Matte Occupant


Written by Septia.


Tam tossed another glance to compare the room number with the scribbles on her notes. A match. If this wasn't the place, then that mafia-wannabe shrimp was giving her the short end of the stick. But, if he wasn’t, then she would soon have quite the oestrogen boost to sink her teeth in… She knocked on the door, doing one more pass over her hair as footsteps approached the door. With the beep of an access card the door parted, enough for a sliver of an eye to peek through; their skintone meld into the shadows of the apartment, a match for Tam's own. This seemed like the place. 
	“Yeah?”
	“Oh yeah~.” Tam responded with a tilt of her head to match the crack in the door. 
	“Pwff.” The homeowner scoffed out a chuckle, a good sign. “Oh, so, but, yeah. You're with them?” 
	“Oh, Arin, did those jerks not tell you about your appointment?”
	“They did, I'll be out in a sec, just gonna finish putting my face on.” But as she went close the door, Tam took a step forward, wedging their shoe in the opening, and with a flick, pushed the door inward.
	“Wait. Pardon me, but you caught my interest, cannot recall ever seeing a girl without a face.” With a flick of foot, Tam pried the door open, slipping in like a cloud of mist.
	Arin took a step back. 
	Tam kept their distance, and covered their mouth in faux shock. “My, my, appears I was mistaken, you are adorned with the most gorgeous face.  Pardon my intrusion, take all the time you need.” Tam turned back towards the door. 
	“Wait.” 
	Tam let a toothy grin spread across their lips, smoothed to a curious smile when she turned. “Oh?” 
	The girl scratched back her black locks, her other hand awkwardly tugging at her plaid shirt folded up to drape down from her impressive bust.  Casual wear; she really hadn't expected company so soon. “I don't, wanna be rude, please, take a seat… I just can't head out looking like… like…” 
	“A mess?” 
	Arin averted her gaze. 
	“A pretty mess of draping locks and modest curves?” Tam approached. A little step at a time. Until they could reach up, their hand hovering by Arin's face, curving to cup the air beneath her cheek. “And if you did go out like this, what would happen, hmm? Would your locks twist to braids, your heart flutter, and your face painted in more of that cute fluster?” Tam moved their hand closer, Arin instinctively following, slumping in towards their embrace, without Tam laying a finger on her. “Babe, you take all the time you need to polish up your face, but I am glad I got a chance to lay my eyes on you before, because it let me see just how gorgeous you are.” 
	Arin staggered, her body hovering a few cents away from Tam, and tilted her head back. “I'm, guessing you are my client? You are not just some, Synd henchmen?” 
	“Associate,” Tam replied, offering her a warm smile. A tilt of their head set their pearly white hair drills bouncing bobbing beside their face. 
	“Right,” Arin said, straightening out her back. “I guess that, makes you the boss.” 
	Tam merely smiled. 
	Arin let out a sigh, then caught herself, swallowing nervously. “S-sorry. I've just… oh, it's nothing, I’ll be ready in a moment.” 
	Another step closer. Tam loomed above her despite their heights differing by less than a thumb. “Go on, I would not want my babe bothered, we are supposed to have fun, are we not?”
	“Y-yeah, guess that's on me. I haven't been, ehm, performing, as well lately. I thought this visit, was gonna be about that…” she grasped her shoulder. 
	Another hand joined hers. Tam shifted behind her, wrapping Arin in her embrace. “Do excuse me, I find it hard to believe you would have any troubles. There are times our uncertainty gets the better of us, but, babe, I appreciate your honesty. I feel like you are just my type.” Tam gently swayed in the dimly lit apartment, holding Arin close, who follows the motions. Tension drains from her shoulders, breath soothing. 
	'You poor, silly girl…' Tam thought. Boy, was Arin not performing enough. Each client she'd been assigned to was returning unsatisfied, complaints stirring up ill will about the syndicate's services. Can't have that. So, when it was time for Tam to select her payments, the choice was obvious: Arin was brimming with feminine beauty, luscious curves and a delicate mannerism. Tam let her hands graze past Arin's chest, the jiggle within of maternal blubber echoing jolts of tension all the way through to her shoulders… They would look, so much better on herself… Tam moistened her lips. A good thing she caught her before makeup; it was certainly pretty, but the chemicals left a waxy taste in her mouth. She wanted to enjoy this. It had been weeks of waiting, and now she could hear her stomach -Gbbrhhgs- flip in anticipation. 
	“Babe, I know, you will be… delicious.” -Thhnngh- Tam wrapped her arms around Arin, the gentle cuddle allowing her to strap down the girl's limbs at just the right spot. Parting their lips, salivation stretching in tethers between her lips, raw anticipation flooded out of her gaping jaw and soaked over the girl's neck as Tam barreled down. 
	“Gn gnnga, soahga wh-ahtat w-wait wait-.” 
	The girl had noticed, but it was too late, Tam could already taste her deep, luscious skin.  The woman's fate was seale-. 
	“Who do you think you are?” 
	That voice… Tam halted, a chill sweeping down her spine. It was a voice that told every bone in her body to cease. She peered down, as the girl's head turned to face her. Their skin, once smooth as porcelain… was now stubbed and sleek, their flowing locks, their face… that of another; the one that had caught them, the one she'd done everything to avoid. 
	“Wanna get bagged, punk?” 
	A haunting visage of the stranger stuffing them into a duffle bag, constraining them, before dumping them down their maw.  There was no venue of escape, only waiting in darkness, to be devoured. Tam's breath spiked, hyperventilating, but a clarity manifesting. This wasn't real, she was not going to be plagued by this memory. A primal vigour surged through their muscles, she pivoted, raising their open maw over the other side of the woman's head. ‘Don't look at them, don't accept the fear, just do i-’… She looked down again, and were greeted by a new face. Putty-pale skin, with umber hair and a satyr's pair of ears, sloping from either side. 
	“Tam?”
	“Hyngnaah,” -Ththdh- Arin unsheathed her arm from Tam's grip, and knocked her elbow back into them. 
	“Mgnhghaphaa-…” Tam spat out, staggered lurched back, hugging her stomach, wailing. 
	Arin composed herself, taking a great distance to Tam, fumbling for her phone. “I-I said back off, perv.” She raised the phone in threat. “I'll-... I’ll call the-…” she paused. Law enforcement was practically throwing in the towel. Would it be worth the risk… “I'll- I've got a direct line with the syndicate, they've… and you don't wanna get in trouble with them.” 
	Tam slumped to her knees, face buried in the ground.
	“Don't try anything. If you take even a step…” 
	Tam remained motionless.
	“Do you hear me, I'll do i-.”
	“Don't…” Tam said, shifting up, “bother…”
	“I just told you to-.” 
	“They don't want you no more.” 
	The woman froze. 
	“Why do you think I got your address…” 
	Arin shuddered, swallowing as they watched Tam rise to their feet. 
	Silence hung between them.
	Tam shifted towards the door. “I'll tell those cotton balls I got you, you don't have to work for em anymore.” They opened the door, letting out a heavy breath. “I'll get out of your hair.” -Crrr-thhhd-. 


~ 1 ~


The steel steps leading in to the apartment complex laid as a block of ice under Tam's ass cheeks. Curled up, on the streets, in the haze of the lampposts. Again. Her hands flopped up over their face, sinking into the delicate drills. “Grnngg…” Tam grunted. Fingers crooked, they scrubbed through their hair, tangling the drills and smearing globules of hair wax under their fingernails -Vrgglglsh-. Frustration swept out from their clasped teeth… it was but a moment, but it left their head a malformed bird's nest. Their arms slumped on either side. When their stomach growled, they raised their fist to punch it for daring to remind them… but froze, energy suddenly sapped from their muscles. Slowly, she lowered their arm again, covering their face. Why couldn't anything go right… Why couldn't she just cram that tasty gal down their throat? Why couldn't life be easy? Why couldn't Met… why did… Met… 
	Tam sniffled. 
	“Thought I heard something.” 
	Tam peeked up. Then, lowered their head again. “I said I'd leave ya alone…” Tam mumbled. 
	Arin stepped out, joining them on the stairs. “You've been sitting here for an hour.” 
	“I'll sit on your pretty face if I damn well want to.” Tam burst out, exploding upward onto their legs. “Walk on out of here, get your stuff and leave town, before I change my mind.” 
	-Clltch- But a hand, wrapped around their wrist. As a single word echoing between them… “Wait.” 
	Tam halted, and peered back. Arin… looked different. Her lips vibrant. Cheeks rosy, eyebrows an abyssal black. She was wearing make-up. “You can't go out with your hair looking like that.” 


~ 2 ~


“My performance was really that bad, huh?” 
	“Mm hmm…” Tam mumbled, on their knees in Arin's apartment. They sat at the foot of Arin's bed, as she weaved her fingers through their hair, styling, clearing out snags. It was… peculiar, holding an actual conversation. 
	“And you were just gonna stuff me away, solve two problems in one gulp?” 
	“Mm hmm.” 
	“That really all you have to say? Where's that silver tongue that almost got me wet earlier?” 
	Tam tilted their head, annoyed and uncomfortable as they formed the right word. 
	“Almost?” They asked. 
	“Ooh, so you're a narcissist~. That got your attention.” 
	Tam scoffed and shuffled back in place, silent but for a grumble. 
	Arin kept fiddling with their hair, straightening it out, folding it in swirls. 
	“So, how come you suck at your job…?” Tam grumbled. 
	“I've got a volatile gag reflex.”
	Tam blinked. “Like, huuaf?” they said, mimicking a hurl. 
	Arin shook her head. “Like, -Cttnnhhg-” she said, clasping her teeth. 
	Tam winced, face contorting at the thought. “Balls…” 
	“Oh, they usually don't get that far in.”
	“Gnfhhgsa,” Tam fidgeted in another wince, to which Arin snickered. 
	“There’s other stuff behind it too, but, yeah. Lack of confidence, drive, dedication.” 
	“Sounds like the same thing.” 
	“Yeah, I get that a lot, hold still.” 
	Tam quivered, peering up, seeing Arin wrap a new hair drill around her hand before slowly patching it up. 
	Arin peered at them with a huff. They were doing the exact opposite of what she asked. 
	“Sorry,” Tam muttered. 
	“Hey, your hair’s on the line, …geeze, it must take forever to maintain this, and you weren't even gonna let me put on make-up?” 
	“I never said that.” 
	“Yeah, you never said you were here to make me your late night banquet either.” 
	“Listen,” Tam mumbled, sitting silent for a bit, “you're hardly a banquet.” 
	“And what's that supposed to mean?” 
	“That you're short and got a flat ass.” Tam spoke as if reading the nutritional information on a pre-made dinner. 
	“Gasp, how dare,” Arin teased as she combed the drill back into position. “Then I can't let you have any of it, I gotta keep every bit of my ass, so I got something to sit on.” 
	Tam, scoffed. “Yeah… suppose so.” 
	The silence lasted much longer this time. Though, the air was, less awkward. -Dnnf- Arin slumped down beside Tam. “Look, I dunno why you hesitated. I don't know why you gave up so fast. But… It's weird to say, and I really shouldn't, but what I'm trying to say is… thanks.” 
	Tam nodded. 
	Arin sighed and slumped back. “You know it would be so awkward if you tried to eat me right now.” 
	“Yeeup. Keep your panties on. I've lost my appetite.” 
	-Fhgbrlglshas- -Cggrrllgsa- Tam's gut betrayed them yet again. 
	Arin gave them a look. “...You sure about that?” 
	“Shh. Shuddup…” Tam mumbled, turning away. 
	-Dnnfd- With a light thud, a hand came to rest on their shoulder. “I could whip up something, y’know.  If I can't offer a banquet, then, least I think I’ve got some leftovers kicking around.” 
	Tam wrapped their arms tighter around their knees, letting out a long sigh. “Ok.” 


~ 3 ~


-Bhggraaaaahooourp- The belch set Arin's hair fluttering behind her, Tam covering their maw with a fist, coughing. 
	“Wow, you learned that from a foghorn? Or do potatoes just really disagree with your guts?” 
	-Bhuraarlp- Tam let out another bubbling breath of vapours before tapping their chest. “Yeah, I'm a gross gal, but what are you gonna do? Un-treat me to this meal?” 
	“Gimmie a knife and some rope and I could give that a try.” 
	Tam… smiled. 
	“Yeah, you are a gross gal,” Arin remarked, sitting back down across from them, “but I don't mind.” 
	Tam raised an eyebrow. 
	“It means you're not pretending, at least.” She propped up her cheeks on her knuckles. “It makes it so… like. A while ago a hottie told me something like: ‘I'm glad to see that pretty face without the make-up.’” 
	Tam's other eyebrow rose.
	They stared at each other for a bit.
	“Do you still see me as food, at least a little bit?”
	Tam's lips pressed flat. “What? I don't, come on…”
	“Be honest.”
	“A lil, yeah.” Tam relented.
	Arin closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. “Welp, I don't got much choice so here goes… Can I bunk at your place?” 
	Tam's head slumped all the way down to their shoulder. “Pardon?”
	“Syndicate doesn't wanna work with me anymore, and it takes a bit to just pack up a life and go, even if it’s as a messed up cuckoo's nest like mine. And I don't got any other place to bum off. So, yeah.” 
	“So? Skip town? What’s got you tied down?” 
	Arin wheezed up a potato chunk, tapping their chest. “You kidding? With who?” Arin upheld her perplexed expression as way of explanation. In the wake of Tam’s silence, she eventually relented, and elaborated. “Wouldn’t know the first thing about taking such a leap. Synd’s a bunch of maniacal idiots, but… would’ve been worse off on my own.”
	Tam contemplated their cleared plate. 
	“If you don't got the space then, I get it.” 
	“That's…” A visage of Met swept through their mind, the memory of their brother turning away, enveloped by the door. “That, won't be an issue. I've got some space.” 
	“So, can I stay? For a couple of nights?” 
	Tam closed their eyes. “Sure, a couple of nights.”