Mie & Aren

Trilby was walking down one of the hallways, followed closely by Tanuja, who had a notebook with her, writing down everything the housekeeper told her concerning the job. As part of her internship concerning business management, she had been allowed to learn from the Blackwell Manor staff, and work alongside them, and this would count as practicum for her courses at the university.

"Gotta admit, working at this place is a lot different from any other place I could've imagined being, not at all what I expected," Trilby said casually as they walked along, her sandy-brown hair pulled back in a queue and her eyes concealed behind her round-rimmed John Lennon sunglasses. "I was new outta the commune and looking for work, and the paycheque here was real tempting."

"And you thought that you would be doing the job holding your nose, because these people are so fabulously wealthy?" Tanuja asked, curious. She'd met all the staff members now, and she was curious about Trilby, who stuck out like a sore thumb. Not that the hippie girl seemed to mind.

"Got that right," Trilby confirmed, nodding. "Thought they'd be stuck-up corporate elitists, but then they turned out to be really nice people, and disgustingly philanthropic. It was impossible to not love workin' here within two days."

"But the paycheques and the good food must help," the Punjabi girl suggested.

"Don't forget the really comfy bed," Trilby added. "And yeah, maybe my roomie talks a li'l more than is absolutely necessary, but she's nice and she can keep a conversation interesting."

"You are referring to Miss Prospero?" Tanuja asked.

"Yep," Trilby said. "Bubbles is a good girl. She helps me keep this place spic'n'span. I used to have to clean up after two hundred hippies in a commune, so once I had the ropes down here, it was a cinch."

"What has taken the most getting used to?" queried the intern.

Trilby paused as she heard something coming from down the hallway. She walked quietly, followed by Tanuja, until they reached the door of one of the studies. She stopped just outside of it, remaining out of sight.

"Let me make this abundantly clear," they heard Karen saying to someone. "If I ever catch you two using my great-grandfather's antique desk for...

that

... again, I'll have your innards made into pozole."

"Not like you to resort to ad hominy attacks, Kar," Mike quipped next, followed by a rather uncomfortable silence. "What?"

"That fine, mom," Alex said. "I was gonna continue Alexa's Morse code lessons, but my jaw's pretty tired."

There was a stifled chuckle from Karen's husband.

More silence before the sisters spoke in tandem, their voices rife with disdain to their men. "I can't believe I let you inside my body."

"C'mon, Kar, we've used this desk before," Mike chuckled. "And to be fair, that's how I taught you Morse Code as w-OOOOOF!!!"

"You, uh, probably shouldn't write any of this down..." Trilby said wearily, shaking her head and turning to walk back the way she came.

***

Mike & Karen

Disclaimer:

All characters are 18 years of age or older while actively engaging in sexual activity. This story is a prequel/sequel (sprequel?) to my other work, Alex & Alexa. As always, many thanks and gratuitous panty shots from Freja and Jeanie to my long-suffering editor and beta-reader for their assistance in polishing up and improving this work. Reviews are welcome; flames will be snickered at and deleted with extreme prejudice. Enjoy!

Please Note:

There are incest themes with a secondary couple in this story. Just a forewarning.

Chapter XXIII- Life's Full of Tough Choices

A cafeteria on St. George Campus, 1987...

"Boy, you are out of your mind!" Mona laughed as she sat across from Mike at the long table. Lisa, and Janet were nearby them, along with Ping, Gergo, and Indur, who were trying to look like they were studying. "Where do you get off saying that to an animator?"

"People can be wrong about things even in their chosen field," Mike reasoned, shrugging.

"Oh, and I suppose

you

make mistakes in yours, right?" she asked, smirking.

"Not often, no," he answered plainly, making Lisa and Janet roll their eyes. "But when I am, it can be proven definitively."

"I get it," Mona teased. "Because

my

field of study is subjective, you can broadly say I'm wrong about something since I can't disprove it, right?"

"I'm just saying it's impossible to say you love cartoons if you don't have a favourite Road Runner Show bumper," Mike insisted.

"Well, I love cartoons, and I don't have one," Mona declared, folding her arms and looking smug.

"Don't fib, you brat, it's unbecoming," Mike laughed.

"You think the best short cartoon of all time is

The Solid Tin Coyote

!" Mona shot back. "You're clinically insane!"

"I didn't say it was the best, I just said it was my favourite," the huge student retorted. "The technically

best

short cartoon of all time is

What's Opera, Doc?'

, everyone knows that. The whole industry came to that conclusion."

"Okay, we agree on that point," Mona allowed. "But you

can't

make me say I have a favourite Road Runner Show bumper!"

"God, I wish those two would just fuck and get it over with," Janet muttered quietly to Lisa, sitting next to her.

"It wouldn't bother you if they did?" the redhead asked.

"He's never stopped me from fucking anyone else, has he?" Janet pointed out. "Then again, why should he, since I keep coming back for more of that gigantic dick? Talk about unfair."

"I dunno," Lisa said, shrugging. "I just wanna make sure you'd be okay if they started knocking boots."

"Nobody says that anymore, you little lameoid," the brunette snickered, patting her friend's hand. "I think I can get over sharing him with Mona."

"D'you really think you could be?"

Janet raised an eyebrow. "Li, I can pretty much guarantee that those two will

never

be an item. He'd drive her crazy if they were in a real relationship."

"Yeah, I guess," Lisa admitted, looking at the table and considering. "Only thing more unlikely'd probably be him and Princess, right?"

"Oh, God, the universe'd explode!" Janet said, bursting into giggles.

"Are you two okay over there?" Mona asked, gazing down the long table at her friends and giving them a wry look.

"Yeah, we were just discussing exploding universe things," Janet replied, winking.

"Exploding universe things," Mona said, her tone flat and unimpressed.

Lisa tried to think of an excuse and shrugged. "Its... a Kabbalah thing."

"Sounds more like a Ragnarök thing, or a Day of Brahma thing," Mike mused.

"Oh, shut up, you giant nerd, and let us have our fun," Janet scolded before turning her back to him and beginning laughing with Lisa again. Mike shook his head and returned his attention to Mona, who was sighing and also shaking her head.

"It's nice to have someone to talk about this stuff with, I admit," Mona said, tooling her plastic spoon around in her parfait. "Someone who isn't an animation student, because you're really into it, and even if I know more technical things than you do, you have a lot to contribute."

"Y'mean like being able to tell the difference between Rudy Larriva Road Runner cartoons and Robert McKimson Road Runner cartoons based on the coyote's ears?"

Mona squeezed her eyes shut as she replied. "That's a little much, even for me, DeBourne. You really are out there with this stuff. Seriously, why is

Solid Tin Coyote

even your fave? It's as low-budget as those Road Runner cartoons got."

The huge student shrugged. "It was my introduction to mecha. After that, I found anime and Gaiking."

"You and your mecha and anime," the black girl sighed, shaking her head. "Didn't you tell me that you and your brothers all went as mecha for Halloween one year?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I was Gaiking, Connor was Danguard Ace, and poor Josh was so skinny that we dressed him as the Coyote."

Mona burst out laughing.

"You're insane, DeBourne," she said as she stood up, needing to head to class before she was late. "But for the record, I do

not

have a favourite bumper from that cartoon."

"Wanna bet?"

"Like you'll ever know," she said, winking and drawing her fingers over his shoulder before walking over to give Janet and Lisa both a kiss on the cheek and then wiggling off.

"Y'know, I'm not saying you're annoying, DeBourne, but you can be really annoying," Janet said, looking at him and smiling.

"You sound just like my Grade Nine math teacher, Miss Kitty," he sighed as he cleaned up his breakfast tray, partitioning his trash and recycling. "Anyhoo, gotta go, there's an electron microscope with my name on it, finally."

"Well, just don't stay away too long, big boy," Janet purred as he stood and tried to walk by them. She hugged his hips and caressed the bulge in the front of his faded jeans as she did so.

Lisa looked up at him. "Uh... I'm not gonna caress your dick, but don't be a stranger."

"Good call, Heyman," he agreed as he disengaged himself from Janet's tentacle-like hug and headed over to the disposal bins. And then he was gone. Janet and Lisa continued gossiping until Karen arrived some minutes later, carrying an elegant coffee mug she'd brought from home.

"What are you two River City hens clucking about?" queried the bronze-haired goddess as she sat down. She almost never ate the food here, but she was not above getting some coffee.

"Just how long it's gonna take Mona and Mongo to start knockin' boots," Janet quipped.

"Knocking boots?" Karen said, making a wry face before looking at Lisa. "Nobody says that anymore, darling."

"How did you know it was me?!" Lisa blurted a little more loudly than she intended before blushing and then shrinking in on herself, hoping nobody was staring at her.

"Even DeBourne's lingo is more hip than yours, Li, and he's from the great northern woods," Janet laughed, patting Lisa's arm to console her. "Mona bet him that she didn't have a favourite something or other in a cartoon."

"Oh, she'll lose that for sure," Karen said, nodding with certainty, bringing her mug to her lips and blowing on the hot beverage. She could make even that simple act seem sensual and erotic beyond all possible expression. "Even I would think twice before making a bet with DeBourne."

"That's a scary thought, since you cheat by doing the math about the odds in your head, first," Janet agreed. "Everybody knows not to play cards with you, since you can count 'em."

"And I was asking Janet if it bothered her at all, since she's already been sleeping with Mike," Lisa added.

"Why would it bother Janet?" Karen reasoned, looking at her roomie, as if puzzled by the statement. "She's never made any claim to him, if that sort of thing is even possible. If anyone was going to be upset by Mona 'knocking boots' with DeBourne, it would be you."

"Me?" Lisa almost blurted again, looking shocked. "Hello! Gay? Remember? You made me that way, Kar!"

"Yeah, you may be a lezbo, Li, but you have such a big crush on that man," Janet said, smirking at Lisa, who was going as red as her hair. "Even Stevie Wonder can see that."

"I do not..." Lisa protested in a tiny voice, shrinking in on herself again. "He's just nice to me."

"Like that nice time he carried you naked over his shoulder and force-fed you pickle brine?" Janet asked.

"Well..."

"And you said that you mooned him while he was hosing you down because you were covered in hangover sweat," Karen pointed out.

"There was that time he carried you to your room naked when you fell in the dorm shower and wrenched your ankle," Janet continued.

"He carried you naked that time those boys stole your clothes," Karen said, starting to count on her fingers. "Then there was the time you pretended he was your boyfriend in the bar to keep those drunks away, or that time he let you sleep in his room with him..."

"Ooh, I didn't know about that one," Janet said, her eyes glinting with amusement. "Spicy."

"Nothing happened!" Lisa whined, her voice rife with despair.

"Yeah, he probs totally forgot you were there and you're lucky he didn't roll over on you," Janet laughed. "Red, you don't need to hand in your lezzie card just because you have a crush on DeBourne. It's perfectly understandable. You're not Princess here."

"Gee, thank goodness for that," Lisa grumbled, hugging herself and sulking.

Janet was laughing. Karen allowed herself a smile and a small, contemplative laugh.

***

A pub just off campus, the present, a pleasant March day...

People were laughing and carousing, having a generally loud and good time while Irish music played over the speakers. The day before St. Patrick's Day was always busy for the venue, but this year seemed especially raucous. The place was done up in green, with cheesy Mylar shamrocks festooning available surfaces, or strung along the ceiling.

And if people weren't drinking Guinness or Jameson, they were drinking green-coloured beer to mask their weakness.

"You're so nice in the way you describe those kinda things, dad," Alex mentioned as he finished off his third pint of Guinness. "I mean, not everyone can handle whiskey or stout, y'know."

"They're the same people who take Pikachu in Smash Brothers Brawl, Alex," Mike replied, receiving his fourth pint of Guinness now. "The shock rat, refuge of children and cowards everywhere."

Alex laughed loudly. His father had a way of putting things, and he was looking forward to being able to do the same once he'd leveled up.

"Ugh, their music choices could use some serious therapy," Alexa said, grimacing as she tilted an ear to listen. She had perfect pitch, and sometimes people singing off-key could make her cringe. "I mean, who thinks Flogging Molly is St. Patrick's Day music?"

"The music quality will be seen to soon enough, Alli," Karen assured her younger sister, patting her hand. "Most people are just happy to hear any Irish music at all."

"I am just disappointed that there are no saxophones to be played in Irish music," Freja mentioned as she drank a cream ale. She'd been banned from Lemonade Horrors for the evening, despite her new, independently wealthy status.

"And the rest of us're thinking '

Thank Sanguinius

', to quote Alex," Alexa quipped, winking at her friend, who just stuck her tongue out at the blonde. Freja was actually very good on a saxophone, but she was never allowed to sing, since the sound could peel the paint off a wall, even before the wall had been painted.

"It's nice that you came out with us, Mr. Winson," Jeanie said, sitting between Freja and Jordan and drinking a Rainbow Amigo. "I mean, I enjoy seein' you at the Manor and all, but I'm kinda glad you are here and not just sittin' back in that big ol' place, y'know?"

"My dear girl, while I may never have been what you young folk describe as a 'party animal', I like to think that I know how to have a good time," Jordan replied, holding up a tumbler with whiskey in it, as if to prove his point.

"Aw, I'd party with you any day, sir," Jeanie said affectionately, leaning her head against his shoulder and snuggling it. Jordan coughed a little at the unexpected display.

"Jeanie, stop trying to kill Jordan, you can't inherit his cottage," Karen chided, pointing her own pint of Killian's at the girl. "And everything is fine back at the Manor, we left Morgenmuffel in charge."

At the other large table beside them, the Blackwell Manor staff were all sitting together, laughing and carousing. Even Tunde, who almost never drank, had been convinced to have a green beer. And while Tatyana was in charge back home, clearly it was Dave who was calling the shots tonight. Literally, in some cases.

Everyone was watching and cheering as Andrea pushed her face down into a giggling Valentina's cleavage and grabbed the shot glass of Jameson wedged between her breasts with her lips. The tall, rangy blonde then stood up straight and bent backward slightly, draining the contents of the shot glass down her throat. Everyone cheered or applauded as she exhaled and put the shot glass down on the table.

"Still the king!" Andrea crowed, pumping her fist in the air while everyone laughed. "At least at this table."

"I will challenge," Tunde declared, standing up and trying not to wobble.

"

KWELA!

" Mike cheered from the other table.

"Oh, jeez, I hope that isn't an expensive shirt or bra, Bubbles," Trilby said, sitting next to Val and shaking her head while nursing a wheat beer. Aside from Tunde, she probably drank less than anyone at the table. She preferred other methods of attaining higher consciousness.

Val looked at her and shook her head. "Nah, I wore this on purpose. I'm the short girl with big boobs, I'm kinda used to being the shot magnet at a table. I mean, yeah, I'm pretty sure those shelves the Gordon-Blackwell girls're carrying around are even better for it, but-"

"Miss Prospero," Tatyana chided, sitting across from Valentina and next to Dave. She was drinking a screwdriver with whatever the place's rail vodka was. "Just because we are all off for the night does not mean you can speak in such liberal terms about our employers."

"Sorry, ma'am," Val said, blushing, even while she pushed her ample breasts together and held them steady while Ari pressed a fresh shot glass full of Jameson between them.

She put her hands behind her back, and everyone watched as Tunde moved up, staring down at the shot glass jiggling between Val's breasts.

"Just take it easy and don't dive in, or you'll knock us both out," Val said, not entirely sure he wouldn't just try to dunk like he was kamikaze-bobbing for apples.

Tunde nodded, staring for several seconds as if concentrating on his objective. As the Irish music thumped away in the background, he took a deep breath and slowly leaned down...

His face nestled down between Val's breasts, and he seemed to stay there for several seconds, not doing anything.

"Lucky bastard," Jeanie muttered, watching from the other table.

"Hey, uh, Tunde?" Val queried, staring down at the back of the young man's head. "Y'stay down there much longer, I'm gonna have to charge you rent."

She squeaked and leaned back suddenly as Tunde surged up, the shot glass held firmly in his mouth and then sloshing it quickly down his throat as he craned his neck. Andrea laughed and clapped, followed by everyone else, even Tatyana.

"

YEBO!

" Tunde shouted, punching his fists in the air. "I am the king as well! I am... I... I am..."

He stopped talking and stared at nothing for several moments, and everyone at his table watched him curiously. He started taking deep breaths before turning to look at Mike.

"

Likuphi ikamelo lokugezela?

" he asked.

Mike thumbed toward a door at the end of a small hall not far away. Tunde rushed toward it immediately.

"I'll go hold his hair back..." Ari sighed, standing, and following the distraught Tunde. "If he had any..."

"What was that you and Tunde were speaking back and forth?" Jeanie asked. "Elvish?"

Mike gave her a wry look. "Jeanie, does Tunde look particularly Elvish to you?"

"Well, not like Santa Claus elvish, for certs, but I never know with you nerdy types," Jeanie replied, shrugging.

"It was isi-Zulu, darling," Karen said gently, smiling at the brunette. "Michael picked it up when we were in South Africa many years ago, before Alex was born."

"Oh yeah?" Jeanie mused, looking down the hall at the little door Tunde had rushed through. "How do you say 'he's shit-faced' in easy-Zulu?"

"

Udakwa njalo

," Mike replied.

"Nothin' easy-sounding about that," Jeanie whispered to Freja, making the Danish girl giggle.