Sitting at a table adorned with two plates with a slice of cake on either one, Agate and Lillie cheerfully chatted away.
"Oh, you've got to try this!" Agate exclaimed as she finished a bite of her cheesecake.
Lillie leaned over and took a slither with her fork, and as she savoured the taste of her friend's dessert, Agate grinned and asked, "Can I have some of yours?"
"Sure!" Lillie replied, pushing her plate forward slightly so Agate could take an equally small slither of the decadent chocolate cake Lillie had ordered.
A moment later, Lillie asked, "So… you want to swap cakes?"
"Heh, no! I just wanted you to try some of mine!" Agate replied.
Lillie's eyes that had been filled with hope now turned harsh. She didn't say a word as she watched Agate taking another piece off the end of her cheesecake.
The cheesecake atop Agate's fork wasn't far from her mouth when the door of the restaurant opened, startling both Agate and Lillie enough that they looked over.
Angela walked in and said to Agate, "About the rabbit you brought to the clinic..."
Agate leapt from her chair. "How is Mr. Rabbit doing?!"
"He'll be fine. You can take him away now," Angela explained.
Agate breathed a relieved sigh and turned to Raeger. "I'll be back soon!" she said and followed Angela out of the restaurant.
Less than a minute passed before Lillie took her fork, stabbed Agate's cake, and shoved the entire thing in her mouth.
Raeger gasped and said, "What did you just-"
Lillie shushed him harshly, her eyes wild and desperate. Raeger felt obliged to stay quiet.
Chewing hastily, unsure how much time she had before Agate returned, Lillie worked to eliminate all evidence of cake. She polished off Agate's and her own plate.
When Agate did return, she was holding a rabbit in her arms. The smile on her face fell when she reached the table where Lillie sat, and saw two empty plates.
"Huh? Wh… where's my cake?" Agate mumbled.
Lillie pretended to be confused, as though Agate had never had a cake.
Agate looked at all the other tables, asked the other customers and Raeger as well. They all shrugged.
Agate sighed and looked back over at Lillie. She knew Lillie was the culprit. But there she sat, studying the ceiling and walls so she didn't have to make eye contact with anyone. She looked completely guilty.
Strolling up to Lillie, Agate asked, "Lillie. Where did my cake go?"
"Hmm? What do you mean? I just ate my own cake while I waited for you to get back… I figured you finished your cake before you left," Lillie lied.
It was a pathetic excuse but Agate smiled, agreeing to play along for now. "I guess I must have! Well, I have to get Mr. Rabbit here back to the safari, so I'll see you around!" she said and left the building once more.
The next day, Agate dropped in to the Guild Hall after Angela had finished with her work for the day. In no time at all, Lillie had returned from the city for the day and the three were there together.
"Why are you here today, Agate?" Angela asked since this wasn't something she usually did.
"I just missed hanging out with you! Hey, you know what we should do? Play a game!" Agate said cheerfully.
"A game? What sort of game?" Lillie asked.
"Hmm… How about Truth or Dare?" Agate suggested.
Lillie and Angela both sighed. Neither of them cared much for this idea.
Seeing their faces, Agate quickly said, "It won't be that bad! As long as we promise not to ask anything too mean or something, it'll be fun!"
Angela still didn't much care to play a game, but Lillie had agreed so Angela felt she had no choice.
After the first few rounds, they were all laughing and having a good time.
Agate grinned even wider, knowing her turn to ask Lillie was next. Seeing how relaxed they both were, she knew this was the perfect chance.
"So, Lillie. Truth or Dare?" Agate asked.
"Truth," Lillie said, as she hated being dared.
Agate's eyes flashed darkly as she asked, "Did you eat my cake yesterday?"
Lillie's blood curdled and she snapped, "I MEANT DARE, I PICK DARE!"
Agate smiled again and said, "Okay then. You have to kiss Angela!"
"Huh?! Wh-what?!" Lillie sputtered in shock, then mumbled, "What, like on the cheek? Th-that's fine."
At once, Agate shook her head. "On the lips! For at least five seconds!"
Lillie covered her face with her hands and screamed, "Ohmigosh, are you crazy?! F-fine, I'll answer your question for Truth!"
"So. Did you eat my cake?" Agate asked, her voice devoid of any mirth.
"...Yes," Lillie answered.
"I knew it! You tried to hide it from me, but I knew it was you!" Agate shouted.
"Okay, now it's your turn!" Lillie said, quivering with rage. "Truth or Dare?!"
"Dare," Agate replied quickly.
"You have to kiss Angela," Lillie said.
Agate didn't waste a second. She hopped over to Angela's side so quickly that she almost knocked heads with her. But she was careful then, choosing not to smack her lips onto Angela's and instead be gentle.
Lillie's eyes shot wide open at the sight and she quickly covered her face with her hands again.
Angela was pretty sure Agate kissed her for longer than five seconds, but she couldn't do a thing. She felt like she'd gone numb. She could feel Agate's hands, one on the back of her head, the other's fingers lightly touching her skin between her neck and shoulder. And her lips. But other than that, all Angela's sensory ability was lost.
Finally, Agate stepped back to where she'd been once she'd finished kissing Angela and waited for Lillie to take her hands away from her eyes.
When Lillie at last did, she said, "Ohmigosh, Agate… wh-wh… I didn't think you'd actually do it!"
"That's where you and I differ, Lillie," Agate said.
"You won't back down from a challenge?" Lillie asked.
"No… I just don't think it's embarrassing to kiss Angela," Agate said.
"Uh… thank you," Angela murmured, but quickly shut her mouth. What a strange thing to thank someone for! But still… Angela meant it.
Even if she didn't want Lillie to kiss her, it still hurt that she screamed at the thought of it.
Lillie crossed her arms and snapped, "Hmph! I don't want to play anymore!"
As Lillie left, Angela wondered what the time was and whether they should part ways now to eat dinner. She glanced over to Agate who was still basking in her triumph.
"...Why did you do that?" Angela asked.
Agate snapped out of her daze and turned to Angela. "I knew Lillie would never kiss you, so I decided to use that to get the truth from her!" she answered.
Seeing Angela's serious expression, Agate realised that she might have meant something else. Maybe she'd meant, why did you kiss me?
"Oh, I'm sorry if I embarrassed you," Agate added.
Angela shrugged her shoulders. "Compared to Lillie's reaction, it didn't bother me at all… And there are worse people. I don't mind since it was you kissing me," she said.
After that game of Truth or Dare, things returned to almost exactly as they had been.
Lillie finally apologised to Agate for eating her cake and Agate forgave her, so they were as close as before.
And then, very true to herself, Agate ended up in the clinic after taking a fall. Angela was so accustomed to this now that she told Marian that she would deal with it all herself. As she tended to Agate's injuries, Angela noticed her shaking every so often.
Worried, Angela looked to Agate's face and saw she was biting her lip, trying to hide how she felt. She was upset and nervous, very nervous.
"I'm not going to lecture you," Angela told her in a reassuring tone.
Agate was startled but once she'd heard Angela say that, she relaxed a little. "I-it hurts a lot," she admitted.
"I promise you're going to be just fine," Angela said. Smiling, she stood up and continued, "Now I want you to get back on your feet."
Agate took hold of Angela's hands and stood up. She didn't wobble but still felt unsure of herself.
"D-do you really think I should just go?"
"You're fine," Angela said, kissed her on the cheek, and added, "Just be more careful, okay?"
"Okay," Agate replied, smiled at her and then walked out of the clinic.
Ten seconds later, Angela realised what just happened.
She looked over and saw Marian staring at her. He had a hundred questions to ask and couldn't choose which one to start with.
"I have somewhere I need to go!" Angela yelled and fled the clinic before Marian could utter a word.
Marian sighed, disappointed, but resolved himself to question Angela when she returned. When the door to the clinic opened again, Marian turned to see Agate standing there with a stunned expression.
"Wh-wh-where's Angela?" she asked.
"She just stepped out," Marian answered, growing ever more curious.
Meanwhile, in the restaurant, Angela was standing at the counter and saying to Raeger, "I need a drink."
"What… you mean, water or something?" Raeger asked.
Angela slammed her hands down on the counter and snapped, "Alcohol, damnit!"
Raeger was shocked and said, "I'm not a bartender. I guess I have some cooking wine..."
"Then hurry up and pour me a glass!" Angela demanded.
Raeger did as she had ordered, but he was still shocked. Angela didn't drink. He couldn't imagine what had driven her to this point. It must have been something serious.
Angela took the glass of wine when Raeger handed it to her and quickly took a few sips. She placed the glass on the counter but kept her hand nearby, while she rubbed her forehead with her other hand. She was hoping she could just calm down if she stayed here like this for awhile.
But it wasn't working. Angela took another sip from the glass.
Then the door of the restaurant was flung open and a voice, Agate's voice, said, "Aha! I found you!"
Angela's eyes snapped over to her and she began to wish she'd looked for a hiding place rather than a drink.
Knowing she had to act quickly, Angela dropped off her seat and looked to the open door behind Agate. She couldn't deal with this calmly, so she decided she might as well try and make a run for it.
As Angela attempted to run, Agate charged right at her and wrapped her arms around her middle.
Angela tried to tear Agate's arms off her but her hug was inescapable. Finally, she asked, "Fine, I'm not moving. What do you want?"
Agate grinned at her and asked, "You like me?"
Angela glanced back to everyone in the room, humiliated, hoping nobody had heard. Her face was flushed and Agate realised she'd embarrassed her.
She took Angela's hand in hers and pulled her out of the restaurant. She tugged her along until they were at an empty plaza, where she sat down at a bench.
"Nobody's around here, so… are you okay now?" Agate asked.
Angela didn't do anything for a few moments, but eventually sighed and sat down next to Agate. She knew she shouldn't really be embarrassed. However, glancing over at Agate made her feel even more embarrassed.
Agate was grinning from ear to ear. "You kissed me!"
"I didn't even realise I was doing it. It just felt like the natural thing to do," Angela mumbled.
"So… you like me too?" Agate asked. "I thought that would never happen! You're so serious, I thought you'd never think of me like that."
Angela smiled at that and said, "You're so silly. Of course I thought about it! And… I'd love to be with you."
Agate looked more excited than Angela had ever seen her before. "So we can be a couple like Mr. and Mrs. Monkey?" she asked.
Angela chuckled and answered, "Yes, we can."
"So… so… You know that I wanted to kiss you when we were playing that game, right?" Agate asked.
"Yes, I've gathered that. Although I think that if Lillie sees us kissing again, she'll die of embarrassment," Angela said.
"Well, it's not HER business," Agate grumbled.
"Very true," Angela replied and smiled.
"Oh, then can I kiss you again?" Agate requested.
Angela stood up and answered, "You can kiss me later. Right now I have to go back and pay for that glass of wine."
Agate jumped up as well and said, "I'm coming with you!"
As they began to walk back to the restaurant, Agate brushed her fingers along Angela's, so Angela took hold of Agate's hand. They both failed to suppress their grins and continued walking along.