Time passed, the early fall changed in to a colder early winter. The heater in the dorms was out one November night, and Hibana had gone to bed early because she had finished all her school work and was tired. Wrapped in all the blankets she had, she was still cold. 

She looked over to the other half of the room, now containing what little her favorite English teacher still had and what some generous students were willing to donate to her. She thought to herself, worrying about miss Sapphire, worried that whoever burned her house down might seek to finish the job. She shook her head, not wanting to even imagine such possibilities. She looked at her desk clock, seeing the time, a half hour after when she usually came back from her office in the liberal arts building.

Not a moment later, the lock clicked and the old door squeaked open. Miss Sapphire walked in to the building, holding her bag. On her dress was a large stain. She saw Hibana under the covers and smiled. "Cold?"

The young Flaaffy smiled back, nodding. "You alright? You usually are back earlier than this."

"Oh, you know how students are this time of year. It always seems like students wait to ask for help in a class until it's almost over." She dropped her bag and went to the closet. It was almost empty, with only a couple alternate outfits. "Last one spilt some grape soda on my dress. I'm going to go put this to wash and take a shower. Maybe order something from that Chinese place we like."

"Alright, then. I'll be here when you get back. Freezing." She lets out a small amused laugh as the elder Gardevoir gathered her things and left the room.

---

An hour and a half passed, and the heater had finally kicked in. Hibana had since left her layers of cover and was now sitting at her desk, just playing on her phone. She wasn't as tired as before, so she did that, waiting for miss Sapphire to appear.

The lock clicked as the professor entered the room. She had her cleaned clothing and towel on her shoulder, a bag of Chinese take out in one hand, a piece of paper in the other. She looked a bit worried. Hibana turned to face Jasmine, and noticed her worried expression.

"What's wrong? Something happen while you were out?"

She placed the piece of paper in front of Hibana. On it was an awful threatening message. 'I thought it was made clear no one wants a lesbo like you at this school. Kill yourself or leave. I burned down one house; I'm not afraid to set a stupid college residence ablaze. You have until Monday.' "Someone wants me dead."

The young Flaaffy gasps and her eyes widen, fear in them. "W-what?! W-who would want to kill you?"

"I know exactly who... The handwriting and style of writing in this letter match up to one troublesome student I had last year. He failed out of that class through a combination of poor work, constant plagiarism, cheating on finals, and just not bothering to show up to some of his classes. Some of us professors offered to help him improve, but he just refused..."

"I suppose that makes sense..." She was still worried, but a bit confused. "But, why would he want to kill you?"

"He blames me for the his failure... For his persuasive argument essay, he wrote about how gay marriage should be illegal and how homosexuality itself is wrong. I failed him, not because I disagree, but because he took most of it from an essay on the same point I gave a B+ to a few years back. It was also filled with so many errors, was half the required length, and he didn't cite his sources... It failed, like all his papers in that class. But he blamed his failure on me and that one essay. Which he only wrote because I had come out a few weeks prior to the university, and he started to hate my class even more after that. On the few days he showed up."

She looked worried. "Professor... We have to tell the police!" 

"Shh... We don't want everyone to hear. Besides, we have no concrete evidence."

"But you said the paper matched his style!"

"That's not concrete evidence. Sure, it matches, but there are people out there who could have similar styles... He's just the only one I know that I've met..."

"T-then, what can we do?... We can't just... Let this guy kill you."

"We know when it's gonna happen... And who it might be... Thanksgiving break starts Wednesday after classes. So, he is going to strike most likely after most everyone else has left. And since I'm living here on campus, he can strike without too many witnesses. Which means..."

"Professor?..."

"... May I please come home with you for the break?... I'll be safe at your house..."

"Professor... Of course you can come to my house... I'd love to have you there."

The elder Gardevoir knelt on the ground and hugged her young student. She pulled her head away a moment a sudden urge crossed her mind. Before she could act on it, Hibana leaned in a bit and kissed the professor's cheek. 

She blushed, as did the surprised professor. They gazed in to each other's eyes, then their heads got closer together, and their lips met. Despite the age difference, it felt right for them both, sparks going off in the flaaffy's heart as a gentle wave of electricity flowed through the garde's veins, but not paralyzing her.

After a short moment, the Gardevoir pulled away. "I-I'm... I'm so sorry..." She blushed deeply.

"J-Jasmine... That felt... So right... Don't apologize, please."

"B-but"

"I'm 18 now... All is legal."

"You don't understand... If anyone finds out that we did this... He'll target you too... I just, can't risk it..."

"Professor... No one has to know what we do in here... As long as no one knows, we're fine..."

She let those words process a short moment, then she dared to ask...

"D-do... Do you like me?"

"Of course I do. Why do you think I offered my dorm room to you? And, I'm never late to your classes. Plus... You're kind of attractive..."

"... I have to admit... I've had my eyes on you for a few years, but I held back... Mostly because it wasn't legal... I did try to date your mom back in high school, secretly, but she said she didn't swing that way. I tried to convince her, but she constantly rejected me. You just, look so much like your mother back in the day. If not, hotter."

Hibana blushed at the comment, not at all weirded out by the fact that she was literally old enough to be with her mother, or her attraction to her a a young age. "I don't know when it was I started to feel for you... Maybe it was after you made me wet myself in front of you during the entrance exam... But, it's still there"

The garde smiled a bit. "That was a fun day for both of us."

"It sure was... Now, how about we get ready for bed?"

"Let's eat first." Hibana nodded, and they ate the Chinese food, each of them fantasizing about where these newly confessed feelings would lead them...