Classroom Changes - Octavia - 4 - 2

“Octavia, good to see you made it home safely!”

Octavia felt her whole body spasm in surprise, a high pitched “Eep!” escaping her lips as the tentacles she had twisting around the first steps and rails of the staircase pulled back to her like power cords sucked back into a self winding vacuum. She, in that startled moment, became physically aware of her ink pouch, and only by luck and great force of will managed to stop herself from spraying her ink everywhere.

She spun to find Keito standing in the shadows of his own doorway. He was a handsome man, to Octavia at least, with sharp, well defined features and a lean, athletic frame in khaki pants and a teal button up shirt. But what Octavia focused on, as a matter or familiarity, was the warm smile that seemed to have permanent residence on his features that seemed to imply he was always happy to see you.

Or… maybe, just maybe, he had always been happy to see Octavia specifically. The hopeful little thought sent an exciting tingle of energy through her tired body. A feeling which Octavia noticed left her lower limbs with a distinct sense of being pulled towards Keito she had to consciously resist.

“Sorry. I should know better than to startle a woman getting home alone late at night.” Keito said, with a small apologetic twist to his smile.

Octavia struggled to look up from the ground, which was covered in her own anxiously writhing self. Her mind raced to come up with a saucy, seductive reply as she felt her cheeks begin to burn, but only managed a weak, “Oh, it’s fine. I wasn’t really paying attention.”

Keito glanced at her legs, then pointedly looked as the staircase, “I see. Not built for steps?”

“Going down is ok,” Octavia swept her side legs up to show off the stool, “just keep the seat stable and slide forward slowly, and hold on to the stairs behind me. But, I’m not really built to lift myself up easily. I can probably make it up, it willl just be more difficult.”

Keito swept an arm, hand open, gesturing from Octavia to the stairs, “Would I be too forward to if I offered to help?”

Octavia’s eyes opened in almost childlike wonderment, “I would really appreciate it, actually! But… uhm… I… might be a tad much to carry…”

“I wouldn’t say you needed me to carry you. Sometimes a good woman just needs a little support,” Keito quipped with a small wiggle of his eyebrows.

He walked closer, stepping carefully around Octavia’s limbs. She felt a mix of desires as he stepped within her reach, feeling she should move her limbs out of his was even as she was struck with a wild desire to start winding her tentacles around his body. With some reluctance, she shifted her appendages out of the way, letting him get nearer.

“Just lean on me, and I’ll help lift with each step,” Keito instructed, stepping in close, kneeling slightly and pressing his body close to her torso to put one arm around her back and waist.

Octavia became fiercly aware of several facts in that moment. Keito’s body felt firm and very comfortably warm next to hers, which probably implied her normal body temperature was actually cooler as a scylla than it used to be. Keito also smelled of sawdust and very faintly of sweat. Finally, as his arm wrapped around his waist, she could tell he was both very toned, yet his grip was firm and gentle.

Octavia held still a moment, arms raised, before shyly, hesitantly leaning into him, putting her own arm around Keito. A few wild, naughty ideas occurred to her, which she tried to surpress as years of self conscious panic warred with giddy excitement and the insostant tug of her tentacle’s need to tangle themselves around Keito.

“There we go,” Keito stated, as he straitened out slightly, his body pressing hard into Octavia’s, lifting her up.

“Thank you,” Octavia muttered softly, but with absolute sincerity.

“You’re welcome. Now when I say ‘step’... uhmmm,” Keito frowned slightly, looking a bit embarrassed, “well… just, try and follow my lead.”

They took each step of the staircase slowly. Octavia, despite the long day, was definitely finding her second wind. She found herself trying to find the delicate balance between how much she tried to lift herself up, and how much weight she leaned into Keito. What worse, she had a constant sense that her tentacles were trying to go… sonewhere, and she had to mentally track them and keep them out of the way. What was worse, the feeling got stronger as each step caused the two to press against each other in a way that gave Octavia a guilty thrill.

Keito paused after the first flight of stairs, looking a little pensive, though it didn’t look like Octavia’s weight was causing him much trouble.

“I don’t think you are getting much leverage with these legs,” he said hesitantly, indicating the two side legs next to him, “do you just want to ahh, wrap them around me so they aren’t in the way?”

Several responses, ranging from a ‘hell yeah’ to things decidedly more x-rated flashed through Octavia’s mind before she allowed herself a small, hesitant, “Oh, sure, if you think that would be best?”

He responded by placing his free hand on one of her legs, guiding it up and around his chest to drape it over his shoulder. It was less interesting than what Octavia had imagined, having pictured wrapping her tentacles around him perhaps a little lower than his waist, but it was very polite and respectful. Taking the hint, she also wrapped her other leg on that side up over his shoulder, but indulged herself in a gentle caress of his cheek with the tip of the tentacle before laying it next to her other limb. Keito’s jaw had a faint hint of wiry stubble, she noted.

The last of the stairs went smoothly, but far too fast for Octavia’s taste. She practically melted into Keito, savoring the firm warmth and weight of his body as he helped support and lift her upwards. When they reached her floor, she didn’t immediately peel herself off him, and he didn’t let go of her either.

“It’s not going to be easy doing these flights of stairs everyday,” Keito noted, his soft whisper teasing Octavia’s ears, “... are you considering moving?”

“I’ve become somewhat attached to my place,” Octavia replied, noting as she did that some of her suckers had formed a seal to a small section of Keito’s exposed shoulder. She gently unlatched them with a small but noticeable pop, “it might be worth it to stay awhile.”

“Well, just knock on my door if you ever need help again,” Keito offered earnestly, even as he unwrapped himself from Octavia’s somewhat reluctant legs.

Octavia felt the weight of the moment in her mind, the sense of the opportunity just in reach, and fought desperately past the fear and awkwardness that had been a staple of her social life thus far.

“Can….do… do you want a cup of tea? So, so I can thank you for your help?” Octavia managed to ask in a small, timid voice.

“It might be a bit late for tea,” Keito responded hesitantly, the words pounding at Octavia like sledgehammers.

There was a brief, heavy moment of silence, “But… I have a bottle of sake I’ve been meaning to open, if you want to try some?”

The crash of disappointment, followed by the sudden burst of hope and anticipation practically left Octavia dizzy. A rogue smile split her features, completely beyond her ability to control.

“I’d love to!” Octavia announced, and then realized she had unthinkingly switched to English in her excitement, and restated in Japanese, “I would be happy to have a drink with you.”

Keito’s features matched Octavia’s own excitement, “I’ll go get the bottle!”