"We-"

The word hung but for a split second on the tip of Stephanie's tongue. Tantalizingly and embarrassingly, powerfully and threateningly as it pulled at that horrible thing that rested in her throat in a desperate attempt to wrest it from her depths. Her eyes widened as she realized what was happening, what she was about to do. What she was about to say.

What she was about to acknowledge.

Quickly - far too quickly, for her tastes - images passed through her mind, their presence spurred and emboldened by the malicious probe her omnipotent warden had sent into her with that devilish question.

Images of being a little girl again, of giddily yet carefully trouncing through her house with the most playful of smiles on her face. Her eyes would be searching, looking for the smallest of hints as she tracked down her treasure.

Images of resting on her knees, in front and to the sides of so very many piece of furniture. Of kneeling forward, her hands propping her torso up as her eyes would once more playfully probe for their quarry.

Images of times where no such visual confirmation was needed, times that she simply knew where to send her all-encompassing hand. Times where her fingers would begin to wrap around the bottom of a table leg, or work their way underneath a furniture flap, or curl over the top of some small horizontal obstruction.

More images, and now they were not alone, not anymore and not by a longshot. A feeling accompanied them - a feeling both remembered and currently present. Images and feelings of those same fingers surrounding and engulfing a tiny, fragile form. Of attaining the most precious little treasure she would ever know, of feeling his little body wiggle within the warm flesh of her hand. Even now, her hand tightened comfortable around the familiar little presence that rested in that hand. Pictures and feelings remained, of being so happy, so satisfied at finding and catching, at warming and comforting her...her little...her little b-

Stephanie's mouth snapped shut, with force so great that she should have counted herself lucky that her tongue had not be caught by her clenching teeth. Still, though, those pearly whites had not gone without a sacrifice. The hooks that single word had left were cut through, leaving it to wither and die in the open air, cut away from all that would give it meaning.

All that remained was what it left behind, and Stephanie's throat quickly went to work on that awful lump that had formed. Like a brick of sticky molasses, it hung where it had been when its guide had been cut off. With a hard, audible, devastating swallow, she sent it back from whence it came, freeing herself once more of what had bubbled up with it.

"What was that?" Claire asked gently, and Stephanie momentarily damned the Omega's sharp ears. Her warden looked at her, still with that soft expression, lips pursed thinly as Stephanie continued to look forward from her position cupped in the young woman's palm and into her eyes.

"Nothing," she murmured through her clenched teeth, making no effort to hide her contempt. "I didn't say anything."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Are you honestly sure?"

"Yes. Because there's nothing to say. Give me a different question," Stephanie stated, her demand accompanied by a minor crack in her voice. "A real one." A mellow grunt sounded from Claire's throat.

"That is a real question, Stephanie," she answered calmly, "and I'm not giving you a different one."

"Then," Stephanie began, an exasperated pause following, "I'm not going to answer it. I can't." Another grunt was the Omega's first response.

"Stephanie, please," Claire said, her voice sounding almost pleading to Stephanie's ears, "I don't even want details. Just a single sentence, just a few little words that tell me something you two liked to do together, that's all I want. You don't have to say a single little word beyond that, not if you don't want to."

"No," Stephanie responded with a cold croak.

"Stephanie it's a few little words to get rid of an entire session," Claire stated with some concern. "Surely that's worth it to you? Why would you not take that offer?"

"Because," Stephanie began, a growing amount of resentment beginning to overtake her as her voice wavered, "because you're trying to trick me. To make me admit something that isn't true, by answering a question I can't. So if you aren't going to give me a real question, just start the stupid session."

The two looked into each others eyes in a stiff, heavy silence. Stephanie lightly sucked on her bottom lip, silently pleading with the giant to move on, to do...whatever it was she had planned for her. For her part, Claire's brown irises continued to look upon her tenderly, and Stephanie could make out just the barest hint of her teeth biting down onto her bottom lip in consideration.

Those lips suddenly parted, and the cup from earlier made a reappearance as Claire calmly brought her fruit cup to her lips again. That same tilt, and Stephanie watched once more as the juicy fruits tumbled about into Claire's hungry mouth, watched again as the cup was taken away and the Omega's throat tensed with the same swallowing motion.

"I'm not trying to trick you," Claire calmly informed. "I don't know know why you think you can't answer me, but I assure you that you can."

"I can't-"

"You can, because I can," her warden firmly informed her, eliciting a slight shake from her. "I can name a million things my brother and I did together, Stephanie, things we had so much fun doing." That lump was back, Stephanie realized, slowly creeping its way back out once more. An audible swallow sent it back where it belonged, even as she gave her doll a soft, idle stroke, barely even recognizing that she had done so. "And I refuse to believe you and your own brother never did anything, never had fun or enjoyed your time together. Not with what I've seen of your handling skills, not with what I've heard from your mother."

Stephanie sneered. Her mother should keep her thoughts to herself, should stop being a liar.

"So how 'bout this," Claire continued on casually, "to give you time to think about this, to...consider things, a bit more, I'll answer the question myself. To be fair, y'know? Since I really don't think it would be, to ask you a question I can't answer myself, I mean. So I'll go, and then you can go, okay? Or you can't. But I hope you will, Stephanie, because you can't keep doing this. Not to yourself, and not to your brother."

Another shake wracked Stephanie's body, another audible swallow sounded from her throat. What she was doing to herself, to her...

Her eyes fluttered open and shut a handful of times, clearing her thoughts. She wasn't doing anything to anyone. Claire didn't know what she was talking about, as usual. Worse, she was now going to have to suffer through the young woman's dishonest reminiscing. Suffer through her acting like she was better, over nothing.

"Let's see," the giantess muttered, her eyes looking upwards in thought. Her other hand once more raised up and toward her face, once more grasping an object within the embrace of her fingers. The fruit cup had been replaced, apparently, as instead it now held the glass of water she had poured for herself. It shared its motions with its predecessor, a light tilt pouring the contents of the glass through the Omega's lips. Thirsty gulps emanated from Claire's throat as she swallowed, and soon the rim of the glass parted from her now wet lips. The tip of her tongue slipped out and glides across thee lengths of soft flesh, collecting the leftover moisture for itself before retreating into its home once more.

As the hand withdrew, likely to take place the glass back onto a table, it came to a sudden halt just a few feet to Stephanie's side. Claire's eyes returned to her, momentarily, before shifting their gaze somewhat to the side. She was looking at the glass, Stephanie realized, her eyes focused eerily upon it. Below them, though, the Omega's lips curled upward as a grin formed on her face.

"That'll do," she muttered, and the glass lowered once more, clanking slightly as it was placed back upon the table. As the glass moved farther away from Claire, though, Stephanie was pulled closer. The hand that held her approached Claire's neck, shifting slightly to the side within a few feet to instead halt directly before the shoulder she had perched upon earlier. Taking the hint, Stephanie cautiously crawled from perch to perch, trading soft flesh for soft cotton. Carefully turning around and taking her seat once more, she again grabbed a lock of silky black hair to secure herself. All the while, she held her little companion safely against her stomach.

"I told you earlier, about how I couldn't really handle my big brother for quite a while," Claire began, her voice steeped in tender affection. "Until I passed my test, I mean. But there were still things we could do together, ways we could spend time."

"And the thing I loved the most during that period," she informed Stephanie with almost sickening cheer, "was swimming lessons." Stephanie watched from her renewed perch as the hand that had held her moved forward and grabbed that glass of water, bringing it before Claire's chest. Stephanie's gaze centered on the immense pool of cool, clear water that sat several feet below the rim of the glass. The water sat remarkably calmly within the container, disturbed by the movements but only slightly.

"A lil' bit after our parents got married, Daddy decided that he'd teach Corey how to swim," Claire happily stated. "We could have gotten a little pool for their little home, but Mom didn't really see the point when we could just...make one, y'know? So we'd just get a glass of water, and they'd just jump off Mom's finger right into it."

Stephanie continued to silently glare at the water below her, at least for a few seconds as Claire paused. Slowly, though, the fingers within which she held her doll unfurled, and her eyes shifted down to the little thing now occupying her open palm. An image visited her mind once more, though this one much more recent. The image of that tiny little thing, lost within Claire's fingerprint. Gulping, her gaze returned to the water, as her mind continued to work. As she pictured that same finger held just above water level, pictured two small little creatures - one smaller than the other - jump forth into what to them must have been a large, clear pond, their tiny bodies barely making a splash.

"And after they would jump in," Claire continued, "Mom would go sit down, and I'd get to look at them, watch them, talk to them as they swam around. Better, though, and what I loved the most...was that I got to hold them...sort of, anyway. It took a little practice, but I got good at holding the glass really still. So I'd just sit kinda like I am right now..."

At this, the Omega's other hand joined with its companion in encircling the glass, now holding it firmly between them.

"...and hold it just like this, and it just made me so happy. It was just so great. It wasn't holding them in my hand, but it was the next best thing. And I got to watch Daddy teach Corey how to swim, and we got to all just be together as he learned. It might seem really boring but it was so much fun to me back then, watching the two of them splash around. I loved it."

That...thing, was back. In her throat, as her imagination continued to work. She could see it, disgustingly clearly, two little figures splashing around in that clear water. More troubling was that they had...faces, now. Familiar ones. Precious ones, her mind called to her before being quieted. Two little forms, not in a glass held between two powerful hands, but in a sink located in a homey kitchen. Another swallow, harder even than the last, attempted to rid her throat of that lump.

"Corey learned really quick, though, and soon things got even better for me. When he started getting really good at swimming, Mom and Dad let me play a little, too. Not really involved stuff, no direct touching or anything, but..."

One of Claire's constricting hands tore away from the glass, her fingers curling into a fist. All but her index finger, anyway. The hand hovered just above the glass's rim, and Stephanie watched as the the finger dipped into the water below, sending the water rippling away from it in all directions.

"...I could do this, make little waves for him and Daddy. I had to keep some distance, but it really was fun watching them bob up and down with the ripples. Fun for them, too. Daddy, I think, was just glad we were getting to do enjoy something together. Corey was still really young though, so he enjoyed playing in the waves I would make. Of course, as I got better at that stuff..."

The finger lifted from the water, and heavy drops began to fall back. Stephanie was fully entranced by this point, studying the gleaming digit, so much so that she was startled somewhat by what came next. The finger curled slightly, then promptly exploded into the water. The impact created waves that outstripped the little ripple created by the initial calm placement of her finger.

"I got to make things a little bit more exciting. Only when Mom was around, though, just in case. But it was still fun," she finished with a small laugh.

Stephanie bit her lower lip, only partly paying attention as she watched the waves crash into the glass walls. More images, more familiarity. That finger replaced by an open palm - her own - slapping down into the full sink, creating waves of her own. That laugh was there, too, but different. Replaced, instead, with a playful giggle. A trembled worked its way down her body, even as that lump in her throat continued to grow, unabated by another gulp.

"Sometimes, I'd make little currents," Claire continued again, and now that finger began to move through the water, lightly churning it, "and sometimes, when Mom would take Dad somewhere for a moment to handle some business, I'd have a little bit more fun."

That glass lifted, and Stephanie watched it approach the Omega's mouth where it began to tilt once more. The water approached her open maw, threatening to crest the edge of the glass and spill over. Stephanie continued to watch, passively aware of her fingers curling protectively around her doll. Imagining the little thing floating in that pool, being dragged toward that awaiting abyss. The water never passed, though, and soon the glass returned to its position before Claire's chest, accompanied by an amused chuckle.

"Corey didn't really like that, even though I never let the water really come close to spilling over the edge. I guess he was just sort of scared that I'd mess up and it would, and that he'd go in with it even if he wasn't anywhere close to the edge. Only thing that ever really scared him, I think, thinking that I'd...do something, like that."

Stephanie's body tensed up and her lips parted. That lump was on the move.

"It's too bad that you didn't," Stephanie spat, with as much bitterness and anger as she had ever spoken with before. Her jaws immediately clenched shut once more, a raging tremble wracked her body. Her fingers tightened more around the little figure they entrapped.

Just in time for her to notice that one of Claire's hands was approaching her, and Stephanie grinned bitterly to herself. That had done it. There would be no more of this, she thought, as the Omega's fingers grabbed her, squeezed her snugly into confines of the hand. There would be no more of this talk, they'd be starting the session soon.

That's what she thought, at least.

Claire's fingers opened, and instead of being greeted by the enraged expression she had expected, she was gazing into soft, wide brown eyes. Parted lips. A face that looked down upon her in absolute tenderness.

"You don't mean that," Claire stated simply, barely above a whisper.

"I do."

"You don't."

"I do."

"You don't, Stephanie. I know you don't. I can tell."

Stephanie snicked.

"And how can you tell that?" she asked sardonically, her voice strained.

"Because your eyes are wet."

Bullshit.

Stephanie brought her free hand up to her eyes, eager to disprove such an obvious lie. One swipe of a finger, and-

She froze as the pad of her finger stroked the skin underneath her right eye. The damp skin.

"Fuck you," she muttered with quavering voice. Claire only shook her head.

"Stephanie, please...please, just answer my question," she pleaded, and with sincerity at that. "You can't keep...doing this. It's not good for you. It's not healthy. But even beyond that...even beyond that, it does such a disservice to your brother, and to his memory. Does he deserve this, Stephanie? Does he deserve it, when you act like he never existed? When you act like he meant nothing to you? When you act like he was never even a person?"

"Fuck you," she repeated with a snarl, voice still cracking.

"He doesn't, Stephanie," Claire continued onward, showing no reaction to the insult, her soft voice becoming strong and authoritative, "he doesn't, and you know it. He doesn't deserve to be insulted or denigrated, and he doesn't deserve to be forgotten. His memory...you shouldn't run from it, Stephanie, even if it pains you. He loved you, you know he did. And regardless of what you say now, you loved him. And that pain you feel...that regret, as awful as it is for you, what you're setting yourself up for...I think that'll so much worse. When you're older, and are thinking back on your life. When you realize what you've done, when you can't even remember his little face anymore. When you really can't. You'll regret it, Stephanie, I promise you. And it will make you miserable all over again, and that's one thing you won't ever be able to come back from. Because when that memory is gone, it's gone, and it won't be coming back."

The Omega's voice had begun to quaver, toward the end, though Stephanie barely registered it in her anger.

"And what the fuck would you know about that?" Stephanie called up, anger still on every word. Claire continued to look at her, the two of them sharing a moment of silence. A silence broken by a familiar clink of glass against glass. The drink being set down, Stephanie realized. But then she was rising, as Claire began to stand, but their eyes never broke contact.

"More than you'd think," Claire informed her solemnly, and they were on the move. "I'll end up being a little late, I suppose, but Daddy will understand."

Claire's fingers curled in again, gripping her snugly within her warm fist. Reflexively, Stephanie pulled her own closed fist in close to her stomach.

"Let's go take a look at my library."