When Three wakes up the next morning, sunlight streams in through the blinds as she hears the quiet sounds of traffic and birdsong. A glance at her alarm clock reveals it's about a quarter to ten - she must've slept in, then.

There's a dull soreness to her body that she grows more aware of once she stretches, and the slight chill of the autumn air is refreshing as it hits her bare skin. Once she's finished stretching, her posture resumes its normal slouch.

Three looks down at the sheets tangled around her, and a slight rustling to the left of her makes her look over.

... Oh.

It's Eight.

Lazily, with half-lidded eyes, Eight stares at Three with a look filled with nothing but adoration. Three can't help but blush, and Eight laughs softly beneath her breath.

"Good morning, angel," Eight murmurs, her voice husky and laced with sleep. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah," she responds, shifting where she sits. From outside, she can hear dovesong. "Did you?"

"Mhm," Eight hums with a nod. She sits up a little, the sheets rustling around her. "Mh, and last night?"

"Last..." Three bites her lip as she feels her face warm. "Oh. Um. Yeah. It... Was a night."

"In a bad way?" Eight asks, cocking her head to the side. Three catches glimpses of the dark blue hickeys dotting her neck.

"No!" she says hastily, grabbing a fistful of the sheets. "Um. I mean. It. It was nice, yeah. Did... Did you like it too?"

Eight nods with a soft hum. "But everything with you was good, right?" Three nods. "It was your first, wasn't it? I wanted to, you know... Make sure it didn't suck."

"Um..." Three looks away, down at the sheets covering her legs. "You were my first with a girl, if that counts."

"Ah, but..." Eight scoots closer, resting her head on Three's shoulder. "You, um... Only like women, right?" Three nods. "Is that... Not the sort of thing you've always known?"

"... Sort of," she settles on. "It's weird, you know? It, um..." Three exhales slowly. "I've always, like, known I like women, like... Since, um... Forever, really. And, it's not like my mom was forcing me to not be gay, 'cause she wasn't. She's always been super supportive and everything, no matter the challenges that come with me being a flaming dumpster of a lesbian." Eight snorts quietly. "But, um... My dad, he-" Eight tenses next to her. "No, no, relax. He didn't... Do anything to me." A pause, and she adds, "I swear." Eight exhales out her nose sharply. "He used to, um... Before he died, he was, um... Really... Uptight, I guess? Maybe controlling would be a better word?"

Eight blinks. "Can you, um... Elaborate?"

"Yeah, he was, um... Everything always had to be a certain way, I guess? Or else he'd yell at you. Things were... Never his fault. You couldn't do anything without him getting upset. It... You were just constantly fighting him, I guess. He'd do the same thing with my mom - he'd make us both constantly feel like shit and then blame it on us even when it was his fault - and it was... It was horrible. It was hell." She takes a moment to take a deep breath and slowly breathes out. "So, I... I don't know. Up until he died - so until I was fifteen, I guess - I didn't really... It was hard to feel wanted. To feel loved, you know?" She pulls her knees up to her chest. "So... I mean, once I moved to Inkopolis and stuff - about a year ago, I guess - I, um... Just started hooking up with people. 'Cause, y'know, it's simple. It's kinda easy, the whole... Act, I guess, and you feel good, and when you're laying there afterwards with your eyes closed, you can kinda trick yourself into thinking people actually care about you. Y'know, that they want you alone." Nothing's funny, but Three laughs anyways. Nothing's funny, so Eight doesn't.

"Gods, Three," Eight says eventually. "That's... That's horrible."

"Yeah," she responds, breathing out a sigh. "It makes you feel like shit after a while, since you're just spending all your free time getting fucked. But, when you haven't for... A week, even, you just feel... Kinda worthless, 'cause you're only good for one thing and you can't even do that. It sucks."

"I'm... I'm sure it does," Eight says quietly.

"... Hey, do you... You don't think of me differently after that, do you?" she asks, rubbing her arm. Eight should, though. Eight has no reason to stick around. "It's okay if you do. I get i-"

"No." Eight cuts her off. "Of course I don't. Three, I... I love you. I love you for you, including all of your quirks and all your flaws. You're special. You're you. You're..." Her voice trails off as she thinks. "Do you... Remember? Yesterday, how I had that dream?"

"The... The marriage one?"

Three feels Eight nod against her skin. "Right. That... I still think that. I still think it'd be nice, and... Maybe this is something I'm charging into too fast. I know we haven't been together long, but-" She takes a deep breath. "I love you, Summer. Nothing's going to change that."

Three feels her mantle flare up with emotion as she looks into Eight's eyes.

"It's true, you know," Eight murmurs, her voice soft. "I love you. And... You know, if- If you don't believe me, I'll keep telling you until you do. Until my voice is hoarse, until my lips are bleeding, I'll tell you that, since... It's true. I love you. I love you, Summer, I promise."

Eight's crying now, even if she's trying to hide it, hot, glittering tears rolling down her face, and- Oh. Oh, Three is too.

"l... Love you too, Eight," she mumbles, her voice warbling, about to shatter. "I really do."

"... Say it again," Eight demands, her voice equally low, equally broken. "Please."

"I love you," Three repeats, and each time she says it, it just feels more real. "I... I fucking love you."

Eight laughs, maybe just to herself, but she wraps her arms around Three and pulls her close, her skin soft against Three's own. "I love you too, angel. Please, don't ever forget that."

"I won't," Three breathes, tears freely flowing. "God, Eight, I won't."

"I know," she whispers, voice tickling Three's ear, "I know you never would."

As they lay there, quiet in the late morning, Three hears the birdsong outside and counts each repetition of Eight's breath, feels each rise and every fall of her chest, Three feels a blooming warmth spread from her hearts, stretching to every last bit of her body, filling the gap the void left in her.

Three feels herself healing. Three feels catharsis. Three feels... Loved.

Love...

... Yeah, what a beautiful thing that is.