Twin’s B-day Fic
First Girlfriend part 1 (read on AO3 or from cut below)
Rating: T
Word count: 1721
Oliver unwittingly experiences the thrill of a first kiss…
I really wasn’t sure how to post this. I won’t tag this with the event yet since it’s early, but this is part 1, which features the twins. However part 2, which comes in the form of a comic, features Naru and Mai. Though the twins should be the main focus, I couldn’t release the comics first before the fic TT*TT so here it is… Part 2 will come on 9/19.
Oliver frowned in annoyance and marked question number fifteen so that he could go back and answer it later. That made four he’s had to skip so far. The questions were getting somewhat difficult, he had to admit, or perhaps it was just that his concentration was waning. He had been revising nonstop for his GCE exam for five hours straight with no break in between, after all. He tapped his right finger on the desk as he contemplated to himself, then placed his pencil down and sighed in relief as he lightly cracked his wrist and fingers to loosen his joints. Studying in this manner would do more harm than good, so he decided it was enough for today.
He picked up the novel Madoka had lent him that week (for some reason she thought he would enjoy reading Dracula , though what made her think he was a fiction reader was beyond him). At any rate, a little bit of light reading ought to cool his brain down. Freshly brewed tea and a light snack also seemed a fitting companion to this activity.
He glanced at the clock and was surprised at how late it had gotten, and wondered briefly if Luella was still downstairs. Usually on Saturday nights she would be found in the kitchen, baking a small batch of sweet bread, or cake, or some form of dessert, as practice for a bigger batch she would hand out to friends and colleagues for that week. As he was too tired to go down to the kitchen and check for himself, he decided he would ask Gene since he was sure his brother would still be watching the telly or playing some video games even this late at night.
However it had been a while since they communicated via their hotline so he was out of practice, and their telepathic connection with each other was not as strong as before, not to mention he was never usually the one to initiate the connection, so he wasn’t sure if it would work. Nevertheless he gave it a try and knocked.
‘Gene?’
A torrent of emotion suddenly overwhelmed him. He felt hot, felt nervous. His gulped down the breath that was caught in his throat. He was in someone’s room--one he didn’t recognize, with the setting sunlight filtering through the small gaps between the closed blinds. He was sitting on the bed and the girl beside him crawled closer and closer before pausing uncertainly just inches in front of his face. Though he did not recognize the girl, his pulse quickened at her proximity, feeling a rush of excitement as he marveled at the brilliance of her blue eyes, inhaled the sweet fragrance of her lilac shampoo, and felt her soft, warm breath as it deliciously tickled his lips. If possible, his heart palpitated even wilder.
They both leaned in. Their lips met in an awkward kiss at first, but after a few more attempts warming up, realized that they were both talented, quick learners, and soon, their tongues danced with each other, stirring wild passion--
‘Noll!’
Oliver inadvertently dropped the book he meant to read and shook his head to clear his mind. Apparently Gene only grew worse at shielding parts of his mind from him during their connection. As soon as Eugene had opened the line his unguarded thoughts burst forth like a deluge, completely overpowering Oliver’s own control and revealing to him memories he never experienced, as if they were his own. He fought to regain composure.
Thunderous footsteps preceded the sound of his door slamming open as Gene burst in, panting furiously, face completely red, from sprinting or from embarrassment, Oliver wasn’t sure which.
“Y-you needed something?” Gene asked breathlessly.
“I just wanted to ask if Luella is still downstairs.”
“Oh, n-no, she turned in for the night a little more than two hours ago. It’s, uhh, already thirty minutes past midnight, Noll.”
“Yes, I see.”
“So... did you need her for something?”
“Just tea and a light snack.”
“Oh. Do you… do you want me to make it for you?”
Oliver shook his head and leaned over to pick up his book. “No need, I can make it myself.”
An awkward silence descended.
“Uhm. S-sorry about that…”
Oliver raised his brow and asked curiously, “What are you apologizing for?” Although it was true that the incident happened due to Gene’s lack of control, ultimately it was he who inadvertently invaded his brother’s privacy. There was no point in laying the fault with either of them.
“You experienced it as I did. It must have been awkward and weird for you.”
“It was.”
Gene sighed, closing the door silently behind him and trudged toward Oliver’s bed. First he sat down carefully, then slowly tipped himself over to his side and groaned softly. “I wasn’t expecting you to call out to me. You don’t often call out to me first.”
“Right.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Again, what are you apologizing for?”
Eugene took one of Oliver’s pillows and hid his face behind it. Several seconds passed before he mumbled out, “Ugh, I didn’t want you to see that. I’m just so embarrassed. I was just so happy about it that I couldn’t--,” he paused to take a large breath and finished, “--Please forget about it.”
“Okay.”
Oliver tried to go back to reading his book, but he suddenly felt a jolt of uncontainable excitement in the back of his mind. That wasn’t his emotion. Gene must be projecting unconsciously again. He looked over to his bed and found Gene still hiding his face underneath his pillow, staying so still on his bed that he frowned in confusion at the discrepancy between his twin's appearance and inner emotion.
He finished reading the paragraph first before finally commenting, “Your emotions are somehow still coming through even though I haven’t reopened our connection. That must be a very powerful memory for you. If you don’t want me seeing any of that, you should practice more control. Lin could help with that.”
“Right…” Gene slowly uncovered his face and turned to him, propping his head up with his right arm. “Ah, bloody hell. You already know anyway. I think I might as well talk to you about it and I desperately need an outlet. Do you want to listen?”
Oliver did not say anything immediately. Eventually he ceded, “Fine. Who was that?”
“That was Lyla Taylor. She was in your class last year?”
He nodded absentmindedly. He did not remember any Lyla.
“She sat behind you…” Watching Oliver’s unchanging blank face, Eugene sighed. “She’s my girlfriend now. My very first.”
“Since you’re keeping track like that, I presume you believe you’ll have others?”
Gene glared at him and shook his head. “Oh bug off, idiot. I didn’t mean that, I just assumed you’d think I’ve had others because you probably think I’m attracted and involved with every girl I speak with.”
Since he was right, Oliver had nothing to say to that.
“Which is not true. I’m just friendly. Anyway Lyla and I have been together for three months now and… well… since today was our birthday she asked me to come over and wanted to give me something. So that was our… first time…”
Oliver raised a hand. “Fortunately you were able to sever the connection in time. I have no intention of experiencing that. And through your memories, no less.”
Gene realized his implications and colored significantly to the tips of his ears, crying, “Oh geez, no, no! We just kissed! Today was the first time we kissed. We didn’t go that far, honest, despite what you saw!”
Oliver sighed. “Okay.” He massaged his temples and made a conscious effort to eliminate all lingering sensations completely.
“It was awesome,” Gene gushed after a while. He lay back down again and sighed dreamily as he stared at the ceiling. “I’m just so happy. I just love being around her all the time. I feel like I’m on cloud-nine and everything is exciting, and the world seems more colorful when we’re together.”
“Women seem to affect you greatly.”
“Not ‘women’, just her! ”
Oliver turned to face him and raised his brow. “Need I remind you of the time you said you had a crush on Madoka? I remember you said something similar along those lines for the first few weeks after you met her. Not to mention what you said about the six other girls you had crushes on, one for every grade level since we started school.”
“Those were silly crushes. This one’s different!” Gene retorted, sitting up and crossing his arms in annoyance. “Gah, whatever. It’s true I like girls in general, but I swear this one is different. I think I’m really in love with her.”
“Fine.” He wasn’t issuing a challenge, just announcing his acceptance, though upon hearing his own curt voice he realized it could have come off wrong, so he was relieved that Eugene understood his intention. He wasn’t looking for a senseless argument.
“Right. And what about you, are you not interested in girls, Noll?”
“Not really.”
“Boys, then?”
Oliver raised half-lidded eyes at him. “I’m not interested in anything outside of my studies and in the paranormal.”
There was some rustling as Gene shifted his position on the bed and scooted himself up so that his back rested against the wall. He grinned.
“So stubborn. Man, I swear, whoever falls in love with you is in for a world of pain and confusion.” Oliver merely shrugged his shoulders so he continued, “Your future girlfriend--or boyfriend--would have to be someone stubborn and formidable, yet bubbly and loveable. Someone who could understand your quirks, someone who would call you out whenever you got insufferable, someone who could make you smile sometimes--”
“That person sounds like a pain--,”
“--Someone like me!” Gene laughed. “Maybe I should be your girlfriend--err, boyfriend--Noll. Of course, you’d be the girl in the relationship. You’re fine with that arrangement, right?”
Oliver glared at him and scoffed in disgust. Sometimes Gene took his jokes a little too far. “Go away and brew me a pot of tea,” he snapped dismissively, “or else I’ll tell Luella and Martin you’ve been sneaking off to a girl’s room.”
Gene paled. “Earl grey, or Darjeeling?”
