AD 2011.01.07 11:37:58:26

Divergence 1.048596%, Steins Gate Worldline

"Luka and I are dating!"

There was a lingering silence following the vibrant and sudden announcement made by Mayuri that reverberated throughout the Future Gadget Lab. Kurisu was on the couch while Okabe stood, and Daru had paused typing along his keyboard. None of the lab members seemed to comprehend what was just said. I could feel my face becoming flush and inch myself behind her. I knew it was important to have our friends and colleagues aware of our relationship, but it didn't make this feeling of time stopping much more bearable.

Then, all at once, the three let out a shout of shock in unison.

"Ehhhh!?"

Daru spoke up first, "I should have known this! Yuri for the win!"

"Wh-What is the meaning of this, Lukako!?" Okabe questioned me, forcing me into a moment of nervousness.

"W-Well…" I let out.

"Okay, okay, let's back up for a minute," Kurisu interjected, "You've both come this far, so do you both mind telling us exactly how this relationship developed?"

Feeling myself a bit calmer, I responded with a bit more ease, "S-Sure…"

I locked up for a few seconds, but a glance at Mayuri's smile gave me the bravery to speak up.

"...So… it all started with our visit to Comima, back when Mayuri came up with the idea of trying to cheer me up by showing how much people would appreciate my cuteness and… femininity."

Okabe put his hand to his chin, "Ah, so Mayuri told you about the origins of Operation: Baldr."

Mayuri gave a nod in response, "That's right! Luka thought you were the one behind everything and that I was just helping. Mayushii felt a little guilty about that, so I told him the truth."

I continued once she stopped, "When she told me that she did it all because she wanted me to feel comfortable being me… I… I don't really know how to describe it exactly. I-It was like the realization came to me how much she cared, and… I felt my heart flutter at that moment."

Daru followed up, "So after that, you confessed your love for her and craving to smoo-"

"Enough with your jokes," Kurisu interjected without a beat skipped.

His joking aside, the question was still a valid one - well, at least the first part.

"Well… no, not really - a-at least for the first part. I-I don't really…" I felt myself getting flush in the face. I didn't really give any thought to more affectionate expressions of my love for her. An image of myself leaning into Mayuri's face planted itself in my mind, blooming into a phantom feeling of a kiss on her lips that made my eyes widened.

Okabe went to save the momentum of the conversation.

"Keep with your report, Lukako. What happened following that?" he inquired.

"R-Right…" I resumed, shaking off the invasive romantic thought, "Well, I let things pass by, since I didn't think that Mayuri was interested in me in the… romantic sense. But then things changed when Faris asked me to work at May Queen Nyan Nyan…"

"Faris?" Daru responded curiously.

"Yeah… I didn't know it at the time, but she set it up so that I would get to spend more time with Mayuri. She… saw right through me during the Comima visit and ended up supporting and… help push along our relationship."

Daru pushed up his glasses, "So that's why you were working there. I'd been wondering about that when I saw you."

I nodded, "Yeah… she didn't tell me her intentions though until after the New Year's celebration though after everyone left. She even gave us reservations for a restaurant to go to…"

Kurisu became curious, "Did she say any reason why she got involved?"

This was not something I felt I had a right to say or talk about. The truth was that Mayuri was melancholic from feeling left behind, unintentionally spurred by Okabe's and Kurisu's relationship being perfect to a point Mayuri felt she wasn't important anymore. She told me that on a train ride back to Ikebukuro, which was when I had attempted to comfort her in return. That time was also when I had mentally admitted my love for her.

Since Faris' reasons were tied to that, along with it being inappropriate of me to talk on her behalf without her consent, I decided to push aside that question.

"I think… that's something more appropriately answered by Faris than myself…" I dodged.

"Alright," Kurisu said, accepting my answer, "In that case, when did your relationship start, and how?"

"It happened a few days ago… I got the courage to tell Mayuri how I felt, and well…" I glanced over to Mayuri on instinct, and she took it from there.

"And Mayushii accepted his feelings~" she responded.

Kurisu and Daru looked to have understood things at this point for the most part, not looking to delve any deeper on the matter, but Okabe still seemed to not understand - or rather, his face seemed to express doubt or silent confusion. And there was something almost unnerving about that that made me recoil.

Then it all clicked. One of the things that caused my internal conflict and feeling of being at odds with my body was because of the memories that came rushing to me after seeing Okabe in a suit while he and Kurisu were going on their christmas date before all this happened. They were memories of when I was a girl, but Mayuri was in mortal danger. It was Okabe who said that he needed to stop that from happening. But he could only have done so if he remembered what happened before he'd send D-mails into the past, if he knew Mayuri's death was going to occur. What if he remembered those events even now? If that's the case… was he most confused because he knew I felt love for him back then?

"There's still one thing that I'm curious about, Mayuri," Okabe said as he turned his head to face her, "Lukako gave his reasons for why he felt the way he did, but what about you?"

This was something that even now I wanted to know a bit more about. She said she cared a lot about me, but I was still curious to her reasoning on what she saw in me to accept my confession and asking her out. Mayuri looked up to the ceiling, placing her finger onto her lips in thought.

"Hmm… well, I think it's because he's very cute and adorable, and also really caring and sweet. Luka's been a great friend to me, but when he told me how he felt, there was… this feeling in me that made me feel that he meant more than just a close friend to me. And, well, I care about Luka being happy too. So I said I would have loved to go out with him!"

By the time she was finished with her explanation, I was already blushing ear to ear and averting my eyes. She's so sweet, I thought to myself, feeling myself slipping into thoughts of how wonderful a person she was. And I was glad for that. It was through these feelings that I finally moved on from my past feelings for Okabe and could live in the present, right by Mayuri's side.

Okabe thought for a second before speaking again, grandeur once again rising as "Hououin Kyouma" burst out in full force, "In that case! This relationship and bond between lab mems will be marked within the depths of the lab's history! May your union prove to shake the foundation of the world itself! Fuahahaha!"

"You make it sound like they are already married, Okabe," Kurisu commented, unintentionally causing myself to blush once more.

"Marrying Luka…" Mayuri began to speak, "Mayushii wonders if you'd be wearing a dress or a suit. Ehehe~."

"M-Mayuri…" I peeped, "Don't say things like that so soon…"

The thought of me wearing a wedding dress along with Mayuri left me with a clearly painted picture. On the other hand, while the idea of wearing a suit was… something on its own, it evoked a similar feeling in me. Altogether, it reminded me of the realization I made just after asking her out that the status quo would be forever changed from now on. But I wasn't regretting that change right now. Embarrassed as I was, I felt content and joyful. I was mentally prepared to handle what might come with our relationship, but what I wouldn't be prepared for was any adversity to it.

It has been a long time since I have posted fanfiction on this site, but this is an idea that has been sitting for just as long. For those who have not read it previously, while this is meant to refresh people's memory and serve as a jumping off point, I highly recommend reading "Integral Androgynous", as it is the direct sequel to this. I'd also recommend looking into "My Beloved Child" for reasons that will become critical later on, though this is not necessarily a necessity. I hope you all enjoy this story, and I will attempt to make regular postings of this each week at the least. I'm going to be using "Luka" as well, as it has become the official namesake for Ruka Urushibara as of Steins;Gate's official localization. For now, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and look forward to the following chapters!

~ Digital Native, 2020