Learning a few things

Authors Note: Trigger warning. This chapter will cover some very serious topics, including one of the characters talking about their previous struggles with suicidal thoughts. You have been warned

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Not long after I started scrolling through my Facebook feed, Maddie came in. I notice that she changed into a skirt after we got home, and it seems to be flipping and bouncing a lot more than it usually does, giving me frequent glimpses of her red lacy panties she put on. I smile, thinking about how quickly my life has morphed into something out of an ecchi harem anime, and pat the couch next to me. "Lets put on some TV while we wait, I'll stroke your hair," to which she gives a very happy nya, and plops herself down, laying her head in my lap. She starts purring almost as soon as my hand hits her head, and she doesn't even seem to fight her hand going to toy with her nipple this time.

About a half hour later, there's a knock on the door, and Maddie hops up to go let them in. Ellie and Tess come in, carrying boxes of takeout. As a surprised Tess gives Maddie a short kiss on the lips, I notice Ellie is soaking wet. I raise my eyebrows at her, and she blushes, explaining "Ellie-chan and Tess-chan were going through the park to get the food, when Ellie-chan slipped on a fucking banana peel someone left lying around, and fell into the pond. Ellie-chan is just glad we hadn't gotten the food yet, or else it some of it would have been ruined."

I actually laugh a little at that, and say "It might be best if you stick to the non-fragile stuff with the unpacking, Ellie."

She actually glares at me, "Don't forget you're the one responsible for Ellie-chan being this way, Matt-kun. Her klutziness is entirely your fault, as is this ridiculous way she's been talking for the last few days."

I just smile at that, "I think you sound cute, Ellie-chan," and give her a wink, leading to her blushing again.

"Ummmm, Matt?" I look over at Tess, who continues "Why did I kiss Maddie when we arrived?" I give her a gentle smile, and explain about the new customization I bought for her. Her eyes widen, and she asks "So, I'm going to kiss _everyone _I greet from now on?"

"Yeah. Though if you end up not enjoying it, there is actually something I can do about it now," and I explain about the swap feature that the new update brought in.

Ellie looks at me excitedly, "So you can make Ellie-chan talk normally again?"

I look at her, and say "I can, and if you really haven't been enjoying it, I will, but I meant what I said before. I think it's cute." She blushes yet again, and mutters that she can give it a few more days at least. I smile at that, then clap my hands together and say "Come on, lets get to the boxes, then we can enjoy our food while we watch the show."

With the four of us working together, it actually only takes about 20 minutes to finish. As we are working, though, I notice Ellie's underwear seems to be riding up above her jeans every time she bends over, giving me little glimpses of what looks like pink satin. I also notice that whenever I look towards Tess, she seems to be bending at the waist, giving me a good look at her cute little ass. Ecchi Life definitely seems to be living up to my expectations.

After we finish unpacking, we get the food divvied up, and I get Slayers going again. Dinner is nice, with all of us seeming to have a good time. After we finish eating, Maddie gives me a sidelong look, and mentions "I think I'm gonna relax with a smoke, you want to join me?"

Ellie looks at her, surprised "You smoke? You know how bad that is for you, right?"

Maddie gives a slight smile, "Oh, that's not the kind of smoke I was talking about," and I let her know that I'd be willing to have a couple puffs. She heads into her room, and comes out a few minutes later with a glass pipe loaded with some fresh green. Ellie's eyes widen a bit with understanding. Maddie lights up and takes a nice deep breath, before handing the pipe to me for the same. After I take mine, I motion to Ellie, silently asking if she wants some. She declines, but surprisingly Tess asks for one, so I hand it over to her.

We just enjoy each others company for a while, occasionally passing the pipe back and forth, before Maddie turns to the two of them and says, "So I've been wondering, how did you two meet anyways?"

Tess looks at Ellie shyly, and Ellie gives her an encouraging nod, so she shyly explains, "Well, to be honest, she quite literally saved my life." Maddie and I both sit up at this, and look at her, giving her our full attention.

She continues "Ellie told you about me being trans, and how I figured it our when I was 15, but didn't come out until a few years later. Well, lets just say it was absolute hell when I did. All my classmates turned into monsters about it, teasing and bullying me constantly. Most of my friends didn't even try to help, preferring to pretend like nothing was happening, and one of them even joined in with it. My family wasn't much help either, thinking it was 'just a phase I was going through', and being completely dismissive of it all. It got so bad that one day I was sitting on a bench in the park, watching the pigeons, trying to figure out how many of my dad's sleeping pills I would need to take to not wake up again."

She looked back over at Ellie, placing her hand on hers, continuing "That was when an angel appeared. She just sat down next to me, and started talking with me. Didn't ask anything more personal than my name, didn't try to offer any platitudes or empty words of comfort. Just talked."

Ellie smiled at that, adding "Ellie-chan could see you needed someone, but didn't want you to feel pressured at all."

Tess nodded, and continued "We talked for what felt like hours, about nothing and everything. For the first time in a long time, I didn't feel like I had to hide or act around someone. When I had to head home, she asked me to meet her for coffee the next day, and I gladly agreed. We spent so much time together over the next week, and she helped me learn a lot about myself as well. She became the support I needed to get through it all," she leaned up against Ellie's side, then continues, "Things have gotten a lot better. I cut out all the fake 'friends' from my life, and most of my family has accepted that this is who I am."

"Most?" I ask

She gets a slightly sad look on her face, and explains "We have an unspoken rule at home, that when dad is around I pretend to not be a girl."

Ellie gets an annoyed look on her face, "Ellie-chan keeps telling you to just lay it down, tell him this is who you are, and if he doesn't like it he doesn't need to be part of your life."

"I know, but he's my dad. I have faith he'll come around soon." She looks around at the rest of us, and adds on "Sorry to bring things down, I'm sure you didn't need to get burdened with my personal issues."

I wave my hand, "No, it's all good. I feel like we're closer because we know now, and if I'm going to help you finish transitioning, it's good for me to know more about you. But I know what you're meaning, lets just let things lie for now and enjoy the rest of our night together."

Tess nods, then looks up at Ellie, "Ummm, do you think it would be okay if I...." and Ellie nods, giving a slight smile. Tess smiles back, then pulls her hand up, and gives her thumb a slow, sensuous lick before putting it in her mouth. I pat my lap, and Maddie lays her head down again, and we just spend the rest of the evening enjoying watching Lina and Naga's exploits.