It was another three weeks of Miorine being out on a business trip. It was stressful, indeed, but she would always choose this than to stay in school.
The first thing that she did after giving her groom the permission to date was to stay out of her sight for the next seconds and days that followed. She made sure to bury herself in work to the point of exhaustion. So that once she stop, no intrusive thought would ran in her head in the form of the Mercurian girl and the only thing she would wish for was to rest.
That was the only thing that kept her functioning without anyone thinking that there was something wrong with her. If she did not made herself busy, she would probably think of Suletta and the person she was romantically interested in. Thinking what they were doing, how were they progressing, and all those things that caused her heart to squeeze.
And she refused to feel that.
But here came another obstacle that she had been dreading.
The daughter of the President inhaled a deep breath as she stared at the familiar door in front of her. It was the Earth House's dorm, slash the Gundarm Inc.
Lately, she had been contemplating whether she should just turn a part of her green house into an office or just make one next to it. After all, they had enough money to build herself a new office. That way, the only people she would see were the ones assigned in the clerical works.
That way, her heart wouldn't be in pain just the mere sight of a certain pilot.
The only thing that stops her from going through that plan was because her fragile ego didn't want to admit that her choice of giving an agency to her groom was actually hurting her more than she anticipated.
Miorine sighed in defeat as she realized pathetically that three weeks are simply not enough for her heart to forget that she was in love with her groom.
Whatever the fuck happened to out of sight, out of mind?
Her hand stopped midway in turning the knob.
She didn't want to go inside. Her heart wasn't ready to see her yet.
But then she rememebered why she was doing this in the first place.
Suletta had become her responsibility since she became the Holder. The reason why she built this company was to protect her and her sister. If she ran away now, everything that she went through to start this company would be for naught. Besides, it was her fault that Aerial and Suletta was in the verge of danger.
All because she pulled them into her world.
It was only right to protect them.
"I'm back," she announced, entering the place without waiting for any acknowledgement and taking her CEO seat.
"Oh, Shachou's back," Ojelo stopped playing cards with Nuno and said, "Suletta, your bride is here!"
The Princess faked a cough as she tried to hide the blush that crept on her face. All this time, they had been trying to pair her up with Elan. She never expected that any of them would acknowledge their engagement.
She could hear Suletta's excited footsteps so she pretended to look busy, skimming the email in her tablet even though she already read all of them.
She didn't want to look at her.
Not because she hated her but because her heart might completely break if she saw her glowing all because she finally got the chance to be with the person she had been crushing.
It was not nice, and it was selfish. But it was the only thing Miorine knew. Even if she was strong-willed, her heart wasn't strong as her mind.
So, just like what she did any other day to survice, the ash-haired woman made it her task to avoid looking at her at all cost.
The princess gently laid her tablet on the table stood up from her chair as she leaned her hands against the edge.
"I have something to tell you," she looked at everyone except her groom. Fortunately, everyone was there so she didn't have to repeat her announcement later. "I came here to tell you that our launch party will be three days from now. The board approved the manufacturing of our prostetic legs."
The CEO gauged at their reaction and she wasn't sure how to interpret the looks on their face.
"Are you not happy? Why are you all looking like this is not a good news?"
Nika hummed in the side and stepped forward.
"Launch party?" she cleared.
Miorine nodded at her. "It's a formal party where our investors and potential ones will be attending. Is there a problem with that?"
"Not a problem, per se," the blue-haired trailed on, "Rather, we're not used to those kinds of things. And we actually expected that we're more on the backgrounds and you and Suletta would be the ones in charge of the formal events."
Miorine sighed at the older girl's response.
She forgot to consider that as Earthian's, most of them were not active participants of the corporate world. Sad to say, they were on the oppressed side, reduced in the backgrounds with all the Spacians getting all the credits.
"Look," she leaned forward. "I understand where you're coming from but this is a team effort. Even though it was me who spearheaded this company, our product was made possible because you guys are here. I think it's time to show the world that Earthian's are not the stereotypical people that Spacians paint you out to be."
"Shachou..."
The President realized much later just how cringe her lines were.
Blushing, Miorine faked a cough and diverged the topic.
"Anyway, I expect all of you to be there. For the dress code, you don't have to worry about that. I already made arrangements and they will probably arrive tomorrow. I only assumed your sizes so in case it's loose or too tight, please inform Lilique immediately. That way, we can alter them before the party."
After that, the Earthians made a conversation among themselves. They were buzzing with what type of suit or dress would they get, how would they behave in the party, what to eat, and topics along those lines.
Miorine heaved a sigh of relief when she realized that they seemed to be accepting of the upcoming event without any more problems. As she scanned them, Miorine made a mistake of looking at her groom who was already looking at her with this unreadable expression.
She immediately withdrew her gaze.
The Princess wanted to rip out her heart that was racing inside their cage all because of a brief encounter.
No, she told herself.
After all, she already decided that instead of focusing on her feelings, she would give all her attention to this company. That way, she could fulfill her responsibility to the Holder.
"M-Miorine-san!"
Her heart skipped a beat upon hearing that familiar nervous yet assertive voice. For a while, she figured she could just pretend she didn't hear her but she didn't want to embarrass her groom.
Suletta was timid and shy, it probably took a lot of courage for her to call out her name.
She braced herself as she turned to look at the pilot.
"Hm?" she asked simply, afraid that she would stutter if she said anything else.
"W-We're planning to eat later. S-Since we got our salary, we're having a big dinner. Would y-you like to join us?"
Suletta clasped her hands tighter over her chest, anticipating her response.
For weeks, she didn't see her to the point that she felt envious of Till and Nika because in between her absences, either of them would stay with her.
She missed her so much.
The people inside the room was quiet as they stared at the two, cheering for Suletta silently. The Holder had been going on about Miorine for the past weeks. Pointing out her long absence every now and then, and they wanted nothing more than for the Mercurian girl to get a piece of her.
The Princess pretended to think for a moment before eventually rejecting her offer.
"Sorry, I still need to finish my work. There's a lot of things that needed my attention regarding our launch party."
"But didn't we hire a coordinator for that?" Till butted in. Not forgetting to be supportive of their friend.
He was right, she didn't have to go this far for their event as there were people in charged of that. However, she knew how Earth House bonds with each other. Once they were gathered around, there was almost a hundred percent possibility that they would talk about Suletta and her blooming romance with the ice prince.
And no, Miorine wasn't in her strongest shapre right now to have any of that.
Because if she did, she would break.
"Yeah, but I want to make sure everything goes smoothly," she faked a smile at him. "I'll just treat you all to dinner. Lilique has the company card."
Gone was the fact that their President rejected their offer, all their focus was on the fact that she would treat them. As they cheer around Lilique who had the company card, Miorine sneakily left the premises.
What she didn't expect though was her Holder following her.
"M-Miorine-san," the taller girl called as she grabbed her hand gently. Her bride fought the urge to pull them from her because she could feel it burning against her skin.
If she did that, Suletta would probably think she hated her.
"What is it?" she asked instead.
"Can't you stay just for a little while?" her voice was laced with pleading. Her bride had been away for so long and all she wanted right now was to be with her even just for a little bit.
"I'm sorry," she replied. "I'm really tired right now and I'm hoping I can take this time to rest in my quarter. Maybe next time..."
The grey-eyed woman pulled her hand from her and Suletta could only stare at her retreating figure with slumped shoulders.
For some reason, the sight of Miorine leaving her behind made her feel like her lungs would give out any minute.
She knew that Miorine wasn't the type of person to warm up on others, but there was never a case wherein she shun her away in such a cold manner. Except the last time that they talked in her green house when the girl refused to look at her.
Suletta clasped her hands tighter against her chest, wondering if she did something wrong. She wanted nothing more than for Miorine to tell her so that she could apologize or try to fix it. Because her heart felt like it would break whenever she refused to even look at her.
Was she getting the wrong idea?
Maybe, Miorine actually hated her? Because didn't she say it herself before? She hated the rules that her father made because it tied her down.
Was she possibly tying her down with her?
The thought hurt, but she was disappointed with herself because she didn't feel bad about it. Rather, it felt reassuring that Miorine was tied with her. At least even with her acting all distant, she wouldn't be able to leave her behind.
They were bound to get married after all.
Suletta sighed and looked at the ceiling above.
Did I turn like one of her previous grooms who only wanted her for themselves? she asked.
***
It was the day of the party and the Earthians' were having a commotion inside the dorm. All of them going on how they look, or that they were nervous and things along those lines.
Suletta quietly observed them before staring at the dress Miorine bought her. It was a red flowy cocktail dress. This time, it wasn't tight. It felt like it was made perfectly for her. A broach with their company logo was in the middle and she couldn't help but admire the simple yet symbolic ornament.
The Holder looked around her and disappointment settled heavily in her stomach when she realized that her bride wasn't there.
Lately, her thoughts were filled with nothing but her. Sometimes, things that she would like to do with her would appear in her mind, giving a warm feeling in her chest. Other times, pessimistic thoughts would pester on her which ultimately affected her mood.
Everything about her felt like it was existing for Miorine and the thought of her not feeling the same scared her.
It was the first time that she felt such an intense feeling for another person.
And she didn't know how to deal with it.
Whenever she thought of Miorine, a burning sensation would occupy her heart and it felt like it would explode any minute
"I think it's time to leave," Nika's voice pulled her back to reality. "The ship's already in the dock. Miorine-san would probably get mad if we're late in our own event."
Everyone agreed with her, Suletta included, and made their way toward's the dock.
The flight took thirty minutes and the flame-haired girl realized the convenience of having a private transportation. There was no need to make a lot of stops, or wait for other passengers.
After reaching the designated port for their transport, everyone headed straight for the venue and they couldn't help but be amazed at everything in front of them. Even though the venue wasn't that big, it was obvious that it had been prepared for. The chandelier, the curtains, the tables, the stage, even the motifs. Everything screamed that it was their company's event.
Gundarm Inc.
Suletta stared at the banner with their company's name and logo. More than anyone else, she knew that this was built to protect her and Aerial. By extension, it was also helping the Earthians.
Yet, deep inside, she couldn't but a little bit of disdain toward it. After all, it was taking all of Miorine''s time that she could barely give her any attention.
The flame-haired shook her selfish thoughts away.
She should be grateful for its existence because if not for that, Aerial would have been scrapped.
But still, her feelings were totally valid, right? To feel neglected because Miorine couldn't even spare her a glance.
Suletta sighed to herself. It was such a happy event yet she couldn't help but feel disheartened at the current turn of events.
She couldn't figure out what was wrong with her.
Or with Miorine.
Or was it the nature of their relationship that was fucked up?
The Holder wanted nothing more than to know the answers to her questions. Yet, she couldn't even find the courage to confront Miorine about it. Afraid that it would scare her away, resulting to losing her entirely.
She couldn't have that. Not when Miorine had become so special to her.
"Did the Princess arranged all of this?" Nuno asked in astonishment as he stared all around him.
"With some help, yes."
"Miorine-senpai is so amazing..." Lilique whispered and Suletta couldn't stop the proud smile that grazed her lips.
Suletta gasped when all the lights turned out. If not for the spotlight on the stage and dimly lit bulbs all over the corner of the room, they would have been panicking.
After a while, Miorine emerged from the dark into the center light and Suletta couldn't help but admire just how beautiful her bride was.
Yes, her bride.
Miorine was her bride, and she decided that she would be her only bride.
The ash-haired girl was wearing a baby blue off shoulder cocktail dress. It was a little short compared to Suletta's, probably three inches above the knee. Just like her, she wore a matching broach on her chest.
Her heart and stomach constricted at the sight.
For the first time, Suletta harbored a deep desire in her heart.
She wanted to take her home. Confess her feelings and do all the things that lovers did.
"Good evening everyone," Miorine greeted them with her pleasant voice. "We appreciate all your efforts to attend this event and celebrate this milestone with us. For this night, I would like to introduce you to the people behind the success of our innovation."
Miorine ushered them to go on the stage and despite being all timid, the Earthians heeded her request. Just like what she told them, Miorine did introduce them in a way that probably boasted them more than what they actually did for the company.
Suletta admired her.
So much that she wanted nothing more than to hold her right there and there that she had to fight the urge to just pull her and go to some private place.
Miorine's existence began to scare her. Never in her life had she felt the need to boost someone and hide her at the same time so that she would be the only one who could see and admire everything about her.
She was smart, and strong-willed. There were probably a lot of people lining for her.
Suletta clenched her fists at the thought of someone harboring feelings for her. But she was pulled back to reality when her bride called for her.
"And finally, our company's pride. Asticassia's number one pilot who managed to defeat the superior mobile suits from the three branches of Beneritt Group. The reigning holder, Suletta Mercury."
The thoughts that circled around her head vanished when she heard her bride's proud voice as she introduced her. Suletta stepped forward with her chin up, making sure that she stood straight just like how Miorine told her to.
"I'm Suletta Mercury," she said, her voice subtly trembling. There were a lot of prominent people staring at her that she felt intimidated even though she couldn't really see them. For a moment, she wanted to run away but then she felt a warm hand grazing against hers and she knew that warmth. "Thank you for giving us your time and I hope you'll support our company from here onwards. Please get along with my bride!"
Suletta bowed deeply as she felt her nerves caught up to her.
She could feel herself burning.
Did she just claimed Miorine as her bride right in front of so many people?
Thankfully, no one laughed at her. The only thing she could hear was the applause of the attendees and when she looked at her side to see her bride's reaction, she noticed the redness from her cheek all the way to her ears.
She hoped, deep inside, that she did not embarrass Miorine.
***
Suletta was once again alone.
With the Earthian's going all over the place, trying to enjoy their event and Miorine being yanked around by potential investors.
Honestly, parties were not her thing. She was too much of an awkward person to socialize with strangers. All she wanted right now was to be with Miorine. Either that, or just go home.
Suletta stared at her hands as her thumbs played with other.
Even though Miorine was just there, she felt so far away. And more than anything, she just wanted to reach her.
"Suletta Mercury,"
She turned around upon hearing that familiar voice.
"Elan-san..." she acknowledged his presence.
After sitting down next to her, the man gave her a champagne that he took from one of the waiters.
"Here, drink this. You look sad, may I know what's bothering you?"
"Nothing," she brushed off. "I was just not used to these kind of gatherings."
"Hmm..." he hummed at her. "But this is Miorine's world, either way, you have to be used to this."
"I guess so..." she shrugged her shoulders and brought her attention back to her fingers.
"Regarding the thing I asked you before, you ran away even before you can give me an answer."
"Eh?" Suletta turned to him once more, with a confused look this time.
"The date..."
"Oh...that..." The pilot blushed as she tried to look for the right words to say. "Sorry, but I have to decline. You see, I already have Miorine-san..."
Suletta widened her eyes when she felt his hand on her chin, prompting her to look his way.
"Why care about that?" he whispered. "Didn't you know? People were saying that Miorine is just using you as her shield so that she wouldn't get married. I'm sure it's fine with her if you go on a date with me."
"Shield?" There was a clear disbelief in her eyes, unable to grasp the very idea of what he said.
"Yes..."
Then as if on cue, her recent encounters with Miorine came crashing to her mind.
Her suddenly hiring farmers and letting them inside her green house despite it being a safe haven for her.
Or employing Elan as another pilot and tester for their company when she already got her.
The cold shoulders.
The lack of acknowledgement.
The barely there glances.
They were finally making senses.
Suletta got the wrong idea.
The Holder could feel the rim of her eyes burn with tears.
She wanted to cry, not knowing what to do with the information. It was more painful than when Elan called her annoying. It was so painful that she felt like her heart was being ripped out.
Unable to come up with a response, she pushed Elan away so hard that he fell from his seat before she ran away.
She had to talk to Miorine.
Ask her, tell her to deny it. Because she would completely break if that was the truth.
Suletta looked around her through her blurry sight. Searching for the girl who made her smile and cry at the same time.
It didn't take her long to finally spot the girl she was looking for but she was hanging her arms on the neck of a woman she never met.
The girl whispered in her ears and she could see that Miorine was getting flustered at what the person said.
Miorine was never the type to get flustered.
No, she wasn't that kind of person.
What did she say to make her blush? Did she tell her she was beautiful? Did she ask her for her number, or that they should meet after the event?
Suletta was losing her mind that moment, and what nailed it was when the girl pulled Miorine's waist closer against her, bumping her on her body.
Had Suletta squinted, she would have seen that the girl only pulled her because the pair behind them almost crashed into her. But she was too blinded by anger, disappointment, and probably jealousy to see all of that.
With the little bearing she had, Suletta wiped her face and went toward them.
"Get your hands off her," she warned and Miorine turned around at a familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar voice.
There, behind them, Suletta stood with inexplicable emotions in her eyes. There was just darkness and anger in them that Miorine felt herself moving away from her partner despite knowing in herself she wasn't really doing anything bad.
Before she could completely separate herself from the girl, Suletta had pulled her already that she crashed against her chest.
"Hey, careful..." Upon seeing that Miorine almost tripped, the girl tried to offer support but Suletta quickly slapped her hand.
"Don't touch her," she said, and despite not wanting to, the girl could feel herself backing off.
After throwing her a threatening look, the pilot pulled Miorine away.
"Suletta, wait!" she protested but her groom refused to listen to her. Not even sparing her a glance as she continued to pull her toward the dock where their ship was in.
Miorine saw Nika throwing her a worried look but she just nodded at her, implying that everything's fine. Hopefully.
The bride looked at the wrist that Suletta held. It would probably leave a mark with how hard she was pulling her. She had no idea what was going on with her and she was, admittedly, scared to ask.
It was the first time that she was harsh on her.
Once they entered the ship, Suletta pushed her on one of the seats.
"You stay there, Miorine-san," she said. "I'll tell the captain to take us back."
"The event's not done yet, what's going on with you Suletta? The others are still not here," despite the fear in her heart, Miorine couldn't help but voice out.
"You want to go back to the event so that you can act all flirty with other people?" she replied with a clipped tone and Miorine didn't like the sound of that.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Don't act all innocent now. What, is cheating also common here in your place?"
Instead of responding to her, Miorine slapped her face before she could stop her hand.
"How dare you?"
"Are you done?" Suletta asked her instead and Miorine cowered at how she stared at her. As if she was silently telling her to do as she say.
Suletta stepped toward her and forcefully sat her down to one of the seats.
"Don't leave that seat."
It was all she said before heading out toward the captain's cockpit. Once she was out of sight, Miorine stared at her hands. They were shaking uncontrollably. If it was because she slapped her hard or because she was scared of the Suletta in front of her, she didn't know.
-
Once they reached their destination, Suletta pulled her harshly once again.
They took the path that she could only recognize as the way toward her house.
It wasn't that far but she could feel her feet getting hurt by her heels. Although she was used to wearing them since who-knows-how-long, she had been standing in them from morning 'til night. And it wasn't helping that Suletta's strides were fast.
Once they finally reached the familiar door, the red-haired girl punched the code without letting go of Miorine's wrist. Once the door opened, she pushed her harshly inside.
"What's wrong with you?" the shorter girl asked as she rubbed her wrist.
"No," Suletta answered, a dark shadow hovered dangerously all over her eyes. "What's wrong with you?"
When Suletta stepped toward her, Miorine took a step back. Back and back until she reached the chair in her study table. The back of her knee knocking against the edge, prompting her to sit down.
"You're my bride, Miorine-san. Why are you trying to cling onto other people?" she asked in an accusing tone.
"It was just a dance, Suletta." she argued back. "Besides, you know how we need investors right? I can't just act all whiny just because someone wanted to dance with me."
"I thought we're selling medical technologies, does that include selling your body?"
A loud slap rang across the room.
"Where do you even get those ideas?" she asked in disbelief. "You're crossing the line, Suletta. Say one more and I swear, we're through. I will never see you or talk to you again," she warned and Suletta couldn't help but chuckle at her.
"Really? You're threatening me with something you're already doing?"
The Princess gasped, unable to respond.
To be honest, she didn't expect her to actually realize that. She thought she was being subtle about it. After all, she could just mask everything out by telling everyone that she was busy.
Yet at that moment, she couldn't bring herself to lie and argue back. Not when Suletta looked like she was both angry and in pain.
But Miorine wasn't ready to a confrontation right now. She was too drained, physically from running the event and emotionally because she had been running away from her feelings.
"I don't know what's going on with you, but I'm tired," she uttered in defeat. "Let's have this conversation because we're both not in the proper headspace right now. And with how you're acting right now, I don't think you're ready for a conversation."
Miorine turned her back on her, decisive to just rest because if they continue their conversation, they would only hurt each other.
She didn't want to say things that she would regret. Her brain could not keep up anymore. The last thing that she wanted was to hurt Suletta with words that she uttered without thinking about it.
Because words cannot be taken back.
After she took a couple of steps toward the staircase, she heard Suletta rushing toward her and the next thing she knew, her groom was carrying her like a sack of rice over her shoulder before dumping her on her bed.
"S-Suletta, wh-what are you doing—"
The Mercurian's pair of soft lips were on hers the next second. Sucking her lips alternately. So hard that she felt like it would form a blood clot.
Miorine closed her lips tighter together with her eyes but the Holder was relentless.
After a while of unreturned kisses, Suletta stopped abruptly and separated herself from her.
Before she could protest, the girl kissed her again. This time, more forceful. Suletta held her face so hard as she tried to bite her lips. When Miorine opened her mouth to protest, her groom shoved her tongue inside.
It was warm, and soft and embarassingly, it felt good against her tongue.
The Princess could only grab the bedsheet behind her as the girl assaulted her mouth however she wanted. After a moment, she decided to respond to her kisses. Leaning her head to the side to give her groom a better access on her mouth.
Miorine thought that it would be enough.
That if she responded to her kisses, Suletta would be pacified. But then she heard her dress rip against the silence of the room and she couldn't help but be conscious when she felt the cold air against her chest.
She realized too late that she wasn't wearing a bra since her dress came with a foam in it.
Deep blush of red came across her face and just when she was about to push her groom away, she felt something warm fall on her face.
Suletta...
She was crying.
The red-haired girl separated herself from her and slumped defeatedly on her bed. Wiping her eyes like a kid as her tears began to fall harder.
Miorine sprang up and sat down on the bed, gathering what's left of her dress to cover the nakedness of her chest.
She didn't know what was wrong but seeing Suletta broken down, crying like that in front of her hurt her more than the thought of her dating other people.
"Su-Suletta...?"
"Elan told me you were just using me as a shield not to marry anyone, is that true?"
There was a heavy silence that settled between them. Miorine stared at her in disbelief while Suletta was covering her eyes, seemingly given up.
"Did you believe him?" She asked quietly.
"Is there a reason not to?" she fired back. Meeting her gaze with her broken ones. "You don't look at me. You're cold, you never smile at me. You never hold me, how am I supposed to think otherwise?"
"I literally built a company just to protect you and your sister. Are you seriously asking me that?" Her patience was on the edge.
This was the reason why she didn't want to deal with anyone whenever she was exhausted. Because her rationality would always be out of the equation.
She was so tired. Exhausted from overseeing the event from start to finish, ensuring nothing would go wrong. Dealing with other people, smiling at them even when she didn't want to. Then came Suletta, sweeping her off of her feet and doing whatever she wanted.
It was all too much even for her.
"Are you really protecting me because you wanted to? Or you're only protecting me because I'm gullible and will not control you just like your past grooms?"
"Take that back," she said. "I don't want to throw this on you but I chose you Suletta, over anything else, I chose you. Over my freedom. Over my wish to go to Earth. Over anyone else, I chose you. Now if you want to believe Elan's words over mine, go ahead."
"M-Miorine—"
"You're not the first to turn their back on me, Suletta," she said with bitterness. "I guess it's only normal for you to take the words of the person you like over a bride who forced this engagement on you."
"No, that's not what I meant...! Just..."
Suletta wiped the tears forming in her eyes as she rubbed her face frustratedly.
"That wasn't what I wanted to say!" she uttered desperately, more to herself. "I just want you to look at me, to rely on me...and then Elan said those things. Then everything suddenly made sense. You were cold to me, you wouldn't even spare me a glance, you won't talk to me. I've been doing anything I can just so you would look at me. I tried to be in my best behavior today, making sure that I wouldn't embarass you in front of those prominent people yet, you still wouldn't look at me. I..."
Suletta was completely melting down. Scared of Miorine completely misunderstanding her words, scared of pushing her away. She wanted to say a lot of things but everything's happening in her head all at once.
Just when she felt like she would break at that point, she felt a gentle hand around her shoulder.
"Suletta..."
Her soft voice prompted her to look at her bride and she was met by a worried look over greyish eyes.
Miorine avoided Suletta's pleading eyes, afraid that it would suck her in. But despite the exhaustion and the emotional turmoil between them, she decided to face her head on.
"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to hurt you with my words. I just feel so exhausted right now. I want to rest, can we talk about this tomorrow?"
She could see the disappointment in Suletta's eyes but she really couldn't have this conversation right now. Miorine felt like she would pass out any minute now. Her heart burn with the fact that Suletta had been going through those things in her mind but her body couldn't keep up any more.
"Fine," her groom turned around, her shoulders slumped as she wore her shoes and prepared herself to leave but Miorine grabbed her hand firmly.
"Stay here with me, Suletta," she whispered. "After all, we didn't see each other for weeks..."
Suletta turned around, refusing to meet her bride's eyes.
"Okay," she answered simply.
****
It was already in the middle of the night and Suletta still couldn't find it in her to sleep.
Her heart was beating fast, not because Miorine was sleeping beside her but because she was overthinking a lot. Even though the Princess was just next to her, she still felt that she was out of her league.
The face of the girl that she danced with earlier came rushing to her mind.
She was pretty, and she managed to make Miorine blush.
Even her, as the Holder, had never made her blush like that.
Jealousy burned in her heart and it didn't help that Miorine didn't want to talk about it tonight when she wasn't sure if she could wait for it until tomorrow.
Suletta looked at her hand, barely illuminated by the lights outside the room.
She clenched and unclenched her fists, wondering that if she could hold Miorine tighter, would that stop her from ever leaving her?
Then as if on cue, Elan's words rang in her head like a broken record. Her past encounters with her came rushing into her mind.
How Miorine is just using her.
How cold Miorine was toward her.
All the pain came back and she fought the urge to vomit at the memory of Miorine actively avoiding her with the excuse of being busy.
Now that she think about it, she was scared. Because she wouldn't know what to do if what Elan said was true. If Miorine was just using her...then what?
Even though Miorine assured her that they would talk tomorrow, she couldn't help but imagine the worst.
It hurts.
It pained her because every time she thought of a different scenario in her head, all she got was Miorine turning around. Leaving her behind and marrying someone else.
Suletta had nothing to offer.
She was awkward.
Outside Aerial, she was nothing. And there was a lot of capable people around Miorine. If she decided to marry them, what would happen to her?
Or even if they got married, what if Miorine's heart wasn't in it, refusing to be intimate with her?
Suletta wanted all of her, her heart, body, and soul, and if Miorine refused to give that, what would she do?
The pilot curled up in the bed, hugging her knees as she closed her eyes tighter, trying to shut off the intrusive thoughts inside her head.
She wanted Miorine and no one else. And she wouldn't know what to do if Miorine decided to leave her...
As she fell into the spiral of self pity, she heard a rustling noise behind her and she clasped her hand over her mouth to stop herself from whimpering as she cried silently.
Despite being in pain, she didn't want to bother her bride because as she said, she was exhausted.
Her eyes went wide when she felt Miorine's arm hang loosely across her torso, hugging her weak.
"Suletta," she whispered. Her voice worn out and sleepy. "It's fine, Suletta. I'm here..."
Suletta blinked and more tears fell from her eyes. It was enough... Miorine's voice was enough to make her feel at ease.
When she turned around to talk to her, she found out that Miorine was still fast asleep and was probably just sleep talking. Soft breaths came from her mouth, and despite crying just seconds ago, a smile finally crept out of Suletta's lips.
It was amazing yet scary how Miorine could make her feel the worst and the best at the same time. How she could make her cry and smile. How she could make her feel happy...and hopeless.
Suletta leaned in on her bride's face and kissed her lips softly. It was brief but the warmth and softness stay with Suletta throughout the night. And for the first time, more than the making out they did earlier, this was more than enough.
The red-haired carefully opened Miorine's arms and settled herself against her chest next to her heart. Listening to its stable rhythm as she laced her hand possessively on her waist.
At that moment, she decided that she wouldn't let go of Miorine.
And she knew that Miorine wouldn't let go of her either.