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Having your adopted fathers walk in on you making out with your girlfriend is not a recommended activity for a Saturday night. Jupiter Heere-Dillinger still, mostly, had the reputation of being a good kid. She got good grades, she was the captain of the soccer team, she set the table for dinner, and she totally didn’t have her girlfriend over on her dads’ date night.
Okay, the last one was definitely a lie. But she couldn’t help it. Neptune’s place was only a few streets down— something about their new parents being childhood friends or something, Jupiter didn’t know, if she was being entirely honest. What she did know was that there was a very nice and easy way to get to her bedroom window, and that her dads were never home before midnight. She’d painstakingly planned this, because of course she did. The world would probably crash and burn if she didn’t know how to do something, or if she didn’t know how to bullshit her way through knowing how to do something.
Neptune’s hands never felt stifling anymore. Well, okay, that was another lie. Most of the time, Jupiter could push away the crawling feeling of doing something her subconscious told her was wrong, but every once in a while, she wished for her hair tie back on her wrist so she could feel the familiar snap of elastic against her skin. But Neptune didn’t like her doing that, and neither did her therapist. Or her dads. She put her hair up a lot more often now.
It wasn’t up now. Neptune had slid the hair tie off, putting it on her own wrist, so that she could bury her hands in the shorter girl’s hair. Her lips were soft, probably because of the banana scented lip gloss she always wore. Jupiter had a newfound appreciation for bananas and citrus.
A year ago, if you’d told Jupiter that she was going to be on her bed in a house owned by two men she called her parents, making out with Neptune, she’d have called you crazy and told you to go away and leave her alone. But here she was, with Neptune’s hand in her hair and Neptune’s other hand cupping her cheek gently, as if afraid the other girl would shatter, legs draped on either side of Neptune’s hips. Her brain had, for once, stopped being so anxious, focusing solely on the girl’s lips on hers.
It was a pretty good routine, Jupiter thought vaguely as Neptune’s manicured nails brushed against her back, under her shirt. Her army jacket had been tossed carelessly over her desk chair. She’d put it back on later. Probably. Maybe. At the moment, she wasn’t exactly thinking about putting things on.
The static in her brain made her think of being in Summer Scouts again. The radios, crackling as they swung them through the air, Neptune’s dark eyes flashing with ill disguised delight at the idea of actually getting to fight something, the bright whiteness of Venus— she broke the kiss for a moment.
“You okay?” Neptune’s voice was soft, almost endearingly so, as her thumb traced over Jupiter’s cheekbone, as if trying to erase her freckles.
“Mhm.” Jupiter hummed noncommittally, leaning into the touch. “Kiss me?”
Neptune, still looking unconvinced, obliged. Jupiter leaned fully into that kiss, which was probably why she didn’t hear the footsteps coming down the hall until it was too late.
“Hey, Jupes, we’re back earl—“ Jeremy’s voice made Jupiter make a small squeaking noise, pulling back from the kiss and trying her best to hide Neptune, with limited success.
Neptune, being Neptune, only gave Jeremy a cocky grin from where she sat with his daughter on her lap, as if it was a totally natural thing for her to be there. “Hey, Mr. Jeremy.” She said, as Jeremy looked the scene over, red in the face. Jupiter groaned, hiding her face in Neptune’s neck, like that would solve anything.
As she hid, Jupiter heard her fathers’ whispered conversation.
“She was with Neptune! In her room! While we weren’t home!”
“You’re saying that like we never did that when your dad wasn’t home, Jere.”
“That’s besides the point!”
“It’s not like she can get pregnant, right?”
“That is also besides the point! It’s the whole, I dunno, the whole concept of the thing!”
“Jere, calm down. It’s not the end of the world.”
“Jake, I love you, but you know that telling me to calm down is the equivalent of telling me to panic even more.”
“Point taken. But everyone does shit like this when they’re a teenager.”
“I know, I know.”
The whispers got quieter, until Jake appeared at Jupiter’s bedroom door. Neptune was, surprisingly, keeping her hands to herself, having the decency to look slightly abashed. “Both of you, in the living room.”
And that was how Jupiter found herself sitting awkwardly on the couch a foot away from her girlfriend, looking at her dads in their chairs. Jeremy, for once, was sitting somewhat normally, his feet flat on the floor, although bouncing a bit. Sometimes, he reminded Jupiter of a skittish puppy. It didn’t seem as endearing now. “Jupiter. We’re very disappointed in you.”
Jake coughed pointedly.
“Alright, I’m disappointed in you more than he is.”
Jake leaned forwards. He was the more lenient parent, honestly. He was protective, but he was also more likely to let Jupiter do things Jeremy wouldn’t. He said that, as a teen, he drank and partied, so he didn’t really mind as long as she was responsible. Which she supposed that bringing her girlfriend over while they were out wasn’t responsible. “I’m not letting you off the hook. I’m still disappointed. Neptune, I already called your dads, so don’t even try getting out of this.”
Neptune groaned, her head hitting the back of the couch. “Rich is gonna kill me.”
“You should have thought about that before sneaking into our daughter’s room and- and deflowering her!” Jeremy burst out, which made everyone else in the room giggle.
“Deflower?” Jake said, sounding amused, as Neptune said, “Oh, she was deflowered long before now—“
“Nep!” Jupiter protested, her cheeks flushed bright red. She hid her face in her hands, sliding down on the couch as if wishing it would swallow her up.
“What?” Neptune said, before laughing.
Jeremy groaned, dropping his head into his hands. “Look, Neptune, we can’t do anything to you. But you’re definitely going to get chewed out by Michael once you get home.” He took a breath. “Jupiter, I thought you’d be more responsible than this.”
That stung, making Jupiter wince. Ouch. She hated feeling like she’d disappointed her dads. They’d given her so much more than her birth parents had— and they were cool with Neptune, for the most part. Or at least, they had been, until now.
“Which is why we’re grounding you for a month. We can’t ban you from everything, but you’re not allowed to go to any place other than practice and here. And if you have friends over, your door stays open, got that?”
Jupiter nodded. Jake picked it up, easily finishing Jeremy’s thought. “And if we hear of you doing this again, we’ll be sure to continue your punishment, okay?”
Then he winked, which Jeremy, thankfully, seemed to miss. Jupiter nodded. It wasn’t that bad of a punishment. She could deal with that. What she couldn’t deal with, though, was the guilt. What if she messed up again, and they kicked her out, said they didn’t want her? She glanced over at the hand on her wrist, and she glanced down to see that her hands were gripping the couch cushions for dear life. She released them, looking embarrassed.
“Neptune, I think you should head home now.” Jake said, and the tanned girl nodded.
“Yes, sir.” She said, with a cocky little salute. Daring as ever, she leaned over and kissed Jupiter on the cheek, sending a wave of her perfume wafting over. “See you in school, Jupes. Text me.” And then she was gone.
There was silence for a moment, before Jake broke it. “Did you just repeat what your dad told us when we were caught?” His voice was amused, and he laughed when Jeremy smacked his arm. “Dork.” Jake dropped a kiss on Jeremy’s head, shooting Jupiter a smile.
“Next time, close your door, gives you more time to hide her.”
“Jacob!”
Jupiter was too busy laughing to care about the awkwardness of that night.