"Just A Warning"

Bee was not…averse to touch. They loved touch! They liked hugging their friends and their family. They liked cuddling with people. All that fun stuff.

But touch they weren’t expecting? That…was different.

It wasn’t that they hated touch! They just…needed a warning. That’s all.

Did they tell any of this to Tortie? No. No they did not. Did they mean to? Absolutely! Communication was important in relationships and all that. But this? This was…something that even Bee forgot sometimes. So it wasn’t Tortie’s fault that this happened! Not in the slightest!

What happened, you might ask? Well, the answer is…complicated.

Bee was just washing the dishes, as one does. Tortie was over at their apartment, just hanging out. They both had just started dating, which was awesome! Bee was still riding that high! Anyway, Bee was washing the dishes and wasn’t really paying attention. Then, someone touched their shoulder.

Worse case scenarios flashed through their mind. Flashbacks reeled in their head. They didn’t realize they had turned around and tried to swing at Tortie until they were holding Bee’s arm and face, looking worried.

They couldn’t breathe. Everything was too much. Tortie was too close, and-

Bee was on the floor now. When did that happen? The tap was still running. They should fix that. Tortie was sitting in front of them, asking them something. Fuck. They had to pay attention now.

“-love. Hey, hey, can you hear me? Everything’s fine. You’re fine. It’s alright. Everyone’s fine. Can you nod your head if you can hear me?” Tortie’s voice was gentle, soothing. Oh. They needed to nod now. So Tortie wasn’t worried.

They nodded their head, feeling something on their cheeks. Their hand came back wet. Had they been…crying? Shit. This was embarrassing.

“That’s great. Can you speak?” Speaking. They had to speak now.

“I-” Bee croaked out, suddenly aware of how raw their voice was. “Yeah. I c’n-I c’n talk.”

“Wonderful. Can you tell me what happened?” Oh, this was going to be a shit show.

“I-I shoulda t’ld you. ‘M sorry,” Bee said, feeling more tears on their cheeks. Oh fuck, this was so embarrassing. “I jus’-needa warnin’ when ya touch me. M’ past an’ all that.”

“Oh, I am so sorry. Why didn’t you tell me?” Tortie looked genuinely concerned, and so so worried. God, why were they so pretty even when they were all worked up?

“Jus…didn’ think ‘bout it.”

“Alright. Do you want to go and cuddle on the couch, or do you need to not be touched for now?”

They ended up curled against each other on the couch, Bee pressed into Tortie’s side. They would need to talk about things later, but that was a later problem. For now, they could just sit and enjoy each other’s presence.