It was, all things considered, a Good Week. One of those weeks that she was going to carry with her for a long time. She had expected to feel different about Serena and Tony now that she was Alyssa but when it came to that, not a lot had changed. Looking back, they’d always just had sleepovers. That she was a girl didn’t really play into it. They didn’t even treat her all that differently. They still bullied her, even though she had very little difficulty throwing them off now.
It was fun, dazzling them. A lot of time was spent in the hotel room, seeing what Redshift was and wasn’t capable of. She could stand on one hand and do a push-up like that, which was cool as hell until she fell over on top of Serena, who discovered just how light she was by lifting her. They took turns benching each other for a bit. Wall-walking and crawling was the perfect combination of cool and creepy, and while the upside-down high five was fun, it was the upside-down-trying-to-drink-a-glass-of-water that was the real winner.
When she got the water out of her nose, she did a bunch of backflips, tried (and failed) to fold one of the Icelandic Krona, a big coin with several fish on it, and they tried to see how much control Amaranth had over Alyssa’s appearance by seeing what kind of hair styles they could give her.
There was also good f–
Well, there was food. Icelandic cuisine was not, as it turned out, their thing, although the little folded donuts called Angel Wings were pretty nice. But for the most part, they stuck to the safe food. Whatever Hákarl was, she didn’t want any of it.
Mom was actually quite busy. Translating was a big job, and she had thrown herself into it completely. On the second day, she actually saw her mom wearing a dress shirt and a headset. It was like she was a different person. But the most staggering thing was how passionate she was, too, studying in the evenings to make sure she understood all of the material perfectly, going above and beyond the actual requirements of the job. She spent a lot of time with Victoria and Max, working on things.
It was the first time Alyssa had seen her mom interact with peers like this. Come to think of it, other than Tony and Serena’s parents, Mom didn’t really have friends she regularly interacted with. Seeing her go over conference plans during brunch and hanging off the other women’s every word and occasionally taking notes, laughing at jokes.
She looks happy. Amaranth was either picking up on the warm feeling in Alyssa’s stomach, or she was feeling it too. But yeah. She really did. Her mom actually thriving was not something she had expected to see, and she couldn’t stop smiling about it.
However, she needed to get in some time with her own people. They went sight-seeing on the third day. Max drove them up to the famous volcano (which was not all that impressive when it wasn’t doing the whole volcano thing). Seeing the gorgeous landscapes. Visiting the lakes was marred only slightly by a stray hot dog wrapper. A little sign that they weren’t the first here, something that could have been easily forgotten otherwise. Iceland felt like wilderness. It would feel like that even more in a few years, when the Iceland Reforestation Project showed its results.
Maxine was happy to wait by the car while Redshift soared over the lake, stretching her wings out here. If the landscape was beautiful on foot, it was stunning when zipping above it. She flew close to the water, dipping the tip of her wing just enough to cause a slight splash. The wind here was cold and crisp, played with her hair. It was a welcome change from the heat wave she’d been enduring back in Lockridge.
Of course, Serena wanted a ride, too. Careful, holding on tightly not to drop them, she took them flying too. Not as high, of course, and a lot slower, but that didn’t keep Serena from whooping as they sheared past Anthony, who smacked Serena’s hand as they passed by. When they landed, Serena was out of breath and her nose was red from the cold, but she didn’t seem to care one bit, jumping up and down.
She kept biting her lip whenever she looked at Alyssa. I’m sure it’s nothing. Shut up.
“I’m shaking!” Serena said excitedly, holding up her hand. “Look!” She laughed, and Alyssa and Tony couldn’t help but laugh along too. There was a brief but infinite moment of perfection, standing there in the middle of nowhere. Nothing existed except the three of them. Tony took a step closer to Alyssa.
“Oh? Do you want a tu-wuaugh!” In one swift motion, he swept her off her feet, and automatically she found herself wrapping her arms around his neck. A small voice in the back of her head named Amy reminded her that this was called a bridal carry. “How dare–” she started, and then her voice caught in her throat when she saw his expression. When the fuck had he learned how to smoulder? “–you,” she whispered.
“Like this,” he said, and pulled her slightly closer. About halfway. She crossed the rest of the distance and pulled his stupid, pretty face against her own.
Alyssa had never kissed. Well, not properly. It was awkward and weird and their noses bumped into each other and the angle wasn’t ideal and then suddenly everything clicked and it was a kiss. It was the kind of kiss that started in the back of her head and spread to her belly and then from there sort of vaguely detonated outward into every limb.
Amaranth was quiet, but content, coiled around her mind like a protective blanket in case of panic or anxiety. There wasn’t any. Alyssa was barely present. Her mind had gone for a walk. Whatever was left was too busy kissing boy. She stopped when a giggle rose in her throat. Anthony smiled into her lips and gently put her down.
“I– Wow,” she said, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She was weak in the knees, and her breathing was shallow and stuttering. He nodded.
“Yeah,” Anthony said. “Wow.” His lopsided smile, his hand still resting on her hip, it was all too much. Alyssa needed fresh air and she turned around, breathing deep and smacking into someone.
“What?” Serena said. “Did you really think you were done? Did you really think you’d be off the hook that easy?” Before Alyssa could say a word, Serena grabbed her face and kissed her so hard it made her head spin. The difference between the way her two – friends? Calling them friends felt wrong now – kissed was night and day. Tony was soft and tender, in a careful way. Serena, by comparison, was all passion, her fingers running through Alyssa’s hair, like she was worried she would never get another chance.
For the second time, Alyssa’s mind was blown. Not even Amaranth’s amused background giggles were enough to distract her from Serena’s affection. After what felt like an eternity-and-one seconds, she practically fell backwards. If Tony and his strong arms hadn’t been standing there, she might have fallen over.
“What– what’s happening?” she said. “This isn’t how, I mean, isn’t this, what do, help?”
“I think we broke her,” Anthony said.
“Witty retort,” Serena said, panting. “Sorry. Brain fizzled too.” The two of them made eye contact for a second. “You okay?” she asked. Anthony nodded as he helped Alyssa stand back up.
“You?”
“Yeah.” The two of them turned their attention back to Alyssa.
“I’m fine too,” she said. “Thanks for asking.”
“Yeah you are,” Serena said with a mischievous smirk.
“What was that?” Alyssa said. “You, you two, you just ambushed me like that! And both of you! And then you! And the kissing! The! And the!” You know, I could help, but this is so much more entertaining. This is all on you.
“You told us you like both of us,” Tony said, draping a casual arm over Serena’s shoulder. The two looked like partners in crime. “So we talked about it. It took us a moment to really come to an agreement because, well, you know, both of us like you too, you absolute dumbass.” He smirked.
Serena crossed her arms and nodded. “So we talked about what to do next. We can’t exactly cut you in half and like, sure, I had a crush on Redshift first, but Tony had a thing for you first.” She held up a hand. “Don’t get me wrong, you were always like, cute, and there were some complicated feelings there, but those got a lot easier to figure out when it turned out you were a girl. Point is, you want both of us. We both want you.”
They looked at each other and nodded. “So we agreed. It’s both or neither,” Tony said.
“Oh,” Alyssa said. “Uh. Um. Okay.” A blush creeped up on her cheeks but she didn’t care. Both? Was that an option? Why had nobody ever told her that was an option? Was she supposed to just know you weren’t always supposed to choose? “How?” she said.
“Dunno,” Serena said, shrugging. “We’ll figure it out.”
“Are the two of you…” Alyssa asked.
“Nah. There’s nothing here,” Serena said, shaking her head, gently shoving Tony in the ribs. “We talked about it but he’s too much of a guy for me.” She leaned forward conspiratorially. “And he only has eyes for you anyway. I’ve seen the way he looks at you for a long time now, and it’s never not been really precious.”
“Eep,” Alyssa said. “Let’s, uh, let’s head, um, back to the car?” She needed to do something, to move, or she was going to spontaneously combust, and it was the only thing she could think to say. When the other two took one of her hands each, it was different than it had been before. No worry they were going to lose each other. Not squeezing a hand for reassurance. As fingers intertwined with her, Alyssa was coming to the mind-destroying conclusion she was holding the hands of her girlfriend and her boyfriend.
“Question,” Tony said casually. “How long have you had feelings for me? For us?”
“Hmm,” Alyssa said, on the one hand glad for the distraction and on the other hand a little embarrassed. “I think middle school and grade school. You know, respectively.”
“That’s as long as we’ve known each other, Aly,” Serena said.
“I’m aware of that,” she said, hiding her head in the collar of her coat like a turtle.
“Have you been pining for us for all these years? Really? And you didn’t say anything?” Tony said. “God, you’re such a disaster. I’m glad we finally made a move.”
“Hey!” Alyssa said. “I’m the one who confessed to you first!”
“Were you actually going to do anything, though?” Serena said.
“Well… no,” she confessed. As they got to the car, Maxine did not utter a single solitary word. The smug look on her face did all the talking for her. The ride back was uneventful and yet one of the tensest of her life. She sat between the two of them, never stopped holding hands for anything but to put on seat belts. Occasionally, one of them would run a thumb over her skin or reach over to kiss her on the cheek, setting her skin on fire all over again.
When they got back, her mom seemed to know what was going on before anyone even said anything. Her eyes lit up and she smiled wider than Alyssa had seen her do in years, maybe ever.
“Thank god,” Lauren said as she looked at Alyssa, Serena and Tony, hands on her hips. “I thought you three would keep dancing around each other forever.” Her smile twitched for just a second. “She’s staying in my room now, though.”
It was, all things considered, a Good Week. One of those weeks that she was going to carry with her for a long time. She had expected to feel different about Serena and Tony now that she was Alyssa but when it came to that, not a lot had changed. Looking back, they’d always just had sleepovers. That she was a girl didn’t really play into it. They didn’t even treat her all that differently. They still bullied her, even though she had very little difficulty throwing them off now.
It was fun, dazzling them. A lot of time was spent in the hotel room, seeing what Redshift was and wasn’t capable of. She could stand on one hand and do a push-up like that, which was cool as hell until she fell over on top of Serena, who discovered just how light she was by lifting her. They took turns benching each other for a bit. Wall-walking and crawling was the perfect combination of cool and creepy, and while the upside-down high five was fun, it was the upside-down-trying-to-drink-a-glass-of-water that was the real winner.
When she got the water out of her nose, she did a bunch of backflips, tried (and failed) to fold one of the Icelandic Krona, a big coin with several fish on it, and they tried to see how much control Amaranth had over Alyssa’s appearance by seeing what kind of hair styles they could give her.
There was also good f–
Well, there was food. Icelandic cuisine was not, as it turned out, their thing, although the little folded donuts called Angel Wings were pretty nice. But for the most part, they stuck to the safe food. Whatever Hákarl was, she didn’t want any of it.
Mom was actually quite busy. Translating was a big job, and she had thrown herself into it completely. On the second day, she actually saw her mom wearing a dress shirt and a headset. It was like she was a different person. But the most staggering thing was how passionate she was, too, studying in the evenings to make sure she understood all of the material perfectly, going above and beyond the actual requirements of the job. She spent a lot of time with Victoria and Max, working on things.
It was the first time Alyssa had seen her mom interact with peers like this. Come to think of it, other than Tony and Serena’s parents, Mom didn’t really have friends she regularly interacted with. Seeing her go over conference plans during brunch and hanging off the other women’s every word and occasionally taking notes, laughing at jokes.
She looks happy. Amaranth was either picking up on the warm feeling in Alyssa’s stomach, or she was feeling it too. But yeah. She really did. Her mom actually thriving was not something she had expected to see, and she couldn’t stop smiling about it.
However, she needed to get in some time with her own people. They went sight-seeing on the third day. Max drove them up to the famous volcano (which was not all that impressive when it wasn’t doing the whole volcano thing). Seeing the gorgeous landscapes. Visiting the lakes was marred only slightly by a stray hot dog wrapper. A little sign that they weren’t the first here, something that could have been easily forgotten otherwise. Iceland felt like wilderness. It would feel like that even more in a few years, when the Iceland Reforestation Project showed its results.
Maxine was happy to wait by the car while Redshift soared over the lake, stretching her wings out here. If the landscape was beautiful on foot, it was stunning when zipping above it. She flew close to the water, dipping the tip of her wing just enough to cause a slight splash. The wind here was cold and crisp, played with her hair. It was a welcome change from the heat wave she’d been enduring back in Lockridge.
Of course, Serena wanted a ride, too. Careful, holding on tightly not to drop them, she took them flying too. Not as high, of course, and a lot slower, but that didn’t keep Serena from whooping as they sheared past Anthony, who smacked Serena’s hand as they passed by. When they landed, Serena was out of breath and her nose was red from the cold, but she didn’t seem to care one bit, jumping up and down.
She kept biting her lip whenever she looked at Alyssa. I’m sure it’s nothing. Shut up.
“I’m shaking!” Serena said excitedly, holding up her hand. “Look!” She laughed, and Alyssa and Tony couldn’t help but laugh along too. There was a brief but infinite moment of perfection, standing there in the middle of nowhere. Nothing existed except the three of them. Tony took a step closer to Alyssa.
“Oh? Do you want a tu-wuaugh!” In one swift motion, he swept her off her feet, and automatically she found herself wrapping her arms around his neck. A small voice in the back of her head named Amy reminded her that this was called a bridal carry. “How dare–” she started, and then her voice caught in her throat when she saw his expression. When the fuck had he learned how to smoulder? “–you,” she whispered.
“Like this,” he said, and pulled her slightly closer. About halfway. She crossed the rest of the distance and pulled his stupid, pretty face against her own.
Alyssa had never kissed. Well, not properly. It was awkward and weird and their noses bumped into each other and the angle wasn’t ideal and then suddenly everything clicked and it was a kiss. It was the kind of kiss that started in the back of her head and spread to her belly and then from there sort of vaguely detonated outward into every limb.
Amaranth was quiet, but content, coiled around her mind like a protective blanket in case of panic or anxiety. There wasn’t any. Alyssa was barely present. Her mind had gone for a walk. Whatever was left was too busy kissing boy. She stopped when a giggle rose in her throat. Anthony smiled into her lips and gently put her down.
“I– Wow,” she said, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She was weak in the knees, and her breathing was shallow and stuttering. He nodded.
“Yeah,” Anthony said. “Wow.” His lopsided smile, his hand still resting on her hip, it was all too much. Alyssa needed fresh air and she turned around, breathing deep and smacking into someone.
“What?” Serena said. “Did you really think you were done? Did you really think you’d be off the hook that easy?” Before Alyssa could say a word, Serena grabbed her face and kissed her so hard it made her head spin. The difference between the way her two – friends? Calling them friends felt wrong now – kissed was night and day. Tony was soft and tender, in a careful way. Serena, by comparison, was all passion, her fingers running through Alyssa’s hair, like she was worried she would never get another chance.
For the second time, Alyssa’s mind was blown. Not even Amaranth’s amused background giggles were enough to distract her from Serena’s affection. After what felt like an eternity-and-one seconds, she practically fell backwards. If Tony and his strong arms hadn’t been standing there, she might have fallen over.
“What– what’s happening?” she said. “This isn’t how, I mean, isn’t this, what do, help?”
“I think we broke her,” Anthony said.
“Witty retort,” Serena said, panting. “Sorry. Brain fizzled too.” The two of them made eye contact for a second. “You okay?” she asked. Anthony nodded as he helped Alyssa stand back up.
“You?”
“Yeah.” The two of them turned their attention back to Alyssa.
“I’m fine too,” she said. “Thanks for asking.”
“Yeah you are,” Serena said with a mischievous smirk.
“What was that?” Alyssa said. “You, you two, you just ambushed me like that! And both of you! And then you! And the kissing! The! And the!” You know, I could help, but this is so much more entertaining. This is all on you.
“You told us you like both of us,” Tony said, draping a casual arm over Serena’s shoulder. The two looked like partners in crime. “So we talked about it. It took us a moment to really come to an agreement because, well, you know, both of us like you too, you absolute dumbass.” He smirked.
Serena crossed her arms and nodded. “So we talked about what to do next. We can’t exactly cut you in half and like, sure, I had a crush on Redshift first, but Tony had a thing for you first.” She held up a hand. “Don’t get me wrong, you were always like, cute, and there were some complicated feelings there, but those got a lot easier to figure out when it turned out you were a girl. Point is, you want both of us. We both want you.”
They looked at each other and nodded. “So we agreed. It’s both or neither,” Tony said.
“Oh,” Alyssa said. “Uh. Um. Okay.” A blush creeped up on her cheeks but she didn’t care. Both? Was that an option? Why had nobody ever told her that was an option? Was she supposed to just know you weren’t always supposed to choose? “How?” she said.
“Dunno,” Serena said, shrugging. “We’ll figure it out.”
“Are the two of you…” Alyssa asked.
“Nah. There’s nothing here,” Serena said, shaking her head, gently shoving Tony in the ribs. “We talked about it but he’s too much of a guy for me.” She leaned forward conspiratorially. “And he only has eyes for you anyway. I’ve seen the way he looks at you for a long time now, and it’s never not been really precious.”
“Eep,” Alyssa said. “Let’s, uh, let’s head, um, back to the car?” She needed to do something, to move, or she was going to spontaneously combust, and it was the only thing she could think to say. When the other two took one of her hands each, it was different than it had been before. No worry they were going to lose each other. Not squeezing a hand for reassurance. As fingers intertwined with her, Alyssa was coming to the mind-destroying conclusion she was holding the hands of her girlfriend and her boyfriend.
“Question,” Tony said casually. “How long have you had feelings for me? For us?”
“Hmm,” Alyssa said, on the one hand glad for the distraction and on the other hand a little embarrassed. “I think middle school and grade school. You know, respectively.”
“That’s as long as we’ve known each other, Aly,” Serena said.
“I’m aware of that,” she said, hiding her head in the collar of her coat like a turtle.
“Have you been pining for us for all these years? Really? And you didn’t say anything?” Tony said. “God, you’re such a disaster. I’m glad we finally made a move.”
“Hey!” Alyssa said. “I’m the one who confessed to you first!”
“Were you actually going to do anything, though?” Serena said.
“Well… no,” she confessed. As they got to the car, Maxine did not utter a single solitary word. The smug look on her face did all the talking for her. The ride back was uneventful and yet one of the tensest of her life. She sat between the two of them, never stopped holding hands for anything but to put on seat belts. Occasionally, one of them would run a thumb over her skin or reach over to kiss her on the cheek, setting her skin on fire all over again.
When they got back, her mom seemed to know what was going on before anyone even said anything. Her eyes lit up and she smiled wider than Alyssa had seen her do in years, maybe ever.
“Thank god,” Lauren said as she looked at Alyssa, Serena and Tony, hands on her hips. “I thought you three would keep dancing around each other forever.” Her smile twitched for just a second. “She’s staying in my room now, though.”
