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No matter what anybody might tell you, the Gem of Emotion swears that she never purposefully seeks out mischief. Mischief simply had a knack for finding her.
While she was walking down the corridor, heading to her room to start her usual late night gaming session, she had pivoted to check on a certain demon out of genuine concern – the sheer distress emanating from her even through her room door too strong to ignore.
Inside, Biboo found Nerissa looking a little worse for wear, which was a rare sight considering she usually made sure to keep herself well taken care of. That alone was enough to prompt Biboo to seriously ask if anything was wrong. Nerissa unsurprisingly tried to brush it off.
“I’m fine Biboo, just a little stressed out about some deadlines.”
Biboo pressed her lips into a thin line. It seemed not even Advent was safe from forgetting she was the Gem of Emotions. Perhaps it was because she had several other amazing feats that came to mind but if someone – especially Nerissa was going to lie, she could’ve at least tried to be a little more convincing.
“I can tell you’re lying.”
She watches as Nerissa winces, her hands stopping from whatever they were in the middle of typing. She hesitates for a second before letting out a heavy sigh, pushing herself away from her desk then slumping back into her chair, the distress in the room doubling.
“Did something happen during your trip? Someone throw your bag and ruin it again?” Biboo asks and it coaxes a half-hearted laugh out of the demon. “No, not this time thankfully.”
“Is it your parents? Are they okay?”
“They’re fine. They were happy to see me.”
Biboo furrows her brows, placing her hands on either side of her hips. “Then what’s wrong?”
The gem hadn’t meant for her tone to come out that way. She figures she should’ve taken a much gentler approach yet she couldn’t help herself. The emotion in the room was so intense it was almost to the point of suffocating. Biboo was worried and Advent promised from the very beginning to always be there for each other.
She wasn’t about to go back on that promise now.
Nerissa seemed to remember the same if the way she stared at Biboo was anything to go by. She turns to her monitor, then back at Biboo. Her monitor, then Biboo again. After what could only be a lot of internal contemplating, Nerissa gestures for Biboo to sit on her bed and the gem does so without a word.
“I’m looking for a gift.”
Biboo quirks a brow. “A gift?” she repeats and Nerissa nods, not so subtly avoiding the other girl’s gaze. “If you’re that worried about finding a gift for someone, you shouldn’t be. You’re like the best person at finding gifts, just slightly behind Shiori but that’s only because she got me that really cool katana last year,” Biboo tells her.
Nerissa’s lip twitches, just barely holding back a smile before her face falls again. “I know but I’m not looking for just any kind of gift Biboo, I need a very special gift.”
Biboo blinks owlishly. “So like… two katanas?”
“Yeah. I think? Maybe? Wait–” Nerissa pauses, taking a deep breath to gather her thoughts.
“Do you know anything about demon contracts?” the gem in question shakes her head. Despite more than half of Advent being of demon heritage and their leader being a literal archiver, this was the first time she had ever heard the term.
“Is it like those deals where you sell your soul to a demon for some kind of wish?”
Nerissa rolls her eyes lightheartedly, her distress abating. “No, that's something else, demon contracts are actually related to relationships.”
“Relationships? Like, romance, romance?”
“Relationships. Romance. Love, yeah that sort of thing.”
“Oh.” That was definitely not what Biboo was expecting. “How do they work?”
“I don’t remember all the details, but my dad told me that when a demon really loves someone, human or otherwise, they give a very special gift as a sign of commitment. Again I’m not sure why but that's just what demon contracts are. When one is made, it’s very hard to undo so very serious deal basically,” Nerissa explains. Biboo’s mouth forms an O, nodding as she processes this new information.
“So what’s up about these demon contracts then?” she inquired further, now very interested in where this topic was going. However, she doublethinks that sentiment when Nerissa’s frustration comes back in full force.
“My parents brought it up while I was visiting. That’s the problem,” Nerissa huffs.
Biboo’s eyes widened, a certain trope immediately coming to mind. “Are they forcing you to marry someone?!”
“What–?! No!” the demon exclaims, halfway from jumping out of her chair. The two freeze, waiting to see if someone was going to check on them after that outburst. When no one shows, Nerissa settles back down into her seat, somehow looking even more tired than she did when Biboo first walked in.
“It’s not that… it’s…” Nerissa begins to trail off and as Biboo patiently waits for her answer, she senses a sudden shift in the air. In place of the unpleasant distress and frustration that felt like being out in the biting cold – something warmer and homey.
Like cuddling up in a warm blanket after a cool refreshing shower or being greeted with the pleasant scent of something delicious after starving all day or being given a reassuring hug after a particularly long day – Biboo knows that emotion.
“There’s someone special that I want to give a gift to.”
It takes a lot out of Biboo to resist the urge to tease Nerissa right then and there but she just manages to hold it in mostly because she had never heard that tone from her friend. Vulnerable, exasperated, yet so full of affection at the same time. A kind of mix not even she was familiar with.
“Your parents never told you what kind of gift to be looking for?”
Nerissa lets out a very, very loud sigh. “Yeah, they conveniently chose to leave that part out despite telling me the same shit a million times. Can you believe them?”
She crosses her arms over her chest, a deep frown on her face. She swivels her chair around to look back at the tabs displayed on her screen. Her words come out in a mumble, “It doesn’t help that finding her a gift is hard to begin with.”
Just as Biboo was about to open her mouth to ask who, she ultimately decides against it because, truth be told, she already knows who.
Shiori. It had to be. Outwardly aloof but caring and loving Shiori.
Honestly even without the whole Gem of Emotions power advantage, it was plain to see those two shared a special bond.
It was something Biboo had been curious about ever since she decided to pay close attention to Advent’s emotions around and with each other. While the gem could sense all kinds of emotions that weren’t just limited to the basic ones, love remained the easiest because of how strong it was.
And Biboo had discovered early on that finding out if two people were in love and together was pretty easy. If they were together, the emotion they emitted was stronger. If it wasn’t reciprocated, it would be much weaker.
What was strange about Shiori and Nerissa was that whenever they were together, there was love and the emotion was strong. Very strong.
So strong in fact that if Biboo ever found a way to take that power for herself – she could have easily been the one to break them out of the Cell.
But to her knowledge and the rest of Advent, there was no official or even established relationship between the archiver and demon. Unless they were keeping it secret of course but the two weren’t the type. Not Shiori and absolutely not Nerissa.
It bugged Biboo for the longest of time and she’s tried many times in the past to decipher it. The problem was that whenever she stared at either of them to figure something out, she would eventually find Shiori staring back at her as if to say; ‘I know you see something, and I know what you’re trying to do’.
How she could possibly know, Biboo couldn’t answer but she also wouldn’t be that surprised.
Now though an opportunity was presenting itself, with mischief coincidentally making its dramatic appearance known alongside it. The gem simply couldn’t resist.
With a sweet, innocent smile, Biboo calls out to Nerissa. “I think I know what can help you.”
Nerissa perks up, staring at her intently and waiting with bated breath.
Finally, Biboo would get the chance to get to the bottom of why her friends had such a strange bond. Add in the fact that she would be helping Nerissa and Shiori get together, it would be like killing two birds with one stone.
Or would it be taking down an archiver and a raven with one rock? Biboo tells herself she can think on the specifics later. Right now, she was feeling giddy – thinking about how if she played her cards right, she could maybe, just maybe, get something out of this for herself too.
Biboo flashes Nerissa a grin.
“Why don’t we ask Shiori for help?”
__________________________________________________
The Archives was a realm of its own.
Separate from reality and located in the blindspot of the Gods, it served as the perfect place of residence for someone as timeless as the archiver. With vast foreboding halls and corridors of shelves that spanned endlessly, each filled with books containing knowledge that could stop worlds from ending, what being that lusted for power could possibly resist?
None other than the archiver herself.
Shiori Novella could care less about the temptation of power for she had found something better – a home. One that she liked and one she stayed with in the human realm of all places.
It was an easy switch really, trading the dark dreary walls for a much cuter aesthetic and leaving the long moments of deafening silence for laughter heard over a shared meal. Truthfully, it was harder to think about going back to the way things had been before.
Shiori didn’t regret her decision and now the Archives was nothing more than a place you could find her working in, tirelessly writing notes at the same table she always sat at while poring over book after book to ensure everything was up to date.
She had been working for the better part of the day since waking up and was only now taking some time to rest. There were still stacks of books laid out in front of her to work on, along with several maps and random artifacts but she had gotten quite a sizable amount done so a break was definitely in order.
Shiori leaned back against her chair as she let her mind start to wander. In her right hand, she held her signature feather pen in a gentle grip, tracing the edges with her thumb, an unconscious habit she’d developed over the years she had it.
“So that you’ll always remember I’m there with you,” Shiori recites to herself.
A knock on the door breaks Shiori out of her trance, as soon as she gets her bearings, she tells whoever was on the other side to come in. Not even a second passes before the door swings wide open, revealing Biboo and Nerissa who both saunter their way over to Shiori when they catch sight of her.
Shiori doesn’t even get the chance to greet them properly before Biboo’s cheery voice is echoing off the walls of the Archives.
“Shiori! We need your help!”
The archiver quirks a brow, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. “Looks like I’m the sacrificial lamb again, what’s up?”
Biboo nudges Nerissa in the side, the demon uncharacteristically quiet from the moment they walked in. She looked nothing short of embarrassed that even the tips of her ears were red and it takes a while for her to muster the courage to speak. Shiori waits patiently nevertheless.
However, the question she’s hit with ends up being one she was wholly unprepared for.
“Do you know about demon contracts Shiorin?” Nerissa asks timidly.
Shiori feels a breath catch in her throat, blinking as she takes a second to let the words sink in – in that time, a mask falls into place effortlessly.
With practised ease, Shiori’s features soften and her smirk morphs into a smile. “Ah, you wanna know about that huh?” Biboo nods with enthusiasm while Nerissa nods with less.
Shiori chuckles. “Well, demon contracts operate on the idea that demons don’t have a heart.” The archiver pauses for dramatic effort, stifling her laughter as her friends glance at each other in confusion before turning back to her. She continues but her tone becomes noticeably softer.
“But, love always finds a way. And when demons realized they had no way of giving their hearts in return for when their lovers gave theirs, they decided on special gifts. Hence, the demon contract.”
Shiori sees Nerissa furrow her brows, promptly asking, “But like what are these special gifts? Does it have anything to do with price? How do we know if it’s perfect? Or if it even works in the first place?”
“I thought it’d be like getting two katanas.”
Shiori shakes her head with a giggle. “It has nothing to do with how expensive it is or two katanas, sorry Beebs,” she gives the gem a loving headpat. “What it needs is meaning. Because these gifts are given in exchange for a lover giving their heart, it has to have the same weight. What usually works is if the demon giving something related to them.”
Nerissa and Biboo stare unblinkingly at Shiori which causes her to sigh, racking her brain for a better explanation.
“Here how about this, Reese, remember the time you told me about how your parents met and got together?” Nerissa raises her eyebrows but nods. “My dad gave my mom demon powers so she’d live longer.”
“That was part of it. What he did was basically a demon contract. Your mom gave your dad her heart, hypothetically of course, because she loved him and in return your dad as a demon lord gave her some of his power. Does that make sense?”
“Oh!” Biboo exclaims, her expression lighting up, “I get it! That’s cute! I thought demons having no hearts was going to lead to a bad thing but that’s really cute.”
“Yeah, they don’t have hearts literally speaking, but they definitely do have feelings,” Shiori laughs softly. Her eyes unconsciously drift towards Nerissa who had fallen quiet again and she sees a pensive look in the other’s eyes.
The archiver swallows the lump in her throat. “You okay there Reese? Still having trouble?” Nerissa blinks rapidly before meeting Shiori’s eyes and shrugging her shoulders. “I’m fine, I’ve got an idea now but still have no clue what to get.”
Shiori forces a smile, willing her voice to remain steady. “Don’t think too hard about it. Just find something you think will be meaningful to them, so long as they reciprocate and appreciate it, the demon contract will work its magic itself.”
The corners of Nerissa’s lip curl, the worry on her face beginning to fade with it. “Okay… I trust you. Thank you Shiorin, you’ve been a huge help.”
“Go get ‘em tiger.”
With a mutual wave farewell, Nerissa leaves the Archives with a noticeable stride in her step and Shiori keeps the smile on her face. Never once faltering, not until Nerissa is well and truly out the door.
Biboo however remains, staring at Shiori with a look the latter knows all too well. She’s caught the gem looking at her like that often in the past after all.
“Are you looking for tips for how to propose too, Beebs? I think you’re a bit too young for that, don’t you think?” she jokes but Biboo doesn’t take the bait, her frown only deepening instead.
“Why won’t you tell her?”
“Tell her what?”
Biboo sighs in exasperation, frantically gesturing at Shiori who leisurely leans back in her chair. “You know something! I don’t know what it is but you do! Nerissa’s about to confess her love to someone else, this is your chance to swoop in!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Come on Shiori, I see it. You definitely see it. I know we just talked about the contracts but maybe it’s something stronger than that–”
“No Beebs,” the finality in Shiori’s tone silences Biboo in an instant. The archiver sighs, muttering an apology before staring down at her hand. Her fingers twitch around her beloved feather pen, the weight of it heavier than it has ever been before.
“I won’t– I’m not going to force her.”
The gem winces, the sudden fragility in Shiori’s tone compared to a second ago jarring. “But why?” Biboo argues. “If she has someone in mind, who am I to get in the way of that?”
Shiori scoffs, her expression turning bitter. “Besides, soulmates are overrated.”
The words cause the air to become thick with tension. Biboo opens her mouth to retort, a million and one things to say at the tip of her tongue but nothing comes out in the end. She didn’t have a concrete argument prepared and she didn’t think revealing all her cards now would be a good idea.
Besides, knowing Shiori, Biboo figured it wouldn’t work anyway.
The archiver could be extremely stubborn when she wanted to be. Her skull more impenetrable than the Cell no matter how much reason you throw at her. For her to see truth, things would have to flow naturally. A little nudging too would be necessary Biboo justifies. So that it won’t take so long.
For now, the gem will have to withdraw.
With a pout indicating that this wouldn’t be the last time Shiori will hear of her or this topic, Biboo turns to leave the Archives, the sound of tapping glass getting softer as she walks further away.
Shiori doesn’t make an effort to stop her. When the door to the Archives clicks shut, she allows herself to let out a loud exhale. After a brief moment to breathe, Shiori goes back to work – her pace now significantly slower despite how tightly she grips her pen.
__________________________________________________
A little over two days had passed since Shiori gave Nerissa that advice – and regrettably the demon was nowhere near close to coming to a decision of what to get.
She had tried, obviously, spending countless hours and endless amounts of energy scrolling through websites, walking around stores, brainstorming ideas but still not a single thing struck her as ‘right’.
While Shiori did say to not fret too much about making it meaningful, Nerissa simply couldn’t help it. She was a perfectionist at heart and part of her even dares think that the archiver just wouldn’t get it.
How could she?
Shiori had never been one to ask for gifts.
So in lieu of anything to go by, Nerissa went out as often as she could to look for the item that would help her create her demon contract. Today, she was at a mall and this time, the rest of Advent was also tagging along. Shiori included.
Despite the initial concern, the archiver fortunately had a tendency to wander off on her own if she wasn’t babysitting the Diamond Dogs, meaning Nerissa didn’t have to worry about looking over her shoulder too much. Instead, all of her worries could be focused on one thing.
The gift. So far, it was not going well.
Nerissa huffs as she exits the store she was in, disappointed at yet another bust. She tells herself that perhaps she should’ve expected as much.
It was an antique shop and while this one did have a variety of interesting things that were worth considering which was rare, the Archives that Shiori literally has domain over housed even more. In the end, it would likely be something Shiori has seen before so it was back to the drawing board for Nerissa.
It was a shame too. There had been a gorgeous feather pen with an intricate looking inkwell to match that Nerissa had her eye on but the idea was almost immediately scrapped when she was reminded of the feather pen normally found hanging at Shiori’s hip. Nerissa knew how attached Shiori was to that pen – it would’ve been a perfect fit otherwise.
Losing hope and losing energy in her legs, Nerissa decided to go look for her friends who she last saw entering a toy store together. She finds it without much issue and waits by the entrance at first, messing around with her phone and zoning out before the boredom starts to get to her.
Walking into the store, she takes a look at some of the toys displayed upfront which happened to be several different types of plushies. Nerissa browses through them absentmindedly, her eyes landing on a row filled with just cat plushies.
“Looking for a new fuzzy companion?”
Nerissa winces at the sound of the familiar voice, schooling her expression before she turns around to face Shiori.
“Mococo’s tummy not enough for you?”
Nerissa chuckles half-heartedly, shaking her head. “I was just looking through.”
Ever observant, Shiori’s tune changes in an instant. She raises a brow and stares as if she could see right through Nerissa which she might as well have. “Are you still looking for a gift?”
Damn it. Not seeing any use in denying it, Nerissa presses her lips into a thin line and nods, her gaze falling to the floor. “I know you said not to worry, but I can’t help it.”
Shiori says nothing in return and a moment of silence washes over the two. Quiet and serene yet the state of Nerissa’s mind is anything but. Inside, worry and doubt overlapped each other, taking turns trying to suffocate Nerissa underneath. Outside, she feels herself shrink under Shiori’s gaze.
“I can help you.”
Nerissa blinks rapidly, lifting her face only to see Shiori had moved to stand beside her. She was staring at the toys lining the shelves but her eyes looked glazed over. “Maybe I can come up with some ideas on what to get cause, you know, two heads are better than one or whatever they say.”
“But–” right as Nerissa opens her mouth to speak, she’s interrupted by a certain pair of twins, their excited barks heard loud and clear from deeper within the store.
“Oh good god– I better make sure those two don’t accidentally steal anything. And that Beebs doesn’t end up helping,” Shiori mutters. With hurried steps, she starts heading in the direction of where Fuwamoco were but not before looking over her shoulder at Nerissa one last time.
A smile flickers across Shiori’s face. “I promise I’ll help you, okay? You’ll find what you want, don't worry.”
Without another word, Shiori is gone – leaving Nerissa, who doesn’t try to stop her, to sit on her thoughts alone. And in a cruel twist of fate, despite all the days she’d struggled to find an answer for her unending question, one comes alive inside of her, intense and so tantalizingly turbulent.
You, Shiori. I want you.
__________________________________________________
“Come on Shiori, she always looks so sad when she comes back home. Why don’t you help her?”
The archiver stares down at the feather pen in her hand, her thumb tracing its familiar edges. An unconscious habit. The sensation had always helped soothe her nerves and it had yet lost its touch.
A knock on the door gives Shiori a sense of a deja vu, but when the door swings open to reveal who was on the other side, there was only a singular person instead of two.
“Is it a bad time?”
Shiori flashes a warm smile, shaking her head. “No, not at all. Come in, come in.” Nerissa closes the door behind her before walking over to Shiori, the archiver sitting at the same table she sat at only a couple days prior. Such a short amount of time had passed and yet to the demon, the memory felt so long ago now.
When she reaches Shiori, Nerissa stands in front of her awkwardly, shifting her weight from one leg to the other. It was as if all common sense had left her entirely, leaving her unsure of how to act, what to do or even where to sit. To her surprise, Shiori joins her by getting up from her seat–
then holding out her feather pen to her.
Nerissa doesn’t process the gesture at first, waiting for some sort of explanation but when it becomes clear just what Shiori’s intention was – it gives her more than just pause.
“Shiori–”
“I want you to have it.”
Nerissa stares at the feather with wide eyes. Though Shiori’s face is the epitome of resolute, her golden eyes show the barest hints of sorrow – damping its usual bright gold to a dull yellow.
“Biboo gave me a gist of what you were looking for. So I figured I’d give you this. It’s served me well over the years I had it, so maybe it can do the same for the lucky person you want to give it to.”
Nerissa stutters over her words, unable to form a coherent sentence for several seconds.
“Shiori, I… I can’t take this. This is your feather pen,” she stresses. Shiori lets out a gentle laugh but it's bereft of any amusement or any joy. “It’s the least I can do,” she insists, “Consider it an apology for not telling you everything about demon contracts.”
“What do you mean?”
There’s a long uncomfortable pause.
“I got around to reading some books about demon contracts recently,” Shiori begins. Nerissa raises a brow then watches as the other suddenly winces. “I apparently missed a few things. I didn’t mean to, I was going off on experience last time.”
Experience. Nerissa feels her heart hammer against her ribcage, each beat so loud she hears it in her ears. “Experience…” she repeats to herself as if discovering the word for the first time. “Biboo told me something about that earlier..”
“Did she?”
The demon hums, recalling how the gem had barged into her room just before she came to Shiori. It had been one of the few rare times she had seen Biboo so serious. “She told me that you know something.”
“I know a lot of things.”
Nerissa lets out a shaky breath but she doesn’t let the comment unmoor her. Not this time. Rather, she sharpens her resolve. “The truth, Shiorin. Please.”
A defeated sigh slips past Shiori’s lips, her arms falling limply to her sides. “Fine. Once upon a time, you gave this to me.”
“I gave this to you?”
Shiori nods, her expression turning wistful. “...you don’t remember anymore, but it’s a personalized feather pen you gave to keep me company. So that I’d never be alone again. A gift.” The remorse in the archiver’s tone is unmistakable, but along with it is affection. Longing. Perhaps even gratitude.
Nerissa envies her. She runs a hand through her hair in exasperation, her breathing becoming increasingly unsteady.
“Gift? Are you saying I–?”
“You made a contract with me.”
The demon feels her breath hitch, her heart clenching painfully in her chest as if she had been stabbed with her own spear. Nerissa wanted answers yes, but she had never expected this.
“Why did you never tell me?” Nerissa pleads, the hurt evident in her voice. “Were you never planning to tell me?”
“I didn’t know if you still felt the same,” Shiori defends herself weakly. Her voice cracks near the end and she takes a deep breath to inject at least some composure back into it. “When I realized you had no memory of the contract – of me , I thought it would just be broken so I never tried to tell you. I swear I didn’t know.”
Nerissa’s eyes soften. “Shiori…”
“I’m sorry. You’re right, I should’ve told you from the beginning and I didn't, so let me make it up to you now,” Shiori holds up the feather pen and Nerissa flinches.
“I know they say the process is complicated and I’m not sure if this will help but I think it’s still better if you take it. It was originally yours after all.” Gingerly taking Nerissa’s hand, Shiori places the pen in her palm, closing the demon’s fingers one by one around it with practiced care.
“Don’t worry about the heart thing,” Shiori says, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips as she stares up at Nerissa. “It really is just metaphorical and besides, I think it’d be better in your hands than mine.”
Nerissa stares at the pen – a pen made out of her feather and stares at it as doing so would somehow return her lost memories to her but alas, no such thing occurs.
“Why are you giving it back to me?” Nerissa asks quietly, curious.
“I’m not going to tie you down to a promise you don’t remember Rissa,” Shiori answers, the ease at which the sentence leaves her mouth expertly masking the pain she feels. “You should have the right to pick who you want.”
Shiori lets go of Nerissa’s hand but before she can pull them away, the demon grabs her by the wrist. The archiver raises a brow, confusion written all over her face.
“Reese?”
The woman in question doesn’t say a word. Instead, all she does is put the feather pen firmly back in Shiori’s hand before pushing her hand towards her.
“I want you to keep it.”
“Rissa–”
“I’m serious,” Nerissa cuts off Shiori’s exasperated sigh. “You said you want me to have the right to pick who I want, right?”
Shiori nods and Nerissa’s lips curl into a loving smile.
“Then I pick you.”
Taking a bold step forward, she cups Shiori’s face in her hands, gold eyes meeting red. “Even in a room full of people, I’d pick you. Over and over again.”
Tensions reaching a boiling point, Nerissa leans down for an attempt at a kiss only to see Shiori’s eyes screw shut, her cheeks turning a deep red. Nerissa chuckles knowingly and directs the kiss to her beloved archiver’s forehead instead, lingering there for a few precious moments before pulling away.
“I’m sorry, did I scare you?”
“...just surprised,” Shiori mumbles under her breath. “Now you know how it feels,” Nerissa replies cheekily, “Honestly I’m surprised you didn’t know. I thought Biboo snitched on me and told you.”
Shiori groans, making a mental note to find the Gem of Emotions later. Whether it’s to get payback or thank her, she doesn’t really know yet. “She told me you were planning to get a gift for someone else, and that I should swoop in to woo you.”
“That does sound romantic,” Nerissa files that thought away for future use. “At least she told you something. I kept getting vague answers… actually now that I think about it, she kept pushing me in your direction.”
Shiori snorts. “Guess we were both bamboozled.”
“Good thing though right?”
“I guess so…”
Nerissa rolls her eyes lightheartedly before reaching out to envelop Shiori in a hug. “Oh admit it, you love me~”
“I–”
“So,” a third voice pops the couple’s bubble. Taken off-guard, the both of them turn in unison to see Biboo, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed over her chest – a very, very smug look on her face.
“When’s the wedding?”
“Beebs–” “Bijou!”
Her mission completed the gem hightails it out of there – all the while thinking to herself what she should ask as for her reward.
__________________________________________________
Fin.