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Every time she visits the church of the town, Mizuki always makes sure to be respectful. Mostly to be respectful. And also because she wants to impress a certain someone.
The Knights of White often pay a visit to the church every time they finish a mission or their training— although not every member is religious, it became a long time tradition to visit the church and pray, and it’s the only time they can allow themselves to breathe and forget the tensions of the world outside the gates of the chapel.
Mizuki, despite not being particularly religious herself, makes sure to always thank whoever is up there for giving her the chance of living another day once more….
And, of course, to thank whoever is up there for giving her another chance to see the love of her life, the owner of her heart, the—
“Ow!”
“The doors are about to close, Mizuki. You should leave.”
The knight looked up, mildly startled, but immediately falling in love at first sight all over again once her eyes found hers.
“Ah, Sister Ena…” she sighed, smiling almost foolishly, hopelessly giving into the rhythmic drum of her heart despite the mild sting of being hit on the top of her head with those heavy religious books Ena always carries. “Sorry, sorry… I think I focused too much!”
“You think?” Ena repeated, raising an eyebrow almost as if she didn’t believe her. “It’s past ten, Mizuki. The rest of the knights left an hour ago.”
“Ah… really?” Mizuki looked around the now empty church, their voices echoing, proving that they were, in fact, completely alone besides some other nuns finishing cleaning up. “Is it really that late already?”
“Yes, Mizuki. The others left because you always do this, and they didn’t want to bother you.”
Mizuki let out a quiet chuckle as they stood up from where she had been kneeling for the past two hours or so, stretching her arms over her head.
“Ah… guess I lost track of time.”
“You’re always the last one to leave,” the nun commented, turning around with the book under one arm, her voice sounding completely unsurprised.
Because Mizuki always does this, every single time.
“Maybe I just have a very strong faith.”
“I thought you said you aren’t particularly a believer.”
Right.
She had said that, probably on the second visit after she was transferred to the Knights of White from her previous kingdom. She had said that, probably on the fifth visit after she deliberately decided that Ena was the one, and she had no shame whatsoever on confessing her feelings to a nun.
“Are you crazy, Akiyama? She’s a nun…” Akito had said once he found out, looking at Mizuki like she had grown a second head right in front of him. “Also… she's my sister…”
“So? Got a problem with that, little bro?” Mizuki had blatantly replied, poking Akito's arm.
“No,” Akito rolled his eyes, lightly swatting her hand away. “I don’t care… I'm just saying, you have… questionable taste.”
“Well… Where I come from, nothing is impossible. That includes love.”
“You guys are weird.”
“And you guys are too pessimistic.”
Mizuki pretended not to hear Ena's comment, clearing her throat. “Like I said, maybe I have a pretty strong faith, Sister Ena. I figured you more than anyone would understand it.”
“Seriously…” Ena rolled her eyes, clearly noticing the way the knight had completely avoided her previous comment, but decided to not say anything about it anymore.
For a moment, neither said anything. There wasn’t much to say, and at the same time, there was a lot to still talk about. Still a lot Mizuki wanted to say, a lot of things she still had to say. But probably this wasn’t the time or place.
Quiet steps filled the church, while the knight stood slightly awkwardly beside Ena, rocking back and forth. The candles illuminating softly, brooms barely making a sound. It was, almost, peaceful.
Mizuki knew she had to go back with the others, but how could she, when she had Ena right there?
She opened her mouth to say something, but sensing trouble coming, Ena simply turned around. “Good night, Mizuki.”
“Eh?” The knight blinked, watching the nun walk away to her chamber by the wooden door close to the altar. “Wait, wait! You’re seriously going to leave me standing like that? Not even walking me to the door?” She asked, playfully, hurriedly following Ena’s surprisingly quick steps.
“Why should I? You already know your way around here.” The nun rolled her eyes, pretending not to notice the quiet, slightly amused gaze of the other nuns finishing the remaining duties.
“But what if I get lost on my way out?” Mizuki playfully pouted, hands behind her back as she followed Ena around, eventually coming to a stop near the door Ena had opened.
“I’m sure you’ll be fine,”
“What if a big bad wolf comes out and tries to eat me?”
“You have a sword, use it.”
“C’mon, you’ve heard the rumors, Sister Ena! They say a big wolf is roaming around the kingdom after eating a whole village,” Mizuki continued, dramatically lowering her voice as if sharing a secret with her, watching Ena’s expression with amusement. “They say not even the strongest and most skilled hunters can kill it because of how strong the wolf is.”
Ena raised an eyebrow, looking up at the knight. She’d be lying if she says that she doesn’t find Mizuki, at the very least, cute. Endearing, almost. Annoyingly so. Ever since the knight transferred from the neighboring kingdom a few months ago, Mizuki has been a constant presence in her otherwise monotone life.
Ena still might not understand why Mizuki seems so decided to date her. Couldn’t she see the very obvious barrier?
Shamelessly declaring in front of people, “I’m going to marry you one day, Sister Ena!”, bringing flowers with her every now and then, flirting without caring if someone hears her, even talking about marriage plans with her brother. Even if it’s all meant to tease them, there’s an undeniable truth behind those words:
The very transparent honesty in Mizuki’s eyes.
Ena looked away, ignoring the heat rushing to her cheeks. Stupid thoughts.
“You guys really need to realize it’s all rumors,” Ena simply replied, flicking the knight’s forehead, as if annoyed. “It’s late, Mizuki.”
“Ow! Seriously, are nuns supposed to do that?” Mizuki rubbed her forehead, pretending to be seriously wounded. She then lowered her hand, slowly offering a warm smile. “Okay, okay, I’ll leave… but may I ask for something before I go?”
“Depends on what you ask for.”
Mizuki grinned, pointing at her cheek leaning slightly forward as if to match her height with Ena’s. “May I ask for a kiss, please? A good night kiss!”
Ena paused. Her initial reaction was one of scandalized, mostly for the audacity and lack of shame from the knight for asking such a thing, especially considering that they were still in a church with other people. Her usual answer would’ve been something like “what are you saying?!” or “no, go away!” like usual. Ena was sure that Mizuki was expecting an answer of that sort. That cat-like grin gave her away completely.
But…
But maybe she didn’t want to be so predictable.
Akito already bothers her too much about how easy to read she apparently is. She wouldn’t be surprised if he has told Mizuki about it before, considering how annoying those two can be when given the slightest bit of free time. So she took a quiet, deep breath and quickly looked around. Ena was aware that the other nuns were still there, pretty much listening to their little back and forth while pretending they weren’t, finding it cute and probably amusing, but never quite glancing at them. As if that would make it less obvious that they were listening.
Well. I'm already doing this, right? If I really wanted to, I could've closed the door in her face. But I didn’t.
Before Mizuki could say something more stupid, or chuckle like she always does, Ena suddenly grabbed the collar of Mizuki's clothes with, probably, more force than necessary. Mizuki blinked, confused.
“Wha—”
The knight's eyes widened when she felt soft, warm lips against hers. Ena's lips, of course. Heat came rushing to her cheeks, quickly realizing what was happening. Ena was kissing her. Actually kissing her. But not in the cheek, like she had playfully requested.
“Ahem,” the nun cleared her throat after pulling away, pushing Mizuki away as if nothing had happened, pushing the wooden door open and quietly taking a few, almost shy steps backwards. “Like I said, Mizuki… good night. I'll see you next time you guys visit.”
The door closed in front of the knight before her mind could recover from the sheer unexpected intense strength her heart was beating from just a quick kiss, feeling her face burning, almost on a different side of reality. She would be lying if she said that she hasn’t imagined how kissing Ena would feel like, mostly to keep her mind from drifting to not so nice memories, on those quiet nights at the camp of the Knights of White when everyone else was sleeping. Mizuki might look like she has experience in romance, considering how she, seemingly, overflows with confidence.
They couldn’t be more wrong.
How would she have ever? When most people back at home thought she was a—
“… Woah… Y-Yeah,” Mizuki mumbled, fingers quietly touching her lips, still warm from the unexpected kiss. She wasn’t going to entertain those thoughts. Not tonight. “I, uh… g-good night,” she smiled hopelessly, feeling as if she had just discovered heaven on earth.
“… That idiot.” Ena smiled to herself, back leaned against the closed wooden door behind her, listening to Mizuki through the door.