The afternoon was great. Matt picked out the movie after Ann told us she was up for everything. It was an old samurai comedy, with very silly scenes, such as someone losing a duel because they fled to a doctor when the main character, an incompetent man named Michelangelo, drew and sheathed his sword, bluffing about his skill.

For the entire runtime, really, he was failing his way upwards in society. It was hilarious.

After that, we set about cooking. Matt and Ann helped, though I do have to say one of the two contributed more to the affair than the other. Ann’s talents were many, but cooking was not one of them. She’d once managed to burn veggies while boiling them in water.

Despite that, she still helped us cook, and I was honestly happy she didn’t cut herself. She did also once twirl the spear on my wall, leaving a small cut on the floor, for which she embarrassedly and meekly apologized as she put it back. Like an adorable little mouse.

A bit after that, we ate. It was vegetable stew. We threw in potatoes, zucchini, some leftover pak choy, eggplant, leek, mushrooms, and so on. Then a whole lot of soup and spices, then another whole lot of boiling, and it was done!

We ate, joked, and laughed. It tasted delicious. Matt and I made a little fun of Ann at how fascinated she seemed to be with the TV. Ann and I made fun of Matt for how seemingly permanently perfect he was. Matt and Ann made fun of me for how impatient I was.

I loved it. The entire meal. There wasn’t a moment where I had to pause or feel awkward or ask someone to stop. It was genuinely, thoroughly, lovely. Every bit of it.

Afterwards, I had a desire to take Ann on a walk. Through, like, a park or something. That desire sadly died quickly, because there were no parks. Ann wiped the frown off my face rather quickly with a kiss while I did the dishes, when Matt was already in the living room.

For most of the cleanup, she sat on the counter next to me, dangling her legs through the air as I went about putting things away and into the dishwasher. We chatted.

Mostly, it was me telling her about my life over on this side. Yesterday’s gathering, my parents, my new decorations, what kinda clothes I enjoyed wearing…

Ann smiled when I mentioned clothes. A kind of longing smile. I noticed, immediately.

“Hey. Wanna go shopping?” I asked.

She looked at me, surprised. “Shopping?”

“Yeah, shopping. For clothes, and stuff. I know a couple stores around here that still make ones from decent material. They’re a bit pricy but-”

Ann beamed at me, wrapping me in a hug that almost pulled her off the counter. “YES! I’d love to! Price isn’t a problem, don’t worry.”

With a small laugh, I hugged her back for a moment, then pulled myself out of the hug. “Not a problem you say, eh? Been saving up that money from Eden?”

She gave me a conspiratorial grin. “You could say that…” Her grin turned down a little. “But, well, I suppose you wouldn’t need to. I’m, uh, rather set for money, I suppose.”

“Oh?”

“Born into… advantageous circumstances,” she said.

I smiled at her. “I’m happy for you! Then we’re gonna get you plenty of things you love, yeah? Though, if you have enough money, what’s keeping you to Eden? Do you just love me so much?” I teased.

“Yes.” Ann looked at me, entirely serious. There was a faint smile on her lips, but it was the loving kind. “Yes. I love you enough that I’d go to Eden just to be with you. I’d follow you to another world without hesitation, no matter how foreign. I love you, Fio. Thanks for not judging me for my… generational wealth, I guess.”

For a moment, I felt my heart skip, the pound in my chest, even harder. I grinned, about as happy as I ever felt. I put away the dishes, dried off my hands, and walked over to Ann, silently. I wrapped her in a hug, tightly, for about a dozen seconds, then pulled her off the counter and kissed her, for another dozen seconds.

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“I love you too,” I said, then hugged her tighter, pressing my cheek against hers. She sniffled once, happily, and I squeezed her all the more for it.

“Love you too, Fio. So much.”

The moment lasted for another half minute. Then we let each other go. Ann smiled. She hopped back onto the counter. I got back to cleaning the dishes.

We got done not too long later. I told Matt we were going shopping. He grinned.

“Have a nice date, you two,” he said, leaning back on the couch.

I looked at Ann, and she looked back at me with the same expression I probably had. Slightly wide eyes and a small smile. Right, this probably was-

“You two really set up a date without knowing it was a date!” Matt said, then guffawed. “Hahaha, how?! Haha! You need me, an aro person, zero interest in ever dating, to tell you when you’re on a date! Jeez, if that isn’t the most stereotypically lesbian thing I ever did see…”

He laughed a little more, and both Ann and I couldn’t help but giggle along. “Well,” I started, drawing out the word, “look, Rabbit, maybe you’re just guiding others to a treasure you cannot possess!”

Matt laughed, and Ann smirked at me a bit. “Was that a reference?” she asked.

I smiled at her. “Yeah, popular movie. We can watch it at some point, if you’d like.”

“I’d love to. But let’s go on our date, for now!” She said the word “date” so giddily, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Alright, sounds perfect. See you later, Matt!”

“Later, Matt.”

“See ya.”

And so we went.

I loved it. Shopping with Ann was so fun. She seemed so happy every time she tried on a new bit of clothing.

It was funny, because we went to both the fairly produced clothing places, which were rather expensive, as well as second-hand stores, since both of those had clothing that was rather ethical. Also, it was much easier to find summer clothes, like skirts or crop-tops in second hand stores, when everywhere else was beginning to stock winter fashion.

Ann would hop into the changing room, then ask me to come in when she was trying new things out and wanted my opinion. Some of the pieces suited her more. Some were too small. She really seemed to love the sweater-dress type clothing, which looked a little like robes on her.

After a few hours, she’d bought a few of those, a handful of skirts, some longer pants, a set of scarlet leggings, and a few more bits and bobs she liked. We got two different earrings as well, a set of silver cats, with tails made to look like fire and adorned with fake red gems, and some that had little golden teardrops hanging from them.

I texted Matt before we came back, and he said he’d be out of the house, running an errand or two. We both knew he didn’t have any errands to run, but that was okay.

The rest of the afternoon was just as lovely. I made hot cocoa for Ann and I, and we watched another movie, romance this time, cuddling on the couch. Then cuddling on the bed, for a little while longer.

It was wonderful, and romantic, and I wouldn’t trade the evening for anything in the world.

Eventually, my phone rang. It was a text, from Matt.

“Hey. Fio. Sorry to bother you, it’s urgent. I need you to come to Skyler Street 35a, bring Ann, please.”

Which was… cryptic. But Ann and I had just been cuddling again for the last ten minutes anyway. So I tapped her and showed her the message.

She kissed me on the nose. “Alright, love. Let’s go help out our favourite Rabbit.”

I nodded, quickly hopping up, changing clothes into something street ready, same as Ann did, snatched the car keys, and we headed out.

The address wasn’t nearby, but also not far away. Just a ten minute drive. Too short for Ann to even put on any music in the car.

When we got there, though, it didn’t seem like a place to have an emergency at. It was… a restaurant?

Ann and I quickly put on masks, which I kept in the car, and headed in. Matt was waiting in the foyer.

“Great! You made it. Come on, quick. It’s important,” he said, not giving us a chance to get a word in, as he already hurried further in.

The building was old, much of it still made from wood that groaned a little as we walked on it. It was well maintained, though, doors of wooden frame, with thick, blurry glass in the middle that only let through warm rays of yellowy light.

Matt pushed it open, heading in, and Ann and I followed.

Then, there was a quiet pop. Pink, orange, and white confetti rained on us. In hindsight, I am so glad they chose a confetti gun that didn’t sound like an actual gun.

When my eyes adjusted to the light, everyone was there. Matt, Liam, Marie, Emilia, Reya and Eric. All of them, standing around a table with drinks and cake. My mind raced to catch up. What?

“Surprise party, Fio,” Matt said, smiling brightly. “Ann couldn’t join us yesterday. I decided to make it happen tonight.”

I teared up. “You… Rabbit!” I said, wrapping him in a tight hug.

Ann, too, seemed happy. I chided Matt a little for his message. “I was worried, you jerk!” The conviction behind my words was undermined by the bright smile on my face.

“That’s why it’s a surprise, princess,” Emilia said. “Come on. Sit down, have some cake. Let’s have a good night.”