1Happy Birthday to my friend TheSparklyKitten! Of course I had to write some Meganiper, and because I've been watching thrift store hauls recently of course I had to have them go shopping again. Go read Vintage for a different take on the same concept. And, of course, I had to include Khary...
Everyone reacted differently to Megan's new relationship with the former crime dancer. Eventually, her dad and Hiro had warmed up to Juniper, and the rest of Hiro's friends were coming along as well. Hiro's Aunt Cass, who insisted Megan call her that as well, had immediately been very supportive which was both sweet and incredibly awkward. But only one of Megan's friends had instantly hit it off with June.
Khary Ginger found out about Juniper way before he discovered his own brother was one of the superheroes who had fought against the Crime Dancing Duo. Khary was generally very friendly and easy-going so he'd immediately taken a liking to Juniper, who, in his own words, had, "Pretty cool eye makeup."
So he and Juniper would talk about makeup and performing and Megan felt completely at ease when the three of them were together. She knew that no matter what the rest of the world thought, at least Khary was chill.
In fact, he only had one gripe about their friendship.
"Sometimes it feels like I'm your third wheel," he complained, frequently.
He kind of had a point. When they were hanging out together, things that would've been a date turned into not-a-date. Khary had already turned down their offer to find him a partner, utterly uninterested in anything other than a showmance.
"Doesn't matter," Megan was always quick to reassure him. "It's more fun with all three of us."
The most fun they had, well, the most fun Khary and Juniper had, was when they went thrifting together. Juniper was naturally drawn in by retro patterns and Khary liked any chance to buy fairly nice skirts and tops for cheap. When he'd lived with his parents he hadn't been able to wear "feminine" clothing or makeup but now that he'd moved in with Wasabi he wore whatever he wanted and looked rad as hell doing so.
And Megan mostly just enjoyed watching them have a good time. She wasn't big on shopping and she liked the clothes she already had but she really loved Juniper lighting up when she found the perfect new outfit. And Khary's joy was almost as infectious.
Both of them regularly tried to push their styles on Megan, who would indulge them for a while but rarely ever wanted to wear what they picked out for her.
"She's hopeless," Juniper joked to Khary once, slinging her arm around her hopeless girlfriend.
"Mm-hm," Khary agreed, "She has the same fashion sense as Hiro."
"You take that back!" Megan said with a surprised laugh.
"Sorry," Khary said with a grin, "I can't hear you over the hoodie and t-shirt you literally always wear. Just like Hiro."
"Yeah but mine is better," Megan argued.
"Sure, babe," Juniper said.
"I'd need to see you side by side, let's go to the cafe after we're done," Khary suggested.
"You just want to go because Hiro always gives you free pastries," Megan said.
"No, I also want to see my brother." Wasabi still worked part-time at The Lucky Cat Cafe while he worked out his post-college plans.
"I'm good with a visit to the cafe," Juniper said. Even though she and Hiro still butted heads now and then, she'd grown quite attached to Hiro's cat, and they all like Aunt Cass and Aunt Cass's pastries.
"Yeah," Megan said, seeing the excitement on Juniper and Khary's faces. It would be a nice end to the almost-date.
Khary and Juniper made their final purchases and the trio headed over to The Lucky Cat.
Hiro did that thing he did a lot around Khary, immediately hiding whatever he was working on. Juniper and Megan knew what that was all about, Khary just thought his old friend was a weirdo.
As Khary went off to talk to Hiro and acquire pastries for the three of them, Megan and Juniper took their place at a booth by a window. And Mochi found his place in Juniper's lap.
Juniper rested her head on Megan's shoulder.
"Today was fun."
"Yeah, I love our friends."
"Me too," Juniper said, "almost as much as I love you."
Megan blushed and leaned in for a wordless kiss. Even with a third wheel, they'd managed to have a pretty amazing date.