A Dinner Date With Friends

“So, how have things been with you and Velveteen?” Jackal asked, gently nudging Fatima, causing the poor girl to blush profusely.

“It’s been going very well. Far better than I would’ve imagined honestly. I’m pretty happy with our arrangement.”

“Murmur, I still can’t believe you managed to score the most famous person in Burrowgatory” Hops chimed in, chuckling softly as she shook her head.

“I’m not. I can see why they gave Fatima a chance. She’s not like their other fans. I believe so anyway. Even though I just met her, what, like a month ago? Sweethearts like her can probably befriend anyone and get whoever they want if they try hard enough.” Jackal complimented, winking at her.
“Stop. I’m not that great. I just wanted to be their friend. Us turning it into something more physical is just a bonus.” Fatima says, her ears twitching slightly hearing a knock on the door.
“By the way, are they coming to the potluck?”
“No, afraid not. They have to catch up on everything they missed during All Sinner’s Day.”

When she opened the door, she was greeted by two other succubun.

“Fatima! Are we late?” Cammie asked.
“No, you’re just in time. Hello Mercy, glad you could join us.”

“Yeah. I decided to take some time off for once. I hope the food’s alright. I don’t really cook very often.” They said, laughing nervously.

“I’m sure it’s fine. Just put the food on the kitchen counter.” Fatima told them, pointing towards her kitchen

“Since everyone’s here we can eat! Jackal, Hops, please make your way towards the kitchen.”

“Finally. I’m starving.” Jackal says, making her way towards the kitchen with Hops.

Entering the kitchen, Fatima makes her way over to the fridge and takes out the rest of the food, placing them on the counter then grabbing some plates and utensils, as well as cups.
“There are drinks and desserts in the fridge so help yourselves and Bon Appetit!” 

Fatima’s guests made their way around the kitchen, grabbing everything they needed and serving themselves, taking a seat at the table afterwards.

“So, what’s your name? I don’t think I’ve seen you around before.” Hops says, sitting beside Camilla.

“My name’s Camilla.”

“Hi Camilla, my name’s Hops. Are you one of Fatima’s friends too? How’d you meet her?”

“We met at the park with our Imps. I was relaxing on a bench with Moon Chaser after work, then Fatima sat down beside me and we started talking.”

“Ha! Told you guys Fatima was a sweetheart.” Jackal said, after stuffing some food into her mouth.

“Well, she looked lonely so I decided to say hello. That’s all.” She giggles softly, taking a bite of her stew.

“Sounds about right. Mind if I ask about what you do for a living? My name’s Mercy by the way.”

“Camilla. Nice to meet you Mercy. I’m the owner of the Red Light Hotel.”

“Oh~ I heard of that place! I’ve never been there myself, too busy with the bar but I’ve seen flyers about it.”

“Sounds pretty fancy if you ask me.” Jackal says, shaking her head, taking a sip of her drink.

“It’s not that fancy and that’s not the only one I own.” She says, taking a bite of her food.

“Besides working, what do you like to do for fun?” Jackal asks, leaning on the counter curiously.

“I like to paint miniatures, taste new foods at shops, and roller skate.”

“You know how to roller skate?!” Hops asked, her tail swaying enthusiastically.

“Yes I do! I’m very good at it.”

“What kind of miniatures do you paint?”

“Imp miniatures mostly.”

The girls sat in the kitchen talking amongst themselves, asking Camilla questions and getting to know her, as they helped Fatima clean up.

When they moved back into the living room, “So, do you have your eyes on any of the residents of Burrowgatory?” Hops blurted out, staring at Camilla with bright, curious eyes.

“Hops!”

“What~?! I asked you the same thing when we met, didn’t I?”

“Well yes but, you can’t just keep putting people on the spot like that. It’s rude.” Fatima says, wagging her finger at her.

“And why not? I hear all kinds of juicy gossip while I’m working behind the bar. What’s so different about asking privately?”

“I’m pretty sure the difference is that it’s supposed to be private?” Jackal answers, shaking her head.

“Yeah, I don’t see it. Everybody knows everything that goes on down here. It’s really no different than people making confessions.”

“Mercy, you’re not helping!” Fatima groaned, as Mercy stuck their tongue out at her.

Fatima sighed and shook her head.

“Sorry about them. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, Cammie.” 

“No it’s fine.” Cammie was blushing profusely as she stared into her lap.

“I guess I do have my eye on a few people but,”

“Wait let me guess, one of them is Oleander isn’t it?” Mercy asked, their chin on their hands.

“Well yes, he’s one of them.”

“I’m not surprised. Everyone has a crush on Oleander. I don’t blame them though, he’s just too good of a charismatic flirt.” Mercy sighs exasperated, then shakes their head. 

“Who’s the other one?!” Hops exclaimed.

“The other’s Dan.”

“Wait… the Mochi Maker?” Jackal chimed in, taking a puff of her vape.

“Yes. He’s very admirable. He’s big and strong. The way he pounds mochi is… amazing. Especially since I imagine that hammer is really heavy.”

“That’s understandable. I heard that he’s really buff too, isn’t he Fatima?”

“What?! Why are you asking me this?!”
“Because you’ve seen him up close, duh.”
“Okay but, Cammie’s seen him up close too!”

“I’m pretty sure everyone who’s gone to his store has seen him up close, Hops. Hell, we’ve seen him up close before.”

“I know! He’s so~ incredibly beefy isn’t he?” Hops said wistfully, placing her hands on her cheeks.

“And we’ve lost her folks.” Mercy says, shaking their head and staring at Hops.

“She’s not wrong though. He is pretty beefy. He can probably manhandle people pretty easily I bet…” Fatima says, her cheeks heating up as she suddenly squeals.

“Great, now we’ve lost her too.” Mercy chuckles.

“Sooo, have you ever thought about asking him to manhandle you?” Jackal asks, staring at Camilla curiously.

“Jackal!”

“Oh come on! You have got to stop being so surprised when we ask such straightforward questions!”

“I… that’s not what I’m worried about!”

Camilla laughed, watching Jackal and Fatima’s interactions.

“It’s alright, really! I’m pretty open about personal matters. I do run a brothel after all.”

“See? She’s fine with it. Stop being so protective.” Jackal said, gently ruffling Fatima’s hair.

Fatima huffs, fixing her hair.

“But, yes I have. I’ve thought about it a lot but he's too intimidating to talk to.” Camilla responded, sighing heavily.

“Too intimidating, how so?” Hops asks.

“He’s really tall and big and buff. It’s intimidating to me…”

Hops glanced at Jackal who shrugged.

“She’s not wrong.”

“What if someone set you guys up?” 

“Or asked for you.”

“I don’t think setting up a friend to have sex with someone ever works out correctly.” Fatima says, shaking her head.

“Well I… I wouldn’t say no if that were to happen.” Camilla confessed, her cheeks turning red.

Jackal stared at Camilla then burst out laughing, gently slapping her back.

“That’a girl!”

“Well if that were to happen, we would have to get Shibani in on it too. He’d probably be the best one to even ask, honestly.” Fatima says, gently rubbing her chin in thought, brows furrowed.

“But, now that you know about who I admire and have an eye for, what about you girls?” Camilla asked, tilting her head curiously at them.

“I’m not really interested in any one.” Jackal replied, stretching out her legs. “I’m enjoying my time as a lone wolf. Doing who I want, when I want. If I want to at all.”

“Why Angora of course!” Hops exclaimed, laughing softly as she blushed.

“She’s just, so cool and beautiful. She also lets me drink as much alcohol as I want. I do have to pay her back for everything I drink up though. Which is why I’m stuck working the bar, but it’s not a bad job. Not at all. Especially since I can watch her when I’m on breaks or sitting with her. You wouldn’t believe how amazing she is at cards. Among other things.”

“She has you so whipped, Hops.” Mercy says, chuckling softly.

“You’re not wrong but it’s totally and utterly worth it if you ask me.”

“What about you, Mercy? Anyone grab your attention?”

Mercy sighed and looked away, their cheeks turning red for a moment.

“I must admit that I’m an Oleander admirer too. What can I say? He’s overly charismatic but also pretty sweet.

 Especially when he’s doing confessionals. He’s pretty wise too, or at least I think so. 

It’s like, he almost always knows what to say to the buns that confess. It’s pretty admirable.”

Fatima grinned.

“What?! Don’t look at me like that! Even I know when someone deserves a proper compliment. Why not tell her about yours?”

Fatima chuckled then reached over and patted their shoulder.

“Well, I have a massive crush on Oleander myself. One of the Nuns at the chapel made me a stuffie of him. It’s in my room right now. I like him mostly because of the same reasons Mercy mentioned but he’s also really hot.” She giggled.

“However, I like Velveteen far more than I thought I did when I heard about them the first time I arrived.”

“Wait, you mean the famous supermodel Velveteen?”

“Yes. I only wished to be their friend but it turned into something more and I don’t regret it at all. Being friends with benefits is pretty rewarding if you ask me.” Fatima replied, her cheeks warm.

“Speaking of you and Velveteen, how long did this arrangement take to happen anyway?” Mercy asked.

“Mmm, maybe two months?”

The rest of the visit consisted of playing games and getting to know each other better.

“Alright, if you girls want to take any leftovers home, be my guest. Thank you for stopping by and having dinner with me.”

“No problem. It was nice to have a girl’s only afternoon away from work for once.” Hops said, grabbing herself some leftovers.

“Yeah. It was really nice being away from the church and all of that paperwork. I had a good time.” Mercy added.

“I’m going to be eating well for a few days. Not like I already was but Velveteen was right, your food’s way better. Especially the desserts.” Jackal complimented.

Fatima giggled softly. 

“Thanks. I enjoy cooking very much. It’s relaxing and well, I can eat the results.”

“Yes. Thank you very much for inviting me over. It was nice to be away from work for a day. Invite me over again sometime.” Camilla said, grabbing her food.

“Oh of course! What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t?” Fatima says, smiling softly as she walks everyone to the door, giving them goodbye hugs.

“Bye girls! See you next time! I hope you enjoy the food!” She called, waving goodbye to them.

Fatima sighed, “Alright, hopefully I have enough to make a very special delivery.” She makes her way towards the kitchen and looks over the food, grabbing a take out box and filling it up, as well as a thermos.

“Frank, Robin, I’m going out! Make sure you two are good, I might be gone for a bit!” She called, grabbing her cape and making her way out the door and down the street.