4.34 - Swapped III
Natalie helped undress Ana. Or undress herself. Because it
was
her armor, and her body. But that didn't change the fact that, more than anything, it felt like she was stripping her teammate.
What a mess.
Sensing Natalie's awkwardness, Ana politely avoided looking down at her bodyâNatalie's bodyâas she undressed. It was clearly for Natalie's sake.
Natalie sighed. "You don't have to do that. You can look. There's no point tip-toeing around each other."
Ana studied her for a moment. "I agree. But if you're uncomfortable with it, then you're uncomfortable."
"It's whatever."
Slowly, Ana nodded. "Then, it
is
rather difficult to avoid," she admitted. "Especially with how much you have up top. There's too much to
not
accidentally look." To emphasize the point, she cupped her breasts and bounced them, showcasing Natalie's unwieldy assets.
Natalie stared at her, disbelieving of what the clueless girl had so casually done. She shook her head in incredulity, then continued helping Ana unstrap her gear. This girl.
"Then again," Ana commented idly, "maybe you're just saying
I
can look so that
you
can look."
Natalie started to protest, but stopped before the words came out. Despite Ana's faceâNatalie's face?âbeing passive, like it always was, Natalie detected a hint of sparkling eyes.
"You're messing with me," she said in realization. "Wait. All of it? The bouncing too?"
"Yes," Ana said. "I would think that was obvious, but I've been told it's difficult to tell when I'm joking. So I understand."
The words were delivered with a complete deadpan. Natalie stared at her, then gave a short, incredulous laugh. "Difficult. That's putting it lightly. Anyway," she said, happy to grab onto a conversational topic to distract from the fact she was helping peel armor off of Ana. "You
do
joke, then. What about that stuff with Sofia?" She hadn't been able to tell.
"My offer to be her owner?" Ana asked. "And my stating that the situation was humorous?" She hummed. "It depends what you define as a joke, I suppose."
It took Natalie a second to understand what she meant. "The offer was real, but you were also teasing."
"More or less."
"But, you meant it? You wanted Sofia as a pet?"
"Who wouldn't?"
That was fair. But Natalie was more than a bit shocked to hear Ana state it outright.
"After all, she's a proficient duelist," Ana said. "And an extra pair of hands never hurts. She'd make an excellent pet. One of the best familiars I could imagine, down in the dungeon."
Ana managed to make an impassive expression look tauntingly innocent.
Natalie narrowed her eyes. "Stop messing with me." Disregarding the teasing, though, Natalie was still curious. "You're attracted to Sofia?"
"She's objectively an attractive woman."
"But you're serious about wanting her," Natalie pressed.
"I'm usually serious."
"You prefer women, then?" That much was obvious by this point, but she wanted to ask outright.
"Yes. Does that make all of this more or less awkward?" She quirked an eyebrow as she looked down at her body, which was losing piece of armor after piece of armor.
"Uh." Natalie wasn't sure. "Both."
Ana snorted. "Don't worry," she said dismissively. "I already know that Sofia is yours. I'm not
infatuated
with herâshe's just plainly a beautiful woman. But I won't intrude. I have little interest in romance in general, for that matter."
There was a lot of revelations about Ana to take in there. Though, one tidbit felt more important than the rest. Something that needed immediate clarification.
"Sofia isn't
mine
. Why would you say that?"
Ana paused, giving Natalie an odd look. "I see."
"What? She isn't."
"Okay."
"She
isn't
."
Ana shrugged.
Natalie narrowed her eyes at Ana, then, after a brief internal debate, dropped the topic. She didn't want to venture down that path. Sofia was a sticky topic even with Jordan, who Natalie trusted with just about anything.
Soon enough, the two finished undressing. They placed their gear in the marble bin, but kept their weapons. Natalie stalwartly didn't look down at herselfâat Ana's bodyâdespite having told Ana it wasn't a big deal. Not that she could avoid everything, since Ana wasn't exactly flat. Natalie caught plenty in her periphery.
Why were all four of her delving teammates drop-dead gorgeous? And two of them so generously bestowed? She'd known Ana had an amazing pair of tits, but getting to see them from a first-person perspective was something else.
At least she didn't have a cock to give her thoughts away. That would've been embarrassing.
Natalie's eyes also shied away from Anaâfrom her own body. Why Natalie would be awkward at seeing
her own body
naked, she had no idea. Ana's curious looks, and the way she was purposefully refraining from asking what Natalie's deal was, made it so much worse.
It was as if Ana's complete disregard for the situation was making it worse for Natalie. That all of the embarrassment the mage
should
have been feeling was siphoning straight to Natalie, so that her cheeks were burning hot enough for the both of them.