"You know her?" Sloane asked, finally sliding down from my waist but keeping her arms around my neck.
"I know of her. Forr military, specialized in unconventional warfare tactics. She’s been with Halloran for about five years now." Diane’s expression was thoughtful as she continued reading, her eyes tracking across the letter with the sa focus she gave contract negotiations. "Says here that 1-B focuses on tactical flexibility and non-traditional Aspect applications."
"What does that an?" I asked.
"It ans," Diane said, setting the letter down with a satisfied smile, "that they didn’t put you in redial classes. They put you in the experintal program."
Sloane’s head snapped up. "Experintal?"
"Think about it. Your entrance exam ranking was third overall, but your practical performance was completely unorthodox. Using Force Manipulation for rescue operations instead of direct combat? That’s not standard Hero thinking." Diane’s eyes were bright with the kind of excitent she got when she figured out a particularly complex PR puzzle, when sothing that looked like a problem revealed itself as an opportunity she could work with. "They’re not trying to fix you. They’re trying to figure out what else you can do."
The System chid in with what sounded suspiciously like approval.
〘 Assessnt accurate. Class 1-B placent indicates recognition of non-standard tactical potential. Instructor profile suggests optimal environnt for continued developnt. 〙
Well, when the universe’s most annoying AI agreed with Diane, maybe she was onto sothing.
"So 1-B is actually good?" Sloane asked, her voice cautiously hopeful in a way that made it clear she was still processing the idea that my class assignnt wasn’t a disaster.
"1-B is different," Diane corrected. "Which for soone with Lukas’s particular skill set might be exactly what he needs."
I felt so of the tension in my shoulders ease. Maybe being in a different class wasn’t the end of the world. Maybe it was actually an opportunity to develop without the pressure of constantly being compared to the traditional Hero track students, which I was not particularly interested in being compared to anyway.
Plus, if Diane was right about the experintal aspect, it might give more flexibility to explore the System’s capabilities without raising too many eyebrows. Hard to explain sudden new abilities when you’re in a class full of people who’ve been training their whole lives to notice that kind of thing. In a class that was explicitly structured around unconventional applications, sudden unconventional applications were just on-brand.
"Besides," Diane continued, moving closer with that particular grace that ant she had sothing specific in mind, "being in different classes ans you’ll both have your own achievents to be proud of. No one will be able to say Sloane succeeded because of Lukas, or vice versa."
She had a point. The last thing either of us needed was people assuming we were only successful because we were dating, which was a framing that would land harder on Sloane than on because she was the one with the Legendary Aspect and I was the one with the Unmarked file. Especially given how complicated our actual relationship had beco, which was complicated in ways the general public was not going to be briefed on.
"And," she added, her voice dropping into that lower register that made both Sloane and pay very close attention, "it ans you’ll have even more to talk about when you co ho for visits."
The way she said ’ho’ made it clear she had very specific ideas about what those visits might entail. Ideas that involved significantly less talking than she was implying.
Sloane caught the undertone too, if the way she pressed closer to was any indication. Her body was warm against mine, soft curves fitting perfectly against the harder lines of my fra. The morning light caught the pink in her hair, making it look like spun cotton candy, which was a comparison she would hate and which I was not going to say out loud.
"We should celebrate," Diane said, setting down her coffee with deliberate care. "Both of my children getting into Halloran Academy deserves proper recognition."
Both of her children. The casual way she included in that statent made sothing warm and complicated twist in my chest. I’d been living in this house for almost ten years, but hearing her claim as family so matter-of-factly still caught off guard. The original Lukas had probably heard it more than once. The transmigrant in his body was still processing what it ant.
"What did you have in mind?" I asked, though the heat in her eyes gave a pretty good idea.
"Well," she said, stepping closer until she was near enough to trace one finger along Sloane’s arm where it rested on my shoulder, "I was thinking we could start with breakfast. Sothing special to mark the occasion."
Her touch made Sloane shiver, and I felt the tremor run through her body where it pressed against mine. The kitchen suddenly felt smaller, charged with the kind of tension that ant clothes were probably going to end up on the floor in the very near future, which was a developnt I was completely fine with.
"I like the sound of that," Sloane said, her voice slightly breathless in the specific way that ant she was processing Diane’s proximity and her tone simultaneously.
"Good." Diane’s smile was pure sin wrapped in expensive lipstick. "Because I have very specific plans for how we’re going to spend the rest of this morning."
The System helpfully chid in with a notification about increased arousal trics, which I dismissed without reading. I didn’t need an AI to tell what was obviously about to happen when Diane had that particular look in her eyes and Sloane was practically lting against . The Oracle Feed could file its observations elsewhere.
"Should we go upstairs?" Sloane asked, her fingers playing with the hair at the base of my neck in a way that made it very difficult to think about anything else, which was probably the point.
"Eventually," Diane said, moving even closer until she was near enough to brush her lips against Sloane’s temple in a gesture that was affectionate and promising in equal asure.
"But first, I want to read the rest of the letter. It should have your dorm assignnts and what’s needed for your rooms. Class supply lists. The logistical details that soone responsible should probably pay attention to before we get distracted."
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