As Arianna led them through the city, Marianne stepped up next to Verena, speaking softly. "Verena, what was all that?"
Verena gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?"
Marianne shook her head. "I mean all that teasing and playfulness. You never act like that with strangers."
Verena shook her head. "One word, Marianne. Will." As a look of realization crossed Marianne's face, Verena continued. "That's always been the kind of person I am, I just didn't have the confidence to be that person, before. I was always so nervous of how people would react. What if I offended them? What if it made them hate me? Bullshit like that."
Marianne nodded. "And now?"
Verena smirked. "Now? Fuck em! If they've got a problem with who I am, that's their problem."
Marianne smiled, giving Verena a kiss on the cheek. "Good." She then changed the subject. "And what about Arianna? She seems nice. Are you gonna try and see where it goes?"
Verena nodded. "She's cute. Also, I'm sure you didn't notice, but she has a faint smell of blood on her. She's a fighter. A pretty strong one, judging by how tightly she was holding me, earlier." Verena smiled deviously. "She's also very perceptive, and has been listening to this entire conversation."
Arianna jumped, looking back with an expression like that of a child who was caught sneaking extra candy. "H-how did you know?"
Verena's smile widened. "I didn't."
Arianna looked confused for a moment before she realized what she meant. "You... you tricked me!"
Verena just nodded. "Yep. I just figured it was possible, and I knew that if I called you out, you'd react."
Arianna pouted, turning back around to continue down the street. "Meanie..." Arianna refused to talk to Verena for the rest of the walk, and Marianne, now knowing that the dragoness was listening, avoided any serious topics. Not long after, Arianna declared that they had arrived.
The house wasn't particularly impressive, but it also was in fairly good condition. It was large, that was for certain. It looked like a family of twenty could comfortably live within. Verena whistled, and Marianne spoke softly. "Um... how big is your family, Arianna?"
"Hm?" the woman turned back to them. "Oh, it's pretty big. It's just the ten of us here, right now, though."
Verena almost didn't want to ask, but curiosity won, in the end. "Just...? How many... how many of you are there, total?"
Arianna chuckled. "I have a total of thirty-five siblings."
Marianne gaped at her while Verena started coughing, having choked on her own saliva, in surprise. When she recovered enough to speak, she had a tone of sheer incredulity. "Thirty-six children!? Are your parents dragons or rabbits!?" Verena realized, a moment too late, just how offensive such a statement could be to a dragon. However, she didn't get the response she was expecting.
Arianna started laughing. "Hahahahaha! That's a great one! Maybe I'll use that on mom and dad if they have another baby." Her face went cold for a moment. "In all seriousness, don't say something like that in front of my family. I'm fine, since I know you didn't mean anything by it, but not all of them will be as understanding."
Verena nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I realized right after I said it. Thanks for understanding. I swear I won't say anything like that again."
"Great!" Arianna instantly switched back to being all sunshine and rainbows. "Now, let's stop standing on the street. Come on!" Arianna led them up the steps to the front door, opening it up and inviting them in as she called out. "Mom! I'm home!"
There was a clatter from another room, and a voice reached them. "Ari, what have I told you, young lady!? You're more than thirty minutes late!" The voice was slowly getting louder as it's source seemed to be approaching them. "If this keeps happening, I swear, I will-Oh! Hello." The person speaking had just rounded a corner, and seen Verena and Marianne. She was very clearly related to Arianna. She looked almost exactly like Verena would imagine a taller, more mature version of the energetic little dragon. It was fairly easy to conclude, contextually, that this was her mother. "And who might you be?" Her tone was calm, but seemed a bit hopeful.
Verena opened her mouth to respond, but Arianna beat her to it. "They're friends! We wanted to get off the street, so we could talk without people staring. So I invited them home!" Verena opted not to mention that it had really been her idea to come here. She also decided not to mention why they needed to get away from prying eyes.
Arianna's mother looked at the two women with wide eyes. "F-friends? Really?"
From the tone of her voice, Verena could tell that this was a fairly significant occurrence for Arianna. She got the impression, from the way the older woman was looking at them, that the young dragon didn't really have a lot of friends to bring home. So, she just nodded, smiling softly.
Before her mother could say anything else, Arianna jumped in. "Yeah! This is Verena, and this is Marianne."
Her mother smiled widely. "That's wonderful." She looked back at the two women. "I'm Sarah Lightscale, Arianna's mother. It's great to meet... you..." She trailed off as her eyes settled on Verena. She was staring at her clasp, the one with her family crest on it. "Verena...?" Her eyes widened as she processed what had just been said. "You're-"
"No." Verena cut her off. "I'm not." Before Sarah could speak further, she continued. "Unless it's needed for some reason, my last name is irrelevant. I'm Verena. That's all that matters."
After a moment, Sarah understood, and she gave Verena a beaming smile. "Alright, then." She stepped forward, pulling Verena into a hug. "Welcome to my home, Verena!" The moment she was finished, she turned towards Marianne.
Marianne took a step back. "No hugs, please."
Too excited to catch the tone of her voice, Sarah kept advancing on her. "Nonsense! Any friend of Ari's is a friend of mine!" She moved in to give Marianne a hug, but found herself grabbing nothing. Looking around in confusion, she saw that Marianne was now standing next to Verena, her posture very defensive and standoffish. "Huh?"
Verena put a hand on Marianne's shoulder, trying to calm her down. "Hey... You're alright. She didn't mean anything by it. She's just excited." As Marianne took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, Verena turned back to Sarah. "Marianne doesn't do well with physical contact, unless she's very familiar with the person. Please understand."
Sarah looked horrified. "Oh my! I'm so sorry! I wasn't thinking!"
Marianne held up a hand, shaking her head. "No. It's fine. Verena's right. You meant well."
She sighed, relaxing significantly. "That's a relief. Again, I'm so sorry. I never meant to violate your boundaries."
Marianne nodded as Verena gave her a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. She slowly relaxed as Arianna hesitantly stepped up to them. "Are you okay, Marianne?"
After another deep breath, Marianne nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. I just need a moment."
Arianna just turned back to her mother. "Mom, is it okay if we go to my room to talk?"
Sarah nodded, smiling at her. "Of course, dear, but you will have to tell us how you met these two, at some point."
She blushed slightly, looking away. "Yeah... I will."
As she led the two towards her room, her mom called out from behind. "Have fun, dear!"
Once they were in her room, she turned back to the two women. "Sorry about her."
Verena shook her head as Marianne sat down. "It's fine." She stepped up to Marianne, looking into her eyes. "Hey... you okay?"
Marianne sighed, shaking her head. "Verena, I'm fine. Please, stop worrying so much."
Verena just smirked. "Nope. It's my job to worry." She gave Marianne a quick kiss before turning back to Arianna.
Arianna, for her part, was clearly trying, and failing, not to look disappointed. "Um... Are you two..."
She got a nod in response. "We're together, yes." Then Verena smiled devilishly. "Why...? Does someone have a little crush...?" Her voice was low and sultry.
Arianna coughed in surprise, glaring at Verena. "D-don't do that! Why would you tease me like that, if you're already taken!?"
Verena took a step forward, her smoldering gaze boring into the little dragon woman. "And who said that meant you don't have a chance...?"
Arianna spluttered, looking between Verena and Marianne. She was absolutely baffled as to why this didn't bother the human at all. "Wh-what are you doing!? Marianne is right there! Are you really just saying to her face that you'd let someone take you from her?"
Marianne started giggling. "Oh, honey... That's not what Verena means, at all."
Arianna stiffened, looking between the two with wide eyes. Verena's seductive teasing, and Marianne's relaxed amusement. "What are you saying...?"
Verena just reached a hand out, gently cupping her chin. "Don't worry about all that. Just tell me, do you want to be with me?"
She floundered for a moment before meekly nodding. "Yes... I do."
Verena smiled, leaning in closer. "Alright, then tell me, are you willing to share?"
Her eyes went wide. "Share?" Verena just nodded. As she looked back to Marianne, seeing her smiling calmly, she could tell the woman wasn't surprised by her lover's actions. "I..." She swallowed nervously. "If you really mean it, I think I could do that..."
Verena smiled wider. "Good..." She planted a quick kiss on Arianna's cheek. "It'd be a shame to lose such an adorable girl just because she was possessive." Then, Verena took a step back, instantly switching to her calm, friendly demeanor as she went to sit next to Marianne. "So, what did you want to talk about?"
Arianna stared at her for a moment, still trying to process what had just happened. When she saw Verena sitting so casually, as if she hadn't done anything, Arianna folded her arms, pouting. "Meanie..."
Verena just laughed.