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"Unbelievable..."
The last few months have been a time of endless and exhausting work. Miorine has never worried about having to push herself to get something done, as it's something she can control. But the stress is starting to take its toll on her. She is feeling irritable. She is having to make greater and greater use of her willpower to keep from losing control.
After the unexpected creation of GUND-Arm, Inc. at the incubation party, her life had become a whirlwind of frenetic activity. Miorine had not had a single moment of rest. The organization of the company, Shaddiq's sabotage attempt and subsequent duel, the search for allies and investors... There was always some urgent matter to take care of. And Suletta...
Suletta has not been particularly helpful, Miorine thought.
True, she hadn't given her groom the time they used to share together. But it wasn't because she hadn't wanted to. There were countless issues to be resolved, paperwork to be filled out, meetings to be had and enemies to monitor.
I'm doing this for you, you idiot! Can't you see I'm trying to save you and Aerial?!
No, that wasn't fair. Suleta was not an idiot. Suletta was...Suletta. With her quirks, her naïveté, her willingness to help.
Her smile.
Miorine never ceased to be amazed by the power the Mercurian girl had over her. She had entered her life unexpectedly, had caught her in her orbit and made her remember what it meant to care about a person.
Unlike other people, Suletta had never dared to use the influence she had over Miorine to her advantage. Quite the contrary. She had gone out of her way to protect her from harm regardless of her own safety. To treat her like a person. To care for her.
Miorine Rembran, the Princess of Asticassia who hated dealing with her peers, could not help it: she had fallen in love with Suletta Mercury.
I've risked everything for you. Why are you shying away from me now?
----
I can't take it anymore.
Suletta was excited to attend the Asticassia School of Technology. Studying at a renowned place was important to fulfill her dreams of a better future for Mercury. But deep down, what she was most looking forward to was being able to deal with people her own age. To have a normal life, something she was denied in her own world.
However, before even setting foot in the School, Suletta had had a life-changing encounter: she had "rescued" Miorine Rembran.
Miorine-san.
Mio-Mio.
Just thinking about Miorine gave her goose bumps and a strange feeling that she hadn't been able to identify. At first, Suletta had thought it was happiness at having made her first friend. As time went on and after making new friends, she had begun to realize that perhaps it was another kind of feeling.
It had all been an illusion. I've been an idiot. I'm just a useless Mercurian bumpkin. I'm not even good enough to pick up food.
Suletta hadn't eaten because she hadn't properly counted the necessary rations for everyone. That had been the last straw. She looked back at the last months and saw only reproaches and disappointments.
Heartbroken, she had taken refuge in the restrooms and, unable to do anything else, had phoned her mother.
----
Suletta tried to run. She was much faster and more agile than Miorine, but her pursuer was cunning and had taken advantage of her weak point: Suletta's concern for her.
"Someone like you, Miorine-san, would never get that," Suletta said when all her arguments failed.
She did not expect Miorine's fiery response. Her weak blows were charged with frustration and anger, and hurt a thousand times more than if they had been delivered with full force.
"Don't you see I'm happy like this?! It's because of you that I don't have to run away anymore!" Miorine cried
Uttered in pain and despair, Miorine's words pierced through Suletta's defenses without meeting resistance and burned into her soul. All the doubts about her own ability and her fears about the future of the two of them were swept away by a surge of emotion with a force unlike anything Suletta had ever felt.
"So..." Miorine wrapped her arms around her waist. "Don't run from me."
The white-haired girl usually avoided any physical contact, except for very rare exceptions such as their meeting in the cell or the trip to get dinner on a scooter. This time was different.
You are the reason I'm here. Please, don't go. Stay with me. Forever.
Suletta had been confused, but now she knew.
This is love.
So Suletta huged her back and promised her that she would stay by her side forever. They talked and cried, cradled by zero gravity. It was comforting to feel each other's bodies, to notice how their hearts were beating while their chests expanded and contracted as they breathed.
They were wrapped in each other's arms for an indeterminate amount of time, floating with no other concern than to feel each other's warmth.
"Thank you, Mio-Mio," Suletta said at last.
"For?"
Suletta looked into Miorine's eyes.
"For letting me fall in love with you. You make everything better. You make my life meaningful. The longer I was with you, the more I needeed you. I shuddered with every look of yours, with every smile, with every touch. I was so afraid of losing you. I almost lost you..."
"Don't think anymore about what might have been," Miorine said in a reassuring tone. "We both know now how we feel. And I'm the one who should thank you. From day one, you've made me feel like a person, not a trophy. You have appreciated me for myself. You have offered me your kindness, your friendship, your love, and you have never asked for anything in return. You have made me feel valid, safe, loved."
Suletta rested her forehead against Miorine's.
"Miorine, I... I'm sorry I ever doubted you."
Miorine looked at her tenderly. For a moment, it looked like she was going to say something, but she thought better of it. She brought her face close to Suletta's and closed her eyes as her lips caressed those of the Mercurian girl.
Suletta took only an instant to react and closed her eyes too. She slightly increased the strength of her embrace. Her lips responded to Miorine's with softness and tenderness.
Surrounded by the silence that reigned in this area of Plant Quetta, the two girls floated in zero gravity, united in body and soul. Doubtlessly the future would bring new obstacles, but now they knew they had each other.
And together they would face their destiny.