Work Text:
Soft.
Suletta Mercury was infuriatingly soft.
Physically, of course, it was like every aspect of her was designed for snuggling. Her hair, her skin, the little layer of fat she gained in Asticassia, everything was precision engineered for cuddles.
The only thing to betray any roughness were her hands, calloused as they were from gripping the controls of her mobile suit.
But more importantly, her personality was so soft it was unbearable. Sweet to a fault, kind and considerate beyond all expectation, and prone to crying over the smallest thing.
It was absolutely adorable, like she was this very tall - very deadly - puppy.
Those were all things Miorine was supposed to notice and appreciate.
Not Chu Chu .
Chu Chu was meant to be Suletta’s friend. Her bro. To pump her up when she needed it, and punch someone in the face when she couldn’t.
She wasn’t supposed to be offering emotional support.
That was Miorine’s job.
Or Nika’s job.
Or even Guel’s job, if there was no one around to help.
But no. This time it fell to Chuatury Freaking Panlunch to hold the lonely tanuki, while everyone else was somehow busy in some way or another.
Not that Chu Chu hated the idea or anything.
She was her friend, and if she could throw hands for Suletta, she could hold hands for Suletta. But this was definitely outside her comfort zone. No matter how comfortable that dumb spacian actually was.
If she was being honest, she never really expected to have to do this.
Sure, Suletta started getting emotionally overwhelmed a lot easier since Quiet Zero. How wouldn’t she, after nearly losing her family like that. But even then, she was always surrounded by people who loved her and cared for her; people who knew how to help her recover from her bouts of anxiety and emotion.
So this morning - when Suletta had a complete meltdown over something as simple as a shattered glass - Chu Chu was surprised to find that she was the only one around to help her.
It didn’t take a genius to realize that this wasn’t just about a glass of water. It was about everything. All the people who died, all the people she failed to save, every tragedy, every pain.
Suletta had a soft heart, and it was being crushed under the weight of the world.
And Chu Chu… well, she couldn’t just sit and watch.
That is how she found herself holding this unreasonably tall bundle of emotions, the two of them cuddling on the couch of Gund Arm’s lounge.
Suletta clinged to Chu Chu’s shirt, her face buried on the shorter girl’s chest, while Chu Chu wrapped her in her pink jacket.
It was awkward, uncomfortable, and one of her arms was starting to fall asleep by now.
But Chu Chu couldn’t dare to complain, because it was for Suletta, and that girl deserved so much more than that.
That had always been the funny thing about Suletta, in a way. She had a way of worming into people’s hearts. It was impossible to not love her, or be endeared by her in some way.
Miorine, the biggest ice queen of all Asticassia, had fallen head over heels for her in a matter of weeks.
Guel of all people had the most disgusting case of puppy love for her.
Elan freaking Ceres - at least one of the Elans - opened up to her and only her.
Hell, even Chu Chu wasn’t immune to Suletta’s charms.
A long time ago Chu Chu had dismissed her as just another spacian asshole, with no regard for earthians like her. But that was before she had actually met the girl, and Suletta had the chance to work her magic.
Next thing Chu Chu knew she was cracking a girl’s nose for messing with Suletta, and from there on they were - somehow - friends.
The only person who seemed fully unaffected by Suletta’s unwavering aura of devotion and kindness was her own mom .
Just thinking about that woman made Chu Chu tense. Knowing everything she put Suletta through, and all that crap with Quiet Zero. It infuriated her to no end. She still couldn’t understand how Suletta had managed to forgive, and forget after a lifetime of being used like a tool.
Honestly, Chu Chu couldn’t even understand how Prospera could have done something like that to her own daughter.
It didn’t matter if Suletta wasn’t technically her daughter, they were still family, damn it!
Back on Earth, Chu Chu had been raised with the help of everyone in her town. It didn’t matter if they were related by blood or not, they were all still family, and as far as she cared, she always had six dads.
So seeing these spacian bastards showing such callous disregard for their children - using their own flesh and blood for their political games - it made her blood boil.
If it was up to her, Delling and Prospera would both be locked up for good, and they’d never get to ruin the lives of others ever again.
…but it wasn’t up to Chu Chu.
It was up to Suletta and Miorine. It was their family, and their choice.
When their parents failed to love their family, those two always would. And that Chu Chu could understand.
Even if Suletta’s family managed to be even less “traditional” than her own.
Chu Chu chuckled at that thought, causing Suletta to stir a little in her arms.
At some point the girl had fallen asleep, still clinging tightly onto Chu Chu. She looked so peaceful like this. Even with her scars, and the tears.
It’s what Suletta deserved.
She was always so caring, and loving…
She deserved some peace.
Chu Chu leaned down, and pressed a kiss on the top of Suletta’s head.
Miorine would have to forgive her for that one, but she couldn’t help herself.
Suletta was always so soft, after all.