This time when you roll out of bed to jog with Skitter, Crystal has an idea of what you're doing, so there's no mumbly-cavewoman stuff. Instead, she uses her flight to slither off the bed like some kind of sexy blonde snake as she curls around you. You'd gotten up a bit before you normally do for just this reason, as it takes your girlfriend a while before she becomes fully human.
Soon enough, though, you've made it to Taylor's neighborhood and actually get something resembling a smile from the girl. She's still stressed, but that's not gonna change immediately. She's noticeably nervous about this whole 'actually interacting with people' thing, but Crystal secures a promise that she'll be ready around 11 as you go your separate ways.
Crystal heads off to check in on the girls and round up Susan, while you place a very nice hat on the petrified elf you found and start in on the mandrake draught you'll need to fix him—or her. All the scans you've done seem to show that the elf was in good health before being petrified, so you don't think there'll be any major issues.
One issue is that you only have one other mandrake left from the stores you've recovered. It's something you might bring up with Amy, she might be able to assist with cloning or even just making the plants fruit more.
In any case, all of the ingredient prep gets done, and you accomplish the majority of the potion creation before you need to meet up with Crystal and Susan.
At Crystal's dorm you're pulled inside and immediately confronted with a doe-eyed, faintly embarrassed brunette while your girlfriend hovers over your shoulder.
Susan's fiddling with her phone as she meets your eyes. "James, um… look. Back a couple of weeks ago, when I… y'know…" She trails off and holds her phone up. When you take it and look the videos and pictures she took of your cock and the blowjob she gave you are queued up. Now unwilling to meet your eyes, you can still see her crying as she looks at the floor. "I shouldn't have taken the pictures or video. I shared them with Crystal the next day and that was wrong too. You can delete all of them! I never told anyone else about any of it, so the other girls don't know! I'm sorry!"
Tilting her head up so you can establish a mental link you see that her apology is sincere, although Susan and your girlfriend have bonded somewhat over the erotic photos and she would hate to lose them. Whenever the two girls have discussed you, however, it's been in private, away from the rest of S Klub. Looking over your shoulder at Crystal and brushing her mind lightly shows that she hopes you'll accept the apology because she's fond of the curly-haired girl, and seems to be trying to learn her deepthroat skills from her.
[X][Susan] Let her keep the photos and accept her apology
You sigh and tap the video, scrubbing it and turning the sound up so that Susan's loud, sloppy swallows echo in the room. Crystal pants softly in your ear and Susan's apologetic gaze goes fuzzy as you feel a blast of arousal from her.
"While I accept the apology, it'd be a good idea to find out how to fuzz my face. This getting out would look bad for Crystal, even if she and I weren't actually together at the time. Might wanna use some kind of encryption too." You let a smirk grow. "I think Amy knows how to do stuff like that, perhaps you should ask her for help."
Susan takes the phone back from you and slides it in a pocket before wrapping her arms around you, whispering her thanks into your chest. Crystal joins in the three-way hug from the back, almost purring as she nibbles at your ear. There's a promise of something between the three of you that you're eager to see the result of at some point—hopefully soon.
Rolling up to Taylor's house you're left to drive the car while Crystal and Susan talk to Danny. You're grateful that you're saved from the interaction, 'cause if you heard him say 'kiddo' you might dissolve into a puddle of horrible fanon. It takes a bit, but the three girls finally emerge from the house, tossing Taylor's stained backpack in the front while all three of them pile in the back. Introductions between Susan and Taylor have apparently already been made, as both of the older girls are already working to draw the younger cape out of her shell. You offer Taylor a smile over your shoulder as you chauffeur the girls downtown, parking in a garage that still has battle damage and your little quartet making your way to Cafe Sofrito.
The place is back up and bustling, although you notice one the glass windows you repaired has a star-shaped crack that's probably a bullet hole. Doesn't look like it went through, luckily enough.
Crystal, bless her stage-managing heart, had apparently arranged some of this with Rosa and/or Maria, because the four of you are given seats around one end of your counter/table thing that were previously reserved. You and Taylor are on the edges, with Crystal next to you and Susan next to Taylor, highlighting just how similar their hair is. They couldn't quite pass as sisters, but you could make an argument for them being cousins.
After the initial surprise and people taking video of Laserdream dies down you order your food, but Crystal takes the time to add on an extra drink and a 'to-go' order that she tells Maria will be picked up by a masked man. Taylor is obviously confused, but luckily manages not to fall off her chair when dark smoke coalesces into Warlock outside a minute or two after your drinks arrive.
The black-clad cape causes a wave of silence as he walks to the doors and holds them open for a couple that's leaving before sweeping inside himself. He doesn't make it more than a half-dozen steps before Rosa suddenly appears and hugs him, drawing a chuckle from Crystal next to you. The short owner and the cape seem to have a discussion before he walks over to the window with the crack and flicks his finger against it from the inside, causing a ringing chime as the crack repairs itself.
Walking over, Warlock stops at the end of the table and inclines his head. "Ladies." He lets the silence linger for a moment before turning to you slightly. "Oh, and you."
You snort at him. "I'm going to tell Amy how you act in public."
Warlock twitches a bit. "Ah, no lad, I don't want zits all over my face, thanks." Leaning over the table a bit he takes Crystal's hand and mimes a kiss to the back, repeating the gesture with a wide-eyed Susan and a pale Taylor. As he goes to conjure a chair you grab his hand and bring it up for a kiss to your lips. "Enchante, mademoiselle."
Snorting, he finishes conjuring the chair and sits down. "Alright, you got me. May I ask who these lovely ladies are?"
You make introductions as Crystal pushes the extra drink in front of him. Warlock hangs his hat on the back of the chair (and you notice your hair is a slightly different color than usual) and looks at the glass as he taps it against the mouth of the mask. "…Thanks." Taylor holds up a straw sheepishly and the upward twitch of the mask gives an impression of a smile. "You're a lifesaver, Taylor."
Looking around, you notice your group is the absolute cynosure of the cafe, with everyone either paying attention or actually filming as you interact with the girls. You ask yourself what you've been up to since 'that craziness on Wednesday', and Warlock manages to spin a story about how he's decided to hire a lawyer. It'll be interesting to see if Quinn mentions the comments about his 'shark-like smile' the next time you meet him.
Amazing you, Taylor actually involves herself in the conversation. "Uh, not that you need to answer, but what kind of armor is that? It looks like leather?"
"It is! I've made some alterations to it of course, but I felt it was better than just spandex." You feel Crystal shift next to you but he turns to her before she can say anything. "If you want to see a guy in spandex, talk to your boyfriend, not me."
You laugh. "You're just jealous my ass would look better."
"Nah, leather pants are the best. Pick up a pair and pose for your girl, she'll love it."
"Eh, maybe latex?"
You ignore the soft coo from beside you as Warlock taps the nose of his mask. "That could work too. Find a pair and we'll take a picture for the ladies, they can vote on which one of us is better."
"Oh yeah!" Crystal interjects, "I'll let Amy know, she can take the pictures." Susan and even Taylor look to be in agreement.
You just point at the cape. "This is your fault, you know."
Running a finger over the mask's eyeholes he draws on eyebrows that then wiggle at you before disappearing in puffs of smoke. "You'll thank me later."
The food arrives around that point and Warlock uses the bustle to slip out of the seat and collect the takeout order. "I'll leave you all to your meal, 'cause the mask stays on."
"Always?" Susan asks archly.
"Always."
"Aw, that's sad," she laments.
There's a sound like a door unlocking as the middle bars of the mouth slide aside and about four inches of tongue snakes out and wiggles.
Tongue retracted and hat back on his head, the cape heads for the door, pushing it open and burning into smoke as soon as he's through.
Susan is bright red, with Taylor next to her actually cradling her cheeks like she's trying to hide their own burn. Turning to Crystal, the both of you burst out laughing as soon as your eyes meet causing the two girls on the other side of the table to deflate in embarrassment.
You keep an eye on the time and use the restroom with plenty of spare time as you meet yourself in the small stall. Applying a little wandless charm you both wiggle half a foot of tongue at each other while laughing silently before you pop to the lair to turn back time.
Not long after you return to the table lunch is over, and after you all get back in the car you travel to the Boardwalk. Well, Boardwalk-adjacent. Most of the shops on the beach itself are crazy-expensive, but even a block off the Boardwalk proper are nicer little boutiques that aren't charging an arm and a leg for things. Susan and Crystal gang up on Taylor a bit, and the younger girls hoodie and baggy jeans are frequently exchanged for a dress or at least more form-fitting clothes without being super tight. Once it becomes obvious to the girl that neither of her new friends are going to make rude comments she seems to start enjoying herself as well, which is gratifying to see.
You're mostly a pack mule at this point, and are checking up on the postings about your earlier appearance when you get a weird shiver down your spine. It takes a second before you realize that you haven't suddenly grown spider-sense, someone has breached the ward-line of your apartment and are inside. You make an excuse to Crystal about checking out a store on your own and slip off into a side alley where you're alone.
There's only one intruder, but the intruder-detection ward doesn't tell you more than that. You…