Dinner went… better than I expected it to, I guess? Which really wasn’t saying much, but I was honestly just glad that it ended without any dishes being thrown - Marlene slamming her wine bottles onto the table so much was bad enough, already. I guess Nivera didn’t want to piss off her soon-to-be mother-in-law that badly, though, because she mostly stuck to glaring at Marlene a few dozen times to keep her in check. 

The food was probably the one good thing about the entire affair. Nivera was a way better cook than I expected and Devilla emptied two entire plates, even if she did share with Lucy. Where the hell Devilla put it, I had no idea. Maybe angels just didn’t have to worry about that sorta thing? Or maybe it all just went straight to her tits and ass? Something to maybe ask her about later, maybe.

Either way, with dinner done, the next thing to do was pretty obvious - get Lucy and Devilla back up to the 101st floor without anyone noticing that a human had been brought into the tower. Not that it was exactly a challenge with Devilla handling the illusion. In fact, it went so smoothly it’s barely even worth a mention.

The rough part came after we reached Devilla’s room, where the teleport circle was. That’s when Lucy put a hand on Devilla’s shoulder and asked, “Is it okay if I talk to Abigail for a bit before we go?”

“I certainly don’t have an issue with it,” Devilla replied with a glance at me. Despite what she said I could see the worry in her eyes. I wanted to believe it was for me, but I knew at least a little bit of it had to be directed towards her girlfriend’s wellbeing. Maybe she was afraid of what I might say to her? I didn’t know. Still, it was clear as day that she was asking what I wanted, which was appreciated, but… not really necessary.

“Not like I have any reason to refuse,” I replied with a shrug. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Actually, I was sort of hoping we could discuss this by ourselves?” Lucy admitted. She looked at Devilla. “If you don’t mind?”

Devilla blinked in surprise - hell, I did too for that matter - but shrugged and nodded before heading towards the door. “If that is what you wish, I certainly have no problem with it.” She did her best to make eye contact with me before actually leaving though, and only opened the door after I gave her a little nod. Which, again, was appreciated, even if I couldn’t help but think she might be worrying a bit too much.

I mean, sure, she was basically leaving me alone in a room with the woman whose entire existence was supposed to be dedicated to exterminating me and everyone like me, but I mean… it was Lucy! I didn’t exactly like her, but I sure as hell didn’t fear her. Even if I was a lot weaker than her, what with me being… well, weak in general. At least by demon standards. My magic capacity in particular being absolute shit…

“So,” I began, deciding to push those self-deprecating thoughts away, “what do you want with me?”

“It’s not really about what I want,” Lucy said cryptically. From the smile on her face though, I don’t think she was trying to be infuriatingly vague. “It’s about you! And Eena! And how much you like her!”

…Okay, maybe the vagueness would have been better after all. 

“What do you mean?” I asked, forcing myself to smile. Thankfully, I was really good at faking it. Certainly a hell of a lot better than a certain pair of sisters who couldn’t even trick a toddler with their strained expressions. 

“I mean… You like her, don’t you?” Lucy asked in return, curling a strand of red hair about one of her fingers. “Like, you really like her. I can see it in your eyes when you look at her.”

“So? You want to tell me to back off or something?” I asked, wincing internally at the obvious irritation in my voice. I wasn’t trying to make enemies with my boss’s girlfriend, here. Even if I did maybe sorta kinda fancy the boss in question…

Lucy’s smile never budged, though. Hell, if anything, it maybe grew a little wider as she shook her head. “I think you should ask her out!”

“What…?” The hell? “Do you not have a jealous bone in your body?! Who the hell tells another girl to ask out her girlfriend?!” I mean, sure, polyamory was a thing - and a relatively common thing, at that - but there was a difference between accepting multiple partners and pushing someone towards your own partner with absolutely no regard for yourself! Especially considering Lucy didn’t exactly know me. Hell, I wasn’t even sure we’d ever actually directly talked with one another before. It was definitely the first time we had a private conversation, at the very least.

“I don’t really get jealousy,” Lucy admitted with a shrug. “I mean, if something’s really great, why wouldn’t you want to share it with people you care about?”

“You can’t possibly be including me in the list of people you care about, can you?! We don’t even know each other!”

“No, but we could fix that! You could go on a date with me after your date with Eena! Then maybe it’ll turn out we all like each other!”

“And if we don’t?” I pressed, narrowing my eyes at the Heroine. “What then? You expect me to give up on Devilla after actually working up the nerve to ask her out?”

“Well, it’s not like we have to be head over heels for each other to share her,” Lucy pointed out. “I mean, as long as she makes enough time for us both, it’s fine, right? If things don’t work out between us we don’t really have to interact that much, but why should we assume the worst? Isn’t it better to hope for the best? I mean, Eena really likes you, even if she doesn’t see you that way just yet! Which means you’re a good person, as far as I’m concerned, and I don’t see why I wouldn’t get along with you too!”

“Uh, maybe because you’re a human?” I countered. “Not to mention the Heroine!”

“Why does that matter?” Lucy asked, confusion written all over her face. “We’re working together to end the war, aren’t we? Doesn’t that mean we’re already on the same side?”

“Yeah, but-! But…” I trailed off, unsure what to say. That this was different? It was - or at least it felt like it was, but I couldn’t really explain why. Maybe because she was literally born and raised to exterminate people like me? Because she was a human, a member of the same species that had hunted our species to near extinction? Sure, I was onboard with the idea of peace, but that was more about necessity than anything else. We demons weren’t in any position to win the war short of Devilla going on a mass killing spree to take care of all the enemy leadership, at a minimum. It didn’t mean I actually wanted to live side by side with humans, or anything. I just… had to.

Just like I had to at least try and get along with Lucy if I wanted to stay by Devilla’s side.

“Forget jealousy,” I said. “I’m starting to think you don’t even have any selfishness in you, either. Actively trying to share your loved one with a total stranger? No way I could ever do that.” 

Devilla probably could, though. In fact, I was willing to bet she’d do the exact same thing as Lucy if she was standing in her shoes. Though in Devilla’s case, she’d probably outright expect to be left for the second party at some point. Speaking of…

“Aren’t you afraid that I’ll steal her away or something?”

“Definitely!” Lucy replied, causing me to gape at her in surprise. “I mean, I’ve never been with anyone before, you know? And Eena’s really kind, sweet, and selfless - though the last part is maybe more about thinking she doesn’t deserve anything… I’m sure she’ll still be just as kind and generous even once she gains confidence in herself, though! Just… maybe… a little less self-destructive? Oh, but that doesn’t have anything to do with why I’m terrified, though. Not directly, anyways. It’s just that I can see all sorts of people wanting her time for themselves… Still, I don’t want to keep her from knowing that someone else loves her! I want her to choose to stay by my side, even knowing that - and I don’t mind if she wants to stand by someone else’s side, too! Though I’d like it even more if we could all somehow stand side by side together!”

“You’re actually insane. That’s… You’re basically pinning all your hopes on a dream of an ideal future! What if it goes wrong? What if I do try to steal her away from you? What if she’s not interested in dating two people at the same time? What if she ends up having to choose between us? There’s no putting things back in the box once I open up about my feelings, you know!”

“I don’t think you're the sort of person who would try and steal her,” Lucy replied. “And even if I’m wrong, I don’t think Eena’s the sort to be stolen…”

“And if you’re wrong about both?” I countered.

“Then I want to know now, before I fall even deeper in love!” Lucy declared, placing a hand over her heart. “I really don’t think I’m wrong, though! I believe in Eena!”

“Why?! You’ve known her for… what, a few weeks? There’s all sorts of stuff you don’t know about her!”

“And I can’t wait to learn all those things about her!” Lucy replied, beaming at me. “But for now the first thing I want to learn is whether she’s willing to date two people!”

“...I don’t get it… Why are you willing to go so far for me? To risk everything for me?”

“It’s not really for you.” Lucy admitted as her smile faded. “Or at least not completely? I mean, I guess it partly is, but… it’s also for Eena. Because I want her to be as happy as she can be! And I think that if you keep quiet about your feelings, it might interfere with that happiness… but even if it doesn’t, I don’t think Eena would be able to achieve peak happiness without knowing the truth! That can only happen if everyone Eena cares about comes together!”

“You’re dreaming,” I said, shaking my head. “You want an ideal scenario, where nobody has to give up anything, and everyone’s happy - and you’re willing to risk your relationship with her to get it? The happiness she already has with you? It’s crazy.”

“Maybe I am dreaming,” Lucy admitted. “Maybe I’m crazy for trying something like this, but I know polyamorous relationships can work! And even more than that though… It’s like I said before - maybe Devilla and I could have a happy ever after if I let things continue as they are, but we’ll never have the happiest ever after if we don’t at least try for it!”

“...Fine, have it your way. Not like I have anything to lose…” Except Devilla’s friendship if things didn’t pan out well. And my job, I guess. Not because she’d fire me, or anything, but more because it would be super awkward to keep working around her if things went sideways.

“Great!” Lucy said cheerfully. “Let’s go ask her, then!”

“What? Now? Right now?!”

“Yup!” Lucy confirmed while reaching for the doorknob. “The sooner we do it, the sooner it’ll be over! Then we can work towards our ideal future! Together!”

“That’s…” Technically true? Though whether my heart was ready for it was another matter entirely! Lucy was already swinging the door open with a wide smile, giving me no time to steady my nerves. Devilla was right outside with a strained smile, obviously trying to pretend like she hadn’t been quietly panicking throughout our entire conversation, wondering what we might have to say to one another.

The way she couldn’t help but wear her emotions on her sleeve was part of what I liked about her, though…

“Is everything alright?” she asked, looking between the two of us with concern in her eyes. I couldn’t help noticing that she didn’t actually linger on one of us in particular, either, like she was concerned equally about us both…

“Yup!” Lucy replied. “Abigail has something she wants to ask you, though!”

“Something to ask?” Devilla inquired with an arched eyebrow. “Something that required a private conversation between the two of you?”

“Yeah, well…” I hesitated a moment, but only for a moment. Then I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and took the plunge. “It would have been a bit awkward asking you out without getting her permission first.”

Silence. Absolute, deafening silence. Then, the slight clanking of armor as Lucy began to move. Clanking that only got louder the longer I kept my eyes closed, until eventually I forced one open to take a look.

I kinda wished I hadn’t. I mean, Lucy was basically dancing in place and barely holding back a squeal of glee from the looks of things, while Devilla was just sorta… staring at me in shock?

“Did I break her?”

“N-no,” Devilla replied, shaking her head rapidly back and forth. To clear it, I guess. “It’s just… You’ve caught me off guard, is all. It… it almost sounded like you were expressing romantic interest in me, but… I’m sure you just meant… I mean, you can’t possibly… I mean, I haven’t done anything worthy of your affection, so why in the world would you…?”

“Like I know?!” I asked with my arms crossed. “Maybe it’s because you’re nice? Or maybe it’s just me clinging to the first person who’s actually put up with me… Who listens to me and takes my advice seriously. Or because you’re actually really sweet, and selfless, and you’re always thinking about other people, even when you should really be thinking about yourself… Maybe I just have a thing for broken chicks? I don’t know! I’ve never fallen for anyone before! But… I don’t know. The more I learn about you, the more time we spend together, the more I start hating our time apart. I didn’t even realize it, at first. I mean, one day I was perfectly fine, and the next I was dreading the moment you’d leave my arms to go back to her. And yet she’s the one who’s pushing me to ask you out, like some sort of martyr, while I’m rambling like a loon who doesn’t even know when to shut up, and… and…”

Devilla’s form blurred. One moment she was standing still, shocked, and the next she was standing in front of me, her arms wrapping around me to pull me into a hug. It was only then that I realized I’d started crying at some point.

“I would be honored to go on a date with you,” Devilla declared in that formal tone of hers. The one that helped hide how incredibly bad she was at this sort of thing. I was willing to bet that her face was red as a beet, right then. Half the reason she was hugging me was probably to hide it.

…Okay, maybe more like a quarter of the reason? A third at most. It was mostly just because she cared.

“Then it’s a date,” I replied, deciding to push that thought out of my mind for the time being. “We can go… uh…” Crap. I hadn’t thought about what to do after asking her out.

“How about tomorrow?” Lucy suggested. “We can fly to the city I wanted to take you to in the morning, and then you can go on a date with Abigail that night!”

“I… yes, that sounds good,” Devilla replied. I couldn’t help but notice the slight tremor in her voice, though. And her body. She was obviously feeling a bit overwhelmed, a feeling I shared.

“Tomorrow, then,” I said, deciding to end the hug and save Devilla fro, further embarrassment.

Well, that was the plan before Lucy flung herself at us, anyways, wrapping both of us up in her arms and squeeing directly in my ear.

It was only then that I remembered something she’d said earlier, about her wanting to go on a date with me after my date with Devilla. She didn’t actually expect me to go through with that though, right?

…Right?

~~~

Author's Notes

I nearly forgot my plans for this scene, but a random comment inadvertently reminded me… The good news is that writing this was a lot less stressful than I expected it to be. Abigail’s been coming super easily of late, though, so maybe that’s not too big of a surprise? I’m pretty happy with the results, one way or the other.

Next up is the adventure proper, and then the first date soon after. Of course, if you're too eager to read ahead, you can always join my Patreon and read two (unedited) chapters in advance! You also get 2 advance chapters of Naughty Magic, all for as little as $1~!

Thanks, as always, to FallingLeaf for the amazing job of editing! And thanks to all of you for reading, liking, and commenting!