Work Text:
Act I.
It was a calm yet beautiful sunset when the woman Milk loved for more than a decade held her hand, opened her palm and placed a ring, the same ring she once knelt with and offered to her.
"I can't do this, I'm sorry...." she said and walked away
And on that day, with tears damping her cheeks, Milk swore she would never love another.
o-o-o-o-o
Act II.
"Thank you for helping me last night. I guess I drank more than I should"
Milk handed a glass of water to the young woman sitting across her dining table, eating a simple lunch she cooked in her kitchen earlier
"No problem, why were you alone in that bar anyway?"
"I wasn't alone when I went there but the friend I went with left with someone else" she explained
Milk studied the young woman as she ate. She looked fine, like she wasn't drunkenly walking around the streets last night, and she didn't look mad at being left alone either. In fact, she looked like she had the time of her life last night and just enjoying the morning after, like on a vacation to some unknown place.
"You've been gracious to me, letting me in your home and giving me food, yet I don't even know your name"
"Milk, my name's milk"
"Like the beverage? How cute"
She smiled brightly, and Milk couldn't help but think that between the two of them, she's the cute one.
"And you? What's your name?"
"I'm Love"
Milk scoffed, "Seriously, your name's Love? What are you, the daughter of Aphrodite or something?"
And Love propped up in her seat, "I am! How did you know?!" If she had a tail, it would be wagging excitedly right now.
Milk playfully rolled her eyes, this girl might be very cute but her sense of humor is definitely weird.
"Anyway Love, I have to leave for work soon, so..."
"Oh yes, of course! I'm off to see more of this city so I'll be leaving too" she said and stood up from her seat
Milk watched as Love went to her and was surprised that she took her hand in hers nonchalantly.
"Thank you again Milk! I'm new to this city so it was quite lucky of me to find a friend here so quickly" Love smiled sweetly
And milk returned the smile, just not that wide, "A friend. Yeah, sure"
And on that day, Milk truly did find a friend in Love, a friend that would be so closely by her side through thick and thin, that she would considered to be special.
o-o-o-o-o
Act III.
"I told you I didn’t want to go on that date"
Milk slumped down on the couch while Love was busy getting cold drinks from the fridge for the two of them
"It's that bad?" Love sat next to Milk on the couch and handed her a cold can of soda
"Love, he's the most arrogant little shit I've met in a while, so yeah it's that bad" Milk replied, "At least the first dude I went on a date with was tolerable in conversation. This one was so over the top arrogant with his story-telling, I almost saw my brain because of how far in I was rolling my eyes"
Along with the sound of cans opening, Love's laughter filled the room, "Well at least I know what not to look for next time"
Milk groaned as she lay down on the sofa, naturally laying her head on Love's lap, "Can we just stop this?"
"Nope, this is only the second date. You have 3 more dates to go. You lost on our dare so you can't say no when I set you up on a date"
"But I'm tireddd"
"I promise I'll find someone who's chill to talk to"
"It's not that, I'm just… tired of finding love. All that work only to be left behind in the end..."
Love looked down and met Milk's eyes. She can see the exhaustion and defeat in them, no matter how much milk smiles. It's evident through them the immense hurt her heart went through in the past.
Milk was one of those special people who knows how to love with pure sincerity. That's the reason why Love sought her in the first place, because these special hearts, the ones filled with genuine love, can't easily be healed once they're broken. You'll need the hand of the goddess of love, or in this case, the hand of the daughter of the goddess of love, to collect the shattered pieces and make it whole again.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Milk asked
And Love simply smiled, moving away a few strands of hair from Milk's eye line, "because you're special Milk, you deserve to love and be loved in the purest sense of the word"
And on that night, while staring into Love's soft gaze, Milk's heart was filled with calmness for the first time in a long while
o-o-o-o-o
Act IV.
"My date cancelled on me"
"She did?!"
Milk nodded as she stood in front of Love's door, "which is why you're my date for tonight"
"Me? But I-"
But before Love could finish, Milk quickly handed her a spare helmet, "You have 15 minutes to get ready, I'll be over there at my scooter waiting"
Milk smiled cheekily and headed back to her yellow-colored scooter. She sat on the seat and motioned at Love, who was still standing at the door, to quickly get ready. With no reason to say no, Love relented and went back in to get ready.
And just like what was agreed upon, 15 minutes later, Love came down dressed in a comfy casual wear just as Milk started the engine of her scooter. And off they went.
“Where are we going?!” Love asked loudly
“You’ll see! Just hold on!” Milk revved up her engine and the faster they went until Milk slowed down and eventually parked at an empty spot nearby
“Where is this?” Love asked while Milk took the spare helmet from her and the two of them got off the scooter
“The S-Tar observatory. They opened it to the public tonight since apparently there’s gonna be a meteor shower” Milk then looked at her watch, “Which is starting a few minutes from now, c’mon let’s hurry before we ran out of good spots to watch it!”
Milk took Love’s hand and led her towards the building, running fast but at a pace that won’t tire out the woman she’s holding hands with.
Whether it’s because it’s cold tonight or maybe because they’re running together, but all these running while tightly holding Milk’s hand is making Love feel warm at the cheeks while simultaneously making her heart race at a rapid pace.
When they got inside, unsurprisingly it was quite crowded, but Milk managed to rummage through the crowd while still tightly holding Love’s hand until she found a perfect spot at the balcony. Not too crowded and not too brightly lit so they could focus on the bright streaks falling from the night sky.
“It’s already starting” Milk said finally letting go of Love’s hand and looking up at the sky, “The weather tonight is perfect for this”
Love looked at Milk with softness in her gaze then up at the same sky Milk is looking at, “I’ve seen this event from above so many times, but this is the first time I’m seeing it from below, it’s even more pretty to look at from here”
Milk turned to her with confusion mixed with slight laughter, “I swear the way you speak sometimes, it likes you’re not human at all”
“Well, I’m not”
“Sure, of course you’re not” Milk shook her head at Love’s ongoing bit before letting out a sigh, “But y’know, not gonna lie, I’m glad my date ditched me tonight”
Love giggled in slight disbelief, “You dislike her that much?”
“I mean she’s okay but there’s just times when you’re not in the mood to socialize with new people” Milk answered, her eyes fixated on the night sky, “Like tonight, I’d rather just spend time with someone I’m very much comfortable with” she then turned to Love and smiled sweetly
And Love gladly returned the smile with her own, “That’s a shame then, you prepared this date for her and she just ditched you, It’s has the perfect romantic vibe too, it’s her loss I guess”
Milk chuckled and playfully scoffed, “I didn’t prepare this for her, my planned date with her was just movie and dinner” she explained, “I prepared this for you”
Love’s eyes grew with surprise, “You did?”
Milk nodded proudly
“But why?”
“Because you like celestial stuff so much, isn’t your room filled with constellations? You even have a stuffed earth and sun pillow” Milk answered, “Actually I read about this event on social media a few days back so when my date cancelled on me, I quickly thought of you and how you would love to see this. So I went to you as fast as I could so I could take you”
“And here we are…”
Milk then removed her jacket and moved closer to Love, placing it gently around her shoulder to keep her warm. She looked at Love and smiled brightly, “And here we are”
Love stared at the woman in front of her, who’s smiling at her so warm and brightly it’s comparable to the glowing rays of the sun that hits the earth as it rises. Everything around them felt slow and blurry with only Milk being the clear one in Love’s eyes. Her heart is beating fast but at the same time, she felt so serene in this woman’s presence.
Is this what humans feel when they’re falling in love?
o-o-o-o-o
Act V.
“I can’t believe this is your fourth date with her” Love said as she watched Milk roam around the room, getting ready to go out
“I can’t believe it either but I just clicked with her y’know” Milk grabbed her favorite pair of shoes and put them on, “I guess third person’s the charm? You might've finally hit a bullseye with this one”
Love let out a force giggle, “I guess I did. Well, take care and enjoy”
“I will, and I’ll tell you how it went first thing in the morning” Milk grabbed her phone and headed to the door, “and thanks again for letting me stay at your place while my place is getting renovated by my landlord”
“Of course, you’re always welcome here” Love replied, “Will I wait for you ‘til you get back?”
“Oh no there’s no need for that, you gave me a spare key remember? I’ll let myself in. Go to bed early” Finally, Milk waved goodbye and left, leaving Love in her now quiet household
As Love settled in for the night, she can’t help but ponder about her days here on earth, with the humans she was once happily watching over while guiding them on the right path towards their right love.
And yet she went down here to personally help Milk, to heal her hurting heart, all because she grew fond of her while she watched her fall in love, and cried with her when she got her heart broken by a girl Milk once thought was the love of her life.
And now here’s Milk now, steadily healing and finding love again. All thanks to her, the daughter of the goddess of love.
Hours have passed and not a wink of sleep visited Love. All she could think about was all the treasured memories she have with Milk.
The time they spent together doing small things like having meals together, household chores and grocery shopping, mundane activities and yet, it felt special and fulfilling. All those stories they told during sleepless nights, the laughter they had on sunny afternoons and tears they shed during rainy days, every moment Love shared with Milk felt like a piece of a puzzle fitting in perfectly in this canvas their friendship created together.
But regardless of how Love’s own heart strongly longed for Milk, even she knew it doesn’t matter.
For when the taxi parked outside shone it’s headlights through her home window, when Milk gets off from it holding the hand of the girl she’s currently seeing, when they briefly talk and laugh about how their night went, and when she leans in and finally kisses Milk’s lips goodnight.
All Love can do is watch from a far, her heart aching from the deepest part of her being, for the daughter of the goddess of love have fallen madly in love with a human who belongs to another, all because of her efforts, a job well done.