❖ 2 ❖

“Hey, Mio? Could you give this form a once over for me? I feel like there's- Ah, right…”

I looked over at the desk by my side, and despite having now had weeks to adjust, I was still caught off guard when I wasn't greeted by my partner Mio's sweet, precious smile.

Not that the smile I did see was any less adorable, just that Rhody's sweetness was distinctly different from Mio's own, and right now, it bore no shortage of sympathy.

“Still not used to it, huh?” Rhody asked, reaching over and giving my hands a gentle squeeze.

“Sorry, Rhody. I'm really glad to have you here, honest! Just that Mio and I worked together for so long, y'know? I'm really glad she's doing what she loves, but I kinda thought that things would never change, ahaha…” I laughed bashfully, scratching the back of my neck. “I'm a dumbass, y'know? It's not like she's gone. I'll head home and see her waiting there for me with a smile and a dozen stories about her writing, but at work…”

“You can't help but feel a little lonely without her?”

I sighed, slumping back in my chair.

“Kinda, yeah. I know it's dumb. I've got you and Iori here, but my dog brain forgets what object permanence is, y'know? If Mio's not here, a part of me gets convinced she's just gone. I'll get used to it soon, promise! I don’t want you to feel like you're in her shadow here, y'know?”

“Gosh, you're such a sweetheart!” Rhody giggled. “Take all the time you need, Rina. It's a big adjustment! Nobody could blame you for struggling.”

“Sure, but compared to how much things have changed for you and Iori…”

“It's not a contest, sweetie,” Rhody smiled. “But don't worry about me. I'm having a lovely time with all of you, and I'll do what I can to make work wonderful for you, too!”

“I'm here too!” Shizuku–the human, college-aged girlfriend of Haqua's sister, Adri–patted me on the back and shot me a reassuring smile. “I know I'm just an intern, but feel free to lean on me, OK? And be sure to tell Iori that I'm a great team player, too!”

I let out an awkward chuckle.

“Loosen up, Shizuku,” I told her. “Iori wants you to enjoy yourself here, so don't worry about constantly putting your best foot forward. You'll burn yourself out that way, trust me.”

“Right, right,” Shizuku giggled, jotting down a note on her phone.

“You don't have to write that down. It's hardly sage advice.”

“It's useful, promise!” Shizuku grinned. “‘Relax a little harder at work. If you wanna suck up to the boss, save it for office mixers!’”

“That's way off from what I said! Don't worry about sucking up at all! And just be yourself, at work and at the bar.”

“‘Never try at work ever. Drink on the job.’”

“That's even worse! Don't write that down, Adri’ll kill me if she thinks I'm a bad influence!” I barked, only to be silenced by Shizuku's hand gently petting my hair.

“Good girl! Working so hard to be a good influence!” she cooed, acting like she was talking to a dog.

“H-hey…not at work, dumbass…” I grumbled, my head already starting to swim. “Other people might see…”

“Suuuch a good girl. Doing your best to make sure everyone feels welcome and happy.” Rhody added, scritching my ear with a claw and…and…ohhh, that's the stuff…

“W-wan…” I gently barked. “Wait! Not here, seriously, I-”

“Mm! We love you too!” Shizuku grinned, petting me with both hands now.

W-wan! No way! You've gotta stop, my head’s really starting to-

“The sweetest little doggie in the whole world!” Rhody cooed, scritching a little faster now.

That was all it took. My inhibitions had been dead for a while. You barely had to prod me before I stopped caring about whoever might see me.

“Wan! Wan waaan!” I loudly barked, smiling dopily and raising my hands like paws.

Mm! This is the life!

“Ahahaha! Are you three having a nice time?”

Iori?!

“I'm not slacking off, seriously!” I yelped, breaking myself out of doggie mode and giving a salute.

“You still get jumpy when you hear me, huh?” Iori sighed, and shook her head, looking insanely dejected. “I've been doing my best to change, but-’

“Ahhh! Iori, I'm not actually scared, promise! Shizuku was teasing me, Rhody was pampering me, so my head just got all doggie, and I kinda forgot where I was for a second and-”

Iori held one of her claws up to her mouth and let out a loud, pleasant chuckle, wiping a tear from her eye. “God, you're cute. Sorry Rina, I'm just messing with you~!” she said, sticking out her tongue playfully before wrapping me up in a tight, loving hug. “Be as much of a dog here as you want, OK?”

“You've spent way too much time around that gyaru lately…” I grumbled into her chest, getting another chuckle out of her.

“Yuuki? I need that right about now. Shopping with her would fix me,” Iori let out a loving sigh.

“Ooh, can I come with you?” Rhody asked, her tail wagging gently behind her. “She said she wanted to pick out some outfits for me, ufufu~!”

“Mm, of course. That sounds like a wonderful time,” Iori said, leaning over me to give Rhody a kiss on the cheek. Losing her humanity had helped her out a ton, damn. She used to be so frosty that she harshly chewed out anyone who tried to do much as smile at her in the office. Now, she was every bit as open with her feelings as I was, readily showering Rhody and I in affection even during work hours, and not hesitating to tell anyone who asked that she was dating us both.

Man, it was great to see how far she'd come. How far all of us had come, really.

“Are these the employees you wanted to introduce me to, then?” Came a cool, quiet voice from a little ways away. Breaking away from the hug, I looked up to see…

Oh damn, what a hottie!

I get that that's not the way you should react to seeing a new coworker, but holy shit, this girl was stunning. Long legs, killer curves, and long, straight blonde hair in a classic hime cut that perfectly framed her sharp, refined features. The way her silver eyes gazed coolly at me from behind her stylish glasses was making me weak in the knees, like I didn't deserve to command her attention in the slightest. There was a little bit of Iori's old iciness in her expression, but it seemed far less harsh, carrying what looked like determination, rather than anger.

Point is, I was head over heels in an instant.

Haaah, I've gotta try give myself a body like hers tonight! I'll act all cool and icy too, and then Haqua and Mio can really lay into me, reducing me to a barking, slutty mess, and-

“Ueheheheeee…”

“Rina, sweetie, you're drooling…” Rhody said, reaching down and patting the corner of my lips with a handkerchief.

“Whew, you really are a mutt…” Shizuku whistled, her tone cold and judgmental in a way that made me feel incredible.

I held back a bark for the sake of this new girl, but rest assured, that was all my thoughts had been reduced to.

“just ignore Rina for now,” Iori laughed.

Mm, ignore me! Treat me like less than dirt!

“But yes, this is Rhodolite Desco, Rina Saeki, and Shizuku Hasegawa. They'll all be more than happy to support you while you find your feet with us, so don't hesitate to ask any of them for help, OK? Well, when Rina's not…that.”

Wan wan~!

My tail was wagging so hard. I knew the new girl couldn't see it, but for a moment, I desperately wished she could.

“You three, this is Hanako Yamada.”

That's…an extremely plain name, damn. It's like she's a veritable Jane Doe…

I didn’t think much else of it. It was a shockingly plain name, but eh, that's fine. It was almost charming on someone as stunning as her.

“She just started working for us today,” Iori explained. “Rina, she'll be performing a lot of Mio's old duties, so please lend her a hand if she's struggling.”

“Got it!” I grinned. “It's great to meet you, Yamada,” I said, outstretching a hand for her.

She stared at it, and furrowed her brow, like she had absolutely zero idea what she was supposed to do with it.

A-am I doing something weird here? Is she offended, or…?

After a moment, Yamada responded by dipping low into a…a curtsey? Excuse me?

And yet she seemed totally unbothered by how weird a response it was, or how odd it looked in her sharp, tailored pantsuit.

“An honor to serve you all. I'm proficient in cooking, cleaning, and eliminating threats. If any of you feel your lives are in danger, simply call my name and I'll be there.”

“...Eh?”

I was sure I looked like a dumbass, and yet this was the exceedingly rare occasion where I wasn't alone in that. Rhody, Iori, and Shizuku all looked totally flabbergasted, like they hadn't understood a word of what they had just heard.

Rhody, Iori and I quickly checked to see if our glamours had been dispelled, revealing our true, inhuman forms. Much to our relief, that didn't seem to be the case, but that just made her words even weirder.

“O-ohhh! I get it! You're into tabletop games? An assassin? That's so cool! I'm more of a mage, myself.”

Whew, nice call, Shizuku!

She handled it like a pro. I was ready to write it off as chuuni ramblings, but Shizuku understood how to respond to it flawlessly.

And yes, I wondered if she might be a demon too, but I couldn't feel even the slightest bit of magic coming off of her, so it was easy to rule that out quickly.

“...You shouldn't volunteer such valuable information so freely, that's a security risk,” Yamada cautioned. “Your secret is safe with me, but someone less scrupulous could have used that against you.”

“R-right! Got it. I'll keep it hush-hush,” Shizuku grinned, making the smart call to move the conversation along rather than dwell on…whatever the hell this was about.

“Well, you know where to find me if you need me,” Iori smiled at Yamada. “If the work ever gives you trouble, just say the word and I'll do everything I can to help.”

“Understood, I look forward to working with you,” Yamada noted.

But y'know, it's weird.

The whole time, no matter who she was talking to, or even who she was looking at…

I couldn't help but shake the feeling that someone was watching me.

Eh, you're overthinking it. She's an oddball, sure, but I’m a demon who works with dragons, I've got no place to speak. Just do what you can to help her settle in, and you'll get used to her in no time! 

❖❖❖

“I can't get used to her at all!” I whined, collapsing back into Haqua's arms.

“I know this might be difficult for dogs to understand, but nobody's following you around all day, dear. That's just your shadow,” she said with her arms wrapped around me and a game controller in her hands.

“I-I know what my shadow is!” I pathetically insisted.

“My, what a clever girl! I’ll put some extra treats in your bowl tonight,” she smirked.

“Oh wait, Haqua, I think we got the wrong idea! She’s not surprised by her shadow at all, she just doesn’t know what that thing flicking in and out of the corners of her vision is. That’s your tail, silly! It gets all waggy when you’re a happy little puppy~!” Mio smiled and started rubbing my belly, the absolute sincerity in her voice breaking me down until-

“W-wan wan!” I barked, knowing that words were useless to me now.

“She’s been barking so much lately!” Rhody giggled from the kitchen, where she was putting the finishing touches on making dinner for everyone with Iori.

“It’s a good sign,” Haqua smiled. “Our mutt’s growing up so well! But don’t worry dear, with how pathetic you are, there’s no chance anyone will think you have anything resembling a pedigree.”

“Rrrrrf…” I growled, before a kiss on the head totally silenced me.

“Are you talking about Yamada, Rina?” Iori asked, as she beckoned everyone over to the dinner table to start eating. She and Rhody didn’t stay over every night, but almost every time they did, they liked cooking together for us. They both seemed really happy going at it together, and the food they made was really tasty (and pretty different from Haqua’s meals, favoring meat above all else. Given Rhody and Iori’s chompers, that was hardly a surprise, though), so we were happy to oblige them.

“Ioriiii! At least you’re listening! Everyone else is so rude to meEEE~!”

I dunno what I expected, but I was still caught off guard by a harsh, firm tug at my nipple rings from Haqua, while Mio, growing more playfully devilish by the day, conjured up a vibrator in her hands and happily shoved it right up inside me.

“I’m sohrrry~!” I tried to shout through my pleasure, though the vibrator only grew stronger, and Haqua grasp on the rings only grew firmer, twisting and teasing my nipples until I could barely think straight.

“I should think we’re wonderful owners,” Haqua said, punctuating her sentence with a nibble on my ear.

“Mm, and I was trying to be so nice to you, too…” Mio pouted, shoving the vibrator in even deeper.

“Sohwwy~...” I slurred, my words growing weaker by the second. “I didn’t-ahhhn~! Mean it~!”

The pair showed me no mercy, and while I expected Iori to hurry everyone to the dinner table, she and Rhody instead chose to watch with a smile on her face, not taking their eyes off until I climaxed.

Which I’d love to tell you took more than the paltry few seconds that it did, but you should know what I’m like by now.

“Wan wahhhHN~!” I moaned, the vibrator bursting right out of me along with a flood of my juices.

“Ehehe, good girl~!” Mio grinned, petting my head happily before heading over to the dinner table.

“I hope you learned your lesson,” Haqua cooed, getting up and leaving me to slump over on the couch, using her magic to clean up the mess I’d made.

“Wan wan…” I weakly barked, catching my breath before slowly wobbling over to the table with everyone, my legs feeling more and more dead with every step.

“If you need a little more time to rest, that’s OK, Rina,” Iori reassured me.

“I-I’m a succubus, y’know? I should be able to handle this no sweat!” I said, pretending I had any kind of pride.

“But beyond all that, you’re you, Rina. A worthless mutt,” Haqua said, smiling fondly.

“You’re not wrong. Hell, maybe I summoned the wrong demon,” I chuckled. “Inumi probably would’ve given me a body that fits better, huh?”

“Imply my summoning was a mistake again and we’ll see how tight that collar can really go, hmm?”

“Y-yes ma’am!” I quickly barked, and silently got started on my meal. If there was one thing I was extremely good at, it was knowing my place.

Which was on the floor twitching and moaning, most of the time.

“So you’re having trouble with Yamada, Rina?” Rhody asked.

“Uh-huh,” I sighed, leaning back in my chair. “I dunno how to say this delicately, so I’ll just rip the bandaid off. I think she’s…following me.”

It all started from the day she first showed up in the office. I had a lot to teach her, so we were expected to spend a lot of time together, but even then…

❖❖❖

“Lunch time!” I grinned, stretching out my tired limbs. “You wanna come along with us, Yamada? Me and the other girls are going for-”

“I’ll eat whatever you want to eat, senpai.”

“O-oh…” I replied, a little taken aback by how she’d responded. “Cool with curry?”

“That’s what you’re eating?”

“Sure is.”

“Then yes.”

It was a little odd, sure, but it was her first day, and I wanted to treat her, so I didn’t think much of it. I wanted to be a friend, and I wasn’t going to push her away no matter how…intense she was.

But when we got to the curry shop…

“Ultra hot karaage curry rice, extra cheese!” I ordered.

“Ultra hot karaage curry rice, extra cheese,” Yamada repeated immediately.

“Oh, big into spicy food, huh?” Shizuku asked.

“Not particularly.”

“But um…you ordered it extra hot, right?”

“Mm, because Rina did.”

“D-do you want me to ask for mild instead?”

“Only if you want to.”

So, of course I did. If she was pushing herself just because it was what I liked, I wasn’t about to make her eat something crappy.

Thus, her assessment: "A little too much cheese, but I enjoyed it otherwise.”

And sure enough, when we went back to the exact same place a few days later…

“Ultra hot karaage curry rice, extra cheese!” I ordered.

“Ultra hot karaage curry rice, extra ch-”

“Make that a mild, hold the extra cheese!” I quickly shouted, speaking over Yamada’s order.

“Then I’ll have the same,” Yamada repeated, without complaint or comment.

This is how every meal with her went, no matter where we ate, or what I ordered, she always copied it.

❖❖❖

“I won’t pretend it’s not strange…” Iori muttered. “I think saying she’s following you might be a bit extreme.”

“Right, but that’s not all!”

❖❖❖

“Senpaiii,” Shizuku said, wailing at me the second I sat at my desk one morning.

“Oh, what’s up?”

“It’s so unfair, I went clothes shopping with some friends the other day, and I was super keen to get this really adorable miniskirt, but when I tried it on the clerk told me I should get it two sizes bigger! Can you believe that?! Two?! She straight up said my thighs were too fat!”

“There there,” I said, hugging Shizuku and gently patting her back. “They’re a dummy, they don’t get it.”

“They don’t, not at all!” Shizuku wailed. “I can’t believe I just let her say that. My thighs look great, Yuuki said so and everything,” she pouted.

“Understood, point me to the clerk and I’ll eliminate her for you.” Yamada interrupted, catching us both off guard when she suddenly appeared…right next to me, standing there as if she’d been there the entire time.

“Y-Yamada?! How long have you been there?!”

“Don’t mind that. I work in this office too.”

“Y-you sure do, ehehehe…” I chuckled.

“But wait, don’t kill anyone! They’re just a rude clerk, they don’t need to die for that!” Shizuku hurriedly told them.

“Understood. Rina, do you have anyone you need eliminated?”

“I-I could really eliminate a donut right about now?” I said, trying to move past actual murder as quickly and elegantly as my doggie brain could muster.

“Show no mercy. I heard your stomach growling on the walk to work.” she said, producing donuts seemingly out of thin air for me, Shizuku, and herself. I didn’t want to question it, but-

“Wait, on the walk? We didn’t walk together, right?”

“We just so happen to take similar routes to work, and I just so happen to have seen you leaving your apartment building this morning. Likewise, I just so happened to be a few meters behind you for the duration of our walk, far enough back that you just so happened to not see or hear me.”

“...Why stay away from me?”

“I’m very shy,” she explained, her face not showing that in the slightest.

I took her at her word, because doing the opposite scared the shit out of me.

Then, in the break room later that day…

“Mio’s seemed pretty pleased with her new book, huh?” Iori asked me, smiling as she sipped her coffee.

“Ahaha, yeah, she’s not even letting me read the drafts this time. She’s confident I’ll love it. I am, too, honestly. She’s really come into her own.”

“Mm, it’s been fantastic to see how confident and happy she’s been lately. You and Haqua really helped her out of her shell.”

“We’re all just doing our best for each other,” I smiled, and took a sip of my coffee, looking out the door as I did.

And…right outside, with her head just barely peeking out through the door frame, was Yamada, her eyes locked on me, and only me, as she wrote something down in a notepad.

Instantly, I spat out my coffee.

“Rina?!” Iori gasped, taking me by the hand. “You OK?”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine, it’s just…” I looked back up at the door, and noticed that Yamada was nowhere to be seen. “It’s nothing, I’m just seeing th-”

“What a coincidence, I just so happened to need a break now, too.” Yamada said, her voice sounding out from directly behind me.

“Guah?! Yamada?! When did you get here?!” I cried, leaping up into Iori’s arms.

“Don’t mind that.”

“And were you staring at me from outside the door?”

“I don’t believe I was.”

“O-Oh…”

Iori clearly realized how baffled I was, so she smiled and tried to be friendly.

“Want some coffee, Yamada? Freshly brewed.”

“That seems extremely irresponsible during work hours.”

Does it???

“Not into caffeine?” Iori asked. “I get it, honestly. I used to get so jittery when-”

The water cooler near us bubbled up, and Yamada let out a loud, shocked yelp.

“W-why would you keep something so dangerous around?!” Yamada yelled, quickly hiding herself away behind me and tightly squeezing my sleeve.

“The…water cooler?” I asked, though the only response she gave was squeezing me even tighter. “How about we take our break somewhere else, you two? Your office is clear, right?”

“Yeah, no water cooler there,” Iori smiled, clearly confused by the whole ordeal.

❖❖❖

“She sounds funny, I like her!” Mio grinned.

“She’s weird…” I pouted.

“Consider every little thing about yourself before saying that, dear,” Haqua chuckled. “You’re in absolutely no position to judge, surely you’re aware of that, right?”

“I am, but…look, she’s the one getting drunk off tiramisu!” I protested. “Rhody and Iori can back me up! Just a little bit of rum, and she became the world’s most affectionate drunk!”

“Affectionate, huh?”

“She kept saying she wanted to adopt me, then said that Iori was clearly violating the law hiring a…dammit…” I sighed. “A ‘kiddo as adorable as wittle Wina’.”

There was silence, then a small snort from Mio. That’s when the dam burst. Iori and Mio’s laughter couldn’t have possibly been louder. Even Rhody found it hard to stifle a few small giggles. Haqua might’ve stayed quiet, but the mocking, pitying, elated smirk she wore was tearing me to shreds.

It was wonderful.

“My, dear, that must have been so hard for you. I know you so hate to be belittled,” Haqua spoke, her tone faker than I’d ever heard it before. “Did wittle Wina get all gwumpy, hmm?”

“Look, it doesn’t matter what I felt-”

“Which was painfully horny,” Iori chuckled.

“-What matters is that she’s clearly obsessed with me, right? I’m not losing it, am I?”

“I’ll admit,” Iori started. “She’s being a bit intense, yes. I don’t think it’s anything dangerous, but…I’ll talk to her about it, maybe see if I can find out why and get her to st-”

“You can’t!” Rhody cried, squeezing Iori’s hand tightly as her eyes welled up with tears. “That’s so unfair, if you do that, she’ll hate working there, I know it!”

“...Rhody?” I tilted my head.

“I won’t yell at her or anything, Rhody, I promise,” Iori assured her. “But if she’s making Rina uncomfortable, then-”

“I-I just think I see a lot of myself in her…” Rhody interrupted, twiddling her thumbs as she stared down at the table. “We’re very different, but I had a difficult time fitting in at my last job too, you know? I’d latch onto anyone who was even a little bit friendly to me, and…well…”

Rhody had been extremely isolated at her last job, from what I heard. She didn’t need to say anything more for me to understand how badly that turned out for her.

“And honestly,” she continued. “I don’t think her attachment to you is anything bad, Rina. I just think that maybe, considering she has such a hard time expressing herself to you, that…well…”

“Hm?” Mio hummed, a smile spreading across her face, as though she knew what she was about to say next.

“I think she might have a crush on you…” Rhody shyly admitted, her cheeks turning bright red.

“...Huh?”

“Ahaha, isn’t that something?” Haqua laughed. “My mutt might have stumbled into finding herself yet another owner, how precious!” she smirked.

“Waitwaitwait! You think she’s in love with me?!”

“Is that really such a surprise?” Haqua asked.

“I mean…it's me. Pick a better workplace crush than that!”

“Hmmmph,” Mio pouted, folding her arms.

“Ah! I'm kidding, Mio! I'm kidding! You've got amazing taste, promise!” I cried, waving my hands out in front of me.

“Just messing with you,” Mio stuck out her tongue. “I know what we say, Rina, but you look so cute in your suit! Pathetic, sure, but that just makes girls want to pamper you.”

“And bully you,” Haqua added.

“Both, more often than not,” Iori chuckled. “Even I wanna tease you sometimes, y'know?”

I wasn't sure whether to argue or bark, so I simply settled for a wimpy growl. Enough to let them know that I was grumpy, but pathetic enough to let them know that I wouldn't say no to more.

“So it's hardly surprising that someone else might be drawn to you,” Haqua shrugged. “Perhaps she's taking pity on you. Eager to give ‘wittle Wina’ a big hug,” Haqua cooed, reaching over and giving me exactly that.

“Umm, I don't think she's doing it out of pity,” Rhody explained. “I saw some of the notes she's been taking on you. They're all about what kind of food you like, what makes you happy, how you relax at work. Little things like that.”

“That's…still stalking, though.”

“I just think she's lost and a little lonely. I know I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt, but none of it seems malicious, I promise. She just wants to know how to make you happy…”

I wanted to argue a little more, but…nobody else seemed to share my concerns. I'd have expected Rhody to get defensive, Mio to try to hold me tight, and for Haqua to threaten to kill Yamada without any sign of remorse, but instead, they all seemed entirely convinced by Rhody's words.

As far as they were concerned, Yamada was just a girl with a crush she didn't know how to handle. And honestly, the more I thought about the past few days, the easier it was to see where Rhody was coming from. Yamada had never made me feel unsafe or scared, I'd jumped a couple of times, sure, and her sense of humor could be grim, but…all she really seemed to want was some company from the girl she liked.

The more I thought about it, the more I felt like I agreed with Rhody, honestly. Or maybe I just wanted to. 

Maybe the alternative was too scary to confront, so I just…wouldn't. Not right now.

Besides, I'm a succubus. If she really did try to mess with me, I could handle it.

And if I couldn't, then Haqua, Mio, or Iori definitely could. This would be extremely reckless for a human, but for someone as surrounded by…frankly dangerously powerful woman as me, well, I had little reason to worry.

“Look, I'll…talk to her, OK? If she's lonely, then I want to help her feel a little more welcome.”

“Thank you,” Rhody smiled sweetly. “I just want to make sure that work isn’t as awful for her as it was for me.”

I could definitely relate to that. While the working conditions in the office were infinitely better now, none of that really mattered if you felt isolated.

“And if she’s got a crush on you? Gonna bring another girl home?” Mio asked, grinning happily.

“I’ll…figure it out.”

“I’ll tell you both,” Iori addressed Haqua and Mio. “That Yamada is a bombshell. Absolutely stunning.”

“Understood,” Haqua chuckled. “Tell me when she’s coming over, dear. I’ll cook something nice to celebrate your relationship.”

“I…” I wanted to protest, but that would’ve seemed too pathetic even for me. I was ready to argue that I’m not that weak to pretty girls, and yet…

“...Yeah I’ll keep you girls posted.”

There was yet more laughter, before Haqua’s hand gently rested on my shoulder, and she looked down at me with a smile.

“I’m so lucky to have such an honest pet.”

Despite it all, I smiled back at her.

“Thanks for always understanding me, Haqua. All of you are way too good to me.”

She leaned in and kissed me.

“But of course, dear. I’ll always watch over you.”

It was hard to not feel a little lighter, hearing that.