A Glimpse of Spring

Sunday, the 19 ^{t h} of Feb 2017, 12:00

Elyse looked at the printed photo of Ruth in the wedding dress, lying on the red couch with a nervous expression of desire at the camera, even as the real deal was busy snoozing against her head. The bus rolled on through the twists and turns as they neared the inner city of Bristol, with a few objectives today for their date.
Despite the bus’ interior being warmer than the outer air, she still wore her dark-green tank-top and sweater beneath her charcoal-grey winter jacket, alongside her thick woollen skirt, thermal leggings and knee-high boots all at once. Even the light-blue scarf was still wrapped around her neck, though her earmuffs were reluctantly sat on her lap to give Ruth a comfortable pillow to nap on.
Ruth herself was dressed in a more light manner, a thick black long-sleeved jumper along with a navy blue skirt that sat just below her knees, tights and hiking boots to accompany it. She did thankfully bring her dark-blue fishing jacket along, leaving her body nice and toasty to push up against. As typical for her, a baseball cap sat on her head that displayed the emblem of Captain Snow. Well, we are going to put those tickets to use but it’s not like she’s real, or that the actor will see it~ as she silently laughed in her head, knowing even the quietest of noises could wake her.
With a flick of her eyes and the most gentle tilt of her head she could manage, Elyse snuck a peek at sleeping beauty. She could see Ruth's eyes occasionally moving beneath the lids, no doubt dreaming of something, while her breathing was soft and steady. And not drooling either, so it can’t be too salacious. Even so, Elyse couldn’t help but smile at the slumbering face, wondering how she could sleep through the bus’ lurching and rumble yet if she so much as squeaked a whisper she’d snap awake.
No fair Ruth, it’s hard to play pranks on you this way~ as she raised a finger up, wondering where to prod this time. So far she’d struck out each time, each one waking her up no matter how light her touch was or how brief of a contact was made. Well if she’s going to wake up then might as well have fun with it~ she rationalised as she ran a finger over Ruth’s lips, remembering all the times she’d kiss them and began desiring another one already.
As she predicted Ruth’s eyes opened with a couple of reorientating blinks before homing in on the trespassing appendage, catching her red handed.
“Y’bored?”
“Mmhm~.”
“Sorry Elly, y’too comfy~.”
“I think you mean you’re too sleepy. You even slept before me last night.”
“Night? I think y’mean this mornin’.”
“Sun hadn’t risen either way, stop being pedantic” as Elyse reinforced her point and lightly poked Ruth in her exposed side, through the opening at the front of her jacket.
“Yah-! Hey!”
“Anyway give me a lollipop~.”
“We’re about two stops away an’ we’re gettin’ snacks at the cinema anyway.”
“What are you, my mum?”
“I don’t remember raisin’ such a bossy daughter.”
“Well then as the love of your life, gimme a lollipop~.”
“Fine but y’can have an apple one for not sayin’ please.”
“Please~?”
“Too late an' those puppy eyes don’t work if I close mine, here y’go~” as she pushed a hand into the backpack and produced a green-wrapped sweet.
“Meanie~…” yet she still took it and began to softly suck on it the sour flavour, this time pushing her head against Ruth.
“Y'not actually upset right?"
"No, we do need to get through them eventually...”
"Or just dump 'em on Ilene, she could probably do with the sugar rush."
"Mmhm" Elyse affirmed, nuzzling her head better into the nook of Ruth's shoulder. A smile grew on her face as Ruth relented and moved her arm to admit her, loosely letting it drape over herself.
There they stayed peacefully, Elyse happy to close her eyes and gently drift in and out of consciousness knowing that she'd be protected no matter what. The fact that Ruth seemed to be opening up about them a little each day was something that brought joy to her heart, even if Ruth caught her off guard with a sneaky kiss between lessons or a surprise hug in a corridor. Even if she made it look easy, Elyse knew how hard it must have been for her, between the scars of her past and the trauma that plagued her since.
She groggily awoke when Ruth nudged her softly, whispering "C'mon, time to go~."
"Mmmhm... carry me~…"
"An' y'call me lazy, move it~!"
Elyse bolted up as she was assaulted by tickling hands, nearly bursting out into involuntary laughter but managed to hold it in. Dancing out of her assailant's hands, she skipped off the bus and into the concrete and brick dull landscape once again. She reluctantly admitted that the occasional trees and rare park did exist but it felt so artificial that it didn't even feel real. The tall multi-storey buildings and thin alleyways felt constricting, as if trying to surround and chafe her.
"What y'starin' at? Hound?"
Elyse shook her head, even as she leant back to rest against Ruth "No, it's disappeared last night."
She felt Ruth's arms gently wrap over her shoulders and stomach "Eh? Didn't it only appear yesterday mornin'?"
"I... really don't know what it's doing anymore" Elyse bit the inside of her lips lightly as she tried to think it through yet always coming up blank. Since the day it'd fought Morgwar it had appeared and disappeared at random. Sometimes it attacked her, sometimes it ignored her. Even getting another charm from Mr Griffin had done nothing to stop it this time, which worried her.
"It didn't hurt you right...?"
"Nope, not even a nip."
Elyse was twirled on the spot, turned around to face a smiling Ruth "Then let's be petty an' enjoy ourselves with it gone~."
"I didn't know you could be so spiteful Ruth~."
"Hurtin' my girl, it should be glad it doesn't appear to me or it'd be getting my foot down its throat!"
"Hehehe~…"
"What's so funny?"
"You, Miss scaredy cat, trying to fight a monster~."
"C'mon..." Elyse watched as Ruth looked away bashfully "this is where y'meant to say how cool I'd be…"
Elyse stood on her tip-toes, planting a small kiss on the unsuspecting Ruth. Managing to make her blush, Elyse smirked as she said "I appreciate the thought all the same~." Knowing they had a schedule to keep, Elyse pulled Ruth by the hand with a bounce in her step. The warm endearing smile Ruth gave her back nearly made her heart bounce from her chest too.
Together they walked the busy streets of Bristol, having to occasionally walk around people idling on the pavement or also walking two-abreast the opposing way. The fact that she was so short didn't help, seeing at least four dozen people at any one time no matter what street they took or alleyway they skipped through.
Even when they arrived at the Odeon cinema the murmur and din of the crowds was a constant dull barrage on her senses. The building stood tall akin to its peers, the dark blue outer walls seemingly darker against the bright white letting declaring itself. The glass doors below showed the carpeted insides, with big screens silently showing off movie trailers or advertisements. She kept extra close to Ruth as they drifted to the food counter.
"So, what do y'want?"
"Popcorn~!" Elyse cheered with a pump of her fist.
"What type?"
"Eh?" she responded, lowering her fist.
"Well they do three types: Salted, Buttered, or Sweet."
Elyse's eyes drifted to the display screens, occasionally sliding across to display another deal or advertising some new product. "What do you normally have?"
"Y'can know after y'picked."
"You'd pick sweet anyway~."
"Not tellin'."
"Because I already know-..." Elyse cut off mid-sentence when she spotted something on the displays she didn't realise was sold here "I want that~!"
"'That'? 'That' ain't a popcorn flavour..." Ruth raised an eyebrow but followed to where Elyse pointed. Seeing the nachos buried in jalapenos, Elyse heard her groan and stared at the ceiling. "Snacks Elly, snacks. We got lunch later."
"I know, but I want that too~."
"Greedy guts~..." Ruth punctuated with a little poke in her stomach, making her softly yelp and delivered retribution in the form of soft batting against Ruth's arm.
"Hey~...!"
"C'mon, what popcorn an' drink y'want?"
"I want to share the drink with you~!"
"Y'awfully hyper today."
Elyse grinned up at the curious Ruth, gripping her hand with both of her own and slightly shimmying her shoulders back and forth "Because I'm happy to be with you and you alone on a date~."
She saw Ruth gulp before she hid her face with her spare hand, unable to not smugly grin up at her blushing girlfriend. The little squeeze of her hands was enough for Elyse to know she felt the same but she was selfish and wanted to hear it too.
"Weeeeeell~?"
"Well what~...?"
"Are you just as happy~?"
Despite still hiding her face, Elyse watched as Ruth parted her fingers, watching as the blue and green peeked through like shy stars, managing to softly reply "Y-yeah, over the moon Elly~…"
“Good~” as she pressed up against Ruth, nuzzling her front. She could feel the moment Ruth tensed up, no doubt whipping her head around before finally relaxing with a sigh. “Also I want salted popcorn~” finally answering to put Ruth out of her misery “So what are you picking~?”
“...Sweet.”
“Told you~.”
“Then go predict next weeks lotto numbers.”
“Maybe I will~.”
“It’d mean I could laze about all day~.”
“Who said I would give you any of the winnings~?”
“Y’so mean Elly~!” She was suddenly constricted in Ruth’s arms before being given a noogie for her cheek. Despite giving her best adorable little complaints, she didn’t feel a moment of relent for what felt like a whole minute.
“Now my hair is all messed up…”
“It ain’t called a punishment ‘cause it’s fun~.”
“I’ll remember this.”
“Y’remember everythin’ Elly, ain’t much point statin’ it~.”
“Now who’s being mean?”
“Not me since I’m about to buy those precious nachos y’want so badly~.”
Elyse immediately perked up and followed behind Ruth as she exchanged the tickets as well as purchased the snacks. Both armed with something in each hand, they proceeded past the staff who stamped their tickets and down the dark corridors, each with a giant neon-glowing number beside their screen’s door.
She couldn’t help but gaze all about at the deep purple carpets, the dim lighting against the walls looking like spotlights shining into the sky, the mass of seats that rose up like a wave from the sea, the large screen opposing them that was several times her height. Only from Ruth gently prodding her did they eventually get to their seats, all the way at the top and slightly to the side.
“Why these ones then huh?”
“Because then I don’t have anyone lookin’ over my shoulder.”
“Why, are you going to do something that you wouldn’t want anyone to see~?”
Ruth leaned over and whispered in her ear “Maybe I might~” which immediately blew the cap off Elyse’s head, steam seemingly to mist above her burning head. As a distraction Elyse began to slowly nibble away at the salted popcorn, adoring the taste but found it a little too reminiscent of the seawater back in December. Instead she switched over to the nachos, overloading one of the chips with cheese and jalapenos before devouring it. The punchy explosion in taste was soothing and vibrant, more than happy to munch away at the warming sensation.
“Y’know y’got the whole film to finish those~?”
“It’s nice when it’s warm~! You should try one-.”
“Nope, no spice for me today thank y'very much.”
“I’ll give you one without any peppers you baby~”
Ruth locked eyes with her, nearly pinning her to the seat with them, no doubt evaluating if she would trick her or not, despite Elyse’s honest intentions this time. “Alright then, feed me one.”
More than enthused, Elyse made sure it was just chip and cheese before offering the tasty bite towards Ruth. In a nimble motion, Ruth gripped it by her lips and snatched it away to which Elyse couldn’t help but giggle at the sight.
“It’s like you’re a skittish animal being fed~.”
“Y’remember all the times y’fed me?”
“I do~.”
“Then reflect on it.”
“I am~.”
“An’?”
“I did nothing wrong~” Elyse grinned up at her, a small tingle of delight upon seeing Ruth roll her eyes.
“Nothin’ wrong my arse~…” though the small smile she saw creep on her face let Elyse knew she wasn’t really upset. As the adverts began to roll for new deodorants, takeaway food promotions, spectre tournaments, and new flights opening to the American Commonwealth, Elyse shimmied her leg over to press against Ruth’s. If I’m going to sit beside you for the next hour and a half, I want some kind of contact~ as she saw Ruth giving her a questioning look but simply flashed a reassuring smile before returning to her spicy delights.
The film continued off the second season’s finale, with Captain Snow captured in one of the bases for Silver Eye’s forces after being betrayed by someone in her own unit, though who was never revealed. Elyse was happy to see it was the same actress, even if the blood and scarring makeup looked extra visceral. The sound of the speakers surrounding her were powerful, letting her hear every single sound the film wanted to project at her. The crisp colours of the screen in such high definition compared to the TV back at home was like comparing a black and white photo to reality.
She watched motionless as Snow managed to hatch an escape plan, pretending to be sick to lure the guard in, choking them out, hiding amongst some cardboard boxes before managing to find some clothing to disguise herself in with a balaclava to hide her face. As Elyse predicted, it didn’t all go according to plan as she was found out mid-way through her attempts to hijack a Borodino, eighty-five tons of Russian armour and armed with an artillery cannon even bigger than the one in the Willow.
As Snow lay waste to the hanger and base, retreating into the thick snowy forests beyond with vengeance clear in her eyes, Elyse looked over to Ruth. She too was similarly entranced, except so engrossed in it that she didn’t realise she was moving her body in reaction to every scene. The tension of the film relaxed for a moment as it switched back to one-zero-one haunt having managed to survive the deadly ambush they had fallen into during the finale but lost without their fearless leader.
Taking this moment, Elyse leaned over to the cup holder to take a drink, only to bump her cheek into Ruth at the same moment. With a quick reminder to herself of where she was, Elyse suppressed her snicker and instead remained in place as the warmth of Ruth’s cheek fill her with a gentle comfort. Ruth didn’t seem to back down either, even going further as she laid her arm on Elyse’s on the rest, interlocking fingers happily in the quasi-darkness of the room.
Despite her body warming from the touch, trying to make her feel embarrassed, she shoved it aside and squeezed softly. Thought she realised it was a bit more distracting as Ruth’s little digits of excitement were much more noticeable when she was in contact, feeling her fingers twitch or her hand squeeze.
The one-zero-one haunt moved out from the valley they had been hiding in, laying careful ambushes of their own, now led by Snow’s closest friend: Lieutenant Sally ‘Blaze’ Arrington. Throughout all the show’s two seasons the writers had heavily hinted that the two shared a much closer relationship than friendship but it had never been explicitly shown or said. Ruth hadn’t noticed until Elyse pointed it all out to her on Friday as they snuggled in bed together.
The fact that the film hadn’t cut back to Snow in a while left Elyse feeling tense, unconsciously squeezing Ruth’s hand harder all the while shovelling popcorn in her mouth as if to relieve it.
The haunt was being hunted as well by the tenacious force of the dreaded Blackbear Makari, brother to Bies from the end of last season. With two phantasms always close behind, they had to be as sneaky and quiet as possible despite their best efforts to shake them off. Something felt wrong about them being able to track them so well, especially as Sergeant Lukyan ‘Hitman’ Medved was so good at navigating them through the terrain. It was at this point Elyse realised who the traitor was, remembering all the other little details and foreshadowing in the episodes and gasped loud enough that she saw Ruth turn her head towards her.
As the scene seemed to shift to a more relaxed moment, having crossed a ravine and collapsing the ice bridge behind them, she noticed Ruth yawn. While normally it wouldn’t be an unexpected behaviour at all, always looking to sleep at any opportunity, the fact that when they watched the TV seasons she was bursting with energy. She could see in her peripheral her arms stretching up before slowly being lowered, attempting to think of what she was up to.
That was until the arm gently rested over both her shoulders, the lower arm draping over her chest. Risking a glance away from the screen, Elyse looked at Ruth to reveal a brimming smile and a wink.
Caught up in the moment, Elyse gripped the arm with both of hers, knowing that soon things would go wrong. Sure enough, when they had all powered down and began repairs, they were assaulted by Blackbear’s forces. Only Sally was quick enough to jump back into her Fawkes at first, doing her best to keep ten other spectres at bay with only herself to dance and dodge in the snowfields.
Predictably she wasn’t enough even when the rest of the haunt joined the battle, as Blackbear gloated to her about their traitor, revealing it to be Lukyan as Elyse’d realised. The Fawkes was thrown down by a particularly brutal punch from the Stalingrad, laying before the ominous spectre. What shocked her was the suddenness of the following moment as the Blackbear raised a foot in the Stalingrad above Sally’s Fawkes and brought it down. The screen cut to black alongside a scream and ended with a crunch. A couple of cries from the crowd shouted “No!” while she could feel Ruth’s arm slightly shaking, not realising her own were tightly clutching onto it.
No way…! S-she must have survived right? That’s why they cut to black…! She hoped earnestly, until the foot lifted from the screen, showing a flattened cockpit that began to pool red. At that point Elyse was utterly lost to the film’s spell, merely an observer of this story as Snow finally showed up, too little, too late.
The savage and rageful stare from the actor's eyes were looking directly into the camera, cutting away to the brutality of her expert and precise shooting that was no longer interested in preserving life but putting an artillery round through each and every cockpit. One by one Blackbear’s forces fell, till only Blackbear Makari was left. She forced the Stalingrad disabled by cannon and voodoo, made him walk out from the broken cockpit before riddling his body with machine-gun fire, refusing to stop until there was more holes than man.
The final scene had Lukyan being tied and gagged by the rest of the surviving haunt. They asked Snow what they wanted done with him, after Blackbear had foolishly broadcasted Lukyan's name aloud. The coldness of which Snow drew her pistol and executed him nearly made Elyse jump, seeing the body hit the ground with a heavy thump. Elyse simply hugged tightly onto the arm still, needing a couple of minutes to return to her body. She felt a comforting hand stroke her hair, soothing in its motions. There’s no way that’s the end of it right? She thought, the chill down her spine still not having left. While it’d featured death before, it hadn’t been bold enough to kill off a character that’d been there since the start, let alone two.
However, as the prepared a funeral for the fallen in the cold snow, rags burning against the wind that tried to snuff them out with Snow stood before the one representing Sally, Elyse started to cry. Even as she tried to keep herself quiet as to not disturb the rest of the cinema, she couldn’t help her little shudders, especially when Ruth wrapped her other arm around her and gently coddled her.
One of the soldiers asked Snow what were they going to do now, to which she simply responded “Home. For us… and for those that couldn’t make it.” The screen cut to black before declaring that next year the sequel would release and that it would conclude Snow and the rest of the one-oh-one haunt’s story. As the credits began to roll, the lights illuminated the room gently while the audience began to talk and vacate their seats, allowing Elyse to finally sniffle and whimper in her rolling emotions properly.
“Y’alright Elly~?” Ruth asked in a hushed tone, despite her voice also warbling.
“M-m-mmhm… J-just wasn’t expecting Sally to go… e-e-especially like that. T-t-then Snow l-looking so sad at her g-grave too… I-it just…!” before her tears and quiet bawling made it too hard to continue. She felt Ruth adjust herself to move in front of her before pulling her in for a big and tight cuddle, swaying her from side to side.
“Y’big crybaby~. She wasn’t even your favourite~.”
“...T-the writer is still dumb and mean…”
“Sure, the writer is dumb an’ mean~.”
“A-and stupid…”
“Stupid too huh? This just ‘cause they made y’care enough to make y’cry~?”
“S-shut up~…”
“C’mon, wipe yer face with this~” as she was handed a handkerchief, rubbing the salty tears and wet snot out from her face and managed to regain her composure after a minute of Ruth spoiling her.
She felt Ruth pull back from the hug, taking her hands into her own and asked while crouched down, seeing the blue and green eyes twinkle with a smile “All good~?”
“M-mmhm~…” Elyse responded as Ruth gently pulled her up. They picked up their rubbish and disposed of it on the way out, but instead of leaving immediately, Elyse wanted to be spoiled more. Spying a pillar near the end of the corridor, she dragged Ruth over to it and pinned her into the corner, hidden from view.
“What are y’up to now?”
“I feel… lonely…”
“Because of that endin’~?”
Elyse simply pushed her face into Ruth and nodded, squeezing her arms tightly around Ruth’s waist. The warmth that emanated out from Ruth’s body was like a safety blanket for her now, able to practically melt into a relaxed and calmer state. The fact that her therapist encouraged her to seek out healthy coping methods like this was all the excuse she needed to do it. Ruth didn’t seem to object either, a hand stroking her hair while the other pressed over her shoulder and back, the intimate but soft touch filled her heart with such warm and lightness that she feared it would burn.
“Don’t ever leave me…”
“I won’t~.”
“I’ll chase you down…”
“Scary~.”
“and tie you to me…”
“Y’assumin’ I wouldn’t tie y’down to me first Elly~” before Elyse felt a finger lift her chin. As she met Ruth’s eyes, the realisation of how close their faces were only clicked a fraction of a second before Ruth kissed her. It was deep, slow, and passionate as Ruth pulled the small of her back up and in, letting the sensation linger for several long seconds as if the world had stopped for a moment.
She was more than willing to surrender to her touch, even if her heart bolted like a horse out of the racing gates. Ruth had become so bold in the last week, leaving her wondering if their night of passion had triggered something in her. The soft crinkling of Ruth’s jacket made it to her ears as her fingers gripped tightly on the smooth surface. So caught up in the moment that she’d forgotten to breath, left softly panting when Ruth finally broke the contact.
“I’ll be yers forever an’ ever Elly~” Ruth vowed before pulling her into a hug once more. However before they could linger in the dark corner forever, Elyse very distinctly heard Ruth’s stomach growl, especially with her ear pressed against her torso. With a small slow tilt of her head with an emerging smug smile, Elyse looked up to see Ruth’s eyes squeezed shut and eyebrows furrowed, the tanned skin seeming to flush red.
“I didn’t realise I tasted so good~” Elyse giggled, only to yelp as Ruth simply dumped her weight onto her “Hey! Just because you’re embarrassed~!”
“Y’so mean Elly…” but thankfully the pressure on her was relieved, Ruth standing tall above her once again.
Elyse took Ruth’s hands into her own, rubbing her thumbs against the back of her palms “Come on silly, I am only teasing~.”
“Y’always teasin’.”
“Because I always love you~” Elyse beamed up at her, looking straight into the eyes she adored so dearly. With much mirth, Elyse watched as Ruth clutched onto her own chest, pretending to be in pain.
“Havin’~…! A heart attack~…! Cuteness overload~…!”
“Then perhaps~…” Elyse placed a finger to her lips thoughtfully, pretending to think. Turning her head side on, she gave a slow and sensual lick of her finger, watching as Ruth’s eyes bulged while giving an audible gulp as she continued “I need to get your heart racing~?”
“Racin’ enough now!” Ruth answered, clearing her throat to mask her feelings and peeked around the pillar, even though seeing her hand fidget in the open air was a clear giveaway to Elyse.
“Come on, let’s get you fed~” Elyse calmly took one of Ruth’s hand and gently tugged her out from the corner and back into the throng of people. Neither wanted to stay within the mass of bodies that shifted and constricted, quickly navigating their way through and out of the cinema complex. Elyse nearly wanted to skip towards their next destination, only having had it describe to her by Chuck.
She set the pace quick, knowing Ruth got grumpy when she was hungry and her own stomach was threatening to voice its complaints despite their snacks. The sun hung high in the sky with the days seeming to get longer finally. Winter really is awful… though it is good for a couple of things I guess~… as she glanced at the oblivious Ruth, who seemed to be too busy looking at the TVs displayed in the shop they were passing. Upon them was a news reporter detailing the weather, with no predicted ash storms for the next two months. Good, it means with spring nearly here I can finally take Ruth camping and properly this time~!
Quickly crossing the road before any cars came into view, they arrived at their destination, ‘Big Joe’s Burger Shack’. It sat on the corner of the street, with clean glass windows flanking its two exposed sides allowing a clear view within. Nearly all the red tables were filled with people sat upon equally red couches. The floor was a checker-mark of small white and black squares, while the pillars dotted around the structure had wooden furnishing added to the concrete support. The lights that hung above the tables, while off, seemed to be made of brass and hung on chains. The wait staff, seemingly made up of exclusively women, wore cute yet sharp dresses of red and pink, hair tied back by a scarf and a little frilly white apron across their fronts, all the while clacking around in high-heels.
“Do y’want to go else-” Ruth began to ask, Elyse already feeling her subtly dragging her heels.
“Nope, we’re going here!”
“They can’t be that good.”
“Big AC burgers Ruth!” Elyse protested, raising a spare hand up as if to emphasis the size.
“Bigger ain’t better for everythin’.”
With a smirk and a raised finger, Elyse recited “’Everythin’ is bigger an’ better in the AC’ I recall you saying~.”
“I also recall someone not bein’ able to finish their sundae an’ needin’ my help~.”
“W-well, even so, I know you like bigger things~…!”
“Oh yeah, like what~?” Ruth challenged her, but at that point Elyse knew she’d won. With hands on hips, she proudly faced Ruth and puffed out her chest with a very deliberate wink. The blush on Ruth’s face was well worth the potential embarrassment. What she wasn’t expecting was the pout and then prod against one of her breasts by her finger, yelping in surprise before she could cover her mouth in time.
“Hey!”
“Don’t show ‘em off in public like that…” Ruth grumbled, heading into the restaurant.
“Just in private to you~?” she asked just before they entered through the double glass doors.
“Mmhm~…” Ruth gave as a subtle response, standing before the small stand to be waited to a table.
Elyse stood on her tip-toes and whispered in Ruth’s ear, having to hold onto her shoulders for support “Maybe tonight then~.”
Ruth shot her a look of intense surprise and desire but before she could voice a single word a waitress appeared in a very thick American accent and took them to a table. Elyse mused if Ruth was relieved it was in the corner yet disappointed it was by a window. A pair of laminated menus were placed before them and a cheery wave from the waitress as she departed, leave the two in relative peace. Even then, the music of the diner was loud with Country music from the AC, while the conversations and laughter filled the vacant spots of silence.
Elyse scanned the menu and saw all the items presented in a very colourful and bombastic style, almost assaulting her eyes with the vibrant visuals. Even as she looked at the chocolate pizzas, calzones and steaks, she kept returning to the ‘Big Joe’s Big Burger’. Onions, onion rings, pulled pork, chicken, beef, bacon, egg, lettuce, tomatoes, three types of cheese, brioche bun, along with a side of chips… I-i can totally eat this…!
Picking a new undiscovered soda to go along with it, she looked at Ruth with head in hands and elbows on table, idly kicking her feet underneath. Seeing her raise an eyebrow, pull her lips to the side, squinting at a particular item, putting a fist to her chin and frowning, eyes opening up as they saw something appetising, a little nod to herself before finally realising she was staring at her the whole time.
"Somethin' on my face?"
"No, just looking at something cute~."
The glee it gave Elyse to see Ruth look away bashfully was irreplaceable, unable to keep a big smirk off her face. Despite Ruth hiding her face with a hand while holding it up, Elyse felt a foot nudge into her own despite the thickness of the boots.
"Yer cuter though~…" Ruth muttered, loud enough despite the noisy background chatter for Elyse to hear.
"That doesn't stop you from being cute too~" she casually parried the poor retort with her own, all the while wrapping both her legs around the offered foot and enjoying the warmth of the limb. The hand that blocked the view to her face parted between the middle and forefinger, allowing the pale green eye to peek out between the tanned walls.
"Yer real sweet Elly~..." Ruth admitted, Elyse able to see the reluctance in moving her hand away and facing her head on.
"Sweet as sugar~?"
"Enough that I won't need dessert later~."
"I don't want to be eaten though~!"
"Y'ain't got a choice~."
"Oh, don't I now~?"
"Nope~" she replied as Elyse watched her reach a hand out to twirl a strand of her white hair. Elyse often wondered what ran thought Ruth's head whenever she played or strokes or buried her face in her hair, hoping it wasn't some kind of fetish thing. As she realised exactly what track her mind was attempting to travel down, she switched over just in time as the waitress asked them for their orders.
While Ruth got herself the 'Regular' AC cheeseburger and an orange juice, Elyse proudly asked for the Big Joe and a 'blue cola'. The look of surprise from the waitress unsettled Elyse for a moment before she wrote it down, while Ruth looked at her with a disbelieving smile.
"What?" Elyse calmly replied, feigning ignorance.
"Ain't no way y'will eat that by yerself."
"Is yes way."
"Sundae sprin' to mind?"
"Nope, I don't remember that~!"
"Yeah y'do y'big liar~."
"I have a perfect memory remember~?"
"Ah huh, strange how I remember eatin' at least half of it~."
"Your mind playing tricks on you I think~."
"I guess we'll see who's right once y'see how big it is."
"It did say serves one to two people, so it'll be doable."
"Maybe one American."
"You're exaggerating."
Ruth raised an eyebrow at her, slowly blinking once "Y'ever met one?"
"Have you?" Elyse shot back immediately, meeting her gaze head on.
The long pause revealed the truth despite her words "...'sides the point Elly."
They waited patiently as their drinks were served, looking at the very blue translucent liquid with a quarter of the glass being ice. With a slight bit of hesitation, Elyse reached over and gave a very slow and cautious sip through the straw. Fruity... very sugary... fizzy... tangy too~ as she nodded to herself, more than pleased with her surprise choice.
She could see Ruth watching with a wry smile even as she sipped at her own drink "So, what's the flavour?"
"Why don't you give it a sip~?"
"Because it's probably radioactive."
"Do you really think they'd serve radioactive drinks here?"
"People buy strange things in the AC. I overheard a pilot talkin' about how they knew a guy who'd bought old vintage watches that were painted with radium."
"And you believed them?"
"What reason they got to lie?"
"What reason do I have then?"
"…"
"Are you going to give me a reason to poison you then~?"
"No, but it could be a prank of yers."
"Come on Ruth, it's nothing spicy!"
"...is it sour?"
"Not really, besides you know I don't like sour things dummy~."
"True... Alright then~" as she casually reached over and softly sucked on the same straw she did. A small part of Elyse worried that she'd left some of her own saliva on, then re-worried when Ruth placed the drink back that it wasn't just her own on the straw. Even as she tried to stamp out the dirty thoughts and attempted to ignore the warmth rushing to her cheeks, Ruth obliviously said "I think the colour's more excitin' than the taste honestly."
"Really?"
"Mmhm" before taking another sip of her own drink, wincing slightly "Why, what's up?"
"N-nothing~...!"
She saw Ruth narrow her eyes at her for a moment, the heterochromatic pair following wherever her own yellow set darted to. She managed to get her to look at each ceiling fan, two diners and a waitress' butt before their orders came in. A sensation of dread crept down Elyse's back as she saw how big Ruth's burger was, and that was nearly as big as her head. Meanwhile hers was twice the size, some of the ingredients spilling out from under the huge bun. All she could do is swallow at the sight of it before slowly pulling her eyes up to Ruth. As expected a knowing yet sympathetic smirk was plastered on her lips, a flick of the blue and green between her face and the burger.
"Y'know, I think that is actually larger than y'waist~."
"…"
"Don't forget that we're bowlin' after this too~."
"…"
"Do y'want my help~?"
"...yes please~..." Elyse whimpered in defeat, despite having yet taken a bite. Taking a deep breath, she pulled out a spare hair-tie to put her hair into a crude ponytail if only to keep the grease from staining her white locks. Firstly she tackled the chips along the outside of the plate, the fluffy hot yet salty potato insides perfectly cooked with the crispier outer fried layer. By the time she'd finished all of those her stomach already felt half-filled yet the main bulk was still to come. Making the tactical decision to cut the burger in half first, she could then tackle the edges as an entry point, chewing and tasting the mass blend of flavours all at once, strangely addicting despite the very greasy and unhealthy sense it gave. She tried her best to chew thoroughly before swallowing, knowing full well that the more compact she could make it, the better her odds were of surviving.
Yet even with all her ploys and plans, she barely survived the halfway point with the thought of taking another bite making her stomach cramp in pain. She looked up to see Ruth calmly looking down at her with amusement.
"It hurts…"
"I gave y'a warnin'."
"I know…" before groaning again in pain, even as a hand stroked her hair soothingly. She watched while slumped over at Ruth attempting her own best efforts to finish what Elyse had started. Slowly over the course of the next fifteen minutes, she watched as Ruth chipped away at it, adding her own effort whenever she felt like she could handle another mouthful, before managing to finally eliminating the whole thing. However now Ruth too was groaning in pain.
"The things I do for yerself~…"
"Misery loves... company right~?" Elyse tried to joke, half-heartedly laughing herself.
"I wish pain didn't~... I feel like I might hurl-."
"Please don't...!"
"Yer fault~…" Ruth pointed out, only to sigh heavily with another groan.
"Sorry…"
"Why don't we wait a lil'... before we move on."
"A-agreed…"
The waitress returned with a very sympathetic smile, giving them both a little congratulatory clap before removing their plates and letting them recover in peace. As they sat their feeling like they were dying, Elyse watched as Ruth sat up and cleaned her face with a napkin before attending to Elyse herself.
"Thanks Ruth~…"
"Yer welcome, though next time, heed my warnin' alright~?"
"Okay~..." she replied as the desire to sleep off her food coma grew, idly rubbing her calf up and down against Ruth's own and got a warm smile for her troubles. Each breath shot pain through her stomach, simply trying to relax herself as Ruth paid the bill. Even as Ruth pulled her hair out from a ponytail and playing around with the ends, she made no motion to object. Maybe next time I'll pick something smaller... I hope Ruth isn't too mad at me for delaying…
"Ruth…"
"Mmhm~?"
"Sorry for not listening…"
"It's alright~. Besides it's nice to play with y'hair when y'this defenceless~."
"Why do you even like it that much?"
"Uhm... well... it's comfy for one. Smooth too. Feels nice to run between my fingers an' smells good to boot~."
"Weirdo~…"
"What that say about yerself then~?"
"S-shut up~…"
"Make me~" with Ruth flashing a wink at her, leaving Elyse's only recourse to hide her face within her arms even if it didn't block out Ruth's soft chuckle.
Once her stomach had settled down enough that she didn't feel like she'd collapse after five steps, Elyse reluctantly got up from her seat with Ruth and lead out by the hand. Privately she thanked Ruth for walking slowly, allowing her the mental capacity to force her bursting stomach to obey.
A gust of wind blew against her that despite her thick clothing still made her shiver, moving to the other side of Ruth while also huddling closer. As Ruth interlocked fingers with her, she asked "So what if I get cold~?"
"You don't~."
"I do sometimes~."
"Not normally~…"
"Well, okay I suppose y'got me there~."
"Besides, don't you want to shield your cute girlfriend~?"
"Self-flattery now~? Y'ego's gettin' bigger by the day~" Ruth teased, poking the exposed part of her cheek, unable to keep the giggle to herself and infecting Ruth with it too.
The pair walked casually to their final destination of their itinerary for the day; the bowling alley. Named 'Lanes away!', it was situated next to the river Avon that flowed through the city that they both took a moment to stand beside. Just the natural smell was enough to recharge her batteries for the rest of the day, fatigued from all the grey and lifeless concrete.
With a measure of hesitation, they both turned away from the green-tinted cloudy water and into the pink-and-cyan neon-lit building to which Elyse could already hear all manner of wacky sound effects and the clatter of pins hitting the wooden decking. Ruth handled the clerk as Elyse began to take her boots off and put on the pair of black-and-red striped bowling shoes with white tips and soles offered to her, already feeling the cold attempt to grab her exposed feet despite the black leggings remaining.
Given a bowling alley to use, the pair strode over to the area from the back left-hand corner. There were several lanes up and down the court, with TV monitors mounted above them displays scores and strikes, with those not in use advertising. Set behind them were the seating area as well as the ball returns, while the racks of different bowling balls were aligned behind those. In the back right corner was a drinks bar manned with two bartenders casually cleaning glasses.
Elyse was more than happy to plop down into one of the cushioned red seats, sighing with relief now her stomach could stop complaining at her. She watched as Ruth began to tap away at the screen, no doubt inputting their details. Sure enough, the screen above flickered to a score sheet, showing [Ruth] and [Elly] as well as the set for the game.
"Could it not fit Elyse?"
"Dunno, didn't try~."
"I thought only you wanted to use that nickname~?"
"Perhaps I want to win against my girlfriend, not just anyone named Elyse~?" Ruth shot back, already moving over to pick up a bowling ball. Elyse simply watched as Ruth took her time, changing up and down the weights a few times. I wonder if she's read up on the best way to play? Then again, this is Ruth who doesn't read unless she has to. If only I had time to research at all this week... as the pain of doing several months work of catch-up for her religious studies had only just finished.
Eventually Ruth seemed satisfied with what looked like a relatively light white ball with wavy blue and green stripes on it. What was particularly cute to see, as Ruth lined up at the lane, was her tongue slightly sticking out to the side, as if intensely concentrating despite Elyse's non-experience. Still, best to watch so I don't muck up when it comes to me Elyse thought, shifting herself to properly face the lane.
Ruth took a few steps back, holding the ball in both hands before her face, looking like she was eyeing up the neatly standing frame of pins at the other end. With a smooth run up, Ruth bowled the ball down the lane, a sharp thunk as the weight impacted the oiled wooden decking and slid down with a constant rumble. However it seemed her aim wasn't the best as it missed the front set and slammed into the side, knocking out only four of the pins, the machine taking them away to let her take her second shot.
The second shot went a little more smoothly as it smashed into five more but one still remained at the end, ending her first frame with nine. From there the pins were reset and Elyse's name was displayed to go next. Still, she preferred to look at the disgruntled look on Ruth's face, no doubt annoyed at failing to get all of them. It did however catch her attention.
"Why y'smirkin'?"
"Just think it's cute how you want to show off~."
"S-show off? Don't know what y'mean…"
Elyse pushed herself to her feet and walked over to the ball rack "You know exactly what I mean. Anyway, help me pick a ball, I don't know what I should be looking for~."
She heard a grumble behind her even as she concentrated on the balls, eyes already darting to the dark-and-lime green ball but attempted to not let her favourite colour sway her. Eventually she felt Ruth come up behind her, the gentle pressure of a chin against to top of her head thoroughly cushioned by her hair.
"I don't really know either, I just picked one that was comfortable."
"Then I'll do the same~" as she decided on the green ball in the end, hefting it in a hand and not feeling too heavy before asking "So now how do I bowl~?"
"Surprised y'didn't do any readin' up on it."
She talked as she stood in front of the lane, emulating the same stance Ruth had taken earlier. "Swamped in books about both pre-war and post-war religions, like I can tell you all about-."
"Can I pass an' instead teach y'how to bowl~?"
"Since you insist~."
Ruth stood beside her and talked her through the motion, warning her to not let go too early or late, or to step past the black line. Seemingly simple, Elyse took a few steps back and went to bowl.
Except she accidentally released it too late.
The ball was lobbed in a high arc and both of them could do nothing but stare as it made its descent. While it didn't break the floorboards, it was a loud bang as hit the ground, listing to the side and sliding into the gutter. Both of them looked sheepishly at the staff whose heads had whirled around at the sound. With two apologetic and embarrassed waves later, they were left alone once again.
The ball returned quickly, taking it with much greater care this time with a deep breath to calm herself. Making sure to not hold onto it longer than needed, it made a much shorter drop than last time as it rocketed towards the end, managing to get nine of the ten in a single shot. "Yes~!" she proudly declared with both arms raised, turning to Ruth who gave her a polite clap with a smile.
"Thank y'for not blowin' my eardrums out this time~."
"Hey, this is my very first time bowling!"
"Y’point? First an’ last time I went bowlin' I was eight Elly~" she ended with a chuckle, standing up to take her turn.
Elyse didn't move from the lane, moving beside Ruth and asked "Still, praise me more~."
Ruth sigh despite the smile betraying her feelings as her free hand patted her on the head "Y'did well~."
Elyse couldn't help the smile on her face, indulging as much patting as Ruth was willing to give before retreating back behind the console and sat back down, until an idea came to mind.
“Hey, want to make this a competition~?”
“Didn’t realise Ilene was here.”
“You’ll like it, come on~."
“Alright, I’ll hear y’out Elly~” Ruth turned to face her, holding the ball in two hands for now.
“Okay, so whoever wins gets to make the other do any one thing they want~.”
“Anything?”
“Can’t be illegal.”
Ruth raised an eyebrow, “What about a lil’ illegal~?”
“You heard me criminal~.”
“Alright, hope yer prepared, since I still have two in the bank~.”
“You’ll never use them~.”
“Don’t be so sure~.”
“Besides, you won’t win~.”
Ruth arched an eyebrow before turning back to the lane, adjusting her position by the slightest amounts before bowling, the speed of the ball much faster than before and smashed into the central pin. The clatter of ten pins filled the room as the screen above played an animation of a ball coming from the sky and blowing up a city of pins, a mushroom cloud that the words ‘STRIKE’ came out of. The surreal sight had Elyse looking equal parts in awe and disbelief. Even Ruth looked at the screen surprised before walking back to the seating area.
“Huh? Don’t you go again?.”
“Y’really didn’t do any research huh?.”
“How many Buddhist vows would you like me to recite?.”
“Just teasin’ Elly~” as Ruth sat beside her, giving her a small nuzzle before answering her actual question. “When y’get a strike, it adds ten plus whatever y’score on y’next two bowls, but y’done for that frame.”
“What if you clear the pins after the second bowl for a frame?”
“That’s a spare, y’get ten plus y’next bowl.”
“So you just got a major advantage now?”
“Y’got it~. Always knew y’were smart~” as she flashed a wink at her before giving a soft giggle, only serving to stoke the competitive spirit within her.
“I think I’ll have Emma send me some dresses in your sizes when I win this.”
“Y’ain’t winnin’ this~.”
“Watch me~.”
“Always am~.”
“Pervert~.”
“Especially when y’runnin’ in PE~.”
It took a second for Elyse to realise what she would be looking at in particular, retroactively covering her chest as she accused her “P-pervert…!”
“Y’are wearin’ a sports bra when-.”
“I do thank you! A-a-anyway, shouldn’t you be paying attention in lessons?”
“An’ miss the sight of a lifetime, nuh uh~.”
“Why did I fall in love with you again?”
“’Cause I’m nice an’ warm~?”
“One of those two is right…” Elyse muttered as she hefted her ball in her hands and lined up her shot. It made sense to her than the harder she threw it, the higher chance the impact would have the pins scatter into one another and knock them all down. However, it would also mean sacrificing accuracy if she full on chucked it down. Besides, I really don’t want to repeat my first throw…
With the image of Ruth’s embarrassed face dressed in a risqué outfit, she bowled it down at hurtling speeds, the ball smacking into the pins. Much to her horror however, two pins remained: Both on opposing sides. Even the screen took a moment to jab into her, showing off another animation of a bowling ball rolling through a wooden fence, leaving only two posts up.
With a huff of defeat, she retrieved her return ball and aimed for one of the two, only to end up missing it by an inch and scoring only eight.
The two went back and forth with their turns, that while Ruth was winning at the start, Elyse quickly picked up the game and by the time of the final shot of the game the scores were close. She needed to get a strike to win, if she didn’t she’d lose out by a point at best thanks to her spare on her previous shot.
“Don’t y’dare get a strike.”
“What will you do for me if I don’t~?”
“Nice try but y’ain’t gettin’ a win-win deal from me.”
“Then I guess I’ll just have to get a strike~.”
She saw Ruth watching her with no small degree of trepidation, no doubt the experience with Emma resurfacing in her memory. I don’t see what was so bad about it, it was fun wearing all those dresses, though I guess Ruth’s embarrassed face was much better~. Maybe I should ask Emma for those dresses anyway, win or lose. Then at night I could get her to try one on~… before realising she was losing focus and shook the distracting thoughts from her head physically.
For the final time for today, she took two steps back before bowling straight and true, the green ball rolling with great force down the floor with an ominous rumbling. As it bulldozed through the pins, nine went down but the last one was wobbling. She held her breath as clenched her fists before her. Come on! Fall down! Make it fall spirits! See Maid Ruth! Maid Ruth!
The pin wobbled.
And wobbled.
And remained up.
As the screen congratulated Ruth for winning, Elyse couldn’t help but feel a little bitter. Stupid spirits… though she whirled her head around at hearing Ruth collapsing on the seating. Her concerns died down when Ruth let out a heavy sigh of relief, hands running down her face with a smile.
Elyse frowned as she walked over, seeing Ruth looking up at her smugly, and prodded her in the stomach to relieve her own frustration. Seeing the blue and green eyes snap open in shock before she attempted to fend off the rapid-fire pokes was enough to mollify her for now. “Hey…! Just ‘cause y’lost don’t mean y’get to pincushion me~!”
“No fair” as Elyse dumped herself onto the seat besides Ruth’s lying body.
Ruth swung herself up and shuffled next to Elyse, loosely placing an arm over her shoulder and prodding her softly in the cheek “Is fair.”
“You should’ve had a handicap.”
“Because I played when I was eight once~?”
“Mmhm.”
“Are y’sayin’ y’didn’t have fun~?”
“...Winning would have been more fun~.”
“So y’just bein’ a sore loser~? Ilene’s rubbed off on yerself a lil’ too much~.”
“Then why don’t you make me feel like a winner then~?”
She barely got the words out before Ruth kissed her on the lips, a short yet tender kiss that lingered after Ruth retreated with a gentle smile. “T-that works~…” Elyse mumbled, looking down at her twiddling hands and let Ruth cuddle her a little more, hoping her face wasn’t too red at the moment.
"Good, let's go change our shoes an' head home then~."
"When we get in... can we, umm, just come into my room~…"
"It better not be a prank, but sure~."
"It's not!"
"Ah huh~."
Elyse puffed her cheeks up at Ruth and harmlessly batted a fist against her arm, even as the chuckle made her even more grumpy. The pair went off to change over their shoes, thanking the receptionist and headed off to the bus stop. Sat within the shelter, Elyse felt Ruth bunch up to her, keeping her warm against the evening chill as she lazily rested her head into her hair once again. By the time she counted to seven, Ruth was asleep, leaving her alone with her thoughts for now.
I can't really blame her, even I'm knackered... as she let out a soft yawn, fidgeting until she was more comfortable against Ruth. I bet even if I did sleep she'd wake up to the bus anyway~ she mused but her better judgement won out, instead simply taking one of Ruth's unconscious hand and holding it snuggly in her lap with both of hers.
Thankfully the bus didn't take too long, though as Elyse predicted Ruth immediately woke up as it rolled into the stop, flashing their return tickets to the driver as they hopped on and sat at the very back as was normal for them.
This time Ruth stayed awake for the hour long trip back, sharing the lollipops as they both forced themselves to get through the apple stockpile they'd amassed. The sun had set as the bus rolled by the city streets and made way into smaller buildings on the outskirts. Once they rolled into the country lanes and forests Elyse finally felt like she could relax again, the familiar sight more than reassuring to her mind.
During the trip back, they talked more about the film, on what this could mean for the actress since it was confirmed she was in the sequel but not as Sally, or how they didn't see the twist traitor until it happened, or how bad they felt for Snow now she nearly had everything taken away from her. With such enthusiastic and passionate talk from both sides, the time flew by quickly enough that they nearly missed their stop.
A short walk back and they made it into the dorm once more, though the door was locked and the lights off, meaning they were all alone for the meantime.
“Guess we’re not gettin’ fed tonight” Elyse heard Ruth muttered as they took off their shoes.
“I don’t think I’ll even need to eat tomorrow, let alone tonight.”
“I should probably exercise off all those extra calories y’made me eat.”
“Why just you?”
“Because most of yers will go to those I suspect~.”
“Those…?” as Elyse followed Ruth’s eyes as she ended up looking directly down at herself, jaw dropping in shock as she shouted “Hey! Eyes up pervert!”
“Pervert this, pervert that, I’m just appreciatin’ my girl~.”
“I’ll show you appreciation…” Elyse grumbled, grabbing Ruth’s hand and marching them into her room, swiftly shutting the door behind her. Not even turning the light on, she hugged Ruth tightly, snuggling her head into Ruth’s front.
“Y’alright?” she could hear the concern in her tone, no doubt feeling that it was out of the blue but the urge for intense cuddling had been boiling inside Elyse for a while now.
“Mmhm~…”
The hands that gently stroked her hair and held her back made her sigh a little in relaxation, nearly forgetting to respond as Ruth asked “Promise?”
“Promise~” before Elyse pushed Ruth backwards onto the bed, tumbling along with her. The cute yelp of surprise caused a mischievous giggle to escape her own lips, crawling about until she was face to face with the love of her life.
“Y-y’not, umm…” Ruth stuttered softly before cutting herself off, unable to hide her face as Elyse purposefully had planted her own hands either side of her head. The entrancing movement of her two differently coloured eyes kept Elyse still, content to watch as the flicked down, lingered before realising she was being watched, a momentary contact with her own, before to the side. The blush on her tanned skin grew and grew, leaving Elyse to giddily wonder if she could go completely red.
Slowly but purposefully, Elyse lowered her head down, watching as Ruth closed her eyes and accepted whatever it was she had in mind. With a soft sigh, their lips met once again. The exchange of heat as she pressed against Ruth’s supple and smooth pair sent small tingles throughout Elyse’s scalp. The arms that snaked around her waist gently pulled the rest of her body down, until she was lying on top of her completely. A leg sneakily wrapped around on of hers on the inside, now keeping her pinned to her, though the little moan she gave expressed her approval quite clearly to Ruth. When Ruth began to move her onto her side, Elyse didn’t resist, especially as she was too preoccupied with making out to care if she was on top, on her side, or on the bottom. All she wanted was to just share her warmth with Ruth and to hold her dearly.
When they broke the kiss, she quickly tucked her head underneath Ruth's chin, as if nesting back into her safe space. Instinctively she wrapped an arm under her girlfriend's arm and had to fight the urge to just fall asleep then and there. Meaning if I'm already tired then~…
"You better not be sleeping~."
She felt Ruth adjust her posture before eventually replying in a sleepy voice "I ain't~. I wouldn't mind though~."
"No sleeping until after tea, okay~?"
"Alright, but you'll have to keep me up then~."
"That'll be easy~."
"How so~?" she could feel Ruth gently sniffing her hair even as a hand play around with some errant strands.
"I just have to give you a dirty thought and you'll be too hot and bothered to sleep~."
"...Don't y'dare~."
"Then stay awake~."
"Y'so mean Elly, knowin' all my weaknesses~."
"I know the biggest one~."
"I mean, it's pretty obvious~."
"Yeah~? Say it~."
"It's yerself~."
"Say it properly~."
"I love y'Elly~."
"I love you too Ruth~. Thank you for taking me out on the date~."
"Y'very welcome~."
Despite their words, the two soon fell asleep in each other's embrace, dreaming sweet dreams of one another, of futures they hoped would come pass...