Rhythm and Tides

Layla drew the curtains closed on Piff's cradle and walked over to sit down on her bed. She patted the spot next to her in invitation.

"Have a seat."

Musa came over and sat down beside her.

"Thanks."

Layla looked at Musa silently for a moment, then turned her gaze to the wall in front of her.

"Musa, all that stuff I told you about me being bi, does that bother you at all?"

Musa shook her head.

"Hm mm. It's cool. Actually, I'm glad you felt comfortable enough to share that with me. That takes courage."

She grinned as Layla looked back at her again.

"Besides, it's not like you're the first Winx girl to ever kiss another girl, ya know."

Layla's eyes opened wider in susprise.

"Really?"

Musa nodded.

"I kid you not. Did you ever hear the story about how Mirta came to Alfea?"

Layla shook her head.

"Not really. Isn't she that short-haired red-head everyone says is a witch or something?"

Musa smiled warmly.

"That's her alright, and a nicer witch you'll never meet."

Layla shrugged non-comittally.

"I've seen her around but I've never actually met her."

Musa's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"You've been here half the school year already and you still haven't met Mirta? Guess I'll have to introduce you then. She's really easy-going and friendly. You're gonna like her."

Layla smiled at Musa.

"Well, if you like her then I'm sure I will too. So how'd she wind up coming to Alfea? I thought all witches go to Cloud Tower."

Musa nodded.

"That's right. They do. And that's where Mirta started out too. But one day she overheard Icy, Darcy and Stormy plotting to lure Bloom into a trap and steal the Dragonfire from her. She didn't like what she was hearing, so she warned Bloom and tried to help her escape. Icy didn't take too kindly to that, so she turned Mirta into a pumpkin."

Sympathy filled Layla's expression.

"That's awful."

The angry scowl on Musa's face showed that she agreed with that sentiment.

"Yeah, no joke. So we brought her back to Alfea with us and Flora did all she could to break the spell and get Mirta back to normal. It took a while, but finally out of desperation she joined all of her winx with Mirta's and together the two of them broke through the spell. You should have seen the two of them holding hands and gazing into each other's eyes once Mirta was back to normal. I thought they were gonna start kissing right then."

Layla looked stunned.

"Wow. Flora and Mirta? Who'da thought? So wait, if they didn't kiss then, when did they do it?"

Musa pulled her legs up on the bed and sat Zen style facing Layla.

"Well, nobody actually saw them do it, but everybody pretty much knows that they did. It happened the night of the end-of-school dance. Flora and Mirta danced together all night, and when they weren't dancing they were standing or sitting next to each other. I spotted them holding hands and gazing into each other's eyes several times when they thought nobody was looking. Then at the end of the dance they sorta disappeared. Nobody knew where they were but speculation was running wild about what they were doing together.

"About 2AM Flora snuck back into the dorm. Bloom and I were sitting up waiting for her when she came in. Flora had never stayed out late like that before, so Bloom being her roomie was kinda worried about her. Bloom's a sweet girl and all, but being from Earth she's kinda naive about some stuff. I already had a pretty good idea what was going down just from watching the two of them all evening at the dance. When Flora walked in and saw us sitting there waiting for her she sorta froze. I walked around behind her and found a couple of leaves in her hair and one more that somehow got stuck down the back of her skirt."

Layla's eyes were open wide.

"Whoa! Just how far did those two actually go that night?"

Musa spread her hands and shrugged.

"No one really knows. The two of them never fessed up, so all we can do is guess. I do know that the girls who were putting Mirta up for the night reported that she came back in about the same shape that Flora did. Officially their story is that they laid under a tree gazing at the stars and talking all night, but if you ask me those two had a serious make-out session at least. Flora woulda never got her hair that mussed up just lieing under a tree."

Layla smiled.

"So are they still seeing each other?"

Musa shook her head.

"Nah. They didn't get to see each other again 'til after summer break. By then apparently things had cooled off between them. Of course now Flora's got the hots for that new guy Helia."

Layla grinned.

"I can sure attest to that. She had me sneak into his room and spy on him to see if he likes her back. I dunno why she doesn't just come right out and tell him how she feels."

Musa smiled.

"Flora's a great gal, but she's kinda on the sensitive side, ya know? What if she told him how she feels and he didn't feel as strong about her? She'd be crushed if that happened."

Layla lowered her head and looked off to the side.

"Yeah. I guess I can see why she'd be worried about that."

Musa blinked at the sudden change in her friend's demeanor. She leaned forward and stuck her face in front of Layla's with a curious expression.

"Layla? You okay?"

Layla gave a little start.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinkin' about something."

She cast her eyes downward self-consciously.

"Listen, about what I said earlier ... about my feelings toward you ... that is ..."

Musa gave her an encouraging look.

"You mean the whole attraction thing?"

Layla nodded without looking up. Musa laid an encouraging hand on hers.

"It's alright. Really, I'm fine with it now. Sure, I admit I was a little wigged out when you first told me, but now I totally understand."

Layla looked up uncertainly.

"You do?"

Musa dipped her head shyly and looked down at her pale hand on Layla's much darker one.

"When you started telling me about kissing that friend of yours and how much it moved you, I kinda started picturing myself in her place and I couldn't help feeling how lucky she was to have someone like you to care so much about her. I suddenly found myself wanting to be her, to be able to hold you and tell you that everything is going to be alright."

Layla stared at Musa with wide-eyed wonderment.

"Musa ... But I thought you didn't ..."

Musa looked up at Layla with a shy smile.

"Yeah, me too. I guess I ... just didn't know what I was missing."

Layla put her other hand on top of the one Musa had on hers as she gazed into her friend's eyes.

"But what about Riven?"

Musa closed her eyes and shook her head.

"This doesn't change the way I feel about him. I still love him."

She opened her eyes and her gaze locked with Layla's.

"But what I feel for you right now is way too strong to be just friendship. I dunno what it is, and frankly it scares me just a little, but I feel like ... I wanna kiss you."

Layla stared intently into Musa's eyes.

"Musa, you don't have to do this for me."

Musa smiled understandingly.

"Don't worry, I'm not. I'm doing this for me. I don't wanna look back on this night years from now and wonder what would have happened if I had just kissed you."

She reached up with her free hand to cup Layla's cheek. Layla closed her eyes as every nerve ending in her body seemed to suddenly focus on that point of intimate contact. She opened her eyes again and was surprised to find tears welling up in them. It startled her just how strong her feelings were for Musa at that moment.

"Musa ... I ..."

Musa took her hand off Layla's cheek and placed a finger on her lips.

"Sshh. It's alright Layla. You don't have to say anything. Your eyes say it all."

Laying her hand on Layla's shoulder, Musa leaned in, closed her eyes and pressed her lips to Layla's. Layla closed her eyes too and moved her hand up to cradle the side of Musa's neck. The two of them stayed like that for several seconds before Musa pulled away with a gasp.

"Whoa! Is it just me or did the temperature in here just shoot up about ten degrees?"

Layla took in Musa's flushed face with a fond grin.

"I know what you mean. I've got tingles all over."

Musa smiled back self-consciously.

"So is that what it felt like kissing your friend back home?"

Layla shook her head.

"Hm mm. That kiss was full of sadness and wonder. This one was more, well, exciting."

Musa grinned back mischieviously.

"Well I'm glad you liked it. Wanna try it again?"

Layla grinned back at her.

"You don't have to ask me twice."

Musa shifted to a kneeling position to keep from putting so much strain on her back this time around as she leaned forward to kiss Layla again. She put her arms around the dark-skinned girl, and Layla in turn embraced her light-skinned friend as their lips met once more. First Musa gave her just a quick, teasing peck on the lips. Then she gave her a slightly longer kiss. The third time she kissed Layla in earnest, drinking deeply from her friend's lips as they held one another close and carressed each other's backs.

With Musa crouched on her knees, Layla was having to tilt her head back at an awkward angle to make their lips meet. This was putting a strain on her neck. To ease the tension she leaned back a bit, forcing Musa to lean farther forward. This caused Musa to lose her balance and topple over, bearing Layla down onto the mattress beneath her and breaking off their kiss abruptly. Musa raised herself up on her arms and looked down at Layla with an embarrassed grin.

"Heh heh. Whoops! Sorry about that!"

Layla grinned back up at her teasingly.

"Hey, if you wanted me on my back, all you had to do was say so."

Musa's cheeks colored a bright red.

"Uh, I didn't really mean to do that."

She tried to get up but Layla quickly snaked her arms around Musa's neck and held her fast.

"Take it easy Musa. I'm just teasing. God, you look so cute when you blush."

Musa's cheeks remained rosy as she smiled shyly down at Layla.

"Ya really think so?"

Layla nodded with a grin as she swung her legs up on the bed.

"Most definitely. I think I may just have to embarrass you in front of Riven so he can see how cute you look when you're blushing too."

Musa gave Layla a look somewhere between a scowl and a grin.

"Don't you dare!"

Layla gave Musa a mock surprised look.

"Oh? And just what're you gonna do to stop me?"

Musa gave Layla a playful smirk.

"This!"

She lowered herself until her breasts were pressing against Layla's. She allowed her lips to part as she pressed them to her friend's. Layla responded in kind as she pulled her friend closer. Layla opened wider to insert her tongue into Musa's mouth and was surprised to find Musa's tongue waiting right there to meet hers. Their tongues darted playfully at each other for a few moments before becoming locked in a passionate wrestling match. After several seconds of this, Musa broke off with a gasp and flung her head back.

"Oh god! I never dreamed it could feel like this!"

Layla took advantage of the opening to plant a kiss on the hollow of Musa's throat. She followed that up with a series of playful kisses, licks and nibbles as she worked her way up to Musa's left ear. When she got there she paused to whisper "It gets better!" before sucking the earlobe into her mouth. Musa let out a low, throaty groan.

"Oh, Layla! What are you doing to me?"

By this time Layla had shifted her right arm down to stroke Musa's back. She moved her hand lower as she answered the question.

"Not much. I'm just seducing my best friend, that's all. Would you like me to stop?"

Musa fought to keep control of the whirling chaos in her mind as she felt Layla's lips work their way back down the side of her neck.

"Piff! We're gonna wake up Piff if we get too loud!"

Layla stroked her palm seductively down the exposed flesh of Musa's lower back and dipped her fingers boldly under the wasteband of her jeans.

"Don't worry about Piff. There's a sound-proofing spell on her crib. Once the curtains are closed a marching band could come through here and it wouldn't wake her up."

Musa gazed down at her chocolate-complexioned friend.

"What about your roomie?"

Layla ran the fingers of her left hand through Musa's hair while the fingers of her right hand dipped lower.

"Francis went home for the weekend. No need to worry about her."

Musa shifted to straddle Layla's right thigh.

"What about the rest of your dormmates?"

Layla smirked up at her worry-wart friend.

"They're out partying and won't be back for a couple of hours. We've got the place completely to ourselves. Now are you planning to ask about the neighbors next?"

Musa smiled down at her as she caught her meaning.

"Nah. Let 'em think what they want."

Layla grinned mischievously and moved in to latch her lips onto the juncture of Musa's neck and shoulder. Musa moaned as she felt Layla apply suction to the spot.

"Oh my god! Are you giving me a hickie?"

Layla drew back to admire her handiwork.

"Yep! I've just marked you. That means tonight you're all mine."

Musa frowned at her.

"You do realize I'm gonna be wearing turtle-necks for a week until this goes away?"

Layla grinned back at her.

"No you won't. Three days, tops. Anyway, Stella taught me a really good concealer spell. It works great on zits, freckles, scratches, hickies and other blemishes. Trust me. Nobody is gonna notice a thing."

Musa smirked wickedly.

"Well in that case, I think I owe somebody a hickie!"

She dipped her head and applied her lips to Layla's neck right below the base of her jaw. As she sucked, Layla groaned passionately.

"Ooooohh, Musa!"