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Timmy’s in the common room when Bloom gets back to the dorm, head bent so close to Tecna’s that their hair is mingling, which is, objectively, adorable. This means Bloom hurtles herself through the door to her and Flora’s shared room and launches herself elbow-first on her bed before the sound of her feet pounding across the floor can do much more than give Riven time to regret being born. Her backpack smashes into the far wall with a thump hard enough to shake the room.
Flora buries her face in the flower bud she’s working on, shoulders shaking silently, as Riven squeals under her and flails until she slides off.
“Bloom that was rude.” Flora admonishes.
“You whore.” Riven wheezes, and Flora lets out such an affronted gasp that Bloom can’t help her giggling. She tries, usually, not to laugh when Flora gets scandalized over something, but it happens so often and it’s usually something that she wouldn’t have even batted an eyelash at back on Earth, and –
“Says the guy wearing a crop top!”
Musa’s head pops into the door frame, and she grins at them, all teeth.
“I hear some name-calling in here?”
“Yes, there’s going to be more.”
“You know just what to say, doll.” Musa replies, laughing, and Bloom sits up so she can curl up cross-legged beside her. Riven glares balefully at them and drags Kiko closer as he curls up around the rabbit.
That sobers her, somewhat.
“Stella said she was going to clean up and then come back. We can…start when she’s here.”
“You didn’t stay to help?” Flora asks disapprovingly, and Bloom throws her hands up defensively.
“She said she wanted a minute alone!”
Bloom had accompanied her because she’d wanted to let off some steam too. Blow some things up, set some stuff on fire. And then Stella had whipped out her staff and scorched half the simulation room into a blackened husk.
The common-access simulation gyms were hardy enough to heal nigh-instantaneously from whatever damage a fairy could do to them. After Stella was done venting, it had taken fifteen minutes before it had even started pulling itself back together.
Bloom had made the executive decision to sit down and shout the occasional encouragement, because the last thing the poor room needed was her rage added to Stella’s. And she was too stressed about telling the girls to really indulge in hating men. For the moment.
But, it is good, she thinks, that Stella is angry. She’d been so quiet all night…it’s something of a relief.
“And you let her?” Musa asks disbelievingly, and Bloom frowns at her.
“Not everybody wants to talk about their trauma.” Riven cuts in, and as bored as his drawl is, his eyes are sharp enough to cut.
“…Um. How’d it – “
“We’re not talking about that!” Timmy’s voice shouts, and Musa stops and nods. Flora frowns disapprovingly at the doorway, but just sighs. Bloom doesn’t say a word. She gets the feeling that the specialist has been repeating it like a mantra, and she’s too relieved at not having to talk about it to push. Last night had been great and mopey and more than a little depressing, but with the whole hot mess laid out in front of her during daylight…it’s a little harder to address. Even harder to view through any lens but the white-hot rage and pain it induces.
“Bloom, sweetie? Did you get the recipe I sent you?” Flora asks softly, and Bloom tilts her head back to stare at her roommate. Right. Some calming herbal tea Flora thought might help with the self-immolation.
“Um – probably. My phone’s…off. Hidden. The…he kinda bricked it.”
“The fuck you mean he bricked it?”
It takes her a moment to realize that was Timmy, and not Riven. The slimmer boy is latched onto her doorframe, looking absolutely livid. Tecna comes up behind him as she stares, and gives Bloom a look. Her hands go up again.
“So, it’s kinda slow because it’s so old compared to Magix stuff? And he’s been – texting and calling enough that it froze so I just tossed it in my nightstand. I figured I’d block him when I could physically stand to see his not-name on the screen.”
“Self-care.” Riven grunts approvingly, and mashes his face into Kiko’s fur. Kiko looks delighted at the attention; the rabbit has always enjoyed being manhandled and Riven physically hasn’t put the animal down since he arrived, so.
Tecna snorts, and then strides in to lean over Musa and start rifling through Bloom’s drawers. She allows this. Tecna’s kind of unstoppable once she decides on a Technology Thing, and anyway – she’d been the one to rig Bloom’s phone up to Magix’s system in the first place. If anyone can fix it, it’s her.
There is the soft click of a door opening and closing somewhere behind Timmy, and a moment later Stella waltzes in. She looks strained around the edges still; she’s not as twinkly as usual and there are bags under her eyes and her skirt’s a little wrinkled. But she looks better, and her smile’s genuine as she drops onto the floor on Bloom’s other side.
Flora perks up and stands. She’s settled in on Stella’s other side by the time Tecna’s retrieved Bloom’s phone and started snarling at it.
“So! What’s the big deal, Bloom?” Stella asks brightly, and Bloom cringes. Visibly. She grimaces. Also visibly. Stella’s eyes narrow.
Everybody’s staring at her.
“Right. So. Um. Tecna, you might wanna sit down.”
Tecna looks up and shoots her an inquisitive look, but she slowly lowers herself down beside Musa when Timmy puts a hand on her shoulder. He completes their vaguely-circle-like-shape, and flashes her a thumbs up.
Right. Riven had…probably told him.
Ugh.
“Okay. So. Alfea’s doctoring its lessons.”
There’s a pause. Tecna puts her phone down.
“You’ve…said that before, honey.” Flora says hesitantly.
“Right. I was getting pissed about it, so I tried to do some digging, and came up with nothing. The library’s been censored.”
Stella exchanges a look with Flora, and then the two share a look with Musa, but Tecna’s eyes have narrowed and she’s not moving and Timmy is nodding. Riven’s breathing hasn’t picked up from behind Bloom’s head, so she assumes he’s fine. Actually, she assumes he doesn’t care. He already knows, mostly. He’s just here to avoid the other boys and steal the heart of her rabbit.
“I figured, hey, maybe there’s a bookstore that hasn’t been ransacked or something in Magix! So last month I went – it was a bust, by the way. But on my way there, I figured I’d stop and get a tea. And I ran into Stormy, and…figured I might as well ask her about it.”
It’s a little uncomfortable, to see Flora’s expression melt into one of pure horror and to feel the way Stella tenses at her side.
“How’d that go?” Musa snorts, but she looks morbidly fascinated, and that’s good. Bloom tries not to let herself feel like the others don’t trust her, but it’s – it’s hard. It’s a good part of why she didn’t tell them when it happened.
“Well I – explained it. I – on Earth? Most schools are public. Funded by the government. And…they don’t always teach actual history. But we have the internet at our disposal, and…anyway she was super fascinated by all that, and said she’d give me Icy’s number because Icy is apparently the only one who does her homework, if I told her about Earth.”
“And that did not concern you? Earth’s…defenseless against almost all magic, Bloom.” Tecna asks. She looks alarmed. Sounds alarmed. And Bloom smiles at her, because this is – going better than she’d expected.
“I’d kill them if they tried anything. They know that. Our – deal. Didn’t have anything to do with you guys, or why they’re after Stella’s ring. Honestly I think finding out just how poorly Alfea’s teaching us and getting to brag about it is enough for Icy – she’s been very helpful. I was going to tell you earlier but then I decided to do an experiment and it kind of fucking worked?” She can’t help the way her voice ticks up at the end.
There’s a hand on her shoulder. Then a shifting behind her, and then Kiko is dumped onto her lap. The rabbit’s nose twitches and he starts burrowing into her shirt, and Riven puts his arms on her head. It’s cute that he’s trying to help, but holding her rabbit when she’s started setting things – and herself – on fire when stressed is the exact opposite of helpful. Still, she clings to the animal and doesn’t hand him back. She’s never said she wasn’t selfish.
“So Darcy asked you to set us up and then told you about Brandon and Sky because you were nice to her and friends with her sisters.”
“Right. So I told Riven because they are kinda batshit and setting your friend up with someone you know is batshit is just kinda weird.”
“And why didn’t you come to us first?” Musa asks, and Bloom flinches a little.
“I wanted to make sure it was legitimate, at first. Then I was waiting for them to ask about you guys, and they didn’t. And…then I think I broke the laws of magic. And I kinda fucking panicked.”
“Your experiment.” Tecna says woodenly. Her eyes are – big.
“I was afraid you’d short-circuit again.” Bloom says weakly, and –
“Bloom, what did you do?” Stella’s voice is deceptively calm. She hasn’t so much as twitched against Bloom since she’d started talking and it’s –
“I got Icy to give me a baby witch spell. Which, according to Alfea, should be impossible for a fairy to cast. According to Magix it should have been impossible to cast. So. Turns out that was fake.”
“You…cast a curse?” Flora’s voice gets so high the plants on her half of the room all give a full-body twitch.
“I turned some flowers into slugs, and then panicked and undid it and threw the bouquet into the bushes behind the kitchen. Sorry, Flora.” She adds reflexively, but Flora is unmoving and completely expressionless.
Tecna jerks to her feet, and then slams herself back down to the floor so suddenly that they all flinch. She presses her hands to her face, and –
“Fuck.”
“Tecna, are you –“
“Zenith – I – fuck! I’m sorry, Bloom. I should have taken you more seriously when you first asked me about it. I just – do you know if the missing information is in the restricted section?” There’s a kind of urgency to her that frightens Bloom. Frightens the others, too, she thinks – Musa puts a hand on her leg and Tecna seizes it so tightly Musa winces, and Stella’s eyes go dark like the starless sky.
“Not that I could find. I snuck in the other night. It’s…it’s not like the witches have all the information either, Tec. It’s a lot messier than that.” She cautions, and she leans forward, lets Riven’s arms fall and smack against the back of her neck and reaches out to put her hand over Tecna and Musa’s.
“No, it’s – that’s so fucking stupid! I – “ Tecna freezes, and then straightens. Wipes her emotions off her face, and breathes very deeply. Both Bloom and Musa withdraw, maybe a little too quickly.
She’s never seen Tecna try to calm herself before.
“What’s wrong, Tec?” Timmy asks softly, worriedly, and she swallows. Bloom watches with wide, frightened eyes. Tecna’s not sparking, not yet, but she’s – she’s upset, more upset than Bloom has ever seen her, and…
“Zenith is run by Mother. It is our…we have different terms for parents than you do. But it – I didn’t think the censorship was anything to be alarmed at because Mother withholds information it deems dangerous from us as needed. But, Mother will allow us access if we plead our case to it. Just because something should not be common knowledge does not mean you are not entitled to it, or that it should not be protected. I thought…but if Alfea did not even keep completed records – “
Oh. That’s…really interesting.
“History’s doomed to repeat itself. Yeah. That’s…that was part of my concern.” Bloom trails off, and shrugs.
“You fucking uncovered a Magix-wide conspiracy? You fucking overachiever!” Riven barks out, and then collapses behind her laughing. That almost makes her smile; he’s only partially forcing his cheer.
“You – you believe that? All of this?” Stella speaks up, so suddenly that Bloom jolts.
Stella looks pissed, and she’s –
“I need to call Mother, to…warn it. Inform it. But – yes. It…makes sense. What with – “
“The witch thing, Tecna! I’m talking about the fact that Bloom’s been running around behind our backs with the assholes who’ve tried to kill us! Who tried to kill her!” Stella flings a bangled arm out as she speaks, and comes close to walloping Bloom in the face. Bloom ducks in time, but it’s…a near thing. The air shimmers in arcs along Stella’s fingertips.
She has no idea how to fix this. Flora’s looking at her with the closest approximation of a disappointed mother face a woman without a child can make, and it’s –
“You can check me for spells, if you want.” Bloom says quietly, and Stella stops halfway to her feet, all the shimmering heat and cold sparkling and supernova of her fury stilling.
“I know it’s – weird. And I know it was kind of a dick move. But you’re the princess to a planet, Stella. I didn’t – you were all dismissive when I first brought it up, and I was worried you’d…I don’t know. Tell me to drop it, or tell one of the professors if I kept at it, or maybe it really wasn’t anything worth worrying about!”
“Because it’s a government conspiracy.”
“Yes, Riven.” She sighs, and he starts giggling again.
“Do you really think so little of me?” Stella asks, and her voice is so choked –
Bloom flinches, and mashes her palms into her eyes. Kiko shifts his weight on her lap at the disturbance.
“Stella. I don’t know anything about the politics here. I just know that on Earth? This is bad news, and you’re part of the governing body here. It wasn’t because I didn’t trust you. It was because if I started meddling in something that endangered your planet, I would have expected you to do whatever you had to do to stop me, because I would do the same. If it came down to choosing you guys or my entire home planet, that’s not a contest.”
She feels like an ass saying it. But she’s not lying, and she’s not trying to be mean, and it’s…she needs them to understand how serious she is. That this wasn’t some flippant fuck-it decision.
She’s gotten a feel for Magix, and it’s – not necessarily pleasant. Everything is so docile. A little too bright, a little too bubbly. And not in an obvious or threatening way, not with strained smiles or too-thin paint. It’s more like the people here have never conceived of what their reality means, that they just – don’t care. It’s a cheery kind of apathy, and it’s…unsettling. And no matter how this conversation goes, no matter what choices her friends make, they have it too.
“So you weren’t joking about the paranoia.” Musa says dryly. Her smile’s a little shaky and it doesn’t really reach her eyes but she seems mostly unbothered, and –
“She’s right.” Tecna says abruptly. Which is…
“I mean – about – you have a right to be worried. I don’t know if trusting the Trix was the smartest decision, but it’s gotten you the answers you sought and has not endangered us.”
“Are you insane?!” Stella snaps. She’s sitting again, but it’s –
“I propose that we check Bloom for any mind-altering spells before we continue this conversation. Flora?” Tecna says, as if Stella hasn’t spoken, and Bloom feels some tension in her fade.
And then spike, because Flora doesn’t say anything but she does let out an audible breath.
“Bloom, you could have been killed.” Flora’s voice is measured and flat.
“…No? I meet with Stormy in public. And I just talk to Icy on the phone. Tecna told me you can’t cast spells over texts or anything. I was as careful as I could be about this.”
“You trusted them! They’re witches!”
“That’s the point!” Bloom snaps at Stella, and then lifts Kiko up and shoves him back to Riven because there is a familiar heat gathering under her skin, and she’s not –
“They’re untrustworthy because they’re assholes, Stella! Not because they’re witches! And they never tried to take advantage of me! They could have tried to blackmail me! They could have tried to bribe me! They could have told me to give them your ring in exchange for answers! And they didn’t!”
“Because this is some stupid plot or something, Bloom! It’s a trick! And I’m not going to lose one of my best friends to some crazy bitch with too much eyeliner because she wants to read a fucking book!”
Stella’s voice rings in the ensuing silence.
Her eyes are stardust. Bloom’s vision wavers, swims, and then there are too-hot arms around her and she’s not sure which one of them reached out first, but she can hear something crackling, and it’s.
She should’ve thought about that. They’d just lost half of the fucking boys and even if Darcy hadn’t – probably – meant her comment to do that, it’s –
There’s a soft hand curling against her knuckles, where they are fisted in the back of Stella’s shirt, and she forces herself to shift her head up to see a blurry Flora settling in close behind Stella.
“Do you get it?” Flora asks softly. Bloom can’t make out her expression, but her voice is still way too calm.
“I – “
“I have a solution.” Riven says, voice dry and uncomfortable and kinda fucking loud, fuck, is he really in her fucking ear –
“We’re having a moment, asshole.” Stella growls, but there’s not a lot of plasma to it.
“There’s been too many of those. I’m putting a cap on them. Finish your fucking hug and put your emotions away like a grown up.” He snaps back, and Bloom giggles into Stella’s shoulder and works one hand free from Flora and tugs, until Stella’s death-grip is sideways instead of frontal.
“I’m sorry I scared you. I wasn’t trying to.”
“You’re not allowed to do this without us. Not again. Not anymore.” Stella says lowly, and that’s –
“Of course.” Bloom says softly, and when Stella lets out a shuddery breath the cosmos seem to tremble with her.
“No! No more! You’re done! I told you! Can it!”
Riven flings himself off the bed, probably so he can stand in their sort-of-circle and sneer down at them. Timmy’s got an indulgent expression on his face, which bodes well.
“So Darcy likes me and Bloom, and clearly the other two do too, and you’re sick of all the attempted murder – “
“Speaking of. The fuck you doing dating a woman who has actively tried to murder your friends?” Musa interrupts.
“Why actively? Does accidental not count?” Tecna asks, and Flora lets out a noise of pure rage –
“She’s scary and can kick my ass. I am a man of simple taste.”
“That’s why he’s got a thing for the upperclassmen.” Timmy chimes in. Riven kicks his leg back and nails Timmy in the shin without missing a beat.
“Anyway! If you’re sick of all the attempted murder and attempted theft, why not have Bloom ask? You can have your little powwow for ground rules or whatever, then just ask? And I don’t want to be here for anything less than overthrowing the government.” Riven adds, which.
“We are not overthrowing the government!” Flora snaps. Tecna raises her eyebrows, and very pointedly looks away. Which.
“…Right. The dystopia thing. Tecna, um, I assume it’s bad? Based on how you’ve been acting?” Bloom’s hesitant to speak up again, but…
There’s just so much going on. Thank fuck they’d taken Brandon and Sky off the table so early on, if they’d tried to plan that out, she doesn’t know what she’d do.
She does. She’d have a breakdown. That was a poor lie.
“We can safely assume the faculty know, if they’ve been warning you off. So I say it’s an eight. Out of ten.” Timmy says. Tecna’s shaking her head before he even finishes speaking.
“We cannot make that assessment until we have more information. Bloom, you said you were looking into history; why focus on witches and their powers? But – I agree with Riven, though I suggest we put that topic aside for now.”
Musa’s eyebrows raise, and she bodily turns to look at Tecna, but she doesn’t immediately say something. Bloom’s glad she does; she hasn’t heard Tecna sound this formal since they first met.
“Seemed the easiest route, and it was bugging me, and Stormy was right there and a witch. It’s very obvious that Magix has a prejudicial if not outright discriminatory outlook on witches. Earth has a more concrete history with witches than fairies, so I felt more comfortable asking about it. And I kind of figured they’d know why. Which got into the magic thing, and then I started wondering about the substantial differences between witch and fairy magic, because they seemed very arbitrary.”
“And what were your thoughts on the matter?”
She shrugs a little, and pretends not to notice the way Stella’s arms tighten momentarily.
“Nothing concrete. I have a…um? Theory? Based on – so much of what Icy told me was personality-driven on the part of witches. The isolation, the pride, the ambition. She made it sound like those get worse the greater a witch becomes. Which I think might have something to do with the way they draw on emotions. Which means…we are probably similarly affected by the emotions we use to fuel our own spells, and Alfea passes it off as normal.”
Bloom flicks a hand towards her discarded bag, and it picks itself up and glides over to her lap – so she doesn’t have to disturb Stella. She digs out two books, and then uncrosses her legs to kick at Riven’s feet until he scrambles back onto her bed and out of the way. She drops them both where he’d been standing.
“I think Riven’s right, and so is Tecna. Test me if you want to. And then we should talk about how we want to ask Icy why she’s being a bitch. This is just more – well. I figured if grimoires were so central to witches and their magic, I should start one. They’re – um. Shared by the witch’s coven, though – if she has one. And if what we’re looking for isn’t written down, it kind of just made sense to write it down.”
“Do we get in on this shit?”
“Yes, because I will absolutely be using you as a guinea pig.” Bloom says back, and Timmy looks so startled, so flattered, that it’s enough to distract her from Riven punching the air in victory behind her. There’s a long, dramatic gasp and she hardly has time to look up before Musa is scrambling across the floor and grabbing the books.
“We’re starting a coven? Oh I am so down! I don’t care what we do as long as somebody teaches me to cast a silencing hex!”
Tecna reaches down, hooks both hands around Musa’s arm, and bodily drags her close enough that she and Timmy can peer at Bloom’s notebook too.
“This is dangerous.” Stella says quietly. Bloom looks at her, and – Stella is still holding onto her, but she’s – calmed. If that’s possible. The sunshine of her hair is softer, now.
“Dangerous? You’re talking like the school is – is some evil monster!”
Okay. So she’d known Flora would be the hardest sell. Stella would be pissed, but even anxious over all the politics bullshit, Bloom had never really doubted her. But there’s a difference between knowing, and seeing the other fairy pissed.
“We are students! We are here to learn! If the faculty are keeping things from us, it’s because we’re not ready to know it! There’s a reason we’re banned from using higher-level spells!” Flora’s voice isn’t raised, not really, but it’s loud and Stella scoots half into Bloom’s lap to avoid a writhing vine from the pot nearest Bloom’s side of the room.
“False.” Tecna says coolly, and Bloom’s phone, where it lays beside Musa, sparks green lightning. Musa yelps and rolls onto Timmy, who flails a little but does help her sit up. Tecna simply tilts her head back to better glare at Flora over the two of them, which is.
“Bloom, baby, if you accidentally start a brawl between our roommates I’m going to have to ground you.” Stella whispers, and Bloom would laugh – Riven certainly has no issue doing so – if it weren’t for the fact that Stella’s eyes are locked on Flora and she’s whispering.
“Linphea wrote its treaties with the other realms contingent upon the care and nurture of native flora and fauna. Zenith wrote our treaties contingent upon the free and unhindered flow of information. If Alphea and Magix are lying about the foundational basis for all magic, that is an act of war.”
Every single person in the fucking room freezes. Tecna rises to her feet, brushes off her pants, and then turns acid-green eyes to Flora.
“I would assume Alphea thinks it is acting with our best interest at heart. You may be right, that this information is dangerous or beyond our ability to handle. But regardless of its inherent value, Alphea has placed the lives of every fairy, every witch, and every citizen of every single one of the realms at risk to keep it secret. I do not think information Alphea deems worth the risk of utter annihilation will be innocent. I will be joining Bloom in her research. I think Musa has made it clear she will too. I do not intend to hold it against you if you refuse, Flora, but for the safety of every living soul – please keep what we have discussed secret.”
“Oh my fuck.” Stella wheezes, and Bloom jolts because what the fuck just came out of Stella’s mouth, but she’s – she’s pale and staring at Tecna with round eyes and Flora looks just as spooked and Timmy looks Very Not Happy and holy shit, Bloom realizes, Timmy had known, and he hadn’t even had a panic attack about it, and holy shit –
“They wouldn’t mean – “
“They may not have. But that does not change what they have done.”
Bloom hesitates. She’s got a lap full of Stella, and she’s pretty sure Stella will get pissed again if Bloom tries to extricate herself, but – Musa steps in, because she’s incredible, and rolls herself to her feet and grabs Flora’s hands in her own.
“We ain’t calling Alphea evil, babe. Maybe this was a thing generations ago, and nobody’s fixed it since. We’re just – preparing for the worst, y’know? But I promise you, we’re not looking for a fight.” Musa says softly, and Flora’s eyes fill with tears and Musa pulls her in and Bloom ignores the way Tecna looks at the spot Riven is occupying behind Bloom’s head and rolls her eyes because if Tecna and Riven team up somebody’s going to die and she can’t handle that stress right now.
But – she should’ve guessed.
“Yeah, Flora. I – I’m sorry for scaring you. And I’m sorry for not telling you. We’ll play it safe, okay? And Musa’s right. We won’t…start anything. We’re going to make decisions as a team, alright? That’s what we are.” Bloom says hesitantly, through a mouth full of sunbeam because Stella moves her fucking head right when Bloom opens her mouth, and Bloom does not let herself dramatically spit her friend’s hair out of said mouth because then Flora will get upset again and anyway it’d ruin the moment.
The boys are sweet enough to let Flora shudder herself out against Musa’s shoulder and then nod at all of them before Riven chirps a great and rolls himself back off the bed, Kiko cradled to his chest.
“I wanna see some actual fucking magic. Weren’t we gonna un-curse Bloom or something?”
“Excuse you.”
“I’m sorry. I should’ve used your title. Weren’t we gonna un-curse the whore?”
Stella lets out a shriek of pure indignation and hurtles a ball of pure plasma at Riven’s head. Tecna flings herself out of the way and Riven drops to the floor, and it goes careening out into the common room. They all freeze, and then relax when the only sound they hear is a splat and not a crash.
“I hope that landed on your shoes.” Stella says primly, and drapes one arm around Bloom’s shoulders.
“Oh. Uh. That other book there is Icy’s. One of their grimoires. And I know we don’t like them but please don’t break it or anything because then she won’t smuggle me anymore books.”
“How’d they smuggle it to you in the first place?” Stella asks sweetly, as if there isn’t a threat lurking somewhere in her words. Bloom rolls her eyes at her; she’d been truthful about not meeting up with anyone but Stormy – run-in with Darcy aside – and she knows Stella knows that, but, well. Stella’s gonna be weird about it.
“Left it under my pillow when they broke in the last time.”
“They really do like you.” Timmy says as if he’s surprised.
“Good! Then we can end this weird murder bullshit! Conflict’s not good for Flora. She’ll wilt.” Musa says, and for all the weird that Bloom’s been introduced to since her arrival in Magix that throws her completely.
“I’m already wilting.” Flora mumbles, and pulls back from Musa, and then reaches up and touches her cowlick, and Bloom has to deal with the realization that that tiny little tuft of hair is nowhere near as perky as it usually is and holy fuck, what does that even –
“Timmy can you give me a biology lesson sometime?” Bloom asks faintly, and the specialist grins at her.
“I’ll agree to this. And. I don’t want you doing this on your own. But if we are going to do this, we are going to institute healthy communication guidelines.” Flora says firmly, and Bloom doesn’t even try to not nod along with her friends; Flora’s got her mom voice on.
“Yes ma’am!” Stella says, and…then they all fall into an awkward silence. This is made more awkward by the fact that Stella’s ass is bony, because she’s a skinny bitch, and Bloom is too, and her ass hurts, and she doesn’t want to kick Stella off or anything but –
“I will have to call Mother tonight. If you are all up for it, I would like to introduce you.” Tecna says suddenly, and her voice is awkward and stilted, but she’s –
“I would love to, but S—I mean, Brandon isn’t being an asshole about everything and Riven and I need to go talk to him tonight.” Timmy sounds genuinely regretful, which is sweet, even if every single other person in the room tenses.
“Well, you brought it up.” Stella sighs, all disappointment and reproach.
“Yeah, after all the shouting you did, that’s just unfair.”
“We’ll leave! But I’m coming back for the rabbit!” Riven declares, and then very gently sets Kiko down on the floor. If a bunny could whine, he would, Bloom thinks when the animal turns his doe eyes on the specialist. Timmy scoots as far back from it as he can, and scrambles to his feet.
“See you tomorrow, then.” Bloom says, and she leans into Stella as the boy start gathering up their stuff and Tecna disappears out into the common room. Tecna doesn’t look as upset, anymore. Not great, because her smile is faint and about 95% relief, but it’s – something.
This weekend has been so fucking long already, and…Bloom groans into Stella’s shoulder, and gets a pat on the head for it.
“Bye, fuckers!”
“Good fucking riddance!”
“Riven! Musa!”