This is Real

Protective Instincts

Sasha's first kiss had been a rushed business. She had a gig at fifteen, an indie film, and it was going to involve a short peck on the lips from her love interest. It was all very PG, but Sasha had always wanted to experience a memorable first kiss as every girl really wanted. Or if she wasn't going to have that, she at least wanted her first kiss to come from someone she actually cared about.

So she'd asked her best friend Jasper to give her her first kiss. Jasper had been willing, if only because Sasha had bribed him with the newest game that had just been released. It was going to take about 30% of her first pay check ever, but she didn't think she had anything to pay for at fifteen anyway.

So it was in her bedroom and they had both counted to three before they leaned in. It lasted about seven seconds, after which they said it was 'nice' and then they watched their favorite show together, laughing as if nothing happened.

It was sweet in its own way.

It had nothing on Sasha's kiss with Shay.

It lasted all of five seconds, and it was probably more chaste than Sasha's first kiss. But Sasha had to admit that it felt like it was the best she'd ever had. She sighed when they parted, and she was just about to impatiently pull Shay closer to her for another kiss that was deeper and less PG when she heard a series of pops in the distance.

She whipped her head to the side at the same time Shay did, and the corners of her lips lifted at the color that filled the dark sky. It was just like how carnival fireworks were, a mess of color that always felt more raw than the choreographed fireworks they were used to in Hollywood. Sasha felt warmth all over as she sat there under the stars, and their eyes reflected the diversity of color above them. It matched all the feelings Sasha felt inside.

Shay couldn't deny that it matched how she was feeling, too. "Fireworks," she murmured, as if it needed to be said.

She felt rather than saw Sasha turn to her and she copied the movement looking away from the deluge of color into the cool blue of Sasha's. Sasha was smiling softly at her, but it slowly morphed into a smirk. "Indeed."

Shay chuckled slightly, before she was being pulled down again for another kiss. She could feel Sasha's smile against her own, and she reveled in that moment. It felt like the happiest she's been in a very long while. And she wanted to sink in it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"All right, what the hell is up?"

Ashley stared at Shay and Sasha who were sitting a chair apart and both spooning their own cereal from two bowls. Sasha looked up first, chewing her food slowly. Ashley didn't miss her eyes flicker towards Shay before answering.

"What do you mean?"

Ashley raised both eyebrows as if the question was entirely unnecessary. "You're both usually attached at the hip and do this disgusting thing where you share cereal by taking each other's food, and very nearly feed each other. But now you're acting-" Ashley stopped, then smirked, leaning back on her chair. "I see."

Shay couldn't hide the panic in her voice when she said, "What? What do you see?"

Sasha almost slapped her palm to her forehead. Instead, she reached over under the table and placed her hand on Shay's knee to relax her. Shay's head whipped towards her and she offered a comforting smile, knowing Shay was most worried about Ashley's reaction towards them possibly dating.

It had been four days since their first official kiss and they now considered themselves officially dating. The next day they talked about what exactly that entailed for the both of them, and they mutually decided that it would be better for their blossoming relationship to first be out of the media's eyes which meant they couldn't just tell people haphazardly. They talked about who they were going to tell, but until then, they hadn't really made any concrete decisions, yet. Besides, they were both content with spending their days in either of their houses. It probably had something to do with what people term as the 'honeymoon phase' of the relationship. Without the sex, yet.