In the auditorium, three hybrids were spread out and waiting for their tests to be administered. Lucy was directed to her desk, and once she was settled the test began. She was so focused, she was oblivious to the glances she was receiving from the others in the room.

Meanwhile, Marco had headed to his classroom and was just getting a few things up on the main display when Erik walked in.

Marco's jaw tightened, but he otherwise didn't react to the man's presence.

Erik, a python-snake hybrid, had strong opinions about Marco, a racer-snake hybrid, and enjoyed making sure Marco was well aware of those opinions every chance he had. Most recently, though, he'd pivoted his approach entirely, and while his previous heckling did very little to irritate Marco - Erik's new approach was far more effective.

"Saw a new article about your primary, racer," Erik began, sitting on the edge of Marco's desk and fiddling with his pens, "she's far prettier than those videos let on."

Marco's grip tightened for a moment before he took a breath and released it, trying desperately to ignore his unwelcomed guest. He knew he only had to endure him for a little while before Erik had to leave to teach his own class. By the time he came back, Lucy would be here, and Marco very much doubted he'd have the nerve to behave so inappropriately in front of a primary.

"She sure seemed fond of that cat and bird hybrid she was defending," he continued, his tone curious, "I wonder how she'd feel if she met a hybrid that didn't suck at everything? Think she'd leave all of you and get herself a new unit?"

Marco's eyes darkened and his heart tightened slightly at the comment.

Lucy clearly adored them all, he didn't doubt it... but he also knew that none of his unit were considered impressive species. Would Lucy's feelings change as she became more accustomed to this world and discovered the other, more impressive, hybrids and skillsets out there? Susie's matches didn't impress her, but was that just because of the situation? Because of Susie herself? He didn't know the answers, but it was a real fear he had that he didn't dare speak aloud.

"I heard she's here today," Erik said suddenly, hopping up and heading toward the door before pausing and looking back, "maybe I'll swing by. I'd love to introduce myself. I wonder what she'll think when she sees a striped snake-hybrid."

Erik sauntered out just before the pen in Marco's hand snapped. He forced himself to take several breaths, telling himself his fears were unfounded... but unable to chase them away despite his best efforts.

It's incredibly rare for an unmatched hybrid to earn stripes unless they're in the military since achieving stripes without cores usually requires someone to engage in battle.

Erik, however, used to run around with street thugs and managed to earn himself a stripe before he even came of age. Everyone knew he wasn't someone to mess with, though as long as you weren't a snake-hybrid he was actually relatively pleasant.

The truth was, Marco thought bitterly, Erik was more impressive than him. He was just as successful of a professor, having cleaned up his act after leaving home. He was popular amongst his peers and students liked him.

And he had already earned a stripe. A mark of strength and power many hybrids never achieved.

Any primary, that wasn't anti-reptile like Rachel had been, would be proud to have him as a match. Marco hated to admit it, but it was true.

His thoughts were derailed as students started to trickle into his classroom, and he forced himself to focus on what was in front of him. Erik wanted to rattle him, and he wasn't going to give the python the pleasure of succeeding.

On the other end of the campus, nearly two hours after arriving, Lucy was wrapping up her test. She was the first to turn it in, and the proctor gaped at her in shock - after he finished blushing like a schoolboy because she smiled at him. He'd heard she'd earned one of the highest grades ever achieved on the first test, but was still surprised to see her speed through the second one like it was nothing.

Lucy was thrilled to be done, stretching casually the moment she and the guards exited the room. Then, pulling up her tablet and orienting herself, she headed to Marco's classroom. Her security ensured that the gawkers never got too close, but they weren't able to stop people from taking pictures and videos... so, by the time Lucy arrived at Marco's classroom there were nobbles waiting for her.

Lucy sighed, trying to not be frustrated - but failing... this was a part of her home world she would have loved to have left behind. Instead, her guards made sure that everyone kept their distance and no one touched her... though that didn't stop them from shouting her name and various questions she refused to acknowledge.

Lucy was fighting to make her way to the door when it opened and a surprised, and somewhat frustrated, Marco stepped out - clearly trying to figure out what all the noise was about.

"Marco," Lucy breathed, smiling in relief and throwing herself into Marco's arms.

Marco looked down warmly for a brief moment before redirecting a cold gaze at the gaggle that was trying to swarm his primary.

"If you are a student or a teacher and you do not leave immediately, the security footage will ensure that tomorrow you will no longer be welcomed on this campus after harassing a primary," he said fiercely, tightening his hold on Lucy slightly.

Most of the gaggle hesitated then, phones and devices dropping slightly as they exchanged glances. It wasn't a leap to guess these nobbles were likely students - after all, it was the youth that were most likely to engage on the net for attention, and they reacted too quickly to not have already been on campus. A final glare from Marco had most of them running off, making the guards' jobs far easier very quickly.

"Come on," Marco said gently, his face softening the moment he looked back at Lucy, "your desk is already ready."

One guard followed Lucy inside while the other remained outside the door as Marco led Lucy into his classroom and to the desk. The entire classroom was staring at the interaction with slack jaws and wide eyes, but Marco paid them no mind as he helped her get set up before returning to the front of the classroom.

With a final smile at her husband, Lucy turned her attention to her studies while Marco cleared his throat and regained control of the classroom. It was clear that the students were starstruck, but they managed to sludge their way through the rest of the material despite the distraction.

Marco couldn't really be upset - not when his own gaze often wandered.

When class ended, the guard ensured the students gave Lucy a wide berth as they filtered out.

"Are you hungry?" Marco asked, walking over to Lucy the moment the students had all left.

"A little," Lucy admitted, stretching slightly, "are you?"

"A little," he smirked, "why don't we break out the lunch boxes? I brought some juice, too."

"The blue fruit juice?" Lucy perked up, instantly excitedly.

"Of course," he laughed, reaching out and taking her hand to guide her to his desk.

Lucy squealed excitedly, jumping up and throwing her arms around his neck in a hug. Marco just chuckled, wrapping his arms around her middle and carrying her awkwardly toward his desk as she hung from him. She giggled the entire way, and burst out laughing when he plopped her in his chair with a grunt.

The guard stared at the two of them, frozen in shock.

And he wasn't the only one - the second guard and Erik watched from the doorway with wide eyes as Marco and Lucy talked, laughed, and even fed each other.

"I enjoyed your class," Lucy was saying, nibbling on the cracker Marco had placed between her lips, "the material was interesting."

"Oh? I wouldn't have expected agricultural technology to be something you enjoyed," he said honestly, raising his eyebrows.

"Why not? It's fascinating. The way agriculture adapted to walled cities and limited space is pretty cool," Lucy said with a shrug, trying not to make it obvious that all of this was new to her, "agricultural technology is a field of ingenuity that was born because of a major challenge the world had to work to overcome."

"It certainly is," he agreed, smiling.

"Maybe I'll sneak into your classes sometimes when mine get boring," Lucy said conspiratorially, sticking her tongue out slightly and winking exaggeratedly.

Marco couldn't help but laugh, covering his mouth quickly and shaking his head at her antics.

"That's probably not wise," he chuckled, not even pretending to not find her words flattering, "here, did you want some juice?"

"Marco, how was class?" Erik's voice wiped the smile of Marco's face so fast Lucy was genuinely startled, and she reached out to touch his arm in concern instinctively.

"Oh, hello. You're Marco's primary, right? We've heard quite a bit about you," Erik looked at Lucy with a wide grin.

He kept a respectful distance and didn't reach toward her at all, and while interrupting a primary's conversation is generally considered rude, he didn't look like he wanted to cause trouble.

"Hello," she said politely, her mask going up instantly, "Yes, I'm Rachel, Marco's primary. And you are?"

"I'm Erik, another professor here at the university," he explained, "my classroom is right down the hall from Marco's, so I come and chat with him throughout the day pretty regularly."

It didn't take a rocket scientist to see based on Marco's reaction to Erik's existence that Erik's visits were not welcomed. Yet, if Lucy hadn't seen how Marco had reacted, she'd have believed they were friends based on how Erik was speaking. She didn't want to cause problems for Marco, though - so, without more information on their relationship, she decided to play relatively nice for now.

"I see. What do you teach, Erik?" she asked curiously, tilting her head as she studied the man.

He was obviously also a snake, with black scales and golden eyes. His black hair was short on the sides but long on top, and it paired well with his light brown skin.

He was undeniably an attractive man.

But not as attractive as my husbands, Lucy added casually in her mind, not to mention that if Marco reacts this way to him, he likely has the personality of an old shoe.

He had an interesting black stripe - kind of like a tiger stripe - under one of his eyes, and Lucy wondered absently if tattoos were a thing in this world since she hadn't really seen any to date.

"I teach infrastructure and security," he said with a slight shake of his head, "so, still related to technology, but not the same, no."

"Infrastructure and security," she repeated, some knowledge from her first life popping up in her mind, "as in software infrastructure or hardware infrastructure?"

Erik blinked several times, surprised at the question.

"Software," he answered after a long moment, "I help teach students the fundamentals and intermediary skills of building and maintaining complex, interconnected databases."

"And I'm guessing the security part means you also incorporate discussions on external data feeds, data hygiene and maintenance, and security protocols to keep the databases secure without preventing the exchange of information," she said, nodding.

She wasn't sure if terms like 'API' and such applied to this world, but working in marketing she'd had to take a lot of entry-level IT courses to understand how to collect and analyze data so that marketing decisions and campaigns could be data-driven rather than instinct-driven. That came with a lot of basics that helped her have these kinds of conversations, even if she had no idea how to actually build or maintain something like that.

"Yes, yes I do," he gawked, his jaw going fully slack as he stared at Lucy.

He'd come in here planning to make a good impression and start a conversation, but had no idea that she'd actually be capable of engaging with him about his work in a meaningful way. He was so taken aback, he momentarily forgot his goals of making Marco uncomfortable.

Turning to Marco, her face softening in the way it only did for her husbands, she smiled.

"Yes, by the way," she said warmly, "to the juice, I mean. I didn't mean to ignore you, I just got distracted for a second."

Marco, whose jaw had been so tight it was a miracle his molars didn't crack, instantly melted under her gaze and gave her a small smile.

"It's okay," he said, reaching for the thermos and pouring her a small glass, "here."

"Thank you for packing my favorite," she said, her grin growing as she sipped on the cup, "you're the best."

She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, and - just like always - he flushed a light pink and his scales fluttered in response. He looked at her lovingly, tucking that same rebellious strand of hair behind her ear with a smile.

"You're welcome," he said, so quietly she almost didn't hear him.

Erik went from shocked to truly flabbergasted - and borderline uncomfortable - at the way the two of them suddenly acted like there was no one else around. Is she really a primary, he found himself thinking, because she sure doesn't act like one.

He found himself fidgeting for a moment, watching them reach out and hold hands as they talked quietly, before he finally turned and exited the room without another word.

His brain had completely short-circuited and he couldn't stop himself from mumbling, "what the hell?"

"I know, right?" the second guard muttered, eyeing the two of them with an unreadable expression.

Erik paused, standing to the side of the door and glancing in.

"Are they... are they always like that?" he asked quietly, his brow furrowed.

"Yeah," the guard said, sighing and shaking his head, "it's... it's pretty wild."

"Carl," the first guard barked, glaring at him around the doorframe.

The second guard blanched slightly, straightening his back and forcing his face to go blank. That was clearly the 'act like a soldier' bark, and Erik got the message just like Carl did - don't talk about the primary and her match's relationship.

Erik scowled slightly, walking away slowly down the hallway as his mind spun. He didn't have a primary, and was incredibly thankful for it... after all, once you got matched your life was over. Every goal, every dream, every hope you had for yourself ended, and your life became about your primary and any offspring they gave you.

Erik never wanted to be matched, and he continued to pray to the Beast God regularly to make sure he never was. He was still pretty young, but each year that passed without his being matched he considered himself blessed.

... well... until today...

Because... after all, if you got matched with someone that looked at and talked to you like that, he thought to himself, that wouldn't be so bad.

He'd never seen a primary act like that before. Not even in the fantasy shows he watched sometimes did a primary's eyes light up like they did when she looked at Marco.

For a racer?

He scoffed, disbelief and jealousy warring in his mind that Marco - a nobody racer snake - managed to get himself a primary like her. How the hell did he get so lucky?

No way she'd have chosen him if she'd been able to have her pick, he thought.

That thought stopped him in his tracks.

Primaries could divorce their matches and request to be matched with different, specific, hybrids - if they wanted.

He wasn't sure how common it was, but Erik could recall learning something about that in school. It wasn't something he cared much about at the time, but the old lesson found its way to the surface of his mind as if called there by a sheer force of will.

If a primary requests a specific unmatched hybrid, they put it into the system and confirm biological compatibility... as long as the matching rate is over 80% a primary can elect to have that hybrid matched with them. They can still only have up to five matches, of course, but they can also divorce a match at any time for literally any reason.

A slow smirk grew across Erik's face as a plan started to form. After all, he was superior to Marco in every, single way. Why wouldn't she choose him if given the chance?

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