Seaside Wisdom [Van/Vi/Lil]

Lilith put her hand on the boys head and ruffled his hair up a bit. “If you’re not into her, then they already are…” Lilith said, specifically referring to misplaced feelings.

“Um… I…” Violet finally spoke up, an intense look in her eyes. “I got the soda.”

With Violet’s return, Lilith turned around to reveal the girl. She knew exactly where Violet was, and changed her entire tone the moment the girl was close enough to hear. Of course, this stubborn man was in so much denia-… Oh… Maybe it wasn’t denial. Maybe he really just didn’t want to be with the girl and so all this meddling was just going to show Violet she should move on… ‘Works either way…’

“Ah, thanks, hun,” Lilith grabbed one of the drinks from Lilith and popped it open.

“M’hm…” Violet held out a soda to Vanyel, a slight tremble to her grip. “Here.”

Vanyel glared at Lilith at her comment about misplaced feelings. But, it didn't stay long. Rather, the anger was quick to subside, gaze cast down to the sand, his voice lowering to a mumble.

"That's not what I meant..."

As Violet chimed in, Vanyel's head shot up, his expression brightening at hearing her voice, a warm smile already starting to spread as he stepped around Lilith to see her. As she held out the soda, he noticed the tremble in her grip, and his eyes widened for a moment, before returning to what it had been before. Gingerly taking the drink, he stepped forward, bringing Violet into a hug, before stepping back and opening the drink.

"Thanks, Vi."

Vanyel took a sip of it, and his eyes widened again, taking another look at the can. He hadn't taken an actual look at the can itself, but, now that he had...it was a mango-flavored drink. He blinked, looking to Violet, then back to the can. She seriously remembered something so...innocuous? He'd never even properly mentioned it, it was just something that happened.

He had made them mango milkshakes after a particularly hot day of practice, something that he liked, and wanted to give Violet a chance to try it too. He didn't even mention he enjoyed it specifically, yet she still...

"...You noticed that?"

Violet returned the hug with her own gentle embrace, but her mind was elsewhere at the moment. She nodded to his thank you and let herself daze out while they both took their drinks. She was doing her best to think about everything she heard a moment ago. 'He wouldn't just ditch me... That's stupid. I don't like what this woman keeps doing... Lilith... name of a demon, if I remember right. Hmph.'

"Huh?" Violet was pulled from her thoughts and realized what Vanyel was talking about. "Oh... Of course, I did," she said with a sweet smile, a lot of that lively energy suddenly returning. It was a genuine smile too, so the worry must have faded.

Lilith raised an eyebrow at the two, taking a nosy closer look. "Hm? What? She noticed what?" the nosy older woman asked. Violet glared at the woman. "He didn't think I remembered his favorite flavor; the vending machine had it so, I chose it."

"What's that glare about?"

"What did you say to him?" Violet popped her soda open.

"What?"

"Whatever you said, I could tell by his eyes that it wasn't kind."

"It wasn't meant to be."

"Then leave us alone. I do not like ANYONE who upsets Vanyel, and sometimes that includes me, but this time it's you, so you can certainly FUCK OFF."

"Alright, alright," Lilith said, putting her hands up as if she was surrendering. "Look, I got nosy and I do apologize for that, but you two caught my eye. I didn't really mean to meddle, but some things weren't adding up, so I pressed. I am sorry, alright?"

"No, no. Say that to him, not me." Violet said, mimicking a line Lilith used earlier.

"Protective little spitfire... Alright," Lilith looked to Vanyel and smiled wide. "Told you so. Hahaha... And I am sorry for getting pushy. None of this was my business, but when you get to be over a thousand years old, some of these interactions have been repeated in front of you time and time and time again, so I was more trying to get you two to... be a bit more honest with each other. I went about it the wrong way, but the intentions were more or less pure, so again. I'm sorry."

'"Of course I did?" But...I didn't even say anything about it. How did...why did...'

A shade of red came to his face, his heart warming at the thought, that smile turning just the slightest bit more bashful as he took a look at the can, then took another sip of the soda. But, then the girls started going back and forth, causing him to pause, slowly lowering the can from his lips. He...had certainly not thought, nor expected Violet to be so vocally and outwardly defensive of him.

"Vi, it's fine, it's not that big of a deal-"

But, any words he tried to say would just fall on deaf ears. His free hand found its way to the side of his neck, rubbing the area awkwardly as he turned to look at Lilith as she looked at him. He was surprised that she was smiling and so willing to apologize after a surprisingly defensive verbal lashing.

"It's...fine, don't worry about it. Don't try and put words in my mouth, though."

Violet paid attention to a lot of what Vanyel did, not just what he said. The fact that she paid that kind of attention was why the look in his eyes made her so angry at Lilith. She knew Lilith said something wrong to Vanyel, and that wasn't allowed.

Luckily, it was a pretty easy make-up moment between them. It helped that Lilith knew she was being out of line and apologized without resistance. Besides, Violet's well-deserved outburst was proof of something more, at least in Lilith's mind. Even after hearing the implications that Vanyel may have been wanting to ditch her, she trusted his words. 'It's not often I see that kind of trust in someone...'

"Good," Lilith scooted up behind Violet, and in a quick movement, pushed her toward Vanyel, while also reaching over Violet's shoulders to grab Vanyel and pull them into a sandwiched group hug with Violet in the middle. "Group hug then!" Of course, Lilith didn't actually hug. She sneakily grabbed Vanyel's hand and tried to pull it down to Violet's butt for a quick and playful (but forced) love-tap. And in that moment, like expected, Violet hid her tomato face in Vanyel's chest.

Thankfully, it seemed like everything was quick to go back to the way it'd been before. But, then Lilith suddenly shoved Violet forward, with Vanyel stepping forward to catch her, only to be pulled into a group hug with the two women. But, despite them being squished together, it felt more like Lilith was a chaperone. Though, that thought was quick to subside as she grabbed his hand and pulled it downward.

The moment his hand touched, his face lit up red. Yeah, he knew exactly what he'd been forced to touch. Violet certainly knew as well, since she was quick to bury her face into his chest. Vanyel jerked his hand free, lifting it up and away from the area, shooting an embarrassed glare to Lilith while holding Violet, his other hand carefully wrapped around her waist.

"Don't...do somethin' like that!"

Young people of the last century had always been so stuffed up. Well, there was that time in the 2020s... Anyways, Lilith's smile never faded, even with the frustrated and embarrassed reactions of her two little friends here. Rummaging through her beach bag, she grabbed her wallet and handed them two separate cards.

"Here, I like you two." Lilith said. Violet glanced over her shoulder, but she never moved away from Vanyel. She... liked where his hand was and moving might move them too. She did still take the card and give it a quick look.

"A business card? What's this for?"

"Love, I am rich as hell and have influence all over this little blue planet," Lilith said with an air of pride. "If you need any help, I'm not a bad number to have in your phone. Just don't go giving it away to people, alright? Then we'd have problems."

"Oh... Thank you," Violet said, instinctively laying her head on Vanyel's chest as easily as she would her own pillow and examining the card. She hadn't realized she did it, but she seemed quite comfortable. "I will hold onto this..."

"Anyways, I'm gonna head out. You two have fun." With all of her stuff collected and a sly smirk toward Vanyel, who had still not let the girl loose, she waved and walked off. Violet returned the wave after sliding the card into her pocket, but...

"That woman is scary..."

The glare that Vanyel gave Lilith faded as she started rummaging through her bag, surprised when she pulled out two business cards. She carried those around, even when on what seemed to be time off on the beach? That was a pretty impressive amount of preparedness. He hadn't noticed that he still kept an arm firmly around Violet as he took a closer look at the card.

He had been right. Gracen Arms had done some dealings with them at some points, albeit he only saw that from looking into the company's history. Given that her surname was the same as the company, it was a pretty safe bet that she either was the CEO, or someone high up in general. Probably the former, given that she mentioned that she was over a thousand years old.

Nevertheless, having the information ready for someone like that would be helpful, especially with what he had in mind recently. Tucking the card away and offering a wave as she walked away, Vanyel slipped his drink to the other hand, using the other to reach up and gently tilt her hat up to see her face.

"She doesn't beat 'round the bush, that's for sure. But, someone like that in our contacts would be pretty helpful, can't argue with that."

Vanyel gently patted Violet on the head, smiling as he took a drink, before looking at the can, then at Violet.

"Thank you. Really. That...means a lot, even if I didn't say anything. That being said, though...you still adamant about the shirt comin' off?"

“I think she’s crazy,” Violet said in a childish, nonchalant way, as if her words breathed truth. She went to take another drink when her head was pat. Reaching up, she pat Vanyel on the head too and then returned to their beach towel, now that the hurricane had passed. "You're welcome... I didn't realize you hadn't mentioned it..." To Violet, it had become obvious with the flavors he brought around the house.

"Um..." Violet stared at him for a moment, then looked back toward the direction Lilith had walked, then back to him. "I just didn't want to be in a bathing suit alone... I never get to wear one because no one comes to the beach with me; this was the first time I came with someone I trust. A bikini is... you know... pretty revealing."

Assertive? Yeah. Crazy? He wasn't too sure about that. But, he chuckled softly, shrugging lightly as they walked back to their towel, and Vanyel sat down, resting his hands in his lap. It was surprising to be sure that she thought of something so innocuous, but, it still made him feel...warm inside. He was smiling, but, as she looked away, then back to him, it faded back into a neutral expression.

As she spoke, Vanyel turned to look at the sand, hands fidgeting lightly in his lap, before he let out a soft sigh.

"I-It is, yeah. If that's it, then..."

Vanyel readjusted himself, before tugging lightly at one of his sleeves, his arm slipping through as he worked to get the other through, before eventually shuffling out of the garment and setting it next to them on the towel. A light shade of red came to his face as his hands stopped fidgeting for a moment, one hand coming to gently rub his forearm.

"...There we go. Now we're both revealin' a lot. Though, yours looks a lot nicer. Mine's...pretty generic and plain."