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There’s a leaf floating in her hot chocolate.
Amelia frowns at it. She’s only just bought the thing. She doesn’t want to walk all the way through the park to buy another. She sourly picks at it with her fingers. It’s hard when she’s wearing gloves. When she frees the leaf from her drink she tosses it aside. She eyes her cup suspiciously.
There could be bugs in it, she thinks, all kinds of bacteria.
She takes a sip.
“Ame, I could get you another one,” Ina says dryly. She’s cradling her own drink beside her. She’s wearing a woolen cap that hides her flaps and goes down over her pointy ears. Her mittens are holding her cup up to her lips, barely hiding the small smile there.
Amelia says, “You waited till I took a sip to say that.”
“I thought you wouldn’t.” Ina frowns, “Though I guess it’s just a leaf.”
“Just a leaf she says.” Amelia huffs. She takes another sip, emphasizing the spitefulness of it. Ina glances at her with amusement. Amelia is ready to needle more when the leaf pile beside her moves.
Amelia glares at it, “Gura no.”
“I’m not doing anything.” The leaf pile says.
“You’re threatening my peace,” Amelia tilts her head up haughtily, “my tranquility, and my date.”
Ina laughs, “Oh is that what we’re doing? I thought we were sampling the leaves.”
“Gura, are you eating leaves?
From the pile, a head of snowy hair pops out. A pair of kitty ear earmuffs sit on her head. It’s cute, Amelia thinks, cute enough she’s crouching down to coo at her.
“Aww, is the little shark eating grass?”
Gura folds her arms over her knees. She’s smirking, “Would you care to join me in this exquisite banquet?”
Amelia snorts, “Thank you but I already had a sample.”
Gura holds up a handful. Amelia backs away until she’s hiding on the other side of Ina. The priestess is giggling.
“Gura, c’mere.” Ina opens her arms.
Amelia flinches as a shower of leaves bursts from the pile. Gura’s tail lashes back and forth as she prances over. She’s stuffing her hands into the pockets of her coat, a smug smile drawn across her face. She ducks underneath Ina’s arms until she’s wormed her way into a hug. Ina obliges her, giving her a kiss to the top of her head.
“There you are.” Ina hums. “Have fun?”
“Found a bunch of bugs I’m gonna leave in the bed tonight,” Gura says.
Amelia snorts, “We already have cats at home that do that.”
Gura plays up the act by leaning her cheek against Ina’s chest. She closes her eyes with a happy hum, “Are you gonna adopt me?”
Ina nuzzles the top of her head, “You’re very cute.”
“Daw, thank you.” She cheekily dips her head to take a sip at Ina’s drink. Ina keeps the cup balanced for her. “Mmm tasty.”
“You could have got your own.” The priestess points out.
“But I like this.”
Amelia huffs, “Spoiled.”
Gura sticks her tongue out, “Sounds like someone is jealous they aren’t cuddling with Ina.”
Amelia makes a face at her. Ina giggles, stepping closer and bringing the three of them shoulder to shoulder. Amelia thinks they look silly trying to walk like that. Gura is practically standing on Ina’s shoes as they shuffle along. The both of them are giggling.
Cute, Amelia smiles fondly.
“Whatcha smilin’ at, Watton. ” Gura drawls.
Amelia turns her head to face the path. She can see it winding through the trees in front of them. The colors of autumn paint themselves in the golden leaves falling around them. It’s calm. If she got lost in these woods, she feels like that wouldn’t be a bad thing.
“Nothing,” Amelia sips her hot chocolate, “thought about something cute, I guess.”
“You guess?” Ina hedges.
“Yeah, sometimes they can be a real nuisance though.” Amelia grins at them. Gura throws her head back with a laugh, half her face getting buried into Ina’s coat. Ina gathers her up with a chuckle. She looks pleased.
“Love you too, Ame,” Ina says.
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A cool breeze feels nice. Amelia can stand these moments. She doesn’t have to think about work waiting for her at her desk or where the hands on her watch are. She stuffs her mittens into her pockets and watches in amusement as Gura circles a pumpkin like a caged animal.
“It’s not big enough.” Her shark complains, “I want a big, lumpy piece of work, ya know? Something gnarly.”
Ina pokes her head up from further down the pumpkin patch, “With warts?”
“With huh?”
“A warty pumpkin?” Ina holds up a pale one over her head, “I found one.”
Gura makes a noise like she’s choking, “Oh my god that looks like glue. Is it heavy?”
“Kinda.”
“Kinda for an eldritch priestess or kinda for a wimpy human?”
Amelia huffs, “I’m right here ya know.”
Gura ignores her and tramples her way over to the priestess. She’s making frantic huffy noises as she does. Ina is laughing.
“Wait, Gura, the pumpkin-!”
“Catch me!” Gura cries, jumping forward. The pumpkin is dropped as Ina opens her arms and accepts the flying shark. She falls backward. Amelia can hear them both laughing as they disappear. She captures that in her head. A sunset, a burning array of trees rustling in the wind, and her girlfriends laughing as they pick pieces of pumpkin out of their hair.
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She’s visiting a timeline. It’s a dead one, one with broken trees and withered remains of something that was once precious. She can’t find their apartment in the rubble. There’s nothing to speak of this place but ash and the silence of the dead. She finds the Amelia that lives here on a park bench. She doesn’t look good. There’s blood smeared on her cheek. Her clothes are worn and tattered.
“Hey.” Amelia greets. It’s good to be cordial even if it is the end of the world.
Her alternative self inclines her head, but her face doesn’t change. It’s void of emotion, a slate wiped clean of thought and feeling. There’s acceptance there. Exhaustion too. Amelia sits down beside her and offers her a cup of hot chocolate.
“I’m not thirsty.” Her alternate self murmurs.
“I didn’t offer it for you to drink,” Amelia says gently. She keeps her hand extended. Her alternate self tilts her head, the vacant look in her eye fading to something more vulnerable. She takes the drink with shaky hands. She curls around it, cradling it close as if it was a treasure. When her shoulders start to shake, Amelia cautiously winds her arm around her.
“Did they,” Her alternate self gasps out, “did they get a yellow pumpkin?”
“No,” Amelia says. She thinks of the orange pumpkin sitting at home, carved into a silly cat smile. “That’s what your Gura and Ina loved, not mine.”
“Ah.” Her alternate self trembles. There’s a broken noise from her as she curls up tighter on the bench, “... Good…That’s good...”
Amelia quietly sits with her. She can spare a few minutes to offer the comfort she has. She imagines if it all ended for her, she’d want someone to be there for her, even if it was technically just herself. It’s the thought that counts.
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Ina corners her in the kitchen with a dangerous fork.
“What is that?” Amelia squints at it.
“An apple slice.” Ina says, “With caramel.”
She waves the fork around enticingly. She looks like a dork wearing an apron that says takobout that cake. Amelia cracks a smile, “Is it for me?”
“Yes.” When Amelia makes a grab for it Ina leans her hand out of reach. She smiles in a way that sends butterflies to Amelia’s stomach, “I want to feed it to you.”
“That’s so embarrassing.” Amelia complains, “Just give me the fork.”
Ina raises it above her head. Amelia huffs, but she can see where she wins here. She leans on her tiptoes to nose at the crook of Ina’s neck. The priestess inhales in surprise.
“So this isn’t embarrassing?” Ina asks. Her voice is shaky.
Amelia hums, her lips leaving fleeting kisses along her skin, “I think this is tastier.”
“Ame,” Ina says but Amelia can hear the smile in her voice. Amelia traces her fingers lightly over Ina’s arms, passing her elbow until she rests them on her shoulders. Ina is tilting her head to give her better access. Amelia kisses up her jaw until they’re nose to nose.
“Hello.” Amelia greets.
There’s a dusting of pink over Ina’s cheeks. She’s smiling shyly, “Hello.”
“Can I have a snack?” Amelia flutters her eyelashes. Ina giggles and tries to duck her head. It’s too cute. Amelia cups her face and brings her back to where she can have her all to herself, “Ina? I want a snack.”
“Now you’re being embarrassing.” The priestess complains.
Amelia makes a mournful noise, “You’ll leave me to die. I’m gonna starve.”
“Okay, you greedy thing.”
When Ina kisses her, she wraps her arms around Amelia’s waist. Amelia hears the clatter of the fork hitting the floor but she doesn’t care about that, not when Ina is pushing against her lips, pushing her until she feels like she’s gonna fall. Ina holds her steady and devours her.
It’s a much better tasting treat.
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Amelia wakes up in the middle of the night. The lantern glow inside the tent is soft, but it’s angled in a troublesome way that’s burning her eyes. She grimaces as she rolls over in her sleeping bag. She finds Ina asleep, her flaps poking up from her pillow. Amelia smiles at the way they twitch in her sleep. Her smile disappears when she notices the empty spot on the other side of her. A blue jacket is missing amongst their things.
Quietly, Amelia crawls out of her sleeping bag. She hisses at the cold, scrambling to grab a jacket and her boots. She keeps an eye on Ina to make sure she doesn’t wake her up. When no obvious movement is found, she pulls open the tent flap.
There are three camping chairs arranged around their dying campfire. She finds her shark occupying one. Gura is curled up with her knees pulled to her chest. She’s bundled up in her own coat. Ina’s hat on her head is a little big. It makes her look tiny. She’s looking at the embers of their campfire.
“Up late tonight?” Amelia whispers. She’s tiptoeing over to a chair and mimicking Gura’s position. The nighttime chill was creeping up her legs. She wraps her sleeves around them. When she doesn’t get an immediate answer from Gura, she looks over at her.
Gura is smiling at her. It’s different from her sharp grins or the way she smirks. It’s not smug or playful. There’s a softness to it that rivals the low light of a lantern. It feels like she’s looking at the campfire and its small warmth.
“I had a dream about you,” Gura says.
Amelia hums, “Was it a good dream?”
“It was.” Gura closes her eyes and tilts her head up to the sky, “I wish it was real.”
Amelia tightens her hand over her knee. Something about the way she said that struck her. Was what they had not good in comparison? She tries to think of what’s better than what they have now. The ideas that come to her have her heart trembling.
Throat dry, she murmurs, “What was it about?”
“You,” Gura says. “You were happy. I don’t know what it was about, but you wouldn’t stop giggling. I’ve never heard you laugh like that before. I wanted to kiss you.”
Amelia doesn’t know what to say to that. It’s the kind of heartfelt things that Gura says that leaves her stunned. She’s gotten used to them, but it still leaves her feeling winded. She jokes weakly, “Is my laugh not good enough?”
Gura glances at her, “It’s perfect.” She shyly looks to the side, “It’s just… where you were laughing made the difference.”
“Where were we?” Amelia asks, “In your dream.”
Gura shifts in her chair. She mumbles, “Nosy.”
Amelia sputters a laugh, “What? I come out here and you’re giving me heart eyes and you think I’m not gonna pry? You’re already pouring your heart out, spill, c’mon.”
“Oh my god.” Gura groans. “You’re really gonna make me say it. It’s too embarrassing.”
“What’s wrong with that? I promise I won’t laugh.”
Gura huffs, “You’re gonna laugh.”
“I just said I wouldn’t.”
Gura miserably sinks into her coat. Amelia can only see the top of her head when she mumbles, “We were getting married.”
Amelia stares. She tries to think about it. It’s not like she hasn’t before, but with the squirmy way Gura is acting about it she can’t take it seriously. It’s endearing, cute. Amelia cracks a smile, “Did you buy me a ring?”
“Oh my god I can hear it in your voice, stop it.” Gura turns until her back is facing Amelia.
Amelia laughs this time, a giddiness overwhelming her. She can feel those butterflies. She’s nervous but excited. She drawls out playfully, “Gur ah, did you buy me a ring?”
“Shut up, Watson.”
“It’s cute! Don’t be shy, c’mon.”
Gura peeks at her over her coat. She squints at her, “You’re laughing at me.”
“I’m laughing because you’re cute.” Amelia corrects. She scoots her chair over until it’s right beside Gura’s. “I want a dream like that too.”
Gura looks at her. She’s loosening up, her expression going back to that softness from before. Her tail brushes Amelia’s knee, “Would you?”
“One day.” Amelia amends. She’s playful now but she can’t imagine what she’d do if either of her girls got on one knee before her. She’d probably scream. “It sounds like a nice dream.”
“It was.” Gura leans over until her head is on Amelia’s shoulder. Amelia tilts her head, reaching up to comb through snowy hair. Her shark hums in delight, “Did I wake you up?”
“You left the light on.”
“Shoot. I’m sorry.”
Amelia presses her lips to the top of her head. She gives a few more quiet kisses. Gura hums, her tail giving a small wag.
“I think I’m forgiven.” Gura drawls.
“Maybe.” Amelia murmurs, “Did you come out to watch the stars?”
“I came out to think. The stars were just a bonus.” Gura snickers, “The girlfriend was an extra treat.”
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