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March found her thoughts drifting back to the time she had asked Fu Xuan to help her look into her past. A moment that, sadly, came to mind pretty often.
She had been brought to Aurum Alley to filter out distortions... or uh, - something like that. Fu Xuan said something to that effect. Basically she had walked into the street and talked to different people from her past but they said some weird stuff. Among them was Stelle, and the conversation with her had started out as expected.
March: Hey, Stelle! Fancy seeing you here.
She had greeted her cheerfully, as always, and was met with unenthused silence, as... often was the case at least.
March: Hey, it's fine if you don't want to talk in real life, but this is MY memory, so it's MY rules! Come on, say something!
Stelle: Something.
March: ...Seriously?
March let out an exasperated sigh and gave her the look. At least there was a small comfort hearing Fu Xuan share the same sentiment.
Fu Xuan: We have similar recollections of Stelle.
Stelle: March, don't run off chasing the past. I need you here in the present, as you are.
Huh?
- I need you -
What the heck? Why did she say that? Why did she have that look on her face? Had she always been like that? She felt her cheeks tingle and heat up just thinking about it. Seriously, why had she said that?
Dan Heng: March, are you alright?
The question brought her back to the current moment. Her gaze moved away from the distant twinkling stars she had been absentmindedly gazing at for who knows how long. The others in the crew were standing around in a circle as they discussed their plan going forward. The them it must have seemed like she'd been standing there, spacing out and blushing for no reason. So embarrassing.
March: Huh? Me?
Dan Heng: Well, usually you have a pretty strong reactions to Stelle's antics, but just now you seemed kind of out of it.
Without even paying attention March was sure she could guess what had just happened. Welt or Himeko had informed them of something important, Dan Heng asked about a potential difficulty or provided some insight, and then Stelle put her hands on her hips and said something ridiculous, probably about baseball, with that stupid grin on her face.
Knowing exactly what to expect, March looked over at Stelle. Instead of the proud and careless expression she had imagined, Stelle was looking at her with genuine concern.
March: Uh, I just remembered that I... I placed my camera at the edge of my desk and it might fall. Ehehe...
She scratched the back of her head, trying to hide the real reason for her embarrassment with a ditsy facade.
March: I'll go check on that real quick. I'm sure whatever you decide will be great.
She turned and quickly made her way towards her room before anyone could protest. For a brief moment it had seemed like Stelle had lifted her arm as if she was about to stop her, but March didn't know if she actually did or if she'd just imagined it. She didn't know which of those was worse either.
- - - - -
March threw herself on the bed and hugged the Pom-Pom plush to her chest. Ugh, why was this happening to her? Or, rather, why was she getting so worked up about it? Either she was just fantasising about Stelle being weird, which wouldn't be unrealistic, or... she had a crush on her!?
Well... maybe? She hadn't had a crush before so she wouldn't know, well, she couldn't remember having one at least but that shouldn't be surprising with how few memories she currently had. It seemed consistent with what she'd read and heard from people about love.
If it were a crush that would be bad. They were both members of the Astral Express. They belonged there. It would be so awkward living together and working together all the time with her feeling like this all the time. Actually dating would probably be a disaster as well. She couldn't be sure that she'd do well in a relationship, and they seemed a lot more fragile than friendships. Not that she would have the courage to confess anyway.
... What was she thinking!?
There was a knock at the door, interrupting her thoughts. It was softer than usual but she could immediately tell who it was. She sat up before answering.
March: Come in.
Light flooded the room as the door opened and Stelle stepped inside. Her face was hard to read because of the lighting, not that she was the most expressive anyway, but her movements were a lot more cautious than usual. In a way this made March dread the coming conversation even more.
Stelle: Are you alright?
March: Yeah... Did Himeko ask you to check on me?
Stelle: Do you think I wouldn't have otherwise?
The disappointed look on Stelle's face made March's stomach drop. She hadn't expected that strong of a reaction and it made her feel awful .
March: I guess I don't really know what to expect with you.
Neither of them knew what to say. Silence filled the room. The door had closed and the only illumination left was the screen showing a slideshow of various pictures March had taken. It switched to one of Stelle with her baseball bat, hitting a snowball thrown by one of the kids on Belobog. It had been a cute moment, and it was really funny how the snowballs just got smashed to pieces instead of going flying. Stelle looked at it for a bit before turning toward March with a smile.
Stelle: I didn't know you took a picture of that. So you do appreciate the skills of the inter-
March: Stop that! You're always on about this silly nonsense.
Stelle: It's because you get so riled up. I like seeing you when you're lively, like now.
Hearing those words, March realised she was smiling, only very slightly but still. She had stood up abruptly when interrupting Stelle, letting the poor plush fall to the floor. Stelle stepped closer, though she still left a comfortable space.
Stelle: I know I'm not the best at this, but you can tell me about anything that's bothering you.
Then she closed the distance and hugged her. March was too stunned to react for a moment, but her arms moved by themselves to wrap around her as the comforting warmth seeped into her.
March: I, uh, like you. That's the problem.
Stelle chuckled and March almost jumped in surprise.
Stelle: How is that a problem? I like you too.
March: No, I mean... romantically. I like you in a romantic sense, probably.
Stelle: Oh...
Silence fell. Stelle's grip on her loosened. This was it. Things were going to get awkward. The whole Astral Express would be affected. She knew it. She shouldn't have said anything.
Stelle: What... What does that mean, for us?
March: Huh?
March pulled back and looked at her. She was blushing!
Stelle: Does that mean you'd want to kiss, and stuff?
March: I mean, um, eventually I probably would. I haven't really had time to think about it.
Stelle pulled her back into the hug again, squeezing her so hard it almost hurt. Despite feeling overwhelmed and confused, March leaned into her embrace.
Stelle: Then can we stay like this for a while?
Stelle: ...I think I like you too.
It felt as though time stood still. The monitor still projected the same image. The stars behind March, reflected in the mirror by her desk, seemingly stopped moving. Stelle had accepted her feelings, at least somewhat. It had been that easy? She felt silly for how she had reacted earlier, running away and hiding. While Stelle had faced it head on and answered in the moment, bravely stepping into it without needing the time to consider it. That was such a Stelle thing to do. March's fingers cling to Stelle's jacket and she rested her head on Stelle's shoulder, savouring the moment.
March: Yeah, like this is good. There's no need to rush. We can figure out our destination as we go.