Intermission, Chapter 39 - Liminal Love

Including Yuisu's bustling household, Agent Will was the Exchange Program Coordinator for nearly a dozen hosts in the area and all the liminals staying with them. The paperwork could be overwhelming but he made sure to stay on top of it, unlike his associate, Miss Smith. He was thinking about her interesting approach to paperwork, namely forcing her Special Ops team to do it all for her, when his phone rang.

"Hello, this is Agent Will," he said into his cell while still filling out a new homestay's exchange paperwork with his other hand.

"Hello, Agent Will. Sorry to bother you when you're probably busy," said a deep voice on the phone.

"Oh, hey Kyle. How's it going?" I still can't believe that kind soul is an orc, Agent Will thought. It sounds a little racist, but orcs are well-known for being unapologetic assholes. Brutus and I really lucked out with Kyle.

"Well, I was wondering if I could get permission to go around town. Without Brutus. This Saturday."

"Oh? Going gift shopping for him or something?"

Agent Will could practically hear the blushing in Kyle's voice as he said, "Uh, actually, I have a date. With a liminal, of course, not a human."

"Ahh, nice going, Kyle. Yeah, you've got my formal permission. Go wild!" As if you could ever be wild. You're too nice, Agent Will thought, But that's what I like about you.

"Oh, thank you so much, Agent Will. I'll let you get back to work now. Bye!"

"No problem. Seeya," Agent Will said, then hung up. As he went back to his paperwork, he wondered for a moment whether Kyle's date was male or female.

The next evening, Agent Will was kicked back on his sofa with a beer, watching a mindless action flick. Just as it was getting to an explosion-y part, his phone started to ring. With a sigh, he paused the movie and answered.

"Hello, Agent Will here."

A quiet voice said, "Hi Agent Will. It's me, May."

He smiled and replied, "Oh, it's nice to hear from you. How are things with Ayumi, and your new job?"

"Oh, they're good. Ayumi's been busy with university, but I've been at work, so it works out. The job's going great! My pastries are really popular."

"That's great to hear, May. So what's up on this fine evening?"

"Um, actually, I was hoping to go out somewhere other than work, without Ayumi. If that's a thing I can do. I don't know how this all works," May said in an unsteady voice.

Agent Will grinned and said, "Yeah, it's a thing you can do, if you get permission. What's the occasion?"

Cheerfully, May said, "Well, it'll be my first real date with my boyfriend. I'm so excited!"

"Heh, then permission is granted. Have fun and don't go overboard."

"I wouldn't dream of it. Thanks, Agent Will! You're the best!"

"No problem. Talk to you later, May."

He hung up and unpaused his movie. As the first explosion went off, he thought, Huh, I wonder if May's date is actually Kyle. They'd certainly make a cute couple.

Kyle tried to make himself unobtrusive, but it wasn't working. He was waiting outside of the Muse's Grace pastry shop, and he was feeling self conscious about his appearance and size. What if I'm scaring away potential customers? What if that makes them have to cut expenses, and they fire May?!

Before he could worry further, May came into view and the sight blasted his negative thoughts away. Her hair was spiked into a rainbow-colored ridge, but her scales were green and her skin was just flesh-toned today. She was dressed casually in jean shorts and a light green blouse, but Kyle thought she was gorgeous all the same.

Kyle let out a sigh of relief. He had been worried his own outfit wasn't fancy enough. He wore black slacks and a light blue button-up shirt that contrasted nicely with his dark brown skin. It was hard to get clothes in his size, so he didn't own many dressy clothes.

May smiled up at Kyle as she approached. "Hi, Kyle! I've been waiting all week for today!"

He smiled back. "Me too. I was so nervous this morning that I forgot to eat breakfast."

She grabbed his hand and tugged. "Well, let's fix that with some pastries."

They stepped into the shop and said hello to Ichinose, who was working behind the counter, then beelined for the display cases.

"Ooh, this kind looks great. Let's each get one," May said.

"What about this one? I bet it's delicious, because you made it."

"Oh, what makes you think that it's one of mine? It isn't very colorful."

"It's got your wonderful flair to it just the same," Kyle said with a smile.

May hugged his arm. "Fine, you're right. I did make that. Do you really like the pastries I make?"

"Of course! I'd buy them all, except it would deprive the rest of the world of a delicacy."

May's entire body flushed pink, but she was smiling broadly. "Oh, stop it. Let's just buy these and get going."

After they paid and left the store, they went searching for a park bench to sit at and eat.

As they sat down, Kyle said, "It's a good thing you have an employee discount there, May. Though I think I bought too much." He reached into the full bag of pastries and grabbed a big one, which he then devoured in a single bite.

"Yeah, me too. Working there certainly hasn't been great for my figure," May said with grimace. "I need to exercise more."

Kyle said, "No way. You look great, and you get exercise from dancing, don't you?"

May shook her head. "The dancing's pretty much undone by all the beer I drink while I'm at the Wild Life."

Kyle nodded knowingly. "Oh yeah… I have that problem too. My employee discount there has lead me astray, into the land of the beer belly," he said, patting his stomach.

May jumped up suddenly. "Y'know what? Rather than sit around and feel sorry for ourselves, we should do something about it! Let's go to the gym, right now!"

Kyle was impressed by her sudden initiative, and he jumped up too. "Sure!" At his full height, he was nearly two feet taller than May. He raised one eyebrow and said, "Uh, is there equipment there that we can both use? I'd rather not have to split up."

"Hmmm." May held her chin in her hand and thought for a moment. As she was pondering, waves of color ran across her skin, turning her blue, then red, then back to normal. "I've got it! We can swim together for sure. Though we'd need to get swimsuits first."

Kyle nodded. "Good idea. I've actually been needing to buy one."

May beamed. "Me too! Let's go shopping!"

It wasn't far to the shopping district, just a short walk down the scenic main street. As they stepped into a swim and sportswear store, Kyle thought, Shopping for swimsuits on our first date… Brutus would have a field day if he knew.

Kyle always felt self-conscious in stores, feeling like he was in people's way, but this was extra awkward. He quickly picked out some plain blue and white trunks and then just tried to stay out of the way while May browsed.

She tried on several different suits, from one-piece to bikini. She stepped out of the dressing room in a pink one-piece that she wasn't really sure about. "How do I look?"

Kyle blushed and stammered, "Uh, amazing…"

She switched to a skimpy string bikini, but Kyle's reaction was exactly the same. Heh, seems like he won't be any help. He always thinks I look great…

Finally, May settled on a dark green bikini, since green was her favorite color. This suit was for exercise first and fashion second, so it was pretty conservative. It covered more skin than some of her racier club dresses.

"Alright, Kyle. I'm ready," May said as she stepped out of the changing room, back in her jeans and blouse.

"Found a swimsuit you like?"

"Yep, and it's one you haven't seen yet, so it'll be a surprise," May said with a teasing smile.

"I'll look forward to it. I like surprises," Kyle said. He paid for his trunks and looked away while May paid for her suit.

Purchases in hand, they left the shop and made their way down the street towards the massive Sports Club Kobold gym. It was about a five minute walk, and they easily filled the time with conversation.

"So how's your homestay been going so far, May?"

"Really good, actually. I was nervous at first, but my host is really nice. Ayumi is a ton of fun, at least when she isn't busy with school."

"School? She's in college?"

"Yep. I'd like to go to college myself, once I get more familiar with the human world. So much of this is new to me."

Kyle nodded knowingly. "I'm in the same boat. Other than pastries, which I liked before I moved here, everything in Japan is brand new."

"Well, how about you, Kyle? I assume your host is that guy that was with you at the pastry shop the other day?"

"Yeah, that's Brutus. He's a great guy, and he got me my job at the nightclub."

May recalled Brutus's popped collar and gelled hair. "Is he always such a… 'bro'?" she asked with a smirk.

Kyle chuckled. "Oh yeah. He's just about the broiest bro who ever bro'd, but he's not a douche about it at least."

At the gym, they split up to their separate changing rooms. Kyle got changed and rinsed quickly then made his way out to the pool. Since it was the middle of the day on a weekday, the gym was pretty empty and he was the only one in the pool area. Kyle sat down at the edge and kicked his feet in the water while he waited.

I'm not very good at swimming, so hopefully May can give me some pointers, Kyle thought. She suggested it, so she's probably awesome at it.

May snuck up behind him, her approach covered by Kyle's splashing, and put her hands over his eyes. "Guess who?"

"April? No… June?"

May bopped him on the head with her tail. "Wrong! Just for that, I'm not letting go until you guess what color my swimsuit is."

Kyle thought for a moment. "Well, considering the color of your scales and shirt today, I'd say you're in a green mood. Green is my guess."

May squinted at the back of Kyle's head. "Lucky guess, or you snuck a peek when I was paying…" she grumbled. She uncovered his eyes and stepped back. "You can look now."

Kyle lifted one leg from the water and twisted around to see. May was wearing a dark green bikini featuring a pattern of lighter green circles. It had a pretty modest cut that gave full coverage of her butt and chest, and its wide straps would ensure it stayed put while swimming.

Kyle's eyes widened. "You look beautiful, May."

No matter how many times he complimented her, she still flushed pink. She smiled and quietly said, "Thanks."

Kyle waved a hand toward the open pool. "Well, since we have the pool to ourselves, what do you want to do first?"

May fidgeted, her long, curled tail twitching side to side. "How about you pick?"

Kyle raised both palms in the air. "I have no idea what kind of swimming to do for exercise. I'm not much of a swimmer."

"Really?" May's scales turned kind of blue. "I was hoping you were good at swimming." She turned purple, then added, "So that you could teach me…"

Kyle chuckled. "Well, you suggested swimming, so I thought you'd be an expert."

May laughed as she sat down next to Kyle and put her feet in the warm water. "So, neither of us are good swimmers, but we're here to get fit by swimming. We suck at this."

Kyle ran a hand through his thin reddish hair. "I guess we could see if they do swimming classes here."

"Good idea!" May said as she ran off to find a staff member.

Kyle followed along, then went white as a sheet when he saw who she found. She was talking to an older, very muscular male kobold who was wearing a Sports Club Kobold t-shirt.

"Sorry, miss. We don't have any instructors working today. I can teach you some basics for a few minutes, but then I've got a meeting."

Kyle ran up and raised a hand. "Oh no, sir. We couldn't possibly ask you to teach us."

The kobold laughed a deep belly laugh. "Ah, if it isn't Kyle! I've heard nothing but good things about your work at the Wild Life." He smiled at Kyle and May. "Really, though, I'd be glad to help you two, at least for about fifteen minutes. I'll get changed and meet you at the pool." He ran off, leaving Kyle and May alone.

May looked up at Kyle and asked, "Who was that?"

Kyle swallowed and said, "That was Korbin, the owner of the gym and the founder of the nightclub. I can't believe he's going to be teaching us. He's basically my boss's boss…"

Fifteen minutes later, Kyle and May were swimming laps with the strokes they'd just learned. Their form was far from perfect but it was leaps and bounds better than what they would have been doing without Korbin's help.

Kyle pushed himself hard to keep up with May, whose thin form moved much easier through the water. She pulled ahead with a burst of speed, then when she reached the end of the lane, she executed a pretty decent flip turn. The only issue was that she ended up at an odd angle, heading right into Kyle's lane.

BONK! The two swimmers collided, but Kyle's bulk absorbed most of the hit.

"Ouch!" they said in unison, then, "Are you okay?"

May smiled and said, "I'm fine. It didn't really hurt. You?"

Kyle let out a relieved sigh as he stood on the bottom of the pool, his chin at the water's surface. "Yeah, I'm just fine."

May was treading water, then moved closer to Kyle and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Hey, this is kind of nice. We're finally the same height!"

Kyle couldn't help but smile. "Yup. I finally get a close look into those pretty gold eyes of yours."

May grinned and closed her eyes. When they opened, her eyes had changed colors.

"Wait, no, they're blue now," Kyle said with a chuckle, then May blinked and they changed color again. "Ooh, now they're purple. You're pretty amazing, May, you know that?"

May's eyes involuntarily turned pink as she blushed. "Oh shut up and kiss me, you big flirt," she said, then she pulled herself forward and brought her lips to Kyle's. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back for a wonderfully long moment.

Kyle was the one that broke it off. "Uh, May? Look around us…"

May swept her eyes around the room. What had been an empty room an hour ago now held a half-dozen other liminals and humans, all swimming, stretching, or glaring at Kyle and May.

May turned a very embarrassed purple and pushed off from Kyle. "Uh, let's call it there for swimming for today. I think you should probably get ready for work anyway."

Kyle nodded, equally happy to get away from all the staring eyes. They climbed out of the pool, changed back into their clothes, and met up at the gym entrance.

"So… my work schedule is really reliable, but I don't know about yours, May," Kyle said as they walked back into town, "Is there a time you'd be able to meet up for regular swimming?"

"Maybe. How often were you thinking?" May replied.

Kyle's floppy ears twitched and he looked side to side. "Uh, every day?"

May giggled. "Either you really want to get fit, or you just want to see me more."

Kyle said, "Yeah, I want to see more of you." Suddenly he stopped walking and stammered, "Uh, I meant 'see you more often', not 'see more of your body', not that I don't want to see your body, I mean, uh—"

May interrupted his rambling. "I know what you meant, Kyle," she said with a smile. "How about this: I'll get my work schedule now and then drop by the Wild Life during your shift tonight, and we can chat when you go on break. We'll plan a schedule to go swimming almost every day."

"That sounds great!" Kyle said with a grin.

May winked at him and said, "And I'll wear my skimpiest club dress tonight, so you can see more of me…"