Moving On
Merry Pitsmas!
This doesn't actually have much of Pit, but Palutenasmas and Lucinasmas don't have any ring to them.
Speaking of which, this story is a result of the Palucina bug that has infected my brain. So yes, THERE WILL BE YURI.
I hope you enjoy.
Someone go on Urban Dictionary and make greenette and bluenette words.
"Hmmmmm…"
Palutena sighed contentedly, nestling further into her pillow. Her momentary bliss was quickly overrun by a tragic realization.
It was morning.
Few people enjoy getting out of bed in the morning, least of all Palutena. She, however, hated it more than most. Hate would be too weak a word; she loathed it with her entire being. But this was a morning on which it was most definitely necessary to wake up. For today was not an ordinary day. It was December twenty-third.
Christmas was a mere two days away, and if past experience was in any way reliable, her neighbors would want to drag her out of bed as early as possible to decorate their hallway. Not that Palutena didn't feel festive around this time of year, but 7 a.m. was too damn early to be doing manual labor!
The greenette growled angrily, lifting her head off the memory foam supporting it just so she could slam it back down in frustration. As she sucked in a breath so as to release a sigh of exasperation, an enticing aroma overcame her senses.
"Mmm, chocolate."
The smell of chocolate in the morning meant two things: Rosalina was making pancakes, and Palutena was actually going to get up before 10 today.
With a new feeling of vigor and a sense of purpose, Palutena pulled the sheets off and strolled to her bedroom door. She shivered, a chilly breeze running from under her door up her legs, enticing her to open the door so as to eliminate the cold air flow.
She hurried across the living room into the kitchen, and sure enough, her roommate Rosalina was busy stirring a large bowl filled with pancake batter and chocolate chips. "Good to see you're finally up," she chuckled, her back still turned to her.
"Your cooking is the only reason I'm ever awake before noon." Palutena pulled a stool up to the counter as she stared hungrily at the cooking pancakes, still bubbling in the pan.
"Well," she continued, "Rest assured you'll have several reasons to get up the next two days."
"Yep, and I'll want to punch all of them in the face."
Rosalina turned around. "Oh, come on. Is decorating really that much of a hassle?"
"No," she deadpanned, "Being jumped at seven in the morning by two guys, who, for the record, are way too into the concept of interior décor, is a hassle." Rosalina stacked four pancakes onto a plate and slid it across the counter, soon followed by the bottle of syrup.
"Sure you don't want that warmed up?"
"Rosalina, for the last time, I don't care. Besides, the plate's cold enough that this won't stay warm for long." Palutena then proceeded to drown the cakes in syrup and eagerly devoured them.
"Well, look at it this way." Rosalina continued, trying to put a positive spin on the source of Palutena's anger. "Waking up earlier gives you more time to spend with your dear friends and…well, I guess not family."
Palutena swallowed her mountain of food before correcting Rosalina. "Actually, I wouldn't mind seeing my mother again, if only she were still alive. It's my father I can't stand." A grim smile adorned her face. "Pity the old fart died." With that, she returned to her final pancake, hoping the conversation would end there.
Rosalina, on the other hand, made sure that it didn't. "…Aaaand, maybe, uh, find someone special? Someone who you'll hold close to your heart?" Palutena angrily rolled her eyes and threw her silverware to the countertop. "We're not asking you to get married or have a baby. We just think you should get out more, put yourself back on the market…have some fun maybe?" Palutena got off her stool and began pacing in front of the counter.
"Would you girls please stop making my love life your own? Just because I'm not always looking for a relationship doesn't mean I'm emotionally starved." She then stopped moving and looked Rosalina straight in the eye, whispering in a deadly serious tone, "And you should know better than anyone that I'm not in denial anymore. I'm just not looking to jump into anyone's bed."
"We don't expect you to go clubbing and have one-night stands," she replied, a somber expression replacing her previous coy smile. "We just want you to get out more. You've cooped yourself up here almost every day since Robin-"
"Don't." Palutena raised her hand, interrupting her before she'd even closed the second syllable. The memory of Robin was still a fresh wound, and the mere mention of her name stung like nothing else.
Robin was everything that Palutena could have possibly asked for in a girlfriend. Besides being one of the most beautiful and intelligent people she had ever met, she also cared deeply for her. Any problem of Palutena's was a problem of Robin's by default. She loved Palutena often at her own expense, holding off important work to spend all her time with her stressed or bed-ridden girlfriend. She was nearly perfect, but Palutena obviously wasn't.
That became abundantly clear when one night, after one of the most miserably stressful days of her life, she lashed out at Robin, who had left her own apartment in a state of total disarray just to stay and console Palutena. Nevertheless, she was forcefully sent back out, and had to drive back to her apartment on the other side of town. On the way there, a mini-van t-boned her car, earning her a trip to the ER. She was dead shortly after arriving, but Palutena didn't find out until the next morning.
Ever since then, Palutena has blamed herself, knowing that if she had just been a little more level-headed, Robin would still be alive and well.
Rosalina could see fresh tears brimming her friend's eyes, and gently placed her hand over Palutena's. "We're not trying to get you to replace her. All we want is for you to have some fun again. You've hardly smiled since that day." She lifted her hands and squeezed them lightly. "We only want to see you happy." Palutena let out a defeated sigh.
"You're right," she said, finally giving in. For months now, she had emotionally worn herself down, but now she was sick of it all. She was tired of mourning, tired of feeling guilty, tired of…actually, she just felt tired. "You don't suppose our friends are awake now, do you?" she asked, a small, hopeful smile creeping its way onto her face.
"They're probably out there already," Rosalina replied, taking Palutena's plate and dropping it in the sink. A similar smile came across her face as well, filled with hope that her roommate would finally start to feel happy again.
Palutena stretched her arms up. "Alright then, let's get this over with." As she walked around the counter and towards the apartment door, Rosalina spotted something important.
"Uh, are you sure you're not forgetting anything?"
"Why?"
"Because most people put on pants before going out into the world."
That was enough to stop Palutena midway through turning the doorknob. Sure enough, when she looked down, she was greeted by an expanse of bare legs and her red and white boxers.
"I thought it felt a little drafty."
After taking care of the dishes, Rosalina stepped out into the hallway to find her prediction to be true. Link, Marth, Zelda, Peach, and Lucina were hard at work, stapling strings of tinsel and ribbons to their walls and the surrounding walls. "'Bout time you got out here. Pali sleeping in as usual?"
Rosalina smirked, finally able to say, "Nope, she'll be out in a minute. She just needs to get dressed." Link turned around, a look of genuine surprise on his face. He put the staple gun down on the floor and placed his left knuckle on his hip.
"Well, smack my ass and call me Judy."
"Don't tempt me," Zelda called from down the hall.
Link shrugged. "I'm just surprised is all. She's never gotten out of bed willingly to help us out."
Rosalina smirked, "I find pancakes to be enormously helpful."
"Well, that explains it," he muttered, his enthusiasm clearly waning. "It's just as well she's coming now. We'll be short-handed tomorrow night."
"Why's that?" Rosalina asked, tilting her head to the side.
"Lucina and I are heading out together," Marth replied. "We're going to that fancy holiday dance her boss is having."
"Good for you two. It's about time you had some sibling bonding time."
"Lord knows we didn't get enough of it as children," Lucina laughed, earning a similar sounding but deeper chuckle from her twin. Before he could add a witty retort, the door behind the group opened, revealing a greenette wearing dark blue jeans and a Patriots sweatshirt.
Link smiled, another smart-ass comment coming to mind. "So I still can't convince you to wear green and gold?"
"Not even over my dead body," she deadpanned.
"But you can't stop me after you're dead."
"Well then, you're uninvited to my funeral."
Link, feigning offense, placed a hand on his chest and gasped. "I never!"
"I'll invite you again when you stop threatening to vandalize my body after my death."
"Do you know how it feels to be Link right now? It hurts."
Palutena chuckled. The one thing that could make her smile on just about any day was Link and his many antics. He always seemed to have some bizarre anecdote or a funny ice-breaker "Fine then. I'll work over with Lucina so I can't scar you anymore."
"Thank you."
As Palutena walked over to help Lucina tie bows on doorknobs, she smiled at the bluenette and was greeted by a series of awkward, shy glances in her direction. "Morning," she greeted happily, making a rare effort to be social.
"H-Hi," she murmured almost inaudibly.
"Something wrong?"
"N-No, no. It's just that, well, it's unusual to see you out so early." She turned her head away and started twiddling nervously. "It's just, uh, n-nice to see you in a good mood."
The two continued working in silence for another few minutes, until Rosalina broke the tension. "I'll see you guys in a bit. I need to get started on lunch."
"It's only ten."
"I'm cooking for six other people. I need a little more time to get things ready."
Palutena, quite frankly, was getting bored here. She was willing to give socializing a shot, but her playbook of good conversation starters was just about empty. Not to mention Lucina had barely made eye contact the entire time she was here, and she glanced away from her every time she looked at her like she was afraid of her.
"Mind if I join you?"
"Rosalina looked back at her in surprise. "Sure, no problem."
With permission now granted, she eagerly got up and followed Rosalina back to her room.
'Shit,' Lucina thought. She got up to voice protest, but she stopped when her right arm didn't follow her. Looking down, she discovered that she had tied her index finger into the ribbon. She looked back up sadly as the tall greenette disappeared behind the door.
It was a door Lucina had grown to hate.
December twenty-fourth. The morning of Christmas Eve.
With the decorating more or less completed the day prior, nobody felt that they were losing much help with Marth and Lucina leaving that evening.
The boys, in the meantime, were relaxing in their living room, a soda in each of their hands.
"When do you and Lucina leave?" Link asked. His inquiry was met with a shrug.
"I don't know. I left the remembering up to her."
"Hm. Some date you are," his roommate scoffed.
"Don't call me her date. That makes me feel really creepy."
"Well," Link began after taking a hefty gulp of Coke, "If she just got a real date, you'd feel less like a creepo."
Marth's smile disappeared. "Nobody wishes she would get a date more than I do. And that has nothing to do with tonight." He leaned forward to place his soda can on the coffee table before continuing. "She's crazy about Palutena. But you saw her yesterday. She could barely look her in the eye. Getting her to ask her out would require some kind of divine intervention."
Link shook his head sadly. "It was hard to watch, really. Like a deer with a broken leg trying to walk." The two shared a look of empathetic sadness. "Excuse me for a minute?" Link said before getting up and heading towards the bathroom.
Marth let out a depressed sigh. Since childhood, he had tried to help Lucina ease out of her shell, and the dance was part of that ongoing effort. He hoped that tonight would be the start of something new, that it would give her a new outlook on life. All he wanted was for her to have some fun.
And, if possible, start looking for her soul mate.
He knew quite well that if Lucina could have her way, she would choose Palutena, but everyone knew that she was never going to gain any ground with her. The poor woman was still recoiling from Robin. The odds were not in Lucina's favor.
Marth fished into his pocket, reaching for his phone, only to find that it wasn't there. 'Must have left it on the nightstand,' he thought to himself. He got himself off the couch and started towards his room when he noticed something odd. A small stack of boxes had been laid directly in the doorway. Breaking into his childish habits, he decided to try something fun.
He backed up towards the front door of the apartment and got a running start, aiming to jump over the boxes. When he made the leap, he made an alarming discovery.
He had severely underestimated how high the top of the doorframe was.
Marth's forehead met the wooden corner of the door at a high speed, launching him downwards onto the pile of boxes. The bottom of his spine met the top of the stack of boxes, causing his head to knock the hardwood floor beneath him.
Link came back out at this time, having been startled by the sound of something heavy crashing to the floor. "Oh God!" he yelled, seeing his friend bent backwards over a pile of random boxes. "Marth, are you okay?" His friend only moaned in pain. He held up his first three fingers. "Marth, look at me. Look at me. How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Seven?" he groaned.
"Oh shit."
"Please, make it stop!"
"But it gets better!"
"How could it get any better than that?"
"When he ran through the kitchen door, I clotheslined him with a golf club!"
"Ahahahahahahahaha!"
"Stop! It hurts!"
That morning, Zelda, Peach, and Lucina were enjoying a hearty breakfast accompanied by great stories. Peach was in the middle of a real side-splitter: the story of her last break up.
"Tell her what happened next," Zelda cackled. She was already very familiar with the story, but it still cracked her up every time.
Peach fought through her own chortling and continued. "Well, the next morning, he-"
Bzzzt, bzzzt, bzzzt…
The girls' immersion was broken by a loud buzzing, which they quickly identified as Lucina's phone. She wouldn't have normally answered it, having far too much fun listening to Peach's story, but her brother's name appeared on the caller ID, so she figured it was worth her time.
"I just need a second, girls." She picked up the phone and walked into the kitchen, hoping for a more conversation-friendly environment. "Hey."
"Lucina, it's Link."
She stopped in her tracks. "Link? Why do you have my brother's phone?"
"I'll explain in a minute. I need you and the girls to get over here. We've got an emergency over here."
Lucina didn't need to hear anymore. She hung up immediately and ran back to the table. "Guys! Something's wrong with Marth!" she shouted before running out the door before Peach and Zelda had even gotten out of their chairs.
In her panic, Lucina pounded on Link's door and immediately started to violently shake the knob. When Link finally answered the door, he had to jump back to avoid being knocked on his ass by the human whirlwind.
"Where is he?!" she screamed, running into Marth's room. She saw her brother laid out on his bed with an icepack on his head. "Marth, are you okay?"
"Aye love you, peanut butter," he muttered dreamily.
Lucina slowly got up, relieved that he was at the very least alive and talking. "What happened to him?"
"He hit his head on the doorframe trying to jump through it."
Lucina frowned. "Sure sounds like him," she said dully.
"I'll call 911," Zelda called from the kitchen.
"Well," Link sighed, "I'm no doctor, but I'd say he's in no condition to go anywhere tonight."
Lucina's head shot up. "Oh, no no no no no no no. I can't go to that party alone. Everyone's supposed to bring someone else." She panicked, pacing into the living room and around the coffee table.
For the first time in his life, Link was totally tongue-tied. Comforting people had always been foreign territory to him, and no witty one-liner would make Lucina feel any better. If anything, it would probably be detrimental to the situation.
Then it hit him. A sudden flashback from mere minutes ago.
'She's crazy about Palutena.'
But was it possible? Lucina, in a normal social situation, was shy, quiet, and very much an introvert. Lucina in Palutena's presence was a bumbling, stuttering mess. Marth was right; it would be hard enough to get her to look Pali in the eye.
But he had to try. And who knows? Maybe it would work. He was able to get Zelda to start dating him, after all. If there was anyone qualified to play matchmaker here, it was probably him.
He placed his hands behind his back and adopted a devilish expression as he strolled over to the table. "Well," he began, "it seems like you have plenty of options. After all, the rest of us are available tonight. Maybe one of your roommates? Peach and Zelda would be happy to go with you. Me, if you're desperate." Lucina immediately shook her head.
Link couldn't help but smile. "Maybe…" he trailed off, "Even Palutena?"
Upon hearing this, Lucina promptly stopped watching where she was going and tripped over the couch, rolling forward and landing behind it.
'I've struck oil.'
"Uh, I don't think so," Lucina replied as she slowly got up. "She doesn't seem to like me very much."
"Are you kidding? Did you see her yesterday? Smiling at you and talking to you?" Link put an arm around her shoulder in his best attempt at being comforting. "Seems to me she likes you just fine." He started walking her towards the door as inconspicuously as possible. "Besides, what's the worst that could happen? She says no. Then you ask someone else."
Lucina paused, taking this all in. "I…guess you're right."
"I guess I am."
"But, what if she-"
"No." Link spun her around and grabbed her shoulders. "Look me in the eye." She glanced to both sides, slightly unnerved by Link's intensity, but finally obeyed. "Repeat after me. I can do this."
"I-I can do this."
"Louder."
"I can do this."
"Louder."
"I can do this!"
"Louder!"
"I can do this!"
"Now what are you gonna do?!"
"I'm gonna go do this!" With that, Lucina stormed out of the apartment, bound for Palutena's immediately across the hall.
Link smiled. "They grow up so fast." He turned around, hoping to head back to Marth's room, but was greeted by the questioning stares of Zelda and Peach.
"I, uh, just had to give her a little pep talk."
"Was the yelling really necessary?" Zelda asked, a humored tone in her voice.
"Hey, if you had a better idea, you should have said something."
Palutena, having just woken up, was mostly running on autopilot. In spite of the fact that it was almost ten-thirty, she was only now having breakfast. Today, breakfast consisted of a bowl of Special K and a banana. Both paled in comparison to anything Rosalina made, but with Rosalina leaving for work, this was the best she could do. She was convinced that if Rosalina so much as touched the box, the cereal would somehow taste amazing.
All of a sudden, her door burst open, causing her to nearly choke on her food. She braced herself for the sight of a robber or murderer, but was instead greeted by a very intense-looking Lucina.
She was glad her morning autopilot remembered to put on pants.
"You scared the crap outta me."
Lucina looked up, meeting Palutena's eyes for the first time in days. As she did, all her confidence drained away. She very suddenly remembered the purpose of her visit.
"Are you okay, Lucina?"
The girl snapped back to reality. "Oh, yeah, no, er, uh, yes. Yes, I'm fine," she stuttered nervously. 'Oh fuck, I can't do this.'
The two waited in silence, Palutena waiting for Lucina to talk already, and Lucina waiting for something to happen so she didn't have to do this.
"So…what's going on? I'm guessing it's fairly important." Once again, Lucina was dragged forcibly back to reality.
"Oh yeah. So, uh, you know how me and Marth, er, Marth and I were going to a dance together tonight?" Palutena shook her head with a pinch of confusion. "Oh yeah, you hadn't come out yet. Well, anyway, my boss is having this Christmas dance tonight and he, uh, wanted everyone to bring a da…er, somebody. And Marth was nice and agreed to come with me. But he, uh, knocked his head off. No, he knocked his head out. No no, he just hit his-"
"Alright, alright, don't hurt yourself."
Lucina tried to start again, wringing her hands together. "And, well, I was wondering if…" Then she stopped. Her eyes finally met Palutena's, destroying her train of thought. They were a beautiful emerald green, matching her hair perfectly. Lucina started to wonder if she had dyed her hair for that exact reason.
"…ina?"
Wait, were her lips moving too?
"Lucina?"
'Oh crap, I was talking to her!"
"I wanted to ask if you would come with me instead."
There, it was out. She had finally said it. More importantly, she had said it all in one piece. Progress is progress in any case.
Palutena, meanwhile, was trying to process the question. So great was her confusion that when a bite of banana plopped out of her mouth and onto the counter, she paid it no mind. "Could you run that past me again?"
Oh shit, she wanted her to say it again. "I wanted to know if you would like to go to a dance with me," she repeated, going slowly so that she could actually produce a coherent sentence.
"Uh…could you excuse me for a second? I have to, uh, ch-check my calendar." The sorely confused greenette had already cleared the living room and entered her living quarters by the time the sentence was out of her mouth.
She had lied out of her teeth. She didn't even own a calendar; that was one of the many tasks she delegated to Rosalina. She just needed a moment to think.
On the one hand, there was Lucina. A sweet, innocent girl who came to Palutena of all people in her time of need. She could have just as easily gone to her real friends, people with whom she has spent far more time and knew far better. Yet here she was, hoping with all her heart that Palutena would be the one to say yes. She certainly felt honored by that.
On the other hand, Robin. And it had to be tonight of all nights.
Tonight wasn't just a night. It wasn't just Christmas Eve. It was the day that, a year ago, her white-haired lover met her end.
Because of her.
She felt fresh tears welling up, but forced them back down. "No," she whispered angrily at herself. "No more crying." Just like everybody else, Palutena was tired of all the tears, all the sadness, and she promised herself and Rosalina that there would be a fresh start.
It was time to clean out the closet.
"Good news, I'm free tonight."
Lucina jolted upon hearing Palutena's voice again. "S-So, does that mean…"
"Yes, I'd love to go with you."
Lucina felt light-headed. She had dreamed of this day, but never thought that it would actually happen. To hear Palutena finally say yes made her feel elated. She could no longer contain the stupid grin on her face.
"Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you thank you!" She then grappled Palutena, pulling her into an uncomfortable hug over the counter. Though unsure at first, Palutena started to slowly return the affectionate display, wrapping her arms around the short girl's back.
Lucina sighed contentedly. 'I could get used to this,' she thought dreamily, starting to relax into the greenette's long, sleek arms.
"Uh, Lucina?"
"Hmm?"
"You can let go now."
"Sorry." She quickly let go, as if Palutena were on fire. "So, uh," she started stuttering again, "Can you be ready to go by four?"
"Sure," she nodded.
"Great! Well, see you then." With that, Lucina reached out for the doorknob and saw herself out.
"Four o'clock, huh?" Palutena pondered quietly to herself. "Four o'clock." The woman returned to her banana, replaying the events of the last few minutes over again in her head.
Then she chuckled, "I can't believe someone actually asked me to go dancing with them." She smirked.
Then she stopped.
"Wait, a dance." Then it hit her, dropping her food in the process.
"Oh shit! What am I gonna wear?!"
Meanwhile, just outside, Lucina could no longer hold back the happy. She began to bounce up and down and giggle like an idiot.
"I can't believe I did that!" Finally, Lucina had her chance. Tonight just might be the night that she'd dance away gazing into a beautiful woman's eyes. They'd go crazy when they first got there, but by the end, they'd be caught in a loving embrace, rocking back and forth to a slow, romantic tune.
'Oh, I can't wait! I wonder what she'll wear…wait, what am I gonna wear?!"
Palutena honestly could not remember the last time she had been in this store. All she knew was that the poor souls who worked the floor probably had to swim through dresses just to punch in every day. She didn't trust her own judgment, as fashion was most definitely not her forte. Luckily, she knew someone who had forgotten more about fashion than she'd ever know.
"Well, hell's bells, look who it is." A young brunette man popped up from behind the store counter, greeting her eagerly with wide blue eyes.
"Good to see you too, Pit."
Pit and Palutena went back to college. After graduation, they moved in together for a few years before Pit finally got to pursue his passion in life: clothes design.
The young man vigorously shook her hand as she strolled up. "Boy, I never thought I'd see the day when you walked into my store."
Palutena paused. "Your store?" Last she remembered, this place was owned by an elderly gentleman named Reggie. Nevertheless, Pit nodded enthusiastically.
"Yep. The last owner retired years ago. He left it to me, and it's been my pride and joy ever since." He readjusted himself on the counter, placing his left fist curiously on his chin. "So," he inquired, "how can I help you?"
"Well, uh," she began nervously, "I kinda have…a date."
"Hot damn!" Pit squealed. "This day is just FULL of surprises!" In his joy, he slapped the counter with his right hand. "No problem, but I'll need to take your measurements. I'm guessing your dimensions aren't the same as the last time I saw you."
"And what makes you say that?" she replied in mock annoyance.
The brunette man chuckled, "I used to be able to look you in the eye. Now I actually have to look up at you. Come to the back with me."
A few minutes later, Palutena stood in front of a large, three-sided mirror, alongside Pit, who was armed with a tape measure.
"So, as long as we're here, who's the lucky lady? No, no, let me guess." He paused for a moment, contemplating. "Is…it…Rosalina?"
"No," she replied. Pit seemed quite surprised by the negation.
"Really? Last time we were together, you were desperate to jump her bones."
Palutena blushed furiously. "I was also a horny college graduate the last time we were together."
"Alright then. Is it, Peach?"
"Peach may be the straightest woman I've ever met."
"Zelda?"
"Also very much straight. I'll make this easy for you. You don't know her." Pit interpreted this response as a cue to shut up, and went back to taking measurements. "Remember Marth talking about his sister?"
"Very vaguely."
"Well, it's her."
"Oh, okay then. So, what's she like?"
"She's a year or two younger than me. Very sweet, but a hopeless introvert."
"Easy on the eyes?"
She nodded. "Fairly."
A devilish smirk found its way onto Pit's face. "As easy as Rosalina?"
"Oh, God no!" Though, to be fair to Lucina, Rosalina was quite hard to compare to. Perfect hourglass figure, long smooth legs, voluptuous DD-
"Woah! Watch your hands down there!"
"Sorry, sorry!" Pit resumed his work, a little more carefully this time. "So, back to this girl…"
"Lucina."
"Ah, yes, I remember now. I recall Marth saying she was a bit awkward."
Palutena sighed, "Yeah. Poor girl could barely find the words to ask me."
Pit paused his work for a moment. "Can I ask you something personal?"
"Considering where you hand just was? Sure."
"Lucina's shy. She's a little socially awkward and, just from what you've said, a little plain looking." He stood up and looked her in the eye. "Why the sudden interest in her?"
A sidelong glance. A sigh. Those things in tandem usually meant something heavy. "Because she pulled my heartstrings. She's going to this Christmas party tonight, and she was going to go with Marth, but got hurt this morning and can't go anywhere. She was desperate for someone to go with." She looked back into her reflection. "And of all the people she could have gone to, she asked me. Me. You should have seen the poor girl, stuttering and squirming on her feet. It was a wonder she could even say it. I couldn't just say no to her after all that." She paused. After a moment, Pit stared at the same spot on her reflection: her eyes. "Besides, I promised myself a fresh start yesterday."
"After last year?" he asked hesitantly, causing her to wince.
"Yeah. I promised myself no more tears." She turned around to look at her friend. "I'm ready to move on."
Pit smiled, then let out a chuckle as he brought his finger up to her nose.
"Proud of you," he sang. He returned to his notebook and looked over the measurements. "I think I have something in your size. Well, several somethings actually. Follow me."
The two made their way to the back room, where Pit gestured for her to stop and wait for him. "I'll be but a moment."
"Let's see…no, no, no, oh, God no. Too long, too short, too poofy, not poofy enough…" The list of 'too this' went on for minutes on end, until-
"Finally!" An excited Pit came back around the corner. "I've found it, and it's absolutely perfect! Come and see!"
Lucina did a once-over of herself in the mirror. She had to give Peach credit, she knew her way through fashion. The dress she picked out was simple: shin-length, dark blue, and thankfully had straps. Sounds pretty standard, but her one rule when it came to dresses was that it had to have at least one strap. Peach also restyled her hair so it was straighter and less messy looking than normal. This was, after all, a fairly formal occasion.
"So, what do you think?" Peach asked hopefully.
Lucina looked back and smiled. "I like it."
"Great!" she squeaked. "I just know you two are gonna look great together!"
"Well, regardless of what she's wearing, you look great," Zelda added.
Lucina chuckled inwardly. In her professional opinion, Palutena looked good in just about everything. She could be wearing a suit of trash bags and still look damn sexy.
"Do you suppose she's ready yet?" Zelda wondered.
"I sure hope so. It's almost four." Suddenly, Lucina panicked.
"Shit! We need to get going!" Without a second thought, she stormed out of her apartment towards Palutena's. To her surprise, the door was cracked open, so she rushed in. "Hey, are you ready ye-"
It was at this time that her brain turned off.
Palutena stood in front of a tall mirror, wearing a long, crimson cocktail dress. At first, she thought the dress had no straps, but then saw two red tubes attached to her biceps. Looking over her shoulder into the mirror, she saw a golden chain around her neck holding a diamond-shaped amulet with a dark red stone in the center.
In a word, she was gorgeous.
After a minute or two, she noticed she had a visitor, and turned around to greet Lucina. She then did a double-take to make sure the creature she saw was actually Lucina. All she could say was, "Wow."
After another moment, the two walked towards each other. Both seemed equally flabbergasted by the other's appearance. Finally, Palutena spoke. "You look beautiful."
"Oh, uh, thank you. You look beautifuller. Er, no, sorry, not fuller. You're not fuller, but, uh mo-more beautiful." She groaned in frustration and smacked her palm into her forehead. "Jeez, I can't even talk to you!"
Palutena giggled. "Don't worry about it. I've dated girls far more clumsy and awkward than you." Palutena then started for the door, with Lucina close behind her.
Then Lucina stopped. "Say that again?"
Palutena turned around. "You're less awkward than some of the girls I've dated."
Girls. That was the only word Lucina really needed repeated. "Uh, we should probably get going." With that, the pair headed off for the party.
Palutena offered to drive, but Lucina insisted that she drive since she was her guest on this excursion. As they approached the building in which the party was held, Lucina looked over to Palutena.
"Can I see your necklace?"
"Sure," the greenette answered as she pulled it up and over her head. She handed it to her friend and, out of curiosity, asked, "Do you like it?"
"It's beautiful. Where'd you get it?"
"A friend of mine from college bought it when he went to Spain."
Lucina admired it for a few more moments, running her fingers along the intricate ivy-like design before handing it back.
Part of the reason for this was that she really did like the necklace, and she wanted to look at it closer. Another reason was that the chain was so low it almost hung the amulet right between her cleavage. She would have felt like quite a pervert if she had to look there for such an innocent purpose.
Now that she had that out of her system, the two proceeded into the party.
Palutena hadn't been expecting a crazy celebration, but it was still much tamer than she expected. Quiet Christmas music was playing in the background, and most of the guests were either sitting down at one of the many tables or leaning against a wall or the buffet table. Nearly everybody was chatting in some capacity, but all the conversations were quiet. Some almost seemed to be whispering to each other.
"Come on, I'll introduce you to my boss."
Palutena was directed to a man by the buffet table, about Lucina's height, but he looked to be twice her age. He wore a very nice looking black suit and a black fedora with small grey lines running diagonally across it. But what caught Palutena's attention was his outlandish tie. It depicted Santa by a campfire while his eight reindeer wading through a nearby river with nets and fishing rods.
'Oh good, he's one of those kinds of people.'
"Mr. Warfstache!" Lucina called out. The man turned around and smiled upon seeing the blue-haired girl.
"It's about time you showed up!" he chuckled heartily, grabbing her hand and shaking it vigorously. "How the hell have you been?"
"I'm doing pretty well. This is my friend Palutena."
"Pleasure to meet you, ma'am," he said, extending his hand which Palutena happily accepted.
'Damn, that guy's got some grip!'
"Wait," Mr. Warfstache paused, "what happened to your brother? I thought he was coming with you."
"Well, he hurt himself earlier this morning and wasn't able to go anywhere." Warfstache winced upon hearing the story.
"Ooh, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope he's okay."
"He seemed fine last time I saw him."
"How is he?"
"My favorite color is banana."
"Trust me, this is an improvement. You should hear what he said an hour ago."
Lucina laughed as she added, "Just a little bit loopy."
"Well, that's to be expected from a head injury. In any case, I hope you two enjoy yourselves tonight." He took a sip from his champagne glass and said, "Excuse me for a moment," and walked further down to another table.
"Charming man," Palutena commented. "Maybe he can get some more lively music to play here, because I'm ready to fall asleep with this."
It was as if the DJ heard her, because shortly after she said that, the current track ended and transitioned into something that was quite lively and very much danceable.
"Do you recognize this?" Palutena asked her excitedly. "It's that song from Nutcracker with the Russian dancers!" Then, throwing all her inhibitions to the wind, she ran onto the dance floor and lost herself dancing.
Her strange antics very soon caught the attention of just about everyone else in the room, and soon a large circle of spectators had gathered to watch her dance.
"Wow, who's that?" Lucina heard a co-worker ask.
She was soon drowning in similarly phrased questions, until the song reached its finale. As it came to the ending phrase, Palutena stood perfectly straight before bending her knees and dropping down ridiculously low and kicking, doing her best imitation of the famous Russian dance from the ballet.
When the song was over, she struck a triumphant pose and was greeted by a roaring wave of applause and cheers from the many bystanders. She took a moment to bow before taking her place once again at Lucina's side.
Lucina, meanwhile, was dumbfounded, standing next to her with jaw agape. "Where did you learn to do that?"
"I've been dancing since I was a little girl. I danced in The Nutcracker my last year of high school."
All Lucina could say was, "Wow."
"Could you excuse me for a moment?" she panted. "I could use a drink right about now."
"Oh, don't worry about it. I'll get it."
On her way to the buffet table, Mr. Warfstache caught her attention. "Did you have any idea she could do that?"
She shook her head. "None whatsoever." Warfstache whistled in amazement.
"If I were you, I'd hang onto her. She looks like a keeper."
Suddenly, Lucina wanted a glass of champagne herself. She grabbed two glasses and tried to turn back to her date before her boss stopped her. "Lucy?"
"…Yeah?"
He got closer to her and whispered, "How long have I known you now?"
"S-Seven years."
"And how long have I known you?" Lucina stopped, trying to figure out what he meant until it hit her like a truck.
"Five."
"And am I right that you wouldn't have brought her here if you didn't really like her?" He paused, waiting for an answer. When none came verbally, he continued, "This girl's beautiful, talented, and you trust her a great deal. If it were me, I'd try to do something to not make this just another fun, friendly outing." With that, he walked off slowly, leaving Lucina to contemplate what he meant.
When she realized that, she started thinking about how to go about doing that.
The night was winding to a close, and what a night it had been thus far. The pair spent the night dancing, singing along with their favorite Christmas songs, and regaling each other with stories from their youths.
Palutena, in addition to dancing, played the trombone in high school, and Lucina once wanted to be an American history major in college. They had spent the last forty-five minutes talking about a trip that both of their school choirs had made to perform in New York.
Both of them had loosened up considerably, partly because they were actually having fun, but also because the champagne was starting to run its course on their systems, particularly on Lucina's. Luckily, neither of them were drunk enough to do anything stupid.
"You guys seriously stuck a bar of soap to the ceiling of your room?" Lucina asked, a slight slur to her voice.
"Yeah, we did that any time we went on a trip together."
"And you never got in trouble?"
"Nope," she answered proudly, puffing out her chest. The bluenette chuckled dumbly and leaned on her hand for support.
"Man, I'm getting tired."
"You wanna go home soon?"
"No way! I'm having way too much fun to leave now!" She tried to get up from her chair, but landed flat on her face. Palutena gasped, but stopped worrying when she got back up and started laughing again. Soon, Palutena wasn't able to hold back any longer and joined her.
They only stopped laughing when they noticed the lights dimming and a slow dance song started playing.
Lucina bolted back to reality, remembering the last thing Mr. Warfstache told her that evening.
'Do something to make this not just another friendly outing.'
Her heart had repositioned itself in her mouth, beating furiously and ringing in her head. It was now or never.
"Hey, Pali."
"Hmm?"
"Would you…uh…l-like to d-dance?"
Palutena was a bit taken aback by the question, but she figured that, considering what she'd done that night, a slow dance didn't sound all that crazy.
"Sure."
The two finally got up and found a spot out on the dance floor. A slow, mellow version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas was playing.
Hands shaking, Lucina tried to put her arms around Palutena's neck, but found it to be quite a stretch to make.
"Here," the greenette said, repositioning the other girl's hands so they lay on her waist. Lucina's brain just about exploded right then and there. Palutena wrapped her arms around Lucina's neck, cutting off most of her peripheral vision.
For a few glorious moments, everything else disappeared. The rest of the room went black, and all the other patrons in the ballroom vanished. All that mattered to them was holding the gaze of the other as they rocked gently back and forth.
Then their serenity was broken.
"Lucina?"
She shook her head as she was rudely brought back to reality.
"When we were in the apartment earlier, that last thing I said. What was so important about it?"
Lucina panicked, not really remembering the answer anymore. "What do you mean?"
"When I said I'd dated more awkward girls than you. Why did that matter to you so much?" She struggled for an answer before Palutena interrupted her. "Your face after I said that the first time told me you heard something important. What was it?"
Then Lucina remembered. Like an ugly, embarrassing memory from elementary school, it came crashing back to her. "I-It was the p-part about d-dating…g-girls."
"Does that bother you?"
"Nonononono, not at all!"
"Then what is it?" It may have just been the alcohol playing tricks on her mind, but it seemed to her that Palutena was looking less and less for a verbal answer.
"Lucina?"
"Yes?"
"Do you…"
"Yes?"
Finally, she gave in. As the last line of the song began, Lucina lifted her right hand, cupped Palutena's cheek with it, and brought her head down for a slow, passionate kiss.
Once again, the world disappeared. Only this time, it was total disappearance. The closing notes of the song turned to white noise. The waning aroma of food, which once was overpowering this close to the buffet table, dissipated. Lucina occupied her other hand with running through Palutena's long and luxurious emerald hair, while Palutena pulled her partner as close to her as was physically possible.
It was Palutena who finally had to break the kiss for air, causing Lucina to groan quietly in agitation. Their gazes met, and they quickly came to the same conclusion.
"We need to go."
They both felt good enough to drive, but Palutena insisted they not take the risk and get a hotel room for the night. Lucina could hardly keep her hands off Palutena on the way to the third floor. When they finally reached their room, they both snapped. They closed and bolted the door as quickly as humanly possible, and Lucina pinned Palutena to the wall. After a long, drawn-out kiss, Lucina work her way down her date's neck to her exposed collarbone, which had been her favorite part of Palutena's dress for the duration of the night.
In a sudden show of boldness, Lucina nipped lightly at the base of her neck.
Palutena couldn't contain her vocalizations any longer.
"Oh, Robin…"
Lucina suddenly stopped. "Who's Robin?"
The stream of euphoria abruptly stopped. The real world came crashing down through the roof of alcohol that she had formed all night.
Robin was back in her brain.
She suddenly pushed Lucina off her, sitting on the foot of the bed. Her pact forgotten, she allowed the tears to flow once again, remembering again what tonight was.
"What's wrong?" Lucina asked, confusion and fear mixing in her voice and creating panic.
As she approached the bed, Palutena didn't say a word. She only grabbed Lucina, pulled her in, and cried loudly into her shoulder. Lucina rubbed her back, trying to do whatever she could to stop the violent sobs from wracking the poor woman's body.
Several minutes later, Palutena finally calmed down enough to relinquish her death grip on Lucina's body. She sniffled before she met the other woman's gaze again, tears staining her cheeks and her eyes puffy and red.
"Now will you tell me what's wrong?"
She gave in. She had already broken her promise tonight. She knew she wasn't going to do herself any good by ignoring it.
So she told Lucina everything. About when she first met Robin in a coffeehouse. About their first date, when they briefly lived together, and all the wonderful qualities that Robin possessed.
Then came the ugly part. The part where, on Christmas Eve, of all nights, she snapped at her girlfriend. How she said things she should never have said to anyone. How she kicked Robin out into the cold and made her drive herself back home.
How she got the call from Zelda the next day.
By the end of it all, she had broken into tears again. But she didn't care. She stopped caring after her first breakdown tonight.
Then she told her the worst part of all.
"I can't take back anything I said. I was never able to tell her that I didn't mean any of that, that I loved her with all my heart," she sobbed slowly. And all the while, Lucina stayed by her side, listening silently and rubbing her back to soothe her. When Palutena was done, she wiped away the last of her tears with her thumb and brought her face up so she could look her in the eye.
"I'm sorry," she said, starting to tear up herself. "I had no idea. If I'd known, I would never have asked you to come tonight."
That apology finally broke her grim façade.
"Don't be."
Lucina looked back at her in confusion.
"I had more fun tonight than I've had since Robin died. You helped get me out of my shell. If not for you, I might still be in my room with a tub of mint ice cream, crying like a baby."
A small smile worked its way onto her features. "And…I'm glad we're here right now. I finally had the courage to talk to someone about it. I feel liberated, almost. I'm glad that it got to be you."
The two embraced each other, the streams of tears continuing for a period of time neither of them cared to keep track of. All they cared about was that they had each other here and now.
Finally, they let go and looked lovingly into each other's eyes, until Palutena finally broke the calm and quiet.
"Thank you." Slowly but surely, she pulled Lucina in for another kiss, this time much slower, but no less passionate than the first one.
Palutena's hands started working on their own, reaching up and lowering Lucina's dress straps down her arms. Feeling the strips of cloth slide down from her shoulders, she suddenly broke away from the other woman's lips and planted her arms across her chest, trying to hold up her dress.
Her friend smirked. "Ever done this before?" She shook her head quickly. "Let me show you." She rubbed the back of her hand on Lucina's cheek. "Trust me."
The two went into another powerful kiss and fell sideways onto the bed.
"Hmmmmmm…"
Palutena let out a contented sigh, not being able to remember the last time she had slept that well or been that warm in a bed.
It took a moment for the unfamiliar smell of the room to remind her where she was and why she was there. Then she recognized the source of warmth.
Lucina.
The two had their arms wrapped gently around each other's bare waists, their naked bodies transferring heat back and forth between them.
The green-haired woman blushed, remembering all the things that were said and done the night before. Her perverted train of thought was broken by the waking hum of her new lover. Her blue eyes slowly opened, then a smile crept onto her face.
"Morning."
"Good morning," Palutena hummed back. She pulled the younger woman closer, pressing their foreheads together and giving her a chaste kiss on the lips. "Sleep well?"
"Mhmm, better than ever."
For a long time, the two simply held onto each other, enjoying the quiet moment together.
"Pali?"
"Mmm?"
"What…what does this mean? I mean for us." Palutena opened her eyes once again. "Are we…" the young woman trailed off.
"Girlfriends? Friends with benefits? Just straight-up fucking?" The last item made Lucina blush madly, earning an amused chortle from her bedmate.
"What do you want us to be?" Palutena finished.
"Uh, well," the girl stuttered nervously, " I-I kinda like the idea of us…dating."
Her lover smiled in response. "I don't know if I'm ready to say that I love you yet, but if you want a relationship, I'm glad to try and make it work."
Lucina smiled wider than she'd ever smiled before and brought Palutena in for a bone-crushing hug and an excited kiss.
When she broke away, her new girlfriend said, "By the way, merry Christmas."
"It's Christmas?!" she cried out as her head shot off the pillow. "Shit! We have to get back now!" She bolted out from the covers and scrambled to get her clothes on. "It's already getting late in the morning. What if they start worrying? What if they think we were kidnapped? What if they call the police to report us missing and they spend thousands of taxpayer dollars searching for us when all this time we were-" The still bare greenette stopped her by placing her finger on her lips.
"Relax. We'll be fine." Once her lover had regained her breath, she lifted her back onto her feet. "Now, first we're gonna wash up, we'll get our clothes back on, check out, drive home, and when they ask, we'll say we got drunk and had to get a hotel room for the night. They'll accept that, we'll exchange gifts, and live will continue. Sound good?"
The bluenette nodded, and Palutena bent down and handed her her clothes. "Now you go shower." With that, Lucina scurried off to the bathroom, not even bothering to close the door.
Palutena sighed, turning around towards the room's window. She pulled the curtains back just enough to offer her a peek of the city. A fresh layer of snow had made its way to the ground, promising a bright future ahead.
At least, that's how she chose to interpret it.
Because at long last, she had moved on.
Thus concludes my latest Christmas special! If you haven't read my last one, C'est Noel and you're curious, go check it out. It's not quite as innuendo-laden as this one, so if you're looking for a tamer story, that may be the way to go.
Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed this little dose of yuletide yuri!
Vivat nox.
-ClarinetOverlord