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Suletta doesn’t know how she feels when she sees Shaddiq leaving from the direction of Miorine’s greenhouse a second time.
It’s not a pleasant feeling, that’s for sure. Something, cold and sharp, that digs into her gut. Something that she’s never felt before.
But maybe that’s one of the many things comes with the position of Holder, as Suletta finds herself learning mostly on the fly. Dueling, a special uniform, a commandeering bride. Things she could’ve never imagined putting on her wish list when she was back on Mercury, dreaming of idyllic school days.
The bad feeling is only growing, and Suletta tells herself not to get worked up about it. It’s understandable that her bride might have to play host to any assortment of strange men with strange intentions, given her father’s status. And Shaddiq and Miorine have a history that goes far beyond Suletta’s brief time at Asticassia.
Suletta doesn’t like it.
She doesn’t like how out of place she felt during the meeting with Shaddiq. Suletta could only stand at the side, clutching to a serving tray, as he and Miorine negotiated over a proposal that she had heard nothing about (a private discussion? What else might have been said?).
They seemed to operate in a world of their own, with a mutual understanding that left Suletta shut out.
“If I’m her groom, I’ll believe in my bride.” Those words are meant for Suletta as much as they are for Shaddiq.
Miss Mercury. She was flattered by the address at first. It seemed to suggest a familiar sort of endearment where most of the Dueling Committee treated her with outright resentment. Suletta realizes that it’s just another part of Shaddiq’s charming veneer.
Unlike Guel, who seems to at least acknowledge her as a capable pilot (and fell in love with her? She’s still confused on that point), Shaddiq sees her as a usurper, undeserving of her position. Even as dense as she is, Suletta knows contempt and Saddiq doesn’t bother to hide it behind his usual handsome smile during the duel.
She doesn’t understand Shaddiq’s love for Miorine. Love, Suletta thought, was about trusting someone so much that you would put your life in their hands. At least, that’s how she felt as Miorine’s groom.
In the end, all Shaddiq’s sentiment was not enough to win. Thanks to Miorine’s perfect strategy, a spectacular shot from Chuchu, and a performance that left Aerial in another state of wreckage, the company is saved, and GUND-ARM can finally begin operating. Shaddiq, for his part, seems to take his defeat gracefully. Maybe they could even be friends.
Suletta doesn’t join the others in celebrating. She wonders if winning these duels is enough to remain by Miorine’s side. What can she do, outside of Aerial? Her acting is horrible, and they had to redo the PR video so many times that in the end, it took all Nuno had to cut together something presentable. Suletta’s mistake forced Miorine to beg her father for an investment. And when Aerial went quiet during the duel, Suletta wasn’t good enough to prevent the hits that left the Gundam severely damaged.
Suletta can’t shake the haunting sense that Shaddiq was right, in a way. So, when she sees him leaving from Miorine’s greenhouse a second time, it plants a seed of a bad, nameless feeling that makes her numb.
When she reaches the greenhouse, Miorine is busy pruning her tomato plants. The quiet snip of the shears does not pause, not even when Suletta knocks softly on the doorframe. Miorine doesn’t notice her at all.
“M-M-Miorine-san?”
Miorine stops as she’s about to cull yet another green tomato. “Oh. You’re here. Did you need something from me? If you’re here to ask about Aerial, I already received confirmation that the repairs will take two months to complete.”
Strangely enough, Suletta hadn’t really been thinking of Aerial at all. Miorine had told her that she would reach out to the best mechanics and that it was likely to take some time, even with their expertise and resources. Suletta had faith in her bride, who had been right about everything else so far.
Suletta’s blanks out. What was she here for again? She can’t remember, so instead she asks the question that’s been pinging around her head.
“D-d-did Shaddiq visit you again?”
A strange look flashes across Miorine’s face for a moment, but then her normal cold countenance returns, so quickly Suletta wonders if she imagined it.
“Shaddiq came to finalize the incorporation of GUND-ARM. I wouldn’t really call it a visit.”
“Oh.”
Miorine fixes Suletta with another expression she can’t read. “Well, since you’re here you might as well help me with the greenhouse. After pruning the tomatoes, I’ll need help applying the fertilizer.”
Miorine, letting her help out with the precious tomato plants? Suletta’s heart swells and the bad feeling fades away. “Aye-aye!”
“Don’t give me that, I’m not some ship captain.”
Without Miorine and Aerial, Suletta is a little bit lonely. But she can’t help but grin when she thinks about the important task Miorine entrusted her with while she’s away. Yes, Suletta Mercury—and only Suletta Mercury!—is in charge of taking care of the tomatoes and other various plants in Miorine’s greenhouse.
“Who else can I ask?” The memory makes Suletta giddy.
She sings as she waters, prunes, checks the plants for disease, and carefully completes everything else on the long list that Miorine left her. The greenhouse is hard work, and in the couple days Miorine has been gone, Suletta’s admiration for her bride has only grown. Who else could make a spreadsheet so detailed, with pivot tables chock full of data that she could barely comprehend? And to trust Suletta with it all!
When she tells her Earthian friends about it, Chuchu and Nika exchange a knowing look.
“Wow Suletta, it kind of sounds like you’re down bad.”
“Chuchu!”
“D-d-down bad? I’m not down with anything! I think I’m up good!”
Chuchu lets out a loud guffaw and Nika can’t help but laugh too. Did they think that she was making a joke? Suletta thinks about crossing that entry off her wish list, but no. It only counts if she tells a joke on purpose.
Nika pats Suletta on the shoulder. “Well, I’m glad your relationship with Miorine is going well. I was a bit worried at first when you became her groom, to be honest.”
“I-I-I was too! But now,” Suletta smiles dreamily. “I wouldn’t want anything else.”
Chuchu groans. “Alright, I think that’s enough lovey-dovey for me. Any more and my teeth are going to rot out.”
Suletta blushes. Lovey-dovey! Is that how she sounds right now?
Miorine didn’t exactly tell Suletta that she could use her quarters while she was away. But they were closer to the greenhouse than Suletta’s dorm in the Earthian House. What if there was some tomato emergency and Suletta couldn’t get there on time?
And well…Suletta likes how Miorine’s place smells like her. Something clean and floral, with an undertone of green earthiness from the starts Miorine kept. Lying in Miorine’s bed, Suletta couldn’t help but go over Chuchu’s words. Does she really seem like someone in love?
When Miorine told her that being the Holder meant they were engaged, Suletta was shocked. On Mercury, an engagement wasn’t something done lightly. It was only to be made between a couple who loved each other very much and was one of the few spots of true happiness in a Mercurian’s hard life. Growing up, her mother told her the story of how her father had proposed—one of the few stories she ever heard about her father—and Suletta had sworn she wanted nothing less from her own engagement.
So, when she found out she was Miorine’s groom, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment. It was nothing like the storybook romances she spent hours reading. She didn’t even realize it could happen between two girls! And from how Miorine described it, it was more of a contract than a declaration of true love.
But now...Suletta turns over, and stares at the ceiling. Miorine, who had treated her with such coldness at first, seemed a little softer. Miorine had done so much for her, so much more than she had to if the engagement was just a contract. Miorine, who was so pretty and delicate, it made Suletta feel like she was an entirely different species. Suletta didn’t want anyone else by her side.
She sits up.
Oh. Maybe this is love.
Suddenly, Suletta is acutely aware that she’s in Miorine’s bed and a deep flush spreads throughout her body, until she must be as red as Miorine’s tomatoes are getting. Oh geez! She flashes back to Miorine calling her a pervert.
Augh!
Bolting out of the room and into the cool night lit by artificial stars, Suletta runs and runs, filled with a feeling that leaves her buoyant and alight with a thousand suns stuffed into her chest.
A feeling she now knows is love.