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"Leo, relax," Annabeth grumbles around the hairpins in her mouth. "You're making me tense, and I need to concentrate." "I can't help it!" Leo grimaces, throwing up the hand that isn't clutching his camera. "This is weird for me, okay? Seeing Jason's naked butt in the locker room is one thing—" Percy's told her several times that she's too suspicious. Maybe he's right, because she's about to throw Leo a burning glare when he finishes his thought in a different direction than she was expecting. "—Ruby's butt all dolled up in bridal lingerie is completely different. I've never taken sexy photos of a girl I'm not dating, BFFs included. I'd feel just as weird about doing this for Piper." It's not a fair reaction, but Annabeth is fiercely protective of the woman in front of her. She's getting better at pushing it down, but Ruby somehow still seems to notice, and gives her a pointed look with one neatly-arched eyebrow lifted. "Which is actually really validating, if it makes you feel any better."Her voice is low, of course, but it's soft and smooth too, like the deep blue of her silk dressing gown. She radiates confident calm from her statuesque posture, something that hasn't always come easy to her. Annabeth swallows around the dryness in her throat and keeps pinning. The wig is gorgeous, long and blonde and spilling over Ruby's back like an icy waterfall. "Better, yeah. Less awkward, no." Leo smirks, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Sorry, Rubes. I'll try to get a handle on it. You really do look beautiful, by the way." Ruby blushes, her cheeks already dewey pink from the rouge and highlighter. Raspberry lips curl into a shy smile. Annabeth, her heart pitter-pattering like Percy with a snare, puts the last pin in Ruby's wig and gives in to the temptation to kiss her. "I'll fix your lipstick," she whispers after. "Sorry." Ruby smiles wider. "Don't be. He'll think it's hot, and it gives me an excuse to go harder in getting you flustered." Annabeth shivers, abruptly remembering she's not just here to do hair and makeup.
("I'll second-guess myself if I'm trying to look sexy without focusing it on someone. I also don't want to give Leo a stroke by eyefucking the camera, so I'm going to eyefuck you instead.")
Percy better jerk off to these photos constantly. "I'm going to put on some music," Piper announces. She picks up Ruby's phone and starts tapping through, grinning like she's barely able to swallow her laughter. "Is your drag playlist okay?""Perfect," Ruby replies, though her blue eyes are on Annabeth as she gets up from the bed. She crosses her arms over her broad chest, swaying slightly in time as Carly Rae Jepsen floods into the bedroom through Percy's bluetooth speakers.
"I really want to stop, but I just got the taste for it—"
Fuck. Of course Piper chose this particular song— the one Ruby used as a confessional, focusing directly on Annabeth for the entirety of its debut.
Who gave you eyes like that; said you could keep them? I don't know how to act, or if I should believe them—
Annabeth starts giggling, probably more from nerves than anything else. Ruby dissolves shortly after. Leo and Piper, who were there that night in the club when Ruby slowly leaned over their table and ran her manicured fingers down Annabeth's cheek— I need to tell you something— aren't far behind. "Thanks, beauty queen," Leo wheezes. "And don't worry, Annabeth; I'll take the next tension-diffusing embarrassment bomb." "Fuck you," Annabeth replies fondly. Ruby laughs harder, a lovely, free sound. "Come here, brat. I want you to help me get the robe off." "I'd tell you to make me if we were alone," Annabeth murmurs as she steps in close. She skates her hand up Ruby's arm and hears the click of Leo's shutter. "I'll keep that in mind," Ruby purrs back. She shrugs the robe off one shoulder, exposing the rose-pink strap of her silk negligee. Click. Annabeth takes the robe. The shimmery cloth is still warm where it was touching Ruby's skin. She folds it and drapes it over the end of the bed, listening to the crisp sound of Ruby's heels as she moves towards the armoire. "Those are the shoes he likes, right? The stabby ones?" Leo asks from somewhere behind her. She hears the scrape of a chair being pulled out. "These specific ones are new, but they're dagger pumps, yes. I'm putting them in the same box as the photo album, so he can open them together." Annabeth turns around, and regrets it at the same time that she can't get enough of the view. Fuck. Because Ruby is sitting in the antique mahogany chair that goes with the armoire, her wrists draped elegantly over the arms, her legs crossed at her knee. The negligee goes down to her mid-calf, but it's slit up the side to her thigh. The strap of her white garter is visible, as well as the lacy hem of her pearly, translucent stockings. Front and center, posed to grab attention, are the damn pumps: ruby-red patent leather, with a strap around her ankle and an eight-inch stiletto. "He'll love that." Dangerously, wickedly sexy, they seem to have been made for a domme. Annabeth knows Percy's spent more than a few hours underneath Ruby's shoe, but he's really going to lose his mind over these ones. Annabeth's halfway there herself— she knows the feeling of a brass spike heel pressing against her lower back, too. Which, naturally, Ruby is fully aware of. She smirks at Annabeth, rolling her top ankle. "Counting on it. And don't worry, princess; you can have a turn when we get back from the honeymoon." "Stop calling me that," Annabeth protests, barely able to muster up any indignance. It always makes her shiver, whether she's hearing the pet name silky-smooth from Ruby or rough and half-wild from Jason. "Make me," Ruby says mildly, the spark in her eyes betraying her mood. She raises her left hand, the engagement ring glinting in the soft light as she rests her cheek in her palm. Leo snorts and takes a photo, then gets to his knees and takes another from below. "Sub-cam," he explains cheerfully. "Keep harassing your girlfriend, by the way. You get the perfect evil-dominatrix look on your face when you do.""I'm not evil, I'm a sadist. There's a difference." "You're a little evil," Annabeth mutters, hugging herself to distract from the goosebumps. "Especially to me." "Does it count if you explicitly told me to be evil?" Ruby fires back, breaking into a grin. She shifts position, swinging her legs over one arm of the chair and kicking up her heels. It's adorable— uninhibited and playful. Annabeth feels Piper's hand come to rest on her lower back, and leans into her side. "She really is stunning. Percy's lucky we didn't know about her when we were dating, or I might not have let him have her." Piper's smile is teasing. Ruby's wink is too. Annabeth puts away the flicker of jealousy— it would be stupid even if it were founded— which is getting easier every time. "I'm charmed." Ruby flips her hair over her shoulder. "I think you're hot, too. I like us as besties, though." "Wouldn't be the same if you weren't," Leo says wistfully, taking another photo. "The three of us together exceed the sum of our parts, which is why we're so awesome as a unit." "I love how he manages to bring math into his sappy declarations of friendship." "He's an engineer," Piper scoffs. "They do that. Beth is the same way." "At least I understand the drafting part of architecture." Ruby wrinkles her nose, and goes pink again when Leo snaps a shot. "Software engineering is about as comprehensible to me as Irish." "Bad example," Annabeth argues. "You're the only one in the room who can consistently pronounce both Sally and Estelle's full names." "Only because Saoirse Ronan is one of my style icons and Estelle walked me through 'Siofra' until I stopped mangling it." "You barely mangled it and you know it," Leo says, accusatory, as he snaps another shot. "I still can't pronounce either of them, and ballenita's gone over it with me at least as much as she did with you. I have it for two seconds and then I lose it again. I am, however, totally stealing it for my next cat name. Spirited fairy child. It's perfect." "At least a cat won't care if you mess it up," Piper points out. Leo grins up at her. "I'll just call her Fi for short." "I like Fi. It's also short for Fiona, which is on our future baby name list," Ruby muses, softening. "We have a lot of Irish names saved. I like Daire for a boy, too, but Percy's worried he'd end up getting called 'dairy', which is fair. You can also spell it with a GH, though, which is a little easier." "'Right. 'Dah-ra with a GH' is totally easy and not at all confusing." Leo rolls his eyes, leans back and takes another shot. "For an English speaker, D-a-r-r-a-g-h is easier than D-a-i-r-e," Ruby insists, tilting her head back. "I didn't say it was easy by itself. And the point might be moot anyway— who knows if we'll even have a boy, or if any boys we do have stay that way? We could very well start out with a Darragh and end up with a Deirdre or Devon." "And that kid would be lucky to have you." Piper's smile widens when it makes Ruby blush again. "If your fiancé and his stepdad are anything to go by, having a badass queer parent goes a long way towards self-acceptance." "See also, Thalia," Ruby agrees with a fond sigh. "Not that I ever expected anything else, but that post she made when I came out still gives me feelings." Annabeth remembers it too: a picture of Ruby and Thalia together, sleeves rolled up to show off their matching tattoos— a pair of wolf cubs, one slightly bigger than the other, curled up together and framed with their birthdates. Thalia had tears in her eyes and a smile on her face so wide it looked like it hurt. The photographer, probably Percy, must have had shaky hands, because the picture's hazy and not quite focused properly.
Found out recently that my awesome little brother is also my wonderful, beautiful, amazing little sister! Look how cute we were at lunch together! She's so tall and grown-up and gorgeous… sob!!
@renee_ruby_j, you already know this but I'm telling you again anyway. You're the best thing that's ever happened in my whole life. You're more like a daughter to me than a sister, you made me the woman I am today and I'm so proud of you I could explode. I love you so much and you'll always be my baby, no matter how grown-up you are!!!
The best part of that photo, like every photo she's ever been in, is Ruby's smile, radiant with joy. Just thinking of it makes Annabeth feel warm and antsy. So does the way Ruby flexed her (unfairly hot) bicep in that shot, to emphasize her muscle as well as her ink. It's mostly a habit left over from sports photography, but it's drool-worthy all the same.The pose she's in now is even worse. She's sitting properly again, ankles crossed. The shimmery silk of her stockings catches the light around one sturdy, sculpted calf. Fuck. Percy's right— Ruby really does look like a goddess. She could play Hippolyta, Titania, Aphrodite; by intermission, the whole audience would be in love with her, swept away by her striking beauty. She's especially captivating when she stretches out one large, elegant hand, looks Annabeth right in the eye and curls her finger. She's made that gesture before. Like always, Annabeth follows, feeling as if she's being pulled by a string. Ruby stands up (and up), so tall in her new pumps that she'd have to duck to get through the door, and looks down to meet Annabeth's eyes and hold her stare. One. Two. Three. Annabeth counts six heartbeats, frozen in place under the weight of that look, before she hears another click off to her left. "Hot," Leo jokes, breaking the moment— but not in a bad way. It makes Ruby laugh, resting her hand on Annabeth's shoulder to balance herself. Her nails are painted red, the ring fingers decorated with tiny white crystals that glitter in the corner of Annabeth's vision. Not that she can bring herself to care. The touch is too hot; too familiar and intimate. She leans forward, resting her head against Ruby's chest, and smiles at the speed of the heartbeat under her cheek. "We try," she sighs, her arms looping around Ruby's waist. Ruby puts her free hand on the small of Annabeth's back. "We certainly do. Someday, I want to dress you up, tie Percy to the foot of the bed, and make him watch me fuck you." Leo starts spluttering, which sends the rest of them into another fit of cackles. "Warn a guy next time, huh, ladies?'' he grumbles once he can speak, but he can't quite stop himself from smirking. Piper shoves his arm, gasping in a breath around her laughter."Have you seen what she's wearing? You should have been prepared for some smut talk." "He hasn't seen what I'm wearing under this," Ruby points out, pitched deep and soft and dangerous. Her hand presses a little more firmly against Annabeth's back. "Are you sure you can handle it, or should Piper take over?" "Shut up." Leo scowls, fiddling with the lens. "Just because I'm nervous doesn't mean I'm incompetent. Go ahead and try me." "Challenge accepted." Ruby steps back to look Annabeth in the eye again. "That's your cue, princess." That bold lip was an inspired choice, and the smirk makes Annabeth hate herself a little for it. Obediently (fuck, how does Ruby do that; sound so commanding and sure that Annabeth caves before she even registers wanting to?), she raises shaky hands to the buttons holding the negligee closed. "Good girl," Ruby murmurs, so quietly that the other two probably don't even hear it. Not that it matters, because Annabeth gives herself away by groaning pathetically and burying her hot face in Ruby's shoulder. "Please tell me I'm staying over tonight," she mumbles. She feels Ruby laughing more than she hears it, a soft rumbling against her cheek. "Of course you are," Ruby soothes, running long fingers through Annabeth's curls. "I like my torture hands-on, especially with you." For a quick, delicious second, Ruby tugs just hard enough to make Annabeth's scalp sting. Then she lets go, and steps back expectantly. Right. The negligee. Annabeth breathes out, heavy and rough, and gets back to work. Piper's giggles burn pleasantly in her ears. "Annabeth and Ruby, sitting in a tree—" "Careful, or I'll make her tie you up as practice for doing it to Percy." "You wouldn't dare." Piper grins, her hands on her full hips. "Because then you'd have to answer to Reyna, and Reyna's the only person in the world who can out-domme you." "True," Ruby acquiesces, as Annabeth undoes the last button and the negligee falls to the ground. They keep talking, but Annabeth is too focused on what's in front of her to listen. The lingerie must be custom-made, because the white lace hugs Ruby's body like it's painted on. The bustier is lightly padded, but most of the illusion comes from the contouring at her sternum and the cincher drawing in her waist. She looks curvy; even her hips look wider, somehow, with the cut of the panties. Annabeth's hair stands on end when she realizes Ruby's half-hard. Fuck. Fuck. "Uh, do you two, like, need a minute?" Leo asks helplessly. The sound of his voice startles Annabeth out of her horny fog, replacing it with self-conscious agony."I think that's the best idea you've had all day," Ruby growls, and ruins any chance Annabeth had of making it out of this afternoon with her dignity intact.