Breakfast time

Shower sex was wonderful in that the fuzzy sexual afterglow worked in tandem with the relief of feeling clean, so John was feeling pretty damn good by the time he towelled himself dry. Similarly, Red wore a smile and hummed a sweet tune, equally invigorated after their intercourse. After stepping out of the bathroom together, John made his way over to the bedroom drawer to get a clean set of clothes while Red ruffled through her backpack to find her own fresh set.

Saccharine threw a glance in their direction before pretending to be more interested in John’s computer setup. “You two sure took your sweet time,” the fairy commented.

“And you didn’t exactly seem to mind,” Red shot back with a teasing smile.

“What, so while you two bone in the shower, I’m supposed to just sit around and wait?” Saccharine blushed. “I have needs too! But I ain't see no bloody pixies around. Can’t a girl at least treat herself to a little show?!” the flustered fairy cried.

“Well, why don’t you join in next time?” Red suggested.

Saccharine’s blush deepened, and her eyes wandered over to John, or more specifically, his crotch. “M-maybe…” she relented.

John couldn’t help but wonder how sex with the fairy would even work, given their size difference, but he was certainly willing to give it a go. Something in Saccharine’s rose-coloured eyes told him she was having similar thoughts.

“Anyway,” John began, trying to rein in the conversation, back to sensible levels. “Don’t you have normal looking clothes?” he asked Red, eyeing her pseudo-fantasy getup.

“What?” Red placed her hands on her hips and pouted. “Are you suggesting I’m not cute in these clothes?”

John knew she was teasing, but felt it best to revise her understanding anyway. “Not at all, you are cute - adorably so in that cloak - but it also draws a lot of attention, which we want to avoid right now.”

Red huffed but otherwise seemed satisfied with his answer. She took off her cloak, neatly folding it and placing it in her bag before prancing over to the drawer where John stood. “Well then, mister, I demand you take me on a date.”

"A date?" John repeated dumbly.

“That’s right,” Red nodded, “we’ll go shopping; after all, I need ‘normal’ clothes.”

“Okay,” John agreed, not exactly needing an excuse to spend more time with Red. “Later today, then?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Red smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips, before turning her attention to his drawer. “Now, I hope you have something my size…”

Red began rifling through his drawers, looking for clothes that suited her. Thankfully, John’s laziness meant he wasn’t the kind of person to throw out clothes once he’d grown out of them, and Red was able to dig out a few relics of his adolescent years. She settled on an old BSG tee and a pair of jeans two sizes too big, but that issue was solved with a belt.

After promising to return with some food for Saccharine, John and Red made their way back downstairs for breakfast. John’s mom had just finished frying some bacon and eggs in the pan, and she served them both a plate full on toast.

Red’s mouth watered, and her eyes gleamed with joy as the plate was placed in front of her. She immediately dove into the bacon, stuffing her mouth full of crispy delight, barely swallowing it before her mouth was once again full, this time with eggs on toast. It was almost impressive how efficiently she vacuumed the plate; the problem was, she now had her heart set on John’s. Her eyes, large and round, pleaded with John like a puppy. It was simply too cute, and John caved, letting her snatch a portion from his plate.

“My oh my, it seems like the two of you worked up quite the appetite in the shower,” Brenda winked as she laid fresh strips of bacon in the pan. “So, Charlie, your accent sounds British, are you from there?”

“Yup, I’m from Liverpool,” Red lied in reply. “I’ve only recently moved here, and Johnny’s been such a gentleman, showing me around town.”

“Oh? So that’s why you’ve been skipping school?” his mother asked with a light clap of her hands. “Why didn’t you say so?”

John didn’t quite understand how it made a difference; whether it was with a girl or not, skipping school was still skipping school. ‘Well, as long as she’s satisfied, I guess,’ John shrugged.

“However,” she continued firmly, “you will be attending school today. And if I get a single call about you missing classes or getting into fights again, I will ground you.”

‘Sorry, Mom. Being grounded is a lot more preferable to being dead,’ John thought, hoping nothing on his face betrayed his plans. He fully intended on grinding levels in preparation for the inevitable hunting party Vulpis would send after him. There was no way he was going to be twiddling his thumbs until they arrived.

“Okay, Mom,” John agreed out loud, feigning disappointment so as not to appear suspicious. He continued to eat his breakfast while subtly storing a serving of eggs and bacon in his inventory for Saccharine. Once he’d finished, he and Red excused themselves and went back upstairs.

“So…” Saccharine said in between a mouthful of egg, “how’re you planning on not dying? Or more importantly, keeping that cocksucking mutt, Vulpis, away from Red?”

"Well, first I have a quest to complete," John explained. "It'll give me a chunk of easy XP, and from there I'll grind levels. I might not have a baseline for how strong Vulpis is, but getting stronger can't hurt. And as far as protecting Red goes, I'm hoping a friend of mine will be able to help us out."

“Friend?”

“Yeah. As far as I understand, she’s an important figure in a fairly powerful organisation,” John replied, picking up his phone. “Hold on one sec, I’m gonna call her…”

He found Moira’s number in his saved contacts and clicked on the dial button. “What is it, John? Is there some sort of emergency?” Moira’s voice filtered through the phone

“Emergency? Yeah, you could say that… but wait, how’d you know it was me calling?” John asked.

“Very few have my number,” Moira replied. “Either it was a solicitor calling about a fridge I should buy or it was you. Now, what is the emergency?

John laughed at the unexpected sense of humour, in Moira of all people. “Well…” John began, “I may or may not have had my life threatened by a homicidal, **** werewolf and also need to protect his daughter…”