Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The following evening, Reimu meets you outside your apartment, wearing a cute red skirt and a plain sleeveless collared shirt, a ribbon bow at her neck. Her hair hangs loose, not partially pulled back as it was the night before, with a black headband keeping her bangs out of her eyes.

It’s all you can do to not stare at her like a weirdo as you greet her, but boy does she stare at you. You’re dressed up in your Witchy Clothes™, a black dress with a white collar and sleeves, ruffles at the hem of the skirt, plus a big witches’ hat with a purple bow on it. Over the dress you had pulled on a long black cardigan, one that you wear often, for both the comfort of its soft material and protection from the night’s cold.

“Um, hey Reimu,” you manage to mumble, feeling embarrassed about your outfit for what is perhaps the first time ever.

“Hi, Marisa. Is this how you dress outside of school? Maybe you’re even weirder than I thought.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. You ready to go?”

“Sure, but I don’t even know where we’re going. What are we doing tonight?” Oops, right, you didn’t tell her, so she’s probably even more confused by the way you look.

“There’s this local coven that’s open to outsiders and guests, I’m not a part of it because I don’t follow the same path they do, but they hold a full moon esbat every month that’s usually pretty fun. Again, it’s not the way I practice, it’s a Wiccan coven and I’m just sort of an eclectic witch with no real religious affiliation, but it’s still cool to see the way they do things. There’s a lot of ritual elements involved, but don’t worry, you’re not expected to know much of anything, that’s why they’re open to outsiders. It’s not super serious either, the full moon esbat tends to have a sorta joyous festival atmosphere, at least with this group.”

“Really? Well, that does sound interesting. Sure, I’ll go.”

“You already said you were coming, dude.”

“Right, well. I’m just saying it again. Oh, and I guess I understand why you’re dressed like that now. You want to look really stereotypically witchy?”

You blow a raspberry at her. “Dude, half the folks in that coven are gonna be dressed way more ostentatiously than me, just you watch. Besides, like. This is actually what I wear for rituals and stuff, a lotta practitioners have designated clothes for that sorta thing, to help get them into the right mindset. Understand?”

“Alright, I understand. It just seemed kind of silly. You need to realize I don’t really know anything about witchcraft except for where it overlaps with what I do.”

“Yeah, I getcha. Anyway, let’s get this show on the road, we’re meeting at the High Priestess’ house. It’s like, a half an hour walk. You cool with that?”

“Mmhmm, that’s fine. It’s a nice night.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought too. Plus, I don’t feel like payin’ for transportation. I should really see about getting a driver’s license, but I never had lessons or anything.”

“That might be a little hard, then.”

“I know, right? Plus it’s expensive , I can’t afford to drive right now anyway, even if I do manage to obtain a car that runs and isn’t going to annihilate my finances.”

“Well, if it’s any consolation, I can’t drive either.”

“Heh, we should start a club.”

As the two of you talk, you start off down the street, into the cool April evening. At some point, the conversation dies off and you walk in silence, still as natural and comfortable feeling as the last time you and her just quietly sat there together.

You get stopped at a wide, busy street near the middle of town, the traffic as heavy as ever and the button to get the crosswalk signal apparently not working. Standing at the corner impatiently, you shove your hand into the left pocket of your dress and fiddle with a little fidget toy you had in there, keeping it hidden to avoid any judgement. Reimu looks over curiously for a second, but doesn’t ask anything. Instead, she steps a little bit closer to you, shivering slightly.

“Dude, you want my sweater? You look like you’re freezing. Why’d you even wear short sleeves?”

“Because I made a mistake,” she replies, scrunching her face up. “And please.”

You shrug off the cardigan and drape it over her shoulders; she immediately pulls it on and holds it closed, still shivering. Poor girl. You consider putting your arm around her to help keep her warm, but… that’d probably be weird and too forward. Instead, you just stand there beside her, watching the traffic for an opening.

You’re distracted, frowning at the passing cars and still messing with that fidget toy when you suddenly feel a hand brush against yours. Reimu watches you intently, waiting for a reaction, looking nervous. Smiling a little, you take hold of her hand, your fingers intertwining with hers. She looks surprised, eyes widening a bit, but steps closer still so that your shoulders touch.

The two of you just stand there like that, holding hands in the fading light of dusk, leaning against one another (just for warmth!), for another twenty or so seconds, when finally a gap clears in the traffic. Without even saying anything, you both sprint across the street, still holding onto one another tightly.

When you’re finally on the other side, you stop to catch your breath; looking over at Reimu, her cheeks are pink, and you wonder if it’s from the cold, from running like that, or from some sort of embarrassment to be holding your hand. Just in case, you let go and step back a bit, keeping your expression carefully neutral. Reimu takes notice, of course. She is already way too good at picking up on your weird moods.

“Marisa? Is… something wrong?”

Dammit. Looks like you totally misread that situation.

“Sorry, just figured you’d probably want your hand back.”

It’s as though Reimu can sense your discomfort, judging by what she says next, looking pointedly at the ground.

“Did… did I do something wrong?”

Fuck!!! You fucked up!! You hurriedly try to reassure her.

“No! No, you didn’t do anything, I swear. I just figured that, like… I dunno, like you’d be embarrassed to be seen with me like that, or to, well, do that at all. We’re not exactly the closest of friends, ya know?”

“Is that how you really feel? That we’re not really friends?” Her hands are in fists at her sides, her face hidden by her hair.

“No, fuck, I—”

“It’s okay. I understand. I just… don’t have any friends here, so I thought that… I don’t know. It was stupid for me to assume anything.”

Okay, that’s it. You’re shutting this down right now. You take hold of both her hands, uncurling her fingers to intertwine yours with hers once again. She looks at you, confused, but you interrupt before she can say anything.

“Listen. I want us to be friends. Hell, I thought we already are. Nowhere did I say otherwise, either. I understand, you know, not having anyone else. I really do, but you shouldn’t be scared like this. Like, you shouldn’t be afraid that I’m not going to turn out to not like you at all or some crap like that, because that’s what it is! It’s crap! No offense. But, to be completely honest, and you’re probably gonna think I’m weird but I feel that I need to get this out there anyway, I’d be perfectly happy spending all my time with you. Fuck, I dunno, it’s like you’re just perfect , and it’s so comfortable to just be by your side, and to talk to you. Like we’ve known each other a hell of a lot longer than 36 hours. I don’t exactly have any other friends anyway, like, I’m really an unpleasant person to be around and I’m worried that you’re gonna realize that. That’s why I thought you’d be embarrassed to be seen with me, holding my hand.” Whoops, that was a bit too personal and revealing. Dammit.

“Well, I’m not. I really like you too, Marisa. Maybe that’s just because you pretty much literally saved my life last night, or maybe it’s that I’m so desperate for real, genuine interactions with other humans that I’m clinging to you. I don’t know. Guess we’re both being pretty silly and clueless, aren’t we?”

“Heh, yeah, you’ve got that right. I guess we’re both messes.” You release her hands, only so that you can readjust, returning to holding just her left hand. “We should probably get going, though. People are starting to stare at us ‘cause we’re over here being damn fools on the sidewalk, and I’m dressed like this. Besides, we don’t wanna be late, even though I had you come over way early just in case we got off-track, a phenomenon that seems to be pretty common between us already.”

Reimu laughs softly, and the two of you continue down the sidewalk, breath visible in the increasingly cold air, walking as close to each other as you can (for warmth!), chatting the whole time.

When you finally make it to the location of the esbat, it’s nearly 9 o'clock, just in time. Perfect. You didn’t want to get stuck having to socialize with people for too terribly before it began; they always ask questions about your practice, and it always gets really awkward.

The two of you are led inside, through the house and into the sizeable backyard.

“This place is really fancy,” Reimu whispers as she looks around first at the finely decorated house, then at the large deck, torches placed every few feet around its railing.

“I know, right? It’s like getting a glimpse into another world.” You’re trying to think up a joke when your thoughts are interrupted by a loud voice in very close proximity to you, making you jump. In front of you is a middle aged looking woman in some kind of dip dyed dress and an oversized shawl. She wears a huge pentagram on a silver chain. Reimu, noticing your mild discomfort, places a hand on your back and pats you gently. Bless her. Bless Reimu Hakurei.

“Sorry, please repeat what you said,” she asks of the woman, who frowns slightly, but shakes her head and continues.

“I said, hello and welcome to our April esbat. You look familiar,” she points at you. “But I can’t say I’ve ever seen you around before. Mind introducing yourselves?”

“Uh, sure,” you say, looking at Reimu. She takes the hint and answers first.

“I’m Reimu, and no, I haven’t ever been here before. I’m not actually a witch or anything, but my hobbies intersect with the magical community fairly often, so when I was invited to come along I decided it’d be a good learning experience.”

“That’s good! Nice to meet you, Ray-moo.”

You almost crack up laughing at the way she said Rei’s name, but manage not to. Still, you can’t help but smile as you say your bit. “And I’m Marisa. I stick my head in around here every now and then. I’m actually a witch, but I’m a solitary practitioner, so I’m just visiting.”

“Oh! That’s it, you were at our Yule celebration, weren’t you?”

“If you saw a kid with a big hat like this but with a red bow on it, then yes, that was me.”

“Yes, I recognize you. We were all rather concerned about you, now that I think about it, but it seems that you have a… friend, now, so that’s good. I’m happy to see that you’re doing better.”

“Uh, sure? Thanks?” If the woman hears you, she gives no indication of it. Instead, she just gestures for you to follow her over to the main group. After exchanging glances, the two of you follow her.

Rei leans in and whispers to you along the way. “Hey, Marisa? What did she mean, they were worried about you?”

“Oh, it’s nothin’ really. I just wasn’t really eating enough at the time and I guess it kinda showed. I pretty much only had gone for the food, anyway.”

“Why weren’t you…?”

“No fuckin’ money, my guy. Also, debilitating depression.”

“Oh.” She doesn’t question you any further, for which you’re kind of grateful. When you reach the main group, you pull out your phone to check the clock: 8:51 PM. Not much longer, assuming they start on time.

“So what’s going to happen?” Reimu asks, still whispering.

“They’ll go through a lotta ritual stuff, then there’ll be a chance for anyone to perform any magic they wish to while all that power is gathered. After all that’s done, there’ll be snacks and idle conversation with strangers.”

“I like snacks. Not so much that last part, though.”

You snicker, and Reimu smiles. The two of you have sat down in the cool grass, and you lean your head on her shoulder; in turn, she puts her arm around you. Nearby, a few people are watching you, and begin to whisper amongst themselves. You’d flip them off if you could, just on principle, because they’re staring at you and Reimu. However, she doesn’t seem to notice, or at least won’t respond.

Wait a second… You realize Reimu is looking sideways over at them as she pulls you a little closer, and her expression has changed, now somewhere between nervous and angry, but closer to the former.

“You okay?” You whisper to her. She seems frozen, but manages a response.

“I don’t like the way they’re looking at us. We should leave if they don’t stop.”

“Hey, dude, I know it’s obnoxious, since they pretty obviously have gotten the impression that we’re dating, but I doubt they mean any harm. I mean, this is a bunch of fuckin’ Wiccans, ‘an it harm none’ is literally their motto. We should be fine. Besides, we’re not even actually dating. Their impression is wrong.”

Reimu hums, thinking it over, and eventually just nods. “Alright. I’ll believe you. But, um, Marisa? Can I ask you something kind of weird and maybe personal?”

“Shoot.”

“Uh… are you straight?”

You burst out laughing. Reimu gives you a somewhat startled look, and several people are now looking over. It’s a struggle, but you force yourself to stop laughing, but still grin as you speak next.

“Hell no, I’m about as straight as, I dunno, the Pinwheel Nebula?”

“I don’t know what that looks like, but I’m assuming it’s shaped like a pinwheel?”

“Got it in one, dude.”

“I see. Well… okay, thanks for answering.” Silence falls between the two of you as Reimu seems to consider something, until finally she whispers again. “So then… what are you?”

“Uh, probably a lesbian. Dunno, I’m just attracted to girls and femininity, I guess. Lesbian is the easiest way to say that.”

Reimu nods, smiling a little again (thank god). “I’m bi, I think.”

“Nice,” you offer her your hand for a high five, which she accepts, smiling more. She’s just so cute.

Wait a second, though… she’s bisexual! You don’t have a crush on a straight girl for once in your life! Maybe, just maybe, you have a chance. But, you don’t want to mess up your newly formed friendship with her, so you’ll just keep that bit of info to yourself, you think. Oh, well. You’re just happy being near her, you think.

Reimu nudges you, drawing your attention from your thoughts back to your surroundings; they’re starting, it seems. A woman in a white floor-length dress walks up to the altar that’s been erected in the center of the yard. Striking a match and lighting a red candle, she turns to face south, talking as she walks over to set the candle on a small table set up at the edge of the area.

“Guardians of the South, Element of Fire, I call upon thee to be present during our ritual. Illuminate our hearts, minds, and spirits, and bless this circle.”

She then returns to the altar, selects a blue candle, and repeats her words, this time calling upon Water and settling the candle in the west. Twice more she does this, for Earth in the north and Air in the east. Once she’s finished, she returns again to the altar, picks up a wand, made from wood and covered in ornate carvings, points to the edge of the circle, and spins in place three times clockwise. As she does, Reimu watches with fascination from beside you.

“That’s a lot of energy,” she murmurs in your ear, just barely loud enough for you to hear. You just nod, not wanting to draw further attention to yourselves by interrupting. She’s right, though; the High Priestess is filling the circle with pure energy to create a sacred space, and you can sense it in the air around you, feeling almost as if it’s tangible. When she finishes spinning, she raises the wand up above her head, moonlight catching in the large crystal at its tip.

“Our Lord and Lady,” she begins, voice loud enough to be heard clearly around the yard. “Please join us by our side tonight as we celebrate the Mother and Her care for all the Earth and its creatures. Bless this circle and keep us protected. This is a sacred space, and only the pure and divine are welcome here!” Once again, she spins around clockwise, still holding the wand high in the air. “The circle is sealed, so mote it be!”

“So mote it be,” echoes the group. Reimu, not knowing what’s going on, stays quiet, while you just mumble the words.

The High Priestess moves onto an intention statement for the coven’s main ritual tonight, and you nudge Reimu.

“We don’t participate here. This lot lets visitors join them for most of it, but we can’t participate in their main ritual.”

“Then where do we go?” she asks as you stand up.

“We’re allowed to hang out inside until they move onto the next part, which is open and general magic stuff.”

“On our own? Even though we’re strangers?”

“I think her husband is in there or something.”

“Oh, alright.”

Reimu follows you back inside, slipping off her shoes before entering the main part of the house. Right, maybe you should do that too. Just to be polite. Maybe. In any case, you pull off your boots and set them beside her flats, then follow her over to sit on a ridiculously large white couch. She just watches as you recline back awkwardly on the couch, one eyebrow raised. Once you’ve found a comfortable position, you wink at her, and she looks away quickly, looking a little flustered.

“So!” you begin. “You’re bi, huh?”

“Yeah. You’re gay?” She seems to be wondering where this is going.

“Sure am. So, I’m guessin’ you avoid the school’s LGBT club and stuff? Never seen you around there.”

“Ha, yeah. It just kind of makes me nervous, I guess. You know, being out as bi. You’re, um, I think you’re the first person I’ve outed myself to in a while. You just didn’t strike me as the type who’d say the usual things that bi people tend to get.”

“Like what?”

“Well, mostly it’s straight guys asking for a threesome and gay girls saying that you can’t trust bi girls. Um, no offence!”

“None taken dude, I’ve seen that kinda bullshit around before. I dunno, I seem to be exclusively sapphic so I can’t truly relate to your problems, and I always just label myself a lesbian, but I do kinda know what it’s like, having trouble fitting into the community that’s supposed to be for you.”

“Really?” She seems surprised. “How so?”

You hesitate; you don’t like telling people this kind of thing, as nervous as she apparently is, but she did trust you, after all… “Ah, I’m like, kinda nonbinary. I’ve gotten that ‘special snowflake’ crap from people before, among other things, so I just keep it to myself now. Like, it’s even happened at Pride, isn’t that just incredible?”

“Oh, I’m really sorry… uh… I didn’t think to ask before, so I’m really sorry if I’ve been getting it wrong. What are your pronouns?”

“Don’t worry, you’re fine, I use she/her. I’m kinda just genderfluid? The majority of the time I identify as a girl though, so it’s fine.”

“Alright. But, hey, Marisa?”

“Yeah?”

“If you’re ever uncomfortable with me calling you a girl or anything, you should tell me so I can fix it. I know you said usually it’s okay, but…”

You smile. She’s so good and pure. “Sure thing, thanks.”

“Mmhmm!” Reimu smiles back. After a few moments, she slides a little bit closer to you on the couch. “You know, it’s nice. Being accepted. Like… I always feel like I have to hide so much. What I do, what I believe, who I love, everything. So… thank you, Marisa.” Suddenly, her expression changes to something more sheepish and she nervously rubs the back of her neck. “Haha, I probably sound really desperate, don’t I?”

“No? Why do you think that?”

“We just met yesterday. I mean, I already kind of feel like I’ve known you for years, but that’s not really the case, and yet here I am, unloading all of this stuff on you.”

“Hey, it’s cool. I kinda feel the same way about you, actually. Maybe we’re just soulmates or something?”

“Heh, yeah. Maybe.”

The two of you sit in silence, leaning on each other; the only noises are the voices of the coveners outside and the sound of you both breathing. When a woman steps in some outside to tell you that you can rejoin them, she doesn’t quite look at either of you, seemingly uncertain, and you just ignore her awkwardness, hoping Reimu can do the same.

“So did you, like, come with any spells or something you wanted to do?” Reimu asks you as you return to where the coven is gathered.

“Of course. I mean, I save my big and private workings for when I’m on my own, but there’s a lot of energy here so it’s good to take advantage of it.” You lead her over to a table, where you select a glass bowl from a stack. Then, it’s over to a well with a hand pump to fill it with water (you can’t resist sticking your hand into the stream and flicking water at Reimu, who laughs and smacks you on the arm in jest).

“What are you doing, then?” She asks, but you just shake your head and lead her over to a somewhat quieter area, sitting down in the grass, setting the bowl down in front of you so that the moonlight reflects off it. You gaze into it and begin reciting an incantation you have memorized.

“I call you, Mother Moon, in your silver light. You are welcome here,” you murmur. Reimu sits beside you in silence, watching with curiosity. “Lady Moon, rest awhile within, for I would speak with you and seek your blessings.”

You take a deep breath. You’d probably prefer to do this alone, but oh well. “I need things to actually go right for once. I’m… nervous about leaving school and moving back to my father’s house. I have no idea what will happen or how I’ll get by if I can’t find a job in the area. I just want… no, I need things to work out. I can’t have any more setbacks. If things don’t work out here, I have no idea what I’ll do. I—” You stop, taking another slow, deep breath to ground yourself. “Well, yeah. Thank you. Um… Lady Moon, I would no longer detain you from your journey. I give you thanks for your blessings soon to be received.”

With that, you stand up, ignoring Reimu’s stare as you pick up the bowl of water and pour it over some flowers, then gesture for her to follow you as you return the bowl to the table. She doesn’t ask about the spell, and for that you are grateful.

“Hey, so,” you say suddenly, turning to her. “Anything you wanna do?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t know much of anything about magic, you know that.”

“So? Always time to start. We can do something real easy if you want.”

“Um… alright? I guess there is something I kind of want to do, but I don’t know how.” She looks uncertain.

“Go on,” you urge her.

“Well, like. I wanted to enchant something? But I have no idea how to and if I tried I’d probably mess it up.”

“Enchant it for what? And do you have it with you?”

“Yeah, I do, actually.” She pulls a necklace from her shirt pocket and shows it to you, a small yin-yang symbol made from some sort of crystal. “I wanted to enchant it for protection.”

“Sure, no problem. Have you by any chance cleansed it already?”

“Mmhmm, I knew to do that much at least. I just don’t know how to charge it and everything.”

“Alright, well, usually I like to charge objects by moonlight, and that’ll take all night. I could just use my own magical energy, but that’s up to you, since it’d have, well, my energy all over it, rather than something more neutral.”

“You can do that? I don’t mind where the energy came from so long as it works .”

“Yeah, I get ya. Here, let’s sit down again.” You lead her once more to a secluded part of the yard and sit down. “Okay, may I see it?”

She hands you the pendant. “Just be careful, alright?”

“Dude, don’t worry. I know what I’m doing. Basically, to enchant something, you just need to fill it with energy, of course, and that energy’s gotta be ‘programmed’, so to speak, with your intent,” you explain to her her, taking the pendant in your hand. You focus on it, gathering your energy and infusing the pendant with it; whatever it’s made out of, it must be very receptive to energy, you notice. Quartz, perhaps? The way it holds the energy you charge it with with ease suggests it.

You charge the pendant the best you can, until you begin to feel a bit of fatigue, and start getting the sense that it doesn’t particularly need any more energy. Then, you hand it back to her.

“Does that feel alright to you? Let me know if you think it needs more energy or anything.”

“Oh, wow. Yeah, I think that’s good, jeez.”

“Too much?” You frown, and she quickly shakes her head.

“No! No, it’s good, I was just kind of taken aback by how much energy it’s holding, that’s all.”

“Yeah man, that material seems to hold energy really well, and probably magnifies it some, too. You made a good choice of items to enchant.”

“I know,” is all she says on the matter. “So, now what?”

“That’s pretty much it. I focused my energy with the intention of keeping you safe, protecting you from all kinds of threats, spiritual and physical and everywhere in between.”

She looks a little awe-struck, and smiles at you. “Thanks, Marisa. I really appreciate it. But… doesn’t that mean that we didn’t even have to be here to do it?”

“Sure,” you admit. “But I personally drew a lot of energy from our surroundings, which made it a hell of a lot easier.”

“Oh! Okay, I understand. Thank you.” She unclasps the chain of the necklace and puts it on, still smiling. “So, is there anything else we should do tonight?”

You consider it. “Well, um… we could wait for snacks and see what kinda weird stuff they have, or we could head outta here and order a pizza or something.”

“Pizza sounds pretty good,” she says. “Just so long as we split the cost.”

“No problem, dude, that was already what I had in mind.”

The two of you share a grin and stand up, taking hold of each other’s hands automatically. As you walk away, a voice can be heard from behind you.

“Oh, are you two leaving already?”

“Yeah,” you call back, turning around. “We’re gonna go spend the rest of the night together. Thanks for havin’ us, though!”

The woman blushes, and you snicker, tugging on Reimu’s hand with the intention of leaving as quickly as possible.

“Marisa!” Reimu scolds you when you reach the sidewalk. “What was that for?”

“Dude, did you see the look on her face? I bet she was imagining us sleeping together.”

“Ugh, you’re unbelievable…” she mutters, but her expression betrays her amusement.

Somehow you end up back at your apartment, and you tell Reimu to wait outside so you can run in and clean up as quickly as possible, turning on the electric air purifier that sits in the living room to full blast and putting away the dishes you left stacked all over the counter after washing them. The pile of books that’s been threatening to take over a quarter of the living room is hurriedly stacked, the ashes scattered all over the coffee table are swept into your hand and tossed in the trash, and you turn on your laptop, connected to the TV, so that it can get started on grinding its way through its boot process.

Lastly, you light ten different candles and a stick of cinnamon incense, then run back out to where Reimu is sitting on the porch in wait.

“Okay!” You’re breathing a bit heavily as you make it back outside. “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting you to be coming inside, had to make the place inhabitable to people who aren’t me.”

She giggles. “That’s okay, my dorm is a mess half the time, too. The only reason it was clean last night was because dorm inspections were on Monday.”

“Ew,” you say, and she nods in agreement.

“Well, at least it’s motivation to clean up, I guess? Normally I’m not really that bad, it’s just that I don’t have time to clean everything super often.”

“I get ya. Now, come on, I lit like, ten candles, so we should probably go inside just in case the world decides to fuck me over and try to set my apartment on fire.”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. But, wait!” She pulls out her phone suddenly. “I want a picture of us together.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! I want to remember this night, I’m having a lot of fun.”

This warmth in your chest sparked by her words sure does contrast the cold night, you think to yourself. She throws her arm around you and smiles as she pulls up the front camera on her phone, leaning her head against yours just a little awkwardly around the wide brim of your hat and holding the phone out as far as possible. You smile too, a bit more softness to the expression than you usually let show, and she snaps the picture.

“We look like the coolest kids in town,” you say as she shows it to you.

“I’ll send it to you when I get a chance, alright?”

“Sweet, I’m gonna print it out and frame it so that I can show people the photographic proof that I spent an actual night with an actual cute girl.”

Reimu shoves you jokingly before following you inside, kicking off her shoes and walking into the living room to look around. You feel almost as though you’re being inspected, too, for some reason or another.

“I don’t know why you said this place was so bad, it seems fine to me. But, I guess you’re the one who has to live here.”

“Yeah, trust me , it ain’t that great in the long term. See that air filter? I rely on that thing.”

“Well, it smells nice in here, at least.” She sits on the edge of the couch, crossing her legs daintily. You throw yourself down beside her and set your feet up on the table, grinning at her, all to let her know that it’s okay for her to make herself at home.

“That’d be the ten candles. Also, incense.”

“Incense is pretty much a life-saver, isn’t it?”

“Shit, yeah it is. That’s the other thing I rely on in here.”

She sits back a little and you feel relieved, knowing that this means she’s at least somewhat comfortable in here with you. “So that’s why you always smell like incense, then.”

“I what.” You what?

“You smell like incense. It’s really nice, actually. Kind of homey in a weird way? Or maybe that’s just me.”

“Huh. Guess that makes sense. I’m pretty sure that like, half my paycheck goes to candles and incense, so yeah.”

She laughs. “Mine probably would too, if only I had a job and also was allowed to burn candles and incense in the dorms.”

“Ah, well, one day you’ll be able to waste all your money like I do. Just hold onto that thought and you’ll be okay.” You wink, and she laughs a little harder, covering her face, cheeks pink. Precious. When she looks back up at you, you grab your laptop and pull up the website of a pizza chain with a nearby restaurant. “So, whatcha want?”

“Um, I don’t know. Pretty much anything is fine by me. Maybe we can get a half-and-half pizza? I want olives on my half.”

“Sure thing, dude.” You start selecting options on the pizza, choosing to put pineapple on your half of the pizza. When she raises an eyebrow at you, you grin. “I’m a godless heathen, I know.”

“Well, at least you’re honest about it.”

When you click the order button, you do so with a flourish. “Alright! It says it’ll take fifty minutes, so it’ll probably be closer to twenty. Now, we wait.”

You end up pulling up a game on your computer to play while waiting for the pizza to arrive; Reimu watches, occasionally giggling when you cuss at the screen.

“Fuck! Fuck, how did I hit that?”

“It was right there.”

“I know! I can’t believe I just ran right into the only bullet on the screen!”

“Can I try?”

“Sure, once I’ve either cleared or died. Probably going to be the latter at this rate, I suck tonight. Though, actually, this series has a dual screen multiplayer game we could try out later, if you want.”

“Ooh, that sounds fun.”

“Sure, if you enjoy suffering and love to die.”

“I can’t wait.” Reimu winks at you now, and you don’t quite know how to feel about it.

When the pizza arrives not much later; Reimu gives you and your pineapple pizza a disapproving look, but you’re too busy eating to respond. It’s not everyday you get to have fresh pizza like this and you fully intend on enjoying every second of it.

After dinner, you offer to let Reimu stay the night, and she looks so adorably delighted that you almost die right then and there. The two of you stay up late playing games, talking, telling ridiculous jokes and laughing over increasingly nonsensical things, until you finally crawl off to bed, letting her curl up beside you.

“Goodnight, Marisa,” she whispers as you turn off the lamp beside your bed.

“Night, Rei,” you whisper back, and she hums quietly, happily.

It seems so impossible to you, knowing that you only befriended her yesterday; you really, truly feel as though you’ve known her for years, and you just can’t explain why. But, at this point, you don’t particularly care about that, only that she’s here and she’s real and she, somehow,  inexplicably, seems to like you just as much as you like her.

You have absolutely no idea what you did to land someone so delightful in your life, but goddamn, you are going to keep at it and not let go of her for as long as you can. It’s the best you can do.