“Need anything else?”

The officer shook his head. “Nah, I think we’re good. Tha-”

“Hey, get back here!”

I turned my head to find one of the suspects I’d just helped apprehend making a run for it. He must have wiggled free from the other officer’s grasp. No biggie. With a little bit of focus, I turned the darkness inside his pant leg solid, and sent a spike of it into the ground. With his hands cuffed behind his back, there was nothing stopping him from faceplanting hard on the asphalt road. Served him right for trying to run. The officer quickly grabbed him and dragged him back over to the cruiser.

The one in front of me cleared his throat. “Right. As I was saying, we should be good from here. Thanks for your help, Seven.”

I nodded, ignoring the way the name rankled. That was dangerous. I was starting to get used to being called ‘Jordyn’ again. “You’re welcome.”

Leaping up to a nearby rooftop and perching on the ledge, I stuck around and watched over the scene until the police left, just in case anything else happened, as per usual. By the time everything was done, the sun was starting to set, bathing Tombguard in a beautiful orange light. The season was turning, apparently. Summer had run its course, and now the weather would begin to grow colder. The idea was exciting. I didn’t feel like the outside world would ever lose its novelty after how long I spent in the facility.

I stepped back from the ledge to make sure no one could see me, and pulled my helmet off. Usually, that would be pretty risky, but I knew Father was out of his office right now, and the odds of him checking back over the footage were pretty low. Yes, I was taking a chance with being put back into that dark room and chained to the wall for another eight hours, but… Well, I’d been thinking about Maggie lately, along with everything she told me. Never stop asking questions, and all that.

Why did Father always want me to keep my helmet on? I thought it was to protect my identity, but everyone at the Union knew my identity now. Even if it was just to protect the sight of my face, surely it didn’t matter if no one was around to see it anyway, right? I mean, he let me run through the city without it back when we went to that ‘party’ thing, so… I felt bad just thinking it, but… it seemed a little arbitrary. Especially when the wind picked up and I got to feel it rushing through what little hair growth I had since I last cut it two weeks ago – another one of my small transgressions, since Father almost never saw me without my helmet anyway.

These were questions I would’ve ordinarily purged from my mind the second they cropped up, but… after what happened with Steve, I’d been letting them sit and working through them in my head. I still didn’t have an answer for why I had to do that to him, and it was making me realise just how much else I didn’t have an answer to. I did what Father wanted because I owed him for saving me, and that wasn’t going to change, but I just wished he wouldn’t keep me in the dark so much. I knew I wasn’t as smart as Maggie seemed to think, but I didn’t think I was as stupid as Father thought, either. I could handle knowing the truth about more stuff.

…Well, it was pointless to think about. It wasn’t like I could just ask him to explain it all to me. I would have to work hard with this Union job and show him I could earn it.

Speaking of, I should probably head over there. It had been about two weeks since I first joined, and I’d only visited a handful of times. If I ever wanted to finish this mission, I needed to start sucking up my nerves and actually interact with the Union heroes. It was just… very uncomfortable whenever Vivienne was around. I wanted to spend time with her, but knowing what I did to her uncle, it was still difficult to be in her presence for any length of time.

Well, whether she was there or not, I couldn’t procrastinate forever. Better get moving.

—

I stepped into the Union conference room, looking around for any sign of life. So far, the place seemed empty. Aside from Muffin, of course, who somehow always knew when I’d arrived and was always there to greet me. He pranced up to me, trilling, and I removed one of my gauntlets to pet his weirdly wrinkly head.

“Wrinkly little boy,” I said. He mewed in agreement, nipping gently at my fingers.

With no one around, I decided I might as well explore the place on my own. To that end, I followed a hallway out of the conference room, taking turns randomly. Muffin came along for a bit, before getting bored and skulking off somewhere else.

Eventually, I came to what appeared to be some sort of gym. Brianna was there, running on one of the treadmills. Her braids were tied back behind her head, swaying back and forth with her movements. It looked like she’d worked up quite a sweat, based on the sheen that had covered her dark skin.

She turned her head towards me slightly, slowing the treadmill down to a walk. “That you, Jordyn?”

“Yeah. How’d you know?” I asked.

She smiled. “The way you walked in. You step like you’re trying not to be heard, but those boots aren’t exactly subtle when they hit the ground.”

…I did do that, didn’t I? “O-oh. I hadn’t realised. That… That’s a pretty impressive skill.”

Brianna shrugged. “Eh. I can’t see people when they approach, so I’ve had to figure out other ways of determining who’s who. Doesn’t work all the time, obviously, but you’re pretty unique, so it’s hard to mix you up with anyone.”

Unique, huh? The thought made me feel warm. “What if I didn’t have my armour on, though?”

She seemed to ponder on it for a second, then shrugged again. “Then I’d probably be out of luck unless you spoke.” She grinned, showing off her teeth. “Why, planning on stripping down?”

“No, just curious.”

Brianna paused, her expression faltering slightly. She then quietly chuckled for some reason, shaking her head. “Ah, you’re funny. Say, do you wanna run with me? I’ve still got a few K’s left before I hit my goal.”

It seemed as good an opportunity as any to start ingratiating myself, and I was no stranger to a treadmill. “Sure.”

I hopped up on the treadmill next to her, turning it on and slowly increasing the speed until I was at a steady run. For the most part, we remained silent, only focusing on the pounding of our feet and the occasional beep of Brianna’s treadmill announcing her progress every 500 metres or so. It was relaxing in a way training usually wasn’t for me. Probably because for once I couldn’t feel Father’s eyes on my back, watching for every mistake.

“You’re keeping a pretty good pace,” Brianna said. “Do this often?”

“Every day,” I replied. “It’s usually just a warm up for my daily training regiment. Gotta keep my stamina high, y’know?”

“Damn, I’ve gotta respect the grind. Though, with the work you do, I guess that’s to be expected. Bet you’ve got a pretty nice physique under that armour though, huh?”

“Y-yeah, it’s, uh… It’s pretty nice, I guess…” I muttered, insides swirling. “You’ve got a nice body, too.”

It was the truth. I wasn’t sure why, but I had to keep myself from constantly glancing over to her to catch another glimpse of her toned midriff, exposed by her exercise-wear.

Brianna laughed. “Thanks, babe. I work pretty hard for it. You’ll have to show me yours sometime, too.”

I frowned. “How would that work if you can’t see?”

She grinned again. “I’ve got hands, don’t I? I’m sure I’ll be able to get the picture with those.”

I stumbled a bit on the treadmill, almost falling off before righting myself again. “Uh, y-yeah, I guess you would.”

…Wow, the thought of that felt funny. There was this weird, sparky sort of tingling in my gut, similar to that feeling I got back when I first figured out I could touch my clitoris to feel good, only not quite as strong yet. It made me want to go home and do that right now, actually. Or, alternatively, feel Brianna’s hands on my body and maybe between my legs as well. I wondered what that meant.

We ran in comfortable – yet contemplative, at least in my case – silence until Brianna finished up and reached her goal. She powered down her treadmill and got off, reaching down and picking a red and white cane up off the floor as she did so. I followed suit.

“So, you wanna… hit the showers?” she asked, enunciating the last part a little weirdly.

“No thanks. I usually just shower when I get back home.”

Brianna paused for a second, then shrugged. “Alright. Some other time, then. Catch you later, cutie.”

She winked at me, before turning and making her way out of the gym, sweeping her cane back and forth in front of herself as she went.

Wow, she was nice. I made a mental note to try and come back here around this time more often, so we could run together again.

Now that I was on my own, I turned back to the gym at large and had a proper look around. The space seemed pretty well-equipped. They obviously had an array of treadmills, but there was also an absolute truckload of other exercise equipment, too. Racks of weights, padded flooring clearly meant for sparring, a small selection of martial arts weaponry on one wall, and in an adjacent room, a big pit in the ground filled with water. That last one confused me a bit, so I ignored it, honing back in on what was familiar: the weaponry.

I picked a bō up off of the wall, examining it. The wood was rough and unfinished, as to be expected, and covered by a slight layer of dust. It was nothing I couldn’t wipe down though, and it had been a while since I got to work with one of these. Might as well make the most of it.

I walked out onto the sparring mat and settled into a comfortable stance, holding the bō in a standard two-handed grip. Taking a breath, I moved through what I remembered of my katas, swinging, thrusting, and spinning the bō around me, in sync with the rhythm of my body. As more came back to me, I began moving through them faster, striking harder, picturing targets in my mind’s eye to take down with my attacks.

Once I’d gone through each remembered kata at least three times, I began improvising, following the learned movements of my bō training and applying them to my own usual fighting style. The bō became an extension of my limbs, lashing out further and with greater power than I’d usually be able to muster on my own. I started flourishing a little, just for fun, spinning the bō around my arms and back as I brought it in for a strike. Then I began incorporating my shadows, using the bō as a conduit to manipulate them to my will.

Despite how hard I was pushing myself to maintain my speed and precision in my practice, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so relaxed. Going through these repetitive yet satisfying movements without Father lurking over my shoulder felt… fun. Almost freeing, in a way. I’d never thought training could be enjoyable, and yet here I was, actually having a good time while working out for a change.

Once I was satisfied, I finished off with one final strike before settling back into a neutral stance, taking a deep breath and letting the tension flow out of my muscles.

A small round of applause from the side of the room startled me. I whirled around to find Vivienne leaning against the wall, clapping her hands along with one other guy I didn’t recognise, who was sitting on the bench next to her.

“That was impressive, Jordyn. You’ll have to teach me how to do that someday,” she said.

“Oh. Uh, thanks,” I replied. “When did you get here?”

“A couple minutes ago. I was actually looking for you. Brea told me you were in here.”

The guy stood up, waving. “I’m here too. The name’s Rishta. I was just coming by to do my dailies, but that was some awesome shit you just did there. Where’d you learn?”

“I had a trainer. I’m a little rusty, though,” I answered, then looked at Vivienne. “What did you need?”

“Oh, I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out. I’ve finished all my studies for today, so I’ve got some time to kill. Do you wanna do anything?”

On one hand, this was a great opportunity to start gaining more trust among the higher-up Union members, as Vivienne seemed to be, as well as an opportunity to just to spend more time with her, which a large part of me still really wanted to do. On the other, what happened to Steve still sat heavily at the back of my mind. I couldn’t keep running from her forever, though. I was never going to make up for the pain I’d caused if I just kept hiding from ever having to think about it. If she had gone so far as to actively seek me out, it meant she wanted to see me. It would only hurt her more if I kept turning her down.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Uh, y-yeah, sure. What did you have in mind?”

“Hold on,” Rishta interrupted. “Before you girls go anywhere; Jordyn, could I spar with you?”

Finally, something familiar. This must be a common pastime here. As much as I hated fighting, it was something I could do well. Accepting his offer would be a great way to start making ground on my mission. “Okay.”

He clapped his hands. “Great! I’ve been wanting to test your mettle ever since I saw you kick some guy’s ass on the news. I’ve been doing MMA for almost my whole life, but I’ve never seen moves like that. I’d be really interested to hear where you learned your stuff.”

Vivienne rolled her eyes with a smirk, sitting down on the bench. “Well, I guess I’ll ref, then.”

Rishta turned to her, hands clasped in apology. “Sorry Viv, just one match. It won’t take that long!”

She smiled. “It’s fine. It’ll make for some entertainment to see you get put on your ass at least.”

“Damn. Confident in Jordyn, aren’t you?”

“Jordyn is a highly trained special forces police officer. You are an admittedly pretty good martial artist. While I do think you have a chance, Jordyn’s got you beat in the experience department by a mile.”

“Okay, I’ll concede that,” Rishta said. “Either way, win or lose, I just wanna see how I fair. So, ref, what are the rules?”

Vivienne seemed to think for a second before deciding. “One round, either a ten second pin or a tap-out. No power use. Also, Jordyn? You’ve gotta take your armour off, otherwise it isn’t fair.”

I cocked my head to the side. “Why’s that?”

Rishta snorted. “Uh, because if you hit me with those metal fists you’re liable to take teeth out? And also, how am I meant to land a hit if I might break my wrist with a solid punch?”

That was… pretty reasonable, actually. There was a reason most of my trainers used special equipment when I was fighting them in my armour.

“Okay, but… I’m not allowed to let people see my face.”

“You can use your powers to cover it up, but only for that,” Vivienne said. “Like that night we ran into each other, remember?”

I nodded. “Yeah, alright.”

There was a chance Father would be mad at me for doing this, but… technically, I was still following all of his rules, right? Yes, he wanted me to keep my armour on at all times outside of my quarters, but if they still couldn’t see my face, what did it really matter? If he wanted me to gain their trust, I was gonna have to take some risks.

Step by step, I peeled my armour off, piling it on the floor. I summoned a cloud of shadows around my face before pulling off my helmet, and left it with the rest.

Rishta whistled. “Damn, girl. You are built.”

I didn’t know what that meant. Glancing at Vivienne heeded no clues, either. She was too busy looking at my arms, for whatever reason.

“Uh, sorry?”

Vivienne stood up, walking over. “He means you’re muscular. Seriously though, you have some nice arms.” She reached out, but stopped before she could make contact. “Can I feel?”

Most of the time, when people needed to touch me, they just did it. It was weird for her to ask, but oddly, it actually made me feel better about saying yes. I nodded, holding my arm out to her.

She placed a cold hand on my bicep, gently squeezing, before running her fingers up to my shoulder. I was only dressed in a tanktop and my underwear, so she had a lot of space to explore.

“What’s this scar here?” she asked, tracing over an indent on the front of my shoulder.

“A criminal’s knife got through my armour. It was a long time ago, though.”

Vivienne paused, stepping back with an odd look on her face. “Right…”

Rishta cleared his throat. “Are we gonna spar? Or do I need to give you two some space together?”

Vivienne’s face turned a fascinating shade of pink. She whirled around to Rishta, pointing an accusatory finger at him. “That’s enough out of you.”

“I’m ready,” I said.

“Alright, let’s do this,” he replied, walking into the sparring ring. I followed behind him and settled into a fighting stance on the opposite side.

“Are you both good to go?” Vivienne asked from the sidelines.

“Yup,” Rishta replied.

“Yes,” I said.

“Alright. Remember, you win by either pinning the other person for ten seconds, or getting them to tap out. No power usage. Just a clean and friendly match. Alright, fight!”

I inched towards Rishta, keeping a close eye on his movements as he did the same. Due to my lack of coverage, I was at a slight disadvantage; any twitch in my muscles to indicate my thoughts would be that much more visible, and I couldn’t read his thanks to his baggy clothing. I would just have to trust in my own reflexes.

We reached contact distance and Rishta didn’t waste any time, throwing out a few clear jabs to test me. I batted them away with ease, and returned with a few of my own. He ducked out of the way of one, but the second grazed his ear. He flinched, jumping back out of my range.

“Okay,” he muttered. “Faster than I thought. That’s fine.”

Why he was wasting time talking to himself, I didn’t know. I would, however, be taking advantage of it. I darted forward, aiming to sink a fist into his solar plexus before he could react. His reaction speed was pretty good though, as he noticed just in time and moved to block the hit. My fist was redirected, but I still landed a glancing blow on his ribs that would succeed in winding him a bit all the same.

I didn’t let up, aiming high this time. He blocked a hook directed at his jaw and grabbed my arm, clearly aiming to throw me as he spun into my centre. I moved with the throw, flipping over in the air to land back on my feet, and used my momentum to land a solid kick to his side. Rishta gasped, letting go of me and backing up.

“F-fuck, Jordyn. You’re-”

Apparently, he hadn’t learned his lesson. I just wanted to get this over with, so I moved in for the kill, returning his attempt at a throw by slipping my leg behind his and flipping him over my hip. He slammed back-first onto the mat and I wasted no time, grabbing his arm and pulling it between my legs as I wrapped them around his throat and waist, trapping him in an armbar. Then, I dropped to my back, squeezed my legs, and pulled with all my strength, pushing my hips up at the same time.

Rishta screamed as the pressure mounted, and it wasn’t long before the tell-tale pop of his shoulder leaving his socket reached my ears. This fight was over.

I released his arm and rolled back up to my feet. Rishta remained on the floor, catching his breath and groaning.

“What the fuck was that?!”

I looked up to find Vivienne staring at me, a horrified expression on her face. “What did you do?!”

“I dislocated his shoulder,” I replied. Why did she look so bothered?

Vivienne’s face didn’t change. “Why?!”

I frowned. “I… I don’t understand. What’s wrong?”

“J-Jordyn,” Rishta called from the floor, voice shaking. “While that was a s-seriously impressive armbar, I… I think she wants to know… wh-why you felt the need to dislocate my FUCKING shoulder!”

“Isn’t… Isn’t that normally how sparring matches go?” I asked, starting to get the distinct feeling I’d done something very, very wrong. “I dislocate my shoulders at least once a week in training.”

Vivienne’s face finally shifted, all the way from horror to pity. “Oh, Jordyn… No, that’s… that’s not normal. You shouldn’t be dislocating anything at all ever. I’m shocked you can even move your arms at this point if it’s happening so frequently.”

I looked down at Rishta, his face contorted in pain. Pain that I caused. I just couldn’t stop hurting people, could I? “I… don’t understand.”

What did ‘not normal’ even mean? This was just the way it had always been. I trained, and if I wasn’t good enough, I was hurt. My shoulders came out easier and easier the more it happened, but that was just what I deserved for failing to meet Father’s expectations. Was that… not how it was done in the Heroes’ Union? Was Father hurting me for no reason? No, definitely not. I never would have become as strong as I am if he didn’t train me like he did. But… If all of these heroes could do their jobs without needing to go through that training…

Vivienne kneeled down, helping Rishta to his feet. “We’ll talk more about this later, Jordyn. Right now, I need to get him to urgent care.”

No. No, I caused this pain, but I knew how to fix it, too. I needed to fix it.

“W-wait, I know how to put it back in. P-please, let me help.”

Vivienne looked at me appraisingly, and then at Rishta. “Are you okay with that?” she asked.

“If she’s really dislocated her sh- shit-” he paused, wincing for a second, “shoulders as much as she says she has, I’m sure she knows what she’s doing. Let her have a go.”

Vivienne nodded, gently laying him back down. I kneeled down next to him, hands shaking, throat clogged with the need to cry. Now wasn’t the time for that, so I forced it back.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I- I just thought this was how it was.”

“It’s cool, Jordyn. You don’t get very far as a martial artist if you hold a grudge every time someone puts you on your ass. If you wanna make it up to me, you can teach me how you did that flippy thing when I tried to throw you. Also, find a new trainer. Yours sounds like an asshole. Maybe a therapist, too.”

I grunted noncommittally. As if Father would ever let me choose my trainers. Also, I didn’t know what a therapist was, so it was hard to agree to that, as well.

Step by step, I walked him through the process of getting his shoulder back into place. He cried out a bit louder than expected when it popped back in, but succeeded nonetheless.

“Shit, that was intense,” Rishta muttered, still catching his breath, tears visibly pricking his eyelids.

“Feel better?” Vivienne asked.

“Yeah,” he replied.

“Do you have a sling you could use? Standard procedure with shoulder dislocations is to give the joint a rest for a week. If not, I could get one for you.”

“Thanks, Viv. That’d be great.”

“And you,” she said, rounding on me, poking me in the chest. “Rest your shoulders before you lose use of them entirely. You’re gonna give yourself arthritis.”

I blinked. “Huh?”

Vivienne sighed. “Do your shoulders hurt?”

I frowned. “Yeah. All the time. Don’t everyone’s?”

“Jordyn.” Her voice turned soft. “Most people aren’t in any pain at all. Your shoulders hurt because they’ve been constantly abused. Every time you dislocate them, the muscles and tendons are stretched far beyond what they’re made for. Even when you set the joint back in, the damage stays, and it takes time, and more importantly, rest, to recover. Even with the rest, your joint becomes weaker. I’m not a doctor, but I am in medical school, and honestly? I think at this point the only way you’re going to ever fully recover is through major surgery.”

“Oh.” That was… a lot to take in. There was no way that was correct, though. Father wouldn’t let me continue to injure myself if it would affect my performance in the long run, right? My performance was practically all he cared about.

“I know that must be pretty daunting, but don’t worry too much, okay?” Vivienne put a hand on my shoulder and I felt it dig straight into my heart. The tears started forcing their way back up my throat, despite my best efforts. “The Union is here for you. You’re never alone when you’re with us.”

This was too much. I needed to get out of here. I’d done my part for the day and now I needed to go.

I moved past Vivienne towards where my armour was, and began re-equipping it as fast as I could. Neither of them spoke a word or tried to stop me, and once everything was back where it should be, I all-but ran out of the room and out of the building, jumping up to the rooftops to hide.

Maybe one day I’d be able to have a normal interaction with Vivienne without feeling more emotions than I thought possible, but today wasn’t that day. So much was running through my head, and I didn’t know what to do with any of it. Once again, that advice from Maggie rang through my ears. Father was hurting me unnecessarily, and I couldn’t understand why. More importantly, how the hell was I supposed to unravel all of this when barely getting through the day took so much brain power already?

Vivienne said the Union would be there for me when I needed them. But would they be there for this?

—

“No, no, no, no, no, no- Aw, come on!” Vivienne grumbled, throwing the controller down on the bed.

“Did you die again?” Brea asked.

“Shut up.”

“Have you tried turning the difficulty down?”

“Brianna, I swear to god.”

Brianna giggled, sinking back against the pillows. “I’m just sayin’. Listening to you die over and over again is starting to get boring.”

“Why don’t you try it, then?” Viv teased, though she knew it was a bit of a low blow.

“Ooh, you’re so funny, Viv.”

Vivienne grunted. In truth, she wasn’t all that invested in the game. The earlier events of the day were still taking up far too many of her thoughts for that. Rishta would be fine after a week or so, of course, and he was a remarkably good sport about the whole incident. No, he wasn’t the issue. The issue was that Jordyn had once again inadvertently revealed something about her life that she deemed innocuous, but was actually horrifying, and now Vivienne couldn’t stop thinking about it. The poor girl dislocated her shoulders once a week! She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised, given what they’d learned about Jordyn’s origins. It made sense that de Vygon wouldn’t bother being too protective of her when he literally grew her in a tube and could grow another just as easily. Still, it was just… so fucked up. Vivienne wanted to grab hold of Jordyn, wrap her in blankets, stop forcing her to hide her face, give her a hot chocolate and some plushies and a kiss on the forehead, and put her in front of a tv with some disney movies or something. Just… anything to alleviate the trauma that poor girl was going through on a daily basis.

Yes, these things took time and she just needed to be patient. But knowing that didn’t make the burning need to do something any less powerful.

“So,” Brianna said, holding the syllable out for far longer than necessary. “What do you think about Jordyn?”

Vivienne blinked. Apparently, Brianna had the power to read minds on top of her ability to turn into smoke.

“What do you mean?”

Brianna sighed. “I dunno. Think she likes girls?”

Ah. That made more sense. “Hard to say. Maybe? Why?”

“I was putting out a couple of feelers today when we were running on the treadmills together; y’know, trying to see how receptive she was to a casual fuck. She seemed into it, but then she turned me down when I invited her to the showers, so I’m not really sure.”

Vivienne snorted at her bluntness. “You wanna screw Jordyn?”

“Yeah, why not? She’s cute, isn’t she?”

“I dunno, I’ve never seen her face.”

“I mean, like, her personality ‘n stuff. Y’know, hardworking, determined, but kinda naive. And at the same time, sort of meek. It’s interesting. I’d like to know more about her.”

“And, to do that you’re gonna bang her?” Vivienne asked.

“Well, to be honest, she gives me major anxiety vibes. It would probably be good for her to unwind, y’know? Obviously, if she doesn’t want to, I’m cool to just hang with her, but I’m of the opinion that fucking someone is the single best icebreaker there is. Once you share that… that ultimate vulnerability with each other, there’s no nerves getting in the way anymore, y’know? Isn’t that how our friendship started?”

“I- well, okay fine, you’ve got me there,” Viv admitted, much to her chagrin. Sleeping with Brianna had been a great way to loosen up and also gain some confidence in herself after joining the Union. Hell, it would probably be just as useful for Jordyn, just like Brea was saying. But, knowing what she knew about Jordyn’s whole deal, it could definitely backfire if not handled with caution.

“Still, if you’re gonna do it, just… be careful? Jordyn seems like she’s got a lot going on, and she might… I don’t know… go along with it when she doesn’t really want to. I get the feeling she has trouble saying no to people.”

Brea hummed. “Yeah, I can definitely see that. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful. Either way, I gotta get my intentions through to her first.”

“Honestly? You’re probably best off just being straightforward. Like you said, she’s pretty naive. If you’re not clear, she’s not gonna get it; like you inviting her to the showers.”

“Yeah, that tracks... Anyway, that aside, are you gonna keep playing any time soon? I’m actually starting to get invested in the plot, but if all I can hear for the next hour is the sound of you getting your ass kicked, I’m leaving.”

A laugh burst up from Vivienne’s chest. “Oh, okay then. Tell me how you really feel, Brea.”

She fished the controller up from where it had fallen between her and Brianna’s legs, and unpaused the game. It was serious now; her pride was on the line. Vivienne was gonna beat this boss or die trying.

It was a little weird to think about; Brianna and Jordyn having sex. Part of her instinctively objected to the idea, on the basis of Jordyn’s sheltered-ness and naivety. But, in truth, Jordyn was a grown woman, and she deserved to make her own choices, even- no, especially when it came to stuff like this. Besides, Vivienne trusted Brea. Regardless of how it turned out or what Jordyn decided, she trusted that Brianna would do the right thing. She knew what she was doing in this department far more than Vivienne could ever hope to. There was nothing to worry about. It would all turn out for-

“Did you just die again?”

“Fuck!”