.
.
"The essence of photobombing is the source of light," Ivan said.
They were sitting cross-legged on the floor, pages of advertisements and magazines spread out in front of them. "Make sure your logos are in front; keep your chest toward the camera and be aware of your light source," Ivan said. "It doesn't work when they can't see your logos."
"Huh," Pao-Lin said. Ivan grinned, flipping through the magazines.
"You can be in the background, but not too much in the background, because otherwise they won't be able to see," Ivan said. "The trick is to angle yourself right at the front of the lens."
"...Oh."
"See, there's an art to it," Ivan said, excitedly. "You also can't let people notice you, because that'll ruin that shot!"
Pao-Lin only frowned.
This was a bad idea. Strike that, this was a really stupid bad idea, but her best friend was jittery with a sort of electric excitement, one he usually reserved for anime figurines or lining up for a new video game, and Pao-Lin didn't have the heart to stop him just yet. "This is my favorite one," Ivan said, and he flipped open a magazine to a picture of two actresses in bikinis and Origami Cyclone giving dual peace signs in the background. "First because it's a paparazzi picture and it's in all the tabloids, and second because the breasts are the focal point, but you can see how it draws the eyes to my logos. See?"
Their breasts didseem to be pointing at Ivan's chest plate. Ivan fiddled with his sleeves, a nervous little gesture, before saying, "You don't like it?"
"No, it's fine-" Pao-Lin couldn't quite keep the irritation out from her voice, but she tried for Ivan's sake, "-but the whole thing is stupid and attention whoring and I can't believe they're making me do this!"
Ivan's face went from one shade of pink to red to nuclear orange, and Pao-Lin amended, "I wasn't talking about you," but it was already too late: Ivan swallowed and started putting away his magazines, shoulders hunching, slightly.
"Ugh, dummy, give me those," Pao-Lin said, and she took the magazines from him. She flipped through the pages, frowning.
"Fifth place isn't even that bad," Pao-Lin said. She closed the magazine, pouting. "It's right in the middle! And of course stupid Karina would score higher than me, with her boobs all out and her butt all showing like that."
"Karina always scores high," Ivan said, nodding. Pao-Lin glared.
"They wanted me to change my costume!" Pao-Lin said. "Said be sexy or start photobombing! What the hell!"
"You could be sexy," Ivan said. Pao-Lin rolled her eyes. "No, it would be good, see?" Ivan said, and he morphed into Pao-Lin, this time wearing the bikini from the photo.
In Pao-Lin's voice, he said, "See?" and Pao-Lin smacked him on the arm.
xXx
.
The whole thing sucked major balls.
Well. As far as sponsors went, Pao-Lin didn't really have it too bad. Apollon Media rode Barnaby and Tiger relentlessly and Poseidon Line bitched about Sky High's lack of points, at one point threatening to fire him and making Keith cry (and also, seriously? Since when did three-million-whatever mean lack of points?), not to mention the asshats at Titan, who made Karina's costume get smaller and smaller with every season: Pao-Lin didn't really have it that bad.
Well, didn't, until Poseidon Line and Odysseus Communications started talking about a merger, and suddenly there was talk of Pao-Lin bringing down the company brand.
It upset Keith pretty much, because Pao-Lin caught him leaving to hide in the locker room, after executives at Poseidon ripped him a new asshole for losing Hero points to Barnaby at the last save ("Your contract renewal is coming up," the execs said. "We are in no way obligated to re-sign."), and the board of trustees wrung their hands at the thought of a flat-chested girl in Mickey Mouse ears being the female face of Poseidon.
Or something. Pao-Lin wasn't really sure.
"Well, Ms. Huang, maybe you could...I don't know, perhaps start making yourself more visible? Show our affiliates how adept you are at advertising." Her old bosses smiled kindly.
"You want me to photobomb," Pao-Lin said.
"I'm not sure what you young people call it, but..."
"You want me to photobomb, or wear a sexy costume," Pao-Lin said.
"Well." Her boss folded his hands, apologetically.
A week later, Pao-Lin was sitting, glaring at the sample costumes at the command center, while Ivan sputtered stupid things like, "that one's really pretty," and, "maybe you can move around better?"
"Move around better?" Pao-Lin said. She held up the G-string, glaring. "How the hell am I supposed to move around better with butt-floss between my cheeks, huh?"
"Well..."
"And god. These look like my boobs will fall out."
Ivan didn't look at her. "I think you'd look really pretty," Ivan said.
"Well that's because you're an idiot," Pao-Lin said, and she stuffed the costume back in the drawer.
xXx
.
The thing about Ivan was, he was shy and awkward but also a really nice guy, once you got passed his weirdo anime fetish and his low self-esteem. "At least you have a real ability," Ivan said. "And Sky High and Barnaby are tied for first, so technically you're number four."
"Shut up," Pao-Lin said. They crouched behind the dumpster.
They were on her first photobombing mission: the first unveiling of the president's statue at the center of Sternbild. Celebrities and politicians would all be there, and people would be snapping photographs.
"Okay, so you need to hold onto me, otherwise I won't be able to hide you," Ivan said.
"Huh?"
"Like this," Ivan said, and he touched her arm.
The glow between them was soft, warm, and suddenly Pao-Lin felt herself transform...but no, she was still Pao-Lin in her Dragon Kid costume. Ivan took the form of an old lady, complete with gray hair and osteoarthritis and a wobbly, shuffling gate. Pao-Lin frowned.
"I look the same," Pao-Lin said. Ivan shook his head. "Look in the window," Ivan said.
She looked. In their reflection, she saw an old lady and herself in civilian clothes, holding the old lady's arm.
"Whoa! How did you do that, Ivan? That's so cool-"
"Shh," Ivan said, and he grinned (well, the old lady grinned, but she looked like if Ivan were a girl and a hundred years old). "C'mon."
At the event it went like this: celebrities shaking hands as the giant scissors were held and the ribbon was cut, and all of a sudden at the center of the picture, ORIGAMI CYCLONE AND DRAGON KID! splashing out like giddy teenagers, arms raised and their logos proudly distracting from the statue in the background.
xXx
.
"Here again at 10, another photobombing prank by Origami Cyclone, only to be upstaged by Dragon Kid! Is this a new Hero TV trend? More after the break!"
"Soda?" Ivan said, and Pao-Lin grinned up at him, taking the soda from his hand and chugging it down with one long swig.
It had been awhile since Ivan had photobombed anything, not since Kotetsu's pep talk and Ivan's slow rise up the ranks (from last to second-to-last, which according to Pao-Lin wasn't half bad, considering Ivan had no real powers and had relied on his own fighting ability more than anything else), and he had forgotten how much he enjoyed it. His sponsors always thought the photobombs were hilarious, and encouraged him to be as obnoxious and shameless as possible, and it was one thing Ivan was surprisingly good at: normally shy and reserved in real life, the photobombs let him be someone else entirely, a man oozing confidence and shamelessness and an in-your-face attitude that Ivan sometimes wished he had.
Now Pao-Lin was laughing and giggling along with him, running from the scenes while spectators raised their fists, pissed off that their photo-ops were ruined by real life pop-up advertising.
They collapsed in Ivan's apartment, eating snacks and watching themselves on the news. "Ha! Look at that one!" Pao-Lin said, and she gripped Ivan's arm. "Oh my god, look at you! You're shameless!" Pao-Lin said, marveling at the pose Ivan had come up with on the fly (a thumbs up behind two celebrities caught kissing. Perfect photobomb opportunity).
Ivan watched as Pao-Lin padded around barefoot, digging through the fridge for more snacks, and he had to check himself to make sure he wasn't staring. Pao-Lin was pretty, but the last time he told her that, she bluntly accused him of having an Asian girl fetish, which Ivan vehemently denied. "Dude, you have hentai all up in your room," Pao-Lin said.
Ivan reddened. "I do not."
She waved a doujinshi in his face. "This isn't hentai?"
"I-where did you find that? I thought I hid that one!"
"God, her boobs are huge," Pao-Lin said. "They're like, bigger than her head."
"Give that back," Ivan said. He lunged but Pao-Lin dodged his reach. "Give it!"
"Oh my god, look at her O-face!" Pao-Lin said, and she proceeded to mimic, in excruciating detail, the expression on the page. "Oh! Oh yes! Come all over me and come on my boooobs!"
It was worse than the time Pao-Lin found the hentai jpgs on his computer, opening up the harddrive and typing "HENTAI" in the search bar. ("Oh my god, there's like, fifty thousand files on here," Pao-Lin said. Ivan couldn't look at her for days.) But for whatever reason, Pao-Lin thought it was hilarious whenever Ivan was embarrassed, she didn't think it was pathetic that he slept with a body pillow of his favorite anime character (who was wearing a bikini with her nipples poking through the fabric, not that Pao-Lin didn't make fun of him for that), and she sometimes even flipped through his stacks and stacks of manga. She was his best friend, and even though he kind of wished she were his girlfriend, he didn't question his good luck that she didn't mind spending time with him.
Now Pao-Lin had emerged from the kitchen, triumphant, carrying a tray of chips and dip and sitting down next to him, leaning against his shoulder and munching, absently. "That was really fun," Pao-Lin said.
"Yeah," Ivan said. "I really enjoyed it."
He beamed up at her, and Pao-Lin smiled.
She was always really pretty. Her hair fell at soft angles around her face and the light caught her skin with a soft glow, and when she laughed, her eyes creased into two half-moons that made Ivan sometimes wonder what it would be like to kiss, small kisses on her cheeks and lips and at the corners of her eyes.
"Ivan?"
"Hm?"
"It's getting late," Pao-Lin said. "I should probably be getting home."
"Oh," Ivan said. "Right."
They stood. "Are you okay, riding your bike in the dark?" Ivan asked. Pao-Lin frowned.
"Yeah, why shouldn't I be?" Pao-Lin said.
"I could walk you home, if you want," Ivan said. He felt his ears redden. "Or you could stay overnight-"
"Huh?"
"Not like that!" Ivan said. "I mean, you always said I was like a brother, right? No funny business."
Pao-Lin looked at him, eyes narrowed. "What kind of funny business?"
"Like, you know. Kissing or making out and...stuff." Ivan shifted, uncomfortably. Pao-Lin stared.
"Have you even made out with a girl before?" Pao-Lin said.
"No," Ivan said. Pao-Lin shrugged.
"Okay," Pao-Lin said, and she kicked off her shoes and stepped back inside.
They sat back on the floor, Pao-Lin leaning against the sofa while Ivan perched by the end table. Pao-Lin was wearing shorts and her bare leg was touching Ivan's thigh, and he wasn't sure if she realized it. "I just hate that girly stuff," Pao-Lin was saying. "It makes me feel weird, you know?"
"But you're really pretty," Ivan said.
"Shut up!"
"But you are," Ivan said. Pao-Lin frowned at him.
"What? With all that girly crap on and stuff?"
"No," Ivan said. "You're always pretty," and he kept his eyes on the ground.
He always told her she was pretty; the first time, he was afraid she would avoid him, the weeaboo kid with a stupid crush, but she took that the way she took the rest of his quirks: he would call her pretty because that's what he did, just like he collected anime figures or doujinshi or photobombed at cosplay events, and she would ignore it when he got awkward and shy, choosing to break the awkwardness by making fun of him. It made him feel good, being able to call her pretty: that was their dynamic, and in the three years they'd been hanging out together, the dynamic never really changed.
She slept on his couch. He would have given her the bed, but the body pillow leered at her and Pao-Lin said no way, he could sleep with the body pillow himself, thankyouverymuch.
xXx
.
"You are the new face of Poseidon Line," the executives said. "Your actions yesterday are shameful! Photobombing a photo-op! Really, you should know better."
"I was trying to make my logos visible," Pao-Lin said, and she slouched down on herself, her bangs covering her eyes.
The box hit the table with a thud. Pao-Lin raised her eyes. "What's this?" Pao-Lin said.
"Your new costume. Try it on, we may have to re-size it."
Pao-Lin opened the box, gingerly. Her eyes widened.
"I can't wear this," Pao-Lin said.
"You'll wear it and you'll like it," her new boss said. "Otherwise you can quit."
"But they're heels!" Pao-Lin said. "I can't fight in heels."
"Learn," her new boss said, and he motioned for her to leave the room.
xXx
.
She took the box home and shook out the costume, which was nothing more than wedges of fabric held together by a few pieces of string. The thigh-high stiletto boots, the lightning shaped head piece made her cringe.
"Your company sucks," Pao-Lin said to Keith, who was waiting to be called in for his meeting. He smiled apologetically, rubbing his head.
"They are harsh! And again, they have exacting standards, but it is to help better ourselves," Keith said.
"Thiswon't help me 'better myself,'" Pao-Lin said, and she showed Keith the triangles of fabric. Keith's eyes widened.
"Wow," Keith said.
"Yeah, that's what I thought," Pao-Lin said.
"But you are still too young!" Keith said. "I will talk to them at the meeting. That is truly unacceptable."
In her dressing room, Pao-Lin modeled the costume, frowning. It left absolutely nothing to the imagination: she couldn't move in those heels, every time she bent over the freaking butt-floss slid up her ass, and what the hell, she'd get really cold. She motioned to Karina, who was changing behind her.
"I'm sorry I made fun of you and your butt," Pao-Lin said. Karina snorted.
"Now you know how it feels like! And your boobs are sticking out more than mine," Karina said.
"Shut up," Pao-Lin said. Karina grinned.
"The best is to let the boys handle things. Then when the crook is down, just swoop in and take the points," Karina said. "You can't fight in that thing, trust me. You'll just twist your ankle if you try."
"Great," Pao-Lin said, and she took off the head piece, tossing it in her locker.
xXx
.
Ivan was waiting for her outside, and he didn't react the way she wanted to when she showed him the costume. "Don't say it's pretty," Pao-Lin said, "or else I'm gonna punch you in the face, yeah?"
Ivan blinked. "I won't," Ivan said. He was still blushing anyway.
"Ugh," Pao-Lin said. "Well of course you'dlike it. It looks like one of those stupid anime cosplay things you're always mooning over. God, I'm gonna have to tape my boobs together, aren't I?"
"It is a little much," Ivan admitted. Pao-Lin snorted.
"You think? Maybe the butt floss is what gives it away." She shoved the costume back in her bag, glaring. "Stupid Poseidon Line. Sky High was gonna try talking to them for me, but seeing as they threatened to fire him for getting second place-"
"-seriously?" Ivan said.
"-they're probably not going to give much stock to what he says," Pao-Lin said. "Man. I wish I had your power, you know? Just blend and blend and blend away, so no one has to see you or look at you or leer at your butt floss like you're some piece of meat. Seriously." She sighed again, walking forward.
"Well. I wish I had your power," Ivan said.
"Huh?"
"You can actually do something," Ivan said. "And even without the electricity, your footwork is really good."
"Really?" Pao-Lin glanced up. Like her, Ivan had a black belt in martial arts-his in karate, hers in Chinese martial arts-but unlike her, his black belt extended to the third degree, and because he had no offensive ability, he had to rely on his physical skills more than she did. Ivan smiled.
He had a nice smile. He also was super cute when he was blushing and being all embarrassed and stuff, not that Pao-Lin noticed that kind of thing. And the thing with the body pillow was kind of adorable, if not a little bit creepy and weird. "You're just saying that to be nice," Pao-Lin said, and Ivan shook his head.
"No," Ivan said. "I'm not. You're a great martial artist. They can't expect you to move around in that thing. Even if you do look really pretty in it."
"It's not pretty, it's jail bait," Pao-Lin said. She sighed tragically.
"I guess it could be worse. At least my costume doesn't have a fake nipple on it, like yours."
xXx
.
In all his animanga, Ivan always liked the tomboy girls. Not the quiet, shy ones - they were too much like him, not good enough for the hero and blending into the background. He preferred Naruto's loud-mouthed Sakura to bashful Hinata, Full Metal Panic!'s tomboy Chidori to polite and shy Teletha Tessa. When he met Pao-Lin, she was like the living embodiment of all his dream girls, loud and tomboyish and scrapping fights whenever she had the chance. "It's your stupid Asian fetish," Pao-Lin had told him bluntly, the first time he mustered up the courage to tell her that he liked her, and she waved away his embarrassment, choosing to ignore how his face got red or how he stammered whenever he saw her.
They had a pact: "Okay, so if we're really old and we haven't found anyone yet, we should just get married." It was Pao-Lin's idea and Ivan latched onto it hard, taking this as an unspoken confirmation of her feelings for him. "And don't be creepy about it. We have a long time to find people," Pao-Lin said. "And anyway, maybe you should just marry Edward, since you've been mooning about him so much."
"Edward?" Ivan's stomach sank. Pao-Lin grinned.
"He can be your prison hubby," Pao-Lin said. "The way you stare at his letters. You're in love with him, I totally know it."
"I am not," Ivan said, and he turned red again. Pao-Lin laughed.
"You're too easy!" Pao-Lin said, and the discussion of their potential future marriage ended on that confusing note.
He remembered the first time he met her: after her Hero debut, her first night on the job. She had been wielding her staff and somehow managed to nab rescue points by saving a civilian from a falling car, and Ivan was struck by how pretty she was, leaping in the air and sparks flying from her fingertips. That night, he followed her out of the locker room, his ability cloaking him and making him blend into the background, when he saw it:
She was crying. Huddled into the phone, trying to call her parents, but nobody was picking up.
"Are you all right?" Ivan asked, and Pao-Lin looked up. Her face was tear-streaked and she was startled, surprised.
"Who are you?" Pao-Lin said. Her accent was still thick back then, the command of the language still shaky at best.
"Ivan," Ivan said. He sat down next to her. "I'm Origami Cyclone."
"Oh," Pao-Lin said, and she sniffed. Quietly Ivan pulled out a pack of tissues and shared them with her.
He didn't ask her what was wrong, or why she was crying. He just sat beside her, waiting as she sniffed and blew her nose into the tissue, wiping her eyes and hiccuping, occasionally. "I miss them," she said, finally, and she looked up at him, crying. "I don't want to be here. I just want to go home."
And he hugged her. At the time he didn't think about it, it just seemed like the right thing to do. He hugged her and held her for a long time, then he used his power to make funny faces and make her laugh. He understood: being hurt away from home, in a strange country with strange people, could be frightening, and the other Heroes were all older than them: he was the only one close to her age, only a few years older, and he decided he would make her feel as welcome as possible.
Over the course of a few months, he slowly fell in love with her.
When she didn't notice, it made him feel a little sad.
xXx
.
"We should photobomb something," Pao-Lin was saying. Ivan was watching quietly while Pao-Lin paraded in her costume, replacing her normal head gear with the Street Fighterox horns the character Chun Li normally wears. "I'm okay if we're doing this sarcastically, so we should go out! I'll even pad my boobs."
"You don't need padding," Ivan said. Pao-Lin snorted.
"Not everyone has your ability, you know," Pao-Lin said.
"What does my ability have to do with it?" Ivan said, but Pao-Lin blushed.
"Nothing," Pao-Lin said. "Except you mean to tell me, you don't use it to make yourself look good?"
"Sorry?" Ivan blinked. Pao-Lin sighed, theatrically.
"Like, make yourself look taller or more muscular or something. Or whatever," Pao-Lin said.
"That would be tiring," Ivan said. "But you don't need anything like that. You're perfect the way you are."
"Shut up," Pao-Lin said.
"But you are," Ivan said. He scooted closer to her, earnestly. "You're really pretty, and when guys look at you, they'll all be dreaming about you."
"Ha! And what, you dream about me, too?"
"Yeah," Ivan said, and his ears reddened. Pao-Lin stopped.
"Wait, seriously?"
"Yeah," Ivan said. He felt himself blushing, hard. "But I know I'm not good enough, and you deserve to be with someone better. I'm just happy that you're my friend."
Pao-Lin was staring at him. She licked her lips, sitting up on her haunches. The fabric of her costume tugged against her breasts. Ivan averted his eyes.
"Hey," Pao-Lin said. She scooted closer. "Hey. We said we would marry each other, right?"
"Yeah," Ivan said.
"But you've never kissed anyone."
"Neither have you."
"Do you want to try?" Pao-Lin said.
Ivan looked up. Pao-Lin was staring at him with this look, like she was deciding whether or not she would touch him or laugh at him, when she finally lifted her head.
Her lips were soft. Ivan swallowed, dizzily, his hands still hanging loosely by his sides. This seemed to irritate Pao-Lin, who picked up his hands and pressed them firmly against her waist.
Their noses bumped. Pao-Lin reared back, giggling-she was really cute-and Ivan blushed, ducking his head. "That wasn't bad," Pao-Lin said, and she leaned forward again. Their lips touched and Ivan tentatively opened his mouth, letting his tongue just barely graze on Pao-Lin's lower lip. She made a soft sound, like a sort of shivery exhale, and carefully opened her mouth, letting him kiss her a little deeper.
Their tongues touched. She was smiling against his lip, and cautiously Ivan raised his hand to stroke her cheek, tilting his head to kiss her deeper. She pulled back, "Ew, it's wet," and Ivan would have died from embarrassment if she didn't crawl up against his lap, pushing him back against the floor cushion and nuzzling against his neck.
Somehow, they were lying sideways on the floor, their bodies aligned so that they were grinding on each other. Pao-Lin was breathing hard through her nose and Ivan was kissing her lips and her neck, moving his head lower and lower before catching her nipple through the fabric of her costume, and he was hard and pressed up against the center of her pelvis, something that ordinarily would have embarrassed him but seemed okay, right now. He didn't stop her when she rolled him on his back, grinding down with her pelvis against his erection, rubbing herself against him until her body shuddered, a series rhythmic contractions that made her cry out, suddenly.
She had climaxed on top of him. The realization made his head spin.
She ground down her pelvis into his lap, and his erection felt raw and chaffed against the fabric of his pants, but she looked like she was close to coming again. "Can we-" she said, and she inhaled, sharply. Another contraction, two harsh jerks. "-can we go to your room?"
"Okay," Ivan said, and moved to stand.
Except all his blood had pooled south, and his head was light and he felt unsteady and dizzy on his feet.
They moved to his bed. The body pillow, its anime girl winking suggestively, was still on the unmade sheets, and Ivan pushed it off, blushing. It landed on the pile of ero manga that he hadn't bothered hiding earlier, because he didn't think Pao-Lin would be in his room or that she would be kissing him in a way that made his heart pound, or that she would be tugging at the belt around his pants.
She was still wearing her costume. He could see her nipples poking through the fabric.
"Hey," Ivan said, but Pao-Lin was busy working on the button on his fly. "Hey, are you sure about this?"
But Pao-Lin gave another tug, yanking down his pants and exposing the bulge in his underwear. "You don't think..." and he groaned, slightly. "You don't think we're going too fast?"
"No," Pao-Lin said, and she gave his underpants one harsh yank; she hesitated only a moment when she saw his cock, eyes widening just a little before doggedly taking him in her mouth.
"You don't have to, you don't-"
But her tongue was running up his glans, one hand stroking his shaft and another cupping his balls. He shivered, her mouth warm and wet and the sensation overwhelmed him. He came quickly, spilling all over Pao-Lin's cheeks and face with a few harsh strokes.
She seemed shocked. Ivan's penis twitched pathetically, once, twice, before Pao-Lin seemed to get her wits back. She stood, shakily, then wiped her face.
"Oh god," Ivan said. He scrambled upright, yanking up his pants. "Pao-Lin, I'm so sorry-"
But she started to laugh. Warmly, her eyes creasing into two adorable half moons.
xXx
.
When the merger with Poseidon Line and Odysseus communications fell through, she was free to throw out the ridiculous costume and work as she normally did. "Thank god!" Pao-Lin said. "That costume sucked! It was like, some sort of anime nerd wet dream."
"Stop making fun of me," Ivan said, and he blushed as Pao-Lin sweetly kissed him on the cheek, before whacking him on the back of his shoulder. Before, when they were just friends, Ivan used to use his ability on her: he would transform into Karina or Keith or even Nathan, rounding the corner of the gym and trying to get information out of her.
"Who? Ivan? What about him?" Pao-Lin was gulping back a bottle of water while Ivan posed as Nathan, batting his eyelashes and swaying his hips, slightly.
"I think he likes you," Ivan-as-Nathan said, and he made his best approximation of a kissy face. "He's a sweet boy, don't you think? Frankly, I think you'd be perfect together."
"He's a photobombing weeaboo nerd. No thank you."
"Oh honey. Nerds make the best boyfriends. Didn't you know?"
The one good thing about his power was that Ivan was very good at pretending. Even when he was in his Origami Cyclone costume, he could adopt the sort of shameless persona his sponsors wanted. But as soon as he dropped the Nathan act, he was hurt, opting to hide the rest of the day in his room, crushed after his deepest fears were confirmed.
It wasn't until Pao-Lin barged into his apartment, announcing, "Stop pretending to be people!" that Ivan realized she had just been making fun of him, and he didn't realize it. "I thought you were serious," Ivan said. He was spooning against Pao-Lin's back, the two of them smushed up in his tiny twin bed.
"I was. You are a photobombing weeaboo nerd. And dude, it was kind of creepy, the way you stalked me like that."
"It wasn't stalking," Ivan said, and Pao-Lin shifted to face him, draping a lazy arm across his chest. "And you always knew I liked you. But what made you change your mind?"
"I don't know," Pao-Lin said. "You're my best friend. I thought it would be weird." She looked up at him, smiling. "It was pretty weird," Pao-Lin said.
"...Oh. Really?"
"Yeah. You make the weirdest face," and Pao-Lin showed him, rolling her eyes backward, dramatically and twitching a little.
"You make a weird face too," Ivan said.
"Shut up! I do not."
"Do too," Ivan said, and he transformed.
Later, Pao-Lin would have to admit, it was pretty weird, watching herself fake-orgasm, bucking on the bed like some sort of clumsy epileptic, but Ivan transformed back and told her that he thought she was beautiful when she came, he liked her weird little o-face, and Pao-Lin hit him on the arm and yelled at him to stop being creepy, before snuggling up against him.
Now she was asleep. Ivan watched her quietly and counted the rise and fall of each of her breaths, moving a hand to trace a line up to her face. Slowly he cuddled next to her and hitched her close, closing his eyes and slowly letting sleep start to wash over.
end.