“Aah, it’s been so long since I’ve been home,” Cheryl giggled as she entered their apartment.
“It has been over a year,” Mary chuckled as she wheeled Cheryl’s suitcase in. “A lot’s changed since then.” Cheryl nodded, a bright smile on her face. “By the way, it feels like you didn’t bring that much back with you.” She stated as she yanked at it.
“I think you’re just stronger than you realize, Mary.” Cheryl smirked. “Guess we’ve traded on that one.”
“Not like you were ever that strong to start,” Mary teased.
“Yeah, you’ve always been more of a bookworm, Mama,” Leah added.
“Does that mean she’s a book butterfly now?” Vivi asked.
“A bookerfly?”
"And you were upset at me for my puns," Cheryl laughed.
“Yeah, you’ve been hanging around Chi too much, haven’t you sis?” Vivi teased.
“Chi? Oh, is that one of the new girls Lilith mentioned?” Cheryl asked. The others looked at her. In confusion “Ah, right, guess I should explain that, huh?” she giggled as she sat down.
“While you do that, I’ll get us some water,” Mary stated.
“Thank you, sweetie. Now then, where to start. I guess I’ll start with why I got stuck in Japan.” She looked at her daughters who nodded. “Well, as I’m sure you’ve heard, the Magical Mist swept over the world, including Japan. When that happened, I transformed as well as many others. And when I came to, I’d learned I’d become an elf,” she said, pointing at the pair of pointed ears underneath her hair. “And I quickly found that I have magic that allows me to hear other peoples’ emotions.”
“Huh? Vivi has magic like that too,” Leah noted.
“That’s not surprising. Our traits are hereditary after all.”
“Wait, is that true?” Vivi asked.
“It’s been speculated a lot on the news, but nothing concrete’s been reported,” Mary stated as she set cups of water in front of Leah and Cheryl.
“Yet,” Cheryl added, the others once again looking at her. “Gosh, having you all look at me like that is...”
“Sorry, we didn’t mean to...”
“No, no… it actually feels kinda nice. I mean, you’re all seeing the real me now,” she giggled as her ears wiggled. “I'm glad I finally get to share this with you all."
Mary sighed and took her wife's hand, gripping it gently. "Sweetie, I... I'm sorry I missed all of it. You must've been suffering a lot, hiding yourself like that."
"N-no... It wasn't... that bad..." Cheryl's voice grew quieter.
"It's okay. I learned about it with Vivi. She'd accepted the pain was normal. Even if you were able to cope, it was never fair to you. You didn't deserve to suffer like that."
"Mary..." Cheryl whispered. She sniffled, her confident demeanor giving way for a bit. "You're right... I'm still trying to really understand all of it myself. But you're right. It did hurt. I buried this part of me. I never believed I'd really get to be a woman. But I'm me now..." She smiled brightly.
"I'm so happy for you Mama," Vivi cheered.
"Yeah, if it's anything like with Vivi, I bet you feel a lot better. We're all happy for that," Leah added.
"Oh, you girls..." she sniffled again as Mary hugged her. "I'm so thankful for you all." She took a deep breath and then chuckled. "I'm sure we could keep going with this, but I really have a lot more to tell you. We can talk more about how I've changed later." She looked at Mary who nodded. "So, to continue. One of my contacts is associated with some important people in the Japanese government, and long story short, they insisted I help them navigate the situation since my magic had been able to calm down a lot of people. I was overwhelmed of course, so I tried calling Mary, but...”
“My phone was still out, and Vivi wasn’t home?” Mary asked.
“Yes,” Cheryl mumbled. “I was so scared, both for myself and all of you. That’s when I called Lilith. I was hoping she’d get in contact with you, but she instead freaked out and told me about her new youth, powers, and godhood.”
“That all makes sense, but how’d grandma wind up getting pulled to Japan too?” Leah asked.
“Well, she’d already met Athena and was stressing out about Zeus. By some miracle, Japan’s government had managed to get a better handle of the situation than America at the time, and they were interested in earning her favor, so they offered her refuge. It wasn’t until she’d already left that we got in contact with you all again.”
“I see,” Mary grumbled, understanding and frustration fighting over her expression.
“I get that they wanted you to help with everything when the mist happened, but why did they want you to stay there for so long?” Vivi asked. “They took you away for so long.”
“I know sweetie. I wanted to come home so much sooner,” Cheryl lamented. “But things kept escalating. First Lilith accidentally made me one of her priestesses, intriguing the government even more. Then they found out that she was responsible for you and your friends having enough power to fight Zeus, and on top of that Ami and Sue showed up and completely changed our entire understanding.”
“How so?” Mary asked.
“Well…”
“She can’t talk about that.” Another voice answered, the group turning to look at the door as Lilith arrived, Tommy in hand.
“Mom, what...” Mary tried to ask.
“In a moment dear, first...” She looked at Tommy, who gazed at Cheryl, who’d already risen from her chair. “Go on dear.” Tommy slowly walked over to Cheryl as she fidgeted, unsure of how to explain her situation to her son.
“Mommy?” Tommy looked at her with wonderment. “You’re so pretty.”
“Tommy...” Cheryl whimpered as she leaned down to hug him. “I’ve missed you, kiddo.”
“He took that rather well,” said Leah as she looked at Lilith. “Did you tell him?”
“Of course, not. He’s a smart boy. I knew he’d figure it out quickly.”
“He sure did,” Cheryl giggled, tears rolling down her cheek. “Didn’t you, Tommy. I had a feeling you inherited my magic.”
“I guess that explains why he took Viv’s changes so well, huh?” Leah asked.
“By the way Mom, what did you mean by she can’t talk about Ami and Sue changing things?” Mary asked.
Lilith sighed. “I’m afraid it’s an order from the government. Both Japan and the US.”
“Even though she’s our Mama?” Leah protested.
“Especially because of that. After everything that happened, Japan letting us go was the easy part. It was actually the US butting in.” Lilith gazed at Cheryl who clung to Tommy who hugged her tightly back. “Politics around the world have been chaotic, as I’m sure you’ve heard. And given the bigoted pigheads that fill our government, things here have been particularly dangerous, especially for us. The moment they realized that Cheryl was not only the priestess of a big bad demon queen from the bible of all things, but also trans, they… got very unpleasant. Ironically, it’s thanks to one of your senators cracking over the mist that she was able to get home safely.”
“Oh, yeah, I’ve heard of her. Senator Gloria Thomas, right?” Leah asked. “Yeah, talk about irony. She was so awful before, but I’ve heard she’s even leaving the republicans, though I heard she was ‘going off the deep end’ so I thought she was getting worse or something.”
“Quite the opposite actually,” Lilith laughed. “Gloria’s still got a lot of growing to do, but last time we talked she'd been talking about wanting to learn more about progressive politics from her daughter. Apparently figuring out she was not only trans but also a lesbian forced her to realize how awful the things she was spewing were. Meeting Cheryl helped her clear her mind out of some pretty awful ideas thanks to her magic. It was kind of like how Vivi’s helped people with her powers. In the end she was very receptive to her situation, although it was a bit of a trade.”
“Of course it was.” Mary grimaced. “You say she changed, but-”
“It’s not that bad,” Cheryl spoke up. “She framed it as a trade off to get her colleagues off me, but really I’m happy to do it.”
“What is it?” Vivi asked.
“I have to assist in an upcoming military operation.”
“You what!?” Mary yelped. “That’s...”
“Like I said, it’s not that bad,” Cheryl giggled. “Actually, it involves Vivi and you too, Mary.”
“Huh? What do you…?”
“The operation includes a briefing about everything we’ve learned about the mist. And the other part of it is an initiative to finally deal with Zeus.”
“Absolutely not!” Mary argued. “I don’t want Vivi fighting him, but I understand she’s more powerful than most. But you? I’m not letting you anywhere near that creep! Especially not after you just got back and...” Cheryl moved towards Mary as she complained before finally kissing her. “Ch-Cheryl...”
“I love you so much sweetie. I’m glad you’re so protective of me, it means a lot. But, you misunderstand. I’m not going to be involved in combat at all.”
“Wait, then...”
“Cheryl’s only going to be providing analysis and providing the intel we’ve learned over our investigation,” Lilith explained. “It’s more like a symposium than a proper military operation. It’s just that the military will have a presence since Zeus’s movements seem to be tightly connected to our findings.”
Mary sighed. “I wish you’d just said that. You both seriously had me worried there.”
“I understand, but we also need you to understand the significance of the situation, dear.” Lilith frowned, her wings drooping.
“I do understand, just… after everything with the police and knowing about him… I’m just worried.”
“I wish it didn’t have to be like this, really I do,” Cheryl lamented. “But this is important. And there is one other thing.” She looked at Vivi.
“Wait, I know what I said earlier, but...”
“It’s like I said back at the manor,” Lilith interrupted. “Vivi and the others might be our best chance at dealing with Zeus without things getting too out of control. That said, it is her and her friends’ decisions.”
“Vivi...” Mary frowned, her wings curling close to her body.
“I… I don’t want to worry you, Mom, but if we’re really able to help stop him, I want to do what I can, and I’m sure the others will agree,” Vivi said confidently her wings puffing out slightly with pride.
Mary sighed once more. “Alright. What do we need to do?”
“The symposium will be next week. A lot of important people will be there, and they’re allowing me only a few guests to accompany Cheryl and I,” Lilith explained. “We’ll need to figure out who is coming with us."
* * *
“Goodnight, sweetheart,” Cheryl said, pulling the covers over Tommy as he snuggled up with his plush T-rex, his favorite cuddle buddy for the past few years. Cheryl watched over her son as he began to drift off, a sense of pride and joy filling her. She’d spent the last couple hours playing with him in ways she’d never been able to bring herself to do before. Making silly sounds and getting all dramatic when they played pretend with his toys. She even managed to find a story to read to him as he snuggled up in bed, something both she and Mary had struggled to do as he got more and more into video games. She quietly closed the door behind her and let out a satisfied breath. She walked towards the living room, noticing Vivi and Leah giggling with each other.
“Hey you two, don’t stay up too late, okay? It is a school night.”
“Don’t worry. We were going to go to bed after this,” Leah stated. Cheryl looked to the TV, noticing it was off.
“What are you two up to anyway?”
“Oh, I was telling Vivi about places she could take Erika for a date.”
“She was recommending the science museum, but I really want to go to the Aquarium.,” Vivi giggled, her head wings flapping joyfully. “Going to see fish sounds so fun.”
“You just want to do it because it’s a popular thing in anime,” Leah teased. “Still though...”
“The one in Mills?” Cheryl asked.
“Yeah!”
“I don’t think I like that idea,” Cheryl said. “Mary and I have talked about it before, and neither of us are comfortable with you two going there.”
“Huh? But you’ve been fine with us going there before,” Vivi pointed out.
“Vivi… you might not have really noticed before, but that place is kind of sketchy. And there’s been a number of reports of young girls like you going missing there. I know you and Erika could probably be able to take care of yourselves, but I don’t want you two getting into trouble like that.”
"Girls like..." Vivi frowned. "Right... You mean because guys..." Her wings curled around her defensively as her tail fled to her hand, which hugged it close to her chest.
"I know it's hard. And I'm adjusting to it too. We know how men can be around women like us," Cheryl gently explained, her own ears drooping much like her daughter's. Vivi could slowly nod in understanding. "I'm sorry, sweetie."
“It’s okay, you two can have plenty of fun in your room instead,” Leah teased Vivi again.
Vivi gasped, her cheeks lighting up and her blue eyes ebbing into a pinkish red hue. “S-sis!!! Not in front of...” She looked at Cheryl who immediately looked away, her own cheeks getting red.
“I’m… uh… going to go to bed now. You two get to bed soon.”
“Mama, wait. It’s not...” Vivi called after her.
“I-it’s okay, sweetie.” Cheryl did her best to smile. “I don’t mind. Just… be sure to… um… take care of each other when you do.”
“O… okay...”
“G-goodnight...” Cheryl said before entering her room and closing the door, taking a deep breath. “Geez, they’ve already...” She shook her head. “Get your act together Cheryl. They’re teens. It’s normal, you shouldn’t get… flus-tered...” She looked up, seeing Mary’s curvaceous body laying upon the bed, reading. Mary glanced over and looked at her. Cheryl gripped her night gown, her cheeks getting warmer and her ears stretched out as far as they'd go. She tried to speak, only for nothing to come out.
“Cheryl? Is something wrong, sweetie?” Mary asked. Cheryl’s ears wiggled in response and her thighs began to rub together. Cheryl took a deep breath and then another. Her eyes lingered upon her wife’s svelte form. She’d always found Mary attractive. If anything, she’d always felt totally out of her league. And once learning that Mary was bi, she was even more amazed. How had she wound up with such a beautiful person?
And she was even more amazing now. Her face was sharp yet had a kissable softness to it. Her cheeks had the subtlest and most enchanting tint of pink. Her eyes had become a bold, bloody, beautiful red, emanating a charming glow. And that was only her face.
Her crimson red hair formed soft ringlets which fell upon her chest almost teasing at the loose edge of her nightgown, which lazily lay upon her breasts, which were certainly fuller since Cheryl left all those months ago. Her body perfectly curved, giving a graceful hourglass, while still maintaining a certain definition which spoke to her inner strength. Her body was a perfect melody of soft fat and powerful muscle, especially her legs, which completed her elegant curves as she lay there, one knee dipping before her hind leg. Then, as if that weren’t enough, her dark leathery wings bobbed so cutely to her sides. She’d clearly gotten used to them by now, making them all the more picturesque as they rested beside her.
Cheryl panted. She couldn’t wait any longer.
“Mary...” Cheryl whimpered.
“Cheryl? What’s wrong?” Mary frowned.
“I-I need you… Mary...” Cheryl muttered as she climbed onto the bed and crawled towards the succubus.
“Okay…? What do you need me for?” Mary asked, marking her page and setting her book down.
“I… I’ve been good. So please...”
“Good? What do you…?”
“It’s been... so hard,” Cheryl muttered with an erratic and needy voice as she leaned on Mary’s knee. “Your mother… Lilith, she… At first, she didn’t know how to control her powers, and I had this new body. I-it… It was like torture. W-we… we were so pent up, but we couldn’t do it. We c-couldn’t t-touch e-each other,” she cried. “I need it. I need you Mary! I need you so bad.”
“You didn’t…?”
“N-no… I wanted to explore my body. B-but… I want to do it with you,” Cheryl said, looking pleadingly at her wife. “So, please… don’t make me wait anymore.”
Mary’s lips curled into a devilish grin as her eyes narrowed upon her lovely lady. She leaned in and spoke in a cool voice. “You want me to help you sate this need? Lay you out and end it?”
“P-please...”
Mary closed in and whispered in a quiet breathy voice, “no.” Cheryl’s eyes widened, stricken by despair and betrayal, before she was pushed back onto the bed. She stared up at her succubus of a wife, trying to comprehend why she’d deny what she needed so badly. As if to add insult to injury, Mary crept in, drawing her left index finger up her thigh, along her belly, past along her sensitive chest and to her lips, before resting it atop them. All the while, her tail stroked up and down her cheek, as if to paint it with her admiration. She whispered sensually. “It’s no fun if you don’t work for it.” Those words shot a current through the curvy empath’s body. “By the time we’re done, you’ll never want to leave my side again.” Cheryl’s mind began to melt.
She never spoke her of desires when she was younger. She never spoke of her deep yearning. She denied the bubbling desire within her time and again. She was always jealous of other women, of those who were allowed not just the body, but the sensations she craved so deeply. She could never find pleasure in her own body in the past. In fact, the experience was more often painful and draining. She enjoyed helping the women she loved find pleasure, but that so rarely included herself, much less her own body. She could never include herself in her own fantasies.
Yet here she was, her beloved succubus making her simmer with eagerness. She excitedly awaited her touch. She wanted her wife to explore every nook and cranny of her body, something that Mary’s fingers were plenty willing to do, but in the slowest and deftest way possible. And yet, the torture seemed to vanish, replaced by an insatiable hunger, met only by her beloved’s love.
It was a night neither of them would ever forget.