“Hey, could you help me with something on Fesday?” They were at lunch, but Theo had managed to get far enough away from everyone else to ask a question to Jenny that nobody else would hear.

She blushed, for some reason. “What time? Where? What are we-“

She cut herself off, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before continuing. “O-of course.” An odd smile graced her face. It was almost fragile, like it would blow away with a single breath.

Theo thought those were fair questions. “Let’s say, just after sunset at the College of War?”

He was afraid she was going to snap her neck from how hard she was nodding. He had no idea what was going on with Jenny, but he had bigger problems to worry about, and at least one of those problems now had a solution.

---

The next session spent touring and terraforming The Woods went similar to the last one, except there was (thankfully) nobody interesting crossing or trying to do anything at all that would create more conundrums or trauma for Theo to repress.

It was just hours of quietly using magic with Francis. They didn’t chat much, but it still felt like great conversation. Just working, and admiring their work, and talking over their plan for the Coins of Unity.

“Who is joining us tonight?” Francis asked, adjusting the density of a bramble to be much more painful to charge through.

Theo muttered under his breath, changing the coarseness of some gravel. He’d gotten much more proficient at changing earth. Focusing his intent and having a more specific idea of what he wanted to happen helped with the power of the magic, as Eleanor had explained in their Magic class. “Jenny.”

If it was anyone else in their group who heard him say that, there would have been a major reaction (or a very careful schooling of facial features, in the case of Rowena). Unfortunately, Francis mostly kept to himself and was quiet in those rowdy social settings, so he just nodded and kept working.

---

Theo and Francis left The Woods sweaty and covered in dirt. Frankly, while those duties were worth being able to meditate and cultivate in the clearing (and they themselves were enjoyable in a certain sense), it still left the two of them tired and aching. Theo just wanted to get to the College of War, find the chest, sort that out, and then leave.

Which is why he was surprised when he saw Jenny, hair done up and washed, wearing a dress instead of armour, fiddling with the hem while looking self-consciously at the floor.

To his credit, Grant was not commenting or staring, simply continuing to write on the seemingly never-ending paperwork on his desk.

As they got closer, Theo noticed her lips seemed redder than usual. Her cheeks were too, but that could have just been the discomfort emanating in waves from her body.

Jenny looked up and saw them. Her face shifted from excitement to horror in an instant, and then her cheeks somehow turned a lot redder than they already were.

“H-hi Theo. Francis, fancy seeing you here.” A few things were starting to slide into place in Theo’s brain.

Jenny had expected to meet with him alone.

She had dressed very nice compared to what she normally wore.

He had pulled her aside to ask private, and asked if she could help him with something on Fesday.

Ah.

Grant confirmed it. “Sout’s sake, look at the state of you. I told her not to get her hopes up, but this is just too pathetic.” Theo flushed a red equally as deep as Jenny.

She thought this was a date.

His eyes also lowered to the floor.

Grant sighed. “Okay.” He pointed to Francis. “Sorry, I don’t know your name. Natureborn. Are you integral to whatever the hell it is you’re doing tonight?”

Francis shook his head, clearly eyeing the exit and wanting to get out of this situation that suddenly got a lot more complicated in ways he had not prepared for.

“Good.” Grant paused. “No offense. But if you’re not needed, maybe you could leave and give them some alone time?”

Grant had barely finished before Francis started power-walking away.

“Have a good night, Theo.” Francis whispered the next part, so quietly that if Theo didn’t have Bat’s Ears he wouldn’t have heard it at all. “Good luck.”

As Francis left, Grant turned his attention back to Theo, and he felt a chill crawl down his spine as their eyes met. Grant’s stare wasn’t angry, it was just focused. If you told Theo Grant could stare a hole through walls he would believe it.

“Jenny is going to show you our baths. You will clean up, put on a spare uniform, and have a long discussion with her as you go about whatever it is you came here to do in the first place. And then, when that is done, you are going to take her to a nice place for a late dinner. But first, you are going to apologise. Understood?”

Theo nodded, committing that command to memory.

“Good, you’re only a little bit of an idiot. At least I don’t need to teach you a lesson.” Grant was about to dismiss them, turning back to his paperwork before whipping back around. “But if you upset Jenny any further, I will.” He grabbed his battle axe, and Theo got the message.

He was realising that Grant wasn’t being needlessly antagonistic before, just protective. Well, he was definitely antagonistic, but it seemed to mostly be because he was protective. Theo just never got the opportunity to see who or what he was protective of. He also wondered if people he knew also acted like this in front of others (he could definitely see Eva behaving this way).

But that was a thought for another time, when he didn’t have a chest to find and a friend (?) to apologise to.

Theo looked over to Jenny, and saw a mess.

Her eyes were red and puffy, and she was sniffling. Her hands were gripping the dress tightly, white knuckles on the verge of ripping the fabric. This was Jenny, the brash and forward warrior who deliberately blows herself up with misfires to move faster. The confidence as invincible as her skin was not present. Right now, she was just as vulnerable and fragile as any self-conscious girl who realised far too late that what they thought was a date was very clearly not.

And for the second time in two weeks, Theo acknowledged that he could be an asshole.