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Lizzie woke up to footsteps outside her base, and made sure she stayed stock still as she assessed the situation.
Moments passed. She didn’t hear any mob sounds, nor the sound of any wheat theft. What she eventually did hear was the creak of Cleo’s ladder. Definitely a player- mobs weren’t especially good at ladders.
Lizzie got up and walked outside, carrying a torch to illuminate who had approached. She was met with bright neons, and figured she shouldn’t have been surprised.
“Hi,” Cleo said, paused on the ladder with a raised eyebrow.
“...Hello,” said Lizzie.
“Just getting some stuff,” they said. Then, sarcastically, “Do I have your permission to go up, or…?”
Lizzie flushed and looked aside.
“Um,” she cleared her throat. “I suppose.”
“Uh-huh,” Cleo deadpanned, before the ladder creaking continued. Lizzie watched her ascend until she disappeared in the build. She could hear a chest being opened, and some shuffling.
Cleo peeked their head out, and saw Lizzie was still standing in the grass. They stared at her for a moment, then laughed.
“Lizzie, what do you think I’m doing up here?”
Lizzie stammered.
“I– well– getting your things, I imagine.”
“Mh, and that requires your supervision?”
Lizzie flushed again. Cleo tended to have this effect on her.
“I– I don’t know– I mean, you could be getting up to any type of schemes up there—”
Cleo laughed again. Lizzie felt that was unnecessary.
“What?” she asked. Cleo shook her head, and began to climb down again.
“I just–” they sighed, “I forget you haven’t been around since Last Life.”
“Well–” Lizzie began, but she stopped. Just on the grounds of she wasn’t really sure why she showed up for exactly one session as Pearl last time. And also she was pretty sure Cleo didn’t know about that anyways. So she changed gears– “What’s that mean?”
“Oh, I mean… Last Life was sort of the odd one out, in these games, you know?” They jumped to the ground, and walked up to Lizzie. They were very tall. “Everyone was a little on edge, ‘specially with the Boogeyman. But we haven’t got that this go-around. So you don’t have to be so… defensive.”
Lizzie opened her mouth, but she wasn’t sure how to respond. Cleo waited for her, but eventually went on:
“Sorry, again. About the base, I mean.”
“Oh,” Lizzie straightened up, “Um. Don’t be. Quest and all. If I really was the only one with a base, I’d probably do the same. Or– that got a bit minced, but—”
Cleo sighed again, with a smile. Lizzie looked up at her.
“To be fair…” they said. “It wasn’t just that.”
Lizzie furrowed her brow.
“Sorry?”
Cleo looked aside, still smiling, just now maybe with a hint of bashfulness.
“Well, it’s just…” Cleo took Lizzie’s hand, the one that wasn’t holding a torch. “…nice to have you back.”
Lizzie looked down at their hands, then back at Cleo.
After what was probably too long, she said, “It’s nice to be back.”
Cleo laughed. She extended her hand towards the aforementioned torch.
“May I?”
“Huh? Oh–” Lizzie gave Cleo a skeptical look, although a smile had found its way onto her lips as well. “I don’t know how much I trust you around fire, Cleo.”
Cleo raised their eyebrows.
“Aren’t you going to burn down my house tomorrow?”
“Well– it’s not your house anymore—”
“Mhm. Do you have to do that, by the way?”
“What?” Lizzie asked. “I… yes, I do, I’m a woman of my word.”
Cleo tsked.
“Aw, a shame,” they said. “I guess if I pay you a visit, we’ll just have to bunk together.”
Lizzie blinked. A moment passed.
“You…” she started. Then she huffed a surprised laugh, “are a terrible flirt, Cleo.”
“And somehow it still works for you,” Cleo hummed. Lizzie stammered a bit, but it was replaced by a “hey—!” as Cleo took the torch and chucked it into the water.
Then Cleo kissed her on the lips, and suddenly she wasn’t complaining anymore.
Cleo took her other hand (formerly holding the torch) and weaved their fingers with that one too. The kiss was chaste– all things considered, one of the tamer ones they’d shared– but it was still nice. Lizzie still pressed up against her a little bit. She always forgot how cold Cleo was.
Cleo pulled away first. As Lizzie opened her eyes, she couldn’t help but notice it was significantly darker. Go figure. But Cleo was smiling at her, so she couldn’t bring herself to care too much.
“You’re lovely,” Cleo said. Agh, the sudden compliments, Lizzie was prone to them. She wondered if, at this proximity, Cleo could feel the warmth of her face.
“Um… you too,” was Lizzie’s response. Cleo laughed, and put their forehead to her’s.
After a silent moment, Cleo said, “I should head back.”
“Oh… yeah,” Lizzie nodded. Despite this, neither of them moved. “Wouldn’t want Etho to get nervous.”
“Oh, don’t worry about Etho,” Cleo scoffed, and Lizzie smiled.
“Wouldn’t be the first time he imposed on my love life.”
Cleo smiled back, “Etho hardly imposes on anything.”
“Well, I never said he was a real threat.”
Cleo laughed, and Lizzie preened a bit at it. Cleo pressed one more quick kiss to her lips, then pulled away. Lizzie, reluctantly, let her.
“I’ll see you again soon,” they promised.
“I’d hope so,” Lizzie responded. Cleo chuckled as she turned around and, eventually, disappeared into the darkness. Lizzie watched her walk off for some time after she was no longer visible.
Then a trident whizzed past her head, so she scampered back inside.