"Wait, you're still with Tessa?!?" Gloria asked incredulously, interrupting Greg's explanation, which so far had covered the fact that there were multiple Worlds, a basic overview of his life in his World, including Tessa and Ash, meeting the other three in the Room, and branching out.

Greg paused in the middle of explaining how they'd accidentally created the Ruin. "Uh… yeah? Why wouldn't I be? She's awesome and we have a kid together."

Gloria sputtered for a moment. "If you're with her, why are you pursuing me!?!" She finally got out, glaring angrily at him.

"Because she's in Mage World? And you're here?" Greg frowned. "Did you not get the whole different Worlds thing?"

"I got that, but you are still the same person! I'm not going to help you cheat on her!" Gloria retorted.

Greg cocked his head. "Is it still cheating if the other person knows about it?" He muttered absently, before shaking his head. "Not the point. The point is that I can't only be with Tessa. Trust me, I would if I could, but… I don't think you quite understand how separate Worlds are. Like, all I get from my self over there is memories. How would you feel about a relationship where all you could do was remember the other person? I'mma tell you right now, I can't do it. Physically, it's impossible. With who I am, and the power I wield, at some point, someone is going to throw themselves at me at just the right time and just the right way, and I'll break. Because for all my self-control, I can't completely deny myself. I can delay myself, pace myself, direct myself, but if I want something, it's a matter of when and how it's going to happen, not if. So, since it is inevitable, I don't want to be with someone who just threw themselves at me because I'm strong. I want to be with someone I respect, someone who can be a real partner for me. Because if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it right. And that's why I'm pursuing you. Not because I don't love Tessa, but because I do, and I refuse to cheapen our relationship by sleeping with people who mean nothing to me."

Gloria just frowned at him for a moment. "So basically, you're a horny fuck who's going to sleep around anyway, so you might as well find someone you actually want to fuck, is that it?"

"Well, yeah, basically, but isn't that how it works for everyone?" Greg shrugged. "I'd say ninety… ninety-five? Nine? Almost everyone wants to fuck, besides those few who are legit asexual. Hell, even Chris wants to fuck, and he's practically a robot! So they all have to make the choice between sleeping around and finding someone special. Are you looking for a relationship, or are you just looking for sex? Now, I'm not saying there's anything inherently wrong with just looking for sex, I just know who I am, and once I let myself go down that path, I'd never stop. I'm better at holding myself back than reining myself in."

"But you already have that special relationship!" Gloria protested.

"No, I remember having that special relationship." Greg corrected. "Think of me more like… a clone of the other me. Yes, we have the same foundation, the same likes and dislikes, the same personality, but we don't share the same life. Not really. I simply know his life, and that makes my situation even worse, because I know exactly what I'm missing out on."

Gloria shook her head. "But you're still remembering her! Currently!"

"Does that make it any less of a memory?" Greg asked, raising an eyebrow. "Let's say there's this person with perfect memory, so perfect that they can relive anything they've ever experienced with perfect clarity, and their spouse dies. Does the fact that they can recall and experience being with their spouse at any moment mean that they can't move on and find a new partner? Should they be forced to remain single for the rest of their life, relying solely on their memory to sustain themselves?"

Gloria scowled. "That's different!"

"How?" Greg asked. "All I have of Tessa is memories. The fact that I have some other self out there making those memories doesn't change that. The me here and now can only remember her, and that's never going to change. If I could freely move between Worlds, take this self there to visit her, maybe I would agree with you, but that isn't how it works. I am trapped here, forever barred from being with her for the rest of eternity. How can you say I'm wrong to look for someone new?"

Gloria hesitated. Something about it still felt wrong to her, but… she couldn't find a flaw in his argument. If he was telling the truth, that was. Maybe that was the problem? What he was saying sounded like the kind of bullshit all cheaters used to explain away their infidelity, shit she'd heard a million times before. The 'I'm going to do it anyway, so why not with you', the 'my girlfriend is in another kingdom and I can't be with her anyway, so what's the harm', and let's not forget the 'I wouldn't normally do this but you're special and I just can't resist'. But… if what he was saying was true… she hadn't had an issue when she thought Tessa was someone from his past. Everyone had exes, and she wasn't going to hold that against him. The past was the past. The problem was that his past was still… passing. She tried to wrap her head around the idea of being completely unable to be with someone, yet still making memories with them… Well, not making. His other self was making the memories, he was just… gaining them?

Gloria let out a groan, burying her face in her hands. "This is too fucking confusing!" She complained. "If what you're saying is true, then… I get why you want to look for someone else to be with. However, that doesn't make it right! You can't- but technically you aren't- but then again you are- ugh! I just- fuck it, I can't- it's like you're both single and not at the same time!"

"Heh." Greg chuckled. "Schrodinger's boyfriend."

Gloria blinked. "Huh?"

"Oh, right, you wouldn't- there's this thought experiment from this dude named Schrodinger to explain quantum… something. Basically, he put a cat in a box with a vial of poison and a particle that had a fifty-fifty chance of- quantum states! I think… uh, anyway, the cat has a fifty-fifty chance of being alive or dead, but until you open the box and observe it, it's in both states. It's called Schrodinger's Cat, so whenever there's something that's two things simultaneously, people call it Schrodinger's blank." Greg explained.

"Quantum?" Gloria frowned.

"You know, atoms and quarks and shit. Maybe strings too, but the jury's still out on that last I checked." Greg elaborated.

Gloria raised an eyebrow at him. "Like… chemistry?"

Greg paused. "No, I think it's physics… quantum physics, yeah."

"Like engineering?" Gloria asked, looking confused.

Greg blinked as he realized something. "Do- do you guys not have scientists? Researchers? People who just sit around, do math and come up with theories?"

Gloria's expression twisted. "Who would even take that kind of Class? What would be the point?"

"Huh…" Greg grunted. "Then… how do you guys advance? Like, where does the new technology come from?"

"Skills and experience?" She replied, giving him a strange look. "Development is a natural result of crafters pushing themselves and working together to design bigger and better things."

Greg cocked his head. "Interesting…" He supposed it made sense. In a World where you were rewarded for accomplishment, who would waste their lives doing nothing but thinking about things? Theories about things you couldn't actually interact with would get you nowhere in this World. They'd probably get to quantum crap eventually, but only after they actually developed the technology to interact with it, therefore making it worth experience. It probably made development a bit slower, since people were essentially working blind, though with the guidance of Class Skills and stats it probably evened out, but communal development took a firm backseat to personal advancement.

"Does this have anything to do with whether you're cheating or not?" Gloria asked, frowning at him.

Greg froze. "Ah, no… but honestly, if you're having a conversation with me and it doesn't go off track, it's a sure sign I'm not actually invested in it." He chuckled. "I only get drawn off because I care." He added with false sincerity.

Gloria snorted, rolling her eyes. "Of course you do."

Greg grinned. "Anyway, about cheating… Well, I believe I've made my position clear, but… you're thinking about me and my other self as the same person, which, you know, fair, but as I said, we're more like clones of each other. Or, I suppose, to different sub-minds of a larger being. Still connected, obviously, but largely independent of each other. This is actually born out through Thomas's system. A single mind can only gain so many points a day, so even if I make a hundred selves, I still only get around thirty points a day. However, my self in the other World gains points completely separately from me, getting his own thirtyish points each day, because he's a separate mind."

"I'm not sure if that's really proof." Gloria muttered.

Greg sighed. "Okay, but if there's no evidence to the contrary, why doubt it?"

"Because some people will do anything to justify cheating." Gloria growled.

Greg blinked. "Well, I can't exactly argue with that… man, I wish I was Chris. Then I could just show you I'm telling the truth. But I can't exactly connect you to my smoke, now can- I… huh." He paused. "Well, now, I do have an idea, but… you may not want to go for it." He coughed awkwardly. He wasn't exactly sure about this, since he'd never connected the smoke to anything with a brain before, well, a brain that wasn't already his at least, but… this World called him a hive mind. If he connected his smoke to her… would their minds connect as well? It made sense, but he wasn't sure. Maybe he should test with something else first…

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"What is it?" Gloria asked, frowning.

"Well… I think I should test this elsewhere first, but… uh, well, take a look for yourself." Greg sent her the descriptions of his Foundation Hivemind traits.

Gloria raised an eyebrow at him before reading the traits, her eyes widening as she did. "What the fuck?!?" She hissed. "This is- you want to do this to me!?!"

"Not permanently! Just for a moment so I can share some memories with you. Maybe. Probably. I'm pretty sure it'd work, based on how my smoke has worked up until this point, but I'm not positive… also, not to freak you out, but if we wanted to hurt you, you're already in Chris's world." Greg explained. "It's just- there's no way to actually prove what I'm saying, you know? But if I gave you my memories, showed you exactly what I'm talking about, then… well, it'd be hard to argue against."

"Unless this connection somehow lets you alter my memories to make me think I believe you." Gloria retorted.

Greg paused. "Well, that's just a whole other level of paranoia. Not entirely unjustified paranoia, though… our abilities are pretty messed up and I would be surprised if we could do something like that. Hell, I'd be shocked if Thomas couldn't… seems like something right up his alley."

"This is not helping." Gloria grumbled.

"Yeah, no, I didn't think it was." Greg sighed, slumping in his chair. "Then I guess we're done here, huh?"

Gloria blinked. "What?"

Greg shrugged. "If you can't trust me, then we can't have a relationship. Relationships are built on trust, particularly when they involve someone like me. I can get away with too much shit for you to be suspicious of me all the time. I mean, there could be a me on the other side of the world doing who knows what, and you'd never know. If you can't even trust me when I say relationships don't carry over between Worlds, how can you trust me when I say I'm not using my frankly ridiculous powerset to be unfaithful? There's so much about me where you simply have to take my word on things, and if you can't… then what's the point?"

Gloria froze. That was it? He was just… done with her? "But- trust can be built! Just because I don't implicitly trust you now, doesn't mean I won't!" She protested. "I literally met you yesterday! You can't expect me to take everything you say at face value right off the bat!"

Greg paused. "But… you only gave me one date." He pointed out.

Gloria froze again, before flushing deeply. "I- I said one date and then we'd see."

"You specifically said one date and then we're done." Greg retorted, grinning slightly.

Gloria glared at him. "Are you sure that's what you want to remember me saying?" She asked with a slight edge to her tone.

Greg cocked his head thoughtfully. "Actually… yes." Gloria opened her mouth to retort, but Greg held up his hand to stop her as he continued. "Let me just ask: why is it that you don't want to admit you changed your mind? That despite your reservations, you actually do find me interesting enough that you want to keep getting to know me? Is that such a crime? That things didn't go as you expected? That you didn't perfectly predict the future?"

Gloria hesitated. "I- I guess not…" She finally admitted.

Greg smiled. "I get that admitting you were wrong can be a problem sometimes, since some people will use it to make fun of you or take advantage of you, but if we're talking about building trust… Well, I think the least you can do is trust me enough to not be an ass when you admit you're wrong, right?"

Gloria nodded slowly. "You're right. I- I was wrong. You're… not like I thought you would be and… I'm willing to give you a chance."

"Oof, I dunno. If you change your mind that easily…" Greg shook his head.

Gloria's eyes widened. "You-!" She growled.

"Kidding, kidding!" Greg laughed. "I- ow- hey!" Greg yelped, as Gloria pelted him with small bolts of Energy that didn't do much damage but hurt like a bitch. "I give, I give!"

Gloria let out a huff as she stopped, crossing her arms, though she couldn't keep a small smirk off her face. "Serves you right. Jerk." She muttered, looking away to hide the smirk.

"Yeah, I know, I suck." Greg grinned. "Do you still want to give me a chance?"

"Hmmm…" Gloria hummed thoughtfully as she materialized a small Energy ball, eyeing him with it for a moment, before snuffing it out with a grin of her own. "I think I can handle it."

"I'm sure you can." Greg chuckled. "So, since we are giving this a go… shall we move to the second part of our date?"

Gloria smiled. "I suppose we shall."

*

"This is the second part of the date?" Gloria asked skeptically.

"What? You don't like mini-golf?" Greg asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know what-" Gloria froze, before turning to scowl at him. "Mini-golf?"

Greg coughed awkwardly. "I honestly didn't make the connection until halfway through dinner. Mini-golf is just kind of a classic date idea where I come from and I've never actually done it before, so…" He gestured vaguely to the gigantic mini-golf… plantation he'd made with the others. They'd gone a bit wild with the designs and more than a few of the courses couldn't really be called mini anymore. "Anyway, here's your club."

Gloria grabbed the club, holding it like a bat. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

Greg smiled. "Let me show you." He led her to the first course, creating a ball. "Okay, now stand here." He gestured in front of him, his smile turning slightly mischievous.

Gloria eyed him suspiciously, but did as he said. "Okay, now what?" She froze as Greg leaned down over her, flushing as he lightly placed his hands on hers.

"Now- oof!" Greg began before grunting as Gloria elbowed him. "Hey, I'm just showing you how to hold the club!" He protested.

Gloria froze. "Oh." She coughed awkwardly. "Continue."

Greg chuckled, shaking his head as he repositioned her hands. "Okay, now, you try to find the perfect path to the hole, position yourself like so, and…" He rocked with her slightly, pulling the club back and giving it a light swing, sending the ball rolling down the course. "Well, we missed, but that just means we need to try again." Greg shrugged, looking down at Gloria, and finding her frozen, her jaw clenched as she tightly gripped the club. "Uh… you okay?"

"I-I'm fine." She muttered, flushing as she pulled away, walking over to the ball and getting in position before looking over at him. "Well? Are you coming?" She asked, her flush deepening slightly.

Greg coughed awkwardly. "I'm- pretty sure you got it, right?" He had admittedly been looking for a little bit of an excuse for physical contact, but it seemed like he'd taken it a bit far.

"I said-" Gloria gave him a look. "Are you coming?"

Greg paused, taking in the look. "Well… I guess I am." He grinned, moving up behind her again. "Though a part of me insists I mention something about honesty and trust again."

"Just hold me, you asshole." Gloria grumbled, flushing again.

"If you insist." Greg chuckled, reaching down to hold her hands again. "Though I suppose I should admit that while I was guiding you, it was also a good excuse for physical contact." He added.

"Stop stating the obvious and help me swing." Gloria rolled her eyes.

*

As they continued, Gloria got… not so much comfortable, per se, but adjusted to Greg. She still wasn't exactly sure what to think of him, or the whole Tessa thing, but… the night had been nice. It'd been so long since she actually relaxed, and Greg seemed to be an expert at diffusing her tension. A bit of teasing here, a bad joke there, a complete change in topic about every five minutes… it made it effectively impossible for her to perseverate on the fact that for some reason she'd given the man license to practically cuddle with her for a couple hours. Not that she didn't enjoy it, but… Gloria flushed as she glanced over at him, her hand firmly grasped in his as they walked to the next course. It just seemed a bit fast, didn't it? Particularly since she did still have reservations. It was just… the longer she spent with the man, the less they seemed to matter.

"Want to play this last hole, then dessert?" Greg asked.

Gloria paused. "Dessert?"

Greg froze. "You- you don't have desse-" He paused as he noticed her grin. "Oh, very funny." He chuckled.

"I thought so." Gloria preened slightly, happy to be the one teasing him for a change. "Can we come back to mini-golf later?" She asked, looking around. "We haven't even finished half the courses." She pointed out. *Or half the cuddling.* She added internally, flushing slightly. Why did he have to smell so damn good?!?

"We can, though I'm not sure about tonight." Greg muttered. "Really depends on how late you want to go, I suppose."

Gloria frowned slightly, considering it for a moment. "I guess we can decide after dessert? It really depends on how late that takes us."

"True… alright, sounds like a plan." Greg nodded. "So, you were saying about your brother?" He asked as they got into position. They'd mostly been talking about her family for the past few holes. Turned out she had four siblings, two brothers and two sisters, with her smack dab in the middle. Her mother was a Sprill, but her father was a Dwarf, and both of her brothers were Dwarves as well, while her sisters were Sprills like her. Greg had thought that seemed unlikely, but apparently when Ranks were equal, it was common for the children to share the race of their same sex parent.

"Right." Gloria nodded. "He's torn between following me into the military and becoming a crafter like our father. I don't think it's a terrible idea for him to join the military, but… I worry it's a misplaced sense of pride due to my entering the military, rather than any true passion for it. Dwarves are generally seen as the combative ones, and I worry my brother is just looking to avoid being seen as the wimpy one compared to his Sprill sister." She sighed. "More than a few have already directed such comments at our older brother, though mostly because he inherited our mother's flair for politics and rival politicians will attack any perceived weakness. I fear he's taken these jabs to heart and is looking to avoid ridicule rather than seeking to find his true path."

"Yeah, that's a tricky one." Greg muttered. "If you call him on it, he'll just push for it more. Maybe we could show him what the military is actually like and sort of scare him off? If he's in, he's in, but if he's still waffling… it could change his mind."

"We?" Gloria asked, raising an eyebrow.

Greg chuckled, pulling her a bit closer as they swung, throwing the ball off course, but that had ceased to be the point a while ago. "I believe I've made my position pretty clear and this date has done nothing to change my mind." He replied softly. He was beginning to think the World knew what it was doing when it sent people after each other. Relationships that just fizzle due to incompatibility wouldn't be interesting. Of course, drama was also a factor… but you still needed there to be potential in a relationship for there to be relationship drama. Otherwise it'd just end, and that would be that.

Gloria leaned back against him, closing her eyes and biting her lip as her heartbeat began to quicken. "We… will still need to wait." She sighed, tamping down her emotions. "As enjoyable as this night has been, there are still larger issues at play. Ones I need to consider from a distance."

Greg nodded. "I understand. I'm not in a rush. I have, quite literally, all the time in the World." He smirked.

*

After dessert, they decided to return to the fort, taking a portal right to her door. "Well, tonight was fun, wasn't it?" Greg commented.

"It was." Gloria agreed, hesitating by the door for a moment, before letting out a sigh and turning to look up at him. "Get down."

"Eh?" Greg blinked.

"Down." Gloria insisted.

Greg cocked his head, but did as she asked, going down on one knee. "Like thi-" He began before cutting off as Gloria's lips were suddenly on his.

After a short, but not too short, kiss, she pulled away, flushing slightly. "Thank you for a wonderful night. No matter what happens in the future… know I enjoyed this. Very much." She assured him, before turning to the door and quickly moving inside.

Greg continued to kneel there for a moment, tapping his lips slightly as a slow grin began to form, before a cough came from the portal and he rolled his eyes, standing up and heading through. "Thank you for your help, Chris." He thanked the man as the portal closed behind him.

"No problem. Now, tell me what's up with Georgia." Chris insisted. That had been the deal. He'd do portals for Greg, and Greg would tell him why they kept acting weird about her.

Greg shook his head. "She likes you dude. Like, really likes you."

Chris blinked. "Oh." He cocked his head, before shrugging. "I'll consider it." He commented, before walking away.

Greg sighed. "That poor girl."