Maybe it was the drink. Drinks. Dagger was sure she'd had more than one glass of wine since the party at the gym began. Maybe she'd just been lonelier than she ever expected she'd become since moving here to Below. It was so much darker and in some ways drearier than Above and she wasn't exactly hitting all the milestones she'd set out for herself.Damn it, she had a plan! She had all these goals! She wasn't anywhere near reaching them, but she was determined and hopeful and she wasn't exactly floundering financially. But again, she lived alone in a tiny apartment that at first seemed cozy and perfect for her but now it felt stifling and suffocating.
Maybe it really was the drink talking but she was starting to consider taking up the naga and the neko's offer for her to go out with them on a date-date.
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"You do realize that that's sparkling wine, don't you?" Sheist said, slithering up to Dagger while holding the bottle of non-alcoholic beverage. "Any suggestion of you getting tipsy is all a psychosomatic effect." He was expecting the skeptical stare from her. She never hid the fact that she first thought he and his partner were anything more than thick muscle-heads. Intentionally using polysyllabic words in their conversation was the naga's way of passive-aggressively reminding her of her biases and prejudices.
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And Trevor was not too far behind. "You want me to get you something else to drink?" He offered, trying to play peace-maker between the two. He didn't really know how he ended up in this position, he was usually a lot more direct. Oh wait, he totally does know. Sheist asked him to fill in the role.He already asked Dagger the question his partner was dying to since the pair realized who owned the bookstore store directly across their gym. She'd rejected the idea of going out on a date with both of them, stating reasons of wanting to focus on flourishing her job or some such.
They gave her the space but kept up with trying to be her friend. As in a genuine friend. At least from Trevor's point of view.
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Dagger wasn't certain if Sheist was ever going to let her live down her initial impression of them. But in a way she allowed him to continue with it, partly because she wanted to see the full extent of his vocabulary and how he could manage to work it naturally into their conversation.
As for Trevor, she had to admit he had the physical attributes that sent her heart racing, but he wasn't as chatty as Sheist. And she enjoyed seeing the naga's reactions (or sometimes overreactions) quite a bit. "Some water would be nice."
A beat.
"If I were to say Yes to your earlier offer, what would you two have done?"
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Sheist's eyes widened and he was suddenly grinning from ear to ear, "Refresh my memory, which offer was this?" He leaned in close to Trevor, linking his arm with the neko to keep him in place. The water can wait!
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Trevor rolled his eyes at his partner's response. Typical. Leave all the heavy lifting to him. "We would have given you a tour of our gym, show you how to use the machines, then take you somewhere to eat. Coffee would be next on the itinerary, maybe cake if it was our cheat day."
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And Dagger burst out laughing, "Would you two have imposed some sort of diet on me should the three of us become a triad? Oh! Would you also personalize a training menu for me?"
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Sheist looked thoughtful, "Well, only if you were receptive to the idea. I wouldn't have said no if you were to give us a list of must-read books. Maybe find an audio-book version so I could listen while I worked out."
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Trevor mirrored the naga's expression and nodded his agreement.
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Blinking, Dagger looked at Sheist then at Trevor then at her near-empty glass of sparkling wine. She downed it for courage (again, a psychosomatic response than anything physiological) before leaning forward to kiss Sheist's lips followed by Trevor's.
"Is the offer still on the table?" she asked.
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Sheist and Trevor wordlessly nodded.
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"Excellent, and, um..." she gestured for both to lean in closer for her to whisper "If things get serious between the three of us, would a family be too much to ask for?"
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Sheist and Trevor wordlessly shook their heads before the naga clarified "A family would be great!"
"But you would have to move in with us." Trevor said.
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Laughing, Dagger nodded and the three proceeded to enjoy the rest of the party.
