Strangetown, Here We Come: Chapter Thirty-One - part one

[strangetomato]

Warnings: language, sexual situations, partial sim nudity, LOTS of cartoon breasts, a fairly detailed depiction of a sexual act, NSFW



Chapter Thirty-One

Part One







It was the opening night of the play, and Ripp waited for his cue backstage.




His mind drifted, soaring through the events of the past year.

It had been nothing he could have ever expected, and he was still unsure about where it all would lead. One thing was certain: college was ending, and things were changing. He couldn't stop them from changing, and he had no idea where he'd go from there.






It had all started with that kiss. The first one, with Ophelia. It was a little hazy, the memory surrounded in clouds of bubble, but he remembered it perfectly.




It felt like his life had started right there. In many ways, it had.

Then nearly ended the very next day.




After the kiss, and after the fallout with Johnny, they all fell into some uneasy balance with each other, where they went on as they always had, but it was different. They knew. They were all thrown together in this uneasy and precarious balance, avoiding the topic, but still aware of each other. Doing it anyway. It was the most exciting moment of his life.

Nothing was quite the same after that. Well, some things didn't change, but things were different too. It felt different.

The semester went by quickly.






The parts were announced for the play.










Assignments were worked on.




They went about their daily routines.










They cooked meals and ate together.








A variety of extracurricular activities kept them busy.




Fundraisers were contributed to.






And they changed and adjusted to new situations all around.










A prominent example of this was the unveiling of Buck's paintings at the student art show.






Johnny stared, dumbfounded, gobsmacked, at the sight of his naked sister, there on the canvas. It was artful, well rendered, and undeniably sexually charged.




His sister.

She was sleeping with Buck Grunt.




"So, do you reckon they're 'doin' it?'" Beau appeared over his shoulder.




Johnny spun around and looked at him. Beau was halted, momentarily, by the look on Johnny's face. He seemed very confused, and a little disturbed.

"Are they screwing, I mean. Do you think they're screwing each other?"

Johnny exploded. "Who even ARE you? Do I know you? Why are you here?!"




"I'm Beau. Beau Broke."




"Who the hell is that supposed to be? Why?! Why are you here?! I've never even seen you before in my life!"




Beau was actually stunned into silence, and started to slowly back away.

"I think you broke Johnny's brain," Lucy said, to Buck.




"Johnny, Johnny, Johnny, Johnny..." Ripp began, slowly placing his hands on Johnny's arm, unsure if it was really a good idea. Johnny barely noticed. He was looking at Buck.




"Johnny," Ripp said, "She's a grown woman. If she wants to sleep with Buck, that's completely normal."




"My baby sister..."

"It's okay, John. She hasn't been a baby for a long time now."

"God, is Tank next in line? You Grunts are like a pack of wolves, circling in on her."




"Johnny, Buck is a good kid, okay? He loves her. He's not like me, being a dumb shit all hopped up on painkillers. It means something to him. Well, not that she didn't mean anything to me, but I was obviously too stupid to know how to handle it."

"You were on drugs?"

"What? Who said that?"




"Ripp, I hope you have more sense than that."

Ripp smiled, happy to have distracted Johnny's disapproval to a more appropriate target: himself. "I don't do those anymore. Or anything very harsh, really." After Jaxy overdosed herself into the hospital, he wouldn't dream of it. Talk about a wake up call. "I'm all about clean living now. Just some bubble here and there. That's it."

"You blow bubble?!"

Ophelia walked into the gallery.




"Phi, did you know that Ripp blows bubble?" Ripp started to laugh, and Ophelia whacked him in the arm, trying to keep him from ratting her out.

"Phi? What? You knew?"

"Johnny, just think about some of the things Ripp does in the run of a day. He's obviously been high on bubble the whole time we've been in college."




"You're a bubblehead?!"

"I'm not THAT bad. Besides, it's completely harmless, Johnny."

"It rots your brain, Ripp!" Johnny said. "Can you really afford to lose any of your brain?"

"Hey!"

"Really, though. How much can you possibly spare?"




"Plenty! I'm a fucking genius, okay?"

"It probably lowers your sperm count too."

"Good."

"Is impotence good? I've heard it can do that. Didn't think about that, did you? I will laugh so hard if that happens to you."

"Phi did it too," Ripp said.

"What?!"




"Phi did some bubble too. If you're going to lecture me, you should lecture her too."

"I did it once, Ripp. Hardly the same thing."

"You did it once?" Johnny asked. "Why didn't I know?"

"Well, I thought you'd lecture me... and I was right."




"Yeah, Johnny," Ripp said, "maybe you'd get included more if you were less of a fucking prig about things."

"I'm not," he said, but it obviously struck home. "I just worry."

"I know you do," Phi said, "and we appreciate it. Right, Ripp?"

"Impotence - Bah! That doesn't scare me. I could spare to lose some sex drive. I wouldn't even miss it."

"It takes away your ability, not your desire, genius."




"Really? That's... awful."

"Yeah. That would be the idea."




Jill had held back, quietly stewing in her anger, allowing Johnny to have his little scene before she stepped in to chew his head off. By her estimation, he deserved it. Where did he get his nerve, yelling at Beau like that? What right did he have to be upset? He assumed it was any of business. That was Johnny's problem. That was one of Johnny's numerous problems.

She took a step forward, but was halted by Buck's hand on her shoulder. It was gentle, but firm. He smiled at her, turned away, and began to cross the room.

He wanted to handle it himself, so Jill let him.




Buck walked over to them, which obviously took a great deal of courage. "So, umm, what do you think?"

Johnny let him sweat it out for a couple of moments before answering.




"I think they're very well done. It looks just like her. Though I could do without seeing Jill's..."

"Naughty bits," Ripp added in. "Boobies."

"Yeah, that. But they're nice paintings, and she seems... happy, I guess?"

"She is happy," Buck said. "Or I like to think so, anyway." He paused, feeling awkward, like he should ask for Johnny's blessing, but he would have no idea how to word something like that.




Johnny didn't need him to. "Well, I'm glad to hear that. Good luck to you. Don't let Jill walk all over you, okay? I know what she's like."

Buck smiled. He knew what Jill was like too, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

"How do you know he doesn't want to be walked all over, John?" Ripp asked, grinning. "Sounds good to me."

"La la la la..." Johnny said, covering his ears. He began to walk away, slipping his arm around Ophelia and sweeping her along with him as he went.

Ripp winked at Buck, then followed behind them.






Buck, after returning to his group of friends, watched as they walked away.

"So, do you reckon THEY'RE 'doin' it?'" Beau appeared over his shoulder.








Triple bolters.

It was how sims described a pair that had such perfect chemistry and passion for each other that they just couldn't keep their hands off each other. It was a desire so consuming that nothing else mattered.

It didn't happen very often, and when it did, it was impossible to deny it. These sims fell into each other's arms so effortlessly. Then, if love was also given a chance to bloom, these pairs almost always stuck together. They married, or committed. They were in it for the long haul.

Some people never found this. They waited a whole lifetime for that special sim to show up, but the best they ever got was one or two bolts. They never found their triple bolter.






Ophelia had two of them.

Maybe that was unfair, but it was true. She knew that they were both triple bolters for her. How could she deny either of them?




That's to mention nothing of the fact that she wanted them too.

She wanted them both. They were different, but they went together so well, as a set. She didn't know which of them she preferred, but she did know that she liked Johnny and Ripp better than either Johnny or Ripp. She thought about the many ways that might play out, from the day to day things they did now, to the thought of sleeping between two warm bodies, completely surrounded and completely safe.

Being surrounded completely.

In bed.




She thought about that in every way one might think about it. Was that so wrong?

Sometimes she felt unworthy, like she was asking too much, but she was hardly the first sim to ever do this. Like any responsible person, she had done some research on the subject. It was far more common for one man to have multiple wives, but the opposite was hardly without precedent. In some cultures it was downright common. And how many people simply carried on with more than one person without even telling them? Was there really any harm in what they were doing, if they were all aware of it, and were okay with it?






Ophelia wasn't foolish enough to think that everyone was perfectly okay with it. She was keeping her eyes open, watching for cracks in the veneer.




Though it was her nature to worry, she tried not to worry about it too much.




She kept herself busy with her flowers, as usual, and her schoolwork. She'd begun to consider what she would do after college. She had recently discovered that her parents had left her a trust fund, and though they had been very generous philantrophists, leaving all of their money to the charities and causes they had worked for while alive, they had set aside enough to give her security.

It would give her a great deal of security.

He hadn't mentioned it to the boys yet. She didn't think it would make a difference either way, but she thought it best to wait a while. She was also thinking about what she would do, work-wise. Social work seemed to be the best bet, with her degree, and it would be a way to carry on with the legacy of her parents in her own way. There was also the flowers, and she hoped to continue to do that too.

She had been wondering about the snapdragons. Florence had mentioned it, and there was also her own observations, and the continued positive effect they had been having on Nervous. There was some healing, almost magical property there, and she didn't understand it.






She decided to take them to the Biology department, to see if anyone could help her.




"Anyone" turned out to be an enthusiastic young student named Bottom Summerdream.




"It's very peculiar," said Bottom, "but they do seem sort of... special." She nearly said magical, but stopped herself. "They don't happen to come from abroad, do they?"




"Well, I ordered the seeds, the first few packs, from an online seller in Veronaville."

"Well," said Bottom, "there you go. That makes sense, but still I haven't ever seen anything like this before."

"Well, I've been seeding them myself since then. Collecting the seeds and using those. The mist wasn't always there, but it started to develop as I resowed them."

"Very interesting. Did you cross-breed the flowers?"




"Not intentionally, but they were growing in the same bed, so maybe it did happen."

"Proximity can often cause such things to happen naturally," Bottom said.

Ophelia couldn't agree more. She nodded. "Yes."

"And change is often gradual... and surprising. Nature is a wonderful thing."

Ophelia looked at the mist billowing up from the flowers. Some things just couldn't be explained.




"Bottom?"

"Yes?"

"This is going to seem like an odd question..." She reached out and touched the stem of the flower, just as a puff of mist was released into the air. "But, well, do you believe in supernatural things? In magic, for example?"

Bottom paused, and grew very serious. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I don't know. It's just, some things... how else could you explain them? You're from Veronaville, right? Do you believe in what they say about magic and faeries and all that?"




"Do I believe in faeries?"

"Well, I mean... I know they exist, but are they what people say they are?"

"People say a lot of things."

"I know. They do." Ophelia knew this firsthand. "But, well, what do you think is true?"




"Well, I only know what I've seen myself. Everything else... well, how can you be sure anything is real unless you study it and see it with your own eyes? That's why science is my life now. I know things because we've tested it, and proven it to be true. But even that is changing all the time. The only sensible way to be is to constantly ask questions."

Ophelia nodded.

"And I have to say that I don't know much about the truth behind faeries," Bottom said, brushing her hair back from her face to reveal her ear.




"... and I am one."

"Oh," said Ophelia, "I didn't -"

"It's okay. I didn't want you to. I keep it hidden for a reason."

"I guess you must get a lot of stupid questions."

"Well, not so much anymore."

"They're very pretty... your ears, I mean."

"Well, thank you, Ophelia."




"You can keep the flowers. To do some tests, and whatever else you need to do."

"That would be great."

"Thank you for helping me."




"Maybe we can meet to discuss my findings, once I've had time to examine them. Go for coffee, or something like that."

"Oh," she said, a little shocked at the offer. It was sudden, but not really too forward. She'd always wondered how people just asked to hang out with someone new like that, so casually. "That sounds nice. I'd love to." Ophelia imagined what it might be like to have Bottom as a friend.

"Great. It will be nice to talk plants with a girl for a change. It's a bit of a sausage party around here. Just between you and me, the fellows in my program can be a little tedious. Boys really do seem to mature more slowly than women, as a rule."

"Yes, maybe that's true." As much as she loved them, Ophelia agreed that a little break from testosterone might be a welcome change.




"No, really. They're like children at times. And helpless too. I swear some of them go right from their mother to their wife, and have no idea how to look after themselves. One guy in my class actually expected me to do all the cleaning after our lab together, and he was dead serious. I was aghast."

"Wow. Yeah, that's a little presumptuous."

"It's a little archaic, you mean.




"It wasn't like that in my family," Bottom continued. "My parents are equal partners; two individuals who happen to live under the same roof. They taught us all how to fend for ourselves. I know how to restore a piece of scrap into a vehicle, and my brother can prepare a three course meal. Tasks weren't sorted by gender. How silly! Everyone learned to do everything in my home. That's how it should be, if you ask me."

Ophelia nodded. "Do you come from a large family?"

"Yeah, I do. My parents are always taking in a new child... all adopted, until Nuala came along."




"She's their only biological child, and it was pretty unexpected." She smiled at Ophelia, trying not to make her feel uncomfortable. "Fertility issues. No big deal, really. Happens all the time, right?" She played it off as a personal thing, and not a race-wide problem, though it was exactly that.

"Sure," Ophelia offered. "It happens."




"So, there are eleven of us altogether now, including Titania and Oberon - those are my parents. They don't go in for the whole Mom and Dad thing, so we use their proper names. I'm the second oldest. It's Puck, me, Hippolyta, Helena - they're twins - Nuala, Morgan, and our newest additions, Mab, Lorelei, and Doli. The youngest are still toddlers."

"Wow. That's a pretty large family."




"Yeah, but we're used to it. Titania is sort of addicted to children. She wants at least 10 of them. Some would say it's an impossible want, but she's nearly there. Oberon's just as bad, honestly, and he handles a good portion of the child-rearing and teaching. We're all home-schooled."

"That's a lot to take on with such a big family."

"Well, after a while, the kids practically raise themselves, as the say. We like it. We have a large property, so it helps to fill the place up. It's a nonstop party, really." She realized that she was monopolizing the conversation. "Sorry, I'm just gabbing your ears off, aren't I? So how about you, then? What's your family like?"




"I'm an only child," Ophelia said, as if apologizing.

"Oooh, I see. Well, I won't give you the whole "spoiled, rotten" routine, but I'll bet they're pretty overprotective of you. Do you get a phone call every night? My friend, Lucy, has parents like that, though with her it's usually her father. He's such a sweetheart."

Ophelia considered how best she should explain. "Well, no. Actually, my parents aren't alive anymore. They both died when I was still pretty young. But if they were around, I'm sure you'd be right about the phone call."

"I'm sorry to hear that."




"It's okay. It was a long time ago."

"I'll bet it still hurts, though."

Ophelia smiled, but her eyes were sad. "Thank you, Bottom. I really appreciate your help with this."

"It's my pleasure, dear."






"Change is often gradual. Change is often surprising."




Change isn't always easy. Ripp, though arguably the member of their "family" who was most pleased by the change in dynamic, was also most likely the one experiencing the most fundamental emotional shift.

He was in love.




When he cut his hair, it felt like he had let go of more than just the hair. He let go of some of the longing too. Ophelia wanted him, even though she knew almost everything about him, and that made him feel like he might actually be worth a damn. He even found himself almost completely uninterested in other women, preferring to spend time with her. He wasn't getting any, or any from anyone but himself anyway, and he was okay with that.

He could have gone out and dragged someone off if he had wanted to, just as he always had, but it didn't appeal to him anymore. It felt hollow... empty. The desire wasn't there. There was only one person who could give him what he really wanted, what he needed, and even just hanging around waiting for her permission to proceed was more thrilling than getting it from dozens of other women. A simple look from Ophelia was better than being fucked raw by anyone else.

This revelation was exceedingly frightening to him.




What if he fucked it all up? What if he did something to ruin it? What if Ophelia, or Johnny, or both decided that they didn't want him around anymore? If forced to choose, who would she pick? And what, then, would happen to him and Johnny? He didn't want to lose either of them, but the idea of being left behind, completely alone, was worse. He couldn't let it all fall apart on him. The idea terrified him.

As did the idea that he might fall from grace in her eyes by pushing her to move beyond her own pace, as much as he sometimes wanted to. Sometimes he felt like begging her for just a taste of what he might have, one grateful lick, or maybe a whole mouthful. But then he realized that the more he tasted her, the more he hungered, and it would never satisfy him. Even if she let him, and maybe she would if he prodded her, he didn't want to rush into having sex with her. He wanted to do things the right way for once. He didn't want her to have any doubts about his sincerity.








Besides, it would be so much hotter if she came to him first, and asked him for it.






If she pushed him down onto the bed, or any reasonably comfortable surface, and climbed up onto him, he'd probably burst into flames.




He burned all over even thinking about it.








It made the hours at the flower shop go by quickly.








Ophelia also appreciated the time alone with Ripp, though she often had to remind him that he should be working instead of goofing around and flirting with her.




Sometimes he listened too well.




She knew it was him job to charm the customers into buying flowers, but sometimes he seemed like he was doing his job a little too well. The churning she felt in the pit of her stomach when she saw him speaking to pretty girls took her by surprise. It wasn't anything new from Ripp, but she couldn't think of him the same way. It wasn't really her place to say anything, but the jealousy came all the same.






"Hey Phi, Pretty Phi, won't you look at me?" Ripp sang the dorky improvised song, completely oblivious.

Ophelia wanted to smile and cry all at the same time. She didn't turn around.




"Phi? Phi, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."




"What? No, you're not happy. What did I do?"

"I don't know... you seemed like you liked that girl in the pigtails an awful lot."

"What? I was just selling her flowers. I barely even noticed that she was a girl."

"Ripp..."

"Okay, so I noticed, but there wasn't anything going on. Is that what's bothering you? You're not jealous, are you?"

"No. Why would I be jealous? You were just flirting with her. It's really none of my business, right?"




"I wasn't flirting with her, Phi. I was just trying to dazzle her with my salesmanship. The only person I wanted to flirt with in there was you."

"But she was so pretty, and -"

"Phi, she didn't even have an ass."

"Oh, like that's such a good thing."

"Are you kidding me?! Your ass is like my favourite thing in the whole world. My whole fucking life revolves around watching it and following it around. I'm like this planet that orbits your ass."

"You're just saying that."




Ripp edged closer to her, and reached down and got himself a handful. "No, I'm not. This is high quality booty, right here. I live for this."

"Really?"

"Why wouldn't I? It's perfect. You didn't know that? You're like a fucking goddess, Phi. So soft and round and sexy." He leaned into her. "Why would I want someone like her when I can have you?"

"Who says you can have me?"




"You do... if it's what you want." He grinned. "Do you?"

"Maybe."

"You're killing me, you know that."




Ophelia leaned forward to where his lips eagerly awaited hers, and let them do the talking for her, showing him just how much she wanted that.








In almost no time at all, they had somehow ended up in Hunters park, and were making out in the Super Tower in the playground.






Ripp finally came up for air. "Oww, this thing is is death on my knees."

"Yeah, it's not great on my back either."

It had seemed like a great idea at the time, but things rarely worked out as neatly in reality as they did in fantasy.




"If the ground wasn't so wet, we could roll around in the grass... or sneak under those bushes over there."

"The bushes? Ripp, that's..." Ophelia gave him a mischievious grin. It was rough and nasty, that was what it was. And it was exactly what she wanted from him at that moment.




"You know, we could continue this at home...Johnny won't be back for a few hours."

"All to ourselves, huh? While the cat's away..."





One they were back home, his wish to be overcome by Ophelia finally came true, and she tackled him, pinning him to the bed. She was hungrily kissing him, and he was in heaven. He wanted to be devoured, consumed. He wanted to be completely used up by her.




Ripp was suddenly very aware of the situation, and how lucky he was to be there with her, kissing her. She was everything he wanted in a woman and then some. He was mesmerized by her soft, dark skin and her round curves, and the way she radiated sex in such a quiet, unassuming way. He could look at her, touch her, smell her, and taste her, over and over again. He would never get enough. It was bliss.




And that was just her body. That was just the beautiful package that contained the gift that was Ophelia Nigmos.




"You're beautiful," he said.

"You always say that. Is that all you can say?"

"Well, it's true. You are. It's not just how you look... well you know what I mean..."




"Do I?"

"Yeah... you know..."

"How can you be so sure? Why not just say what you really mean?"




Ripp paused, and his smiled faded. He sat up, got to his feet, and walked to the other side of the room.

"Ripp?"

He didn't respond.




"Ripp, what's wrong?" She walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Nothing's wrong. I just needed to stand up."

"Look, I'm sorry... I shouldn't press you like that. You don't have to explain."




"I love you."




He reached to bring her closer, to draw her into his arms. "I love you, Ophelia. You know that, right?"

"Yes," she said, "I know it."




"I've loved you... always. It's just so hard to put into words. It doesn't even sound right. Like it's not enough."

"It's enough." She ran her hand along his cheek, leaning her forehead into his. "Ripp, I love you too."

"Phi..."




He thought his heart would burst. Had he been so truly unprepared for this revelation? Like Ophelia, he had known it, surely, but to hear her say it...

She had been right, as always. Putting it into words made a huge difference. It made it real.

"I love you so much." He held her face in his hands, then moved them down to encircle her, moving hands over as much of her as he could. He held her tightly.




"I've never said that to anyone before," he said, "Not that way. Just with family. And, well... with Johnny."

"and Johnny..." She smiled and kissed him. "our Johnny."

"... our Johnny." He smiled in return.

"We're an odd little bunch, aren't we?"

"We'd have to be, I guess."

"Do you think we could really do this?"

"I hope so."

"I do too."




Ophelia began to unbutton Ripp's shirt. By the time she made it to the fourth button, Ripp couldn't contain himself any longer, and he swept her up off the floor and tossed her down onto the bed.




He climbed over her and sank himself down against her, pressing his weight into her body, feeling her all over him. Like that, that was how he wanted to be: on her, against her, around her, inside her.

"Phi..." She felt a quiver go through him. She ran her fingers through his hair. He looked at her, questioningly. "Should we?"

"Let's just... see what happens."




"I want you so bad." He pressed the evidence against her body, letting himself fall into that instinctive rhythm.

"Mmmm... just kiss me." She felt herself get lost in it. She gave in to the movement of his body, as perfect and natural as she'd always imagined it would feel.




Different from Johnny, but still so familiar.

So right.

It was around this time that Johnny arrived home. The noise was subtle, but it drew him to the bedroom.




He found them.

He walked in on them.

Part of him wanted to grab Ripp, throw him off of her, and fall onto him screaming and clawing like a wild animal. Part of him felt embarrassed to have walked in on them, like he shouldn't disturb them. They were so rapt, so passionate, and so very face down in each other.




There was also a part of him that was drawn in, a part of Johnny that sort of, just maybe, wanted to keep watching.

He couldn't look away.




Ripp was bowing down before her, worshiping her body with such perfect reverence. That was Ripp in his most essential state. It was his element.

Johnny felt like he was seeing Ripp, really seeing him, for the very first time.




It was sublime.

Johnny was still "just watching" when his breath caught sharply and Ripp's eyes darted upward from his task to meet his. Johnny bolted from the room.




"Johnny." He raced after him, pausing only to trip over his boxers as he pulled them back on. "Johnny!"




"What?!"

"Are you okay?"

"No! How can I be okay?"

"Speak to me."




Johnny turned around and shoved him up against the wall.






"What do you want me to say?"

"I..."

"Well?"




"Let's just talk this through."




"Talk?! God, we've talked and talked, but it's not the same thing as living it, is it?"

"No, I guess not. It's not -"

"I mean, what the fuck are we DOING here? This is crazy."

"Is it?"




"I don't know... yeah. It's insane. People don't do this. It's not normal."

"Normal... you make that sound so easy."

"God, aren't there LAWS against this sort of thing?"

"Not the last time I checked," he said, "Look, Johnny... if you want me to stop - "

"Could you?" He didn't seem convinced. "Could you actually stop?"




"Maybe not, but I could try. I mean, if you really wanted me to, I would. I'd try."

Johnny sighed. "Have you... slept with her?"

"No," he said, "I haven't."

"Really? You're sure?"

"No, I'm not sure. It's the sort of thing I'd easily forget."




"You don't have to be an asshole about it."

"I haven't slept with her. That, back there..." He gestured back in the direction of Ophelia's bedroom. "That was the first time we've even done that." He rubbed his eye and moved back to his temple. "I didn't want to do that like I have with other girls. Ophelia is different. She's Ophelia. You know what I mean?"

"You love her," Johnny said. His tone suggested that it was more of an observation than a question. He could tell that much just by looking at Ripp. The way he had been touching her, it was clear that he completely revered her. It was more than just sex for him. He could see it right there, in that moment too, in the way he was acting as he spoke about her.

"Yeah, I do."

"It's not just some passing thing..."




Ripp looked down, and seemed a little afraid, maybe even embarrassed. "I really love her."

"Yeah, I know you do." Johnny rubbed the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "I guess I just wasn't really seeing it. Trying not to see it."

"I'm sorry, but I can't help it. I can't not love her. The love is there, John. I can't help it."




"Yeah, I know."

"But you knew we were together, didn't you? After that night... We talked about it, didn't we?"

"Yeah. I mean, I guess I knew you were probably doing things in theory, and in theory I was sort of okay with that, but seeing it..."

"It's different, yeah. I know. It's like that when you're with her too."

"Well, it's not exactly the same thing."




"I've felt this way for a long time. If you hadn't asked her first... " Johnny hadn't realized how far back it went, but Ripp's face confirmed that this was one of his deep regrets in life, which he had very carefully buried.

"I guess I just didn't think we'd really end up here."

"Yeah. I know. Who would have?"




Johnny thought about the abduction. It had all happened at the same time. Would he ever have considered this, if it hadn't happened? It was such a strange thing to actually do with your best friend, but he just needed them both so much, he wasn't sure if he was really thinking clearly anymore. He wanted things to be like they were, but that train had already left the station.




"I'm sorry," Ripp said, reaching out to touch him.

"It's okay."




Ripp placed his hands on Johnny's shoulders and started to work the muscles. "John, John, Johnny Smith..."

Johnny sighed. It felt good. He stopped thinking, and just focused on the feeling, letting his tensions slip away.

"You're all knots. You should learn to relax."

"Yeah, I know. I know."

It was true.




It could all be so simple and comforting, in the moment like that. If he stopped worrying about the details, he could trick himself into thinking they didn't have any issues at all. Ripp was just there for him, and they were happy.

Was that true? Could it be true?




"Thank you," he said.

"My pleasure, John."




Ophelia stepped out onto the balcony. "You okay?" she asked Johnny.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just feeling a little confused... you know."

"That was a little strange, wasn't it?"

"It was. Strange is exactly what that was. What this is."

"I guess we're just strange people."

"Hey, I never claimed to be normal," Ripp said, "I don't know about you two."




"I was a pretty normal guy until you came along and corrupted me." Johnny poked Ripp in the ribs. Ripp stood, hands on hips.

"You're a fucking alien, Johnny! How is that normal?"

"HALF alien."

"Oh, SORRY. That makes a huge difference."

"Well, yeah... it does."




"True enough. It's not like you're a hermaphro-." He paused. He hadn't meant to say that.

"What?"

"Nothing."




"No. Not nothing... what are you talking about?" Johnny glared at him, and Ripp balked. Was he going to have to lay his cards on the table? He probably should have done that ages ago. "Ripp?!"

"Well... I've been sort of fucking around with Stella Terrano for a while." Johnny frowned at the mention of her name.

"Oh, really..."




"Not since your abduction," Ripp was quick to add.

"Well, that's nice to know."

"I didn't really want to bring it up, since you didn't seem to know, but..."

"But what?"

"They have both parts."




"What?!"

"They have both parts. Aliens have both parts."

"And that's why you tried to catch me with my pants down? To see my VAGINA?"

"Well, to see if you had one, yes."




Johnny said nothing for a minute. He was thinking about it very carefully. "So... if you had discovered that I did, in fact, have a vagina... what was your next move?"

"How the fuck should I know?"

"Well, you must have had some reason for caring."




"I was CURIOUS, Johnny! Haven't you ever been curious about something?"

"There are enough curious people in my family as it is. I really don't mind leaving a couple of things to mystery."

"Ehh, mysteries are boring."

"Wait... if they have both parts and you were 'fucking around' with Stella Terrano..."

"Erm..."




"Stella had a penis?"

"No!" Ripp blustered, "Well, not really..."

"What?!"

"It was like a penis, but not really."

"And you..."

"What?"




"You did?"

"No!" He paused. "Well, not really... kind of... yeah."

Johnny just looked at him.

"Is that weird, or something? Because I've probably done worse than that..."

He sighed. "God, I think I need a drink."

"We still have a bottle of wine in the cupboard." Ophelia said.




"Ack! Have you been here the whole time?" Ripp asked.

"No," she said, "I stepped inside, and came back out in time for the last part, about the penis."

"It wasn't a REAL penis," Ripp blustered. "It was shaped differently."

"Okay, about that WINE," Johnny said.




"Yeah, we have some. Maybe even two bottles, I think."

"Okay. Let's do it, then."

"Ripp?" She turned to him.

"You expect me to say no? To alcohol?"

"Clearly, he says no to nothing." Johnny said, but then he laughed at the end, and Ripp felt relieved.




"I remember when I first met you. I was like, WOW this guy is green!" Ripp laughed. "Even your fingernails were green. Even your NIPPLES were green."

"You saw my nipples?"

"It was at the pool - Don't you remember?"

"Yeah, that's right. I was thinking... now who is this punk? Better make friends with him before he conspires against me."

"You thought I looked like a punk?"




"No. Actually... I thought you looked really sad. Like you needed a friend."

Ripp smiled, and reached out to mess with Johnny's hair. "I did. I needed a friend more than anything, and I think I did pretty well for myself."

"Well, I needed some friends too."

"Oh, come on. You were like the most popular kid in school."

"No, I wasn't. I just seemed like it because I was so involved in everything. Really, people used say things about me behind my back. All that awful alien stuff."




"Like ass-baby?"

"God, I hate that. Yeah... like that. I tried not to pay any attention to them. Like it didn't bother me."

"But that's so stupid! You came out of your mom's vag like everyone else, didn't you?"

"Ripp..." Phi sighed.

"What? It was just VAG! That's okay, isn't it? I mean, it's not like I said pussy... or cunt."

"Ripp," Johnny said, "Enough."




"You should have called them cunt-babies." Ripp started chuckling at his own joke, and was soon laughing like a hyena. "Cunt-babies... they would just die..."

Johnny couldn't help but laugh too. "Yeah, I can just imagine me saying that."

"That's why you needed me around, John-boy. You're too good. You needed a bad influence."




"Yeah, maybe," he said, "and I needed someone who didn't care about the alien thing. Neither of you ever seemed put off by it. If anything, you seemed to like me more because my skin was green."

"It makes you special." Ripp said.




"It's makes you Johnny," Phi said, "so why would we want it any other way?"

Johnny smiled. "Hey, let's get away from here for a while. The break is coming up. We could go away... camping or something."

There was a pause, and Ripp and Ophelia exchanged glances. Ripp felt Johnny's forehead with the back of his hand. "Hmmm... there's no fever..."

"Shut up."

"You really want to just fuck off and go away for the weekend somewhere?"

"Yeah. Really."




"I'm going to call and buy the bus tickets right now." Ripp stood up, realizing how drunk he was becoming, and stumbled a little.

"Easy now, old man."

"Shut it, John. It was a head rush."

"Better make it a plane ticket."

"A plane ticket?! Where the hell do you want to go? The MOON?"

Johnny resisted the urge to point out that planes didn't actually go to the moon. "I was thinking Three Lakes."

"Hey, that's one lake for each of us," Ripp observed.

"Seems appropriate," Ophelia said.




"Yeah," Johnny said, "it does. Also, I've never really been out of the desert before, except to go to Sim City. Isn't that ridiculous? I'd love to see all those coniferous trees firsthand. And lakes. How often do I see a real lake?"

"First time for everything." Ripp started to enter a number into his cell phone. "Okay, I'm doing this. Last call for backing out, Mr. Smith."

Johnny bowed his head and lifted his hands in Ripp's direction. "Knock yourself out, Grunt."

Ripp smiled, and waited for someone to pick up the phone. "Yes, hello. I'd like to book a flight for three people to Three Lakes for spring break." There was a pause while he listened to the questions on the other end of the line. "Yeah, we're all together."








So they went to Three Lakes, just the three of them, together.

---

Notes:

I've lost my internet connection at home, so I had to drag my images and everything to my SO's office to post this. I just had to do it to get it out there. It's already a week past my self-imposed deadline, and I was really feeling the need to put it behind me and make good on my promises. Thank you for being patient with me.

Hey, I passed the Bechdel test, right? Actually, I'm pretty sure I have before this scene with Ophelia and Bottom, but that came to mind as I was writing it. Indirect references to Ophelia's relationship with the boys aside, they don't actually talk about boys beyond Bottom's general comments about the annoyances of male entitlement. I don't have many scenes with only female characters, since Strangetown is so full of male characters, but I have been bringing in more female characters all the time, so this will likely change. The majority of my original characters have been female (especially any sim in a rock band or the Worthington family).

I was thinking of something I saw in a simsecret recently (a few weeks back), and I just wanted to say that I don't see backrubs as a sexual interaction. I know the game counts it as one, but to me it is an acceptable activity for close friends and family members. Maybe it's a cultural difference, but I've given and received backrubs from people I hardly even knew, and it was something I did with my sister all the time when we were younger. That said, there's a chance that such an activity could come with a sexual component, no doubt (it's a "safe" way to touch someone you want to touch), but it's not inherent to the activity. Ripp would be just the sort of person to miss the boundaries of such a thing, and think nothing of it.

Johnny's fundraiser nude pic is referenced in more detail in this short, and this drabble also relates to this chapter, though it doesn't show up in it directly.

I had considered making the play a more prominent event in the story, and actually show some of it, but I lost interest in that. It's still there, in the background, because it mirrors the roles of Johnny and Ripp in their relationship. That will be made much clearer in part two.

The lots used are the Art Museum with Shop, Cafe and Bar by leannabseven, and the New State University Project: Faculty of Natural Science by kashinthegreen, with some changes made my me (mostly to the latter). Hunters Park is a lot that comes with Bluewater Village, but I altered it quite a bit to include AL objects, and to make it more functional as a venue business (Langraab owns it - he owns half of BW Village).

I had fun thinking of half-baked ideas for the art show.

Thanks for reading!






  (Continue to Chapter 31 - part 2)

Comments

[silentsteel.livejournal.com]

I love this! More Phi-Johnny-Ripp!

And I really like the gallery scene - it really shows how good Ripp can be for Johnny. Not just shocking him out of routine, but pointing out when he's over-reacting. Or otherwise bouncing him out of his previous mood.

And when Beau's perky aggressive gayness can backfire.

Vacation! Yay! :D *squeee!*