Wasp gazed at the clock in his kitchen as he chewed down his soggy cereal, trying to see for certain if he would make it to his friends' hangout they had planned today. The planned playdate the four teenagers had was at the crack of noon, and to be vague about the time Wasp had left until he could get there, it was 11:45 in the morning.

Of course, Wasp was more of a morning bug, so he never usually woke up as late as 10:34 in the morning. But, he had sat up late until at least eleven the night before due to intense thinking. To be truthful, it wasn't exactly about the next issue in his favorite comic book series, the Power Ponies, that was going to come out next Friday (and how he was going to scrape together the bits to buy it), or about the next interim test he had three weeks from now. It was about, well... boys. Boy troubles, if you will.

Ever since he was very much younger, Wasp had a little bit of a conflict with the gender he was attracted to. This gender in particular happened to be the same sex as said teen himself. Now, he wasn't bullied for it or anything, despite a few name calls here, or a few playful banters there, but that was only because he had never really admitted to the strange feeling before. Though he was the one feeling it, he wasn't exactly familiar with it either. The entire concept was alien to him.

And he wasn't that one kid that was born into that kind of thing. He didn't have two dads, or, even lesser, two moms. He had one father and one mother, just like the rest. Or, well, most of the rest, anyway. The point was, he wasn't ever introduced to that concept since he was born. He didn't have homosexual parents. It's not like it ran in the family, or anything, but...

He just liked males.

It wasn't like he had a self conflict with it, or anything. It's just that it made him a bit nervous to be feeling some type of way and not know why, or how, or what. It was just confusing.

But as Wasp finished up his cereal, he realized that, it now being 11:53, he wouldn't have to hide the way he felt anymore. He could let it all out, as soon as he got to hang out with his mutual bonding partners. He'd tell each of them, one by one.

Starting with his closest friend, Oculus.

"Welcome to the dream team," Oculus said, beckoning his newly arrived friend over.

Him, Pentagon, and Hornet were at Hornet's house sitting at the bar's counter, staying over for the weekend since her parents were going on their annual anniversary trip. Each of them were in their pajamas; Pentagon in a cherry-red crocodile onesy, Hornet in a white unicorn onesy (with a rainbow mane and tail), and Oculus in a sleeveless shark onesy that showed off his toned arms. Wasp stared at that last particular friend, looking his well-defined figure up and down subconsciously. "Uh... you like the pj's, or somethin'?"

Wasp shook his head, trying his best to clear his mind. "Ugh... um... yeah! I-I like all your pajamas, actually. But um... I didn't think you were all spending the weekend together. If I did, I would've asked my mom if I could, too. And brought my own pajamas."

Hornet, Pentagon, and Oculus all looked at each other knowingly. "Oops... heheh..." Hornet chuckled nervously, putting a finger to her chin in before discarded thought. Wasp shook his head.

"I-It doesn't matter; don't worry about it. So, what're we doing today?"

"We're going to the pool. Like, an actual pool," Pentagon announced, folding his arms with a smirk. "No more o' that dirty ass pond. At least, for the weekend." Oculus chuckled, along with Wasp.

"I heard," he said. "It's why I came over here with my trunks." Wasp pulled his backpack from behind him, unzipping it and revealing his swimsuit and a towel. Hornet tapped a finger on the counter behind her.

"Ugh... I'm gonna have to change, and everything," she groaned. Oculus quirked a brow, tugging at the collar of his own onesy.

"But ain't it good to change early? So you can wear these again?"

"Yeah, but... it's so much woooork!"

Oculus sighed, deviating from the topic. "Look, Wasp, give all of us a sec to change, and we'll be ready to go to the pool."

Wasp nodded, keeping silent as he watched the others leave. Two, in which, one went into the bathroom with a change of clothes, and the other waited outside, and one, who went to her own room. The bug in particular that went to change in the bathroom was Oculus, since he automatically called first dibs on almost everything. He was the most dominant male in the group. The dynamic leader, Wasp supposed. Wasp liked leaders. Wasp especially liked dominant males.

Dominant males like Oculus.

Oculus came out of the bathroom, a tight, black tank top on and some dark grey trunks. The tank top was really form fitting on him, Wasp noticed, showing off the rugged bumps in his abdomen. Or, his abs. Oculus had a basic six pack, like most of the males in the hive who generally worked out a lot in the past in order to match changeling warrior standards. Although, when Oculus was first drafted to be in the first changeling invasion, he was only about twelve years old.

Wasp knew because, well, he was right there with him when he robbed a couple of houses and stole their blueberry shampoo (not knowing it was blueberry shampoo and not a weapon, of course, heh).

But that was then, and this was now. Oculus walked out with one arm stretched behind his head, and the other tossing a bottle of sunscreen up and down. Wasp studied his body once more, his face heating up with an faded yellow glow. Oculus opened one eye and looked at him, but he immediately looked away.

"Hey. Doofus." Oculus called out to Wasp, walking over and sitting his sunscreen down on the marble counter. Wasp looked nervously up at Oculus, who towered over him as he came closer, leaning in and breathing on his neck. "Why're ya starin' at me?..."

Wasp grew even hotter now that Oculus was this close.

Was... Was Oculus really into him like that?

Wasp knew Oculus had a special thing for nerds and squarebears, but...

...was this actually about to happen...?

"Hey, is everyone almost ready?" Hornet came around the corner from the corridor to her room. Wasp yelped in surprise, and Oculus pulled away from him just in time, before Hornet saw. "Oh... is Pentagon still in the bathroom?"

Oculus and Wasp nodded in silence, both trading nervous and awkward glances with each other before looking to Murder Hornet, and then the cycle would repeat. The female of the trio was a bit confused at that, but decided to let it go for now. There was no point in pushing into something she had no business in.

The doorknob to the bathroom clicked and creaked open, and a pool-ready Pentagon came out of the bathroom, swimming trunks on with a big, baggy T-Shirt that almost made him look like he wasn't wearing any pants. "The star of the show's here, ya'll," he boomed, strutting into the main room like he was some sort of pop star. Oculus chortled. Hornet burst out laughing. Wasp, on the contrary, tried to hold in his laughter as long as he could... "Wow," Pentagon sighed. "You're all assholes."

The light grey changeling only rolled his eyes. "Whatever. C'mon, let's go to the pool before the pompous-ass unicorn couple gets there. I hear they get real racist when the viscious bug monsters get there."

"Wow..." Murder Hornet winced.

"Ah, who cares about them? Let's go!"

Oculus, Wasp, Pentagon, and Hornet all rushed to the local pool all the way up in Ponyville, not quite sure how they managed to get there on foot. Sweating and writhing in pain at the seemingly forever sweltering heat, the gang nearly forgot that they were trying to go for a swim. Pentagon grunted, halfway squatting and resting his hands on his bare knees. "Oculus... I should've... saddled you up and rode you across the neighborhood, or somethin'..."

Oculus looked at Pentagon. "Like you don't do that already without the saddle."

Pentagon, at Oculus' quip, squeaked, and blushed redder than even his exasperated state. "Eep!"

That quip, at the same time, made Wasp a little bit insecure. After all, earlier, at Hornet's house was a bit of a new experience for him. Oculus was really close. Like, really close. If Murder Hornet hadn't interrupted their flirtatious little excursion, they probably would've gone as far as to... making out. Wasp's face was painted yellow with his marigold blush at the thought. He really wished that would've happened, as if he ever had a chance with Oculus like that.

Was Oculus a good kisser...?

Yeah, he definitely was.

But... but was Wasp really special, or... or was Oculus just like that with everybody?

Wasp froze as he saw everybody stepping onto the blistering hot, white concrete. Right now, with the previous endeavor between the two, Wasp felt like he was walking on eggshells whenever he so much as glanced at Oculus. Was... Was Wasp about to enter the point of him and Oc's relationship that was bordering in between friendship and something more complicated? Was it something he needed to study for, or something?

Wasp made a startled squeal as Oculus gripped his wrist. It was more of a loving grasp than a hard clench, but it still was enough to catch the victim by surprise. "Hey, do you wanna jump in? We can splash Pentagon and Horn' together," Oculus said, whispering in Wasp's ear either to try and be flirty or not to alarm the others. Wasp wasn't so sure of the difference at this point.

"U-Uh... O-Okay," he squeaked back, his dark yellow blush beginning to fade in again. Oculus gripped Wasp's arm a little tighter, now, but he was a little bit more okay with it this time. Bracing himself for Oculus to take off running, he looked up at his friend and gave a knowing nod. Oculus nodded back, gripping tighter and pulling Wasp with him as he started to run.

"CANNONBALL!" He screamed, Wasp getting even more startled as Oculus pulled him into the water as he jumped. Wasp gasped and tried to mimic Oculus' cannonball pose to try and not hurt himself with the absolute ragdolling he was doing, but it was too late, as he immediately crash landed into the water, and sank. Salty, chlorine infested liquid invaded sensitive territory in his mouth, and he was almost tempted to swallow it, but he immediately surfaced and spat it out.

Hornet and Pentagon made faces as Wasp awkardly chuckled. He was lucky he was a changeling; he didn't have any nostrils for the water to get stuck in. But still, his failed cannonball turned belly-flop was a bit embarrassing.

"Heheh. Aw, that was epic," Oculus laughed, tugging at his now soaking wet tank top. "Oof. Forgot to take this off."

Reaching lower and gripping the bottom of his shirt, he pulled it up and over his head, revealing his rock hard, (albiet wet) light grey abdominals. They further defined the rest of his upper-body, like his toned chest, and the toned muscles on his arms. Wasp was growing hotter and hotter, even if he was in the water. Jokingly, Pentagon whistled at the loss of Oculus' shirt. Oculus scoffed. "You perv."

Pentagon laughed at that.

Wasp wasn't laughing.

After the pool, everybody went back to Hornet's house to relax for a bit and clean up. Oculus had just gotten out of the shower (and Pentagon went in himself), while Hornet was using her own shower, via the bathroom she had connected to her room. Wasp had already taken a shower, and was waiting for everyone else. He started sweating immensely when Oculus plopped down next to him, sprawling his arm across the back of the couch and around Wasp's neck. "Oops. Sorry about that." Oculus pulled his arm back, and suddenly, Wasp regretted not stopping him.

"Hey, um... Oculus?" He turned to the light grey bug, unease and tension in his voice. Oculus stuck his tongue out for a reason Wasp could guess and hope was false, then turned to him, brows raised.

"Yeah? What's up?"

"W-When I, uh... leave, could you... could you walk me home...? I-I got something I wanna tell you... I-In private..."

Wasp knew what he was doing. He was trying to play his cards right with a different deck. Before everything that happened earlier, he had his mind set on coming out to Oculus in a tremendously differing strategy. He thought maybe he'd come out to the rest of the group, all at the same time. But the fact that Oculus may have put him on the spot, albiet there only being those two in the area made him a little more cautious.

So, with this newfound plan, he'd get Oculus alone, tell him how he felt, and... and then he'd see what happened then.

Sure, Wasp was more of a "plan ahead" type of guy, but, he didn't want to get his hopes up with this kind of thing. It was really hard to manipulate a problem-bug like Oculus; he was a trifling bit unpredictable. One minute nasty, the next minute nice. Sour, then Sweet. Like a pack of Sour Patch Foals.

A pack of Sour Patch Foals that Wasp wanted to taste.

The four teenagers had spent about two hours at the pool earlier. The walk back was about an hour, and it was now five o'clock in the evening. Wasp had about an hour and a half before he had to return home at 6:30 before his parents arrived at eight. Then, he'd have enough time to speak to Oculus about that particular topic he planned to. So now, he was mentally preparing himself for that.

"Sure. I'll walk ya."

Wasp realized now that he had gotten so caught up in his thinking that he didn't remember he asked Oculus a really important question, and then recieved a really important answer. His heart skipped a beat as he glanced over to his friend in disbelief. "W-Wait... Wait, really?"

"Of course. I said yeah, didn't I?"

"R-Right... yeah... yes..."

Oculus moved his arm over to Wasp's direction again, gripping his right shoulder as he wrapped an arm around him. Wasp jumped a little in surprised, but soon settled down. "Heheheh..." he chuckled nervously, not sure exactly what else to say or do. All he knew was that Oculus had gripped him someplace and that he was most definitely vulnerable. He didn't know whether to move, or, open his receptors to see Oculus' possibly predatory intent, or what. But even so, he felt more and more comfortable with each passing moment of his touch.

So he loosened up.

The bathroom doorknob clicked, and Pentagon came out, wearing navy blue shorts and a cherry red T-Shirt. "Yo. Hornet out yet?"

Oculus and Wasp shook their heads, the former fixing his position so that he was no longer touching Wasp. The latter bug-boy was a little bit confused. If... If there was even an eight of a possibility that him and Oculus were flirting (unbeknownst to Wasp, of course), then... wouldn't Oculus be relatively open about it? Oculus was a generally openly flirtatious creature... wasn't he? But... the first time it happened was when Hornet came around. It was more understandable then; you wouldn't want one of your friends to catch you making out with somebody.

...But the second time couldn't have been so severe, could it?

Well, Pentagon was pretty possessive, and he and Oculus were...

So...

Wasp could wrap his head around that idea. Yeah, he guess he'd let it go for now. Nothing to worry about. Not right now, at least.

Reaching over and tapping Oculus' shoulder, Wasp timidly said, "Hey, uh... I-I know it's early, b-but... c-can you walk me home, now?"

Wasp was getting antsy, and he knew that. But he didn't want to rush the process, and possibly hurt his chances at getting Oculus' attention. Doing that second thing was difficult enough alone, with extra emphasis on the alone part. Oculus was a hard guy to convince to do something, unless there were three or more creatures to convince him.

But not tonight. Wasp needed him all alone to tell him about how he felt. Not just the coming out with sexuality part, but also the coming out with harbored feelings part. That part was bound to be especially difficult.

He looked a bit nervous as he watched Pentagon fold his arms and look Oculus up and down, like he was disapproving of something. Like, if he agreed, whatever he agreed to was getting in the way of something else they had planned. Deep down, Wasp was selfish when it came to certain desires, so whether or not Pentagon liked what Oculus was going to say (which at this point was obviously yes) was completely outside his radar, right now.

"Sure. Heh, I bet Pentagon's herpes infection's driving ya outta here, huh?"

Wasp squeaked. Pentagon scowled. "I do not have a herpes infection. My dick just itches..."

"Fine. Say whatever you wanna," Oculus said in conclusion, rising up off the couch and looking down at Wasp, who just stared up at him with his trademark marigold blush covering his cheeks. "You ready?" Wasp nodded in response, and Oculus grabbed his hand firmly before pulling him up and keeping him close. Pentagon didn't seem to like that, but, Wasp, on the contrary, was almost amused at his jealousy.

Wasp unlocked the door to his house, stepping inside and holding the door open for his friend to enter his humble abode as well. He flicked the lights on beside the keychain, where he flicked his keys on one of the hooks and started further inside. Oculus continued behind Wasp, shutting the door before he walked further into his friends' house expecting something to be said.

Now, Wasp was about to begin his strategy. The four- three- whatever number step plan he made up for these past two days. Stepping a quarter onto the beige carpeting of his room, he let his left hand graze the doorway, then looked back at Oculus, biting his lip in thought. "So... about that thing I wanted to tell you..."

He had just began the first step. Going somewhere discrete just in case his parents came home early for whatever reason. Sure, the very same step wouldn't have worked as well if Oculus turned out to be an axe murderer, but, eh, it worked for the best of situations. Wasp would just have to hope he had gotten one.

The second one was to keep Oculus' attention. The problem-bug was the kind of creature you'd want to impress on the first try, and leave no opportunity behind. If you made a good first impression, you were likely just as good to get the go ahead for whatever you wanted, or needed him to do. Like some sort of sales pitch, or something. Just a bit less one size fits all-ish. Wasp was playing with fire, now. And he was trying his best to make sure he didn't get burned any.

"Yeah?" Oculus asked, following Wasp into his room. Wasp allowed Oculus to walk in further before shutting the door with his back turned to him. He didn't want anything to disturb, whether it be a noise, or his parents. What was definitely a pro in this type of situation was that Wasp's mother and father gave him the freedom to do practically anything he wanted, since he got the good grades and the even better attitude to show for it. So, they allowed him to set a few boundaries with them, just so they weren't intruding. If his door was shut, they'd check on him from the other side, but unless he said they could come in, they wouldn't breach his privacy.

Yeah, at this point, he had his parents wrapped around his finger.

And that was exactly what he needed.

"Well..." Wasp turned back to Oculus, sitting on the edge of his bed and motioning for Oculus to sit down too. Oculus obliged, sitting up straight, his head turned to face his friend with a brow arched in question. Wasp continued, "Y-Y'know how... how Pentagon's... g-gay, right? H-He likes guys?"

"Yeah?"

"W-Well... U-Um... a-all of us are okay with that, right?"

"Yep. Of course."

"W-Well... about that..."

Wasp put a hand over his chest, clenching it tightly as he felt like releasing this kind of secret was like breaking a colossal-sized dam and letting the water rush through and flood the cities and towns. It felt conflicting, like he was unleashing some sort of mutant monster and allowing it to bring destruction...

But in reality, the levity of the problem was equal to that of letting a trapped firefly out of a glass jar...

"I-I'm gay. Like Pentagon."

Oculus didn't look surprised. "Wow. Really? I never guessed." Wasp furled his brow, looking at Oculus with a deadpan glare. The teenaged changeling chuckled. "Sorry, sorry. It's just... you know, I guess sometimes you can just... you can taste the lust and attraction when some guy looks at another guy, y'know?"

Wasp noticed how Oculus looked him up and down, his tongue probably subconsciously flicking. It made Wasp's body hot, and his heart throb. "R-Right, but... but that's the thing, see... O-Oculus?"

Now, came the even bigger can of worms. The can of giant worms, that would either dish in the dirt and dig themselves into a divot, or they were going to live in the compost and help the environment grow stronger than it is currently. Either way, he would only know once he opened that can and let them out. And the soil would either wretch in rejection, or accept the worms the way they were.

...Was that a good comparison?

"What's up?"

"I-I... I kind of... I kind of... l-like you. L-Like, I'm attracted to you... a-a lot..."

Oculus chuckled, and that chuckle turned into a laugh, and that same laugh turned into an even bigger laugh. Wasp looked offended, but, he figured he shouldn't have been. After all, Oculus made his decision. It wasn't Oculus' fault he wasn't attracted to him, was it? No. Now Wasp was looking even stupider than that belly flop earlier in the day.

Oculus stopped laughing, then gathered the shattered bits of his remaining sense to say, "You think I didn't notice you checking me out? I mean, c'mon, Wasp, learn to take a hint! I'm a changeling, for fuck's sake!"

Now, Wasp felt like an even bigger moron than ever. Hanging his head low with a heavy sigh, his shoulders drooped, and his ears flopped down to the sides of his head. Oculus lifted his chin up, though, looking frustrated to see one of his best friends disappointed.

So he leaned in, closing the distance between them until their lips eventually touched. Wasp felt like internally rejoicing, as one of the moments he had been yearning for had finally taken place. He couldn't believe it! His wings fluttered under his closed elytra, even after Oculus pulled back, looking like he was about to cause mayhem. "S-So you like me back?"

"I think you're pretty cute," Oculus answered, pressing his horn on Wasp's as a sign of his pure love. Wasp leaned in himself for another taste, linking him and Oculus' lips so that they locked in a perfect pattern that made his heart jump and skip at the same time. His face heated up as his own body; not his brain, told him to keep going as he touched his hands all over Oculus' chest, pushing in opposite directions on the chitin under his slightly open, teal, Hawaiian buttoned down shirt.

Oculus wrapped his arms around Wasp's waist, pulling forward so that his friend wrapped his legs around his hips. He pulled off the bed, carrying Wasp to the other side of the room where he let him down as he pinned him to the wall. Wasp's lips were within an inch of a distance from Oculus' as he whispered. "Maybe you should... spend the night here..." And he massaged his shoulders, going back down to press his hands on Oculus' chest and beginning to unbutton his shirt.

Each button he undid, the two shared one more kiss, until the whole shirt was undone. Wasp bit his finger as Oculus turned him around, and began planting kisses on the back of his neck...

Wasp held back a moan as he slowly opened his mouth to vocally express his love. If it weren't for him and Oculus' heavy breathing, it might've been easier to let Oculus know that what he was feeling was completely and absolutely pure and true.

Guess he'd have to show him in the next few minutes.

Pentagon sat up on the couch at Hornet's house, wondering where Oculus could've been. He shot his friend a couple of texts asking where he was, but no answer. He even tried contacting Wasp, but... no reply. Maybe they went out to do something else?