More Goth Girl Dates (Paige POV)

Paige was having such a blast playing games with Gemma that she completely lost track of time. When Ivy came back into the gaming room to come get her, she immediately apologised. Ivy had giggled and told her not to worry about it. Ivy and Gemma had kissed (ugh, she really wanted them to do that to her), before Paige had headed out of the gaming room with Ivy for their date.

She had then found herself accompanying Ivy outside and around the palace to do some gardening. She knew that Ivy was an artificial spirit, but she couldn’t really understand how Ivy was so powerful and so self aware. Most artificial spirits that she had seen or read about in passing were pretty mindless and had very basic functions.

One of the powers that Ivy somehow had was the power to grow plants. Ivy told her that since she’d gotten that power, apparently pretty recently, she’d wanted to do some gardening around the outside of the palace and give some colour to the landscape. She’d gotten permission from Gemma and now had the time to.

While Ivy didn’t really need help with using her powers, she’d thought that Paige could give her opinions on designs and colours for the plants and flowers that she grew. Paige had agreed, thinking it would be a fun idea. “I think blue and pink flowers would work really well around here. What do you think?” Ivy asked her.

Paige played with her hair for a few moments before speaking up. “I think so too. If you’re going with blue and pink, you could also do red and purple to give it even more colour.” She suggested. Ivy nodded, smiling at her. “That would work! The variation in colour would be really pretty, and worst case scenario, it’s not hard for me to reverse plant growth either.” She said.

Ivy began to grow sections of flowers with different colours, arranging them in neat and beautiful patterns. She worked slowly, having no need to rush. While she grew the garden, the two of them talked. “I know from my connection with Gemma that your date with her went really well, at least in her eyes.” Ivy said, smirking at her.

Paige blushed, playing with her hair. “Y-yeah, I think so too. I really l-loved how patient she was with me…like I don’t have any experience with games, but she was happy to help me w-whenever I needed it…even though she had to explain the same things again and again…” She trailed off, blushing. Ivy smiled affectionately at her.

“I can tell you from being inside her head that she did not mind at all. She thought it was really cute and she really appreciated that you were doing something she enjoys with her, even though you aren’t really familiar with it.” Ivy summed up, and Paige blushed even harder. “R-really?” She asked. Ivy nodded and she looked at the ground, playing with her hair happily. Ivy giggled at her reaction.

“Awww what’s wrong? Is somebody flustered?” Ivy teased, and Paige damn near whimpered at the teasing. She managed to control herself, but only barely. She loved being teased like this. She didn’t know why, but it made her feel warm and tingly. It made her feel special and like she was admired, and she loved that feeling.

“N-no…” She managed to stammer out, smiling giddily and avoiding eye contact. She heard footsteps in the snow and before she could properly process it, Ivy was in front of her and she felt a finger under her chin. The touch from the much taller, dominant woman gave her chills down her entire body, making her shiver.

The soft finger gently pulled her head up, until she met the gaze of the ridiculously gorgeous artificial spirit. “Are you sure about that?” Ivy asked, smirking at her, her eyes awash with teasing intent and affection. Her voice was silky smooth, soft as a cloud, low pitched in the feminine range, and resonated throughout Paige’s entire body.

In the headspace she was in, every word out of Ivy’s mouth was enough to make her shiver with anticipation and desire. Ivy oozed confidence from every fibre of her being, and her teasing nature alluded to how she would treat her if given the opportunity. Paige felt safe with her. She knew that Ivy would treat her right.

“M-maybe I am flustered…” She admitted, and Ivy’s smirk grew. “Good girl. I’m glad you admitted it.” She said, putting her hand gently against her cheeks, stroking Paige with her thumb. The gothic woman instinctively nuzzled into Ivy’s touch. The tingling in her body grew ever more intense and she felt a rumbling in her chest.

Ivy squeaked and immediately pulled her into a tight cuddle. “Oh my Gaia, you’re purring! You’re so cute!” The healer gushed and Paige felt her face flush from embarrassment. “D-did I actually?” She asked, cringing at herself. “You did! It’s okay beautiful, it’s absolutely adorable.” Ivy reassured and Paige smiled.

“I…I guess you just make me feel safe and cared for…I feel relaxed around you all…I trust that you’ll take care of me…” She managed to get out, her voice barely above a whisper. Ivy separated slightly from her, and took both of Paige’s hands in her own. “We will take care of you. I promise.” She said. Ivy kissed her on the forehead and Paige giggled happily, nuzzling back into Ivy’s chest. Ivy held her with every bit of affection and care that she had.

They eventually had gone around the whole of the palace and grown patterns of beautiful flowers and plants all around it. They stepped back to admire the work for a few moments. It was absolutely beautiful, giving every pop of colour that they had both envisioned to the large dwelling, without taking away from any of it’s beauty, instead adding to the beauty of the castle and everything surrounding it.

With their gardening date done, Ivy hugged Paige, who blushed intensely at the contact once more, before she went to find Skylar for her last date of the day. As she’d said before, Skylar was in the library, sprawled comfortably on one of the couches reading, with Dave curled up at her feet.

Skylar spotted Paige and stood up to greet her. The two of them hugged, and Skylar smiled at her. A small smile, but honest and genuinely happy to see her. “How were your other dates?” The umbramancer asked her. Paige smiled at her as she relived the events of the day so far in her mind. “Perfect.” She said simply, happy that her stutter was nowhere to be seen.

Skylar’s smile widened slightly, and her eyes seemed to sparkle with happiness as she looked at her. “Good, I’m glad.” Skylar said. She held up a tennis ball. “Want to play around with Dave?” She asked. Paige nodded enthusiastically. She’d loved playing with the wolf earlier today, and she was happy to have the opportunity to do so again.

They moved outside, where they could all run around without fear of knocking into things. Paige delighted in the simple game of fetch they played with Dave, who wagged his tail eagerly the whole time, bounding after the ball whenever it was thrown, bringing it back just as quickly, handing it gently to Paige or Skylar, his intelligent eyes following every movement of the brightly coloured ball.

They played for a while mostly without speaking, instead spending time together and giggling at the happy wolf and his reactions to everything. It took Paige a few minutes to work up the courage to ask the question that she really wanted to. “H-hey Skylar?” She started. “Hm?” The umbramancer responded questioningly.

“...a-are you sure that you’re like…okay with me joining your p-polycule?” Paige asked, afraid of the answer. Skylar smiled at her kindly, seeming to know exactly why she was asking. “I know I’m not as affectionate or as outwardly enthusiastic about this as my girlfriends are. I want you to join us, and I want to give you a chance.” Skylar said, and took a deep breath.

“I’m just a little more cautious about this stuff than they are. They’re all very quick to fall in love, and that’s okay. From the looks of it, so are you.” She said, chuckling as Paige blushed. “That’s okay too. I’m not as quick as they are. I like you, a lot. You’re passionate, caring and you have a good heart.” The umbramancer continued.

Paige began to play with her hair at the compliments, looking at the ground and smiling. Skylar chuckled again. “You’re also adorable. I like you a lot, but I’m not in love with you like they are, not yet.” She admitted. That stung a bit. Paige winced and stopped playing with her hair. Skylar grimaced. “I’m sorry, I know it’s not nice to hear, but I don’t want to lie to you.” She said.

“But hey, listen. I might not be in love with you yet, but I know I could be. I have that feeling that says I can fall for you like my girlfriends have. Give me time, treat us well and just keep being you, and I’ll fall for you, maybe sooner than you think.” Skylar continued. That gave Paige hope. She looked up and met the shadow mage’s gaze.

“I really hope so. I really like you all, a lot. The more time I spend with you, the more that I’m sure I want to be with you. I want this to work out.” Paige said, smiling at the idea of waking up in bed with all of them. Skylar smiled back at her. “Keep being you, communicate with us if there are any issues, and it can definitely work out.” Skylar said reassuringly.

Paige nodded, her smile returning. Skylar regarded her affectionately. “Hugs?” The umbramancer asked simply. Paige nodded, enjoying the warm embrace of the woman she loved.