2: Chaotic Neutral

Quinn groaned as she felt Artie climbing over her, a sign that morning had come and there were children to prepare for school. In the back of her mind, she realized she had fallen asleep on the wrong side of the bed if Artie had to climb over her, but she couldn't figure out why she had. Before she could open her eyes, she felt Artie's large hand on her forehead, gently caressing her briefly, and a soft kiss to her lips. Her eyes fluttered open to see Artie smiling down at her.

"You can stay asleep. I think the Piglet is trying to adjust to your schedule," Artie remarked while motioning to the child beside her. Diana was surprisingly knocked out, arm flung onto Quinn's bicep.

"No, I'll help you," Quinn insisted. She knew Artie had her hands full with getting her sisters ready for school. Thankfully, she only had to do it for another week.

Artie smiled. "Suit yourself." She leaned down and kissed Quinn on the forehead.

Quinn chuckled and yawned. She glanced down at Diana, figuring she had worn herself out last night playing games with everyone else. She smiled and brushed the child's hair out of her face because climbing out of bed. Straightening out her sleep shirt, which was Artie's t-shirt, she stretched, reaching for the ceiling for several seconds. This was the same shirt she had donned a couple of days ago when she declared her love for Artie and then bolted from the bedroom. The feel of the shirt brought the memory back and made her smile. That was also the night Artie declared her love for Quinn.

"I wonder how long this t-shirt'll last," she muttered to herself before putting her body into gear.

Upstairs was the chaos she expected. The girls were in various stages of dress, none of them ready for school, and arguing why they should be able to stay home. Apparently, the pantheon didn't seem to think they should have to go to school since it was almost over. Anna was still awake, even though breakfast was done. She was trying to urge Juno to eat, but didn't seem to be making much headway. Artie had a hold on Tia's shoulder while barking at the twins.

"Quinn, tell Mom we shouldn't have to go to school since Artie doesn't," Juno said as soon as she noticed the newcomer. Anna's gaze snapped over to her and a millisecond later her daughters' eyes did the same.

Quinn, not yet used to small children, didn't understand the logic. "Artie's school is over, but yours isn't, just like mine isn't. I still go to school because I still have class, just like you do. Artie doesn't. When you don't have class any more, you don't have to go to school." Seemed simple enough to her, but the pantheon disagreed.

"But, that's not fair! How come Art doesn't have school anymore?" Tia huffed, tearing her shoulder away from her eldest sister. She stared at Artie with pleading blue eyes, as if Artie could change the school schedule.

"Her school ends at a different time," Quinn pointed out.

"Just like your school started at a different time," Artie chimed in. "I go to school a couple of weeks before you do. Do you want to go to school early then?"

"No! Who wants to go to school early?" Juno's face twisted as if the idea truly disgusted her.

"Then maybe we need to stick to the usual schedule," Quinn commented with a small, amused smile.

The girls grumbled, but things quietly returned to normal. Breakfast was eaten and the sisters seemed more willing to put on the rest of their uniforms. Artie smiled at Quinn, who smiled back. Best of all, Anna didn't give her a dirty look. Maybe she's getting used to me.

Diana came upstairs a few minutes later, rubbing her eyes and looking for breakfast. Quinn took care of her as Artie urged her other sisters to hurry while also trying to get her mother to go to bed already; Anna had worked all night as the night manager of a resort an hour's drive away. Artie was at pro at this, though, and managed to get everything to go her way… and on time surprisingly enough.

"Let's watch TV before Nana comes," Diana declared, grabbing Quinn by the hand and pulling her to the living room. Quinn didn't have much of a choice.

When Artie returned from walking the girls to school, she joined Quinn and Diana. Not too long after that, Artie's grandparents arrived. Her grandmother, Tori, watched Diana while Anna slept when Artie wasn't around.

"Nana, you don't have to watch her. I'm here and I'll make sure she gets some studying in," Artie pointed out.

"Nonsense. You have a guest to entertain and it's a gorgeous day out. Both of you, go get dressed and be young," Tori ordered, making a shooing motion with her hands. There was a warm look in her brown eyes, though.

"Nana," Artie tried to object, but was silenced immediately with a glare. Quinn had learned very early to not argue with Tori.

"No, go get dressed and show Quinn around before she has class. Now." Tori pointed in the direction of the basement.

"Yes, Artie, be a gentleman," her grandfather, Andre, chimed in. A small smile played on his handsome features.

"Granddad, you're supposed to be on my side," Artie argued, frowning at her grandfather.

"He's on the right side. Now, get going," Tori urged again, shooing them away once more.

Quinn got up and decided to follow those commands. Artie looked a bit confused for a second, but followed Quinn after a few second. Quinn chuckled as she heard her girlfriend come down the stairs.

"Why are you trying to get in trouble with your nana? You want her to swat your butt?" Quinn teased.

Artie smirked. "I'd rather you swat my butt."

Quinn shook her head. "You're so bad."

Artie didn't deny the charges. She wrapped her arms around Quinn and pressed herself against Quinn's back. Quinn almost moaned, but held it in until Artie began nibbling her ear. Artie had discovered this erogenous zone on Quinn's body and never failed to exploit it.

"I believe you're supposed to be taking me out, not to bed," Quinn pointed out with a small groan as pleasure popped through her with each nip of Artie's teeth.

"I know, but bed sounds fun."

"Even with your grandparents and baby sister upstairs?" Quinn threw cold water on the situation as Artie's body immediately sagged against her.

"Boner killer," Artie groaned.

Quinn chuckled. "You keep acting like this and I'm going to think you only want to have sex with me."

"Of course, that's why I brought you to the one place where there's almost a zero percent chance for us to have sex. That was brilliant of me," Artie laughed, playfully hitting herself on the forehead with her palm.

"Well, you are a genius. But, seriously, we can have our first date," Quinn said, suddenly feeling shy and now willing herself not to be awkward.

Artie's russet eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open, as if that hadn't dawned on her. Then, she shook her head. "No, our first official date can't be on my nana's order and I need time to plan the date. I want us to have the perfect first date. Something that fits my princess."

Quinn smiled, silently noting that Artie had been using that nickname more often. When she first used it, Quinn hated it, feeling mocked. Now, it made her feel loved, special.

"You know, we don't need to have the perfect date. I just want to go out with you and spend sometime together before class." Quinn knew there was no such thing as "the perfect first date." She'd been on enough to know. Unfortunately, Artie had never been on a real one, so she might have unrealistic expectations. Quinn didn't want Artie to be disappointed.

Artie smiled. "But, you deserve something special."

"That's sweet. Okay, how about we go out, but not call it a date?"

There was silence for a moment before Artie grinned. "Fine, but I'm taking you out on a date before the girls are out of school and they take up all of our time."

"Sounds good."

They both got dressed, but it took a while since Artie couldn't keep her hands to herself. It didn't help matters that Quinn put on a skirt. Artie's hands were practically plastered to her ass and thighs.

"Get it out of your system now because I don't do public displays," Quinn warned her with a stern look. Artie only smirked at her, as if she thought she could change Quinn's mind.

-8-8-8-8-

Artie sat up that night, listening to Quinn's light breathing as she slept. Diana was restless, probably having a wild dream that would probably wake her in the middle of night and she'd have to share it with both Artie and Quinn. Until then, Artie was occupied by happy memories of the day and musings on her first date with Quinn.

The day had been rather simple. They had walked through a nearby park that had a carousel, which they rode together. Artie would've felt ridiculous, but she had been on the thing many times before with her sisters. She knew Quinn had felt silly, but she made sure to act perfectly normal and that made Quinn relax.

She then gave Quinn a tour of her neighborhood and her old haunts. Quinn seemed so excited and had clung to her every word. They had a pretty good time and Artie made sure they got back in time for Quinn to leave for class. She wondered if that had actually been their perfect first date. She was tempted to wake Quinn and ask, but decided against it.

"I'll still plan a perfect date. She deserves it and she needs to see that this is way more than sex for me." Artie knew Quinn had said that as a joke, but she also knew people typically told the truth through jokes. She never wanted for Quinn to feel like anything less than the princess that she was.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: the first date.