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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

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Chapter 9: Family Matters (1)

Beta-Reader: Ant0nius

It was Sunday morning, and Hope was feeling incredibly excited for the opportunities today would offer her.

There were a myriad of plans she could make use of, all hovering over the small steps needed to press Shin into recognizing her intentions. All without sounding… pushy.

The Gazelle had long embraced the idea of being moderated with her affections, all for the sake of not messing up her current situation. Shin considered the girl a trusted friend, a pillar of light that was there to help him in case of need.

Which was good, considering how difficult it had been to arrive at this very point. But it was also bad, as it also put a limitation in her capacity to act from this point onward.

And this is why, once she had felt ready for what was going to be a big day, Hope had gone to quickly search for the one that was supposed to offer her extra insight over her romantic problems.

Frankie was surprised when he found the girl standing in front of the door when he went to open it up. From what she remembered from the last conversations with the human yesterday, the guy had planned to have a quick walk around the campus before doing anything substantial. Shin was still busy inside the bathroom, while Miles was happily enjoying more hours of rest before facing the ordeal of the homework for Monday.

The human didn't even have the time to greet her before the Gazelle swiftly moved to pull him away from the doorstep. Surprise kept him quiet as the girl took the lead by marching both of them away from the dorm rooms, and right to a 'safer place' where she wanted a good discussion away from privy ears.

She needed some planning done, and she needed the human for that.

"Okay," Frankie hummed, finally drowning away the last bits of his confusion. "What's with the rush and- why are you looking at me like that?"

Hope sighed. "It's Sunday. I believe I've told you already that I wanted to make some meaningful steps with Shin today."

"Yeah, but… I thought that you already had something ready," The young man commented back. "I mean, you were quite sure about it yesterday."

"I thought so at first - but then I spent more time thinking about it before going to sleep and..." She sighed again, this time her shoulders sagging in a moment of self-disappointment. "I don't think it would work- which is why now I need your input on some ideas I got."

"But why?" He pressed on slowly and lacking enough certainty over the topic, only received a huff from the Prime.

"We're together in this, remember? Plus a different perspective might help me realize if there are any issues with those," Hope rebuked quickly and calmly.

Shrugging at the request, Frankie conceded to her points as they walked up to a pair of chairs that had been there.

"First idea: I was thinking about asking for more private tutoring," The Gazelle started to list up her possible plans. "I really have some issues with the Last Age of Old Earth, but for it to be private it would need for you and Miles to-"

"We can be out of the room only after lunch. I don't think there's a good enough reason to avoid Shin's suspicions over something more than that," The human interjected calmly, his assurance offering Hope some relief. Still, he wasn't done yet. "But, that would only work after lunch, which leaves plenty of time before that to do much more than that."

She frowned. "I thought you said that I shouldn't rush things."

"And that still stands as a main rule, but that doesn't mean you can try with more subtle stuff," Frankie agreed with a small smile. "The weekends are golden days to try and deepen any bonds, especially the one you share with Shin."

"You mean that-"

"Since you're close friends already, I don't see why he would refuse hanging out with you," He continued, ignoring the girl's surprised tone. "Also, he doesn't have anything planned for today except for some study sessions. On that very note, while he might be free during this specific weekend, I suggest that you check with me to see if he's free or not to consider."

Her eyes widened in realization of that very notion, her head offering a distracted nod as her mind wandered away for a little moment.

Shin was free for the entire day, and he wouldn't shy away from a friendly date set around Prism city. Of course, the main purpose of such a 'date' was to get a 'proper layout of the place' without having the pressure of turning out late for lectures.

Oh my, she could already see plenty of opportunities that could develop from there. Visiting a nearby restaurant, spending an hour or two by one of the many parks in there and… maybe resting by the shade of some trees.

She sighed happily at that very thought, yet her fantasy collapsed at the mere sound of someone snorting in clear amusement at her current expression. She blinked, her green eyes swiftly finding the perpetrator of such a 'heinous' deed in the form of the very individual she had put so much trust into.

Frankie's smile mirthfully twitched on his face, drawing a degree of entertainment from her current look that just made it difficult to reply to. So Hope drew her arms crossed and beneath her bosom, a faux pout appearing on her lovely visage.

"Jerk."

Another snort, but the young man seemed to finally wake up from his staring.

"Sorry Hope, I didn't mean to look like a prick by- Seriously, I bet you know that you look cute when you make that kind of face."

...What?

Her jaws dropped a little. "You- You're kidding. I mean, sure this isn't the first time that I react like this… but cute? Really?"

"I mean, you looked so happy back there with whatever you were thinking about and… yeah, that's it," He replied with a note of slight uneasiness. "Look, I'm sorry."

"Oh no, buster!" She exclaimed with renewed curiosity. "We're not done yet- In fact, why don't we talk about what you plan to do about Vixy today?"

The human blinked at that sudden counterattack, but he seemed to be prepared well enough for it by the lack of major distress at the topic.

"Tiggs mentioned that Vixy was planning for a card game after lunch and that they were looking for players- nothing too strange, just a few hours of time spent together and… that's it."

"I can say there's more to that," The Gazelle rebuked giddily, a bright grin shining from her lips. "Come on, tell me! Is there going to be alcohol? Maybe it's a strip-poker session too-"

"There's just alcohol," The young man quickly muttered, looking rather flustered at her teasing as she leaned closer to him. "Nothing else."

My, oh my~ How 'adorable' he looks like when he's this nervous~.

"Are you sure about that~?" She giggled, feeling quite amused by how easily she was going through his shell. "I bet you wanted it to be more~."

It was exhilarating. This was the first time she found herself in such a circumstance. To tease someone so shamelessly about something so beautiful like love. Her mother had told her so much about it, and how important it is to help people experience it.

She had thought that the gratification of such good deeds would only make the Crest of Love this endeared by the chance of helping young people with their love problems… but right now, Hope's entire focus was directed not at herself, but at the rather interesting human that was currently facing her own dilemma.

So handsome, so kind and… he looked quite fragile. It would be so easy for her to just tickle him around until he accepted the fact he needed to-

"Y-Your phone."

His voice, still displaying high amounts of awkwardness brought her out of her little reverie. She blinked, her mind snapping out of what had felt like a daydream.

"W-What?" Hope muttered, only to realize that her phone's tune was now playing by her pants' pockets, slightly muffled by the place it had been left. "Oh- One moment."

She leaned back, quickly scooping out the device and bringing it up in front of her. It was a video-call… from home.

Which would mean, considering the timing and the fact that only one person from there had been calling her through the home's communication device, that her mother was calling her and- Her eyes widened again.

'Oh Gods, mom's calling!'

Panic swelled at the development, her lips twitching nervously as the Prime looked back at Frankie, the young man still recoiling nervously from the previous teasing.

"It's… it's my mother," The girl ultimately muttered, drawing a surprised look from the human. "Don't… make any strange comments. Don't even mention what pact we have over our romantic interests… and that's it. Don't be a dummy."

With him giving a quick nod, Hope braced for what was going to be quite the awkward situation to go through.

The young woman started the call, and was indeed bestowed with the patient look pleasantly put on her mother's face.

The older Gazelle had her pink eyes brimming with undeniable kindness and happiness, while her beautiful visage made the entire sight one could never be tired of.

Grace Ravenhurst, the Crest of Love, smiled as she noticed her daughter's nervous disposition.

"Sweetie, good morning."

"Hi mom," The girl mentioned with a tense tone. "Good morning to you too."

A brief giggle. "I suppose you were busy. You seem quite… oh?"

Hope held back a groan as she saw his mother quickly looking at the quiet young man sitting beside her. Frankie offered a surprised but moderated look, keeping silent as the Crest of Love addressed him.

"And I suppose you're… Frankie Parker?" The kind lady finally continued, her smile widening as the young man nodded at her query. "Hope mentioned your situation. How are you doing, dear?"

Just like she would usually do, the older Gazelle was behaving motherly with everyone her daughter's ages. Something that had been particularly awkward to endure when friends would come to her home for study group sessions and… the young man barely seemed surprised by this.

Actually, he looked fine with it.

"It's been a little difficult at first, but I made a couple of good friends already," He answered calmly. "In fact, I think things have been going better than I thought."

"That's good to know," Grace muttered with a relieved tone. "I assume you didn't have any major issues over the current circumstances. Hope didn't say much about it, but she did mention that you were fitting well at Prism."

"I expected something like that myself, but up until now, things had been… fairly calm."

"Still, I'm happy to know that everything is going well for both you and your friends," The woman continued, her smile twitching for a moment in a brief hint of amusement. "In fact, I've heard that Shin is adapting well to his whereabouts."

"H-He's been doing well. He's already among the best in his classes," Hope curtly added.

"But what about friends? You still haven't told me if he made some already or not," The Crest of Love pressed on. "In fact, I've received some questions from Bengala about this very matter and he sounded quite insistent."

Now, that was quite the interesting discovery. So Shin's father was actually keeping track of him after what had happened between the blond and his mother? Not a major surprise, but this very detail suggested that the man might make a visit very soon considering how close he was to his son.

Before Hope had the chance of saying anything about it, it was the human that decided to speak up.

"Mrs. Ravenhurst, did Hope tell you that Shin and I are roommates?" Frankie inquired quietly.

The older Prime looked slightly surprised by this discovery, and shook her head at this novelty.

"Not truly, no," Grace admitted quickly, giving a quick and momentary curious glance at her daughter about this. "So you can tell me a little more about how he's faring socially-wise?"

The young Gazelle wanted to jump in and stop this from unfolding, knowing that offering too many details to her mother would just pique her interest even more. But then again, as she pondered about it, the girl couldn't exactly say that Frankie didn't know how to speak with people in this particular case.

So she waited… and prayed that he really knew what he was going to say without messing things up.

"I would say that he's been a little uneasy over the stares he got from some other students. Nothing beyond mere staring had happened, but I'm helping him whenever possible," The young man answered smoothly. "Right now he can count as friends Hope, me and Miles-"

"The... silly Cat?" The woman interrupted with a fascinated tone. Hope almost facepalmed at the fact she had told so much to her mother and… now things were just so complicated.

Maybe she shouldn't have answered the phone. Maybe she should've feinted a simple case of oversleeping. The small smile twitching by Frankie's lips suggested that the curious way she had addressed the lazy student had struck a mirthful note in his mind.

"I think 'silly' is an understatement, but yes, he can be quite 'silly'," The human commented happily. "Still, I can say with certainty that Shin is enjoying his stay here."

"I will hold you by your word then when I speak to his father," Grace said while nodding. "He's rather worried that Shin wouldn't have found much friendliness there at Prism, but I guess you're good friends from the way you're talking about him."

The young man nodded at that, yet he sported a minor frown shortly after. "Also, if it isn't too private, I would like to ask about… his parents."

Hope felt surprised at this sudden twist, yet her mother barely looked fazed by this request.

"You were told about the discussion he had with his mother. That topic… I would normally keep myself from offering too many details about it, considering it's between a mother and his child. It's family matters," The Crest of Love described carefully. "Still, can I ask why you would want to know more about it?"

That very question burned within Hope's mind, but the girl restrained herself from inquiring about it too since the query had been advanced by her mother. Frankie offered a calm sigh before sporting a serious look on his face.

"While Shin's been enjoying his stay here, I can't help but… think that he is expecting something bad to happen," The young man confessed quietly. "It's odd but- I can see that he's tense all the time, but I'm so certain it's not about school and-"

"You think it's related to what happened back to his home."

The quick interruption from the older Gazelle got a quick nod out of the human.

Grace sighed. "You're… correct. I've heard what had happened from Shin's father, but I can assure you the situation isn't as terrible as it might seem. In fact, you might be able to catch more from the man when he comes around to visit."

"He's visiting soon?" Frankie blurted out in a brief bout of surprise.

"I know for a fact he would check on Shin to make sure everything is truly fine there," The Crest of Love added. "Which is why I will not offer anything else other than this. As I've said, it's something private for Shin's family and only someone that is part of it can tell you more if they feel like it."

There wasn't much to do about except to wait for Bengala to pass by. The man was jovial most of the time, but things could be different because of the subject itself.

The conversation didn't last any longer, especially because Joy had just returned from School with dad and… Hope didn't want to have her father make any overprotective statements against the 'clueless and innocent' young man.

It was a miracle that the discussion had kept a serious line instead of straying towards awkward attempts to bring up her crush for the White Tiger.

The phone call ended there, and Hope felt rather drained suddenly when she returned the device to her pants' pocket. The situation had been pretty heavy, and she wasn't ready yet to ponder about these specific topics.

Still, despite her unwillingness to continue that conversation with the human, she still regarded him with a few more words.

"You know, I feel like I should be thanking you for what you're doing for Shin," The Gazelle admitted softly. "And I'm not talking about the whole romantic attempt, but the fact that you're helping him up with the social issues."

The human shrugged. "Can I ask you to not do that? I… I appreciate the words, but I'm doing it because it's the right thing to do."

Always the kind guy, the young woman mused tiredly. Still, her smile widened a little bit at that reminder of what kind of individual that the Prime was talking to. They both stood up from their chairs, with the young man reminding her that she was wasting time in silence when she had to go through with her plans for today.

Just as the two prepared to leave, Hope decided to make a simple move. Frankie tensed up a bit as she went for a quick hug.

"Good luck with your hang out," She mirthfully muttered.

He smiled shyly. "Same. For your date."

They shared a warm smile together and then… they went for their respective ways.

And now, to find a certain lovely bookworm and 'convince' him to go around town with her.

~Frankie's POV~

I should've expected things to be more complicated than a mere poker game with Tiggs and Vixy when the former had informed me about the 'card game' session. Especially when the Fox Prime had talked about dices when I saw her yesterday.

I also should've expected that when she had also mentioned that when there would've been good drinks to enchant the fun time, she was actually referring to soda drinks.

So here I was, playing a crazy game of Monopoly instead of going through the dramatic moments only a poker match would offer. Taking a few sips from my orange juice, I tried my best to ignore the gawking unfolding beside me.

This 'fight' wasn't as easy as it sounded like from a general depiction, since I was paired with a completely distracted ally that outright sabotaged our chances of winning.

Miles was so lost in the present, or rather, in his current efforts of trying to stare up at Tiggs' cleavage, that he made horrible moves in the process. The Cat Prime was being an idiot at this point to believe that his ogling had gone unnoticed, especially when it was clear from the Tiger Prime's smug smirk that it had been her intention to show him this much of her modesty.

All for the sake of making things harder for me ,as I was having trouble dealing with Vixy's brutal understanding of the game. She was investing a lot in the various activities in important parts of the board and… I was having issues with the fact that Miles was spending lots of our shared cash on investing in cheap properties.

My glaring wasn't making much of an impact compared to the power of cleavages, and I was left in a state of slow-paced defeat because of this issue.

Half of the board was now owned by the 'Cheerleaders Team' while we only had three cards of different colors and a couple of 'Hundred' pieces as our treasury.

This… this just wasn't a fun game anymore. Where was the sportsmanship? Where were the little moments of honor- and why was I restraining myself from manhandling the distracted moron!?

I sighed, leaning back on my beanbag. "We can't win this."

"What…. a shame."

Yep, Miles was brain dead as of now. But maybe- just maybe, there was something I could do about this.

"I hope you understand that I will find your shampoos and burn those to ashes," I commented again, finally getting a reaction out of the receiver. A massive dead glare mostly ignored on my part.

"It's just a game, why would you be so invested in it?"

"Other than the fact that there's a bet about it?" I reminded him through rhetorical means. "Or maybe because it is a dare that will be imposed on us."

"It couldn't be that bad-"

"Oh, it will," Vixy interrupted giddily. "In fact, I think Tiggs had plans for you, Miles."

The development got a curious look out of the Cat Prime as he stared up at Traci. "Really?"

She nodded happily. "I was thinking of having you try violet hair like me and-"

The lovely girl didn't have a chance to finish that Miles was pulling and whining at my arm.

"We need to win- you can't let us lose!"

I almost chuckled, but then again, I was going to face the dare too if I had lost. And I wasn't sure about what I was supposed to do with how screwed we were already. The board and the money were against us, and I couldn't see any way to pull through that difficult situation.

Which meant that… I had to try and cancel the game somehow.

What would work well with both girls in trying to get them to not continue with this match on Monopoly?

Truly a troublesome question, but one with an answer I easily found after some moments of quiet introspection. This one was just too enticing to be refused by both and… it was the only way out.

"What about a game of Truth of Dare?" I blurted out in a moment of incredible nervousness. "It's clear we've lost- but we could lessen a little bit the Dares so that we can play to it."

"But we're winning, why should we back away from clear victory?" Vixy inquired, but still appeared interested by the proposal.

"Well, we get to deal with some dares early on, and then the rest is decided through bottle-spin."

"I like where things are going," Miles muttered quietly, his elbow calmly tapping at my arm.

"Do I still get to color Miles' hair violet?" Tiggs asked with a hopeful tone, making the Cat Prime flinch at the mere thought of such a thing happening.

"And now I regret it."

I gave a small smile. "I was thinking about something that doesn't go… sexual. We set up some limits and-"

"Kisses are permitted," Vixy rebuked quickly. "But we can't remove any clothes."

It was still awkward, but I could get behind that line of thought, and so I nodded. Miles looked grateful, and also interested in the whole 'Kiss' situation as the board was set aside and an empty water bottle was brought between the four of us.

"So, there's still the dares for you two boys," The Fox Prime reminded before anyone had the chance to spin the bottle. "Do you have any idea we could use, Traci?"

The Tiger smiled eagerly at the chance of doing something at us, especially at me from the way she was looking at me.

"I want Frankie to… show off his muscles."

Vixy frowned. "What?"

"He has some!" The girl exclaimed truthfully. "I could feel them through hugs and… I really want to see 'em!"

I gulped nervously at the request, and soon I found myself stared by the rest of the room's occupants. There wasn't a way out of that situation and… I pulled my shirt above my head when-

Tiggs whistled and giggled.

"See! I told you that he had a toned bod!"

Miles was frowning at the sight, slightly confused by the athletic frame I had while… Vixy was staring at my chest with her head nodding.

"You trained properly, I can see that your muscles have developed well and..." She blinked. Her eyes widened at the realization that she had been staring at my naked chest for a long time, and a blush exploded on her face. "A-And I think you should put your shirt back on."

"Maybe next time I can dare him to stay shirtless," The big girl thought out loud, making me shiver for a moment.

I dreaded that very possibility, but now that I was done with that issue, it was Miles' turn to suffer a dare.

"And for Mr. Flirt, I was thinking that… he should wear something on his hair," The vixen mentioned as she stared at the white locks. "What about a… pink bow?"

The resulting situation was that Miles now had quite the stylish headpiece matching with his murderous glaring and 'dead inside' state of mind. And yes, I did ask for a picture before the game started.

The bottle was spun by Vixy, with the girl claiming the first turn. The spinning lasted up until… the bottle pointed right up at me.

"Truth or dare, foolish human?"

I snorted in amusement at her faux arrogant voice. "Truth."

She nodded and… grinned. "Do you like it when Traci purrs during her hugs?"

...Oh. So that's how things are going to be?

"Yes," I admitted without hesitation. "Her hugs are the nicest for sure. And the purring is…"

"Just top notch, I know," Vixy ended that sentence for me, and we both shared a mutual agreement over the amazing quality of the Tiger's embraces.

Tiggs actually blushed at the double compliment, and her wide smile confirmed that she was enjoying all of this attention.

Next up was… Miles. The Cat Prime was quiet as the bottle spun around and… stopped right towards the leader of the cheerleaders. A smile adorned his face, but before he could ask the simple question, the girl spoke up.

"Truth."

A grimace adorned his face, but he didn't let the opportunity go to waste.

"Does the carpet match the drapes?"

I narrowed my eyes at the smug and lewd inquiry, but Vixy didn't seem particularly annoyed by it. In fact, she smiled back with a smug look.

"No."

Miles' jaws dropped at the quick reply and I tensed up at the escalation, knowing perfectly that the pace slowly picked up as we continued going through the 'simple game'.

It was Tiggs' turn and she spun the bottle. It landed on me again.

She smiled and I sighed. "I suppose I will go with Dare."

"I want you to… stand up and hug me."

I frowned at the demand, but slowly complied to it as I approached the still sitting Traci and… started the embrace. She stood up, a happy grin adorning her face as she happily accepted the hug and we stood there for a couple of seconds.

"You know you don't need to Dare me for a hug," I reminded her quietly, getting a sigh in return.

"I just forgot to ask earlier today. And I really need a hug."

Dammit, she's slowly turning into my kryptonite.

Once we were done with the embrace, I found myself sitting back to my previous seat and… it was my turn to spin.

The bottle rolled once more, but this time the one that was selected was…

I stared up at my current target, and she looked incredibly interested by what I had in mind to do. She hesitated from saying what she wanted to do with the usual question… but she decided to take a risk to see what I had in mind for her.

"Dare," Vixy said with a convinced tone and… I thought about what I was supposed to do with her.

I wasn't certainly going to try a crass approach like the one that Miles did and… I decided for something fairly tame.

"I want a normal hug."

There was silence, and the Vixen looked fairly surprised by my decision. Tiggs chuckled at my words while Miles shook his head at my 'damn luck'.

The girl and I both stood up as we both approached and… we engaged in a pretty awkward hug. Differently from Tiger Prime' special ones, this one wasn't as soft as hers. With the Fox Prime being shorter than I was, her head was safely nestled by my shoulder while I wrapped my arms around her upper waist.

I waited for a moment, kind of surprised that it felt particularly despite not being as cuddly and easygoing as Traci's own ones. It just reminded me of… the one Hope gave me before leaving for her date with Shin, except that it was lasting a little longer and…

The hug ended silently, but I noticed a little blush by Vixy's face as we both returned to our respective seats.

The entire game continued for a solid three hours, with the Dares and the Truth not going further than the 'limits' fixed by the first few turns. Miles knew that he wasn't going to get something more than some more peeking during the Dares and some interesting answers to perverted questions, but he still had fun like the rest of the people there.

But just as we proceeded to bid farewells to the girls as to return back to our dorm room, Vixy decided to imitate Tiggs in her own mannerism just for once and give me another hug while offering a quick 'bye'.

I was confused, incredibly distracted and blushing immensely at what just had happened.

If only I had been aware that this was just a sign of something more than a mere hug.

AN

And thus the fun time that is college begins.

I wonder who will start… doing the fun dance early on.

Who knows? Also… Lemons. There are plans about it.

Just like there are plans about you being thrown in Paraiso, Bukharin.

I'm beset by regrets. But this one? I will probably-

Love it?

I was saying dislike, but I guess you're going to keep up with the promises- no throwing me in crazy stuff.

Yep! But still, things will be fun. Think that I spoke with Messiah and-

(To be continued… in BaTB2?!)