"There is an opening in my schedule for the evening of the tenth. Seeing as you took me out on an excursion previously, I think it would only be fair to extend the offer to you, Dresden."
"...the tenth? You mean, this Saturday?"
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
"Well, yeah, actually. My Saturday evenings are booked for the foreseeable future, Lara. So you'll have to wine and dine me another day."
My name is Harry Dresden, and I was not enjoying the scrutinizing expression my fiancé, Lara Raith, was giving me for my refusal.
Pursing her absolutely gorgeous lips, she regarded me coldly. "You are referring to the social engagement you partake in with your allies on a weekly basis?"
It was a very Lara way of describing it, but not exactly inaccurate. "Hells bells, it's the only day I get to spend with my friends. Apart from game nights, all I have is quality time with the girls and with you." Realizing what I had just said, I quickly added, "Which is a blast, obviously, but I need some kind of social life to stop myself from turning into a hermit."
I spoke from experience. More than once, I'd lost contact with my humanity by holing up and diving into wizardly studies and isolation. It might not seem that way, considering how likable and charming I am, but I'm pretty introverted. It's hard to get me out of the house, unless the world is about to end. Weekly scheduled time with my buddies is the best way for me to get out of my shell.
Lara looked skeptical about the idea, but didn't push it further.
At least, not then, directly to my face. Two days later, I got a call on my landline from Butters. "How's tricks?"
"For kids, as usual," Butters replied, sounding...well, befuddled is probably the best way to put it. But more than usual. Which is saying something, when it comes to my tiny Knight friend. "Did you tell Lara Raith about our game night?"
It took me a second to remember the conversation, and I did my best to run through the talk in my head before saying, "Uh...no, actually. I mentioned it, but she already knew about it. Which isn't surprising. She's White Court, and especially now that we're betrothed or whatever I'm sure she knows my itinerary better than I do. Why?"
"Because she just called Andi and asked about joining us this week."
It was a good thing I kept a chair near the phone for situations like this. Head in one hand, I asked, "Like she wants to observe?" Anastacia had done that when we were dating, once. Said the game we were playing (a little homebrew Fate thing Butters had conjured up), was 'quaint and amusing' or something like that.
"No, man, she wants to join. Possibly permanently." Now I understood why Butters was so confused. After all, it wasn't often that a vampire queen asked to be in your Dungeons and Dragons game.
This wasn't how I'd expected her to react by the rebuff, but it'd probably be amusing. I told Butters everything would be fine. There's no way that Lara would attack anyone, not with the both of us in attendance.
Right after putting the receiver down, I dialed out the number to a burner phone. "Seriously."
"You do realize that among civilized beings, phone calls usually begin with 'Hello' or other polite greetings." There was amusement in Lara's tone, so I didn't worry that I'd actually offended her.
"Seriously, Lara? You called up Butters and asked to join our game?"
"No. From what I understand, the Knight is no longer running these games, so I went to Andi Macklin. While surprised, she was more than happy to invite me to her table." Lara was talking about this like it was a proper social event. Instead of, y'know, roleplaying around a table, rolling dice, eating pizza, and drinking horrible concoctions to keep ourselves awake as long as possible. Nerd shit.
I took a deep breath and said, "Listen, Lara, I get you don't want to admit defeat to my social life or some horseshit like that, but I don't think you realize what you're getting into here. It's not your scene."
Of all things, I didn't expect Lara to laugh at me for that. Like everything else about her, it was refined and precise, like she'd bought it at an aunction for ten thousand dollars. When she actually spoke up, her tone was more than a little frosty. "The game is using Fifth Edition Dungeons and Dragons for the system, taking place in the Eberron campaign setting, and I will be making a ninth level character."
"Uh...yeah. That's all correct." I was a bit befuddled that she knew half of those words.
"My only question is exactly what the expectation is regarding dress. From what I understand, games such as this are meant to be fairly casual, but I would prefer to know to what extent."
It was hard to bite my lip, and not snark at her for analyzing the dress code of friends hanging out. "It's like...maximum casual. Some of us literally wear pajamas. Emphasis is on comfort, not looking good." Of course, telling Lara she didn't have to look good was like telling Brandon Sanderson he didn't have to write. It isn't really a choice for her. It's just who Lara is.
"Understood. Should I meet you at your apartment, so we can arrive together?" I wasn't sure if I was imagining it, but it almost sounded like Lara was looking forward to this.
Unable to think of a reason that wouldn't work, I told her, "Yeah, sounds good to me."
It was later that day that an old regular of mine threw a case in my lap, a simple lost item that ended up eating through my week like Mouse chomping through kibble.
It was Saturday before I knew it, and I'd gotten ready to go, dressed in a Spider-Man t-shirt and workout shorts. Maggie was holding onto Mouse and Bonnie while preparing herself for the drive over. I used to try bringing in babysitters for them, but that had...mixed results. Taking them with me worked a lot better.
There was a knock on the door, and I opened it to find Lara, gorgeous as ever, but in a way I'd never seen before.
She'd taken my words to heart, and was wearing a simple tank top, a light cardigan, and honest-to-goodness pajama pants with cartoon wolves on them. It wasn't just her clothes, either. She had her hair done up in a loose bun, and she was wearing glasses. I knew that, with her demon, there was no way she actually needed them, but they definitely completed the nerd girl look, which was perfected by the character sheet and set of dice under one arm.
Of course, this was still Lara Raith. She didn't look like a D&D geek ready to go roll some dice. She looked like an actress in a movie playing that role. The total cost of her outfit could be as low as twenty bucks, but with Lara wearing it, the ensemble was red carpet worthy.
I realized I'd just been looking at her when Maggie started tugging on my arm. Lara was smiling at me in the same way I might grin at the thought of dinner. "I'm happy to see you approve."
"Duh, I have eyes." I tried to sound annoyed, and not show her how much I did like the look on her. Sure, she would know anyway, but I didn't want to give her the satisfaction.
"Dad, that's rude," Maggie told me seriously, with her sister agreeing.
In fact, my daughters chimed in on me any time I was anything less than a perfect gentleman to Lara, which she seemed to find incredibly amusing. At least it helped me avoid thinking about how close Lara was leaning over in the car, without quite ever touching me.
When we reached our destination, Billy met us at the door, making pleasant small talk with my kids but only giving Lara a brief look. I knew what that meant as well as Lara did: threat assessment, from one predator to another. Lara bared it without acknowledging it.
Pizza was already there, and before long we were all sitting at the table and ready to play, Andi mostly hidden behind her Dungeon Master's screen. I'd never say it to Butters, but Andi was a much better DM than him. It probably says something bad about me that her skill took me by complete surprise.
Lara hadn't let me look at her sheet, and had dodged any attempts to probe her for information as to what her character was like, so I just tried to settle into the game, Lara seated directly to my right, as the game began where we'd left off the week before.
I've come a long way since the Alpha's first introduced me to the glory that is roleplaying games. Back then, I stuck with simple characters that were easy to play and had close to no backstory or personality. I was there for fun and to turn my brain off.
We were all a bit murder hobo-y back then, honestly. But times changed, new people stepped in when...well, when those who'd been sitting there before died. And the way we played changed.
For the current game, I went back to running a barbarian, but this one had an actual backstory. Kylear used to be a soldier of the elvish Valenar, before being betrayed by his people and becoming a mercenary. Didn't have to say much, but there'd been moments when my gruff character got to show everyone he too had emotions.
The session started in the middle of escaping the Mournland, which had been a fucking nightmare to get through for the quest reward we'd been after. Lara's character wouldn't be introduced until we got back to Breland, however long that took. Lara watched up play, seemingly invested in the action of it.
In-between using my bonus action to rage and making comments about my character's ancestors, I started to wonder exactly what kind of character Lara would play. Class-wise, I couldn't imagine her picking anything except a clever rogue or an ambitious warlock, something that walked the line between anti-hero and hero in name only.
Which was why I was surprised by what happened a quarter of the way through the session.
Out of the cursed remnants of a once great kingdom, our party was soon accosted on the road by a rider on a horse...and Andi asked Lara, "Alright Lara, can you describe your character for us?"
"She's human, with sharp angular features and a light peppering of freckles on her cheeks. Her long auburn hair is pulled into a tight ponytail, and she is wearing plate armor, with several weapons and a shield hanging on her saddle. It's clear from the symbols on her armor that she is a member of the Church of the Silver Flame, and-"
"Wait, the Silver Flame?" I cut in. "Don't tell me you're playing a paladin."
Lara gave me a challenging stare, her lips curling into a smile that made me think about things that were generally avoided at the game table. Generally. "Yes, with several levels of cleric. Now, is it okay if I continue introducing my character?" I nodded, and a quick look around the table showed I wasn't the only one surprised by the choice from Lara. However, Andi seemed excited for this to continue.
It soon became clear why that was: Lara's character, Lycia of the holy order of who cares, was the next plot hook, here to safely ensure the macguffin who nabbed got to the people we were supposed to deliver it to, while also being a vehicle for Andi to introduce the next major goal.
More than that, Lycia was a self-righteous know-it-all who thought she knew how to deal with every issue better than the people actually facing them. The worst part was that she did it with such genuine interest and a clear desire to help that it was hard to fault her. Lycia was a good person, a noble one, trying to make the shitty world they all lived in a better place. Even my asshole of a character had to admit to Butter's wizard that he actually was grateful for her presence, even if Kylear and Lycia got on like oil and water.
As the session moved along, I was surprised by how well Lara did with the roleplay. She was great at keeping in-character, and despite it being her first time gaming with us, she was able to feel out the rhythm to things enough to avoid talking over anyone else or stubbing anyone's proverbial toes.
The start of combat at the end of the session, from a group of highwaymen, proved she'd built a damn good character too. I'd been a bit surprised at combining those two classes, but they meshed perfectly. We paused the fight at one in the morning, Maggie snoring in the next room, as we hit a dramatic enough event to cliffhanger until next time.
While I got the girls ready, Lara talked with my friends, who were a lot more relaxed around her now. We left, and I didn't say anything for a while as I started driving us back.
At a stop light, I looked over and saw what felt like an unguarded expression from Lara. She didn't look like a dastardly plan had just gone off without a hitch, or bored, or anything villainy at all. She just seemed...content. Mundanely happy.
Of course, this was Lara Raith, master manipulator. I always have to keep in mind that my interpretations are not always going to be right, especially since they're going to be tampered with by the stupid id part of my brain that wanted to jump her.
Still, I thought it was a good idea to break the ice. "That was...really fun."
"It was pleasant." I waited for her to say more, but she didn't take the bait.
Not willing to take the silence that had already begun to stretch again, I tried to continue. "You surprised me. That character has actual meat to her, and it's clear you worked hard on her."
There was the barest hint of a nod at that. "Andi assisted me with finding something that would suit the party composition, as well as telling me relevant information about what had happened in the game thus far."
"She's good about that, always ready to help a new player." I paused. "You...are a new player, right?" Considering her age, it wouldn't be impossible for her to have been in the hobby since the game was first made. Improbable, but not impossible.
"I am, but Thomas has told me enough about his World of Darkness games that I had an idea of concepts involved beforehand."
"I thought he just did that one LARP, on his birthday."
She raised an eyebrow at that. "No, that was just the start. He does mostly stick to playing pen and paper, though. The incident with the Black Court Vampires dampened his enthusiasm for the alternative."
We were getting closer to the apartment, but I had one other question I had to throw out to her. "Your character isn't what I expected."
"Oh?" Lara smiled at me in that way that felt half-mocking, half-genuine. "Were you expecting something more like...me?" Not knowing what else to do, I nodded. "Harry, from what I understand about these games, they're meant to be a way to be someone other than ourselves. Isn't that the point?" There was a strange twinge to her tone in that last question, an emotion I couldn't read.
Feeling like a bit of an idiot, I agreed. "Yeah, I guess. I don't play a spellcaster partially because I like something simpler, and partially because I can't stop myself from nitpicking the magic systems in these games." Seriously, I can rant about the Fireball spell for an hour if I'm not stopped.
I parked the car, and Mouse helped me carry my daughters through the complex to our home. Or rather, the fake apartment I would use a quick Way through to get to our home. "It is interesting, being able to set everything aside and be someone else for an evening. I look forward to what happens next."
Before long we were in my living room, and when it looked like Lara was about to leave, I asked her, "Think you could hang back for a second? I want to ask you something after the kids are in their room." She accepted that without a word, leaving me to guide Mouse to Maggie's room.
While I tucked one daughter into her bed and placed the other on her shelf, I thought about something. Sure, people like playing characters that are different from them, but I'd heard Butters talk about the grain of truth in every one of them. The idea that these constructs we make still reflect us, just not in obvious ways.
I might not be an elf who's good at raging, or a mercenary for that matter, but...I kind of was betrayed by my people. In a way. I was angry about it. You could say that playing Kylear was a way to work through that anger, a little.
What did Lycia say about Lara?
The girls taken care of, I stood in front of Lara again, probably looking as awkward as I felt. There was no way I was going to ask this, was I?
"You asked me to wait, Harry? You do realize my time is valuable." She said it with a smile that was warmer than usual. I couldn't keep my eyes off her lips.
"I'm sure you've got plenty of enemy spies waiting in death traps." The gibe came out a little weakly. It took everything I had not to shuffle my feet. "I was just thinking, maybe..."
"Yes?" she asked, her voice filled with as much hunger as it was with hope.
That was what made the decision for me. "...we could do something, maybe between now and next Saturday. If you can fit it into your busy schedule." I dropped the idea. I was being an idiot. Letting my baser urges call the shots with Lara would get me killed.
I tried not to listen to the part of me that wondered if my interest in spending the night with Lara wasn't based entirely in lust.
Without a hint of disappointment, Lara told me, "I'll let you know." She gave me a nod, and left.
Lying in bed that night, I drifted off to sleep trying to tell myself I'd made the right call.