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Koudelka, Devi and all mentioned characters (c) Ketzio11 and Gbb
This particular image takes place specifically after
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From the very moment Aria handed it to her, until she got home, Koudelka never let the knitted beanie leave her grasp; Clutching it like it was a sacred and fragile object and tenderly caressing it like a newborn. She didn't bother attempting to hide the purple beanie when her father pulled up to chauffeur her home, either.
Fortunately, he was in a typically tyrannical mood, and was conversing with one of his employees over a bluetooth; almost entirely ignoring Koudelka. Though, some unevolved lizard part of her brain -- dark and tucked behind all the repression, guilt and fear -- secretly hoped he would notice the hat. This nasty little whisper wanted nothing more than for him to turn and grunt some condescending cruel dribble about the cap so she could finally talk back and snap about how it belongs to a person who really matters to her; perhaps the only person!
It felt damn gratifying to imagine his insulted face and, even though she could only imagine it ending in being struck hard in the face or him lunging over the seat to close his thick hands around her throat, it still gave her a weird undercurrent of adrenaline.
'Get a hold of yourself, girl' she thought and quelled the urge to snap, sending the impulses to her legs that bounced and jittered rapidly like heavily caffeinated monkeys. She still had emotional turbulence from seeing Devi in tears a few hours ago but it certainly wouldn't prevent the immediate smack her father might incur. She had only been intentionally struck once but it was very hard and, though years back, it rattled her skull enough to never forget. That blinding memory of the sensation of being hit further quieted her urge to fight. She, instead, listened to her father yell angrily; insulting and belittling some person who, undoubtedly, was innocent if only for the fact that Mr. Pavlov was upset.
The beloved hat, the one she had clutched to her chest still, remained unnoticed.
Koudelka had never been so happy to see the electronic gate of her house and the willows the peered curiously over the fence. The car pulled up and she couldn't get away from her dad's angry yammering faster; practically scurrying from the car the second it was fully parked.
She scampered along the long stone-walk with manicured yards titillating either side of her and barged into her door with some odd urgency. The entire drive, the wait at the front of the school, the last period even, all she wanted was some quiet to think and digest. Her chest hurt and she felt some weird hunger as she missed the sensation of Devi holding her close and the wretched sound of her sobbing.
Koudelka was experiencing this foreign feeling of love, it seemed.
As Koudelka walked into the parlor with her bag draped along her hip and the cap against her heart, she caught the quickest glance of her mother up on the loft who moved like a phantom into one of the rooms. Mother Pavlov was probably drinking deep into her afternoon cups and was likely recanting her own glories in one of the rooms dedicated to display her achievements like a tacky museum of narcissism. Mother Pavlov was a drunk stranger in the crypt of the house and she seemed happy enough to rarely acknowledge her daughter.
Slowly, Koudelka set her bag down on the table and gingerly slid back her hair from her face; taking calming breaths to refocus herself. Obviously she wouldn't be able to see Devi tonight and therefore she needed to stomach all of this anxiety. She was starting to feel ill.
And here she was without a phone to at least let Devi know that everything was going to be okay. The thought of her loved one spending an entire night saddened by the loss of her hat was frustrating.
"Koudelka, honey, you left the car so quickly, I didn't get to tell you the good news." Her father's voice tore her out of her stupor and she craned her head to look back at him; watching as he did his usual self-check in the hallway mirror.
"I'm sorry, sir, I was actually starting to feel car-sick and..." She averted her gaze; feeling his cold and scrutinizing eyes upon her. She hated how he would look at her for too long when doing this and examine her entire body language. She squeezed the hat, felt the button dig into her palm and could find no words to continue.
"I can only imagine it's that "time of the month" for you." he condescendingly stated with subdue disgust. "Your hygiene products are in the linen closet upstairs."
His voice, that husky but oddly effeminate calm tone, was so grating that she could easily shout the few obscenities she knew.
She only nodded obediently.
"It's not that, sir, just slightly unwell is all." She kept her eyes away knowing, with certainty, he was still looking at her.
"That's okay dear, we all have our moments..." he suddenly eyed the hat but he kept his cool diplomatic tone "By the way, what's that you're holding."
"My friend lost her hat and I found it walking out to the car." she looked down at it in her hand, feeling the fabric as if it was the first time. "I guess since I wasn't feeling well I totally forgot I had it, but I was going to give it back when I saw her tomorrow for our study."
"Oh," he remarked in an odd and dismissive way and turned more toward her. The parlor was so poorly lit that the side facing her was cast in shadow. "I'm actually pleasantly impressed with that... arrangement."
The bastard sounded almost mortal saying those words, like for a second he was compassionate and even charismatic.
"People like that... people who live in trailer parks, well, they aren't typically the most educated. But, somehow when you're working with this Randelle girl, you seem to be flourishing in school. I've gotten two calls remarking about how incredibly well you're doing." He grinned and moved closer; his calm tone never leading anything even remotely close to malignant. It was almost like she was talking to an imposter of her dad and suddenly she felt very disarmed and naked.
"Well, father, I really like working with her. We work well together, I suppose." She said sincerely and defied her impulses to make eye contact briefly, again, seeing that look of almost-compassion on his normally stoic face.
"Heh, and I imagine seeing a trailer like that makes you value your future even more." there was the jerk she was expecting.
"I suppose..." She trailed off and lost any courage to fight at all. She so desperately wanted to say something like 'at least she gets to have a phone, a computer, and a life' or the simple 'to hell with you'.
"The good news is: I spoke with Austin's father and they would like you to go on their fishing trip next week!" He said with a comedic level of "almost" mirth. For a man championing in sheltering Koudelka from everything, from TV to public toilets, he sure was eager to get her to spend so much time with that Austin boy. She was certainly suspicious but, more than likely, it was because his father operated the majority share, whatever that meant, of one of the few businesses with major exports in all of Trouville, fish; farm fish specifically, though it was cute that they tried to play it off as all fish are freshly caught right from lake Trouville.
She couldn't hide her grimace and her stomach turned hard. Everyone seemed so dead set that she needed to have a 'boyfriend'; everyone but her.
"I couldn't imagine how wonderful it would be to go fishing with a man who has made an empire off of fishing, that would be like having a gourmet chef showing you how to bake." He placed a hard clammy hand on her shoulder. "And I know how much you like Austin, so it would be good for you to get to see the boy in his more relaxed element."
She gulped and glanced back -- looking into that steely, calculating gaze her father had like a stone-cold sociopath.
"He's a good kid," Mister Pavlov added. "Very respectful so I know I can trust him with the apple of my eye. You'd be in the best of hands."
"What about my study session?" Koudelka rushed to say; the idea of being forced to be anywhere isolated and alone with Austin terrified her. There were so many rumors... some of them had to be true. She desperately hoped the fear of her dad would be enough to keep his idle hands away.
"You'll only be gone for three days, so you'll only miss one of your sessions and you can work that out tomorrow. Just take an extra hour to study."
A lightbulb. A silver lining. Koudelka felt a glimmer of hope.
"That would be rather late though, perhaps I could see about spending the night." Her voice was tiny and afraid.
He raised his eyebrow and did a full body look.
"It would be nice to get all of our work done." Koudelka fidgeted as she racked her mind for how to word this in the most diplomatic way. "And... well... that way I can see if I'm ready to spend time away from home... what if I get scared? I think it would be healthy."
"You do?" he said in such a spiteful and villainous tone as he folded his arms with condescension.
The pause was heavy and thick, somewhere she could hear a clock thudding, or someone running far away, or maybe it was her pulse.
"I suppose." he cut the silence with casual ease in only two words. "I would normally say no, but you are becoming responsible and this... girl... seems to have gotten you up from your typical As and Bs back into honors. It really was disappointing that you denied your potential."
'Typical,' she thought. 'He has to spin getting A's into some bad guilt trip.'
"Thank you, daddy." she said quietly and weak.
"We'll excuse you from class tomorrow so you can prepare for your trip, and then on the way to this girl's little trailer, we'll pick up all your work." He smirked, clearly not content stabbing her with the 'little trailer' remark. "My, oh my, you will be miserable tomorrow night, I should probably prepare to pick you up, after all, looking at the feral creatures is fun when you're at the zoo, but you wouldn't want to share a room with one."
He erupted in a self-satisfied chuckle, this was always his humor. The Pavlov's were 'glorious and superior' beings after all.
Koudelka remained silent.
"I'm not going to let you take any money though, I don't want these people to try to take advantage of you. This isn't charity. This is for studying." He broke his chuckle and resumed his stone faced look.
She could feel that huge tidal wave of rage, and again, although all of her tears had been cried over the last 13 years of her life, she suddenly wanted to cry again.
"Don't look so dour, Koudelka. You got your way, now take that thing to be washed, then wash up yourself." He gestured toward the hat and her grasp instinctively tightened.
"Yes sir." she muttered, knowing it wouldn't leave her side for a moment and quietly shuffled away; hoping to get to her room before he changed his mind.
~~
That night, Koudelka could barely sleep. She clutched the beanie like it was a precious doll as she lay on her side; wondering how Devi's night was going. She wished she could just text her or something but... obviously that couldn't happen.
Koudelka couldn't help but imagine that Devi was still crying the same way she was crying earlier that day. It was heartbreaking -- but it was also weirdly inspiring. Koudelka could not wait to present Devi with her hat and see her reaction. Plus, the thought of Devi thinking that she got the hat back herself was rather tantalizing but there was no way she could take credit for Aria's work.
That dang golden retriever.
She started to resent the fact that Aria was the one who got the beanie back and cursed herself for being so wimpy. It kind of made her respect Aria and her brutish ways. She never saw much of a use for being able to windmill kick people but Aria proved her wrong.
But only a little bit -- Aria is probably still going to fail in life.
Koudelka replayed the hypothetical scenario of giving back the hat in her head over and over; each time adding a bit more surrealism to it and more... sexual twists to it as well. She did this until she fell asleep with the slightest hint of a smile on her face.
~~
"I was joking about it earlier, sweetie." Mister Pavlov started as their car idled at a light which would turn into Scolaris. "But if anything goes wrong, you make sure to immediately call me."
He had been lecturing Koudelka during the entire ride about responsibility and being safe during this sleepover.
She was abundantly grateful that they took their usual stop to Scolaris when they did, as she sat at the cusp of another meltdown.
Koudelka couldn't hear another word about how poor people are only mildly evolved of feral things, or how Austin was this dashing prince charming who beamed in future investments.
'Well dad!' her internal voice raged the whole time. 'Austin is a jock slug who relentlessly bullies everyone around him and is apparently, and frankly I wouldn't even doubt it, a blatant pervert!'
When they shifted into the store, her father went in his direction and that was that. She was a little saddened not to see the helpful retail man, Keith but she was still able to grab a few things for Devi with the small amount of money she had been saving from lunch.
Her father wasn't making a scene but he also wasn't looming over her the entire time, so the small gifts did bare a level of PG romance; for adult situations.
She held a backpack filled with romantic trinkets and got back in the car, feeling slightly more calm while her father, completely oblivious to what was happening, resumed spouting off more nonsense.
He groaned about the weather, the traffic, those who where less fortunate, and finally went back to the glory of Austin and his amazing lineage.
Things became silent and heavy as they past the street of business that lead into Devi's lower income neighborhood.
Koudelka saw groups of kids, splashing in the rain, houses full of people and life, and community, but no doubt her dad was festering in disgust.
"Koudelka, dear..." he murmured in sly utterance glancing over her and that all-too-familiar body scan as they got back into the car. She could feel herself sink deep into the chair. Would he abruptly change his mind about the whole thing?
"Your... strap is showing, you look like a prostitute." of all virtues the way he said the word strap, with a slow low tone, was so taboo and pornographic and yet 'prostitute' rolled out naturally and with accusatory venom.
"Sorry, sir" she mumbled and fidgeted quickly to hide her bra under the strap of her top. Koudelka began searching the car with her eyes as they fell upon the jacket neatly wadded on her lap. It had been raining all morning, and though strangely tranquil and slightly broken now only raining in spurts, it would pour again soon. The Trouville Storm was bound to be a record breaker at this point.
"I'd be an awful father if I didn't point that kind of stuff out." he stared ahead as he precisely stated. "There's no reason to show off like some call girl. You're better than that."
"Yes, sir." Koudelka robotically replied.
There was a long pause between them as he drove and Koudelka hoped that the previous discussion would be their last for the time being. She, sadly, was wrong. As they neared Devi's lot, he opened his big mouth again.
"Look," he started with a long sigh. "I'm being protective because I don't want you to end up in a place like this when you're older."
He pulled the car along the paved road that ran between trailers in front of Devi's home and gestured at each of the surrounding units.
"However, if you can see the lower-standard living of these people firsthand, you'd be more motivated to keep at the level the Pavlovs have had for generations." he theatrically moved his hand from unit to unit and Koudelka followed with resentment.
"I understand, dad." feeling the lumps in her backpack and smiling to herself; barely able to wait until she can leave the car and... be comfortable.
"Okay then, honey." Mister Pavlov gave her a kiss on the forehead and nodded his head. "So you have your emergency phone with you. Don't you dare call anyone but me or 911, you got me?"
"I... understand, dad." Koudelka repeated; hearing this every time she went anywhere.
"And!" he included before letting Koudelka go. "I expect that you'll have all of your work completed."
"We will." Koudelka was honestly not so sure about that, actually.
And, with one more final nod, the car was unlocked and Koudelka practically scrambled out of the passenger's seat.
She loved the feeling of uneven gravel under her shoes as she scampered up to Devi's trailer; taking in the charming imperfection of the units surrounding her. Everything her father talked about, how her life was apparently perfect, it was all so dull compared to this place. Something about seeing roses that were not symmetrical in the front of a mobile house with almost-cracked windows felt so lively.
Koudelka took one last glance at the car as it sped off -- not even waiting for anyone to open the door or anything. Good. She didn't want him sticking around either way.
Even if Devi wasn't home, she was more content sitting on this stoop for the rest of the day and night than sit in that car with that man.
Koudelka tapped gingerly at the door and stepped back; putting both hands in front of her and getting ready to do a skirt-less curtsey in case it was one of Devi's parents. The footfalls coming her way were very heavy so she assumed it was her father.... though she faintly recalled something about Devi's father..... something important--
With little fanfare, the door swung open and the person standing in the doorway was, confusingly, a cat. He was lean, tall, and kind of looked like a college professor with a small hint of trendiness to him.
"Oooooh, hey!" he started before Koudelka had a chance. "You must be... Ko...Konata? Devi's friend? Did I mess it up? Please tell me if I did. I'm terrible with names."
The cat put both of his hands to his hips and swayed them a little to the side; a very effeminate gesture that Koudelka had never seen in a man.
"K-Koudelka, sir. It is fine, though." she instinctively curtsied; trying not to be disrespectful at how awe-stricken she was with his behavior and, more importantly, that Devi had even mentioned her before. "My name is... difficult to pronounce, I'm told."
"You know what, I used to have the same problem when I was a kid too." he casually opened the screen door that separated them and brushed a bang away from his glasses. "You would NOT believe how many kids just gave up and called me 'Jerry'. Anyways, my name is Jericho, it's a pleasure to meet youuuuu. I'm one of Dev's dads, obviously."
Dads? Dads. Like... multiple? Koudelka tried to remember if Devi had mentioned something like that before. If she did, it must have not stuck. Perhaps she just misheard him but she was too afraid to ask.
Koudelka searched for a response frantically. There were so many factors coming into play here -- her inability to speak with adults properly because of intimidation and the fact that he was associated with Devi so heavily... something about that made it even more difficult.
"Hey!" Jericho called into the trailer before Koudelka could say anything. "Your little friend's here, Devsterrrrr." he turned back to Koudelka. "She hates when we call her that. You can come in, by the way."
"Oh! Uh..." Koudelka gulped. "Thank you, sir."
As she stepped passed the threshold and into the trailer, she was delighted at the scent of something baking -- it was a wonderful scent.
"Is your w--" she stopped herself in time, she wanted to say wife but noticed another man in the kitchen area. He was slightly heavier-set and a little older but the biggest thing about him that stopped her train of thought was that he was a rabbit... like Devi.
Heck, he looked a whole lot like her too, in that paternal way.
So, Jericho's a cat... and Devi's father. And this other guy's a rabbit and... was he her brother? Did she hear Jericho right earlier? Two dads? How?
"Awww greetings and salutations, madam!" the other man greeted her; looking even more scholarly than Jericho. He was putting down a cup he retrieved from a cabinet before turning to face her. "May I interest you in a beverage? Also, sorry if this is too formal, but I adore the way you did your hair."
"I was about to say that, Curtis." Jericho folded his arms after shutting the door and locking it. "You jerk. Well, how about this... Koudelka, I think your top is also beautiful."
Koudelka could feel her face burning as compliments of this nature from adults were rare especially after her dad had likened her top to a prostitute minutes before.. "I uh... thank you very much!"
With hesitation, she stiffened up with her hands robotically at her sides before hastily adding "S-sirs!"
"Whoooa, check out that high-classiness." Jericho chuckled; striding towards the couch as Devi finally emerged from her room; dragging her feet with large rings under her eyes and a shade of pink tinting her sclera. She looked so different without her beanie and her body language reflected her apathy. "Why can't you be all proper like her, Dev?"
"Shut up." Devi hissed with her voice low and raspy. Though, it sounded especially harsh today.
She faced Koudelka with her scowl but, after looking at the culpeo for a bit, looked away hesitantly. "I didn't think you'd show up today since I wasn't at school, you know."
"Well... uhm..." Koudelka found it really hard to freely speak with two authority figures in the same room. "I didn't go to school today and...I figured we could get our work done? But uh... I can leave if you want?"
"No, it's not that." Devi sighed sadly after letting out a gravely cough. "Just hold on. I need to take a shower first, anyways."
Devi robotically turned around and dragged her feet; stopping to look at the bunny man in the kitchen. "My cookies are almost done, by the way. Please don't catch them on fire, dad."
Dad? Dad. Ok. Yeah, both of them were her dad. She remembered that Devi said something about this before but the reality never really hit her until now.
"Ooooh, sweetpea." Curtis, the rabbit dad, started with an almost sing-song tone. "You know burnt cookies are our specialty."
With a small childish giggle, he turned to Koudelka and then cleared his throat -- proceeding to adopt a more husky and theatrical tone. "But, for your guest, I'll make sure it's fine."
"Just don't burn them, asshole." Devi moaned and disappeared into the bathroom at the end of the hallway.
There was an interval of silence before Jericho spoke up from the couch. "I'm sure you've heard but some bullies at your school took her hat so now she's all sad.... er.... sadder than normal"
"Oh. I've heard." Koudelka nodded furiously before cringing at her own enthusiasm. "S-sir."
"Awww, you are the most precious thing ever!" Curtis said very effeminately and softly as he rummaged through the refrigerator. "Can we get you anything? We have lemonade... tea... soda? Please take the soda -- we have way too much."
"It was a bargaaaain." Jericho whined from above his tablet device he seemed to be writing on.
Again, Koudelka was struck by the casual nature of this household. These two men were well-spoken but they both acted so playfully and... nothing like the adults Koudelka was constantly in contact with -- especially her parents.
"I'm not allowed to have soda." Koudelka rubbed her arm sheepishly. "I'm sorry."
"Oh, sweetheart, we won't tell anyone if you want a soda." Jericho reassured with a wave of his hand.
"Babe," Curtis shook his head with a condescending smile. "What if it's a medical reason?" he turned to Koudelka. "Is it a medical reason?"
"No. I'm just not allowed to have soda, sir." Koudelka gulped as she wondered if what she was about to say would have horrible future repercussions. "However... uh... if you have too many, I'll... take some?"
"Ahhhhhhh!" both Jericho and Curtis playfully fawned. "A rebel!"
"No, no, not at all!" Koudelka grabbed the hem of her shirt as she looked down at the tile flooring; embarrassed beyond all reason. "I j--"
"Oh, we're just teasing." Jericho goofily laughed as Curtis approached Koudelka with a cold soda can in his hand.
"Devi said you were really sweet and well-mannered." Curtis put a hand on Koudelka's shoulder. "We're glad she knows what 'sweet' and 'well-mannered' mean. Also, it's really nice to finally meet you. You're the kind of person we want Devi to hang around more since you could probably teach her a thing or two about being respectful to her elders."
"We're not that old, babe." Jericho, again, let out a goofy laugh. "And if you keep talking about Devi behind her back, she'll probably bust out here and kick our asses."
Before anything they said could register with Koudelka, she read the can several times and became confused. "Sir... I can't have alcohol."
Curtis squinted his eyes and took the can from her quickly; worrying that he may have made a huge mistake. Jericho loomed over the back of the couch in curiosity as well.
"Oh!" Curtis held back a laugh. "Oh dear me, oh dear me, that is the cutest thing ever. Jerry!"
"What happened? Have we been giving Devi beer this entire time?"
"No, no..." Curtis knelt down to Koudelka's height and put the can back into her hands. "...there's no alcohol in root beer, you needn't worry. You just smacked me with a huge wave of nostalgia though. I remember the first time we gave Devi root beer, she said the same thing... well... more along the lines of 'what if I get drunk?' but basically the same thing."
"Oh don't even start that, Curtis!" Jericho set his tablet down. "Here he is shaming Devi, but let me tell you something, when we were teenagers -- he thought a crab cake was a type of dessert... like a cake!"
"Pffft, dang it Jericho." Curtis muttered under his breath with a slight smile. Koudelka suddenly realized that she was smiling too while listening to their banter, even she knew what a crab cake was.
"Okay, here we were like 18 years ago or something on our 3rd date and we took a road trip down to Clamsburg, a real big seafood place, so obviously we stop at a seafood restaurant. Ohhhh, Curtis was dressed so nice on that day bu-- I mean, uh, okay! So we were sitting down to order our food and--"
"What do you mean 'dressed nice'?" Curtis interrupted as he put his hands on his hips in almost the same way Jericho did earlier. "I've been dressing nice my whole life-- don't make it seem like I just decided to stop one day. Seriously. Same fashion sense since I was a kid."
"I know baby, but back then you were dressing like Dr. Who on purpose but now you have to." a sly smile and a 'gotcha' nod came from Jericho. "Anyways, I order crabcakes, right?"
Koudelka found herself nodding obediently and quietly; entranced in his story but not even having popped open her can of soda yet. Instead, she pensively squeezed the can in her palms; hooked on every word that they were saying.
"So, imagine this. The moment I say 'crabcakes', this muffin-face decides to say 'wait, why would you order dessert first?' He's always been my chubby bunny but then he starts lecturing rail-thin little old me about how eating sweets for dinner is bad and blahblah and I let him continue with his dumb tirade until he was done."
"Yeah, thanks for that." Curtis turned to Koudelka with a sigh. "The entire restaurant was basically staring at me at that point."
"Then I tell him that crabcakes are, in fact, not a dessert -- you should've seen how red his face got! It was precious."
Jericho ended his story with a delighted titter; covering his mouth as Curtis scoffed.
Koudelka's smile did not fade. She traced her finger along the rim of the can before popping it to hear that fun little hiss sound. It was embarrassing to her that she only recognized this sound from her friends drinking soda around her.
As she rose the can to her lips, Curtis leaned against the kitchen counter and started to speak.
"So, Koudelka was it?" he started before chuckling slightly. "Interesting name -- took me a long time to say it properly but Devi constantly saying it surely helped."
"I never really got it, uugh." Jericho chimed in; having returned to his writing. "Once again! Not the best with names. Sorry."
"Our little Devi talks about you so much, it's really nice to see her get so excited." Curtis smiled as he tapped his finger on the cheap linoleum of the counter. "She really jumped head-first into this whole 'moody teen' thing and, since we moved to Trouville, she's been nothing but 100 times more of that. Angst-zilla; So it's nice to see her happy and -- OH JEEZ!"
Koudelka nearly choked on her first sip of soda as, before her eyes, Curtis practically became a cartoon as he rushed over to the oven emphatically; forcing the door open and being met with a small pillar of smoke. Behind her, Koudelka could hear Jericho scramble to loom over the side of the couch to see what was happening.
"Did the cookies explode?" Jericho asked with awe. "Devi is gonna be so maaaaaaad."
"Oh dear me..." Koudelka hesitantly set the soda down on the counter and covered her mouth with a gasp from the smoke.
"They're uh..." Curtis danced on his feet, a rather silly thing for an older man to be doing in Koudelka's eyes, as he inspected the cookies. "They're just-- they're just a little burned? I think? Ah man. They might be salvageable but I don't know!"
"Oh, boy." Jericho sighed as he plopped his chin on the couch's support. "That's no good. Hey, Koudelka -- do you want a trailer? We're probably gonna have to move out now."
"Wait... wha?" Koudelka almost took Jericho's words seriously. She had a funny moment of imagining buying Devi's home just to be able to live with her or visit whenever she wanted. Though, of course, it had to have just been a joke or something.
Koudelka was cut off before she could actually respond.
"Actually, I have an idea!" Curtis put his hands together and inhaled deeply. "Koudelka, sweetie, would you mind... distracting Devi for a bit while we make a new batch of cookies? Just try to stop her from coming in the kitchen, would you?"
"Whaaat? That'll never work!" Jericho immediately responded as he bounced his chin on the support on a rhythm. "We suck at making cookies and she'd know. We should just burn our passports, leave town and become ghosts, she will never find us."
Koudelka couldn't help but fight an oncoming laugh. She didn't want to be disrespectful to their plight, but there was something about seeing authority figures acting so goofily that put her at so much ease. It was such a rare thing for her to see adults act in a non-adult way.
"Well, we're screwed anyways." Curtis took some oven mitts and put the tray on a cutting board. In the moment of the cookies passing by, Koudelka could see that they were pretty badly burned. "Oh well. Guess we'll just get a pizza and hopefully she'll be fine with that."
"I'm sorry, sirs." Koudelka chimed in as she put her hands in front of her; lacing her fingers together tentatively. "You were distracted by telling me your story."
"Yeah! Blame Koudelka, Devi wouldn't get mad at her!" Jericho snickered playfully as the sound of turning pipes was heard. Devi must have been done with her shower.
Koudelka whipped around to look at Jericho and, all at once, the feeling of recognition washed over her. She felt like Alice and this was the Mad Hatter and the Hare. Despite her shock at what he said, she couldn't help but smile at him. It was all so preposterous and she was charmed by it.
"Ahh, don't listen to him." Curtis reassured as he patted Koudelka's back. "Devi likes to bake things when she's upset."
"Really?" Koudelka's fox ears flopped downward as the image of Devi carefully icing cakes while pouting was unbelievably adorable. She could feel her cheeks warming up at the thought. "That's much better than me. I just read."
"Oooh! Oooh!" Jericho shot his arms up in a sort of victory pose. "Devi found a reader! Finally!"
"You shouldn't have said that, dear." Curtis said to Koudelka and sighed as he watched Jericho squirm with delight over on the couch. "He's gonna make you read all of his stuff and ask your... opinion."
"I wouldn't mind." is what Koudelka was about to say but Devi walked out from the hallway which quieted the entire room.
"Of course you guys burned the cookies." Devi dejectedly stated; fully anticipating this. She sounded so much more apathetic than she ever had... and she rarely sounded energetic to begin with. "Why am I not surprised. Now, can you guys give her some space -- I need to talk to Koudelka in my room for a little bit."
Koudelka hated hearing her full name from Devi. Even if the nickname 'Kody' wasn't much to her liking either, there was something about hearing her full name that was akin to her father shouting 'KOUDELKA PAVLOV' to get her attention.
She waited for Devi's dads to suddenly become enraged at having her blatantly command them but they just silently obliged. It was an anomaly -- seeing the child just demand and not having repercussions.
"It was... very nice meeting you guys." Koudelka said.
"You too~" Jericho and Curtis simultaneously replied with warm smiles.
Without another word, Koudelka followed Devi into her room; her heart pounding furiously at the unknown she was stepping into. She clutched the strap of her backpack and adjusted it as Devi slammed the door behind them.
"Devi?" Koudelka said before being cut off with a dramatic extension of the small rabbit's hand.
"No, Koudelka, look." Devi sighed; folding her arms and having an obvious inability to look Koudelka in the eyes. "I've been an asshole lately trying to force you to be in a relationship with me, I get it."
"Uh... but Dev--"
"Koudelka, just... I know that everything is complicated and shit." Devi immediately began tearing up. "I finally see what everyone is saying. This isn't the place to be a lesbian and... uugh... I shouldn't try to drag you into it because your reputation is already good and mine isn't and..."
"DEVI!" Koudelka tried to adopt a more commanding tone but she was still cut off by Devi.
"I'm a fucking asshole, I'm the worst, I'm sorry about..." Devi's voice started to quiver now as she sniffled. "...I'm no better than a jock trying to force you into a relationship with me so just... I hope it's not too weird that I still want to be your friend but you don't have to be my girlfriend if you don't want to."
Koudelka remained silent for a moment with an eyebrow raised.
"Aren't you going to say anything?" Devi forced herself to look at Koudelka; her eyes bloodshot as she sniffled loudly.
Koudelka was still silent, but not stoic. She had a contemplative look about her as she, too, crossed her arms.
Devi made a noise that was somewhere between a small laugh and a cry. "I'd offer you a cookie but my dads burned them."
"Devi." Koudelka sighed; brushing her hair behind her ear before taking Devi's hand into her own. "I know I seemed really hesitant to be in a relationship with you but... after last night, I realized how much I wanted it. I found a piece of me that I didn't know that I didn't have."
Devi squinted; tears still clouding her vision as she slightly tilted her head. "What?"
"I'm trying to say." Koudelka cleared her throat. "Devi Randelle, would you be my girlfriend?"
Devi had a look of disbelief; her hand limp within Koudelka's grasp. She blinked rapidly as she looked around and tried to find something to say in response but the only thing that escaped her throat were little raspy gasps.
The lovely, almost dream-like and purely romantic, feeling that was created between them in that moment was shattered when Koudelka was startled by a monumental sound of something slamming against Devi's wall from outside.
It sounded like a huge bug was scuttling up the side. Though, that assumption wasn't entirely wrong, as it seemed a wild Aria had been climbing up and clutched onto the threshold of the open window.
"Oh my god!" Aria called down below her. "Don't be such a faggot and climb up with me! It's like 4 fucking feet!"
"I'll just use the door, yikes." Koudelka and Devi heard another voice coming from that Piper boy that Aria always latched on to -- or vice versa.
As Aria turned to face to bedroom, her expression turned from playful to grim as she saw Koudelka with Devi -- but Devi was crying.
She leapt from the window and onto the futon mat; landing on her knees and hands but scuttling to her feet like it was on purpose -- composing herself from her screw-up.
Koudelka felt Devi leave her grasp; sprinting towards Aria and leaping into her arms. Aria struggled to catch her while getting an ear-full of Devi's barely-coherent babbling.
Apparently jumping to conclusions, Koudelka could see Aria's gaze from over Devi's shoulders become darkened by the intense furrowing of her brow. Her eyes became narrow slits as she focused with deadly intent upon the fox.
"What the fuck did you do to her?" the question from Aria was clearly directed at Koudelka.
"I-I didn't do anything!" Koudelka responded in outrage; her heart still palpitating from gathering the courage of asking Devi out.
"She said yes!" Devi babbled; her voice barely understandable through her sobs. She constricted around Aria; rubbing her wettened face all over Aria's shirt. "SHE SAID YES!"
Before Aria could ask and Koudelka could clarify, there was a knocking at Devi's door which prompted Koudelka to leap forward a few feet.
They were right, it was that Piper boy who sheepishly opened the door with a charred cookie hanging out of his mouth and a pile more tucked greedily in his arms. He was greeted by a room, lacking of context to him, full of girls who either looked like they wanted to kill each other or kill themselves. He closed the door behind him with a skeptical look.
"Uhh. Hello." Piper croaked before Devi resumed her loud crying into Aria's shirt.
"I've always wanted a reason to dropkick Koudelka." Aria hissed as she patted Devi's back. "Tell me what happened!"
Devi began to weakly punch at Aria's sides. "No, you idiot!"
"Okayyyyy." Aria turned to Koudelka with a low growl. "You tell me then. The princess of snot ain't making sense."
"I uh..." Koudelka felt silly; barely believing that she had to say this twice today and, the second time, being so trivialized by explanation. "...I asked Devi out."
Aria let out a huge sigh of relief as her muscles relaxed and her furrowed brow finally stopped making her face look 15 years older. This was followed by a groan of disgust, however.
"Gross." she scoffed. "You guys got me all riled up for lesbians proposing to each other?"
Devi continued to weakly punch at Aria's sides with much more silent sobs. "Shut uuuuuuup!"
Koudelka could hear the snap of a burned cookie behind her. She turned around to see Piper, with an eyebrow raised, sitting on the floor while he watched the three of them.
Without missing a beat, Piper acknowledged her. "I didn't know you were gay."
The word had come with much terror and confusion to Koudelka. The word 'gay' never really crossed her mind but, in Trouville, it sounded much more dire.
"I uh..." Koudelka croaked; choking a bit on her words.
"Don't worry, I don't care." Piper laughed a bit. "I barely even know you anyways."
Rude.
"...okay?" Koudelka replied; feeling her old sass rise up in this nerd with his stupid cookie and his bitch-friend.
But, before she could let out any of that old fashioned venom, she was shocked to feel Devi wrapping her arms from behind her.
"I forgot!" Devi sputtered. "You asked me, right? You were asking if I'd be your girlfriend? You were the one proposing to me... right?"
"Y-yes...?" Koudelka half-nodded; staring ahead awkwardly.
Aria groaned loudly while Piper subtly chuckled to himself as he ate his burnt cookie.
"I can't believe it! Yes! Of course!" Devi rubbed her face against Koudelka's back. It was silly -- normally she'd be rather furious about someone getting their tears and junk on her clothes but after yesterday, at least with Devi, she didn't mind. "I'll be your girlfriend!"
"This is the most lesbian shit ever, holy crap." Aria scoffed as she walked passed them to sit next to Piper who offered her the other half of his burned cookie.
Koudelka's gaze followed Aria when she spoke; getting ready to snark back at the golden retriever. She was, however, met with a very subtle smile from Aria which disarmed her completely. It seemed Aria was more happy than she was letting on... or at least Koudelka liked to imagine that.
"It's nice, don't make fun of us." Devi purred happily; her voice muffled by Koudelka's shirt.
"I'm not saying anything." Aria put her hands up defensively as she stared off at the exit. "By the way. Has your new gross lifemate given you back your beanie yet?"
"My... beanie?" Devi squeaked in a tiny voice; looking up at Koudelka with a sudden spike of hope.
Before Koudelka could even speak, Aria cut in.
"Yeaaah. You should've seen it, me and Koudelka confronted those bullies together!" Aria nodded with a sly smile as Koudelka's lips pursed.
"...what?!" Koudelka whisper-yelled.
"You remember, right?" Aria rolled her eyes; annoyed at the lack of playing along. "I can't let you have aaaall the glory. Yeah, me and Ruby got in a fight and -- during that -- Koudelka snatched the hat. It was super nuts."
Piper started to choke on his cookie; holding back laughter as Aria violently elbowed him in the ribcage.
"Riiiight?" Aria menacingly whispered at him.
"Yup! Yup, that's what happened." Piper nodded furiously; mouth still full of cookie.
Although Aria and Piper began to nudge at each other -- Koudelka noticed that Devi still hadn't looked away from her yet. She turned to face the rabbit with a nervous smile.
"S-sure!" Koudelka finally played along. "Me and Aria uh... make a good... team."
"Don't push it, fuckface!" Aria barked from behind the two lovers.
"So... you have... my--" Devi stopped as Koudelka began to take off her backpack; sorting her way through her collection of sweet gifts in secret as she found the beanie all folded nicely near the bottom.
"Yeah.. but the thing is, uh..." Koudelka started tentatively before she pulled the cap out. "...one of the buttons broke. So I just..."
She paused and the entire room fell silent as everyone waited for her next statement.
"...It's not a gay pride button or anything like the last one but I figured, maybe, this would do too?" she pulled out the hat; showing off the new pin with the words 'Trouville Pride' and a large trout in the center of it. "We could always use a sharpie to knock out the 'Trouville' part of it but if you think it looks stupid... then we can try to get you a new o--"
"I love it, though!" Devi squealed as she hopped up and down; practically snatching the beanie back and then charging into Koudelka's arms. "You are the best... oh my god, I can't believe you did this for me."
"I was there to--" Aria sighed; stopping mid-sentence. "Whatever. Glad you're happy."
~~
Koudelka felt a new sensation of bliss while hanging out with a group of... genuinely fun people. Devi's parents got a pizza, they had soda, they playfully jabbed at one-another.
Koudelka was able to see a whole new side to Aria as well. Even through her crass and gross behavior, she was kind of funny and charming. The fact that the golden retriever was able to get Koudelka to laugh at a period joke really sold that -- it felt like that was impossible in the first place.
Plus, Koudelka was actually able to get to know Piper. She had this weird assumption that boys were one-in-the-same -- that they were simple-minded, immature and jockish -- but Piper was sensitive and quirkily polite. Even the friends he spoke of in other parts of the world seemed to be fascinating as well.
But, mostly, Koudelka was shocked that Devi's parents had so easily accepted her. The fact that Devi walked out there and immediately announced that Koudelka was now her girlfriend just for both Curtis and Jericho to joyfully scream and hug their daughter was... new.
Koudelka knew she had no business there but they all treated her like family; with compassion and love and respect.
The thought of having to go on that fishing trip with Austin really murdered her when she compared these two experiences together. She knew it would be a tragically boring day and she knew she would have much rather have been here.
She was also resigned to officially break up with Austin finally despite them never even having a real relationship. She never did the sweet little things she did with Devi with him anyways -- even the smallest things like holding hands or snuggling. It all seemed so silly in hindsight now.
If anything, the one thing she was dreading was not him -- but rather his feelings. Austin wasn't the greatest guy. She didn't like him but she still dreaded breaking up with him. That, and she also dreaded what her father's reaction would be. He'd probably get suspicious or something like he always was.
Oh well. There was no time to care about any of that right now with the good time she was having -- especially with the girl she had been pining over in her arms.
As the day rolled over, watching several movies, playing board games and eating far more pizza and drinking far more soda than she could handle, Aria and Piper had to leave. It was about 10pm now and Devi's fathers had also retired to bed.
The two of them were now alone and, for a little bit, they sat in Devi's room in a comfortable awkward silence -- wondering about what they were going to do about their group homework assignment.
"...I really don't feel like working on it." Koudelka stated with a coy laugh. She was lying on Devi's bed while Devi sat next to her; fixing up her black hair.
"Yeah... me neither." Devi sighed; immediately accepting that this assignment was probably going to not be completed in its allotted time. "Oh well. I had a lot of fun today and I really needed it."
"Me too." Koudelka smiled and gently ran her hand up Devi's bicep.
"...Can I tell you a secret?" Devi muttered; sounding worried and afraid and just continuing immediately. "Earlier... I kinda called my biological mom to see if I could move back to my old town."
"W-why would you do that?" Koudelka shot right up and leaned in towards Devi. "What happened? What did she say?"
"Of course she wants me to move back." Devi sighed as she crossed her legs. "She's more of an aunt to me. But, we're close enough and I loved my old town and Trouville is... really difficult. However, I... figured I was just being a spoiled little baby about this whole thing."
"What do you mean?"
"I guess I just thought you were going to break up with me." Devi awkwardly stated with a nervous chuckle. "So I was thinking I'd probably feel better if I broke up with you first? I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd do... what you did."
"Well. That's rude." Koudelka pouted matter-of-factly and crossed her arms. "But I'm really glad I said what I said... it'd be a tragedy for you to move back when I'm just starting to get to know you so well. You're uh... going to stay, right? Or did I miss something?"
"Yeah! Yeah, of course I'm staying!" Devi leaned in and hugged Koudelka. "It would've really killed my dads. And I probably wouldn't have even gone through with it all... but eh. I was just being immature and stupid. I just wanted to let you know because I'm really sorry for even thinking about it."
"As long as you're staying--" Koudelka tittered a bit; hiding her own nervousness. "--I don't mind. I mean -- you shouldn't feel that bad. Before I met you, well... is there was a term for wanting to kill myself but not being suicidal. I guess just die? I wanted to die. So there's that."
"That's a really terrible thing for you to think abouuut!" Devi tightened her grip on Koudelka with a small groan. "Don't think that. I'm the one who's all emo -- that's supposed to be me."
"Ack... I'm sorry for bringing the room down then." Koudelka laughed as she nuzzled her face into Devi's. "I'm not very good with diffusing an awkwardly sad mood... but uhh... maybe kissing would work. I mean. Only if you'd like to kiss me, of course. I don't know."
Devi squinted her eyes for a few moments as she broke their hug; staring quizzically at the fox until bursting into a fit of giggles. "What the heck, Kody?" thank god It was back to that nickname. "That's such a porno movie thing for you to say. 'I'm sad', 'Aw shit, tragedy', 'We'll fuck to make all the depression gone though!'."
"I n-never!" Koudelka hopped to her feet as she stuttered; her knees practically buckling under her miniscule weight. "I n-n-never said anything about f-fornication!!"
"Fornication, huh." Devi rolled her entire head with a snarky look and plopped down; sprawled on her front. "I was using an example, but we could do that too."
"I think you've had too m-much soda... Devi." Koudelka shut her eyes as her face burned.
"Come ooooon. Fornicate with meeeee." Devi giggled a little bit as she said this; wiggling her tail and tiny booty. "It'll be fun. Though, I don't have a strap-on right now so we can just improvise."
"What are you talking about?! A strap-on?!!" Koudelka waved her hands as she tried to shush Devi; physically starting to shake at the fear of Devi's parents suddenly barging in.
"Yeah, it's like a plastic dick but not quite as gross." Devi nodded matter-of-factly.
"Oh gosh..." Koudelka's shuddering spiked.
Devi rolled over lazily; her belly button showing itself from her rolled up shirt. "You know what's kind of dumb?"
"W-what?"
"I was kinda joking at first but uhh..." Devi fiddled with her hat as her knees bumped against each other. "...Now I kinda do want to. I'm genuinely turned on."
"I..." Koudelka gulped as she sat back down on her knees; her entire body shivering violently as she racked her brain for a diplomatic response. She began to whisper. "...it's not that I don't want to."
"Then why don't weeee...?" Devi whispered back sarcastically.
"I'm j-just... uhh..." Koudelka gulped again and bit her lips while she pulled back a lock of hair.
"...not ready?" Devi finished Koudelka's sentence; sounding loving and sincere.
"Y-yes... how did you know?" Koudelka's gaze lowered in disappointment.
"I know the feeling, I used to be the same way." Devi giggled as she sat up and took Koudelka's hands into her own. "Besides, you're shaking so much that my lamp is rattling. It's kind of amazing, actually."
"O-oh. I'm sorry." she felt her own hormones self-destructing and that excited feeling of fear and anticipation start to die down. She didn't know if this was a good or bad thing. "H-however!" she continued. "When I AM ready... I want you to be the first."
"That's the cutest thing ever." Devi purred with a sultry look. "Hot, too. I get to take a virginity."
"S-so you do..." Koudelka nervously chuckled to herself at the idea of it all. What a crazy day that'll be... whenever it arrives.
There was a long moment of silence between them as they stared into each others' eyes and, at the end, pecked each other on the lips with satisfied smiles.
Koudelka very nearly wanted to say the glorious words that she had been dying to say -- 'I love you' -- it felt like the right time to her, a bit fast but she felt it true, but just as she opened her mouth to say it, Devi said something first.
"...well, can I at least grab your boobies?" Devi offered a goofy full-toothed smile.
Koudelka caught a laugh in her throat as she brushed aside another loose bang and shrugged with an eyebrow raised. "Of course you can, bunbun."
Devi smirked in response. "Well... can I also see them this time?"
Immediately, Koudelka's heart started to race once more; furiously rapping against her ribcage. She had never understood how her other 'friends' had been so casual with talking about their breasts -- as they have always been something so significant and private to her. Perhaps it was because of her sheltered lifestyle, but, Devi's casualness of the topic made her feel much more comfortable about the whole thing.
"...just for a second." Koudelka responded; her eyes clenched shut and her shoulders stiff. "But! Only if I get to see your--"
Before she could even finish; Koudelka opened her eyes to see that Devi had already hiked up her shirt over her chest with a blank expression.
"I can do this all day, babe." Devi stuck her tongue out and went to take her shirt off completely but was stopped by Koudelka.
"N-no! What if your dads come in?!" Koudelka whisper-screamed with urgency.
"Pfft, okay, okay, I'll just..." she adjusted herself; wadding the shirt up her breasts and then letting it go -- watching as it stayed put. "...there! Not much but... eh. You like?"
Koudelka nodded timidly; her gaze not leaving the snow-white bumps on Devi's chest. "Y-yes."
"I'd make them bounce if I could, but I can't." Devi full-body shrugged with a humorous chuckle. "Anyways, now I get to see yours!"
Koudelka bit her lip and looked around the room for a second, then, without saying anything, quietly rose to her feet and walked over to Devi's bedroom door. She pressed her back against it and locked it at the same time for that extra security.
"Oops!" she then strolled quietly to the window, closed to blinds, and then proceeded back to the door; leaning against the locked thing with all of her body weight.
Devi quietly shifted her wrists around as if she were giving a silent drumroll.
Before Koudelka found the strength to do what she was about to do, she chirped a little "W-we are girlfriends, right? Like... for real?"
"Of course! Absolutely! I love you!" Devi's tail wagged as she nodded furiously. "You don't need to do this if it makes you unc--"
"I wanted to say that first..." Koudelka sighed and fought a shiver. "...I love you too."
She lifted her shirt, showing off her bra, to which she then lifted the bra itself for all of one entire second before frantically pulling everything back down again and patting the frills of her shirt.
Koudelka felt so vulnerable in that moment; having no real reason to lift her shirt besides wanting to... impress Devi or something. However, when she looked up to see the blush and look of excitement on Devi's face, it all seemed worth it.
Mustering whatever strength she could left, she approached the awestruck bunny and knelt down; planting a couple of kisses on Devi's lips. Devi then took the fox by the hands and pulled her down onto the bed with her. Koudelka landed on top with a bit of a playful giggle as they continued to make-out; entangling their hands together and alternating between small pecks and deeper kisses.
After a small interval of time, Koudelka broke free from their entanglement and looked down to see Devi's breasts still exposed. She gulped at the realization.
"Aren't you going to pull your shirt down now...?" Koudelka asked; panting a little from their session.
"Hell no! You showed me yours -- you get these all night." Devi nodded; happy with herself. "You can touch them too, if you want."
"I uh... thought you wanted to do that to me." Koudelka laughed a little at the irony.
"It's not an exclusive thing, you weirdo." Devi let out a loud and obviously sarcastic sigh. "Buuuut I'll put them away and keep on hating my body image like I always dooooo."
"N-no! That's not what I meant at all!" Koudelka frantically spoke. "I love your body!"
Realizing how blunt her words were, Koudelka immediately fell silent afterwards.
"Awww, you're the cutest thing ever." Devi devilishly snickered. "Want me to take off my shorts too?"
"N-no! Maybe? Y-- no! That's too much, you keep pushing it!" Koudelka's face collapsed onto the futon; her groans afterward being muffled by the fabric.
"Yeah, I'm the worst, huh." Devi lied back down; putting her face beside Koudelka's. "I was just teasing, don't worry. Though, we are gonna... sleep together, right?"
"I said I wasn't ready..." Koudelka's muffled voice permeated through the futon.
"Haah! No, no, I meant like... literally." Devi snickered at Koudelka's innocence but then sort of looked away; shy at the thought herself. "I just kinda think that... spooning is the best thing ever and I really want to do it with you."
"S-spooning?" Koudelka responded; half-knowing what that meant.
"I just want you to hold me, okay?" Devi said cutely but defensively. "And you're the big spoon. No exceptions."
"I don't know what that means..." Koudelka's tail flicked as she finally turned her face to the side to look back at Devi.
~~
She learned that she really loved being this 'big spoon'.