Gauzy Moon
Rating: R
Archive: Just let me know where
Feedback: Is delightful - lina_wilson@hotmail.com
Summary: (Ainsley/Donna) : “She wondered if Ainsley’s skin was as smooth as it looked.”
Author’s note: This is my first piece of slash fan fiction and I appreciate the inspiration I have received from all the f/f writers I have read. This was written on a long a boring train trip and it’s what happens when Josh and Sam won’t turn up for the party.

~*~

The hem of Ainsley’s gauzy dress was itching against her ankle. She swung her foot a little and wriggled her bare toes, examining her pale toenails and the contrast with her silver heels. The moon was hanging low, and she could see its face if she only stared hard enough. Loud swing music and cigarette smoke blew over her, but she wasn’t tempted to go inside, to make meaningless small talk or to take another spin on the dance floor. Instead she ran her finger around the wide edge of her glass and licked expensive champagne from her fingertips.

She didn’t hear the click of another pair of heels on the marble floor, or the swish of another fancy dress as its wearer approached her. It wasn’t until she sat on the wooden bench next to Ainsley, that she was noticed. Ainsley turned her head towards her, and a moment of surprise crossed her face, before being replaced with a modest smile.

“Donna. Hi. I didn’t know you were coming tonight.” She examined the clean lines of the aqua dress her workmate was wearing. “I like your dress.”

“Thanks.” Donna leant her head to the side, grimacing as her neck cracked. “I’m just, you know, taking a break from all the fun inside. I saw you sitting here and I thought I’d join you.”

Ainsley nodded and looked at the moon again. “Is Josh with you tonight?”

"No.” Donna smiled. “I think he’s still working. There’s this guy I used to date, and it’s a long story, but he kinda invited me tonight. And, you know, I was so sick of everything going on at the office, so I thought I’d come, but . . .”

“Everyone’s talking about it here too.” Ainsley looked at Donna and held her glass towards her. “Champagne? It’s hideously expensive, and I’m beginning to think I’ve had too much to really enjoy the experience.”

“No thanks.” Donna held up a pale hand. “I had some inside. I’m suppose to be awake by five tomorrow morning, so I don’t want to drink too much.”

“Okay.” Ainsley looked at the glass and decided that she wasn’t too far gone for another mouthful. She felt the bubbles tickle her lips and bounce down her throat, and she shivered slightly as she put her glass back down beside her.

“Are you cold?” Donna looked at Ainsley’s bare shoulders and the way the thin silver dress clung to her body. She wondered if Ainsley’s skin was as smooth as it looked, and where the dressmaker has managed to arrange a zipper among the delicate fabric.

Ainsley shook her head. “No, it was just . . .” She searched for the appropriate flowery phrase, but nothing came to mind. “Good.”

Her eyes met Donna’s and something inside them touched. Ainsley felt herself building an ice wall of resistance to this feeling as Donna placed her pinkie finger on the soft skin of her inner arm.

“Your skin is smooth.” Donna whispered, as she ran the finger up and down a few inches. “I thought it would be smooth.”

Ainsley felt the ice thaw a little as she watched the rest of Donna’s fingers join the little one. “Donna?” Her breath barely caught the air. “This is pretty new for me.”

Donna drew her fingers back towards her and examined the gardens in front of them. “I’m sorry.”

“No!” Ainsley shook her head. “No, I mean, what I meant . . .” She fell silent to collect her thought, before deciding that actions could describe her feelings better than a babble of words. She took Donna’s hand, asking her with her eyes not to say anything. As a song finished inside, and applause began another tune, Ainsley dipped Donna’s fingers in her expensive champagne and brought them towards her mouth. Blowing on them with a single minute breath, she wrapped her mouth around them. One after another, she savoured the taste of the champagne, and the ridges in Donna’s fingers and the sharp edge of manicured fingernails under her tongue. Donna’s breath became irregular, and she shifted her body towards Ainsley, almost touching her leg.

“Ainsley.” She replaced her hand on her lap. “We shouldn’t be doing this in public.”

The moon was still bright and Ainsley looked around to see if anyone had seen them. Confident that they were alone, she leant her head towards Donna’s. “Did you drive here tonight?”

“No. I’m taking a cab home.” There was an ache in her chest, and Donna realised that she didn’t want to go home alone.

Ainsley got to her feet easily, the ice wall totally melted. “Would you like to save on the fare?”

A small breeze filled the air, and a shared shiver went down their spines. Donna got to her feet as well, the skirt of her dress wrapping itself around her legs. “I’ve just got to make some goodbyes. I’ll see you around the front.” She reached her hand towards Ainsley’s, brushing her skin with the barest edge of a fingernail, before turning and making her way back into the noisy room. Ainsley picked up her champagne glass and swallowed the last of the contents. If she looked at the moon hard enough, she imagined, she might be able to taste Donna amongst the bubbles.