Thankfully, Ais was a morning person. She was used to waking up early for her training regimens and took pride in her ability to get herself out the door when needed. Thank God for that skill today, though. Due to her activities last night, she felt much more tired than usual. Which meant that it took all her discipline to roll out of Bell's bed and get ready for their trip. She spared only a single look back to the warm bed she had just left. The sight of Bell's peaceful sleeping face was a great temptation to her, and she almost gave in. But then she heard Riveria scolding her in her head, so she trudged off to the shower.

As she did that, she heard the rest of the apartment wake up. Ever since that games night a few months ago, the blonde had familiarised herself with everyone else's routines. That way, when she stayed the night, she knew what to avoid. First awake was always Lili, who liked to get the coffee machine running and check out the morning news. She was the most organized member of this little family. Next would be Bell, who was raised to rise early just like his girlfriend. He would usually get started on breakfast, while also checking his emails. He was mostly making sure the museum didn't need him for something. Then there would be Welf, crashing from his bed to the ground. He would check for messages from the auto shop. If Hephaestus had stayed the night with him, the two would discuss work. It was their version of flirting, apparently. Because of what was happening during the long-weekend, Hephaestus had, in fact, stayed the night.

Finally, there was Hestia. The little makeshift family took turns dragging her out of bed. Maybe the young woman should have woken herself up, but they forgave her. After all, Hestia was often the last person to go to bed. Her job as a social worker meant that she was almost always on call to deal with delicate situations and problems that may arise. If children needed help, she was the first to go and do so. But that also meant she slept maybe four hours a night if she was lucky. So, the apartment had agreed to only wake her up when it was absolutely needed.

A knock on the bathroom door told Ais that her time in the shower was up. She finished washing her hair before stepping out and wrapping a towel around herself. She had only just finished when Lili came barging in. The tiny girl didn't look over in Ais's direction, instead just going to brush her teeth and go through her morning routine. In the beginning, the presence of other people made Ais nervous when she was just getting out of the shower. However, Lili cared so little about other people that it became a non-issue most of the time. Welf didn't dare come inside, not wishing to risk Hephaestus's wrath, and Hestia was polite enough not to intrude. And Ais would never care if it was Bell barging in. Heck, he could join her in the shower, and she'd be ok with it.

"When are we leaving again?" asked Ais.

Lili gargled her toothpaste. She spat it out and looked over at Ais, careful to look at her face. She held her toothbrush lightly in one hand.

"One hour," she replied. "Mikoto and Haruhime have the van and are getting our breakfast to go."

Ais nodded. She put on her travelling clothes before hurrying back to Bell's room. She found him missing from the bed, but she didn't say anything. He was probably out in the kitchen. Even if they were getting breakfast to go, Bell would probably be putting together snacks for everyone on the road. So, the blond slipped on her glasses (it was way too early for contacts) and tied up her hair in a ponytail. She walked out to find the others slowly putting themselves together. Even Hestia was awake. The little ravenette frowned again at Ais.

"Are you sure you don't want to invite one of your friends? It's ok by the rest of us," she said for the tenth time. "I can call Loki."

Ais shook her head. She loved all her friends, dearly, but they were…difficult at first meetings. Bell's first meeting had not gone over well, especially with Riveria and Bete. Riveria was understandable; she was like a mom to Ais…or maybe an aunt? But Bete was just an absolute asshole who was still getting over Ais. So, she didn't want to take another risk and invite them to this weeklong vacation to the Crozzo Family cabin. The only one she thought would be ok, her best friend Lefiya, was spending time with her new mysterious girlfriend, Filvis.

Ais tilted her head. "Aren't you and Loki fighting?"

Hestia waved a hand. "It's fine; I'd push it aside and deal with it."

The blonde smiled at the woman's kindness. Hestia meant the absolute world to Bell, so Ais always made a point to stay on her good side. To hear this little family's caretaker be willing to do so much for her, made Ais's heart melt.

Before the conversation could continue, but after the rest of group gathered, a loud honking sound came from outside. Bell rushed over to the window and poked his head out. He must have seen something that made him happy, because he waved out the window. Ais walked forward to grab his shirt and make sure he didn't fall onto the sidewalk. When he fell back inside, he turned towards the others. He had a huge smile on his face.

"Ryuu and Syr are here!"

Everyone, that being Lili, Welf, Hestia, Hephaistos, Ais, and Bell, grabbed their luggage and slowly made their way downstairs. Waiting outside was Syr in her Prius, happily hitting the horn in greeting. This caught the ire of their neighbours unfortunately, who had some not so kind words to say to her. Without missing a beat, she girl with silver hair flipped them off. The whole time she bore an absolutely criminal grin.

Next to her had to be Ryuu, who Ais had not met yet. The girl had a kind of light green hair that was cut to sit just above her neck. She was covering her sky-blue eyes with her hands and seemed like she was trying to melt into her seat.

"I'm sorry," she whispered on repeat.

"You're Ryuu?" asked Ais. She blinked once. "Bell's ex-girlfriend?"

That certainly got everyone to quiet down. Now Bell looked like he wanted to melt into a puddle, Ryuu seemed happy to just explode, and Syr was silently holding in the giggles.

"That's right!" said the silver-haired girl. "They were all love-struck but broke up over…." She paused before waving her hands. "I don't know, some nonsense or another. But they're still good friends!" She gave two thumbs up. "Now, if you're the new girlfriend, you absolutely must ride with me and Ryuu to the cottage! The four of us can chat and get to know each other!"

Ryuu turned her head, like she wanted to protest, but Ais was already putting her luggage in the trunk. She was curious about the young woman in front of her, who was Bell's first love apparently. When she closed the trunk, Ais quickly hopped into the backseat. She looked out the window at Bell and frowned.

"Aren't you coming?" she asked.

Bell sighed before following his girlfriend into the car. As he packed his luggage, Haruhime and Mikoto rolled up in their minivan. Haruhime poked her golden blonde head out and smiled. She seemed entirely too cheerful for an early morning.

"Hello everyone! We have bagels!"

She passed out bagels to everyone, along with coffee and hashbrowns, and soon they were all on their way. Welf's family cottage was a couple hours outside the city, so it gave everyone a lot of time to chat. Ais, Bell, Ryuu, and Syr talked about their shared histories. Ais learned about what Bell was like before she had met him, and everything she heard made her smile. At some point, the early morning had caught up with him, though, so his head fell on her shoulder. Practically vibrating in her seat, the young woman was careful not to wake him. Syr, who had swapped places so Ryuu was driving, looked back fondly.

"I'm happy he looks so peaceful," she said. "It hasn't always been easy for him. First his parents, then his Aunt Alfia, and then there was Artemis…." Her faced turned melancholic for only a second, but then the joy returned to it. "Nice to see that his predictability is still there, though."

Ais frowned. "Predictability? What do you mean?"

Syr giggled into her hand before speaking.

"Bell has a thing for blondes. There was Haruhime, Ryuu, and now you!"

That made Ais stop and blink. She felt her mouth fall open.

"But…but…Haruhime and Mikoto are so in love…weren't they always like that?" asked Ais. "I mean…did Bell and Haruhime really date, or fall in love?"

"It was less love and more circumstances," answered Ryuu, speaking for the first time in an hour. "They were both going through a rough time, and it led to a relationship that wasn't exactly happy." She shrugged. "They are both happy now, and they are both still friends." Ais saw the driver make eye contact in the rear-view mirror. "But still best not to bring it up. Mikoto can still be self-conscious about it…and so can Haruhime."

Ais responded with a perfunctory nod.

The rest of the drive proceeded quietly. Ais watched the scenery go by, making idle chatter with Syr. Meanwhile, Syr was doing her best to be as affectionate as possible with Ryuu. She eventually persuaded the light green-haired girl to hold her hand over the driver's console.

After a long morning, they had finally arrived at their destination. Ais took in the Crozzo Family Cottage in all its glory. It was at least two stories high, with great big windows. In between the windows were massive logs of oak. Underneath was some kind of stone foundation, obviously part of some kind of basement. Leading out from the basement was a path down to a small lake. From what Ais understood, while the Crozzo's did not own the lake, they were one of the few houses around. It was like their own piece of paradise.

"It's gorgeous," said Ais.

Bell lifted his head. "You're right, it is. I always seem to forget every time I come here."

Ais pressed her lips to the crown of his head.

"Did you have a nice nap?" she asked.

Bell nodded. "Ryuu, you can park in front. Me and Ais can get all the stuff out and you and Syr can head to the garage."

Ryuu nodded along. When they pulled in, Ais and Bell were quick to hop out and pop open the truck. They chucked out the quartet's clothing bags and then slowly brought out the food they had bought. As they unloaded, the other car rolled up. Hestia was the one driving, with Hephaistos sitting next to her. Mikoto and Haruhime both hopped out and started doing the same as Ais and Bell.

Ais watched the women interact, and how they interacted with Bell. She saw it then, the slight hesitation in how Haruhime and Bell talked. The way that Mikoto seemed to watch them in silence, frowning ever so slightly. But then they all still seemed to be happy. Haruhime happily kissed the top of Mikoto's nose, many times, and Mikoto and Bell joked together constantly. Internally, all Ais could do was shrug. It's not like her friend group was any less complicated.

That evening, Mikoto, Ryuu, and Haruhime cooked dinner. Syr offered to help, but everyone said it was best she sat to the side. That made her pout, but a peck on her cheek from Ryuu seemed to placate her. When it was done, the group sat down for dinner. Hephaistos talked the most, telling embarrassing stories about Welf and the things he had done in this very cottage.

"My God how long are you going to go?" asked Welf in mock outrage.

Hephaistos leaned on her hand, looking him in the eye.

"Gonna have to shut me up yourself," she replied.

Welf kissed her then. It was not a short kiss either. Soon the whole table was whooping or booing them. All of it was done in fun, though. It was nothing more than a jovial weekend. And as the first night wore on, people split off to do their own activities. Eventually, Ais ended up sitting in front of the fire pit with Ryuu, Haruhime, and Mikoto. Everyone else was doing a little night swimming.

"You didn't want to go swimming?" asked Ryuu to the couple.

Haruhime rolled her eyes. "I would have been perfectly happy with Mikoto going while I stayed here, but she insisted on staying with me."

The blonde was sitting in the dark-haired girl's lap. So, it was easy for Mikoto to lean forward and nestle her head on Haruhime's shoulder.

"I bought a new bikini, just for you, and you are going to be the first person to see and experience it," replied Mikoto. "I'm not going to wear it for the first time until you're in the water with me."

Haruhime sighed. "You're always so serious. Every action you take, I know you've planned and thought about ahead of time." She looked over at Ryuu. "And I'm pretty sure that's cause of you."

Mikoto pouted, but Haruhime ruffled her hair before she could retort.

"No need to worry, it's one of the things I love most about you," she said. She then looked Mikoto up and down. "That and that your body is fucking incredible."

"Haruhime!"

She giggled into her hand. "Oh dear, it appears I have had too much wine to drink!"

The young blonde woman proceeded to finish her cup. She then got up to get another one. At the same time, she grabbed Mikoto's empty cup to do the same.

"So, why aren't you swimming, Ais?" asked Ryuu.

Ais looked away.

"Can't swim."

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear that," said Ryuu.

Ais pouted. "I can't swim."

Mikoto blinked. "You can't swim?"

Ais shook her head. "I'm too scared."

The other girls just nodded. They sat quietly, listening to the fizzing and popping of the fire. Ais was happy for it, because it felt so natural. Both of these girls were like her, naturally quiet and only speaking when they felt like it. It made her feel comfortable. Slowly, she drew her legs up onto the deck she was sitting on. She tucked her knees under her head. The only other sound was that of the others in the water, splashing about.

"What would you do if you won the lottery tomorrow?" asked Mikoto. "Just, what would you do if you suddenly had $100 million sitting in your bank account?"

Ryuu looked over, eyebrow arched, but said nothing. Ais mulled the thought over in her head before she spoke.

"Research for diseases," she said slowly. Images of a woman that looked like her strapped to a hospital bed flitted through her mind. "And support for veterans."

"All of it?" asked Mikoto.

Ais almost nodded. Then, she stopped. She reconsidered everything and shook her head.

"Would make a book," she replied. "A children's book for little girls."

Mikoto and Ryuu waited to see if she would continue. When she didn't, Mikoto looked over curiously at her apparent role model. She asked for nothing, though.

"A woman's shelter," said Ryuu. "As many as I could open and run, for as long as I could. I'd offer self-defence classes to." She looked up to the stars, her next words a whisper. "I think that would have made them happy."

The fire crackled and popped. Both blondes slowly turned their gaze to the one that had asked the question in the first place.

"I would open an orphanage," replied Mikoto to her question. "I would use it to teach life skills and give kids the resources they needed to take care of themselves when they aged out." She frowned. "And I'd try to find a way to help them when they aged out to."

The girls let the words drift out into the night. In answer, the call of a loon echoed through the trees. Ais breathed out through her nose, holding the silence in her mind like it was something precious. But as if it was a dream, she was coaxed out of it by the return of Haruhime. The blonde carried two glasses of wine, and happily returned to her throne on Mikoto's lap. By the way she sat and how she carried herself, she looked like a queen to Ais.

As if understanding the peaceful agreement, Haruhime said nothing as she gave her girlfriend her glass. She just allowed herself to be loved and cuddled. Absentmindedly, Mikoto reached up to run her fingers through Haruhime's hair.

"When do you think the others will be done?" asked Mikoto.

Ais smiled. "Soon, its starting to get cold and Bell is horrible with that."

Ryuu snorted. "You can say that again." She looked over, smirking. "Does he still hog the blankets."

Ais pouted. "He does, and he presses his cold body against mine to steal my body heat."

Mikoto rolled her eyes. "I sympathise with you, I truly do." She used her body to try and gesture to her girlfriend. "This one carries around about five different blankets to try and stay warm. And her body still feels like its covered in ice."

Haruhime swatted at Mikoto with her free hand. "Well, then you can just sleep on your own. I'll go find somewhere for me and all my blankets."

Mikoto smiled and leaned in close.

"Like I'd let you get away," she whispered. "Do you want to know what I plan on doing tonight?"

Then her voice dropped to a level that Ais and Ryuu couldn't hear. All they saw was Haruhime's reaction as her face got red and her eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets. When Mikoto was done, Haruhime stood up and bid them all goodnight. Mikoto followed. The two were practically skipping back into the house.

Ryuu took a sip of her beer.

"I imagine we should wait outside for a while, till the noise dies down," she said. "I hope the others like standing outside while being sopping wet."