29 Chimera Court, Saturday Morning

[giveittoyoursister]

Vi had had plans for after the dance. And it probably went without saying that they'd been sexy plans. However, Vi hadn't accounted for the punch and while she normally had a pretty good idea of her tolerance, she was also used to strong drink tasting like it, instead of lethal sugar, so instead there'd been drunken cuddling and boardgames on the couch until she'd passed out on Steph's shoulder.

On the bright side, she no longer had to worry about an impending hangover, since she was now a skinny, wiry scrap of a thing instinctively curled up around the other warm body on the softest surface she could remember sleeping on.

[For the girl!]

Comments

[giveittoyoursister]

Vi gratefully took the bread, it was almost shockingly sweet compared to what she was used to, but chewing on it let her think about her words. "If they laugh at you then they're the ones missing out, and dumb."

[drumsticksandd20s]

It was probably kind of overwhelming, combined with the strawberry sweetness.

"That's what my mom says," Steph mumbled as she started piling peanut butter and jam onto another piece of bread for herself, her cheeks a little bit pink. "'cept she says it maybe a little nicer than that."

She paused, and her eyes went wide.

"I think you're nice, though! She's just, you know, a mom."

[giveittoyoursister]

"My mom says you don't have to be nice about jerks, so long as you're not a jerk too." Because there was a difference between the two.

[drumsticksandd20s]

"That's what my dad said afterward," Steph related with glee that was somewhat muted because she had to broaden her entire concept of what moms were like. "He's cool like you."

You were getting some weetiny hearteyes right now, Vi. Just saying.

[giveittoyoursister]

And did Vi have any idea what to do with those? No she did not. "I'm sure your mom's cool too," she said. "Moms tend to be cool." She loved Mom and Dad equally, but she was pretty sure Mom was cooler.

[drumsticksandd20s]

"She's the best," Steph said with all the emphasis only a small child could muster. "One time my teacher said I probably said something that made people pick on me, and my mom got the teacher in trouble."

From her wide-eyed expression, she thought that ought to have been impossible.

"...but I'm sure your mom's cool too. I mean, I've never met her."

[giveittoyoursister]

"Yeah, she is," Vi agreed. "And yours sounds pretty great."

[drumsticksandd20s]

"You're pretty great, too," said Steph, who couldn't for the life of her say why she was so sure of this, she just was. "Who's Powder, though?"

[giveittoyoursister]

"My sister," Vi said without a single second of hesitation. "She's little but real smart."

[drumsticksandd20s]

"She sounds neat," said Steph, a little wistfully. "Maybe I can meet her sometime?"

[giveittoyoursister]

"You have to," Vi decided, because Powder had to be around here somewhere. "She'll like you too!"

[drumsticksandd20s]

Well, of course Powder had to be around here somewhere! Otherwise Vi was getting set up for some major disappointment, which clearly couldn't happen. Right?

Steph's face absolutely lit up at that. "You really think so?"

[giveittoyoursister]

Exactly!

Boy was it a good thing that whatever had done this to them had also lowered Vi's need to actually go find Powder down so much from where it should have been.

"Yeah, I do," Vi assured her. "She's great and you're great."

[drumsticksandd20s]

Considerate of the island, really.

Steph stuck her pinky finger out at Vi. "Wanna be best friends?"

Yes, already. What?

[giveittoyoursister]

Vi hadn't actually pinky sworn before, but she could figure it out. "Sure," she said, hooking her own finger around Steph's.

Look, sorry you'd never met anyone you immediately wanted to be friends with before.

[drumsticksandd20s]

Look, sometimes you woke up cuddled up with a complete stranger and you just kind of instinctively knew you belonged there, even if you couldn't quite grasp the concept yet.

"Maybe we can go look for your sister after breakfast?" Steph suggested, beaming at Vi.

[giveittoyoursister]

"I'd like that," Vi said, grinning from ear to ear.

[drumsticksandd20s]

It was such a shame they were going to be disappointed.

"It'll be an adventure," Steph declared as she deposited the dirty utensils in the sink for someone else to clean up later (her future self would not thank her). She dropped her voice to an awed whisper. "Maybe she's in that castle up there!"

Well, no. And not in another castle either, but they'd find that out eventually.

[giveittoyoursister]

Eventually.

"I've never been in a castle before," Vi confessed in a hushed tone. And considering she thought Steph's place belonged to a rich person...

[drumsticksandd20s]

And it wasn't even decorated like a castle. Well... the modern fixtures might add to that effect, actually.

"Me neither," Steph whispered back to her. "My parents took me to Hearst Castle once but Dad said it's not a real castle so it doesn't count."

[giveittoyoursister]

Vi frowned in confusion. "How can a castle not count?"

[drumsticksandd20s]

Steph made a face. "He said... 'cause rich guys naming their houses castles doesn't make 'em magically become castles?"

[giveittoyoursister]

"I mean the kind of place a real rich person can live might as well be one."

[drumsticksandd20s]

Steph bit her lip. "I guess that's true. Like the Prescotts, probably," she added with a little scowl.

[giveittoyoursister]

Vi also scowled in solidarity, since she was against rich jerks on principle. "Probably."