When Cassandra got back to the dorm after classes, she was greeted by the sight of Riddle sitting beside Yue on one of the couches, holding a tiny red hedgehog in his hands while the boy beside him struggled to apply something to the animal's front right paw with his finger due to it's squirming.
"Hold her still! I can't apply the salve if she's constantly moving!", the black haired boy ordered indignantly, holding his red string hair tie in between his teeth as he tried to put his hair back in a ponytail with only one hand. Riddle glared at him.
"I'm trying! She's scared, what do you expect?!", the gray eyed dormhead yelled back. Yue glared at him shortly after succeeding in putting his hair up. Cassandra then noticed that the hedgehog, a girl from what Riddle said, had a cut on her right paw. It wasn't too deep, but it still looked rather bad. Sitting her bag down on the table in the mudroom, she walked up to her boyfriends with a bewildered look on her face, arms crossed.
"What happened?", she asked. Yue and Riddle looked up at her in surprise, having been so absorbed in their work that they didn't notice the girl approaching. The hedgehog took this as her chance to escape, squirming free from Riddle's hands and scurrying down his legs and onto the floor. Riddle watched her do this in alarm.
"Rosa, no!", he yelled out, trying to tell the rodent to stop. She just squeaked and ran over to her destination, which was Cassandra. She climbed onto her right shoe, up her leg and torso, and onto her right shoulder.
"Hey, that tickles!", the redheaded girl said as she laughed, careful not to move too much so as to not further harm the climbing hedgehog. Once she was stationary, Cassandra turned her head a bit so she could see the animal.
"Well hello there.", she greeted in a kind tone of voice. Rosa squeaked in reply and nuzzled her face into Cassandra's neck, causing her to laugh again. Riddle and Yue watched the scene in curiosity.
"That's odd. She normally isn't fond of anyone who isn't me.", Riddle observed aloud. Cassandra smiled at him and scratched Rosa's head with one of her fingers.
"She must smell you on me. That or she just likes me. When I met Silver, the small animals that followed him around wouldn't leave me alone, which is a stark contrast to the ones back home who can't get away from me fast enough.", the golden eyed girl mused. Riddle crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.
"That's an awfully mixed set of reactions. I thought animals were supposed to be good judges of character?", the boy questioned. At that moment, Ash and Shorter both came down the stairs, and they both glared at the red haired boy for his words.
"They aren't!", they both yelled in unison, giving each other weird looks briefly afterwards, before they returned to their glaring. Riddle tilted his head.
"How so?", he asked. Ash was the first to answer him.
"One of the guys I used to work for had this weird leopard-spotted cat that loved him and hated everyone else, despite the fact he was the worst excuse for a human being I've ever met. He would scratch me every time I tried to get near him and bite me at the most random times. I don't know what happened to him after the guy died.", the blonde said with a dead sort of look in his eyes. Shorter's story came next.
"My Nana used to have this tiny-ass purse dog she would bring with her everywhere, and whenever I went to visit her she would always try to bite me and my dad, but left my sister and mom alone. The reason was she hated men but loved women for some unknown reason, and this applied to literally everyone. It didn't matter if you were a sociopathic serial killer; so long as you had boobs, she loved you like a plant loves water. She died when I was five-both the dog and my Nana-, and I am so glad that oversized rat did not outlive her and have to come live with us.", Shorter recounted with a shudder. Cassandra rolled her eyes at his dramatics, and Riddle blinked.
"So I guess it just depends on the animal?", the short boy questioned. Ash nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. I've met good animals, but you have to keep in mind that animals are just like people; they can be good or bad, like who they want, and have any kind of personality.", the green eyed boy said wisely, before smiling when he saw Rosa on Cassandra's shoulder.
"So, who's that?", Ash asked, pointing to the hedgehog. Riddle smiled.
"That would be Rosa. She's the hedgehog I use when I play croquet back at the dorm. I'm usually the one who takes care of her, since I'm the only human she likes, but since I was busy today I let some first years do it. Clearly, that was a mistake.", the short boy elaborated, frowning when he got to the last sentence. Ash nodded, and while all this was happening, Shorter had tried to pet Rosa with a finger and a goofy smile, only for her to try and bite him, which caused his smile to fall as he yanked his hand back. Cassandra laughed at his antics, and Ash looked to Yue and the herb-filled pestle and mortar on the coffee table with a raised eyebrow.
"So I take it she got hurt, Riddle didn't know what to do, and so he came to you?", the blonde asked. Yue huffed, glaring at him as he quickly petted his ponytail to keep his beautiful black hair smooth and sleek, which was now in front of his right shoulder; an old nervous habit from when he was younger. He was clearly distressed by the fact he was given a task he didn't know if he was capable of doing.
"No shit Sherlock, but I'm not exactly a vet, so this whole thing is basically a shot in the dark for me. I'm used to fixing people, not small spiny rodents.", the purple eyed boy shot back in a tired, defensive tone. Ash just stared at him for a moment before turning back to Cassandra, hands in his black uniform blazer pockets.
"Shorter and I are gonna go see if there are any clubs we wanna join. Call us if you need anything.", he said, before giving Cassandra a quick peck on the lips and walking out the door. Shorter gave her his signature goofy grin and did the same thing. Cassandra watched them leave with a smile, before turning back to face Riddle and Yue, Rosa still on her shoulder.
"Let's try something different.", Cassandra suggested, before she gently picked Rosa up and sat down on the couch between her two boyfriends, setting the hedgehog down on the coffee table. To the shock of Yue and Riddle, she stayed put, and Cassandra hummed a tune as she dabbed her finger into the salve-filled mortar and began to apply the substance to Rosa's paw. Once she was done with that, the tanned girl wrapped the wound with a small cloth bandage that was lying on the table. After she finished treating the wound, Cassandra picked the hedgehog up and handed her to Riddle.
"There you are, all fixed up.", she said with a smile. Rose squeaked happily, and Riddle was looking at his girlfriend in awe.
"How did you do that? She wouldn't even sit that still for me.", he asked. Cassandra shrugged.
"I have no idea. Small animals usually avoid me like the plague; its the big ones that usually like me. Big dogs, alligators, lynxs... ", the redhead trailed off with a fond smile, shaking her head and chuckling. Riddle blinked when he heard the second one.
"Alligators?", he asked. Cassandra nodded.
"Yep. My home town is like ninety percent swamp. You literally cannot leave your house without seeing one somewhere; you may not know you've seen it, but you've seen it.", Cassandra said as she leaned back against the couch. Riddle did the same thing and let Rosa curl up in his lap.
"What's your home like? You speak of it fondly.", he asked her as he curled into the fellow redhead's side, absentmindedly petting Rosa. Cassandra smiled as her eyes went alight with nostalgia, and she laced one of her hands with Riddle's free one.
"It's an old, magical place. The streets are filled with music, and you can feel the souls of those who came before walking the streets beside you. It's a city that's been through hell, yet manages to survive each tragedy thrown at it and become more beautiful than it was before. It is quite literally the only city I know that has stared death in the eyes, glared at with the fire of a thousand suns, punched it square in the face, and told it to wait it's goddamn turn.", she said with a boisterous laugh. Riddle smiled at her softly. She looked so beautiful when she was happy. How had he ever hated her?
"What's it called?", he asked softly. Cassandra's expression softened, love in her eyes.
"The Crescent City, New Orleans. It's an amazing mesh of cultures from all over the world, and I hope one day, when I rule Twisted Wonderland, it will not only embody that, but it's resilience as well. I'll take you and the others there one day, I promisee.", the girl said, golden eyes glowing with sincerity as she rubbed slow circle's into the back of Riddle's hand. It was at this moment Yue, who unknown to the couple, had returned from the kitchen with three plates of food, two wine glasses of blood, and a glass of cherry soda on a black wooden tea tray. He smirked at the romantic scene before him, and in a characteristic bout of mischief, sat the tray down on the table and gracefully plopped himself in Cassandra's lap, startling the girl into releasing her other lover's hand and annoying Riddle.
"Speaking of home, we haven't had a date night in a while, have we darling? Why don't we restart the tradition here?", the pale boy said as he tilted the blushing Cassandra's face up to look him in his eyes. Cassandra gulped, but when she realized what Yue had actually asked, she grinned widely.
"Oh my God, we should! Riddle, what do you think?", she asked as she turned to face Riddle with excited eyes, much to Yue's displeasure. The gray eyed boy squinted a bit in confusion.
"Date night?", he echoed. Cassandra nodded.
"Yes. Did it back before we came to Twisted Wonderland; everyone picks one saturday out of every month, and on that day, they get me all to themselves and we go on a date. Naturally, we won't be able to follow the old system due to there being so many of you now, but I'm sure we can figure out a way to make it work if everyone agrees. Thanks for reminding me, love!", Cassandra explained, before thanking Yue and kissing him on the cheek. Yue forced a smile, having wanted to be kissed soundly and passionately.
"It's nothing, darling.", he answered, frowning when Cassandra effortlessly picked him up and sat him beside her so she could get her phone out of her back pocket. Once she had it, she began texting rapidly with a smile on her face. After a few minutes, the redhead looked up at Riddle with an even larger smile.
"Good news, everyone agreed! Riddle, do you want to do it?", she asked. Riddle nodded with a smile. Cassandra's grin was ear-to-ear at this point.
"Great!", she responded, before she turned to face Yue on her right.
"Yue, are you in?", she asked. Yue's frown turned to a small smile. How could he ever say no to that face?
"Of course." , he said. Cassandra grabbed one of the glasses of blood off of the tray and raised it high in the air.
"To date night!", she yelled, feeling like an excited child. Riddle and Yue both gave her fond smiles, and after throwing a knowing glance at each other, copied their girlfriend.
"To date night!", the two yelled in unison, clashing their glasses against Cassandra's with a resounding 'clink!' as Rosa squeaked loudly in approval.
—----------------------------------------------
WARNING: this part of the chapter contains implied smut and semi-detailed mentioning of Yue's back story. There's like one line where the 'w' word is used. Other than that, it's not that bad, but read at your own risk.
It was later that night. Yue was in his room, sitting in front of his opulent silver vanity as he removed his hair from its confines. The crescent moon shone through the crack in his curtains, illuminating the room that would have been pitch black otherwises. He sighed as he let his long hair form a black curtain around his shoulders, and took a long look at his reflection in the mirror.
People always seemed to see someone different when they looked at him; his men had seen the terrifying Yut-lung Lee, who showed no mercy. Those who opposed him had seen a snake, cunning and vicious. His brothers had seen a bastard, who's only use was as a tool to further their own power. The 'clients' his brothers had forced on him had seen a whore. When he looked at himself, he saw his mother. But when Cassandra looked at him...
He smiled.
When Cassandra looked at him, she saw Yue. Not Yut-lung Lee, just Yue. Smart, dependable, sassy Yue. She saw a boy who was so much more amazing than he thought he was. She saw someone worthy of happiness, of her love, and despite all her efforts to make him believe this and Ash's words on the first day of school, sometimes he just didn't see it. He was a monster, a demon from the depths of hell who had lied, stole, and killed more times than he could count. Cassandra had killed, but she always did it in defense of others. She remained pure and good despite her bloodstained hands and infamous last name. She was a good person. He was not.
So it was times like this when he wondered if he had any right to ask anything of her, the angel who had saved his soul. But then he would hear a voice that sounded suspiciously like the vague memories he had of his mother's voice, and just a tiny bit like the Lynx;
'She loves you, she'll listen.', it said. And so when Yue heard a familiar knock at the door, he took a deep breath, steeled his resolve, and got up to answer it. When he did, he was greeted by the sight of an anxious Cassandra.
"Hey, I got your text. You said you wanted to talk?", the redhead asked, worried and fearful. When she had gotten a text from Yue at ten o'clock at night, she had assumed the worst. Had he had a nightmare? Had he had a panic attack? Why didn't he come straight to her if he did? Was it something else? Questions and concerns filled Cassandra's head, and they were not at all placated when Yue sighed tiredly. His hair was down, but he was still in his school shirt and pants; she, on the other hand, was in her pajamas, which consisted of a pair of black lounge pants and an oversized school button up she had stolen from Eiji. She had been getting ready for bed when she got the text, and had rushed down the hall as soon as she read the 'we need to talk'.
This would have most girlfriends concerned about a breakup, but Cassandra wasn't concerned about that. What she was worried about was if the boy she loved was alright and how to make it all better if he wasn't. Yue saw her distress and gave her a tired, comforting smile.
"Yes, I did. Sit down.", he suggested, stepping aside so Cassandra could walk into his room. She sat down on the edge of his bed, and Yue closed the door and went to sit beside her, a foot of distance between them. Cassandra frowned at their lack of proximity, and Yue looked at her with a serious expression.
"Cassandra, I love you. I love more than life itself, and I know that despite the fact I don't deserve you, you love me back, which will never not amaze me. But lately I just... ", the black haired boy started to explain, hands clenching the comforter beneath him. Cassandra's immediately went wide with horror.
"Just what? What is it? Have I upset you? Was it something I said? Something I did? Have I been neglecting you? Please tell me, love.", she asked urgently, interrupting her boyfriend in the process. Yue gave her a comforting smile, his grip on the bed loosening.
"It was nothing you did, darling. You could never hurt me. I just want to ask you if you're ready to... deepen our relationship.", the pale boy revealed. Cassandra looked confused for a moment, before she blushed and looked at him in shock.
"O-oh.", she stuttered, knowing very well what he was asking. Cassandra looked at the ground for a moment, and after she looked back up, she scooted closer to Yue and took one of his hands into both of her own.
"Yue, are you sure this is what you want? I know I'm ready, but I don't know if you are. I don't want you to force yourself to do something you don't want to for my sake. The last thing I ever want is to hurt you.", the redhead explained, placing a gentle kiss on Yue's hand once she had finished. Yue frowned, removed his hand from her own, got up and walked over to the window. He gazed at the moon in frustration, arms crossed.
"I tell you I'm ready, and you still doubt me.", he huffed, before turning to look back at the alarmed Cassandra.
"I'm not made of glass, Cassandra. I survived seventeen years in the Lee household, and yet you still treat me as if I will break at the slightest touch. I'm not that frail human boy you found dying in bed. I'm not weak anymore.", he hissed in a frustrated voice. Cassandra looked at him in shock before getting up and walking over to him with a hurt expression.
"Is that how you think I see you? Yue, you were never weak. You are one of the strongest, most amazing people I know. When I saw those visions, those glimpses of your life, my first thought was 'how can someone be so strong?'. When I saw you laying in that bed, bleeding out before my eyes, I thought the exact same thing. I treat you the way I do because I respect you so, so much. I want to give you and the others the world, but I didn't want to give you anything you didn't ask for.", Cassandra explained, voice thick with emotion. Yue gazed at her in shock, tears welling in his eyes.
"I-I know-I just-I don't know why I said that, forget I said anything.", he said quickly, looking away from the redhead. Cassandra steeled her expression and walked closer to him.
"No, I won't forget. Because you're right, I've been treating you like you're some fragile princess, when you are anything but fragile. So, here's what I think-no, what I know you are.", she said firmly. Yue looked down at his feet, but Cassandra tilted his head up so he would look her in the eye.
'I can't believe she's taller than me now... ', he thought. He could remember when she was just an inch shorter than him; now she was 5'10, and while she was only two inches taller than him now, it was times like this he felt like she towered over him.
"You are beautiful and you are kind. You are amazing and if it wasn't for you, I would be a mess who couldn't keep her head on straight. You don't hesitate to tell me the truth, you always listen, and you never fail to make me laugh; but most of all, you are strong, and I would not have you any other way.", Cassandra praised, finishing her words off with a smile. Yue gave a watery laugh and sniffled.
"Flattery will get you nowhere.", he croaked out. Cassandra gave him a soft smile and kissed him on the forehead.
"I beg to differ. Now, in order to show you just how much you mean to me, I would like to ask you to sit on the bed.", she requested. Yue looked at her in shock and did what she asked in a daze, sitting on the end of his bed. Was this really happening?
Cassandra slowly walked over to him and knelt down in front of him, taking both his hands in hers as she looked at him with a soft expression.
"The safe word is red, and if you don't like something tell me. Now, for the sake of my mental state, I am going to ask you again; are you sure you want to do this? I want your explicit consent.", the redhead asked. Yue frowned at her, tears still in his eyes. He loved that Cassandra cared enough about him to ask his consent, but he also wanted her to utterly wreck him. So, in an emotion lapse of logic and judgment, he yelled in near-undecipherable Cantonese;
"Ó, kuài qù cāo wǒ ba! (Oh, just fuck me already!)", he slurred. Cassandra blinked and looked at him in concern.
"What did you say, Yue? You know I can't understand you when you talk that fast and-oh!", the redhead asked, concerned that she had gone too far, only to blush and realize she had done the opposite when Yue picked her up, threw her onto the bed, and crawled on top of her. He then straddled her with a smirk. Cassandra gulped.
Clothes flew around the room, and neither of them got any sleep that night.
—----------------------------------------------------
When morning came, Yue and Cassandra were both still in bed, and still very naked. Yue was sleeping happily with a smile on his face as Cassandra woke up, the light from the cracked window curtains shining in her eyes. She groggily sat up, and when she did, quickly realized she was naked. She jumped a bit, blushed, and covered herself with the blankets. Slowly, she looked down, and was greeted by the sight of an obscene amount of hickies dotting her neck, collar bone, upper chest, and from how off and sore she felt, other places. Cassandra sheepishly glanced at the sleeping Yue, who was also covered in hickies, before she quickly looked away, flustered.
'Where did he learn how to do those things?', she asked herself, remembering the rather amazing but shocking events of last night. It was utterly baffling to her that he was the one who took charge, since she usually wore the pants in their relationship.
Sighing, Cassandra laid back down and turned to face Yue's back. Smiling sleepily, she wrapped one arm around him, and used the other to play with his hair. The black haired boy sighed happily in his sleep, and Cassandra watched him adoringly. Moments like this were what made life worth living, and she would die before someone took them, took him away from her. The moment of silence continued for quite a while, until Yue awoke to the sound of Cassandra humming a dreamy toon, playing with the ends of his hair. He turned around and smiled up at the girl, who had her head propped up with her other hand.
"Goodmorning.", she greeted quietly, pecking him gently on the lips. Yue's soft smile widened a bit.
"Mmm, 'morning.", he hummed quietly, before he closed his eyes again, snuggling into his pillow. Cassandra chuckled.
"Still tired?", she asked. Yue hummed again and nodded, burying his face into the crook of his soulmate's neck.
"Yeah. Can we just stay like this for a while?", he asked. Cassandra nodded and held him tight with one arm, once again using the other to play with his hair.
"Of course.", she answered. This went on for a while. Phones and times were ignored as they focused only on each other. No good thing lasts forever, however, because soon enough, the bedroom door flew open without warning.
"Hey Yue, do you have the answers to that history worksheet-OH GOD MY VIRGIN EYES!", a distracted Eiji asked as he walked into the room, staring at the paper in his hand. Once he looked up to see what he assumed would be an awake and annoyed Yue, he was instead greeted by the sight of a naked Yue. In bed. With their equally naked girlfriend.
To say he was traumatized was an understatement.
He did not need another eyeful of the other boy, had gotten enough of that during that one incident with Golzine back in New York, and was not about to come back for round two.
Yue was startled awake, while Cassandra was just startled by his yelling. The black haired boy glared at his horrified friend in anger and hissed out obscenities in Cantonese. Cassandra laughed at his words, and Eiji was left blushing in embarrassment in the open doorway.
"Wha-what did he just say?", he stammered. Cassandra smiled mischievously at him, an action that was suddenly far more attractive than usual due to the fact she was in bed. Naked. He really needed to stop thinking about that.
"I do believe he just cursed out you and all your ancestors for walking in on us.", she indirectly translated. Yue bared his fangs at him, and Eiji shivered as he took his que to get the heck outta dodge.
"Right, uhh-Che'nya's downstairs. He snuck into the school to hang out with us for the day; b-but you guys are clearly busy, so I'll just leave you to it.", the brunette informed nervously as he made a break for the hall. Once he was all the way out the door, however, he quickly turned back and peeked his head back into the room.
"So can I have those answers later or- AH OKAY NEVER, GOT IT!", Eiji asked meekly, only to have a pillow thrown his way. He dodged and sprinted down the hall. Yue growled and huffed, wrapping the bed sheet around himself so he could get up and shut the door. He slammed it shut with a loud huff, and Cassandra laughed all the while. Yue's expression went from angry to flirtatious in a heartbeat as he turned back to face Cassandra.
"Now, where were we?", he purred as he let the sheet fall off his shoulders a bit. Cassandra gulped and stopped laughing.
Ah so close yet so far. Sorry you guys didn't get any smut, but I just wasn't feeling up to it. Sorry if the Cantonese is terrible, google translate sucks. And before you guys even ask, yes there will be date chapters. Next time, jokes and Che'nya!
So long and Goodnight, Thackery Binx