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Chapter Text

Aaravi looked at her stats. It was the day after the meteor shower, and Aaravi had barely slept. She spent so much time awake after the meteor shower. Not even organizing her items and abilities. Just... watching Vicky, laying in the grass and drooling as she slept. It was the cutest thing. It made Aaravi's heart do all these weird motions and quivers she both loved and hated, and she was pretty sure it wasn't HP damage or heart disease. Pretty sure.  

“Sorting your attacks again?”  

“Shut up, Hex!” She had looked over her menus countless times the past few hours, and always and only on one tab – the relationships tab. Hearts showed on both sides, one for their feelings, one for Aaravi's. Most were symmetrical. Two hearts with Damien LaVey, as 'Frenemies', five with Hope as 'Gal Pals', six with Dahlia as 'Bash Buddies'. More abnormally, Coach had 5 Hearts and 'Beloved Student' on his side, and Aaravi only 3 Hearts and 'Reluctantly Affectionate Pupil But Will Never Admit It' on her's, and a series of 0s and 1s for Calculester, with 'FRIEND' in all caps. Weird. But those weren't what she was checking for. She had eyes for only one bar, which had started high and only grown since the beginning of the summer.   

Vicky's cute, grinning face showed up opposite her own, an arrow linking the bar of hearts between them. Question marks and gray ambiguity filled Vicky's above seven – while, after a summer of incredible memories, and a little therapy, Aaravi's tenth and final heart had filled in. She felt anxious as she checked her new status.  

• ADORING INFATUATION 
• +500% social need (Vicky) 
• +2000% vulnerability (Vicky) 
• +200% smiling when looking at her (Vicky) 
• Need for physical affection (Vicky) activated 
• Quest Started: Oh My Gods Find A Way To Lay Your Head On Her She Is So Soft I Bet 

"C'mon!" Hex whined, exiting the menu before she was finished stressing herself over it, "We're gonna miss tonight's episode of Undercover Final Boss!"  

"Shut up! We'll be on the bus before that!"  

"Oh, right. Unless you miss it, because you're fiddling with your menus again! " Hex laid the back of their hand against their incorporeal face dramatically. "Then we'll be stuck out here, in an abandoned summer camp, with no tv, no bagel shops, and no friends!" She felt Hex shift and look at her face. "I guess that last one's not a big change for you, huh, Ravi?"  

She refused to rise to their bait. She would inflict so much emotional damage with a high-level comeback later. When she was finished crafting it. For the moment, she had higher priorities. "Just... I need some time alone, okay? Go into my spleen and watch Netflix for ten minutes or whatever."  

Hex crossed their arms in a huff. "If I start an episode of Real Housewives of Croatia, I'm not coming out until I finish it."  

"Go!"  

"Fine. But you owe me." Hex swirled back into her head, and she felt a tingle down her spine as they swept away to whatever internal organs of her's they had fashioned into a cozy little home.  

Aaravi made certain to catch Vicky before she got to the bus, away from prying eyes or eavesdropping campmates. "Um. Hey there, Vicky."  

Vicky gave her the cutest little wave hello, smiling and wiggling her fingers as she did. Dammit! Vicky had inflicted like, ten stacks of blush on her without even saying a word! And Aaravi, despite spending hours finding the materials to craft a +12 Earring of Blush Immunity in preparation, couldn't bear, for some reason, to actually put it on despite all the stats being totally OP.  

She made a mental note to make a walkthrough/poem for Vicky encounters later. "It's... I just wanna talk about something, I guess?" She couldn't make eye contact. She knew Vicky would easily crit her. She was good at that. Aaravi rubbed her arm nervously. "It's just... after, y'know, going to prom, and that being kind of cool... and then... all these summer companion quests we've done... together..."  

Another two stacks of blush! And self-inflicted at that! She should have known better than to bring up prom. That took away all her stacks of 'Idle Rage' and that was like 99% of her emotional defense. She tried not to think about how cool and beautiful Vicky had looked, or how her touch felt against Aaravi's arm, so soft and tender even though Aaravi was buried in several pounds of chainmail. Or how close they were when they slow danced the night away, or the way she felt when their hands lingered just a few moments when they let go to say goodbye...  

Aaravi needed to get back on emotionally steady ground. "Me and Calculester are gonna run a food truck, coming up, and I was thinking we could, maybe, y'know, you and me get together for stuff?" Her heart dropped as she realized how unclear that sounded. "Not as a work thing! Or as a sex thing! U-unless you-uh, if... that's, like... several levels ahead. If we take that quest route. I mean, if you take that quest route! Because obviously you would need to... uh, and if I take that quest route. Not that I'm saying I've already decided! O-or that I won't, I mean..."  

Her stacks of blush were self-perpetuating, with a side-status of anxiety. She was totally losing at life. It wasn't some radial quest she could come back to or do a slight variation of. She had one chance with her favorite person in all the world and she was blowing it! Oh, gods, what if Vicky didn't feel the same? What if she said, "Sorry, Aaravi... but we're better as friends." Oh, fuck, what if she said she was already with someone who asked her slightly earlier? Aaravi would ragequit dating indefinitely.  

Aaravi finally worked up the courage to actually look at Vicky. Her eyes were big and round and happy and looked like she saw Aaravi as the most precious puppy in the whole wide world instead of a little ball of rage and competitive drive. "D-don't look me like that!" Aaravi crossed her arms, trying to look aggravated instead of afflicted with 'Charmed'. Vicky looked at her another, even cuter way. "Or that!" CRIT CRIT CRIT CRIT CRIT CRIT CRIT! Aaravi wasn't specced for that kind of emotional DPS! She knew then and there that Vicky was going to carry her the rest of the way through the encounter. She almost didn't mind.  

Wordlessly, Vicky took Aaravi's face in her hands to make sure she was looking into that verdant, smiling face of her's. Aaravi felt like she was staring at the sun, impossibly beautiful and awe-inspiring and life-giving beyond what human eyes were meant to see. Vicky, audibly choking back tears, bit her lip and nodded.  

It happened. Their first kiss together, though not either of their first kisses. It was so, so sweet. Even sweeter than the loot at the end of a grueling 100-level bonus dungeon. It was long, and tender, but... innocent, almost. Aaravi felt a lifetime of quests open up in her log. Most of them in the quest category of 'Make Vicky Happy'. Aaravi felt her final heart fill with several more shades of red, each deeper than the last, and swell up and ache with a desire half-fulfilled. But most of all, she felt Vicky's soft lips against her's, soothing her every fear and injury.  

Her hair was so soft, and as Vicky's arms wrapped around her, Aaravi felt like she could just melt into the taller girl. And-dammit, she hated to admit it, but for once being short and smol felt amazing. Her body, coiled with tensed muscle and sinew, gave way to the all-encompassing bliss of not only knowing, but feeling another person care so much and so deeply for her.  

Vicky wasn't nearly as leveled as Aaravi was... but Aaravi couldn't deny the utility of being able to reverse her every stack of blush to a positive status. She was the ultimate, no, perfect support, even if she was only situationally useful in dungeons. Vicky gave her something even better than legendary gear or XP or completed quests or even victory.  

Happiness.   

Breathless, they both drew away, eyes locked with joy and a little bit of surprise. Aaravi couldn't remember ever being happier in her entire life.  

"Pog." she said.

Chapter Text

Aaravi checked her quest log again. Under the "Always Beginners In Love" umbrella, she focused on the quest "Oh My Gods Find A Way To Lay Your Head On Her She Is So Soft I Bet". More than her usual completionism, she found the quest deeply, deeply intriguing and alluring. And also, following quests made her feel more confident and less nervous because that was 99% of her life, so having a couple of suggestions of where to begin was super helpful to her.  

Vicky's tongue was out in concentration as she sorted through her backpack, jostled around by the bus's complete lack of stability in motion. She looked so adorable! Aaravi's heart hammered at her chest. They'd already kissed. It wasn't a big deal. Right? Right. Just a little non-platonic snuggling. So why was Aaravi avoiding so much as brushing up against the girl beside her with frozen and shrunken posture? Surely it wasn't deep-seated trust issues leading to Aaravi doubting her every move towards someone she desperately didn't want to lose by accidentally doing something wrong or embarrassing or pathetic. That would be absurd. It must be a debuff from the meteor shower, she decided. Stiff limbs and magnetic avoidance.  

She was the one who broke Aaravi's curse. Aaravi wasn't much for frou-frou symbolism, but even she had to admit that felt like it meant something. She wasn't sure what exactly, but she knew it made her feel all weird in her chest. Aaravi had found plenty of people (and maybe even a few monsters) 'hot' through the years, but... Vicky was something more. She made her... calm, almost. Like floating on a sea of clouds.  

They were sitting together, the mood, minus the cacophony of Damien trying to set fire to Dahlia's seat and Dahlia trying to wring his neck, was romantic from their 'discussion' before they left... Like hell she was going to let a good opportunity go to waste! Aaravi cleared her throat. "Hey, Vicky..." she said, "I just wanna make sure, not because I'm nervous or anything… we're... girlfriends now, right?"  

Vicky looked over, and kissed her on the cheek. "We sure are!" she said, with typical bubbly attitude.  

"Pog..." she whispered to herself. She swallowed, hard. "Anyway, m-mind if we do some practice? I could... lay in your lap...? My 'romance' skill is super low." Shit. She didn't want Vicky to think she was just using her to level her skill. "Don't worry! Laying my head in your lap is worth hardly anything XP-wise!" Aaravi facepalmed. She just called her a cheap mob grind. "Fuck. That's not what I meant..."  

Vicky giggled. "You're so lucky I can follow your weird train of thought." She patted her thigh. "C'mon and level up."  

Fukkin' score. Aaravi gave her wonderful amazing beautiful girlfriend(!?!?!?) a grateful look for understanding her tangled web of logic, and then carefully lowered her head onto Vicky's thigh, curling the rest of her body on the seat beside. Even with the bumpy and raucous bus, it was heaven . Vicky was so warm... and it was such a nice warmth... not like the sun, or a heater, or even a pet. There was something intimate about her heat. Soothing, safe. Aaravi considered that she could die there and be happy. She wouldn't even want a rez. Unless it was from Vicky.  

Aaravi looked up at her, and Vicky smiled back down. Aaravi felt herself blushing crimson. A weak, crooked smile that she couldn't fight crawled onto her face. She had to look away from Vicky's cute eyes. Vicky's adoring gaze was too bright, too beautiful to look into for long. It wasn't like when they first got to camp, when Aaravi totally demolished her in staring contests. Vicky was the stronger competitor now. And Aaravi... didn't mind?  

Well, maybe she minded a little. She resolved to grind like crazy to be able to look into Vicky's eyes hella long without having her heart explode and kill her. Aaravi had like a million stacks of charm on her, and that was linked to heart disease or something. Or did it prevent it? She couldn't remember. She couldn't really think of anything. Must be a dazed status, she figured. She looked back up at Vicky.  

IT HURT HER HEART SO GOOD! She wondered how much HP she would lose if her heart exploded. Maybe it was survivable. She didn't want to look away. Gods, how gorgeous she was. And sweet. And probably a little horny, because Aaravi got that vibe when Vicky showed her her murder journal and 90% of it was drawings of Aaravi tied up in perilous situations as Vicky villainously taunted her and stroked her cheek, sometimes with a blade. The other 10% was romantic murder locations and the poisons Aaravi found irresistible. 10% HP damage per second, but +500% damage? GLUG GLUG GLUG! (Luckily, as everyone knows, adventurers can only be reduced to 1 HP by poison)  

The smile on her face was stronger than ever, but Aaravi had to look away again. Her face was ready to melt for the heat burning through it. She didn't even know where her skill XP tracking was. She didn't care. She was in the moment. Something she'd struggled with all summer. She wished she could stretch out the moment, the feeling, forever. Vicky made her happy, and that was something she hadn't been in a very, very long time.  

Vicky ran her hands through Aaravi's hair, stroking fingers along her scalp, pressing her ever-so-gently into her soft thighs. Fast as Aaravi's heart beat, that simple gesture calmed her even more than it excited her. She didn't feel angry. She didn't feel scared or insecure or tense. She felt safe. Aaravi let her eyes slowly close, and entered a short rest to regain some much-needed emotional HP.  

-----  

Chewing on a bagel they somehow conjured from the depths of Aaravi's internals, Hex emerged from just behind her neck and looked down at the adventurer with her head nestled on Vicky's lap, sound asleep and smiling.  

Hex fistbumped Vicky. "Noice."  

Chapter Text

On account of Aaravi having a wicked summer experience, Hex had lifted the curse from her, as they'd agreed. But... she kind of liked having them around. And they were going into the foodtruck business together anyway, so Aaravi decided she'd keep the necklace with Hex – sans curse – in exchange for her GODDAMN EATEN MEMORIES BACK. Hex was happy to oblige. They were kind of soggy, but Aaravi appreciated being able to remember her best childhood birthday parties again.  

That sense of developed camaraderie did NOT extend to sharing her first real date with her girlfriend. "Oh, so I'm supposed to just watch Cake Boss on the television instead of on your organs, like some kind of plebeian?" Hex stuck their tongue out in a mock gag. "It just doesn't have the same panache without the squishy sound of misappropriated bodily functions!"  

"This is non-negotiable, Hex! She's my girlfriend, and I am not gonna let you be a third wheel!"  

"Lame-ass, monogamous-ass, munchkin-ass bitch." they groused. "You're just worried she'll like me more."  

"Am not! I'm way more likable than you! Like at least 20% more!"  

"Laaame. She'll figure out that the real curse is hanging out with you. "  

"It is not! You watch, I'm gonna make her s-so happy...!" Aaravi blushed and looked away with a pout as she said that.  

"Someone's getting sappy."  

"Just shut up, Hex!" Aaravi barreled out the door, unwilling to argue with her literal curse one moment longer. Luckily, her girlfriend lived within walking distance of their flat – Vicky had a house of her own (though Aaravi hadn't asked if it was her's or just rented). Thoughts of her smiling face danced through Aaravi's head. Was she trying not to think about her too much? Or should she be trying to think about her as much as possible? Her crush (the normal kind, not the 'Dahlia and an enemy' kind) on Vicky had only seemed to swell since she accepted Aaravi's awkward confession. Was she spoiling it with her constant preoccupation? A thousand worries ran through her mind.  

She hadn't much time to dwell on such things before she reached Vicky's house. Far more nervous than she should have been (how many times had they sought each other in camp, heedless of circumstance?), Aaravi pushed the doorbell. "I'm in the garage!" Vicky called out. The garage door ponderously groaned open at the touch of a button, revealing a trio of cars, two of which seemed to be in the process of having the car equivalent of open-heart surgery. "Hey, Aaravi!" Vicky waved to her from the hood of one particularly gaudy sports car. "I'll just be one second. Gotta finish one more test before I quit for the day." She bent back over into the guts of the car, reaching at something near the engine.  

Damn , she looked hella fine in jeans. Aaravi spent too much time grinding survival at camp and not enough time on her 'Erotic appreciation' skill. She kind of regretted it in retrospect, what with all those opportunities to appreciate Vicky in her bathing suit. Not that she minded the huge amount of... XP... she was ogling now. Aaravi wondered if that camp rumor about Vicky escaping a murder charge on account of her booty was true. All she knew was that she'd help Vicky with any body she wanted her to, easy.  

Aaravi looked around, realizing she didn't recognize half of the high-powered tools in the garage (or were they spare parts?). "Didn't realize you were such a gearhead." Shit. Was that racist? Aaravi hoped not.  

If it was, Vicky didn't notice. She pulled out two wires from the battery and sat in the driver's seat, leaving the door open to thread them through the rolled-down window. "Well, I get cars." Vicky said, attaching one wire's clamp to her neck bolt, "And cars get me." She attached the other to the corresponding bolt as well, and revved the engine, shooting several thousand volts into her, to Aaravi's visible horror. Vicky's skeleton lit up like a Christmas tree, and she jolted up in the seat a good inch into the air, her arms and legs seizing straight and rigid with the shock. "Wow!" Vicky giggled deliriously and grinned brightly as the battery sputtered and died. "What a kick!" Smoke billowed from her frizzled hair. Aaravi suspected none of that was good.  

Aaravi tried not to panic, until Vicky started to sluggishly slide out of the driver's seat towards the ground. "Vicky!" Vicky obligingly threw her arms around her as Aaravi helped catch her before she hit the concrete. "Oh, gods, are you okay? You're okay, okay?! I'm gonna get you inside!"  

"Aw, yer worried! Sho cute!" she slurred, a big, dopey grin on her face.  

Aaravi dragged her into the living room and onto the couch, with little assistance from the limp ragdoll she called her girlfriend. "Where's your medicine cabinet?" she inquired frantically, "How are your potions sorted? Do you need healing or status removal?"  

Vicky laughed and sloughed over the couch cushions. "Only a kiss from a noble adventurer can save me..." She slid a hand to her forehead dramatically.  

Aaravi was pretty far from thinking about romance, but she had no clue what would and would not work in the situation. And she'd seen weirder things. So... she kissed her. It was electrifying. Literally, Aaravi could taste the faint tingle of electricity just by touching their lips. It was more worrying than romantic. "Are you better?"  

"Nnnnope..." Vicky giggled. "Try it again...?"  

Yeah, no, she was out of it.  

"You should see what else I can do hooked up to a car battery!" Vicky giggled. "I'm an expert in car breeding." She winked lasciviously.  

The smell of sulfur announced the arrival of Damien LaVey, who apparently saw fit to let himself into the house through the open garage. "Hey, what's up, losers? Is Blue taking good care of my baby?"  

"Holy shit, I can't believe I'm happy to see you!" Aaravi grabbed Damien by the shoulders, and then, as though trying to connect invisible wires, dashed to the couch and grabbed Vicky. "Damien, you gotta help! Vicky got shocked by the battery and now she's acting all weird and oh gods should I already have called 911?"  

"Heeeey, Damien!" She waved her arm around like a wet noodle, the rest of her body slumped like a bag of potatoes along the couch.  

"Oh, yeah, she gets like that when she turns the voltage up too high." he said, without a hint of concern.  

"Not voooolts..." she murmured, "… it's the aaaamps..."  

Damien knew her girlfriend better than she did! Not fair! She would level her Knowledge (Vicky) skill so high! That would show him! If she didn't kill him before that. "How do I fix that?"  

"Fix that?" Damien laughed. "Just fukkin' enjoy it! She did this in Monster High's bathrooms all the time. She'll agree to anything like this. Watch! Hey, Blue, y'wanna go rob Fort Knox with me?"  

"Nooo..." She slumped herself over Aaravi's small frame with a petulant tone, drooling on her girlfriend's freckled shoulder. "I wanna rob wif Aaravi..." Aaravi had to admit some small amount of self-satisfaction in that response, even if Vicky's status still seriously concerned her.  

"Huh. Guess there's a limit for everything." Damien shrugged. "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone. But tell Blue if my car isn't supercharged by Friday, I'm hooking her up as my car battery because there is no way Damien LaVey is gonna lose a drag race to some 7 th Circle loser!" He gave them a peace sign as he left, which transitioned into a middle finger, because fuck politeness, Damien LaVey didn't give a shit about etiquette. Take that, socially-established paradigms!  

Knowing that the condition was 'normal', or as normal as it could be, Aaravi relaxed a little bit. "You're sho cute when there's two of you..." Aaravi felt a string of drool down her neck. It was not quite how she wanted to get Vicky's saliva on her. "… but I dunno which neck to kiss...?"  

Aaravi sorted through her inventory. Potion of Shock Resistance? No, too late for that. Potion of Cure Daze? It was probably some obscure slightly-different status, like how cure paralyze doesn't take care of stun despite both of them having the same effect. No, Aaravi needed a panacea...  

Huh. Potion of Electro-Frankensobriety. Where did she pick that up? Didn't matter, she supposed. "Vicky, here. Drink this. It'll make you feel better, trust me." Aaravi had never met a properly labeled potion that failed her yet. A couple of improperly labeled ones, maybe.  

"Jus' a lil' drinky-poo..." Vicky tittered, and let the potion flask be lifted to her lips. She drained the small amount of liquid without complaint. The potion, as adventurer's potions are wont to do, worked quickly. "Oh... my head..." Vicky gritted her teeth together as the world wove itself back into a coherent shape. "… what happened?"  

"You shocked yourself with the car battery and got all loopy." Aaravi said. "Then Damien came in and said you better have his car ready by Friday and left."  

She rubbed her forehead, and touched her bolts tenderly (which was strangely erotic to Aaravi???). "Sorry! I guess I wasn't ready for Nancy's new battery. I didn't think Damien would bother getting anything quality like that… he's kind of a 'first thing he sees' buyer."  

"I can kill him for you!" Aaravi said eagerly, grabbing her bag of holding, "Here, I even brought my demon-slaying loadout!" Wow, impressing her girlfriend and slaying Damien would be like, two quests with one kill! She couldn't wait!  

"No!" Vicky looked shocked (ha) at the suggestion, "No, as my mentor, Mongo, once told me... never kill a customer!"  

Damn!  

Vicky went to stand, but her legs refused to cooperate, and she collapsed back onto the couch. Irritated, she rubbed her head and closed her eyes, kicking back on the couch lengthwise. "Um, there's steel wool in the bathroom... and... I kinda still feel woozy. Could you... uh... clean the residue from my bolts?" Vicky lifted her hair to show a little ridge of bumpy black char along the edges of both bolts, raised against the otherwise smooth metal surface.  

"Yes! Definitely! That's something I totally and honestly know how to do!" Aaravi lied. She dashed off to the cabinet and found the steel wool with little trouble.  

"And asprin too!" Vicky called out.  

Quick as a flash, the littlest Slayer completed her fetch quest. Vicky took the asprin dry, and closed her eyes. Vicky didn't budge, so Aaravi assumed she was just supposed to... find a position? She crept up on the opposite side of the couch, inching up just before Vicky's feet. "Is... is this fine?"  

Vicky opened one eye. "I don't know if you can reach from there."  

Aaravi tried. She could not.  

Aaravi crawled forward cautiously, trying to avoid any contact with any part of Vicky's body or clothing. Which was something of a challenge within the confines of the couch's narrow dimensions. Aaravi couldn't help but notice that she was almost straddling Vicky by the time she got close enough to get at her bolts. Misinterpreting her nervousness, Vicky said, "Don't worry. They're sturdy!"  

"Y-yeah, okay..." Shit. Her mechanic AND restoration skills were mediocre at best. She hoped this was a low-CR encounter...  

"Sorry!" Vicky said sheepishly, "I didn't mean to make you play nurse when you came over..."  

"It's cool, or whatever." Aaravi blushed. "I-I need the Restoration XP anyway." she said as she wiped away the grit from her bolts. Even though she said they were sturdy, Aaravi handled the cleaning with the utmost delicacy, like they were fine china instead of hardened steel.  

Aaravi was careful to ring the steel wool around the entire bolt, not just the side facing her. She put all her focus on the bolts, to avoid thinking about how physically close her and Vicky were at the moment. She wondered if Vicky could 'feel' through them? At the least, she could definitely feel any force exerted, since they were quite literally bolted into her body. She didn't seem in the least uncomfortable under Aaravi's somewhat inexperienced cleaning. Just let her eyes close, and her dazed mind recover.  

A silence passed. The two of them, together, simply immersed in each other's company. It was... surprisingly comfortable. Until Aaravi saw the way Vicky was staring at her. "Why are you looking at me like that?"  

She laid a hand against her own cheek, eyes twinkling with delight. "Cuz you're so pre-tty."  

If you told Aaravi Mishra she was awesome, she would totally agree. If you told her she was strong, she'd show you she was the strongest . If you said she was MVP of the game, she'd prove she was MVP of LIFE. But 'pretty' was... not a compliment she got often. At least not often from anyone she wanted to hear it from. "Y-yeah, um... t-thanks." She looked away from her gorgeous blue eyes, abashed. She rubbed away a last bit of black carbon from Vicky's bolt. "I-I guess this makes me your support for the night, h-huh?"  

Vicky grinned and leaned back, arms behind her head. A grin more audacious than her usual. "Is that an invitation to become the Party Lead?"  

Aaravi smiled and scoffed, looking back at Vicky out of the corner of her eye. "I mean, you invited me, not the other way around."  

"Well, I was just gonna beat yer booty in Smash Bros tonight, but since you're here ..." Vicky grabbed both of Aaravi's legs and pulled her further forward on her lap. Without giving her a chance to recover, she planted a kiss on her lips... and when Aaravi responded in kind, Vicky wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed the attack past Aaravi's willing and unguarded lips.  

Oh, damn. Oh, damn ! Aaravi knew it wasn't really their 'first' date, but W O W. She managed to steal some tongue action from her support in the early game? Fukkin' score! It didn't last long, but Vicky seemed pleased with herself (or with Aaravi...?) when she pulled away, leaving the poor slayer dazed, confused, and very, very happy.  

"Uh..." Aaravi twirled her hair nervously as Vicky's bright blue eyes regarded her with the sweetest kind of affection. "… thanks." she squeaked, a little hoarsely. Fuck! Now she really blew it! Vicky would know she was a low-level romance scrub and it was all over and she was gonna die alone in a pile of looted gold because gold can't buy-  

"Takes two to tango!" Vicky said cheerfully, nuzzling their noses together. How was she so cute? Aaravi positively glowed bright red. She had so many stacks of vulnerability inflicted on her, it wasn’t even funny. Gods, she hoped that Vicky wouldn't ask her anything serious, because she'd probably spill it in her emotionally weakened state and show every weakness she ever had. "Hey, 'Ravi," she said, inflicting another stack of vulnerability by using a diminutive, "Still wanna play some Smash Bros?"  

Fuck yes.  

Vicky got up from under Aaravi and to the drawer under her TV. She held up the game case nervously, like it was her first time handling one of them there 'video games'. She clung to the corner, letting it dangle back and forth like a flyer about to fall from the bulletin board. "I've, um... never played before, so... could you... go easy on me...?" Vicky looked at her with such big, trusting eyes...  

"S... s..." Aaravi kept failing her constitution roll. "… s... s... sure..." It was a heroic act of willpower to overcome her very being like that. To surrender a chance to absolutely crush some noob… if it had been anyone else...  

Vicky laughed and cracked open the case. "I'm kidding. I'm a pro. I'm gonna kick your ass!"  

Relief flooded Aaravi. "Like hell!"  

"I get to pick the first stage!"  

"No Final Destination!" Aaravi said, "If you can't fight the environment and other players-"  

"Wow," Vicky said, with exaggerated offense, "you think I'm some kind of scrub?"  

Oh no.  

She was perfect.  

-----  

The fight was long and arduous. Artificial limitations were placed, items excluded, controllers traded, dirty tricks employed. But in the end, even Vicky successfully luring Aaravi into a cuddle wasn't enough to grant her victory. Aaravi was just the superior player... though after she had her in her arms, Vicky seemed to stretch out each match an awfully long time... and not just with distracting nips and bumps. Hours passed, and the sun's light faded before the two of them were done, and Aaravi reluctantly extricated herself from Vicky's warm, soft arms.  

"T-tomorrow I gotta help with getting the food truck ready, but, um..." Aaravi lingered by the door, not really willing to go. "I'd really like to do this again. All of it." She realized that 'all of it' included, well... "I mean, n-not the-! Or the-! Unless-" She stopped. She remembered something her fairy therapist said that might actually have been useful, instead of mumbo-jumbo. 'The truest affection is trust, and trust conquers fear.' Aaravi took a deep breath. She trusted Vicky. She trusted Vicky. She looked up at that beautiful woman, and smiled, a little strength coming back into her soul. "You get what I'm trying to say." she said, not as question or desire for affirmation or correction, but as a simple statement.  

That tickled Vicky pink. Or, uh, blue-green. "I sure do!" Vicky just gave Aaravi the sweetest smile and a little peck as a farewell kiss. "Can't wait!"  

Walking home with a goofy smile on her face, neither could she.  

Chapter Text

"You have no idea how much cooking XP I've been grinding, Vicky!" she said. "I am like, goddess of greasy foods. I didn't even know there was a 'Street Food' subtree, can you believe it? I've filled out half the perks already. We are gonna kill at this!"  

Vicky had gotten to see the progress of the unlikely trio of Hex, Calculester, and Aaravi at work in their soon-to-be-opened food truck. Vicky had no intention of joining their business venture (she had enough to keep up with doing bespoke car breeding), but she had decided she'd give cooking a try just once! She hoped it would impress Aaravi. She presented the deformed piece of meat to her and Hex with a sheepish smile.  

Aaravi rolled her eyes. "Get good!" she groaned. "Vicky, you're super cool usually, but ketchup is not a panacea! I should know, I've tried!"  

"Sho," Hex said, choking down the last of the burnt piece of meat of dubious origin, "We shtill haven't figured out – oh, that's awful – who's gonna be manning the register. I nominate Aaravi, because she's not me!"  

"ERROR: Friend Aaravi is too aggressive and emotionally volatile to make an adequate sales representative. Suggest alternatives?"  

"Don't look at me!" Hex said, licking their fingers clean. "I mean, you'll be lucky to get any work out of me. The only reason I'll be showing up every day is cuz 'Ravi'll be carrying me!" Hex winked and gave Calculester finger-guns. "Literally!"  

"Rrr, I'll show you emotionally volatile!"  

Calculester made a high-pitched whirring sound as he stepped backwards to avoid Aaravi's wrath. "Extra data point added! Argument reinforced! Reiterate: Friend Aaravi will inflict an unsustainable casualty rate on customers! Food truck is not a high-casualty optimized business, unlike: dealing super-meth, infinite tiger apps, Merkingdom serf management, professional dodgeball..."  

Calculester droned on in the background. "Then how am I gonna get the mercantile XP I started this quest for?" Aaravi wailed.  

Vicky wasn't entirely sure how much of Aaravi's notion of RPG values were 'real' in the logicless universe they inhabited, and how much were just her way of coping with the world (she suspected a mixture of both), but she definitely knew that mechanics could always be gamed (ha). She didn't know if she had to convince Aaravi or convince reality, but she had an idea. Two ideas, really, but creativity was her dump stat, and she didn't want to take the risk. "Monster High taught me a lot of things. Most of them not in class." Vicky said, listing on her fingers, "How to mate two whiskeys together, the politics of Hell, 101 reasons never to visit the Merkingdom, how to avoid being punched in the knees by monster slayers..." Aaravi coughed. "… and, courtesy of Vera Oberlin, how to cheat rules by using shell companies!"  

Aaravi cocked her head and an eyebrow with a look between disbelief and disgust. "How is that gonna help me sell hot dogs?"  

"Aaravi runs her own company, subcontracting inside of this truck. All sales 'to' the food truck are made on demand, immediately 'purchasing' your ingredients at cost and 'selling' them to you on a slight profit margin." she said, as Calculester printed out the relevant tax law that proved the validity of her proposal. "That way, Aaravi gains all the XP from purchasing input AND profits without having to alter the practical functioning of your partnership!" Vicky hoped that was how mercantile XP worked. If it wasn't, she was sure Aaravi would correct her, complete with a dogeared official walkthrough.  

"Pog!" Aaravi grinned ear to ear. "That's... kind of brilliant, Vicky." Vicky gave her the peace symbol and a happy smile.  

"Acceptable compromise achieved: running simulations..." Calculester spent a few seconds in contemplative silence. "Complete: I compute that I, Calculester, would make the most adequate salesbeing despite my perceived existence as a dangerous artificial life form!"  

"Roboracism is totally non-meta. You'll slay, Calculester!" Aaravi got so excited, which was super adorable (to Vicky, at least). "Oh man, I am gonna sell you guys infinite hot dogs."  

"Stack overflow: maximum hotdog market saturation is less than infinity."  

Vicky had no clue how successful their endeavor would actually be. But she did know that it made her friends (and girlfriend) happy, and that was worth more than anything.