Chapter 16

The three teens found Cass and Diego in the kitchen fixing breakfast. The adults were busy preparing quite the feast, with eggs, bacon, ham, toast, hashbrowns, waffles, several different kinds of fruit, and cereal put out if anyone wanted that. Both were casually dressed in bathrobes and looking very relaxed.

“Good morning, you three. Merry Christmas. Did you sleep well?” Cass said in greeting.

Hiro came over and gave his aunt a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. From the brief feel from the hug, he wasn’t actually sure if she was wearing anything under her robe or not but it was best if he tried not to think about that possibility. “Merry Christmas, Aunt Cass. And yes, we did.”

“Since none of us got up early today, we figured we’d have breakfast first,” Diego told them. “You don’t mind waiting a bit longer before diving into presents, do you?”

“This all smells delicious,” Karmi said. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

“The food’s pretty much done, but you can help with setting the table,” Cass told her. “Do you remember where we keep the plates and cutlery?”

In practically no time at all, the table was set and everyone was enjoying the delicious meal. Megan did wince a couple of times when she twisted in a way that tweaked her sore muscles but thankfully neither adult seemed to notice. They all ate their fill, and the teens’ ravenous hunger was thankfully attributed to them simply being growing teens, and not because of the massive amount of calories they had burned the night before.

“We were beginning to wonder if you kids were going to make it down in time for breakfast,” Diego said when they were finishing up the meal. “You hadn’t come down by eight so I went up to check to see if you were awake yet.” That comment made the three teens freeze for a second but other than that they didn’t show any outward signs of fear. “Your room was empty, Megan, and I noticed something a little odd. You don’t normally make your bed before you shower, do you?”

“No, but I didn’t need to make my bed because I didn’t use it,” Megan answered, cool as a cucumber.

It took everything Hiro had to maintain a calm expression as Megan’s father gave him a not so subtle look. “Explain,” Diego said firmly.

Megan rolled her eyes. “Relax, Dad. Whatever it is you’re thinking is not what happened.”

“So you’re telling me you didn’t spend the night in a boy’s room?”

“No, I did,” Megan admitted. “Hiro, Karmi, and I had a slumber party in his room, that’s all.”

“With the door closed?”

“Yes, with the door closed,” Megan said, with just a little mockery in her tone. “That was your house rule, and this isn’t your house. Besides, the rule was to not to be alone with a boy. I wasn’t. Karmi was with us the whole time.”

Diego narrowed his eyes at his daughter, not liking her tone. “While you might be following the letter of the law, I feel you might be purposely ignoring the spirit of the law. And you know that doesn’t fly with me.”

“Oh really? And what is the spirit of the law, exactly?” Megan said, her own voice increasing in intensity to match her father. “Isn’t it so that I am never in a situation where a boy might try to hurt or take advantage of me?”

“Well, yes but-”

“But what, Dad?” Megan interrupted. “Karmi and Hiro are my friends, not to mention that they’re a couple. Do you really think Hiro would have done something to me with his girlfriend right there in the room with us? Or that they would do something with each other with me right there watching them?”

Diego blushed at the mere thought of something like that. “N-no, of course not!” he stammered.

“Then what?” Megan said harshly. “Please explain to us how I ignored the spirit of the law by spending the night with my two best friends?”

“I ... I...” Diego hesitated. He wanted to find some flaw in her logic, to find some reason to justify his feelings, but there was nothing. “I’m sorry,” he said, wilting in defeat. “I overreacted. You know I only want to keep you safe, right?”

Megan quickly came over and gave her father a big hug. “I know, Dad,” she said, her voice returning to its normal softness. “And I agree with you for the most part with the no closed doors rule, but don’t you think that rule is more for people who haven’t earned our trust?”

“You’re right, Sweetie,” Diego said, returning the hug. “And Hiro, I’m sorry for implying that I don’t trust you. I do. I know you’d never do anything to hurt my daughter.”

“Not in a million years,” Hiro agreed. “And with you and Aunt Cass being a thing, she’s essentially my step-sister. I have to look after my family, don’t I?”

Diego gave Hiro a smile and a nod. “Okay, I think I can exempt Hiro from the door rule, but that doesn’t address the fact that you did spend the entire night in a boy’s bed.”

“A bed that is so huge that all three of us could easily spread out so that we aren’t even close to touching,” Megan pointed out. “Plus I don’t think we ever had a rule about beds, just doors.”

“That’s because I never imagined a situation where such a rule would be necessary,” Diego replied.

“Then how about this? I will only ever spend the night in Hiro’s room if Karmi is there too.”

“Don’t you think that might be a little unfair to the two of them?” Cass asked, joining in on the conversation. “As you said, they’re a couple. If you’re with them they can’t exactly ... have a date night.” She had to alter what she was going to say because she was still too embarrassed to come right out and say they were having sex.

“It’s okay, Miss Cass,” Karmi said. “Last night was my idea. Megan wasn’t imposing on us at all. And I’m sure that in the future if Hiro and I ever wanted some privacy then she wouldn’t mind giving us some space.”

“Of course not,” Megan agreed. “I had a lot of fun last night and would have no problem doing it again but I would never stop you two from, you know, having some quality time together.”

“Alright, I think we can end this topic here,” Diego said. He was growing increasingly uncomfortable with their discussion as it veered away from the theoretical and into the practical regarding the teens’ sex lives, especially if Megan was a part of the conversation. “Why don’t we head to the main room and start opening some presents?”

“Since you two prepared everything, why don’t you go ahead and the three of us will tidy the table?” Hiro said to Cass and Diego. “We’ll have everything in the dishwasher in less than a minute.”

They all agreed and the teens started cleaning up the table but as soon as the adults were out of the room Hiro whispered harshly to Megan, “What the hell was that?”

“That was me saving your bacon,” she said smiling at him.

“By what, nearly exposing what we did?”

“I didn’t have much of a choice. Dad was already suspicious because of my room. You know from personal experience how stubborn he is when he wants to find out the truth of something. So I told him the truth.”

“Just enough of the truth to let him come to the wrong conclusion,” Karmi pointed out. “Have you ever considered becoming a lawyer instead of a journalist?” she joked.

Megan gave her a smile. “I’ve thought about it. But Dad did come to his own conclusion. Sure, it was the one I wanted him to have but now that he has an answer he has no reason to continue digging.”

Hiro gave a little sigh. “You’re seriously playing with fire here.”

“I suppose, but you can’t complain about the results. Nice touch with the whole ‘family’ thing, by the way. I was only hoping to maintain the status quo, but Dad actually gave some ground and the ‘no closed doors’ rule is essentially gone! I guess he can’t imagine a brother wanting to bed his own sister, even if they aren’t actually related. Just think about what we can get away with now!” Megan said with a twinkle in her eye.

Karmi smiled as well, thinking of the possibilities. “Yeah, I can’t believe he did that. But don’t go abusing that freedom too much,” she cautioned. “Not right away, at least.” She then turned her attention to Hiro. “That said, if you and Megan don’t have some one-on-one time before I get back from visiting my parents, there will be consequences.”

Hiro gave a little chuckle. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but you have got to be the strangest girlfriend in the world. I mean, has there ever been a time where a girl threatened her boyfriend for NOT having sex with another girl?” He finished his words by giving her a quick kiss.

“I know, though I think I might have to share that title along with sharing you,” she teased, giving Megan a nod.

The three teens quickly cleaned up the rest of the dishes and joined the adults before they could start wondering what was taking so long. The gift opening took up a good chunk of the remainder of the morning with clothes, junk food, and games being the majority of the presents. Of note, Hiro did give Karmi some new earrings he made himself, using the plasma chamber at SFIT to create a pair of large artificial diamonds that he then cut using Wasabi’s laser cutting tech and set into some studs he personally machined. Naturally, she loved them and the resulting soul-searing kiss she gave him left even their audience feeling a little hot under the collar.

Sadly, Karmi had to be at the train station shortly after noon for the journey back home so she couldn’t stick around once the gift giving was over. Hiro accompanied her and they spent up until the very last second either kissing or holding hands, and no sooner had the train pulled away than Karmi was texting Hiro saying she missed him already. They continued texting as Hiro made his way back home, with Karmi once again reassuring Hiro that it was okay for him and Megan to do everything and anything they wanted to. He did make a detour to Headquarters to do something that needed to be done, but he tried to be as quick as possible so he could get back home without anyone wondering what was taking him so long.

Hiro was barely through the door when he was confronted by Megan. Standing in the hallway, she gave him a very seductive look that made him worried she might do something that would get them caught by the adults. “You gave Karmi quite the gift with those earrings,” she said as she strutted towards him. “Doesn’t your other girlfriend get a nice present too?”

Looking around to make sure they were indeed alone, Hiro reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. “Actually, yes,” he said and held it out to her. “Though in my defence you weren’t my girlfriend as of twenty four hours ago, so this was kind of a rush job. I promise to give you something better as soon as possible.”

What Megan meant as a joke suddenly became very touching. She really hadn’t expected him to get anything for her and her expression quickly shifted from teasing to genuinely touched as she took hold of the box. Inside she found a hair clip, similar to those she always wore but the colour of this one was a dark shade of blue.

“I know it’s nothing special,” Hiro said as she took the hairpin out of the box and examined it more closely. “I had Basemax 3D print it while I was taking Karmi to the station. It’s supposed to compliment your eyes. I would have gone with a necklace or pendant or something if I had more time but figured something quick and simple was better than nothing at all.”