Chapter 48: Relationship talks

Alex Sandclaw’s POV: (continued)

Walking up to the old competition building was a lot less nerve-wracking this time. I’d been here before, and I now knew there wasn’t a reason to be nervous. I still was, of course, but not nearly as much as last week.

Just like last time, Hugo was waiting outside again, and apparently we were the last to arrive, because we all immediately went inside. We weren’t that late, were we? Was everyone just waiting for us to start? How long had they been waiting? Would they be annoy—I shook the thoughts off and focused back on the conversation between Viggi and Hugo. They were talking about Academy contracts.

Hugo shook his head. “Don’t do it. You’ll get killed. There’s no need to take risks like that, no matter how big the reward is. It’s not worth it.”

“But didn’t you take similar risks when you were young?”

“Yes,” Hugo said, ”and it almost got my entire group killed. Don’t do it.”

Viggi sighed. “Fine. But I'll still have to talk it over with my party.”

Hugo just sighed and shook his head, though there was a satisfied look in his eyes. I hoped he was successful in talking Viggi out of his decision. I wasn’t sure what the conversation had been about, but it didn’t sound good. Should I also talk to him about this? Maybe I should ask Felix first, though? He knew a lot more about contracts than I did.

All I knew was that they were agreements with the Academy to do certain tasks, like monster hunting. I had no clue how you would get one, or what the requirements were. I knew we’d learn about it eventually during some class, though maybe it wouldn’t hurt to ask Felix for more details later. You could never be too prepared after all.

“What was so dangerous about the contract?” I asked.

Viggi blinked. “Oh, it was a monster hunting contract for our next break, but the level of the monsters wasn’t known.”

I stared at him for a moment, before shaking my head. “I hardly know anything about contracts and even I know that’s a terrible idea. Leave that for the over-leveled experts.”

“Yeah, Hugo made that very clear.”

I nodded. “Alright. Just stay safe, okay? You’re my friend now and I don’t want to see you getting hurt.”

He assured me again that he’d stay safe, then we walked inside the meeting space. Despite us being a bit late, people were still standing around and mingling. Not Sekara, though. No, she was already sitting and just watching her girlfriend talk with others. I wasn’t sure if she was pleased by that or jealous or whatever else—her expression was unreadable.

Saying I’d meet back up with him later, I left Viggi to go sit next to Sekara. She looked up at me and smiled. “Hey Alex, how are you?”

“Good. Surprisingly good. You?”

“I’m fine,” she said, though her eyes couldn’t quite meet mine. “Did you do anything interesting last week?”

We talked about how our respective weeks had been for a while until Hugo started the meeting. Despite our rough start last week, we got along well, and we promised to finish talking later before we both turned to pay attention. Viggi sat down next to me and I flashed him a smile.

The meeting started like it did last week, and soon we were talking about whatever people wanted to talk about. It was hard to find a moment to ask my question, since there were so many others, all asking more interesting and important questions. Mine could wait, though, couldn’t it? My relationship issues were insignificant compared to their issues, like discrimination, coping mechanisms, and other such questions.

I took a deep breath and told myself what I told Viggi earlier. Just because someone else had a ‘worse’ problem, that didn’t make mine any less valid. And what was the point of going here if I couldn’t talk about my own problems, too? Besides, there had been nothing to even remotely suggest they’d look down on me for asking my question.

Having calmed myself, I waited until the current topic was done, then it was my turn. I raised my hand to signal I had a topic to talk about, and Hugo nodded at me to speak.

“Um, I have a topic to talk about. What are g-gay relationships like? Because I don’t know. Nobody ever talked about them at home, and the books I read never feel like they’re right either—the relationships in them feel… too normal, I guess.”

Someone raised his hand to answer, and Hugo gave him the floor. I didn’t quite remember his name, but I did know the man was a fourth-year student and that he was gay. Funny which details stuck around in your mind.

“I’d like to start by saying I’ve only been in two serious relationships so far, so take what I say with a grain of salt. That being said, from my experience, they’re the same as straight relationships. You go out, have fun, spend time together, kiss each other, fuck, have fights and arguments, make up, talk about your problems, help each other deal with the world, etc. Everything a straight couple would do, really.”

Someone else raised her hand and Hugo gave her a turn to speak.

“So, I’m clearly not gay the same way you are, but I’ve still picked up quite a lot—from this group and my friends. The main thing I always hear is different is how gay relationships approach sex. And no, I don’t mean just because you have different parts, but I’ve seen a lot more gay relationships that are non-monogamous and generally more open to talk about the topic.”

Hugo took the opportunity to talk next. “That’s true. A gay couple is much more likely to be non-monogamous. If you’re not sure what that means, Alex, come talk to me later. It’s a complex subject. But basically it means you can have relations aside from your main partner. Straight couples tend to only ever stay with each other. Neither approach is really better than the other, though I have seen more happy gay couples than happy straight couples. Sorry, I got a little off-topic there. What I wanted to say was that it’s only likelier, and not a standard feature of gay relationships. It’s something you’ll have to discuss with any partner you have.”

He paused and looked at me as if to make sure if I understood. I mostly did, but I figured I could ask about what I didn’t later.

He continued. “On that note, all relationships are different. You’ll have no two partners who are the same, or share the same history with you, or share the same circumstances as the other. Relationships are really as varied as people are. But John was right in that straight relationships are mostly the same as gay ones. The only other big difference I can think of is children, since we can’t have our own and have to adopt if we want to raise children. That brings a whole different dynamic into the relationship. Actually, I might as well…”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Hugo talked about his experiences with adoption for a while until someone interjected to talk about their own experiences with their partners. What troubles they went through and how they solved them. This caused a tidal wave of people talking about their relationships.

I knew what they were doing, even if only subconsciously, and I appreciated it. They were normalizing the topic, showing gay relationships were just as normal as any other relationship. It was working too. Most of my worries and questions had been settled by their talks. Except one, but I wasn’t going to ask the whole group about how sex worked for gay people—I’d burn up in flames from the embarrassment. Besides, I now had the books I could consult about the topic. It was a long way off, anyway. I had time to figure myself and it out. I was in no rush.

Soon the topic shifted to something different, but I wasn’t paying attention. I had a lot to think about. The way they described gay relationships was pretty much the same as what I knew from having observed straight couples all my life. The real question now was, did I want that with Viggi? I wasn’t sure. I didn’t think I did, but it didn’t feel right to outright deny the possibility. Who knew what the future held, after all. For all I knew, I would totally be able to imagine myself in a full-on relationship if we dated for a few weeks. Which brought me back to my original question: did I want to date Viggi? Or at least give it a try?

That was a much more difficult question to answer. I didn’t know if I even liked him. I’d never liked somebody before and had nothing to compare my feelings to. Did I even need to like him to go on a date? If so, how would I know if I liked him? I really should ask someone what it’s like to like someone romantically.

My thoughts were interrupted by Hugo winding the meeting down. People started getting up and mingling. Viggi was talking with someone I didn’t know, so I turned to look for Sekara. She was still sitting next to me, while her girlfriend—Zhalia—was talking to some other woman. I wanted to ask about it, but I barely knew Sekara and the question felt too personal. The thought made me smile a little. Last week I asked about her genitals, but asking about her girlfriend now felt too personal. Then embarrassment and shame burned in my mind as I truly remembered last week—I really shouldn’t have asked that question.

I shook my mind to clear my thoughts and sat down next to her. “Viggi asked you to join us at the river this weekend, right?” I asked. “Are you two coming?”

“He did, yeah,” she said, nodding. “Zhalia wants to go, but I’m not so sure.”

I tilted my head. “Can I ask why?”

“It’s just that… nevermind, Zhalia is right. The reason is… it’s dumb.” She sighed. “I think I’ll be there, yeah.”

I frowned. That didn’t sound like it was dumb. Whatever it was clearly bothered her. “Well, alright. If you want to talk about it, I’m all ears. Just keep in mind that you can just leave any time you want to tomorrow. You aren’t obligated to stay if it makes you uncomfortable.”

She smiled. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind. What kind of things do you have planned, though? Viggi was vague about that.”

I told her about our plans for our group to practice a little sparring, to have a nice picnic, to swim and just lounge on the riverbanks. I asked her if there was anything she wanted to do in particular, and she asked if she could bring a ball to throw around and play with. I couldn’t really think of a reason why that would be a problem, so I said sure.

After my rumbling stomach interrupted our conversation, we decided to get some food. Viggi had already placed our contribution here earlier. They were some kind of small round disks—about the size of my palm—of thin bread with tomato sauce and melted cheese. Mini pizzas he had called them. I liked them, and I made sure to shovel a few onto my plate.

Zhalia and Viggi joined us while we ate, but Zhalia left again after we finished. Viggi stayed to chat with us though. I saw him glancing at Zhalia too. It seemed I wasn’t the only one to notice something was going on.

Unlike last week, I was a lot less exhausted this time, so I was able to stay a lot longer. Eventually Sekara excused herself and went over to Zhalia, who was still chatting with the same woman. The two argued for a moment before leaving together. I hoped they could solve whatever problem they had going on. I liked Sekara and wanted her to be happy.

With my only other friend here gone, I didn’t really have a reason to stay here specifically. Viggi didn’t seem to mind either way and offered to walk me home. There was a slight drizzle outside, which was strange. It was the first time since I arrived here that it rained. It was a novel experience. I liked it. The cool droplets running down my scales reminded me of taking a shower. The only thing that I didn’t like was how it got all my clothes wet and stuck against my scales.

Viggi and I continued chatting as we walked through the rain. He talked a little more about the contract he had considered taking, reassuring me once again he wasn’t going to anymore. I learned a little more about contracts, like that there was a minimum amount you needed to complete each year starting the second year.

Sadly, the fun of the rain didn’t last, and I don’t think I had ever been happier to see the dorm building. It was actually dry there! To both our surprise, the fun and light drizzle had quickly turned into a heavy shower and we were both soaked, cold, and miserable now. Viggi didn’t seem nearly as bothered as I was, though.

Once inside, Viggi handed me an envelope. I shook my hand dry and took it. “What’s this?” I asked.

“The job openings I promised to talk with my dad about. I completely forgot to give it earlier this week, and only just remembered I had put it into my bag this morning so I wouldn’t forget again. Look it through and let me know what you think tomorrow, alright?”

I nodded, and he was off. Having nowhere dry to put the envelope, I just held it in my hands as I walked to my room. Not wanting to get the contents of my bag wet just to get my key, I knocked on the door. Felix opened the door a few moments later and upon seeing my state, hastily pulled me inside. He took my bag and immediately ushered me into the shower. His concern warmed me up more than the shower did.

After drying myself off, I noticed there were already clothes in here waiting for me. It seemed that Felix had anticipated I would be coming home soaking wet. Well, it had been raining for a while and it showed no sign of stopping, so that wasn’t too surprising. That or he put them in here while I showered. But I liked the first option more, so I went with that.

As I walked back out, a flowery scent hit me. I hadn’t really noticed before, but it pervaded the entire room. I liked it, but I had no idea where it was coming from. I turned to Felix, who was reading Rivers—I really had to start with that too. “Why does it smell like flowers in here?”

“Oh, I tracked some mud onto my bedding by accident, so I had to wash them. I’m sorry about the smell. Does it bother you?”

“No, it’s fine. Flowers are nice. How did you get mud on your bedding, though?”

He blinked. “...stupidity?”

I laughed. “I can believe that.”

He scratched the scales behind his ears and was unable to meet my eyes. It must have been really embarrassing. I kind of wanted to press him for the story, but let the matter drop for now. It didn’t seem like he wanted to share it.

“How was your day?” I asked instead.

He stood up and walked over to sit near me. I noticed he was walking a little funny.

“It was alright. I did a little reading, entertained myself. How was the meeting?”

“It was good. I learned a lot—again.” I didn’t really want Felix to know about Viggi so I kept the details to myself. “Why are you walking funny?”

“Huh? Oh, I’m a little sore. From the exercises! The exercises professor Marchie gave me.”

“Okay…” I said, not sure what to think of his little outburst. “Anything I could do as well?”

“I’m not sure, I’ll take a look. Oh! I had this notebook for you as well. I completely forgot to give it earlier.”

He dug around in his bag then handed me a little notebook. I leafed through it and saw they were all tips and tricks for riding a flying mount. Neat. I sat down to read it, while Felix laid down nearby to continue reading Rivers.