With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

“What a day,” Vivian muttered under her breath as she trudged back to her room. Normally she would have been stoked about the fact that she was staying in the Fashion Suite now, but after the long challenge they’d gone through, following a disappointing result in the Popularity Poll, on top of the revelation that their new host was an evil version of Mary and that she’d taken Nick away to parts unknown?

It was kind of hard to feel the positive vibes.

But that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to try. She picked up the pace and caught up with her roommate, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin.

She looked like she was having an even worse evening than Vivian. The mute woman’s lovely features were twisted with rage, and she radiated a silent fury from every cell of her body that warned anyone with good sense to stay far, far away from her.

But no one had ever accused Vivian of having good sense before, and they weren’t about to start now.

“Hey, uh, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin, it’s alright,” Vivian said, trying to soothe her roommate as they approached the suite. “I know that Echo woman isn’t going to do anything to Nick. Why would she? After all, the show would definitely get worse ratings if the master is suffering, right?” She pointed out.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin slowly turned towards her, and the anger in her blue eyes was now directed right at Vivian.

Whelp. So much for that. Vivian didn’t know how she’d messed up, but she figured that she probably had said something wrong. Whenever someone was upset with her, she was usually the one to blame, after all.

But that was never enough to stop her before.

“I know! How about when we get back to the room, we order in some ice cream before bed? Wouldn’t that be fun?” She tried, knowing how fond the assassin was of the sweet treat, and hoping to soothe her mood somehow.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin just picked up the pace and ignored her.

Vivian’s heart sank, and she sighed. “I get it, she’s worried about Nick… but she didn’t have to be so hostile to me about it. We’re at the bottom of the popularity rankings, we should be working together to figure something out.”

Maybe it was shallow of Vivian to be worried about her popularity when Nick was missing, but she sincerely believed that Nick would be alright. She knew that Mary wouldn’t do anything to harm him, evil or not.

Or maybe she had just convinced herself that was the case because she was too afraid to imagine the alternative.

Either way, making friends with the assassin wasn’t going well. And Vivian wanted it to go well! She didn’t like the fact that the two of them were sitting at the bottom, and she would feel bad if she raised her own popularity in the eyes of the audience while the other girl remained where she was.

But she could acknowledge that maybe Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin had a point, and this wasn’t what she should be focusing on right now.

The two girls walked into their suite, and when they saw what was waiting for them there, they froze for a moment.

Vivian couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw who was standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, among the mannequins. “…Nick…”

In the second it took her to say that, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin had already flung herself across the room, charging at Nick in desperation. In a silent yell of joy she threw her arms around him and held on in a tight hug, knocking him down onto the bed.

The sudden movement shook Vivian the rest of the way out of her stupor and she rushed over the bed, confused, amazed, and relieved. “Nick! Oh my gosh! You-you’re alright!” She exclaimed, reaching the two of them and looking down at them in shock. “How? Wh-what did that woman want with you? Why are you here?”

That was the part that confused Vivian the most. She was happy to see Nick was okay, but she had no idea why he would come here, to the Fashion Suite. (Well, aside from the obvious reasons he would need to come here, like the low-effort and unflattering clothes he always wore, but she figured it probably wasn’t that.)

“It-it’s complicated,” Nick said, trying to sit up. A difficult ask with Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin clinging to him so forcefully. But he couldn’t really shake her off, either. “I just… look, um, can you let go, please?” He asked the assassin sweetly.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin shook her head adamantly against his chest and tightened her grip instead.

Nick sighed and hung his head. “I’m gonna have trouble breathing if you keep this up,” he told the overjoyed girl. “Please let me go? I’d really appreciate it.”

Her arms immediately released and she sat up straight, sitting dutifully beside him while gazing into his eyes with adoration and relief.

Vivian was a little stunned. She knew that Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin cared about Nick a lot, but seeing it this close was a bit of a revelation to her. It reminded her almost of how her horses would perk up whenever she entered the stable, responding attentively to her presence.

Nick gave the assassin a small smile to show he acknowledged her gesture and that he was happy to see her, too. But then he turned his attention to Vivian.

Whatever he had come here to talk about, it must have involved her somehow. That was what she guessed based on the hesitant look in his eye.

Heart pounding, she forced herself to relax, giving him a charming smile. “So what’s up, Nick?” She cocked her hip to the side. “Gonna answer my questions any time soon?”

Keep it cool. Casual. Like you didn’t just spend the last twenty minutes freaking out about the possibility that you might never see him again.

“First, I gotta apologize for barging in here like this,” Nick said. “I thought it would be better to wait in your room than just wait for you in the hallway, given how you guys must have seen me get poofed away by Echo like that.”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s reaction had proved he’d probably made the right call. Vivian could just imagine how the other girls would have reacted if they returned to the common area and saw Nick waiting for them. It would have turned into a stampede.

“So what did Echo want with you?” Vivian asked. That was what the evil Mary said to call her, right? Echo? “Besides causing a panic among us girls, I mean.”

Nick sighed. “I was afraid that might happen,” he muttered. “Look, um… it’s really complicated. I wasn’t just saying that. Basically, she was giving me an ultimatum. Reminding me that I needed to put in effort to make this a good season and do my best, or she was going to make things difficult for me. You know what I mean?”

Vivian was afraid that she did. And what that entailed had her worried. “And that’s why you came here to see me?” She guessed. “I can help you with that somehow?”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin looked at her in a huff. How did Vivian know he wasn’t here to see her?

“That’s right,” Nick said. The awkward expression on his face just made Vivian even more worried. “I, um… look, this is going to sound really weird, but bear with me here, okay?”

Vivian nodded. “Sure, anything she want!” She agreed. “So what is it?”

Nick bit his lip. “I… I need… I need a pair of your panties, Vivian. The ones that you’re wearing right now, actually.”

Vivian felt her face get hot as she processed what he just said. He’d asked her in complete earnestness, so any attempt on her part to turn this into a joke would just blow up in her face.

“You what!?” She screeched, her eyes bulging out of her skull. “You want my panties!? Wh-why!? Why would you need those?!”

Nick was turning just as red as her. “Be-because… I want to masturbate with them. Please, Vivian, give me your panties so I can m-masturbate with them.”

That didn’t help in the slightest. Vivian felt like her face was on fire. She was completely incapable of keeping a straight face, and covered her eyes with her hands as if that was a more effective protection than just closing them.

But as far as extreme reactions went, it was nothing compared to Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s. When she’d heard Nick wanted a pair of panties, her mouth had dropped open in shock. When he heard what he intended to do with them, that shock turned to agitation.

Unlike Vivian’s shock, which just turned into embarrassment, and also more shock.

He wants my panties?! Why does he want my panties?! WHY?! To masturbate?! Nick- Nick wants to masturbate using my underwear!? I don’t get it! Is-is that something that people do?! Oh my gosh, that… I-!

Her heart was pounding in her chest like a drum. Normally Vivian was pretty good at remaining detached when it came to the sexual aspect of this show, but Nick had blindsided her with this and her composure wasn’t recovering. Any attempt to regulate her emotions was met by the mental image of Nick using her underwear to jerk off, and any sense of rational thought went right out the window.

It-it’s just a pair of panties, right? I mean, it’s a weird thing to ask, but he must have a reason for it, and-and it’s not like, it’s not like it’s the worst thing in the world. I mean, we haven’t really fixed our issues, but maybe this is some bizarre olive branch? Like- he’s trying to get along with me better and see me in a more sexual light, so he wants to use my panties? Or maybe he’s asking because he’s already buried the hatchet in his mind, and this is about being attracted to me?

Normally Vivian was quite a clever woman. But right now those brains of hers were overwhelmed by the circumstances.

She could barely even think straight, so obviously she barely heard anything he said to her after the part about her panties. It all sounded like gibberish as she focused on what he’d just told her-

“…Vivian!”

Hearing the force in his voice, Vivian jerked her head up and met his eyes, and immediately wished she hadn’t. The earnestness in his gaze made her shrink back, as she felt just how serious he was about all this.

“N-Nick, I-”

Before she could finish what she was saying a pair of lacy pink panties smacked Nick in the face. While the two of them had been grappling with the weight of what Nick just asked, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin had stripped down, and was now standing in front of them in just her bra, arms crossed impatiently over her chest.

It was like she was trying to say that if Nick wanted panties he should be satisfied with hers!

But… that wasn’t the point here.

Nick took the panties off his face and set them down on the bed. “Look, Vivian, about what I just said-”

“Hold up!” Vivian held up her hand to stop him before he said anything else, her face burning. “I’m not ready! I gotta mentally prepare for this, alright!?”

Nick frowned. “Did… wait, didn’t you hear the second part of what I said?”

Vivian blinked. She’d been too busy freaking out about the part involving her panties. “Second… part?”

Nick blushed and looked down. “Yeah, um… look, I-I didn’t just ask you this out of nowhere, okay? See… I made a deal with Echo,” he explained again, now that he had both girls’ attention. “If she thinks I need to be doing more as the master, she’ll give me tasks to do. And if I complete them, then she’ll give me access to Dakota.”

“Wait, you want my panties… for Dakota?” Vivian asked, calming down. She sighed in relief. “Oh, thank goodness… I was really worried for a second there.”

So Nick wasn’t just going up to her and asking for her panties for no reason. She could see the desperation in his eyes, and understood now how important this was to him. He was trying to help someone he cared about.

Nick was surprised by how well Vivian seemed to be taking this. “So… you’re not mad?” He asked. “I would have thought you’d be mad about me asking to use your panties to masturbate so I can contact another woman.”

That really felt like something most women would take offense to. Apparently, Vivian didn’t think that way.

She shook her head. “No, of course I’m not mad! You’re worried about your friend, Nick! Anybody would be worried in this position! And I can see how much you’re struggling, asking me this. It’s obvious you really care about my feelings here, so I’m not going to get upset at you. Especially not after you were honest with me.”

“Yeah, well… I figured you probably wouldn’t agree anyway if I didn’t tell you the full reason behind it,” Nick said, scratching his cheek. “Sorry for being manipulative… I mean, I’m basically guilt-tripping you into helping me by saying it’s for Dakota’s sake!”

Somehow, that felt even worse than telling her he sincerely wanted to masturbate using her panties.

Vivian wasn’t so sure about THAT, but she could tell how bothered Nick was by this whole thing, and that bothered her in exchange.

“Well… we aren’t exactly at a relationship level where something like this would be okay,” she pointed out. “But it’s not like it was your idea. Like you said, Echo put you up to this, right?”

Nick nodded. “She said she wanted me to go ask you if I could borrow a pair of panties to masturbate with. She really emphasized that word, too, ‘borrow’. That… it’s kind of…”

Vivian made a face. “Yeah. …And look, it’s fine. I mean, I’m not thrilled about the whole thing, but… …Wait, she’s not going to get upset at you, is she?”

“Huh?” Nick frowned. “For what?”

Vivian shrugged. “Well, telling me. I mean, she probably wanted me to think you were seriously interested in my panties, right? Doesn’t telling me the reason kind of nullify her motive here? She might go back on your deal.”

Nick could see how Vivian might see it that way.

“She never told me I couldn’t tell you the real reason I wanted them,” he pointed out. “And I’m not the kind of guy who would do something like this without being honest about it.”

Vivian nodded. “Yeah, you aren’t,” she agreed. They shared an awkward stare, neither of them knowing just what to say.

In the meantime, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was trying to push her panties into his pocket.

Vivian cleared her throat, heart still racing a little fast and cheeks still red as apples. “Well, uh… let… let me get… what you came here for,” she said awkwardly, escaping to the bathroom. Once she was by herself, she could confront her anxiety and awkwardness head on.

“Oh my gosh,” she mumbled, seeing how embarrassed she looked in the mirror. “He’s actually going to… do that stuff… with my underwear…”

Her eyes drifted down to her lower body, where a pair of particularly stylish and comfortable panties lay hidden beneath her pajama bottoms. Gulping, she stripped down and removed the lacy white garment and inspected it carefully.

“This is… good enough, right? It looks cute enough?” Her fashion radar had suddenly stopped working now that she was trying to analyze her clothes through a completely different paradigm than normal. “He won’t, uh… be disappointed?”

Ultimately deciding that her panties were good enough for the purpose they were intended she hiked her pants back up and scurried out of the bathroom, trying to act as casual as possible as she handed over her panties.

“Uh, here. Good luck,” she mumbled. Then, realizing what it sounded like she was wishing on him, she turned red. “I don’t mean, like, ‘good luck’ like that, I meant with getting in contact with Dakota! That’s it!”

Vivian hastily pushed him towards the door. Now that he’d gotten what he came for, she found it too embarrassing to be in the same room as him!

No, this was all wrong. Vivian didn’t do embarrassing, she just didn’t! That wasn’t her at all!

Nick turned to look at her one last time as she shoved him into the hall. The sincere gratitude in his eyes stopped her from slamming the door behind him. She hung there, paralyzed, as he thanked her.

“Thank you so much for this,” he said. “And I’m sorry for putting you through something like that for my sake. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“Yeah, uh… d-don’t mention it,” Vivian stammered. “Have fun.”

When she closed the door, she slammed her fist against her forehead a few times. “Have fun?! What the bloody hell does THAT mean, you idiot?!”

However much of an idiot Vivian felt that she was, Nick felt worse as he returned to the Master’s Suite. He’d just put his own wants and Dakota ahead of one of the girls in his harem. Vivian had seemed fine with it, but she was definitely flustered. Did the fact that she said yes make it okay?

He honestly didn’t know. But what he did know as he felt the heat of Vivian’s panties in his hand, underwear that had just a minute ago been clinging to the model’s trim figure, was that he was in no mood to masturbate right now.

But he didn’t have a choice.

“Welcome back!” Echo greeted him with a smile when he took his first tentative step into the Master’s Suite. But she wasn’t alone. Mary and Holly had returned by this point, and both women were staring anxiously at him. They looked relieved to see him, but also overflowing with nervousness.

Nick let out the breath he’d been holding.

“I see you were successful,” Echo giggled, her eyes twinkling as she spied the underwear in Nick’s hand. “Well done! You fulfilled your part of the deal perfectly!”

“So you were serious about that?” Mary scowled. “You’re really making him do things like this just to see Dakota?”

“Make? Who said anything about make? He can do as he likes,” Echo replied with a sneer. “It all depends on what his heart wants.”

She turned back to Nick and patted him on the cheek. “Good booooooy…” she crooned.

“Whatever,” Nick scowled. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Echo blinked. “…Get what over with?” She asked, feigning confusion.

“You know what!” Nick’s face burned. “You… you said that I had to ask Vivian for a set of her panties to masturbate with. So… let’s get it over with, then!”

Echo blinked again. Then she smirked. “…Oh. THAT’S what you meant. It seems you’ve misunderstood me. …Well, I did pose the task to that end, so I can’t say I’m surprised.”

Nick froze. “…What?”

Had she tricked him again?

“I told you that you had to ask Vivian for a pair of her panties, and tell her that you were going to use them to masturbate,” Echo reminded him. Her eyes dropped to the panties in his hand. “…Actually doing anything with them wasn’t part of the task. So, you’re done!” She applauded. “Excellent job! I’m impressed that you went through with it!”

Nick should have been mad. She’d gotten him all worked up and made him go do something he felt pretty gross about. Getting mad seemed like a reasonable response. But he was so relieved that he didn’t have to jack off with Vivian’s underwear that he couldn’t actually bring himself to be upset about it.

“It’s not like you have to if you don’t want to,” Echo assured him. “Just planting the idea in her head that you were going to was great enough! Vivian’s spent way too much time ignoring the sexual component of this show, you see- getting her to think even for a little bit that you see her in a sexual way- even if she knows I put you up to it- is a great start for her.”

So Echo even knew that he would tell Vivian the reason for his request. Nick should have figured she’d see that far ahead, given she had Mary’s intellect.

He still wasn’t happy about it. And if this was just the first task, how bad would the others make him feel? Nick swore that tomorrow he would hold a harem meeting or something and discuss this situation with everybody. But he feared Echo might try to intervene.

“…You said I would get to see Dakota again,” he said angrily. “Keep your word.”

“Not for just a pair of panties you won’t,” Echo replied, shaking her head. “For this task, you’ll get to write her a letter. A single letter, that you can pour all your heart out into.”

She beamed from ear to ear. “Be sure to give it your best,” she tittered. “Dakota needs all the support she can get.”

Nick ignored her, knowing that she was right again, even if he didn’t like it. They’d never actually agreed to a direct visit. Obviously he would have to work up to that.

But a letter… he could make do with a letter.

A letter that he planned to fill with everything he ever wanted to say to Dakota.