Title: The Thickness of Cream, The Pureness of Love
Author: Nate
Pairing: Bree/Katherine, 3rd person POV. No Mary Alice narration within.
Spoilers: This could probably be best described as a mix of AU within the series' existing timeline within seasons four and five and discarding some strands for the purposes of same-sex romance between the women and for dramatic purposes. The five-year time jump is also utilized, though in a much different way than the actual season five. Obviously with a story like this, all of the male relationships between Bree and Katherine are completely downplayed and those in season five never existed; heck, I don't even mention their husbands except in passing.
Rating: Hard R (sexual situations, some pregnancy kinks including erotic breastfeeding, and overabuse of the word cream/crème. Light profanity in this one because I just cannot picture Bree or Katherine swearing unless under extreme duress...or passion.)
Disclaimer: I really can't complain about this show, so we're playing it straight; Desperate Housewives is the property of Marc Cherry/Cherry Productions and ABC Studios/Touchstone Television. All trademarks and products mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
Archiving: My personal LiveJournal, ff.net, RalSt, and any DH femslash community that would like this story. Anyone else, ask first.
Summary: A quartet of moments between Bree and Katherine showing how they turned from bitter rivals and into lifetime lovers.
Author's Notes: Yeah...this isn't a drabble. Let's just get that out of the way right now.

This was definitely the toughest prompt to work around for Danielle, and is the fifth of her sixth MTEL reward prompts that she gave me. It was tough because I had to not only work around the words cream and competition, but my interest in Bree and Katherine has been confined only to casual watching of past episodes, fan videos, and the few fanfiction pieces I could find with them together. I also had to make sure it has my glowing and positive viewpoint of love between women and work around their histories, which I gleamed mostly from what I remembered about the show and wiki articles about both of the women, which is why my usual improv style came in handy, especially when it came to their birthdates. I also had to work around the theme of them being scorned in the past, and unlike my usual Paris fics, I had to write for a women who are undeniably conservative, rather than a moderate woman like Paris whose political leanings could easily go either way, or Rory, who is pretty much the poster child for liberals. I tried to do my best in this story and respect both Bree and Katherine, and if there are any errors in canon or opinions, sincere apologies in advance.

Oh, and the title was a toughie too. Since I wrote a Bree/Lorelai crossover fic called Better Than Ice Cream, that title was out for this one, so I had to think on another cream-based title.

Thank you to Danielle for inspiring me and keeping me focused on the goal of finishing these pieces, and her encouragement to write this and push through it, along with those who have encouraged me in my writing to expand my horizons beyond Prory. This six-part series has been definitely a learning experience for me in dipping my toe in other fandoms, and I'm hoping the encouragement will keep me going.

And of course, thank you to Marcia Cross and Dana Delany for existing. You both prove that beauty only grows through the years and are wonderful actresses who I could only wish to do a little justice to in my writing.

---

She had no idea how it started. Maybe it was just a look in her eyes one day, or just a random thought that populated her brain in-between brainstorming sessions for work. Whatever it was, Bree was perplexed. Confused, even.

The fair-skinned woman was primed for years to thrive on competition in everything that she did. Her drive pushed her to log the most cookies sold when she was in her Girl Scout troop many, many years ago, and when she somehow was talked into doing one pageant by her brutish stepmother in order to acquire scholarship money. Indeed she won that competition by miles, but would never demean herself to that level again to win a competition.

But from her younger years on, Bree had to have the best recipes, homemaking skills, pleasant demeanor, and class that would outpace someone else who intended to be the same by miles. Even in her marriages her drive to be the best wife was second-to-none.

However, she had just lost what she thought was an easy title to win. An honor even she barely took seriously, but participated in because Katherine Mayfair had dared her to do so.

In of all things, a crème pie competition sponsored by the local newspaper, a local women's club, and a bakery, she entered a Boston crème which had never failed her in a contest before. It was her 'gimme' pie, one dragged out of the recipe organizer to snuff out the flame of someone who intended to out-do her.

This time, it came up just short. Katherine's lemon/lime swirl pie had been more impressive and she won the small 'honor' of a free six-month subscription and $250 for her victory. The other woman wasn't expecting congratulations at all, and as she was about to leave the room, she felt a tapping on her back.

The other woman turned around to find herself staring into intense green eyes, and a woman who respected her victory.

"This will show me that I can't just show up and get by on past glory," she admitted, a nervous frown/smile on her lips. "Congratulations, Katherine. You won this contest fair and square."

"Thank you," Katherine said in shock, surprised the bitter competitor was admitting defeat. "I just thought you could have done better with the judges. They know you better than I do."

"Well, I guess they needed a change of pace. After all, that is why the New York City Yankees are hated, right?" A nervous laugh. She knew nothing of baseball but figured even Katherine would place the reference.

"It is." Shaking, Katherine decided to take the peace offering handed to her. "Maybe...you would want to know how to replicate the recipe? Now that it's out, I certainly cannot enter it next year."

"It's fine to have your secrets--"

Katherine stopped her. "No, no. I insist, Bree. Please, let me share it?" A pause of thought and for consideration. After finding that feeling that Katherine wasn't sabotaging her, Bree slid the door to her heart open a sliver.

"Only if I can share my recipe for you, in turn." She smiled, genuine in her offer.

”I would like that." The truce of Mayfair and Van de Kamp came that day not in a flurry of accusations and tears, but in two complicated women making one simple promise to each other.

Soon they were exchanging more than recipe cards...

---

Katherine thought she looked horrible. The other women had told her so and mentioned she had crow's feet and veins spilling into her eyes. So she had made a pilgrimage to a mall and the beauty counter of Hausemann's, where a girl twenty years younger and $27,000 poorer from her breast implants had confirmed the opinion of her friends. With that, $500 in beauty products had been bought, along with the Avon lady soon to make a call.

She had not opened any of the products yet. Bree happened to be over for a lunch of soup and sandwiches, and the both of them were alone. Katherine had asked her to go into the bedroom to retrieve a necklace while she made up a pitcher of sweet tea. Bree had complied and quickly found the necklace, only to find the bag from the department store on the bed.

Her natural curiosity got to her. Under the yelled assumption that she was in the bathroom she dug through the bag, finding mascaras, foundations, blush and eye shadow meant somehow to make the older woman look younger.

She found her fingers on the receipt. Pulling it out, she found an entry for $115, the item in barely readable code. Taking it out, she found a small tub of beauty cream that promised things Bree knew it would never deliver on.

Her hands tightened and she seethed. Grabbing the necklace and completely doing away with any excuses she whipped back into the kitchen while Katherine stirred the tea. She threw the necklace to the table, and with her eyes burning, she made known her feelings.

"Return all of that, today!"

"Excuse me?" Katherine was shocked as Bree pushed the receipt in her direction. "You had no business--"

"I had no business?" Bree squared her jaw and wrapped her arms around her chest. "Katherine, you are my friend. You have been for the last eight months. It is your responsibility to share your concerns about your life to me. Especially when it comes to apparently some other women getting to you and trying to define what your concept of beauty should be!"

"But Susan and Gaby--"

Bree scoffed and laughed. "Those are the two ladies you should listen to the least!" She moved closer to Katherine, who had put the pitcher down. "Katherine, have I ever once insulted your beauty? Even in jest?"

Katherine tried to recall, but was unable to find any instance of Bree, even in their worst of days, putting her down physically. "No." She was surprised as Bree forced her towards the counter.

"It is ridiculous to spend the same amount of money on face cream as you do on an average digital camera. At least you'd get everyday use out of that. But that stuff..." She paused thoughtfully, smiling as she took in her friend, nervously trying to find her resolve. "Katherine, you are an incredibly beautiful woman who is aging gracefully."

"But, Bree--" She found the woman's hand trailing up her cheek and towards those alleged crow's feet and darkened eyes.

"I admit I do apply makeup to shield a few trouble spots," she shared. "I must do that to promote a perfect complexion outside of the home. However, I try to keep myself as natural as I can muster." She brought Katherine's head up to face her. "Now look at me, Katherine. Do you see that my entire face is caked in silly chemicals or creams?"

She looked closely at the red-haired woman. Indeed there were a few age marks pocking here and there, but only in small places, and mostly they were displayed proudly as a testament to her age, while the few small spots of foundation only meant to fill in, rather than overwhelm.

"You don't," Katherine said firmly. "So you do not use creams at all?"

Bree shook her head proudly. "I just clean my face when I need to and use a beauty bar. Certainly I don't need a beauty cream that costs a month's salary. She brought her friend into a slight hug. "Katherine, if you can't be proud of overcoming all you have and still look so radiant and beautiful, you're underplaying yourself. I do envy you, and you should wear every wrinkle and spot proudly as a badge of honor. Don't listen to other women, and live for yourself."

Within the hug, Katherine smiled. She had been looking for that comfort all along and did not receive it. To hear it from her so-called enemy, who had just called her a beautiful woman, it warmed her spirit and made her feel better about herself.

She felt victorious after her and Bree brought the bag of potions and lotions back to Hausermann's, and the red-haired beauty told the girl in a three minute monologue rather nicely which orifice Estee Lauder and Elizabeth Arden could place their ideals of beauty.

She also felt a bit turned on. I wonder if she's like that in the middle of making love, she suddenly thought while her wonderful friend told the woman why it was completely unnecessary to use any kind of beauty cream. Katherine also eyed up the other woman.

And she smiled gazing at her from head-to-toe. Maybe having these feelings for her isn't a bad idea. A crush on Bree had built up since that recipe contest, and she had no idea how Bree would ever react to it.

But she knew the woman had a passion that belied her true colors. If she could see that one day, she would be thankful for it. Walking out holding almost $500 in her hands, Bree suggested it be better spent at Bed, Bath & Beyond on beautiful cookware.

"That way you could look in a pot and know you'll always be the fairest of them all." Smiling softly at Katherine, she knew she had come up with a great idea.

"Except you, perhaps." She cast her eyes towards the woman, almost blushing. "Thank you again for telling the truth."

"No need for thanks," Bree said, brushing her hand across Katherine's. "Just remember; God put us both here for a reason. We're here for each other, for better and worse, and you are not to let vanity get the best of you."

"I suppose that's wonderful advice." Katherine looked in a display window in a dress shop on the way to BB&B, one that contained an item Bree had been coveting as of late. "Uhh, Bree?"

"Yes?"

"Remember that dress you've been looking at here for a couple weeks?"

"Mm-hmm."

"C'mon, let's buy it. My treat." Katherine dragged her into the shop despite Bree's protests, and she was thankful to sacrifice in order to make her friend happy. Seeing the light in her cheeks as she tried it on made it all worth it in her eyes.

---

Bree was always adverse to having others see her while she was in the shower. It was her one moment of peace away from the whirl of the world, her sanctuary where nothing had to be done. She would close her eyes and think of other things besides her work and commitments to her friends and family. She preferred to always shower when nobody was in the house, and would lock the door to prevent anybody from walking in.

Except for this day. The venting fan was broken; rather than opening the window in the bathroom and risking someone else receiving a free peep show, she kept the bathroom door open and opened a window in the hallway. She swore that nobody would ever be any the wiser.

She also prayed that her feelings for Katherine would remain only echoed within that small stall. Through the last few months they had built to the point where a day without the stern and quiet woman was like a day without breath. She drifted away from the others on the Lane and soon could truly call Katherine her best friend. The night she admitted so, she was witness to the woman crying as the admission made her feel wanted and needed after feeling so alone in her life for so long.

Her body began to react to touches, hugs, intimate brushes and small actions. The sight of a stocking seam, the small gasps from her throat during tastings, how she would sleep over at Bree's during long service projects, not wanting to go home, and the woman would peek into the guest room to make sure her friend was comfortable. Soon the woman invaded Bree's dreams. She'd wake up at night startled as she felt herself hit an orgasm, yet instead of slim fingers upon her clit, silk sheets between her legs instead. Bree ached for the woman, but was afraid to scare her away with unsaid feelings. So she would hold them within, never talking about them with anybody. She didn't want a repeat of Rex or Orson in her life and felt content to live alone.

She began to shave, her legs coated with foamed cream. Moving up to her upper thighs she suddenly felt that pressure. Her body tightened. One accidental brush of her forearm against her intimacy, she forced a groan from her throat.

"Ohhh, Kath..." She had weeks before managed to reach the critical step where she was able to call her friend by a shortened name. She felt a small bit of panic, her eyes widening as she realized what she just said in the echo of the shower.

Bree frowned. This wasn't what she ever intended when it came to Katherine. When she became the woman's friend she expected a recipe buddy and someone to help her out. She never expected a woman who would comfort her in the bad times, nor to help her control her sobriety. The woman had come right over to her house and shown her tough love by dumping an entire bottle of red wine down the sink. At the time, it angered her.

Three hours later she was crying in the woman's arms, overwhelmed by the care and consideration Katherine shared with her. They had become inseparable and were isolating themselves from everyone but Lynette, who saw that undercurrent between them but dared not mention it at all in front of the conservative ladies.

OK, don't touch yourself, she scolded silently, grasping the pink razor in her hand to shave her legs smooth. Nervously she led the blade up and down each of the appendages, the steam of the water getting to her as her mind wandered from the task and into the dreams she had lately of the woman. She trembled while her mind created an image of Katherine laving her thighs with kisses, comments about how beautiful she was inside and out.

Her body went limp as she sat on the corner seat, and let a finger slide in. Followed by another. Soon she was partaking in her dark desires, thinking of her competitive friend in the nude, wondering if she would use fingers or dare to go down on her. The hot water pelted her slim form, her body heating red as she went further on. Soon, she was moaning the other housewife's name out, her moral filter only confined to filtering out profanities.

Twelve tense minutes later as the hot water went cold, she was fulfilled. All alone, she let her usual step of sliding a terry-cloth robe on to hide her nudity lay fallow and came out of the bathroom in only a towel. Walking into her bedroom, she didn't expect anything except quiet and to lay out her evening clothing.

Her bedroom door was open. She was startled, as she never left it open, closing it in front of her and behind her, no matter what. She peeked in, hoping an intruder wasn't waiting for her. She tiptoed around the door...

To find Katherine sitting upon her bed, waiting for her.

She was relieved at first...

And then mortified. Her mouth dried as she realized it was a possibility that her friend had heard the orgasmic cries of her name from the bathroom.

Now she felt like she was about to be told that she was an impure being.

So why was Katherine smiling? Walking in the room, Bree felt like she was many years ago, caught doing something wrong by her stepmother and told never to do it again, lest she punch her ticket to hell.

Katherine wore a thin black sundress which billowed across her curves. Her eyes were intense as she took in the heated beauty, the woman staring in fear. Katherine smiled slightly, very casual, welcoming.

And also calming. Bree had that thought in the back of her mind that Katherine was about to sabotage her.

"Katherine." She nodded. "Why are you here?"

"I made some meals in Tupperware for you," she said, licking her lips to wetten them. "You could use a break."

"Thank you for your concern--" Katherine rose from the bed, moving close to her friend. Bree took this as an invasion of her space and tried to reel back.

Instead, she found the door closing behind her, Katherine pushing it closed with a soft click. She was trapped in.

"I am concerned," Katherine asserted. "I also see that you're incredibly flushed."

"I just got out of the shower," Bree said matter of factly. "Now if you'll excuse me--"

She found herself pinned into a corner. Intense eyes stared her down, her wet hair stroked through. Katherine took her with a firm hand, the woman closely regarding the beautiful hostess.

"Bree," she asked in a whisper. "Do you find me attractive?"

"Of course I do, Kath." She smiled shakily. "There's no doubt about that."

"So attractive that you imagine me making love to you?" A small and sexy giggle emanated from her throat as she softly confronted Bree on her feelings.

"I...I don't know what made me think that about you." Back-tracking, she felt like Katherine's stare was more evil than turned on, a misread. "Kath, if you think that, I apologize--"

A hand went to the knot of the crème-shaded towel. Smiling, Katherine knew that one day, the red-haired woman would show too much.

Or in this case, scream too much. The knot was undone. The towel fell to the floor.

And Katherine appreciated Bree's freshly shorn and still dampened body. Bree brushed violently and felt the need to find any kind of distraction.

But she couldn't. Deep brown eyes slid across her form, taking in every single inch of flesh as Katherine tipped her throat to bring her in closer. She felt all of her morals on a tightrope, knowing her and Katherine had been doing a dance around their feelings the past few months. Even under the veil of their competition within the real world, together they both planned and were of one mind. It scared her how intense she felt around Katherine. But with all of her defenses undone, Bree didn't know what else to do.

She was under the other woman's spell. Fingers slid against her collarbone. She desperately tried to find that exact verse she could use to ward off this 'inappropriate attraction.'

But then her eyes laid upon her friend's neck. The woman had taken her advice of months earlier to heart. She no longer wore more than superficial makeup. She began to dare wear dresses and blouses with lower necks.

The neck on this dress was so low that the fringe of the woman's thin bra was visible. Bree gulped as her head propped against the corner of the bedroom.

"There is no need to apologize for what develops naturally, Brianna," she said, her tone transparent, nothing hidden. "If you feel that I'm a beautiful woman, I shouldn't argue that logic."

"But...but it's..." She was silenced with a soft kiss upon her lips. Katherine drew back as Bree paralyzed in place.

"A guy 2,000 years ago said it was wrong, wrote it in a book or a scroll or whatever he penned it into, and everyone else ran with that. If it's so wrong, Bree..." Her hands slid onto Bree's waist, bringing her close to her. "Why can we not stop thinking about each other? We use the excuse of being conservative friends to be close. You shouldn't be afraid to be guided by your heart at all. Because if the tables were turned..." A whisper. "You'd find that I've taken to thinking of you often in my bathtub. And that in the last three months..." Another kiss. "I've taken to sleeping in the nude with the heat turned up at night. Because I cannot stop thinking of you."

Bree closed her eyes, overwhelmed with the image of her friend nude in her bed, touching herself. Her breath was shallow as she felt Katherine's body heat overwhelm her and her emotions seemed to shuffle from repulsed at the very idea of having an infatuation with her friend, to Katherine actually returning her feelings.

I haven't even covered myself, she remembered, as her nude body didn't have that involuntary reaction of bringing herself into the Venus position she always had around Rex or Orson when they caught her undressed without her permission. The thick lips of her friend regarded one unplanned portion of her passionate shower, her face flushing and her arms pricking from the revelation. Her fingers slid onto Bree's waist and her voice curled into a seductive murmur.

"I have to wonder, did you plan this somehow?" Bree's body temperature warmed as she felt a heavy gaze upon her pelvis. "Going into the shower and shaving more than your legs?" A small giggle. "At least now I know your hair color is indeed, one of a kind."

Bree seethed, her privacy breached, but for the first time in what seemed decades, being seduced not for her skills with a quiche, but for her physical beauty. Months before she had told Katherine she was fine with who she was.

Now she wanted to freeze herself in time. A woman close to fifty, she was being lusted after by her friend in a way that suggested a heated version of college experimentation.

Only she couldn't push this off as an experiment. Her body reacted as Katherine's thumb breached the line of demarcation, the woman confident her friend would not back away.

"Kath..." Her voice strained for volume as she turned the name into a soft moan. "We...we cannot..."

She found herself turned around slowly, her feet squeaking against the hardwood below her. She opened her eyes to discover a twinkle of mischief in the brown eyes of her fellow homemaker. With her heels, she was eye-to-eye with the taller woman.

"Our sowing days are behind us," she noted, a hand flitting across Bree's soft breast. "We don't have anyone to further answer to. Aren't you the one who told me that you're tired of meeting the needs of men? That you're bored of dating?"

"Well if the right guy comes along--"

"In Fairview?" A haughty laugh. "Are you serious?"

"You never know!"

"Bree, look at me." She felt shy, not wanting to face up to her feelings for her friend. "Please," she begged. Katherine pulled away from her for a moment, to reach behind her back to the zip of her dress. Her breath was heavy as she heard the zipper pulling apart, all the way to the small of the auburn-coiffed woman's back.

"I think this is our one and only chance to come to a decision about these feelings," she asserted, her voice not filled with her usual hostility or tightness. "If you do not want things to go further, I'll ask you to tell me to zip my dress back up." Then came that devastating little flirt of a grin that got Bree warm. "However, if you'd like to follow your own heart for once in your life..." She stepped back towards the bed. "I would enjoy it if you undressed me, Bree."

"And if I ask you to zip back up?"

"I will be disappointed. And I will no longer pursue you sexually. However, we will remain the best of friends." She stood still, her blood seeming to gain weight in her veins while she hoped Bree would make the right decision. She knew one day from all of the lingering looks that Bree would corpse her true feelings for the woman, and it would be in a way which would bring it all out full circle.

Standing there bare, Bree considered the facts. She tried to assert in her mind that it was wrong to lay with another woman, that God would object to it.

But what has God done for me lately? Bree thought to herself. She recalled the last few years, Rex, Orson, all of the problems in her life. How she hated what she had become and how even her own children considered her a pariah for living life in the way she did. Everything was right, she paid penance weekly, and her friendships were strong.

However, she felt a pull for the woman she could never describe. She hated to push it back, or call it 'sinful'.

If it was so sinful, why did it feel so good? Why did the comfort of Katherine there always for her have to be wrong because a simple touch turned her into someone she was proud to be?

In her bedroom, was her future. Two actions, two paths. Back on the straight and narrow and losing the intimacy she had built with her rival over the last few months, her friend staring at her, eyes welling with love that a year before she never thought she'd see reflected in another again.

Or she could let herself go towards Katherine, mid-afternoon sunlight shining behind her from the window. In that position, the dress was almost translucent, displaying the deep curves that haunted the icy woman found floating through her mind. The woman was a vexing mystery, cool and evil one moment, but since that one day in that competition, had been nothing but supportive and unwilling to see her wither. She encouraged her to try to forge a business plan and find a way in the marketplace to sell her skills. They had commiserated since that afternoon Katherine purchased the beauty products, feeling a bond to each other that they were both beautiful when others considered them somehow wenches for not buying every potion the beauty labs of America claimed was the magic elixir, the fountain of youth.

With her husbands, she had always resented their controlling nature, how they molded her into someone else she struggled with. She screamed silently within, the reason for her seeking escape through the bottle when she had those spare moments of peace.

Bree just wanted to live. To let her heart not be confined within the length of a circular band upon her finger. She kept with her that memory of trying on her dream dress within Katherine. How it fit her perfectly, and how the other woman glowed upon seeing her smile as she whispered that "it's perfect. Are you sure, Katherine?"

She saw the woman nod at her, clasping her hands. Seeing upon the hanging tag that the shop had it priced at $115, it was startling. That's the exact cost of that beauty cream, she recalled. She felt that she was taking away from Katherine in order to further her own beauty.

But looking at the woman in that one moment, she could not deny that the refunded money had done more against her figure for Katherine than it ever would in the form of that beauty cream.

"For you, anything," she said in a bare whisper. Taking in the bust of the dress and the way it just settled right at her knees, the woman was amazed. Not only had Bree told her she was beautiful, but in that one moment in that shop, she found that one emotion she thought she'd never associate when it came to Bree Van de Kamp.

God, she's beautiful.

"Thank you," Bree said to her as Katherine got up and she prepared to head back into the dressing room to take it off. Before she went in, she clasped Katherine's hand and with her green eyes shimmering with respect for the woman in taking her advice...

She laid a simple kiss upon her cheek. In a normal sense, it was just a friendly moment.

But as Bree pulled away, it triggered something in Katherine that she had denied since the day she met the uptight lady.

An attraction, A want. Desire and need. One touch of soft lips against her cheek, from a woman she would have spurned had it not been for that one moment months ago of concession. If Bree had taken the loss in her regular way, they would not have been in that dress shop.

Katherine even conceded in her mind that she would have went into the city and asked for a quote from a surgeon in order to perk her body up.

But as she sat in that small hallway, Katherine knew there was one truth in her mind.

I am in love with Bree Van de Kamp.

The tightness in her chest in the presence of the life-long Republican had become a familiar feeling. The need to soothe her and brush a kiss across her forehead. Working with her, hearing her worries. Having to pacify the woman about the distance her children kept from her while they both coped with their individual lifelong sadnesses. The fact they had both buried husbands, who either made them wither within, or inflicted years of pain and anger that would never dissolve.

They both shared a connection. Looking at Katherine Mayfair in the light of day, in her bedroom, her conscience nagged her to continue on that straight path of a freeway that would lead past Katherine's true heart, being offered to her in a moment of weakness for the both of them.

At that moment, the dam Bree had built against her heart began to strain. The help Katherine had offered to her without cost, the many nights spent in her guestroom, draping a blanket against the woman while she patiently placed the paper work for the business plan and pens onto the nightstand next to the bed, in a neat and organized pile. How she would glow with each new letter from Dylan and how Bree would share that happiness with her.

All of the nights of support and confessions, the tears that were unshed without any judgment. They began to find their own peace with God outside the church, tired of how the pastor had condemned and railed against every little thing he could find wrong with the world. Bree felt at conflict with her own faith for being who she was, for inching out of the comforting cocoon she had insulated herself into for years.

Those many nights, all of those events. How formerly bitter competition became mostly friendly, more to push her further than to hurt her.

She stood there in front of Katherine, stark and open. Everything out in the open, she attempted to hold back a couple tears.

She could not. After having that time to think, Katherine felt the signs weakening that Bree wanted to pursue her at all. She looked down, disappointed. All that thought obviously to her was to let her morals decide for her that taking their friendship further was wrong.

"I'm sorry, Bree," she said, prepared to close up. "Obviously, I--"

She lost her voice quickly as she heard scuffing upon the floor. Looking up, she found the pale woman move closer to her. Towards the bed. She was about to reach back behind her back to zip...

Only to find herself without time to do much of anything. Neon green eyes burned into her to stay still, a look of determination playing upon her lips.

She placed her hands upon Katherine's arms, grasping the strong appendages for dear life. Her voice was had rushed undertones as she sensed her chance sliding away.

"Kath." The practiced voice made every molecule in Katherine's body still. Bree pulled her close and set her hands upon each side of the dress, at the neck.

"Mm-hmm?" She gulped. This was the most nervous moment in her life. Beyond even the alibi, this would be the moment that would tell her if it was worth it to give Bree her friendship.

"I feel like you've baptized my soul all over again." The woman then forced her friend to stumble onto the bed with a strong push.

Suddenly, Bree was not meek any longer. With all those memories coursing through her veins, she knew that if she let this moment go, she would go to her grave never knowing that a simple connection would turn into so much more. Katherine collapsed onto the perfectly made bed, her ass making an immediate impact onto the duvet and wrinkling the entire article.

Regular Bree would have the self control to have stripped the bed. But this woman had come too far to let her usual procedures get in the way.

Her heart was untamed. Her eyes upon her friend, tired of maintaining the walls she kept between them for her sanity and her appearances. Face flushed, dampened with residual water, she could not let Katherine go.

"You're right. This...this is perfect." Ever rational, she slid onto the bed over Katherine, her hands ready to peel the dress away. "I have never felt as intense an attraction to anyone like I have you."

"Bree, I don't know what to say," she said in shock. "Are you sure?"

The bright redhead could only smile at her now closest friend.

"Katherine, you have given me new purpose. New life. Without you, I may have tried to find someone else. I would have never found that strength to file for the divorce and tempt myself to give Orson another chance once he got out. I now realize that if I waited for him like a soldier's wife, my life would have little meaning." She began to slowly peel down the thin sundress, her nose caressing along the newly-exposed skin. "And I know without me in your life, things would be different. You'd be tempted, try to seek out new things. Dangerous things. Silly things like...perhaps stealing boyfriends from others?" Her nose twitched mischievously.

"Who do you think you are, Dionne Warwick?"

Bree shook her head, laughing quietly. "Wrong woman, and she is not a psychic."

"Close enough."

"Close is not the desired result, except in horseshoes or target sports." She maintained her seductive demeanor.

"Yes, but do you really think I may have tried to steal anybody's boyfriend?"

"Perhaps."

"Because I couldn't." Katherine was honest. "You did save my life. I haven't thought of anyone else since you jumped in and tried to take the heat off me and made the other women go along with it."

"Katherine, you do not mean that," she responded, struck by the woman's bluntness.

"I do. But I also do mean...this." With that, she moved her leg so it was dead-center between Bree's bared thighs. All thoughts of continuing the line of conversation became abruptly stalled as her friend immediately shuddered from thin cotton brushing up against her budding clit.

"Oh, Jesus..." Her eyes closed immediately. Bree's arms tightened on Katherine's shoulders, the woman below her playing a mischievous game. "Dirty pool, Mayfair."

"I said you could undress me," she asserted, a look of heated lust coloring her brown eyes. "But I didn't say I was going to make it easy for you to do so."

Bree took this immediately as a challenge, her face firming as if she was about to compete in the Pillsbury Bake-Off with the maddening woman below her. Then she bared her teeth.

Katherine felt a rumble in her stomach, her nerves tightening. She felt pressure against the straps of the dress.

One, mind you that she was reminding herself had cost her in the neighborhood of $200.

Too late. She felt the fabric in the middle tear a smidge, and Bree called her bluff on every level. She didn't tear it all the way down certainly, just enough to bring it off with slack. It was a slow and maddening process for Katherine, Bree kissing down her torso as she pulled the dress down to expose Katherine's finely aged skin and kiss it. Whispers of her being indeed beautiful and alluring. A nose brushing along each side of her cleavage as Bree began to realize that maybe it wasn't quite a happenstance that Katherine just happened to be this alluring this young evening...

"You smell beautiful," she said in a whisper, taking in the fragrance of talc and lavender between Katherine's luscious mounds. "Are you sure this wasn't planned?" she teased, looking up at Katherine and bringing the dress below the bra line, fingers raking across her taut stomach.

Katherine felt a bit nervous about admitting as such. But some secrets just had to come out. " I have felt the need to seduce you for the last few weeks."

"You didn't have to seduce me." She smiled. "Why would you assume so?"

She felt hands in her hair, curling strands, sliding within the bright locks. Katherine's voice was filled with emotion. "Because, you don't deserve any less than a complete experience of safety and desire. I would not surprise you, Bree, because I didn't want to trigger anything from your past or a stray misguided moral."

"So why surprise me today?" Hands soothed against Katherine's stomach, fingers caressing the ridge of her belly. "You just stopped me before I could say a word and disposed of my towel. And I could not stop that for some reason. I wanted to cover back up, but...I saw you and I just...I have never felt something like that before."

"You mean idolized?" Katherine used the highest term for Bree she could think of. "Bree, I do put you on a higher level than any woman I know. You have this strength that comes from within and it makes me wish I could be you. But I've come to realize that there is something more I could be than you."

"What's that?" Hands pulled her own away from the dress, allowing Katherine to work the dress the rest of the way down her body.

She didn't mince her words, firm and unwavering with her decloration.

"Yours."

With that, Katherine pushed the article down to her ankles, about to be tangled within blankets and sheets. She brought Bree back up so they were face to face, as she nervously placed her hands upon Bree's waist, hoping she would accept where she grasped the woman.

However, she didn't. Instead, coyly, Bree nibbled her lower lip. Then her voice husked as she dared the woman to go further than she ever intended.

"Lower, Kath."

Katherine breathed into Bree's mouth as she let her hands linger upon the creamy skin until she reached the other woman's supple rear. Finally able to touch it after admiring it from afar when she helped Bree in the garden, she felt the unease melt between them. She let Bree fall against her, unhooking her bra which had quickly become a hindrance to the situation. Her skin was still slightly damp but warming from the heat shared between them. Moving against her, she instigated a slow kiss, open-mouthed and easy, not rough. A leisurely rhythm between them they didn't say anything, enjoying this new situation between them.

The two ladies found out more about each other within that intimate clench. Like how the hollow of Bree's throat was one large pleasure point, suitable for flitting kissing and light nipping. How one of the naughty little reasons Katherine maintained her voluminous hair was that it could easily hide love bites if Bree pushed back and suckled against her friend's flesh long enough. Bree also enjoyed how perfectly curved fingernails circled across her areoles, stiffening her nipples and causing her to make a cute little whimper that made Katherine's knees go weak.

To their surprise, their bodies fit together perfectly. The final barrier, Katherine's flattering floral-patterned panties out of the way, found Bree shuddering deeply at how wet her friend was for her. The hooded brown eyes of the woman below her said it all, but her lips said more.

"You know what happens when we're baking?" Bree shook her head. "I'm finding any excuse to hand you an ingredient, so I can share the slightest of touches with you."

"Is my touch that sensual to you?" Throwing herself onto the bed, she smiled, and let her fingers move back up along the middle of Katherine's skin, letting the damp trail of arousal upon her fingers slither up her friend's body. "Is that what does it for you, my Kath? That I enjoy any help that you give me?"

"Your touch is heavenly," she said honestly, the silkiness of Bree's hair coming back as the strands dried in the air. "Your voice is honey to my ears." She moved in closer. "And I want you to know right now, when you get angry, I almost come right there, standing. I love how intense you are, Bree. How you will work until your heart beats for the last time to have the best life for yourself." She gasped as an ivory hand spread out across the bottom of her breasts, fingers measuring across her breasts, taking in the delicious topography. "Your touch should be the eighth deadly sin...oh, God!" A nipple felt tight as Bree took it into her hands, allowing the slickness of Katherine's cum to coat it.

"Your face is so beautiful," Bree complimented. "It's almost innocent. Almost. But I see the treachery, the plotting and scheming that you always have. Wishing to one-up me, right, Kath?" Bree's grin became deadly. "Well, not here, not now."

"What...what are you going to do?" Katherine questioned, shuddering. Seeing that little smile, she knew she would have to remember this night for the rest of her life.

"I haven't had the time to seduce you myself. I've had to question whether you found me attractive while you could lie in wait, like a spider ready to strike a fly." She moved her thigh against Katherine's mons, while keeping a hand caressing sensitive breasts. "You may have surprised me just now, Kath. But now I get to mold you however I want." Katherine's breath deepened, her want for the fiery redhead at a fever pitch. "Are you ready for all these months of flirting to come to a head? The stares, the wants, the self-questioning?"

"You want me?"

Bree nodded. "Want is such a small term. I livefor you. If we are going to do this, you will let go all the way. No more hiding, no holding back. I want you all, heart and soul and you will not allow yourself to wither back within." She placed a kiss upon Katherine's forehead. "I am not that man who made your heart reel, nor will I ever see myself raising a hand to you. We both carry scars and bruises from our pasts, and we may open them up here and there. But understand this, Katherine." She felt a tear drop down her cheek and saw it fall onto that of her partner. "I would love to see this develop. But only if your heart is completely open to me."

Katherine whispered her own statement. "Only if you, yourself, Bree, allow yourself to live for your happiness. No more self-doubts. No more hiding within the comfort of the bottle. You are your own strong woman. I know we're hardly feminists at all on outside appearances, but I want you to be strong. Not for me, but for yourself." She pulled Bree close, ready to welcome the end of their friendship. "Our relationship needs to be strong."

"Relationship." Bree drew the word slowly. She blinked her eyes twice, took in a couple of deep breaths. "I think we can both agree to what we have told each other."

"I'm stuck with you then, Vandy?" Katherine giggled, knowing the pet name wasn't exactly welcomed. Bree's eyes narrowed, and then...

"You bet your rear...Kitty!"

Katherine shrieked with laughter.

"I've never been called that--"

"Get used to it. Those are fighting words." Bree then took over and brought Katherine into that forbidden congress that would have the pastor bringing out the smelling salts. Never before had Bree felt so welcome to make love to someone, not out of obligation or a need to be close, but just because it was fun.

And it was complete fun. The two women would explore things that their exes would easily blush at within that bed that evening, letting the sun set on the evening and leaving them in the moonlit darkness, bon mots and many compliments shared between the two newborn lovers. Bree felt the need to let go of herself, her body completely relaxed as Katherine peppered every single inch of her pale form with kisses and compliments. The small little freckles, the heft of her breasts, the way her belly button knotted, the long-abused woman felt her soul light up with light again with each new mention of how beautiful she felt Bree was.

And the other woman was hardly conservative with her view of Katherine either. There was no hesitation as she shared what exactly she found alluring about her friend, right down to the tips of her toes as she lavished kisses and tickles upon the coveted feet of Katherine, which she admitted looked 'darned hot' in a set of high heels.

"Bree, c'mon! You can't lay on one curse once in awhile? Just between friends here," she said, laughing.

"Fine." She paused, hoping that a thunderbolt wouldn't suddenly devastate the Van de Kamp residence. "Your feet are...ugggh...fuck-ing...hot!" She cringed, feeling like her father was right outside with that familiar bottle of Sun Light that to this day the sight of would immediately force her gag reflex to activate.

"Tell me how you really feel," Katherine said, her gut busting in laughter.

"Oh, you will get it now!" To her surprise, Bree would curse quite a few times more that evening. Everything in her mind about Katherine was undone by the reality of her passionate friend making her shudder in react in ways she never could have pictured herself. To be able to watch Katherine's look of contentment as she foamed over after an hour of on and off teasing stimulation and sweet nothings was something she was sure that would never leave her memories. Her name, whispered tightly as if a curse, the gush of fluid from her friend as she came, the way she would share that taste after licking off her fingers with a grin, as if testing the consistency of fresh icing, she didn't know if things could be any better.

Three hours later in the darkness of the bedroom, Bree came back from a break to use the facilities to see Katherine staring at her with a sheet barely covering her modesty, a half-smile curled across her lips as she found the redhead had found another way to inaugurate their newly-found relationship. For the first time in her entire life Wisteria Lane's Goddess of the Kitchen had ignored all basic safety protocol and prepared a concoction in complete nudity.

"I figured that we have spoiled our dinner," she quipped.

"Did we even have dinner?" Katherine giggled as Bree rolled her eyes with a smile after setting the tray down in the middle of the bed. "Or were you the main course?"

"If I did not have food on this bed I would whack you in the face with a pillow."

"How very seventeen year old slumber party of you, Bree." She looked down at the tray, impressed by the layout whipped up with only seven minutes to spare. "I will never starve in your wake, will I?"

"Not when you have supple skin you must maintain, dear." Her eyes seemed to glow in the sparseness of the light of the room, only a small table lamp illuminating the two women. She pointed out the items on the tray. "We have strawberries, melted white and dark chocolate, mandarin oranges, and finally...freshly whipped cream."

"How did you whip cream so fast?" Katherine puzzled.

"I have many secrets." Winking at her paramour she dipped a ripened sweet red berry into the chocolate holding it at the stalk, plunging it first fully into the milk chocolate, then half into the white, before placing the bottom third into the whipped cream. Then she presented it to Katherine, who had her mouth opened waiting for the treat. The darker-haired woman took most of the fruit into her mouth, chewing it slowly and taking in the overwhelming taste while Bree prepared a chocolate-dipped mandarin orange. The sounds from Katherine's mouth were orgasmic. She then prepared her own twist on the treat by swirling the layers around in the individual bowls, and squeezing the juices from one of the berries and a couple of oranges into the whipped cream bowl, which she fed to a hungry Bree, who welcomed her sweetheart's treat with a deep and husky gasp from her throat.

Bree was amazed by her ingenuity in the middle of passion; even more so when Katherine ran downstairs to retrieve a cinnamon sprinkler to add even more to the decadent treats they made up to feed each other, and kiss without any kind of guilt between each bite. Sharing fruit between each other so they could have a taste of each other while they turned each other on anew, Bree and Katherine were both overwhelmed by how romantic and decadent they could both be.

Soon the fruit was exhausted, leaving only the dipping chocolates and whipped cream. Not wanting to let any of Bree's hard work go to waste, they soon dipped fingers into each of the dishes and licked them from each other's fingers, all ceremony dissipating. Soon they were laughing at the silliness of their escapades and had begun to be shameless, streaking lines of chocolate and cream across their bodies and daring each other to lick it off from heated flesh. Bree seemed to favor her breasts and stroked herself while Katherine let her tongue lick around the beautiful skin, while the dear Mrs. Mayfair dared for Bree to taste of her lower, a line of both chocolates trailing down her stomach and towards her most heated center, topping her clitoris with a dollop of whipped cream. Normally embarrassed by such a situation, Bree was all giggles and infatuation as she brought the woman she now called 'my Kitty' to a sweetened climax Katherine would have never dreamed of in all of her fantasies of her former rival. Soon they were both sticky messes, but with no mind taken to the usually impeccably clean high-thread count sheets above and below them, they kept making love to each other, whispering secrets, wishes and wants to each other long into the night before finally giving into the sandman hours after the end of Bree's shower, the towel still on the floor in a crumple, while Bree softly snoozed against the security of Katherine's breasts, her body exhausted and her heart filled with love and need for her neighbor, hopefully long into the future.

Stuck against her lover by a combination of shared perspiration and residual sweetness from the chocolate and whipped cream, her body sprinkled with cinnamon and her nose filled with those scents mixed with shea butter, orchid and vanilla, Katherine stirred awake at three in the morning, the hold of her lover against her stomach light but filled with security.

She remembered back to early that morning when Bree had called her asking for a syllabus of a presentation the women would make a week later and how exhausted she sounded within the confines of the telephone line. Soon she was at work baking and preparing those Tupperware dishes for Bree. While waiting for a casserole to finish, she read the morning paper, that free subscription from the pie contest she delayed redeeming a few months until she began to submit her recipes to the paper on her friend's encouragement.

While she waited for another course to be able to prepare, she found herself drawn to her horoscope. Usually something she'd ignore because she believed that the entire concept of astrology was spiritual hogwash, but she needed to get in a laugh.

It was then that she realized that the space between her and Bree in the world was less than she ever thought. Only thirty-two days had separated their births, and a mere few hours had excluded Bree from sharing Katherine's sign of Scorpio, making her a Sagittarius. She found herself that day reading her own horoscope in the paper and surprised by how it hit her;

Your optimism should be at it's height today. You have held yourself back, afraid to pursue your dreams, but if you're willing to show patience and fortitude and can control your emotions with rationality, that goal is easily reached this fine day.

It stung her in a certain place in her heart. "That cannot be true," she told herself. Soon she found herself typing 'compatibility horoscope' into a search box on her PC and the first site she pulled up gave her the choice to find her fate. Putting in both her and Bree's star signs, she expected the web application to scold her for even considering such a foolish romance.

She read through the lines. It seemed to be somewhat mixed, telling her both of them were positive and optimistic about everything, and that Bree was a thoughtful woman. However, there was also the warning that a relationship could be "explosive", which Katherine had fully expected. She had felt unsure of herself as went on, until reading further on.

Friendly competition is another thing you are both into. Being physically and mentally competitive, you’ll get a kick out of joining forces...

You’ll need all your diplomacy skills to survive a relationship with...a Sagittarian born between December 14-21. There will be ego clashes.

Scared by that, she was unsure, until she read one more line, that she had to draw Bree out slowly within a relationship and teach her how to trust her within the confines of the bed. The final paragraph she had read however, had clinched away all of her fears and asserted that pursuing Bree might be right.

When you’re together, you two will have something dramatic about you, an energy that everyone around you will pick up on. You will certainly have heads turning--or possibly eyes rolling--when you walk into a room.

"We both certainly have that already," she cracked as she looked over the words. Then she looked to the side of the computer, where a clipping from the crème pie contest was. Both her and Bree were in the picture, and warm to each other, having had that picture taken just after they made their truce. Her hands trembled and her proud manner seemed to slip away as she realized that this might be the day to finally admit what she felt for her tense next-door neighbor.

She considered the facts, what she felt in her heart. How she had further bonded with Bree through the last few months and how she could no longer bear to see her out of her life.

Katherine plotted further. Recalling Bree's schedule, seeming by heart, she knew the woman took an afternoon shower at a certain time, whether she had an evening event to attend or not. It was habit for her and she had to time herself so she could possibly confront her friend in a non-tense situation. With neither of them having nowhere to go for the day, Katherine knew this might be her one and only chance to act on her emotions and face up to them once and for all. She prepared herself by choosing the thin dress and soft lingerie, hoping in the end that she would bring off a vibe of non-confrontation when she slowly brought Bree into the fact there was an attraction and want for her.

Looking back in retrospect hours later, brushing a kiss across the sleeping woman's forehead, Katherine had been glad for the kick in the ass the paper provided, along with their choice in horoscope syndicator. Her tired eyes regarded her new lover, listening to the bare exhalations of her breath as she felt at ease with herself for the first time in what seemed to be a majority of her life. The scent of chocolate and cinnamon floating in the air of the deep of the night, Katherine cuddled Bree against herself as close as she could without stirring the woman awake, settling her head on the pillow and looking up at the ceiling.

"If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord takes both our souls. I don't want to live without you, Brianna. Never again do I want to see anger in your eyes, only love." She looked back down, her hand brushing through Bree's forehead and placing strands of hair back behind her ears. "Sleep well, my true heart." She closed her eyes and fell asleep with immediate effect, content in the knowledge that though the morning light would try to shine harshly upon them, they would be able to survive it all, with only each other to depend on.

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