I had gotten sick after all. Not as bad as the labels on my compressed foods would have you believe, but... I shouldn't have eaten as much as I did. Either way, it was worth it to get to see my mom and Appa again, and to get to bond with Marissa more. I'd stayed up a little late playing on my tablet, I still hadn't messaged Nada yet, but I wanted to have time to really sit down and talk to her when I did, so I figured it could wait a little more. I tried making friends on AntMound to talk about my living situation with, but I was having trouble finding people who I 'matched' with, size, guardian type, ect. I'd gone to bed, thoughts of the next day's sleepover in my head, dreading it and almost looking forward to it at the same time.
The next morning, a knock on my wall woke me up, and I climbed out of bed, walking over the edge as Marissa opened it up.
"Hey, uhh, I need you to wear this today, and I gotta pick my own clothes..." she said, handing me a pair of tan flared slacks and a white frilled blouse
"This is kind of formal for a school day, what's the occasion?" I asked, taking the clothes
Marissa gave me a pained, nervous smile "...My mom got back into town last night after we came upstairs, she wants to eat breakfast together, and... you know, first impressions and all."
"I guess we're both having a 'meet the parents' moment this week, huh?" I said jokingly
"Yeahhhh, uh, ok. So..." Marissa said awkwardly "I need to set up some rules for this, I'm really sorry, it's not me being a bitch this time, it's actually important."
"I mean, I don't mind if you're a little bit of a bitch." I said lightly "Why rules?"
"This is serious, Amber. My mom is... mmm, ok, so if she talks to you, you can say something, but otherwise, please just sit quietly? And like, try to be as graceful as possible, and please, please, don't mention us being together, even if she does talk to you..."
"Wait..." I said "Wait, you're- you're really going to try and convince her I'm nothing but a pet, aren't you?"
I was hurt, I knew I shouldn't be, she'd done the same with her friends, but to not even be allowed to talk? I felt like she was ashamed of me, or that she valued her 'dignity' over mine. With her friends, it was easy to say it was an act, her manipulating them the way she always did, but with her mother, it was... more personal. I felt the emotions swirling inside me, and I tried to push them down, but they still made it up to my face and I fought off tears.
"Oh, fuck, Amber..." Marissa said, taking me into her hand, the clothes left on the floor behind me "My mom isn't happy I got you at all, she'd hate if she knew we were even friends, even if you were still your old size. If she realized we were a thing?... She could kick me out, or- I don't know, stop paying for school until I got rid of you."
"I'm- I'm not an item to get rid of like a shirt or an old sock..." I said, my voice cracking. "I'm a person, I'm your person."
Why was I feeling this now? Was it because I'd finally let myself feel like we were ok together?
"No, look, Amber, no matter what she did, I wouldn't get rid of you..." She said. She kissed the top of my head and squeezed me tightly "I'll never ever give you up, ever."
A week ago, that would have been a threat. It might still be, in the right setting...
"I just- I want to feel like a person, I felt like a person all day yesterday, and now I'm supposed to be your new toy again?"
"I know, I know..." she cooed "I understand, but if you can do this and just hold out, she'll be gone again in a week or so, and we'll have the run of the house. We don't even have to see her much, just a dinner here or there, a breakfast, maybe going shopping once, it'll be fine."
"It feels like I'm only your... whatever we are, when it's convenient for you..."
"It's not forever, when I graduate I get the company, remember?" she said "And then I'll be able to do what I want, including telling everyone how much you mean to me."
I sniff, I hadn't cried, but I'd come very close. "Please, just... make sure you don't de-humanize me to her..."
She frowned, but nodded "...I can do that, yeah. And hey, tonight is the sleepover party! You'll be the star of the show, bossing Henri around, Quince will want to play with you, Tracy will be scared of touching you, you'll have all the power, I'll even take a backseat, if you like."
"...Ok." I said "Let's just... get breakfast over with and get to school..."
"It'll be ok, Amber." Marissa said setting me down "I'm sure once you get dressed up and downstairs, you'll feel much better about it."
~~~
I sat on the table, my knees primly folded under me as I looked up at Ms Lund. Her eyes were the same green as Marissa's and her half-lidded stare was... uncomfortably familiar. She wasn't an exact match, her nose was sharper, her cheeks more defined, surgery maybe? And her style was severe. Her tight, light grey suit hugged her body, making angles and sharp corners where there shouldn't be, making her feel unapproachable or even 'spiky'.
Her eyes drilled into me, and I kept my face neutral as Marissa ate her breakfast beside me, a fancy egg dish with spinach and tofu, something her mom had ordered for the two of them. I wondered if it was any good, it didn't have anything I couldn't eat as a vegetarian, and I'd proven uncompressed food wasn't too bad for me. If it'd been just me and Marissa, I might have asked for a bite, but with the frosty giant across from me, I was unable to even tease her about eating tofu the day after bragging to my mom about how she only ate meat.
"Marissa, this... class B, you got." Ms Lund said, her eyes flicking up to her daughter
"Yes?" Marissa replied in a polite tone, even more polite than the one she'd used with my family
"It is legally considered a less than human entity, is it not?"
"...They're legally considered to be less human than us, but they are still technically within the Homo genus, so, it's a grey area." Marissa said, a waver in her voice
"I see. So they can be considered sub-human primates, then, by the same logic?"
"I- well, the law and science is still catching up to them, and-"
"Marissa." Ms Lund said, her voice sharp. Marissa shut up and stared at her "...We discussed you owning animals before. It's not becoming of you."
"I'm her guardian, it's not the same as if I got a dog, I'm a government licensed-" Marissa started in vain
"It is not a human, therefore it is an animal." Ms Lund said firmly.
My heart was pounding, and I was struggling to hold back my breakfast. Having someone that big call me an animal to my face, to talk over me like I wasn't even aware of the words she was saying, it was almost too much. I kept my composure, somehow, almost. My head floated away, and I listened to the conversation through a cloud.
"I- I- There's-" Marissa said, sounding upset, but trying to hide it
"I don't want animals in my house, Marissa."
"She's- I'll make sure she's with me, I'll-"
"You didn't ask if you could spend that money, you didn't ask if you could get a pet, and you couldn't even get one that took care of itself."
"She... does cardio..." Marissa said weakly
"...I want to tell you to throw it out, to get rid of it." Ms Lund said
My heart seized, and I involuntarily jolted. Thrown out? Not even put up for adoption? My breathing felt shallow, and I was on the edge of passing out.
"Those things are a drain on society. The people in charge pull resources and researchers that could be doing helpful things away, just to keep these parasites alive longer."
"..." Marissa didn't answer, but I could feel the table shaking slightly from her trembling
"You know that one friend of yours? Tracy Millon? Her father owns a company doing studies on these things."
"Sh-she mentioned..."
"Well, the company is purely run off of government grants and charity. Terrible business model. I'm planning a hostile takeover in a couple weeks, and I'm going to put those resources to actual good use."
"You're a majority shareholder in the company?" Marissa asked "Tracy never said..."
"No, I own a lot, but I'm working with the other shareholders who are fed up of the way it's being run to buy their shares. LundCorp will be the new majority shareholder by the end of the month."
"I thought- Tracy just started an internship there, management track..." Marissa said, obviously trying to steer the conversation away from me
"She'll keep her job, her father will have the 'ownership' of the company, and the titles to go along with that, but the voting power and upper management will all be LundCorp"
"That's... So I'll be her boss eventually?"
"...In a way, yes. As you should be. You're a Lund, you need to act like it, you're not like the others around you, they only exist to support you, you're forgetting that again."
"Ah... Ok, yes, of course." Marissa said
I understood why Marissa was like this a little more now. You can't blame everything on a parent, of course, but so much of her behavior was apparent in her mother, it was a little concerning. The way she spoke, the superiority, the veiled insecurities, everything subtle in Marissa was apparent in Ms Lund, and vice versa.
"...Which is why I'm so frustrated at you for buying that thing." Ms Lund said, jabbing a finger towards me "You're putting yourself on a lower level, a tier of servanthood, just to look after a pet. Pets aren't for truly better people, Marissa. Getting a pet just makes you that pet's slave, working to keep it alive, with no regard to your own value."
"..." Marissa's breath got slightly faster. Part of me wanted to be upset at her for not defending me here, but the rest of me was terrified that one wrong move would end with me getting 'disposed of'.
"...I won't kill your new pet, Marissa. I'm not cruel." Ms Lund said "...But I won't entertain it, either. Take it off the table, and I don't want to see it again. Keep it hidden around me. When I look at that thing next to you, I don't see you as a strong, confident business woman who can take on the world, I see you as a fucking caretaker."
She took a bite of her eggs
"I won't have a caretaker for a daughter, Marissa."
"...ok..." Marissa said, her voice small and hoarse. She reached out, and carefully picked me up off the table, moving me to her lap, putting me in the hammock of her pleated skirt. I curled up against her left hand as she stroked me, and I started to cry. I'd never felt more worthless or hurt, I didn't even know this woman, and she'd reduced me to tears without ever talking to me. I couldn't imagine Marissa having to live with her. I gripped Marissa's thumb tightly, and rubbed my cheek against her, it felt like we were somehow closer now, we had a common threat, a shared 'enemy', and even though my chest hurt and I felt like shit, it was nice to know I had her with me.
~~~
Marissa cried in the car after breakfast. She sobbed tears that ran down her cheeks and onto my clothes as she rubbed me into her face, her whole body shaking.
"I don't know why she can't just leave me alone..." she said, her voice thick
"I- She's horrible, Marissa, you don't have to listen to her..." I said
"I d-do though..."
"...Well, you don't have to respect her, I guess."
She looked at me and smoothed down my tear-stained hair, her eyes puffy and watery. "I'm sorry she said all those things. You're not an animal, Amber."
"...She didn't say anything you haven't already said, though, aside from straight up using the word 'animal'." I pointed out. I shouldn't have, it was petty, but I was hurting, and Marissa had called me 'not human' and 'pet' before.
Marissa's face broke again and she choked "But I didn't mean it, I was fucking with you, it's a game, it's-"
She took a breath "She really actually thinks that, and I'm so so sorry you have to deal with that."
"...So I'm not allowed to like, be out and in sight when she's around, huh?"
"I- we mostly stay in my room anyway. I was going to use the theater tonight, but if she comes in while we're there, I'll put you under my shirt or something."
"You have a theater?!" I asked "I just realized, I've only seen like, your room, the front entrance, and the hall leading to the kitchen and dining room, out of the whole giant house."
"...It's too big."
"What is, the theater?"
"Nnno." Marissa said, wiping her eyes "The house. When my dad lived there, we'd have parties, we'd have people from far away countries staying over in the floor below mine for weeks at a time, some even brought their kids for me to boss around. The garage was full of cool cars, the kitchen had more than one chef because we always had guests, and even the servants were more present."
She dug in her purse and pulled out a small ice mask, slightly melted, and applied it to her eyes.
"Ever since the divorce, the house has been too big. No one comes over, no one uses the guest rooms, the smoking room is empty and doesn't smell like him anymore, and all the fun decor is gone. The only place that feels 'safe' anymore is the kitchen and my room."
"I... didn't realize." I said "I just thought that's how rich people's houses were."
She sniffled and shook her head "...no, that's all my mother. She sucked the life out of him, and threw him out when he found someone who 'cared' about him. His new wife fucking sucks, so... I can't even go live with him. It's better to just stay with my mom, at least she's gone ten months out of the year."
"Maybe- if you ask, he could get you a place of your own?" I suggested "He really seemed to love you, he hugged you, asked about you, and he was all smiles, and- I don't know..."
"...Maybe." Marissa said, rubbing the icepack into her eye sockets "I think it'd jeopardize my mom's willingness to give up her half of LundCorp to me, though. She'd know I was escaping her and take it personally."
"...Did you plan on crying in the car?" I asked "Or do you just always have an ice pack in your bag?
"I knew I probably would." she said "I learned in high school, always prepare to cry as soon as you're out of sight of mom, even if it doesn't happen, it pays to be prepared."
"That really sucks..." I said
"Yeah, whatever. I'll be rich and powerful soon enough, and my mom can go blow a pig."
"Won't she be majority something thought?" I asked
"She'll have like, I don't know, forty percent or something, and my dad will too, and I'll have the rest, I'll just do puppy dog eyes at my dad to get him to vote my way. Once the companies are merged, I'll actually have the real power."
"Oh, you really thought it all out..." I said
"It's the only thing that kept me sane these past few years." Marissa said "That and fantasizing about you, of course."
I flushed "Oh, yeah, fantasizing about bullying me, I'm sure"
She pulled the eye mask off and smiled at me smugly "Maybe... Speaking of..."
She lifted me up to her face, closing her right eye and pushing me against it "Does this feel puffy to you?"
I squirmed against her cold skin, the ice pack having made her face much too chilly for my thin blouse to be pressed against "It's fine, it's fine! Take me off, you're too cold!"
She lowered me and shook her head "Mmm, see you cried a lot too, your eyes must be puffy, right? Gotta make sure to get you school ready, here, let's get the ice pack..."
"No- stop!" I said, if she put me on the ice pack, I'd be chattering all day trying to get warm "If I look like I was crying, people will just think you did it to me, which is good, right?"
She stopped, and thought about it for a second "Welllll... I guess so... Of course, I could just make you cry for real, and it'd feel even better...~"
"Don't you have makeup to put on?" I asked, punching her index finger
"Yeah, yeah..." She said, and set me in her lap, digging through her purse for her makeup bag.
I lay in her lap, looking up at her upside down, my head pointed towards her stomach. She was simple, in a way, she'd been crying and opening up about her family troubles just moments before, and switched to her usual, teasing self as soon as she was reminded to bully me. Was that my effect on her? She'd mentioned she wasn't close to her friends before, was I the only one she'd talked to about this stuff? The car hit a bump, jolting us, causing her to wipe a smear of mascara on her nose. At the same time, her thighs clamped together around me, smushing me and holding me in place firmly. I pressed into her meat, and felt her warmth, and put my head to one side, rubbing my face against her thigh through her skirt. It was scratchy through the fabric, but I didn't care, it was soft, and warm, and her, and that was enough.
She looked down at me as she was wiping the makeup off with a towlette and frowned "You ok?" Her thighs loosened their grip again and I fell away into the fabric of her skirt. "You were wiggling..."
"Yeah, I'm ok." I said "Sometimes I just like touching you, I guess. It's like, comforting, in a weird way."
"I just threatened to make you cry, and then you're snuggling my legs?" She asked "Do you want me to make you cry?"
"Not- I don't know." I said "I don't think you would, now."
"Oh, trust me, I really would." She said, rolling her eyes. "Just wait until next time we 'play', I'll have you begging for mercy."
"Whatever." I said "I liked the first time, it was fun. I'd like to do it again, to be honest."
"Well good, because we absolutely will. That was the deal." she reminded me
"Hey, where are you going to carry me today?" I asked, realizing her top didn't have pockets
"I was thinking my purse, but, like, it's up to you." she said, packing her makeup away and tucking it into the bag in question
"I'd prefer to be in physical contact with you, honestly." I said, disappointed "Like, through clothes or whatever, somehow."
"Uhh, I could tuck you into my waistband?" she said "I dressed for my mom, not for you, so I don't have pockets. I could always just hold you in my hand all day, I could squeeze and pet you constantly, which sounds nice."
"How tight is the waistband?" I asked, looking at where it hugged her tummy. Her black top hung just over it, the sheer fabric light and silky.
She stuck a finger in "Hm, stretchy? So, I could maybe fit my hand in there if I tried."
"...Ok, I'll ride there." I said
"Are you sure?" Marissa asked "It'd be safer in the purse, I have a zip area I cleaned out and put a glasses cloth in for you for padding..."
"I wanna try this, and I want to feel you." I said "We're together, so like, it's normal for me to want to be close to you, right?"
"Well... Ok, yeah, fine. But if you want out, let me know ok? Same as before, two taps, seriously, communicate."
"Aww, you're all worried about me now, that's cute!" I teased, trying to keep the blush off my face and the tingles out of my chest. It felt good to be cared for, I wasn't quite used to it yet.
"Oh, fuck you, tiny." Marissa said, pulling her seatbelt off "Let's just get to class before we're late."
"Nice of you to include me in that 'we', like I haven't already finished this course already."
"Oh, great, then you can do my homework!"
"...You don't even do homework."
She grinned at me as she got out, scooping me up in the process "That makes it even more evil of me to make you do it."
She pulled her waistband out, and slid me into the front of her skirt, my legs against her shorts, my torso pinned by the elastic, and my upper body against her tummy. My arms hung over the waistband, and I could kick my feet and make the skirt flare a little under me. I giggled, it was kinda like we were both wearing the same skirt, in a way. I looked up at Marissa, but only saw the darkness of the inside of her top above me, her torso fading away into shadows.
"I can feel you wiggling again..." Marissa said, poking me as she got her bag "You're not in any danger of falling or anything, right?"
I pushed at the waistband, finding it tight "I don't think so, no, and I'm holding on."
"Ok, because if you do fall, there's like, a one hundred percent chance I accidentally kick you down the hall as you fall and you get stepped on."
"Please don't say that..." I said, shivering "This is cozy, I can breathe."
"Yeah... breathing is important, huh?" Marissa said, walking carefully into the school "Gods, I can't believe I was so oblivious..."
"..." I wanted to tell her it was fine, but it really, really wasn't, and I was still having trouble accepting that whole experience.
"Yeah, I get it." Marissa said, her hand finding me and making sure I was secure "Let's not talk about that anymore."
I pressed my face up against her, this was better, no rough denim, no passing out, just me, and the beautiful, wonderful warmth. I could hear her stomach digesting too, slightly. It was odd, and the noises were gross in a way, but in another way, it reminded me that she was human, too. I felt her soft meat against my cheek and for a second, I thought about how lucky I was it was living meat, instead of the dead stuff.
...A weird thought for anyone to have, but a valid one for me after yesterday.
I opened my mouth and got a mouthful of Marissa, biting down as hard as I could, just to see what would happen. I heard her hiss, and her hand swung down, lightly smacking me, her palm knocking the air out of me and slightly stunning me. I laughed, and went to bite her again. If she could bite me to claim me, I could bite her too. She was mine after all, right?
"I swear, if you do that again, you're going in the purse whether you like it or not." Marissa growled "And I'm zipping your pocket closed."
...Right, the power imbalance, yeah. Still, I could see my teethmarks on her skin, and that was enough to satisfy my 'marking' desires for now. I pulled her top aside and felt the thud thud thud of her footsteps as she walked, and looked out at the world around me. There were a lot of students who glanced at Marissa, and quickly turned away, or flinched, and a couple who's eyes followed her as she confidently walked past them. I wondered what their stories were, did they think they could out play her? Had they just not been targeted and only knew her by reputation?
...Did they have a thing for her?
I wasn't sure how I'd feel about that. We were a thing, but if I was still a class B, was that thing exclusive? Would she, given the chance, get a full sized partner too? I'd heard of that before, on AntMound, where someone's spouse got guardianship, and because the marriage is nullified with the class B classification, they re-married. It sounded shitty, to have to watch your loved one marry someone else right in front of you, and still have to rely on them for everything. I really hoped it wouldn't come to that for me and her...
She slipped into the classroom, and sat down, her legs making a 'bench' of sorts for me to sit on. I dug my heels into her thigh and looked around at the underside of the lecture hall desks. They were clean, as was to be expected from our college, but they were also very boring. I couldn't even see the professor from down here... Well, there was more than one place to sit, so I kicked my feet, and shimmied out of the waistband, standing on her leg and surveying my next move. Marissa looked down at me, confused, but didn't move to put me back, and kept watching me as the lecture started
I'd need a way to climb up... Her shirt was sheer, and offered little in the way of handholds, so that left... going under. Marissa was slouching, so even with her muscles she was so proud of, she had rolls of skin and fat over her belly area. It wasn't much, but I had literally nothing better to do, and no reason not to try. I ducked under her shirt, and started up.
I fit my hands onto the folds and turns of skin, pulling myself up, looking down to the 'ground' below me. Marissa shifted, making her skirt a little looser between her thighs, I guessed in case I fell, but I couldn't see her face, so her reaction was a mystery to me. I worked my way up, feeling her shirt brush against me, feeling the tiny, almost invisible hairs on her stomach, and pulled myself up to her bra. It was a fancy one, underwired, black like her shirt, and fitted well, a perk of being 'normal' sized. All mine had to be elastic these days, and were all slightly loose. It bugged me to the point I'd go without if I could get away with it. As it was though, the bra was not an obstacle, it was more of a help than anything, giving me a good grip and foothold to climb from. I looked at the 'canyon' I was in and snorted. As hard as she'd try, she'd never be able to hold me in place here. I climbed up without resistance, getting to her neckline by pulling myself up her collarbone.
I pushed against her collar, and poked my head out, proud of myself, I'd gotten all the way up! I pushed myself the rest of the way through, and after some wiggling, I was free and able to crawl over to my spot on Marissa's shoulder. I grinned up at her, expecting to see an exasperated glare or a bored eye roll, but instead, her whole face was bright red. I held back laughter as she eyed me pointedly, widening her eyes to send me a message. Whatever it was, I wasn't getting it, but seeing how out of sorts she was, I felt like I'd beaten her somehow. I lay on her shoulder, stomach down, and kicked my legs as I watched the lecture, feeling Marissa shift uncomfortably under me. It was one I'd attended last year, but it was still better than staring at the underside of a desk.
~~~
"I can't believe you chose a fucking lecture as the perfect time to explore my body." Marissa said, her face still red
I climbed on top of a stack of library books and sat down on them like a staircase "Well, I'm getting more comfortable with you, and I wanted to get to your shoulder to see."
"Then... do 'upsies' or something, don't just clamber across my body like a tiny monkey. Do you know how hard it is to keep still with a tiny person crawling up you?"
"I think you did pretty good, at least." I said, smiling
"...Look, I enjoyed that, it was fun, but- just, not in public, please..." Marissa muttered
"Too worried someone will see?" I said
"Yes. Exactly that, gods." Marissa said in a hushed shout
"Ok, fine..." I said "I won't explore your body in public in front of your peers again."
Her face flushed harder and she lowered her head. For once, I had an upper hand. Marissa, as it turned out, had a bad case of modesty, as weird as it was. I, on the other hand, had been unbothered by changing rooms, shower rooms, and sleeping in a bra at sleepovers since I was a teen. I didn't have anything anyone would be interested in those places, I'd assumed, so I was immune to the embarrassment. It did make me wonder how Marissa dealt with the whole tennis team going in for showers at once... I'd have to ask her about that later, once she didn't look like she was about to swat me.
"Anyway, are we staying here until your labs? Or like, are we going to go home and you drop me off?" I asked
"I'm blowing off labs today." she said "I... don't want you out of my sight while my mom is here, not that she'd do anything, but... still."
"Ok, so... home then?"
"Actually, I wanted to head out to the big mall in the next town over if it's ok." she said "There's a class B store, and I wanted to see if there's anything cool I can get you, as like a 'hey we're an item' gift."
"Oh, wow, really?" I said, flattered "I... I- yeah, that sounds amazing. I don't think you're supposed to tell me that though, if it's a gift."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." She said, standing and slipping me into her skirt again "You'll be there with me, so there won't be any secret, plus you need to tell me what you want. Come on, let's get Drew, we still need to hit a liquor store before tonight too."
"Didn't you have stuff left over from last time?" I asked
"Not enough, and I want that Korean stuff your dad gave me, that was great, it was a weird buzz, but it's nice."
"Ok, just- that stuff is strong, you got cuddly off one bottle last time." I reminded her
"Ohhh nooo I might snuggle you, gosh, whatever shall we do..." she said sarcastically, pushing open the doors leading out of the school
"Look, if you want to come out as bi to your friends and give me kisses all night, I won't complain." I said "But I kinda thought you were trying to keep up the 'aloof straight girl' thing."
"Whatever." she said, waving to Drew to come over "We'll see how it goes. If it comes down to it, I can blame the alcohol or something."
I kicked my legs again, feeling her skirt flutter. I was in a weirdly good mood for someone who'd been crying her eyes out a few hours ago because she'd been called an animal who needed to be thrown away. I couldn't put my finger on it exactly, but I was pretty sure it was because the feeling of 'holy shit I have a girlfriend who cares about me' was finally kicking in, even if said girlfriend would probably enjoy kicking me a little too.
~~~
I sat in Marissa's hand in front of the store; "Tiny Toys for Tiny Treasures". I felt... insulted, somehow. Being called a 'treasure' wasn't insulting itself, but it just felt like it was objectifying me, somehow. I looked around at the displays in the windows; tiny cars in several sizes, portable kitchens that ran on batteries, accessory pieces like the one Marissa had...
I glanced up at her, and pointed at the bottles "Hey, you have that one!"
"Yeah..." she murmured "This place doesn't feel like the ad..."
"Well..." I said "We don't have to go in here, we can just go look at movies and figures, that's what me and Henri usually did at the mall."
"No, I wanted to get you something. This place just feels like it's a luxury pet store or something, not a store offering services for disabled people."
"Well... I am a pet, Marissa." I pointed out "You say that all the time."
"Yeah, you're a pet, but- gods, I don't know. I've been seeing you differently the past couple days, and like, yeah, you're my pet, I own you, but like, I don't know..."
"Guess you shouldn't have tried dating a pet, huh?" I snarked "If you'd gotten a dog instead of me, would you have pulled a classic white woman with it?"
"What?" She frowned at me "...I don't get it."
"...Never mind. Let's just go in..."
We went up to the front of the store, and an employee appeared as if by magic. Or as if by retail manager, which was more likely.
"Well hello ladies!" he said in a high, soft voice "May I interest you in a complementary relaxation and socialization event for class Bs happening right now?"
"Like, you want to take Amber?" Marissa asked, her voice hard
"No, no no no, of course not, we simply have a fun, relaxing area set up for her to stay in, make some friends, and try out the products while you're free to shop all you want! You can even leave and come back to pick her up later if you have other shopping to do too!" he assured her
Marissa pushed past him "No, fuck off, you're not getting her."
"Oh, won't you please just look at the area?" he asked "It's very safe, and designed by our top class B specialists, to ensure the most comfortable experience."
Marissa growled, but let him drag her over to a large open topped box in one corner of the store. I held onto her finger and looked over into the 'relaxation and socialization' center and shuddered. The stuff was all there, mismatched sizes and all on at once, making the whole box drone with tv noise, the hum of motors, and the buzz of the bright sunlamps built into the the walls. The class Bs inside were all exhausted and disheveled, some laying on chairs, one in a hot tub, threatening to slip in, one was on a piece of workout equipment, not using it. She looked up and made eye contact with me, subtly shaking her head.
"Uhh, Marissa, didn't you say I was getting to pick something out today?" I asked loudly "I can't do that from here..."
She looked at me, and glared back up at the employee "Yeah, guy, how the fuck is she supposed to pick shit out from a fucking box?"
He wilted a little and shook his head "If she stays here, she can test our most popular items and let you know which ones she wants!"
"Stop trying to push your weird box on us so you can sell me crap she doesn't want." Marissa said "Just leave us alone, I want to shop."
The employee frowned, but nodded. "Alright, please let me know if you have any questions." he said, and walked back to the front of the store
"That guy was pushy, but... you were kind of a dick too." I said "They say how your partner treats employees is a sign of how the relationship will go, you know."
Marissa squeezed me "He wanted you in there so I wouldn't know what you wanted and get you the wrong thing, and so you'd want stuff in there that isn't on shelves, it's a trick or something. I won't be tricked. It's not about him being an employee or whatever."
"Fair enough, I guess." I said "I didn't want a hot tub or anything anyway."
"Darn, there goes my birthday idea for you." she said, rolling her eyes. "What do you want?"
"Well..." I said "I don't know the budget..."
"My credit card has a $2000 limit, anything over that, I'll need to use my debit, which alerts my mom. So under $2000 total."
"Oh, fuck..." I said "I was thinking like, $25 or something, I could get one of those cars for $2000..."
"You want a car, then?" Marissa said, stopping to look at them, holding me up to measure my size against the different models
"No, I don't know when I'd drive it..." I said. Not much use for a car when I could just ride the Marissa express "Oh, actually-"
"Yeah?"
"...It's stupid, but could we check the electronics?"
"You want a better TV or something?" She asked, walking to the aisle "Your tablet is already top of the line. It has cellular, by the way, I haven't seen you bring it anywhere, but it works everywhere."
"Oh, I didn't realize that..." I said. I didn't know if I'd bring it many places with me, but that was good to know I could "I'm actually looking for two things, headphones so I can watch stuff at night while you sleep, and... something kinda dumb..."
"Yeah, you only need like five or six hours of sleep, right?" Marissa said, pulling a pair of 95% compression headphones off the shelf
"Mhhm, which leads to my next thing I wanted to ask about..." I said. I knew she wouldn't make fun, but still, it felt silly to ask for it...
"Spit it out, Amber." she said, annoyed
I pointed "...That. I heard about it on AntMound. It's a games console with controllers that are almost my size, and... it can play Last Legend 28, too."
Marissa picked one up and flipped it over, looking at the stats "...I mean, I guess this counts as a 'console'?" she said "It's not much better than my phone..."
"The version of LL28 on it was built from an abandoned mobile port..." I admitted "But that's my favorite game, and I thought I couldn't ever play it again, until I saw people on AntMound talking about it."
"It's like, less than $300, yeah, you can get this." Marissa said, nodding "Is it crossplay with PC?"
"LL28 is crossplay with everything, sure." I said
"Ok..." she said "I don't like that kind of game usually, but... I'll give it a shot, we can play together sometime."
"Oh!" I said "I hadn't thought of that! Yeah, I'd love that! I'll show you the ropes, I'll smurf so we can do the starter missions together. I'll see if it has Life and Times on this console, and we can do that one too, on different screens!"
"Nnnnno, I like holding you while we play that." Marissa said "Let's just play that like usual. But yeah, I'll get you this console thing."
"Thank you, Missy!~" I said, hugging her fingers
"...That's what my dad calls me..." she said, a funny look on her face as she pet me
I broke the hug "Should I not?..."
"It- it's just weird. But I don't hate it. Let me think about it..." she said
We checked out, and Marissa flipped off the employee on the way out, her bag in one hand, and me in the other. I felt odd, like I had a pit in my stomach from this morning, but like I was also on top of the world from the good day I'd spent with my girlfriend~... or... something, whatever she was to me. It didn't matter, we were together, labels were a fuck. I was very excited to try my new console, I'd missed playing LL28 every day or two, and I'd missed so, so many dailys by now, and I think at least two catwalk shows? Maybe three, it was hard to remember, but assuming my account worked on this console, I'd be flirting with catboys again in no time...
As soon as the sleepover was finished, of course. I got a growing sense of trepidation as we drove to the alcohol store to stock up. I'd had a fun enough time at the last one, but I'd had a close call too, and we'd be playing 5D chess trying to keep our relationship a secret, and to manage Henri at the same time. If anyone could manipulate people that well though, it was Marissa, I just had to hope she didn't get too drunk on soju to work her magic...
~~~