Takes Place After Ever After
"C'mon, Tel," Azlyn practically begs her husband, suggestively rubbing her hand against the Gummi ship's radar. "You promised we'd do it someday, I remember that pretty clearly. And what better time, right? Just you and me, along in the cockpit, barely married twenty-four hours…" She pouts, emphasizing her lips as best she can.
"Gee, Az," Telary replies, nervously gripping the armrests of his chair. "I don't know. It just seems kind of, I mean, maybe a little bit…"
"It'll be fun!" Azlyn declares, leaning forward into the wizard's personal space. "I've always wanted to do it, and I know you've thought about it before too. Please? I'll be your best friend!"
"You already are my best friend," he counters, a small grin escaping his forced stoicism. When he sees Azlyn's eyes light up, Telary realizes he's made a mistake.
"And you still won't even think about teaching me how to fly the Gummi ship!" She leans back, turning away with her arms crossed petulantly. "Some best friend, huh?" It's all fairly comical, especially the way her eyes keep quickly darting back to the pilot.
But Telary knows this really isn't a laughing matter. Even playfully, hearing his wife (which is a noun he simply adores being able to apply to the woman standing in front of him) question his devotion carries a considerable sting within. Best to simply give in, before playfulness escalates to the knight becoming seriously ticked off.
"Okay, okay!" he relents, throwing his hands up. "You win, Az."
She smiles, pushing off the console and walking towards him. He starts to rise, figuring he'll just stand to he side like when he taught Sora and Kairi. But Azlyn apparently has other plans, placing a hand on his chest and pushing the wizard back down into his chair.
"Hey, I'm not your sister," she informs him saucily. "I'm your wife, Telary. And that means I get to learn the fun way!" Smiling, she gingerly sits herself down right in his lap.
Telary doesn't protest. What sane man would? "Okay, okay. Now, first thing's first. You're going to need a firm grip on both of the steering control rods. But don't squeeze them or anything, just gentle pressure."
Azlyn nods, quite conspicuously not pointing out the possible innuendos in what Telary just said. There's hardly need to, anyway.
"Make sure to keep an eye on all the system gauges," he says, looking over her shoulder to make sure everything's running properly himself. "And don't forget the radar, that's an important one to watch too. But also don't get so caught up in the instruments that you forget to actually look where you're going. There's no need for us to run into any stray debris we don't need to."
For the next few minutes, they simply sit together in the chair, enjoying each other's presence. It feels right, somehow, just the two of them flying adrift through the vast sea between worlds.
"Is this really all there is to it?" Azlyn declares after a while, frowning at the vast and still empty space outside the cockpit. "Just flying in a straight line? Autopilot could do this!"
Telary shrugs. "Y'know, it's really not as glamorous as I might have made it seem. Not that I'm complaining, of course."
"Yeah, well I am." She drops the control rods, leaning back into her husband a little more. Then suddenly, an idea strikes. "Hey Tel, does this seat go back?"
"Uh, yeah," the wizard replies, reaching for a lever beside the chair. He gives it a firm tug, simultaneously leaning his weight back. In a few moments, the chair lies completely perpendicular to the floor. The couple just rest upon it, looking up at the swirling patterns of Gummi space through the cockpit's dome.
"There sure is a lot of universe out there," Azlyn remarks, resting her hand on Telary's collarbone. "And we've seen more of it than most. Do you ever think about just how small we are, in comparison?"
"Uh," Telary replies, lifting his head to look down at the knight. "Yeah, sometimes. I try not to though. Freaks me out, honestly."
"Me too," his wife agrees, shivering just a bit at the thought. "But then I just remember that, tiny pieces are not, it's partly because of us that there's still a universe to be small in."
Telary murmurs a quiet agreement.
"And then I think about just how much that changed our lives," Azlyn continues, holding on to her oddly philosophical/melancholy mood. "Would we have realized what we mean to each other, if we'd stayed at the castle? If we'd been content to just live the lives that were planned for us?"
Telary shifts, wrapping his arms around the woman atop him. "I like to think we would. I like to think that, in any universe, there's you and there's me, and we're meant to fit perfectly together forever. I can't imagine a world where I don't love you, and you don't love me. Wouldn't want to."
To his surprise, Azlyn just starts laughing. He raises his head once again, frowning at his wife who only starts giggles harder upon seeing the expression.
"S-sorry, Tel," she apologizes after a minute on uncontrolled mirth. "You just, that just got so… So cheesy that I… I mean, I enjoy you saying that and feel the same way, but oh man, to hear you say it out loud!"
By now, Telary has joined his wife in laughing. "Oh wow, you're right. I didn't think about it when I was saying it, but now that I… Oh man, it was like an overdone greeting card!"
For a long time, the pair just laugh and enjoy each other's presence. Several minutes later, the mirth finally dies down.
"Well, that was fun," Azlyn remarks, resting once again against her husband's body. She begins lightly petting his chest, turning her head up to put his neck in range of her lips. "And now that I've got my first Gummi ship piloting lesson under my belt… Whaddya say we do that other thing I've always wanted to do in the cockpit?"
Normally, Telary knows it would be his duty to act scandalized. But hey, he only gets one honeymoon doesn't he?
"I'm game."
And that's it for Dearly Beloved. I always enjoy getting to focus on character moments and dynamics, so this story was a real treat for me.