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Kevin knows Andrew has a sister, of course. She’s known about her since she tried to recruit Andrew to the Ravens. It’s just, Aaron Minyard is not particularly talented at exy, and so Kevin had never paid her any mind. She hadn’t even glanced at her stats when she went for Andrew. She didn’t have to.
Then Riko had broken her hand, and Kevin, after years and years of enduring and suffering (for what? In the end, what the fuck was it for?), had reached her fucking breaking point. She took Jean, half dragged her out despite her protests, because she wouldn’t fight Kevin hard anyway, let alone when her dominant hand was a bloody useless pulp, and she went to the father she’d always been too scared to reach out to. What good was fear now? What the fuck had it gotten her?
That first half year at Palmetto she was useless, and Jean was too scared to step foot on the court, to be seen at all, even though it was obvious where she was. Kevin didn’t care anymore. She went public with it all. Despite her trembling hands, despite the constant panic attacks off camera, despite the insistent fear, the deep-set belief, just like Jean, that the Moriyamas would come for her. That they’d drag her by her hair back to Edgar Allan and everything would be worse for this rebellion.
Except that wasn’t what happened. The Nest, slowly but surely, had started to crumble.
Kevin ignored the hate that was pelted her way. She was called a traitor. Cursed for her betrayal. It only got worse when she covered her number two tattoo with her queen chess piece. A firm rejection of Riko’s perfect court. She put her focus into the Foxes, helping Wymack as assistant coach since she couldn’t play. The team hated her, but she didn’t care. She had Jean, and she had their secret practices, building back strength in her hand.
She’d sent Wymack for Andrew this time. She had a feeling she would get told no for a second time, but he had a way with broken people. So she got Minyard on her team just as her right hand was finally strong enough to step on court again. Hemmick was the price for Andrew on court, but Kevin could deal with a questionable backliner for the sake of one of the best goalies she’d ever seen.
She was approached by Ichirou. Bargained Jean’s freedom. It meant putting her leash into someone else’s hand, which was not really freedom at all, but at least Kevin could rest easy she wouldn’t end up with a bullet in her head. The price of Jean’s safety was not only Jean, but Kevin herself. She knew she had too much public renown for the Moriyamas to target her personally, but Ichirou knew a weak spot when she saw one.
“Twenty percent of the kind of money you will be making, Miss Day, is still a considerable amount. I am not leaving you desolate.” She had smiled, cutting, her dark eyes narrow and glinting. “Be reasonable.”
Reasonable had not come into the question. She would have paid any price to keep Jean by her side, especially after all the hurt Kevin had caused her in the past. She knew she’d lost the chance for what they could have had once. Fear, again, always fear fucking her up. It didn’t matter. Having Jean safely by her side was enough, and having her back on the court would give the Foxes a fighting chance this year.
Kevin thought, all things considered, this was the best solution they could have come to. She focused on improving the strength in her left hand secretly, while publicly playing with her right. A bit clumsy compared to what she was capable of, but still impressive. The anxiety had eased considerably, but she still took regular attacks. Especially after it came out that Riko had died. Suicide. Kevin didn’t believe that for one second.
Andrew had found her. Taken her in, made a deal.
“I’ll protect you until you graduate.”
Kevin knew she didn’t really need protecting from anything now. The biggest threats in her world were gone, but it meant something. That Andrew was offering.
“What do you want in return?”
“Nothing.”
“That’s not much of a deal.” Kevin pursed her lips.
“I never want anything.”
“That sounds like a lie,” Kevin said. Andrew raised a brow, fixing her with a flat look. “How about I find you something to want. A goal. Something to live for.”
“Good luck.” Andrew snorted.
Kevin was hoping she could make that thing exy. Andrew could easily go pro, with just a little effort would make court. So she moved to Andrew and Nicky’s dorm. She’d been reluctant to leave Jean, but Jean said it would be a relief to have some space from Kevin. Kevin didn’t know that she believed this. It wasn’t like the team liked Jean much more than they liked Kevin, but at least Jean was not as actively antagonistic ( actively being the key word), and she could quietly go along with team antics when it served her.
“Look after her,” Kevin said to Matt, her expression intent and serious. Matt smiled brightly and slapped Kevin on the shoulder.
“Of course I will, bro,” she said. “I’m just glad to get out from under Minyard’s feet after everything.”
Everything being some trip they’d taken Matt on and sent her into a huge relapse, which resulted in rehab and Kevin being down her best backliner after Jean. That had been quite the inconvenience.
Which is how she ended up in the cousins’ dorm, and how Aaron Minyard comes into her orbit. Aaron turned down the offer for a place on the Foxes. She got her scholarship through academic merit, and thus doesn’t stay in the athlete dorms. Despite this, she’s around often enough. Kevin has a feeling Andrew doesn’t like her being too far from her, and that while Aaron doesn’t seem to love this, she goes along with it. Not that Kevin pays much attention to her. She usually stays in the bedroom whenever she’s over. Not hiding, no, that would be stupid in her own dorm, just out of the way. Aaron comes over to see her family, what does Kevin need to be in the middle of it for?
The first time she really notices her is during one of these visits. Kevin has been watching a game on her laptop and taking notes. When she sets it aside and takes off her headphones, the dorm is quiet. She assumes Aaron must be gone, which is good, because she’s been kind of hungry for the last hour and hadn’t wanted to go out with her there. Not that she’s hiding. Just. Kevin prefers to be in the kitchen by herself.
She stands and stretches her back out, feeling a satisfactory click. She checks her phone as she makes her way out of the room, firing off a response to a message from Jean. It’s only when she reaches the kitchen and looks up from her phone that she realises Aaron is still here.
She’s standing at the island, watching the television screen across the room as she takes a long drink of water. Her head tips back, and Kevin’s eyes trace the soft curve of her cheek, the movement of her throat, her bicep obscured by the sleeve of her t-shirt but still obviously muscular. Kevin wonders if that’s left over from exy or if she still works out. Her eyes dip farther, and that is her mistake.
Aaron’s wearing a baggy, oversized t-shirt, brandished with some graphic logo Kevin doesn’t recognise. Kevin assumes she must be wearing shorts under it, but they’re not visible past the length of the shirt. It falls almost to her knees, but rides up to mid thigh with her arm lifted to drink. Thick, firm thighs that Kevin’s gaze gets caught on. Aaron’s calves are thick too, strong and muscular. There’s a tattoo of a jellyfish on the back of her right calf. Intricate, swirling lines of ink making up the tendrils. The bell of it shifts and moves as Aaron’s calf flexes, then it is gone from view as she turns to face Kevin.
“Hello,” Kevin says, feeling a bit awkward to have been caught so openly staring. Aaron fixes her with a flat look that is familiar in that Kevin has been met with a similar look from Andrew many times.
“She speaks.” Aaron’s tone is dry, sarcastic. “She mingles with us mere peasants. Thought you were too good to waste breath on me.”
“What?”
“You never bother to speak when I come over. Halftimes you don’t even leave your room.”
“I- I just don’t want to get in the way,” Kevin says, a little irritated to be so wrongly interpreted. She huffs, folding her arms. “You don’t come over here to see me, why would you want to speak to me?”
“Why indeed.” Aaron breezes past her and heads back towards the living room. She doesn’t walk with any pronounced sway of her hips, but the curves of them shift with her steps. The muscles of her calves swell and soften as she walks, and her thighs have a slight jiggle.
It’s not like Kevin hasn’t seen Andrew in shorts before, but Andrew usually has gear on over her legs, and, honestly, anytime Kevin is looking at Andrew’s body it’s usually to make notes on form or performance. Aaron is slightly leaner than Andrew, but Andrew is more muscular. Which makes sense, as she’s an active athlete. That does not seem to have discouraged some animal part of Kevin’s brain from wanting to sink her teeth into the soft flesh of Aaron’s thighs.
Fuck.
“Hey Kevin, you wanna come play with us?” Nicky’s head pops up over the back of the couch. She smiles encouragingly at Kevin, beckoning her over.
“No. I have more productive things to do with my time.”
“Awww. Come on.”
“You heard her, Nicky. She can’t be squandering away time with wasters like us. She has more productive things to do.” Aaron doesn’t look away from the screen. Her face is lit by the light of it where she’s slumped in one of the beanbags. The position has dragged her t-shirt up, and Kevin can see now that she’s wearing bicycle shorts that are hugging against her thighs. Her shirt is also pulled tighter against her torso, and Kevin can notice the slight curve of her stomach, the swell of her breasts. Heat wracks through Kevin, and her body clenches around nothing.
Fuck fuck fuck.
“You just spent two hours being productive. Come play with us, Kevin.”
“She knows she’ll lose,” Aaron says, with a huff of amusement. Kevin’s back tenses. She’s forced herself to turn away, is reaching up into the cupboard for a protein bar. Her hand tightens around it once it’s in her hold. She knows it’s a taunt. She knows she should just ignore it, and yet.
Kevin ends up in the other beanbag, Nicky sprawled across the couch. With Aaron’s spread legs, Kevin could almost touch her from where she’s sitting. If she stretched her own leg out. She absently imagines herself between Aaron’s legs, feeling the press of her soft flesh around her, before her attention flicks back to the screen. Where she does lose. Spectacularly.
Kevin’s scowl is softened by the delighted victory laugh Aaron lets out. She lifts her hand to cover her mouth as she laughs, but in the few seconds before she does, Kevin looks at her and sees she has a dimple pressed into her left cheek.
Fuck.
*
The first time Andrew brings Kevin to Eden’s, she drags Jean along with her. Jean has no particular interest in hanging out with Andrew and her family, but she also doesn’t like being too far from Kevin, so it is not particularly difficult to convince her. Kevin lets her have the front seat as she’s taller. Definitely not because Kevin knows the twins never sit beside each other. They always have another person as a shield between them, usually Nicky, and so Kevin knows she’ll have to sit in the middle. Therefore beside Aaron, with the warmth of her thigh pressing against Kevin’s. Which is worth the uncomfortable position of her legs. Definitely not because of that.
Aaron’s wearing a maroon velvet short sleeveless jumpsuit. The front of it dips in a deep V between her breasts, and Kevin can see the bow on the front of her bra. It must be a strapless bra, because the shoulders of the jumpsuit go up at a slant and form a collar around Aaron’s neck, her shoulders visible and bearing no straps, just a scattering of freckles. She’s wearing thin tights, and Kevin can see her legs through them. From this close, she can see Aaron also has a sprinkling of freckles around her knees and on her thighs. The freckles on the back of her calves look like paint splatters flicked from a brush. Kevin wants to trace the constellations of them all. This is another difference between the twins. She’s never seen Andrew in shorts outside of practice, her legs pale and clear.
Andrew is propped against the window on Kevin’s other side, sleeping off the withdrawals from her meds. Nicky is driving, trying to make conversation with Jean, who is only giving dry one worded responses. Which is actually quite good for her. If she really didn’t want to talk, she’d ignore Nicky entirely. Aaron is on her phone, which allows Kevin to look her over without notice. It’s the most revealing outfit she’s ever seen Aaron in, and the most form fitting. The velvet clings to all of her curves; the soft pouch of her tummy, the swell of her breasts, pushed up by her bra. They’re larger than Kevin’s, whose athletic routine and muscle mass around her chest has left her on the smaller size, but Kevin has hands proportionate to her height. Broad palms, long, delicate fingers. She thinks she could fit Aaron’s breasts in her hands.
She wants to. She imagines the weight and warmth of them. Thinks about lowering her mouth to Aaron’s nipple as she grinds against her delicious thigh. About lowering one of her hands and slipping two of her fingers into Aaron. Her nice, long fingers, which would go deep into her, could make her feel so good. She wonders what noises Aaron makes. If she would squirm beneath Kevin’s touch.
Kevin turns her head away and tries to think of something else, as she can feel herself getting wet and this is really an unideal situation for that. It’s hard to distract herself now that she already has a pleasant heat between her thighs. She subtly squeezes them together, then dares to glance back at Aaron. Aaron is just looking up from her phone. She glances at Kevin in response to her movement, and their eyes meet.
“Did you come to the game tonight?” Kevin asks, when Aaron has been looking questioningly back at her in response to Kevin’s stare, an adorable furrow between her brows. She’s wearing makeup. A smoky eye, her pale lashes darkened with mascara, her lipstick a dark wine colour.
“Obviously. I never miss a home game.”
“You like exy?” Kevin brightens. “Even though you don’t play anymore.”
“No, but I still go to see Andrew and Nicky.”
“Awww,” Nicky says from the front. Aaron kicks the back of her seat. Kevin deflates a bit at the lack of enthusiasm for her sport.
“Maybe you just come out to see the cheerleaders. You’re close with the redhead, right?” It’s a petty thing to say, and Kevin’s tone is quite sullen, but she’s also fishing a bit. She’s heard rumours about Aaron and the cheerleader. Aaron glances warily past her at Andrew, her expression irritated.
“Kailyn? We’re just friends.”
“Sure,” Nicky says. “Friends. Andrew’s asleep, you can tell us. I can keep a secret.”
“You’re awful at keeping secrets,” Aaron says, kicking harder at Nicky’s chair. Kevin is utterly unsatisfied by this answer, as it leaves her no further forward on whether or not Aaron is actually dating the cheerleader.
Not that she cares.
Definitely not.
*
“I do not dance,” Jean says, in response to Nicky’s attempts to lure her onto the dancefloor with them. They had what Kevin considered to be an unnecessary ice cream stop on the way, where Andrew handed out sugar packets filled with drugs. Jean had point blank refused. Kevin had been snide about them, until Nicky quietly told her the reason was to help Aaron. Aaron was curled defensively into herself, shoulders up to her ears, eyes averted as she lined her gums with the small crystals. Kevin wondered how it was possible for her to absolutely misstep in every interaction.
“How do you know there’s no lasting effects?”
“We’ve been using them for years,” Nicky said. “It’s just a temporary high. You think Andrew would go for anything more serious?”
“Andrew is off her head most of the time.” Kevin pointed at her. Andrew bared her teeth in a wide grin.
“Court sanctioned,” she said. Aaron said nothing, pressed the rest of the crystals into her mouth.
“Maybe I will try them.” Kevin took one of the packets, ignoring the sharp look Jean sent her. She met the curious glance Aaron sent her though, her shoulders coming down half an inch from their tensed position. How bad could it be?
Now Kevin’s head feels hazy and floaty as she sits beside Andrew at a sticky table, watching the flashing club lights paint Aaron in an array of colours. The waves of her blonde hair catch the lights, glow with them, an ever shifting halo around her head. She’s bouncing in place even as she waits for Nicky.
“Have you ever danced?” she asks Jean. Jean’s lips press into a thin line in response. “How do you know you don’t like it if you’ve never tried?”
“Okay then.” Jean stands in one smooth movement. At 6’6 she towers over Aaron. Aaron tips her head back and laughs. It’s a sharp sound, kind of cutting and superior to have won, but all the more attractive for the edge in it. The mixture of drink and drugs must have softened the edges of her awareness, because she doesn’t cover her mouth as she usually does, light catching in the crater of her dimple.
“Yay!” Nicky grabs Jean’s arm, dragging her out towards the floor. “At least I know I’ll be dancing with someone gorgeous tonight.”
Despite Nicky’s words, after the first song it is Aaron that Jean dances with. Kevin clutches her glass and watches them with sullen envy as Aaron bounces around, her hair sticking to her sweaty forehead, the humidity of the club giving it more volume. Jean is less energetic, but her long, lithe body moves smooth and graceful once the initial awkwardness wears off. She’s clad all in black; dark jeans that are basically painted on, and a button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Her hair has grown to shoulder length since they left the Nest, in thick, dark waves. She looks gorgeous, and she’s starting to get teasing, touching Aaron’s elbow or waist as Aaron laughs and laughs and laughs.
Kevin has to release her glass because she feels like she might squeeze tight enough to smash it. Bad enough that Jean has taken to texting Jeremy constantly now, without her stealing Aaron’s attention too. What, does she have a thing for short freckly blondes with soft stomachs, thick thighs, and dimples? Well… She and Kevin always have had a lot in common. A peanut bounces off of Kevin’s arm, and she glances across to see Andrew looking at her with a deranged smile. Which, to be fair, is her default expression on that stupid medication they’ve got her on.
“What?”
“That is the question indeed, isn’t it, Kevin?”
“What?” Kevin repeats, more confused this time. Andrew follows her gaze to Jean and Aaron, eyebrows raised. Kevin folds her arms and sinks back into her chair. Andrew doesn’t explicitly ask, so Kevin doesn’t offer more information. She doesn’t offer any words to Jean when she returns to the table either, glowing with sweat, muscles of an elegant throat Kevin once put her lips against working as she swallows large mouthfuls of water.
“What are you sulking about?” Jean asks in French.
“I’m not sulking.”
“Kevin. We have known each other too long. The time for pretence you are not petulant has passed.”
“Fuck off.”
Andrew has been watching their exchange with interest. She tilts her head at that.
“What is Jean Valjean saying?”
“None of your business,” Jean says stiffly. Aaron crosses to the table. Her cheeks are flushed and her eyes are glassy. Even her chest sheens with sweat, small beads of it rolling down between her breasts. Kevin takes a drink, her mouth suddenly feeling dry. Aaron ignores them all, grabbing a glass from the tray and downing half of it in one gulp. She happens to meet Kevin’s gaze as she lowers the glass, but her eyes don’t stay on her, flicking back to Jean as a lazy smile curls the corner of her mouth. She has never smiled at Kevin.
“You done already?”
“Oui. I have dipped my toes. I have not your endurance.”
“You’re an athlete.”
“Details.” Jean smiles. Usually Jean never smiles at anyone, bar Kevin. That is Kevin’s smile, and now Jean is giving it to Aaron, who is smiling back, not deep enough to show her dimple but enough to show her teeth, shaking her head. Kevin feels too hot despite the fact she hasn’t moved since she first took her seat. Aaron drains the rest of her glass. Some of the liquid spills from her mouth, dribbles down her chin. She wipes it away but not before some of it drips to her chest, joining the beads of sweat. Kevin wants to lick her clean. She wants to break something. She wants to be on a court, the resounding slam of balls against a wall working out the pent up energy making her skin feel too tight.
Aaron grabs another drink and disappears back to the floor. She is lost in the crowd, fading in and out of view as other people move around her. Whenever she can be seen, Kevin watches her, downing probably her third too many vodka of the night.
“Ah,” Jean says, following Kevin’s gaze. “I understand now?”
“What?”
“You are jealous.”
“I am not.”
“Once again, mon cherie, I know you too well. Too late to pretend envy is not your cardinal sin with me.”
Kevin winces at the endearment. Jean is using it teasingly, and that is why it stings. The knowledge it will only ever be teasing. That Kevin will never be cherished in that way again.
“Most would call it pride.”
“Most do not know you like I do.”
*
Aaron is sprawled on the floor of their dorm living room, surrounded by books. Kevin pauses when she steps out of the shower. She hadn’t heard the door over the sound of the water. Aaron glances up briefly at Kevin. She’s wearing wire frame glasses. Kevin’s towel slips. Aaron abruptly lowers her eyes as Kevin readjusts it. Kevin looks around for anyone else.
“Andrew and Nicky went to the store.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Studying.”
“Don’t you have your own dorm?”
“My roommates are annoying. It’s quiet here.”
“Can’t you go to the library?”
“It was quiet here.” Aaron sighs. She pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “Do you have a problem with me being here?”
Aaron’s voice is clipped, blunt. Kevin realises she has misstepped once again.
“No. I was just making conversation. Since you complain when I don’t speak to you.”
Aaron’s face does something strange, flickering between expressions. Kevin thinks she might spot amusement in there, but she’s never been great at reading people’s feelings on their face.
“Okay,” Aaron says, but she doesn’t sound annoyed anymore. She goes back to her books. Kevin heads to the bedroom to get changed. Aaron’s in a pair of sweats and a hoody, so Kevin also puts on sweats and her Trojans hoody. She stands in the bedroom and tries to think of an excuse to go to the living room. Eventually she takes her towel to the hamper, and then crosses to sit on the couch, tucking one leg under herself.
“Would it annoy you if I turn the TV on? I’ll keep the volume low.”
Aaron waves her pen dismissively in what Kevin takes to mean go ahead. She turns on the television, changes to highlights from the pro matches, and makes sure the volume is low. Kevin can barely hear it herself, but that’s okay. That’s not really why she’s here.
Aaron’s lying on her stomach, body at an angle, her head facing away from Kevin. So Kevin is free to look at her all she wants. Aaron’s knees are bent, her legs kicking back and forth above her as she writes. Her socks have dinosaurs on them. The curve of her ass is particularly noticeable in this position, and her hoody has slid up slightly, revealing the smallest strip of visible skin above her waistband. Every so often she sighs softly or runs a hand through her hair. It’s a similar length to Andrew’s, cut just below the jawline. Aaron’s hair has more texture. Perhaps because Andrew’s is being shoved in a helmet and washed daily, her curl pattern gets little attention, but Aaron’s has more pronounced waves, and little straggler sections trying their best to curl. Kevin wonders if it feels as soft as it looks.
“You and your cheerleader,” Kevin says, aiming for casual, keeping her eyes fixed on the TV screen. “Are you actually dating?”
Kevin’s seen them since that conversation, and she can understand why there are rumours about the pair of them. They had been walking across the campus. Kailyn’s arm casually slung around Aaron’s shoulders, Aaron’s cheeks flushed as she looked up at him, but her body relaxed against his side, and her smile soft and natural. Kevin had been so distracted watching them she’d walked right into a trashcan, which was quite embarrassing.
“He’s not my cheerleader,” Aaron says through grit teeth. “And I already told you we’re just friends. Not that it’s any of your fucking business.”
“I’m just curious. Since Nicky thought you might be saying that for Andrew’s sake.”
“Nicky’s wrong about a lot of things.” Aaron glares over her shoulder at Kevin, before turning back to her books. The sound of her pen is audible as she writes now, clearly pressing harder with annoyance. Kevin sighs through her nose, wondering why she can’t get through a single interaction with Aaron without saying the wrong thing. She stays quiet for a while, until Aaron’s writing softens once more.
“What are you studying?”
“Immunology.”
“Oh… so. Biology?”
“Yeah.” Aaron sits up, crossing her legs beneath her. She pushes her glasses up and rubs her eyes. “I’m pre-med, majoring in biological sciences.”
“Wow. You must be smart. No wonder you got an academic scholarship.”
Aaron shrugs, dropping her gaze. She’s pushed her hair back behind her ear. Kevin can see that the tip of it is flushed red. That’s very endearing. Kevin fears that with her silly crush she might find most things about Aaron very endearing.
“What are you studying?”
“History.”
“Do you actually like it, or are you just here for exy and it was the subject you least minded doing?”
“I love history. I had to fight to be allowed to study it at the Nest. Usually all the Ravens had to do the same course. Business studies. Ugh. Boring. I pleaded with the ma- Tetsuji, and I begged Riko until she would do it with me.”
“Why did you need her to do it with you?”
“Ravens weren’t allowed to go anywhere alone.”
“Wow. Codependent bullshit. That’s normal.”
“I suppose it was easier to keep us in line if we were too afraid to go anywhere by ourselves,” Kevin says quietly, looking down at her hands. She catches the left one in her right and rubs a circle into her palm with her thumb.
“Why do you like history?” Aaron asks after a beat.
“Why wouldn’t I like history? It is the basis of everything. It informs everything. Nothing would exist without history. Art, music, literature, science, medicine, all of it. Everything we have and everything we do is built upon the pillarstone of centuries upon centuries of human history, and the things ancient civilisations were able to work out and comprehend even without the technology we have today. The lasting reach their culture and societies have had-” Kevin cuts off suddenly, catching herself. She presses her lips together and looks warily at Aaron. “You don’t want to hear me talk about this.”
“I asked,” Aaron says, in possibly the softest voice she’s ever used with Kevin. It’s still a touch blunt, but her expression is also soft, and Kevin’s heart does a panicked, fluttering thing in her chest.
“No one likes it when I talk about this.”
“Eh, I’d rather listen to you talk about history than exy, so you know who to come to the next time you want to rant.” Aaron stretches out her leg and pokes Kevin’s shin with a socked toe. She’s leaning her weight back on her hands, looking relaxed and a little tired, her glasses crooked on her nose. Her brow is furrowed, and her eyes are sleepily hooded behind her glasses, but there’s no dishonesty to her expression. Kevin thinks she means it. The fluttering in her chest gets more frantic, and then she’s leaning forward, struggling to breathe. Fuck. No. Not now. “Hey. What’s wrong? Kevin? Do you have asthma?”
Kevin shakes her head. She presses a hand to her chest, shakily trying to draw breath in. The air cuts cold and sharp down to her lungs, her next breath following too close on the heels of the first. There’s not enough space for her to process the oxygen between them. There’s a ringing in her ears. Kevin closes her eyes.
“Hey.” Aaron’s hand lands gently on her shoulder. Her other hand goes to the centre of Kevin’s back. She pushes her palm against Kevin’s shoulder lightly. Kevin resists, wanting to stay curled in on herself, wanting to hide. “Hey, Kevin, come on. Sit straight for me. You’re restricting your airways.”
Aaron’s voice is simultaneously soothing but firm. Kevin squints her eyes open, letting Aaron guide her back straight. Aaron’s eyes are narrowed in intent focus. She meets Kevin’s eyes, and Kevin wants to shut hers again, wants to shy away from that eye contact. She feels vulnerable, overexposed.
“Look at me,” Aaron says, and Kevin is helpless to do anything but obey. Aaron takes a deep, slow breath, and releases it deliberately. “Breathe with me, Kevin. Just copy what I’m doing. There we go. Good.”
Even through the panic, there’s a warm, syrupy satisfaction at Aaron’s praise. Kevin really shouldn’t need to be praised over fucking breathing. Should not need Aaron to guide her through it in the first place, but she’ll take her victories where she can when she’s already in a low spot. Steadily Aaron helps her calm down again.
“Anxiety attack?”
Kevin nods.
“Do you get those often?”
“Not as often. Anymore.”
“What triggered it?”
“I don’t know,” Kevin says, while thinking: you. You you you. You engaging with my passion, you willing to listen, you being so oblivious to the fact everything you do only makes me want you more and I can't have you and even if I could Andrew would go mad and it would damage my career and-
And she might risk it all anyway, if she thought there was even the smallest possibility. What has fear got her, after all?
“Was it talking about the Nest?” Aaron asks quietly, like even saying the word too loudly might set Kevin off again.
“Maybe.”
Aaron nods, expression grim. Her hand is still on Kevin’s back, and Kevin swears it feels like burning even through the material of her hoody. Aaron moves her hand away, folding her arms over her ribs, eyes assessing Kevin’s face. Kevin doesn’t know what she’s looking for. She can’t imagine what she sees.
“Do you want some tea?”
“What?”
“Tea. Chamomile. It’s supposed to help with anxiety. I don’t know about that, but it tastes good, and even holding something warm can help regulate the nervous system.”
“Uhm. Okay.”
“Okay. I should have left a box here. The others generally don’t touch it, since they’re all gross coffee drinkers.”
“You don’t like coffee?”
“Fuck no. Yuck.” Aaron is in the kitchen now, rifling through the cupboards. She can’t reach the top shelf, but she scales the counter with a practised ease, kneeling on it as she moves around boxes and jars. “Aha.”
She slides down from the counter and puts the kettle on, padding around the kitchen as she gets cups out. Kevin watches her until she’s coming back to the couch with two steaming mugs in her hands. Kevin takes hers. She sniffs it. Unconvinced by the smell, she take a cautious sip. There’s a slight sweetness to the tea, but it’s not overpowering, and the overall taste is rather mild. She takes another sip. It’s okay. She could drink this fine.
“Thanks.”
“Sure.” Aaron moves her hand like she’s going to pat Kevin’s leg, but seems to think the better of it and curls both of hands around her mug again. She looks at Kevin, lips parting like she’s going to speak again, but then Nicky crashes through the door.
“Honey, we’re hooome,” she sings. Kevin glances across at her. She’s hauling several grocery bags in. “We brought snacks for movie night!”
Kevin looks back towards Aaron, but she’s shifted from the couch already, reclaiming her space on the floor before Andrew gets through the door.
*
Kevin’s surprised to spot Aaron making her way across the campus. There’s not many people around this early in the morning, and she’s never seen Aaron on any of her runs before. She picks up her pace, pushing her legs to catch up with Aaron. Usually she drags Jean out to run with her, but Kevin is beginning to fear she made a mistake in leaving Jean alone with their teammates. She’s become much more relaxed about training, insisting to Kevin that she doesn’t have to join her for every run. Obviously the other Foxes’ lackadaisical approach is starting to rub off on her. Consequently, Kevin is alone this morning.
“Hi.”
“Fuck.” Aaron jolts as Kevin falls into place at her side. She stumbles out of her running stride, hand pressed to her chest.
“You run?” Kevin ignores her surprise, deciding it’s kinder not to draw attention to it. Aaron glares at her.
“Yeah, surprising fact, you don’t have to be on a sports team to exercise.”
“I didn’t suggest you did. I just didn’t know you were a runner.”
“Why? Because I don’t look like a runner?”
“What? No. Why do you take everything as an attack? I just didn’t know. I don’t know a lot about you.”
“Well, you’re right about that, at least.”
“How far are you going?”
“What?”
“How far? I have five more kilometres to do, I could run with you.”
“I’m not keeping pace with your lanky legs.” Aaron’s narrowed gaze slides down over Kevin’s legs. It is not a kind or assessing look, but heat drips over Kevin’s body regardless.
“You set the pace then.”
As it turns out, Aaron’s pace is probably a touch faster than Kevin usually runs. It’s not that she can’t run that fast, it’s just not comfortable for longer distances, and she runs to build stamina. Not to burn herself out before practice. Slower running serves better for that. Aaron is not a sprinter by any means, but she’s swift enough for her small build. Kevin knows a lot of champion runners are small; that height is still extra mass to move around, regardless of how slim you are, how long your legs. Maybe she was just making assumptions based on Aaron’s physique, even unconsciously.
For so many years she had the Raven rhetoric of peak physique crammed down her throat. The best diet, the best exercise, the best body distribution. She has an image of ideal fitness in her head, and so maybe she doesn’t align people with different body types to that, and maybe some part of her has expectations about their performance based on those biases. They’re being challenged now. Aaron doesn’t even look like she’s pushing herself hard. Her face is flush, but Kevin knows Andrew flushes with minimum exertion. It’s just their complexion. Otherwise Aaron looks relaxed, at ease, her breathing even and her steps light. Kevin is starting to feel a burn in her calves.
“Do you run often?” she asks, employing a real effort not to sound breathless. It’s not that she’s not capable. She is. She could keep running like this for at least another hour, but it’s pushing her to a higher heart rate zone than she usually runs at.
“When I feel like it.” Aaron’s hair is tied back, barely long enough to make a ponytail. Kevin’s is the same. She constantly bounces between the idea of growing it out, moving away from the short haired image she had in her Raven years, and keeping it short, what she’s used to. Less hassle. Less time and effort to maintain and style. Less annoying sensory input of hair rubbing against her neck or face. She’s in a middle stage at the moment, her pixie cut grown out, hair shaggy past her ears. Aaron’s fringe is loose. Every so often she pushes it back from her face when it bounces forward, sweat slicking it in place.
Kevin thinks despite the casual dismissiveness of Aaron’s response, she must run frequently enough for her legs to look like that. Kevin drops her pace slightly so she’s a step behind Aaron. She glances down at the way the muscles in her legs are working, her jellyfish shifting and pulsing with the movement.
“I like your tattoo,” Kevin says. Aaron glances sideways at her, but says nothing. “Why a jellyfish?”
“I like jellyfish.”
“Why?”
Aaron’s expression pinches tight and closed off, like she doesn’t really want to tell Kevin, or like she might be weighing up whether she wants to or not. Kevin waits patiently, looking away from Aaron to the path in front of her. So she doesn’t do something stupid like fall on her face.
“They’re the oldest living organism we have fossil records of. They’re ninety five percent water, so it’s difficult to find fossils of them, but the oldest one we have dates back over five hundred million years. That’s twice as old as our earliest dinosaur records.” Aaron pauses. She doesn’t look at Kevin. Kevin inclines her head to show she’s still listening. “Their biological makeup is so simple, and yet they’ve been around for so long. They don’t have brains, but box jellyfish have twenty four eyes of four different types. They have no brain to process images, and yet they still respond to visual stimuli. Scientists think it’s processed through a ring of nerves in their bell, but they don’t know for sure.”
“Is that why you like them?”
“They demonstrate that sometimes simplicity is best, but also that even though they’ve been around for aeons, we can’t explain everything about them. No matter how much we learn, there are always answers we’re still seeking. Most people don’t like jellyfish, so they never look close enough to see how interesting they are. They write them off as simple and boring, but they’re so fascinating. The most venomous animal in the world is the Irukandji jellyfish, but they’re not even the deadliest jellyfish, because they’re so small you’re less likely to die from getting stung by them than you are by the Australian box jelly.” Aaron cuts off, like she’s said more than intended and she’s just caught herself. She finishes off quietly: “I just think they’re cool.”
“They are. I didn’t know they dated back so far. That’s interesting.”
A brief smile flickers across Aaron’s face. Just a momentary upturn at the corner of her mouth. Blink and you’ll miss it.
Kevin does not blink.
*
“Uh. Hello?”
Aaron glances up over her glasses. They’ve slid down, are rested on the tip of her nose. Her brows raise, creasing her forehead as she frowns up at Kevin. Slowly, she tilts her head up and pushes her glasses into place.
“Ah. I’m surprised you actually know where the library is,” Aaron says. Kevin scowls. Aaron smirks.
“Why are you behind the desk?”
“I’m working.”
“You work here?”
“Yeah. The academic scholarships are not quite as generous as the athletic ones. Some of us have to work.”
“Oh.” Kevin has a montage of hot librarian fantasies quickly stream through her brain. Aaron’s wearing a dark green sweater over a pair of jeans, but Kevin imagines her in a short skirt and thigh highs. Easy access for when Kevin presses her back against the bookshelves and slides a hand up her skirt. A button up blouse, that Kevin can rip open with one hand as she sinks the fingers of the other into Aaron. Smirking as she kisses her, teasingly murmuring you have to be quiet, we are in a library, you know.
“It’s fine. I like it in here. When it’s not busy I can just do my own work at the desk,” Aaron says, snapping Kevin back to reality. She blinks, feeling flush. Aaron is staring at her expectantly. Fuck. What if she’s actually telepathic and she just saw the absolute filth that has been running through Kevin’s mind about sweeping everything off this desk and having Aaron right here in the middle of the library floor? Like, yes, it is highly unlikely that is the case, but if it is Kevin is going to simply have to walk into traffic and be done with it. “Can I help you?”
“What?”
“You are at the library,” Aaron says slowly, like Kevin might be a bit dim. “You came to the desk. I am the library assistant. Do you require assistance?”
“Uh. Right. Uhm, yeah, I was looking for some of the books on my suggested reading list. Can you point me in the right direction?”
“Do you have the titles?”
Kevin nods. She hands a piece of notepaper across to Aaron, the books carefully written out. Aaron pushes her glasses up again, moving to the computer. Her fingers move swiftly over the keyboard as she types. She pauses, sighing as she taps her finger on the desk beside the mouse.
“Bear with. Our catalogue is slow at loading.”
Kevin nods. She rubs her left hand with her right thumb, looking out across the library floor. She thinks of Aaron dragging her through one of the doors labelled Staff Only. Aaron’s hand pressed over Kevin’s mouth as she undoes her button with the other hand, as she slowly drags down the zip. Aaron’s palm pressing against her through her underwear, teasing Kevin, as if she’s not already soaked, laughing when Kevin rolls her hips forward against her hand.
“Okay.” Aaron writes a number down beside the first book. She types some more. She repeats this for each book, until there are numbers listed beside each of the titles. She comes around the desk. Suddenly she is standing much closer to Kevin. Kevin’s pulse picks up. Aaron looks at her to make sure she is following, and then takes off at a swift stride. Kevin quickly follows after her.
Aaron zooms in and out of the aisles of books with comfortable familiarity. She looks down at the paper in her hand every so often, then back to the shelves. She stops so abruptly that Kevin nearly walks into her, leaning down to grab a book from a lower shelf. Kevin thinks briefly she probably shouldn’t stare at Aaron’s ass. That’s probably not good for the movement, to be objectifying her. Does that only count if she’s a man? She has a feeling it’s not great either way, but she is still staring while she thinks that over.
Aaron stands and slowly walks down another few bookcases. She grabs two books, one after the other, only a few shelves apart. The next book is in another row. Aaron pauses, frowning up at a higher shelf. She steps forward, pressing up on her toes. Her fingers do reach the book, but as she tries to grasp it she ends up pushing it further back onto the shelf.
“Fuck.”
Kevin steps forward automatically. She’s about to stand beside Aaron and reach for the book, but at the last second her feet take her behind Aaron instead. It’s not exactly planned, but it is driven by impulsive desire. The front of her body presses along Aaron’s back as Kevin reaches up, takes hold of the book she’s trying to grab and easily lifts it down. Aaron goes still. She tries to move further forward, but she’s already on her toes, and a moment later she falls back on her heels, the warmth and pressure of her body briefly against Kevin’s. Kevin can smell the scent of her, cool with a hint of sweetness. Tea tree and vanilla, perhaps? She wants to wrap her arm around Aaron. Hold her in place. Press her face to her hair and inhale deeper, until she can pick apart every individual undertone of her scent.
Aaron quickly side steps away from Kevin. There’s a flush bleeding down her neck. Kevin can’t see her ears, but she bets the tips of them are red. She likes that too much. Likes that she can make Aaron fluster, even if it’s probably not for the reason she wants.
“Right,” Aaron says, not looking at her. “One more.”
She takes off surprisingly quickly, leaving Kevin having to jog to catch up with her. The other book is within her reach. She snatches it off the shelf and shoves it at Kevin’s chest. Kevin smirks. She can’t help it. She takes the book and balances it on the others, wrapping her arms around the stack.
“Thank you.”
“Do you need anything else?” Aaron is not looking at her. She’s straightening up the books on the shelf, pushing them in to close the gap of the one she just lifted.
“I’m good for now, but I know where to find you if I do.”
“Good luck with your essay.”
“How do you know I have an essay?”
Aaron’s already walking away. She stops at the end of the bookcases, looking back at Kevin as if she’s stupid.
“You don’t give yourself enough time around exy for extracurricular reading, so you’re using an assignment as an excuse to try and speed read all the things you want to but won’t otherwise get around to. Probably not productive enough if you’re not getting graded on it, right?” Aaron rolls her eyes. “Why don’t you just pick a book you want to read every few weeks, take it out, and read one chapter somewhere during the day. I’m sure you can fit one chapter in.”
Kevin hugs her stack of books to her chest, frowning down at the top cover. Aaron doesn’t wait for an answer. She disappears out of view. Kevin stands for a long moment inbetween the bookshelves, hiding herself from any of the other students until she no longer feels so stripped raw.
*
Since the first Eden’s trip, there has been an unspoken law that Kevin is now to always come with them. Andrew does not ask. She simply tells Kevin when they’re going. Jean has been on a few more occasions, but more and more often she makes excuses to avoid it.
“I would rather spend my weekend in my own bed than on Andrew Minyard’s floor.”
“I told you you could have the couch,” Kevin says. Jean simply fixes her with a pointed look, and leaves the conversation at that.
It is not that Kevin particularly enjoys these trips. She’s still wary of the cracker dust, even if she does accept the sachet Andrew slides into her hand every time. The club is loud and crowded, and since Kevin has no interest in dancing, it means she spends her time drinking too much. Which usually ends with her feeling sick through the night, and afflicted with an awful hangover that ruins the next day.
What she does enjoy about these trips is the version of Aaron that exists away from Palmetto. She is always so tense and reserved, but her guards come down when they are in Columbia. Kevin thinks she can probably count on one hand the amount of times she’s seen Aaron truly smile around her back at school, but on the dancefloor she is always laughing, giddy, smiling as she mouths along to the music. There’s a freedom that Aaron allows herself drunk and high and lost among a crowd in the low lights of the club that she never shows during the light of day. It’s intoxicating. Kevin constantly finds her fingers twitching with the desire to touch her, and more than once she’s seriously contemplated joining her on the dancefloor. She never does.
Her absolute favourite version of Aaron Minyard is the sleepy Aaron that blearily pads around their house the morning after Eden’s. She is always the first to come down the stairs, footsteps light so as not to wake Kevin. Sometimes Kevin doesn’t stir until Aaron’s already settled with her tea and a book, or curled up under her space patterned fleece blanket in the armchair watching TV, or humming to herself as she makes breakfast. Other times Kevin is already awake when Aaron comes down, expertly stepping around the worst of their creaky stairs. Sometimes Kevin pretends to be asleep and just listens to her move through her routine. Other times she drags herself up, body trying to cling to the last dregs of sleep, sticky eyes reluctant to open. Today is one of those days.
“Morning,” Aaron says, halfway to the kitchen when Kevin sits up. Kevin makes a mumbling noise in response that is supposed to be words. “Coherent as always.”
Kevin tries to aim a glare in Aaron’s direction, but her tired eyes feel swollen shut, and she can’t properly see Aaron yet. The sound of her quiet steps move away, and Kevin hears her boiling water in the kitchen. She rubs her knuckles against her eyes until she can force them open. Aaron comes back through with a glass of water and a strip of ibuprofen. She sets them both on the coffee table. She’s wearing flannel pyjama trousers tucked into fluffy, star patterned socks, a faded t-shirt with a smiley face logo and Blink 182 printed on it, and a cardigan so oversized it must be Nicky’s. Kevin wonders what Aaron would look like in her clothes. Her hair is fluffy from last night’s shower, sleep ruffled and soft looking. There’s dark shadows under her eyes, a breakout starting around her jaw. She looks real and human, so close Kevin could reach out and touch her. She doesn’t.
“Drink,” Aaron says, hugging the cardigan around herself. Kevin grumbles. “Or don’t. I don’t really give a fuck if you’re hungover.”
Aaron disappears back to the kitchen. Kevin glares at the glass. It takes her a while to convince her hand to pick it up. She takes one sip and scrunches up her nose. Immediately she wants to drink more, but it is also giving her a bad mouth feel. Ugh. Why does she drink again? She always says never again, but the next time there’s a tray of shots in front of her she will inevitably reach for one.
Aaron comes back with a plate. There is a single slice of dry toast and a banana on it. She sets it on the table in front of Kevin and disappears again. When she returns, she’s carrying a mug of tea and a bowl of oatmeal. She climbs onto the armchair, folding her legs beneath her as she sinks down into it. She balances her tea on her thigh as she turns on the television, then leans back against the chair, cradling her bowl. Kevin lifts the toast and frowns at it, but she knows it will be better if she can get something down her before the heartburn kicks in. Grimacing, Kevin forces herself to take a bite, tentatively chewing. When she’s done, Aaron takes the plate along with her own dishes. Kevin can hear her washing them in the kitchen.
Aaron doesn’t always stay downstairs after she’s eaten. She spends a lot of her time in her room when they’re in Columbia, but today she drifts back into the room, and she sits on the far end of the couch instead of the armchair this time. Which Kevin is very chill about. She slowly sits back, closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the couch, hyper aware of how there’s only a cushion’s length of space between her and Aaron.
A cool touch to Kevin’s forehead startles her. She opens her eyes to see Aaron leaning forward towards her. Her hand is on Kevin’s forehead. Kevin always imagines Aaron’s touch as searing, but her fingers are surprisingly cold. They feel nice against Kevin’s heated skin.
“You’re very warm.”
“I run hot.”
“Hmm.” Aaron retracts her hand. Kevin misses it immediately. “You’re sweaty and gross.”
From this angle, Kevin can see a flash of colour in her mouth. It takes her a moment to realise that Aaron has her tongue pierced, and oh, fuck. That is. Mm. Kevin knows Andrew has her tongue pierced, but she didn’t realise it was something the twins had in common.
“You should go shower. It’ll make you feel better. Or whatever.”
The whatever does not really disguise the fact of Aaron’s care, considering she’s already spent the morning tending to Kevin. Kevin stands slowly, her eyes amused. She looks down at Aaron, who glances up at her from the couch, scowling as Kevin continues to hold her gaze.
“Well, fuck off then.” Aaron looks back at the TV, her cheeks flush. Kevin resists the desire to ruffle her hair as she walks past.
Kevin strips in the bathroom and splashes cool water on her face. She looks at herself critically in the mirror, running a hand over her stomach. There’s a slight bloat to it this morning. It could just be an after effect from drinking, but her cycle is also so inconsistent, it might be that. The Master had kept them on hormones in the Nest so nothing as trifling as periods would impact the constant training. Kevin supposes it was a kindness. Periods would have been even harder to track over sixteen hour days, would have felt like they lasted even longer. Kevin misses the hormones sometimes. Experiencing the inconvenience of a period in her late teens when she’d live so long without them was not a pleasant experience.
Her hand rubs up and down over her stomach, getting lighter until her fingers are just trailing over the skin. Her body stirs with interest at the gentle caress. Kevin closes her eyes to her own reflection, imagines it is Aaron behind her as her hand trails up her ribs to cup her left breast. She brushes her thumb over her nipple and exhales softly at the sensation. Would Aaron be so soft with her? There’s definitely a softness there, but it’s hidden behind her bite. Not that Kevin minds. She likes the pushback. After all, she’s never been one to back down from a challenge.
Kevin pinches her nipple, making herself gasp. Her eyes open and flick towards the door. She double checks she locked it before getting into the shower. Kevin runs the water on the cooler side to take the flush from her skin. There are bottles of body wash lined along the side of the shower. Kevin usually picks at random, but today she actually looks at them. Warm Vanilla Sugar. That must be what Aaron uses. Kevin washes her upper body, teasing both her nipples with soapy fingers. She closes her eyes again, breathes in the sweet scent as she quickly rubs the rest of her body clean. Once the gel has washed away, Kevin leans her shoulders back against the cold wall of the shower and drops her hand to between her legs.
Her fingers dip down to feel how wet she is, trailing through it, using it to slick her touch as she moves right to her clit. She’s teased herself enough. The shower water runs down her body, trickling over her hand, an extra layer of sensation. She imagines the feel of it is Aaron’s smart mouth on her. Her usually sharp tongue soft and warm as it presses against Kevin’s clit, the drag of her piercing in contrast. Kevin pants quietly as her fingers move quicker, rubbing fast, firm circles over her clit. Fuck. Aaron would look good between her legs. Skin so pale compared to Kevin’s, the lower half of her face pressed into Kevin’s cunt, just the splattering of freckles across her nose visible, her eyes looking up through the pale fan of her lashes.
Kevin needs to pay closer attention to the colour of Aaron’s eyes. She knows Andrew’s shift between light brown and green. The base is more brown, with a sunburst of yellow and orange flecks around her pupils that blend with and change the colours in different light. Aaron’s must be similar, but Kevin makes a note to try and make more eye contact with her so she can pick out the exact colours.
It’s not a pressing detail now, when she’s already so close. Her hips rock forward against her own hand, her other palming across her chest. She kind of wants the feeling of penetration, but she doesn’t want to give up what either of her hands are already doing. She thinks about Aaron fingering her. Her hands are smaller than Kevin’s, than Jean’s. They wouldn’t press as deep, but she has broader fingers. Three of them might give Kevin the feel of being stretched. Four definitely would. Kevin moans softly at the thought, pressure building in her stomach as she chases her orgasm.
She comes to the thought of Aaron’s fingers pressed deep in her as her tongue flicks against Kevin’s clit. To the thought of Aaron naked and wet between her legs as Kevin rides out her pleasure on her face. Fuck, the thought of Aaron drawing back, her chin soaked with Kevin’s juices. Would she lick her lips? Drag her fingers out of Kevin slowly and suck on them? That’s what Kevin would do if their positions were reversed.
“Fuck.” She breathes heavy in the aftermath of her orgasm, muscles in her legs trembling. Kevin slides down the wall. She washes her hair sitting on the shower floor, using the tea tree oil two-in-one shampoo and conditioner she finds among the scattering of bottles. The sharp, cool scent of it fills the shower. Kevin inhales deeply as she scrubs her nails against her scalp. She’s satisfied by the time she leaves the shower that she’s wearing Aaron’s scents.
It’s only when Kevin’s towelled off that she realises she left her bag in the living room. She folds up the clothes she was wearing and heads downstairs. The towel she grabbed is not really long enough to cover her effectively. It’s sitting low on her chest, just about covering her areolae, but she’s certain half her ass is on display. Not that she particularly cares. There was little privacy in the Nest. Kevin never learned to be conscious about her body in terms of modesty, but she’s quickly learned other people are far more fussy about that.
Like Aaron. Who immediately flushes at the sight of her, snapping her head away
“Jesus Christ. We have so many towels. Why did you not lift one that would cover you?”
“I was just using it to get dried off, but I forgot to take my bag up with me.” Kevin walks past Aaron, amused at the way she tries to avert her eyes. Upon realising Kevin is going to be passing through her entire eyeline, Aaron gives up and closes them instead. Adorable. “It’s not a big deal. I’m used to changing rooms.”
“Context,” Aaron says, her voice sounding thin and strained. She has turned a really lovely pink, her freckles popping against it. Kevin huffs in amusement. Aaron scowls, eyes still closed. Kevin quickly pulls on a pair of briefs and a tank top, foregoing a bra.
“You can stop closing your eyes like a child now.”
Aaron’s eyes open into a glare. They dip briefly to Kevin’s chest, her nipples visible through the thin material of her top, before Aaron turns her head away. She folds her arms across her chest and sinks further into the chair. Kevin tries not to smile as she pulls on a loose pair of sweatpants.
She throws her used towel in the hamper and comes back to sit on the couch, daring to sit in the middle this time, closer to Aaron. Aaron sends her a wary glance, but she doesn’t move. She’s absently running the ball of her piercing along her top teeth. It’s making a quiet rattling noise that would be irritating if it were anyone but Aaron. As it stands, Kevin is too distracted by the pink tip of her tongue poking out past her lips to care about the noise. She steals looks from her peripheral as she pretends to watch TV.
“How’d your essay go?” Aaron finally asks.
“It went well.”
“What was it about?”
“Greek and Roman civilization's impact on the modern world.”
“Ah.” Aaron smiles. There’s something teasing to it, her eyes creasing. Kevin’s making sure to look closely at them now. She thinks they’re more green than Andrew’s, and that there is more yellow in the flecks of colour around her eyes, whereas Andrew’s have more orange. “A topic you love.”
“How do you know that?”
“When I asked why you like history. Part of your answer was how everything is informed by it.”
Oh. Kevin was surprised enough Aaron had even listened to her in the first place. She is stunned that Aaron actually remembers what she said. For a moment she just sits dumbfounded, blinking at Aaron as she looks back at Kevin, her smile softening from teasing. Briefly it looks genuine, and then she starts to look vaguely concerned. Kevin can see the guards coming back up around her, the way her expression locks off bit by bit.
“Yes,” Kevin says quickly. “Yeah, I do love it. That’s why I picked that topic.”
“So?”
“So?”
“What impact did they have on the modern world?”
“A huge impact. A great many impacts.”
“Well, give me the bullet point breakdown then,” Aaron says. She’s sitting with her legs tucked under herself, but she stretches one out to poke Kevin in the thigh with her toe. Kevin doesn’t even hesitate this time. Aaron remembered what she said. She dives into the difference between the Greeks and the Romans first of all. The Romans took so much influence from the Greeks, but a lot of their systems were more advanced. Art, architecture, civil engineering. The Greeks were the society that gave rise to a democratic political system though, the word politics coming from the Greek polis, the city states that were self governing. Once she’s outlined the differences, she dives into their impact on Western society. She starts heavily with the Greeks, who contributed such huge influences to literature, literally so many root words from the English language can be traced back to the Hellenes and their myths, to science, to sports.
“They gave birth to the Olympics. The name comes from where the first games were held, in Olympia.”
“As in Mount Olympus?”
“Yes. Which is where the gods were said to have lived. Thus, Olympian gods, and Olympia was the area where a lot of people would come to pray to them. Then, the dates are really inconsistent around this but it’s stated as the 770s BC usually, the first Olympic Games were held there. They were held in honour of Zeus.”
Kevin talks and talks, breaking down her whole essay point by point, and Aaron, Aaron listens. She doesn’t just hear Kevin, but she actually asks questions every so often to show that she’s taking in what she’s saying. Kevin’s words get faster with excitement, passion pouring out of her. She sits up straighter, closer to Aaron, hands moving in the air as she talks. Aaron also moves, folding her legs under her so she can face Kevin, leaning in as she speaks. When Kevin finally rambles through her conclusion she’s a touch breathless.
“So, you see, they influenced so much in Western society.” She pats her thigh twice for emphasis when she says so much. She’s tilted her body to face Aaron, her knee close to where Aaron’s legs are folded beneath her. Aaron’s eyes are bright as she looks at Kevin. She’s not fully smiling, but there’s something pleasant about her mouth, and the intensity of her attentive gaze is an expression Kevin enjoys more anyway.
“It certainly seems they did.” Aaron’s voice is teasing, but not in a cruel way. Kevin rolls her lips in, suddenly aware of how Aaron’s attention is centred on her now that she’s no longer distracted by delivering her information. She can’t remember the last time someone listened to her like this. About history, about exy, about anything. Jean listens, but she’s had to listen to Kevin for years. She’s grown weary of her rants, adds sly commentary to amuse herself. Aaron gave Kevin space to speak. Only offered prompting questions in return. Kevin feels her pulse flutter, her heart beat harder in her chest.
“Aaron,” she starts.
“Mm?”
Kevin doesn’t know what she’s going to say. Part of her just wanted to feel the shape of Aaron’s name in her mouth. Her eyes flick over Aaron’s face; her eyes, the freckles across her nose, her mouth. Fuck. Kevin wants to kiss her so badly. She finds herself starting to lean forward, but then there are footsteps on the stairs, and Aaron jolts off the couch.
By the time Andrew appears, Aaron has already circled the couch and is making her way towards the stairs. Andrew glances at her briefly, but when Aaron lifts her head to look back, Andrew is already looking past her. Aaron’s shoulders curve in. She takes the first few stairs, hand on the bannister. She pauses, glancing back over her shoulder at Kevin. Kevin looks at her for a moment, before Andrew snaps her fingers, drawing Kevin’s attention away. By the time her gaze returns to the stairs, Aaron is gone.
*
Kevin is foam rolling out a muscle ache in her calf after practice when she hears the door to the dorm open and close. She stills, straining her ears to hear if someone has left or entered. Nicky helps by loudly proclaiming: “Aaron!”
Kevin nearly trips over her foam roller in her haste to get up. She kicks it under her bed and stands, trying to smooth her hair down from where it’s dried out in fluffy waves. She’s in a pair of sports leggings with her Trojans hoody pulled on over the top of them. She frowns at her reflection for a moment. It’s not the well put together public image she likes to present, but she’s also aware that Aaron has seen her in worse. Aaron has seen her blackout drunk and horrifically hungover. She stops fussing with her hair and decides it’s fine, striding quickly to the door, before pausing to ensure her breathing is steady and to affect a casual air.
No one looks at Kevin when she steps out of the bedroom. She waits for a moment, but continues to go unnoticed. Now at a loss, she crosses slowly to the kitchen. Right. She’s in the kitchen. What now? Kevin starts to get a glass out of the cupboard to pour herself some water for something to do. When she opens the cupboard door she catches sight of the mugs, and gets an idea.
It’s much easier for Kevin to reach down the tea that Andrew keeps hiding at the back of the top shelf. She can only assume this is for the sake of annoying Aaron. Kevin boils water and drops one of the teabags in, reading the back of the box to see how long she has to steep it. While she’s squinting at the box a voice suddenly sounds beside her.
“Are you drinking my tea?”
Kevin startles, dropping the box. Aaron catches it before it falls to the floor. She looks up at Kevin, her brows furrowed.
“No. I was making you a cup.”
“Oh. Uh. Thanks.” There is the rapid fire flicker of changing expressions that sometimes crosses Aaron’s face, all her features softening for a moment before everything smooths out back to unreadable. “You can have some too. If you want. I wasn’t being serious.”
“Okay,” Kevin says. She doesn’t particularly want the tea, but it feels like it means something. Aaron offering. She doesn’t want to shut her down. “Thank you. I’ll buy you another box.”
“You don’t have to do that.” Aaron hip checks Kevin out of the way. She opens the cupboard and grabs Kevin’s mug, flicking another teabag from the box into it and pouring the water.
“How did you know that was my mug?”
“It’s the only plain one in the cupboard. Nicky has a thing about mugs with personality.”
“Because the plain ones are boring,” Nicky calls across the room. “If you’re making tea, will you make me coffee? Pleeease.”
Aaron flips her off, but grabs the pink LIVE LAUGH LESBIAN mug from the shelf and goes about making Nicky’s coffee. Aaron’s mug is green with different dogs printed around it.
“Do you like dogs as well as jellyfish?”
“Who doesn’t like dogs?”
“Andrew doesn’t like dogs.”
“Andrew’s a weirdo.” Aaron stirs as she adds milk into the coffee. She glances sideways at Kevin. “Don’t tell me you’re a cat person too.”
“No, I like dogs.”
“Are you just saying that?”
“No,” Kevin says quickly, offended. She considers if she would actually lie about this to win Aaron’s favour. Probably not.
“What kind of dogs do you like?”
“I don’t actually know much about them.” Kevin ducks her head, voice quiet. There is nothing she hates more than being questioned about something she doesn’t feel confident in her knowledge of. She hates feeling or appearing stupid. “I like big ones.”
“Like St Bernard? Bernese? Newfoundland?”
“Uhm. No. Like sheepdog size. Or Labrador.”
“Okay. Medium sized. Energetic breeds. That would suit you.” Aaron leans back against the island, pushing her palms flat against the surface and dragging herself up to sit on it, legs swinging. “Do you want a dog?”
“I don’t think the dorms allow them.” Kevin glances around at the limited space. Aaron laughs. Kevin frowns. “Don’t laugh at me.”
“I’m not. I thought you were joking.” She tilts her head, looking at Kevin in a way she doesn’t understand. “I wasn’t laughing at you, Kev.”
Kev. Fuck. Any upset fizzles out of Kevin’s brain in a rush of pleasant static.
“Okay.”
“Okay. I meant in the future.”
“I don’t know. I’ll be busy, and travelling a lot. Doesn’t seem fair on a dog.”
“There’s life after exy.”
“Is there?” It seems too far away to envision, and there’s too many looming goals Kevin wants to hit between now and then for her to be thinking about that. Not to mention what Ichirou may ask of her. She’ll probably want Kevin to stay in the limelight somehow. Keep the money rolling in. Aaron sighs. Her legs stop swinging. “What about you? Do you want one?”
“Yeah, but I’m also going to be busy. I won’t be able to afford it in med school, and then once I’m in residency my hours will be all over the place. Maybe if I had a partner who was able to be at home more, but… Most likely won’t be until I’m a lot older.”
Kevin wouldn’t be able to be that kind of partner. She looks down, rubbing her right thumb into the palm of her left hand.
“What kind of dog would you get?”
“A Rottie.” Aaron’s trying to keep her voice level, Kevin can tell, but it pitches up slightly at the end with excitement. Kevin looks at her. Aaron has pressed her lips together and diverted her gaze, like she’s annoyed to have given that much away.
“A Rottie?”
“Rottweiler. Do you know them?”
“Uh. Yes. The scary ones.”
“Nah. Rottie’s are big softies, they just have a bad rep. My mom was dating this guy once and he had the sweetest Rottie ever. I mean, he didn’t look after her properly. Half times he’d just tie her up in our yard when he came over and leave her there for hours. So I always made sure she had water. We didn’t have dog food. We didn’t always have much food at all, but I tried to feed her what I could. Played with her. She was so affectionate. I hated the fact she was such a good dog and she was stuck with such a piece of shit owner. I mean, not that she wouldn’t have deserved better treatment even if she hadn't been like that. Dogs reflect how they’re treated a lot of the time. If she had been vicious, I would have understood. I’d have still tried to take care of her.” Aaron cuts off, like once again she’s annoyed she said so much. She gives Kevin an accusatory glare like it is her fault.
“What was her name?”
“Roxy.”
“What happened to her?”
“I don’t know. The guy stopped coming around after a few months, and we moved not long after that.”
“I bet she missed you.”
“Maybe.” Aaron gives a brief, tight smile.
“Aaaaaron,” Nicky whines. “Coffee.”
Aaron rolls her eyes, giving Kevin a sassy look like she’s part of some private joke. Kevin doesn’t really know what the joke is, but she smiles back anyway, glad to be included. Aaron pushes herself off the island. She grabs Nicky’s coffee, then leans past Kevin to lift her own cup, her chest ever so briefly brushing against Kevin’s ribs. Kevin swallows.
“Your tea should be done,” Aaron says, turning and carrying Nicky’s coffee across to her. She looks back to Kevin, inclining her head the smallest fraction in a silent invitation. Kevin doesn’t even know what they’re watching, but she grabs her mug without question and crosses the room. Andrew is on one of the beanbags with her eyes closed, but too still for Kevin to believe she’s actually sleeping. Nicky’s sitting on one side of the couch. Aaron curls herself small in the other corner. Nicky pats the cushion between them.
“Kevin! Are you actually not hiding in your room tonight? Come, sit. There’s plenty of space. You can always cuddle up to me.”
Kevin hesitates. Less because of Nicky’s words, she is well used to those by now, but more because Aaron’s expression has soured. She looks at Kevin, then dips her eyes to the cushion beside her. That’s all the confirmation Kevin needs. She sits on the middle cushion, closer to Aaron’s side. She almost swears she sees Aaron hiding a smile behind the rim of her mug, but that may just be wishful thinking.
*
“You are still pining over the other Minyard?”
“I was never pining.”
“Sure. You are just glaring holes in that cheerleader for no reason.” Jean smirks. Kevin swipes her racquet at her. Jean blocks it easily with her own, then shifts the angle to one she knows is a weakness in Kevin’s bad hand and pushes until Kevin drops her racquet. Kevin shoves her, furious. Jean only laughs, which makes the fire beneath her skin burn hotter. She snatches her racquet off the ground and turns away from her.
Aaron and Kailyn are looking over now, and Kevin’s glad her helmet grate hides her face. Aaron lifts her hand in a brief wave. Kevin thinks about ignoring her, but it’s barely a second before her hand is automatically lifting in response. Then Kailyn says something, and Aaron looks back to him with an annoyed expression. Kailyn laughs, ruffling a hand through Aaron’s hair, tweaking the tips of her ears. Aaron shoves his hand away, and even with the distance between them Kevin can see her flush. Kailyn leans down and says something into her ear. Aaron softens. She casts a shy smile at Kailyn. Kailyn leans against her arm. After a moment, Aaron leans back into him. Kevin’s hands clench around her racquet.
“Definitely not pining,” Jean says.
“Fuck off.” Kevin storms away from her to stand beside Andrew instead, and god have mercy on whatever backliner she is set to mark tonight, because with the mood Kevin is in, she sure as hell won’t.
*
“You sure you and your cheerleader are not dating?” Aaron is waiting in the hall outside their dorm. Andrew’s currently throwing her guts up from withdrawals, Nicky tending to her. Kevin slipped out to talk to Aaron alone. She had not intended to broach the topic of Kailyn again, but she hasn’t stopped thinking about them, and it’s tainting the victory high of their win.
“Why are you so concerned with my hypothetical relationship? Why don’t you worry about your own boyfriend.”
“What boyfriend?”
“Aren’t you dating that ex-Raven backliner? What’s his name? Muldani.”
“Theo? We haven’t been together since… I don’t know when, but definitely since I left the Nest. He was among the number displeased I was tarnishing the Ravens’ reputation.”
“Tarnishing- Because you spoke out about what they fucking did to you?” Aaron’s expression tightens into anger, her tone incredulous. “Seriously?”
Kevin shrugs.
“Wow. That’s healthy.” She huffs, folding her arms, all the lines of her body tense and irritated. “I’m glad you’re not dating that asshole anymore.”
“I understand. He didn’t-”
“I don’t care, and you shouldn’t understand. If someone cares about you they shouldn’t want to defend the people that hurt you. Especially as badly as the Ravens did. That’s fucked up, Kevin.”
Kevin shrugs again. She takes a step back, but the wall is behind her. Angry people make her uncomfortable in general, and she especially hates that Aaron is angry with her. Kevin’s breathing comes shakier. Aaron’s expression immediately softens. She reaches a hand towards Kevin but doesn’t touch her.
“Hey. It’s okay. I know you don’t like talking about the Nest. Do you need to do breathing exercises again?”
Kevin shakes her head, drawing in a deep breath through her nose. Her chest feels tight, like she can’t manage to get enough air in, but she is able to get air in. So she can breathe. So the panic does not escalate on account of that. Aaron is still gazing up at her with concern, that hand still hovering between them. Eventually she touches Kevin’s bicep, just briefly, her fingertips cool against Kevin’s warm skin.
“I’m okay,” Kevin says, once her breathing is under control. Aaron nods, folding her arms over her chest. It’s probably meant to be like a defensive barrier between her and Kevin, but all Kevin notices is the way it presses her chest together, emphasises the glimpse of cleavage through the heart shaped cut out in her black sleeveless crop top. She’s wearing high waisted dark denim shorts with it, so unfortunately her stomach is hidden, but her legs are bare. Delicious thighs out in all their glory.
A noise down the hall draws their attention, and their heads turn simultaneously to see Jean step out of her dorm.
“What are you wearing?” Kevin asks. Jean is in a black dress covered in a sunflower print. The dress is form hugging, thin strapped, and probably looks shorter on Jean than intended due to her height.
“Matt and the boys took me shopping.”
“The boys?”
“Yes. Allison wants to be a fashion designer, and Dan used to work in a club. He assures me he knows what is hot.”
“You look good,” Aaron cuts in, before Kevin can speak again. “I like your dress.”
“Thank you, Aaron.” Jean smiles briefly at Aaron, before her expression drops and she glares in Kevin’s direction. She walks across to them, Aaron watching her the whole time.
“Sunflowers are my favourite flower.”
“Why, because they grow taller than you?” Kevin asks sullenly.
“Lots of plants are taller than me,” Aaron says dryly. “Like trees.”
Kevin scowls. Jean sends her a smug side glance before she reaches out and brushes some of Aaron’s hair behind her ear.
“I think sunflowers are an excellent choice.”
Aaron’s ears flush. Kevin wants to go for Jean’s throat with her teeth bared. She presses them hard together. The door of the dorm opens, and Aaron springs back out of Jean’s reach. When Jean turns to look at Andrew coming out of the dorm, Aaron brushes her hair forward over her ear again.
*
Jean is a fucking spiteful bitch.
Kevin’s partaking in her usual Eden’s tradition of sitting at their table and watching Aaron dance with as much subtlety as she can muster. Whereas Jean needed no prompting to join Aaron on the floor tonight.
“Are we not dancing?” she had asked, when they had scarcely been in the club for five minutes, had only just found a table. Aaron had grinned in response, downed her drink, grabbed another, and led the way into the crowd.
Now they are dancing together, and Jean keeps ducking down to speak to Aaron, causing her to laugh. What does Jean have to say that is so funny anyway? Kevin takes a long drink from her glass. She doesn’t even want to be here. She wants to be watching back recaps of tonight’s game, making notes on potential improvements for next week’s practice. Definitely not watching her first love making moves on her current… something. Kevin would have written it off as just lust before, Aaron the object of her desire and little else, but she fears it’s something more now. She likes being around Aaron even if she can’t have her in the way she wants. A crush feels too small of a word for the weight of her feelings. Kevin doesn’t want to think about it. She takes another drink.
When Andrew steps out for a smoke, Jean gets bolder. She puts her hands on Aaron’s hips and pulls her back against her chest. Aaron laughs. She makes a show of resisting at first, her eyes flicking over to the table, but once she finds Andrew missing she relaxes, allows the roll of Jean’s hips to move them both. With Aaron’s back to her, she can’t see the way Jean smirks at Kevin over Aaron’s head. Kevin’s jaw aches from how hard she’s clenching it. Jean’s fingers trail over Aaron’s hips, up her sides, catching the base of her crop top and pulling it up a couple of inches. Aaron doesn’t seem to have noticed. Despite her anger, Kevin’s body sparks with desire. Her nipples tingle, her cunt clenches, her skin flushes warm. She squeezes her thighs together beneath the table, resists the urge to try and grind against the edge of her chair. She doesn’t think she could be quite subtle enough about that.
Jean’s hands drop to Aaron’s hips again, gripping this time, a few of her fingers overlapping the freshly bared skin. Aaron’s head is tipped back against her chest, her eyes closed. Jean dips down to put her lips against Aaron’s ear, saying something to her. Aaron’s eyes open and find Kevin, locking onto her gaze through the crowd. Kevin feels stripped bare, overexposed, but also scalded right down to her core. Aaron’s hands are on Jean’s forearms. Slowly she lifts them to loop around Jean’s neck, stretching her body out. Her top rides up even further. Her body looks soft, plush, a layer of fat padding over her ribs. She tugs Jean down again, turns her head so her lips are against Jean’s cheek, mouths something. She doesn’t look away from Kevin the whole time. Jean’s hands splay across Aaron’s ribs.
Kevin can’t bear to watch anymore, but she can’t drag her eyes away, so she has to remove herself entirely. She swallows the last mouthful in her glass and pushes up from the table. The last Kevin can see of Aaron, her hands are dropping from Jean’s neck, her expression brightening, almost anticipatory. Then she is gone from view as Kevin strides towards the bathroom. She huffs when she discovers the queue, but stays in line until finally she can put a stall door between her and the world.
Kevin Day has done quite a few things in her life she is somewhat ashamed of. She is about to add to the list.
Kevin pushes the tight black tank she’s wearing up as quick as she can manage, biting the material to hold it out of the way. She’s just wearing a sports bra underneath. She pushes that up too. With her other hand she is fumbling with the button on her jeans, then the zip, pushing them down over her hips to give herself room to get her hand into her pants. The jeans are still constricting her thighs so she can’t get her legs spread as wide as she would like, but it will have to do.
She bites down on the material of her tank as she quickly starts rubbing herself. She’s fucking soaked. She can feel the damp patch on her underwear against her knuckles, feel how even her lips are slick with how wet she is. Kevin moans quietly, hoping the pulsing bass of the club music covers the sound. She pinches roughly at her nipples with her other hand, the sharp twinge of pain mixing with the pleasure. She’s hot and angry, but undeniably turned on by the sight of Aaron and Jean together. Kevin puts herself in Jean’s place, imagines her hands roaming over Aaron’s bare skin. She puts herself in Aaron’s place, summons back old memories of Jean’s caress on her body. She puts herself between both of them, imagines all their attention focused on her, both of them eager to please.
Fuck it. Kevin shoves her jeans further down, until they’re around her knees. This gives her room to spread her thighs. The muscles in her legs shake with the effort of holding Kevin up in this new awkward position, but Kevin doesn’t care. All she cares about is fucking something. She has to settle for her fingers tonight, leaning her shoulders back against the disturbingly sticky stall door. Were she of any clearer mind, Kevin would be disgusted by having her bare skin touching the surface of a public cubicle. As it stands, she’s intoxicated on a heady blend of vodka, cracker dust, and arousal. Emphasis on the latter.
Kevin presses two fingers into herself without any preempt. She’s wet enough that they slide in easy, the rest of her hand getting covered in her fluids as it pushes against her. It’s always frustrating trying to do this. The angle never feels natural, and the discomfort in her wrist and arm distracts from how good it would otherwise feel, but Kevin doesn’t care. She needs something in her tonight. She curls her fingers inside of herself, presses them to the spongy surface of her inner wall as her other hand continues to rub frantically at her clit. Her mind has returned solely to Aaron, thinking of her weight pinning Kevin against this door, of Aaron’s fingers instead of her own fucking into her, of how much better that would feel. Fuck. Kevin would even get on her knees on this gross bathroom floor for Aaron. Fuck the fact that she’d have to burn these jeans afterwards. It would be worth it, to have her hands cupping the back of Aaron’s thighs, squeezing her ass, eating her out like she’s starving for it. Kevin wants to fuck Aaron with her tongue. She wants Aaron to grind her clit against Kevin’s nose while she does it, to use Kevin in the pursuit of her own pleasure. Kevin could be her toy. Kevin could be whatever the fuck Aaron wants.
She whimpers around the material in her mouth, rolling her hips down on her own fingers. Her left wrist is cramping but she pushes through the pain, adding more pressure to her clit until she’s edging on painful. When she comes, it’s with a muffled moan and an immense effort to stay standing, her orgasm hitting her like a gut punch. Kevin pants heavily in the aftermath. Her tank falls free from her mouth, damp with her saliva, the material brushing over her nipples which feel tender and sensitive now.
Kevin drags herself up from the stall wall. She takes a quick piss, then readjusts her clothes. Once she’s presentable, she leaves the stall and thoroughly washes her hands. She looks at her reflection as she does so. Her pupils are blown out but otherwise there’s no outward sign of how debauched she feels. Wanking over her roommate’s sister in a public bathroom.
This is definitely a new low.
*
It is early morning, and Kevin has joined Aaron on her run. She doesn’t always bump into her when she’s out, but when their paths do cross, Aaron doesn’t protest to Kevin tagging along with her. They don’t talk much, but sometimes Aaron prompts her with questions about class or what she’s working on lately. Aaron does not ask about exy, which is a shame, because Kevin loves using her run time to think over new plays and strategies, and it might be helpful to voice these to someone else, but she takes what she’s given.
They’re running quietly this morning when suddenly Aaron veers off the path. Kevin slows until she’s just jogging on the spot, watching Aaron crouch down and inch closer to a bush.
“Pspsps. Hello. Oh, hi. There you are.” Aaron holds out her hand, and after a moment, a black cat comes out of the bush. She stretches her neck out and sniffs Aaron’s hand, before stepping closer and bumping her face against her knuckles. Aaron speaks to her so quietly Kevin has to strain to hear. “Hi, Baby. Hey pretty kitty.”
Kevin stops her stationary running and steps closer. The cat tenses, backing up, her eyes on Kevin.
“Hey. It’s okay. Psps. There. Oh, there you are, Baby. Good girl.”
Kevin stands still and tries very hard to commit Aaron’s softly spoken words to memory so she can imagine Aaron saying them to her when she gets herself off in her post run shower. She does feel some measure of guilt for how often Aaron is featuring in her masturbatory fantasies as of late, but the guilt is not enough to outweigh the desire. The cunt wants what the cunt wants. What can Kevin do?
“I thought you didn’t like cats.”
“I never said I don’t like cats.”
“You called Andrew a weirdo for being a cat person.”
“Andrew is a weirdo. That has nothing to do with her being a cat person. I prefer dogs, but I still like cats. Isn’t that right, Baby?”
The cat bumps against Aaron’s knuckles again with a pleasant purring brrrrt sound. She ducks under Aaron’s hand and presses herself up against Aaron’s legs. Aaron smiles, drawing her fingers lightly down along the length of the cat’s back. The cat looks up at Kevin with her big green eyes as if to say I bet you wish this was you.
Kevin does indeed.
*
“Another essay?” Aaron looks over the trolley she’s currently sorting books on. She’s wearing an oversized sweater and a pair of leggings. The sweater is falling off one shoulder. Aaron does not seem to be wearing a bra. Kevin stares at the visible patch of skin for a long moment.
“No. One of the books I had before was really interesting, but I only got the chance to read a couple of chapters. I was going to take it out again.”
“Sure.” Aaron smiles. “Tell me the name and I’ll look it up for you.”
“I still have the list from before with the numbers. It’s this one.”
“Perfect.” Aaron takes the piece of paper from Kevin and leads the way down between the bookshelves. Kevin was hoping it would be the book on the high shelf, so she would have an excuse to be close to Aaron again, but it is one that is within Aaron’s reach.
“I’ll check you out at the desk.”
“What?”
“Your book. I’ll check it out for you.”
“Right. Yes.” Kevin follows Aaron back to the desk. She does some typing on her computer and scans the barcode of the book with a quiet beep. Before she gives it to Kevin, she pulls a pen off the lanyard around her neck and scribbles something on the back of Kevin’s book list. She tucks it into the book before handing it across to her.
“What’s that?”
“My number.” Aaron pushes her glasses up her nose, a small smile tilting the corner of her mouth. “You can text me any interesting facts you learn.”
“Uhm. Okay.”
“Or text me even if you don’t learn anything interesting. Probably about time we have each other’s numbers.”
“Sure. Yes. I will. Uh. Thanks. For the book.”
“What I’m here for,” Aaron says, flicking the staff badge hanging from her lanyard. Kevin nods, smiles, almost trips over herself as she backs away from the desk. She gives Aaron an awkward wave. Aaron folds her arms and leans forward on the desk, expression amused as Kevin all but flees her presence.
Smooth, Day. Real smooth.
*
Drinking gladiator blood was believed to be a cure for epilepsy.
This is Kevin, by the way.
Thanks for specifying
I give so many history nerds my number it’s hard to keep track
You’re a hot librarian. I am sure plenty of so-called nerds would be glad to get your number.
Shut up
That actually does work, it’s just not ethical
And not many gladiators about these days
Ha.
Have you read about Galen?
The name is familiar.
When you were talking about the impacts on Western medicine, it would have been Galen behind a lot of that
I think you’d enjoy him. He was Greek and Roman. Physician to gladiators, then later emperors. First person to prove the larynx generates the voice, and he performed early cataract surgeries
Maybe you will recommend me a good book about him the next time I am in the library.
Maybe I will
*
When they arrive back from practice, Aaron is curled into a ball in one of the beanbags.
“How did you even get in here?” Kevin asks. Aaron silently points at Nicky. Nicky sweeps past Kevin, gently pushing Aaron’s hair back from her forehead.
“Still not feeling good?”
Aaron shakes her head.
“Are you sick? I hope none of us catch it, we can’t afford to miss a game.”
“Kevin!” Nicky looks around sharply. Aaron glares up from the gap in the blanket she’s wrapped in. Andrew laughs, crossing to the window and climbing onto the desk to smoke. “She’s not sick, she just has bad period cramps.”
Aaron glares at Nicky this time, but she doesn’t shift out of her curled position. Nicky strokes her hair again, before she gets to her feet.
“I’ll fill you a hot water bottle.”
Kevin stands awkwardly, still clutching her duffel bag over her shoulder. It all feels a bit dramatic to her. It doesn’t matter how bad her cramps are, she just gets on with it. Pushes through practice, refuses to let the inconvenience of her body stop her. No one makes a fuss over Kevin when she’s hurting.
She goes to the bedroom and drops off her bag. By the time she gets back, Aaron has moved to the kitchen. The blanket is still draped around her shoulders, but she is shooing Nicky away.
“It’s fine, Nicky. I can manage.”
“It will only take me a second.”
“I’ve got it.”
Nicky sighs. She steps back. Aaron sends her a look, and she retreats further, shaking her head. Kevin waits for Nicky to leave the kitchen before she steps into it. Aaron is filling a hot water bottle.
“I thought Nicky was going to do that for you.”
“I don’t need anyone to do anything for me,” Aaron says. “I’m more than capable of looking after myself.”
She’s paler than usual. Her face has several painful looking red spots that she’s clearly been picking at, all of them scabbed with dry blood. Kevin wants to tell her she shouldn’t do that. That can cause scars. She doesn’t think Aaron would appreciate that, so she keeps her mouth shut. The shadowed circles under Aaron’s eyes have gotten darker. Despite that there’s a determined set to her expression, even as the corners of her eyes crease and her jaw tenses.
Pain. Kevin is well acquainted with what people look like when they are trying to disguise pain. She realises, as with so many things about Aaron, she got it wrong. Aaron does not make a big deal of her suffering. She does not want to be fussed over. They simply caught her in a vulnerable moment, and it is Nicky’s instinct to coddle. This is how Aaron deals with things. Quietly and by herself.
For some reason, Kevin’s perspective entirely shifts with this. She goes from low-key judging Aaron to wanting to take care of her within the span of five seconds. Kevin could rub her stomach, or her low back if it’s aching. She could bring Aaron her tea, wrap her up in blankets, hand feed her chocolate even though the sugar in it will only serve to aggravate her skin further, and really, some fresh fruit would be better. It wouldn’t matter, if that was what Aaron wanted.
“Pliny the Elder wrote that the touch of a menstruating woman could cure a number of different illnesses,” Kevin says. “Just the woman. The blood was a different matter. It could do all sorts. Wither fruit, rust metal, kill insects. Also that if a woman had her period during an eclipse, fucking a man could kill him.”
“If only we had that power,” Aaron says, tucking her hot water bottle into her waistband. She lifts down her mug, then sighs when she notices her box of chamomile tea has once again disappeared.
“I’ll get it.”
“I can get it.” Aaron starts to lift her knee up to the counter. Kevin is faster, stretching up, shifting jars so she can grab the box.
“Already got it.”
“I could have done it.”
“I know, but why bother climbing when I can just reach?”
Aaron huffs. She makes her tea. She opens their cutlery drawer and fishes out a couple of the candy bars that are for some godforsaken reason always floating around in there. She is ruffled and grumpy and looks exhausted, and Kevin is just as attracted to her as when she’s wearing makeup and dressed for Eden’s, or when she’s got her glasses on and is working in the library, or when she’s sleepily padding around in her pyjamas. As it turns out, there may be no version of Aaron Minyard in existence that she does not want.
Kevin goes to their freezer and digs out a pint of vanilla bean ice cream. She gets a spoon from the drawer and brings it across to the couch where Aaron has taken up residence in her usual position, tucked small into the corner. Kevin sets the ice cream on the arm of the couch, balancing the spoon on top. Aaron looks from the tub, up to Kevin’s face.
“What’s this?”
“Ice cream. Nicky bought it for me when she was getting her and Andrew some, but I’m not really into ice cream, so I didn’t eat much of it. You can have the rest.”
“You never offer me your ice cream,” Nicky says. “I am also miserable once a month.”
“And you have a meal plan you should be adhering to all month.”
“Bite me, Kevin.”
Aaron slowly lifts the tub of ice cream. She holds it gently in her hands, like she’s wary of accepting it. She looks to Kevin. Kevin tries to smile reassuringly. Aaron purses her lips, contemplating, before she pops the lid of the tub open. She lifts the spoon and scoops out a spoonful. Kevin watches the way her mouth closes around the spoon, how her cheeks hollow as she sucks the ice cream off, eyes closed. When they open, she’s looking at Kevin again, licking a white streak from her lip.
“Vanilla is a pretty boring flavour.”
“Sometimes simplicity works.” Kevin glances down. Aaron’s jellyfish is hidden beneath her pyjama trousers, but Kevin’s sure she knows what she’s referencing. “Unlike some people and their toothpaste monstrosities.”
“It doesn’t taste like toothpaste.” Aaron brandishes her spoon in Kevin’s direction.
“Yes. Sure it doesn’t.”
“Not my fault they drip fed you space food and killed off your tastebuds at Evermore.”
“Aaron!” Nicky says, but Kevin laughs. Aaron smiles at her, that same smile she’s seen before, like Kevin is in on some secret joke just between the two of them. Kevin still doesn’t know what the joke is, but she hopes she keeps getting to see that smile.
*
Aaron is in a Vixen uniform.
Kevin blinks long and hard. She opens her eyes.
Aaron is still in a cheerleader uniform.
Kevin pinches herself just to be sure. There’s a sharp sting above her wrist, but Aaron continues to be stood in the foyer of Fox Tower, arms folded across her stomach and expression displeased, in a Vixen’s cheerleader uniform. Like, actually. Literally. In reality, and not one of Kevin’s horny fantasies.
“Are you joining the cheer squad?”
Aaron whips around. Upon spotting Kevin, she looks mortified. She tightens the fold of her arms against her chest. Kevin can’t help but run an appraising gaze down over her. Aaron bristles at being so openly stared at.
“Fuck no. As if I could be a cheerleader.”
“Why not?”
“Not an ounce of pep,” Aaron says, pointing to her flat expression. “It’s for a stupid party the Vixens are having. Everyone who isn’t on the squad has to come dressed as a cheerleader.”
“How do they have enough uniforms to cover a whole party?”
“Any cheerleader. Not necessarily a Vixen. Kailyn just got me this uniform from one of his friends.” Aaron loosens her arms to reach down and tug at the base of the skirt. “Which is definitely too small.”
“I think it looks great.” Kevin’s voice sounds husky even to her own ears. She clears her throat. Aaron is steadily flushing darker by the second. They stand staring at each other in an extended moment, until the rapid pat of footfalls coming down the stairs directs their attention across the room.
Kailyn jumps down the final few steps. He pauses to scan the foyer, expression shifting to a bright smile once he spots Aaron. He jogs across to them, his ginger curls bouncing.
“Hey, cutie,” he says. Aaron glares at him. “That suits you.”
“Fuck off.”
“Hi Kevin.” Kailyn smiles at her. Kevin forces her mouth into a somewhat politely pleasant expression. “Don’t you think Aaron would make a great cheerleader? Look at those arms. She would be so good at lifts.”
Kailyn wraps his hands around Aaron’s bicep and squeezes lightly. Aaron rolls her eyes.
“They don’t put short people at the bottom of the pyramid.”
“So what I’m hearing is you’d rather be on top?”
“Shut up.” Aaron’s flush streaks down her neck. She shoves Kailyn. Kailyn laughs, ruffling her hair. A look passes between them that Kevin can’t decipher, their own silent communication. Kevin does not know Kailyn particularly well. In any interaction they’ve had, he has been perfectly nice to her, but the longer she has to watch him flirt with Aaron right in front of her, the less she likes him. Kailyn looks at Kevin with an easy smile.
“Do you want to come to the party tonight? It’s in the basement.”
“I don’t have a cheerleader uniform.”
“I’m sure we could find you one.”
Aaron has folded her arms across herself again. Her head is dipped. She glances briefly through her lashes at Kevin, looking withdrawn. Aaron probably doesn’t want Kevin going along to her party, and Kevin does not particularly want to spend her night in a room full of cheerleaders and other people she does not know.
“I’m good. Thanks anyway.”
“Oh well. You know where to find us if you change your mind. C’mon, Aaron.” Kailyn hooks his arm through Aaron’s. Aaron sighs, throwing one last glance Kevin’s direction.
“See you later.”
Kevin nods. Aaron turns and walks with Kailyn towards the stairs to the basement. Kevin watches her go, the skirt shifting around Aaron’s thighs. If nothing else, at least she has another version of Aaron to add to her fantasy catalogue.
She idly thinks about it as she makes her way up to the dorm. Aaron as an actual cheerleader. Sneaking into the locker room to meet Kevin after everyone else has left. Straddling her in that little skirt, the spread of her legs making it ride up even further. Kevin’s hands on her thighs, strong cheerleader muscles firm beneath her touch. Aaron would spend every game cheering for her. She would wear Kevin’s varsity jacket around campus, Kevin’s number emblazoned on the back, so everyone knows she’s Kevin’s girl.
It’s definitely a fun thought, but it’s not really what Kevin wants. Sure, Aaron would be a hot cheerleader, but would she still have all the other things that make her Aaron? Would she still know animal and medicine facts? Would she still look grumpy and guarded constantly, Kevin having to win every smile? Would she still dance at Eden’s by jumping around wildly, her hair bouncing? Would she still fight with Nicky over video games, and speak fluent sarcasm, and look most relaxed when she’s surrounded by books? Kevin supposes there’s no reason Aaron would be different, except, as she stated, cheerleaders require a level of pep. Kevin likes Aaron ruffled and grumbling. Likes that it feels like more of an achievement when she does look happy around Kevin. Loves the very rare occasions she can make Aaron smile wide enough to show her dimple.
Loves? No. Likes. She doesn’t love anything about Aaron, right?
Right?
*
The sky opens as they’re coming back from their run. The rain hits like small, sharp pellets, belting into them. They’re both soaked by the time they reach Fox Tower, and Aaron still has to run across campus to get to her dorm.
“Come up and get dried at our dorm,” Kevin shouts over the rain. Aaron looks tempted. “You’re freezing. Come on.”
“I don’t have any clothes to change into.”
“You can wear something of mine.”
“I don’t think your clothes will fit me.”
“Stop arguing and come on.” Kevin grabs Aaron’s forearm. Is this the first time she’s actually, properly touched Aaron? It might be. She drags her along to the foyer, where they stand at the welcome mat for a moment, shivering and dripping, trying to squeeze the worst excess of water out of their clothes. It’s a lost cause. Eventually they just leave a trail of water across the floor.
“Go ahead and shower,” Kevin says, pulling her shirt off once they’re in the door. “I’ll find you something to wear.”
Kevin also steps out of her shorts as Aaron toes off her shoes and peels her wet socks off. She looks across at Kevin, before turning her head away. Kevin glances down at herself, but she doesn’t think there’s anything unacceptable about her underwear. Aaron played exy through high school, she’s been in changing rooms, it shouldn’t be a big deal to her.
“Okay. Thanks.” Aaron ducks her head and moves quickly across to the bathroom. She closes the door. Kevin looks at it for a long moment, wishing she could go shower with Aaron. It would save water, after all. Allow them to both get warmed up right away. Which leads Kevin on to thinking about how the skin on Aaron’s breasts would be so cold from the rain soaking through the chest of her shirt, how they would feel against Kevin’s palms, because of course she’s so considerate she would have to warm them up for Aaron.
Kevin needs to stop. She’s wet enough as it is.
It’s Saturday morning. They got back late from an away game last night. Nicky and Andrew are still sleeping. Kevin picks through their room quietly. She lifts her Trojans hoody to set aside for herself, but thinks of Aaron shivering. Aaron who always runs cold. Kevin’s hand tightens around the material. She doesn’t put sentimental value on a lot of things, but Jeremy sent her this once all the shit came out about the Nest. A joke, with Jeremy’s name and number printed on the back, but it had felt like more. It had felt like one other person beyond Jean and Wymack was in her corner.
It’s not like Aaron is going to ruin it. If there’s one thing about Aaron, it’s that she’s careful with everything. Except for herself, maybe.
Kevin sets the hoody aside for her with a pair of running shorts, since all her full leg bottoms will be far too long for Aaron. Kevin’s sock drawer is nowhere near as exciting or varied as Aaron’s. She throws a spare pair of her Fox uniform socks onto the pile of clothes so at least Aaron’s legs will be somewhat covered. Not that Kevin wants them to be, but she knows Aaron usually tends to be bundled up. Kevin grabs some clothes for herself before she leaves.
She’s in the kitchen making tea for Aaron when she comes out of the bathroom. Her hair is damp, pushed back from her face for once. She’s got the towel clutched around her like she is afraid someone might try and snatch it from her. Her skin is flushed red from the heat of the water, not just her face, but her shoulders, arms, the top of her chest. For all Kevin’s thoughts about changing rooms and nudity being no big deal, she finds it hard to drag her eyes away from Aaron.
“I made you some tea.”
“Thanks. Uhm. Clothes?”
Kevin nods at the pile folded on the edge of the island. Aaron comes closer, walking on the balls of her feet. Kevin doesn’t know why she’s doing that, but it’s adorable. She grabs the clothes and holds them to her chest, warily assessing Kevin.
“Okay. I’ll just be a minute.” Aaron turns and swiftly retreats to the bathroom. As she’s walking away, Kevin looks at her bare back. She’s intending on admiring the muscles of Aaron’s upper back and shoulders, but her eyes are drawn to a pale scar between Aaron’s shoulder blades running parallel to her spine. Kevin looks at it until Aaron closes the bathroom door behind her. Kevin doesn’t even feel like she has a right to comment on the unnecessariness of that, since she has in fact been staring at Aaron’s towel clad form since she walked out.
Aaron is absolutely drowned in Kevin’s hoody when she reappears. Kevin had been anticipating seeing her thighs in her little running shorts, but the hoody comes down to almost her knees, so the shorts are not even visible. The socks hug the curves of Aaron’s thighs, making them look even more pronounced as she crosses to the kitchen and hauls herself up onto the counter, lifting her mug and cradling the warmth to her chest. Kevin looks at her. Aaron looks back, her gaze dropping over Kevin’s still damp body. The wet material of her sports bra clinging to her, wet patches on her briefs from where the rain soaked through. Kevin shivers as Aaron’s eyes flick back up to her face.
“Are you not going to shower?”
“Right.” Kevin blinks. “Yes.”
She steps away, looks back at Aaron, doesn’t know what to say, continues on to the bathroom. Fuck. If she only knew if Aaron even likes women, maybe she wouldn’t feel so completely off kilter. Sometimes she seems like she might like Kevin, but Kevin has learned that girls are just like that sometimes. They smile and touch you casually and drop easy compliments, and it’s just being nice. Kevin never has a fucking clue when someone’s flirting with her, and she’s worried that even if she tries to flirt with Aaron, it will just be taken as platonic.
She should probably take it as a sign and leave it. Work on moving past these feelings. After all, she already knows it’s going to be a hassle with her career. Queer men get enough backlash, but queer women? Even within certain queer spaces they are either met with disgust or fetishised. The sports industry is even worse. Between them, Kayleigh and Kevin have both done a lot for women in sport, yet still, even exy is male dominated at professional level. Still, women constantly have to do more for less of the acknowledgement, and even then they are questioned every step of the way. The sporting community will have plenty of thoughts about this. The backlash is going to damage her golden Daughter of Exy rep more than it already has been, and does she really want to drag Aaron under that kind of criticism? Because she will be impacted. Bothered by paparazzi, dragged through the tabloids, only getting worse with time.
It’s part of what ruined things between her and Jean. Though Riko also contributed to that; saw Jean as Kevin’s weak spot, punished Kevin through hurting her. When Kevin is feeling particularly kind to herself, she tells herself she let Jean go to protect her. Most of the time she knows it was just because she was afraid. Afraid of Riko, afraid of how she would be perceived. Always so fucking afraid, all the time, but the worst things have happened and the world did not stop spinning. Not when Kevin broke her hand, not when she left the Nest, not when Ichirou called her into the back of her sleek black car. What is dating a woman in comparison to all that? And by the time Kevin gets on to her team after college, she’s determined to have her hand back to full strength. She’ll show them all that she deserves her place, and who she chooses to fuck has no impact on her game.
Though perhaps it’s very bold of Kevin to think Aaron would stay with her until she goes pro. Kevin can be a lot to handle. She knows this. Some people call her a diva, which is misogynistic bullshit. They wouldn’t say that if she were a fucking man. Like, she’s not saying she is not a bit of a diva, but she’s allowed to say that. Random strangers on the internet should keep her fucking name out of their mouths.
Then again, it’s not like she has been putting her best foot forward with Aaron since the beginning. She was cold and withdrawn at first, and then the largest overlap of their orbit for a while involved Kevin messy drunk or hangover sickly. If Aaron actually did like her, it would be with the knowledge of what Kevin is like, how she can act sometimes. And she would make up for all her exy rants and snide comments and the very occasional but often fierce bursts of her temper. She would treat Aaron so good. Spoil her rotten, both in and out of the bedroom.
God. What she wouldn’t do to have Aaron in her bed. As much as she wants to kiss and hold and care for her, Kevin also really, really wants to take her apart beneath her. She wants to catalogue every soft and firm inch of Aaron’s body. She wants to find every hidden mole, trace her fingers over the constellations of all her freckles, press her mouth to each scar. She wants to split Aaron open like an overripe peach and delve into her. Kevin likes to be good at things, and Kevin knows she is very, very good at eating pussy. Like, okay, Jean might be her only point of feedback, but still. Very good.
She wonders what Aaron tastes like. What noises she makes. How her body tenses and trembles as she comes. What she would look like hazy, flushed, and glassy eyed through the dip between her breasts, gazing down at Kevin as Kevin licks and sucks at her until her jaw aches. How far that pretty blush would travel down Aaron’s body, and if her nipples are the same pale pink as her lips. What colour her cunt is.
Kevin moves through her shower in a horny, autopilot daze. As much as she wants to touch herself, she resists, because she wants to get back to Aaron as soon as possible. More than she wants to get off. She dries off quickly, pulls on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, and comes back to the kitchen. Aaron is just moving towards the living room with a bowl in her hands.
“I made you breakfast.” She nods towards the kitchen. “How you like it. Even though I think it’s a crime to ruin perfectly good oatmeal with that gross whey powder.”
Kevin lifts the spoon from the bowl and takes a taste. It’s how she makes it. Actually, it’s better. Somehow Aaron has got the whey completely blended into the oatmeal. Kevin always ends up with chalky lumps. She’s also got the peanut butter to melt smoothly into it, and the slices of banana she’s chopped on top are much neater than how Kevin usually quickly breaks it up. Aaron’s formed a crescent with them, and dropped two small clusters of blueberries above it to make a smiley face. Kevin grins to herself, pulling out her phone to take a quick photo.
“Thanks.”
“As payment, I have also helped myself to your oatmeal.”
“How did you know it was mine?”
“Psh. Andrew won’t touch this stuff. Doesn’t like the texture. About twice a year Nicky goes on a random health kick. Eats it for breakfast for a week. Acts very smug with herself. Then breaks and says she can’t do it anymore.” Aaron rolls her eyes, stepping onto the couch. She crosses her legs as she sinks down into it. Kevin contemplates sitting at the far side of the couch, but she wants to sit beside Aaron, so she does.
“How did you get rid of the lumps?”
“There shouldn’t be lumps if you cook it long enough.”
“No. The protein powder. I always get lumps.”
“Yeah, you just put it right into the oatmeal. I put it in water and whisked it first, then I poured it in bit by bit. That way it doesn’t clump.”
“That makes sense. You’re really smart.”
“Pft.” Aaron bumps Kevin with her elbow. “Common sense.”
“I don’t think I have much of that,” Kevin says. Aaron laughs. Kevin frowns at her. Aaron stops laughing.
“That was one of those moments you weren’t actually joking, right?” She mirrors Kevin when she nods. “Wasn’t laughing at you. Thought you were kidding, but… I guess that makes sense. You didn’t really get much life experience, right? I mean. Normal life experience.”
“I guess.”
“So you have an excuse. Plenty of people just lack common sense for absolutely no reason.” Aaron gives Kevin a wry smile. Kevin didn’t realise she had tensed her shoulders, but they relax when Aaron bumps their arms together. “And if you ever wanna know something, you can ask me. I won’t laugh at you. Unless it’s really funny.”
“Hey,” Kevin says, but she can’t really be mad, not when Aaron is smiling wide enough at her that Kevin can see her dimple.
*
“Are you just going to sit here looking miserable all night again?”
“What?” Kevin forces her gaze up to Aaron’s face. She’s wearing the velvet jumpsuit again, and the way she is leaning forward with her hands on the table is pressing her breasts together and giving Kevin just an absolutely excellent view. She has not heard Aaron over her tits.
“Every time we come here, you just sit at the table looking broody and pissed off. Why don’t you try dancing for once?”
“I don’t want to leave Andrew on her own.”
“Like Andrew’s left you on your own?” Aaron laughs, looking purposefully at the empty seats around the table.
“She’s just gone for a smoke.”
“Nah. She just went into the back room with Roland. She’ll not be out for a while.”
“The bartender? What are they doing?”
Aaron looks at Kevin like she’s dim. Kevin doesn’t even have time to be annoyed at this, because then Aaron lifts her hand, forms a V with her index and middle finger, and draws her tongue through the air between them. Did the temperature in the room just increase?
“Oh.”
Aaron laughs. She leans further forward across the table. The front of her jumpsuit sags a bit, and Kevin can see part of the cups of her bra. It’s an indigo blue, speckled with a star pattern, topped with white lace. Kevin wonders if she’s wearing matching panties.
“So, are you coming?”
Kevin clutches her glass like a lifeline. She pulls it closer to herself across the table, dropping her gaze so she’s not continuing to stare down Aaron’s top. Despite the volume of the music in the club, she still catches part of Aaron’s soft sigh.
“What, are you too good to dance?”
Kevin glances up at her, mouth tilted down in a frown. She thought Aaron was past thinking that about her. She shakes her head.
“Whatever. Suit yourself. Bet you’re just scared you’ll be bad at it.”
Kevin’s eyes narrow into a glare. Aaron flips her off, grinning as she steps back into the crowd. Kevin is determined to not rise to that taunt. She knows Aaron is just poking at her to get a reaction. Reacting is what Aaron wants her to do. Kevin is just going to continue to sit here, and-
Except then there is a man dancing with Aaron. She seems fine with this at first, when they’re just dancing near each other, but as the song progresses, the man starts to get handsy. Aaron tries to back up, but the crowd is at her back. His arms are looping her waist, pulling her closer. One hand is getting very close to Aaron’s ass. Kevin stands up.
She’s halfway across the space between them when the man tries to kiss Aaron. She turns her head away and simultaneously pushes his face. His expression goes from good humoured to angry. He reaches up and roughly grabs Aaron’s chin. Kevin is picking up her pace, unsure what she’s even going to do, but intent on getting between them, when Aaron draws her arm back and punches the man in the face. She does not slap, she does not scratch, she fully drives her knuckles into his cheek, sending him stumbling back.
“You fucking bitch.” The man turns back to her, eyes blazing. Kevin is behind Aaron now. She broadens her stance, fixes her fiercest glare on him. “You’re going to regret that.”
“I don’t think I will. I actually think I might do it again.”
Despite his bravado, the man automatically steps back when Aaron raises her arm again. Kevin is close enough behind her that Aaron’s arm brushes against her with the movement. She jerks her head round, expression relaxing fractionally when she sees it is just Kevin. Aaron’s eyes flick between her and the man, before suddenly she smiles sweetly. She turns to face Kevin, slipping her arms around her waist.
“There you are, babe. This creep was just about to fuck off.” Aaron presses her body closer to Kevin, resting her cheek against Kevin’s chest. Kevin’s afraid she’s going to feel how hard her heart is absolutely jackhammering. Maybe Aaron will write it off as adrenaline. It takes a second of Kevin’s brain flashing confusing neon question marks at her before she realises what Aaron is doing. Sometimes men don’t accept no, regardless of how emphatic. Aaron shouldn’t have to pretend to be in a relationship to get this creep to fuck off, but if that’s what makes her feel safest, Kevin will absolutely go along with it. She loops her arms around Aaron and holds her protectively, staring the man down coldly.
“Fuck off, then,” Kevin says. “Stupid of you to even look at my girl in the first place. She’s way too hot for you.”
“Fucking dykes.” The man spits at them. Kevin quickly turns Aaron away so it doesn’t hit her. It gets on Kevin’s jeans, which is gross, but at least it missed Aaron.
“Are you okay? What’s happening?” Nicky runs over to them. The man eyes them up, but seeing he’s well outnumbered, pushes away through the crowd. Aaron shakes her head. “Did he do something to you?”
“Just some asshole who thinks he’s entitled. I dealt with it.” Aaron steps back. Kevin doesn’t want to let her go, but she does. Aaron takes her hand, tugging gently. Nicky is still asking her questions, but Aaron just waves her off. “Let’s go clean that up.”
Kevin thinks they’re going to the bathrooms, but Aaron leads her past them. She ducks under the bar. Kevin hesitates.
“I don’t think we can do this.”
“I used to work here. It’s fine.” Aaron pushes the bar up so Kevin doesn’t have to crouch to get under it. They pass through a store room into a small bathroom. The bulb flickers to light overhead. Aaron pulls a few hand towels from the dispenser and carefully wipes the spit from Kevin’s thigh. She throws the soiled towel in the bin, then wets a second one to rub the area clean. The hand not rubbing the mark is on Kevin’s inner thigh, holding her leg in place, and Kevin is just hyper conscious of how close Aaron is to the heat emanating from between her legs. “There.”
“Thanks. That was some punch.”
“Thanks. My hand is not happy about it.”
“Let me see?”
“It’s fine.” Aaron holds out her hand anyway. There’s no sign of damage to it. Kevin takes it between hers, lifts it to her lips and kisses her knuckles.
“All better,” Kevin whispers. Aaron’s eyes are outlined in eyeliner and emphasised with mascara. They look huge as she stares up at Kevin.
“You make a great fake girlfriend.”
“Ha. Yeah.” Kevin releases Aaron’s hand. Fake. That’s the key word here. Aaron looks down at her hand for a moment, before folding her arms. She was smiling just a second ago, but now she’s closed off again, looks almost sad. Kevin doesn’t like that. “Guess I’ll have to come dance with you now.”
“Yeah?”
“What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t, right?”
Aaron huffs a laugh, but her smile has returned, even brighter than before. If the price of that is Kevin embarrassing herself on the dancefloor, so be it.
*
Kevin drops down on the Columbia couch with a soft sigh. Her hair is damp and she’s dressed in clean underwear and a tank top to sleep in. Usually she’s drunk enough she just passes out, doesn’t shower until the morning, but since she spent so long on the dancefloor with Aaron, she didn’t drink as much tonight.
It wasn’t quite the hardship Kevin envisioned once she was there. Yes, to begin with she had been awkward and stiff, but Aaron had taken her hands and jumped beside her until the movement started to flow into Kevin’s body. She still doesn’t feel like she’d been particularly good at it, but she relaxed enough to just let herself go along, bobbing her head and rolling her shoulders, Aaron smiling encouragingly. Aaron touching her every so often on her arm, her hip. Kevin daring to touch her back. Only when Andrew reappeared did Aaron put some space between them.
Kevin glances up at movement behind her. Aaron comes down the stairs, fresh from her own shower, face clean and damp hair pushed back. She passes through on her way to the kitchen, then drifts back to the living room. She’s wearing a shorts and vest pyjama set. It’s turquoise, with a computer style face on the front of the vest. The shorts are covered in a logo that reads Adventure Time! It’s the skimpiest pair of pjs Kevin has ever seen Aaron in. Usually she’s wrapped up. Her fluffy socks have fox faces on them, two ears poking up from the top. She sits beside Kevin, offering her a glass of water.
Aaron doesn’t usually come downstairs again after Eden’s. She takes a sip of her water and sits it on the table. Kevin does the same. The house is very quiet around them. Upstairs, someone moves from the bathroom down the hall. A door closes. Everything is still. Kevin is trying and failing not to look at the sheer excess of Aaron’s skin currently on display, the mixture of substances still lingering in her system blunting the edges of her awareness just enough that she can’t find it in herself to be self conscious about how her eyes track over Aaron. Aaron’s eyes don’t leave Kevin’s face, flicking across it like they’re searching for something.
“Did you have more fun tonight?”
“Yes.”
“Does that mean you’ll come dance again next time?”
“Maybe. If my pretty girlfriend entices me.”
“I thought I was hot.”
“What?”
“That dickhead. You told him your girl was way too hot for him.”
“Well, you are too hot for him.”
“But not for you?” Aaron’s sitting cross legged on the couch, facing Kevin. She puts her hands on her ankles and leans forward, giving Kevin a view of most of her breasts, the edges of her aeroelae. They are a pretty pink. Kevin forces herself to look back at Aaron’s face.
“What?”
“I’m not too hot for you. That was the implication.”
Kevin does not understand what Aaron wants her to say. Is this some kind of trap? She keeps her mouth shut, watching Aaron cautiously.
“Does that mean you don’t think I’m hot?”
“You’re gorgeous,” Kevin says immediately, voice low and serious. Aaron flushes, but she doesn’t look satisfied.
“Hmm.” She tilts her head, baring more of the line of her throat, which slopes back down to the pale expanse of her chest. “Is there something wrong with my face, Kev?”
“What? No.”
“Then why do you keep staring at my tits instead of looking at me?”
This is a trap. Fuck. Kevin looks around, feeling a touch frantic. It’s not like she can escape anywhere. She’s in Aaron’s fucking house after all. She looks back to Aaron. Aaron is watching her patiently.
“I don’t understand what you’re asking me,” she says quietly. “What you want me to say.”
Aaron sighs, a sharp and irritated sound, before she leans in, cups Kevin’s cheek, and kisses her on the mouth. It’s not a very long kiss. Chaste, closed mouth. Pressure applied as Aaron rocks forward on the couch cushion, only to be lost as she falls back.
“What was that for?”
“I keep waiting for you to make a move and I’m starting to think you never will. Either you’ve got a staring problem or you actually want to do something about it. I thought at least I’d find out either way.” Aaron’s voice is steady when she speaks, but her blush is darkening, and her gaze drops away from Kevin after her words. Kevin is too stunned to react for a moment. Aaron presses her lips together in a tight line and gives a jerky nod. “Right. Now we know.”
She starts to get up, and Kevin realises she’s taken her silence as rejection. Her heart stumbles over a panicked beat in her chest. She thinks bout Jean, and she thinks about wanting, and she thinks about how hot and uncomfortable her insides feel when she sees Kailyn touching Aaron, and she thinks about Aaron’s soft face and sleepy eyes in the morning, and she thinks about the press of Aaron’s lips against hers. Kevin surges forward, her fingers curling around Aaron’s wrist. Aaron automatically moves to pull her arm away, but Kevin’s grip is secure, and the force with which she pulls Aaron back to her wins out.
Aaron topples onto Kevin’s lap. Kevin takes a moment to adjust her so she’s sitting more comfortably, her ass resting on one of Kevin’s thighs, her legs over the other. Aaron is only starting to get her bearings when Kevin cups her cheek this time. Aaron is more prepared for this kiss than Kevin was, so when they come together it all goes much smoother. Not that the first kiss was bad, but this one is better. This time their lips slot against each other rather than just press. This time Aaron loops her arms around Kevin’s neck and holds her tight. This time Kevin is cupping the back of Aaron’s neck while her other arm tightens around her waist, pulling her closer, enjoying the weight and warmth of her body against hers.
Aaron’s fingers slide through Kevin’s hair. She gets a grip and tugs, just sharp enough to draw a moan from Kevin. Aaron takes advantage of her slack lips to lick into her mouth and fuck, okay, fuck. Kevin spent so much time thinking about how she would take Aaron apart, she never really considered that it might be Aaron who takes control. Kevin’s hand slides down over the shape of Aaron’s hip, grasping at her ass. Her shorts have hiked up with Kevin pulling her onto her lap, so it’s bare skin her hand meets. Aaron is not wearing underwear under those very slight shorts, and Kevin knows her pinkie finger can’t be more than an inch or so away from Aaron’s pussy. She squeezes harder, her own cunt throbbing just at the thought.
She’s trying to match the intensity Aaron is kissing her with, but she can feel Aaron’s piercing against her own tongue, and her brain is a hot gushy mess dribbling out of her skull and down to her cunt. They’re both panting when Aaron pulls away. Kevin tries to move forward to kiss her again, but Aaron puts a hand to her chest and presses her back to the couch. Kevin whines.
“Aaron.”
“We need to talk.”
“I don’t want to talk. I want to kiss you.” Kevin leans forward. Aaron turns her head away. Kevin diverts to her neck instead, mouthing along the side of her throat. Aaron gasps. Her hand comes up to cover her own mouth. Oh. So she has a sensitive neck. Noted. Kevin licks up towards her ear. Aaron grasps her by the hair and yanks her back. Kevin moans loudly.
“Shh,” Aaron hisses, her eyes raising to the ceiling. She goes very still as she listens for any movement. When she hears nothing, she relaxes again. “Seriously, Kevin. Can we talk for a minute?”
Aaron sounds breathless. Her flush has spread down her chest, and her nipples are hard through the thin material of her vest. Kevin wants very badly to touch them. She resists the urge, settling for running her hand up and down Aaron’s thigh as she looks at her face. It’s firmer than she thought it would be. She imagined the skin would be softer, squishier from the way it jiggles when Aaron walks, but the hard muscle of her thigh makes it quite solid. She nods at Aaron to continue.
“Okay. Uh. I would like to take you to bed with me tonight, but I need to know what you want.”
“That. Yes. I want that. I want you. Whatever you’ll give me. And I want to fuck you. Suck your nipples, finger you, eat you out. Want you to ride my face. I want-”
“Jesus Christ.” Aaron puts her hand over Kevin’s mouth. “I don’t mean how do you want to have sex. I mean what do you want from this, because I don’t really do hook ups.”
“Oh.” Kevin starts to deflate, before she processes the implication of those words. “Oh. Aaron. Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?”
“I’m asking if you want to date me.”
Kevin thinks that is basically the same thing, but she decides not to be pedantic about it right now. Her smile is so broad it makes her face ache. She reaches up both her hands to cup Aaron’s face.
“Yes, Aaron Minyard. I would very much like to date you. Thank you for asking. Now do I have to sign a contract before I can fuck you, or can we commence now?”
“You’re such a fucking dick.” Aaron shoves at Kevin’s shoulders. Kevin laughs, pulling her closer, one hand on her ass and the other on her thigh.
“You like it.”
“Maybe. Sometimes. A bit.” Aaron tips Kevin’s chin up and kisses her. Her nails are blunt, but they still tingle pleasantly as she scratches them over the back of Kevin’s scalp. The fingers of her other hand are trailing so light down along the side of Kevin’s neck, tracing the line of the edge of her vest. So, so close to Kevin’s nipples. They’re tight and tingling and every brush of Aaron’s fingers against her has her arching up in anticipation, but still Aaron doesn’t touch her where she wants. It’s driving Kevin fucking wild, her hips shifting beneath Aaron. Forget her underwear, she’s going to leave a wet patch on the fucking couch at this rate.
Kevin decides to forego any teasing. She’s waited long enough to get her hands on Aaron’s tits. She firmly palms at one of them, feeling Aaron’s hard nipple against her palm. Aaron exhales sharply into Kevin’s mouth. Kevin cups her breast, feeling the weight of it, the warmth even through the material of her shirt. She thumbs repeatedly at Aaron’s nipple. Aaron bites Kevin’s lip in response, and Kevin makes a ragged sound. She starts to pull Aaron’s shirt down out of her way.
“Stop.” Aaron catches her wrist. She looks warily towards the stairs. “We should go to my room.”
Kevin thinks that sounds like a swell idea.
“Lead the way.”
“So you can watch my ass going up the stairs?”
“Of course.”
Aaron huffs. She bumps her forehead against Kevin’s temple. Has Kevin stopped smiling in the past however many minutes? It doesn’t feel like it. She steals one last quick kiss before she helps tip Aaron off her lap. Aaron lifts their glasses of water as Kevin discreetly checks she hasn’t actually left any wet patches behind. Thankfully not, but her underwear is definitely clinging to her. She follows Aaron up the stairs, delivering on her promise to watch her ass, the shorts pulled high enough on Aaron’s waist to expose the bottom curve of her asscheeks. Kevin can’t wait to get her hands back on them.
Once they’re in Aaron’s room, she hands Kevin the glasses. Kevin carries them across to the bedside table as Aaron closes the door and ensures it is locked. She tries the handle twice to be sure. When she turns to look at Kevin, there’s half a room between them. Aaron suddenly looks shy.
“Hi,” she says.
“Hi,” Kevin echoes. She sits on the edge of the bed. “Come here.”
Aaron walks across to her. Kevin spreads her legs, cupping Aaron’s ass, pulling her closer. She presses her face to Aaron’s stomach, nuzzling against it, before she looks up at her.
“Have you ever slept with a woman before?”
Aaron shakes her head. That absolutely should not turn Kevin on even more, and yet.
“Have you slept with anyone?”
Aaron hesitates, then shakes her head again.
“I’ve done some stuff, with boys I dated in high school. I’m not a total virgin.”
“Hey. There’s nothing wrong with that if you are.”
“Right. Virginity is a social construct anyway.”
“I’m just asking so I know. I can guide you.”
“How hard can it be?” Aaron asks, sass in her tone. “We have the same body parts. I’m well acquainted with the general layout.”
Fuck. Now Kevin is thinking of Aaron touching herself, and isn’t that an image? She squeezes Aaron’s hips, pulling her in closer. Aaron runs her fingers through Kevin’s hair, then leans down to kiss her.
“Can I take this off?” Kevin tugs at the base of Aaron’s vest.
“Take yours off first.”
Kevin rips her tank top over her head as fast as she can manage and tosses it across the room. Aaron laughs, hand coming up to cover her mouth. Kevin grins dopily, high on Aaron, glad she could make her laugh. Aaron reaches to pull her vest off, but Kevin gets there first. She slides her hands beneath it, slowly inching the material up, teasing them both. Her hands close around Aaron’s breasts, thumbing her nipples simultaneously. Aaron’s breathing gets heavier. Kevin repeats it until Aaron’s thighs are clenching together, then she pulls the vest off over her head.
“Fuck me,” she whispers, breathy and reverent as she gets her first proper look at Aaron’s tits.
“Shut up,” Aaron says, averting her gaze.
“About how gorgeous you are? Never. Look at you. God, your pretty little nipples are even cuter than I imagined. Look at how soft and pink they are. I want to suck and bite them until they darken. Is that okay? What are you comfortable with?”
“I’m not going to break.” Aaron tugs on Kevin’s hair. Kevin whimpers, her eyes going hooded. “I’ll tell you if you do something I don’t like, but if you want to suck on my tits, go ahead.”
Kevin is absolutely obsessed with the way Aaron’s sharp words are contrasted by her lovely pink flush. Aaron can talk a big game, but her body exposes her. Kevin leans in and kisses the side of her breast, working her way towards the centre of it instead of going right for her nipple. Aaron is tense with anticipation, one hand still tangled in Kevin’s hair, the other gripping her shoulder. Finally Kevin takes her nipple between her lips, laying a hot, open mouthed kiss against it. She suckles briefly, before catching it between her teeth and flicking her tongue in a quick rhythm. Aaron’s hand flattens against the back of her skull, encouraging Kevin closer as she arches her chest to her mouth. Kevin thinks she could happily just do this all night. She wonders if Aaron could get off solely from nipple stimulation. Maybe she’ll find out sometime.
“Kev,” Aaron says softly, little more than a breath. Kevin kisses across her chest to give her other nipple the same attention. Her left hand takes over teasing the first nipple, while her right hand moves between Aaron’s legs, rubbing her through her shorts. Kevin can feel the damp heat of her. She doesn’t seem as thoroughly soaked as Kevin feels, but it’s still validating, proof of Aaron’s arousal.
Aaron’s breathing deepens. She pushes at Kevin’s shoulders to encourage her to lie back on the bed. Kevin stands instead, catching Aaron behind the thighs as she does so. Aaron yells out in surprise, cutting off abruptly, hand to her own mouth. Kevin turns around and spills her on the bed, climbing up over her.
“Was that necessary?” Aaron’s voice is an angry whisper. She glares up at Kevin.
“No, but it was fun.” Kevin grins. She kisses Aaron before she can further complain. Aaron grumbles against her mouth, but she wraps her arms around Kevin, holding her closer. Kevin melts against her body, losing herself in the kiss, when suddenly Aaron jerks them sideways. The world spins as Kevin is flipped over, and then Aaron is leaning over her, breathing heavier for the effort, her eyes looking soft brown in the light and her pupils blown out. Fuck. “That was hot.”
Aaron smirks. She slots a leg between Kevin’s and drags her knee up against the front of her underwear. Kevin moans, immediately spreading her legs wider, rutting against Aaron. Aaron’s nose scrunches. She reaches down and roughly presses her fingers between her knee and Kevin. Her fingers drag along the front of Kevin’s underwear, lifting just before they brush her clit. Kevin whimpers in protest.
“You’re really wet,” Aaron says.
“Uh, yeah, you're really hot and I want you so bad?”
“How do you say that and not have it sound like a bad porno line?”
“I don’t know, because I mean it?”
“How long?” Aaron trails her hand along Kevin’s jawline.
“What?” Kevin is distracted by Aaron taking hold of her chin, thumb drawing along her lower lip.
“Have you wanted me?”
“Honestly? Basically since I first saw you. Properly, I mean. You were just drinking water in the kitchen.”
“When you stopped hiding.”
“Mm.” Kevin takes Aaron’s thumb in her mouth, hollowing her cheeks as she sucks around it. Aaron presses down on her tongue, pushing Kevin’s mouth open. Kevin keeps massaging the pad of her thumb with her tongue until Aaron draws it back. “What about you?”
“I don’t want you to get an ego,” Aaron says. She pauses, tilts her head reflectively. “Or rather, I don’t want to contribute to the ego you already have.”
“Now you have to tell me.” Kevin grins, pushing herself up to sit. Aaron shifts her leg so she’s straddling Kevin instead. Kevin pulls her forward so she’s more firmly in her lap. She dots kisses over Aaron’s collarbones as she takes the time to compose herself.
“Well… I’ve always thought you were hot,” Aaron quietly admits. “I wasn’t super into watching exy. Mostly I played it to get out of the house, but it was hard to be in an exy orbit at all and not know about Kevin Day. Then when Andrew first took you in, I thought you were a bit of a dick.”
“Because I didn’t come speak to you?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t do great with new people. In personal settings.”
“I know. I get that now. It just felt like you were all haughty and superior, and I thought, of course she fucking is. Spoiled celebrity brat.” Aaron tugs gently on Kevin’s hair. Kevin tips her head back with an easy smile. “I didn’t even fully believe that then. Not after what you’d been through.”
“What changed your mind?”
“Who said it changed? I still think you’re a spoiled brat.”
“Aaron.”
“I don’t know. You just grew on me. Like a tumour.”
“Hey!”
“You were all cute and nerdy and enthusiastic about things. You’re smart and stubborn, and you see me. Not just as an extension of Andrew, but as my own person.”
“You are your own person.”
“I know that. Not everyone else acts like it. I think, maybe, it really hit me that time you were telling me about your essay. I already knew you were passionate about more than exy, but seeing you in your element like that… how much you clearly love it, how you light up when you speak about it, and how fucking smart you are.”
“I’m hearing intelligence kink.”
“Sapiosexual.”
“What?”
“It’s when someone is attracted to intelligence.”
“Fuck.” Kevin squeezes Aaron’s thighs. “I think I might be that too. Can I get you off now?”
“Not yet. I want to get you off first. Can I take these off?” Aaron slips her finger beneath Kevin’s waistband. Even just feeling Aaron's finger against her mons makes Kevin’s stomach tingle with anticipatory pleasure.
“Please do.”
Aaron pushes Kevin back down on the bed. She kisses her, then trails her mouth down along Kevin’s cheek. She nips at the lobe of her ear, before mouthing hotly down her throat. Kevin pants and writhes and shamelessly ruts against Aaron’s thigh. As Aaron’s mouthing at the base of her throat, her fingers tease along the side of Kevin’s breast. Kevin arches her chest up, trying to encourage Aaron to finally touch her nipple. She’s so wound up that when Aaron’s fingertips finally do graze against it, Kevin feels a resounding spark of sensation flare in her clit. She whimpers, back arching as she pushes her chest up, brazenly presenting it to Aaron. Aaron thumbs over her nipple, firmer this time, her mouth dropping to the other one. The mixture of hot wet pleasure from Aaron’s mouth and the sharp sting of pain as she pinches Kevin’s other nipple has Kevin writhing beneath her, forearm pressed across her mouth to try and stifle her sounds.
Aaron shifts back, kneeling between Kevin’s legs. She takes hold of her waistband and pulls Kevin’s underwear down, the material literally peeling away from her with how wet she is. Kevin folds her legs up so it’s easier for Aaron to pull her briefs the rest of the way off, then she spreads her legs around Aaron’s thighs. Aaron stretches out alongside Kevin, kissing her as a distraction as she starts to explore her cunt. Kevin shaves most of her body, and her pubes are no different. It’s born from policy implemented in the Nest about body hair and aerodynamics. That had not included this part of Kevin’s body, but she doesn’t like the sensory texture when her body hair grows out, so she just gets rid of all of it. Aaron’s fingers stroke over her smooth skin. She avoids Kevin’s clit, drawing her finger down one side of Kevin’s labia, slipping through the amount of lubricant she has produced. Aaron’s fingers trail up between her lips, getting slick with Kevin’s juices, before they finally press against her clit. She immediately moans encouragingly, nails scratching against Aaron’s back. Aaron smirks against her lips.
“You want me to touch you here?” She taps her index finger firmly against Kevin’s clit. Kevin gasps, nodding. Aaron hums consideringly. “Not yet.”
Kevin glares at her. Aaron’s hand moves down again. Kevin’s getting ready to vocalise her complaints when Aaron slips one finger into her, and her words are lost in a gasp. Aaron moves her finger in and out a few times. Realising the absolute lack of resistance, she quickly adds a second finger. Kevin tilts her hips up, giving Aaron deeper access.
“That okay?”
“Fuck. Yes. Better than okay. Aaron. Please.”
“What do you want, Kev?”
“Another finger. Want to feel you stretch me.”
Aaron makes a soft sound in her throat. She draws her fingers out of Kevin, sitting back so she can watch this time as she pushes three fingers into her. Kevin watches Aaron’s face. The hazy expression of lust has been replaced with something sharper, more focused. She’s looking at Kevin like she’s something fascinating to be studied as Aaron slowly sinks three fingers into her. It makes Kevin feel even hotter, the detached way Aaron assesses her.
“You look like you’re trying to solve a math problem.”
“Hm? It’s just interesting. I’ve never seen a vagina from this angle before. I know they can stretch to accommodate, but it’s different actually seeing it.”
“Oh my god. Not a math problem. You’re looking at me like I’m a biology experiment.”
“Are we not experimenting?” Aaron smiles sweetly as she draws her fingers back, then thrusts them forcefully into Kevin again. Kevin’s head falls back with a whimper. “Do you want me to stop?”
“No, god, no, please, Aaron, don’t stop.”
“That’s what I thought.” Aaron lowers her mouth to Kevin’s chest as she continues fucking her with her fingers. She’s getting more confident now, settling into a rhythm, and Kevin can do nothing but take it. She feels like an insect writhing on a pin, held in place and helpless to do anything but accept Aaron’s will.
“Fuck. Yes. Aaron. Fuck me.”
Aaron hums encouragingly around Kevin’s nipple, picking up the pace of her hand. Kevin presses down against her fingers, helping fuck herself deeper, harder. Bright flashes of pleasure keep sparking through her stomach, and she can feel herself getting closer.
Aaron slows the movement of her hand to allow herself to also circle her thumb over Kevin’s clit. Kevin immediately starts to moan, lifting her hips, trying to get more pressure. Aaron tries to find a rhythm where she can move her fingers and rub Kevin’s clit at the same time, but it’s awkward with one hand, and she can’t seem to satisfy herself. Kevin, for her part, is just enjoying any friction she’s getting from Aaron.
“Fuck it,” Aaron says, and abruptly slides down the bed. Kevin has barely pushed up on her elbows to catch sight of Aaron laying between her legs before Aaron ducks down and drags her tongue over Kevin’s clit. Kevin moans helplessly, immediately flopping back down on her back. Aaron licks her a couple of times, gaining confidence, before she continues the movement of her hand. Kevin’s been worked up for so long, and between Aaron’s tongue and fingers, it’s no time at all before she falls apart. She clutches Aaron’s hair as she comes, rocking her hips up against her face, riding out her pleasure on Aaron’s tongue. Her body trembles through her orgasm, and Kevin’s certain any concept of volume control is completely lost to her.
Kevin lies panting and shaking in the aftermath, fingers slowly loosening from Aaron’s hair. She absently pets her for a few seconds, before her arms fall limp and heavy at her sides. Aaron climbs up over Kevin’s body, settling beside her. Kevin immediately curls into Aaron’s chest when Aaron reaches for her, the press of skin on skin extremely comforting. Aaron lifts her glass and helps Kevin take a drink of water, wiping her chin clean when she dribbles. Fuck. On one hand, it has served Kevin excellently how good Aaron is at that. On the other, it is kind of annoying that Aaron is so good for someone who has never fucked before. Kevin is only slightly bitter about it. The post orgasm glow helps with that.
“That okay?” Aaron’s voice is quiet and unsure, like she doesn’t even know she just blew Kevin’s mind. Fuck. Can she not see Kevin is dead right now? Aaron fucked the life right out of her. Kevin tips her head up and kisses Aaron messily on the mouth, tasting herself.
“Fucking incredible.” She kisses Aaron briefly, the drops her head to rest on her chest, nuzzling against the softness of Aaron’s breast. Aaron huffs, pressing her face to Kevin’s hair. Her hand is rubbing lines up and down Kevin’s back. Kevin starts to feel drowsy, but she still has a job to do. Well, calling it a job undermines how much Kevin is going to enjoy it. She sits up abruptly.
“Can I eat you out?”
“I don’t know,” Aaron says, freshly blushing. “Can you?”
Kevin reaches out and pinches one of her nipples. Aaron gasps, then smacks Kevin’s hand away.
“Hey.”
“Your smart mouth never stops, does it?”
“Didn’t hear you complaining about my mouth a few minutes ago.”
“Who says I’m complaining?” Kevin catches Aaron beneath the thighs and drags her down the bed until she’s sprawled on her back. She stretches over Aaron, kissing her deeply as she rubs her through her shorts. Aaron makes small, muffled, breathy noises against Kevin’s mouth. Kevin caresses Aaron’s tit with one hand, as she tugs the material of her shorts to the side and finally draws a finger through her pussy lips. Oh. Aaron is definitely wet, it’s just that her labia is another part of her body that is softer than Kevin’s, thicker. It means her fluids don’t flow out as readily as Kevin’s do, but once Kevin uses her ring and index finger to spread her open and drags her middle finger up along the length of her, she can feel just how wet Aaron really is.
Aaron is much better at being quiet than Kevin is. Her hips shift, and her breathing catches, but any sound she does make is small, stifled, caught in the back of her throat. Kevin wants to make her lose control. She knows that is not the best idea given their current location, but she wants it all the same. She circles her slick middle finger around Aaron’s clit, mostly just getting the feel of her to start. Kevin pushes back her clitoral hood and lightly strokes directly over it. Aaron twitches, her hips pressing to the bed. She tugs at Kevin’s hair and whines. Okay. Sensitive. Kevin lets her hood fall back into place and presses her finger on top of it this time. Aaron’s body relaxes, but there’s still an edge of tension to it.
Kevin reluctantly breaks their kiss so she can shift down Aaron’s body. She wishes she had more than one mouth. She wants to kiss Aaron, she wants to suck on her nipples, she wants to eat her out all at the same time. Oh, the flaws of human design. Kevin takes a diversion to Aaron’s nipples on her way down to her cunt, sucking and biting and pinching at them until they flush darker. As she does so, she eases a finger into Aaron. She presses it in deep, then shallowly fucks Aaron with it for a bit. There’s little resistance, and Aaron is wet enough that Kevin feels confident adding a second finger right away. Aaron makes a soft sound, her hips rocking, her chest arching up against Kevin’s mouth. Kevin gives each of her tits one last kiss. She admires her work, Aaron’s nipples left red and damp with her saliva. What an image.
Kevin nuzzles and kisses over Aaron’s stomach. This part of her is as soft as Kevin imagined, and Kevin is delighted to finally lavish attention over it. Aaron’s fingers tighten in her hair but she doesn’t push or pull, just turns her head to the side, the knuckles of her other hand lifted to her mouth. Kevin’s hand strokes over the side of her stomach, then grips her hip, holding Aaron in place as she picks up the speed of her hand. Aaron gasps quietly, her thighs squeezing in against Kevin’s biceps. Kevin feels like she’s in a wet dream made reality. She’s pretty sure she could get off again, her swollen cunt starting to take fresh interest.
“If I do anything you don’t like, tell me,” Kevin says, gazing up at Aaron from between her thighs. Aaron’s hand softens in her hair, gently brushing it back.
“I will.”
“Though I think you’ll enjoy this.” Kevin smirks teasingly, before she drags her tongue along the length of Aaron’s cunt, starting where her fingers are pressed into her and moving all the way up to her clit. Aaron’s forearm goes over her mouth. Kevin holds her open with the hand not fingering her. She toys with Aaron, licking over every part of her except her clit. She keeps coming teasingly close, only to pull away at the last second, to lick somewhere else. She tastes better than Kevin imagined. Heady and intoxicating. Kevin does not hesitate to press her face into Aaron, to get herself messy with her juices. Aaron’s hips are starting to shift impatiently beneath her. Kevin keeps waiting for her to break and beg, but Aaron is stubborn, and it’s Kevin’s patience that crumbles first.
She closes her mouth over Aaron’s clit, circling her tongue around it in a firm circle. She’s watching Aaron as she does so, the way her breasts shift and swell with her heavy breathing, the flush spilling right down her body, her eyes just barely open to peer down at Kevin. Kevin locks onto her gaze and starts to swipe her tongue against her; slow, firm, steady repetition. She tilts her fingers up, presses them forward towards herself inside Aaron. Aaron’s biting her forearm, exhaling sharply through her nose. Kevin reaches up and takes her hand, pulling her arm away so she can see her face. Aaron bites her lower lip instead as Kevin presses her hand down by her hip.
The great thing about Kevin being so tall in comparison to Aaron’s vertical challenges is that her long arms allow her access to most of Aaron’s body even when her face is pressed into her cunt. She can reach up and stroke Aaron’s cheek, trail her fingers down the side of her throat, grasp one of her tits in her palm. Kevin was right. Her hands are big enough to hold Aaron. She kneads Aaron’s breast, working her way inward until she’s rubbing her nipple between her thumb and forefinger while she continues to work her jaw and fingers.
Aaron’s trimmed her pubic hair, but not as short as Kevin. It scratches against her nose and cheeks as presses her face more firmly against Aaron, mouthing at her hungrily. Kevin reckons it’s probably fine. She can always cover up any raw skin with makeup if she has to do press. These are the sacrifices you have to make to be a sex goddess. Except, her jaw is starting to ache a little. Kevin definitely came quicker than this when Aaron went down on her. Not that she minds, she could happily stay between Aaron’s legs for longer than this, but she’s always had a competitive streak. Or maybe it was trained into her, but it’s been there for longer than she can remember.
“Does that feel good?” Kevin lifts her head, looking up at Aaron. She slowly draws the tip of her tongue over her as she waits for Aaron’s response.
“Mm. Yeah, Kev. Feels good.”
“You gonna come for me, gorgeous?”
“I don’t know. Are you gonna make me?”
God. Fuck. If Aaron isn’t an expert at pressing Kevin’s buttons already. She growls, dipping her head again, her tongue moving faster against Aaron now. Fuck the ache in her jaw. She picks up the pace of both her hands, fucking hard and fast into Aaron with her fingers, tweaking her nipples, licking at her desperately.
“Fuck. Kevin.” Finally, fucking finally Aaron’s body starts to draw taut and tense beneath her. Aaron’s hands both go to Kevin’s head, holding her in place as she grinds up against her face. Kevin doesn’t stop her efforts, even when she can feel Aaron tighten and tense around her fingers. She licks her through it, Aaron pushing Kevin’s head more firmly against her, her thighs squeezing in around Kevin’s ears. If Kevin suffocates to death eating Aaron Minyard out, well, she supposes at least she’ll die doing something she loves.
Aaron’s body sags back against the bed, breathing hard. She emits a soft whine when Kevin gives her clit a few soft kitten licks, shoving her away with a palm to the forehead. Kevin laughs, breathless, panting in air, her lower face soaked.
“Mm sorry,” Aaron says. She doesn’t sound sorry at all. She sounds fucked out, spread soft and pliant on the bed.
“Don’t be.”
“You okay?”
“I’m great. How’re you?” Kevin reaches out to brush Aaron’s hair back behind her ear. Aaron catches her wrist, frowning at her damp fingers. Kevin laughs. She sucks her fingers into her mouth, making a show of licking between them and sucking each one clean, before she rubs them dry on the duvet and reaches for Aaron again. This time Aaron allows her to brush her hair back, humming pleasantly.
“Cyprine.”
“What?”
“It’s what you call female arousal fluid. From the Latin nickname Cypris, referring to Venus.”
“The goddess of love,” Kevin says, awed at this crossover of their interests, that Aaron is sharing it with her. Fucking best post-coital conversation ever. “I told you they influenced everything.”
“You did. That’s why I thought you’d enjoy that.”
“I did. You make excellent pillow talk.” Kevin captures Aaron’s laughter between their lips as she kisses her. Aaron kisses back half heartedly, her body still weak and shaky from the force of her orgasm. Kevin can be smug about that, at least. “Was that good?”
“Yeah. That was good.” Aaron yawns, turning her face to her shoulder. Kevin glows with the praise. She flops onto her stomach beside Aaron, pressing her face against her bared neck, throwing an arm and leg across her. Aaron’s hand finds her hair, fingers softly working against her scalp. Kevin sighs in soft satisfaction. She’s starting to drift when Aaron moves beneath her. “You should go pee.”
“I don’t have to pee.”
“You should anyway. It reduces your risk of UTIs if you urinate after sex.”
Kevin whines in protest. Aaron shoves at her. She clings more firmly to Aaron.
“Fine. If you won’t go, at least let me up.” Aaron wriggles and squirms, and when that fails, she kicks at Kevin’s shin. Kevin only squeezes her closer. “Kevin.”
It happens by accident. Aaron is trying to push her back, and her hand slips from Kevin’s stomach to her side, fingers ghosting beneath her ribs. Kevin twitches. Aaron stills. Kevin hopes she hasn’t noticed, but Aaron is so observant. Of course she does. The next second, her fingers are wiggling against Kevin’s side, tickling her. Kevin flails away with a yell.
“Bitch.”
“Dick,” Aaron replies, looking smug. She rolls out of bed, facing away from Kevin as she stretches. Kevin’s attention is drawn to the scar on her back. Aaron picks up her flung pjs and pulls them back on. She lifts the glass of water by her bed and empties it, handing Kevin’s across to her. Kevin drains what’s left.
“I’ll get us more water,” Aaron says. “Go piss, girl. Now.”
Kevin sighs, rolling her eyes, but raises her arm in a salute.
“Sir, yes sir.”
Aaron flips her off awkwardly, still holding the glass in her hand. She leaves the door open behind her when she goes. Kevin pushes herself off the bed. Immediately when she stands she realises that going to the bathroom might be a good idea after all. She feels like an absolute mess down there, wet even on the inside of her thighs. There’s a pleasant tenderness from having had something inside her. Kevin feels it as she steps around the room, finding her own clothes. She smiles in satisfaction as she makes her way to the bathroom. She probably spends more time mopping herself up than she does pissing, but hey. At least Aaron can stop worrying about her urinary tract now. Kevin washes her hands and face. As much as she enjoys the scent of Aaron clinging to her skin, she can live without the slight stickiness. When she gets back to the room, Aaron is setting the glasses by the bed.
Kevin peels off her clothes and crawls back into Aaron’s bed, curling up under the blanket. It’s only once she’s settled that she wonders if Aaron even wants her to stay the night, if she’s just been presumptuous. Her doubts are settled when on her return Aaron locks the door behind her. She goes to the chair at her desk, lifting a pair of pj trousers, reaching to slide her shorts off.
“Why are you putting on more clothes?” Kevin asks, appalled.
“I get cold.”
“I’ll keep you warm.” Kevin pulls back the duvet, patting the bed beside her. Aaron takes in her nakedness with a judging glance. She looks down at the trousers in her hands, then puts them down with a sigh. Quickly padding across the room, she slips in beside Kevin. Already Aaron’s lost the sweaty sex flush, goosebumps rising on her skin. Kevin pulls her close, tangling their legs, tracing her fingers down Aaron’s back. Her middle finger trails over the smooth surface of Aaron’s scar.
“What’s this from?”
“Hm?”
“Scar.” Kevin taps Aaron’s back to indicate where she’s talking about.
“Oh. My mom threw me through a glass table when I was little.”
“Jesus.”
“Probably needed stitches, but we didn’t go to the ER.” Aaron shrugs. Like this is no big deal. Kevin frowns, but she supposes she can understand that. How many similar incidents has she shrugged off in the same way?
“Riko tried to put me through a glass door once, but it was double glazed. I just bounced right off.”
Aaron huffs, then she laughs, pressing her face to Kevin’s shoulder to stifle her giggles. Kevin smiles, kissing Aaron’s forehead.
“I shouldn’t laugh.”
“I wanted you to laugh. That’s why I said it.”
Aaron looks up at Kevin. Her eyes are soft, creased at the corners with amusement. She cups Kevin’s cheek, fingers cool against her skin. Kevin leans closer, brushes their noses together. Aaron kisses her soft and sweet, like she is something to be cherished.
“I’d kick Riko’s ass for you. If she were still alive.”
“Oh, would you now?”
“Yeah. I’ve been told I throw some punch. Don’t you know?”
Kevin laughs this time. Aaron grins, kissing her nose, before she twists to turn the lamp off. Kevin feels her way in the darkness, once again resting her head on Aaron as she stretches her limbs over her. She will be Aaron’s blanket, and Aaron can be her chesty pillow. It seems like a fair compromise.
“Mmph.” Aaron takes Kevin’s chin, shifting her head off the sensitive skin of her breast and resting it in the dip of her collarbone instead. Fair enough. Kevin’s cheek fits more naturally in the curve here anyway. She presses a soft kiss to Aaron’s throat. “Night, Kev.”
Kev. Kevin smiles, nuzzling closer to her, breathing in vanilla and tea tree oil and sweat and sex. An intoxicating blend.
“Night, Aaron.”
*
Kevin mumbles when something moves beside her. She’s usually slow to wake in the morning, grumbling and crabby, but as warm skin brushes against her side and the memory of last night crashes over her sleep foggy mind, her eyes snap open. Or try to. One of them opens halfway, the other gets stuck, sleep sticky. Aaron is stretching out like a cat, her chest pressed to the bed and her hips raised. Her hair is a fluffy mess. She looks at Kevin when Kevin grumbles.
“Morning. I didn’t think you’d be up yet.”
Kevin grumbles some more.
“Mhm. Coherent as always.” Aaron brushes some sleep grit away from the corner of Kevin’s eye. Kevin turns her head, sleepily kissing at Aaron’s wrist, though she’s not sure any of them actually make contact. Aaron huffs a laugh.
“Okay, Sleeping Beauty. Do you want breakfast yet, or are you going to sleep some more?”
“Mmph.” Kevin rubs her knuckles against her eyes. “You’re leaving?”
“Yeah.”
“Then I’m coming.”
“Clingy.”
Kevin drops her hands. She pouts at Aaron. Aaron leans in and kisses her briefly.
“I mean, do you want Andrew finding me in your room?”
“I don’t care.” Aaron gets out of bed. She takes off her shorts, casually, not looking at Kevin. Kevin’s eyes track over her, wondering if she can convince Aaron to come back to bed before breakfast. Probably a greater risk of them waking someone this morning. Kevin would be willing to risk it. “She’s going to know eventually. If we’re dating, I’m not hiding this.”
Aaron moves around her room, pulling on boy shorts underwear, then a pair of sweats. She sits on the edge of the bed to put her socks on. Today’s have different sea creatures. Sharks and various fish. Aaron pulls her vest over her head, and Kevin slides closer, kissing her bare shoulder.
“We could just stay in bed.”
Aaron flicks her in the forehead instead of dignifying that with a response. Kevin glares at her, but it’s hard to stay angry when Aaron stands to go grab a hoody from her closet, walking shirtless across the room. There is nothing inherently sexual about her simply existing stripped down, but Kevin’s head is still full of memories from last night. Aaron pulls the hoody on without a bra. She looks between Kevin and the door, deciding on Kevin and crossing back to the bed. She kisses the spot she flicked her on the forehead, then leans down to capture her lips, hand cool on the side of Kevin’s neck. Kevin cups the back of Aaron’s skull, holds her in place as she deepens the kiss, humming pleasantly.
“Your morning breath is gross,” Aaron says when she draws back.
“You’re such a dick.”
“Just means I must really like you to let you kiss me.” Aaron pinches Kevin’s cheek. Kevin can’t keep the smile from her face. Aaron steps back and moves towards the door. “Oatmeal? Or I was going to make omelettes, if you’d rather one of those.”
“Omelettes sound good. I’ll get dressed and come help.” Kevin heaves herself out of bed with some effort. Aaron laughs at her, pausing to glance back from the doorway before she makes her way downstairs. Kevin is clumsy and heavy on her feet as she staggers around getting dressed, but she thinks some people just might be worth getting up early for.
*
Despite Aaron’s words, she keeps space between her and Kevin while they’re still in Columbia. Kevin follows her lead. Since it’s Aaron’s family and not hers, Kevin thinks it’s fair for her to decide when or how she wants to tell them.
As it turns out, Aaron doesn’t tell them. She just comes over to the dorm after practice on Monday night, crawls onto Kevin’s beanbag, throws her legs across her thighs, and kisses her cheek. Right in front of Nicky on the couch and Andrew on the other beanbag.
“What are we watching?” Aaron asks casually, resting her head on Kevin’s shoulder, but Kevin can feel the slight tremble running through her. Aaron always acts so calm on the surface, but she’s obviously anxious about this. Kevin wraps an arm around her, holding her closer to her side.
“Uh. Excuse me?!” Nicky jolts up on the couch. Aaron glances at her past Kevin’s shoulder.
“What?”
“What is this? Oh my god. Andrew, are you seeing this?”
Andrew is in fact seeing this, her eyes narrowed on the pair of them. Now Kevin is also feeling uneasy. Andrew huffs. Then she laughs. Then she gets up and leaves the dorm, the door slamming behind her. Aaron sighs and presses her face to Kevin’s shoulder. Nicky goes quiet, staring at the door for a moment after it shuts, but even the tension is not enough to stamp out her nosiness.
“Hello. Care to explain, anyone?”
“What is there to explain?” Aaron snaps.
“Everything. What is happening?”
“Kevin and I are dating.”
“Wait. So you were actually serious when you said you weren’t dating Kailyn?”
“Yeah. Not my fault no one believes me.”
“And you’re into girls?”
“At least one of them.” Aaron looks up shyly at Kevin. Kevin beams.
“Oh my god! I’m so proud.”
“Fuck off.”
“But also, I can’t believe you stole Kevin. Uh, hello? I have been working on her all year.”
“You have a fucking fiancée!”
“And we have a list, and Kevin is right at the top of it.”
“Well you can take her off it now,” Aaron says, tone vicious, her grip tightening on Kevin's shoulder. Kevin probably should not appreciate being spoken about as though she is not present. Being fought over like a piece of meat. But the possessive tone of Aaron’s voice is really turning her on.
“Well, obviously,” Nicky says after a moment, but she sighs dramatically. “But who am I going to put in that empty space now?”
Aaron stays bristled for a while, but Nicky just turns on the TV and otherwise babbles away as if nothing is different. Nicky is very good at that. Kevin rubs Aaron’s back soothingly, and eventually she settles in her hold. Kevin presses her lips to Aaron’s temple. There’s probably more productive things she could be doing with her evening than watching Nicky’s nonsense television shows, but she finds that as long as she gets to have the warmth of Aaron in her arms, she doesn’t much care.
*
As far as Kevin’s aware, Andrew doesn’t say anything to Aaron about them. She corners Kevin once she gets her alone and warns her at knife point not to hurt Aaron. This is baffling. Kevin is dating Aaron. She adores her. The last thing in the world she wants is to do anything to hurt her. She tells Andrew as much.
“Sometimes good intentions do not reality make,” Andrew says. She stares purposefully into Kevin’s eyes before releasing her. Kevin’s too offended at the implication she’d do anything to Aaron to even be anxious over the whole ordeal.
She doesn’t mention it to Aaron. She doesn’t fully understand the twin’s relationship, but she knows it is a messy and complicated thing. Andrew is fiercely protective of Aaron, never wants her too far from her, is wary of anyone who gets too close, and yet she barely interacts with Aaron directly. Aaron resents how controlling Andrew’s protectiveness is, is constantly rebelling to try and put space between them, while still so desperate for any attention her sister gives her. Kevin can see how much they both care for each other in their own ways, but Aaron seems to believe she means nothing to Andrew, and Andrew, well, it’s hard to get a read on just what Andrew is thinking.
Kevin has a feeling Aaron won’t take it well if she thinks Andrew is interfering in her relationship. So when Aaron asks: “Has Andrew said anything to you? About us?” Kevin just shakes her head, smiling easily. “No.” Then she kisses Aaron to distract her, because Kevin’s never been good at lying to people. Not people who really know her. Not people who matter.
*
Kevin is disappointed as the end of the exy season passes and they roll towards summer. The Foxes have improved massively since last year. Much of this is to do with Jean’s work on the defence line.
“Not pining, hm?” she had said the first time Aaron had run down to the plexiglass door to kiss Kevin after a game. Kevin glared at her over Aaron’s head as Aaron glanced curiously between them. Jean looked down to Aaron with a warm smile. “I told you.”
“You did.” Aaron smiled, leaning her head briefly against Kevin’s chest before hastily pulling away. “Ew. You’re all sweaty. Go shower.”
Kevin’s been pushing herself hard, and she’s good, but she will never be at the level she was without her left hand. It’s been coming along, building strength. Jean doesn’t practice with her every night now, but she comes down at least once a week. Andrew takes her to the court other nights, sits in the stands or goes outside to smoke as Kevin runs through drills. She’s not confident enough to play with her hand yet. Maybe if she was the Foxes would have made it to the finals this year, but they ended up dropping out in the semis.
“That’s still a lot better than we usually do,” Wymack had said, trying to be encouraging. He put his hand on Kevin’s shoulder and squeezed. “Your mother would be proud.”
“Hmph. I’ll really make her proud next year,” Kevin said, and Wymack laughed gruffly.
Now she’s on the court, slamming balls against the wall to work out her irritation at losing. She looks up when the plexiglass door opens. At first she thinks it’s Andrew stepping onto the court. This makes sense, since the person is Andrew’s height, wearing Andrew’s uniform, and carrying Andrew’s racquet. It’s only when she gets closer that Kevin realises it’s Aaron.
“What are you doing here?”
“Kind of sad, you just playing all by yourself.”
Kevin looks up at the stalls. Andrew is standing at the top, near the door. She gives Kevin a two fingered salute and backs out of the door.
“You don’t like exy,” Kevin says, confused. Aaron shrugs.
“It’s okay, I guess.” She spins Andrew’s racquet. “It’s been a while since I played. I’m not going to be up to your standard.”
It doesn’t matter. Kevin doesn’t care. Aaron is here and willing to play exy with her, because Kevin is upset, and Aaron knows this is important to her. Even if it’s not to Aaron.
Because Kevin is important to Aaron.
“I’ll go easy on you,” Kevin says, grinning brightly.
“No you won’t.” Aaron rolls her eyes, scooping up one of the balls Kevin sent resounding off the wall. “But let’s do it anyway.”
As with most things, Aaron is right. It’s not intentional, Kevin just doesn’t know how to hold herself back when it comes to exy. They’re both sweaty and aching by the end, Aaron flushed and panting. Kevin can tell she’s been pushing herself hard, but she’s out of practice, and Kevin can give even the best backliners a run for their money. Aaron didn’t stand a chance, especially when Kevin tossed her racquet across to her left hand.
“Fuck.” Aaron sprawls on her back on the floor, Andrew’s helmet beside her. “I thought you couldn’t play with your left hand anymore.”
“Not consistently yet. I'm still building strength back, but I’m hoping next year I’ll be able to.”
“You’re such a stubborn dick,” Aaron says, her chest heaving with her breaths. “That’s so fucking hot. I hate you.”
Kevin laughs, kneeling beside her head, kissing her upside down. She pulls back enough to look in Aaron’s eyes.
“Thank you for coming down tonight.”
“Sure. Go easy on me my ass.”
“I can’t help it.”
“I know.” Aaron reaches up. She lightly slaps Kevin’s cheek a couple of times. “This has made me feel really unfit. Help me up.”
Kevin does. She helps Aaron hobble to the changing rooms, and she helps take Andrew’s uniform off her, and Kevin is just so extremely helpful that she even helps Aaron in the shower. Very thoroughly. Plunging her fingers fast and hard into Aaron as she holds one of her legs up over her hip, kissing her hot and messy, fuelled by the fantasy of Aaron on the team with her, both of them sneakily getting off in the changing rooms when everyone else has trickled out. Aaron’s soft sounds are muffled against Kevin’s lips as Kevin drags her slick fingers out of her, rubs roughly at her clit until Aaron is shaking through her orgasm, biting down on Kevin’s shoulder.
“Fuck.” Aaron leans heavily against the stall wall. Kevin slowly lowers her shaky leg, holding Aaron’s waist to steady her. Aaron pulls her down into a firm kiss, before she drops to her knees. Kevin has to spread her legs, bring her hips down a bit for Aaron to reach, but then her mouth is on her, her fingers pressing into her, droplets of water from the shower catching on Aaron’s lashes as she gazes up at Kevin. Kevin scarcely lasts a few minutes.
“We should do this more often,” Kevin says, hugging Aaron from behind in the changing room as she finishes packing her bag.
“Exy kink,” Aaron says, like it’s an insult. Kevin laughs and presses her face against the side of Aaron’s hair.
“It’s just you. I have an Aaron kink.”
“Don’t lie to me. You totally have an exy kink.”
“No,” Kevin says, and then after a few seconds: “Maybe.”
The sound of Aaron’s laughter blends with her own, echoing in the empty space.
*
Ichirou calls Kevin to a meeting in early June. Kevin is, to be frankly honest, fairly fucking terrified.
“What could she want?” she asks Jean.
“Perhaps she is just checking on her investments.”
“But she didn’t ask to see you.”
“No one ever does. I am just property, why would she care to speak to me?”
“You’re not property,” Kevin says sharply, catching Jean’s chin and squeezing. “Not anymore.”
As it turns out, what Ichirou wants to talk about is not concerning Jean or Kevin. It’s about something else entirely. It’s about Neil Josten.
“The Butcher of Baltimore worked for me, but he was a bit of a lone operative. Couldn’t always be trusted. He took too much joy in what he did sometimes, I think. One shouldn’t mix too much pleasure with business. I cut him loose when everything started to get a bit messy with the FBI poking around. Anyway, Neil here - that’s what she was going by when we found her - is his daughter. She’s refusing to come work with me.” Ichirou runs her fingers through Neil’s hair. Neil tries to jerk away from her touch, but she grips her red curls and yanks her back into place. Neil hisses, but she doesn’t fight anymore. Her face is covered in bruises and a few cuts, like she’s already been punished extensively for the fight in her. “Technically she belongs to the family. The Butcher promised her to us a long time ago, but her mother ran with her. Now we have her back and she won’t be involved in the business. I could just get rid of her, but it seems like such a waste. When we found her she was playing your silly little game in Millport.”
Kevin tenses her jaw. She knows Ichirou’s dismissal of exy is purposeful. That she wants to test Kevin for a reaction. Kevin bites her tongue and keeps quiet. She glances at Neil. The Butcher’s daughter. Kevin met her once, before, a long time ago. Under a different name. She remembers her father, too. Remembers the body he cut to pieces in front of them.
“I thought, well, two of my investments are already in that field. Why not add a third?”
“Is she any good?” Kevin looks at Neil critically. Neil glares back at her.
“Irrelevant. Surely the Daughter of Exy can train anyone. Make her good. She’s your pet project now, Kevin. Her life is in your hands.”
“Wait, you’re actually letting me go?” Neil looks stunned by this, her head whipping around to Ichirou.
“I told you I planned to send you with Kevin. It’s up to you now to prove your worth.”
“Yes, but that just sounded so bizarre, I-” Neil glances at Kevin. Kevin narrows her eyes in warning, flicking her gaze between Neil and Ichirou. Neil’s lips press together as she takes the hint. “Thank you, Lord. I will.”
“Excellent. You’ve already managed to get her to behave better than any of my men, Kevin. Good job. Right. Off you go then. I’ll be checking in, of course, and watching. But your season is over for the summer, correct? Nothing to worry about for a few months.” Ichirou nods to the door purposefully. Kevin gives her a respectful bow and quickly slips out of the car. She holds the door for Neil. Neil boldly glances back into the car. Kevin nearly takes her head off with the slam of the door, dragging her away by the wrist as the car drives off. Neil pulls away from her grasp.
“Are you actually going to teach me?”
“Will you actually try to learn?”
“Yes,” Neil says without hesitance.
“Good. Your life depends on it.”
“I don’t care about my life. Not how it was, not how they wanted it to be, but if I’m going to get the chance to play exy for real…” Neil meets Kevin’s gaze, and for the first time the cold blue of her eyes softens, brightens with something like excitement. Kevin’s distrust ebbs. Just a little. Perhaps this girl is someone who gets her.
“Then yes, I’ll teach you,” she says. “Every night.”
*
Kevin is outright with everyone about Neil. She needs Wymack to put her on the team for next year, so she has to tell him. Neil’s tied into their deal now, so she tells Jean, whose eyes brighten with recognition.
“You were supposed to be my partner,” she says softly. “If you had not run.”
Neil looks skittish at this, but Kevin has learned she looks skittish most of the time. Like she is constantly ready to bolt.
“I will help Kevin train you,” Jean says decisively. “I cannot specifically mentor you as a striker, but I know all the same drills, and I can give you defence to play against.”
Neil warms to Jean after that.
Andrew does not handle dishonesty well, and it’s not like Kevin is going to lie to Aaron. Not like she even can lie to Aaron. She’s bad at lying to people she knows in general, but the twins and Jean have a special talent for seeing right through her. So Kevin explains it to them too, which means Nicky knows, which means the whole team will know by the time they start back to training.
Aaron is immediately distrustful of Neil, keeping her distance from her when she can. Nicky makes a comment about having found someone new to fill the gap on her list. And Andrew, oh, the way Andrew looks at Neil. Kevin has been trying and failing to make exy Andrew’s purpose, but she thinks she may just have stumbled across what will actually work.
*
“I wish we could just stay here,” Aaron mutters. She’s sitting on the kitchen counter in Columbia, Kevin between her legs. The two of them are passing back and forth a glass of some ridiculously sweet cocktail contraction Nicky mixed up that is more brightly coloured than anything Kevin really thinks she should be putting in her body.
“Fruit,” Nicky had said in response. “Fruits are brightly coloured, and we’re all fruity here. Get it down you.”
“Neil’s not. She doesn’t swing,” Andrew pointed out, but from the way Neil is constantly staring at Andrew, Kevin is not fully convinced of that.
“Asexuality is what the A in LGBTQIA+ stands for,” Aaron had said dryly. She sounded slightly disgusted by herself that she was coming to Neil’s defence, but like Kevin, sometimes Aaron’s desire to be right wins out over everything else. “She still counts.”
Andrew flipped her off, catching Neil by the back of the neck and tugging her out of the room. Laughing, Nicky had gone upstairs with Erika, who is over for the summer.
They’re still in Nicky’s room. She claims they’re getting ready, but Kevin knows what she would be up to if she hadn’t seen Aaron since Christmas. Andrew and Neil have yet to return from their smoking break. Jean is in the living room reading a book. Like Aaron, she is not interested in the whole fuss of Pride, but Nicky is insistent on dragging them all along. C’est la vie.
“What would we do?” Kevin asks, moving the glass aside. Aaron is wearing short denim dungarees. Kevin slides her hands up along her bare thighs. Aaron drapes her arms around Kevin’s shoulders.
“I’m sure we could think of something,” Aaron says, the edge of her mouth quirking up. “Have a little imagination, Kev.”
And oh, Kevin is so, so very good at that, but she doesn’t have to imagine.
Not anymore.