Velvet wasn't really thinking about anything in particular, just moving on instinct. She hailed for a cab as soon as she hit the street, taking whatever came along even as some other guy tried to climb in the back seat. Without missing a beat she shoved him out of the way, climbed inside, and shut the door behind her.

She gave the driver an address that was not the apartment, and he looked back at her through small separating window. "Nasty part of town. You sure that's where a pretty gal like you is trying to head, this time of night?"

"Did I fucking stutter?" She shut the window, realizing only after she'd buckled up that she had just acted like kind of an asshole to someone she didn't even know. Cracking the window open just slightly, she cleared her throat. "Um, sorry... You don't even have to stop at the address, I'll just pass you a 100% tip and tuck and roll out the door."

To her surprise, the guy gave a hearty laugh. "You got guts, kid. I'll get ya there safe and sound."

Settling into her seat, Velvet fired off a text to her friends. Her other friends.


Velvet lay stretched out in the middle of Roku and Eizen's living room as the two sat on the couch, bewildered. She did her best to recount the events of the evening.

"Not gonna lie, I feel like we're still missing some important details here." Rokurou sighed, brushing some hair away from his face, his scars coming into view for a moment. "Don't get me wrong, it's not exactly the shocker of the century that Mags would kiss you. But I thought you said she was flirting with Eleanor mostly."

Velvet sat up with a groan, leaning back against a nearby chair. "Well, on the one hand, it was probably just her trying to get a rise out of the poor thing. But then again, Maggie is exactly the kind of person who would 'jokingly' flirt with a girl to hide the fact that she was actually flirting with her." As the night replayed itself in her head for the umpteenth time, she growled softly. "But that's beside the point! I mean, for all I know, she was planning this for years. What if all that time I was going out with Niko, she was just waiting and hoping we'd break up so she could get with me? Like, how shitty, right?"

Eizen held up his hand, face as calm as ever. "Velvet. Take a breath. Did Maggie ever once try to split the two of you up? Give you bad advice? Anything like that?"

"...no," she sighed. As always, Eizen was a little too smart. "No, if anything, she was always pretty damn supportive."

"You're telling me that Maggie – Maggie Lou Mayvin – was patient enough to let years go by, supporting you and Niko, and only made a move after you were single. And you're mad at her?" Roku looked at her intently, the sarcastic tone only providing a thin disguise for his legitimate confusion.

There was a muffled buzzing sound interrupting the conversation. Eizen reached into his pocket and retrieved his phone, checking the screen with a light chuckle. "Speak of the devil." He put the device to his ear. "Yeah? Yep. No worries, we'll pile in the Van Eltia and pop over soon. I look forward to it."

Velvet gave a pathetic groan as she scrubbed at her face with the heels of her palms. "I know we're all about honesty, but I really don't want to deal with my feelings. Can we just not? You can call them back, tell them I'm vomiting super hard, that I'll sleep off my hangover here. Right? It's that easy."

Rokurou and Eizen quickly glanced at each other, but Eizen soon broke out in another chuckle. "Yeah, uh, no. You know the rules. We face things head-on. So c'mon. Pick yourself up and let's get you home."


The Van Eltia was really just a fancy name for a junker car Eizen had inherited from an old friend. He wasn't the type of person to name a car, but Aifread was. So they kept the name around to honor him. It was the least anyone could do.

Velvet had hoped for a quiet ride back to the apartment, but it was not to be. Since Eleanor still hadn't met the others yet, they were just as curious as her. While Eizen drove, Rokurou would fire off random questions about the newest Lord of Calamity. "So she's really a pastor?"

"Studying to be one at any rate. Not... entirely sure she's going to make it that far though. She's got a lot of pent-up doubt, and a lot of issues to work through. Like any of us. Her being gay probably won't help matters any, either." She stared out the window, as much musing out loud as she was really answering his question.

Roku just laughed softly. "Sounds familiar." There was a beat before he spoke again. "You think maybe Mags kissed you because she couldn't work up the courage to kiss her instead?"

"At this point, I have literally no idea. Let's just... do this."

They drove the rest of the way in awkward silence. As the apartment drew closer, Velvet could feel her chest grow tighter. Had that kiss with Maggie really been something important? Or had it just been a drunken smooch between friends? How long had she wanted to do that for, hours or years? And what about Eleanor, did she have anything to do with this? The questions were too many, and they circled her mind like buzzards. She would have answers soon, but she wasn't particularly excited about that fact.

Once inside the apartment, it was almost immediately apparent just how awkward everything was. The air itself felt thick. That was broken almost as quick, however. Velvet's attention was initially caught by the sound of activity from the kitchen before being blindsided by a hug from Maggie. "Our lost lamb has returned to us!"

Velvet's face was burning as the embrace quickly brought back memories of their earlier kiss. She rushed to squirm her way out of Maggie's grip, dusting herself off. "I'm not a lost lamb, I literally just went to hang out with our friends..."

"Yeah, without telling us." Maggie pouted, crossing her arms.

From the kitchen, Eleanor's head appeared around the door. "Oh goodness, why do I always have such poor timing. I'm sorry, you guys, I should be saying hello but I've kinda got this whole hot cocoa thing going on. Would you like any?"

Eizen gave her a small wave. "No thanks, we're mostly just here to drop Velvet off. Don't worry, we'll find some time to properly annoy you another day."

Velvet looked toward him, eyes pleading, hoping that he and Rokurou might stick around just a few minutes longer. Anything to delay The Talk. But there was no mercy to be found in his eyes, and before she knew it, they were gone. Clearing her throat, Velvet looked toward the kitchen. "Um... I could... use some cocoa. Don't we still have some marshmallows lying around?"


There they all sat in the living room, mugs steaming, no one jumping at the chance to say anything. But Velvet knew she could endure a silence for as long as she liked. And Eleanor seemed just as capable. It was, ultimately, just a matter of time before Maggie cracked.

"Vel... Why did you run?"

And therein lay the problem with waiting for her to speak first. Because then she would ask the most obvious question. And at this point, there wasn't really anywhere else Velvet could run to. All she had left was honesty. "I liked it. And... that made me guilty."

That hung in the air a while. "I'm not certain I follow, darling." Her lips formed a pretty pout. No, a normal pout. Like she always did. Aggravating and dramatic.

"You should be thankful I went to the guys'. I was angry with you. Now I can't even remember why. Because stupid Eizen made me realize I'm angry with my stupid self. Because I'd been looking for an excuse to break up with Niko for a while now, and as soon as the opportunity presented itself, we split up. Not even a week goes by, a pretty girl kisses me, and it's my best friend, and it's so good. And more than anything, it just made me hate myself."

There was a pause, and then that pretty pout turned into a surprised smile. "Oh, Velvet~" Maggie giggled, sipping at her cocoa before setting the mug aside. "You're a goddamn idiot."

Velvet set her own mug down with a loud clatter. "Excuse me?"

Infuriatingly, Maggie just giggled again. "You're so dumb. Sometimes you just transform into this little ball of angst and rage with no direction. And it really is adorable. You gave Niko some amazing years, even after everything you went through. You never strayed from her, never cheated. And now, as a single woman, you would still rather feel that little knot in your chest from a simple kiss because... what? You didn't mourn long enough? Truly, you're a marvel."

Wishing to redirect this conversation somehow, Velvet cast a sidelong glance at their other roommate. "As delightful as our dear Eleanor is, I'm not entirely certain that this is really something she needs to be here for." In spite of what she thought was a fairly straightforward point, both Maggie and Eleanor suddenly looked at opposite corners of the room as though they were infinitely fascinating.

"And this is the part where I reveal that I, too, am kind of a huge idiot..." Maggie's face fell, and Velvet's curiosity was piqued enough that she nearly forgot her previous anger. "I really did just want to have a nice night out, at first. I actually had the chance to perform a set and I wanted my friends to see it. And I did great! And then we were drinking and... and Eleanor came out to us, so like duh, celebration time. And then we're all dancing and... Jesus, Vel, I don't know. I've always thought you were amazing, and Eleanor is amazing, and I'm just the best. So I figured the three of us together would be pretty much perfection." She sighed – not in her usual dramatic way, but something more earnest and sad. "So I'm like... okay, so make-outs need to happen. First I contemplated encouraging you two to kiss because that would just be super cute. Only that could easily backfire and leave me all alone. But I couldn't go and smooch Eleanor first because it might make you feel left out, and no one wants to be a third wheel so soon after a break-up. In the moment, kissing you seemed like the safest option. Because I completely forgot that you're an idiot who's too busy hating herself to just accept that something nice is happening for once."

The silence returned for a moment or two, but it was just as quickly shattered by loud laughter. From Velvet. Eleanor soon joined in, and it wasn't long until all three of them were nearly cackling. The laughter went on for a good long while until Velvet's stomach was aching. "Ha... Um, Eleanor, wh-what about you? You've been pretty quiet about this entire thing."

She messed around with her mug in silent contemplation for a while. "I think... I'd like to maybe sleep on all this for an evening? I'm feeling rather... overwhelmed."

Surprisingly gentle, Maggie moved over to her as they both stood up, kissing the top of her head. "Sleep well, Nora. We'll chat it up tomorrow. No worry, no hurry." She turned to Velvet with a wave and a bashful smile. "Night, Vel. Sweet dreams."

After they had both gone to their rooms, Velvet took her time cleaning up their mugs and the traces of Eleanor's cooking from the kitchen. It was only after she glanced out the window over the sink, and saw her reflection, that she realized she was practically beaming. "Maybe I really am an idiot..."