A best friend's best kept secret (Closed)

[Niriate]

Name: Sarah Guilana
Age: 29
Occuption: Freelance Journalist
Appearance:

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Love. Marriage. Parenting. came the large neon letters along the billboard for the millionth time that day. The Grand Institute has ruled that these are all emotions are ones that can not be shared between two individuals of the same sex.
"In other words, being gay or lesbian is illegal." Sarah sighed to herself as she plucked the small strand of wet blonde hair from her forehead and pulled it back behind her ear. "Why can't they just say it like it is? It's not like everyone doesn't know it already."
She shook her head as she was hiding in the small bus stop box, waiting for her connection to her destination.

'And yet, you're risking getting damned because of it.' "Shut up" she grumbled to her inner voice, lucky that she was the only one around. "I know that well enough, thank you." She sighed once more as she looked out over the empty street. "Mama always said that you can ignore everything in your life, but only a fool ignores their heart."

And that heart was beating for her best friend. The only one that had supported her through thick and thin. The one she could always share her heart with.
And female.

As the rain kept chucking down from the skies on the pavement, her thoughts wandered. She was going to tell her friend about it today, she wouldn't weasel her way out of it again. It was time to open her heart and hope that the feeling would be mutual.

"To hell with society." She muttered as she saw the bus approaching.

"If being happy is a crime, then I'll gladly be guilty."

 

[Britwitch]

The kettle whistled and Emma carefully took it from the heat, pouring the steaming water into the cafetiere and over the grounds waiting patiently in the bottom. The smell of freshly perking coffee filled the small kitchen and caused her lips to curve into a smile. Everything was just about ready. Mugs and plates stood waiting on the sideboard, along with another plate with a small chocolate cake that would inevitably have a couple of generous wedges cut from it before the end of the evening, despite both hers and her guest’s insistence that they wouldn’t eat any of it.

Blue eyes flicked to the clock. Sarah should be there any minute. Her smile widened. It had been a little while since her friend had had the time to come round for coffee and a chat. Other commitments, work related and otherwise, had kept them both pretty busy in recent weeks. Emma had missed her. More than she really wanted to admit. More than she really understood. They’d been friends for years and been through a lot together in all kinds of ways.

Moving to the mirror Emma ran her eyes over her appearance. Long brown hair had been brushed and the top section pulled back from her face with a clip, leaving the rest to hang down between her shoulder blades. Her clothes were fairly casual, a simple v-necked t-shirt with jeans and bare feet, as was a habit of hers. Her eyes met those in the glass and grew slightly concerned for a moment. Sarah had sounded a little strange on the phone. Almost worried, or panicky. Emma hoped this wasn’t going to be one of those evenings. With crying and consoling. Although if that was what her best friend needed from her then so be it. She would not, could not deny her.

She could never deny Sarah anything if she was honest. She liked being there for her friend, being the one she turned to in times of need. She hoped tonight’s visit would be one of the happier kinds, with whispers of things and excitement, with laughing so hard they had to hold each other up

A ring of the bell followed almost instantly by a knock broke through her thoughts and sent her skipping to the front door. A moment's pause before pulling it open with a wide grin.
"I was starting to think you weren't coming! Come on in..." Eyes took in her friends soggy appearance, her tone growing almost motherly as she ushered her friend inside. "And give me that wet coat, quick, you'll get sick if we don't warm you up and get you dry!"

 

[Niriate]

The forecast of seeing her friend again was everything that kept her from being bored out of her skull during the bus ride towards Emma's house. She never fully understood why her friend insisted on living in the outer suburbs of the city, but Sarah wrote it off as another 'quirky habit', not one to question her friend's motives.

As she exitted, a silent wish was uttered. That her friend's love and compassion would chuck down over her like the rain was doing at that very moment. It was luck, or careful planning, that Emma's house was less then a block away from the bus stop, so a quick sprint through the pouring rain sufficed. That didn't make her any less drenched though.

"Well, unlike you, I don't have a fetish for rain." She quickly retorted as she ducked into the front room, shedding her dripping coat. "Yes Mother." She smirked at her friend, poking fun at the tone that Emma had used.
"I'm just joking, it's good to see you again Em."
Sarah rubbed her arms over eachother, doing her best to get warmed up from the start.

Despite the horrid weather, it was still the end of the summer, so Sarah wore matching clothes underneath the coat. A multi-toned red shirt, the neck reaching down to show parts of her cleavage. A pair of now-black but grey jeans and sneakers. Sporty and somewhat daring, but nothing too extreme or out-of-place. It somewhat matched her personality.

Okay, part one is done. I'm here. I just hope that it's not all for nothing her inner voice encouraged the outer part pulled off her soggy shoes and quickly made her way into the living room.

"Ahhh.. much better.." She sniffed as the scent of chocolate cake wafted over towards her. "Aww.. Em! I told you that chocolate is bad for my figure!"
The blonde loved to poke fun at her friend, if only to see that rosey blush on her cheeks or her pearly smile..

FOCUS SARAH! Her thoughts had drifted once more. This was not the time for daydreaming. It was nearly time to get serious.

 

[Britwitch]

"Well, unlike you, I don't have a fetish for rain."
Emma's nose wrinkled as she took the sodden coat from her friend's fingers, her retort making her stick her tongue out childishly for a few seconds before leaving the room to hang up the dripping wet garment in the bathroom.
"Get yourself sat down somewhere warm!" Emma called back as she eased the coat onto a hanger, hooked it over the shower curtain rail and straightened out the sleeves.

"Ahhh.. much better. Aww.. Em! I told you that chocolate is bad for my figure!"
"Now we both know it'd take more than a slice of cake to do anything even remotely bad for your figure. Now, for something to warm you up..." She replied flatly, quirking her eyebrow slightly upon re-entering the room. She held up her hands as her friend started to rise from where she'd decided to sit. "Nope, you're the guest. Let me get the coffee and cake and then we'll get good and comfy!"

Emma left Sarah to collect the coffee and milk and made a quick return trip to the kitchen for the cake and plates. Within moments the pair were sat side by side on the couch. Coffee was poured, cream added and a mug was swiftly pressed into Sarah's cool palms.

Emma drew her legs up beneath her, turning to face her friend as she sipped her own drink and sighed with enjoyment.
"Let me know if you get cold, won't you?" She knew she was starting to sound more than a little over protective and she smiled shyly. "Ok, enough. I promise. No more fussing. So...how's you? Everything ok? You sounded, a little..." She paused, looking for the right word. "...tense on the phone." Concern crept into her eyes. "Everything ok at work...?"

 

[Niriate]

She sighed happily as she felt herself warming up from the hot mug in her hands and the warm contents as the slipped past her lips. She wasn't an avid coffee drinker, but loved the feeling of the hot liquid passing through her mouth and into her core.

"You sounded a little...tense on the phone. Everything okay at work?"
Sarah smiled as she placed her mug down on the small table between the two of them. "Well, aside from the impossible deadlines and Hutchins being a sexist asshole as usual." The bitterness at her supervisor clearly showing in her voice "Things are going as they always have." She paused for a moment to ponder how to best formulate what she was planning to say next.

"No, it's something else. Something that is rather hard to talk about, since it's extremely personal. That's why I needed to see you, Em... I.." She trailed off as she lowered her eyes, feeling the bright red blush creeping onto her cheeks.

I can't say it.. what will she say?.. I know she's not a lesbian like me... is she?

 

[Britwitch]

"Well, aside from the impossible deadlines and Hutchins being a sexist asshole as usual. Things are going as they always have."

Emma held her tongue, sensing there was more to follow. Sarah's supervisor was an idiot, there were no two ways about it. Who thought a woman's place in the office was to decorate. It made Emma's blood boil to think how much he underestimated the amazing women he had working for him.

"No, it's something else. Something that is rather hard to talk about, since it's extremely personal. That's why I needed to see you, Em... I.."

Her friend's cheeks coloured and she looked away. It was serious, whatever it was. Sarah wasn't easily phased. Emma found herself shifting a little closer to her, reaching out to tentatively hold one of Sarah's hands.

"You can tell me anything, you know that." A soft smile curved her lips as the hand rose to carefully lift Sarah's chin so that their eyes could meet. "Your secrets are safe with me, they always have been and they always will be." Emma's voice was soft and reassuring. She hated seeing Sarah in such obvious distress. "C'mon, tell me...it can't be as bad as all that, surely..."

 

[Niriate]

"It can't be as bad as all that, surely"

Sarah smiled weakly as she looked up at her best friend, nodding. The two friends had shared every heartache in their lives, from Emma's failed marriage to her own miscarriage. But for a reason she could not explain, this felt a thousand times harder then anything previous.

"I..." She paused again, mentally chastising herself for being such a wuss at a time like this. You planned this out in every detail! Either you say it right now, or I will do it for you!

"Em.. I'm in love.. with you." The last part was spoken at no higher tone then a whisper, her cheeks burning red out of shame, but also a hidden love for her best friend.
She had just done it, she had damned herself in the eyes of society. But it felt better then she'd felt in weeks before.

 

[Britwitch]

"I..."

Emma felt herself holding her breath slightly. Whatever was coming, it was huge. She could tell. It wasn't like Sarah to get worked up over insignificant issues.

"Em.. I'm in love.. "

Emma was about to interrupt with a sigh of relief and a comment on how it sounded as if that was a bad thing when Sarah continued.

"..with you."

For a few minutes all that could be heard was the rain drumming against the windowpanes. That and the thudding of Emma's heart in her ears.
A few times she opened her mouth to reply but nothing came out.

"With me?" Eventually the words came. Just about. "You're in love...with me..." She wasn't really asking, it was more like her mind replaying what she thought she'd heard.

"I don't...I don't understand..." She hadn't moved. She was still sat close by her, one hand holding hers. There was something unreal about it all. "How can you be in love with me...?"

Emma wet her lips as memories passed through her mind's eye. Images of her and Sarah. Embraces after sorrows, hugs in moments of joy. Sighs and laughter.

"Are you...are you sure...? I mean, I love you but we're friends...isn't...isn't that all it is?" Even as she said the words, all of a sudden, she wasn't so sure.

She loved Sarah like...well, like no one else. She'd always put her first, worried for her, encouraged her. That's what friends did but what if...what if it had been borne out of something else. Something deeper.

She found herself squeezing her friend's hand consolingly, leaning a little closer.
"Sarah...are you sure...?"

 

[Niriate]

"You're in love... with me".

'Please don't let her reject me. I had no other option but be this forward.. Please..
She looked at her best friend, the tension visible in her eyes as she waited for her friend to get her thoughts back in line. In which, somewhat ironicly, she'd be the first of the two to manage that.

Silence reigned for several minutes, occasionally interrupted by Emma's voiced thought process. Sarah couldn't manage to keep her eyes from getting moist as she clung to nearly every word that her friend spoke.

"Sarah... are you sure...?" Came the final question as the two friends were nearly touching heads, so close they were.
Several minutes more went past, with no other sounds bar the constant drumming of rain and the distant rumbles of the approaching thunderstorm.

"I am." It came out a lot more decisive then she'd intended, but that was probably for the better. "I've been sure ever since you helped me with my failed pregnancy."
18 months... a very long time..

"I just... never had the courage to tell you. You know how this country looks at gay relationships. I just couldn't.."
She struggled to keep her voice from breaking as the words were leaking from her heart.
"But I can't do it anymore.. I can't keep this act up any longer."

She took both of Emma's hands and squeezed them.
"Emma.. I love you, with every fiber of my soul."
Sarah leaned in, wanting to show her friend just how serious she was.

As her lips found those of her friend, she stopped. A kiss, yet not quite a kiss. A loving touch of lip to lip, rubbing together as she closed her eyes and listened to the rain drumming on the rooftiles.

I did it.. finally.. I did it..

 

[Britwitch]

Emma listened, her heart in her mouth, as Sarah explained how she felt. Every word stoking the strange warmth that had started to build deep inside her.

She'd always regarded Sarah as one of her close friends, if not her closest friend. They had been through so much, highs and lows, tears and laughter. They'd spent hours without talking, without really doing anything but enjoying each other's company. And as a result, Emma had always felt blessed to have found such a friend. But perhaps she had found something more.

"Emma.. I love you, with every fiber of my soul."

Their lips touched and Emma held her breath. It was a kiss, but barely. One of them was trembling, or perhaps they both were. It was hard to tell.

Inside she felt a rush of emotions - excitement, desire and an almost strange sense of peace. As if, out of everything else, this made sense.

She drew in a shaky breath, nose filling with Sarah's perfume and something else, that fragrance that was just her. A tremor skipped down her spine as she pressed her lips a little more firmly against Sarah's. The kiss still innocent, in fact it could barely be categorised as one. At least to an onlooker, there was little going on.

It was a different story inside her mind and inside her heart. She had so many questions, so many things she wanted to know. How long had she felt this way? When had she known for sure? How would it feel to kiss her, to really kiss her?

Lips smiling ever so slightly, she decided to address this last question first. She kissed her back. Answering without using a single word, Emma replied that she loved Sarah too.