Oh look, another rarepair that I like. Yes, just to make this clear, neither Shantae/Rottytops or Sky/Bolo is the focal pairing here, but Plink and Vera don't have character tags yet (hint hint). I've been pushing the Plink/Vera (Plinera?) agenda ever since I finished Seven Sirens for the first time, mostly on incorrect quotes blogs. Figured I'd do so in fanfic form, too, since no one else will.
As usual, Tree Town was bathed in torchlight tonight. Unlike usual, there was much celebration going on. The siren empress had been defeated for good, and the five half-genies had agreed to continue the festival that had been interrupted when the sirens had first attacked.
Plink sat at a juice bar that had been set up a short distance away from the town's bathhouse, gazing around at the crowds and seeing what her friends were up to.
Shantae and Rottytops had just exited the dance hall hand-in-hand. The latter's free hand was carrying a prize the former had won for her. Rotty leaned over and pecked Shantae on the cheek, causing the half-genie's face to flush as red as her outfit.
Plink smiled at the display. She was happy things had worked out for those two. She could only hope to have the same success with-
"Plink, there you are! I've been looking all over for you." someone called out.
Vera. Plink's smile widened at the sight of the dark-skinned healer. Truth be told, she'd always thought Vera was incredibly beautiful. She'd fallen for her almost immediately, although the emotions had been so intense that she hadn't been able to properly process them until after she'd been rescued by Shantae.
Plink stood up from her seat to meet Vera in a hug, relishing the small moment of closeness.
"Needed a moment to catch your breath?" Vera asked. releasing the embrace.
"Yeah. Maybe you noticed, but I'm not exactly a social butterfly." Plink responded.
Vera smiled sympathetically at the seer, making Plink's heart flutter.
"Did you see Shantae and Rottytops?" asked Vera.
"Yes. Shantae said she had her eye on someone, but I never would've guessed she was talking about Rottytops. I'm happy for them, though. Shantae is a good person. She deserves to be with someone she loves." Plink replied.
"I couldn't agree more." said Vera.
Said half-genie and zombie couple had just sat down near the dance floor. Next to them was Bolo, staring at Sky. The beautiful blond was alone on the dance floor, despite her best attempts to attract someone with a stunning new dress that even Shantae didn't know she had and some dance moves she'd clearly been practicing. Shantae saw an opportunity and wasn't about to pass it up.
"Come on, Bolo. Go ask Sky for a dance!" she suggested.
Bolo's eyes went wide, his cheeks reddening.
"I think I'll have another drink." he muttered, preparing to run off to the juice bar.
"Oh no you don't." said Shantae.
She grabbed Bolo and turned him around, flinging him onto the dance floor and straight into Sky's arms. Both warrior-in-training and bird handler were briefly stunned, but did their best to keep up the dance together. Rottytops nearly fell over in laughter as she watched.
"If they don't get the hint now, they never will." said the zombie.
Vera and Plink had seen the antics as well and both couldn't help but fall into a brief fit of giggles themselves.
There was a comfortable silence between them after that. Both were remembering conversations they'd had with Shantae after Vera had been rescued, each having confided her feelings for the other in the half-genie hero.
'Maybe once this is all over, the two of you can explore that together.'
'Once this whole ordeal is over, you'll have your chance to get closer to Vera.'
"Hey, you wanna see the town's secret spot?" Vera asked, breaking the silence.
Plink raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"There's a secret spot? And you're just gonna show me?" she asked.
"Sure, do you trust me?" asked Vera.
"What?" asked Plink.
"Do you trust me?" Vera repeated, holding out her hand.
Plink took only a moment to think. Her smile returned to her face.
"Yes." she answered, taking Vera's hand.
Hand-in-hand, Vera guided Plink to the west outskirts of Tree Town, out behind the former's hut. Shantae noticed the duo leaving the party and smiled.
"Looks like Vera's gonna shoot her shot." she said.
"Hope it goes well." said Rottytops, still watching Bolo and Sky try to dance.
"Oh, it will. Plink's head over heels for her." said Shantae.
"And you know that how?" asked Rottytops.
Shantae grinned mischievously.
"I may have had a hand in nudging them in the right direction." she answered.
"Should've figured." said Rottytops.
Vera lead Plink along a path through the trees, vision lowering gradually as the two of them moved further and further from the torchlight. Just as quickly as the darkness of night had come upon them, however, it was gone again when the trees gave way to reveal a cliffside bathed in moonlight. Plink was dazzled by the sight, gasping in awe.
"Wow! Vera, this is beautiful!" she exclaimed, walking forwards out towards the edge.
"This cliff is a special place for me. It's so peaceful and serene. But recently, I've been feeling like I wanted to share it with someone." said Vera.
"And you picked me? Why?" asked Plink.
"Because…you're special to me, Plink." Vera answered.
Plink was caught off-guard by that statement, taking a few seconds to find her voice.
"I am?" she squeaked.
Vera crossed the distance between herself and the seer, taking Plink's hands in her own and gazing into her eyes.
"You are. Ever since we met, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. I worried about you the whole time we were imprisoned in the labyrinths. I was beyond relieved when Shantae told me you were safe. And I've been spending so much of my time during the festival to figure out the perfect way to say that…I love you, Plink." Vera confessed.
Plink was overwhelmed by a mixture of surprise and joy. Unlike the last time her emotions overwhelmed her, she knew what to do. She responded by letting go of Vera's hands, placing her own hands on either side of the healer's face, and leaning in to connect two pairs of lips. Vera eagerly returned the embrace, throwing her arms over Plink's shoulders.
Neither of the two women wanted their first kiss to end, but neither of them were aware of any magic that allowed one to not require breathing, and thus they eventually reluctantly parted.
Both Plink and Vera were silent, no words being necessary to communicate the sheer happiness the two half-genies were feeling. Arms still wrapped around one another, the new couple sat down at the edge of the cliff, legs dangling off the side. Plink leaned her head onto Vera's shoulder, the dark-skinned woman placing a kiss on the top of her blond beloved's head as they gazed at the moon shining up above.
So engrossed were they in their own little world that they didn't notice another pair of women watching them. Shantae and Rottytops slunk away from their hiding place behind some trees, sharing a high-five once they were out of earshot.
"So, was that worth finally turning your attention away from Bolo and Sky?" asked Shantae.
Rottytops brought a hand to her chin in thought.
"Perhaps. Unless it turns out that bird brain finally took a chance on captain ineptitude and kissed him while we were away." she replied.
"That's why I asked Harmony to keep an eye on them. We'll see what she says when we get back. Let's go!" Shantae exclaimed.
In her excitement, she scooped Rottytops into her arms and took off back towards the rest of town. Rottytops let out a small chuckle, nuzzling up to Shantae as the half-genie rushed down the path. Once the warmth of the torches was again felt in full on their skin, Shantae set her girlfriend down and the two made their way back towards the dance floor. Harmony waved the duo over to where she as sitting.
"How'd it go?" asked the redhead.
"Perfect. Plink and Vera are together." Shantae reported.
"How about back here? We miss anything good?" asked Rottytops.
Harmony shook her head.
"Nope. Though they do seem to have finally gotten the hang of dancing together." she replied.
Sure enough, when Shantae and Rotty looked back towards their friends, the pair's movements were much more fluid and graceful, and their awkward smiles were now genuine.
"I'm hoping that this is the launching point those two needed." said Shantae.
"You and me both. Maybe Sky will finally chill out if she and Bolo hook up." said Rottytops.
Shantae didn't respond. She highly doubted that it would be that easy for Sky and Rotty to start getting along, but she didn't want to dampen Rotty's optimism.
"Well, I'm getting bored. What do you say we show everyone how it's done, Snack Cakes?" asked Rottytops.
"Sounds good to me. I'm always ret-2-go for dancing!" Shantae answered.
She allowed Rottytops to pull her onto the dance floor, the two of them moving perfectly in sync as the glided across the sand. Harmony could tell they were trying not to show off too much, however, keeping things somewhat basic.
Back at the cliffside, Vera and Plink had started dancing on their own. It was a slow and simple dance, swaying back-and-forth with an occasional spin. The sight of their silhouettes against the full moon would bring awe upon anyone who saw it, but no one did.
For tonight, it was only the two of them, and that's all they needed.
I'll be honest, I didn't intend for this to balloon into a full-on oneshot fanfic. It started out as therapeutic self-indulgent writing, but I ended up going further than expected and decided I'd post it.
