This is my entry for June's discord prompt! The theme was girls love and this is an Aisha x Lu story. Please enjoy 3
Something so small wouldn't bother anyone else. But she was different. Aisha was dead serious about her work and she wouldn't even allow a tiny spec of dust to fly in her peripheral vision during her study session. However, it wasn't dust what was bothering her. From the corner of her eye she could easily see the moving silhouette of a young girl, too carefree to actually worry about studies. Aisha did her best to ignore it, yet the other girl was trying her best to be as passively obnoxious as she could.
"Mind you stopping that!?"
She stood up and yelled at her, which caused everyone in the library to turn their eyes at her, including the manager, who sent her a killing stare that somewhat made her calm down and sit back. She could hear the muffled laugh of the other girl. Even before she could start reading her notes again, a rugged ball of paper landed on her side.
Aisha rolled her eyes before opening the ball and finding a note inside "Meet me outside".
She massaged her temples and checked the clock. It was past midnight. Lanox library only stays open this late during exam periods, being college students the only ones there. She looked around and saw that the other girl has already started to pick up her stuff and leave. Sighing, she did the same and followed her.
"Lu! Why the hell were you bothering me?!"
She started screaming the moment she crossed the library's door, uncaring about anyone still inside that could hear her. Lu walked in front of her, skipping with a happy smile after finally being outside that place. She was incredibly calm about the whole exam period issue around them. Totally contrary to Aisha, who could barely sleep since a week ago.
"Because you seemed like you were about to blow up," The little demon answered with a playful tone. She stopped to allow Aisha to catch up with her. The mage carried so many books on her backpack that it was a miracle that the thing was able to hold them up.
"I'm fine. Tomorrow is the last exam. I just want to get over with them and…" She said, but stopped when the weight from her books almost makes her fell on her back. It was only thanks to Lu's hand that she was able to keep her balance "Thank you…"
"What about we go for dinner tonight? Don't dare to tell me you want to continue studying at the dorm…" Lu suggested. It sounded more like an order than a suggestion though.
"Fine."
They made their way to their favourite restaurant. It wasn't far away from the dorms and it was the only place in Lanox that would offer Lurensian food. The place wasn't too big. It was owned by an old man that came from Elder years ago. It was a building made of grey bricks with a blue roof, heavily contrasting the dark brown and copperish tones of Lanox. There weren't many windows, and the few ones that it had were too small and too high to see the insides. They walked in and head for their usual place, the table on the furthest corner from the entrance.
Half an hour later they had their food server. Lu ordered a huge steak, slowly cooked on natural fire and covered in a taste dark sauce while Aisha ordered the fruit salad, a mixture of greens, strawberries, pears and other sweet fruits. Lu eyed her plate with hungry eyes, holding her fork and knife ready to attack. She looked at her partner for a moment and was greeted with the disappointing image of Aisha lazily eating a carrot while reading a book in her other hand. She couldn't resist studying during dinner after all.
"Aisha… could you put that book back in your bag and look at me for a while?" Lu said with her mouth stuffed with steak.
"Yeah I'll be with you in a second…"
Lu sighed. It seemed that distracting Aisha from her studies wouldn't be possible after all. She slowly finished eating before revealing the real issue that brought her to invite Aisha to have dinner out.
"Aisha, what will you do once you pass the exam?"
The mage actually put down the book. She glanced at Lu and waited for a moment before finally answering.
"I'll go to Elder and get working,"
A cold silence imposed itself between the two of them.
"I'll… have to stay here," Lu said. She didn't said anything else and waited for her partner to say something in return instead.
Aisha stopped eating. Her books were back in the bag and she was ready to face the real issue of the night. This was something both of them have been boldly delaying ever since the year started. And it was the fact that they would be separated right after the final exams. Aisha's grant would ran out by then and it was part of the reason she was so nervous about passing the exams while Lu would have to stay in Lanox for at least another couple of years to complete her studies.
And part of the reason they had been avoiding talking it out was the fact that none of them had a clear solution for it.
"So, what will happen with us after that?" Lu asked. She decided to cut right to the case. Not interested in anything else. Aisha sighed, she didn't had an answer.
One year ago:
"How were your results?"
Aisha and Lu were chilling on a café in the center of town. There weren't many guests in there as it was still too early. The place was mainly decorated to suit the tastes of the college students, featuring merchandise from the university sports teams as well as dozens of pictures of notable students. The tables were arranged in small groups, prepared for duos or trios of guests. The café owner was a middle age man that had a nice grey beard and a wise look in his eyes, he was assisted by his young daughter: a blonde girl with a radiant smile who was everyone's favorite waitress.
"So-so, it's not like they matter too much to be honest, I already have my back covered from when I graduate," Lu answered while poking at her drink with a straw. The ice on top of her strawberry flavored soda had melted into bubbles from all the poking "What about you?"
"It all went perfect," Aisha said, unable to contain a relieved smile.
"See? And you were so worried. Oh, about our plans for tomorrow… Ciel won't be able to make it in time and I couldn't get to anyone else,"
"So, no party tomorrow?" Aisha questioned. She was actually a bit sad about it. With the finals over and her perfect scores secured, she was itching for some quality fun.
"There's still the two of us," Lu suggested.
"Well then."
One month later:
"Did you remember to send in your documents for next semester? Summer is about to end and if you don't send them in time-"
"Yes, Aisha, Yes. For the eleventh time today, I did," An annoyed Lu answered. She was lying around on her room, with nothing to do except to listen to Aisha's worries "The delivery term just opened today and would last for almost all summer, so stop bothering me with that already."
"Good, I just want to make sure you'll be there with me for another year," Aisha replied with a wink of her eye. Lu rolled her eyes, and then rolled herself on the ground, kicking the air in boredom.
"I'm bored, Ai. I don't know what to do!"
"Don't you have like a ton of games in your room? Just go play with some," Aisha replied. Unlike Lu, she was busy enough reading a book about the demon culture.
"But I feel lonely playing alone in there…" Lu answered pouting, she sat up and showed her best puppy eyes to Aisha. After resisting for a short moment, she just sighed and finally followed Lu out of the room.
Ten months later:
"Lu! You know? I love you!"
"Yeah, yeah…"
"You're so cool. And so cute. And hot. And…"
"Calm down Ai, people is already sleeping,"
"But I can't help it. Just let me smooch you all over already!" Aisha complained. She was hanging from Lu's shoulder and unable to walk straight on her own. The mage just had way to many drinks, more than her small untrained body can handle.
"Shh!" Lu complained, she did her best to quietly take the mage into the dorm, and was now struggling to get Aisha's key from her pockets. Something that the mage made even more difficult as she thought Lu was trying to get dirty with her.
"Oh!? Are we doing it here in the corridor?!"
"Shut up!" Lu almost yelled back. It was past 3:00 AM on a monday, she knew nobody would be happy if a drunk Aisha wakes them up a few hours before they have to head into classes. Lu finally found the key, thankfully Aisha didn't lose it. As fast as she could, Lu unlocked the door and shoved the drunk mage inside.
Aisha fell on the bed. She was so dizzy she couldn't even move. Lu sighed, sitting next to her and helping Aisha to take her boots off. As she removed the shocks as well, Lu noticed many blisters on her heels and fingers.
"Aisha, how long have you been walking today?" Lu questioned.
"I don't know," Aisha answered in her bubbly drunk voice.
Lu let out a heavy sigh. She helped the mage undress and get under the sheets. Lu was on the library when someone call her. She ignored the phone, thinking it would be something unimportant, only to discover hours later that Ciel texted her. He told Lu that Aisha left the city heading to Sander.
"I got pretty scared you know,"
Aisha hugged the sheets over her, hiding her nose below the soft fabric. She didn't said anything.
"I know that you're going through some heavy pressure but… running away is…"
There was still no response from the mage.
"And trying to cross the desert by foot, while being drunk. Are you stupid?! You damn idiot! What would you have done if I couldn't find you?!"
Lu turned around to look at the mage. She had her eyes shut and was peacefully breathing in her sleep. Lu felt like punching her, but she was able to stop her fist, slowly turning it into a soft caress on her partner's face. Lu snuggled her face against Aisha's hair hiding away the tears that formed on her eyes and slowly started to feel asleep. The mage shifter in her sleep, embracing the demon with her arms.
"But I'm glad I did. Don't ever scare me like that, Ai."
Both Aisha and Lu stared into each other. The question still hanging over their table. There was no answer for it. At least not one they would be happy with.
"Elder is not that far away nowadays, I could be here in less than an hour…" Aisha weakly said.
"Would you do that everyday?" Lu questioned. This wasn't the first time that idea was brought up "The first week maybe. But what about after a month? After a year?"
"They told me that I would be getting long vacations on my job so I could spend them here with you," Aisha said now.
"Yeah, a week or two every few months. But what would you do when you feel sad and want me to be with you? Or what will I do when I feel lonely and want my girlfriend next to me? Will we just way until you get some vacations to spend a bit of time together and them back to being separated?"
Aisha fell silent again. There was nothing she could suggest that hadn't been previously discussed. Vacations, distance, communications… There were many options but they all felt like small patches to a huge problem.
"I want to wake up in the morning next to you," Lu started to say "Walk back home skipping thinking about the fact that you will be there waiting for me. Throw a stupid fit because I want something and have you give it to me or... "
Lu stopped. As much as she wanted it, she knew that it was selfish for her to try and convince Aisha to stay with her in Lanox. And the other way around was impossible. A demon wasn't welcomed anywhere in this world. Thanks to Ciel, Lu was able to have an almost normal life in Lanox, but travelling to a new town would involve a lot of paperwork, lies and many other tricks that Ciel wouldn't be able to pull off for a second time.
"What if… we stop?" Aisha suggested.
Lu looked at her for a moment. Half impressed over the fact that Aisha suggested it and half relieved that it wasn't her the one that would have to do so.
"You mean that we should break up?" Lu asked, just to confirm it. She saw tears forming on the mage eyes. Aisha quickly looked at her drink, avoiding any form of eye contact with Lu, since she knew it would make it impossible for her to say what she was going to say.
"Yes. I know you love me and of course I love you back but… We can't fix this, I don't know if any of our ideas might work and… I think it would be better to leave things as they are now. I mean, both of us are happy and I would like to remember our time together like this. If we try to keep this up, we may get in trouble and get angry with each other…"
Silence again.
"I don't want it!"
"Huh?"
Aisha was surprised. Lu suddenly stood up, hitting the table and knocking down the thankfully empty glasses.
"I don't want this!"
Although Lu was about to propose the idea herself, she couldn't stand it. After all they went through together, all that happened in just a year, to think that it all should end like this. She couldn't stand for it. There was no way she could break up with her right now. Without waiting for a response from Aisha, Lu already left the place.
The dorm was already dark. Not even the most intensive students were up now. Aisha walked the hallway in silence. After what happened today she felt scared off coming back home. She shouldn't have suggested that. Not that she had any other idea, but still. Dropping that bomb so blunty on her might have been a bit too much.
She opened the door to her room and found nobody inside. The lights were off, the bed was neatly prepared and everything else seemed untouched. Aisha walked down the hallway to Lu's room door. She tried entering, but the door was closed shut. She thought about knocking, but after a while, she just went back to sleep. She had an important exam after all tomorrow.
Aisha had a terrible night. She barely slept. When she arrived to the exam she was told to move into a different class, everything seemed to be going wrong with her last exam. She could barely keep her reddened eyes open when the last sheet of her exam was completed. She walked out of the building feeling her body pulling her to the ground. She was considering the idea of taking a nap right in the middle of the street when she felt something soft and warm kissing her cheek.
"Ai, how did your exam went?" Lu asked with a beaming smile. The mage had to rub her eyes to make sure she wasn't already sleeping.
"Fine."
Lu walked in front of her, prompting the mage to follow her back to the dorm. She wasn't sure what was her deal now. Maybe Lu accepted that idea overnight. Or maybe she was pretending like nothing happened. Whatever it was, Aisha couldn't wait more to find out. Once they were back in her room, she finally confronted Lu.
"Lu. About yesterday…" She started to say. She waited to judge Lu's reaction. She sat in the bed and looked back at Aisha.
"I told you I wouldn't allow it."
That childish statement wouldn't fix it thought. Aisha knew it right.
"I decided I'll be going with you,"
This was certainly a new idea. Not that they didn't talk about it before, but since they already discarded it long ago, the fact that they were considering it again was what made it interesting now.
"But, you won't be able to live there like you do here. People could find out you're a demon and…" Aisha started to say.
"I know. And I'm ready for it," Lu said. She stood up and walked next to Aisha, placing her hands on top of the mage's "Ai. I love you. Could I truly say that if I let some villagers scare me?"
"It won't be just villagers if they find out."
"I'll take the risk. For you, I'm ready to sneak, hide, lie, steal, trick and basically anything."
"Please don't do anything bad,"
Lu laughed. She held their hands closer to her chest.
"I'm abandoning my studies here to go with you. If you still want to have me, I'll be happy even if I have to live confined in your room."
"Not a great difference from what you do now," Aisha said with a timid laugh. Lu smiled at her.
Lu smiled at her. She closed her eyes, leaning towards her girlfriend to met with her lips. A soft and lovely kiss put an end to the discussion. And a second one reassured both of them that things could go well. It was scary, especially for Lu, but she was willing to take the risk. A third and final kiss just to make sure before they started packing.