It Started With a Spinny

With Them

The sun is low in the sky, the dark greens of the forest mixing with reds and yellows and the warm afternoon breeze of a perfect evening.

She's so lucky to be here with them!

Amity laughs, the sound so honest and joyful, "I told you, you're unbearably cute - how else do you explain getting their number?"

Luz hides her blush behind her knees, "I think it was more them missing Vee?"

Amity looks over to Vee, smiling as warmly as the sunlight in her pink hair, "Well you're very cute too - between the two of you this Masha didn't stand a chance!"

Vee laughs awkwardly, blushing too.

Luz peaks over her knees to ask: "Soooo have you called them yet?"

Vee nods, "I, may have?"

"YOU DID?" Luz scrambles closer, her hands somehow missing the small plastic bowl of olives and the larger plastic bowl of chips. But it's hard to focus on anything but her hazel eyes bright with excitement as she demands: "Tell me everything!"

Vee laughs nervously, "Backstory?"

Luz nods adamantly.

Vee smiles fondly, "Then I wish there was more to tell you: we just talked, really! I said I was sorry that I'd gotten all caught up with everything, that I'd missed hanging out with them too, especially hearing all about cryptids. They said they'd found a really cool old grimour at work all about demons and ancient creatures, asked if I wanted to borrow it and I was so excited I," she looks down, "I almost said yes."

Amity raises an eyebrow, "Wait, why wouldn't you say yes?"

Now it's Vee's turn to hide behind her knees, but she's not blushing as she admits: "I... haven't told them yet. That I, that I don't look like Luz any more."

She looks up, sees Amity looking pained, rushes to explain: "I will tell them, I promise I-"

"Vee," Amity soothes. She carefully moves the half eaten plate of cold cuts out of the way so she can scoot closer on the cherry red picnic rug. She places her hand on Vee's atop her trembling knee, insisting: "Vee this isn't the same. You know that, right?"

Vee blinks, "Isn't it? I'm lying to them about who I am, pretending to be someone I'm not, right?"

"No," Amity insists, "Vee-" she's interrupted by Luz knocking over the mostly empty bowl of cheetos as she tries to scoot closer too. Amity rolls her eyes fondly as she takes the bowl and moves it out of the way, Luz picking up the last few orange tubes and quickly eating them before reaching for Vee's free hand, stopping, licking her fingers clean and reaching again, stopping.

Vee smiles reassuringly as she takes Luz's only slightly damp hand.

Luz smiles awkwardly back, before insisting: "Vee, you're not pretending to be anyone but you this time."

Vee blinks, "But I'm pretending I'm you! Aren't I?"

Luz smiles that wonderful smile of hers, "Vee, Masha never met me - at least they didn't before I fumbled my way into getting their number for you." Vee chuckles through a blush, Luz insisting: "But they didn't know me back when they were getting to know you."

Vee shakes her head, "But, but I still looked like-"

"But you acted like you!" Luz takes Vee's hand in both of hers, making her hearts race even more, "Vee you didn't know anything about me at that point except what I looked like! So all through summer camp you were you, hanging out with Masha, talking about cryptids and all! That wasn't you pretending to be me, that was you being you!" Luz leans closer, that tingling heat spreading in Vee's chest. Luz smirks: "And Masha missed you!"

Vee looks down blushing harder, "I, they just missed hanging out with me, that's all!"

Luz somehow leans closer, "Uhaaa, and how long did you talk for on the phone?"

Vee hides behind her knees, "Only a few hours?" Vee shakes her head, "But I'm still pretending I'm human! Isn't that the same?"

Luz frowns, trying to find the right words.

Amity squeezes her other hand, "That's not lying Vee, that's private. People aren't entitled to know everything about you as soon as they meet you."

Luz nods, "Yeah, and you have pretty strong safety reasons for keeping some things private, at least until you know you can trust someone and decide if you want to. Once they've earned your trust."

Now it's Vee's turn to frown, looking down as she grumbles: "It still feels dishonest though."

They both squeeze her hands, Luz adding, "Remember what Miriam said?"

Vee nods, "Feelings can be valid without being true."

Luz nods, "Exactly."

Vee looks up to say something, the words lost at the sight of Luz's bright hazel eyes, her wonderful smile. She blushes, looking away. "Uuh, could, could you pass the cards? I mean the cold cuts, the plate with the-"

"Sure," Amity says with that patient kindness Vee likes so much, squeezing her hand before reaching for the plate of elegantly rolled spirals of ham, turkey, and hexus holdum cards. Amity smiles down at the plate, "I still can't believe Hunter rolled the cards. It took him so long too!"

Vee takes one of the black and violet spiral rolls, turning it over in her beige hands, smiling fondly, "I bet he just wanted to make it all look nice." She looks up at Amity, smirking, "And I bet he was happy to help out with your important date too!"

Amity blushes, her smile becoming brighter.

Vee looks down, chiding herself. This is their date, don't mess this up too!

Amity gently touches Vee's hand, and when Vee looks up Amity's still smiling, looking at her with that delighted excitement that takes Vee's breath away, her voice deeply earnest as she insists: "Very important! Thank you again for being here."

"You're, you're welcome!" She tries to swallow the lump in her throat. The way Amity is looking at her, the look in her eyes - it's a lot like when she looked at her on the sofa as she described...

Luz smirks, leaning somehow closer: "You're bluuushing."

Vee hides behind her knees.

"You were thinking about Masha again, weren't you?"

Vee hesitates. She shakes her head.

Amity squeezes her hand around the forgotten card, her voice filled with that patient kindness again, "You don't have to say anything Vee." She turns to Luz to pointedly add, "Privacy, rememb-"

"I was thinking about kissing you."