Work Text:
Red water.
One, two, three months passed. Coral started to regret leaving her home world.
She missed the beach. She hadn’t given herself much time to think about it, but she did miss it. An itching desperation for water crawled inside of her chest; staying on land for so long felt unnatural. What had been a biweekly excursion at the least, was now just... Gone. Zilch. Perhaps it was the abrupt stop that made it feel worse.
Despite being surrounded by liquid at her new post, it felt like she was on her own personal island. Play remained just out of reach. (Additionally, this sickly red was not the most welcoming of colours, she wasn’t sure she wanted to touch it...)
So she waited.
Four, five, six months.
Dry. This place was too, too dry. Despite the lapping waves, the atmosphere was arid, the stone much too absorbent. Everything wicked away her moisture and made her hair brittle. Her skin rough.
She did finally cave at some point. Sitting on the edge of the dock, shoes removed, she dangled her feet in. It wasn’t so bad as she’d expected. Lukewarm. She felt a bit foolish for putting it off for so long. More akin to fruit punch than blood, the stuff wasn’t thick at all... Stained socks were a minor price to pay for such luxuries.
She still missed floating, though.
So when she was invited to a swim with her coworkers, how could she decline?
---
"How much further to the beach, exactly? I didn’t wear the best shoes for this..."
Leaves and petals and partially-sprouted zip folders littered the group’s path. Overhead, crystalline leaves let through a delightful speckling of purple light. The sky watched their pursuits.
"Technically speaking, this is a lake, not a beach." Froggy led the way, pushing aside branches. (ENA simply motored through any leftover obstructions.)
"A lake? Oh, um.."
She had vague recollections of being advised against it when she was younger, but it was all so fuzzy now. Something about freshwater safety. Maybe she’d just sit to the side and watch. Dismal as that was.
"I sense doubt!" ENA chirped, watching Coral with keen eyes.
"Yeah... Uh.."
"Are you incompatible with large bodies of water?"
"No! I really like swimming, actually. I just..."
Hand meeting her neck, Coral felt beads of sweat spring up around her fingers. The shorter woman’s gaze was piercing.
"..Can you stop looking at me like that?"
ENA blinked. She looked back to the path ahead without a word.
---
The bank was soft and silty. Not pebbles, not quite sand, but still a lovely feeling between her toes. A faint fragrance of leafy decay permeated the area; not unpleasant. Coral was grateful for the humidity. A towel lay sprawled beneath her, in the vain hopes of avoiding washing her hair when they got back. ENA’s hat rested beside her.
"I anticipate a 50% increase in joy if you enter these murky waters," Salesperson cooed, head bobbing up. Pressing her body flat against the bottom gave the illusion of deeper water.
"Maybe next time."
"I don’t understand what you’re trying to avoid here!" Meanie snapped, "It’s our day off!"
"Let her be. She’ll join us when she wants to," Froggy countered. He wasn’t quite in the lake, rather, becoming one with the muck in a particularly reedy area. Only his head sat visible atop.
"If we must..." Sales sighed, and she defeatedly floated off. Her head remained an inch off the water like she was swimming, while the rest of her body stood to follow on foot.
Breeze.
The sun was pleasant here, Coral decided. It wasn’t all eyes. Well, still eyes, but their gaze was warm, unlike the chilling glare of the Hub.
Somnolent, Froggy sat with half-lidded eyes among the silt, croaking contentedly. Ah, relaxation... Free of any calls to responsibility... At some point he dozed off, chin resting atop the surface. He was only awoken by a wake of polygonal ducks - promptly shooed away by aggressive handfuls of reeds.
His phone rang shortly after.
His displeased yell was enough to stir a yelp from Coral.
---
Froggy vowed to return next weekend to finish his "spa day," leaving Coral and ENA alone. ENA cheered when Coral finally joined her in the water.
"You decided to take the leap towards success!"
"Yeah, yeah..."
Something felt off. It wasn’t that her insides stirred, exactly, it was just... Off. Not quite fluttery, not quite tingly... Everything felt weirdly wet. (Well of course it felt wet, she thought, she was submerged to her hips... Maybe she was just unused to the feeling, after so many months. Maybe she was thinking too hard about it.) Small steps were taken towards ENA.
"Might I interest you in a dance?"
Her feet halted, toes curling into the slimy silt. The coating of algae felt mildly unpleasant.
"A- what?"
ENA held out her hands, beckoning.
"I..."
Coral’s first instinct was to say no. Intimacy wasn’t exactly her thing. But... The two of them were alone, surrounded by mountains and trees. A better opportunity couldn’t come to mind. There might not be another opportunity. There were no closed doors to be barged in on, no reassignment notices, no...
She charged forwards and met ENA with an unexpected force. If it hadn’t been for their interlaced fingers, ENA surely would have toppled in.
"Whoa!!"
"Ah, sorry!!"
"Taking initiative, I like it!"
Coral’s gaze darted to the side. Searching for a reed, a floating leaf, anything she could lock onto that wasn't ENA’s face. The sharp hand on her cheek guided her back.
"Would you like to renew your subscription to tender moments?"
The smile that met her was so wholesome and unforced. A rare sight.
"...Yeah."
---
Floating.
The unsettled swirling in her chest hadn’t left, compounded by a feeling of tightness in her stomach. At this point she figured it was just lingering anxiety. Too many responsibilities she'd eventually return to, too many obligations that couldn’t be ignored forever... It was difficult to remain in the moment. Her mind kept wandering away from her.
ENA rested her head on Coral’s chest. Usually she wasn't one to doze, but this felt so comfortable, so safe. The world didn’t feel so exposed right now. They could just... lay here. For a bit, anyways. The eye beamed down on them as they clung to each other.
"I..." Coral watched the slowly-melting clouds waltz through the sky. "I liked this. We should do this again. Just the two of us."
Butterflies? Was that the feeling inside her? People got nervous butterflies, right? (Was this a happy anxiety?)
"Agreed."
Meanie twirled wet strands of Coral’s hair between her fingers. After a moment’s contemplation, ENA turned over to be on her stomach, and nestled her head beneath Coral’s chin.
Coral closed her eyes. "...Don’t tell Froggy yet. He’d be concerned about... productivity."
"Naturally."
---
Coral groaned when she woke up. Now lower on the horizon, the eye in the sky cast everything in a hazy yellow glow. Bright reflections atop murky water obscured her body.
"Ugh..."
Her head was swimming. Waterlogged wasn’t quite a strong enough word; it was like her mind was teeming with fuzzy mush.
She wanted to shift to her feet, but ENA still lay atop her chest, and-
"Oh gøds, what-"
Before her, an unanticipated pillowy mass. A careful touch from her free hand (left arm still holding ENA) found that her stomach had quite a bit of yield. Panic, morbid curiosity, and an unruly string of thoughts zapped through her mind. Sheets of paper landed unnoticed on the water. Her skin felt tender and soft.
ENA warbled contentedly and shifted, nuzzling deeper into Coral’s chest. The increased volume warranted an eye to open. Then both. Gawking.
Coral’s gut was so swollen that it nearly reached her knees. Blushed orange with strain, every movement sent it cascading in some direction or another. Her thighs were no better off. Every kick in the water made their presence known, rubbing against each other, an unfamiliar friction. She could barely see over her chest.
"WHAT THE HELL?!!" Meanie’s tone landed somewhere between shock and concern.
"It seems this place wanted to have, ah, a stake in your assets!?" While equally bewildered, Sales’ voice held something of an excitement, too. ENA slid off of Coral’s chest.
The claws that trailed her breast made her gasp.
"C-careful-!"
"Deepest apologies-!"
ENA clasped her hands behind her back so she wouldn’t be tempted to touch. Now unburdened, Coral attempted to right herself. Heaving forwards with a "hmph!", she felt her feet connect with the bottom numerous times — casting up clouds of sediment and muck — but landing could not be made. A near-perfect equilibrium left her suspended. Too dense to breach the surface of the water without a striking effort, yet light enough that she could not sink. Even Meanie was startled by the string of curses that followed.
"Might I be of assistance-?"
"No!!"
Following a frantic flailing of limbs, ENA closed her eyes so water would not be splashed into them.
"Agh, yes, please, sorry-"
"THEN SIT STILL!!"
Coral froze. Being on the receiving end of barked orders was very different from observing them. (Ah, so that’s what butterflies felt like!)
"Ehem." Sales unclasped her hands, and held them out just before Coral. "Do I have authorization to touch here?"
"...Yes."
The taller woman’s skin was slick and buttery soft. Not slimy by any means, just particularly wet. Smooth. ENA couldn’t help the way her mouth opened when she felt her fingers sink into the other’s padded limbs.
"Wow."
"Wow what-!"
Coral did her best not to squirm. Or panic. Or continue to panic. ENA positioned her upright with an ease like no other, but couldn’t help Coral’s feet make contact with lakebed.
Coral closed her eye tightly. Maybe this was just a dream. A weird, bad, furiously strange dream.
"Shall we make landfall?"
"Oh god, I have to go home like this?"
"...I don’t see many other options, unless you’d like to stay and ferment."
She absolutely did NOT authorize the fluttery feeling in her chest considering this.
---
The closer to shore they got, the more difficult it was for Coral to remain upright.
"It would be most- hrmph- opportune if you did not make an appointment with the ground-"
ENA was strong, but she had her limits. Coral’s weight couldn’t reasonably all rest on her. (Not that she would mind, but it would defeat the point of helping.)
"I’m trying-!!"
The struggle was now, also, the muck. Coral sank much deeper than ENA. Every step needed to be pulled upwards, heaving, knees battling both suction from below and weight of her gut from above.
"Can we.. hhf.. stop... I need a minute..."
She faltered, leaning forwards to put her hands on her thighs. God, trudging through mud was so unsexy. Every heave, every step, every pause gasping for breath was an unwanted delay to the end of whatever... this... was.
Just- one- more-
"Hmph!!"
The bank was dry enough near her towel that she stopped sinking. She tumbled forwards ungracefully onto it, voluminous midriff (somewhat) cushioning her landing. Her knees took the rest of her weight.
Gentle mitts grabbed Coral’s sides, presumably in the hopes of keeping her from tipping over.
"This is a most unusual predicament."
"Phhf, you can say that again..."
She stiffened when ENA’s thumbs rubbed circles into her. It immediately ceased. Gently they had sunk into her skin, a calculated pressure.
"Unauthorized?"
"No, you can.. you can keep doing that.."
"Noted."
The circles resumed. Coral felt her face heating up.
"May I explore any other territory?" ENA’s inquiry was laced with heat.
"Uh..."
That was very forward. Where was this going, exactly? Were they going to have sex? Gød, it had been so long, the idea felt starkly unfamiliar.
"I.. I’ll tell you when to stop. Any... uh..."
ENA stood patient and quiet behind her.
"....Anywhere is fine." Coral finished.
"Your faith is acknowledged."
Curious fingers trailed down her sides, rubbing and kneading. Sampling the newly developed curves was a treat. She hummed happily to herself, absently leaning forwards to set her forehead against Coral’s back. Ever tender.
"Your supple earnings are not objectionable, if I may observe."
"Y.. Yeah.."
Coral’s inhales were shaky and uneven. The fluttering in her chest only grew, it was making her dizzy. She squeaked and jolted upright when ENA’s mitts settled on her bottom.
"Apologies!" (They were quickly removed.)
"No, it’s alright!! I just- It's been a while... Lemme.. Hmph-"
Coral shifted to lay on her back. It was no easy task to heave her belly into this new position. When she attempted to sit upright again, the weight kept her pinned. Shallow breaths. The fact she couldn't inhale fully both terrified her and sent a nervous excitement up her spine.
"Oh, lord..."
"May I?"
She could barely see ENA over the apex of her stomach. Where the other gestured to, she was unsure.
"Go ahead..."
Warm hands befell her midsection. Similar circles to earlier were rubbed into her surface. Only when ENA pressed harder did she fully realize the tension inside.
"Hnnngh..."
"Evaluation?"
"Keep going..."
She shuddered wherever ENA's claws trailed over her. They wandered across her stomach, her thighs, finally wedging underneath to return to Coral's ass.
"A-ah, keep- keep doing that- Don't stop, please, just- hnnmnh-"
She didn't mean to come off so whiny, but gøds did this feel good... Her attempt to arch her back only earned two inches off the towel. ENA took this as a sign to lean more of her body weight into Coral's chest.
"My, my, someone's been lacking in joint ventures recently..." Sales cooed.
ENA curled her digits inwards, giving Coral a firm squeeze. She chuckled with each resulting whimper. The silky flesh was kneaded like dough beneath her fingers, pinching and fondling, until she finally pressed her face into Coral's neck and bit down.
"ENA-!!"
"You really like that, huh?" Meanie growled, making no attempt to stave off the drool escaping her lips.
"Yes, oh my gøds..."
She licked upwards, tracing Coral's collarbone, cheek, behind her ear. A lower canine gently hooked on one of its curves.
"You taste like a dream..."
A moment of contemplation.
"...I want to taste the rest of you..."
"Please-"
Down she went. She peeled herself off Coral's front, slid backwards, and shoved her head beneath that swollen mass of stomach to explore. Wet. Everything down here was wet. Her swim bottoms were soaked in more ways than one, and the underside of her gut sweat profusely, perhaps trying to expel some of that intrusive liquid.
ENA pulled gently at the cloth, then not so gently. When she found it to be stubbornly set in place, she grabbed it with her teeth and yanked.
"ENA!! Gød, what are you doing?!" Accompanied by a giggle, all Coral could gather was an ungainly pressure of spandex digging into her hips.
"Your garments are keen on decency, it seems!"
Coral reached down and frantically undid one of the side knots. Teeth still firmly embedded, ENA yanked once more, positioning her full body weight backwards. This sent her careening into the silt.
"Victory!!"
Fiendishly, she cast aside the bikini with a shake of her head, and bounded back with gleeful exuberance.
"Now, where were we..."
Meanie hoisted up Coral's midriff with her clawed hand, so that her soft hand could probe further. Brilliant pulsating stripes of orange, beckoning her inwards, accompanied by the fragrant smell of kelp. A mesmerizing display... She licked. Delicious, delicious salt... ENA couldn't help the low, shuddering growl that rolled from her throat. The vibration made Coral whine.
Shoving her face yet further underneath, she closed her eyes, lowering her clawed hand so Coral's weight settled on the back of her head. Wedged in place. (Thank god she didn't need to breathe.) ENA pushed her tongue further in, rocking in time with Coral's hips. A slight clip let her push deeper. Reaching around, she gripped Coral's rear, dragging herself inward. Coral tightened around her repeatedly, slick wetness enclosing her tongue. She relished in it.
Coral was reeling. Her breath repeatedly caught, coming out as little chirrups in the back of her throat. She couldn't remember the last time something felt this good. Well before this job, anyway. Her elbows dug into the towel beneath her, carving out divets in the silt. Maybe... Maybe this would be a repeat thing. Besides the water. (With the water...?)
The idea made her insides burn.
"ENA..."
Voice now reduced to a faint warble, Coral whimpered, squirming. She reached down, wanting to lace her fingers through smooth polygonal hair, but her hand couldn't quite reach. Obstructed. Her insides tightened again as ENA rocked into her. She felt liquid leaking out, not quite cum, but a steady gentle stream releasing some of the pressure inside. She also felt as ENA shifted position: something more sideways, wrapping detached legs around her thigh. Humping her leg.
ENA continued to growl. Coral's leg against her crotch was the perfect texture to rut against. Soft, malleable, slick - but with enough resistance that it pushed back against her. Her cock unsheathed from shifting vertices. Coral gasped when she felt the underside of it against her leg, lined with rubbery little spikes.
"ENA-!"
It was all too much. She whined, arching her back, fingers gripping onto the towel for dear life-
ENA withdrew her tongue. Like a cork had been drawn, with one final squeeze, came forth a cascade of liquid. ENA eagerly lapped up what she could, but most found its way to the silt. This flavor was a more diluted salt. Some residual plumpness remained, collected primarily around her lower belly and rear, but the rest had dissipated.
"You sure know how to put on a show..." Meanie rasped, continuing to hump. It wasn't long before she came, too. With a grunt (mostly out her nose, somewhat through gritted teeth), her whole body tensed, sending a load of static across Coral's leg.
Any witty comments she had left in her were lost to exhaustion. She slumped over Coral, occasionally twitching, and growled softly with each exhale. She did take the time to lick up her contribution with what little energy she had left.
"Oh my gød..." was all Coral could manage.
"This was... A delightful team-building exercise..."
Now unobstructed, Coral reached down to stroke ENA's hair. Soft. Her fingers tingled with static.
Yeah. She could see this being a repeat thing.