286 If It's Just... One
After running every test, she could think of and then challenging the systems team to develop even more tests. Finally, Nessa was confident that the system restores that Alice had provided them not only worked but were even more defensible than the previous version.
Even the system team members that didn’t particularly like Nessa found it impossible to refute her work. Everything came back clean.
They checked and double even triple-checked to ensure no data transmissions were leaving or being pocketed away anywhere.
Nessa placed new security programs that sought out either large or repeated data transfers and immediately sent a request for approval to the systems administrator and a notification to Caleb and Galen.
She also attempted multiple attacks on the system, none of which succeeded. First, she tried inserting a foreign USB and was immediately quarantined with requests and notifications sent. She then used one of the Summer USB devices. This time she was allowed access. Still, once her bug tried to crawl into the system, it was immediately captured and quarantined. When it chewed through the walls of the quarantine, it was destroyed.
These were only a few of the actual attacks and tests she ran. But they all produced the exact same result.
“The system is repaired and working better than before,” she sighed.
“They just want to be sure,” Clara said.
“Clarebear, I have run so many scans… I have run every test imaginable… Heck, I made up a few! It works!” Nessa groaned.
When Clara didn’t respond, Nessa turned in her chair to look back at her girlfriend.
There were three stacks of files and folders, each divided into categories.
The first was the unread pile, which was still frighteningly large.
The second was the unrelated pile, which contained most of the read files.
And the final pile was the potentially related pile. Which currently held only three files.
Behind these manila stacks sat Clara cross-legged in her sweatpants and a t-shirt she had stolen from Nessa. She claimed it was the band she was interested in, but Nessa caught her sniffing the shirt more than once.
Clara sat staring at Nessa with wide eyes and a goofy grin, a slight blush on her cheeks.
“Clara?” Nessa called to her. “Are you ok?”
Clara nodded and then bit her lower lips as she smiled.
“Did you just call me Clarebear?” she asked with a bright smile and a shining delight in her eyes.
Nessa laughed.
“Maybe?” Nessa replied shyly. “Did you like it?”
Clara nodded with her happy grin.
“I do, yes.”
Nessa smiled and wrinkled her nose with a hidden giggle.
“Good,” she said quietly.
Clara felt a burst of joy in her at Nessa’s reaction. Their relationship was different than anything Clara had ever experienced. But each step toward each other was new and invigorating.
They were still using the suppressants, and she guessed they would be for a long time to come, but she was ok with it. Each night they had dinner together, and they would talk. Share their histories, their beliefs, opinions, and memes.
They had even started listening to a podcast together.
Nessa had been distant to start, unsure how to pursue a relationship. But she had followed Clara’s lead and gotten comfortable with her.
They had even held hands a few times.
Something that Nessa never thought she would be able to do with another person without feeling uncomfortable.
It was only for a few moments, but each time, it was a few seconds longer, and sitting a little closer.
Nessa could see Clara’s effort into their relationship, into knowing and accepting Nessa for who she was. And for her, there was nothing more attractive than that in this world.
“Hey, so… tonight….” Clara said, getting up on her knees to hold better eye contact with Nessa.
Nessa sighed.
“Yea… what about tonight?” Nessa replied in a tone that made it clear that she knew where Clara was going and didn’t like it.
The relationship between these two women had grown and was flourishing. They each cared a great deal for the other and wanted to make each other happy. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
There was only one thing they disagreed on.
Ashleigh.
“Tonight is the party for Ashleigh and Caleb’s wedding slash, welcoming Ashleigh as our Luna,” Clara said. “I was thinking it might be fun to go together….”
Nessa took a deep breath.
“I don’t know either of them that well, so I doubt I would have been invited to their wedding, and she’s not my Luna.”
“To be fair,” Clara countered. “We have not talked about slash decided what we are planning to do in the future, as far as Broken Crag versus Summer, so… she very well could be your Luna….”
Nessa tilted her head and crossed her arms, giving Clara a look of sarcastic irritation.
“Clara,” Nessa began. “You are welcome to attend the party, but I would rather spend my evening with Shae tonight.”
Nessa turned back and began typing at the computer.
Clara furrowed her brow and stood up, walking toward Nessa with her arms crossed over her chest.
“I’m sorry, but who is Shae?” Clara asked. “I’ve never heard that name before, and I kind of feel like maybe I should know anyone you would rather spend your evenings with than me.”
Clara let out a small huff, and Nessa turned back with a slight grin on her face.
“Are you jealous?” she asked.
“What?” Clara said. “No… yes… maybe… who is she??”
Nessa laughed.
Turning back to her computer, she typed in a few commands, and the screen changed. First, it turned black with green letters and numbers spreading over the screen. Then, the letters and numbers began to pull into the center. They rolled in and out and then took on a shape like a small cat with wings.
“This is Shae,” Nessa smiled. “I named her after a tressym that I became obsessed with. No matter where the campaign went, I just kept trying to bring her back into the story somehow. Eventually, the DM got so annoyed with me that he killed her off.”
Clara looked at Nessa with utter confusion.
“What?”
Nessa laughed.
“Sorry, um, Dungeons and Dragons? I played a halfling druid with a couple of people from other packs. We would meet up every couple of weeks and play all night. A tressym is a magical beast. It looks like this, a cat with wings.
“Anyway, our DM, dungeon master, introduced one as flavor text, really, but I would not let it go. I was obsessed with making it my pet or friend or whatever.”
Clara stared at Nessa with a raised eyebrow and a slight grin.
“What?” Nessa asked with embarrassment and wondered if she had said too much.
“I have no clue what you’re talking about,” Clara said. “But the look of excitement on your face… is just so freaking cute. I just want to kiss you so bad.”
Nessa felt the blush creeping over her face. She licked her lips nervously and looked toward the ground.
“Uhm… I uh…” she stammered.
“Oh, no, don’t worry,” Clara quickly said. “I’m not going to.”
Nessa looked up at Clara.
Clara smiled brightly.
“I want to,” she repeated. “But I’m never going to push you beyond your limits. I can wait.”
Nessa chewed on her bottom lip as her mind processed Clara’s words.
She took a deep breath and quickly stood up.
“Whoa…” Clara said as she was almost knocked back by the sudden movement.
“Maybe…” Nessa began to say softly. “If it’s just… one….”
“What?” Clara asked.
Nessa closed her eyes and took another deep breath.
“I’m saying… if it’s just one kiss… I might be ok….”