"What's wrong?" Dan Heng asked.

"Did you find any leads on the Stellaron?" March asked.

Stelle shook her head. "No I… got a date."

There was silence from her two trailblazing companions.

"We literally split up five minutes ago." Dan Heng pointed out.

"Yeah." Stelle nodded.

Dan Heng stared at her for a moment. "That's honestly a little impressive." He admitted.

March for some reason seemed to be in complete shock. It was a little strange seeing the girl who normally always had something to say be silent.

"Um… March?"

The name of the archer seemed to shock the iridescent girl back into reality. "Is this my fault?" She muttered quietly.

Dan Heng frowned. "What did you do?" He asked Stelle.

"I… don't know?" She answered truthfully.

March continued to mutter to herself a bit, uncharacteristically biting on a nail before she clapped once loudly and seemed to perk back up. "Okay!" The girl said loudly.

"Okay?"

The archer pointed at Stelle. "You are coming with me. I already know a place we can stay for the night and we're going to get you prepared there. Dan Heng, you are going to check out the-" March stopped and blinked. "Where is the date located?"

"The… Golden Theater is the name? For the dinner matinee."

"Right. You're going to check out the theater and tell us what you find out!"

Dan Heng shifted a bit. "I fail to see how or why I should get involved in this in any way."

March glanced at Stelle before she took Dan Heng away for a moment and whispered something that Stelle couldn't hear into his ear. The lancer made a very displeased face, but seemingly resolved himself to his fate.

"Great! Alright Stelle, come with me we're checking into the hotel!"

Stelle blanched as the smaller, but surprisingly strong, girl grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the location of said hotel. She was able to check them in quickly. For a moment she was worried that they wouldn't have any of the local currency, but apparently Belobog also used IPC credits as well as their native currency. Convenient.

The pink haired girl pushed them into March's own room and told Stelle to wait there for a few minutes. She did as she was told, even when March disappeared out the door for a solid five minutes before coming back in with a full suitcase.

"Where did you-" Stelle started.

"Himeko beamed it down for me." March answered without even letting Stelle finish her sentence.

"But…" Stelle had a lot of questions, but most of them were forgotten the second March unzipped the suitcase and pulled out a few different dresses. "Wait, you have a suitcase full of dresses but not a single winter coat?"

March looked at her as if she had said it was bright and sunny on the planet they were on. "Yes of course."

"...Why?"

"Be prepared for anything! Isn't that the trailblazer way?"

Stelle had the feeling that the question she asked and the question March interpreted were entirely different, but decided to let the girl do her thing. Some of those dresses were rather pretty after all. She wondered if she'd look good in them.

March gave her a few outfits to try. Before she could get changed however, the iridescent girl excused herself from the room and only came back inside the room when Stelle was fully dressed. They swapped out a few outfits until they ended up on a white collared sundress.

For some reason March froze on the spot when she saw it. She recovered quickly enough with a cough and a blush and spoke. "That's the one." She said in a final one.

Stelle blinked. "Really? Don't you think a sundress in this kind of weather, at this time of day is… odd?"

March shook her head, her eyes never once leaving Stelle. "She will not be able to take her eyes off you."

The sundress wearing woman was still a bit hesitant, but accepted the compliment. "If you're sure."

"I am. Trust me. Even I'm having a hard time looking away-" March cut herself off. "Ah- Nevermind me. Listen, you look amazing and that's all that matters."

Feeling a bit more confident after her friend's reassurances. Stelle gave the peppy woman a bright smile. "Thanks March. I appreciate it."

"Guh." March grunted uncharacteristically. "What destructive powers."

Her smile faltered. "W-What?"

March shook her head again. "Don't mind me. Just make sure to give her a big smile and I'm sure she'll fall head over heels for you."

Dan Heng caught up with them shortly after they finished choosing Stelle's outfit. He had some news regarding the theater itself but he simply reassured them that yes the theater also took IPC credits and yes it was a rather basic style of theater where actors would perform on stage.

March offered a few key pieces of advice, before the trio simply idled until the start time.

Stelle got to the theater ten minutes early as instructed by her friends. Her date arrived on the hour, completely punctuatal.

If it wasn't for the fact that she had already seen Bronya earlier in the day, Stelle was sure that her brain would have ceased all normal functionality at the sight of the already beautiful woman in her new dress.

As it was, Stelle instead settled for the inability to form proper sentences.

"Oh. Uh. Wow. Ah." She stuttered in an attempt to say something.

Bronya had chosen a navy and white dress that seemed to compliment her silver hair and eyes perfectly. It was a nice dark blue near the middle, with highlights and a gray flower patterned on the waist. It opened up in a slit to a short white pleated skirt bottom with a matching set of decorated white tights. The top was a frilly white, with just the bare glance of cleavage being revealed.

Much lighter than her earlier outfit, but no less jaw dropping.

But first, she needed to follow March's plan. A compliment!

"Let me try that again." Stelle said, wetting her suddenly dry mouth. "I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to tear my eyes away from you to watch the play."

Wait! Too forward! She was supposed to say something simple like how good she looked or something along those lines.

Bronya blushed at the compliment. The Belobogian woman looked Stelle up and down. "I might have the same problem as you then…" She shyly admitted.

Oh.

"Oh."

It took Stelle a few seconds for her ears to catch up to her brain, but when she registered the beautiful woman's words she couldn't help but flush brightly. There was a goofy smile that threatened to break free from the woman's face, one that she was unable to suppress.

Was it possible to just be so happy before the date even started? Was it normal?

She wondered if her smile was infectious because soon after, without her even saying anything, Bronya had a bright smile of her own.

Her date giggled. "You're very charming. Let's get inside then shall we?"

Stelle nodded and the two moved off and entered the theater. Bronya pulled out two tickets and showed them to the receptionist, who smiled at them and had an usher guide them to their seats. It was a little surprising to see other guests who were checking in at the same time to go another way, but that faded away and was replaced by another reason to be surprised when they got to their seats. Namely, the fact that it was on the second level of the theater and they had their own personal seats.

"I didn't know you had VIP tickets." Stelle said once they sat down.

Bronya blinked as if the thought never even registered to her. "Oh. I… got them from work." She explained.

"Wow. They must treat you well."

"Yes. Truthfully, I get tickets quite often. I just rarely have a reason to go."

"Really?" The thought suddenly had Stelle feeling nervous. "If you don't mind me asking then, what made you decide to…

Stelle faltered for a second, how did she describe how she asked Bronya out? 'Unable to control herself because she was so dazzlingly pretty?' That didn't seem right.

"...accept my invitation?" She decided on after a moment, continuing her previous thought. Qp

The silver eyed woman took a moment to respond. When she did the flush from earlier returned as she spoke. "How do I say this… You're very honest. I suppose."

"Honest?" Stelle echoed.

Bronya hummed. "I'd like to think I'm a good judge of character. You strike me as someone who is very pure, or innocent."

The thought struck Stelle a little speechless. Her? Innocent? "I… don't quite follow?" She couldn't help but speak up.

"Hmm. Purehearted I suppose is a better word? Ah! I don't mean you're naive or anything, just that you wear your emotions on your sleeve. I could tell when you…" She averted her eyes at the next part. "...complimented me, you meant it."

"O-Oh. Well, I- Yeah of course I meant it. You're very pretty. Uhm. Very."

Shyness was not exactly an emotion that Stelle was familiar with. Embarrassment, certainly, the amount of things she had said without any filter were already too high. Nervousness was a bit more rare, as she usually blurted out whatever was on her mind before she could really get nervous, but not always.

But being shy? That was a different feeling. She felt fluttery, as if she could sprout wings at any given moment and fly just outside of reach from the woman across from here. She didn't want to run away, merely be outside her range so she could regain her bearings. Obviously such a thing couldn't happen, so Stelle could only wallow in her newfound shyness.

She hadn't really ever had someone say so bluntly what they thought of her, much less in a positive manner. Herta was… another thing but that was much more stated as facts rather than the obvious opinion that Bronya had given her.

Of course, her shyness wouldn't stop her from tripping over her own words.

Bronya giggled at her. "Thank you."

"Your laugh is also pretty."

Ok! Time to shut up.

Luckily, Stelle was saved from any further response as someone appeared with two menus and started to take their orders. It threw Stelle off her game (even more than Bronya already was by being adorably honest) since the one thing she wasn't expecting was to eat dinner at a theater of all things.

Perhaps it was simply a cultural difference? Or a VIP treatment difference. Either way, the duo had about an hour before the play actually started, so they had plenty of time to choose.

Stelle opened the menu and balked.

She had zero idea what any of the names on the menu meant.

Bronya seemed to have none of her troubles and very casually placed her order, handing over her menu as she did so. Stelle felt even more pressure at how suddenly she was the one now holding the others up.

"Oh!" Bronya said, as if she just realized something. "That was rude of me. I didn't even ask if you were ready."

"No no. It's alright." Stelle attempted to ease her date's worries. She looked at what Bronya had ordered, most of the description of it blurred together in fancy word jargon but from what she garnered it was a pasta based dish. "I was actually thinking about getting what you got."

Her date smiled. "I've only had it once before but it's quite nice, if a little simple."

Simple sounded good. Stelle could do simple things. She wasn't sure how any of the fanciful words were simple but she would simply have to trust things. It wasn't as if she had any other better options.

Stelle nodded. "Alright then. I'll have the same thing as her, thank you." She said to the waiter.

And with the pressure of choosing as gone as it appeared, Stelle allowed herself to relax.

Not too much though. She felt as if she relaxed too much, she was going to start nervous talking. Which meant embarrassing things.

Stelle and Bronya made some small talk to pass the time. It was easy to talk to the Belobogian woman, there was something about the way she spoke that just made things easy to settle into the conversation. It was unlike March, who sometimes felt like a warm hurricane that swept up anyone in the conversation and brought them along with her. But also unlike Dan Heng, who was quieter but no less sharp with his words.

Bronya was more gentle, soft spoken. It was obvious that she thought of her words before she spoke, but not to the extent that it felt manufactured. Moreso that it felt as if the woman was doing her best to curve the conversation in a way that helped Stelle relax or feel welcome. As if she had noticed that the golden eyed woman felt out of place at the establishment.

It was nice.

A downside of being an amnesiac was that she didn't exactly have much in the way of talking about herself. This was compounded by the fact that she wasn't even a native of the planet they were on regardless, but Stelle found a few things to talk about. Luckily Bronya seemed to be a well read woman and what few novels that Stelle had snatched from Himeko and March had managed to carry parts of the conversation.

Their food had come sometime in the middle of Bronya talking about a tale of how a few of her coworkers had managed to get their heads stuck between some of the bars in an iron fence on the grounds of a dare. She claimed that she wasn't amused at the time, but looking back on it that it was a memorable scene.

Stelle noticed that Bronya never explicitly mentioned what she did for work. She figured that she probably worked with the Silvermane Guards in some sort of capacity. Stelle wasn't going to pry, after all it wasn't as if she could really talk about work herself. What could she say? She was a trailblazer? She very much doubted that would leave a good impression on the woman.

The two ate their food in relative silence, both of them opting to choose to enjoy the dishes over anything. Stelle had to admit that it was nice food, the pasta had some sort of sauce to it that gave it a distinct and nice flavor. She wasn't sure what sort of food a city that suffered from an eternal freeze might have but it was clear that they had ways to make things work.

The silence between the two wasn't awkward by any means. In between bites Stelle often found her eyes drifting over to Bronya. There was something about the dim lighting inside the building that just seemed to highlight the woman's beauty. She wondered if it was something as simple as the way Bronya ate that made her seem so refined or elegant.

Silver eyes caught her gaze and Stelle felt a tiny jolt of surprise run through her at the realization she had been caught staring. Her cheeks burned and she averted her eyes from the woman as her heart started to race. Stelle hoped her date didn't think she was weird or anything.

The Astral Express member tried to focus on her food to calm down her pounding heart, she managed to dig in a bit more before she chanced a glance back up to the other woman. She wasn't sure if it was the lighting that accentuated it but it was clear from their close proximity that Bronya's cheeks were a dark red, a similar shade to her own.

Stelle looked back down for a drink of water, anything to cool off her warm face. She took a few small sips before focusing back on her plate, a few bites later and she couldn't resist taking another look across the table to the woman, only to find her silver eyes already on Stelle.

"Ah." They both squeaked at once, once again averting their gazes.

Stelle looked anywhere but the woman in front of her, but even that couldn't stop the wide smile from breaking free from her face. A giddy feeling seemed to bubble up in her stomach and just like that any lingering nerves or shyness seemed to fade away as she started to softly chuckle.

Was it possible to have fun in such a simple manner? Stelle wasn't sure, but she did know that she was enjoying her date full heartedly.

Bronya seemed to be taken aback by her laughter, an expression of shock on her face before she too started to join her in quiet laughter. It never reached full heights, Stelle was mindful of her environment, but it was a moment shared between the two.

"It's odd." Bronya stated, once their food was finished and their plates had been taken away.

"What is?"

"The play hasn't even started yet, but I'm still finding myself enjoying this a lot."

The honest confession once again took Stelle's breath away.

"I am too." Stelle admitted.

"I'm glad. Truth be told- " Bronya seemed to hesitate before she spoke. "I've never really done something like this before. I've been busy all my life, rarely have I had a chance to just relax and enjoy myself and never as a… date."

"Well, I'm happy that you're enjoying it then."

"Yes." Bronya gave her a bright smile. "Let's enjoy the play shall we?"

The duo didn't have to wait long, as the lights dimmed shortly after and the curtains to the proscenium arch rolled back, unveiling the stage to all.

The play, more accurately known as a musical, started off running. A clear and powerful voice pierced through the auditorium in one single strike, resonating with the bodies of each and every individual person located within the theater. The notes of the opening song reverberated off the walls and enveloped Stelle entirely, catching her attention and immediately drawing her in.

The choreography of the dance was precise and immaculate. Each movement was carefully planned, but the skill of the actors on stage made it seem natural, with no extra stiffness that could have possibly broken the spell that had been cast on the audience. It was like a dance, both from the main leads on stage; and with the actors themselves and the audience. The actors lead and the audience had no choice but to follow along.

The opening song came to an end before Stelle knew it, enraptured by the tale weaved by the lyrics and movement. The musical didn't stop its momentum there, it waltzed into scene after scene, creating an ebb and flow of emotions.

Stelle couldn't help but laugh, along with the rest of the audience, when jokes or witty one liners were said. Never did they fall flat or go over people's heads. She gasped at some of the moves and feats the actors performed, bending and twisting their bodies in displays of great acrobatics.

One by one each character on stage wormed their way into Stelle's heart. The charisma and skill of the actors only helped to increase her immersion with the story, so much so that when the musical started the intermission right after a big cliffhanger, she had to blink to herself to return to reality.

Stelle turned towards Bronya, intent on knowing what her date thought of the musical as well when her heart leapt into her throat at the sight.

Bronya was there, staring at her with the most gentle and warm smile she had ever seen.

Stelle couldn't help the bright blush that formed on her face at such an expression. She couldn't quite describe it but there was just something so tender and affectionate about it that she had to think twice before speaking, lest she break the expression.

"Bronya? What did you think of the first half?" Stelle asked eventually.

It got a few blinks from the woman in question before she glanced down towards it. "Oh? Intermission already?"

"Yeah. Were you watching?"

Bronya hummed with a smile. "The show is lovely so far." She said, looking straight into her eyes.

The statement made Stelle heat up once more, she felt oddly embarrassed by her words for a reason that was beyond her.

"Good. I've never been to a musical before. I never knew they were so… amazing."

"Really?"

Stelle shook her head.

"Well. I'm glad I can be your first." Bronya teased.

"Then I'm glad I was your first as well." Stelle responded, referring to Bronya's earlier statement.

The two women giggled. Intermission lasted a few more minutes after their talk and eventually the two found themselves staring back down at the stage.

A twitch from her peripheral caught her attention. Bronya's hand was close to hers. It made a motion, as if to grab for Stelle's own hand, before it backed away.

Stelle wasn't sure what compelled her, she likely wasn't even thinking about it, but she reached her own hand out and clasped Bronya's retreating one. She held the silvery woman's hand and met her gaze, giving her a smile.

Bronya merely paused before she matched Stelle's smile, no longer attempting to withdraw.

They spent the rest of the play like that, right up until curtain call.

Warmth was an idea that Stelle never really gave much thought to. The most having been when they arrived on Jarilo-VI and were immediately assaulted by the blizzard. She hadn't been warm then, but had been thankful for the Trailblazer's blessing to keep her from freezing. Even when they had settled into the city where the external heaters gathered around the place kept things warm, such a thing only extended to the temperatures.

Stelle was referring to something beyond how hot or how cold she was. It was a simple concept, and she knew exactly what caused such a thought to linger in her head as she walked through the city of Belobog.

The warmth of another human.

Her hand was warm. The one that had held Bronya's in the theater. The one that she was still holding, not particularly keen on letting it go. Luckily for the Trailblazer, it seemed her date was of the same opinion, as there hadn't been a single indication that she wanted to disentangle their hands.

A laugh bubbled up as she took in everything.

"What's so funny?" Her date asked from beside her.

"Ah…" Stelle giggled. How could she explain it in a way that made sense? "I'm just happy that I had such a good date with the most beautiful woman on the planet."

The statement caused a blush to form on the silvery girl's face. It was something that Stelle was beginning to enjoy seeing, especially when she was the cause.

"You-" The composed girl stuttered. "You are quite the flatterer. I remember you used those very same words the first second we met. Surely you must be exaggerating."

"Nope." Stelle replied instantly, popping the P. "I meant every word I said."

Because, even if it was something that was said due to her filters failing her in the presence of the stunning woman, it didn't mean she wasn't being sincere. It was technically correct as well, since the other beauties she knew, people like Himeko, Asta, March and even Kafka weren't technically from Belobog either. Not that Bronya lagged behind them at all.

Giddiness was a new, welcome emotion. It wasn't as if her previous nerves had been magically erased after the play, but rather she felt confident that even if she was a bit more forward with her affection, deliberate or not, things would go well.

Bronya let out a small chuckle. "One would normally call you a womanizer for such words, but you're much too honest and pure for me to classify you as one."

"I'm simply telling the truth." Stelle said, bringing their intertwined hands up to her cheek and placing a soft kiss on the back of Bronya's hand.

"Then I suppose I will have to take your word for it." Bronya hummed. "I really enjoyed this Stelle."

"I did too."

Stelle could feel Bronya's thumb softly roll over the back of her hand. It sent a shiver down her spine at the touch.

"Let's do this again." The elegant woman declared.

The trailblazer blinked. "Really?"

A nod. "Yes. This might be a bit fast, but since you seemed to have no reservations I suppose I could follow your example. Do you happen to be free tomorrow?"

"Yes!" She blurted out without thinking. "Ah- Uhm. I think. I need to check with my friends first." She backpedaled.

She technically was supposed to be searching for the Stellaron. It was something that may or may not have slipped her mind in the past few hours, but she didn't want to just flake on the rest of the crew.

"Well. How about we exchange contacts and then you can tell me once you find out? I'll free up some time and we can maybe enjoy lunch?"

Stelle never agreed to something faster. "Of course!"

The two exchanged contacts. Stelle made sure to send a message once she registered Bronya on her phone. She received a cute sticker of a large bouquet of roses in response.

When they finally untangled their hands, having not done so even when they registered with each other, Bronya decided to leave her with a parting gift that left Stelle's mood happier than ever.

A brief, tiny, kiss right on the intersection of her cheeks and lips. Close enough to her cheek that it was clearly not a full kiss, but tantalizingly close to her lips that left Stelle wanting more.

"I'm not used to this type of thing. So let's take this part slow. I'll see you tomorrow." Bronya said, before heading off.

There was something about the way that the night light crept through the ever present fog. How the streetlights illuminated her silver hair in just the best of ways. How the events of the past few hours only seemed to emphasize and accentuate the beauty of the woman. It enraptured and enchanted Stelle, leaving her unable to tear her eyes off the retreating woman.

She might have hated seeing her date go. But she loved to watch her leave.

Start: May 19th. 2023.

End: May 25th. 2023.

Words: 4442

hahah haha they're so cute oh my GOD hELP haha.

Ok. Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It took me a while to write, mostly because I had to deal with FFXIV 6.4 Patch. Gonna be the last chapter for at least a week since I have to prog Savage. After that it's likely we'll return to your regularly scheduled 3k chapters every few days.

Uh…. let me know what you think. I have no idea how the date was actually if it was good or not and since I don't really have a beta I'm always scared of if something will just completely miss the mark. Ok! Thank you for reading! Check me out on twitter I'll usually have something to say regarding updates.

-FN