Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sometimes, I have this dream:

It's you - your ashen hair, goofy smile, and warm amber eyes - and you're looking at me with this soft gaze. Your long locks frame your fair face and squishy cheeks as you lean forward, and your pink lips move with a gentle gasp. Then you smile, flashing your pearly white teeth, and reach out.

"Good morning."

Your hand is warm, like the sun. It runs like the wind through my hair - quiet, soft, invigorating. I feel my heartbeat rise just a teensy bit; my stomach does a little flip, and there's this urge to make a tiny, giddy noise at the back of my throat.

Then, finally, you ask me:

"Are you awake?"

And when I do, embraced by golden wheat fields and warm wind, you're not there.

Your face is a blur, your voice is muffled, and you're nothing but a blip of memory that ceases to exist in the next second. There's a tear that lingers in the corner of my eyes as I blink, and I find that my breaths are quick and sharp, as if I've only run up a hill - yet there's a void in my heart as to why.

What is your name, again?

I don't remember.

But when the moment comes that you tell me...

Stelle.

What a beautiful name.

Please wait for me.

Could you think of me?

Remember me with love, always.

Chapter Text

For some time after Amphoreus, you were a little...

"Stelle?"

...distant.

Resting your utensils, you stand from your chair and step away from the dining table. The room falls silent. The worry of March's gaze drills a hole into your side.

"Sorry, Himeko," you reply quietly, putting on a smile that fails to reassure anyone, "I'll be heading up now."

Himeko watches you for a few moments, her lips weighed down by a frown. Her ruby gaze turns to Welt.

He softly exhales. "All right," he murmurs, "Get some good rest. Good night, Stelle."

"Good night, everybody."

But you don't go to your room—you never do.

As always, you approach the chronocognitive anchor and return to Aedes Elysiae. Golden wheat fields, warm winds, apricot skies—yet not a soul in sight.

"Cyrene!"

Your voice rings out in the village, but sadly, no response returns.

I'm sorry.

"Cyrene!" you call out again, clenching your fists, standing your ground. "Where are you!?"

Oh, how I wish I could stand beside you, hold you, and never let go.

After a while, your voice dies down, and silence fills your ears. Your lips tremble, and a quiet sob escapes.

If only I could wipe your tears.

Now you're on the ground, crouched, rolled into a ball, hiding from the world.

Words cannot express how much I want to sit beside you, reassure you, and tell you:

I missed you.

But for now, I miss you.

For a while, you sit there, stifling your tears. You shake with each breath, and a small whimper fizzles out from the back of your throat. No one hears it, don't worry. Your secret is safe with me.

"Cyrene..."

Yes?

"I'm waiting..."

I know.

You sniffle, wiping your red eyes, and push yourself off the ground.

That's my girl.

Chapter Text

Do you know that you snore? It's quite cute, actually.

With every breath you take, your chest rises and falls. I bury my face closer, feeling the warmth of your skin. You smell like the sun.

Inhale.

Exhale.

My hands scour your back, tracing the line of your spine, that elegant dip at your back, and caress the spot between your shoulder blades. Your skin is soft and supple; I press myself closer, touch harder.

Then you suddenly shift in your position. My eyes crack open. I push myself away and...

There you are, looking at me.

"Cyrene..." you whisper, reaching out. Your palm brushes against my cheek, settling there. "Where are you...?"

I lean into your touch and kiss your palm with the yearning of a thousand aeons.

"I'm right here."

You cry softly, so sweetly.

 
"No, you're not," you mumble, shaking your head.

I press myself against you again, hiding myself in the delicate crook of your neck. "I'm... I'm right here."

You let out a soft whimper, your hands finding purchase in my hair as you pull me closer. 

Each of your fingers are gentle as they thread through my pink locks—perhaps too much, even, as if you're afraid I'll crumble to dust.

Into a thousand fragments, your voice has cracked, faint and weak, as you carefully ask me, "Is this... a dream?”

How long have you been waiting?

Hot tears spill from my cheeks.

For me, it's as if I never left, and yet...

 
“I missed you, Stelle."

I missed you.

“Cyrene…!”

The way you say my name makes me so happy.

"Did you wait long?" I sniffle, "I'm sorry."

You shake your head, planting tiny kisses at the top of mine. A warm, fuzzy feeling blossoms in my chest, and I feel restless yet relaxed at the same time.

"Cyrene..."

Something between a laugh and a sob spills from my lips as I pull away, letting myself take a better look at your face.

"Surprise," I beam, "I'm back."

You nod with a tearful smile as your honey eyes stay fixed on me. "How did you do it?"

I press a finger to my lips and wink. "A secret makes a woman, woman."

You throw me a deadpan stare.

I suppose that answer isn't enough.

"Don't worry," I shake my head, "There's no catch."

"Really?"

"Mhm."

Letting the question be, you pull me in again, closing your eyes. "I'm sleepy," you murmur, "Let's sleep."

My lips plant a tender kiss to your neck as I settle into your arms.

Even we deserve a happy ending, right?

--

And so I stop writing.