Member
Festive
Melissa
AlteredTundra
LovelyComplex
Horangi
PrinceAlexus
Returner
A blaring alarm jolted Patience awake, and she found herself snuggled up against the warmth of a grown man. As the bigger spoon, her left arm was draped over him and nestled lovingly on his lower abdomen. Her ample chest grazed the flesh of his back, her feet interlaced with his own, and her nose was tucked up against his neck. Anyone who looked upon this scene would have guessed they were lovers who had enjoyed a long night of passionate lovemaking. She was closer to this male than she had ever been with anyone else, and it should have been a pleasant feeling. However, Patience didn’t innately register the fact due to quaking headache pounding in her skull, the sheer fatigue that wracked her body, and the excruciating pox on her stomach. Tack on the additional side effect of her tiny frame trembling from not eating for a day or more, and Patience truly appeared to be the embodiment of death. Hysterically, the pale woman clambered over the waking man, accidentally sinking her well taken care of nails into his skin. She didn’t pay any heed to who the man was, nor did she want to do know. There would be plenty of time to rue her actions after she was done purging the copious amounts of bile from her system. Sprinting to the first bathroom visible, she fell to her knees before the toilet, gripped the sides, and expected to puke her brains out. Unfortunately, try as she might, nothing wished to come out. Patience whimpered as she dry heaved and silently vowed never to repeat last night, though internally she knew it was only a matter of time before she succumbed to her whims again. ”Oh god, I need medicine…” she spoke aloud, her timbre shaky and weak.
Realizing her efforts were futile, the nude lady hazily got back to her feet and began searching the medicine cabinet, hoping to god she would find some alka seltzer or something for her ailments. She was tossing bottles and tubes left and right in her frenzy, and by the time she had found a roll of antacid and a bottle of aspirin, quite a mess had been made at her feet. Quickly, Patience popped more of the pills than she probably should have. Only then did she begin to calm down, though it was only ever so slightly. Her unsteady hands ran through her hair, and weakly, she gripped the rim of the sink, fighting off the demons that sliced at her innards. Today was going to be a bad day, that much was certain. And she had so much to do! How was she going to explain her absence to Shou though?! How was she going to deal with losing her innocence to a stranger, who she hadn’t even gotten a good look at yet? Oh god, oh god, oh god. Her breathing was escalating to the point of hyperventilation, and painful tears spewed out from the corner of her eyes. Frantic sobs pulsated from those inviting lips of hers, sincerely regretting the things she couldn’t remember last night. What had she done?!
The young professor was amidst a land of dreams, and for the first time in a long time (despite how little sleep he had gotten that night), he felt at peace. He felt Alessandra’s presence somehow around him, and in his dreams, he saw her face. She was saying something to him but he couldn’t make out the words; he was just so happy to see her. She was so warm. She was so real. She was also…beeping.
...huh?
Beep beep beep.
The faint beeping of the alarm clock slowly brought the tired professor back to the waking world. He was about to stretch out in bed before realising it was somehow warmer than usual. In an...odd, creepy sort of way. There was something pressed up against his back. In the blurry haze of his thoughts coming to him slowly, he tried to place what it might be. The blankets bunched up, possibly? But it felt more...human. And then the events of last night finally, finally came to him, and he immediately registered just what - just who - the body pressed up against his lovingly was. He felt his face go warm and was about to move away carefully befo-
“F-fuck!” he hissed, biting his tongue as the figure climbed right over him and frantically to the bathroom. She had dug her nails into his flesh (and he had to admit, they were pretty damn pointy) and red marks remained where she had grabbed onto him and let go of him. Jolting upright, he just sat there in bed, squinting at the bathroom door the naked redhead had just passed through, with a look of absolute dumbfoundedness. He heard her retching and it sent a shudder down his spine. Fumbling for his glasses on the bedside table, he breathed warm air onto the lenses before wiping them with the fabric of the bedsheet (in a pinch, it would do). He then settled them onto his nose and, fighting the urge to look inside the bathroom, made a dash for the robe he had thrown onto his desk chair too. Grabbing it and putting it on, he finally got a better sense of the time.
06:52
The alarm hadn’t stopped beeping. He quietly clicked the damned machine shut, looking over at the freshly laundered suit he had set out the day before. Orientation day at the academy was today, after all, but he had to take care of his little houseguest first.
“Err...Miss Morgan?” he called out hesitantly, taking slow, silent steps and leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom with widening eyes. It was a large affair, and the otherwise pristine floor now was littered with bottles upon bottles of medicine, and leaflets and whatever else possible, including some gels, and-
“...are you alright?” he sighed, keeping his cool and looking over at the naked girl with a much different expression from the night before. This time, it was understanding, as if he had come to terms with the situation, but he was also smirking, just the tiniest bit. Something about her being so...helpless brought out the best in Shou. “Hey, tigress. Why don’t you let me help you find...what you need, hmm? This is my house, after all.”
That voice. It was too recognizable. Nonononono… she was pleading in her head as her friend, her professor was talking from the other side of the door frame. Her heart was strung up by a noose, and the pressure of on her stomach escalated tenfold. Did she really sleep with Shou last night? Or was this just a fucking nightmare? Patience wanted to die right now, knowing fully well that the silver haired gentleman wouldn’t have taken advantage of her in the state she was in last night. So that must have meant she initiated their rendezvous. Guilt intermixed with the already atrocious sensations she felt. There was no way the redhead could be involved with Shou like this, not romantically or any other way than platonically. After their supposed tryst, Patience could only believe that his affection for her had grown, that he probably wanted to be more than just friends-with-benefits. Even if he had taken her innocence, she couldn’t do it. Not after everything he had already been through. Them being together would just add so much unneeded stress to him, and yeah, he was a great guy but… Shou needed someone that was better than her.
Patience didn’t want to let him down though, and, in an act of desperation, she shut the bathroom door and locked it, just in case he tried to enter. Perking up and steadying her voice, she called out in the most cheerful manner she could muster, ”I’m fine, Professor! I promise! I just need a shower…” To emphasize the point, her feet carried her over to the pristine shower, stepped in, and turned the knob. A gentle, steamy stream greeted her skin, and some of her woes felt alleviated by the therapeutic feeling. At the very least, this ploy gave her some time to think about how she wanted to deal with the scenario she was handed. Running her hands through the length of her hair, she began to bathe with closed eyes. Maybe she’d wake up from this nightmare if she concentrated enough...
The silver haired professor stumbled back in shock, having the bathroom door literally slammed in his face. He almost fell back onto his rump but held his ground, just slowly blinking at the door as if it would open through telekinesis alone. Sure enough, it didn’t, but a voice did respond from inside. “A-a shower…? O-okay, Patience! ...see, it’s orientation day today, so I’m going to have to...err.”
He regretted wanting to ask her if he could use the shower, just sighing and responder in a meeker tone that he hoped she had heard through the door, “...fresh towels are folded and on top of the medicine cabinet. There’s a footstool if you can’t reach. A-Alex...always needed one.” he added sombrely. “...listen, I’m going to make us some breakfast, alright? I hope toast is okay, because that’s all you’re going to be having if I’m responsible. I have to dash for the academy, so please, Patience...please, be done soon!”
And with that, stretching his back out like a cat, the professor’s day begun, both his dogs responding to the morning like hardly anything was out of place, trotting by their master’s side (Jinxie mostly shot down the stairs) to be given breakfast.
“And Goggle, please play Mr. Brightside, by the Vitamin String Quartet”
His phone responding with a chirpy beep and (as he always was), connecting to the small bluetooth speaker kept on one of his kitchen counters, the kitchen/living room came to life in song.
After securing his two canine companions’ morning meals (Shou envied them and how easy it was for them to procure food sometimes), he made another search through his cabinets for anything that his guest might take a liking to. Fortunately, his eyes fell upon a pack of Ships Ahoy cookies! Success!
Feeling rather proud of himself, and still in his dressing gown, Shou popped two slices of white bread into an immaculate-kept toaster, and fetched a jug of milk from the fridge, tapping his slippers soundlessly to the sound of the violins as he moved from place to place, setting up the small table that seated four in the dining area just by the open kitchen. He set aside two small plates, the jug of milk, a platter of cookies and some butter, and after a little more searching, a small jar of strawberry jelly. He had just put his morning cuppa’ on for a brewing when the toast was ready, which he replaced with two more slices before carrying the crisp bread to the table. He was determined to make this as gentle an awakening for his guest as possible, whistling along to the song that played as he flitted from here to there, as if he was used to having guests over all the time. The truth was far from the matter, though. Shou didn’t have many, but those he did have, he served well.
“Patience! I...I hope you find something decent to wear! I have to shower soon, too, and I have to get ready and go!” he called out, hands cupped over his mouth to make the sound reach her, but he doubted she’d hear him through the sound of the jets of water. Instead he shook his head and put the finishing touch on the breakfast table laid for two: A pitcher of glittering orange mixed-cocktail juice.
The walking disaster of a woman finished her shower sooner than expected, and admittedly, she did feel slightly better. Being an incredibly busy woman, she was used to short shower sessions such as this. Her head and her stomach were still screaming at her, but at least she didn’t feel so disgusting any more. As Shou had said, the towels were indeed on top of the medicine cabinet, but even with the footstool, Patience couldn’t reach them! His wife must have been a bit taller than her… Sighing, she was forced to step onto the actual sink, a balancing act that required more effort than it was worth. By the time she had pulled a towel down, the floor and the sink were soaked by the drops of water that fell from her, culminating in a massive puddle in the center of the bathroom. To add to the mess, the cloth she pulled down caused all of the others to tumble down to the earth as well. One, somehow, actually ended up in the toilet. Hopefully the Professor didn’t have crippling OCD, or he might flip after seeing this.
She felt terrible at the carnage she had wreaked, but neither her or Shou had time to clean it up! Quickly drying herself off and tying the towel around her body, her legs sauntered back into the bathroom. Where were the clothes she had worn the night before? Emerald orbs scanned the bedroom, but there was no sign of them. Damn, had they started elsewhere? They must have been very into it. Oh god, she didn’t want to think about that though! Shou’s clothes were no doubt going to be too big for her, but… what about…? An uneasy expression sat on her face as she considered borrowing some of his late wife’s clothes. Unfortunately, as much as she hated it, Patience didn’t have much of a choice, so she reluctantly strode toward the closet that was presumably Alessandra’s.
Investigating the deceased lady’s clothes proved to be a fruitless endeavor. Everything was a size or two too large for the petite redhead. Where Patience was probably way too skinny, Alex seemed to have had a proper body type for her height. The only thing that was actually too small for her were the bras; apparently Shou’s wife had not been the bustiest of women. Stress was starting to eat up at her as she considered the options before her. Finally, she decided she was going to be a bit creative. Her hand grabbed a thick, black t-shirt, tossed it on, and over that, she adorned one of the finer dark dresses that Alessandra had acquired during her life. Yes, this makeshift outfit absolutely draped over her like a curtain, but it was something that would conceal her lady parts until she could get home. Well, that assuming today wasn’t a breezy day… If that were the case, she might be in some trouble.
Downstairs, the redhead found her host had laid out quite the buffet for breakfast. The music along with the arrangement of food resulted in what was probably the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for her. A crimson hue flashed onto the woman’s pale cheeks, embarrassed by the fact that a man would actually go this far for her. ”This is… really sweet.” Patience told Shou in a sheepish tone. It was pretty obvious she wasn’t used to this. As she sat at the table, her gaze went to the cookies and the pieces of toast nearby. That was entirely too much for her! ”It’s… It’s a lot.” Did he eat this much on a regular basis?! She could scarcely finish one piece of toast on a good day! Nervously, her hand grabbed one of the cookies and took a miniscule bite of it, barely denting a fifth of it. This was how she remained so skinny: she hardly ate anything.
“Well, I’m glad you’re down-” Shou chirped, in a much better mood after just folding the last of the two napkins he laid across their plates, turning around to face Patience, and at doing which, his entire body went cold, and his expression turned to one of ice. It wasn’t sinister, no, it was more...hurt? There was definitely pain in there somewhere, and it lingered longer than the professor would have liked, forcing himself to smile and push the memories aside. Alex wore those clothes, so long ago. Alex...why did she haunt him even today? Alessandra Goretti, oh, how he missed her, to date…
“...you look wonderful, Patience. I’m glad...the clothes fit.” he forced out, hardly able to put two and two together as to this guest wearing his dead fiancee’s clothes. He remained speechless otherwise as the ginger-haired girl made her way over and he tucked her chair in, as if out of habit. Somehow, his eyes avoided her, as if looking at her was painful, but he didn’t have the heart to tell her his true emotions about the situation. “...don’t worry. Just eat what you can, mm? I know...you didn’t eat a lot last night, and I was a horrible host, I’m sorry. I wanted to make it up to you with...a nice breakfast today.” A hint of nervousness picked up in the professor’s voice, too, the two dogs having finished their breakfast eagerly inspecting their new visitor, “Do you...like it? You’ve hardly touched...anything. Is something wrong, Patience? ...you can tell me.”
Oh boy, Shou was really turning on the charm now. Complimenting her, pushing in her chair… It was cute, really, and she really appreciated the sentiments. Patience hadn’t ever thought that her professor would actually have romantic inclinations towards her until now. ”Thanks, Shosho. They don’t really fit though. I actually couldn’t find any panties, so um… Let’s hope no one gets some good upskirt shots of me, right?” she joked in an attempt to break any tension. Unfortunately, he seemed to be worried about her lack of appetite, which didn’t surprise her. Any sane person would seriously question the amount she ate. Was she anorexic? Patience didn’t believe she was, merely being a person who simply did not like eating. It was such a time consuming experience and it was boring… Not many foods appealed to her, honestly. Cocking her head in curiousity, she quivered an eyebrow up at him. ”It’s great, Shou. I just, you know, don’t eat a lot normally.” She was being as normal as she could be, but her friend was right: there was something wrong. However, Patience wasn’t going to address that elephant in the room. Not now, at least. With her feeling as terrible as she did, the redhead had no intention to break his heart right now.
“Aw. I’m sure if you’re careful, we won’t be having any of those upskirt shots after all.” his facial features softened, him stealing a quick cookie from the tray and popping it into his mouth, crunching it hungrily before wolfing it down, hardly taking the opportunity to sit down. “I need to go take a shower, but I understand, Patience. I...make yourself at home, while I get ready. I think I’m already running a little late! Maybe I can drive you home on the way there? It wouldn’t be too far, that is, and I can tell you about what happened last night. Sound good? I hope so...that’s the only option I have right now, yikes!”
Immediately being made aware of the time by a large analogue clock in the dining room, he ruffled the redhead’s hair without much thought before jogging back to the staircase and darting up them to go and get changed. Thankfully, not much was ruined, and after a quick shower (and him resisting the urge to flip a table at seeing the state his bathroom was in, but he had no time to fix it right now so the most he did was pick the towels off the floor and send them all through a conveniently placed laundry-chute that led to the laundry room in the basement. He would deal with those later, hopefully. For now though…
Donning his trousers, shirt, shoes and tie after hastily towelling off (though his hair remained wet for the most part), he jogged back down, suit jacket neatly folded in the crook of his arm to put on whenever he needed to, to notice Patience still sitting at the table. “...ah! Don’t worry about that. Just...um, could you drop the dishes in the sink, Patience? And leave the backdoor open, for Romeo and Jinxie, my dogs you’ve probably met by now, to get out, and meet me by my car outside?”
Patience was about to tell Shou that she was still going to work with him, even if she did feel like she was clinging to life’s last breath. Her work ethic demanded that she always do her job, no matter the circumstances. Before she could give him the heads up, he was already hightailing it up to the shower, leaving the pale woman by her lonesome. That man really was precious, wasn’t he? Jeez, and he had it so bad for her! There he was, letting her dress up in his deceased wife’s clothing, calling her a tigress, and basically giving her free reign over his house. If those weren’t this signs of a boy in love, then what were? Honestly, it made her feel kinda bad, considering she didn’t feel the same way, and that really curb stomped the hell out of her appetite. All in all, she managed to eat a couple cookies and half a piece of toast before her stomach said enough. The rest she split between the dogs, who were more than eager to finish off her scraps. With the remainder of her time, Patience laid her aching head down on the table. At least the aspirin and the antacid were kicking in.
When the silver headed Professor came storming into the kitchen, in some kind of hurry, his ginger haired companion noticed that her theory was indeed correct: he was treating her like a girlfriend, as evidenced by his plea for assistance. Silently, she decided to tickle his fancy and complied with his demands with a nod and a smile. The dishes were toted over to the sink, the dogs were rallied and sent into the backyard, and her weary feet marched into the living room, where she found the clothes she had been looking for earlier. They positively reeked of sweat and alcohol, but the shed garments gave her more insight as to how everything went down. Most likely, they had ended up back here, started a movie, and then the drunken Pati attacked him! Webflix and chill, the kids on the street called it. Sighing, the woman was still in complete disbelief over her actions, but there was nothing to be done. The past was the past. Collecting her things, she moved on outside and saddled up into Shou’s vehicle, flashing him a polite smile all the while. ”Well, let’s get to work, Professor! I know you probably think I’m crazy, but duty calls for both of us! Those kids are going to need to know who their T.A. is anyway.” her chipper tune was a far cry from the distraught one from earlier, so as to not draw any suspicion from him. She just had to keep acting natural, and everything would just be ay-okay!
“Thank you, Patience!” Shou found himself calling as he grabbed his car-keys and unlocked the vehicle, hanging up his suit-jacket in the back-seat and assuming his position in the driver’s. He rolled his sleeves up to his elbows and ran a hand through his hair, internally trying to figure out how to tell Patience about the night before. Safe to say, she probably already knew, and-
Ah! She was exiting the house now. That was good. The lock clicked in place behind her and he gave her an equally polite smile as she sat up front in the passenger’s seat. He was thinking of how to break the news to her, that she had been so drunk and was wandering around the park, but she probably already knew. He wondered just how much she remembered before she spoke, and he gave her a look with a raised eyebrow, carefully bringing the car onto the road leading into the bustling city, even at this hour, “Are you sure you don’t want to be dropped home first, Patience? It’s just orientation day, so I know it’s okay if you need to...um, freshen up at home, and then join us. Truly…”
A cute giggle answered Shou, and the fledgling Teacher’s Assistant rolled her eyes, as if to say that he didn’t understand her at all. ”I refuse to go home! It doesn’t matter if I feel like shit. I’ve gotta do my job. It’s just… what I do.” her bouncy voice retorted. From her demeanor and the casual cheeriness, it didn’t seem that Patience had any questions about last night nor did she seem remotely worried about it. And that’s exactly how she wanted to seem. Just don’t say anything about it… she pleaded to her friend internally. Now was not the time to address the clusterfuck of a mistake she’d made, and she wasn’t prepared to let him down…
“I realise, Patience, but...last night was pretty bad.” he shook his head, shuddering at the memory, “You called me up, and I’m sorry I couldn’t be there, and-”
”Don’t worry, Shou. I already know. I have a good memory, you know? I know I was… in a bad state.” the redhead lied, hoping he wouldn’t go any deeper into the subject. ”I… Just thank you. I’m glad I was with you, otherwise… Well, who knows what would have happened? I mean, you were really great last night.” Patience didn’t really know what else to say, but she was hoping that she was stroking his sexual ego by referencing their rendezvous and the “great” time she had. Her words were pretty vague though, and probably didn’t come off to mean what she thought it did.
“It’s just that I worried about you, Patience.” he sighed, the silhouette of the city approaching, “So I brought you home, and got you cleaned up. Then, as I was going to bed, I felt...really bad for leaving you to sleep on the couch, so-”
”No, no! Really. Don’t worry about anything. It was all great! Best time I’ve ever had. But I mean, let’s just concentrate on today, alright? Yesterday was yesterday, and today is today. I’m just happy… I’m happy that I was with you. That’s all I can say.” She diverted the subject back to the present with incredible pep, trying to obscurely emphasize how grateful that her first time had been with a friend rather than a stranger. ”I hope we don’t have a bunch of snobs in these upcoming classes…” Again, she deflected the conversation back to the upcoming orientation, extremely adamant about leaving this ghost of the past behind.
“...the best time you’ve ever had, huh? I mean, you...I realised later, you did wake me up, but were curled up next to me when I clearly left you on the other side of the bed…” Shou’s tired eyes were focused straight ahead, the professor trying to indulge in the girl’s cheery attitude. “...I’m glad I was there for you, too. Heavens know what would have happened to you if someone else stumbled upon you last night.”
The conversation switched fast, that much was sure. Something seemed off about Patience’s tone, but the silver haired professor was too tired, and instead chose to take it in his stride. Maybe she was just so grateful he had rescued her that she couldn’t put it into words? Maybe it made her shy, embarrassed, that she was loitering around so late, drunk out of her mind? He wondered.
“I hope so too, Patience. I hope so too…”
In hardly any time, and an otherwise eerily quiet car-ride, the couple finally reached the academy grounds (despite Shou having asked Patience at least three more times whether she’d prefer to go home instead). Pulling over and parking into one of the designated staff’s parking spots, the man shut the car down and leaned back in his chair, eyes falling upon the bustling academy and the many, many faces, new and old. First days were always exhilarating, for students and staff alike. He hoped that this year would be another brilliant one, for all involved.
“Let’s both do our best out there today, Patience. I’m counting on you…!”
”Same here! Just don’t get any bright ideas about me not wearing any panties!” The redhead flashed a playful wink at Shou before they began their strides to the Academy! Another semester, another load of stress.
