#devonhelly

Helly stepped towards the couch, feeling welcomed by this stranger even though she had no reason to be. She looked back towards Mark for reassurance, but he was simply smiling as he looked between the two of them, almost giddy.

"I, uh, said I wouldn't look." The woman said, shrugging, "I thought you wouldn't want an audience if you were freaking out."

It was a simple idea, but it was still more consideration than most had shown Helly in her short life.

"Thanks," Helly replied automatically, before Mark joined them, sitting on the woman's left side, close enough to be familiar but far enough to still be polite.

He introduced them, "This is my sister, Devon. She's been… helping me. Out here. She's great."

Devon seemed to puff up her chest proudly at the compliment, giving Mark a conspiring wink.

Helly stared at the two, already in awe and slightly jealous of their relationship. She knew she didn't have a sibling out here, or at least one that wanted to help her in any way. Mark had a whole family to look after him while he grasped the concept of living on the outside. People to teach him what to do and how to act. She would have no one.

"You can sit down next to me," Devon said softly, as if she could read Helly's mind.

Helly nodded quickly, rounding the corner and perching on Devon's right, slightly disconcerted by the way the cushion gave way beneath her, making her unbalanced.

She looked at Devon, trying to find the physical similarities between her and Mark. There weren't any glaring ones, the two had different eye colours, different nose shapes, different-

The baby next to her let out a small cooing sound, bringing up her balled fists to rub against her face and kicking her legs beneath the blanket. Devon peeled the item off to reveal the pastel yellow onesie covering her whole body except for her feet.

Helly couldn't help but stare, her eyes wide as the little thing wriggled. "She's like… a whole human. But small." She heard a chuckle from Mark and felt her cheeks blush in the darkened room, "Am I being weird?"

"Not at all," Devon supplied before Mark could tease her, "I kept thinking the same when she was first here. Like, she has a tiny heart and lungs and eyes but they're gonna be adult sized one day."

Helly felt something in her stomach twist at the sentiment. She knew it was factually true, but the sheer idea of it took her by surprise. This child had her whole life ahead of her, and she could do whatever she wanted with it. Just from the few minutes she'd known Devon, she already knew that she would care for her better than anyone had ever cared for the outie version of her.

She dug her nails into her palms to stop the swirling emotions in her chest.

Devon, again seemingly a mind-reader, quickly drew Helly's attention away from her thoughts, "Do you wanna see her pinky fingernail? It's ridiculous."

Helly felt her eyebrows crease at the absurd question until Devon moved one of her arms from around her daughter's body, placing her index finger on her palm so her hand instinctively closed around it. She brought her hand closer to Helly, prompting her to lean towards her.

As soon as Helly saw said fingernail, she understood the fascination.

"Holy fuck, that's the smallest thing I've ever seen." She said incredulously, feeling something spread in her chest when Devon chuckled at the words.

As if knowing she was being the centre of attention, the baby's eyes fluttered open, instantly focusing on her mother's face as she smacked her lips open and closed.

"Oh." Helly spoke almost silently, the word softer and sweeter than any she'd ever said before, "Hello. Hello, darling."

She was inexplicably drawn even closer, watching the baby's face move. She'd never felt such affection for another person. Sure, she had affection for Mark, but this felt completely separate from that. She didn't even know this child's name but she felt an urge to protect her and hold her and never let her come to any harm.

If Helly looked up at the others in the room, she would've seen Mark positively melt at this new side of the woman he loved, and Devon noticing this and rolling her eyes at him.

"She's cute now," Devon said, focusing on the other member of her family once again, "but she won't be when she's screaming in a few minutes if I don't feed her."

She made sure Eleanor was securely held then stood up, Helly watching for a split second before she spoke, "Do you… need help?"

Mark looked at her quizzically, knowing that she'd never offered to help him with anything before. And he was her boss.

"It's just me putting her mouth on my boob," she replied casually.

"Oh, right." Helly felt an embarrassed flush begin to creep up her neck, with no idea why. She'd never felt so sensitive about someone else's opinion of her before - quite the opposite in fact - but Devon's opinion seemed to matter to her for some reason. Probably because it was the first outie she'd actually liked, she mused. That must've been the explanation.

Devon continued, "You're welcome to come sit with me though."

"Really?" Helly cursed herself for how eager she sounded.

If Devon noticed, she didn't draw any attention towards it, "Yeah, I bet a quarter of the population of Kier have seen my nipples by now, I'm not precious about it."

She headed to another room, Helly hot on her heels as if expecting the journey to take as many twists and turns as the corridors on the severed floor.

There was a large bed against one of the walls, and Helly tampered down the urge to lay across the plush duvet and bury her head in the pillows - a small luxury that she had never been granted.

"Go for it," Devon said, tilting her head towards said bed, "I need to sit on the chair. She fusses less if I'm moving. Such a diva, I swear."

Devon carefully sat back in the wooden rocking chair near the window, undoing the black button on her cardigan.

Helly thought back to how Devon had given her the privacy she'd wanted earlier and strived to do the same, instead focusing on the bed. She sat gingerly at the end, letting her hands brush against the soft fibers beneath her. She itched to feel more of it. Her shoes slipped off with a soft thud against the maroon rug and she pushed herself further back onto the bed until she'd reached the headboard, moving the pillows so she could lean against them.

If she ever left the severed floor for good, the first thing she'd buy with her money - the money that she earned - would be a bed like this.

When she'd gotten fully settled, she looked up to see that Eleanor had already latched onto Devon and was eagerly drinking as the mother tenderly stroked her downy hair.

"Wow."

The word was out before Helly could stop it. She hoped Devon hadn't heard it, but the snicker said otherwise.

"I just mean-" Helly began, fingers nervously picking at a thread beneath her, "that's so cool. And… beautiful?"

"I get it." Devon said, diplomatically dropping the subject instead of teasing her.

Helly kind of wished she would. She recalled the blasé nature that Devon had used earlier, setting out to match the tone.

"I mean," she tilted her head to the side, trying to look more nonchalant than she felt, "it is also the first boob I've seen other than my own, so there's that too."

Devon raised her eyebrows, seemingly impressed and intrigued.

Helly felt a flutter in her stomach that she'd never felt before.

Devon continued, her voice playful, "Honestly, if I'd known the amount of tits I'd see as a mother, I would've spawned a child years ago. Nine months of growing organs and childbirth is totally easier than the minefield that is dating women, trust me."

"You've dated women?" The question spilled out of Helly's mouth without filter.

"Yeah," The word came out slowly and Devon looked more guarded and apprehensive, as if assessing why Helly had asked.

"No, I don't mean-" She put her hands in front of her, as if trying to halt the conversation as she tried to gather her thoughts. "I think I… forgot that could be something. Like I know-" She sighed in frustration, the hair on her forehead blowing upwards, "I don't know how to explain it."

"Try." Devon said simply.

Helly was powerless not to do as she asked.

"It's like… I know things in theory, but I forget about them until I encounter them again. When I woke up at the ORTBO - that's the, uh- I don't know what it stands for but we went outside - I saw snow. And I knew it was snow, but I'd forgotten that snow was a thing until I saw it."

Helly didn't realise she'd been staring at her lap until she dragged her eyes upwards. Devon was still sat there, rocking gently and listening intently. It gave her the confidence to continue.

"I knew that kissing was a thing and how to do it, but I didn't think about actually doing it until-" She trailed off, feeling awkward about the idea of mentioning to Devon how she'd kissed - then fucked - her brother. A version of her brother, at least. "So. Yeah. I know women can date women. But I forgot that until you just said it."

Devon hummed as she readjusted Eleanor's head, "Explains why you think Mark's hot. You thought he was the only option."

Helly wasn't sure whether to laugh or wince at that.

Luckily for her, Devon carried on, "Look, you've got enough on your plate right now. You don't need to add the whole idea of compulsory heterosexuality to it."

She doesn't know what that term meant, but it still seemed to make something unpleasant bubble up in her chest. She briefly wondered if the beginnings of reintegration were starting, making Helena's feelings merge with her own.

"All that you need to know," Devon continued, "is that you can be attracted to whoever you fucking want, and that's alright."

"Will…" Helly hated how small her voice had become, clearing her throat before starting again, "Will Mark get that?"

"My Mark does-" She cringed, nose wrinkling, "Shit, I shouldn't call him that. The… not Lumon Mark. Though I guess they'll both be out of Lumon soon-"

Helly chuckled, offering assistance, "The outie Mark?"

She shrugged, "Outie just makes me think of bellybuttons, but sure. Outie Mark has always got it. I've always just… liked men and women and anyone in between. He's never questioned it. When he saw me kiss Jessica Brown on the playground at our pretend wedding. When I took Sofia Lopez to prom. Actually on that night, he punched some guy that called me a dyke-"

"Whoa, really?" Helly interrupted incredulously. She couldn't imagine her boss punching anyone.

"Oh no, it wasn't impressive. He ended up hurting his hand more than the guy's face."

Helly snorted. That sounded more like the man she knew.

Devon laughed too, Eleanor whining at being jostled. "But hey, the thought was there."

Even before the version of him that she knew existed, he'd always been looking out for others. Part of her being in this cabin at all was him trying to protect her. To ensure she wasn't trapped in MDR without him.

"He… is amazing." She breathed, still feeling fondness for him. Maybe that's what it had been all along? She pushed the thought down. She could explore those feelings another day.

"He is." Devon agreed with a smile, "And so are you."

She grinned widely, her teeth biting into her bottom lip, "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Devon's smile grew to match hers, "You two are gonna be just fine out here. Whatever you are."

Helly believed her.

~~~~~

I realised after writing this entire thing that I don't even know if it can count towards Sapphic Severance Week because

a) it's actually not as overtly sapphic as I would like

b) there isn't much reintegration in it

off to a great start!!