Gravity of the Situation

There were many more "next times."

The actual next time was another study date. As promised, Fuu offered tea and cookies but skipped the magic - which was fine, Olette thought. The gesture was magic enough.

Slowly, they made a pattern: every couple of weeks they'd find a gap in their friends' schedules where they were less likely to be missed. The logic was simple: learning that they were dating would give Hayner and Seifer matching metaphorical aneurysms, which - knowing them - would lead to all kinds of drama. Everyone else - Pence, Rai, Roxas, Xion, Lea and Isa when they visited, and their friends from the Destiny Islands - were "security risks," so to speak.

"Do you ever think we're a little too serious about... about this?" Olette asked one day as they took a break, gesturing to the room they met in every time. Her head rested on Fuu's lap while Fuu twirled a finger in her long, brown hair.

Fuu shook her head. If anything, they could have been a little more serious in her opinion. "Deep stealth," she said.

Olette laughed. Fuu had a reputation for being efficient with words, but she was starting to notice when she said things to sound cool and mysterious. She wondered if their secret relationship served a similar purpose for Fuu: if things were out in the open, would dating be as exciting?

"I hope you're not going to dump me after you get your grades up," she said, joking: Fuu had long since caught up on all her classes. "I just think it would be nice if we did something new together. I don't know - a casual struggle match?"

Fuu's eyes gleamed, and Olette could just see the wheels in her head turning. She opened her mouth to deliver what Olette was sure would have been a spicy double entendre, but Olette held up a finger to cut her off.

"I mean the sport," she said. "With plastic bats. Outside."

Fuu snapped her fingers and frowned. She'd really been excited to make a pun on "struggling." Avoiding Olette's gaze, she thought for a minute. Olette waited, staring up at her girlfriend expectantly. Finally, some part of Fuu seemed to relax - or resign.

"Okay," she said, sighing deeply. "Compromise."

The plan was to arrive separately at a small sporting goods store at Sunset Terrace. Olette wasn't quite clear what the compromise was supposed to be, but she liked where things were headed so far. She wore a large chocobo-yellow puffer jacket that belonged to her dad and tucked her hair into an orange beanie. it wasn't until she stepped onto the tram that she realized how suspicious she looked - or how warm the day actually was - but by then it was too late to turn back. Bracing herself, she watched the scenery roll by as she headed towards the shopping district.

When she got there, she discovered that Fuu had made it to the store first. She stood a little behind the front checkout, pretending to examine a set of roller skates with a tonberry motif. Her eyes widened when Olette stepped in.

"Smooth," she mouthed, looking oddly mortified.

"Sorry!" Olette mouthed back, ducking her head into her collar.

Fuu flicked her eyes to the back of the store, where the struggle bats were kept. "Hayner. Roxas."

Olette felt the blood drain from her face. "What?"

She didn't have to look over there to hear them talking loudly. Sure enough, two of her three best friends were in the back of the store. Little beads of sweat dotted her forehead. Her feet felt like lead weights trapping her in the doorway until the shopkeeper asked, "Hey Miss, you gonna rob the place or are you here to buy something?"

"N-NO!" she squeaked, hitting a pitch she didn't know she could reach without shrinking. Fuu winced, looking dismayed. Then she caught herself and lowered her voice. "I'm here to look at, uh, blitzball equipment. Do you have any?"

The shopkeeper was a large man with a thick mustache, a nose like a tomato, and forearms as thick as her waist. He looked gruff, but not necessarily unfriendly. Raising an eyebrow, he gave her a look like she'd stepped out of a portal of swirling darkness that connected to another world - exactly the kind of thing she wished she could disappear into at the moment. Blitzball was popular- second only to struggle matches. Any sporting goods store worth its salt would have blitzball equipment. By that alone she could tell he seriously doubted her story.

Over his shoulder, Fuu slapped her forehead and ducked behind a shelf to stay out of Hayner's line of sight while she crossed her arms in front of herself repeatedly. "ABORT! ABORT!" she yelled silently. But Olette couldn't abort their mission now. The shop was small enough that she was sure Hayner knew she was there, but didn't recognize her yet. Leaving would only pique his interest, like running from a dog.

The shopkeeper shrugged. If she did try to shoplift, she'd be in for a fight. "Yup. Blitzballs're in the back, right there next to the struggle bats."

Crap, thought Olette. "Th-thank you," she said, and shuffled out of the front entrance. It was like her legs had a mind of their own: Check out the blitzballs, they said. Wait for Hayner to go away, they said. Don't be suspicious. Too late, she thought. Meanwhile, Fuu stalked her like a hunting courel, careful to stay hidden. The look in her eye was clear: she didn't have a clue what Olette was doing, and wished she would stop. Unfortunately, Olette didn't have a clue what she herself was doing either and had come to the conclusion that stopping would be a bad idea.

Her plan - such as it was - had been to pretend to look at the blitzballs, but therein was the flaw: she'd never actually really looked at a blitzball before. There were the normal blue-and white patterned ones, but a couple "high-end" models seemed to be made out of layered strips of leather or fused bands of metal. One, called the "Double Header", was made of ornate red and gold metal with two short spikes extending from opposite ends. It was easy to get lost in the wide array of specs and buzzwords on the back of each package. People actually play with these? she thought. She chose one of the ones she was used to, which a helpful display placard called a "Sleeper", and listened for the boys to leave.

"... this one's got no magic power whatsoever. That's fine for me 'cuz I don't know any, but you might have some more fun with this," Hayner said to Roxas.

Roxas laughed. Olette had the feeling they'd been talking about this earlier. "The first one's fine. I can cast Fira - big deal! It's not like I'm going to be using magic during a struggle match."

"Ugh. Not with that attitude you're not. Some guys in the big leagues - it's like they cast spells with every swing!" Olette heard the whoosh of Hayner's bat as he swung it for emphasis. "Your lack of imagination is kneecapping your potential," Hayner said, the amusement in his voice ringing clear, "I care about your future, Roxas!"

Roxas let out a pained groan. "If I had one munny for every time I heard that, I'd have, like three."

"Ha! Sounds like I joined a secret fan club. Go me!"

"I wouldn't call it that..." Roxas said, trailing off. "So, tell me more about this one - the Sage's Staff."

"Woah. No, no, no - you're not getting off that easy. Don't tell me someone's been messing with-" Olette sighed. Hayner was a loyal friend, but he was also horrible at letting things go.

The bitterness in Roxas' voice was palpable. "It's... something someone said to me a couple times when I worked for the Organization."

"Oh. That. That's, uh, that's heavy..." Hayner fell silent.

Olette's heart sank for Roxas. Since coming to live - actually live - in Twilight Town, he, Lea, Isa, and Xion stayed quiet about their time in Organization XIII. There was the story they liked to tell: how their friendship helped them get their hearts back, but Olette sometimes heard another story lurking underneath. She remembered one day when Hayner excitedly shared how he'd learned Lea used to be a badass assassin for the Organization. Recalling the time that Axel invaded their hangout spot to kidnap Kairi, Olette didn't doubt it. Sometimes she wondered if Roxas had been a "fixer" for the Organization, too...

Roxas sighed. Olette fought the urge to spin around and hug him. Turning the blitzball over, she cursed her decision to wear a disguise. You could have just pretended to show up alone, she chided herself. There's no rule that says you can't be interested in sports, dummy!

"You know what?" Hayner asked. "Forget the Organization. You deserve a real fan club, and I'm gonna build one for you right here, right now, today."

Olette could almost imagine Roxas waving Hayner off. "You really don't have to do that. What does that even mean?"

Hayner didn't seem to hear him, which became obvious when Olette felt his hand clap down on her shoulder. "This," he said. She yelped as he spun her around in one quick motion. "Hey, buddy! Do you know my pal Roxas? You should meet Roxas. He's awesome. He actually helped save the whole-"

Roxas, maybe stepping in to apologize for Hayner, glanced at her face. He froze and cocked his head.

"Olette?"

"Olette?" Hayner repeated, then turned to look. "Whoa! It is Olette! Hey! What are you doing he-?"

A small explosion of magic erupted on impact as the Sleeper made contact with Hayner's face. Olette caught it on the rebound and flung it at Roxas next. His eyes widened, but it was too fast and too close for him to react as another cloud of magic encased his head in a fog, too. Both boys slumped to the ground, snoring deeply. Olette's heart felt like it was going to pound out of her chest. The whole confrontation had taken less than five seconds.

A cool voice came from her left: "Real smooth." Olette whipped around, her arm cocked to throw again. Fuu disappeared behind a rack of sporting goods, snickering into her hand.

Suddenly, Olette felt incredibly stupid threatening her girlfriend with magical sports equipment. She lowered the blitzball sheepishly. "I didn't mean to knock them out. I- uh- I panicked."

"Clearly," said Fuu, stepping over their prone bodies to the struggle bats. Briefly, she perused the selection. Unlike the blitzballs, every struggle bat seemed to be made of the same hollow plastic. The main difference was that higher grades were broader or longer than the basic models. Some, decorated with brilliant colors and designs along the shaft of the bat, likely indicated special perks or other arcane qualities that Olette had no understanding of. Fuu selected three beginner models - the standard bright blue bat, a lime green one that was noticeably thicker and sturdier, and a pastel red one almost as long as she was tall - and motioned for Olette to follow.

Olette kept her voice low as they went to check out. "Should we say something? Are they okay?"

Fuu shook her head. "Status effect," she muttered. "Harmless."

At the counter, the shopkeeper gave them the side eye like before, but if he was about to call the town watch on them, he didn't say. Fortunately, Olette thought, he must have had his back turned during the scuffle, such as it was. "No blitzballs..." he said. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

Olette jumped. "Oh! Uh, yeah. Change of plans." She looked away while Fuu pulled out her munny pouch.

He nodded as he rung up their haul. "An appreciation for physical activity is usually a blessing, but so many options it be a curse on your bank account." Examining the bats, he cast another look at the two girls. "Hmm - you're going with the Struggle Classic, an Emerald Adamant, and a Demi-Masamune. You two are rookies, I'm guessing?"

Fuu jabbed her thumb over her shoulder. "Her," she said. Then, gesturing to herself, "Coaching."

He nodded. "I see - I think. Well, here's some advice. Whichever way you swing, put your whole body into it and swing for the fences."

Olette gave a very small nod, trying not to look in the direction of the blitzballs. "I- I'll keep that in mind. Thank you."

"No, thank you," he said, doing his best to smile cheerfully. "Doing business is always a pleasure. You two ladies have a great day."

"Roger," said Fuu, saluting with two fingers as she clamped down on Olette's wrist and rushed her out the door.

"Flawless," Fuu teased as they reached her place again. Her voice just oozed sarcasm.

"Let it go," said Olette, rolling her eyes as she lugged the puffer jacket under her arm. "I don't know how I'm going to look Hayner and Roxas in the eyes. I hope it's worth it."

"It's fine," said Fuu. She held open the door and beckoned excitedly for Olette to follow. Olette couldn't help but laugh a little. She'd always thought of Fuu as stoic, but now she wondered if this side of her girlfriend had always been staring her in the face. Maybe she hadn't been looking hard enough.

Inside, the fresh smell of cooking vegetables and the sound of something sizzling cheerfully in the kitchen greeted them. "Fuu?" said her father from the other room. "Back already?"

"Greetings, Father," said Fuu, pivoting on her heel at the top of the staircase. "Olette's here." Fuu's way of talking was obscure enough that Olette couldn't tell whether she was being overly formal or if she always talked to her dad this way. Her dad's response didn't help.

"Hello, Olette! How're you?" He didn't step into the hallway.

Olette wondered if they should pop into the kitchen to say hi, and gestured towards the door. Fuu shook her head, and motioned for her to follow. "Oh, uh, I'm well. We went to the Sunset Terrace - just a little shopping. Your cooking smells delicious. What are you making?"

His voice was bright and direct. Olette realized that she didn't know if she was interrupting him or not. "Pad tai," he said. "Thank you."

"Come on," Fuu urged, and Olette followed after.

"I guess we'll be in the basement," said Olette. She stood awkwardly in the hallway, a little awestruck that someone in Fuu's family actually did speak like her. "Thank you for letting Fuu have me over."

"Of course! No problem!"

Fuu glowered impatiently. Her excitement was like the sun's gravity, inexorably pulling Olette into her orbit. As they descended, Olette felt the air temperature shift like they were passing through some invisible barrier. Much like Fuu often had the coolest attitude out of anyone around her, her room seemed to be the coolest part of the house.

"Awkward," she muttered.

"Hey! I didn't want to be rude!"

Fuu glanced over her shoulder, a little smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Chatterboxes," she scoffed.

After the terms were clear, Olette felt less than thrilled about the so-called compromise. She learned that Fuu was happy to teach her the basics of struggle matches, so long as it was inside, away from any windows, and underground for good measure: once again, they were in Fuu's room.

"Feet apart," Fuu chided, tapping one of Olette's shoes with the red bat, the Demi-Masamune.

Olette scowled. "You get your feet apart. Your heels are literally touching!" This was true. While Olette held her bat straight ahead with her knees slightly bent, Fuu's stance was more upright and relaxed. Something about her silver hair, casual posture, and oversized weapon gave Olette the impression of a villainous character, but she couldn't put her finger on why.

Fuu brushed her off. "Different style." Before Olette could dodge, she jabbed the bat at Olette's chest. Olette swung her bat to the side, slightly deflecting the thrust but it still connected enough to make her stagger a few steps back. Fuu held her stance. "Score one," she declared. "Now, demo."

Slowly, contorting her wrists and arms to avoid hitting her furniture, she demonstrated how she could convert the strike Olette deflected into a much stronger one by twirling it over her head, using the bat's length to maintain distance. The bat came to rest a couple inches over Olette's opposite shoulder, next to her ear. Fuu rarely missed a chance to be dramatic, but Olette had to admit that it seemed like a cool technique.

Fuu was full of cool techniques, most of which she needed to modify to accommodate the cramped space. When they talked about trying a struggle match, Olette never imagined that she could beat her girlfriend, but she had expected something more dynamic than a set of demonstrations. "This would probably be easier if we moved to the sandlot, you know," she said.

Fuu furrowed her brow, shook her head. "Not yet."

"Then when?"

She looked away from Olette. She might have winced. "Unknown. Not yet."

Standing up straight, Olette sighed sadly. Fuu was smart and witty enough to cut anyone down with her words if they gave her trouble. She was a warrior, too - just like Kairi and Sora, she'd traveled to other worlds while she was away on her Warrior's Journey. If she needed to, she was more than capable of ending a physical fight with the average bully. All of this made it hard to understand what she was afraid of. She glanced at the ceiling and grimaced. "Is it... us?" she asked. "It's not your family, is it?"

Fuu's eyes widened like she'd been slapped. She shook her head quickly: a hard "no." It wasn't her family. "They know."

Olette breathed a sigh of relief. That was good a start. "Okay...? Who else?"

Fuu shrugged. A few seconds passed. "Everyone?" she said, clearly unsure even as she said it.

"Anyone specific?" Olette probed. "Are you worried about Hayner?" Hayner was the easiest person to start with. He was the one - on Olette's "side" at least - who kept the flame of rivalry with Siefer's group burning.

Fuu seemed to brace herself again before she spoke. The force in her voice rose with each set of syllables. In the closed space, each name rang like a judge's verdict: "Hayner," she nodded harshly. "Seifer, too." She gritted her teeth. Speaking so much at once seemedhard for her. "Pence. Rai. Roxas." With each name she gestured like she was flinging away something disgusting. She clenched her fists and gestured wildly. "'Xion. Lea. Isa. Sora. Riku. Namine. Kairi-" She gritted her teeth and shook before slashing her arm out one more time, dismissing her emotions. "NO-ONE. EVERYONE." Her shoulders slumped from the effort when she was done. "Complicated," she muttered bitterly, and shook her head.

Olette dropped her bat and stepped forward to hug her. "Yeah..." she said. "It is really complicated. You're scared of what might happen, aren't you?" Fuu didn't hug back, but she leaned into it. She felt Fuu nod, her head pressed into her shoulder. Something wet started to soak through her shirt collar, but she might have imagined it. "It's okay to be scared," she said. "I'm sorry for being annoyed, Fuu. Your room's fine, but I think I wanted to do more with you. I'm sorry for pushing too hard. I didn't know you were scared."

She thought of her other friends. Hayner was bad at letting anything go - especially the years of bullying - but he'd listen to her. He'd come around. Pence and Roxas weren't a problem: Pence would be happy because they were happy. Roxas had been through enough, she'd learned, to value having friends and making up. He was still a new friend, but she had no doubt he'd accept Fuu, too. I can't have knocked them out for nothing, she told herself. We shouldn't have to choose. Not yet.

Fuu inhaled and sighed, nodding. "Stupid me," she said, gritting her teeth.

"You're not stupid," Olette soothed. "You don't need to know why you're scared now. We're just taking a look together. Is that okay?"

The other girl paused to let it sink in for a few seconds. Something inside her seemed to relax. "Dominoes," she muttered.

Olette took a guess. "Going out, you mean?"

Fuu nodded.

"I see that," said Olette. "Once we start, there might be no going back. But..." She paused. "It's not like we're wearing matching shirts that say, 'I'm with her!" right now, right? It's just two girls learning how to duel with struggle bats. We'll have plausible deniability - even though I am really, really, really looking forward to you teaching me how to struggle." She paused again, thinking. "I honestly want to share everything with you, Fuu, because I think you're wonderful," she said, feeling out the most genuine way to put her feelings into words. "I'd like it if other people I love could see how wonderful you are, too, and I won't judge you if it's scary. If anyone has a problem I'll stand up for you, but we can wait, too."

"Love?"

Olette smiled. "Yeah," she said softly, "Love. I love you, Fuu."

Fuu laughed a little, lifting her face. Her eyes were dry. "Plausible deniability," she repeated, smiling at her girlfriend's unexpected slyness. "Next time?"

Olette's relaxed. "If you're ready. Or the time after that. Anything you need. I'll be with you."

Her girlfriend's skinny arms tightened into a hug. Fuu buried her head in her hair again.

"Thanks."

After a few more minutes in Olette's embrace, Fuu slipped out and asked to show her another spell. Today's spell was Zero Gravity, and Fuu looked just as proud as she had with Mini. Olette didn't know if Fuu had this planned, or if she did it to - literally - lighten the mood, but she agreed. Unlike being accidentally crushed, she imagined the worst that could happen would be having to hang out on Fuu's ceiling for a little while.

Not that Fuu would mess up. Her last go at magic had been tweaked to make the spell last longer. This spell, she explained in stilted statements directing Olette's attention to different figures in the spell's instructions, was similar in that it would last longer, but she'd also carefully removed the original spell's effect of causing its targets to spin uncontrollably. Once they got the hang of it, Olette imagined they'd be able to swim through the air.

There was another reason for Fuu's excitement. With reduced gravity, she explained, they could pull off combos and other moves like their keyblade-wielding friends.

Olette's eyes widened. "Maybe we can challenge Roxas to a struggle match soon!" she said. "Like, can you imagine his expressions if we managed to pull off an air dodge?!"

The actual warrior in their relationship gave her a side-eye. "Managed?" she repeated with a wry smile.

Olette raised an eyebrow. The implication dawned on her. "Don't tell me you can do this stuff on your own! How?"

Fuu grinned and struck a dramatic pose with her fingers spread in front of her face. "Endless practice," she said.

"Okay. That makes sense. Sort of."

As before, Olette was first up. Fuu handed her the blue struggle bat. "Don't fumble," she warned. Olette understood: if both of them dropped their bats, retrieving them would be very tricky.

The light rushed outward from Fuu's palm, washing over everything in the room before fading. Olette felt the floor fall away as her clothes and hair waved like she was underwater. "H-hey! This is cool!" This lasted a few seconds before she started to pitch forward. She wailed as she started to spin, windmilling her arms and legs uselessly as Fuu stood by and tried not to laugh.

Eventually, Fuu did step in. Her slender hands clamped Olette waist like a vise, stopping her almost instantaneously.

"Woah. How long were you waiting for me to learn you were that strong?!"

Fuu gave her a pitying look. "Featherweight," she responded. To demonstrate, she walked her hands up to Olette's armpits and lowered her until her feet touched the floor. Then, her expression blank, she effortlessly lifted her again. Next, she turned her upside down before righting her again. Olette found herself giggling at the absurdity of the situation, wondering what Fuu would think of next. Flipping Olette around, she hugged her waist from behind and took her on a short lap of the bedroom while Olette raised her knees to her chest keep from dragging. She wasn't totally helpless, but being lugged around like a stuffed animal wasn't the most dignifying experience. The cherry on top came when Fuu plopped her down on her bed and handed her the puffer jacket to weigh her down.

"My turn," she said, and stood into the center of the bedroom. Another flash lit up the room as she rose gracefully. "Come," she said, gesturing for Olette to join her six feet off the ground.

Olette carefully removed the puffer and pushed off the bed with her hands as gently as she could. She immediately started to flip again. Flailing still didn't help - she just spun in place. "I can't stay upright! H-how are you supposed to do this?" she said.

"Core strength," said Fuu simply. Her posture remained upright. It was like she sat on a cushion of air.

"Well, that's just great!" Using all her will to stop moving, Olette's spin eventually slowed to a stop, leaving her with her head pointed downward and her butt in the air. "H-help."

"Helping," Fuu announced. The amusement in her voice suggested she had other plans. Using her bat to push towards the ceiling, she sent herself drifting towards Olette. Of course, Olette saw, her every movement was smooth and purposeful. Leaning back and swinging her legs forwards, she came to rest on her girlfriend's lower back. One skinny hand cupped her shoulder while she hooked the struggle bat under Olette's waist to keep from bouncing off.

Some might have found it romantic.

Olette was not one of those people. "How is this supposed to help? Did you just use me as a bench?" she asked incredulously.

"Still am," Fuu pointed out. For good measure she gently bopped Olette on the back of her head with the struggle bat. "Score two."

"Haw, haw," said Olette. "While you're showing me the ropes, it'd be nice if I could see your face, at least."

Fuu hummed thoughtfully but said nothing. Maintaining her grip, she leaned backwards and twined one of her legs with Olette's. Then, taking her hand off of Olette's hip, she reached for the other as her girlfriend's posture opened, her body rotating in place. Olette felt a pair of thin but strong legs wrap around her waist, and then Fuu's face filled her field of vision.

"How's that?" Fuu asked. Her eyes were a the color of ripe strawberries, shining behind a curtain of spiky, silver hair. Her tone suggested she knew exactly how it was. She drifted closer.

Before Olette knew it, Fuu's lips met her own.

Her mind short-circuited then. Her legs might have turned to jelly, but it was hard to tell in zero-gs. If she had been standing, she would have swooned. She didn't know if there was a word for mid-air swooning, and she was beyond caring. "O-oh," she stuttered, her heart fluttering. She was blushing, of course.

The struggle bats clattered lightly to the ground.

They kissed again, and her brain and heart were lost in a starburst of euphoria. Through the blinding white bliss she could feel Fuu repositioning her legs and hands to anchor herself even as the kiss continued uninterrupted. Her arms drifted up, hands feeling their way up Fuu's skinny waist and wiry shoulders to pull her closer, gently...

After a few minutes, maybe eons, the spell wore off.

they drifted to the floor on a wave of gentle rapture. Fuu settled first: somewhere in the middle of their weightless make-out sesh, they'd flipped. As the weight came back to her limbs, Olette rolled with the feeling, letting gravity pull her down until she languidly collapsed on top of her girlfriend. Her head felt comfortably foggy. She wondered if this was what it was like to feel high - if it was a side effect of the spell. Or hormones.

She settled on top of Fuu with her head nestled below her collarbone. She chose not to move - not yet. Returning to normal gravity wasn't helping her energy. It was like being wrapped in a weighted blanket. It made her feel lazy. "I feel like I weigh a ton," she sighed.

"Rip," Fuu said, rolling her eyes back and sticking out her tongue. She didn't try to escape.

Olette laughed tiredly. "What's wrong? Is 'Rest In Peace' too many words?"

"Yes," she said, laughing back. If Olette really was too heavy, she didn't show it.

"We never actually got around to the struggle techniques, did we?"

"Distracted." Fuu rolled her eyes and smiled. "Somehow."

"Hehe. Obviously." She closed her eyes. The room was so quiet she could hear the sound of a trolley rolling by outside and Fuu's dad up above, still cooking. For a minute the two were silent, breathing in time. Then, with heroic effort, Olette lifted her head to admire Fuu. "Wanna try again?"

Fuu brightened. Her expression was stoic from sleepiness, but her eyes sparkled like the sun clearing a fog bank. "Kissing?" she asked, "Or struggle?"

Olette thought about it, her smile blooming involuntarily. "Yes," she said.

The ends of Fuu's mouth curled. "Outside?"

"If you're ready." Olette leaned in for another kiss. "Whatever you want."