Sparks

Bloom and Stormy had dressed and were returning to Alfea. Bloom's mind raced as to just how she was going to explain this to her friends. As the pair approached Alfea, Stormy became increasingly agitated and nervous. "How are we gonna get inside? You know if anyone sees me they're never gonna let me in."

Bloom hadn't thought about that. Then she got an idea. "Say, don't you and your sisters get in here unobserved all the time?"

Stormy shrugged. "Once in a while, sure. The thing is every time we do they tighten up security a little more to keep us from coming back again. Anyway, Icy's the one who always comes up with the plans to get us in. It's not like we can just drop in without being seen these days, especially in the middle of the day. Maybe if it was night out we could just sneak in but that's still a couple of hours away."

The fire fairy gave this some more thought. Then she got an idea. "That may be because you're witches coming in alone. What if you're with me, will that set off the alarms?"

The storm witch shook her head. "Have you ever heard alarms going off at Alfea? I don't think that's how their security works. If I'm seen walking in there's gonna be a few dozen fairies up in my face in about ten seconds, and then Faragonda will show up to personally escort me off campus. Not that it wouldn't be fun to fight with all of your friends but I kinda hate being on the losing end of a fight. I think the way Darcy described it to me there's a set of scrying spells constantly at work around the perimeter of the place and a couple more focused on the main quad. Even if nobody sees me directly those spells will alert the dragon lady you call Griselda, and that's a fight I'd rather not face alone."

Bloom frowned in deep thought. There had to be a way around this. "How about you turn into something small I can put in my pocket?"

Stormy stopped walking and put a hand on the side of her head as she squeezed her eyes shut. "Don't even joke about that! Transformation spells are hard enough when you're turning into another person or an animal, but inanimate objects are the worst! I once got stuck as a mushroom for over a week before I was able to turn back to normal."

"There has to be something we can do." The redhead thought hard and got another idea. "Hey, instead of transforming into an object how about just changing your appearance?"

The curly-headed witch stroked her chin as she considered that. "Yeah, that might work. It's a lot simpler transformation, that's for sure. If I'm not recognizable I might be able to slip through."

"Let's try that. Just try and look like a fairy." She paused. "It won't be for long."

Stormy frowned a bit at that but quickly nodded. "Okay. I guess I can handle that." Placing both hands on her forehead she swept them back over her hair, turning it short, straight and a lighter, more uniform shade of blue, slanting down to either side of her head. Next she drew her veed fingers across each eye, turning her green irises brown and making her eyes open wider the way fairy eyes tended to be rather than the more narrow-eyed look of a witch. Sweeping a hand down her body she transformed her usual reddish outfit into a pink T-shirt and pair of khaki shorts. A pair of high-top sneakers completed the look. Turning to model for Bloom she glanced down at herself. "How does it look? I'm used to doing this in front of a mirror, so if something looks funny better let me know now while I can still fix it."

"It's fine. Let's hurry though." She took the transformed storm witch's hand and they quickly walked through the gate into the main courtyard. Bloom held her breath as they walked through the arch.

The gate remained open and no alarms went off, nor did any type of barrier pop into being to stop them. Things seemed to be going well until they neared the entrance to their dormitory hall and met Musa on her way out. Spying Bloom with a strange girl she walked over to say hi. "Hey Bloom. What's up? Who's your new friend?"

The redhead had to think fast. "Oh, this is Bryci. She's in my Transformation class and wanted to borrow my notes." She prayed the music fairy bought this story.

Musa turned to face "Bryci" and smiled, holding out her hand in a friendly fashion. "Nice to meet you Bryci. Any friend of my gal Bloom is a friend of mine."

It took an effort of will for Stormy not to slap the music fairy's hand away. Out of all of Bloom's friends they just had to run into this one. She didn't know what it was but there was just always something about this particular fairy that rubbed her the wrong way. On top of that it hadn't been all that long since she and Icy, along with a bunch of other Cloud Tower witches, had chased this fairy through the streets of Magix and gotten their butts handed to them for it. Unable to bring herself to shake hands with the music fairy, she simply walked on by her. "Whatever."

Musa glanced after her with a puzzled look. "Wow. Not exactly the friendly type, is she?"

Bloom just shook her head. "Her grades are... ummm... not very good. She's in a bit of a snit right now. Give her a chance, but not now."

Musa stuffed her hands down in her pockets and shrugged. "It's cool. Everyone has their off days. I'll catch ya later Bloom."

The fire fairy watched the brunette leave, then turned back to catch up with Stormy. When she did she quickly ducked ahead to see if the coast was clear. Not seeing anyone else she turned to 'Bryci'. "I think the way to my room is clear."

Stormy kept her head down as they mounted the staircase and headed down the hall to the Winx Club's dorm room. "I hope so. Walking around in the open around here without my sisters beside me makes me really uncomfortable."

Bloom took Stormy's hand. "I can believe that. I wish I could make you feel more at ease."

The storm witch turned her head to grin at Bloom and gave her hand a gentle squeeze as the fire fairy opened the door to her apartment. "You already are."

Glancing around to make sure no one was about, Bloom led Stormy inside and shut the outer door behind them. She headed across the room to the doorway of her room and stuck her head inside, making sure Flora was nowhere in sight. She quickly ushered 'Bryci' inside, then shut the door. "OK Stormy, you can drop the disguise."

Before Stormy could comply Kiko leaped up and into the redhead's arms. The rabbit started to chatter angrily at 'Bryci'. Stormy scowled at the little rabbit and leaned forward threateningly. "What're you looking at fuzzball?"

"Hush Kiko. There's no trouble here." She set the rabbit back down on the floor. "Sorry, he gets a little overprotective at times."

Stormy straightened up and gave the rabbit a little frown as she snapped her fingers on both hands simultaneously, transforming back to her normal appearance. "That's some watchdog you've got there. Must make you feel really safe at night."

Bloom frowned. "That's a bit harsh, isn't it?"

Stormy folded her arms and turned away. "I don't like useless cute things, like that stupid duck you've got following Icy everywhere we go. If I had a pet I'd rather have something with some teeth to it."

The fire fairy walked over to Stormy and put her arms around the witch's waist. Hugging the blue-haired girl she said, "I'm sorry you feel like that. You haven't had a happy time of it. But I'd like to make you feel better. If you'll let me." She waited for Stormy's response.

Stormy turned her head to glance over her shoulder at the fire fairy. "Hey, don't you go feeling sorry for me. I get by just fine." A smile appeared on her face as she turned herself within Bloom's embrace to face her and put her arms around her in turn. "But if you're offering to make me feel better I'm always up for that." She leaned her face in to kiss the redhead upon the lips.

The fire fairy eagerly returned the kiss. When they broke she whispered, "Feeling any better now?"

Stormy gave her a seductive smirk. "I think I'm starting to. What else ya got?"

Meanwhile Flora walked into the apartment from the hallway outside. Spying Mirta sitting on the table, she sauntered over to lay a caring hand upon the pumpkin's outer shell. "Hi Mirta! How are you doing this evening?"

The pumpkin formerly know as Mirta was worried. She'd sensed that the blue-haired girl with Bloom was not what she appeared to be. She desperately tried to use her mind connection with the flower fairy to communicate that Bloom was in danger.

The flower fairy could sense that something was troubling Mirta, but without actively linking her magic with Mirta's she was unable to pick up on what it was. "What's wrong sweetie? You look really agitated."

Mirta tried harder to communicate with Flora, but being a pumpkin limited what she was able to do. Flora noticed that one of Mirta's vines was pointing in the direction of her room. "Oh! Do you need watered? Okay, wait right there. I'll go get my watering can. Be right back!"

Back in the bedroom, Bloom smiled at Stormy's suggestion. "Well, there's my bed. Getting any ideas?"

"Just one..." Stormy ran her hands up Bloom's back and under her shirt.

Just as she was starting to slide the redhead's shirt up the door opened and Flora walked in. Catching a glimpse of Bloom's read hair she smiled at her. "Hey Bloom. Mirta seems to be thirsty so I just came to get my... Oh my goodness!"

At the sound of another voice in the room Stormy had stepped back from Bloom and assumed a fighting stance, allowing Flora to see her clearly. She pointed a finger at the flower fairy with a menacing glare. "Hey! Don't you know you're supposed to knock before entering?"

Bloom quickly stepped between the two girls. "Stormy, stop! She doesn't mean you any harm! Flora, shut the door now!"

Flora backed up toward the door unsure if she should obey, bolt for safety or prepare to fight. "Bloom, what's going on? What is she doing here?"

Stormy folded her arms across her chest. "Well I was getting lucky until you showed up."

"Stormy, please! This isn't helping!" Turning back to Flora the redhead began to explain, hoping that the flower fairy wouldn't raise an alarm. "Look, Flora..." This wasn't going to be easy. "Stormy and I are... seeing each other. We were both hurting and somehow we ended up comforting one another. Both of us want to make this work, but right now Stormy has nowhere to go and I asked her to stay with me here for a few days until we can figure out something long-term. Will... will you keep our secret, please?"

Flora couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Bloom, you're..." Realizing this conversation was of a sensitive nature she finally complied and closed the door to their room, though a part of her was concerned that doing so put her in something resembling a trap. She shook her head. "I don't understand Bloom. Why Stormy?"

How could she answer that when she didn't even know the answer herself? The redhead walked over to the storm witch, got behind her and wrapped her arms around the blue-haired girl's waist. "Flora, I can't explain why. We were two hurting souls that found each other. That's the best explanation I can give. We both are interested in forming a relationship, which we know won't be easy. Please, give us a chance to make this work."

Flora looked on in amazement as Stormy placed her hands over Bloom's and looked back over her shoulder with a smile that was both apologetic and grateful. It seemed to her as though Stormy's feelings for the redhead were as strong and sincere as Bloom's were for her. The flower fairy shook her head in disbelief. "Have you put some kind of spell on Bloom?"

Stormy's head whipped around to glare at the brunette. "Hey! That's Darcy's field, not mine. I don't do love spells. Bloom and I share something in common, something you wouldn't understand. Yeah, I know it's a weird fit, but it seems to work for us."

Bloom spun Stormy around and kissed her, wanting to show Flora just how strong their feelings towards each other were. Kiko, who had been watching all of this, jumped up onto the bed and started chattering at Stormy again, who was obviously bothering his mistress. Growing annoyed with the little furball, Stormy broke off the kiss to glance over her shoulder at Flora. "Hey, you wanna get that thing out of here? It's getting really annoying, and I don't think Bloom would be too happy with me if I took care of it my way."

Flora was shocked by what was going on, but despite her better judgment she conceded that for right now Stormy was making Bloom happy. Not wanting to do anything to jeopardize Bloom's fragile and tenuous grasp on happiness, however misguided, she scooped the little rabbit up off the bed and held him as she walked on out the door, closing the door behind her. "Come on Kiko. Let's let these two have some alone time."

The redhead was so wrapped up with Stormy she barely noticed Flora and Kiko leaving. She continued to kiss the blue-haired witch, at the same time sliding her hands down to cup the storm witch's ass cheeks. Growling delightedly at this treatment, Stormy sucked Bloom's lower lip into her mouth and bit it gently but firmly before letting go to pull back and gaze into the fire fairy's eyes. "Bed. Now."

That was an order the redhead had no intention of refusing. Releasing her hold on the storm witch, she backed towards her bed and sat down. She quickly pulled her top and bra off, tossing them onto the floor. As though magnetically drawn to them, Stormy bent over to grab hold of the fire fairy's breasts, giving them a firm squeeze before sucking the right nipple and as much of the breast as she could fit greedily into her mouth. Bloom let out a load moan as her arms wrapped around the back of the blue-haired witch's neck.

Letting go of the redhead's right breast to put her arm around the fairy's back while continuing to knead the left one, she kissed a rapid trail up the upper swell of her breast and her upper chest to her throat. She licked the hollow of Bloom's throat once, then nipped and nibbled her way over to the junction where her shoulder met the base of her neck and bit down just hard enough to leave a mark.

The fire fairy let out a small yelp, but made no attempt to stop her lover. Indeed, the nip had increased her own passion. Her hands began to tug at Stormy's top, desperate to undress the blue-haired witch as quickly as possible. Eager to get down to the main event herself, Stormy took hold of Bloom's arms and guided them around to the back where the straps on the bottom of her top tied together to hold it in place. She whispered into the redhead's ear "Untie me" before taking her earlobe between her teeth and shaking her head back and forth like a dog with a piece of meat.

"OW!" Bloom yelled. "Please Stormy, that hurts!" she said as she untied the straps of the storm witch's dress.

Letting go of her lover's earlobe the storm witch put her hands on Bloom's shoulders and pushed her roughly over backward onto the bed, pinning her there with her weight. "Shut it bitch. I'm in charge now." Knocking the fire fairy's hands away, she ripped off her top without thinking about the damage she was doing and tossed it aside. Next she grabbed hold of the redhead's crotch through her jeans and roughly stroked and squeezed it with her right hand while her left hand stroked between the Earth girl's breasts.

Tears began running down Bloom's cheeks. "Stormy, please stop!" the fairy begged.

For a moment the redhead's tears only seemed to anger the storm witch. Then as if someone had thrown a switch she became very still, gazing down at Bloom with a horror-stricken look. Her breathing became ragged and shaky. She pulled her hands away as though they were burned and backed away from the bed, shaking her head slowly and muttering "Oh god. Oh god. Oh god." over and over again.

Bloom lay still on the bed, glad that the pain had finally stopped. Through red-rimmed eyes she looked up at Stormy, who seemed to be in shock. Unsure what had just happened, she took the opportunity to crawl out from underneath the storm witch and curl into a ball as far away as she could.

Watching the fire-haired girl cower away from her, Stormy started to raise her hand toward her. "Bloom wait! I..." A moment later tears started to fill her eyes. Her body trembling with uncontrollable emotion, she fell down upon the end of the bed and buried her face in the sheets, sobbing as she pounded the mattress with her fist. "Damn it! Damn it! I'm sorry Bloom! I'm so sorry!"

The redhead was now totally confused. What had just happened here? She slowly uncurled and crawled over to the blue-haired witch. Tentatively putting her hand on Stormy's shoulder she whispered, "Stormy, are you okay?"

Raising herself up a little with her shoulders, the storm witch tucked her head down against her chest and shook it from side to side. "No, I'm not alright. I'm all fucked up! I'm no good for you Bloom. You deserve someone better than me."

These words only served to confuse the redhead further. "Don't say that! It's not true!"

Stormy raised her head and glared at the Earth girl through her tears. "Do you LIKE being treated like that? Do you honestly think you deserve that?"

Still puzzled, Bloom replied. "No." She paused. "Why... why did you do that?"

Stormy closed her eyes tight, a shudder running through her body as she responded. "Because that's how he always did it. That's how my dad always treated me when he... when he..." With a loud sob she put her head down on her arms as the tears spilled down.

Bloom was in shock at this revelation. It took all her willpower not to throw up at Stormy's confession. But now she understood... "Stormy", she whispered as she cuddled the sobbing witch, "I'm so sorry. But what happened then has no bearing on us now." She pulled Stormy's head around to look into her lover's face. "I... I forgive you. What happened wasn't your fault. And it won't happen again?"

Stormy stared at the lovely redhead's face in wonder and dismay. How could she be so forgiving? Didn't she understand what she had just tried to do to her? She shook her head. "I don't think I can promise that Bloom. I'm not sure I'm strong enough to protect you from all the pain and hate in my heart. It's all tangled up in who I am. I warned you last time that it's not a good idea for me to be in charge. That's when it all wants to come out."

Bloom just hugged the teary-eyed witch. "Well, I guess that's something we'll need to work on. But meanwhile..." She kissed the blue-haired girl.

Fresh tears spilled down Stormy's cheeks as she closed her eyes and kissed Bloom back, tears of wonder and sadness and joy and pain and love all mixed together as she put her arms around the beautiful angel beside her and held her tight. She knew now she didn't deserve someone as loving as Bloom, and she also knew she would never let her go.