Just a Little Longer…

Miorine suppressed the urge to sigh as she stepped into the house. Almost immediately after crossing the threshold the stench of burning food graced her. The ringing of the stove and the panicked footsteps of a certain someone mingled in the air. Suletta had gotten distracted while cooking. Again.

"No, no, no, no, that doesn't-where's the fire extinguisher?!" She overheard the red-haired girl's panicked cries and massaged her head. Suletta meant well, she always did, she was just so scatterbrained.

"Suletta." That one word was enough to turn the mercurian girl around, and her eyes widen comically at Miorine. "What did you do?"

Waving her hands around, Suletta squeaked out a response, "W-well, w-when I heard you were o-on your way home I wanted to try and make something for you, b-but I got distracted, a-and now the cake's burning…" Another beep from the oven and Suletta yelped and ran towards it

Miorine tilted her head as she watched Suletta pull out a tray from a smoking oven, "Cake?" She asked.

Suletta turned to her with an excited smile and a happy glow in her eyes, "Yes! Chuchu told me that you're supposed to have a cake at a wedding," She folded her hands together, one finger absent-mindedly playing at the ring on her finger, "And since we're going to be married…I thought…"

A soft smile appeared on Miorine's lips, "I don't really like cake, but if you want one I'll make sure to order one for you. Besides, you're not supposed to bake your own,"

Suletta shook her head, "Ms. Nika said the best gifts are the ones you make yourself. So I wanted to make it myself! I thought you would have liked it," Her lips quivered a bit, "But I ruined it…"

Miorine took Suletta's hands in her own, letting her own ring-adorned hand cover Suletta's. It wasn't fair. Every little thing Suletta said and did made Miorine fall more in love with her every day.

"Suletta…" She started, a bit annoyed, because they had this conversation more than once. "I've told you before, I'm happy with you. I don't need anything else, no gifts, no cake, just you."

Suletta shuffled nervously on her feet, "Are you sure?"

An exasperated sigh came from Miorine, but a tired smile was there, "I choose you, didn't I? Come on, let's get this cleaned up."

After dumping the ruined cake and cleaning up the kitchen, the two of them found themselves seated outside in the warm sun, hands clasped together.

"Did you really mean that?" Suletta asked, teal eyes watching Miorine anxiously, "About only needing me?"

Were it anyone else, Miorine may have snapped. May have snapped about how many times she had said those exact words, how many times she had answered that question with 'yes'. She would have snapped and asked just how many times she had to say it.

But not Suletta. Never Suletta. Suletta who had stormed into Asticlassia and swept her away. The Suletta that had made her laugh for the first time in forever, the Suletta who cared about her, who listened to her. The Suletta who made her remember how it felt to love and be loved.

For Suletta she would repeat herself as much as necessary until she was satisfied. However long that took she would, she would tell Suletta that truth over and over and over again until she finally realized.

"Yes, I did." Miorine said, looking up at Suletta and placing a hand on her cheek, "I only need, no, I only want you. I could live without everything else, as long as I had you. As long as you were happy."

Suletta stared back at her and her face slowly morphed into the most loving smile Miorine had ever seen. It made her heart lurch and a warm feeling flowed into her.

"The wedding's just a formality, you know," Miorine said teasingly, holding up her hand that held the ring, "I just wanted an excuse to dance with you,"

"You don't need an excuse to dance with me!" Suletta said excitedly, suddenly jumping up. Taking Miorine's hand in her own, she half-dragged, half-guided Miorine to an empty spot in the field, "Let's dance right now,"

"Suletta!" Miorine laughed, "These aren't exactly dancing clothes!"

"So?!" Suletta asked, her smile so bright that Miorine was reminded of the stars in the sky, so beautiful and bright. "It's just us, no one's watching!"

She had a good point, and Miorine wasn't in any mood to refuse her, so they danced. Suletta wasn't a good dancer, and Miorine was out-of-practice but it was still the best dance she ever had.

In the middle of it, Suletta inched closer to her face and whispered to her like she was sharing some secret.

"You're the only one I want, too, Miorine,"

Her smile grew a fraction, "Is that so?"

Suletta nodded, "And I can prove it!"

"Oh?" Miorine said, "And how so?"

Suletta's answer was a kiss. A kiss that lasted both moments and eternity, a brief period where the rest of the world simply ceased to exist. There was only the two of them, in their small garden and bathed in sunlight. Miorine closed her eyes, letting herself drown further and further in Suletta's affection.

When she opened her eyes, she wasn't outside. She was in her room, darkened by the black of night. She looked at her hand. There was no ring on it, of course, there wasn't. One by one the events of the previous days played in her head, over and over again.

Suletta on the verge of winning, Suletta day-dreaming out loud about their wedding, the dresses they would wear, and the beautiful rings they'd both have. Her own trembling hand as she pressed the button. Suletta's heartwrenching expression as Miorine revealed her treachery, the scream of anguish as Miorine took away the Holder uniform.

She had wished for so many things in her life. She wished her mother was alive, she wished her father had been better, she wished Prospera would have let Suletta go, she wished she had met Suletta under other circumstances. At this moment, all she wished for was that she had been allowed to dream just a little longer.

She rolled over and curled up on herself and tried not to cry. She failed.