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The night after the incubation party -which Suletta still sometimes thought of as a ball- she laid in Miorine’s bed -which she was starting to think of as their bed now- and thought. Miorine herself was still sitting at her desk, tap-tap-tapping away at her computer, finalizing some GUND-Arm things before bed. She did that often with schoolwork, and Suletta never minded it. Sometimes Miorine commented that ‘if you don't like it, go back to your room,’ but she never found herself doing that. Today, Suletta had finally figured out why.
Which was why tonight, instead of letting herself go to sleep, she was just staring at her bride. Thinking.
I love her. I love Miss Miorine. I’m in love with Miorine Rembran.
It was true. Very, very definitely true. Had it been true for a while? Maybe. Maybe. There was one other thing that was certain: Suletta… didn’t feel as surprised about it as she thought she should’ve. She’d grown on the concept of marrying a girl -or at least being engaged to one- rather quickly, and the why of that was exceedingly obvious now, but the actual… love part? That felt… even more natural. Sudden, yes, but natural. After all the time they’d spent together, all the things they’d done for each other, why wouldn’t she be in love? It was only right.
Suletta had never been in love with someone before. Not like this, at least. She loved her mother and Aerial as family, she loved everyone from Earth House as friends, but with Miorine… it was different. A good different. The kind of love she’d only seen in stories, not the kind she’d ever thought she’d experience herself. Well, she figured it would’ve come eventually, but there were so many more… basic things on her list she’d expected to come first. Simpler things.
Her list was going to have to expand, now. There were so many new things she wanted to do with Miorine, now that she’d finally figured her own feelings out.
Suletta wanted to hold her, and she’d been doing that for a while, almost every night. Check.
Suletta wanted to go on a date with her. Sure, she’d already checked ‘go on a date’ off her list after her date with Elan, but… having one with Miorine definitely deserved its own entry. She figured the incubation party counted well enough for that, right? Check.
Suletta wanted to kiss her, and… she wouldn’t act on it, partially because she had to make sure Miorine wanted that too, and she was far too flustered over the idea to ask right now. It was too early.
Suletta wanted to dance with her. She’d kinda wanted this before, too, though. When Miorine had lent her that dress, she’d expected the event they were attending to be something where they would dance together, if it required such formal wear. Only after arriving had she learned this wasn’t the case. And asking about this wasn’t as fatally embarrassing as thinking about kissing her, so…
“Um, Miss Miorine?”
“Yeah?” She didn’t look away from her screen.
“I, uh…” she faltered. Move forward, gain two. “So, about the ball. The incubation party.” Miorine stopped typing, and spun her chair to face her. For a few moments, Suletta was stunned. Right. She’s really pretty.
“Well? Out with it already.”
“Um, right, um… it was nice, Miss Miorine, even though… so much happened. So much happened, except… for the one thing I was hoping we would do.”
“And that thing would be…?” Suletta blushed more than she thought she would.
“I- I want to dance with you, Miss Miorine! Since we um… dressed up all fancy, and went to a big party with a bunch of important people and good food, but… but we didn’t do that. I was hoping we would get the chance.” Miorine didn’t say anything, she just tapped her fingers on the armrests. “Do… you want to, too?”
“Sure,” her bride answered after a few more moments of thought. Then she stood up, went to her wardrobe, and started rifling through it. “Same dresses as earlier today, yeah?”
“Um, yeah.” Suletta smiled to herself, and she clasped her hands together. “U- um, you… Miss Miorine, you were really pretty in that.”
“You were too, though it pretty clearly didn’t fit.”
“Th- thank you, M- Miss Miorine!” Somehow, she blushed even more. Miorine was right, on both counts. She had looked nice in it, and it really hadn’t fit her at all. The tightness around her chest was something she was willing to put up with in order to dance with her, though.
After a bit, Miorine pulled those dresses out of her closet, handed Suletta hers, and said, “alright, go change out in the office foyer.” Suletta did as she was told. As she changed out of her casual wear and into the dress, Suletta let her thoughts meander back to the party, to Miorine.
“Miss… Miorine?” She got a little grunt of acknowledgement, amidst the shuffling of fabric. “Why… did you form GUND-Arm for me?”
“Because you’re my bride. Didn’t I say as much?” ‘Leave it to me,’ she’d said. ‘I’ll protect you.’ Suletta remembered that quite fondly. It was the moment she’d worked it out, after all.
“That, um… is nice, but… it doesn’t answer my question.” Miorine went quiet. Even the sounds of her changing stopped.
“It does to me. But then… it’s not my question, is it?” Suletta nodded, remembered Miorine couldn’t see her, and then while she was blushing at the thought of her bride watching her change, she spoke again. “Elaborate, then. Tell me what you’re thinking, Suletta.”
“Alright, well…” she thought about it, tried to put her words in order. “Before, when I got the invitation, we were um… talking about Elan, and how you don’t feel worried over him. How you wouldn’t help him, or- or anyone.” Miorine huffed. “But… you just helped me.” Another bout of silence. Oh no, did I… strike a nerve? “I- I mean um, uh… you…” she faltered, unsure of what to say now, of how to… comfort Miorine? Assuage her? Calm her down? She realized she wasn’t even sure what her bride was feeling right now, much less how she would deal with it, and decided to shut her mouth before she made things worse.
“Shaddiq was right,” Miorine sighed. “I have changed.” A third beat of silence, another sigh at the end of it, and soft poomf of Miorine sitting down on their bed. She must’ve really flopped herself onto it, if Suletta could hear that from all the way out in the room. “What do you think of it, Suletta? Of… me. Be honest.” I think I love you, she wanted to blurt out. Fortunately, she still had her mouth shut tight, so she could actually think before she spoke. Miorine did want honesty, but Suletta wasn’t quite ready to say that. Not yet.
“I think…” she found the words on the tip of her tongue anyway, and really had to try to avoid letting them out, “it was sweet of you.” She thought a little further, and commented, “running a company makes it pretty hard to run away to Earth, though, doesn’t it?”
Yet more silence.
“Yeah. It does.” Oddly, Miorine sounded like she was just piecing this together herself, too.
“So, is that… if you could undo it, would you?” Miorine didn’t answer. Suletta wasn’t sure what she wanted the answer to be anyway.
After a few more minutes, during which Suletta had fully changed, Miorine came out to join her.
“Do you want to dance here, or somewhere else?” Suletta shrugged. “Okay. Come along then,” she said, taking her by the hand and leading her outside.
“B- but, um, the curfew? Isn’t it way past that time?” Miorine just laughed. She’d heard that sound, that wonderful sound before, but it’d never made her heart pound like this.
“Who cares? I can do what I want.” When she realized where Miorine was taking them, Suletta started laughing with her. In a walk that probably would’ve turned into them skipping along if they weren’t both in heels, Miorine took them to the greenhouse.
“Do you even know how to dance?” Miorine asked once they were inside, once the door was shut behind them, once the greenhouse glass was flipped to a more opaque setting. Wouldn’t want any late night staff catching a glimpse of them here and sending them back to their room, after all.
“Um… n- no. B- but I still want to!” Her bride smiled, taking both her hands, stepping just a little closer to her.
“That’s okay. I can teach you.” She nodded, and then Miorine guided Suletta’s arm to rest around her waist, and left it there so she could put her hand on Suletta’s shoulder. From there, she took their other hands, still together, and reached out to the side.
“So, um…” Suletta blushed, squeezing her bride’s hand. Miorine squeezed right back. “What now?”
“Just follow my lead, and step with me.” Miorine laughed softly. “Leave it to me. I’ll guide you.” The little reference surprised her, made her eyes widen. Oh, does she… know? Suletta let herself smile, and looked over and down to the floor. Yeah, she probably does, doesn’t she? Then she straightened her back, and looked Miorine in the eyes.
“Okay. I’ll follow your lead, I promise.” With that, her bride stepped back with her right foot, and Suletta followed with her left. Then forward with her left, and Suletta went back with her right. They started circling each other, slowly spiraling around the tiny floor. There was just enough room for it. One, two, a pause in between. One, two, a pause in between. A waltz? I think this is a waltz. She didn’t exactly know her dances, but she knew music, to a degree, so she asked.
“Yeah, it is. I didn’t think you’d recognize it, if you didn’t know how to dance.”
“Call it a… educated guess.” Miorine laughed again, her thumb starting to brush back and forth over Suletta’s, out where their hands were together. Just that simple touch, that little caressing made her blush, but maybe that made sense, given what else they were doing. Given what Suletta was doing with the girl she loved.
“Good job, then, Suletta.” Her cheeks went even redder, which only elicited another soft laugh from her beloved. Then Miorine started humming a tune to match their dance, and they went on from there.
Step by step, Suletta found her motions coming smoother. That was good, because it meant she wasn’t getting too distracted by Miorine’s eyes. It meant she could do so freely, without worrying about losing her rhythm. Sometimes her bride would give her a small smile and a nod, which Suletta would return in kind, and then she’d find that their faces were a little closer than before.
Step by step, the distance between them shrank. It all happened silently, too, with Suletta leaning in a little, and Miorine doing the same after her. Or maybe it was the other way around, she’d already forgotten who started it. First their bodies met, then their foreheads, both their heads tilted a little to their respective rights to make sure their noses didn’t get in the way too much. Miorine closed her eyes first, and Suletta followed after, unwilling to look away even though she knew she probably should. Even though she knew what was coming, she didn’t want to start it. Not yet. Not when Miorine was right there to be admired.
Step by step, the distance between their lips closed to nothing. Suletta wasn’t sure who came in first, but that was okay, that was perfect. It just meant they’d both wanted it. She hadn’t even needed to ask, at least not with words.
Just like she lost herself in the silvery depths that reminded her so much of home, Suletta lost herself here, too, for a while. That was okay too, that was somehow even more perfect. Miorine didn’t break away either. Instead, she brought her hand up from Suletta’s shoulder to nestle in her hair, keeping it going, keeping their lips together. Suletta liked that. She liked it, kissing Miorine. It felt softer, sweeter, lovelier than anything she could’ve possibly imagined.
Miorine’s lips against hers, Miorine’s tiny breaths against her cheeks, the warmth of Miorine’s blush joining her own. She loved all of it. She loved all of her. She loved her.
When they finally parted in sync, their cautious footfalls having long since come to a halt, Suletta got to see her, the way she smiled, the way she beamed. It wasn’t anything she’d ever seen on her lover before, it was something she wanted to see again, as many times as possible. It was something that made her cry a little, and when Miorine’s hand found its way out of her hair, coming to her cheek to caress again, to stroke away tears, that just made her want to kiss her again. It was beautiful. She was beautiful.
So she squeezed Miorine’s other hand, closed her eyes when she felt the gesture in return, pulled her bride closer by the waist, and did just that.