Shell Bell is dancing on literal air when they leave Milliways.

Stella is an even more fortuitous find than Amariah was, and Amariah was amazing. Stella has given her everything she needs. Stella is a Space Empress and Shell Bell is going to follow right after her, probably with slightly less Space.

The fact that Shell Bell has to torture her girlfriend to accomplish anything in this department is a mood dampener, but she went and had a look at the memories of those "tastes" Stella provided and - well. They're bordered pale, even the big one. She's spooked about looking any closer; she managed to neglect to ask Stella before she went back to her Empire if looking at pain-related thoughts hurts. She looked at the square-sized memory and it was... too close to call. Stella might not even know the answer - mental opacity could easily interact somehow with mindreading. Stella might be protected against painful reading where Shell Bell, with only a wished-for imitation, might not.

But Sherlock seems content, and so -

"We're gonna take over the wo-orld, we're gonna take over the world, we're gonna take over the wooooorld," Bell sings, dancing into the house from the bar. (She can dance now. She is not in the least danger of tripping, wouldn't be even if her feet were touching the ground, and if she does anyway, she will float.)

Author: she_sells_seashells	Shell Bell is dancing on literal air when they leave Milliways. Stella is an even more fortuitous find than Amariah was, and Amariah was amazing. Stella has given her everything she needs. Stella is a Space Empress and Shell Bell is going to follow right after her, probably with slightly less Space. The fact that Shell Bell has to torture her girlfriend to accomplish anything in this department is a mood dampener, but she went and had a look at the memories of those "tastes" Stella provided and - well. They're bordered pale, even the big one. She's spooked about looking any closer; she managed to neglect to ask Stella before she went back to her Empire if looking at pain-related thoughts hurts. She looked at the square-sized memory and it was... too close to call. Stella might not even know the answer - mental opacity could easily interact somehow with mindreading. Stella might be protected against painful reading where Shell Bell, with only a wished-for imitation, might not. But Sherlock seems content, and so - "We're gonna take over the wo-orld, we're gonna take over the world, we're gonna take over the wooooorld," Bell sings, dancing into the house from the bar. (She can dance now. She is not in the least danger of tripping, wouldn't be even if her feet were touching the ground, and if she does anyway, she will float.)
Author: sicaria	Sherlock giggles and chases after her with hugs.
Author: she_sells_seashells	Hugs are entirely welcome! Sherlock can join her in her air-dancing. "We," she says, very seriously, "are going to take over the world."
Author: sicaria	Still giggling, she kisses Bell's cheek. "We most certainly are. It will be delightful. I love you."
Author: she_sells_seashells	"I love you too!" Bell grins. She's got a chain of starter coins making jangling noises audible only to her around her waist; she's got an array of glorious superpowers; and now she has to decide how to take over the world. "Hmmm. Went from having not enough resources to form a proper plan to having so many that I can play this any way I want. Not all that much easier, I gotta say."
Author: sicaria	"Well," she says. "We could find Atlantis. Or, somewhat likelier, found it."
Author: she_sells_seashells	"Finding Atlantis if it exists is definitely on the to-do list," Bell agrees. "There could easily be some functional government across the ocean better equipped to absorb Panem's population than anything we make de novo will be. Then again, Atlantis could exist and turn out to be just as bad. I'd like a plan for handling Panem if there is no Atlantis, and then if there is a bad Atlantis, we won't be caught giving ourselves away in one without any strategy we can adapt for a bad Atlantis too."
Author: sicaria	"We could install your counterpart's anti-violence measures directly over the planet," she says. "Or better ones. And then start solving problems and deal with resistance as it occurs. Whatever we do, it would be best to do it fast, while the Capitol is still headless."
Author: she_sells_seashells	"We could," Bell says. "I don't think the ones she has for Mars will work exactly as she 'worded' the wishes. It's designed to coexist with some others of the 'ground rules'. She has enough of them buzzing around to render a police force completely unnecessary in the first place, and I'm not sure how the Peacekeepers will take being rendered unnecessary. Speaking of Peacekeepers," she says, looking up suddenly, "I don't think I have any excuse not to tell my parents that I'm alive after all. I can teleport in when they'll both be home and have a brief conversation and make sure they're safe and fed and then teleport back."
Author: sicaria	"All right."
Author: she_sells_seashells	"I'd ask you to come, but I think I'll be enough of a shock all by myself," says Bell ruefully. [But I can keep up two conversations at once now!] she adds, giving Sherlock a kiss. She consults the time. It is in fact right between salmon expeditions; under normal circumstances both of her parents will be home unless Shark has chosen this occasion to poach fish. (Invisibility first. In case they have guests. And port.)
Author: sicaria	[A handy talent,] she says, kissing back.
Author: she_sells_seashells	[Yup. They're home,] Bell reports. They don't faint. They do insist on hugging her. Ranae cries. Shark rants. (Just like Amariah predicted.) They hug her a lot. [They were so sad,] she reports guiltily to Sherlock.
Author: sicaria	[I'm sorry,] she says, although she's not sure that's the right thing.
Author: she_sells_seashells	[I feel really bad about it. But there wasn't a better option at the time.] After they calm down about her being alive, they want an explanation of the teleportation thing. Bell explains it as gently as she can.
Author: sicaria	[When you return,] says Sherlock, [I believe I will give you a hug.]
Author: she_sells_seashells	[I believe I will like that.] Bell tells them that she found an Atlantis, "not on this planet, but farther away" and that the queen of Atlantis gave her special powers. This is all sort of true if you interpret the District Four definition of "Atlantis" and the commonsense definition of "farther away" very liberally. At length, Bell determines that her parents have begun to repeat themselves, and says that she's going to be on her way, but she'll visit again soon. She hugs them both, and then she teleports home - back to the Starks', anyway - and hugs Sherlock too.
Author: sicaria	Hugs. Definitely hugs.
Author: she_sells_seashells	"Okay," says Shell Bell, after there have been a satisfying number of hugs for the time being. "I think what I want is an accurate globe of the earth with - population indicators and marked capital cities and so on. That's a magical object, so - pentagon, I suppose. ...I have a fair few for now but let me know if and when you feel like making more?"
Author: sicaria	"Happily," she says.
Author: she_sells_seashells	"Okay." Shell Bell is not fully comfortable with that yet, but Stella and - Stella guesses - Amariah have manged it, and so can she. Eventually. With lots of mindreading and reassuring cuddles. She wishes on a pentagon, and she has a globe of the Earth, about four times the size of her head, complete with tides going in and out in real time on the coasts of sunken continents. Panem is all labeled correctly, Capitol and Districts One through - "Thirteen," murmurs Bell.
Author: sicaria	"Thirteen," says Sherlock. "Interesting."
Author: she_sells_seashells	It has a population marker on it. A few thousand people live in Thirteen. Fewer than any other District, but that there is a populated area. "Very interesting. I thought it'd been destroyed. I wonder what happened instead." She spins the globe. There is no Atlantis.
Author: sicaria	"Should we go and investigate, do you think?"
Author: she_sells_seashells	"I think that would be prudent of us. Do you suppose Tony will want to come?"
Author: sicaria	"I think he will be fine with being brought along later."
Author: she_sells_seashells	"All right then. I think we probably ought to land invisible. Who knows what they have going on there."
Author: sicaria	"Agreed," says Sherlock. She provides herself the appropriate power, appropriately mutually perceptible with Bell's, and invisibles.
Author: she_sells_seashells	Bell follows suit, and holds Sherlock's hand, and wishes them teleported into the office of the leader of District Thirteen, or whatever location most nearly matches that description. It turns out to be very officey, very tidy, and occupied by one very severe-looking president.
Author: sicaria	[That is not a person who looks pleased with life,] says Sherlock. [Then again, I can see why not.]
Author: she_sells_seashells	[Yeah. Opinions on spying on her for a while versus introducing ourselves?]
Author: sicaria	[Spying first.]
Author: she_sells_seashells	They spy. President Coin is apparently democratically elected; there is no obvious evidence to support the hypothesis that any significant fraction of Thirteen is disenfranchised apart from the underaged. They have enough of a food shortage that food scarcity is brought up as a topic in the meeting she holds with several of her staff, but not enough that anyone seems terribly worried about it or that they're discussing inequitable distributions to compensate. The residents of Thirteen all seem to have schedules printed on their forearms, which they consult when determining where to go after the meeting. Most of these schedules, when peered at, include things like combat training. Whether or not they are currently at war, Thirteen is in a state of readiness and ongoing preparation for it. Coin's next meeting, after a fifteen-minute break during which she eats a perfunctory lunch, is about refugees, which Thirteen apparently accepts with good grace when anyone chooses their district as their destination and actually makes it over the border rather than being caught first. Bell brainphone-hmms on this subject consideringly. Their tech is behind the Capitol, but mostly for resource reasons, not reasons of knowhow. They live underground, but going up isn't forbidden, just uncustomary. And they are all ready to descend into the lower levels and take shelter from a bombing run at any time.
Author: sicaria	[I am considering dropping a wagonload of cornucopias on their heads,] says Sherlock. [If I can duplicate them. I suppose I should check.]
Author: she_sells_seashells	[Oh, I bet we can,] agrees Bell. [They seem... well, as decent as one could expect anyone living in Panem's shadow could reasonably be expected to be. But not so nice that I can be sure of what they'll do if that shadow changes.]
Author: sicaria	[Well. Perhaps we'll just see what happens when we make our move on the Capitol, whatever it is. Maybe wagonloads of cornucopias for everyone would be a good start,] she suggests.
Author: she_sells_seashells	[I am considering implementing a variant on Stella's Martian ground rules, and then picking up the entire Capitol, putting it on the Moon, and coming up with a procedure to put its inhabitants on trial,] Bell says.
Author: sicaria	[That does sound fun.]
Author: she_sells_seashells	[Yes. Of course then I have to decide what to do with the guilty of various sorts, and what to do with their dependents when they have any, and, for that matter, what to do with the innocent, and what to do with the Peacekeepers who are mostly from Districts and not the Capitol itself, and so on. Very complicated.]
Author: sicaria	[Keep the guilty on the moon,] she suggests. [In comfort but not luxury. Let everyone else come back.]
Author: she_sells_seashells	[I'll probably wind up on something that has that as part of the scheme, but - I don't know. Snow had kids. He had a granddaughter, his kids were all grown and I didn't consider it relevant for him in particular, but I'm sure there are rotten people with small children and I'm torn about them.]
Author: sicaria	[What are your proposed solutions?]
Author: she_sells_seashells	[I'm working on that. If I had a good one I would've just triumphantly explained it,] Bell sighs. She leans on Sherlock and watches a family of District Thirteeners go down the hall past Coin's office.
Author: sicaria	[If you have a bad one, perhaps I can improve it.]
Author: she_sells_seashells	[Well. If the guilty go on a lunar prison colony and not into outright lockup, I could give kids old enough to express a preference a choice of staying there with their families or coming down and going into some kind of - facility, ideally designed to get the kids adopted. That hardly seems like a less nasty thing to do to an - eight-year-old or whatever than just sending them straight to the facility without consulting them, though. Sometimes giving a choice isn't helping.]
Author: sicaria	[I see what you mean,] she muses.
Author: she_sells_seashells	[I probably would've had a more comfortable childhood if I'd passed some tests and gotten moved to a district that had more use for brains, like yours, but I wasn't going to let anyone take me from my parents, not when I was little and I needed them.]
Author: sicaria	[Remove the children that want to go or are being mistreated; leave the rest,] Sherlock says after a moment. [Include in the ground rules of the Moon that no children can be conceived there, to limit the problem. Allow the children to come back at any time and deal with them individually if they begin making trouble.]
Author: she_sells_seashells	[Mm. I'm probably not going to do any better than that. And then I design a facility - and I have to staff it, too, I can make the facility operate itself with respect to basic needs but kids need to be around people. I wonder if Thirteen's a potentially good source of personnel who grew up not so cowed by the Games and with adequate educations? I mean, obviously the other twelve Districts can produce smart and decent people, but it might be easier to find them here.]
Author: sicaria	[I am not sure 'uncowed' is the first description that comes to mind,] says Sherlock.
Author: she_sells_seashells	[Well. Anticipating war if something goes wrong is a different state than anticipating squashing if you annoy the wrong person. Thirteen used to do nukes, didn't it? The Capitol's probably at least as afraid of them as they are of it.]
Author: sicaria	[I do see what you mean,] she muses.
Author: she_sells_seashells	[I want to find their school and see what it's like,] Bell decides, and she starts reading passerby forearms to seek someone who's headed in that direction. It's almost like they're trying to be convenient for invisible spies.
Author: sicaria	Laughing silently, Sherlock follows as soon as Bell finds one.
Author: she_sells_seashells	The school appears to operate in shifts - they're underground, and people can sleep as well during the day as they can at night, so it's most efficient that way. They get to the school just as First Shift is taking over from Third Shift, and watch the history teacher they followed setting up for the day and greeting her students. The lesson is spare, factual, and delivered to relatively attentive children.
Author: sicaria	[The place is a match for its president,] Sherlock comments. [Very unfrivolous.]
Author: she_sells_seashells	[Very. I wonder what they'll do in sudden excess. I think my hometown would throw a party. I'm not sure these people know what a party is.]
Author: sicaria	[I am really very tempted to wish each and every one of them a cornucopia and an instruction packet, just to see what happens.]
Author: she_sells_seashells	[I don't think they're underfed - just - careful. But let's have a look at the dining hall.] It's easy to find someone on their way to the dining hall after they leave the school. Everyone lines up and gets a reasonable portion of food for their size. [Yeah. I mean, if something happened to their supply they'd be in trouble, but I don't think cornucopias are the key to sweeping cultural change, especially not since we know they take refugees when refugees get this far.]
Author: sicaria	[They lack abundance.]
Author: she_sells_seashells	[They do. Let's go have another look at Coin.]
Author: sicaria	[All right.]
Author: she_sells_seashells	Coin is now in another meeting. This one is with some recent refugees from District Nine, and some natives who are operating as their handlers-slash-guides while they acclimate to District Thirteen. Coin wants firsthand information about the possibility of unrest in the Districts, which she can't get by intercepting Capitol-controlled television transmissions. The Niners have nothing encouraging to say. [This would be a very dramatic time to appear,] observes Bell.
Author: sicaria	[Do,] Sherlock says merrily. [Leave me in reserve.]
Author: she_sells_seashells	Bell laughs over the brainphone. She waits just a moment longer, and then Coin says: "So as far as you know, Nine is no readier to rise up than it was the last time we heard news from that part of the country?" "Far as I know," says one of the refugees, "nobody anywhere's ready for that." And Bell appears, and says, "You haven't been looking hard enough."
Author: sicaria	[Hardly fair,] says Sherlock, invisi-grinning.
Author: she_sells_seashells	[Who wants fair?] Everyone besides them in the room is taken aback, but Coin recovers fastest - she hits a button for security, and Bell says, "Hey, I'm not hostile. There's no call for that." "Who are you, then?" says Coin in a low, dangerous voice. "I," says Bell, and her sentence is broken up by the fact that she teleports across the room to avoid the quick-responding security guards, "am just a girl" teleport "from Four" teleport "who is very ready" teleport "to - look, this is very annoying" teleport "can you call them off?" teleport "ready to attack the Capitol." (Teleport. Teleport.)
Author: sicaria	Sherlock presses her hands over her mouth to stifle her giggles. [Would you like me to do something about those?]
Author: she_sells_seashells	[Nah, I can keep ahead of them and you're my reserve, remember? Besides, the idea is to convince them I'm friendly.] (Teleport.) "Stand down," Coin says, after it becomes blindingly obvious that her guards are not going to catch Bell. "How are you doing that?" "Magic -" At the look on Coin's face, Bell shakes her head. "No, literally, magic, I'm not mocking you. I got it from another world."
Author: sicaria	[Have we anything flashier to demonstrate with?] she wonders. [I'm not sure what would make the best impression.]
Author: she_sells_seashells	[None of my standing powers are that visually impressive - except maybe flying - but I can do a one-off if we think of something.] "Magic," says Coin flatly. "From another world." "Yes, exactly, I'm glad our accents have turned out to be mutually intelligible. I'm Shell Bell." "I am President Coin." "It says so on the door to your office," Bell points out. "Tell me, what's your plan for a District or several who do want to overthrow the Capitol?" "Total war," says Coin shortly.
Author: sicaria	[Well. This should be interesting,] Sherlock brain-murmurs.
Author: she_sells_seashells	"Do you have nukes, or is the Capitol just afraid you might?" Bell muses. "Classified," says Coin shortly. "Look," says Bell, "since you're in the middle of a meeting, maybe I should go and we should schedule something and you can write it on your arm and I won't be interrupting. Does that sound good?" "I believe I can rearrange my schedule for this," says Coin, and she shoos the refugees and their helpers out the door. (The security stays.)
Author: sicaria	Sherlock loves her girlfriend.
Author: she_sells_seashells	"Still classified?" Bell asks, after the refugees have gone. "Very much so," replies Coin. "How did you get to this 'other world'?" "Walked there," says Bell. "Or maybe I should just say 'classified'; is that politer?" There is a silence, and then Coin says, "You look familiar." "Tribute from Four, a couple years back," says Bell easily. "A Career took my place. That was after I found the other world but before I extracted much magic from it."
Author: sicaria	[Shall I find out about the nukes?]
Author: she_sells_seashells	[It would be good to know. I don't think any good can come of nuking anything.] "What can this... magic... do?" Coin asks slowly. "What do you want it to do?" Bell asks easily. "No fair asking for something I'd rather not see happen, but if you want, I dunno, a year's supply of apple butter in single-serving packets, I can make that happen." "Apple butter," says Coin blankly. "It's good. You should try it if you haven't," said Bell. "Are you quite sane?" "Quite," Bell says.
Author: sicaria	[I love you,] says Sherlock. She closes her eyes. What does she need, exactly? A new sense take root in her mind, feeding her direct information about the physical location and structure of nearby objects. She detaches its locus, expands it as far as it will go, and sends it scrolling through the complex. Magic is such fun.
Author: she_sells_seashells	[I love you too,] Bell returns happily. "You understand why you might not seem so," says Coin. "Because I picked a silly example? Okay. Forget the apple butter. You want all your citizens fed for the next forever? With whatever strikes their fancy, without worrying about whether spores get into the hydroponics -" "How long have you been spying on us?" "Just for today," says Bell blithely. "I didn't know District Thirteen was still around until just before that, I certainly didn't know what you were like. But I am optimistic that we can be friends."
Author: sicaria	[They have nukes,] Sherlock reports. [Shall I do something about them?]
Author: she_sells_seashells	[Mmmm... not just yet. I want to see if I can get her to tell me.] "Friends," says Coin. "You're the only non-Capitol-controlled population on the planet," Bell says. "I checked. Since I intend to no longer be controlled by the Capitol either, I'd certainly hope we could be friends, as opposed to turning a two-faction standoff into a three-faction..." She waves a hand. "Something." "How old are you?" "Not sure, actually," muses Bell. "Time doesn't pass normally in the other world, and I was there a lot. I am either eighteen or nineteen." "Chaos and darkness," mutters Coin under her breath.
Author: sicaria	[You are very attractive to me right now,] Sherlock observes.
Author: she_sells_seashells	[We will do something about that when I am done here,] Shell Bell promises. "I was hoping for order and light," says Bell innocently. "Look. Here's what I have: a ton of very flexible magic. Here's what I want: trustworthy people with non-crap educations to help me run Panem after I take it over with my ton of very flexible magic. You have some of those. I'd like to employ some of them. I'm prepared to be quite generous with the magic. Everyone here seems pretty okay with how you're running things, so I don't need to put you out of a job, or attack your District, or do anything in particular I'd expect you not to like." "...I'm listening," says Coin.
Author: sicaria	[One cornucopia might make a nice goodwill present, at the appropriate moment,] she muses. [It represents abundance.]
Author: she_sells_seashells	Bell trades in a pentagon for a cornucopia. The wish proves able to duplicate what Matilda did without a problem. "Here's a present," she says, setting the little golden horn on Coin's desk. "It's a cornucopia, only if you grab it, you won't be stabbed in the back by a tribute who wants your supplies. It's a voice-operated food-appearing thing. Ask it for something." There is a stillness. "Or don't, maybe you're not hungry," shrugs Bell. "Bread," says Coin suspiciously to the cornucopia, in tones of great suspicion. Bread appears. Coin stares at it as though she believes it is keeping secrets from her and may need to be tortured for the information.
Author: sicaria	Sherlock nearly bounces with glee.
Author: she_sells_seashells	[You're cute.] "I can make more of those. I can make stuff that'll handle your water, your air filtration, whatever. And then you will have people going spare - because they won't need to work on whatever I just made redundant with magic - and then I would like to be invited to hire them. Does that sound like a good deal to you?" Bell asks pleasantly. "It sounds too good to be true," Coin says frankly. "Will you believe me after I pick up the entire Capitol and place it ever so gently on the Moon?" Bell asks.
Author: sicaria	Sherlock loves her. Oh, how Sherlock loves her.
Author: she_sells_seashells	Coin stares at her. Then, skeptically, sarcastically, she says, "Yes. I will believe that this arrangement you propose is not too good to be true if you pick up the Capitol and put it on the Moon." "Splendid," says Bell. "I'll get back to you after I've done that, then! How do I go about making an appointment? I'd hate to unduly disrupt your schedule." "I've a secretary," says Coin, clearly wrong-footed. "If you... appear... at him, he will arrange it with you." "Will do," says Bell. "See you later!" And she turns invisible, and takes Sherlock's hand, and puts them both back where they came from, and kisses her with a brilliant happiness.
Author: sicaria	She wraps her arms around Bell and kisses back with pure delight.
Author: she_sells_seashells	[I love you. I love you I love you I love you we're going to take over the world,] Bell sings silently.
Author: sicaria	[I love you too,] she says, hugging Bell closer. [Shall we replenish our supply of coins while we're at it?]
Author: she_sells_seashells	Bell stills in Sherlock's arms. [Still not used to that,] she admits. [But - yeah, I should - get accustomed to it. Um, bedroom - mine? yours?]
Author: sicaria	[Mine?] she suggests, kissing Bell's cheek. [I like making coins. I will endeavour to show you how much.]
Author: she_sells_seashells	[Okay.] Bell turns on the read, so she'll be able to see, and goes with her to Sherlock's room. [Um, do you want me to ramp it up slowly, or just hit you with - what, pentagons, hexagons...?]
Author: sicaria	[Slowly,] she decides. [Squares are a good place to start.]
Author: she_sells_seashells	Squares can be as small as ten triangles. When they're both sitting on Sherlock's bed, Bell bites her lip, and turns on the agony beam at that level. [..."Flavor"... preferences?] she asks dubiously, peering at the read.
Author: sicaria	Her breath catches; her eyelashes flutter slightly. She likes it. [Sharp?] she requests, smiling.
Author: she_sells_seashells	There's a dozen kinds of sharp. Why Stella's Alice felt the need to solicit such variety is beyond her. Bell picks glass-sharp, as the first thing to come to mind.
Author: sicaria	Sherlock kisses her.
Author: she_sells_seashells	Bell kisses back. The agony beam doesn't need attention to maintain, and Sherlock will tell her when she wants it kicked up. (Presumably.)
Author: sicaria	Soon enough: [More, please.]
Author: she_sells_seashells	[How much more?]
Author: sicaria	[Another ten?]
Author: she_sells_seashells	Bell doubles it, and snuggles up to Sherlock, and watches the read.
Author: sicaria	She likes it. She likes it the way she likes kisses, or watching Bell set things on fire. There isn't a hint of dark affect involved. [Ten is a good interval,] she decides. [More, please.]
Author: she_sells_seashells	And up Bell goes, as asked, focusing very hard on that affect-white and not on the fact that it's surrounding a lightning bolt.
Author: sicaria	"That's lovely," she sighs, and kisses Bell again.
Author: she_sells_seashells	"Good. Should I just - keep going up ten at a time occasionally - or wait for you to say?"
Author: sicaria	"Keep going. I'll tell you when to stop." Like pouring a cup of tea, she thinks, and giggles.
Author: she_sells_seashells	Bell giggles too, because she saw that, and she goes up. Wait wait kisses wait up. Wait kisses snuggles up. Wait hair-petting wait up... And soon enough they're out of squares, into pentagons.
Author: sicaria	And Sherlock would like to be out of clothes. Pentagons are a good place to be. She likes them. She could easily go higher.
Author: she_sells_seashells	Hmm. Out of clothes. Bell saw that. She fumbles for the nearest button, not really looking, and starts skipping up a liiiittle faster.
Author: sicaria	There is more space in this teacup. A lot more. She nuzzles Bell's shoulder and then kisses her again, all full of love and warm pleasant tension.
Author: she_sells_seashells	Up-up-up. At increments of ten they'll be in pentagons for a while.
Author: sicaria	Pentagons and warm snuggly kisses. Lovely.
Author: she_sells_seashells	Pentagon range is finite. They cross into hexagon range, and now Bell is thinking about the hit-by-a-van story and getting nervous again, staring into the middle distance where the read channel appears in her vision.
Author: sicaria	Sherlock snuggles up to her. The affect around the lightning bolt is emphatically white. "That'll do," she murmurs.
Author: she_sells_seashells	Bell stops pushing upwards, and leaves it where it is, and watches the whiteness and presses into the snuggle.
Author: sicaria	She wraps her arms around Bell and kisses her, slow and sweet.
Author: she_sells_seashells	Mmm, kisses. Bell can almost forget about what must be staggering amounts of pain if she tries.
Author: sicaria	Sherlock is not forgetting. Sherlock is enjoying it. Sherlock is enjoying it very much. She has been backgrounding the sexual component of all this for some time, focusing on love and snuggles, but it no longer deigns to be bckgrounded. Kisses.
Author: she_sells_seashells	Oh. That's interesting. Bell has a perfect memory now and knows what those symbols scrolling by mean. Kisses indeed.