“Have fun, okay, Sweetie?” Ivory Wings smiled as her niece got out of the car. “I’ll be close by, so don’t worry. I’ll keep a good eye on you.”

“Right. Thanks, Aunt Ivory.” Moonglade straightened her orange shirt and patted down her skirt before closing the door.

As her aunt drove off, Moonglade looked to the quite regular looking house in front of her. She’d never been here, but she knew after her dinner with Home Run the other night, this was bound to happen eventually.

The first signs of life inside the house were the barks of a dog, coming from behind the door before she even rang the doorbell.

The barks were soon followed by footsteps, and then the door was suddenly thrown open, revealing a man who resembled an older looking Home Run. Moonglade remembered him from her bus rides for the Friendship Games.

“Hi, Mr. Bus driver.” She waved happily.

“Oh, have we met?”

Oops. Moonglade had forgotten it was Silver Rose who met him. “Umm, n-no. We haven’t. Uh, Home Run told me. Uh, that you are a bu-bus driver.”

“Ah, you must be Moonglade.” The man’s face relaxed and he laughed. “Yes, I’m sure my boy has told you about us. I’m Homebound. Come in, come in! Make yourself at home.”

Moonglade entered the house, slipping off her shoes and leaving them next to the door. The house smelled nice, with floral undertones and a satisfying bouquet of love. It was clear that Home Run’s parents cared for him very much.

There were photographs hanging on the wall along the entrance hall. A lot of them seemed to depict Home Run and his family, with a few of them being of a small dog.

In front of her was the actual dog, still barking, but now she knew the barks were directed at her. The dog leapt on its front paws as it barked, its cute face morphing into a mask of dislike each time.

“Down, DD.” Homebound pointed at the ground. “Stop barking.”

Moonglade looked down at the dog. It was staring up at her woefully with its tail between its legs. The girl smiled and knelt down to pet it, but the dog yipped in terror and ran away into the house.

“Hm.”

“That’s very strange,” Home Run’s father said, scratching his head. “Usually DD loves a good rub.”

At that moment, Home Run came out of a door in the hallway, his face lighting up as he saw who it was. The boy had on his usual white t-shirt with the baseball bat and four bases on it, along with a pair of grey shorts.

“Moonglade! You’re here!” he exclaimed gleefully.

“Like I would miss a chance to see you,” Moonglade laughed, walking up to him and giving him a peck on the cheek. “Nice place you’ve got here.”

Home Run shrugged. “It probably feels very small compared to your house, but it’s home.”

“Well, I won’t get in your way,” Homebound said, shutting the door. “Just holler if you need anything. Oh, and Home Run?”

“Yes, dad?”

“Your door stays open. Got it?”

“Yes, dad.”

“Your dad’s on break too, huh?” Moonglade grabbed ahold of Home Run’s arm as she walked with him. It was so nice to get to be with him. “Since he doesn’t need to drive kids about.”

“Yup. Mom’s out at work though, since she’s a doctor and all. She’ll be home for dinner.” Home Run tapped her on the nose. “Come on, I’ll show you around.”

He brought her around the living room, dining room, and even the kitchen, before leading her upstairs to where the bedrooms were. So far, everything looked to be just an ordinary house, with nothing really unique except for the family photos and the multitude of baseball decorations, like baseballs, bats, mitts, and even some awards, probably all from Home Run himself. There were a few for medical school, which were likely his mother’s, but Moonglade didn’t pay much attention to those. In fact, she didn’t pay much attention to the boy’s house. Instead, her eyes had been fixated mostly on Home Run, and right there, she knew she loved him a lot and there was no denying it.

However, Moonglade also knew that unless her mother’s disposition toward Home Run improved, life with him would continue to be difficult at home.

“So what did your dog’s name mean again? DD?” the young changeling asked as they entered the boy’s room.

Home Run’s room was painted, to no surprise, a shade of blue, and his bed was, of course, patterned with baseballs. His guitar stood to one corner and he had a rack of baseball bats at another corner, including the one Moonglade had bought for him. This room basically spelt, ‘Home Run’.

“Oh yeah, DD. Stands for Dirt Dog. Baseball term, remember?” Home Run chuckled.

I actually didn’t remember.

“Can I get you anything? A drink?”

“Oh, no need, Home Run.” Moonglade leaned in towards him and gave him a pat on the chest. “Everything I need is right here.”

“It really is…” Home Run held her cheek in his hand and grinned widely at her.

The changeling returned the smile and inhaled, tasting the delicious love that emanated from her boyfriend. Both looking to the open doorway to make sure no one was standing there, Moonglade leaned in to plant a kiss on Home Run’s lips. It’d been so long since she really got to do this so freely and it still felt as good as ever.

“I… I love you, Home Run…” she blushed, feeling weird for saying that. She knew she was allowed to now, to an extent, but it felt like she was pushing it. Still, what she said was true. Very true.

“Yeah…” Home Run held her face in his hands. “And you know I love you too.”

Moonglade gave him another kiss, then hugged him tight. It was so nice to just be able to be beside him, to hold on to him. Two kisses wasn’t enough and soon, they were sitting atop the boy’s bed, their lips constantly touching.

“I love your kisses, Home Run…” Moonglade giggled and leaned her head against his shoulder. “Why… Why do you love me, Home Run?”

“Why, huh?” Home Run hugged her close and poked her on the nose. “You’re really such a lovely girl, you know that? Plus, you’re strong and skilled. Remember that crook? You sure gave him a good beating.”

“I sure did, didn’t I?” Moonglade wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes. “What else?”

“Well… You’re a really nice girl. Everything about you speaks awesome. I can always count on you, can’t I?”

Moonglade smiled and nodded, but inside, she didn’t really know the answer to that. Could he count on her? She wanted him to be able to, but she didn’t know if she would be allowed to be there for him every single time. Her mother didn’t quite seem to like him very much, mainly because he didn’t know the way to greet royalty over a hundred years ago or so.

“I’m glad you think of me like that,” Moonglade said, nuzzling Home Run’s arm.

A small lightbulb went off in the changeling’s head. Perhaps if she showed Home Run how her mother liked to be interacted with, she would like him more. In fact, the more she thought about it, the better of an idea it seemed.

“Hey, Home Run…” Moonglade took one of his hands in hers. “How about I teach you some, umm, royal etiquette? Y-You know… So you can um, figure out h-how to um… greet my mother properly…?” She ended with an almost too wide smile.

“Royal etiquette?” Home Run gave her hand a squeeze. “You mean for like, kings and queens?”

“Yeah, just like that.”

“I know they like to kiss hands, right?” Home Run brought Moonglade’s hand up to his mouth and kissed it so very tenderly. “Now, how’s this?”

It made Moonglade blush. “Oh, I love your kisses, Home Run. But not like that exactly.”

Moonglade demonstrated, by stretching Home Run’s arm out. She then bent down and planted her lips on the back of his hand, keeping one of hers under it the whole time.

“Oh. Like that. Yeah, ok. Looks easy enough.”

Moonglade privately wondered why her mother still insisted on being greeted like a queen when she wasn’t actually one, at least not as Ebony Wings. Wasn’t it a break of character to do this?

“Well, I’ll remember to do this the next time I meet your mom,” Home Run said. “What else is there?”

“Hmm,” Moonglade thought. “Oh! She also likes it when people ask for her autograph. I think it makes her feel important.”

“She’s the year’s top model and an actress with shelves of awards,” Home Run said with an odd look. “Funny how they had decided on the year’s top model in the first quarter. But yeah, she doesn’t feel important enough with that?”

With a cringey grin, Moonglade shrugged. “That’s just how she is, I guess.”

“I suppose I can. Rarity or Rainbow would kill for her autograph.” Home Run held her hand to his chest. “I guess I can count myself lucky to have even met her in person.”

Moonglade smiled at him and planted a quick kiss on his lips.

“Wait.” Home Run paused. “Do I need to ask for her autograph every time I see her?”

“Well…” Moonglade scratched at her cheek with one hand, the other wrapped around Home Run. “It won’t hurt to do so…?”

“Okay. Anything else?” Home Run pulled Moonglade closer. He quickly eyed the doorway before pressing his lips against hers a few times.

“Come on, not so much.” Moonglade chuckled and pushed his face aside. While she loved his kisses, she didn’t want to be caught in a weird situation, or worse, leave a bad impression on his parents. “What if your parents see?”

“Well, uh, yeah. We’ll have to keep an eye on the doorway.”

“Right, yeah. Anyway, mother also likes it when you bow to her. You know, like so…” Moonglade took a few steps back and demonstrated. “Got it? You know, like a butler or something.”

Home Run made a weird face. “Your mother sounds like an awfully demanding person, if she likes to be greeted like this, if you don’t mind me saying so,” he commented. “She’s always so casual and informal in the magazines and movie interviews.”

“Ehehehe…” Moonglade exhaled. “Is… is that so?”

“I mean, you don’t see her hand getting kissed in public.”

Moonglade tapped her chin. “That’s true…”

The two of them shared a laugh and a hug, before Home Run planted another kiss on her lips. “Anything else I should do?”

“Just… stand right here…” The changeling smiled and gave him a long squeeze. “I just want t-to be here. W-With you…”

“Stop stammering,” her mother’s voice said in her head sternly. “You are a princess and should speak like one.”

“Do… Do you think I sta-um, stammer too much, Home Run…?”

“Stammer? Just a tad bit.” The boy laughed and gave her head a pat. “It’s okay. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.”

Moonglade cringed, imagining just what her mother would say about that.

She glanced out the window that faced the yard. Her aunt’s car was still parked there, but Moonglade could see a foot hanging from the tree that grew facing Home Run’s window. Her aunt’s foot. The foot was quickly pulled out of sight, into the foliage.

“Umm…” Moonglade took a deep breath and tried to think of her words before saying them. “Do you think you could help me? With this stammering, I mean. You don’t do it much.”

“Help you? Hmm…” Home Run sat them both back down on the bed again. “I suppose it’s about having more confidence?”

“Ummm…” Moonglade looking between his face and the window. “How… would one do that?”

“Hmm, good question…” Home Run scratched his chin. “I guess… uh, maybe you just need to be sure about what you’re saying? Like, no hesitation and all that.”

“Mother always says that I should speak with poise,” Moonglade recalled. “She doesn’t like my stammering either. She keeps saying she’ll hire a speech coach,” she concluded sourly.

“Well, what do you think?” Home Run asked.

“I… Oh, I don’t know,” Moonglade said, frustrated. “Mother only wants the best for me and the family, but sometimes I feel as if she doesn’t know me that well.”

She sat down on the bed, frowning.

There was a knock at the doorway. It was Home Run’s father, carrying a tray of food and drink.

“Hey, kids,” he said, setting the tray down on Home Run’s desk. “Just brought up some lemonade and cookies. If you need anything else, I’ll be downstairs watching last night’s game.”

“Thanks, dad,” Home Run said.

“Yes, thank you, Mr. Run,” Moonglade added sweetly.

They waited until Home Run heard the footsteps recede down the stairs.

“Anyway,” Moonglade said, picking up a cookie and biting into it, at the same time looking out the window. There was a tiny flash of bright green from the tree’s leaves, too bright to be a reflection of the greenery. She had to change the subject; as nice as he aunt was, she was still beholden to her mother and would probably supply a full report of what happened here. “Do you have any assignments for the summer break? I heard that schools sometimes assign books to read and stuff.”

“Oh,” Home Run went over to his desk and opened a drawer. He took out a thick book. “We have to read Draculina for next semester.” He tapped the book. “I’m about halfway through.”

“That’s not fair, I got-” Moonglade stopped herself. She almost made a dire mistake. Again. “I-I mean, uh… My sister, you know, she goes to C-Crystal Prep. She uh, said she ha-has to read this really boring book. One Thousand Years of Companionship. She says uh, the story isn’t even clear. She doesn’t know what’s going on. And you guys get something cool like Draculina? That’s nice. I wish she had gone to Canterlot High instead.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Home Run said, flipping through the book’s pages. “There’s some parts I don’t understand, though. Like there’s the foreword by the writer, that’s full of weird warnings and ominous similes that have little to nothing to do with the actual story. But then again, I haven’t finished the book so maybe it’ll make sense later on.”

Moonglade said nothing. She had actually been tasked with reading Draculina when she had been about twelve years old, only the edition that her mother had given her had been a first edition. The modern ones had their tales twisted into something more fairytale-like, with the gruesome bits left out or reshaped.

“A simple enough book, yeah. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the rest of it.” Moonglade smiled and hugged his arm. “Say, when will I get to meet your mother? When does she get back?”

“Well…” Home Run looked at a clock on his wall. Its backing was a picture of, obviously, a baseball. “She’ll still be at work for another two hours or so.”

“Still a while, huh?” Moonglade pushed Home Run back on his bed and wrapped her arms around his neck. “What should we do till then?”

“Hmmm…” Home Run put his hands on the changeling’s waist. Then he looked past her to the doorway to make sure no one was there. “We could… you know, make out a little.”

“Did you just suggest that, Home Run?” Moonglade asked him playfully.

Outside, the tree’s leaves rustled a little bit. There was no wind.

Moonglade went over to the window, and after a moment’s hesitation, pulled the blinds shut. Moonglade loved her aunt and appreciated that she wanted to keep him safe, but Home Run was hers, and Moonglade didn’t want her aunt to report back everything to her mother like she knew she would.

“Sun too glaring, Moonglade?” Home Run asked as she returned to him.

“No, not really.”

This, Moonglade reflected, would be a perfect opportunity to strike, were she an actual vampire. The window was shuttered and the only other witness was downstairs, singing along loudly to ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’ that was playing for the mid-game entertainment.

Is everyone in this family into baseball? She wondered. Sure, Home Run’s father was a bus driver, so he would have lots of time to watch the games. Perhaps it was because of that, that Home Run grew up to be a baseball player. Maybe his mother also enjoyed the sport. It wouldn’t be a surprise if she did.

But it all worked out to her favor here. If his father was singing along this loudly, then he wouldn’t know what was happening up here. She grinned with wolfish glee as she turned back around to Home Run.

“Now, why don’t we see if we can’t, ehehehe, move past first base...”

She advanced on Home Run, sashaying her hips in a seductive manner that she had seen Adagio do so many times. She hoped she was doing it right, otherwise the siren would never let her hear the end of it.

“Come here, Home Run.” The changeling grinned and pounced on him.

Outside in the tree, Ivory Wings narrowed her eyes behind the lenses of her glasses.

“What does she think she’s playing at?” Ivory muttered. “She can’t possibly expect me not to watch over her, especially not in a target’s own den.”

With the window closed, she wouldn’t be able to observe what was going on with her eyes. Fortunately, changelings could see with more than just their eyeballs.

Ivory Wings closed her eyes and breathed deeply, then exhaled just as deeply. In her mind’s eye, the eddies and currents of the air and its various tastes and smells wove together in a tapestry of threads, until she had a full three-dimensional image of her surroundings. Including the inside of Home Run’s room. Now that she could once again ‘see’ into the room, she swung down out of the tree and picked up a large rock off the ground. Climbing back into the tree, she hefted the stone and waited. Waited for something, anything unexpected to happen so she could swoop in and save the day.

“Ara ara… It always falls to the hunter’s helper to clean up the messes…” Ivory lamented in a low voice.

Moonglade’s eyes were shut tight as she leaned into Home Run, kissing him passionately. A swell of love had sprung out around him, tasting ever so delicious to the young changeling, making her want more; she figured it was also time to push past first base. She’d already gone all the way with Sunny, or at least, Silver Rose had, and she didn’t even really love Sunny. So why not go a little further with Home Run? Sure, she wouldn’t go all the way to fourth base with him just yet, but surely a little touching wouldn’t hurt.

“Mmm… Home Run…” Moonglade breathed, then took one of Home Run’s hands and placed it against her left breast, as her other played through his blue hair.

The baseball player’s hand immediately squeezed on it, gently, but at the same time, firmly. His other hand snaked behind her back and held her close against himself, while Moonglade kept up her kisses on his lips.

Though loving this, Moonglade wanted more. She softly removed Home Run’s hands from her body and sat up. “W-Want to see something cool?”

“Oh, what?”

Hooking her hands under her orange shirt, Moonglade lifted it higher and higher, keeping an eye on Home Run’s eyes as they got wider as her shirt was lifted higher.

“Are-are you sure, Moonglade?” Home Run smelled like he was having trouble believing what was happening.

“So very sure, Home Run…” The young changeling still couldn’t help but blush as her shirt passed over her breasts, held up nicely in her white bra. It was still embarrassing to reveal herself to someone like that, even if she loved Home Run so much, but for him, she was going to try her best.

“Oh. Oh, wow. Wow. Moonglade…” Home Run averted his eyes a few times, once to the doorway, but they were drawn back to her chest each time.

Moonglade wasn’t quite as busty as her mother, but she still had decent handfuls to show for her good breeding. She quickly wondered if her mother would approve, but then shook the thought away. She’d already revealed parts of herself to Sunny, and Aunt Ivory couldn’t see her, so her mother wouldn’t know exactly what had happened. Her mother encouraged this sort of thing anyway. The only thing that bothered her was that her mother didn’t quite like Home Run. So the best thing to do now was to keep this under wraps as much as she could.

She hoped that would be enough.

“You-you look amazing, Moonglade,” Home Run said, quickly shifting a pillow onto his lap. “No girl’s ever done this to me before… Are you still sure about this?”

“A-Am I not your f-first girlfriend?” Moonglade asked tentatively.

“Well, yeah, you are, but-”

“Less talk, more touching,” Moonglade instructed, sounding a lot bolder than she felt. She leaned in to kiss him, at the same time, pushing her chest out closer to his face.

Home Run reached out with his hands, but just before he could touch his girlfriend, there came a yell from downstairs.

“HOME RUUUUNN!”

Moonglade squeaked and shuffled back off Home Run and pulled her shirt back down, her cheeks blazing a bright red. Did his father somehow find out what they were doing?

Home Run was quickly by his door, his face sticking out into the hallway. “Y-Yeah, dad?”

There was no answer from below, only more cheering.

Moonglade figured it out. It was probably the baseball game his father was watching.

That’s what happens when you name your son after your favorite game.

Getting up, the young changeling waltzed up behind Home Run and wrapped her arms around his midsection, gently pulling him away from the door. “Come on. We’re not done just yet…”

“I need to see what my dad wants. Hopefully it’s nothing to do with… umm… what we’re doing.”

Moonglade looked at him for a second to determine if he was being serious. She burst out in laughter when she realized he was.

“Silly boy. He isn’t calling you. He’s watching that baseball game, remember?” Moonglade tapped a finger on his forehead. “The team he’s rooting for must’ve just gotten a home run.”

Home Run stared blankly at her for a few seconds. “Ohhhhhhhhh, that’s what it was.”

“Yeah. Come on…” Moonglade lifted her shirt again and held it up with her chin. “There’s still something you need to touch…”

Home Run reached out once again. His fingers stiff and hesitant.

Moonglade licked her lips. This was it. She was going to let Home Run touch her in ways she hadn’t been touched yet before, and-

There was the sound of screeching tires in the driveway of Home Run’s house. At first, Moonglade thought it was nothing, but then she heard the car door slam shut, followed by the front door of Home Run’s home swinging open.

“For real?” Moonglade hissed, pulling her shirt back down again.

“Wow, my mom’s home early.” Home Run looked at the clock. “A whole hour early. Maybe she ran out of patients for the day.”

“Of all the days to run out of patients, huh?” Moonglade straightened her orange shirt and sighed. Then she looked down and grinned. “Hey, you shouldn’t let anyone else see that, huh?”

One of her fingers pointed to a distinct bulge in Home Run’s shorts.

The boy’s first reaction was to shoot his hands over it and bend down a little. “Ehehe, yeahh… I mean… I-It’s perfectly normal… I mean… In this uh, si-situation…”

There was the sound of raised voices from downstairs and the TV was silenced.

“Come on. I guess I should introduce you to my mom,” Home Run said, eager to change the subject.

“No way we’re going down with this guy like that.” Moonglade kissed Home Run on the cheek as she ran a hand up his bulge. It was a lot bigger and harder than she thought it’d be, and she had to resist the urge to touch it more at the moment.

“O-Oh, uhh… yeah.”

The two of them waited in the room in silence for a while, with Moonglade using the boy’s mirror to adjust her hair. She wanted to kiss him more, but she figured that wouldn’t help in calming him down, so that would have to wait for later.

Eventually the two descended the stairs, where the voices could be heard more clearly.

“But I didn’t call you,” Home Run’s father was saying. “There’s got to be some mistake.”

“I know your voice anywhere, dear,” a woman’s voice said. “You asked me to come back because there was something up with Home Run. Don’t tell me he fell again.”

“What? I don’t think he did. A-Anyway, I didn’t call. I was busy watching the game. He should be fine though, he’s up in his room with his girlfriend.”

“Wait, he’s up there alone with a girl?”

“I told him to leave the door open.”

“That doesn’t mean anything if you’re not watching them!”

“I mean, I can hear them better with the door open. And I can go up to check on them any time too.”

“I thought you said you were watching the game. Once you get that bum of yours stuck in a chair during a game you never get it off again, do you?”

“Well… I mean, Home Run’s a good boy. I’m sure he didn’t do anything funny.”

Both Home Run and Moonglade shared an embarrassed look.

The introduction was simple enough. Home Run’s mother seemed pleased to see that her son had a special someone, and introduced herself as Doctor Cold Pack. She had silver hair and pale skin, and she was wearing a lab coat over quite a formal attire, consisting of a light blue shirt and black skirt.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” she had said cheerfully. “I quite like your mother’s films.”

“Why, thank you, Mrs. Run.” Moonglade smiled as nicely as she could to look polite. “It’s nice to get to meet you two as well. Home Run has spoke many things about the both of you.”

“Good things, I hope?” Cold Pack gave her son’s cheek a cheeky pinch. “He’s told us much about his ‘amazing girlfriend’ as well.”

“Oh, he’s too sweet.” Moonglade blushed and grinned at Home Run. She really loved him.

Once she had set her things down, Cold Pack had gone to the kitchen to prepare dinner. Since there was a guest today, she had bought food on the way home. In a moment, plates of lasagna sat on their dining table, the smell wafting up into the young changeling’s nostrils, smelling delicious, but not as tasty as the love coming from her boyfriend.

For a home meal, it didn’t look anything fantastic, but then again, she had to remember that not all homes were as grand as hers.

It tasted pretty good though, she had to admit. And things happened a lot faster at dinners outside her home. Perhaps it was because there was only one course of food.

Moonglade had gotten to know more about Home Run and his parents over the course of their meal, but her focus was mainly on Home Run. She had loved him enough to want to move on to second base or even third base with him. It was different for Sunny, because that was Sunny needing her touch. In this case, she wanted Home Run to touch her. And it was mostly lust that Sunny had, while Home Run mostly had the extremely delicious love.

She hoped for more chances in the future, but she was likely going to have to ask her aunt about it before proceeding after today. She hoped that at least she would have a good think about it all.

Cold Pack did most of the talking at the table, being quite the chatterbox. Homebound gave his fair share of questions and answers, but his mind seemed to be somewhere else, likely still at the baseball game. Apparently his team had lost.

Moonglade also occasionally looked over to Dirt Dog, who was lying far from the table, keeping his eyes on them. Home Run had told her it was unusual for him to be so far away, but Moonglade knew the reason for this, though she didn’t say it.

The young changeling flashed Home Run a smile whenever his parents weren’t looking, and he always returned it was just as much gusto. When they were done, Moonglade helped them put the disposables away, while Cold Pack said she would wash the utensils.

Bringing the trash outside with Home Run, she realized it was already dark and her time with him was about to come to an end.

“I wish we could have more time, Home Run.” Moonglade gave his hand a squeeze. “I’ll miss being with you.”

“Yeah, me too…” Home Run took her other hand as well. “We’ve got a little less than a month left till school starts again. Perhaps we can hang out a little more?”

Moonglade threw her arms around him and leaned against him. “I’d like that. I’d like that very much. And I’m sure there’s more you’d like to see too? Maybe touch?”

Home Run’s eyes went wide and he looked away. “Ummm, y-yeah, I-I… uh, yeah. That’s… yeah.”

“I’ll be sure to get more time alone with you next time…” She whispered in his ear, then planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

Returning back inside hand in hand, Moonglade finished helping Home Run and his family clean up, then once again heading for the door, her meeting for today concluding.

“It was nice having you here, Moonglade.” Cold Pack said, standing by the front door with her husband. “Do come by more often. I’m sure Home Run would love that.”

“I’ll try. Thank you for having me today. I had so much fun.” Moonglade smiled her widest and giggled. Then she turned to Home Run and held his hand. “So I’ll… s-see you around?”

“You will.” The baseball player leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

Moonglade blushed, because his parents were watching, but she couldn’t help but feel so happy.

With a final wave, she headed for the spot where her aunt was waiting and got in the car, sitting down beside her and buckling in.

“Mm mm mm… Smells really good.” Ivory sniffed, then nodded her approval. “His parents seem to like you. That’s good.”

“Yeah… Did I do… um, o-okay today, Aunt Ivory?” Moonglade twiddled her fingers together. “I’m uh, sorry, I… shut the blinds on you. I just… I wanted to… umm…”

“I know, sweetie. You forgot my sense of smell is immaculate. I didn’t need to blinds up to know what was going on in there.” Ivory started the car and sped off into the night. “While I do not mind acts of intimacy, I had to do something about what you did today.”

Moonglade’s head swiveled to her aunt. “It was you? You called Home Run’s mother home early?”

The older changeling nodded.

“B-But why? I was having such a great time! I thought you liked it when I have fun.”

Ivory sniffed, then shook her head. “Don’t go thinking I betrayed you, sweetie. I did this for your own good. I know how much you… ahem, love the boy. If you rush things like this, it’s easy to cloud his mind with lust for you, sweetie. I want to know that he loves you for who you are, not for your body. You understand? I did what I did for you.”

“R-Really?” Moonglade blinked.

“Nothing’s changed, Moonglade. I do love seeing you being so happy. That’s why I want you to take things slowly, okay?”

Her aunt was still looking out for her, even if she and her mother didn’t fully agree on her being in love with Home Run. She was always so nice.

“Sorry I thought you were trying to spy on me,” Moonglade said.

Ivory snorted. “Of course I was spying on you. That’s my job.”

Moonglade squirmed a little. “Oh. Okay.”

Her aunt sighed as she put on her turn signal and maneuvered the car into the left lane.

“Don’t worry about it. What matters is that you continue to feed off this human and bring home enough love that your mother won’t complain.”

“Oh. Alright, Aunt Ivory.”

“But she’ll complain anyway. That’s just how she is.”