CHAPTER 5: There's Always Something
Len didn't want to get out of the bed that morning. The curious tapping of raindrops on the windowsill snuck into his ears while he was laying on his back, feeling the air-like touch of the covers on his skin. Everything seemed like a wonderful dream he didn't want to wake up from – and yet the soft breathing on the bed next to him reassured Len that when he opens his eyes and turns his head to the right, she'd still be there, more beautiful and vulnerable than ever before.
The twin tried to recall the events of the previous evening. Gumi throwing that blanket over him. Them teasing one another until he gathered his courage, pulled her closer by the hips and stared into her eyes, barely visible in the dim light. Gumi tilting her head and giving him a peck on the lips, then looking back at Len as if she was daring him to respond. The subsequent make-out session. Hasting upstairs to her room, hand in hand.
Neither of them said more than a few words during that time. They didn't need to. There was an unspoken agreement between them: we're going to be in love through it all and it's going to be a night that we'll always remember.
Meg shuffled. Len opened his eyes and looked at her only to see her gazing back at him with a loving smile. "Morning, cutie," she greeted him.
He stretched. "Hi," he simply replied. "Come here, will you?"
She leaned over and gently pressed her lips against his before laying on her belly on top of his torso, with her head on his left shoulder. Len felt the touch of her naked breasts on his chests as he placed his arm around her back. Forget about sex, the cuddling was where the real intimacy showed. He could feel her messy hair underneath his chin, her hand slipping under his own head, the rising and falling of her lungs... At this moment, Meg was entirely his, and the twin belonged to her.
"You were so cute last night," she purred.
"Cute? Of all the adjectives?"
"Yeah. Obviously neither of us knew what we were really doing. But we made it work. I just think that's cute." Gumi wiggled on top of him, and after a moment of serene silence, she added: "I'm so glad I got to do this with you."
Len kissed her scalp. They went quiet again, feeling the warmth of each others' bare bodies, listening to the drizzle outside. The twin knew he had a class before noon, but decided it would be okay to skip it just this once. That belief was reinforced even further when he realised Meg fell asleep again.
Closing his eyes again and carefully stroking her back as to not wake her, Len figured it might be good to take a quick nap as well if he could. After all, the last night took a lot of energy from them both.
Around that time at the other side of the house, Rin was just waking up. It was just past eight in the morning – by far the earliest she'd been awake since forever. Although grumpy and somewhat aching, she had to admit she felt the most refreshed in weeks.
The girl stood up and stretched out. These energising movements hastened her blood flow and inspired her to go outside and run. And so she got dressed, took a quick stop at the bathroom and, still stretching, made her way outside.
This neighborhood wasn't ever all that busy: mostly residential houses occupied by higher upper class workers and small business people. Whoever didn't work from home or wasn't on a maternal leave was gone already, and Rin didn't see a whole lot of people on her jog. It occurred to her how much she missed this and she internally berated herself for not taking the time to run more often. She got into it shortly after she became part of the old group. Running used to be her means of escape from the overnight fame, the responsibilities and, most importantly, the long hours, days and weeks she spent on buses and/or airplanes with no way out. Of course, as impulsive as Rin had always been, even back then she couldn't stick to any kind of strict schedule for too long, so twice a week soon turned into three times a month and then even less. She'd come back to it on occasion, usually only to realise how out of shape she became over time.
And so, some twenty minutes later while she was gasping for air and moving forward carefully, step by step, the twin swore to herself she'd either do this more often from now on, or stop torturing herself like this for all eternity.
On her way back, she started to feel hungry and made her way towards a pastry shop not far from home. Unfortunately, upon reaching her destination, it occurred to her she didn't have any money on her, and she was instantly upset. That feeling went away quickly, though, when she locked eyes with a familiar face approaching her from a distance.
"Hey there!" she said to John, the fourth housemate. Rin smiled, albeit finding his semi-long hair and a thin mustache a bit cringey.
"Oh hi," John responded. "What a coincidence. Did you go running?"
"Yeah. Do I look that bad?"
John scanned her from head to toe and saw her red face and broken posture. "You could say that."
Rin snorted. "Don't judge me, I haven't ran since January."
"You heading home now?"
"Yep. What are you up to?"
"I'm off to see a pal, I'm lending him some D&D manuals." The boy's eyes immediately lightened up with a nerdy zeal. "That reminds me, is it ok if I gather my group in the house next week? Our campaign is about to kick off and our place is sort of the best spot to play."
The twin almost rolled her eyes. "I mean, sure. Just let me know in advance, alright? How many people are there?"
"Four to five, including me and your brother. We're lowkey trying to persuade Meg to join us as well, we'll have to see how that goes."
A sly grin ran across John's face. "By the way, did you, um... see her yesterday?"
"Who, Gumi? I did, right before I went to bed. Why?"
"Well, did she have a visitor by any chance?"
Rin was confused. "Not that I know of."
"Huh. That's odd." John shrugged. "Eh, nevermind then."
"No no no, hang on! Did something happen?"
"It sure looked like it. When I came home and walked by her door, I heard... things."
"Things?" she asked before the realisation hit her. "Oh, things. Are you sure about that?"
John's gaze shifted around in mild embarassment. "I think so. I didn't exactly stand there and listen, but the door isn't really soundproof either."
The twin decided not to elaborate. Of course she suspected it was most probably Len, but she wasn't actually sure if John was aware of the whole situation – and if not, she shouldn't be the one to break it to him. Not without her brother's blessing. Furthermore, she wasn't willing to discuss Len and/or Gumi's love life.
"I guess you'll have to ask her about it if you're curious," Rin said to the boy. "I wouldn't wanna prod unless she brings it up."
"Fair enough. Listen, I gotta go," John replied; "but I'd love to catch up with you soon, okay? We haven't talked for a while, I wanna know how you're doing."
Outwardly, she smiled; internally, Rin shivered. All of this demand for social contact over the last couple of days was wearing her down. "Sure. Let's leave that open for now, I'll be incredibly busy for like the next week."
"That's fine. Just let me know, okay?" He awkwardly stepped closer and gave her a brief hug. "See you later!"
"Bye," she replied as he turned around and walked away.
Shite, Rin thought to herself two seconds later. She meant to ask John to lend her a few pounds so she could have something at the pastry shop. But she wasn't going to shout back at him when he was already going. She'd just have to eat back home.
Back home... What the hell happened yesterday? Did Len and Gumi really spend a night together all of a sudden? Not even 24 hours ago the twins had that talk where Rin told him to be more confident and – she could only smirk to herself – advise him to spend some quality time with Meg. Granted he took that advice, how did that work so quickly?
Either Gumi was in fact in love with him all this time and only waited for the opportunity, or she was just messing around. Rin wanted to believe the former for her brother's sake, but she wasn't willing to immediately trust her until she knew everything. Knowing how much Len was crushing on Meg, she couldn't help but feel protective. And so help her should the green girl ever use the boy's feelings for her own pleasure.
Rin's mood was ruined by the news. It wasn't just about the worry she felt for her brother. There was also a hint of jealousy – for which she hated herself. It was just that... If what Meg and Len had was genuine, it was the exact kind of pure love Rin herself used to crave but never had. She thought she had that with Ichiro way back, but he kind of broke her heart in the end. Maybe, even if she still wanted to find honest love every now and then, she also lost a lot of her trust after they broke up. And that trust was what she missed the most.
On the other hand, if Gumi didn't intend to be serious with Len, he would for sure end up just as hurt and rejected as Rin was with Ichiro. She couldn't allow that to happen, but unfortunately, it wasn't her place to say anything. As much as she wanted to help her brother be happy, she couldn't interfere. He had to figure it out for himself.
And there was, of course, that other part of her that was still afraid Meg will eventually steal the boy all for herself. Rin groaned under her breath. No matter the angle, she realised she despised Gumi's existence. She was potentially a threat to both twins, and Rin couldn't take any drastic measures because there was still a small chance Meg was honest, the couple will be happy together, and Len would still have room in his heart to care for his sister.
Rin was panting again. Except this time it wasn't due to the physical exercise but rather the swarm of anxious thoughts urging her to crawl back into her bed and pretend that the outside world isn't at all scary and dangerous. She didn't want to go back home just yet, however, in case she'd see either of those two and be forced into a conversation. Instead, the twin decided to just roam the streets and come back in the afternoon when it might be safer.
Completely oblivious to any of that, Len and Gumi were waking up for the second time.
"You know we'll have to get up and do stuff eventually, right?" he asked her. Meg was still cuddling him like she did when they passed out again.
"I don't want to," she simply replied and snuggled him even harder. The warmth of her touch didn't leave the twin unresponsive.
He used his free hand to caress her hip. "In that case..."
Gumi gave into the pleasant feeling for a few seconds. "We shouldn't. I only had that one condom."
Len snickered. "I meant to ask about that. Why did you just happen to have one in your drawer? Were you planning this?"
"Not exactly." She took his hand into hers and stopped his gentle strokes. "I was banking on a chance it was gonna happen eventually: I just wanted to be prepared."
The twin brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "You clever fox. You're way smarter than me, I wasn't expecting this at all."
"Oh come on, dude." Meg lifted her head and gave him a look of fake disbelief. "If anything, I'm surprised it took you this long to step up."
"Are you calling me out?"
"Maaaaybe?" She booped him on the nose. "Okay, I'm sorry, that probably sounded conceited."
"A little. You're not wrong, but still."
Meg was still looking into his eyes, her expression a tiny bit more serious than before. "I've had feelings for you for years, you know? I eventually stopped because you were so unresponsive, but since we moved here, I had a hunch there might be something going on between us and it all came back."
Len rubbed his eyes. "Aw maaan. I'm really sorry about this, but I never knew. Honestly. Even though Rin used to tease me about it all the time."
She giggled and kissed him. "I don't blame you. It's not like I was super obvious about it back then."
"For what it's worth, I..." The twin gulped. He was suddenly at a loss for words.
"Yes?"
He sighed. "I don't know what to tell you. I like you. A lot."
"You don't have to struggle. I think I know." Meg gave him the sweetest smile. "I know you, Lenny. To be frank, I had been giving you every opportunity to make a move for half a year, and... Were you just unsure?"
"Scared more than anything."
"Really? Of what?"
"You not liking me back."
Gumi placed her hand on his cheek and gave him another kiss. This one, however, was different. Tender, soft, reassuring and filled with more genuine emotion than anything they did the night before. As if to tell him not to ever worry about her not liking him back.
Eventually, she pulled back and let him breathe. "Well? How do you feel now?"
Len thought about it. "Lucky," he simply responded.
Meg laughed happily and cuddled him again. "Me too, buddy."
"So... What do we do now?" he asked and hugged her back with both arms.
"Now-now?"
"Like, after we get up. Are... are we a couple from now on?"
"I'm afraid so." She chuckled once again. "You won't get rid of me now."
"Well shucks," he replied playfully. "Do we tell anyone? I think I'd like to keep it a secret until I get used to it."
Meg wiggled. "Well, I may or may not tell a friend or two to which I'd been venting about you. But you don't know them, you'll be fine."
"Venting? How bad was it?"
"Not at all. I just sometimes complained about how I thought we were flirting and then you just went on about your business."
"Wow. I hope I didn't put you through too much trouble."
"Really, it's fine. Especially now-" smooch "that we-" smooch "are-" smooch "together-" big smooch.
"I'm sorry I didn't gather the courage sooner. We could have been together a few months earlier, I kind of miss those few months already."
Meg smiled at him. "That's sweet. And pretty much what Harry Potter said to Ginny at the funeral."
"Fuck, you're right." Len felt just a little bit of red running up his face. "Does that make you the Ginny to my Harry?"
"Practically. Though I doubt those two shagged at their first date."
The twin looked at her. "Do you consider last night a date?"
"Good point. Hey, we never had a real date, did we?" Gumi rolled over and laid on top of him. "I guess you'll have to take me someplace nice really soon, buddy."
Len put on an aggrieved expression. "I was about to ask you yesterday and then you threw a wrench in that plan."
"Me? It takes two to mingle." She teased him with an air peck and a wink, to which he promptly reacted by gently grabbing her by the back of her head and pulling her in for a series of proper kisses.
"Are you busy today?" Len asked eventually.
"Not super. I gotta be at work at four. You?"
"I have a class at eleven thirty, but I can probably just skip it. I'm more interested in this 'date' thing."
Meg stuck her head in his hair and played with it. "Do you wanna have it right now?"
"Yeah. We can get breakfast, take a stroll to the park, sit down for a coffee... And then in the evening when you get off your shift, I could wait for you with flowers to walk you home."
"That sounds lovely." She laid her head on his chest. "Just make sure you also buy more condoms, will you?"
Len froze for a moment. "Damn. I'm gonna have to move past my embarassment, ain't I?"
"How cute. Do you still think it's such a big deal?"
"Yeah? I don't... I know it's stupid, but I feel like if I go shop for condoms, the cashier's gonna look at me and think 'yep, this kid has sex.'"
Meg gazed ino his eye intently. "You tend to worry too much about other people. It's nobody's business."
"You have no say in this, you never worry about what anyone thinks." The twin realised how he sounded and quickly added: "In a good way. I like that about you."
She giggled. "And I like that you're so dorky and insecure sometimes. It's cute."
"I don't like being called cute."
"You're a cute cutiepie." Meg squeaked when he tickled her on the ribs for that.
"I'll take care of it," Len said. "But tomorrow we'll just start ordering them online. I'd be more comfortable that way."
"There you go. See, everything has a solution." Gumi climbed off of him. "Let's get that breakfast, yeah?"
"Hang on," he pulled her back towards himself. "Just a few more minutes."
She chuckled again, but gladly gave in to the shower of kisses which, after a while, became more and more intense. Meg's smooches slowly moved down from Len's lips onto his neck, and her breathing got somewhat heavier.
"I thought we didn't want to do that right now?" he remarked, but with no real intention of stopping her.
"I know. But I wanna try something different," she replied, and she disappeared underneath the covers with an immature smirk.
