Dahlia disconnects from her uplink and centers herself. It’s just a little talk, how hard can it be. Rising from the couch Dahlia quickly gathers up the tiny pieces of clothing. Giving herself one final moment to calm her nerves, she moves towards the bedroom.

Amelia is still laying in bliss on the bed fumbling with the datapad still in the towel. Upon seeing Dahlia a giant smile breaks across her face, she sets the datapad aside and sits up. “Hey there. It’s so nice to see you, I missed you!” How is she so effortlessly adorable? Dahlia stares for just a moment too long and Amelia notices “Is there something wrong? Oh no, is that too clingy? I’m sorry…”

Before Amelia can start frowning Dahlia responds stammering “N-no! Not at all dear, your hair just looks very nice now that it’s all clean. Is your fatigue doing better? I hope I did not overpromise on the massage.” Dahlia takes a seat next to Amelia and passes her the clothes.

“Definitely! I feel like I can get around on my own pretty well for now, I promise I won’t try to push it though.” Amelia rests her hand against Dahlia and starts caressing her, not able to look at the Affini. “I mean… how could I not feel amazing after what you did to me. I’m gonna be honest Dahlia… nothing in my entire life has felt as good as that massage. Nothing even comes close.”

Dahlia's core swells in pride at that admission, she tries to hold back but her vines start to shift to red as they warm underneath Amelia’s touch. “I’m glad to hear that. I feel like we should talk about that.”

Amelia flinches for a moment before taking a deep breath. “Yeah, yeah we should.” Amelia looks up at Dahlia staring at her face before looking away with a look of pain in her eyes. Is that regret? Before the worry can overwhelm her Amelia begins to speak. “I feel like I should apologize to you… I felt a lot of things during that. Probably a lot of things that you noticed, and honestly I’m ashamed of it.” Ashamed? What could she possibly have to be ashamed about? “I have something I need to admit. I feel like I’m fetishizing you like some kind of creep...”

Amelia looks back at Dahlia with tears starting to form in her eyes “I-I’ve always been a bit odd, I’d watch scary movies with monsters and get excited. I’d write little fantasies about what it would be like if some big scary creature took me away. When you showed up, it felt like heaven had come to me. I was SO attracted to you, so much that I could barely think talking to you but…” Amelia grip tightens on Dahlia’s vines as hard as she possibly can as she looks down in misery. “Y-You aren’t some fictional monster! You saved me, you’ve cared for me. You’ve made me smile so much, I’m really not used to someone being so overtly kind and caring of me. I’m really starting to like you but I can’t stop thinking about my sick, perverted fantasies! When you did all that stuff to me and I felt like the happiest girl in the world. Afterwards I just couldn’t get over how disgusted you would feel with me once you found out why I was so excited by you dominating me. I feel like I took advantage of you.” The tears are pouring down Amelia’s face as her eyes start to puff up and her nose grows stuffier. “I understand if you hate me now…”

Dahlia is stunned into absolute shock, she can’t even begin to think of how she’ll respond but she knows she needs to act fast. I need to be there for Amelia. Dahlia’s fingers gently grab Amelia’s face as she bends down and gives a deep kiss to her cheeks. Just say what you feel, no overthinking. “You have nothing to apologize for, my darling, wonderful girl. W-while your tastes are a bit eccentric, I can’t say I can complain when it makes you desire me so. As much as you might be unused to kindness I can assure you that I am even less accustomed to people desiring me. You’ve given me that gift and I can’t thank you enough for it.”

Dahlia gives another kiss to Amelia’s cheeks as the crying slows. “Y-You don’t hate me?” Amelia looks up at Dahlia with a mix of relief and uncertainty, her face red and covered in tears. The universe will sooner end than I come to hate this wonderful girl.

Dahlia gives her most reassuring coo, “Of course I don’t, peta. You’ve worked so hard to consider my feelings. There may be a part of you that is interested in me for what I am, but you said yourself how much you see what is inside me. You know I am not the monster that you desire and yet you still want me close. Please banish those thoughts of doubt from your mind, know that you may desire me as much as you wish. I am not disgusted by you, I couldn’t imagine feeling that way. Not ever.” Dahlia gives a shudder, “Now I have my own sins to confess.”

Amelia gives a look of utter confusion that looks cute on her tear streaked face. “What could you possibly confess? You’ve done nothing wrong.” The certainty in Amelia’s voice calms the discord in Dahlia’s core. “When I did what I did with you… I was not completely in my right mind. Something about your teasing, something finally burst from within me. Instincts I never even knew I had took over.” Amelia gives an affectionate sigh in response as Dahlia continues, “I told you before, I’ve never taken a floret or cared for another before. Vi said because of all that time I’ve avoided it my body is now desperate for that feeling now that it finally has a chance to indulge.” Dahlia cringes in embarrassment at her confession.

The air is still for a moment before Amelia starts laughing. “You, oh my stars, you are telling me you are like some hormonal teenager! That my teasing awakened the beast within?”

Amelia’s uproarious laughter only grows stronger as Dahlia pouts and shouts back at her “It’s not funny! What if I had hurt you!”

Amelia's laughter continues as she rolls around on the bed trying to get control of herself. After a minute Amelia rises up finally beating back the laughter, she wraps her arms against Dahlia in a hug. “You won’t.” The confidence of the statement pulls Dahlia out of her indignant pout.

“You don’t know that.” Dahlia frowns as she imagines how easily with a flex she could have snapped Amelia in half. She can tear apart an armored vehicle with her strength alone. How can she be trusted to not hurt her?

Amelia only nuzzles harder into Dahlia. “Even in the heat of the moment you asked me if I wanted it, you assured me that you would stop and I know you would have if I had asked. Every squeeze of your vines against me felt amazing and when it began to even hurt a little you loosened your grip. I think even unconsciously you were trying to protect me…” Dahlia didn’t even realize she had done that, everything from the shower just feels like a blissful blur in her memory. Everything happened so fast, but she was still being that careful?

Amelia gives a hard but playful slap on Dahlia’s body before continuing. “You need to just let yourself feel, I think both of us do. How about this?” Amelia sits up and wraps a pinky around the smallest of Dahlia’s vines she can find, it snakes around her and squeezes. “I promise that I won’t feel ashamed of how excited you make me, will you promise me that you’ll trust yourself not to hurt me? I know I trust you.”

Dahlia can’t hold back a small amount of tears that slide down from her sunken eyes. How could I have been so lucky to find her? A little one that is so gentle and patient with one such as me. If she can trust me then… “I promise.”