"COME ON! IT'S JUST A CAFE!" Young Link yelled with a flyer in his hands. He was trying to get Ness to go to a maid cafe. Ness wasn't budging though. Ness sighed.
"I'll shut this door on you…" Ness said as he firmed his grip on his front door. Young Link sighed before placing the flyer on the ground in front of Ness.
"At least give it a shot."
"Why do you want me to go so bad?"
"You'll see once you get there, now GO!" Young Link ran off while yelling go. Ness shook his head before looking down at the flyer. In big bold letters were "SEXY SKIMPY SERVERS!" Ness picked the flyer up and walked into the house. He crumpled the flyer into a ball as he walked toward his bedroom. He entered his bedroom and tossed the balled-up piece of paper into the small trash can before walking over to his bed to resume his day.
Later that afternoon, while Ness was watching Hell's Kitchen, Tracy bombarded into the room. Ness sighed before pausing the show. He turned toward Tracy. They just ended up staring at each other for a while. "What?"
"Mom's not home again…" she said.
"Yea, I know, she's got a job for a reason."
"But now I'm hungryyyyyyy," Tracy whined.
"Go make some instant ramen or something," Ness waved her off as he turned back to the tv.
"You ate it all," Tracy said as she crossed her arms. Ness groaned as he laid back.
"Then make a damn sandwich." Tracy scoffed, then kicked the trash can. The only thing that fell out was the balled-up piece of paper. Tracy tilted her head as she looked down at it. She picked it up, uncrumpled it, and read the flyer with wide eyes.
"What about the maid cafe?" Ness instantly shot up and turned his head toward Tracy, who was holding the flyer up, showing Ness what was on the front. It was simply a brunette girl in an iconic maid's outfit.
"Where'd you get that?" Tracy lowered the flyer then pointed down at the knocked over trash can. Ness then shook his head. "We're not going to no stupid maid cafe."
"If we don't go, I'm telling mom you hit me," she crossed her arms. Ness rolled his eyes.
"Like they'd believe you." Tracy scoffed then held up her right hand. She balled it up into a fist. "What're you doing?" She then pointed the fist toward her cheek with a sly grin plastered on her face. "Tracy…." She then punched her own face. The sound alone was able to tell Ness that it hurt. Tracy even stumbled a bit. She then smirked at Ness with a wider grin and a big red cheek.
The two of them now stood in front of the Maid Cafe. "MAID CAFE, MAID CAFE, MAID CAFE, MAID CAFE, YAY!" Tracy chanted as she jumped up and down. Ness looked down at her with annoyed and anger filed eyes.
"I hate you, you know that?" Tracy looked up at Ness and gave a more innocent smile. Ness wouldn't admit it, but he found this little smile of hers cute. Deep down he knew once she brought up the maid cafe he'd end up having to take her. Tracy, as long as she goes to Ness, usually gets what she wants anyway.
Inside the maid cafe was an unusual sight. One of the maid servers….was a boy. This boy was dressing into the maid outfit for the first time. This boy was Lucas. Lucas looked into the mirror in the dressing room and gave a cringed look. "This is for the mom, Lucas, this is for mom." Lucas took a deep breath before opening the door to find his manager, Carole. She was a nice blonde lady. Despite the niceties, she always got on Lucas's nerves, and this was his first day. Carole clapped her hands.
"You look so good, Lukey-Pooky," Carole said in a voice that didn't really match her appearance. Lucas glared into Carole's soul.
"Call me that again and I'll shove a stick so far down your eye socket I'll be using you as a costume." Carole nervously laughed before clearing her throat.
"R-right…" That was when they heard the bell that was connected to the front door ring. "You've got this right, I need to head over to the other location." Carol was the manager of this maid cafe, but due to a lack of staff, she was also the manager at another place. That other place is where she mainly worked and only came here to show Lucas the ropes, which she already did.
"I guess so." Lucas crossed his arms, with a tiny blush bellowing from his cheeks. Carole chuckled light-heartedly and patted his back.
"You sure Lucas, you can wait another day if you're uncomfortable," she said with a much sweeter and caring sounding voice. This was her normal voice. The high pitched and annoying voice was all an act for the cafe. Lucas liked it whenever she talked to him like that. It reminded him of his mom. Lucas looked up at her.
"I'm doing this for my mom. As long as I keep that in mind, I should be fine." Carole grew a smile then walked through the back door. Lucas turned toward the other door, which led out to the main cafe dining room. He walked toward the door, giving himself deep and calming breaths. He opened the door.
The employee's only section was located at the cafe's westernmost part, so he knew he had to walk quite the ways to make it to the front counter. What made it worse, was that it was a busy day. Just in this western section were 20 tables that were able to fit a total of 88 people. A total of 70 people were already in this one part. Some eyes already darted toward him. The good thing was, none were from his school. He took a breath of relief before growing his fake smile. He walked toward the center table, looking around constantly. He knew they all knew he was a boy. It didn't help that he was the only one without breasts. And he overall had a more masculine body structure. He decided to ignore the other guests and focus solely on the new one.
Once he looked in the middle, his heart dropped. It was the kid of his school, Ness. Ness was the boy every girl wanted and every boy wanted to become. He was the athlete, the smart one, the popular one, the extraverted one, and the crushes of many people….including Lucas. However, it wasn't much of a crush, he convinced himself that much at least.
Lucas had to keep up his smile though, so he didn't show anyone his sudden fear he was feeling. Ness wasn't looking his way, however. Ness only looked once Lucas got behind the counter. Ness didn't look surprised though. It was then when Lucas also noticed that there was a little girl. "Hi there….master…," Lucas said, purposely making his voice go much higher than it normally was. Lucas grew a faint blush from calling Ness master, but it's a part of the script he's required to follow. "Gah, I hate this!" Lucas thought. Ness tilted his head.
"Oh, just a table for two," Ness said, somewhat thrown off from being called "master". Lucas nodded then turned around. He grabbed two menus that were on the back table then turned back around.
"Come with me, pretty please," Lucas winked, keeping the same high pitched voice he had earlier. Lucas started to walk back into the right part of the cafe and toward one of the tables closest to the entrance to the kitchen. He soon got to one that was only one table away from the kitchen. Lucas waited next to the table, waiting for both of them to sit down. But the little girl didn't. She just stood next to her chair, looking up at Lucas with an analyzing look. Lucas, for whatever reason, grew very nervous by her look.
"Come on, Tracy, you're freaking out the poor girl."
"Girl?" Lucas thought to himself. Tracy looked at Ness then back at Lucas. She smirked then ran next to Ness, making Lucas turn around. "Ummm?"
"Sorry about her ma'am…." Ness lowered his head toward Tracy's ear, "Sit the hell down." Tracy didn't bother with looking at Ness. She still kept giving Lucas her analyzing look.
"This maid is a boy," Tracy suddenly said. Lucas's eyes widened and slightly stepped back. While it wasn't something he was trying to hide, the fact Ness thought he was a girl helped him stay hidden from him. Ness shook his head then looked up at Lucas.
"Sorry about her ma'am, I truly, truly am." Tracy rolled her eyes then walked to Lucas, who had stabilized himself on both of his feet. Lucas just looked down at her with a confused look.
"Y-yes?" Lucas stumbled, somewhat breaking out of his high-pitched voice. Tracy then quickly gripped onto the black and white dress and quickly shot it up showing that, while he was wearing panties….there was a pretty discernable shape being formed in them. "AAAAAAAACK!" Lucas then shoved the raised dress back down and gave an evil glare toward Tracy.
"TRACY! Sit down or we're not eating." Tracy victoriously walked to her seat and sat down. Lucas, with a fully red face, looked up at Ness. Ness was also blushing slightly. "So...w-was that a…..a dick in your….?" Lucas sighed.
"I never was trying to seem like a girl….it's just part of the job…" Lucas said, fully breaking out of character. Lucas also slumped over. Ness sighed and stood up. He walked to Lucas and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Listen, man, it's cool. I apologize for my sister's actions. In fact, I should repay what she did to you." Lucas looked up, his blush slightly dying down.
"Wh-what?" Ness smirked.
"You're Lucas, correct?"
"Aw crap!" Lucas thought. He looked slightly down. "Y-yes."
"Well then, I have a Baseball game tomorrow, wanna come?" Lucas hesitated to look back up, but when he did, he noticed that Ness was being genuine. He was expecting Ness to make fun of him for being a maid.
"B-but…"
"Don't worry, no one will know about this…" Ness turned toward Tracy. "Right?" Tracy sighed.
"FIIIIIIIINE, I'll keep this a secret," Tracy said, disappointed. Ness gave a chuckle then backed up from Lucas.
"So what do you say?" Lucas looked around and noticed eyes on him. But the eyes weren't just the customers, but his coworkers as well. He needed to get back into character. Lucas bowed his upper body.
"Yes Master, that would be my pleasure," Lucas said, going back to his high-pitched voice. Ness raised an eyebrow.
"You don't have to—"
"It's part of the job…. I could lose it if I don't speak like this," Lucas said, once more getting back out of character. Lucas stood back up straight and winked, instantly going into character. Ness was amazed at how quickly he can get in and out of character.
"R-right." Ness sat back down. Lucas took a breath of relief, then finally gave Ness and Tracy their menus. Lucas turned toward Ness.
"So our special for today is the Creamy Crumb Cake, a cake made out of whipped cream and breadcrumbs. There is also a discount this whole month on special services, being a total of 50% off."
"Special services?"
"Ugh, are you just that dense? He'd suck your dick if you paid him to," Tracy clarified. Ness's eyes widened.
"TRACY, I swear you have no filter." Ness looked up at Lucas. "But, you actually….?" Lucas leaned in.
"It's only a formality, I'm too young to be doing stuff like that as a job," Lucas whispered. Lucas backed up.
"Ok, but would you do it? Like…..to a significant other or…." Lucas's blush from earlier flushed back.
"A-anyway, look at the menus and I'll be right back to place your orders, Masters." Lucas instantly turned away and started walking quickly toward the employee only section. Ness watched after him. Even after Lucas walked through the employee's only section, Ness looked at where he entered. Tracy tilted her head, but then grew a smirk once she realized what was happening. She looked at her menu.
"You like him, don't you?" she asked. Ness shot his head toward an uninterested Tracy.
"Wh-what're you talking about?" Tracy looked up from the menu.
"I saw the way you looked at him. You really like him in that outfit." Ness's face grows very red. He shot up.
"I DO NOT HAVE A CRUSH ON HIM!" Ness looked around and noticed he gained quite the onlookers. He sat back down and slammed his head into the table.
"I never said you had a crush on him…." Ness gave an exaggerated sigh.
"Well…...just no." Tracy chuckled, feeling very proud of herself.
They placed their order when Lucas came back, waited for their order to be done, got it, then ate it. It didn't take long for most of it. Tracy was very satisfied with the food. She leaned back and gave a satisfied sigh. Lucas walked out of the kitchen and walked to their table. He bowed down. "How was your food, today?" Lucas asked.
"It was great, give my regards to the chefs." Lucas picked his head back up and looked between the two of them. His eyes stopped on Ness. Lucas just rubbed the back of his neck.
"S-so about that game?"
"Yes?" Ness asked as he stood up. Lucas's eyes suddenly beamed.
"When is it?" Ness grinned. He reached into his wallet and grabbed a twenty-dollar bill. He then held out an empty hand.
"Do you have a pen?" Lucas grabbed a pen from his pocket, not really sure what Ness was doing. Even Tracy seemed confused. Ness turned around and started writing on the dollar bill. When he was done he turned around and walked to Lucas. He stopped right in front of Lucas, making Lucas look slightly up. Ness held up the dollar with some writing on it. Lucas saw that it had a time and a number. Lucas grabbed it then looked down at it. "Don't worry, it'll come out by tomorrow, so remember," Ness winked, despite Lucas looking away. Lucas's cheeks started to heat up. He shot his head back up to find Ness already preparing to leave.
"I…." Ness stopped right as they started walking away. He turned his head. Lucas grinned. He grabbed either side of his dress and bowed down like a female would. "I hope to see you again, Master."
"I promise you will."
"Can I…..?" Tracy asked.
"No, now let's go." Lucas looked out after Ness and Tracy. Once they got to the door, Tracy exited, but Ness looked back. This made Lucas divert his glance, causing a laugh to come out of Ness. Lucas barely heard this laugh. "Cute," Ness tried to say just to himself, but much like the laugh, Lucas barely heard. His face reddened more, but then he heard the door close. He let out a breath of relief then covered his face with his hands. He dragged them down then looked at the table.
"It's ok….he's just a boy, that's all," Lucas tried to reassure himself. It didn't work. Him saying that he was "just a boy" made him blush more. Due to these thoughts about Ness, Lucas dropped the plates as he entered the kitchen. The plates fell and shattered on impact. Lucas lowered his hands and just looked down at the shattered plates. One of the cooks, named Min Min, walked over to Lucas. She placed her hand on Lucas's shoulder. Her arms were weird. It looked somewhat like her arms were made of hospital bandages.
"Hey, it's alright, mistakes happen," Min Min said. Lucas shook his head and looked up at Min Min. She stepped back a bit. Lucas was crying. "H-hey, it's really no biggie. Those are just two plates, I've dropped more in the past week." Lucas started to shake his head sporadically. He covered his eyes and ran out of the kitchen and into the employee's only section. That was when he ran into the dressing room and cried against the wall. He stayed in there for an hour before Min Min walked there and knocked on the door. "Hey, you in there?" Lucas sniffed and rubbed his nose. He stood up, walked to the door, and opened it. Min Min rubbed the back of her neck. "Why're you crying over two broken plates?" Lucas looked down.
"'Cause I failed…" he said. Min Min squinted her eyes.
"What do you mean you failed. Accidents are accidents." She put her hand back on Lucas's shoulder. "You don't even want to know how I made the ramen for these two nice old customers." She started to laugh at her own mistakes. Lucas looked up. He envied her. He wanted to be able to laugh at his mistakes like she can. Lucas forced Min Min's arm off and walked past her.
"I've gotta get to work." Min Min looked out after him.
"Why is a boy even a maid?" Min Min suddenly asked. Lucas stopped right as he grabbed the door's doorknob. Lucas faintly looked back, only showing one of his reddened eyes.
"Sometimes…..you've gotta risk your dignity to help someone you love," Lucas somberly said. Min Min didn't know how to react. There wasn't too much of an age gap between the two, yet she felt that Lucas was so far away from her. Lucas then left the employee's only section, leaving Min Min to think over Lucas's words.
The next day, Lucas was at his locker. He was thinking over the Baseball game he was invited to. Good thing for him, he didn't have to do it alone. Ness was looking around the whole school, as soon as it ended, to find Lucas. Once he did, he ran over to Lucas's locker. "LUCAS!" Lucas jumped back and crashed into Ness. Ness, being a skilled athlete, was able to secure himself and catch Lucas. Ness's arms did go around Lucas's waist though, making Lucas feel odd. He shakily looked back and gave a somewhat relaxed breath when he saw Ness. "Sorry." Ness let go and rubbed the back of his neck.
"N-no, I'm the one who scared you. I didn't know you scare so easily," Ness chuckled. Lucas cleared his throat.
"Yea…" He got back to his locker with zero knowledge of what his intent was initially. He just sighed and shut the locker before turning to Ness. "Hey, when you put your hands around my waist…." Ness tilted his head.
"What about it?" Lucas opened his mouth, but then saw all of the people walking through the hall. They were there before, but only now did Lucas actually care about them. He shook his head.
"N-nevermind," Lucas said as he looked down. Ness crossed his arms.
"Is everything alright?" Lucas closed his eyes and forced a calming breath to come out. He looked back up and faked a smile.
"Of course."
"Well, about the game." Lucas tilted his head.
"You taking back my invitation?" Lucas asked, fearing the worst. Ness shook his head quickly.
"There's just an itty-bitty-tiny issue." Lucas raised an eyebrow. Ness looked around and found that there weren't too many people around them at that moment. He stepped forward and leaned into Lucas's ear. "They think I invited a girl."
"WHAT!" Ness jumped back and rubbed the back of his neck. "Why would they think that?" Ness nervously laughed.
"W-well….I kinda told them I invited a maid from the maid cafe and well…" Lucas sighed.
"You're saying I've gotta be in the maid uniform?" Lucas quietly asked. Ness shook his head.
"You've just gotta look like a girl. But I'd understand if you didn't want to do it." Ness turned away. "I know I wouldn't." That was when he started walking away. Lucas looked at the ground and quickly started to think over the situation. He didn't enjoy being in girl clothes to much, but he also knew that if he was he'd be able to get closer to Ness. He looked up and saw that Ness was purposely walking slowly.
"H-hey, Ness?" Ness stopped then turned his head. "Let's do it." Ness chuckled then ran back to Lucas. He didn't say anything and just grabbed Lucas's hand. He then ran the opposite way. Both of them were able to run through the hall while being able to dodge each student flawlessly. They stopped at the bathrooms. Ness let go of Lucas's hand then rushed in. Lucas looked down at the hand Ness grabbed and couldn't help but grow a smile. He balled up that hand.
"Come in, Lucas." Lucas rushed into the boy's bathroom. Ness instantly closed the door and ran into one of the stalls. Lucas was just forced to watch. Ness stepped onto the toilet and popped up one of the roof tiles. Then he searched for something without looking. He grabbed a bag then jumped down. He showed the bag to Lucas. Lucas tilted his head.
"What is it?" Ness flipped the bag over allowing all of the stuff inside the bag to fall onto the floor. Lucas saw that it was clothes. Lucas leaned down then grabbed them with a somewhat disgusted face. Ness ran to the bathroom door then locked it before turning back to Lucas.
"Put that on, no one should be coming in here." Lucas faintly looked at Ness.
"Why'd you grab short shorts?" Ness nervously chuckled.
"It was all they had." Lucas sighed then walked into one of the stalls. He proceeded to put the clothes on. Despite having them on, he hesitated to leave the stall.
"I-I don't know about this Ness. It looks…..odd on me." Ness grew a tiny blush as he looked at the stall Lucas entered.
"Come on, it shouldn't be a big deal." Lucas gulped then left the stall. Ness's small blush instantly grew. Lucas had some basic lime green short shorts and a crop top. Lucas even had a bead necklace.
"These damn shorts are so tight on me," Lucas said, trying to adjust the way they were on him. Ness shook his head and walked to Lucas. "N-Ness?"
"Your hair needs to change…" Ness said as he looked down at the hair. He snapped his fingers before turning to a sink. He simply forced Lucas's head to go under the faucet, wetting his hair with the water that came out. Lucas was able to shoot back. He stomped the ground as soon as he gained full control of himself.
"The hell was that for?" Ness didn't answer. He simply walked to Lucas and softly adjusted his hair. Once it was done, Ness stepped back and acknowledged what he did.
"Boom, there we go. Now, you'll have to keep up that feminine attitude that you had at the cafe." Lucas looked at himself in the mirror then sighed.
"What did I get myself into?" Ness grabbed Lucas's hand then ran toward the door. As soon as he opened it, he saw Young Link.
"Yo, Ness, coach said tha—" Young Link stopped himself once he saw Lucas. "Who's that?" Ness tilted his head.
"Who's what?" Ness asked as he pushed Lucas aside, getting him out of Young Link's sight. He then brought up an innocent smile.
"That's the girl you're bringing to the game?" Ness didn't answer. Young Link leaned into Ness's ear. "She is pretty hot." Young Link then turned and started walking away. Ness looked at Lucas as Lucas was walking back to Ness, full of anger. For whatever reason, he didn't like what Young Link said. Ness shot a jealous yet anger-filled face to Young Link, however, Young Link didn't see since he was walking away.
"DON'T TALK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT!" Young Link turned around. He held a surprised face. Not once has Ness lashed out like that. All previous times were all in a joking manner, yet this time he was purely fueled by rage.
"Ok, ok, sheesh. Touched a nerve, didn't I? Just hurry up." Young Link walked away. Lucas smacked the back of Ness's head. Ness turned to look at his own anger-filled face. Ness couldn't take this look seriously, however. For whatever reason, he found the face to be cute.
"Don't throw me like that, it really hurt," Lucas pouted. Ness giggled as he leaned his face closer to Lucas's, despite Lucas looking away.
"I'll be gentler next time."
"NEXT TIME!?" Lucas asked as he shot his head to look at Ness. To his surprise, their faces were practically touching. Heat instantly bombarded Lucas's face. "C-c-can we just go to the damn thing?" Ness giggled some more then grabbed Lucas's hand.
"Of course." Ness, with Lucas in his hand, walked out of the bathroom. No one noticed them at first, but the closer they got to the locker room, the more eyes that were placed onto Lucas. He started to feel some anxiety from all the eyes placed onto him. He ended up grabbing more of Ness's arm because of it. Ness didn't mind, in fact, he liked Lucas grabbing more of his arm.
They soon made it to the locker room. Ness looked down at Lucas, who was still very close and hugging Ness's arm. "You have to wait out here, I can't be having a girl in there, can I?" Ness winked. Lucas blushed a bit.
"J-just hurry, dammit." Lucas let go of Ness and stood next to the doors to the locker room.
"Just for you, I will." Ness entered the locker room. Lucas sighed as he stood. He still felt the heat on his face.
"Why am I like this?" He thought. He crouched down and covered his face. "Why does he make me feel this way?" He started to violently shake his head.
"Hey, you doing alright?" someone asked with a pretty lighthearted voice. Lucas looked up to find a tall boy in nearly red only clothes. Lucas stood up and rubbed his neck.
"Y-yea, everything's fine," Lucas said, ensuring to enter his feminine voice. The boy looked down at Lucas as he tilted his head.
"You sure?" Lucas looked away, and this convinced the boy that he wasn't alright. "Name's Red." He extended his arm toward Lucas. Lucas faintly looked at Red's happy face. He then took Red's hand and they shook.
"Lu…...cy, yea, Lucy." Red reached into his pocket and grabbed a small notepad. Lucas wasn't able to get much of a look at it, but with what little he did see, he saw just how organized Red was. Red wrote something on a spare sheet then ripped it out. He handed it to Lucas. On the sheet was Red's number.
"I can't help much right now, but please don't hesitate to call if there's something you want to talk about." Lucas couldn't help but give a small blush at the gesture. He nodded his head, which seemed enough to Red to be content. He then patted Lucas's shoulder before walking away.
That was when Ness came out. He was in the Baseball uniform. It was a maroon shirt, with Ness's number on his back, being number 4. He also had maroon and grey striped shorts that go to about Ness's knees. He was hoping that once he got out Lucas would start hugging his arm again, but it seemed Lucas didn't even realize he came out. He raised an eyebrow as he saw Lucas looking down at a sheet of paper. Ness walked to him. "Whatcha reading?" Ness asked.
"Huh, oh, nothing. Someone just gave me their number," Lucas said as he placed the sheet into his pocket. Ness's face flushed in red.
"Who was it?"
"Someone named Red. Why?" Ness growled a bit. Despite how brief this growl was, it was able to make Lucas somewhat scared. "Ness?" Ness shook his head. He turned around.
"N-nothing, let's just keep going." Ness looked down and grew a scowl. "That son of a bitch is making moves on my girl? He better stop!" he thought.
It didn't take them long to make it out to the field, where the rest of the team were practicing. "You'll be sitting in a VIP section, you'll know it once you see it." Lucas nodded. Ness ran to where he saw his coach, Cloud. Cloud crossed his arms as he saw Ness running toward him. Once Ness made it, Cloud just shook his head.
"You're late," he strictly said.
"S-sorry coach!" Ness yelled.
"He was too busy dealing with his girlfriend," Young Link chuckled. Cloud looked at where Lucas was sitting. He saw Lucas look around the stands, clearly very awkward with the situation. Lucas then looked at Cloud, and his eyes widened. Cloud knew those bright blue eyes. Cloud looked at Ness.
"We need to talk," Cloud ordered.
"Yes, sir," Ness chanted. Cloud turned his attention to the rest of the team for a moment.
"Don't stop practicing, Ness'll join soon." Cloud motioned for Ness to follow him. He walked toward a small kiosk that stood far behind home base. Cloud leaned against the sidewall as Ness stood awkwardly in front of him. Ness always found Cloud's always judging eyes to be frightening. Cloud wasn't much of a talker, but when he did talk, little emotion would appear in his voice. Due to the lack of emotion, it was always able to make anyone fearful to hear what he'd sound like with actual emotion. Cloud crossed his arms. "About your...girlfriend." Ness nervously chuckled.
"Y-you said she could join."
"I did….but last time I checked, Lucas wasn't a girl." Ness's eyes grew in shock. Cloud's strict eyes told Ness everything his emotionless voice didn't. Cloud was mad. He wasn't just mad, he was pissed.
"Um….y-you shouldn't assume Lucas's gender," Ness tried to joke. This only made Cloud angrier. Every other part of his face still showed zero emotion, however.
"Is this a joke to you?" Ness looked down.
"S-sorry, sir."
"Look at me while I'm talking to you, and give me your answer," Cloud ordered, his voice sending a wave of worry and fear through his body. He gulped before looking up at the man. "Your answer would be much appreciated."
"N-n-no sir, this isn't a joke."
"Then why did you feel the need to lie to me, to your team?" Ness started to look back down. "I SAID LOOK AT ME GODDAMIT!" Cloud yelled loud enough for the entire team to hear. Ness jumped back and just looked up at the now emotional man. Not only did Cloud's eyes show anger, but so did his face. "Why. Did. You. Lie?" Ness started to tear up.
"I-I dunno…."
"Give me an answer or you're off the team."
"YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" Cloud kicked himself off the wall and walked to Ness. There he stood menacingly over Ness. Ness swore he could feel Cloud's eyes pierce his heart, sending fear through his bloodstream. His glance looked sharper than his hair, and the intimidation factor multiplied for the fact Cloud was no longer an emotionless man.
"You want to try, cause be my goddamn guest." Once more, Ness tried looking down, he wanted to break the sharp and deadly glare he was getting from Cloud. "I. Said. Look." Ness shot his head up. "Why did you lie?"
"I…" Ness's tears started to form faster, hitting the ground as if it weighed a ton. Each dropped tear caused an earthquake to shake up Ness's mind. "I…" Ness knew the answer. Ness knew why he kept it a secret from Cloud, from his teammates. He knew why he got defensive against Young Link and Red. He knew that Lucas was always a boy, even when they first met, he just couldn't handle the feeling he was feeling. He was in denial, he was still in denial. He wished that Lucas was a girl, just so he didn't have to worry. He wished he could show the feelings he had for Lucas without people seeing him as weird. Truth is, he's always had eyes on Lucas, even before the cafe. Despite Lucas, before the maid cafe, never seemed like a girl, Ness wished he was. Ness looked down and started to cry aloud.
"LOOK GODDAMMIT!" Ness shot his head up, his eyes full of tears that slowly led his denial out.
"IT'S CAUSE HE'S A BOY!" Ness fell down to his knees and started crying wildly. He looked at the ground, and Cloud allowed it this time. "He's a boy...he's always been a boy….I've always liked him….a boy." Ness looked up. "Why do I like him?" Cloud kneeled and placed a hand on Ness's shoulder.
"It's because you do, Ness." Cloud looked at Lucas, who was giving a very concerned looked toward him. "It's because something about that boy attracts you."
"But what is it?" Cloud looked back at Ness before standing up.
"Go talk to him, you'll find out." Cloud saw the new twinkle in Ness's eyes. No longer was he clouded with denial. This was what he needed. He needed to be yelled at. He needed someone to put him in his place, to smack him with a pie of reality. Ness started to wipe his tears away. He stood up and saw that the anger was no longer present in Cloud's eyes or face.
"B-but, what about the game?" Cloud did something rare, he smiled. He crossed his arms then looked faintly at the practicing team.
"You're not the only one who lied to your team." Ness took a step back and admired Cloud's surprisingly exceptional acting skills. Cloud turned back to Ness, his smile was gone, his emotionless self back. "I could tell you were troubling for a long time, and when you mentioned this 'maid cafe' I knew what that thing was. Trust has never been my strong suit." Ness looked over at Lucas, who at this point was already so bored he started playing chopsticks by himself. Ness saw Lucas win, making him Lucas for joy. He had a large smile and a twinkle in his eyes. This was what Ness fell for. It wasn't the fact Lucas was a boy or wasn't a girl, it was his carefree smile, his personality. Ness looked back at Cloud.
"How do you know Lucas anyway?" Cloud closed his eyes and sighed. He slowly shook his head before turning toward the team, ready to walk to them.
"That's something you should ask Lucas about….but you should get him out of those embarrassing clothes." Ness tilted his head, remembering something he and his team found out about Cloud's past.
"Didn't you crossdress before?" Cloud's eyes widened as he turned around.
"The offer of me kicking you off the team still stands." Ness nervously chuckled.
"I'll go talk to Lucas now." Ness bolted into a run toward the stands Lucas was sitting at. Cloud looked at this and smirked. He knew Lucas in a way a teacher normally wouldn't. Cloud and Lucas, two apples from the same tree. One fell before the other, and the other needed to use the first one as a cushion for its fall. Cloud is the person who helped Lucas cushion his emotions. Lucas is confident in himself because of Cloud. Instead of Cloud's emotionless self raining on Lucas's parade, he was able to shape into a sunflower for Lucas's emotions to reflect upon. And now, he did the same for Ness.
Ness made it to Lucas. Lucas simply looked at Ness with a confused look. "You doing alright? It seemed something was up," Lucas asked. Ness shook his head and grabbed Lucas's hand. Ness then forced Lucas to leave the stands, but before they could leave the field, Lucas pulled back, stopping both of them. "Ness? The hell? Don't you have a game?" Ness looked over at his team, who were clearly mad that Cloud lied about the game. Ness then turned fully around to look at Lucas. He let go of Lucas's hand and just looked at him. "N-Ness? The hell is wrong with you?" Lucas took a step back as he raised an eyebrow. Ness looked Lucas up and down, analyzing the clothes he forced Lucas to wear. He sighed.
"Sorry I made you dress like that…" Lucas tilted his head in confusion. Ness looked up at Lucas's sparkling, wonder-filled eyes. "You're a boy...that's what you've always been, and that's what you'll always be."
"I….don't get what you're talking about. Of course, I'm a boy." Ness gave himself a chuckle before grabbing both of Lucas's hands. Lucas just looked up at him as he slowly got closer, showing the decently sized height difference between the two. Once Ness got close enough and smirked to himself. "You're acting...strange."
"I'm just showing what I've been hiding," Ness softly whispered. He then pulled Lucas into a kiss. Lucas was thinking about resisting, but that idea was almost immediately shattered when he felt Ness's hands wrapped around him. It's a comfort he hasn't felt in a while. It's a comfort he longed for. It was the comfort he was working to try and get back, the hug of a loved one. But this hug was different than any other he's had. There was also a kiss here. He tried to deny he liked Ness. He didn't want to be like every girl and have a crush on the head of the school. Yet, the kiss and the hug, neither allowed Lucas to think otherwise. Neither allowed him to deny his feelings. He liked Ness. But not because he was like a girl, but because he loved the comfort Ness gave him. Despite only talking to him for less than a day, it seemed like they knew each other forever. Lucas fell for the kiss, and wrapped his arms around Ness's tall figure and allowed Ness to have his way.
The kiss ended the same way it started. Ness lightly moved a few of Lucas's hairs out of his eyes. "I know I've kinda rushed this a bit, but…..?"
"No, it's fine." Lucas pressed the top of his head to Ness's chest. "It just means we have time." Ness hesitated to place a hand on Lucas's head. He knew he was rushing the relationship. But then the words Cloud told him came back into his head.
"Go talk to him, you'll find out." Ness finally knew what Cloud meant. He wasn't talking about finding out why Ness liked Lucas. He was talking about why he feels comfortable enough to be in a relationship this quickly with Lucas. Ness placed a hand on Lucas's head.
"Lucas? Could we...go somewhere to talk?" Lucas looked up and smiled.
"I know the perfect place," he excitedly said. He grabbed Ness's hand and ran. Lucas had some surprising strength. "LET'S GOOOOOO!"
"Don't you want to change first?" Lucas stopped then blinked a few times. That was when he turned the opposite way; toward the school.
"LET'S GOOOOOOO CHANGE!" Ness couldn't help but laugh as he ran with Lucas.
After both boys got changed into the clothes they were wearing before, Lucas dragged Ness to the Maid Cafe. They entered the cafe. Lucas saw that his manager was in place as hostess. Her eyes instantly grew at the sight of the two boys. "Oh, Carole? I didn't know you'd be here today."
"...yea….becky got sick so…." She seemed dazed. Lucas tilted his head. He decided to follow her gaze and found that it was directed at Ness, who also held the same dazed look. "So, Ness….why're you here?" Lucas looked back at Carole.
"You know him?"
"I should, he is my son after all."
"SAY WHAAAAAT!" Lucas turned directly toward Ness, even letting go of his hand. He started jumping like he was a kid in a candy store. "You're mom is my manager? She's a cool lady….." Lucas continued to hop as he complimented Carole, he was trying to make up for all the times he's made fun of her in front of her face. Ness turned his head to Lucas and smirked at how cute he saw Lucas as. He placed his hand on the top of Lucas's head, making him stop. He chuckled.
"You're too cute to be a high schooler," Ness said. Lucas struggled to look up at Ness since Ness still had his hand on his head. Lucas simply smiled as he slightly stuck out his tongue. Ness took his hand away from Lucas and looked at his mom. He wished he could forget the sight of her in the maid's outfit, but that didn't matter to him at the moment. "Mom, this is Lucas. and we're here on a…..on a…" Ness was still hesitant to tell people about his true feelings. Lucas could sense Ness's hesitance. He grabbed Ness's hand and looked at Carole with a very determined expression. Ness looked at it and admired what he saw. Lucas, the happy-go-lucky teenager. The boy who was willing to do anything if it makes other people happy. The boy who now stood braver than anyone. Ness looked at his mom. "We're here on a date." Carole's mouth slightly fell agape, but then she closed it as she shook her head.
"Well then, come right this way, a table is waiting," she happily said. Ness's heart instantly warmed when he heard this. His mom accepted what he was unable to accept himself. It was at this moment he knew, he made the right choice. They followed Carole and quickly made it to the table. She handed the two of them menus. Ness decided to look at Lucas as he looked through the menu.
"Huh, I never really saw what food there was here," Lucas said to himself. While looking through the menu, he saw Ness looking at him from the corner of his eye. He lowered the menu and smirked. "Now, what's up with you?" Ness giggled.
"Nothing, I'm just admiring how cute you are." Lucas blushed as he put the menu in front of his face.
"I'm not cute."
"Yea you are, Lukey." Lucas lowered the menu so that his eyes were visible.
"Lukey?"
"Yup," Ness winked.
"AAACK!" Lucas brought the menu in front of his eyes once more. Ness simply giggled again. Carole soon came back and took their orders. This left Ness and Lucas without anything but a table between them. Ness looked around and saw the other maids taking orders. He stopped his eyes on Lucas.
"Why were you working here anyway?" Lucas's face soon grew serious. He looked down.
"You….don't wanna know."
"Course I do." Ness leaned forward and grabbed Lucas's chin, making him look up. "I'm here for you." Lucas grew a tiny smirk, and his head stayed up as Ness sat back down.
"Well...being a maid here pays pretty well, and I needed the money.
"What for?" Lucas looked back down and closed his eyes.
"For my mom….she was hit by a truck and we can't afford the hospital bills."
"Oh my, is she….?" Lucas shot his head up.
"She's not dead, it's just…..she's crippled for now. We'll lose our house if we can't pay off the bills." Ness thought for a moment. He snapped his fingers.
"I know what to do." Lucas tilted his head.
"You do?" Ness nodded excitedly. He waited with anticipation for his mom to come back with their food. It ended up being around thirty minutes, but the silence between them wasn't awkward. Lucas was admiring Ness's sudden burst of energy. When Carole did come to the table she placed the food down. She was about to walk away when…
"Mom, I've got a question." Carole turned around. "Can I work here, you know, be a maid?"
"What?" Lucas and Carole said in unison.
"I wanna help Lucas pay for his bills, so can I?"
"I-I dunno," Carole nervously said.
"You don't have to do this," Lucas said. Ness shook his head. Ness stood up and pounded his chest.
"As your boyfriend, I must help you in this situation." Lucas tilted his head.
"Is this necessary."
"Yes," Ness instantly said. Lucas sighed.
"I'm fine with it, I guess." Lucas was secretly hiding his excitement of seeing Ness in a Maid's outfit. Ness turned toward his mom.
"Please." Carole sighed.
"I….ugh, fine. But it won't be that easy," Carole agreed. Ness chuckled to himself. He sat back down and looked at Lucas.
"We're gonna be work buddies."
"You just wanna have a reason to see me in my maid's outfit everyday, huh?" Lucas smugly asked as he leaned against the back of his chair. Ness's cheeks grew red quickly.
"I-I…...um, n-no. I-I-I'm just doing this for your mom." Lucas raised an eyebrow, not fully believing him. That was when Ness gave an obviously fake wide smile. This made Lucas laugh, and his laugh made Ness laugh. They laughed for a little bit before they stopped and just stared at each other. "...yea, I wanna see you in that dress."
"Well, maybe we could do…..other things in that dress," Lucas winked.
"Huh?" Lucas instantly started to scarf down his food, giving himself an excuse to not explain what he meant. Ness didn't mind though. He just grew a smile and started eating his food.
A week later, it was Ness's first day as a maid. Lucas stood outside the dressing room. "Come on, we're already on the clock!" Lucas yelled. Ness grumbled to himself as he stepped out. He scowled at Lucas as Lucas was blushing at the sight of Ness in the outfit. He shook his head then crossed his arms. "Hey, don't look at me like that, this was your idea."
"I didn't expect the panties to be this damn tight," Ness said as he awkwardly moved his feet as if that'd fix it. Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"You're not required to wear 'em. You could've worn your own underwear." Ness froze and slowly moved his head to look at Lucas.
"What do you mean? Why do you wear them then?" Lucas started to blush as he looked away and scratched the back of his neck.
"I….kinda like how they feel." Ness chuckled.
"You dirty, dirty—"
"Guys, hurry up, we need you as hosts," Min Min shouted from outside of the employee's only section. Lucas, without a single hint that he blushed, looked up at Ness.
"You ready?" Lucas asked in his feminine voice.
"NO, NOT IN THE SLIGHTEST!" Ness yelled.
"Good, now let's go," Lucas ordered as he grabbed Ness's hand and forced him to walk toward the door.
"H-hey…..dammit." They made it out into the dining room and instantly saw who was at the front. Ness facepalmed. "Could this get any worse?"
"Isn't he on your baseball team?" Ness didn't answer and simply walked toward the counter where the person stood. This was when Ness saw that there was a second person. They were distracted so they didn't notice Ness until he slammed his hands on the counter. The two people were Young Link and Red. Lucas rushed over.
"NESS!" Young Link yelled.
"Oh, hey Lucy," Red waved.
"Name's actually Lucas...I'm a boy," Lucas simply said. Red blinked a few times. He then leaned toward Young Link's ear and whispered something.
"You guys are hot!" Young Link said, licking his lips. Ness crossed his arms.
"You're lucky this is a customer service job, or I'd kick your horny asses out of here," Ness said. Lucas giggled as he grabbed the menus.
"Anyway, come on this way to your table," Lucas happily said in his high-pitched voice. Ness watched as Lucas skipped toward a table, and the other two following. Ness couldn't contain his smile. Seeing Lucas skip aimlessly was cute to him. Lucas seemingly took their order then returned to the counter, after giving the order to the kitchen.
"Were they hitting on you?"
"Constantly." Ness sighed.
"Want me to beat their asses after hours?" Ness asked as he grabbed Lucas's hands. He then twirled Lucas around to smoothly pull him into a back hug. Ness lowered his head to be right next to Lucas's.
"Yes please."
"Hehe, you've got it." Lucas smirked and rubbed his head with Ness's. He closed his eyes, getting very comfortable in the back hug.
"Thanks….master." Ness simply smirked then kissed his cheek.
"Anytime."
"HA, GAAAAAY!" Young Link yelled from the side of the cafe. Both of the boys' eyes shot open and turned toward him.
"Does it have to wait 'till after hours?" Ness asked.
"No," Lucas answered. "Do you have to do it alone?"
"No." Both boys smirked evilly, sending a wave of fear to overcome the boy.
"Good," Ness and Lucas said in unison. They started to walk toward Young Link.
"Hehe, guys, come on, it was a joke. It was just a funny haha….right?" Young Link nervously said. Ness and Lucas didn't answer and continued walking toward him. Their eyes are full of the need to fight. Both boys had zero intention of letting up. Young Link looked down with a sigh. "Fuck."