The Littlest Things

John had taken the past several days off, just relaxing with Jenny, going to her shows, and playing video games at home. He felt surprisingly good after leaving the Inferno with his girlfriend. He found himself avoiding playing games like Cloudedge, and instead playing less violent games like Pentris and Sundrop Mountain.

He also spent time with his online friends, assuring them that he was not, in fact, dead, but that he had found a new job and a girlfriend which kept him too busy to game as much as he used to. He felt bad for not telling them the whole truth and for neglecting them for nearly a month, but there was nothing that could be done about it. Mundane people had no place in the Abyss.

“Have anything in mind for tonight, Johnny?” Jenny asked, slinging her bass case over her shoulder. Despite her lack of experience, she had found great enjoyment in the peaceful farming life and pixelated graphics Sundrop Mountain provided as well, and they would both probably play it into the early morning.

“Make some food, play some games, sex later,” John recited, shooting her a smirk, “did I miss anything?”

“Well, it’s not gonna be in that order!” She got onto her motorcycle, and he sat behind her. Playing in the Inferno and visiting her dad aside, neither of them had used any Abyssal conveniences or abilities the last few days, not even fast travel barriers. She gunned down the street, the roar of the engine echoing through the empty lanes in the otherwise quiet night.

Nearing September, the night felt more like fall than summer. Jenny’s heat was comforting in the cold dark. He simply let his helmeted head rest against her shoulder as she drove, sure of his grip and her balance. His thoughts drifted to how nice the past week had been. Living off the thousands of dollars in his inventory (and in a bank account conveniently set up by his ‘employers’) meant they could do pretty much whatever they wanted. It’s nice. It feels like everything I’ve done has actually been… worth something. Other than getting stronger.

She slowed to a stop in the parking garage underneath their building, and he realized that they had arrived. “Hey, you feel like just ordering something instead?” Words she had been waiting on for nearly a week, not that she didn’t like what he cooked.

“Johnny, now you’re speaking my language.” She held her helmet in the crook of her arm as she made sure the bike was secure, before smiling brightly at him. She had no idea how to cook, so eating out was the norm for her when she lived alone. “What do you think? Mexican?”

“I didn’t think they delivered,” he replied, taking out his phone and looking up the nearest one. A barrage of notifications greeted him, and he realized it was the first time he had taken his phone out of his inventory in days. He swiped them away without looking, they could be looked at later.

“There’s an app for that, ya dork,” she laughed and kissed him on the cheek, pressing the button for the elevator. “I’ve got it covered.”

He let her fiddle with her phone while he looked into getting the aforementioned app, and by the time they were in their apartment, the food was on the way and he had installed GrubDash for future convenience.

He booted up his computer and made sure it was connected to the TV via an HDMI cable, connecting two controllers and launching Sundrop Mountain. His phone vibrated, and he decided to check the notifications he had swiped away. Apparently, he had dozens of missed messages and calls from Amy. The first few read as such:

Amy: We heard that something went wrong with your mission and you’re recovering in the infirmary, are you ok?
Amy: Hey! We’re all worried about you, and when we went to check on you at the infirmary, they said you had already left. I hope you’re okay! See you soon.
Amy: It’s been a day now and you still haven’t been back to the dorms and we’re all even more worried, please respond when you see this, John.

Shit. I feel stupid. I guess I’m just… not used to being missed, John thought as Jenny walked into the kitchen. They must be worried sick about me! It looks like all they know is something went wrong on my contract and I disappeared from the infirmary! That makes it sound like something really serious happened!

Suddenly the gravity of the situation which had caused him to take this vacation seemed less impactful; it certainly didn’t warrant blowing off his friends and making them think he had gone into a coma or worse.

John: I’m so sorry! I’m okay, I left the infirmary because they healed me. I haven’t been at the dormitory for the past five days because I’ve kind of been on vacation. Had my phone in my inventory. Totally my bad.
John: I’ll be there in a sec, so you guys can see I’m okay.

“Jenny! I’ve kind of left my friends with no clue of where I was for the past five days. I’m going to go talk to them. I’ll be back by the time the food gets here.” On the way to their bedroom, he went to equip his combat equipment out of habit… and realized he didn’t have his duster anymore. That’s right! Jackie must still have it in Jarako. Shit, I am definitely going to need that back soon. Can’t stay on vacation forever.

“Okay! I’m going to get started on watering the crops and feeding the animals!” Jenny called, walking back into the living room and picking up a controller. Feeling bad for having to leave, even so briefly, he touched the waypoint while envisioning the dorm, and felt the compressing pop of teleporting there.

His room was dark, but he noticed a letter on his bed, left there likely because it was the only substantial piece of furniture in the room. I’ve gotta furnish this place, even if I’ll be spending most of my time at home. Picking it up, it explained a few things.

Gamer,
This is The Hermit. I’ve detected an unsecured teleportation beacon in your room, and have made one of my followers secure it for you and you alone. I’ve also taken the liberty of having someone secure a permit for you. Next time, please read the rules more carefully. I won’t always have your back. You may still take people along with you when you use it, but most others will find it a simple magical anomaly with no other use.
Regards, The Hermit

I guess that explains why they didn’t try to check the apartment, the only person that’s been there is Abigail, and she’s only been there once. She’s also new to town, John thought, pocketing the letter.

He walked into the living room of the dorm, but again all was dark. All three other bedrooms were similarly dim. I wonder if anybody’s here? They go on contracts too of course..

He heard a bedroom door open, and a sudden light accompanied by the sound of ignition behind him answered his question. “Who’s here?” Abigail’s voice cut through the silence, but she let out an unusually girly shriek when she saw it was him. “John!”

Her enormously strong arms locked around him from behind in a bear hug, dealing a couple points of damage and squeezing him tight. “We missed you so much! What happened to you!? Where did you go?”

“I just kind of… took the week off. I’m sorry I didn’t text or call. I should have. I was **** to testify at a trial and… I think Lucille’s going to die because of me. That weighed on me a lot, and I just wanted to get away from… the entire Abyss, or at least the violent side of it, for a while. I’m going to take a few more days off, but I’ll visit you guys tomorrow. What’s up with Amy and Grace?” He carefully extricated himself from her grasp, and breathing suddenly became much easier.

“They went on their first missions. Amy should be back soon and Grace left like an hour ago. I just got back from my first,” Abigail explained, extinguishing the flame she was using to brighten the room and flicking the light switch.

“What are you doing right now? Do you want to watch something?” Abigail eagerly asked, gathering her hair out of her face.

“I’m actually with Jenny right now… but tomorrow! Tomorrow for sure, I swear,” he promised, hands toward her in a placating gesture. “We’ve been enjoying our alone time, but I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you. It’s just that we sort of already have plans.”

“Oh alright,” she moped, but quickly regained her fiery optimism. “Why don’t we go out and eat somewhere tomorrow, all five of us?”

“Jenny’s working for most of tomorrow, but I can be there,” he assured her, thinking of where they could go. “Why don’t we order a bunch of food or go out to eat somewhere and have a game night? Have you ever played any board games?”

“My dad taught us how to play cards, but I wasn’t really good at it. Is there stuff other than that?” Abigail asked, clueless to the world of cardboard entertainment awaiting her.

“Yes, yes there is,” John simply stated, deciding to check the Abyssal Auction for magical board games, and at worst go to the Floorshop and pick up regular board games. “So much more than that. If you can convince Amy and Grace to come, I’m sure we’ll all have fun.”

“Awesome! I’ll be sure to convince them.” Abigail pumped her fist into the air, ready for new experiences.

“I’ve gotta go now, but I’ll be back tomorrow. You three decide what you want to do, I’m fine with pretty much anything.” He hugged her tightly and returned to his apartment to find his girlfriend on the couch, mining in a cave ingame.

“How’d it go?” Jenny asked, not looking up from the screen as John took a seat beside her, leaning against her.

“Better than I thought it would, but Abigail was the only one there. We’re going to have a game night tomorrow. I know you’re working, but if you finish in time, do you want to join?” He picked up his controller and decided to join her, heading through the path in the town and toward the caves.

“Sure! I haven’t had a game night in… ever. Sounds fun.” She kissed him quickly, easily. In that moment he wanted more, and he knew he could get it, but… they were busy gaming. That could wait until later. Suddenly their buzzer sounded, drowning out the peaceful music of the game. “Oh,