Work Text:
It was a night of hard work, but it was finally ready
Susie had already prepared all the decorations to present Castletown to Noelle: Christmas decorations around the town, a big sign in front of the castle that said "Welcome Noelle", And most importantly, her own room, which was quite similar to the one she had in the Cyber World, but a little smaller, She had to ask Lancer for help to build it, but after a while, it was ready
Susie and Lancer left the room, admiring their hard work
-"Hey, uh...do you think she'll like it? Am I doing too much?" Susie asked, smiling but slightly worried
-"Don't worry Susie! i don't know why would she dislike this!" Lancer responded, encouraging her
-"You want her to hang out with you here, don't you? I'm sure she'll say yes!" He continued
-"Finally I'll be able to learn ice skating" Lancer added, making his handsome face
-"Haha! you're right Buddy..." Susie smiled
-"Y'know? I want to say to you and everyone here in Castletown...Thank you for helping me" Susie said gratefully
-"Always grateful to help! Now you'd better get some sleep, for the arrival of the ice cream truck!" Lancer joked and the two of them let out their evil laughs
-"Thank you so much, i owe you all a big one" Susie said goodbye as she headed to her room
Her room hadn't changed that much, she just got a bigger closet. When she opened it, she realized there were countless different outfit combinations that Queen had printed for her date with Noelle, It seemed like the closet had no bottom, so she closed it as if she hadn't seen anything
As she lay down on the bed, she glanced at the statue that resembled her, remembering that it had belonged to Noelle in her room in the Cyber World until Susie "borrowed" it
She blushed when she finally understood why Noelle had something like that, and with a smile, she fell asleep, snoring loudly
...
Susie entered a dream; she found herself back in the sauna of Flower King's dark world, choosing a flower to represent her bond with Noelle
She chose the pink rose, the one that looked very much like the one she ate in front of her house; she could apologize for last time and say that she brought seconds
-"...i guess...this flower's okay" Susie said
-"Guess i should practice...giving it" she added, blushing
Susie was thinking about what to say when she gave her the flower, But that practice would not exist, because, upon hearing a familiar voice, her eyes opened wide, her face flushed, and her tail began to wag, she would have to act immediately
-"Umm...practice for what?" a sweet voice asked; it was Noelle, who appeared at her left
Susie was shocked, not only by Noelle's sudden appearance, but by the implication that she was in a Dark World right now
-"NOELLE!? W-What a-are you doing here!?" Susie said, shocked and blushing
-"Well, umm... I wanted to look for you after I left, but I didn't know where you were..." Noelle began to explain
-"And on the way I thought about buying you some flowers..." She began to blush
-"But when I arrived at Mr. Dreemurr's shop, I saw through the window that everything inside was dark, but the main door was locked, i got worried and i tried to enter by the back door, but when i opened it...I saw black smoke coming out of it, the same smoke I saw inside of the computer lab in the library a few days ago...so i decided to enter" Noelle lowered her head as she explained
-"..."
Susie looked away for a moment, thinking about how Noelle ended up in the middle of all this, but...it also means new chances to hang out
-"...so...all of this is real?" Noelle asked
-"...y-yeah, it is, sorry, I thought I'd tell you" Susie replied, slightly apologetic
-"I-It's okay! Don't worry about it now" Noelle clarified sincerely
The two girls remained silent for a few seconds, until Noelle, blushing, broke the silence
-"So...you were practicing for-" Noelle asked until she was interrupted
-"OH Yeah right!, ummm, this is for you!" Susie, slightly nervous and blushing, extended her hand to give her the flower
Noelle's expression changed to a silly smile as she blushed
-"Sorry for, uh, eating the other flower at your house" Susie said, as Noelle grabbed the flower
-"I don't mind it! I appreciate the gesture..." Noelle said, gazing fondly at the flower
Noelle placed the flower in her hair, leaving it as a cute little decoration
Susie couldn't help but blush at this detail; it was small, but it made her happy to see Noelle accept her gift so affectionately
-"Hey, looks like Kris and Ralsei took a break, wouldn't mind sitting down here?" Susie asked
-"I'd love to!" Noelle replied
The two girls approached the small stream of water that ran through the sauna and sat down on the edges, Susie began to gently kick her feet in the water
-"So, what are you supposed to do?" Noelle asked
-"Oh, that's right, we have to rescue Kris's dad from this dark world; right now he's with a jerk named Flowery" Susie explained
-"We've been searching for the entrance to the Dark Fountain, and we've been running into some strange guys, some of them are nicer than others, You should meet Green! They're a great chef"
-"Fahaha! That seems cool" Noelle replied with interest
-"damn right it is...and I've been thinking how cool it would've been if...You were here" Susie answered blushing
-"It's just...since earlier on the beach...I haven't stopped thinking about you...your smile...your laughter...your...heartbeat, every moment, since that ferris wheel have been...nice, peaceful...I wish I could have moments like this on repeat, so I could always relive these moments without changes..." Susie explained with a blushing smile
Noelle's flattered smile slowly faded as she heard Susie's last words, Susie noticed this change in expression and asked
-"...hey, is everything ok?"
-"..." Noelle looked down
-"Susie...I love what you're saying, but...I don't want to live all days the same..." Noelle tried to explain
-"For so long I've felt like I've been doing the same thing my whole life, sticking to what I'm supposed to be..."
-"It's only now that I feel that...you have given me that freedom"
-"I feel like I've been able to connect with something new, something that calls to me!...But I'm not sure I want to live the same every day"
Susie was speechless, she looked down, as Noelle moved a little closer to her
-"What I mean, Susie... I understand that there may be unexpected chances or new stuff that we don't like, that we want to avoid"
-"But in my case, if I stayed the same... I'd still be the girl who nervously stares at you from afar"
Noelle took Susie's hand and intertwined her fingers with Susie's
-"...and I could never enjoy something like this" Noelle finished speaking, looking at Susie affectionately
Susie blushed at Noelle's action, and without saying anything, she hugged her
Sometimes there was no need for words; they could both spend a good time in complete silence
Susie wasn't used to giving hugs, but this was one she absolutely had to give
A few seconds later, Susie, after letting go Noelle of her hug, wanted to better adjust the flower that Noelle had placed in her hair, because it was falling off a little
After she settled it, she didn't remove her hand from Noelle's face, And without realizing it, she positioned it near her cheek
Both were deeply flushed, Susie slightly nervous but still staring at her, and Noelle with a silly smile, not knowing where her eyes should be focused on Susie's face
In this peaceful setting, so close to each other, both knew what was about to happen. Little by little, with slight nervousness, they began to approach each other, closing their eyes, until the space between them was cut short, resulting in a shy, slow but sweet kiss that they both wanted more than anything in the world
When they opened their eyes again, The first thing they saw was the other's cute, blushing face; the silence was interrupted by the sound of Noelle's giggles at the situation
-"I never thought I could have something like this..." Susie said, feeling a great joy in her heart
-"...me neither" Noelle replied
Noelle gave Susie a Kiss on the cheek And hugged her before saying:
-"i cannot wait to see you tomorrow in real life..."