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"Noooooo! Not again! Why?!"
Miorine heard Suletta's screams as soon as she opened the door to her room. They had decided that Suletta would spend this weekend with her so that she could concentrate on studying for her exams next week. She had to admit that since Suletta had been living at Earth House, the Mercurian girl had felt more at home at the Asticassia School of Technology. Seeing herself surrounded by friends had been very positive for Suletta, even if it meant that Miorine and Suletta shared a little less of their time together. But for some things Earth House could be a madhouse, not exactly the best place for a quiet activity like studying.
Miorine had been a little late picking up several things to prepare dinner, including the tomatoes that Suletta liked so much. She had figured that the red-haired girl would arrive before her, but she wasn't worried. Suletta had known the access code to her room for some time.
The last thing she expected was to find her bawling.
"It's unfair!" Suletta burst into tears.
Something serious has happened, Miorine thought. She suddenly dropped everything in her arms and ran to meet Suletta.
"Suletta!"
She found her at the top of the steps leading up from the hydroponic pool. She was leaning against the wall, curled up in a ball. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were soaked with tears, and in her right hand she was holding a tablet.
"Suletta!" repeated Miorine when she saw that she did not react.
"M-M-Miorine-s-s-san..." Suletta whispered.
"What happened, Suletta?! Are you all right?!" Despite trying to soften her voice, Miorine could not remove the urgency from her tone.
"I-I-I... T-t-they have n-n-not..."
"Who are 'they'?! WHAT HAVE 'THEY' DONE TO YOU?!" Miorine began mentally putting together a list of possible suspects, as well as good places to dispose of the corpses. She was sure Chuchu would willingly help her.
"I-i-it's n-n-not what you t-t-think!" Suletta tried to control herself. She looked worriedly at Miorine as she saw the murderous intentions on her face. "It's what they haven't done!"
"Huh?!"
"NO ONE HAS EVER COMMENTED ON MY FICS! THEY NEVER DO! THEY HATE HOW I WRITE BECAUSE I DO A TERRIBLE JOB! I'M A FAILURE!" Suletta could no longer contain herself and burst into tears again.
"Fics..."
"YES!!! MY FICS! THEY DON'T HAVE ANY COMMENTS! PEOPLE SURELY HATE THEM!"
Miorine was stunned. She was sure that if this had happened when she first met Suletta, she would most likely have blurted out some snarky, hurtful remark, even if she later apologized for it. Over time, she had learned to respect what Suletta found important, including her hobbies. She had realized that the fact that the Mercurian girl shared them with her and not with anyone else was because she wanted Miorine to share in the fun and joy they gave her as well.
Miorine crouched down so that her face was level with Suletta's.
"Give me a moment to pick up what I left at the entrance and you'll explain it to me, okay?" said Miorine without raising her voice and took Suletta's left hand between hers.
"M-M-Miorine-s-s-san..." Suletta still had tears in her eyes, but she was calmer. She nodded slowly.
"I'll be right back." Miorine let go of Suletta's hand slowly and headed for the entrance. She hurried to pick up everything she had thrown as she entered and went to lay it on the table. Then she went back to where Suletta was and sat down next to her.
"If you don't wanna talk about it now, I'll understand. Take your time."
"N-n-no, Miorine-san. I-I-I'm feeling better," Suletta said. She looked calmer. She had stopped crying and had wiped her tears with a handkerchief.
"As you wish. But if at any time you think you're going to get nervous, we'll stop, okay?"
"Okay." Suletta paused. "T-t-thank you so much for caring about m-m-me." Her cheeks reddened visibly.
"What kind of bride would I be if I didn't care about my groom?" Miorine smiled slightly. "Go on, tell me."
"About... about a month ago I discovered by chance on the School's website that there was a section dedicated to Hobbies. In it, there were a lot of forums created and maintained by the students themselves during their free time to share their hobbies and, in whatever way possible, carry them out within the School."
"That's true, "said Miorine thoughtfully. "There's even a forum dedicated to theater. Their members have performed several plays."
"I was looking to see if there were any manga and anime forums, but I couldn't find any. What there is is one dedicated to anime fics!" Suletta's eyes widened. "It's Asticassia's Own Archive! And it's wonderful!"
"Let me guess: you've written anime fics and uploaded them to the School's public forums."
"You d-d-don't l-l-like it?" Suletta ducked her head.
"Sounds good to me. I was just thinking out loud." Miorine silently cursed herself. She still hadn't gotten out of the bad habit of being so direct when talking to Suletta, even though she was trying.
"I've uploaded four fics to the forums, all of them dedicated to my favorite anime series: Insurgent Schoolgirl Anetu. It's the story of a girl who wants to be a prince and goes to an Academy where she meets another girl and..."
"Okay, okay. And you published them under your name?"
"No way! Everyone uses pseudonyms! It's a way to avoid favoritism."
Red Tomato. I bet she uses Red Tomato, thought Miorine.
"I am Red Tomato!" said Suletta very proud of herself.
Miorine held the bridge of her nose with her fingers.
"So the problem is that no one comm...?"
"No one comments on my fics!" interrupted Suletta.
"Is it because not enough people read them? Just think, most of the time we have a busy study schedule and can't devote all our free time to having fun."
"No, that's not the problem! My fics are some of the most read on Asticassia's Own Archive! But people don't comment on them!" Suletta's eyes began to water with frustration.
"Hmm, this is very strange. Can I borrow your tablet? Are you logged into the forum?"
"Yes, I'm logged." Suletta handed the tablet to Miorine.
"Can I take a look at your account?"
"You don't even have to ask that, Mio-Mio. You can do it whenever you want."
"I thank you for the confidence, but your private life is yours and it's something sacred. I must ask your permission before doing anything. Now I just wanna look at your account configuration in case there are any glitches."
Suletta stared at Miorine as she fiddled with the configuration controls of the forum. That she had asked her permission even though she knew she didn't needed it only increased the respect and affection she felt for the white-haired girl.
"Aha! Here's the problem! The option to comment on your fics is disabled. That's why no one can leave comments on them." Miorine pointed to the unchecked box to Suletta.
"I'm dumb, I'm dumb, I'm dumb!"
"Don't blame yourself. You were so excited to share your fics that you forgot to check the option. It's just an oversight with a very easy fix." Miorine checked the option. "See, fixed! Now people can tell Red Tomato how much they liked her stories!"
No sooner had Miorine said that than a chime sounded.
"Oh! Someone left a comment!" squealed Suletta with excitement. "And it's Li The Romantic Girl, the most popular author on the entire forum! I'm going to have a stroke!"
"Let's go see it, shall we?" said Miorine. "It says here that it's in a fic titled 'You were, you are and you will always be my prince'."
"That's m-m-m-my last and b-b-b-best f-f-fic! W-w-what if she d-d-didn't like it? What if she m-m-mocks m-m-me because I write c-c-childish s-s-stuff? W-w-what if...?" Suletta started to tremble.
"Suletta..." Miorine took Suletta's right hand with her left and rested the tablet between the two of them. "Let's see it."
"Yes, Miorine..."
They opened the comment, which read "This is one of the best stories I've been able to read since I came to Asticassia. I can tell you love the characters and know the source material very well. I loved it! The angst! The declaration of love on the stairs! OH MY GOD, THE KISS!!! I hope to read more of your stories soon! Thank you so much for writing it!"
"I don't know if I'm going to have a heart attack from sheer nerves or burst with excitement!" said Suletta with a grin from ear to ear.
The chime rang again. And again. And again. And again.
"A comment from Pink Fury! This girl's fics are so violent, but you laugh so hard at them! One from Casanova Boy! His yaoi stories are so...!" Suletta turned completely red.
"I can imagine," Miorine said with a giggle.
Every time they read a comment, two more appeared. Apparently, many people had tried to leave comments in the previous days, but had been unable to do so.
Suletta and Miorine read them all.
"I think I'll go to sleep without supper," Miorine said when they finished. "I'm tired and it's already late."
"Me too." Suletta set the tablet aside. Then she realized she hadn't let go of Miorine's hand the whole time. Their fingers were still intertwined and the feel of her skin was comforting. "Thank you for caring so much about me, Miorine. Even when it's something trivial like this."
"If it's something you care about, then it's not trivial to me, Suletta."
They stared transfixed at each other. Miorine reached out her right hand, held Suletta's chin and brought her face close to hers.
Suletta's heart raced as she felt Miorine's soft lips on hers. Suletta wrapped her left arm around Miorine's waist and gently pulled her to herself. None of her dreams about what their first kiss would be like came close to reality. This moment was so much better because it was with Miorine with whom she was sharing it.
Their mouths moved in rhythm in a soft caress long yearned for, but now neither of them wanted to rush.
'"My prince," Miorine said when they broke apart.
'"Always," Suletta said and kissed her again.