Work Text:
“Evernight”
“...”
“Evernight, wake up.”
Evernight connects her consciousness with March’s and appears beside her in the empty mental space they share.
“What’s wrong, March?”
“Today’s your turn.”
“...”
“Don’t you want to?”
“It’s just... I don’t understand the point of continuing to do this.”
“I see. Why don’t you ask her when you see her?”
“...Can’t you answer me?”
“I could, but then you’d have something to talk about.”
“...”
. . . .
Evernight has been standing in front of Stelle’s bedroom door for a minute. Somewhat hesitantly, she takes out the spare key to the room she shares with March and unlocks the door.
When she enters, she sees Stelle completely absorbed in a video game. Assuming that she hasn’t noticed her presence yet, she carefully closes the door and silently approaches her.
She stands behind her and watches her play. When she sees that the game has slowed down, she covers Stelle’s eyes with her hands.
“Who am I?”
Stelle pauses the game.
“Oh, Evernight. Sorry, I didn’t realize you were here.”
Evernight takes her hands away from Stelle’s face, looking somewhat pouty.
“How can you always tell it’s me? March and I are in the same body…”
Stelle turns toward her with a smile.
“Yeah, but I can still tell that you’re very different. Your breathing, the way you move, the way you touch me… I don’t know, everything is just different.”
“...So your body can tell which one of us is the worse one, I see.”
“No. Neither of you is better or worse. You’re just different.”
“...”
Stelle saves her game and turns off the console.
“Okay, what do you want to do today?”
Evernight glances at the console.
“What were you playing? You looked like you were having fun.”
“Oh, it’s the beta for a racing game the Corporation is going to release. Topaz sent it to me last night, and I was testing it.”
“I see…”
Stelle notices that Evernight’s gaze remains fixed on the console.
“Do you want to play a few races? It has multiplayer.”
“You don’t have to. You already turned the console off.”
“Don’t worry, it’s no trouble to turn it back on.”
“Whatever you say...”
Stelle gets up, grabs a beanbag, and places it beside hers. She takes Evernight by the hand and guides her into sitting down.
“Okay, I’ll teach you the controls.”
Stelle sits beside her.
“That’s not necessary. I can learn on my own.”
“Let’s see how you do, then.”
. . . .
Last place.
Those are the words that have been appearing on Evernight’s side of the screen nonstop since they started playing an hour ago.
“...”
“Um... Evernight...”
“...”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to teach you how to play?”
“...”
Evernight holds the controller out toward Stelle.
“It’s broken. Give me another one.”
“That’s the third one I’ve given you. I don’t think the controllers are the problem.”
“...”
“Will you let me help you?”
Evernight looks at her screen again and timidly nods, remaining silent.
“Don’t worry. You’ll be an expert in no time.”
Stelle sets the game to single-player mode and gives her own controller to Evernight. Then she gets up and sits on the same beanbag as Evernight, behind her.
She hugs her from behind, placing her hands over Evernight’s.
“I’ll tell you what I’m doing and which buttons I’m pressing. Try to memorize how it feels in your hands.”
Stelle begins pressing the controller’s buttons by moving Evernight’s fingers for her, doing so gently so she doesn’t hurt her.
Although the sudden closeness catches Evernight a little off guard, Stelle has already gotten pretty close to her during their other outings.
Without allowing herself to be distracted, Evernight focuses on the race, trying to learn.
The results became apparent quickly. In the first race they played this way, Evernight managed to come in third.
“Great! By the second lap, I noticed you were pressing the buttons even before I did.”
“It’s easy. I just needed to get the hang of it.”
“Good. Then let’s try playing together again and see how—”
As Stelle is getting up to return to her seat, Evernight stops her by grabbing her hand and making her sit back down where she was.
“Where are you going?”
“...I was going back to my seat so we could keep playing together.”
Evernight starts a new race.
“I came in third. Are you satisfied with just that result after everything you taught me?”
She settles herself between Stelle’s arms, making it clear that she isn’t going to let her leave.
“Oh... I suppose you’re right! Let’s practice a little longer, then!”
Stelle, for her part, was smiling, happy that Evernight has accepted her help.
. . . .
Race after race, the day flies by, and it is practically evening. The two are comfortably settled together, still in the same position they had been in while practicing. At some point, Stelle simply grabs another controller and keeps playing while holding Evernight in her arms.
Noticing how late it is getting, Evernight pauses the game and sets the controller aside.
“Stelle.”
“Yes?”
“Can we talk about something for a while?”
“Of course. What do you want to talk about?”
Stelle also puts her controller aside and continues hugging Evernight as she listens.
“...”
Evernight pauses briefly, thinking carefully about how to approach the subject.
“Why are you and March doing this?”
“Doing what?”
“This. Letting me take control of March’s body and spending the day trying to make me have fun or looking for things I might enjoy doing.”
Stelle tenses slightly.
“Does it... bother you?”
“No, that’s not it.”
Evernight becomes a little nervous.
“It’s not that it bothers me, it’s just...” she sighs. “I don’t understand the reason for all this.”
“March... didn’t she tell you?”
“No. She told me to ask you.”
Stelle falls silent again.
“There are... two reasons, so to speak.”
“I’m listening.”
“The first is pretty much what you said earlier. We want you to have fun and discover things you might enjoy doing.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you’re doing it.”
Stelle scratches her head, searching for the right words.
“Look, I’m not as smart as Herta, and I don’t know nearly as much about the Remembrance or the Garden of Recollection as Black Swan does, so I can’t really say for sure what you are. The only thing March and I are certain about is that you’re also March, or at least a part of her.”
“...”
“That’s why we both thought that, even after March woke up aboard the Astral Express, you had remained asleep inside her, unaware of what was happening outside until you woke up on Amphoreus. So we were a little worried that you might feel isolated, without any freedom.”
“I didn’t realize you two had thought about it that much…”
“We also don’t know whether you have memories from before March ended up in that block of ice, and it’s not something we want to pry into. It’s something you can tell us about in the future if you ever want to, and if you don’t, that’s fine too.”
“I know March is naturally pretty kind, but I didn’t expect Stelle to have a side like this too.”
“I don’t know if I’m explaining myself very well... We just want you to be able to do whatever you want. To have the freedom to discover what you like and what you want to do.”
“I understand... Thank you both for thinking so much about me.”
Stelle smiles slightly as she tightens her embrace.
“You don’t have to thank us. It’s not like we’re doing this expecting gratitude or because we pity you. We just want you to be as happy as we are.”
“Yeah, yeah, I understand.”
Evernight starts to feel a little embarrassed.
“So... What’s the second reason?”
“W-well...”
Stelle falls silent.
“Well?”
She still doesn’t answer.
“Stelle?”
Evernight turns toward her, trying to see what’s wrong. When she does, she finds Stelle slightly flushed, looking away.
“I-I suppose you already know that March and I... How do I put this...”
“I’m not a child. I already know what kind of relationship you two have.”
“Y-yeah, sorry. It’s just...”
“Get to the point.”
“W-well, like I said before, you’re also a part of March, so...”
Evernight tilts her head, somewhat confused.
“Do you want my approval? After everything you’ve already done?”
“N-n-no, that’s not what I mean! Well, maybe it is too, I don’t know. The point is...”
Stelle takes a breath and begins speaking in a quieter voice.
“I’m in love with March. And when you’re truly in love with someone... you end up loving every part of that person. Even the parts of them you didn’t know existed... And, of course...” she looks away again. “Y-you’re also part of March, so...”
“W-wait...”
Evernight becomes a little nervous.
“A-are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
Stelle, unable to bear her embarrassment any longer, covers her face with both hands.
“Y-yes...”
“Pfft.”
Evernight starts laughing.
“P-please don’t laugh. I’m already having a hard enough time explaining this...”
“Sorry, haha. I didn’t expect you to have such a cute side.”
“Shut up...”
Evernight wipes away the tears brought on by her laughter.
“And does March know about this?”
“S-she was the one who suggested it. She said that she really liked you as a part of herself, and that if I loved everything about her, then I should love you too. So we started spending some time together like this, and, well...”
“Are you trying to bring me into a three-way relationship?”
Evernight tries her best to hold back her laughter after asking the question.
“D-don’t put it like that! You’re part of March, so it’s still a relationship between two people, or... two and a half? I don’t know...”
“I was just teasing you. Relax.”
“Please stop... I feel like my heart is going to explode.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Evernight affectionately strokes Stelle’s head.
“I think it’s obvious how I feel about March, but what happens if I reject your proposal because I don’t want to be with you?”
“Well...”
Stelle uncovers her face and looks into her eyes, somewhat calmer.
“I’d be a little sad that a part of March didn’t like me, but neither of us would ever try to force you into anything.”
“And what if I refuse to let you continue your relationship?”
“That...” Stelle becomes somewhat serious. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t agree to that, even if you were the one asking me. Maybe you could convince March and make us break up, but my feelings wouldn’t change.”
“I see...”
She smiles slightly, seeing just how much Stelle cares about March.
“What if it were the other way around?”
“The other way around?”
Evernight turns around, pushes Stelle down, and positions herself on top of her.
“What if I were the one who was in love with you and asked you to leave March?”
Stelle smiles, raises her arms, and hugs Evernight, causing her to fall onto her.
“Then I’d be very happy to know that the other part of her loves me enough to ask me something like that.”
Evernight freezes between her arms, somewhat surprised by the answer.
“E-even so, it would be impossible for me to leave March, I’m sorry.” she starts getting nervous again. “A-ah, but it’s not like I see you as another March or anything. You’re you. Even though you’re both the same person, you’re very different.”
Evernight laughs.
“I figured that out already, idiot.”
The two remain cuddled together for a while in silence. They know there are still things they need to talk about, but for now, they want to keep extending this moment they are sharing together for the first time.
. . . .
After a while, they finally let go of each other. They have a trivial conversation while cleaning up the place where they were playing, and afterward, Evernight prepares to leave.
“I should head back to my room. It’s late, and I’d like to let March enjoy dinner.”
“No problem. We already spent a lot of time together today, so I’m sure you’ll also want to rest and think about a few things.”
Evernight smiles mischievously.
“What things am I supposedly going to have to think about?”
“W-well, you know. A-an answer...”
Stelle begins waving her hands nervously.
“B-but don’t feel pressured. You can take your time, and you can even say no without any problem. Everything would stay the same, and we’d still go out and do things together from time to time.”
She slowly lowers her hands, looking a little dejected.
“I-if you still want to, of course...”
Evernight lets out a small laugh.
“She’s way too adorable. It’s fun to tease her.”
She approaches Stelle and grabs her by the collar of her shirt, pulling her head down to her own level and making their lips meet in a soft but fleeting kiss.
Evernight lets go and heads back toward the door.
“I hope that serves as my answer.”
Evernight closes the door and leaves. At the same time, from the other side of the door, the sound of someone collapsing to the floor can be heard.
. . . .
“March.”
“...”
“March, wake up.”
March connects her consciousness with Evernight’s and appears beside her in the empty mental space they share.
“Oh, you’re back already. How did it go?”
“Good. I also cleared up some of my questions. Maybe I’ll ask you to go out more often from now on.”
“And why’s that?”
“Now that I’ve managed to make Stelle mine, I want to spend more time with her.”
“W-w-w-what?!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Y-y-y-you… Thief!”
“Oh, but wasn’t your intention for the two of us to get along so well that your relationship would become deeper?”
“W-well, partly, yes, but that doesn’t mean I wanted you to steal Stelle from me! She’s mine!”
Evernight, unable to hold back her laughter any longer, bursts out laughing.
“Huh?”
“Haha. I’m joking, March. I didn’t steal Stelle from you.”
“Y-you... You’re so evil...”
“Although I did try. But her love for you is unbreakable.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less!”
“Although she did tell me about those plans you two were making behind my back...”
Evernight approaches March and gently pushes her to the ground. She brings March’s hands together and holds them so she can’t move.
“You could have told me sooner how much you both loved me.”
“B-before that, it was important to us that you live your own life and discover what you wanted to do.”
“Don’t worry about that part.”
She gently strokes March’s hair, moving down to her cheek and then touching her lips with her fingers.
“I’ve already decided what I want to do with the two of you.”
“E-Evernight?”
“From now on, the three of us are going to have a lot of fun.”