Once we got to Aquaria's floor, we saw Grimora waiting at the door.
"Geez, did you guys sneak off to go do it or something?! You have a perfectly good and fully paid-for apartment right here!" Grimora complained, but Aquaria just pushed her out of the way and dragged me inside. "Just pushes me out of the way! I will remember that, Water Girl!"
"Don't call me that!" Aquaria snapped as she pulled me down to one far end of the couch.
"Then don't be so mean to me! Just because we have a guy doesn't mean that you have to start acting like you are the boss of things!" Grimora complained as she came into the apartment, closing the door behind her.
Aquaria turned and then stabbed a finger at Grimora. "You little slut! Why didn't you tell me?!" She snapped, and I winced. I had yet to say anything about this either.
"Aquaria, umm, we-" I started to say, but she just slapped her hand over my mouth.
"This has nothing to do with you, so just sit there and look pretty, or you can make us all something to eat while I deal with this!" She growled, and I lifted an eyebrow. This clearly had something to do with me, but if these two were going to both be in my life, then I suppose I really should just let them figure it out.
I pulled her hand off my face and then got up to go look in the kitchen. I was getting hungry, but I hadn't really looked around Aquaria's kitchen. And now I know why.
"Umm, where is your stove? Or anything?" I asked, only seeing a sink with a drying rack and a microwave with an dark black LCD screen. There wasn't even a fridge!
"Just use the Manawave!" Aquaria said as she stormed over to Grimora. "Why didn't you tell me when I saw you?! I asked you who you were waiting for! And I told you he was my boyfriend!" Aquaria snapped but then looked at me. "I can call you that, right?" She asked, suddenly becoming shy and cute.
"Yeah, I don't mind at all, but how do I use this thing?" I asked, looking at the black screen on the side and poking it. The moment I did, the entire section lit up, making me jump back. Every different style of food seemed to be named, and I became mesmerized as I scrolled through.
"Men are so easily entertained," Grimora said with a sigh as I saw her looking at me out of the corner of my eye, then she turned back to Aquaria. "If you remember, that was right about the moment that he was shot out of the building, right? What did we do? I am sorry that it slipped my mind, but you have to admit, the signs were there; you just refused to hear them!"
"Fine! I suppose that it is better to be you than some random person!" Aquaria growled, crossing her arms and turning her head to the side.
"Exactly! We are besties, even if you deny it," Grimora laughed, hugging Aquaria, then she pulled back. "Do you want to tag team him?!"
My finger slipped off the screen as I was scrolling, and my very close face smacked into the Manawave.
"What?! No! You can have him when he gets back! You are sleeping on the couch tonight!" Aquaria growled and pushed Grimora away, who was pouting now. I was now fully glued to the screen in full focus, so not even a shred of my disappointment would show.
"Come on! At least let's do it when you get back! We had plenty of fun alone long before Halberd came along! Now just imagine adding him?!" Grimora exclaimed, but then both women turned to me as my face hit the screen again.
"Ignore her, Halberd," Aquaria said through gritted teeth as she glared at Grimora. "She's just trying to get a rise out of us."
Oh, something was rising!
Grimora stuck her tongue out at Aquaria before smirking at me. "You never know; you might enjoy it!" she teased.
I tried my best to hide my embarrassment and quickly turned back to the Manawave, pretending to be completely engrossed in its functions. The truth was that I had no idea how to use this thing, but with those two arguing over such... interesting topics, I figured it was better for me to stay out of it.
As they continued bickering, I eventually managed to figure out how to make some simple sandwiches using the Manawave. Setting them on plates, I called over to Aquaria and Grimora, who were still going at it.
"Uh, dinner is ready?" I offered hesitantly, not sure if they would even hear me over their argument.
Both women abruptly stopped their verbal sparring and looked over at me sheepishly. "Oh! Thank you, Halberd," Aquaria said, walking over to grab a plate. Grimora followed suit, giving me a playful wink as she did so.
"You'll have to tell me your secret someday," she whispered conspiratorially as she passed by. I just shook my head, unsure of how to respond.
We ate our sandwiches mostly in silence, though I could feel an air of tension hanging over the room. It wasn't exactly what I had envisioned for our first meal together as a… trio? Were we even a trio?
Once we had finished eating, Aquaria stood up and stretched. "Well, I guess I should start packing for our mission tomorrow," she said, avoiding eye contact with both Grimora and me.
"Yeah, I'll help," Grimora chimed in, her earlier teasing forgotten. The two of them disappeared into Aquaria's bedroom, leaving me alone in the living room.
As I tidied up the plates and wiped down the Manawave, I couldn't help but feel a strange mix of emotions bubbling inside me. On the one hand, I was glad to have people – friends, even – who cared about me and wanted to help. But on the other hand, I couldn't shake the feeling that things were about to get a whole lot more complicated.
For now, though, all I could do was keep moving forward and take each challenge as it came. And if Grimora's teasing words were any indication, there would be plenty of challenges waiting for me in the future.
With a sigh, I finished cleaning up and retired to the couch. Tomorrow would be a new day, and whatever it held, I'd face it head-on, but I was curious to know what the girls were doing.