But we were happy... I guess I couldn't let that go

“Ah, that really hits the spot!” Vivian drained her tall glass of milk and slammed it down on the spa lounge table, slumping back into her seat with a big smile on her face. “Nothing like a glass of frosty milk to cool you down after a nice, warm dip in the hot spring!”

In a rare concession, she was wearing a robe instead of one of her usual dazzling outfits. But thanks to Sylvia’s clothing transformation that she’d borrowed, the robe itself was a fashion statement in its own right- cut short and styled to look nice and skimpy.

Dani, in contrast, wore a much more traditional robe. The only thing she was wearing that matched the fashionista was a smile.

“Milk does a body good,” Dani said, imagining that she was in a commercial and chuckling a little as she took a sip of her own glass. “I’m surprised though, I never took you for a milk drinker.”

Vivian laughed. “Let me guess, you imagined me as a milk tea kind of gal, is that right? Well, we’re not all like that.”

Dani blushed a little. She hadn’t been thinking about tea at all, actually. “I just meant… well, you always struck me as a ‘fancy champagne and caviar’ kind of girl, I guess, so when it came to relaxing beverages, I wouldn’t have picked milk.”

She would have imagined Vivian sipping one of those fancy sparkling waters that were like $20 a bottle and claimed to be sourced from some far-off isolated mountain stream before drinking something as pedestrian as “milk”.

Vivian kicked out her legs and stretched her arms over her head, and flashed Dani a smile. “Well… that stuff’s nice too,” she admitted with a laugh. “But there’s a charm to the simpler things, you know? Like a nice glass of warm milk…”

Dani raised her eyebrow. “This is cold, though,” she pointed out, holding up her glass. It was so cold that she could swear there was frost forming on the rim.

“Oh, uh… no, I was just thinking about something else,” Vivian said with an awkward laugh, waving her hand. Dani saw her cheeks pinken slightly and guessed that Vivian was thinking about something embarrassing.

She decided not to pry; if it was something the heiress felt comfortable sharing, she would have done so, right?

And as close as they’d gotten this morning, Dani was keenly aware of how many boundaries she’d pushed, and really didn’t want to be any more intrusive than she already had been.

Luckily, Vivian didn’t seem to mind the intrusion. Once Dani had actually gotten her to open up, she didn’t mope around or complain. She seemed to embrace the things she’d acknowledged with a laissez-faire “Well, what are you going to do?” kind of attitude, which Dani respected.

“See, back when I was a kid, Octavia used to give me warm milk every night before bed,” Vivian explained, grabbing another glass and taking a sip. Part of Dani’s all-access pass came with bottomless food and drink; the faeries worked around the clock to make sure that the girls would always have something in arms’ reach.

“Oh? Really? That’s surprising,” Dani said, raising her eyebrow. “My mom did the same thing. Said it would help me build tough bones.”

The thought that she could have something like that in common with a woman who had lived a vastly different life than hers really drove home in Dani’s head how Vivian, odd as she was, wasn’t that different from her really.

The wistful smile on Vivian’s face helped as well; Dani could see the raw emotion and humanity reflected in those deep brown eyes.

“I used to have trouble sleeping as a kid,” Vivian murmured, gazing a thousand miles off into the distance. “So Octavia would always be ready for me with a glass of warm milk, it was the only thing that would help me get to sleep. Otherwise, I’d just be tossing and turning. And it’s not like I could go get my own glass with my leg like that, so- …Eh, never mind, the important thing is that now I’m all grown up! And I can appreciate it for the flavor!”

With a proud smile the heiress puffed out her chest, almost looking like she was expecting praise for enjoying a glass of milk after a bath.

But Dani’s attention was drawn to something else she said.

“Your leg?” She asked, leaning forward curiously.

“Not important, forget about it,” Vivian said, waving her hand. “Just a childhood injury, fell off a horse when I was a kid. But I’m all better now! See?” She kicked out her left leg a couple times to prove her point. “See? Totally cured!”

“Well, with a glass of milk every night, you’d hope so,” Dani joked back, judging this to be the correct response. Dani had broken plenty of bones when she was a kid, it wasn’t that big of a deal. So even someone as rich as Vivian still got hurt like a normal kid, huh?

Of course, Dani didn’t have a butler waiting on her hand and foot when that sort of stuff happened to her. Most kids didn’t.

“Horseback riding is a lot of fun, but it can be dangerous if you’re not careful,” Vivian warned. There was an edge in her voice and a sharpness in her eyes, but it quickly faded. “Would you like to try it sometime, Dani? Me and a bunch of the girls took the horses out just the other day, and we had a blast!”

She leaned over and elbowed the tomboy playfully in the side. “If even timid Morgana can do it, I’m sure you’ve got the courage, yeah?”

Dani found herself overwhelmed by the passionate gleam in Vivian’s eyes. While Vivian tended to look that eager about damn near everything she proposed, Dani knew that horses had a special place in her heart. No surprise that she’d gotten injured as a kid.

And yet, she still loves them. It’s sweet!

“I’d be up for that sometime,” Dani agreed. “I mean, I kind of was a horse once, partially, so it’s not like I have zero experience.”

Vivian’s eyes widened and she burst out laughing. “Oh gosh! Yeah, I heard about that! You were a centaur or something like that?”

Dani nodded. “Something like that…”

She remembered what it was like to try and walk on four legs. Once she got the hang of it, it was actually a lot of fun. Would it be different if she was feeling the ground through the horse and not through her own feet?

Hopefully not.

“Then it’s a date!” Vivian cheered, clapping. “Oh, not one of those dates, just to be clear,” she added with a playful wink. “Wouldn’t want Carly to get jealous, now… …Unless she’d want to come too, do you think? Maybe?”

Vivian was trying to play it casual but Dani could see the excitement in the other girl’s eyes as she stirred in her seat, looking hopefully at her. The heiress wasn’t exactly difficult to read.

Dani couldn’t help but smile. “Vivian, I think Carly would love a chance to go riding horseback with you,” she assured the fashionista. “She’s always up for trying new things. It’s one of the things I love about her…”

Carly’s free-spirited and adventurous nature was something that she and Vivian had in common. Maybe that was why Dani got along with the socialite so well. She just felt comfortable around people who were always expressing themselves, the dreamers, the girls who just did as their heart wanted.

Maybe because Dani had always been a bit of an introvert. Or maybe it was that artistic side of herself coming out again, admiring them.

“I’m happy you invited me,” Vivian said, surprising Dani with that sudden statement. Dani turned to look at her, and raised a curious eyebrow.

“…I know? You’re welcome?” She wasn’t sure how to respond to that.

Vivian shook her head. “No, really, Dani. It means a lot. I’m… I’m being serious here.”

Yeah, Dani didn’t doubt that at all. Which was why she was so surprised that Vivian would go out of her way to express it.

“I’ve never done this kind of thing before,” Vivian said. “A spa trip, with… with a friend. I mean, I’ve gone to the spa before, and usually Octavia accompanies me, but… it’s different with you, you know? Because you invited me.”

Dani really felt bad for the poor girl. The sheer happiness in her voice made her heart ache, and part of her wanted to just scoop her up into a big hug.

“…Honestly, I didn’t think you’d like me much, thanks to my transformation,” Vivian said quietly, her voice taking on a morose tone that surprised the tomboy.

“Huh?” Dani wracked her brain, trying to figure out what transformation Vivian was talking about that Dani wouldn’t like.

…The two transformations she used most were the one that made girls dress up in skimpy outfits and the one that made their breasts get bigger. Considering Dani’s tastes, those were two transformations she was actually quite glad that Vivian made such liberal use of them.

“Are… are you talking about Sensitivity Training?” Dani asked dumbly. “I mean, yeah, it’s not the best thing to always be sleeping next to someone who gets horny when they feel other people having sex, but-”

Vivian laughed in spite of herself, amused by Dani’s misunderstanding. “No, not THAT one!” She said, shaking her head. Her smile soon faded, replaced by a hesitant expression. “I’m talking about… um… the other one.”

Yeah, she would have to be way more specific than that. Dani slowly shook her head, showing Vivian with her eyes how lost she was.

The heiress sighed and hung her head.

“…Leading by Example,” she said finally, and Dani realized what she was talking about.

“The one that makes you try to be acknowledged as the queen of the harem?” Dani asked, raising her eyebrow. “That’s the one you’ve got a problem with?”

Vivian winced. “Not the queen! Harem Manager, that’s the name of the- okay, um, it doesn’t really matter actually, just forget it…” her voice turned into mumbles by the end and she quickly shook her head, forcing on another smile to move things along.

Dani wished she could, she really did, but this was obviously important to the other woman.

“Vivian, we’re friends,” she reminded the other woman, leaning over closer to her. “You can talk with me about it, you know. You don’t have to hold it in.”

Dani had proven today many times that Vivian didn’t need to worry about stuff like that. She hoped. Looking expectantly at the heiress, she prayed that Vivian would open up to her again.

And for once, her prayers may have just been answered.

“…It’s complicated,” Vivian said with a long sigh. “That one… it’s… not my favorite, for obvious reasons… and… well, just take a look.”

Reluctantly she pulled up her screen and showed Dani the transformation.

• Leading by Example: It’s important to practice what you preach, and if Vivian wants to be the manager of the harem, she’ll have to take some steps to prove that she’s up to the task. What this means is that for each contestant, until Vivian has completed each sexual act with Nick that that contestant has already performed with him, they will not view her as worthy of the position of harem manager. Conversely, once she HAS managed to complete those acts, it will increase her esteem in the eyes of those contestants, and they will be more amenable to respecting her in that position. (Harem Manager)

Reading it again, Dani could see why Vivian wasn’t a fan of it. She’d done SOME stuff sexually with Nick, but that was obviously not something she was entirely comfortable with. And ignoring that, everything she knew about the heiress told her that Vivian wasn’t the kind of girl who would be satisfied by “winning” her way into respect like this.

Not when Dani’s approval and friendship clearly meant so much to her.

“It’s a terrible one, right?” Vivian said with a sigh, shaking her head. “I mean… just looking at it… …Well… …Okay, Dani… can you try and be honest with me?”

Dani raised her eyebrow. It had taken Vivian a while to get here, and she was the one asking if Dani could be honest?

Seriously?

“Of course,” she replied, nodding swiftly. “Believe me, if there’s one thing you can count on, it’s for me to be honest about how I feel.”

Vivian smiled, laughing a little. “I know… I think that’s why I like you so much. You’re just like Octavia in that way…”

Most people might be insulted to hear their friend comparing them to their butler, but Dani knew just how important Octavia was to Vivian. That was quite a great compliment indeed.

“…Of course, sometimes Octavia is too honest, the jerk,” Vivian added with a huff. She shook her head and that dewy look returned to her eyes as she turned to Dani again. “Dani…”

“Yeah?” Dani shifted in her chair, waiting for Vivian to confide in her whatever it was she was going to confide.

“…Do you respect me?”

That wasn’t the question Dani was respecting. And it was a far more complicated question than it seemed on the surface, given who was asking it.

But as complicated as it may have been, Dani had a simple answer to give.

“I respect you, Vivian,” she said firmly. “Everyone deserves respect.”

Well, not everybody, but certainly Vivian. Even if she had a penchant for behaving disrespectfully herself. In Dani’s book, as long as you were a decent person, then she would respect you. If not, you were probably getting punched.

Vivian didn’t seem satisfied with that answer, though, even as she smiled.

“…I’m glad,” she said, not seeming all that glad either. “I was worried… since… you know… the transformation…”

“That only says as the harem manager, though,” Dani pointed out. “I can respect you as a person and still think you’re not a good fit for that role.”

Vivian held her hand over her breast and opened her mouth in an exaggerated look of pain.

Dani rolled her eyes. “Vivian-”

“Joking, I’m joking,” Vivian laughed, waving her hand. “No, you… you’re right. I haven’t earned that yet. But that’s why I thought, um, that you might not like me, you know?”

“Because you have that transformation? I don’t think it works that way.”

And thank god it didn’t. Vivian had so many issues when it came to people liking her that the last thing she needed was a transformation mucking about with it. It seemed to remind Dani a lot of one of her own transformations, the one that relied on Nick to comfort her and calm her down. She’d been worried at first when she’d first acquired it, only to find that the restrictions were not as severe as she’d feared them to be.

Apparently Vivian was going through something similar.

“I’m glad that it’s not, like, a binary switch or something,” Vivian sighed in relief, sinking back into her chair. “That thing about ‘esteem’ could mean a lot of things, you know?”

Dani nodded sympathetically. “If you ask me, Vivian, I think you have a lot of traits that would make you a good choice for managing Nick’s harem,” she admitted.

Vivian nearly fell out of her chair trying to sit up straight. She looked incredulously at Dani.

“Seriously? You think so?” She asked.

Dani nodded. “You’re a very hard worker, for starters,” she pointed out. “And you make it a point to include people whenever you can, even people who are more **** to spend time with others, like Morgana and even Ella. I think that’s a really important trait for anyone to have, not just a harem manager.”

Vivian blushed a little, flattered by the praise. She played with her drying hair. “W-well, nobody likes not being included, right?” She pointed out with an awkward laugh. “I’m just trying to make sure everyone has a good time together.”

Dani nodded. “And that’s good for a harem manager to do,” she said. “Not to mention being considerate of the needs and wants of others- when it comes to that, your way of thinking is perfect.”

The rest of her behavior? Not so perfect.

“…Problem is, you can push it too far,” Dani said next, giving Vivian the hard truth to go with her supportive praise. “Like with Kim, for example.”

Vivian winced. She’d done this dance enough times to know that there was no point even discussing it.

“And then what happened with Nick, on our date…” she conceded with a slow nod, not liking to dwell on that memory. “I’m working on it, Dani… I am. I’m trying to be less… insensitive.”

Vivian was pretty good at reading the room. And great at reading people. For the most part.

The problems arose when she tried to push too hard. And it wasn’t like Dani didn’t understand WHY she did it, either.

That didn’t make it okay, though.

“Honestly, Dani, I think you’d make a pretty good harem manager yourself,” Vivian pointed out. “I mean, you’re friendly and nice, people get along great with you-”

“I pick fights all the time!” Dani said, trying to laugh it off as a joke. But Vivian was serious.

“Everybody respects you, and nobody has anything bad to say about you,” Vivian said, refusing to let Dani dodge the topic. “…Well, the audience, I guess, but the important thing is how Nick sees you, right? And… he always trusts your advice.”

Dani nodded slowly. She couldn’t help but be flattered by the other woman’s heartfelt praise, even if managing Nick’s harem was the last thing she wanted to do.

“Of course, you’re not a perfect fit,” Vivian added, throwing in a laugh as if the seriousness of the conversation was making her uncomfortable. Dani suspected it probably was.

“Oh?” Dani asked playfully, doubting she was entirely serious but willing to indulge her.

Vivian shrugged. “I mean… think about it. You’re not even willing to sleep with him, that part’s kind of important, don’t you think?”

Dani raised an eyebrow. Did Vivian even realize what she’d just admitted to? “…So what you’re saying is that you’re willing to sleep with Nick? Since it’s vital to being a harem manager?”

She wondered if she could fluster Vivian again, and get her to confront the feelings she may or may not have had for her friend.

But Vivian just laughed it off. “I mean… I wouldn’t have come here if I wasn’t,” she pointed out. “You know me. Always willing to do what’s necessary!”

Dan nodded slowly. Fair enough, I guess, she supposed. But as she observed Vivian’s peerless smile she couldn’t help but wonder if there was something more there, hidden behind those soulful brown eyes of hers.