"So… What do you want to do?" Irelia asked.

Riven shrugged, and the corners of the Ionian's lips turned downwards slightly. Riven noted how she didn't like indefinite answers.

"I have an idea," Soraka said before they had another bout of silence. "Let's go to Bard's concert! He's performing at the Institute's theater tonight."

"Tonight? We're not going to just wait and do nothing until then. It's not even noon," Riven commented. The sun was still bright in the sky, not even completely overhead yet.

Soraka huffed. "Well it's something. Do you have any better ideas? Or any at all?"

Riven shook her head. "No, but we've got nothing to do right now, which is the problem. We can figure out what to do later later."

Soraka sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "Fine. What have you two been doing together the past few days?"

"Irelia's been teaching me how to read. That's why we were arguing over…" Riven subconsciously gestured with her hand as she struggled to find the right word. "… that," she finished lamely.

Soraka looked at Riven with surprise. "You don't know how to read? How did I not know this?"

"Well, yeah. It's not really something I talk about," Riven admitted. "Why would I talk about it?"

Soraka hummed thoughtfully. "I suppose you have a point. I can help with teaching if you'd like."

Riven curled her lips over her teeth. Normally, she would be fine with the idea, but some reason…

She didn't want accept the offer.

But maybe Soraka could help teach someone else.

"Actually, I have a friend that—" Riven abruptly stopped herself from saying any more.

'Keep my secret safe.'

The sentence repeated itself in her mind, the memory of the mage's sultry voice ringing in her ears.

Would getting someone that'll teach Ahri how to write help smooth things over between the two? Or would she get mad if she told someone her secret, even if she had good intentions?

"Uh, Riven?" Irelia asked unsurely after a moment, waving a hand in front of the exile's face. "Are you okay?"

Riven jumped a little when she came back to her senses. "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. I just uh," she suddenly paused again, hesitant of what to say.

Ten seconds went by before Irelia got impatient. "Just what?" she asked. Her voice was firm like it usually was, but a hint of annoyance had creeped into her tone.

"S-sorry, I have to go." Riven began to run towards the Institute, leaving the two behind her confused and worried.


Riven stared at the door.

The last time she did this…

She felt her determination falter.

No, she thought. The exile shook her head to clear her mind. "Focus," she whispered to herself. "Focus," she repeated.

She could hear papers being shuffled inside the room, and an unmistakably feminine voice groan in frustration.

Riven bit her lip and knocked softly.

She could hear the sounds of crumpling paper before the door swung open, revealing a disheveled Ahri.

Ahri's eyes widened and her eyebrows shot up in surprise when she saw who was visiting her, but she quickly suppressed her initial reaction. "Riv—? What're you doing here?" the mage asked angrily, her animalistic features showing the telltale signs of aggression.

"I'm sorry."

Ahri snorted. "'Sorry' isn't going to cut it," she snapped, and Riven flinched. She really fucked up this time, didn't she?

"What do I have to do to get you to forgive me?" Riven asked weakly. Ahri was one of the only people she could call a friend, and she didn't want to lose her because of a stupid argument.

Ahri examined her critically, and Riven could feel the mage's intense gaze on her skin. She faintly felt her chemical burns tingling, the uncomfortable sensation from the large one on her chest making her feel queasy.

"Don't ever do that again," Ahri whispered, so quietly that Riven barely heard her, so hurt that it made Riven's chest ache from something other than phantom pain.

"I—" Riven paused, not wanting to anger Ahri, but not knowing exactly why the mage was upset. "I don't quite understand uh, why you got so upset, to be frank."

Ahri looked at her unimpressed. "Really?"

"Um…"

Ahri pursed her lips. "What did you say?"

Riven blinked, caught off guard by the question. "What do you mean?"

"What did you say in the hallway that day?" Ahri asked, annoyance now evident in her tone.

"I uh, can't really remember, to be honest," Riven admitted sheepishly.

Ahri scowled at her. "Honestly, Riven…" she said in an exasperated tone, and the exile just realized that this was the first time Ahri's said her actual name.

"No nickname?"

Ahri shook her head. "Nope. I'm still mad at you."

Riven groaned, her patience wearing thin. "Ahri, please just tell me."

The mage crossed her arms and sighed. "Fine. Come in."

She moved out of the doorway and Riven entered the disorganized room once more. Somehow, it was even more messy and cluttered than before.

"So," Ahri said as she turned to look at Riven. "You really don't remember, huh?"

Riven shook her head. "Sorry."

"Do you remember saying anything about being 'normal human being'?" Ahri asked angrily.

Oh.

"I didn't mean to imply you weren't normal."

Ahri huffed and crossed her arms. "I know I'm not normal, Riven. And I know I'm not a normal human being, but you should really consider other people's feelings."

"I know." Riven frowned as she remembered how unethical she had been in the past.

Ahri's expression softened and she reached out to touch Riven's shoulder, causing the exile to flinch a little. "I'll forgive you, but please don't make me feel like shit again."

Riven nodded numbly, swallowing the lump in her throat.

Ahri gave her a small smile before walking past her. "Help me go through my new presents!" she called as she sat down on the floor, busying herself with opening packages. Ahri carelessly ripped apart the wrapping paper on one and threw it aside, only interested in the contents inside the box.

"Hey Rivy, what is this anyway?" Ahri held up a lacy push-up bra, poking it with her index finger. "I keep getting these in the mail, but I don't know what they're for."

Riven felt her cheeks getting warm. "That's a bra."

Ahri's eyes lit up. "Oh, didn't you mention something about that the other day? Before you carelessly tore my heart apart in the hallway?"

Ouch.

"Um, yes?" Riven answered unsurely. Was Ahri going to snap at her again?

She looked at the mage, who just waited for her to start talking again.

"Um, they're for your breasts. Bras help support them," she explained lamely.

"How does it do that? I've noticed these metal bits at the ends of it. Is it like some type of armor?" Ahri asked enthusiastically, eager to have her curiosity finally sated.

"N-not exactly…" Riven was not prepared for this conversation.

Ahri frowned. "I don't understand. How's it supposed to help then?"

"I mean, you wear it, but it's not considered armor. It's like underwear," she explained.

"Underwear," Ahri repeated. "Explain what underwear is."

Riven blinked rapidly, her mind processing the request Ahri just made.

"You… you don't know what underwear is," Riven said incredulously.

Ahri shook her head.

"Panties? Do you wear panties?" she asked, only receive a nonverbal answer when she saw Ahri's confused face.

She really didn't need to know this much about Ahri.

"Okay, well, it's like clothes that you wear under your other clothes."

Ahri furrowed her brow. "Why would you do that? Like, what's the point? I don't think something like this would provide any insulation."

Riven bit her lip. She really didn't want to discuss this right now. Or ever.

But she doubted she had a choice in the matter.

"There are uh, various reasons why. I'd rather not go into detail about them," Riven said, hoping Ahri wouldn't question her about the subject more.

Ahri pursed her lips, but didn't press the matter any further upon seeing how uncomfortable Riven was. "Okay, so the purpose of a bra's to support breasts, right?

Riven nodded.

"So like, what does it do to support them exactly?"

Riven couldn't believe she was having this conversation. "It um, it holds them up."

"How does that help?" Ahri asked, still confused about the purpose of a bra.

Riven doubted her skin would ever return to its original pigmentation with how red she must be right now.

"It stops them from… bouncing, while you do stuff. And it covers… you know…" she made a vague circular motion with her hand.

Ahri's mouth opened in realization. "Oh! So that's why they hurt when I run or something, right? It's because I don't wear one?"

"Y-yeah, especially since yours are rather… large," Riven said, still embarrassed about the topic.

"Can you show me how to wear it?"

"… Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen."

Ahri frowned. "But I don't want to keep dealing with these," she gestured towards her chest, "while I do stuff. I go running a lot, if you didn't know."

"There are bras more suited for physical activity than others, like how some clothes are better suited for certain weathers than others. This one is lingerie."

Ahri stared at her blankly.

"That means it's um, designed to be titillating, and not very practical to wear."

Ahri looked distressed. "But I thought humans found nudity to be arousing."

Just when Riven thought this conversation couldn't get any more awkward. "Well, we do. It's just that some things help to induce… arousal."

Ahri pouted. "Humans are so complicated," she complained. "Why are human mammaries so weird?"

"I… don't know," Riven said. How was she supposed to respond to something like that?

Ahri sighed. "I guess you can't answer all my questions.

"I still have one more though."

Ahri took out a matching pair of panties from the same box. "What are these?"

This was going to be a long day.


"I think we went through all the packages I got."

Riven would have cheered if she had the energy to, but she didn't, so she settled for celebrating mentally.

"Thanks for helping me today. And the other day too. You're a good friend, even though you're super problematic."

Riven raised up her head and looked at Ahri, confused. "What do you mean by that?"

Ahri giggled sheepishly. "Ah, well, I mean a lot of things. Do you really want me to list it out for you?"

"Um, sure?" Riven felt like she was going to regret saying that.

And she did.

"To start, you were a ruthless killer that slaughtered Ionians on a mass scale during an invasion, ruining the lives of hundreds of people including other League champions; you blindly followed the commands of your superiors with no ethical pause or consideration of the effects of your actions; and now, you're a part-time asshole."

Riven blinked, overwhelmed by what she just heard. "What?"

Ahri laughed at her reaction, and Riven wasn't sure how to feel about this. "But it's fine, don't worry about it. You're a better person now, right?"

"I… I mean, I guess?" Riven answered, although it sounded more like she was questioning herself instead.

Ahri smiled. "You are. I mean, you would have been a full-time asshole if I didn't get to know you better. Laughing at the way someone sleeps is pretty rude and doesn't make a good first impression," Ahri joked, although Riven could tell the mage still felt slightly upset about how the exile had reacted to seeing her asleep.

"I already apologized for that."

"That doesn't mean I can't hold a petty grudge," and Ahri gave her a sinister smile. "I'd like to see how good you look while you sleep."

"H-hey, that's a little creepy, don't you think?" Riven chuckled nervously at Ahri's sudden change in demeanor.

"So is watching someone while they sleep, but you already did that, so it's my turn now," Ahri said with a wide grin.

"I don't think that's how it works."

"Well, that's how it's gonna go. Plus, I've always wanted to have a sleepover!"