And Straight On 'til Morning
By SMYGO4EVA

"D-Do you think this is our destiny, Dorothea?" Monica asked quietly. They were sitting together on the cold stone floor, Dorothea's arm around Monica's chest, their fingers entwined.

The Knight of Four wanted to say no. She wants to say that this couldn't be it, the group of them bound to the Empire, doomed to die over and over while she and the other Knights of the Round jump to the next course of action before it happened all over again.

Surviving, yes, but it wasn't living, and she held out hope that victory would be theirs, but now it seemed like a far-off, distant dream.

"Yes," she replied instead.

Monica's head was leaning back against her shoulder, and Dorothea pressed her face to honey-blonde hair, eyes closed. "We're going to save the empire, save everyone. That's our destiny."

The Knight of Twelve nodded, like she approved of the answer. "What do you miss the most?" she asked, thumb stroking over Dorothea's knuckles.

"Hot showers more than once a week," The dark-skinned woman replied without hesitation, and the buzz of Monica's giggling against her skin made Dorothea smile. "You?"

"My own bed," Monica admitted, tilting her head back so she would look at Dorothea's face. There was a teasing curve to her lips. "I would have enjoyed having you in my home, on my bed."

Despite the chill of the floor, a twist of heat coiled through Dorothea's form. "Something to look forward to after the mission is done," she suggested with a grin, and Monica raised their joined hands, kissed the heel of the Knight of Four's palm.

Dorothea didn't have much, but they still had each other. Whatever their destiny, they were sure to face it together, and keep going, from there on out, and straight on until morning.