One Shots

Date

Today was going to be a long day. I knew it. I absolutely knew it. Especially because my girlfriend, Gracie, had decided to invite me over for dinner. But that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was that it would be a double date with her adotive sister, Liz, and Liz's boyfriend, Alex.

Now, I had no problem with double dates. Well, alright, they did make being lovey-dovey an issue, and being alone with your significant other is nearly impossible on one of them, but they're pretty alright. No, my issue was with Liz. Rather, her issue was with me.

Liz didn't like me, to say the least. Oh, who was I kidding?? She hated me. She thought I was trying to take advantage of Gracie, just to break her heart and leave her. She didn't trust me. She had every right not to, considering Gracie's past, but it definitely made things awkward. I was not a very good handler of awkward.

See, I can't read social cues, so sometimes I have no idea what I'm saying and ramble until I realize I've talked too long and conclude my spiel with: "And I think I'll shut up now," and make everything worse.

I was so worried about this double date. Gracie had made our relationship official and exclusive only a few days prior, so this was... a big step. And if that step was ruined, I wasn't sure I would ever have another chance.

All these things I mused over as I got dressed. I had chosen to wear a long, dark blue sweater that looked more like a dress, with a tank top underneath and white skinny jeans. My shoes consisted of black ankle boots, and I wore yin yang earrings as well. I rarely ever wore makeup. It took too much time. I preferred going natural. And speaking of going, if I didn't leave right then and there, I was going to be late. I teleported to the Solace household, ringing the doorbell with a grin on my face at the thought of seeing Gracie. I'd only been with her a few weeks and she'd been an amazing girlfriend so far. She was sweet, and pretty, and funny, and adorable, and-

And then she stepped outside looking absolutely beautiful, with a light green fitted shirt and a black miniskirt with white leggings and converse and.... My brain just kind of melted into gooey mush. She was the hottest, most gorgeous person I had ever had the pleasure to see in my entire life.

"Hey Babe!" She said cheerfully, blushing under my stare. I snapped myself out of it.

"Hey, Gray," I said, smiling widely.

She grinned as my hand found hers and our fingers locked. I had a big thing for holding hands.

"How've you been feeling?" My face remained carefree, but inside, there was a commotion. Had she been okay? Was she okay right now??

Gracie bit her lip, averting her eyes immediately. I cursed myself. She knew what I was referring to, and she obviously didn't like it.

"... Fine," she mumbled.

"Okay," I said lightly, trusting her judgment and resolving to not even talk about it during dinner.

Liz walked out, Alex by her side, looking at me and Gracie, then at our hands, then at me, with a carefully reserved glance that I knew translated too: 'I'm only doing this for Gracie, and I will not hesitate to stab you with a squirrel.'

I smiled at her just the same, because killing with kindness was always possible. "Hey Liz, hey Alex!" I said, a good-natured grin on my face. "Ready to go?"

Liz nodded. "Yes, we are," she replied in a clipped tone.

My hands found their way to everyone at once, and suddenly we were outside the restaurant door, a result of my teleportation magic. We walked inside, looking at the grandeur of the place. It was a really nice restaurant, focused on being as romantic as possible. Because of said romanticism, the tables were well privatized, so that couples could truly feel alone and still eat well. It was truly an impeccable restaurant.

We walked in, led to our tables immediately. I suppressed an anxious grin and thought let the awkwardness... begin...

"So," Gracie began, turning to me, "How was your day, Tee?"

"My day was fine," I told her, feeling extremely stiff.

Liz pursed her lips. "This is way too formal for my liking. When you guys said you wanted to go on a double date, I didn't think it would be so uncomfortable," she said. Alex rolled his eyes.

"Liz, come on, be nice. Let's just... talk about something," He suggested.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, "I know! Do you guys like Marvel or DC?" I asked.

"Marvel!" Cried every single one of them. At the same time. In the same tone. It very nearly freaked me out.

"Alright, well, then, let's talk about Marvel. Who's your favorite superhero?"

And so the conversation continued.

It actually wasn't too bad. Fun, really, because the debates were spectacular and by the time the food came everyone was laughing and the tensions had disappeared.

I was actually expecting to make it out of the date alive. Until it happened.

Someone had brought up sleeping habits. I honestly couldn't tell you who it was, because my memory was poor like that, but someone brought it up.

I do remember Gracie saying something about sleeping curled up in a ball, with a glum face that made me frown in confusion. I didn't like the idea of her having bad memories of sleep. I was a daughter of Hypnos, after all. But then the topic reached me, and I was all too happy to say;

"Oh, yeah, I can't sleep without my girl, Oreo. I love to cuddle up to her after we tell each other 'I love you' every night."

All of Hades seemed to explode from the ground into my face. Literally. In less than two seconds, the table had slammed up, and a blur had jetted from said table to pin me to the wall behind my chair. The blur, a.k.a. Liz, held a butter knife against my throat and stared down at me like she was itching to push down just a little harder. I, being the cool, calm, collected person that I am, slapped out against the wall and froze like an animal.

"What the Hades do you think you're doing?!? Who's Oreo, huh??? She your little girl toy?? How dare- how fucking dare you cheat on my sister??? AND WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF NAME IS OREO ANYWAYS!?" Liz shrieked, her eyes burning with livid fury. My neck hurt. The blade, though dull, was still painful. I took a second to glance at Gracie. She looked shocked, overwhelmingly so. I wanted to gather her into my arms and hold her tight but-

"Ow!" I complained. "Would you mind getting off, Liz?? I'm not cheating on Gracie. Gracie, help me!"

Gracie sat there with the same shocked face for a minute, then casually propped her feet up on the table, a playful smile on her lips, chewing on some pretzel bites she'd ordered.

"You're on your own, babe!" She called cheerfully.

"But you know that Oreo isn't- that I didn't-"

"That you didn't cheat on my sister with another girl?" Demanded Liz. Might I remind you, the knife was still at my throat.

"I didn't!" I shouted desperately. I was trying very hard to avoid being sent to the void with a butter knife. That was too huge a blow to my dignity to bare.

"Prove it!" She hissed, digging the knife deeper into my flesh.

My next words were very quick and fast, "I have a panda bear name Oreo that I sleep with every night and refer to as a living entity ask Gracie but please don't kill me I don't think I'd survive the embarrassment once I regenerated."

Liz paused, glancing over to Gracie, who hurried to stifle her laughter. I was released immediately with a gruff "Sorry," and no further words spoken through the rest of the meal, though Gracie would still snort with amusement occasionally.

~

Later that night, as Gracie and we're walking through a park nearby, she looked over at me.

"Thank you for putting up with a butter knife for me," she said, a pleased smile on her face. I returned the smile.

"Anything for you, my dear," I replied, and took her hand and kissed the back of her hand, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

What do you guys think? Do you like? I like. Lemme know!