Marianna rang the doorbell to Alna’s house, rocking back on her heels as she waited for an answer. Summer had abandoned the city of Brigate, leaving it in the chilly and colourful arms of fall. Even the deck she was standing on had some red and yellow leaves on it. She lifted her left foot, kicking one such leaf away for no particular reason. That done, Marianna tucked a strand of hair away from her face, trying not to shiver.

When the door opened, Alna appeared, who smiled upon seeing her. Alna was looking as pretty as always, with her dark hair loose about her shoulders, only a bit messy. There was nothing about Alna’s appearance that was overly eye-catching, but this didn’t stop Marianna’s mouth from going dry at the sight of her. She swallowed.

“Marianna. Hello,” Alna said, stepping back in silent invitation. Marianna took it, arms clasped around her middle to ward off the chill. Alna must have noticed this because her eyes darted up and down Marianna’s form before meeting her gaze.

“Can I get you anything?” Alna offered as she silently urged Marianna to give her jacket over. Alna was quick to hang it up.

“Um, no,” Marianna replied. “I’m all right. Thank you.”

Alna peered thoughtfully at her for a moment—a gesture Marianna was getting used to—before saying, “Well, I'm going to make myself some tea. You can have some as well if you want.”

Blue eyes watched her, seeming curious for whatever reason. When Marianna agreed to this offer, a mischievous grin lit Alna’s face for a moment before she turned and proceeded to the kitchen, which Mr. Holt was exiting. He gave Marianna a nod and a smile in greeting.

After hovering for a moment, Marianna took a seat at the rectangular kitchen table, watching Alna fill a pot with water before placing it on a heater that plugged into an outlet. In the brief, comfortable silence, Marianna puzzled over the look Alna just gave her, trying to decipher its meaning. It wasn’t until Alna crouched down and pulled some tea bags out of a cupboard that her eyes widened with realization.

“Alna?”

“Hmm?” Alna hummed, setting the tea bags next to the pot before grabbing some mugs from another cupboard.

“Did you trick me into accepting something to drink?” she asked, voice tinged with disbelief.

Alna paused in the act of grabbing a tin of honey and turned to give Marianna yet another smile, arctic eyes glittering with amusement. “Why, Ms. Whitlock, I would never.” The playful look in her eyes had carried over into her voice, destroying any illusion of innocence.

“Oh, my God,” Marianna laughed, shaking her head as her cheeks flushed—from what, exactly, she wasn’t sure. “You completely played me right now. That’s…” Marianna met Alna’s entertained eyes and couldn’t help but beam at her. “I don’t even know.”

“You looked cold,” Alna explained. And then, sounding pleased with herself, she added, “It worked quite well, did it not?”

“It did.” Marianna relaxed against the back of her chair as she felt some of her tension drain away. This witty banter between them was a new development, but Marianna couldn’t deny she was liking it so far. It was interesting, getting to see the playful side of a girl who was normally so impassive. At least around other people.

From the living room, Marianna heard Mr. Holt give a soft laugh.

“How do you take your tea?” Alna turned around and leaned against the counter.

“Um, with some honey and ginger,” Marianna said. She scanned the selections Alna had put on display. “Peppermint tea, please.”

“Of course.” Alna turned around and grabbed two types of tea bags, dropping each into their respective mugs. “Ginger and honey; an interesting combination.”

Marianna fiddled with her purse, which was in her lap. “I’m sort of a sweet and spicy type girl; always have been.”

Again that intrigued look crossed Alna’s face. “I never would have taken you to such opposing flavors. I suppose that shows even I can’t see everything.”

Once the water finished boiling, Alna and Marianna sat across from each other at the kitchen table, sipping their tea as they chatted. After about ten minutes, Mrs. Holt showed up with Alna’s brothers, having returned from the playground. Evan seemed happy to see Marianna, though he only talked to her long enough to exchange a brief greeting before running off with Colton to play video games.

Marianna once again found herself confused at the smile Mrs. Holt gave her. The looks she sent both herself and Alna seemed to go beyond simple acceptance of what Marianna hoped was a budding relationship. In fact, Marianna mused, Mrs. Holt always seemed to be happy to see her. She always made sure Marianna felt comfortable in the Holt house: asking Marianna how her day had been with genuine interest, and encouraging her to stay for supper on more than one occasion. It was nice, knowing she was welcome here, but baffling all the same.

She waited until Mrs. Holt poured herself a cup of coffee and wandered over to the living room to join her husband before she dared say anything, keeping her voice low.

“Your mom seems to like me.”

“Indeed, she does,” Alna agreed. She seemed to have slipped back to her sophisticated speech and detached demeanor, staring past Marianna’s shoulder. Marianna wondered if Alna even realized she was doing it.

Marianna fell silent for a couple beats, waiting for the other girl to elaborate. When she did no such thing, Marianna prompted, “Is there any reason for it?”

Alna’s gaze, which had seemed to be vacant for the past few minutes, immediately refocused on Marianna’s face. A fond look appeared on her face as she took another sip of her lemon tea before replying.

“I think my parents are pleased that I’m interacting with someone on a social level, of sorts. They don’t have time to be prejudiced. Not that they are.”

“Oh,” Marianna said. She hesitated a bit before asking her next question, not wanting to sound like a priss. “So, you’re antisocial, then?” Going by everything Alna had told her on their first date, it made sense.

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“Very much so,” Alna confirmed before sipping her tea. “Though I prefer introverted.”

After cleaning up in the kitchen, Marianna and Alna retreated to the basement, heeding Mom’s order to leave both doors open. Instead of heading to Alna’s room like Marianna expected them to, Alna led her over to some armchairs in front of an electric fireplace. Above the fireplace, on a mantel, were three different pictures, each depicting one of the Holt children.

Colton and Evan’s must have been taken for a school yearbook; Alna’s picture was from her graduation. Every time Marianna glimpsed this image, she was always a little bit startled to see someone so young dressed in graduation robes. Alna’s expression in this picture was arranged into a careful, polite smile. Her dark hair hung about her shoulders in a glossy sheet, looking as though someone had straightened it beforehand. Alna grasped a rolled-up parchment, the black robes looking too big on her small frame.

It was such an adorably awkward photo, that Marianna couldn’t help grinning. Alna, noticing this, gave her a sarcastic look before turning on the fireplace. Almost instantly, yellow flames appeared within the fake woodpile, their tips blue.

Marianna took a seat and the end of a plush red couch, while Alna sat in the armchair to her right.

“How’s your project going?” Marianna asked after a moment of comfortable silence, looking away from the flickering flames.

At Marianna’s question, a genuine smile lit up Alna’s face. “It’s going well,” she answered. “I’ve made some significant progress.”

Marianna returned the smile. “That’s good to hear.” She hesitated a moment before inquiring, “Can you tell me about it, or is it some top-secret thing?”

Alna’s expression turned attentive as she studied Marianna, eyes reading every telltale sign on Marianna’s face. At least, that’s what it seemed like to her.

“I suppose you could say that.” The hair that fell over her shoulder almost blended in with her long-sleeved black shirt. “Whether or not I can tell you… Perhaps I will. Sometime soon, even.” She muttered the last sentence, giving Marianna the impression that Alna had been directing it more at herself than at her. Marianna peered at her curiously.

“Well,” she said, “if you want to tell me, I’d love to hear about it. Especially if we’re…”

Here she paused, nibbling on the inside of her cheek as she glanced down. When she looked back up, Alna’s eyes silently prompted her to continue.

“Would it be accurate to say we’re dating?” Marianna questioned, then mentally berated herself. Of course, she and Alna were dating—what else could someone call long kissing sessions and going on dates? Whether or not they were in an official relationship or not was another matter. Going by the faint upward twitch of Alna’s lips, she’d noticed the slip up as well, though she chose not to say anything about it.

“Exclusively or casually?”

Alna’s eyes could be very expressive sometimes, Marianna thought to herself. Right now, they expressed her amusement at the current situation, the ice in her gaze seeming to have softened.

“Exclusively.” Marianna fiddled with a loose string on the couch.

“That depends.” Alna, contrary to Marianna, seemed unperturbed by the situation as she lounged in her own armchair, legs folded underneath her. “Would you like to be my girlfriend?” Her expression became more serious as she once again studied the other girl intently.

Marianna felt her cheeks heat up, which, to her dismay over the course of her life, seemed to be her involuntary reaction to a wide variety of situations. “I’d like that very much.”

At that, Alna unfolded herself from the armchair and approached Marianna, her entire frame seeming to tower over the still seated girl. Until she bent down and grabbed Marianna’s hands, pulling her up so they could kiss, that is. Marianna wasted no time in wrapping her arms around Alna’s neck, deepening the kiss.

Alna’s lips tasted like peppermint with a hint of almond from her tea earlier.

When they pulled back, Marianna wouldn’t deny that she felt disappointed by the loss of contact. And lightheaded. She blinked.

“Well,” Alna said, the corners of her eyes crinkling. “I suppose we’re girlfriends now.”

“Yeah,” Marianna mumbled. “Hikari will be happy.” She pulled Alna back down, capturing her lips once more. She felt Alna chuckle into the kiss, but couldn’t bring herself to care.

“That’s good to hear,” Alna said once Marianna pulled away to regain her air. She nudged Marianna aside, settling in next to her. “I’m glad you have someone in your life who’s supportive.”

Marianna, getting over her surprise at the change in position, laid her head on the Alna’s shoulder, mumbling, “Me too.” Alna rubbed her arm.

There was another moment of comfortable silence, in which time Marianna realized the electric fireplace seemed to be capable of generating a fair bit of heat, making her drowsy. With her head resting on Alna’s shoulder, the other girl’s arm wrapped around her, Marianna felt the stress from the past couple weeks drain away. She wished she didn’t have to go home at all tonight. She’d be content to sit here with Alna until the next day.

As appealing as the thought was, Marianna also knew it was unrealistic. Few parents would ever let their child spend the night with a significant other. Her father would burst a blood vessel if he found out she even thought of doing such a thing. That was a sobering thought.

And so, with that in mind, Marianna decided sitting in complete silence all evening wasn’t the best course of action. She said, “Did you read that article in the last newspaper?” with her eyes half closed.

Instead of the amusement Marianna expected, Alna’s voice sounded neutral as she replied, “There are many articles; I’m afraid you’ll have to be more specific.”

“That one about the car crash. It was written by Irene—no, Ilene something.”

“I read it.” Alna’s voice was somewhere between impassive and conversational. Marianna wondered about that as she pushed herself up to look at Alna’s face. “I was pleased to hear the second driver was relatively unharmed.”

“Thank goodness for that,” Marianna agreed with a nod of her head. “I can’t even imagine what the man’s family is going through.”

“Neither can I,” Alna mused, turning to give Marianna her full attention. “Few people would want to.”

“You’re right,” Marianna agreed. She studied Alna for another moment before settling back against her shoulder, eyes once again alighting on Alna’s graduation photo from high school. She looked back at the fire. The flames were mesmerizing.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course. Whether or not I will answer depends upon what the question is,” Alna remarked, sounding haughty. Marianna smiled again.

“It’s just that, you seemed kind of…intense on our first date.” She looked up at Alna. “You told me a lot about yourself—more than other people would. I was wondering why. I mean, I know I asked, but it wasn’t like you had to answer.”

Because Marianna was leaning against her, she noticed the brief tension in Alna’s body, which dissipated just as quickly. There was a pause—longer than what seemed to normal for Alna—before she replied.

“I’ll admit I was testing you.” Alna sounded cautious. Marianna once more leaned away to get a better view of her face. “Few people appreciate my listing details about them that I, for all intents and purposes, should not know.”

“You wanted to see if I’d be scared off,” Marianna realized. Her chest tightened.

“Exactly.”

Marianna couldn’t fight back the sympathy that rose at Alna’s admission. She, too, knew what it was like to be seen as different, even before her “secret” came to light. Perhaps she hadn’t experienced it on the same level as Alna, but she had an inkling of what Alna must have struggled with in the past.

Without thinking, Marianna grabbed Alna by the back of the neck, and pulled her in for another kiss.

“Well,” she said when they pulled back, settling against Alna’s side once more. “I think we’ve established that won’t happen.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be too sure. I’m sure there are some things about me that even you would have difficulty accepting.”