It's Pretty Damn Efficient

I need you here to stay

Athanasia has half a plan, a picnic basket, and a dream.

"Lucas." She breathes out, her voice shaking.

"Athy-dearest." He drawls in response, a soft smile on his face.

"I..." Athanasia holds up the basket, it dangling helplessly in the air. This seemed so much easier in theory. "I'm ready, I've got the things..."

Lucas raises an eyebrow. "You're not even gonna bother to ask me properly?"

Athanasia blinks, before oh-ing softly.

"Lucas, will you go out on a date with me?"

~

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~

They're both wandering through the festival, Athanasia mumbling out apologies to anyone she bumps into while leading Lucas around.

She had asked Lucas to tell her if anything caught his eye, and 15 minutes in, he has said nothing.

Not only is the silence unsettling, but it's also vaguely upsetting.

"Do you really want nothing? From any of these stalls?" Athanasia presses reluctantly.

Lucas has been staring at Athanasia this whole time. "No, nothing else has caught my eye."

"That's a problem." Athanasia sounds strained, slowly coming to a complete stop. "Are you sure you want nothing?"

Lucas blinks. It's obvious he's just looking around, randomly picking a stall. He eventually lands on one, a strength test game.

"...that one." He says, sounding super unconvincing. "I want something from that one."

It's fairly obvious he only picked a stall to make Athanasia happy. Does it stop her from beaming? Absolutely not.

She drags him over, observing the game-booth. There's a mallet, a button, and a bell.

"Hello!" The man running the stall chirps. "Wanna test your strength?"

Athanasia nods, fishing out the coins to play it, and making a confused noise when the man hands the hammer to Lucas.

Lucas, equally confused, makes a noise with his throat. "Sir? She's the one playing."

The man seems to be in disbelief. "She's a woman, though. There's no way she can score past the first mark, let alone ring the bell."

Oh.

Athanasia essentially snarls, yanking the hammer out of Lucas's hands and bringing it down onto the button - hard.

The bell rings. And then shatters.

~

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~

Lucas is holding a giant stuffed bear, disgruntled. "That was very unnecessary."

"I got to give you a gift and taught that guy a lesson. Seems like a win-win to me."

They've reached a small ledge, overlooking the festivities with the main palace in the background. There’s already a small picnic blanket set up, and Athanasia places down her basket while Lucas drops the bear with an oomph.