Love of Sorts: Irony

Pair: Ian Redraven and Ophelia Nay'lin

Their Story: Ian lived in a world much like Basic Earth, with the minor difference of nearly all depictions of fantastic and mythological creatures being true blooded creatures, and magic being an accepted and integrated branch of science (by all cases, a miracle in itself). Despite this massive variety of races and species co-inhabiting the planet, the majority of society remains remarkably the same (including racial bias, although the focus of most negative stereotyping has moved to the more coarse factions of orcs and ogres and the like). As such there was absolutely nothing unusual about his very first friend, starting at the ripe age of 6 months old, being an equally young succubus.

    Growing up happily in a mostly decent neighborhood (Old Lady Hissington down the road really wasn't the type to put up with children's nonsense), Ian and his best friend- laughingly called his other half by their parents- did just about everything together. For a majority of their first decade of life, they spent nights at one another house, their parents practically being a second set of caregivers for the other. The sheer thickness of the photo albums owned by their parents full of "cute" moments could literally build a third house with their volume. For obvious reasons, the mothers (because the fathers wouldn't admit it out loud, stubborn old bricks that they were) were looking forward to the inevitable melding of their families in a more official sense. Unfortunately, they may have slightly forgotten a small tidbit of information that threw that off track.

    Puberty, especially for a succubus, was a tricky subject. Normal human children start going through that portion of hell somewhere around the age of ten, give or take a couple years. Succubi begin puberty and technically never really finish, given their nature. Unfortunately, the starting point of puberty for a succubus depended entirely on their inherent power level (a source of energy that affected how supernaturally "alluring" they are, and several other nifty little tricks their kind are predisposed to). The more power they are born with, the longer it takes to fade and the longer the succubus would take before they enter puberty in order to "collect" more power (luckily, when younger, all thats needed is a kiss or some sort of intimate gesture with another). And as both of Ian's friend's parents were a notably powerful succubus and incubus respectively, his friend took until nearly her fifteenth birthday to properly start puberty- a rarity among her kind.

    Unfortunately, Ian both hit puberty earlier and was given pointers by "both" his sets of parents (alongside the dreaded Talk) about romantic relationships and all sorts of factors that he should look out for. One of which, obviously, is how well he gets along with whoever his person-of-interest was. Given several years of thought on the matter, and hanging out almost solely with his best friend to the point of already being teased about marriage by their peers in elementary school- he decided to throw caution to the wind and finally ask his friend when they were 14 if she would be interested in actually dating. Unfortunately, it was a year too early, and she shot him down (although it obviously was not harsh in the least, and they both refused to lose their friendship no matter the outcome).

    Slightly heart broken for a period of time, but taking it in stride as his father (and hers) had recommended long ago, he quietly gathered himself and- in a very mature move for a kid his age- decided to turn his love (he was sure he did, one way or another) for her from romantic into platonic. She would be his sister, and he her brother (something neither of them had, despite their parents' many attempts otherwise). Although he knew he would have to ditch any attempts at being overprotective of her- she was a succubus, after all, and needed intimacy in order to survive. Luckily, he ended up having a little over a year to strengthen his mind and turn himself into a worthy brother of a succubus.

    When she finally hit puberty, the year following was a confusing mess in her mind- understandable since all those hormones practically built up for a extra few years and hit her hard. Luckily, she could get by for the first couple years post-puberty with somewhat intimate embraces with Ian and her (lesser) friends, with a peck here or there. Unfortunately, by the time her mind finally turned to romantic pursuits to hopefully find a steady partner (much like her parents did, seeing as they basically "feed" one another regularly), the first person she turned to was her best friend and her supposed "other half." The one she had turned down, and had spent the last year forcing his mind to see her as a beloved sister, instead of a beloved... 'love.' The only thing she could do was clutch him as they shared apologies about how the whole situation was handled.

    By the time they were finishing high school, he'd gotten used to her dragging one of their peers (not necessarily always male) into secluded corner occasionally. He'd only had to deal with a handful of jocks who thought they could get a free lay out of her when she wasn't up for it. Their (lesser) friends from childhood were honestly confused as to why they never actually got together. It got to the point that they started introducing themselves as actual siblings to explain why he wasn't the lucky guy being dragged into a corner. Sometimes, the thought of "what could have been" crossed his mind (she admitted it happened far more frequently for herself, but that was understandable as she didn't have much of a chance to pursue it as she grew older), but he had enough self control to brush those images out of his mind at this point. And then they graduated.

    They both, true to form, chose the same college and got permission (as if they'd get anything else) from their parents to share an apartment with one another. One with soundproof walls, luckily- just because he was used to seeing her close to other people, didn't mean he liked the implications of hearing all the damn creaking furniture. Despite all the partners she brought home, they were usually tossed out with her in the shower before dinner. They normally spent the closing moments of the day curling up next to each other watching TV. The somewhat intimate contact (she really just draped herself over his side, and fell asleep there more than once) was enough to provide just a little 'peak' of power before heading to bed, or so her excuse was. He never found it in himself to bring it up afterwards.

    Halfway through their first year in college, he found himself without her in his Advanced Enchanting introductory course. His newest partner, however, was an adorable little half breed of a fairy and a wood nymph (he never bothered asking how that worked out, the results were approved of regardless) by the name of Ophelia. She came up to roughly his waist, and was as kind as they came- if a bit shy (which she attributed to her fairy-parent). He soon found that the shyness was mostly due to not being good with strangers- before the end of the class, she'd apparently deemed him a 'safe' person to open up to. This also lead to the discovery that she was actually in two off his other classes, and she shared his major.

    Near the end of the year, he finally decided to invite her back to the apartment so they could study for their finals ("Enchant this pineapple to be impervious to this fragmentary grenade!" 'Why!?' "For your grade, of course!"). So after buying some snacks (and a basket of fruit for practice) they met up with Ian's 'sister' at their home. There were two sets of cautious stares (and not a few glares), and one dutifully (and purposefully) oblivious man setting up dinner for three in the kitchen before they decided to start studying. The night passed with little issue, and Ophelia left after a distinctly extended hug to her study partner and friend. The succubus could only pout, but didn't let herself react otherwise. Except that she was particularly clingy on the couch that night.

    The following two years were as stressful and educational as any other two years of college. Ian and Ophelia grew closer, mostly using their classes as an excuse at the start, and she dropped by the apartment more often. Ophelia finally seemed to hit a breakthrough with his 'sister,' and their friendship took off as well- although being somewhat uncomfortable with her open nature of laying with nearly any willing partner (luckily, succubi and incubi were immune to- and naturally eradicated any- diseases that most would worry about), regardless of the biological necessity. She even got over the fact that his supposed 'sister' (they'd explained their true relationship long before this, but he just shrugged it off as "might as well be true") basically cuddled him before bed every night. Admittedly, that bit took a while (and a number of awkward staring contests).

    By the time that their second summer rolled around, Ian finally got enough courage to throw his heart out once more and asked Ophelia if she'd be interested. The excited buzzing of her wings, giddy smile, and abrupt leap (well, flying-dart, more like) up to capture his lips was a fairly straightforward answer. 

(And then I went to sleep and came back to this three days later. Dear lord what is this crap...?)

    Aside from the minor teasing they got from their friends (him for having such a "fun-sized" girlfriend, and she for having to "share" him with the succubus), the relationship carried on without issue. Meeting the parents was an... event, though. Meeting his folks was a simple matter- He was mostly human (with just a bit of elf on his mother's side, judging by her ethereal beauty), and they were very open and cheerful couple. She even got to meet the 'cubbus couple who were basically his "other" parents, to boot. It was a very happy, and joyous event that almost made her feel welcome to the family already. Although his mother(s) broke down crying when she announced their relationship, for some reason...

    Her parents, on the other hand, were like a rom-com act with a side of successful marriage. Ophelia's mother was a soft spoken but extremely kind nymph who seemed to put on the pants of the house more often than she probably should have. She was ecstatic that her baby girl had found someone nice to (hopefully) settle down with. Her father, on the other hand, was an energetic but protective thing standing at nearly a foot and a half (quite large for a fairy, to be honest). He was very open about the threats of what would happen if his little girl was hurt by the boy (a not-so-subtle speech that had his daughter red with embarrassment), but the fact that fairies are not known for their... offensive capabilities (and that being less than two feet tall does in fact affect your voice without magic) left poor Ian befuddled with how he should react.

    By the end of it, he left with a stamp of approval (and another squeak-threat) and a motherly hug to return to college. Ophelia was glad the embarrassment was over, but even happier that they'd gotten the okay to continue their relationship. All told, they were quite happy together throughout college, although a certain succubus stuck to them like glue when she could. Neither of them could hold it against her, though- racial bias against her method of survival didn't exactly help make proper "friends." The girls both thought it was a right bit of airony that the only partner she actually wanted was the only one she never "properly" got.

Her Quirk: Ophelia was a happy, but relatively quiet, girl throughout her childhood. She had three siblings (the youngest being nearly ten years her junior in accordance to her parents' longevity) with radically different personalities. In fact, she was the only one to consistently act like her parents' child (Ian found her to be quite the tease once she got comfortable with him). Finding a partner in her class had been a godsend, since she always had problems making friends due to her initially shy attitude. Going home and making another friend in his 'sister' was a (slightly delayed) blessing, as the girl turned out to be a wonderful friend, despite her tendency to want to stick to Ian just as much as Ophelia herself wanted to. Having the same major as Ian certainly left plenty of time for them to spend together, and she hoped it would pan out even further as they worked towards graduation.

His Quirk: Ian was definitely the odd man out in his younger years- After all, why would a boy hang out with the absolute definition of 'cootie-machine' like his best friend? Not to say the two didn't make friends throughout their years, but there was literally no tearing them apart. Even her initial denial to date him didn't hamper their relationship in the least. His only regret with that whole complication was that he was forced to make her sad due to his own mental fortitude to continue what he believed was for the best. This became significantly easier when he finally found someone to replace the (definitely not dirty) thoughts of his best friend as something else in his dreams. Ophelia was, in personality, basically a slightly quieter version of his best friend when it came to how well they meshed together. Well, quieter, and more focused on 'cute' as opposed to 'sex-personified.' She was also just a clingy once she was allowed to 'claim' him. Being a healthy (and straight) male, there was absolutely nothing he had to complain about settled down on a couch between his girlfriend and best friend. Lucky bas-

Status: Dating

Dear god, that... I had something much better in mind before I started typing that crap. Uhg...

I just... Just get out of my st.ash, stupid graphite lines.