AUTHOR: always krissy
DISCLAIMER: Ninja Storm belongs to Disney.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Slashfic and hetfic, but it mostly centers around Tori's reaction. :)
PAIRING: Tori/Blake, Dustin/Hunter
RATING: PG
It was one of those moments that Tori felt like crying. She didn't know what to say to Dustin's revelation.
I'm, uh, gay and with Hunter. I love him.
What did you say in a moment like this that came out of nowhere?
"So," Dustin attempted, tentatively, tearing his eyes from Shane to look at her, "are you okay with it...?"
She couldn't tell him 'no,' but she couldn't force out the 'yes' that was on the tip of her tongue.
"Tori...?"
Choking on her words, she finally blurted a quick, "Yeah, Dustin... I'm happy for you. I, uh," her eyes darted to the side, where Hunter stood awkwardly watching them. "Congrats," she told him, and even she had to wince at how fake it sounded. "Listen, I gotta go... I'll see you guys at practice later."
Without a backwards glance, she left Ninja Ops, ignoring the agitated call of her name.
===
"Hey. Tori."
The sky was starting to darken when Blake's voice startled her out of her thoughts. She glanced up at him, offering a small smile.
"Hey," she responded. "What're you doing out here?"
"I should be asking you the same thing," Blake responded, easily easing down onto the surfboard besides her.
Tori started in realization, her eyes widening in shock. "I forgot about practice! Sensei is going to kill me!"
Blake shook his head, "He isn't that mad; just mostly concerned about you. Like we all are. You okay?"
She winced at the concern in his voice. She didn't deserve it, not after the way she'd treated Dustin and Hunter earlier.
"Don't worry about me," she brushed the words off, and stared at the crashing waves in front of her.
"Its hard not to," he ventured in the silence, "What was up with earlier? Hunter told me he and Dustin talked to you and Shane."
"Ever heard of beating around the bush?" she asked sourly, but ignored the actual question. "Guess I should go plead temporarily insanity to Sensei, huh? Maybe he'll--"
"Tori, stop," Blake interrupted, and placed a warm hand on her shoulder, and she shivered at the gentle contact. "Can't you talk to me? I refuse to believe you have something against Dustin and Hunter being together. You're beyond something like that. Way, way beyond that."
"I don't," she admitted, and lapsed back into silence.
"What is it then? Are you jealous? Do you..." the words came out in barely a whisper, "...like one of them?"
"What?" Her eyes widened in surprise, "You've got to be kidding me." When he looked at her, she shrugged. "I don't know. I really don't. One moment we were all joking around, and the next Hunter's kissing him, and Dustin's telling us he's gay and that they've been together for weeks and I just freaked. They caught me off guard and I don't know. I just wasn't expecting it, not after Dustin believing so much in Marah, and he always flirts with girls, and just..."
"And everything fell apart and you're just left trying to piece it together and just didn't know how to in such a short amount of time?"
Tori nodded, and looked at him sideways. "I guess it came as a shock to you, too?"
Blake chuckled, and Tori felt at ease for the first time since he joined her on the beach.
"Try walking in on them having sex. Wasn't a mental image I wanted to ever have."
Tori looked at him with raised eyebrows, "Nice. I suppose I got off easy then."
"Oh yeah," he agreed, grimacing at the memory. After another lull of conversation, he looked quizzically at her. "Feeling any better?"
Nodding, she leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss against his cheek. "Yeah. Thanks."
"So, shall I walk you back?" he asked, and she spotted his faint blush with satisfaction.
"I'd like that," she smiled, and she carefully laced their fingers together as they both stood. Neither let go on the trek back to Ninja Ops.
===
Dustin and Hunter were perched on the bumper of her van, waiting for her. She could feel Blake's hand tighten around hers as she tensed, and she smiled gratefully at him as they cleared the rest of the short walk.
"Hi," Tori said, awkwardly, and the feeling of flight was powerfully returning. Dustin looked at the ground and Hunter looked between her and Blake, and then returned his gaze back to his boyfriend. Tori took a deep breath, and opened her mouth to speak, but Hunter beat her to it.
"So, you hate gay people, huh? I never thought you'd be like that, Tori."
She winced at how hurt and angry he sounded, and she finally realized how much her earlier reactions had hurt them.
"You're wrong," Tori finally found her voice, and wanted nothing more than to lose the shakiness that accompanied it, "I don't hate gay people."
"Coulda fooled me," he muttered, but he quieted at the look Blake gave him.
"Look," she let go of Blake's hand, and her fingers twisted the hem of her blue tank top, "you guys... Just caught me by surprise, okay? I... would never have guessed. And you guys were kissing and I just. I don't know. You didn't even give me a chance to blink before you were announcing a relationship and love, and what do you want me to say?"
"Something more than what you did say, woulda been nice," Hunter told her, sarcastically.
"I'm sorry," Tori told him, sincerely, "I really am." She looked at Dustin, pleadingly. He had been silent during the whole conversation, and that had to mean something, right? "You know me. I would never hate someone over something like this. Especially you guys. I just..."
"I know," Dustin returned quietly, "but it still hurt me. Hurt Hunter." At least he believed her.
"I will do everything I can to make this up to you. To both of you," she amended. Blake smiled encouragingly at her, and she felt like a hand was squeezing her breath away, waiting for a response. She sighed with relief when Dustin finally offered a tiny smile.
"You can clean our bikes for the week," he offered, breaking the silence. Nose wrinkling at the thought, she almost told him to do it himself, but Hunter was laughing at him, and--
It was a start.
And that was all that she needed.
==
End.