Replaying Path of Radiance and I got to a certain support conversation, which made me feel like writing this.
"Yes... That makes me happy. You make me delicious meals... You're so beautiful and strong... I want to be with you, Lucia..."
Lucia's heart fluttered. They had only been traveling together for a matter of months at this point, but she couldn't deny that she had developed a certain feeling for the frail girl before her. It was, of course, not something she would ever dare to voice out loud – and sometimes, she wouldn't allow the thought to persist in her own mind as well. Yet here she was, voicing the very words she had been terrified of for so many weeks.
Without another moment of hesitation, Lucia wrapped her arms around the mage and brought their lips crashing together.
"What!" Ilyana shouted, the momentary shocking wearing off after a few seconds as she took a step back.
"I want to be with you too, Ilyana," Lucia professed.
"WHAT?" she said again. "I meant… I meant with you as traveling partners. In the army."
"Oh…" Lucia said, deflated. Goddess take her, if she could disappear right now, she would. No, no, that wasn't right at all. She couldn't have been imagining all these things. "I… I thought you meant. You keep saying these things, how else am I supposed to take them?"
"But how, we're both women?" Ilyana asked.
"My heart doesn't care about that, it just cares about… you."
"But why? I'm such a burden on you. On all of you. I'm always eating enough for ten people, and falling down and making trouble, and you're so beautiful and skilled you could have anyone you want."
"I know who I want," Lucia stood up straighter at this. "I want you in my life, Ilyana. To know each day that you are with me, to give you my whole heart and me yours, that is all I would need in this life of mine."
"But… but why would…."
"Because!" Lucia added. "Because of the way your eyes gaze into my soul whenever I see you. Because of how brave you are in the heat of battle – and how my heart stops when you are struck by an enemy. Because of the sound of your voice when you say my name. Because of the smile that lights up your face when you eat the food I've brought you – a secret smile that I know no other soldier in this army has ever had the pleasure of seeing. Because of how my breath stops when I see you caught in the light of dawn and dusk. Because…. Because I have fallen in love with you and wish to be more than just comrades."
"That's…." Ilyana said with tears in her eyes. "Nobody's ever felt that way about me, and… but I've never thought about these things before. I've never had anyone I wanted to think about that way. I… I like you more than anyone else I've ever met, but I like how things are now. How do I know if I want more?"
"Ilyana." Lucia spoke softly, gently, as her hand tucked back a strand of the mage's hair. "How do I make you feel? How do you feel when I'm near?"
"Safe," Ilyana quickly responded. "Warm… happy."
"Don't other people make you feel happy?"
"Yes but they're not… um…."
"Not what?"
"Not… you."
"So? What's so special about me?" Lucia shrugged. "I'm just another girl with a sword, we have hundreds of those in this army."
"Everything!" Ilyana yelped. "You're so pretty and courageous, and confident, and even though there's thousands of people marching with us, and you're so important and have to work with the princess, you're willing to take so much time out of your day to help me and cook for me and make me feel special and…"
Lucia could only smirk.
"and... now I don't want to ever lose you. I need you. But how can we know if this is really love?"
"We can start like this," Lucia said, taking Ilyana's hand in her own and leading the girl to a nearby tree, where they sat down, hands still interlocked. "We can just see where fate leads us. As long as you're with me, I know it will be grand."