said, mustering a weak smile. A heavy silence hung between them for a moment, then Kitten plopped down on the bench next to her. "Jesus, you're like a million miles away. What's wrong?" She said. Mouse could feel the close proximity to her pilot making her blush; she continued staring at the deck to make it less apparent. "I don't know, I just...." Mouse trailed off. Kitten waited silently. "I just look at you, and you're so energetic and confident, and beaming all the time and I don't have any of that. I just feel like this sack of skin that sits in the back seat while you do all the cool pilot shit up front," Kitten took a deep breath. She was well aware of Mouse's fears of inadequacy and knew she needed to tread carefully. "Look, I...." she started, "I know things are kinda weird between us right now..." Mouse began to nervously wring her hands. '"Weird" doesn't even begin to cover it,' she thought to herself. The women had previously recognized and acknowledged that there was definite chemistry between them that had turned into romantic attraction, but they had agreed that they didn't really have the time or the opportunity to pursue one another, so it was best to just leave it alone. What had started out as a crush on Kitten, for Mouse, had intensified greatly into something she hadn't felt for anyone in a long, long time. Unbeknownst to her, Kitten's feelings for her in return had developed and deepened similarly. Kitten broke the long silence. "...but you're my RIO and that's not going to change, you're who I decide to go up there with." Mouse was a little surprised; multiple other pilots had recommended Kitten select a more capable and experienced RIO, as Mouse had only seen a handful of combat sorties, while Kitten had been flying since Mouse had graduated high school. "Why?" Mouse asked. The bluntness of the question surprised her once she had actually said it, but it couldn't be unsaid. Kitten chuckled. "You're just gonna make me say it, aren't you?" Mouse looked over at that knockout smile, and her cheeks felt like they were on fire. "Maybe I need to hear you say what I think you're about to say," she said quietly. "Alright then," Kitten replied, "I want you up there with me because I trust you, because you're important to me and I feel better having you up there with me." Mouse felt a tear roll down her cheek; Kitten's praise felt totally undeserved. "But *why*?" She asked, speaking up a little, "I don't have anywhere near the experience you do, I get nervous and jittery up there. What if I do something stupid and get us both killed?" She asked. Without missing a beat, Kitten adjusted in her seat and replied. "Oh, I don't think you will. In fact, I think you're a lot better at what you do than you're giving yourself credit for. I think your intuition as a RIO is better than a lot of others I've flown with. Take today for example, our RWR was acting up, and you somehow knew to look over your shoulder, pick a tracking missile out of the chaos and call it out to me in time. We're lucky to have gotten away from that furball with only a damaged engine. You saved us both." She said. Mouse stayed quiet. Kitten placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You *saved* us," she emphasized calmly.  Mouse reached up and covered Kitten's hand with her own. "I want to keep you safe," she said quietly. Kitten took her hand fully.  "You do. That's why we're such a good team. I fly like a psychopath up there, and I got you watching over me. We're a great team." Mouse looked over at her, feeling the rising urge to lean over and kiss her, but she hesitated. Kitten sensed Mouse's hesitation and continued. "And nothing's going to separate us. I'll be with you no matter what," she finished. The calmness and strength of Kitten's tone calmed Mouse down and she could feel her anxiety melting away. "Alright?" Mouse summoned her best smile and made an effort to buck up as she replied, "Alright." Kitten smiled wider in response. "Good," she said, standing up and pulling Mouse to her feet. "Now ditch that heavy shit and get into something that isn't drenched in sweat so we can get some chow before I go grey," She said, resuming her trademark wit. "Yes, Captain," Mouse emphasized with a grin as she began unbuckling the cumbersome flight harness. Kitten turned to leave the room, but stopped in her tracks. 'You know,' she thought to herself, 'I think I'm sick of waiting,' She turned around and walked right up to Mouse, lifted her head and placed a kiss right on the smaller woman's lips. Mouse froze like a statue. Breaking the kiss and staring into Mouse's eyes, Kitten spoke in a sultry tone. "You're not getting away from me that easily, little mouse. You're mine," she said. Mouse was still like a statue, before snapping out of it and returning the kiss. "Does this mean we're..." Mouse started, before Kitten cut her off. "Safe to say, I think we are." Mouse smiled. "Girlfriends?" She asked. Their fingers intertwined. "Girlfriends." Kitten said. They touched foreheads and Mouse sighed contentedly. "You have no idea how long I've waited for that," she said with a wide grin. Kitten took a little more serious of a tone, pulling back so she could look clearly into Mouse's eyes. "Tomorrow they're sending us up to Roca Roja tomorrow to guard the bases built into the mesas in case those planes from Zapland make a move. I want you to remember your training up there, trust me, and trust yourself, ok? Do you trust me?" Mouse nodded confidently. "I trust you," she replied levelly. "Good," Kitten replied, "Because I trust you more than anyone else," she said, adding another quick kiss for effect. "Now, *second lieutenant*, if you don't mind, I'd like to get something to eat sometime this month," she said, her familiar wit returning once more. "Yes ma'am," Mouse crowed, rolling her eyes comically.