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A woman in black and grey sat on the ground, motionless, grass and flowers tangled between her legs. Her head hung down, her ebony colored hair a veil that shielded her face from the peeping light of the glowing sky that shifted above her. The smell of dry greenery permeated the air and the wind was calm, a perfect moment for her to sit alone with nobody to disturb her.
Ever since the Catalyst fell, things were inexplicably different from the day she first arrived. The Nullscape had bloomed with life — although "life" wasn't the best way to describe it. Even so, she had long forgotten about that first fateful day when she came, as her bouts of rage became worse since then.
So she sat down, tranquil and serene. Nothing could disturb her, nothing could break the silence, nothing could make her enraged. Everything was perfect; it was just her, the quiet, and the panoply of flowers.
Or so she thought.
"You look remarkably stellar today, my dear Cadence." A voice pierced the silence like arrows that tore through the wind, followed by the sound of footsteps that treaded through the grass and the ambience of machinery whirring. "What's a woman like you up to, hiding away from the others during these hours?"
Cadence slowly lifted her head, shifting her body towards the woman that stood beside her as the wings on her head shifted their positions, resting just next to her face. "Bell, I...I just..." She couldn't find the words that she wanted to say. They were carelessly spilled before her like scattered marbles that dropped to the floor and rolled across the surface. Her irises momentarily darted away from Bell's face before looking at her again. What...do I say to them? Thoughts orbited her head, giving her another reason to struggle with gathering the words she was going to say. Her hands mindlessly reached for the chains wrapped around her body, skin rubbing against the cool metal as her eye contact never wavered.
"I...I just...it's..." Just...just say it, already, Cadence. She urged herself. It won't hurt to speak.
"It's nothing, really...just taking some time off. Things have been complicated as of late."
Bell looked longingly into Cadence's eyes, almost as if she was studying the many emotions encompassed within her irises in contemplation. "You've been awfully distant lately," she kneeled down next to Cadence, placing a hand on her neck that trailed upwards to touch the wings on her head, stroking one of them gently. "What seems to be the matter with you? We can talk it out, if you'd like."
Cadence clasped her hands together, placing them on her lap. "...Please be gentle with them." The faint sound of chains clinking together could be heard every movement she made — a reminder of the confinement she attempted to subject herself to.
"You neglect them a lot," Bell commented while they relaxed their grip. "I can't always preen them for you, Cade. And I still can't help but notice you're really out of it today."
A moment of silence followed up the second she stopped talking. Her face slightly fell when she noticed, they were about to change the topic when Cadence averted her gaze and opened her mouth again to speak.
"I'm unwell. I've been meaning to take some time alone for the past few weeks. My head hurts and my memory is getting worse, but I'll be fine...I promise."
A muted sigh escaped from between her lips as she let her head droop low again. She always hated opening up, even to people she'd knew for a long time already. For the longest time, she taught herself not to be weak in front of anybody, no matter how long she knew them.
She thought that being vulnerable in front of people felt foreign, an almost alien experience that she failed to grasp, because she chose not to for the sake of not letting worry come her way out of fear of being nothing but a burden to people she held close to her heart. She hid it well, but secretly, she always wanted at least one person to notice.
It felt stupid, really. She always had to push it away the moment she got the opportunity to even talk about it. She could be handling this all alone as she laid upon the flowerfield, burying her face into the overgrown grass while the breeze comb through her hair, consciousness slipping away when her eyelids fluttered shut. But here she was, mindlessly spilling it out in front of the person she loved dearly.
She finally couldn't take it anymore, could she?
"Shhh, it's okay...you can let it all out. You're here with me now, dear." Bell combed a hand through Cadence's hair, feeling the silky texture against the tips of her fingers as she ran them down each strand. She hooked a few fingers through a stray lock of hair that trailed down the side of her shoulder and watched as the strands cascaded down to her palm. "May I...kiss you?" The android put both of her hands on the other woman's cheeks, waiting for an answer.
"...You may."
She shut her eyes, gently placing a kiss on the top of the other woman's head, whilst their arm curled around her waist as they pulled her closer. "I promise, you'll be okay when the time comes." With a slack motion, her fingers gingerly tangled themselves into Cadence's hair as they placed another kiss this time on her lips. They felt the texture of hair and skin against the crook on her neck, quickly becoming wet with the feel of tears.
With every exhale, Cadence felt her breath become heavier than before when drops of tears spilled from the corners of her eyes, and shaky, choked exhales came out from between her lips. She sat there, silently weeping in Bell's arms as she kept her face buried into the crook of the android's neck, hands grasped at the back of her shoulders while she sobbed.
"I love you, Cadence...I love you..." Bell cooed softly into her lover's ear. "Please, stay with me forever...my beautiful girl." She sat there, mumbling sweet nothings into the ear of other woman who continued to cry, ever so silently.
Minutes passed, and the sound of the sobbing dampened down with both women intertwined within their arms. Cadence looked up at the android with glassy eyes before placing a brief kiss on her lips. She could hear Bell giggle the moment she pulled away; it was a sound that made her smile, too.
They both laid there for a long while, feeling the way their bodies were curled up against each other, basking in the moment of silence that engulfed them. Neither of them dared to speak, almost as if they were afraid to break the peace that lingered within the atmosphere.
Eventually, after a long moment, Cadence's fingers treaded over the locks of hair covering Bell's left ear, her lips an inch away from it. She placed a hand over the android's, her voice lowering to a whisper as she began to speak.
"I love you too, Bell."
Bell's tail curled around Cadence's arm in a carefree manner, giving it a light squeeze while they leaned onto the other woman's shoulder. The gesture elicited a soft gasp from her, as she turned to face the android leaning on her arm in a laid back manner who let out another giggle at Cadence's surprise.
Deep inside, the both of them wished they could stay together like this — sitting with each other as they shared gestures of affection towards one another, but important matters were always there to pry them away from each other. Times like these made them yearn for each other the further they were apart, hoping to meet again in each other's arms where they were meant to be, at least in their eyes.
So, they stayed. They stayed, and they cherished the moment they were together again. They let the world around them fall silent as it blurred out the landscape surrounding them. It wasn't the first time the both of them would do this, but nevertheless, it was still something that they enjoyed doing together, with nothing else to ruin the moment.