"A-are you sure th-this is a g-good idea..."

"Oh come on, you're not gonna back out now will you?"

Indeed, the final call for that was several miles ago, and not so close to their destination they could already hear some of the muffled bassy wub-dubs as they turned the corner.

"G-guess I c-c-can't anymore c-can I..."

"I mean... if you manage to find me and bother me for a key I'll let you sit it out in the car if it gets too much. But c'mon Emily, I really promise you these guys are great if you just give them a chance. If there's anywhere to get warmed up to parties some more it's gonna be here!"

Jeff's attempt at a cheer up only had Emily squirming in her seat for the most part, squirming while attempting, unsuccessfully, to put on a brave expression. She'd no idea how she let the Mienshao at the wheel talk her into coming along to a friend's house party- sure, he had to put up with her whining about being lonely, and a party was one way to suddenly get surrounded by many, many people, but it was also way, way too much for her, even without... the other obvious reason for her hesitancy.

Part of the Braixen really wanted to bring up that additional worry of hers, one her friend thought already soothed in their prior chats about this outing, but... most of that was just trying to make him not worry about her as much, even if her own fears remained as present as ever. It was one thing to be reassured by a person that her particular issue wouldn't even affect that a group of strangers would be completely fine with her- it was another to actually have to go out there and find out the very, very hard way.

And as many hopes as she had that nothing would end up going wrong, especially with her outward appearance already looking very feminine for a Braixen- she knew better than to brace herself for anything but the worst.

In not too long, their ride was finally over, Jeff parking his car off to the side of the mansion the party was located at and getting out to stretch his legs, before looking over his shoulder at Emily continuing to sit in her seat, fidgeting with the sleeves of her hoodie.

"Everything okay Em?"

"I... y-yeah, l-let's go."

With trembling arms, Emily took the seat belt off before leaving the car herself, feeling her heartbeat already start to spike as she pulled the hood of her outfit onto her head, the large holes for her ears letting the garment cover most of her face without getting stuck on her kin's most prominent feature.

As they neared the entrance, Jeff overtaking Emily enough to make his way through the front door before she could even make her way into the porch light, the Braixen weighed the pros and cons of turning tail and running here and now in her head- it would get her back to safety much, much faster than waiting for Jeff to have had enough here, she wouldn't have to deal with the risk of him accidentally having a drink, and if she gave him a proper heads up he wouldn't even be mad with her, hopefully. The big drawback was the price of a taxi from here at the outskirts of their town all the way back to essentially its other end...

Was her comfort for a few hours worth over a hundred bucks? Maybe- but she wasn't in a position to be able freely able to spend the latter so, into the torture chamber she goes. Who knows- maybe she'd even manage to find a quiet corner somewhere she could just hold out on her phone or try to have a nap... fat chance with that loud music but better than enduring it all normally, right?

With the last deep breath, Emily braced herself before stepping in through the door, the stark, colorful lights combining with the rumbly, bassy music making her immediately uneasy. The center of the open living room area was occupied by several people grooving it out to the tunes, Jeff having already joined that particular group in the meantime.

It seemed that the main speakers were close to the entrance, so if she found herself somewhere to sit away from them it might be more manageable. Thankfully for her, there were enough people moving around for her to not stick out- or at least, not stick out as much as usual while she slunk her way across the floor, keeping her eyes trained on finding a less deafening spot to sit down at.

Much to her continued sanity, most people did indeed not pay any attention to her even as she passed by, letting her spot out a seat near the entrance to the kitchen- a very occupied kitchen, looking like no less than four meals were being attempted to be made in there at the same time, but even the end result of that was less overwhelming than the rest of the space here.

Okay, this wasn't a half bad place to try to endure all of this in.

With earbuds dug out of her pocket, Emily could put on her own soundtrack, the party basses leaking through combining with her familiar electronic music making the end result sound almost dubstep like, which while not her preferred genre, wasn't something she vehemently disliked either.

Cozy-ish spot located, music on, now she could hop onto the chat with her friends and, well, have actual social interaction there, opening up the group direct messaging with a couple of besties and typing out nonchalantly-

MMMMM: help 

Socks: oh?

MMMMM: I ended up nodding my way into a party and it's just as bad as I thought it'd be 

Socks: party party, like at a club?

MMMMM: someone's house but yes 

Socks: you're the last person I'd expect to see at a party like that lmao 

MMMMM: really wish I said no to Jeff when I had the chance 

TextGoesHere: oh shit 

TextGoesHere: can you catch any public transit from there

Socks: good call, where you at Emily 

MMMMM: I'd have to look up if there are any lines nearby but I doubt

MMMMM: deep in rich fuck burbs

[MMMMM dropped a location pin.]

Socks: I'm gonna look it up in case the internet is shitty in there for you Em

MMMMM: I don't think it's that bad, I haven't seen too many other neets on the phone lol

MMMMM: hold on 

Even if she hadn't felt anyone's eyes drilling into her initially, the more she sat here the more she started to notice that familiar, if unnerving tingling in the back of her head. Her psychics were still very much underdeveloped compared to her mom, and hormone blockers delaying her evolution didn't help either, but she could still sense someone's mind honing in on her, arms shaking a bit as she covertly looked up from her phone and tried to visually scan the nearby area.

And sure enough, the obvious suspect did eventually present herself- decent bit off to the side, next to the part of the lighting setup sat, or rather squatted a Gardevoir, loose tank top complimenting her unkempt hair and frazzled looking natural skin dress as she looked in Emily's direction, the tingling in Braixen's head unmistakably indicating her.

Now the real question, why was she staring at her like that...

Emily gulped at the realization of the unwelcome attention being placed on her, trying to keep her own gaze away from the onlooker to not give them any more of an excuse to keep staring at her as she dove back into her phone- 

Socks: okay looking for it 

Socks: there is one line two mile walk in the dark from there and which only stops at that stop in three and five hours  

TextGoesHere: thats fucked 

TextGoesHere: how much would taxi or uber cost 

Socks: plugging it into an online calculator it ends up at like 150 or something

TextGoesHere: thats double fucked 

MMMMM: someone's staring at me here and its giving me creeps

TextGoesHere: staring or just looking?

MMMMM: staring staring, think she's been looking at me for like a minute straight now

Socks: weird but like 

Socks: maybe she's checking you out or something?

MMMMM: lol 

Emily chuckled at what she perceived to be a somewhat badly timed, though still ironically amusing joke, putting the phone back down and glancing over in the direction of her observer, the sight she saw not reassuring her any.

That Gardevoir was still staring at her, but now she was also chatting to someone else beside her, their species tricky to make out in the badly lit corner initially, but revealing themselves to be a Skuntank who has since joined in on the staring as well- never a particularly reassuring sight even at the best of times, but now it sent chills down her spine and tail.

Being visibly chatted about was disconcerting enough in normal circumstances, but Emily's were far from those, her mind immediately starting to ponder on why would be the reason for them to be chatting about her like that- and focusing on the most obvious, and most likely culprit.

Shit shit shit...

Jeff's reassurances were as good as gone from her mind at the realization that these strangers have either already figured out, or would soon figure out the truth about her, and that wasn't something that ever went well in Emily's mind.

TextGoesHere: whattcha wearing rn Em 

TextGoesHere: could be she's just taking a look at your outfit 

TextGoesHere: you have a couple eye catching tops if you're wearing either of them rn 

Socks: that or just maybe looking in your direction 

MMMMM: shit shit fuck 

MMMMM: she's still staring but now also chatting with another girl near her 

Socks: oh shit

TextGoesHere: chatting about you? 

MMMMM: way too loud at this party for me to hear 

MMMMM: both staring at me and chatting to each other how could it not be about me 

TextGoesHere: maybe just gossiping or something 

As she was typing out the next message, Emily jumped at catching a motion in the corner of her eye, a quick look over revealing the Gardevoir to have gotten up from her spot and be in the process of walking around the other partygoers towards her. Regardless of whether it was just gossip or not, Emily wasn't about to find out the hard way, fight or flight response deciding on the latter and making her quickly pick herself up and start scrambling away, tunnel visioning on the stairs next to the front door.

She wasn't sure whether she'd actually heard that Gardevoir call out to her or whether this was just crowd chatter, but it was sufficient to get her going even faster, breaking out into a panicked dash up the stairs, finding the upper floor less crowded- good most of the time, but not when she was trying to hide.

The upper floor opened up into a couple corridors with several rooms branching off of them, none of them marked in any way, Emily ending up picking for a random one in her panic and attempting to open them, hoping she wouldn't accidentally walk in on someone who was trying to sleep, possibly a relative of whoever was hosting this. Fortunately, the bedroom she'd stepped into was not just empty, but looked clean and pristine in a completely uninhabited way. Guess nobody actually lived here and the place was just rented out?

No matter the case, the sight was reassuring- unlikely anyone would end up just checking random rooms in search of her, making for a very good hiding spot, especially with one feature of the room she didn't expect to see- a balcony. It was small, sure, and if she were to actually use a chair that sat there she'd end up way too visible both from underneath and through the room's window, but just by taking a seat on the floor on the other side of the balcony she'd end up basically impossible to find unless someone knew she was there.

And... yeah, that's basically everything she could ever want really.

After having finished scrambling into the corner of the balcony and calming her racing heart down, Emily finally pulled the phone back out of her pocket, the tunes coming from her earbuds finally having a chance to be heard on their own instead of being constantly swamped out by the party music downstairs.

Socks: yeah gossip sounds like the most likely option 

Socks: sucks but what can you do 

TextGoesHere: prolly just try to move somewhere near?

Socks: yeah, that's the best way to go about it I think 

TextGoesHere: just move the next room over so that you're out of sight 

TextGoesHere: doubt they'd just follow you there 

Socks: and if they do you know to get outta there

MMMMM: oh fuck 

Socks: what's up?

MMMMM: that chick got up and started walking towards me 

TextGoesHere: oh shit 

MMMMM: panicked and got out of there, hiding off in the corner of this place 

Socks: yo that's fucked 

Socks: did she look like angry at you 

TextGoesHere: if she did that sounds scary af

MMMMM: didn't look honestly, just saw her walking at me and bailed

TextGoesHere: did she follow you? 

MMMMM: again didn't look

MMMMM: not hearing any knocking on my door and shit so I should be good right 

Socks: god I hope so 

MMMMM: especially since I hid so that even if she looked into this room she wouldn't see me 

TextGoesHere: you think she was gonna do something? 

MMMMM: sure wasn't gonna find out the hard way

Socks: yeah 

TextGoesHere: guess that's fair 

Socks: gonna try to reach Jeff and get out of here? 

MMMMM: I'm sitting on a balcony so unless I go back the visible way I'd have to jump from it 

TextGoesHere: pls no 

Socks: oh oof 

MMMMM: cmon don't worry I can just climb down it's nbd

Socks: can't you just text him tho 

TextGoesHere: still I'd rather you don't

MMMMM: fine fine 

MMMMM: last time I saw him he was dancing so I'm unsure he's even gonna be checking his phone 

TextGoesHere: if that chick isn't looking after you could just go back down the normal way and ask jeff then?

MMMMM: sure ig

MMMMM: I'm fine for now though, this spot is quite nice actually 

As she put down her phone to take a deep breath, Emily couldn't help but appreciate the weird view from this balcony, awkwardly tacked onto the side of the building. This whole area was still under development, and even the finished buildings were mostly unsold, leaving the surroundings really weirdly dark at night, especially with the small forest area bordering the villa.

Even in the middle of a party like that, she wasn't too far from the middle of nowhere on her own, nobody there to harass her...

*ping*

Oh?

The noise peaking through the tunes of her music broke through into her attention, turning her phone's screen back on and going back to the chatting app- the mysterious ping turning out to be coming from a direct message... from Jeff's account.

Huh.

PurpleLightning2001: hey emily u ok?

MMMMM: yeah I'm fine, what's up?

PurpleLightning2001: sum1 saw u run outta the room at sumthing

MMMMM: oh, yeah it's fine promise 

PurpleLightning2001: u sure?

Emily really wasn't sure whether she was sure- that whole encounter was really scary and she really, really didn't want to go back downstairs unless it was for the express purpose of getting out of here, but even she had to admit that nothing really happened to her yet.

That's not to say it wouldn't, or that that encounter wasn't a sufficient reason to get outta there in itself... but that's not how it felt to her, and just being spooked once was nowhere near the reason to ruin Jeff's night out like this.

She'd endure, for now at least...

MMMMM: yeah, I'm just chilling off to the side rn, I'm gonna be fine 

PurpleLightning2001: aight if u say so

Emily took a deep breath, glad she was at least done with that at least- dumb as her issues might have been, having them affect her friend for no reason would've made her burn up in shame ten times harder.

Just gotta chill here for a while. She could do that.

The slightly chilly but still comfortable temperature outside, the comfort of her hoodie, the ambience of party noises booming from behind and underneath her- disjointed as those stimuli might have been, they added to a somewhat relaxing end effect all in all.

Honestly, if not for her ambient anxiety still keeping her somewhat on edge, she was likely to just doze off there after a while. The techno booming in her ears didn't help either on that front of course, but that was something much more easily dealt with.

Right as she about to pull one of the earbuds out though, a familiar bit crushed noise reached her again- 

*ping* 

Another message from Jeff?

Slowly, she pulled her phone out of her pocket again and took a look at the app- finding the ping to be coming from her group chat.

Socks: @MMMMM Emily you alright?

MMMMM: yeah what's up?

Scrolling further up, she saw what was up- she had missed a couple dozen messages from her friends in her appreciation of her surroundings, most of them pondering on different possible reasons for that Gardevoir to decide to just approach her like that, the leading theory still focusing around the possibility of gossip.

Dunno whether she really looked like someone who gossips a whole lot- more like the target of gossip with her unkempt look, which was equal parts reassuring and further unnerving. She was glad to not be talked about behind her back, but it also made the question of why would she approach her like that even harder to answer.

TextGoesHere: oh good you're still here I was getting a bit worried

MMMMM: yeah yeah I'm still here sorry

Socks: did something happen Em?

TextGoesHere: yeah I was afraid for a moment that chick went and confronted you there lol 

MMMMM: oh no, dw 

MMMMM: just that like, surroundings here are really chill 

MMMMM: like forests edge 

Socks: huh 

TextGoesHere: wasn't that supposed to be a wealthier area?

MMMMM: seems this is the only actually used house in the vicinity, all other ones are dark 

Socks: almost sounds like a horror setup lol

MMMMM: no kidding 

MMMMM: it's really chill here 

TextGoesHere: guess nobody bought any of the other houses?

MMMMM: yeah 

MMMMM: this one seems to be only rented too

Socks: what's up with that 

TextGoesHere: I think they're just way overpriced and shitty so nobody's interested except big corpos or something idk 

Right as Emily was about to get to typing out her own message back, yet another *ping* reached her ears amidst the music, taking a look at the status bar and expecting to see another message from Jeff-

And instead, finding an unexpected friend request.

It's not like these were particularly rare after all- as long as you were in even a single large group you would expect to be getting spam account DMs and friend requests on an almost daily basis, and even if Emily herself wasn't on any particularly massive server, the couple decently sized ones were enough for an occasional bit of spam in her inbox.

Except... this wasn't a spam account. Verified phone number, an actual profile picture consisting of a hue shifted photo of a sunset, even a bio in place, though it mostly consisted of some kind of movie or music quote together with a bit of basic info- 24/♀/🎭💫, the couple of symbols at the end not telling her much. 

Huh.

Here goes nothing she supposed.

Hesitantly, Emily accepted the friend request, the app opening into a direct messaging chat directly with that other person- she absolutely wasn't gonna try to initiate such a sudden message like that, so it left waiting for the other person to make the first move.

Unfortunately, half a minute or so later, they did, the typing indicator popping up for a couple moments before their message presented itself:

DoubleCs: Heya

Not exactly much to go off of, especially as far as figuring out why she was added went.

MMMMM: hi?

DoubleCs: Are you doing okay now?

Oh shoot, someone from the party here? But even if, why would they add her- and more importantly, how...

MMMMM: I'm fine I guess

DoubleCs: Oh good, you got seriously scared there 

Emily didn't really recall anyone paying attention to her as she scrambled away from that Gardevoir- though then again, it's not like she was paying attention to anyone there either, could've very well just overlooked someone.

MMMMM: yeah I kinda did 

MMMMM: I'm good now though 

DoubleCs: Heh, I wouldn't have thought of myself as scary like that 

...

...

Oh fuck.

Emily felt her heart return to its alarmed pace as she read these words, the worst case scenario for this stranger DMing her suddenly confirmed, her hands beginning to shake. Why would that Gardevoir message her like that, especially after seeing her reaction like that!? It almost felt like she was being taunted, and in her panic she almost blocked that account there and then- only wavering because of a possibility of something worse, much worse happening if she were to actually go through with that, though what exactly would happen she could not say.

Even without opting for the nuclear option of just flat out blocking her, Emily was much too shook and anxious to even think about responding, switching the tabs back over to her friend chat, ignoring the discussion having veered towards something else in the meantime- 

MMMMM: fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck 

Socks: oh shit what happened Emily 

TextGoesHere: we're here Em we're here 

MMMMM: she just went and fucking messaged me on here 

Socks: wtf 

TextGoesHere: that chick who tried to approach you? 

MMMMM: yeah 

Socks: that's some fucking stalker shit wtf 

TextGoesHere: what'd she say 

MMMMM: nothing yet, just a hi for the most part

Socks: how'd she even get your acc?

TextGoesHere: yeah that's a good thing to ask no matter what 

TextGoesHere: quite weird still 

*ping* 

The sound made Emily physically wince, the dream of ignoring the problem until it decided to go away on its own dashed as she checked who had messaged her- and indeed, it turned out to be that Gardevoir. Guess she had no choice but to confront her ultimately, starting with the question suggested by her friend- 

DoubleCs: Still here Emily?

MMMMM: how tf do you know my account 

MMMMM: or my fucking name

DoubleCs: Not by mind reading if that's what you're wondering about, hah

DoubleCs: No I asked Jeff, I know him and I saw you enter shortly after him so I guessed you two knew each other and I guessed right

Guess... that wasn't a wholly unreasonable explanation, even if Emily was still creeped out to all fuck. Most importantly though, it didn't answer the big question of why she'd even go and reach out to her like that, especially after her initial reaction. There was only one way to find out really, though unfortunately for Emily, she got her answer right as she was tapping on the 'send' button- 

DoubleCs: Sorry if the random friend request creeped you out by the way, I just wanted to chat 

MMMMM: why tf did you message me anyway

MMMMM: oh 

DoubleCs: Well there's your answer, lol

DoubleCs: That and was a fair bit concerned that something bad happened after you just ran like that 

MMMMM: wanted to chat about what

MMMMM: and why did you come at me earlier like that 

Emily shook as she looked up from her phone- her kin never really felt cold in any sort of normal circumstances, but that didn't stop her from feeling a chill running down her back, worries about what might the answer to that question turn out to be keeping her breathing shallow. Of course, the rational part of her knew full well that even in an absolute worst, most likely scenario in which she was about to have slurs thrown into her face, it'd only take a block, a message to Jeff, and hopefully just a few minutes for him to notice before they'd be both out of there.

Anything worse was improbable, and she knew that, but... again, it's not like these things didn't happen at all either, every article about a hate crime like that she'd read making her want to shrivel more and more. On some days, it really felt like the world hated her and people like her, and any joy in life she would ever have would be hard earned and short lived- and even then, contingent on her passing as normal at that.

Today... it would not be one of these days.

DoubleCs: Well, because I wanted to chat? 

DoubleCs: I'm not sure what other reason could I have even had to walk up to you

DoubleCs: And as to what I wanted to chat about 

DoubleCs: Well,

DoubleCs: You're cute 

DoubleCs: And I just wanted to strike up a conversation

DoubleCs: And I still do lol 

DoubleCs: Does that answer your question?

What.

Emily could only sit there, staring dumbfounded at her phone screen as she reread these messages over and over again, words combining together to form coherent sentences, but those sentences themselves refusing to make any sense.

Her? Cute? 

She supposed some of her friends did oftentimes call her cute so it's not like there wasn't any precedent for that, but that was all online and based on what she wrote- none of them have had to deal with her in person appearance while making these comments, and this stranger basically only had her appearance to go off of...

The brief blip of silence as her playlist moved onto the next track jolted her enough to make her actually do something, though she had no idea what to even say in response to something like that, or how to even interpret it. Was it just a cruel joke of one sort of another?

Before she could manage to force out some words out of herself though, the stranger did it first- 

DoubleCs: You still here?

DoubleCs: It's fine if you're straight and not interested, just lmk

What- no- but-

How the hell did she end up in this situation. 

MMMMM: no, wait, not that, but 

MMMMM: what did you mean 

Somewhere, not too far from where Emily was sitting, a Gardevoir grinned.

DoubleCs: I meant what I wrote

DoubleCs: You're cute 

DoubleCs: And we both think that 

MMMMM: "we both"?

DoubleCs: Me and my gf, she was sitting next to me 

DoubleCs: We were checking you out before you got up and ran 

Oh.

As dumbfounding the earlier claim was, this one managed to both top that one and add a burning blush onto Emily's cheeks while at it, her heart speeding up as her hands started to shake again- for wholly different reasons this time.

Despite all this though, there was still the big Donphan in the room, one she hadn't outwardly admitted, and one that the stranger most likely hadn't picked up on yep- scratch that, definitely hadn't picked up on judging from the fact that she was still trying to chat her up. Even with everything seeming to be going supernaturally well, there was still that one fucking issue. Emily felt a couple tears roll down her cheeks at that thought- it was so fucking unfair...

Guess... guess it was just time to cut her losses and admit it there and then, no point in giving herself- or that stranger for that matter, any further false hope.

MMMMM: I'm trans though

There was a jolt of pain that went through her body at that admission, pain, but also some bitter relief at managing to just admit that and move past it. Guess she'd be sitting the rest of the party over on that balcony, might as well put on something a bit more fitting.

With a heavy sigh and damp eyes, Emily pulled up the music app and began to navigate over to the playlist menu, deciding to let the opaque algorithm throw some appropriately sad tunes at her and just mope the night away-

*ping* 

Oh boy, here come the slurs.

*ping* 

Guess that really struck a nerve, didn't it...

Emily winced at the idea of pulling up the chat app again, most of her content in letting the stranger vent the understandable anger at being deceived like that- though, since she'd have to reach back to her friends or more likely Jeff at some point tonight, there was no way of avoiding seeing that direct message chat at least for a couple moments until she could block that stranger. Let's just get that out and over with- 

DoubleCs: Yeah I know 

DoubleCs: I mean it's literally in your bio lol 

Wait, what.

MMMMM: wait what 

DoubleCs: What what 

DoubleCs: Did you forget you put that info in your bio?

MMMMM: no, but 

MMMMM: I thought you didn't know 

DoubleCs: I mean it's not obvious at a glance you pass well 

But... if she was fine with it then-

MMMMM: so you're trans too? 

DoubleCs: Nope, we're both cis 

DoubleCs: Wait 

DoubleCs: Is this what that all was about?

DoubleCs: Were you afraid of me finding out? 

Emily could only barely keep her phone from shaking out of her paws as she typed back-

MMMMM: I was afraid you already found out 

DoubleCs: And that I was gonna do something to you because of that? 

MMMMM: yeah 

DoubleCs: Like what? 

MMMMM: like 

MMMMM: harass me 

MMMMM: or assault or something 

DoubleCs: I was about to ask why would I do that but then I remembered that one story recently on the news 

DoubleCs: And I guess there are occasional transphobic fuckwads in the lesbian groups I'm in 

DoubleCs: Thank gods mods take care of them quickly every time 

DoubleCs: But still, they exist 

DoubleCs: I'm really sorry Emily 

DoubleCs: It really wasn't my intention to spook you like that 

MMMMM: it's fine 

MMMMM: I'm sorry for overreacting like that 

DoubleCs: No, no it's absolutely fine, I get that 

MMMMM: and bringing the mood down 

DoubleCs: No you haven't :p 

DoubleCs: Or 

DoubleCs: I guess maybe you did but I really don't mind, I'm just glad that worry is done away with 

DoubleCs: Hopefully

MMMMM: It is 

DoubleCs: Good!

DoubleCs: So, wanna chat? 

The Braixen's heart was racing so fast she felt like she could barely think, the situation equal parts exciting and hard to believe- was all that really happening? Really, really happening? 

MMMMM: yeah!

MMMMM: should I go back down there?

DoubleCs: We were thinking about relocating honestly 

DoubleCs: Not really feeling like dancing today and it's too loud to really talk here 

DoubleCs: Telepathy coming in handy hah 

DoubleCs: Mind if we come over to you instead? 

MMMMM: sure! 

DoubleCs: Sweet~

DoubleCs: Well, we're gonna pick ourselves up now, where did you run off to?

MMMMM: uhhh

MMMMM: one of the rooms upstairs, don't remember which one from the staircase was it I'm gonna leave the door slightly open so you can see 

DoubleCs: That works

DoubleCs: Btw

DoubleCs: You're still cute~

Oh god oh god oh god oh god 

Emily felt her heart race in her chest like it did many times earlier today, but for once, there was no anxiety left in it, no more blood chilling worry, only a warm, excited flutter. The sheer shock of it all left her staring at the screen of her phone for a few more moments before she finally gathered herself, sliding her phone into her pocket and picking herself up, the action made much harder with how wobbly her legs were all of a sudden. 

This was really happening.

With a lot more struggle than she thought it'd take, Emily staggered herself back into the empty bedroom and over to the door, paw almost slipping from the handle with how wobbly it was. She succeeded despite that, the door left ajar as she wondered what to do, where to wait for them at- the bed was the nearest seat, but with the implications and the some of the remaining self consciousness that refused to wash away, she would've really preferred anywhere else.

The balcony could work, just gotta get rid of that chair to free up space-

Before she could pick it up and start moving it back inside, Emily heard the sounds of steps coming over from the corridor, a jolt of panic sending her scrambling back to the original seat on the balcony, the tiled floor still warm.

"Alright, here's the one-"

*creak-*

Emily couldn't resist peeking around the door leading to the balcony as she heard the room's door open, the motion helping the newcomers locate her at the same time. It was too dark to tell for sure, but she could swear she saw the Gardevoir smile at her sight.

"And there's Emily~.

"Oh, where?" 

"On the balcony off to the side."

"A balcony, how fancy."

The Braixen squirmed in place as she heard them approach, the ambient light pouring from the windows underneath the balcony and lights at the front of the house leaving the alcove illuminated just enough to see their expressions as they peeked out from behind the door frame. Smiling, curious expressions.

"Oh wow this is one cool spot. Lemme just move this chair and we can cram ourselves in-"

Before Emily could even think about offering help, the piece of furniture got surrounded in a pale blue glow and hovered an inch or so off the ground, quickly getting whisked out of the way and letting the Stuntank take a seat on the other side of the balcony. As bad as the lighting was here, it still beat the colorful, confusing strobe mess downstairs, actually letting Emily make out the Skuntank's body shape- a plump, very curvy body shape, a loose tank top matching the Gardevoir's, with, which combined with a skirt and a beanie, made for a very cute look.

Cute enough for Emily to end up staring for long enough to be noticed- 

"Hey Emily~ lovely to finally get to meet you, teehee. Name's Lily-"

Emily had to blink the brief surprise away, suddenly noticing Lily's outstretched paw, hurriedly reaching to shake it as the Gardevoir picked up from where her girlfriend left off-

"Yep, it sure is. Ceecee, Cee, anything but Cecilia really."

With Lily's handshake ending, Ceecee could slip in in between her and Emily, looking over at the latter and reaching with her own hand, a wide smile on her face underneath the unkempt hair.

As nervous as she was, Emily couldn't help but smile back, even if hers was much shakier, weakly shaking the hand of the partygoer that had spooked her so thoroughly not even an hour ago, and being so, so glad she gave her a chance after all.

"N-n-n-nice t-t-to mmm-meet y-you b-b-both."

Lily's audible 'aww' made Emily's cheeks burn up in a fluster, the worried part of her beyond glad that her still mostly masculine voice did not put the two gay girls off- the opposite if anything, Cee also smiling even wider afterwards.

"You alright with touching and hugging and all that stuff Emily?"

The question that followed from Ceecee sure didn't help with quelling any of that blush either, Emily left taken aback but vehemently agreeing, she shock of it all leaving her nodding vigorously instead.

"Awesome~"

Without wasting another moment, Ceecee reached over and wrapped an arm around Emily, pulling her in until the Braixen was left resting against her shoulder, really letting her notice how much taller the Gardevoir was. 

And just how incredibly fast her own heart was beating.

"You're fucking adorable, you know Emily?"

The embarrassed squeak that left Emily's mouth succeeded at making both other girls giggle at the sound, Ceecee stroking her arm as the Braixen stared embarrassed down at the tiled balcony floor, utterly dumbfounded at how effortlessly she was being played with, while also loving it more than words could express. Fortunately for her- her thoughts and feelings expressed it perfectly well, the psychic she was cuddling into picking up on both with ease, her own expression lighting up even further.

"You haven't had many chances to cuddle like that have you?"

It didn't exactly take a mind reader to find that one out, but it helped nonetheless, particularly when it came to sensing the pang of self consciousness that shot through Emily in response to that question, Ceecee holding her even closer afterwards.

"Y-y-yeah..."

The quiet, half squeaked admission got Lily leaning forward to take a look at Emily again, another 'aww' leaving her at the sight of the smaller Braixen cuddling in an equal mix of embarrassment and appreciation, ears laying down to her sides an obvious giveaway of her emotional state.

"That's not fair Cee, you get to have her all to yourself~"

"Teehee, what, you wanna join in?"

"Duuuh~ of course, just look at her~"

At that point Emily had to start worrying about catching on fire with how intensely her cheeks burned in a mix of embarrassment and appreciation, body becoming more and more comfortable to the touch even through her hoodie with the growing chill of the night hours.

"Reminds me of you when we first met."

"H-heh, yeah. Wait~ is that why you had set your sights on her Cee~?"

"Not just because of that, but... can't say it wasn't a contributing factor."

"Pffft, you have an eye on fishing out the shyest girls out of the crowd eh?"

"Not the shyest, the cutest, not my fault the two are correlated. But- you said something about wanting to scramble in next to her right?"

It was Lily's turn to get flushed- nowhere near to the same degree as Emily of course, but the hard to see blush that had creeped onto her cheeks didn't lie.

"Yep- and I'm guessing you're gonna ask me to get up so you can move you both?"

"You know me too well."

"And I cherish that fact every day~."

As cool and in control Ceecee had felt up until this point, her girlfriend's comment finally managed to get a blush out of her as well, a quiet, excitable giggle leaving her as Lily got up and briefly walked back into the room. 

Before Emily could even attempt to get up and help with the bodily relocation, she found herself enveloped in the same glow as the chair earlier, the sensation far from unfamiliar as a whole, though much more so when it came from anyone outside her family. And to little surprise, it felt just as pleasantly tingly here, even more so if anything. A quick look to the side revealed Ceecee also being enveloped in her own aura, eyes closing as she shifted them both off to the side in one smooth motion, mental presence lingering only for a moment after they'd reached their destination before dissipating.

"Thank you~"

Lily was much too used to the light shows like that to wait even for a moment, scrambling over onto Emily's other side and sitting down, a wavering moan leaving her as her plump rear placed itself on the tiled floor.

"A fire type alright- that's one pleasantly warmed seat, teehee."

"And she's just as warm all around~"

"Time to find that one out myself~"

Without another word, Lily slid right up to Emily, her arm joining her girlfriend's in wrapping around the Braixen, excited giggles leaving her at Emily indeed turning out to be very pleasantly warm- and even cuter up close, especially as the Skuntank caught her gaze resting on her generous chest for just that bit longer than needed.

Unwelcome coming from a guy? Very much so. Cute coming from a girl, especially one as shy and clearly inexperienced as Emily? Even more so.

"Yep, warm indeed. And cute, can't forget that."

Both girlfriends chuckled some more at another flushed squeak leaving Emily's mouth, the group huddling together closer in silence for a while, Emily much too overwhelmed at the outpouring of affection to say anything, and the other two just appreciating the chill comfort of his little hideout. Eventually though, Ceecee spoke back up, hand continuing to stroke Emily's shoulder throughout.

"When you told me what got you so spooked back downstairs Emily, I rolled my eyes just a bit admittedly, though the more I think about it the more I can empathise. Not a lot of experience with people approaching you, not feeling like you can trust strangers especially with all the horrible hate crime shit popping up on the news every so often, and then someone suddenly comes up to you after staring for a while. Not sure whether I'd panic there like you, but... I definitely get why you did. Sorry for all that tangent, but I just really wanted to say-"

She pulled Emily in even closer before her hand reached up onto the Braixen's head, gently stroking her head with its tingly touch.

"-that you're a girl through and through, and if anyone ever disagrees with that, they can come over for me to show them the error of their ways. Violently."

"Damn right~ and an adorable girl at that. How long have you been on hormones?"

A direct question like that managed to make Emily break through the haze of warm loving support coming her way, even some of her stutter going away as she thought about the answer- 

"E-eight months now I-I think."

"Eight months? Goodness I would've guessed at least three years, I absolutely wouldn't have been able to tell you're not cis in a crowd."

"Yep~ hell, we didn't know until I added you and saw your profile after all. And, back on that topic... I can only imagine how scary all that might feel, that whole feel like nobody's gonna accept you in your own sexuality. But- take it from me, the queen dyke of the universe, transphobic lesbians are rare, and are not looked upon kindly even by cis lesbians. Plus they all tend to be shitty people even aside from that in my experience, heh. Which is all just a very roundabout way of admitting that I'm crushing on you hard right now~"

"Same here. Cute shy girl in the corner of a party- heart calls out to her right away, especially if she's as cute of a bean as you are- both in looks and in actions really."

"Helps that you once were on the receiving end of that too Lily eh~?"

"Guilty as charged."

As Emily sat there, so many butterflies filling her stomach that she couldn't really form sentences anymore and was at risk of being carried away, just savoring the overwhelming support and adoration from the two gorgeous girls on her side, Ceecee remembered the one thing she wanted to try immediately after spotting the trans flag on Braixen's profile, that particular trick having never failed her in any of her past hookups with other trans girls~

Slowly, she leaned in closer to Emily, mouth just a couple inches away from the Braixen's oversized ear, the proximity making it shudder as Ceecee whispered out- 

"Plus... you've been a very good girl so far~"

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