miracle crystal dancing jewel, spin!

[incanted]

Bella goes to bed, happily exhausted. She can make stuff! Not a lot of stuff, not yet, but still. She will be able to solve Brilliance's food problem and if she can figure out how to scale up she will be able to solve the world's food problem.

The next day is, alas, also a school day. She bids Brilliance good morning while she brushes out her hair. +Hey you.+

Comments

[cardistry]

A few minutes later, he says to both of them, +Okay, I'm good to go.+

[incanted]

+Okay, c'mere.+

[cardistry]

He teleports into Bella's lap.

[incanted]

Bella pockets him.

School happens.

She is occasionally distracted by thinking about the thing she said she'd think about.

[cardistry]

Brilliance remains comfortably in her pocket the whole time.

[incanted]

School ends; Lexi goes home with Jessica today and Bella drives home alone. "Leaning towards yes, but on the condition that you don't inform - by any channel of information, no insinuations or meaningful looks or significant pauses - Lexi or Charlie. It'd be their business if I acquired a boyfriend, but if I'm just having sex one time because it sounds like it might be pleasant that's another matter."

[cardistry]

"...Okay," he says. "I'll try not to. I don't actually know how good a liar I am. That good enough?"

[incanted]

"Well, you don't really have a lot of conversations with them anyway, so the standard for how good a liar you have to be isn't high, and anyway I don't mean lying. Like, literally no one in the world has had sex with me, and also literally no one in the world goes around stating, 'I have not had sex with Bella Swan! No sir!', so, you know, that is not exactly the form that discretion takes here."

[cardistry]

"I mean I don't know how good I am at pretending something isn't true when I know it is," he says. "I haven't really had to do much of it before. I don't know how I might accidentally let somebody know, but if I don't know how then it's harder not to do it, see what I mean?"

[incanted]

"Well, default to magephone when we're not alone? You do that anyway, it won't look weird."

[cardistry]

"Sure, okay," he says agreeably.

[incanted]

"Okay then." Pause. "Huh, I expected this to feel more momentous. Interesting."

[cardistry]

"Huh," says Brilliance. "Why?"

[incanted]

"There's a fair amount of cultural baggage associated with the first time somebody has sex. Mostly girls," shrugs Bella. "It's stupid, but I expected it to have more subtle effects on me than it appears to."

[cardistry]

"Oh," says Brilliance. "Yeah, I guess I've seen some of that."

[incanted]

"So apparently I'm a little more insulated from toxic memes than I thought, go me."

She parks the car, looks around, and says, "Nobody'll see us go if we head for Planet Rainbowsand now."

[cardistry]

"Okay," says Brilliance. "Should we bring a blanket or something, though? I mean, sand's pretty comfy, but it gets in places."

[incanted]

"Oh, good point." She hops out of the car, goes inside, and locates a picnic blanket. And, after a moment's thought, a packet of tissues.

[cardistry]

"Okay, all set?"

[incanted]

"Yup."

[cardistry]

He activates the dimensional transfer, then slides out of her pocket and shifts human. Out of habit, he includes clothes.

[incanted]

Bella spreads out the picnic blanket.

And sits on it. And looks thoughtful.

[cardistry]

He plops down beside her and gives her a hug, leaning his head on her shoulder.

[incanted]

Snuggles! These are probably part of the normal course of events, right?

[cardistry]

Yes! Also they are fun.

"I've never kissed anybody before, either," he says lazily. And then giggles. "Well, not on the mouth. You wanna?"