deercountry | Welcome to the Satellite of Love!

To Luz, pulling this off took a little magic, a little know how, and the drawing up and discarding of plans that would and would not work. In the end, this wound up being the result, and Luz was pretty happy at how things turned out!

Luz by her own nature had always been a girl seeking new experiences and had thought she'd never get the chance to have that really happen. Those days were long past, having lived in several different worlds and seen so many different people!

Death had, in Luz's opinion, been a long time coming. It had still hurt of course, but at least she was prepared to know it would happen eventually.

Like it had to many of her favorite people. She'd never hide from it, just take the time to recover.

A thought that would have made her girlfriend overjoyed, of course!

"It's not great. I won't lie about that. Avoid it as much as you can, and if things are dangerous, include me. I'll always have your back."

Luz said this as a friend, a girlfriend, and a Sleeper.

"Well, we don't know how many of them actually did. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the generation trying to bring things back to the 'good old days.' You can guess who it was actually good for."

Luz sighed, shrugging. "I don't think I could do that for me. There are too many people that I know are affected by how I vote. I can't forget people just because I'm scared it might make me uncomfortable."

Good idea.

"I don't think I ever looked at those, but I'm sure they were...ok?"

And Lexi was ecstatic. She couldn't believe that everything was working out. She almost never had what she was doing back home work out. It was a happy surprise.

Lexi had figured, college. That would be her time to shine, away from everyone's expectations of who she was and what she should be. Here was kind of like college taken up to eleven, despite the lack of classes.

Death was something Lexi was not looking forward to, but knew had to happen anyway. There were so many "hey, this could end in a grisly death!" circumstances on the regular to not know that sooner or later it would catch up with her. She just worried about how Luz would feel about it.

And with infinite tenderness, she says "I know you will. I trust you. More than I've ever trusted anyone."

Which was true. Cassie was so erratic, she couldn't be trusted. Jules was fooling herself into thinking things with Rue were fine, so her judgement seemed shaky. And her mom was her mom and Rue was Rue. Expecting them to change seemed like a lesson in futility.

"Ugh. Whenever I hear that phrase, my brain shuts off and all I want to do is yell about how the good old days were a manufactured feeling, brought about by ignorance of the world around them. All of the people they'd have shut up again, they've always existed. Playing like they didn't, it's stupid."

And Lexi blushes. "My...dad was really into that old timey music. You know, Bennett and Sinatra and Martin. So, when I heard that Lady Gaga did a whole album with Bennett, I kind of had to have it."

Luz would have agreed, but it had been so long since she was home: this was honestly what she knew as home. Luckily, she felt just as privileged as Lexi.

Since Luz had been younger than Lexi when brought here, she hadn't even thought that far. Now though, she was pretty happy to imagine that she was in a good place, with someone she cared a lot about.

It would tear her up of course. Luz was aware of what her emotions would do, and how she'd feel if something happened to Lexi. That was part of what made her realize how much she cared.

"Good. I'll do my best to make sure I'll take care of you."

She knew it was mutual, and wouldn't dare try to underscore Lexi, but also knew she'd make sure to keep her safe, whatever the cost.

Lexi would find, and Lzu would even remind her, that there was plenty of time to change here.

"I'm with you there. I can't forget about stuff like that, because as much as you'd like to think that all of those mistakes are in the past, there are still plenty of people who want to make them happen again. They're just waiting to get to a point where they can be honest about it."

And that happened in several different forms, as far as Luz was concerned.

Luz brightened. "Then I guess you have something new to expose to me, don't you?"

Priveleged to be somewhere where people valued them for who they were, not what they could do for someone else. And yeah, sometimes people had issues they needed help with, but that's what anon posts were for. Someone would always come up with the right thing to say.

And all Lexi wanted to do was to help Luz. In any way the other girl wanted. Be there for her whenever she was needed, give her space if that was what was required. She really did feel lucky, though. And like she'd given up on some of her older, less mature tendencies.

Honestly, she hoped she didn't go home.

"I know you will. And you can trust me with anything."

Because her parents stopped trusting each other after the rumors of infidelity swirled around them and it was all downhill from there.

There was. Lexi really did need to get a better grasp of her Darkblood abilities. It felt kinda dumb to have them but not know how to use them.

"Yeah...yeah. It's. Bad when I'm from. Because they are getting more honest about it and other than groups that most average people know nothing about, no one seems to be getting scared. Even though I am."

"Absolutely! They're good, all really good. And. There's a song I'd like you to hear. It's Sinatra and Count Basie, it's...well, before everything went to hell, we kind of all danced as a family to it. It's one of my happiest memories."

That was sure the truth. She was glad that here, just as in the isles, she was around people she trusted and cared a lot about. That was not to say she didn't miss her own mother terribly, but she still felt like this place was somewhere she could breathe.

Luz sure hoped that Lexi didn't go back anytime soon. She didn't think she could handle that. Despite everything, this had been one of the best few months she'd had in a while. Losing many of her cherished friends and family would have been so much worse if Lexi hadn't suddenly come in her life.

"I'll hold you to that. But be warned: this mama comes with lots of trauma!"

Luz tried to look like she was kidding BUT.

It would come! It'd just take some time.

"If we ever go back..." Luz trailed off, shaking her head. "No. Let's focus on here, NOW. There's plenty to think about without thinking of what's happening back home."

It was just a LOT, and Luz was trying to adjust to this world, which had its own set of issues.

"Oh, music! Gimmie!"

Luz laughed, then closed her listened to the music, tapping her foot to the beat.

"Wow, this is nice! Really relaxing, and kinda sweet!"

Well, that wasn't to say that Lexi didn't miss her own family as unreliable as her mom was and as erratic as Cassie was. But, she had to admit that her stress levels had gone down by a lot. A lot a lot.

And she wasn't quite sure what that meant about her, that going to a post-apocalyptic hellscape was less stressful than reassuring her sister that she was in fact the most beautiful girl in the world.

But whatever it meant, she hoped beyond anything that she didn't lose Luz. She'd be...inconsolable was probably a good word for it. Sure, that might be a little dramatic, but it was the truth. Or that if they did go, it was together, like those Fern and Varian guys.

Lexi smiled. "So do I. But they say talking about it helps? Granted, we don't have an actual psychiatrist here which sucks, but as long as we don't expect each other to be able to solve everything for each other, we should be fine."

Because she knew that no relationship could "fix" another person. Not that either of them necessarily needed fixing, but it was still a valuable thing to remember. .

"...yeah. Besides, maybe they're right. Maybe we are nothing but, you know, squids who look like people. And that we don't go home, we just go back to being squids. Which is kind of squicky to think about, but that doesn't mean we can refuse to pay attention to the idea."

She wondered if what was making Cassie act so weird had come to the surface yet. Cassie was just as internal as Lexi was, in her own weird way. She'd talk for hours about things that didn't matter, but when it came to things which did, she'd often clam up and insist that everything was fine.

And Lexi laughed happily. "Given!"

Yeah, it's...I've always had a soft spot for it, even before the dance. I'm glad I could share it with you."

Luz couldn't blame Lexi for thinking that. If there was one thing she was beginning to understand, it's that no one's experiences were universal, and they all held their own stresses and trauma.

It meant Lexi was able to concentrate on herself and ONLY herself, and that meant she only had to take her own stresses into consideration instead of her familys'.

Luz would likewise have been in a bad place. She knew that people came and went, and each of them mattered of course, but Lexi had made her feel better than she had in a long time, and she didn't want to lose that anytime soon. Things were starting to become much more bearable now, and she found nothing too bad could really hurt her knowing she had Lexi in the midst of all this crazy.

"We'll talk. Always. I'll be as open as I can, just know that a lot's happened that I sort of haven't dealt with in the best ways, and they can come back at times. A year in Deerington will do that to you, if not for the experiences, the stories of the people who have and had it worse."

They would have to try as best as they could, and that was all that one could expect.

"I am very much trying not to think about that at all, even though I know my friend Vira can go squid about whenever, which means we probably all can too."

Not thinking about THAT frightening aspect anytime soon, thanks.

That would be something Luz knew she might have to work on herself. Sometimes really bad things had a way of festering in Luz's mind and staying for a while.

"Thanks! I'm sure we'll probably be sharing a lot of different music with each other anyway!"

That was true. And this place genuinely was helping in its own weird way. The more she practiced and trained with Sasuke, the stronger she felt her body and mind becoming. And she was sure that in time (soon, hopefully soon!) she'd be able to get control of her Darkblood powers.

Luz was the girl she loved. She'd do just about anything to make her feel better, no matter the situation or solution in question. Even if it meant all Lexi had to do was listen and not judge. Never judge. She knew no one around here had the right to judge anyone else.

"Yeah. I want you to feel like you can come to me about anything. No matter how small you think it is or however painful it might be. Sometimes, the only way to heal is to---to lance the wound. If that makes sense?"

She hoped it did. She felt comfortable sharing family stories with Luz she hadn't told anyone else. That on some level, she kind or resented Cassie for taking up all of the air in whatever room she was in, leaving none for Lexi. Even though it was dumb and probably the kinds of things all sisters felt.

"Yiiiiikes. It's--no offense to your friend but I don't wanna be a squid again. For any reason. Can I stay human forever? You guys have been here for a full year, right?" Because not turning into a squid in all of that time would be comforting.

Lexi had the same problem. She was so used to internalizing her pain and dismissing her own feelings as unimportant compared to what she needed to be for others that she really was uncomfortable feeling anything.

Aside from love, that Lexi felt.

"I hope so! It's fun, a person's taste in music says a lot about them!"

Getting control of powers (for anyone) was going to take some time. Luz would have gladly told her girlfriend how long it had taken her just to be able to use the glyphs she was able to now, and that was before even coming to Trench! So blood powers (which Luz was still struggling with) was likely going to be a whole thing.

It was pretty powerful and endearing to know she had someone who was that dedicated to looking after her like this. She'd had people who'd done that of course, but she knew (and understood) the capacity for it was different from someone who loved you.

Even thinking of love in that capacity FELT different.

"No, I get it. I have problems talking about my stuff, since I know that it can be a little self-centered in my head. But I'm going to remember that. One of the great things about having a girlfriend is that you don't have to be so selective about what you share with them: you can be very honest."

Now she just had to remind herself of that!

The more she heard about Cassie and Lexi, the more she wondered if her whole family life fostered those feelings. Her parents seemed to have made the choice of which child they preferred, and Cassie had likely done nothing to dissuade their adoration. Why would she? The attention probably felt good. But that Lexi in the dust, which Luz knew she'd have to held her girlfriend fight against.

"Vira has always been the type to explore what she can do and is more comfortable with the things most people avoid. I admire her for that, but I know that's not something I'm not too comfortable with myself! And yes, its been a year since I'd say September, for me."

And that was NOT counting Deerington.

Luz recognized that was something the two of them both needed to work on, but they were getting there! She was sure.

Oh, there was plenty of love. Luz knew she was head over heels already.

"It does, and we'll have lots to show each other I bet!"

It was even harder since no one on Lexi's earth had special powers. Super-powers were for comics and movies, not for real life. That, alone, was likely blocking her on some level from being able to do what she could theoretically do. it was all a theory, imagination, nothing she had a reference for in the real world.

Lexi had learned the hard way to be forgiving. And willing to work hard for those she loved. How old had she been when dad left? Twelve? Thirteen? She still had braces, she remembers that much. But Luz was on an entirely separate level from her friends, even her family.

"I can get trapped in my head, too. It's probably why my only friends back home are my sister's friends. But, I don't think of it as self-centered, not really. Sometimes, you have to do it. But you don't have to do it with me. If you want space, go ahead and let me know, I won't get hurt, but I want you to feel free to express yourself. If that makes sense?"

It had been obvious for as long as Lexi could remember that Cassie was the favorite. Why wouldn't she, she was blonde haired, blue eyed, and beautiful. But she saw from a distance some attention it was clear Cassie didn't like, but didn't feel comfortable saying so.

"Vira? I don't think I've met her before. And I'm not entirely comfy with me, either. Which is probably kinda obvious. I just hope it doesn't do anything bad. And, wow. That's a long time to be here."

They were! Slow but steady won the race, right?

So was Lexi. She can't imagine her life with Luz not in it, not anymore.

"We will. I guess this is the time when we compare Spotify playlists," she says with a playful wink.

That had been something Luz had to overcome herself: in HER Earth, such a thing didn't exist either. Luz had to literally stumble into a dimension hopping situation to be able to do the things she was able to do now. Learning magic was a gift from the Isles, perfecting its execution, making even more happen with specific combinations? That had all come in tow, and she had to develop that slowly over time.

Lexi would have to find her own way to do that, and Luz had a notion she might want to help there. That went double for family trauma Luz knew Lexi had in a way she didn't.

"Oh, don't worry, I will! The way I've been in Trench, I sometimes get pulled into things I didn't even expect, and they tend to get a bit dangerous. I should have warned you that there are gonna be times you might worry about me a bit. But there are going to be plenty of OTHER times where I'll want nothing more than to get cozy in a blanket with my best girl."

Luz was going to do her best to make Lexi know it was HER that she liked, brunette and brown eyes and beautiful, smart and exotic in her own way, captivating in Luz's eyes that she was starting to get comfortable enough to admit to herself.

"Vira Lorr? We were at her wedding! But I guess you guys still haven't formally met yet. I guess I'm going to have to try REALLY hard to make that happen! Dang, I really should have pushed to make that a reality.

I'm pretty comfy with you, so I think that says a lot!"

Time would tell!

She was all too eager to show Lexi how much she appreciated the girl being there.

"Oh, you can feel free to peruse as you wish! But don't get too freaked at some of my choices! I am pretty eclectic!"

She never could get over Luz's command of her magic, though. It seemed a part of her whole being, not just a useful skill in a pinch. That was how Lexi wanted her Darkblood powers to become, something she didn't have to think about using, she simply used them.

(she may or may not have stared down Mewnos and Nosferatmew and told them she was going to lift them with her mind. only for the two to fly away. and Orville was no help. traitor)

She tried to be fatalistic about her family's problems. Her mom would always be a drunk, her dad would always be a junkie and a thief, her sister would always define herself by whichever guy she was seeing. There was little she could do about any of that.

"I know. And I'll worry, even when I might not have to. But, cuddling in a blanket, that's going to be a very common thing as the weather gets colder. Any preference for coffee, tea, or cocoa to go with it? And do you like bad movies? Not necessarily scary, but it's really easy to do scary movies badly."

Lexi was closer to understanding. Just as she understood that Luz was beautiful, lively, and took life on with as little fear as possible. Luz was incredibly admirable.

"--oh! Sorry, I must not have met her. They seemed pretty wrapped up in each other, which makes sense 'cause it was their wedding. Besides, I had my own pretty lady to pay attention to."

That made her smile. "And I'm very comfortable with you, too. Now! We need to discuss the details of cuddling in blankets. If we do it at your place, I can meet your roommates?"

And what would eager involve?

"So am I. It's like. I found a channel which was Mexican punk rock by accident and have been listening to it ever since. So, yeah, I'm definitely freaked worthy, too!"

It had taken a long time for Luz to become as adept with her magic as she was, having had some pretty near scrapes in Deerington as well as some instruction from an actual witch teacher for a few weeks! That, and some major experimentation.

In other words, it was a lot.

And Luz missed that. Shucks.

Luz would hope that her family would try to better themselves, but there was little any of them could do about that. Personally, Luz was going to always prefer that Lexi get to better herself.

"I'm sure you can't help that! And YES, that's the best part of fall! Getting under a blanket and getting real comfortable! For, that I'm thinking either cocoa or hot cider! We can see whatever movie you want!"

Luz was up for anything, even if scary movies were more appropriate for the month!

"True, very true! But call me a bad girlfriend for not introducing you two! I'm going t have to nudge her into the bookstore's direction!"

Luz is, of course, blushing as she says this. She totally heard that comment and was loving it!

"Great, and yes, that should be fine! Of course, I should prepare myself. If Reaper sees me with you he's probably going to tease me about it!"

Which Luz had no problem with. If Varian were here HE would be the one doing it.

With hugs and kissed, of course!

"Ooh, no kidding?! I want to hear Mexican Punk rock! I can even tell you what they're saying!"

...she really needs to make that network post asking for help, doesn't she? She keeps telling herself that at some point, she'll figure things out, but that was six months ago. She wants to be optimistic, but it's hard.

Lexi hoped so, too, but she honestly wondered if maybe they liked themselves like that? Even as sad as she personally considered it. She wanted to define herself on her own terms and the things her sister and parents were caught up in would make that impossible.

And that made her give an evil smile. "You're gonna regret that. I love shitty movies. There's this one called 'Roller Gator' I keep meaning to check out and the guy who did 'Birdemic' put out another movie. Be afraid. Be very afraid!" And she tries for an evil laugh, but it mostly sounds like she's trying to gargle while choking.

Those movies were supposedly among the worst ever made. They were plenty scary (that someone wrote it, directed it, acted it, and got paid for it) movies to choose from!

"It's okay, really. After all, all I did was show up at the reception and only have eyes for you."

Which was entirely true. She loved getting to dance with Luz as much as she could and Luz had been wearing a very dapper suit!

"...in a good way or a bad way? I mean, he can't be all bad, I saw him make that post looking for dates for that---jeez, I'm terrible with ages. How old was the girl?"

Oodles of hugs and kisses?

"I'll have to queue it up the next time you come over. I'd like to know what they're saying."

She does, and Luz will be on top of that once she has the chance! She just needs the reminder that her girlfriends is definitely looking to up her blood powers game, and Luz will be on it! After all, making a post looking for a trainer for her girlfriend was much nicer than a heads up post about someone being set on fire or being corrupted!

It was certainly something Luz knew that Lexi would be thinking about, but that was sometimes how people were. What was more, Luz figured Lexi would come to terms with it on her own now that she was away from it all.

"Is that a threat? Because I have to warn you, I LOVE hate watching things, especially if it's with my girlfriend! I'm game!"

And Luz couldn't help but tap her forehead to Lexi's. "That was such a cute laugh!"

Well now Luz is just beaming quietly to herself. "That is the cutest way to ignore my friends I've ever heard. You're so sweet!"

Luz meant every word, and yes, she would LOVE that Lexi admired the suit!

"In a Reaper way. He's a pain in my butt like that. He's also much nicer than he says he is. Just never ever tell him that."

Luz chuckled. "Oh, she's about twelve, thirteen, but that's not the only obstacle Ahiru has, TRUST me."

Being a duck playing a human, after all, had its drawbacks.

Yes. Oodles a oodles.

"No problem! Say, you don't happen to know any German, do you?"

If someone was on fire, she'd certainly hope that---nope. No, they probably would post to the network first. And get fifty people telling them to use water (unless it was a grease fire, then it would have to be a hell of a lot of salt and the people here seem salty enough as is). And she'd probably have to spend most of her time accepting congratulations for having such an awesome girlfriend, which she'd blushingly accept.

She was trying. So far she's stuck at "maybe they want to be that way?" Which isn't exactly a happy ending for them, liver failure, jail, and shitty boyfriends never were, but she knows that she can't control their actions. Not really.

"I know! Isn't hatewatching the best! I did that with at least half of Game of Thrones, nearly all of True Blood, and a vast number of Christsploitation movies! And I'm Jewish, watching drek like 'God's Not Dead' made me even happier to be one. So, yeah, hatewatching needs to be a thing on the regular."

"Really? Cute? Nah, you're the cute one." She will die on that hill.

And Lexi giggles and looks a little awkward. But not a lot, she'll stand by what she said. "Well...you make me wanna be sweet, so we're even."

It was an awesome suit and she wants to see it again.

"I assume impalement might result if I did? And twelve, thirteen...? Isn't that kinda young to want to start dating? I mean, I didn't...until I was here! Actually, no, she shouldn't take cues from my awkward self."

Yes, that would make things tricky? Said person would have to have a house with no cats. No batcats, no cat Omens, no nothing.

"None, really. Other than [she mangles the pronunciation of] weizenbier? 'Cause it's the only kind of beer I can drink without wanting to barf"

Luz had literally done this to prevent an old-fashioned witch burning. Luckily no one decided to chime in with some sarcasm about using water so Luz wouldn't have to get dicey with them. Luz would refuse that of course, insisting that her intent was just to help Lexi get better!

Nope, not at all. Luz was starting to learn one of the hardest things about growing up was accepting that you could lapse into bad habits at any time, and you had to do your best to try and improve yourself where you could. It wasn't easy, and both old and young people could easily find themselves falling back to what was familiar.

"Oh wow, that IS pretty impressive! I don't know if even I could take some of those myself! I mean, mom definitely wouldn't let me watch GOT, and I hear True Blood started out interesting! You definitely have a core watching strength I lack!"

Which wasn't surprising considering Luz had started out in Deerington at fourteen and then had to deal with bad things as she aged. Not really much time to get acquainted with television, let alone hate movies.

"I'll accept I'm cute ONLY when you accept you have a cute laugh," Luz said sternly, sticking out her tongue, "no exceptions."

Luz just grinned. "It comes naturally then. Sure, I'll buy that."

Oh no, no. Luz is not a girl who will do that so easily, not when she could find something NEW to wow her girlfriend in!

"It's Reaper, so I think he'll stick with intimidation. I don't think you're quite bad enough to need impalement! As for Ahiru dating, I think it's more that he's trying to get her used to the idea of it being a thing she could indulge in. Let's say that Ahiru is kind of sheltered there."

Which was about as much as she imagined she could say about it.

What did Ahiru think about cats? Luz would have to ask her later.

"Haha, of course it would be about beer!" Luz couldn't help laughing, shaking her head. "I meant more for music! Sometimes I so like hearing something foreign to my ears!"

Lexi was very careful to avoid alcohol in general. And she'd heard of the magic mushrooms and had resolved to be rid of those as well. She wanted to be in her right mind as often as possible. She wanted to be able to control her actions. Thus far, she'd been lucky but who knew when that luck would fade.

"After they get past the books, GOT is a mess of gargantuan proportions. I might have stolen one or three of mother's bottles of zinfandel to cope with watching what I was seeing for the last few. Which was a complete and utter betrayal of Martin's characters, often during the same episode! And True Blood is only fit for hatewatching, believe me."

And Lexi laughed. "Okay, okay. I have a cute laugh. And you have a cute everything else, so there!"

"...damn. I will do my best to stand my ground, then. Isn't that the best way to handle such beings, to stay firm in one's convictions? Right? Please say right. And thirteen, that's plenty of time to get puppy love on someone, to get all aflutter about someone else. But. Sheltering her won't do her any good. What if she's caught by something with none of her roommates? If she's too sheltered, she won't be able to stand up to what matters."

Cats were adorable, sweet, and cute and no one would convince Lexi otherwise.

"Ohhhh," Lexi granted, chuckling embarrassedly. "Music is a much better analogy than booze."

Luz doubted that Lexi was a big drinker now. While it was clear alcohol had been something of a draw in the past (and her mother still seemed to struggle with it) she also got the feeling Lexi didn't want to go down that path.

Besides, as she had come to understand, the things that made people "under the influence" would sort of happen on its own anyway.

"Mom made a mention that they got kind of rape happy, so that put me off of it. I only vaguely knew what she meant at the time, but once I DID know? I kept my distance. But knowing that the writing also betrayed the artistic intent is sure to keep me far away!"

She'd take her word for it on True Blood. If Luz wanted to watch something good with vampires, there was quiet a lot she could choose from.

Luz chuckled. "A cute everything? News to me!"

She was glowing, don't listen Lexi.

"Lexi, just show him the you that I know. I think you're perfect like you are, and he'll see it too. But standing firm will help."

Luz snickered. "Ahiru?! No, that won't happen. Ahiru's situation is kinda complicated, and she'd probably the one complicating it most. I can see why Reaper's trying to help her there. She could really use the push."

Luz would be sympathetic with Ahiru but ultimately did agree with Lexi on that matter.

"Right, and there's plenty of cool German music out there! Lot's of cool eighties stuff, and I hear that some band from the 90's, Rammstein, is supposed to be pretty good too!"

She wasn't. Honestly, most of the time Lexi was fine with iced tea or flavored seltzer, sticking to one wine cooler per party given that she was almost always the designated driver. Which she didn't mind, even though all of her friends were sloppy drunks, Cassie foremost among them.

It did. It was surreal listening to her mom trying to coax Rue into Narcotics Anonymous given that the few times they'd managed to talk their mom into Alcoholics Anonymous, she'd dragged her feet, then resented the meetings and the people in them, then quit.

"Yeah, rape happy and for some reason they completely missed that the entire point of Jaime's arc in the books was taking him away from Cersei and into becoming his own man, defining himself for a change instead of letting Cersei define and control him. So. Fucking. Angry."

She'd rather read about vampires, herself. TV never seemed to get them right.

"Well, it shouldn't be! Cute everything! And you're just gonna have to live with that."

Luz's glow could probably serve as an energy source for all of Trench.

"Okay. Firm. I can do that. I hope?" And she also hopes that she looks more confident than she feels.

"She's really shy or something?"

Lexi was one to talk, given that she did her best to suffer Trench on her own and tried to avoid letting anyone in too far. Except for Luz. She trusted Luz completley.

"Didn't Rammstein have a song on the soundtrack for 'The Matrix?'"

Luz would have to ask Lexi about all of those instances, as she tended to stay away from alcohol even as she was getting to an age where most kids might experiment and be curious about that. While she was younger, in Deerington she'd seen kids get into the stuff, and didn't see the upside to it yet.

She'd admit to Lexi she didn't get the draw to alcohol, but wouldn't begrudge Lexi's own involvement with it. She trusted her girlfriend to practice control over it when she needed to.

"Ooh, no kidding? It sounds like the how really went off the rails there. But then, mom wouldn't have ever let me watch then, and now I guess I lost the interest. It sure would be weird if someone from that world wound up here though."

Yes. Wouldn't it.

"Oh, I do. It's such a pain. Every day I wake up and look at myself and go 'You're too cute today Luz. You need to tone it down. Save some cute for other people!'"

She was joking, obviously. There was always plenty of cute to go around, so long as baby animals continued to be born.

"Actually, she's a bit outgoing, considering her situation, but I can't really get into more than that. You'd probably need to ask her yourself there."

Luz knew that Ahiru had secrets she needed to keep to herself, and that was a pretty big one.

"Yup, the one they're most famous for, Du Hast! But their first album was pretty darn rocking too!"

If only you knew German Luz. You would then know how inappropriate they were, though just right for your age range.

Lexi watched her sister's friends get hammered and it never seemed all that appealing. Most of the time, they acted like they'd lost more and more of their braincells, the more they drank. Until literally everything was hilarious and they seemed to lose control of their limbs, crashing wherever looked soft.

So one wine cooler was more than enough, thanks.

"That's putting it mildly. And it would, I'd be like holy crap, I know everything about you, but you know nothing about me. Unless somehow what me and everyone else was going through somehow was entertainment where they were from. Awkward!"

And that makes Lexi laugh, grinning broadly. "I dunno, I'm okay with you being a cute hoarder. Hoard all of the cute that you want!"

Even if she did hoard cute, baby animals would still be cute. it was a law.

"Oh. Well, I guess I could try? I'm just not good at reaching out, some of the time. Okay, a lot of the time. But, I'm getting better at it?" She hoped. At least she thought so.

"The only German I know is the one JFK messed up on, saying that he was a jelly donut, not a Berliner like he'd meant to say."

Right, and who needed to do that when you could actually watch a movie, laugh like idiots and fall over without having the supposed awful headache after?

Luz would, of course, trust that Lexi wouldn't go overboard.

"That would be a pretty mature show, from what you told me. Definitely going to be streaming, right? But if you were a show, pretty sure I'd be watching you while other people would be all about the other plots."

Luz may have loved drama, but she also had an appreciation for characters that were supposedly just supporting characters with their own issues.

"Ahem. We're dating now, Lexi, so you get to have some of that hoarded cute at your place too."

Oh, without question.

"Lexi, you'll probably be popping over to my place now and again, right? You can totally meet Ahiru and Luca there! I'm sure Ahiru would love to make a new friend!"

Luz giggled. "Is that what he said? I never knew that! It's pretty funny! 'I am a pastry!' And the Germans are probably looking at each other like, 'Um, ok, cool, my guy?'"

Watch a terrible movie and laugh like idiots! The only ache would be their wounded souls after having to watch something like 'Roller Gator' or 'Cyber Tracker.'

Honestly, she was just as happy sticking with iced tea or the flavored seltzer. She wished more of her sister's friends would be and the less said about Rue, the better.

"Yeah, it would have to be Netflix or something. And come with every trigger warning imaginable. It's honestly a miracle I'm as sane as everyone else, at least when compared to them."

Hers was probably that of being in Cassie's shadow all the time and not being confident to make friends on her own terms.

"Are you sure? I mean, Mewnos and Nosferatmew, of course they need their cute rations and I'm willing to share."

"Okay. Okay. If you think I'm ready to meet the family, I'll be there.

And Lexi laughed, grinning. "I don't know! That's the urban legend, though, and it's a pretty funny one, too!"

Ha ha! Luz had no idea what any of those were in the slightest, but she sure would like to know with a certain someone at her side!

Luz knew the perfect drink to introduce to her girlfriend, because she'd grown up drinking it herself! A little Morir soñando and the two of them would have a pretty great date beverage to share!

"I'd watch! I mean, now that I'm older anyway. No way would I have been allowed to do that before I wound up world hopping. I was fourteen then!"

Luz was pretty happy that Lexi had managed to keep her sanity! She found her days feeling pretty good with her around!

"I think we'll all have plenty of cute to dole out."

And then some.

"Of course you are! I'm willing to bet that Reaper won't be anywhere near as menacing as he keeps saying he will be anyway."

She hoped. Don't scare her girlfriend, Reaper!

"It is! I'd like to think we had a funny president who meant well, and not the, uh, unfunny one that we had last I checked."

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(CW: infidelity--parents)

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(CW: alcoholism, drug addiction)

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(CW: underage drinking)

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<--Am I projecting with Rammstein? Just a lil' bit.

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