The Nettle Tea Chronicles

Zoe

Zoe's entire week had gone so much better than she had ever imagined it would. Cassandra and herself confirming their feelings for one another and agreeing to date was the main focus, of course, but what had followed that was nothing to sneeze at either.

Zoe genuinely struggled to remember a more impactful Christmas, aside from maybe the year her family had gotten a PlayStation 2, which had put her on a path to loving gaming. She supposed, in a weird way, that year might have been instrumental in making this one so special.

The day after Christmas went splendidly, too. She and Cassandra had spent virtually all day hanging out together online. They played Mag Mell for the majority of it, just doing random events and other, non-end-game activities. They were using the Clan's chat server, and their friends popped in and out throughout the day, but at no point was the entire team together. And neither Zoe nor Cass said anything about their new relationship status.

They didn't exactly discuss keeping it a secret, but Zoe at least felt like she didn't want to share quite yet. She was still riding the high from the previous night, after all. Maybe in a day or two, they would share; it's not like she wanted to keep it hidden, given they both were part of Clan Nettle Tea. They'd probably be figured out eventually, even if they didn't share it themselves.

It was also nice that, while they did have some of the day together in chat alone, most of the time there was at least one other member in the chat with them, and it kept a lot of the pressure off. Zoe spent the majority of the day laughing and having a good time, and it sounded like Cass was too.

By the time the end of the day rolled around, Zoe was reluctant to log off. She and Cass had spent the last two hours or so entirely on their own, the conversation had flowed as naturally and easily as water, and the smile plastered on Zoe's face never left. She knew that much because her cheeks were a little sore.

But, in the end, Cassandra yawned and had to call it quits. Zoe answered with a yawn too, and figured it was probably for the best. She also knew that they had agreed to have a date the following day, so she wasn't all that bummed that it was time for bed - that just meant their date would arrive sooner.

"What would you like to do tomorrow?" Cass asked before actually leaving chat, after the game was closed. "Outside date? Home date? Something entirely different?"

Zoe considered that. "How about we meet somewhere nice-ish for lunch, then retreat to a house?"

"Works for me. I still haven't seen your place in person yet - how about we go to yours after lunch?"

Zoe smiled - Cass sounded unusually excited. "That works for me. Did you want to meet in Manhattan for lunch, or near my apartment?"

"Did you have a place in mind near your apartment that would be good?"

"There's actually quite a few really great cafes and restaurants in Astoria. I'll pick one and send you the address?"

"Sounds like a plan. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Alright. Night, Cass."

"Yup. G'night, Zoe."

After the expected chime sounded when Cass left the chat, Zoe looked around her apartment. It wasn't dirty, exactly, but there was enough clutter that Zoe decided she probably needed to clean up a bit before she let her girlfriend visit.

She grinned to herself at the thought, before turning off her PC for the night. She would clean up for a bit then get some sleep before her big day.

The next morning, Zoe woke up raring to go. She had gotten enough cleaning done before bed that she felt comfortable with Cass visiting, and consequently slept quite well. She woke up a little early, which she attributed to excitement for what would be their first 'official' date, and threw off her blankets already wide-awake to get her day started.

She went through her normal morning routine with a few special additions. She showered, shaved, applied her moisturizer and a couple other lotions - wrapping up with her best-smelling one - added a light layer of minimal, everyday makeup, and even styled her hair. It was naturally somewhat messy and wavy, so she teased it to purposefully add more volume and a little more structure.

By the time she was finished and more than satisfied with what she saw in the mirror, it was still early. So, she decided to prowl a little online to decide the best place for them to eat. Unfortunately, she kept comparing each option to her favorite little bagel shop nearby, and everything else kept coming up short. Even after an hour of comparing, she didn't find anything that shouted 'first lunch date'.

Eventually she just gave up and linked the address to the bagel shop. It wasn't anything special, really, she just loved their breakfast sandwiches. But there was usually plenty of seating, and the little shop was definitely cute in a sort of older vintage way. It had apparently been there for a while and would probably do really well on social media. Not that Zoe was the type to post pictures of food.

A little after 10, Zoe got a message back from Cass, saying she was on her way, but it would be around an hour to make the trip by train. Zoe told her that was fine, but made a note of it; Cass didn't have a car, but Zoe did. And the trip by car was less than half of the time by train, so Zoe suspected her car was about to see a lot more use than normal for the foreseeable future.

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Zoe busied herself for a while with a little more last minute cleaning. While nothing really needed to be more clean, the walking around her apartment with a duster and wet wipes was a good outlet for her ever building nervous energy. By the time she figured she should leave to meet Cass, she was practically vibrating with it, caught between nervous excitement and more general jitters.

Finally, she bundled herself up in her new jacket, complete with scarf and her favorite mittens, and walked out the door. The walk was a cold, brisk one, but the coat did its job and kept her mostly comfortable. When she made it to the little cafe, her nose was cold and her mouth was dry from the frigid air, but that was fine.

She greeted the people behind the counter, asked for just a coffee to start, and found a two-seat table to sit at to wait for Cass. She toyed with her phone while waiting, keeping an eye out for any texts or messages from Cass.

The woman walked in before ever sending a message. Cass had apparently taken the same approach as Zoe, equally excited for their first real date. Zoe went from nearly dropping her phone when she saw Cass to having a death grip on it. Cassandra was dressed for the weather, wearing the same dark blue pea coat that could have been the start of their current situation.

Her hair was up in a loose ponytail, but was clearly styled for extra volume, the tail looking fluffy and inviting. Like Zoe, she had gone with a light hand on her makeup, just enough to accentuate her eyes. It was striking.

But not quite as striking as the way Cass' entire face lit up when she met Zoe's eyes. The effect was immediate, and Zoe imagined that she was similarly bright and smiling.

Cassandra walked quickly over to the table, threw her coat over the chair across from Zoe, and sat down. "Hey, you."

"Hey."

Cass offered Zoe a crooked smile. "So, do we order at the counter, or…"

"Oh! Yeah, sorry. I wasn't sure how long you would be so I got myself a coffee, but I haven't eaten yet, I swear. I was waiting for you." Zoe said, the words tumbling out in a jumble.

Cass giggled, the sound immediately turned Zoe's cheeks red. "I figured. Let's go order - I'm hungry."

"Me too. Right behind you." Zoe said, doing her best to keep herself from rambling.

The cafe wasn't busy, so it was easy for both of them to place orders for breakfast sandwiches and coffee - or more coffee in Zoe's case. This time, she even opted for an iced coffee now that she had warmed up.

Once they both placed their orders, they scuttled off to the side to wait for the food to appear. Thankfully, the conversation flowed easily from there. They talked about how cold the trip here was, despite the otherwise nice weather. And then Zoe talked up the food from the shop, and how much she loved their bagels and sandwiches. Cass seemed suitably impressed by the time their food came out.

As they returned to their table to eat, the conversation turned to more silly topics, like their favorite Christmas events in video games they had played, or how Cass had somehow managed to avoid ever hearing Padoru.

They took their time eating, savoring the breakfast sandwiches, while arguing over the correct name for the pork roll. It was the main protein in their breakfast sandwiches after all. Once they were finished, the women gathered their things and re-bundled up for the short trek through the cold back to Zoe's apartment.

Unlike Cassandra's apartment, Zoe's was a single floor one bed, one bath. The bedroom and bathroom were their own separate rooms while the kitchen and living space was just one long space. The appliances weren't very old, but probably were still due for an update, but altogether, Zoe had no real issues with the place.

She had left her bedroom door closed when she left, which was where her main PC and bed were, but that was about all that fit in the room. The living area was dominated by a couch and coffee table on a rug over the vinyl planks, sitting across from a small TV stand with a 40-something-inch TV on it and a computer desk with Zoe's old computer hooked up. She kept it out here and connected it to the TV as well as the monitors so she could watch TV from it on the couch.

"Hey, this is pretty nice!" Cass said as she stripped off her coat and scarf. "I know you always said it's small - and I suppose it is - but the layout is at least convenient."

"Yeah, I like having this one big room for entertaining my zero visitors." Zoe rolled her eyes.

"Oi, what am I then?" Cass shot back.

Zoe put their coats on the wall hooks near the entrance and decided she could be a little bold today. She slid in behind Cass and slipped her arms around Cass' waist, letting her forehead rest between Cass' shoulder blade. "You're special."

There was a beat of silence while Cass decided how to respond. She settled on a muttered "Sweet talker," but rested her hands over Zoe's in her front. They stood like that for a moment in comfortable silence. Eventually, Cass broke Zoe's hold to try to spin in the shorter woman's grasp. Once they were facing each other, they shared a goofy grin between them.

"So what's the plan now?" Cass asked.

Zoe pointed to the couch with her chin. "We go cuddle on the couch and watch TV? Or a movie? I'll go grab some blankets from my bedroom."

Cass glanced toward the couch. "Does the couch recline?"

"No, but it's an extra deep one, so it should be fine without it."

"Cool. Then we only need one blanket. It's not that cold in here, and we can share."

"'Kay." Zoe said, giving Cass a quick squeeze, reluctant to let go. "You can turn on the PC next to the TV. That's what we have to watch from."

Cass raised an eyebrow. "Not the console under the TV?"

"Not enough power outlets." Zoe shrugged. "But there's a mouse and bluetooth keyboard on the side table by the couch."

"Ah, you're prepared."

"Yep. Ok, I'll be right back."

They split up for a bit, and Zoe dashed into her room to grab a thick and fluffy blanket from her closet. She also dipped into the bathroom for a quick pitstop on her way. When she returned, Cass was sitting on the couch with one of the video streaming sites pulled up on the TV screen, but was looking at her phone intensely.

"Cass?"

"Hm?"

"What's up?"

"Oh. DanuSoft just put out a new announcement for Mag Mell. There's a new event coming for the new year."

"Oh yeah?"

"Oh yeah." Cass said, her voice turning sly. "And it's a PvP focused one."