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The second the last class of the day ended, Niut had grabbed both Guan-Yin and Demeter’s hands, pulling them from the classroom before either of them could pack up properly, leaving loose papers and pencils behind for Raeni to collect, all while she smiled and wished them luck on their date.
Once outside the front doors of the school, Niut let go of Guan and Dem’s hands, preferring to wrap her arm around Guan’s waist and lead the other girls down the street, away from the school.
“I heard about this bakery the other day, just around the corner.” Niut was saying, grinning up at Guan, the other girl with her hand around Niut’s shoulders as they walked, and over her shoulder at Dem, now lagging behind slightly and rubbing at her left shoulder, the point where it ended aching slightly and Dem’s no-longer-there fingers itching.
“Apparently they do great pastries.” Niut added, brow furrowing and mouth settling into a frown of concern as she watched Dem. “Are you okay, Dem? We can go back to the dorms if you’d rather…”
Dem jerked her hand away from her mauled shoulder and looked up, startled. “N-no, I’m okay. Let’s keep going.” Dem forced a smile onto her face and jogged a few steps, catching up to and falling in beside Niut and Guan, where Niut hooked her arm through Dem’s with a soft giggle.
Dem fell quiet as the girls walked, Niut carrying the main portion of the conversation, talking about school work and assignments with Guan, while Dem was half-listening and half getting herself lost in her thoughts. If Dem was completely honest with herself, she wasn’t yet entirely convinced this was a date and not another attempt at an intervention from her concerned friends, though the fact that Raeni had happily stayed behind did lend weight to the ‘date’ story.
But Guan and Niut? Dating her, Demeter? Dem bit back a scoff. They were both gorgeous, no doubt about it, and she and Niut did get along well, even outside of training and teamwork, and once Guan had stopped looking at Dem with the kind of pity reserved for sick and dying animals, they got along a lot better. But it had been clear that from day one the shortest huntress was head over heels for the Amazonian Guan-Yin and because of that, Dem had kept her own budding feelings towards the happy pair a secret.
Apparently not secret enough, however, Dem had realised when Niut had approached her and asked her on a date, a ‘triple date’ the girl had called it, briefly making Dem flail and panic about who she would be paired with, until Niut had clarified what she meant.
“A triple date! You, me and Guan!” Niut had whisper-shouted in the back corner of the library, turning away as her cheeks flushed. “That is, if you’re interested.”
Dem had gaped, at first, blushing while her fingers twitched, fighting the urge to reach out and tip Niut’s chin up, to make those entrancing green eyes meet hers. After her initial reaction, Dem nodded, her hand curling into a fist so she didn’t make a fool of herself, and smiled, a little shakily at first but quickly growing into a full grin when Niut grinned at her.
“That, uh,” Dem hesitated and cleared her throat, “that’d be lovely.”
“Great!” Niut bounced across the few feet separating the girls and wrapped her arms around Dem’s neck, pulling her in for a brief hug and a loud kiss on the cheek. “I’ll go and work things out with Guan and let you know the plans, okay?”
And then Niut had skipped out of the aisle and out of the library, leaving Dem to continue her weapon research with a soft smile and a gentle pair of fingers pressed against her cheek.
And all of that had led to a week of vague uncertainty in Dem’s mind followed by Niut’s proud announcement that morning that it was Date Day. The day had jittered past in Dem’s mind, the facts she was being taught skittering across her brain while her fingers drummed against the table until they arrived in the now, when Niut was tugging on Dem’s arm, pulling her into a small bakery, brightly lit and smelling of fresh baking with a glass case showing off all the different pastries on offer.
Dem watched with a soft smile as Niut stared at the pastries, wide-eyed and taking in the beauty of them all, the delicately decorated cakes and the stuffed parcels of dough or pastry and the gingerbread biscuits shaped and decorated like various species of Grimm.
“What’re you gonna get Dem?” Niut asked, looking over her shoulder at Dem with a grin. “I’ll pay, so you can choose whatever you want!” Niut bounced up from where she had been crouched by the pastry case, tugging her school skirt straight and grabbing Dem by the hand and pulling her closer to the pastries.
“I, uh, you don’t have to pay, I can pay for myself.” Dem said softly, glancing briefly across the pastries available before looking back to Niut.
“Doesn’t mean you have to. We, well I really, invited you out, so I will pay.” Niut said simply, hands on her hips as she looked up at Dem, daring the other girl to argue with her.
Dem looked over Niut’s shoulder at Guan, the third girl watching on in barely-concealed amusement, raising her hands in defence when she saw Dem looking at her.
“There’s no point in arguing with her. She’s gonna keep fighting you ‘til she gets her way.” Guan said, laughing and stepping forward to wrap an arm around Niut’s waist. “And besides, I’m gonna be the one paying anyway, so really you should be arguing with me.” Guan dropped Dem a wink and a sly smirk, making the other girl gape and flush.
“Sooo,” Niut said, fighting a smile, “What’re you going to get, Dem?”
Dem sighed, her eyes sliding away from Guan’s tempting grin and past Niut’s bubbling excitement towards the pastry case, looking at the sweets covered in icing or drizzled with chocolate until she found a small pastry, stuffed with berries and cream and topped with a drizzle of chocolate.
Dem swallowed loudly, her mouth-watering as she looked at the treat, laid out on a little paper doily and ready to be served up.
“That one?” Niut asked, pressing her finger against the glass in front of the berry pastry, her eyes having traced where Dem was looking.
“Yes please?” Dem answered, tearing her eyes away from the pastry and shuffling her feet.
“Looks good.” Guan said with an approving smile. “How about you go find us a table outside in the sun? We won’t be a moment.”
Dem nodded and smiled, letting her hand brush against Niut’s as she left the bakery, pausing just outside the door to let her eyes adjust to the brightness of the afternoon sun before she began searching for a suitable table.
Most of the tables outside the bakery were empty despite the lovely weather, the citizens of Vale caught up in other activities, Dem figured, as she selected a table, tucked just around the corner and out of view of the bakery door and located under one of the large umbrellas scattered around to offer shade to the patrons of the bakery.
Dem sat herself at the table, in one of the seats with her back to the wall of the bakery, and where she could see the front door if she leaned away from the wall a little. It soothed her, having something solid behind her, knowing that nothing could sneak up on her to attack while she wasn’t paying attention. Dem leaned back in her chair, her legs starting to jitter as she waited on Niut and Guan, trying not to wonder what was taking them so long.
“It’s just the choice and service. That’s all,” Dem told herself, pressing her palm to her right knee to hold it still, but unable to do the same to her left. Telling herself what was likely going on didn’t help her brain stop though, telling her she was a fool for indulging her late night urges to climb to the highest point in the school and feel the wind chill her, almost like she was using her dust again, or the opposite urges, to wander barefoot through the lowest levels of Beacon Academy, feeling the dust and dirt beneath her toes. There was no way the other girls hadn’t noticed her late night wanderings and they were going to confront her about it, Dem thought, both her legs jittering again and her right hand clutched to her left shoulder, feeling the abrupt end to her arm and shuddering at the sheer wrongness of it, of her arm being gone.
“Dem!”
Dem gasped and shuddered forcefully, her breath stuttering in her chest as she jerked her head up to meet Niut and Guan’s concerned gazes.
“Are you okay honey?” Niut asked carefully, placing a white paper bag on the table and gently pulling Dem’s hand away from her shoulder.
Dem swallowed shakily, her eyes darting around the empty street as she nodded, coughed, tried to speak. “Y-yeah I’m fine.” Dem tried a smile, but from the looks the other girls were sharing, it wasn’t working.
“Are you sure?” Niut asked, rummaging single-handedly in her pocket, searching something out by feel so she could maintain eye contact with Dem.
“Nothing you want to tell us? Or ask us?” Guan added, fishing something from her own pocket and handing it to Niut instead, who took it with a soft thanks and started wiping gently at Dem’s face.
Dem shook her head slowly, gently dislodging Niut’s caring hands so she could press her own hand to her cheek, startling when her skin felt damp to the touch.
“W-was I..?”
Dem hadn’t finished her question before Niut was nodding, continuing her gentle wiping with a furrowed brow.
“It looked like an anxiety attack. Are you okay?” Niut asked, pressing her hands to Dem’s knees and making sure the other huntress met her eyes.
Dem hesitated, taking stock of herself. Her heart was racing, her mouth felt dry and her eyes were stinging, a dull sort of pain like she’d been awake for too long. When she pressed her hand to her leg, her palm felt clammy where it touched her skin instead of her skirt. Despite all that, and the way her head was starting to ache dully, Dem felt fine, more or less.
“I’m okay, I think.” She said, softly, taking the tissue from Niut’s hand and using it to wipe at her own eyes. “I got lost.” She added, when Niut and Guan had each taken a seat. “In my own head. Thinking about what was taking you so long, what you were talking about.”
Silence presided over the table, Niut and Guan sharing a concerned look over Dem’s bowed head.
“This…” Dem sighed and made herself look up, meeting first Guan’s eyes and then Niut’s. “This isn’t another intervention, is it?”
“No, of course not! We know you’re clean!” Niut said, reaching across the table to rest her hand on Dem’s full shoulder.
“Even if we know you wander at night. You come back smelling like cold, or earth, or fire, but not in the way you did when you were using the Dust.” Guan added, offering a weak, forced smile. “We trust you Dem, and we’re here to help you if you ever do slip.”
“As your friends and,” Niut paused, cheeks flushing as she glanced at Guan, “No, never mind, that can wait.”
“No, what were you going to say?” Dem asked, her own cheeks flushing as she scrambled desperately towards Niut.
“And, if you wanted, as your girlfriends, was what she was going to say.” Guan said, her smile less forced and much warmer as she reached out for Niut.
“O-oh.” Dem said, a smile fighting its way onto her face.
“This is a date, after all.” Niut said softly, pushing her chair towards Guan’s with a loud scrape of metal on cement, making all the girls wince.
“I’m sorry, I kind of… ruined the mood.” Dem said, chewing on her lip and looking down at her lap.
“No, no you’re okay Dem, we…” Niut sighed, looking to Guan for help.
“We were trying to work out how to bring it up to you, the girlfriends thing.” Guan finished for Niut. “We shouldn’t have taken so long, but we wanted to make our intentions clear.”
Dem hummed noncommittally, her fingers picking at the hem of her skirt where it was starting to come unstitched. Guan’s fingers hooked under Dem’s chin, the other girl fighting as her face was lifted and going stock-still when a pair of soft gentle lips was pressed to hers.
The lips were gone almost as soon as they’d arrived, parting with a soft sigh as Dem’s eyes slid shut.
“We want you Dem, don’t ever doubt that.” Guan said, voice low and soft as her fingers danced along Dem’s cheeks.
Dem heard Guan shift away, felt a lighter and smaller pair of fingers touch her face and turn her head towards Niut, where the girls lightly chapped lips were pressed to Dem’s, the kiss lasting a little longer than Guan’s and pressing a little deeper before pulling away.
“We promise you, Dem.” Niut said softly, an affectionate smile sitting prettily on her face when Dem’s eyes fluttered open.
“G-good. I want you too.” Dem said, blinking and flushing with her hand pressed to her lips as she realised what she’d said. “I-I mean-“
“It’s okay, love.” Guan laughed, taking Dem’s hand and twining their fingers together. “You’re okay.”
The girls spent a moment just smiling at each other, cheeks flush with happiness as Niut’s fingers made their way over to join the tangle of Guan and Dem’s.
Dem leaned across the table, pressing her lips to Guan’s quickly, and then Niut’s before settling back into her seat, cheeks burning as she smiled to herself and stared at the table.
“So uh, how about we eat these pastries?” Dem asked, gesturing to the bags laid out in the middle of the table, miraculously undisturbed by their fussing around it.
“Oh! Yes!” Niut exclaimed, clapping excitedly and reaching for the bags. “Definitely, of course, here let me work out which one is whose.” Niut lifted each bag carefully and peered at their contents, distributing them amongst her girlfriends with a grin before digging into her own treat, a mini apple-berry pie.
Dem imitated Niut, pulling her pastry out of its bag without ceremony and immediately biting into it, tipping it upwards to keep hold of the cream and berries oozing out of the side of it while her teeth sank into the soft pastry, eyes sliding shut as the tartness of the berries rolled over her tongue, paired well with the slight sweetness of the cream, obviously with sugar added.
In contrast, Guan slowly pulled her own treat out of its bag, setting the rich-looking chocolate cake on top of the white paper before she started to methodically pull chunks off it and eat it slowly, watching in amusement as the other two girls all but demolished their food in seconds.
“Slow down before you choke, would you?” Guan said, fond smile dropping when Niut immediately began coughing, only stopping with a laugh when Guan made to lunge across the table towards her.
“I’m just playing, just playing!” Niut laughed, dodging Guan’s now vicious-looking grabs, launching out of her seat and all but climbing over Dem to escape her other girlfriend.
Dem laughed, locking her arm around Niut’s waist, trapping the smaller girl in her lap and all but securing Guan’s victory as the huntress bore down on them, her efforts at a murderous glare ruined by the fact she kept having to hold in her laughter.
“Dem let me go!!” Niut cried, wriggling in Dem’s arm until she was facing the other, settling into place with a teasing grin as she leaned in to kiss a stray smear of cream off Dem’s cheek.
“I’d rather not.” Dem replied, waggling her eyebrows and pressing in for a kiss from Niut, a wordless request that was eagerly approved with arms locked around Dem’s neck and a soft sigh offering up gently parted lips for deeper kisses.
Beside them, Guan cleared her throat, drawing her girlfriends from their kiss to look at her questioningly.
“As lovely as this is to watch, maybe in public is not the best place for it?” She said, bending down to kiss each of their cheeks with a grin before she straightened and set about cleaning up their messes. “And will one of you go buy something for Raeni? We should at least get her something while we’re here.”
“I’ll do it.” Dem said, nudging Niut off her lap and standing, taking the time it took her to decide what to get for Raeni to compose herself that by the time she emerged from the store, a bag containing one Grimm-gerbread cookie and one chocolate chip cookie in her hand and a bottle of chilled water tucked under her arm, her cheeks weren’t flushed and she was no longer only thinking about kissing Guan and Niut senseless.
Of course, all of that changed when she rounded the corner and found Guan and Niut kissing heavily, hands in hair and on hips shifting downwards, cheeks flushed and soft noises coming from the both of them, looking utterly dishevelled.
“What happened to going somewhere private?” Dem asked, cocking her hip and wishing, more than anything, to have her other arm back so she could complete the gesture.
Guan and Niut startled apart, Niut looking sheepish while Guan just grinned.
“You shouldn’t have taken so long babe.” Guan said, wrapping her arm back around Niut’s waist and turning them towards the school. “Last one back has to explain to Raeni while we need the room free for a while!” Guan called over her shoulder, a wicked grin stealing over her face as she released Niut and started running full-tilt towards the school.
“That’s unfair! I’m carrying things!” Dem shouted after her, picking up her pace to a run despite her protests, laughing freely as she chased her girlfriends back towards their dorm room.