"Is... is that it?" I asked, voice still raspy from the exercise. "Are we... bonded?"
She smiled. It was, perhaps, the first truly unguarded expression I'd seen on her face. Outside of sex, of course. We laid there still on the floor, hands softly roaming each other's bodies as we looked at each other. Her silver chains settled loosely across her breasts and hips like delicate jewelry.
She reached up, brushing a damp strand of hair from my forehead with surprising gentleness.
"If it was that easy to bond, I'm sure you'd have two Sugar Babies already," she said with a slight laugh. It was nice to see her smile and to hear her laugh. She had been so serious before, and I wondered how much of that was built up to protect herself.
"Then what's it like?" I asked, suddenly self-conscious. "I mean, only ask because—not because I'm, like, an idiot or anything like that, but—"
She placed a finger over my lips.
"Hush now," she said. "I understand. I have been taught by the Hotel and you haven't. It's as simple as that, isn't it?"
It was. It was as simple as that. And somehow hearing her explain it made the whole insane world feel... manageable.
Her finger lingered on my mouth a moment longer, then slid down the line of my jaw. My skin prickled under her touch. Even this casual caress absorbed my attention.
Was I falling in love?
Suddenly, a pang of guilt rippled from my heart through my whole body. I remembered the time when Bridgid and I were in the closet, and we were alone. She told me that she loved me, and I told her the same. But she had doubted....
"Are you okay, Teddy?" she asked with a look of concern on her face. She propped herself on one elbow. One nipple brushed my arm as her breast shifted.
"Yes, baby," I said. I forced a smile. "I'm just worried. Here we are lazing about and the guy who gave me my check-up not too long ago is leading an assault on my new home."
She shook her head slowly.
"No, no," she said. Her hand slid down my chest. "This is my domain. I have such an incredible amount of Sugar in my hoard that I can afford to spend a lot of it on Timeless Escape."
"Oh," I said. "So, time is basically paused here?" I started getting horrible flashbacks and visions of Matterhorn.
"Precisely," she said. "And yes, almost like a larger scoped Sugar Rush, but one at an environmental level. And it is always on, not just when I feel danger.
Because that's been so much help lately, I thought.
Calliope continued. "It was something I invested on early on. I often activate my domain just to get away. It has given me time to..."
"To prefer being alone?" I suggested. Based off her previous attitude, it was a serious suggestion.
"I was going to say mature."
"That is definitely one way to put it."
We both smiled at each other.
"We would never have to leave," I said. "We can stay here as long as we want, right? The world could be ending the next minute and it would mean nothing to us!"
"Oh, Teddy," she said. "Tempting. Very tempting."
She leaned down and kissed me. A slow and deep and lingering kiss. Her tongue slid against mine in a lazy dance. When she pulled back, her pupils were blown wide again.
"But the Hotel is mine," she said. "And I'm yours. And I need you to protect me. Besides, I want to see the look on that salt-rotted Simp's face when he realizes the untouchable Calliope Veyra has finally been caught by a Sugar Daddy."
She smiled widely.
"Well, we have the time..." I suggested.
"It may seem that's the case, but it's really not," Calliope said. "There is time, sure. Relative to us, an infinite amount, yes. But the moment we go down that road, it's us who's going to change. And I don't want to take the risk that I'll become someone who doesn't insist on protecting her loved ones. I had already turned into a person who didn't know how to accept anyone's love without bleeding them dry for it."
I nodded. "Okay. You're right. I'm being selfish."
"No, Teddy, it's what I want, too."
"Right. Either way, whether we stay here or bounce, we need to settle the matter of the bond. Before Elaine took me into the Penthouse to meet the Board and the candidates, she placed a piercing on my tongue. It's preventing me from building back any of the Sugar I've used, and so right now I'm completely dry."
"And you think the bond will help with this?"
"It... won't?"
Calliope shrugged. "You seem to forget sometimes that I am still just a student myself."
"Sorry," I said. "It's hard to remember when you already seem so powerful...."
"I am strong in the ways of Spice, but only in a brute fashion. Elaine would be the one to teach me, but she has been away a lot."
"But... you know how to make a bond?"
"Every Sugar Baby candidate knows how to make a bond."
She brought out her palm, cupping it like she was holding water.
"The key thing to remember is that technically this is a Sugar bond. It's not even a bond between you and me personally, not really. Did you know that Mana is alive?"
Again, I remembered the closet and Dr. Ryebald's office and... fucking the ward.
"I did hear about that, yes," I said.
"Well, then hold out your hand like this, and concentrate so that you can feel the Mana pooling inside it."
She demonstrated, and eventually I could see a tiny swirl of Mana particles in the palm of her hand.
"This is why only some people can be Sugar Babies," she said. "The bond itself requires the bonding of Sugar, and only Sugar Daddies and Sugar Babies have a source for naturally producing it."
As she talked I put my hand in the position hers was in and concentrated. Eventually I could see the swirling of Mana here as well.
Small pixie-like creatures started to arise in the midst of the swirling Mana. Calliope's were elegant, acrobatic things, but mine seemed to be spastic and jittery.
"Oh dear," Calliope said. "Your Sugar... it looks like it's suffering. The sprites, I think they might be dying!"
"It's this damn piercing!" I yelled. Calliope jumped back, and I immediately felt bad about it. "Sorry," I said. "But why didn't Elaine warn me that could happen?"
Calliope shrugged. "She probably didn't know you'd run out of Sugar entirely. They might be starving, or the piercing is interfering with their work in some way. Either way, yes, a bond does seem like it would do the trick here."
Calliope brought her hand closer to mine until the swirls of Mana began to mix up with each other. It felt funny. It was almost like I could feel Calliope herself.
"Kiss me," she said.
"What?"
"You may now kiss the Sugar Baby," she said, smiling.
So I did.