"Even a pebble cast in the middle of a lake creates ripples that eventually reach the shore." -Jeffrey G. Duarte

'~-Spencer-~'

March 2nd, 2021

After the events that had occurred a few months ago, my family had changed drastically. We appointed guards- Amelia's family members- that would follow our children while they were in school. Jason and JJ did not look like they were heavily affected by their siblings' death. Amelia, and by extension the Divinity System, turned almost paranoid. It often took me at least ten minutes to calm Amelia down when she hadn't seen her children in a while.

Despite these changes, the hazy cloud that loomed over my family had lightened as time passed. Everything started to go back to normal.

I passed by the picture frames on the wall as I made my way into the kitchen. I had just gotten back from a difficult case that involved kids. Though my team never understood why it so deeply affected me.

Maxwell was already there, making himself a cup of coffee. I could only tell that it was him because he wore my clothes- having shrunk them so that he could fit into them.

"Make me a cup?" I asked, sitting down at the bar. He chuckled.

"I'm not your housewife." He joked, already starting to pour me some coffee. I glared at him.

"Amelia will not be happy that you're drinking that," I commented, resting my head on the cold countertop.

Maxwell laughed. "You know I like to piss her off. How was your day at work?"

I sighed, taking the coffee from him. "Difficult. We had to deal with kids." Sparks of sadness echoed off of Maxwell.

"Oh." He bit his lip awkwardly, though I could tell that he was deeply affected by my distress.

I laughed half-heartedly. "You sound like you're upset because I'm upset."

Maxwell's eyebrows raised in amusement. "Oh yeah? And what does that suggest, Princess?"

I rolled my eyes. "That you care about me, I guess."

His tongue darted out against his dry lips. "Sounds about right." I could feel another emotion radiating off him, though it took me a few moments to place it. "What has got your cogs turning now?"

"I've always had this strange ability to sense when someone's feeling something- though I have to concentrate pretty hard to do it." Maxwell's confident aura turned into one of nervousness. "I'm just trying to wrap my head around why-" I paused, trying to formulate words. His eyes met mine as he poured the creamer into my cup.

"So, like, you can smell how I'm feeling?"Maxwell asked jokingly.

I giggled. "When you put it that way, it sounds weird. But yes. And right now, you feel attracted to me." His gaze bore into me as he was deep in thought.

"And how does that make you feel?" I paused to think for a moment.

"I don't know." The truth was, I rarely thought of men in that way. The last time I had a relationship with a guy was in college- with Ethan. He had been one of my very few relationships that had lasted a while.

And Maxwell? I wasn't sure how I felt about him. He always teased me incessantly- usually about inappropriate topics. Maxwell was the kind of guy who knew exactly how to make you flustered. I had thought that Matt's joking would help me get used to Maxwell's, but the way that Maxwell talked seemed as if he were serious.

It had been easy to transition into loving the other alters. I had already fallen for all of them (on accident). Maxwell was an entirely different case.

"Hello?" Maxwell called to me.

"Sorry. I just don't know how I feel about you." I sighed.

"Wanna take this to the bedroom and find out?" My face turned beet-red at his comment. Though, I became more flustered at the realization that he was sitting on top of me- with his knees on either side of my body.

"Relax. I'm kidding." Maxwell's hands now rested on my shoulders, his face inches from mine. Our lips almost brushed against each other, though there was a little room that Maxwell had been careful to manage. He may have been a flirt, but at least he knew his boundaries.

"I should probably back-pedal a little bit. How about a date? Nothing fancy, just two friends trying to see if they would be good together." It seemed like a good idea. "And if you don't wanna be in a relationship, that's cool. We don't have to talk about this ever again."

"A date," I repeated. Well, it's not like going out would do any harm. "Where would we go? Everyone knows what you look like."

"I have an idea," He muttered, then disappeared. The sudden lack of warmth made me shiver.

The sound of a notification startled me out of my daze.

"I'm ready- it's your turn now. Put on something nice, but not white. Meet me at the lake in the Starry Field."

I smiled at his message, then took off towards my room. The stairs creaked beneath my heavy steps, and when I arrived at my room, I noticed that the door was left open. I swiftly closed it and crossed to the other side of the room so that I was standing in front of my closet door. I stepped into the large space and surveyed my side of the closet. Only a few suits were hanging there since I never went to formal places.

My eyes fell to the corner of the room, where, on top of a dresser, sat a stuffed bear. Its fur was a dull brown, which showed just how old it was. The bear was holding a red heart, with the words "I love you" stitched in white on its surface.

As I gently touched it, a swarm of memories began to invade my mind. The taste of Winter's frigid air, the sounds of laughter and singing, the smell of Christmas dinner, the bright lights that decorated the tree- it all came back to me at once. Of course, I had never forgotten about it, but my brain had repressed these memories after two of my children died.  This was Derek and Crystal's first Christmas with us, and it was Amelia and I's first Christmas together. I had got her a black-lace dress and an accessory for her sword. She had asked me to move in with her. Matt and I's friendship had really started to flourish.

★。＼｜／。★

Flashback

"Why aren't your parents joining us? We would love to include them in our family!"

I hesitated to respond. Matt's comment was innocent, but it had made me uncomfortable nonetheless.

"Well, you already know about my mom." He nodded.

"She could've joined us."

I sighed. "I know."

"And your father?"

"He left my mother when I was ten." Silence followed this- at least from him since nobody else was paying attention to our conversation.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," I took a sip of coffee from my new mug. "I'm over it. Kind of."

Matt began to laugh hysterically, which confused me until I noticed the smell of his breath. Alcohol.

"Did you know that people who drink heavily over a long period of time are more likely to develop pneumonia or tuberculosis than the general population? About ten percent of all tuberculosis cases worldwide can be tied to alcohol consumption. Drinking alcohol also increases your risk for several types of cancer, including mouth, breast, and colon."

"That-" Matt took another swig of his wine. "-was hot. I just might have to steal you."

My cheeks flushed. "Sorry, I'm not into men." Technically this was a lie since I wasn't sure who I had a preference for. It wasn't something I dwelled on.

He shrugged. "Oh well." Matt was suddenly very close to me, and I had to keep myself from bursting out in laughter. "If you change your mind, you know where I am." 

A giggle echoed from behind him- it was Amelia, who apparently had been listening to our conversation the whole time. 

"That reminds me of a song that hasn't come out yet." She got a couple of heads to turn towards her.

"Kinda like Spencer!" I didn't get the joke at first, but those who were listening started to laugh very hard. 

"What?" I asked, which only elicited more giggling from the intoxicated adults. Amelia was the only sober adult in the room, but she was definitely not acting like it.

Then, it clicked.

"OH! For f- Matt!" I complained, shoving Matt lightly.

"Uh-oh! Amelia, your boyfriend almost said a bad word!" He teased, to which I rolled my eyes. 

She glared at her brother. "What do you want me to do? Punish him?"

Oh my god.

Now everyone in the room was laughing hysterically. Amelia's cheeks turned bright red as she tried to explain herself- but the laughter was too loud. I buried my face into my hands and let out a quiet laugh of embarrassment.

This was starting to feel like home.

★。／｜＼。★

I snapped out of my trance and hugged the bear tight against my chest. After a heartbeat, I set it back down on the dresser, though I knew that I would come back for it later. I pulled down a suit from its hanger and swiftly replaced my work clothes with it. I did not want to keep Maxwell waiting.

The nighttime air cooled my body as I stepped out onto the grass of the Starry Field. There, dandelions swayed in the breeze. Some of their seeds began to float away, which briefly reminded me of a time when I was younger. Though I had never been superstitious, I always made wishes on these flowers- Taraxacum Erythrospermum was their scientific name.

I began to set out for the lake, which was not far from the main clearing. Amelia had never told me much about this lake- only that it was mysterious and it held the Divine relics. 

As the body of water came into view, I spotted Maxwell sitting on a picnic blanket, smiling at me. He was in another suit of mine- which caused me to laugh as I approached him.

"You're wearing my clothes again," I pointed out. His grin became ever-more prominent as we sat down near the lake's edge. "Y'know, I never knew why this lake was so important."

Maxwell thought for a moment. "From what Amelia has told me, apparently no Magi has been able to use the water from it. It's just too difficult to wield. Also, according to many legends, you cannot walk on the surface, or else the water will swallow you whole. Not even spirits can go on it. Pretty wack, right?" It took me a moment to realize what "wack" meant. "Plus, the relics are kept here. At least, the ones that aren't being wielded at the moment."

"So, why here?" I asked, picking up a piece of the chicken alfredo with my fork. 

"It's not super busy here. And this place is significant. And I guess that you're pretty significant, too." He began to mumble on the last part of his sentence.

"Did you just try to flirt with me without being inappropriate?" I joked.

Maxwell rolled his eyes. "I'm working on it. I'm not very good at being romantic."

"It's a nice change as opposed to offering to take me to bed." I glared at him, and he began to laugh.

"I still think your reaction was hilarious." He started to eat his dinner.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." We ate in silence, enjoying our non-alcoholic drinks on the side.

"You better be glad that the kids weren't home to hear that sh!t coming out of your mouth." 

He mumbled something under his breath. This time, I caught it.

"Maxwell!" I laughed in embarrassment, and he giggled alongside me.

A few more minutes of banter passed before we agreed that it was getting late. Maxwell packed up the picnic and escorted me back to our house. 

"So?"

I stopped in my tracks. The truth was, I enjoyed every bit of the date. Maxwell and I had become good friends over the years, so spending time with him was always enjoyable. Though I couldn't lie to myself- sometimes I thought of him as more than that. There was one thing that bothered me, however.

What if this attraction that I felt was just a physical attraction? What if the only reason that I liked him was that he was in the body of someone I loved? Or what if I just liked him as a friend, and I was mistaking platonic love for romantic love?

"I liked it," I began, choosing my words carefully. "I just... I don't know how I feel, I guess. I like you, okay? I just don't know if it's the "like" that I think it is."

Maxwell nodded slowly, then waved his hand at his side. Soft music began to play, and he outstretched his hand towards me.

"Dance with me?" I took his hand in mine, and we began to dance together. Slowly, we swayed to the music. At some point, Maxwell started to float on air so that our eyes were at the same level.

I chuckled lowly. "It's hilarious just how short you are."

"Actually, if I were in my own body, I would be taller than you." He jabbed, setting himself on the couch. He was still shorter than me. I let out a laugh when I saw our height difference.

"Hey!" Maxwell began to laugh as well.

Our laughter died down after a couple of minutes. We swayed in each other's arms for a long while, content in the other's presence. 

Maxwell looked up at me, searching my eyes for a very long moment. 

I didn't have time to form any thoughts as we leaned in, so close that our lips were almost touching. 

My left hand moved from his arm to his chin.

Only a moment passed before I pressed my lips to his.

Sparks ignited between our lips as butterflies erupted in my stomach. He kissed me back slowly, his hands wrapping around my head and digging into my hair.

Very quickly, the kiss became more heated and passionate- filled with unadulterated love. I was suddenly, and unceremoniously, shoved down onto the couch.

"Ow. Maxwell-" He laughed at me, to which I shot him a death glare.

"What?"

"Hey," I stopped him as he climbed on top of me. 

He understood immediately. "Okay, that's fine. Whatever you are comfortable with."

"It's just that- we aren't even official yet and we literally just kissed for the first time two minutes ago." 

"You don't have to explain yourself," Maxwell stated simply.

I shot him a tiny smile. "Thank you, Maxwell." He began to kiss me again, this time, however, he was gentle with his lips and his touch.

We were interrupted by a loud gasp.

Maxwell and I sat up and spotted the kids on the stairs, whose mouths were open in shock.

All four of us started to laugh, though I was a little embarrassed at the predicament.

"You and Maxwell?" Jason asked in disbelief.

"I guess so." I laughed, swiftly pressing my lips to his. This encouraged gagging noises from the children.

The radio, which had been playing soft melodies, now played an upbeat song that I didn't recognize. The rest of the household, however, knew the song instantly and laughed hysterically at its timing.

{: All I am is a man.

I want the world in my hands.

I hate the beach.

But I stand in California with my toes in the sand.

Use the sleeves on my sweater.

Let's have an adventure.

Head in the clouds but my gravity centered.

Touch my neck and I'll touch yours.

You in those little high waisted shorts. :}

"What's so funny?"

They shook their heads, and without explanation, they began to sing.

{: Oh, she knows what I think about.

And what I think about.

One love, two mouths.

One love, one house.

No shirts, no blouse.

Just us, you find out.

Nothing I really wanna tell you about no.

'Cause, it's too cold, whoa.

For you here.

And now, so let me hold, whoa.

Both your hands in the holes of my sweater. :}

"To think, a sweater is made entirely of knots. My stomach could clothe a village."
-Andrea Gibson