Expectations When Expecting

Book 1, Chapter 16

Yuu allowed herself to be led away from the group, mind racing with all of the possibilities that could be the conversation that Cater wanted to have with her. Yuu shook away any of the fears that involved her most precious secret, praying that it would be something less terrifying to explain.

She wanted to reveal the secret in her own time. Yuu tried to silence her thoughts when Cater had finally brought them both to a stop behind a secluded bush.

Oh shit oh shit... he knows, doesn't he? Why wouldn't he know? Am I seriously THAT bad at keeping secrets? What if Rook let it slip on accident! Yuu's mind went into a panicked, screaming state that left her frozen before Cater.

"So... What's up?" Yuu asked, forcing her voice to come out normally. Her voice cracked, making her nerves apparent to the ginger, who simply backed up a bit.

"Oh! Sorry!" He scrambled back a bit, noticing this. "I didn't wanna make you uncomfy, hehe." He laughed a bit. Yuu examined his movements.

"No. You're fine. What did you wanna talk about, Cater?" She asked, tugging at the sleeves of her oversized uniform and averting eye contact.

"Yeah. Uh... I didn't wanna bring this up in front of the guys in case this was a touchy subject, but..." Cater began, turning Yuu just a bit more anxious, averting her eyes so she could watch the others struggle with their roses.

"You're... biologically female, right?" Cater asked, awkwardly.

Yuu jumped, turning to him in surprise. "Woah, okay. Where'd that come from?" She stared with her eyes wide.

"I kinda figured it out when I hugged ya, but I really didn't mean it maliciously!" He explained, grabbing two boxes from under a bush. "Anyway! I got you an apology outfit for the unbirthday party. Low-key, hope you like it!" The ginger rambled, forcing Yuu to stop him by placing her hands over his mouth.

Yuu blinked, still tense. "Ok, hold on! Lemme get this straight." She said, allowing Cater to calm down and listen. "You somehow deduced that I am female from a single hug... and you thought to tell me this while the others were distracted so I wouldn't be uncomfortable?"

Cater nodded, not removing her hands from over his mouth.

"Wow... that is perhaps one of the nicest things that's happened to me ever since I got here." She said, removing her hands. Yuu examined the ginger, who was still somewhat in shock from the confirmation of her femininity.

Should I tell him about the second half?... Nah. I'd probably break the poor fella.

Yuu stepped back, allowing Cater a bit of room to breathe. "Thanks, I guess." She said, offering Cater a crooked smile.

"Yeah!" Cater smiled. "No problem!" He smiled back with a laugh before a sudden explosion of screams echoed from the garden, interrupting the two.

"Oh shit! Put it out!" Yuu's eyes widened, turning to the sound of the commotion as she realized that it was exactly as she'd assumed.

"Oh damn-" Cater said, brushing himself off, gesturing for Yuu to follow after him. She did, grateful.

.

.

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Unsurprisingly, the boys had reacted to Grim setting a good portion of the rose bush on fire rather poorly. Cater arrived, summoning a small shower that was enough to delicately put the roses out without damaging the salvageable ones.

"... Well, this is going better than before." Deuce remarked, sitting down to calm down from the commotion.

It took the group a minute to calm down from the insanity that had just ensued. Yuu had immediately slipped into the maternal mode that would often come and go, inspecting the boys for any injured before dubbing them to be okay.