Your Girlfriend Calls Me Daddy-Chapter 88 - 89 | The Only Answer is Both

I woke to the sound of a textbook slamming shut.

"Rome."

"Wake up."

My head snapped up from the desk, vision blurry as my eyes refused to focus immediately. The classroom was empty except for two figures standing over me. One red, one blue.

Mera and Cheon.

"What’s up?" I mumbled, wiping a bit of drool from the corner of my mouth. The taste of sleep sat thick on my tongue.

Mera planted her hands on her hips. "What do you mean ’what’s up’? It’s time to go home. Class ended twenty minutes ago."

"Oh. Right." I checked my phone. 4:37 PM. Fuck.

The rest of the afternoon came back in fragments. After strategy planning with Noel and Usagi, we’d returned to regular classes. I’d barely made it through the last period before passing out on my desk. Waking up at 4 AM to work out was pure torture. Who the hell did that voluntarily?

Cheon, apparently. The human alarm clock who dragged me to that sadistic training session.

"You could have woke me earlier," I said, stretching my arms above my head. My shoulder popped loudly.

"We tried," Mera said. "You wouldn’t wake up."

Cheon stood with perfect posture beside Mera, her blue hair pulled back in its usual severe ponytail. "Professor Delacroix said to let you sleep since you actually attended morning training for once."

I looked between them as realization dawned. Both Mera and Cheon stayed behind. Both were staring at me expectantly.

Oh shit.

They were waiting for me to choose who was coming home with me tonight.

The thought hit me like a shot of adrenaline, clearing the fog from my brain. Mera with her red skin and yellow eyes, tail swishing behind her. Cheon with her rigid posture and disapproving frown that said everything her mouth wouldn’t.

Yesterday, I’d taken Cheon back to my place. The night before, Mera. They were both waiting to see which of them I’d pick tonight.

I was suddenly very awake.

"Need help deciding?" Mera asked, her lips curving into that trouble-making smile I’d come to recognize.

"Mera!" Cheon hissed.

"What? We’re all adults here. No point pretending."

Cheon’s face went pink. "There’s a difference between pretending and having basic decorum."

"Decorum is boring." Mera leaned against my desk, her hip inches from my arm. "Besides, our little Panda here still has her overnight bag in her locker."

"You went through my locker?" Cheon’s voice rose an octave.

"I didn’t have to. You’re not exactly subtle with that designer tote you never bring to school."

I watched the exchange with growing interest. This dynamic between them was new. Yesterday, they’d barely tolerated each other. Today there was something almost like friendship in their bickering.

"So," Mera said, turning back to me. "Who’s it gonna be tonight?"

Cheon looked mortified. "Mera, please."

"What? Rome has needs. We have needs. Everybody wins."

I stood up slowly, collecting my thoughts. The night with Cheon had been incredible. She’d surprised me with how quickly she shed her class representative persona once we were alone. Mera already knew what buttons to push to make me lose control.

Both of them. Waiting for me to choose.

A thought occurred to me. A dangerous, reckless thought that should have stayed buried. But I’d never been good at ignoring the reckless parts of myself.

I grabbed my bag and swung it over my shoulder. Then I stepped between them, placing one hand on Cheon’s waist and the other on Mera’s.

"Let’s go home then."

Mera’s eyes widened slightly, her lips parting in surprise. Genuine surprise, which was rare for her.

Cheon froze completely under my touch. "W-what?"

"You heard me." I kept my voice low, for just the three of us. "Let’s go home."

"Together?" Cheon whispered.

"Together." I pulled them closer, feeling the warmth of Mera’s skin through her uniform and the rigid tension in Cheon’s spine.

"Rome," Mera said, her usual confidence wavering slightly. "Are you sure that’s—"

"Unless you’re scared?" I raised an eyebrow.

Her yellow eyes narrowed. Challenge accepted.

I glanced at Cheon, whose face had gone from pink to crimson. "You don’t have to if you don’t want to."

She opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. "I signed the contract," she finally said.

"That’s not an answer."

She took a deep breath, straightening her already perfect posture. "Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes, I’ll come home with both of you."

Well, fuck me sideways. She actually agreed.

"Good." I guided them toward the door, keeping my hands firmly on their waists. "Let’s not keep Marco waiting."

We walked through the empty hallways, my fingers tracing small circles against their sides. Mera leaned into my touch, her tail curling possessively around my wrist. Cheon remained stiff but didn’t pull away.

The quest notification flashed at the corner of my vision.

[QUEST UPDATED: THE ORCHESTRA OF ANIMOSITY]

[NEW OBJECTIVE ADDED: STRENGTHEN TEAM BONDS]

[REWARD ENHANCEMENT: A-RANK GACHA TICKET]

[TIME REMAINING: 29:43:12]

Interesting. The system wanted me to bond with my teammates before tomorrow’s trial. This wasn’t quite what I had in mind, but I wasn’t complaining.

We reached the main entrance. Marco stood beside the Mercedes, opening the door as we approached. His face remained perfectly neutral when he saw all three of us.

"Good afternoon, sir. Miss Cross. Miss Cheon."

"Hey Marco," I said. "We’re heading back to the apartment."

"Very good, sir."

He didn’t bat an eye at three teenagers clearly heading home together. Marco deserved a raise.

I let the girls slide in first, then followed. The back seat suddenly felt much smaller with Mera on one side and Cheon on the other. I found myself wedged between them as Marco pulled away from the curb.

"This is," Cheon whispered, "highly irregular."

"Welcome to my life," I responded.

Mera leaned across me to look at Cheon. "You get used to it."

"I doubt that very much."

The drive back to my apartment passed in tense silence. Mera played with her phone, occasionally smirking at something on the screen. Cheon stared straight ahead, her hands folded neatly in her lap. I could almost hear the gears turning in her head as she processed what was about to happen.

We arrived at my building. Marco opened the door, and we filed out one by one.

"Will you require the car again tonight, sir?" Marco asked.

"No. I’ll see you in the morning."

"Very good, sir." He nodded politely and returned to the driver’s seat.

The three of us stood in awkward silence as the Mercedes pulled away.

"Well," Mera said brightly, "this is going to be fun."