It Started With a Spinny

First Date

The darkened cinema is nearly empty, the plush red seats comfortable enough to sink back into them and not touch the suspiciously multi-textured floor. There's a downside to shapeshifting her clothes – she really needs to buy some real boots! But then the popcorn does smell ludicrously good, rich with butter and salt and so ludicrously large Vee needs to hold it in two hands, a third for her equally oversized drink and a fourth for holding Amity's hand!

Vee breathes out a little unsteadily, her hearts still thrumming tightly in her chest! It isn't fear: she'd stopped worrying about the sparse other people seeing her four arms in the dark, what few people there are all avidly watching the massive screen, enjoying the boisterous strumming of a lute.

"The baaattle is over, friends become lovers, sons embrace mo'others, brothers and dads,"

Vee tries not to blush at the word 'lovers.' It seems so silly to, but she's currently quite... primed to blush, what with Amity using her spare hand to idly stroke the inside of Vee's forearm.

She tries to keep her breathing steady, her hearts from hammering too loudly! It's not the same as when she wanted to kiss Luz!

"Where once were contenders, now are befrienders, o-ooh let's celebrate lasses and lads,"

At least she thinks it's not the same!

"WHERE ONCE were contenders, now are befrienders, let's celebrate lasses, celebrate lasses, celebrate lasses"

But maybe-

Amity's stroking stops, Vee breathing out as she reaches for the popcorn to find Amity's hand already there! They both shyly pull back with a muttered apology, then look down at their held hands, giggling at themselves.

She hears Amity breathe in, breathes in herself as Amity leans closer to whisper: "I once saw one of Gus's illusions get stuck like this."

"-brate -brate -brate -brate -brate -brate"

"Okay maybe not exactly like this."

"-BRAAAAAAAAAAOOOOO"

"Oh Titan!"

*   *   *

"Oh no, no I couldn't!"

Amity squeezes her hand, "Sorry, should I not joke about-"

"No I'm saying it would be too scary!"

"Oh!" Amity raises an eyebrow, "But I thought that was the whole point of this Halowene ritual: to scare people! Isn't it?"

Vee rubs her neck with her free hand, "Weeelll, apparently it's just as much about the candy as the scaring, and for adults it also seems a rare excuse to play dress ups again." She laughs awkwardly, "And besides, there's a big difference between scaring kids and giving them a lifelong trauma of melting faces."

Amity laughs: "Okay fair."

It's a nice afternoon out, the two of them holding hands as they walk down the sidewalk towards home. Vee breathes in the autumn air, smelling brisk, crisp, slightly sharp. She looks around smiling to herself, thinking how nicely the pale blue sky contrasts the many orange shades of trees.

She blinks.

Amity notices her slow, stops walking to turn to her, "Hey, is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Vee looks down smiling, "yeah I just - the trees are orange!"

Amity looks around confused, "Is that, bad?"

"No, they're just orange." She beams, "I mean that one's rust orange, that one's bronze orange, then squash orange, jasper orange - but I had to think about that."