Chapter 133: Escalation
After leaving campus and texting to inform Lillie that he and Ren were on their way home, Jason parted ways with Lana and made his way back to the villa in a good mood. The sky was a bit cloudy, but it wasn't set to rain until late in the evening, ensuring that he and Ren would reach home long before it became an issue.
"That was really fun. Ren likes Lana~" Ren expressed, walking slightly ahead of Jason, kicking her feet, swaying her arms, and swishing her tail behind her as she walked.
"I'm happy to hear that. She's a tad more mischievous than I expected, but she's a good person..." Jason affirmed, prompting Ren to spin on the ball of her foot and turn to face him, walking backward as she asked, "Will Lana become Jason's girlfriend...?"
"Maybe? I'm not sure..." Jason admitted. He wasn't really looking to have even more girlfriends, but based on prior experiences, he couldn't dismiss the possibility. Lana was remarkably adept at toeing the line of behaviors he could tolerate. And if he were being completely honest, he admired her capacity to pursue what she wanted without hesitation...
"Mmn...Ren wants a girlfriend as well..." Ren stated, catching Jason a little off guard as she faced forward and emulated his habit of staring up at the sky when he was thinking.
Recovering from a momentary pause, Jason asked, "Are you sure you want a girlfriend? Ren is a girl, so shouldn't you want a boyfriend...?"
"No. Ren wants to hug and kiss girls like Jason," Ren responded, leaving Jason at a loss as she asserted, "Girls are soft. They smell nice. And their boobies feel good," in a firm, decisive tone.
"I see..." Jason muttered, his words trailing slightly. It had never once crossed his mind that Ren might develop an attraction toward females, but he wasn't so close-minded as to think there was something wrong with her for it. Rather, as her parent figure and partner, he would do his best to provide her with the support she needed.
'Should I perhaps reach out to Korrina and ask her to entrust Laani to me sooner...?' Jason considered, recalling how Ren seemed to really enjoy her and Laani's cuddle sessions.
Capitalizing on Jason's slightly disjointed state, Ren dealt him a critical blow by happily appending, "Besides, Ren has Jason. Ren doesn't need other boys. Jason is the best~" in a sing-song tone.
'In other words...she likes girls because of me and rejects boys—also because of me...' Jason noted, exhaling from his nose. It was apparent to him that Ren was orienting her preferences around him, but he also knew it was important for her to figure such things out for herself. And while he couldn't be her boyfriend, he could definitely be there when she needed him. Rather, he would be...
Sensing Jason's determination and concern, Ren paused in her advance to face him, her wine-red eyes glistening and a smile adorning her face as she asked, "Jason loves Ren, right?"
"I do," Jason confirmed, nodding.
"Ren really loves Jason as well~" Ren hummed, stepping forward to give Jason a firm squeeze, taking care not to press too hard against him with her stopper-covered chest spike. She knew that she and Jason couldn't have the same relationship he had with other humans, but that didn't stop her from loving him with all her heart.
"It makes me really happy to hear that..." Jason muttered, a prominent warmth permeating his chest as he cupped the back of Ren's head and kissed her crown. And since Ren could see and feel his Aura like a warm, comforting flame—the same flame that had provided her comfort and a feeling of security when she was an unhatched egg—she knew he wasn't just telling her what she wanted to hear...
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As Jason and Ren made their way up the looping driveway leading to the villa, Hobbes, who had noticed their approach while performing yardwork, positioned himself near the entrance to greet them.
"Welcome back, Young Master Jason. And you as well, Lady Ren," Hobbes expressed, offering a courteous, hand-over-heart bow.
"Thank you," Jason responded.
"Hobbes! Alola~!" Ren greeted, causing Hobbes to adopt a grandfatherly smile and present her with a Jason-approved treat.
After handing over the treat, Hobbes, preempting Jason's asking, calmly commented, "Mistress Lillie and her guests should be awaiting you in the sitting room."
"She has guests over...?" Jason questioned, his mind bringing forth many possibilities. Hobbes has specifically mentioned they were Lillie's guests, so the most obvious answer was Mallow and Selene. Otherwise, he would have said they had visitors or revealed their names outright.
"Indeed. I believe their names were Miss Mallow and Miss Selene? The Young Master should know them as members of the same class," Hobbes revealed, confirming Jason's suspicions.
"Mallow and Selene~" Ren repeated.
"Thanks for the heads up..." Jason expressed, exhaling a preemptively exasperated sigh. He had anticipated that Lillie might invite Mallow over to reciprocate her invitation to a sleepover, but he wasn't expecting it to occur in the same weekend.
"But of course..." Hobbes responded, offering another courteous bow as Jason and Ren made their way into the villa.
'Something must have happened...' Jason concluded, following the bell-like sounds of young women conversing spiritedly to find Lillie, Mallow, Selene, and Maeve in the sitting room, positioned around the central glass table and a colorful, half-eaten tower of macaroons. Runa, Sweetie, and Bowie were naturally present, the former two playing together while the latter dozed off atop a perch specifically designed for small-sized Flying Pokémon to roost.
"Oh! Jason! Ren! You've returned~!" Lillie greeted, rising from her seat to approach Jason with open arms.
"We're home..." Jason responded, naturally reciprocating Lillie's hug and giving her a quick, customary peck on the lips.
"Oooooooh? Look at you two. How bold~" Mallow teased, her green eyes lighting up at the sight of Jason and Lillie sharing a kiss.
"This villa is mine and Jason's private domicile, so it's only natural that we express our love and devotion for one another..." Lillie asserted decisively, her cheeks tinting red but her expression resolute.
"No complaints here~" Mallow responded, directing her gaze to Selene, teeing her up to tease Lillie as well.
"What? It's just kissing. I used to do it all the time with the boys back in my hometown," Selene stated, confused about why Mallow was looking her way.
"Really? How many boys have you kissed in total...?" Mallow questioned, her curiosity visibly piqued.
"Uh...let's see...there was Liam, Julian, Thomas, Ezra, Felix, Arlo, Milo, Cassian, Soren, Jude, Otto, Jasper, Elian..." Selene listed off, tilting her head back and staring up at the ceiling as she attempted to recall the names and faces of all the boys she had kissed before moving to Alola. The fact that it was taking her as long as it did left everyone else in the room at a slight loss for words.
Shifting his focus to Lillie, Jason couldn't help but address what had been at the forefront of his mind since he entered the room, stating, "That's an interesting outfit you're wearing..."
Contrasting her usual dresses, blouses, and skirts, Lillie was currently wearing a white, spaghetti-string camisole with pale blue straps, pale blue short-shorts, and what appeared to be a pale blue string bikini or thong. He also noticed that Mallow and Selene were modeling similar outfits, with the latter having tied up her usually breezy shirt to expose more of her belly and lower back.
Before Lillie could respond to Jason's question, Maeve, having made her way over to him, asked, "Are you thirsty? And if you are, would you prefer tea, coffee, or juice?"
"Tea would be nice..." Jason responded, prompting Maeve to give him a nod before stepping around him to leave the room. He was a little sad that she didn't give him a hug and a kiss before going, but he wasn't surprised. Despite her bold battle style and cool personality, Maeve was surprisingly conscientious about public displays of affection—particularly during work. It was one of the many incongruencies that made her adorable...
Having reached the end of her list, totaling twenty-seven boys, Selene preempted Lillie's response a second time by asking, "Hey, Jason. Can I try kissing you, too? I heard from my mom that there's supposed to be a spark when a girl kisses the person they're supposed to be with. So I try kissing all the boys I find handsome or interesting."
"That's very...empirical of you..." Jason responded, slightly taken aback but not really surprised. Selene was too outgoing not to be popular, and given how free-spirited the average resident of the Pokémon world was, those who exceeded the norm naturally had their quirks.
"If that's the direction things are headed, I wouldn't mind sharing a kiss with you myself~" Mallow stated, adopting a broad, ostensibly confident smile that failed to conceal her nervousness. Unlike Selene, she had only kissed two boys, and both had been disasters. The boys in question were people she had encountered at the beach, the first responding awkwardly and not really knowing what to do, and the second being much older than her—leaving her feeling beyond embarrassed when he laughed and noted how clumsy and inexperienced she was.
"Sorry..." Lillie expressed, looking up at Jason and offering an apologetic smile as she revealed, "I may have bragged that you were a good kisser and implied that, so long as you were okay with it, I didn't mind if Mallow and Selene tried kissing you..."
"That would certainly explain this situation..." Jason acknowledged, his expression softening as he reached up to caress Lillie's head with his left hand. He knew she couldn't help but express how wonderful she thought he was, which was why he had reminded her to be mindful not to divulge too much. Other than that, so long as things didn't get too out of hand, he didn't mind sharing a kiss with the two girls to satisfy their curiosity—though he suspected that Lana would be slightly peeved when she learned she was suddenly behind despite their sharing a shower and tent...
"As for Lillie's outfit, that was my idea. You're welcome~" Mallow stated, regaining a bit of her usual confidence and flashing a toothy smile, along with a peace sign.
'Making you the pusher in the group...' Jason noted, unsurprised. Mallow was as much the center of the girls' group as Kiawe was the center of the boys'. They naturally influenced their respective groups simply by having the boldness to suggest activities and express their ideas, so he wouldn't be even a little surprised to learn that Mallow was the one to propose that she and Selene come over to take a look around.
"Well, since Ren and I just returned, we're a little sweaty. If the two of you still—"
Before Jason could finish, Mallow's smile broadened as she noted, "The three of us also walked here from my place. If you're taking a bath, why don't we all get in together?"
"Yay! Ren loves baths~!" Ren exclaimed, raising and clenching her paws into fists.
"Oh? I've never taken a bath with a boy other than Elio. We went to the public bathhouse a few times when I was younger, but all I remember is flabby skin and dangly bits," Selene contributed, reinforcing the fact that she and Elio were from the Kanto Region, which was heavily influenced by the Kanto and Yokohama Prefectures of Japan in Jason's previous world.
"What do you think...?" Lillie questioned, leaving the decision entirely up to Jason. Fortunately for Mallow and Selene, Lana had inadvertently laid the groundwork for Jason to accept the former's proposition. Had she not convinced him to shower together, he might have refused. Instead, after a moment of consideration, he answered, "It shouldn't be a problem..." with the naive confidence of someone who had no idea what the glowing red circles of a stovetop represented...
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