Archive of Our Own ^beta

Her name.

What's her name?

There's something inside her, something powerful and restless that writhes within the confines of her body. It's warm and comforting at the same time that it's cold and agonizing. She can't wrap her head around everything that it is and all that it brings. But through the blurry vision and ringing ears, she feels it all the same. And so she manages.

"Stel…" she whispers. It's but a shred of a fleeting thought, incomplete and without form, but still it's enough.

A Stellaron. That's what's burning through her chest.

"Stelle?" the man in front of her asks. She still can't see all that well but she can see dark hair and jade green. "Nice to meet you. My name's Dan Heng, and this is March 7th."

Introductions. That's what her name is for. It's a title to be called by. She had forgotten.

Stelle…

Is that her name now? Stelle?

"The Antimatter Legion?" Stelle asks, holding a hand against her head and wincing again. She can barely follow Dan Heng's rapid words. She looks up just in time to see the girl—March 7th is her name, right?—make a face and look off to the side.

Then she opens her mouth.

And maybe, in that moment, Stelle finds something to reach for.

By the time they finally make it to the Astral Express to calm down, Stelle has experienced an entire lifetime all at once.

Nothing makes sense and yet, somehow, that doesn't matter. She has a bat in her hand and something like a god in her chest, why would she ever pretend like any of it needed to make sense? One step, two steps, three steps.

One foot in front of the other. Again and again, a relentless cycle that Stelle will continue to walk for the rest of her life, however long that may be. She just has to focus on whatever's right in front of her at this very moment. If she doesn't she knows she'll lose her footing.

She can't lose her footing. Not now.

"Hey," March 7th says from beside her, drawing Stelle's inexpressive gaze. "There's nothing more to do right now. Take a second to yourself, I promise it'll help."

Stelle stares at her for what must be a few too many dozen seconds, if the uncomfortable shifting coming from March 7th is any indication. But how could she not? Nothing more to do? What is there if not something to do? What is life if not a timeless parade into the unknown over and over again always looking forward, always doing something, always being ready to—

"Sit with me," March 7th says through a smile, grabbing Stelle by the wrist and pulling her to the nearest couch. It's red and curved, a staple furniture of the Astral Express. It's the thing Stelle focuses on.

Because there is always something to focus on. There has to be. Who she is, who she was, why she's here, where here even is…Stelle needs to focus on something. It's all she's ever known.

Though, maybe…

"You're not very good at relaxing, are you?" March 7th asks, a teasing lilt in her voice. She giggles lightly and winks, falling back into the couch and dragging Stelle along with her. "You need to learn how to unwind! And luckily, you've got a great teacher right here!"

The warmth of March 7th's body is different from the warmth in Stelle's chest. It's different from the heat from the vents scattered around the Herta Space Station, it's different from the heat in the flashes of anger Stelle feels spike through her when something reaches for March 7th, claws outstretched. It's different from the heat of Kafka's words from before she woke up.

Before? Was that before? How long was she there in that room before March 7th and Dan Heng showed up? When did she "wake up?" Was it to the smug expression of Kafka telling her how her life would go? Or was it to the sight of Dan Heng and March 7th leaning over her, fussing over—

"Stop," March 7th says softly, snaking her arms around Stelle's shoulders and leaning into the backrest. Everything but her melts away in the void that is Stelle's mind. "You're so tense, I can tell there must be a million and one things running through your head right now."

Stelle nods, not quite able to come up with anything to say in response. March 7th is right, after all. Stelle folds her hands in her lap, trying her best to lean back and feel March 7th's shoulder behind her.

"I know everything has been going by really fast," March 7th whispers, her hand beginning to rub circles into Stelle's shoulder. "I can barely imagine how it must be for you, seeing as how you don't exactly remember anything from before. Even though I might be similar, I wasn't exactly thrust into life or death situation after life or death situation just minutes after waking up. But I at least know what to expect you to be dealing with now."

"Do you really not remember anything?" Stelle asks, looking up. She doesn't know enough. "From before?"

"No. Not even a scrap."

Stelle nods, knowing the feeling. She has a lot left to focus on and an infinite amount left to do, but that's not so bad. Something to worry about for tomorrow, she supposes. She's got all the time in the universe now, after all.

"I think you're the One," Stelle whispers, almost to herself. She shifts a little, placing her head against the broad of March 7th's shoulder and letting her eyes slide shut.

"The One?" March 7th questions, curious. Her hand stops moving for just the second it takes for Stelle to respond.

"You said I must have a million and one things racing through my head. You're the One."

"We weren't exactly expecting to pick up a new member when we arrived at Herta Space Station," Mr. Yang says matter-of-factly, pushing his glasses up a little. He still has the sense to glance away and look a little sorry, though. "So we don't have a room ready for you yet."

"Okay," Stelle hums, shrugging. She wasn't really expecting one anyway. Well, maybe she should've, now that she thinks about it, but she wasn't thinking that far ahead.

"So for now…" Mr. Yang drawls, trailing off. Stelle can tell he's thinking hard about it, clearly conflicted as to what to do. Stelle appreciates the thought.

"I can just stay out here," Stelle offers, gesturing to one of the certainly not uncomfortable couches. Mr. Yang sighs, clearly relieved but also pensive. Stelle smirks a little. She doesn't expect to see him like this very often.

"I'm sorry to ask this of you. Once Pom-Pom can figure out where to place you, we'll gather some things right away."

Stelle laughs a little, smiling. "Really, I don't mind," she assures, placing a hand on her hip. “Y’know I don’t have any memories, right? Lacking a room is hardly a concern up here.”

“That may be so,” Mr. Yang smiles, leaning back on his cane a little. “But still, I wish we could offer you more.”

“Don’t worry about it. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in all the excitement so far, it’s that I can sleep just about anywhere.”

“Don’t hesitate to ask me or Pom-Pom if you need anything, alright?”

“Will do, Mr. Yang.”

Seemingly satisfied, Mr. Yang finally bows his head with a gentle smile and turns towards the next car. He raises a hand over his shoulder, his silent goodbye making Stelle smile again. He’s serious and a little hard to approach, but he’s a good guy.

And then it’s just Stelle left in a lonely little train car on the Astral Express, her only company the quiet jukebox on the other side of the room. It seemed to automatically lower in volume a little while ago, or perhaps Pom-Pom just has some way to turn it down remotely. Either way, the gentle chords of a guitar Stelle’s never seen are enough to keep her company among the stars.

It’s a little bit funny, just how gentle and easy things are now. The endless onslaught of thoughts is still there, swirling at the edge of Stelle’s mind, but it feels like it doesn’t really matter anymore. Like all of those things can just stay there, a gentle thorn in her side, until she is ready. Until she needs them.

Stelle glances to the side, staring at the door that leads to everyone else’s rooms. She hasn’t known any different, really, but she hopes she has more than just thoughts waiting for her here. She hopes that maybe these are the people Kafka was talking about.

Companions like family…wonderful experiences…surreal adventures…Stelle thinks that if this isn’t that, she might have to wipe her memories clean again. Or perhaps she just so desperately wants these people to be that. But for now, she’s got time to figure it out.

Stelle lays back on one of the couches, folding her hands over her chest and letting a deep breath escape her. The things right in front of her are important, crucially so, but she supposes she can indulge in a little future fantasizing, can’t she? For just this one sheltered moment, can’t she wonder what will come next?

Distant stars, just specks of light shining on, sparkle on the other side of the clean windows of the Astral Express. Stelle stares at them, time passing her by like a stream of water slipping through her fingers. The lights of the cabin dim at some point, Pom-Pom returning and padding through the train car with just a smile and little wave spared for Stelle. She lifts a hand to wave back as they pass, but her hand lingers in the air a beat too long and suddenly some of the thoughts return.

When March 7th lifted her hands for the first time, it was to reach for the stars above her that didn’t exist. It was just the lights of the room shining down on her newly unfrozen eyes, but even still...is there something hidden among those stars? Something that holds her truths, something that knows her past?

Stelle thinks it would be relieving to find her past somewhere in the ether between those sparkles of light so far away. She wouldn’t know what to do with all of that, she wouldn’t know where to start, but it’s a little comforting that it might be out there somewhere. Her past, just waiting for her to reach out and grasp it. And all she has to do is find it first.

“Beautiful, aren’t they?” a quiet voice calls from across the room. Stelle doesn’t take her eyes off the stars, an irrational fear of them slipping away encroaching upon her. She knows who it is from the voice anyway. March walks up beside her and takes a seat on the floor, pushing her back up against where Stelle is lying and whispering, “But they’ll wait.”

Stelle hums in response, her arm still hanging in the air. March reaches up and threads her fingers through the gaps between Stelle’s. She tugs softly, pulling Stelle’s arm down until it is hanging over the side of the couch and safely held in her grasp. The warmth is becoming more and more familiar over time, but still Stelle loves every moment of it.

“Why are you out here, anyway?” March asks, staring out at the stars alongside her. Stelle rubs her thumb against the back of March’s knuckles, humming and raising an eyebrow. She tears her eyes away from the stars, trusting in March’s words without question. March turns to look at her, taking in her expression and adopting her own confused one.

“Where else would I be?” Stelle asks, her voice monotone. March sighs and rolls her eyes, bumping her shoulder against Stelle’s arm.

“Uh, your roo—” March clams up when she realizes. Her eyes go wide and her entire body whirls around to face Stelle. “You don’t have a room yet!”

Stelle chuckles and shakes her head. “I do not,” she confirms, a little taken aback by the look March gives her. “I’m staying out here until Pom-Pom and Mr. Yang can get one set up for me.”

“What!?” March shouts, making Stelle flinch a little. She frantically looks around, holding her free hand over her mouth and apologizing with her eyes. Stelle huffs and tries to smile, or at least as much as she can muster. “You’re sleeping out here on the couch?”

Stelle nods in silent confirmation, glancing over at the stars again. Just like March said, they’re still shining on as patiently as ever. They’ll wait for her. And right now, here, beside a girl that makes her feel a warmth she can’t describe, Stelle hopes they won’t mind if she focuses on something else for now.

“I—That sucks,” March finally says, drawing Stelle’s eyes back towards her with nothing more than a thought. Stelle raises an eyebrow in question, silently waiting for March to explain. “These couches are comfy but you should have a bed, you’ve been working harder than any of us since you woke up. I remember how nice it was to be comfortable and warm under the covers on my first night.”

“I don’t mind,” Stelle shrugs. She doesn’t know any different, after all. “Mr. Yang probably had some ideas, but it’s not like I dislike being out here anyway. I can sleep pretty much anywhere anyway.”

That puts March into another bout of thinking, her expression curling a little as she focuses. She’s flipping something over in her head, Stelle can tell. Her eyebrows furrow and her mouth tilts to one side, and it’s a little cute. Or so Stelle thinks.

“Anywhere?” March asks, quiet. She’s almost shy about it, glancing up to lock eyes with Stelle but then tearing away just as fast.

“Pretty much,” Stelle repeats. She doesn’t really see why she shouldn’t sleep out here in the first place anyway. It’s fine with her, and it works great for the crew while they find her a place.

“Come sleep in my room,” March says. Her eyes flick up, finding Stelle’s again. They shy away after a second, but then come back with a force that says that she’s serious. Stelle can feel the sudden courage in them.

It’s a little strange to be on the receiving end of March 7th’s unwavering conviction. She’s usually so bubbly and happy, so cute and whimsical. But Stelle has seen this side before, this side of March that will face danger after danger, pressing on and on and on.

And here, now, Stelle sees it in a new form. March is serious about this, and there’s a lot unsaid that Stelle can feel weighing on her heart. March’s eyes begin to dim a little, left to dry in the stretch of silence, and it’s then that Stelle realizes she wouldn’t rather be anywhere else in the universe.

“Okay,” Stelle whispers, her usual bravado failing her. She can’t take her eyes off of March 7th, not even to remind her past to wait. “I’d be happy to.”

“Really?” March breathes, blinking a few times from the effort and leaning away. “You’ll come with me?

 “Sure. I said anywhere, didn’t I?”

March turns away too fast for Stelle to see her reaction. It feels wrong though, like there was something more she should’ve said and she let it pass her by. In a brief moment where Stelle is stuck between the stars of her past and the star of her future, she vows within herself to get better at that. She’s got a lot left to learn, after all.

March tugs her up, hiding behind her bangs and slowly standing. Stelle notices that their hands are still connected. She’d forgotten. Smiling, Stelle allows herself to be pulled to her feet and dragged along through the parlor car.

March is moving a little quicker than usual, her aura exuding tension, but it rapidly dissipates when they stop in front of the door to her room. She hesitates there, staring at the indented handle. Stelle squeezes her hand once, looking down at her and smiling something that she hopes is relatively comforting. March sighs, rolls her eyes, smiles back, and then slides the door open quietly, leading Stelle into her room.

Stelle has been here once before, earlier when she was exploring the Astral Express for the first time, but back then March hadn’t been here with her. Now it feels a little different, as if back then this room was just a snapshot of March, but now, with her in it, it’s a living extension of her. Stelle can glance at anything and immediately just connect it to March, she can feel the significance of every object.

“Here we are,” March says, a little timid. She pulls her hand away, walking a step forward and glancing back at Stelle with a soft smile. Stelle lets her hand hang for a moment, the sudden lack of warmth flooding her senses like an incessant wave dousing her over and over. But then she smiles back, letting the warmth slip away into its own space, its own life. Stelle can feel it from across the room well enough.

She takes a moment to look around, taking everything in with new eyes. She can see out of the corner of her eyes that March shifts slightly and looks a little awkward under her scrutiny, but she also makes no argument against it. So Stelle spares her a glance, as comfort, and looks up to the ceiling.

The overhead solar system is something she’s seen before, but now Stelle can feel a sort of connection to it that she hadn’t before. She can appreciate it more because now she, too, is reaching for those stars. She can look up or she can look out and either way there will be a past waiting for her and a future rushing towards her. Both of them are held between the stars.

“What do you think?” March asks, dragging Stelle’s attention back to her. Stelle smiles, and she guesses that that’s enough of an answer because March beams up at her happily. “I’m glad! I dunno how long it will take to get your own room set up, but you can stay here as long as you want!”

Stelle dips her head in acceptance, taking that for all it’s worth. There’s a beat of silence, then another. They both stand there, waiting for the other to make some sort of first move. After long enough, Stelle starts to think of it as a competition, narrowing her eyes and staring March down, daring her to speak up.

March shifts, looking away awkwardly and clearing her throat. Haha! Victory!

“Um, anyway,” March tries, glancing over at Stelle and then over at the frosted mirror in the corner of her room. Stelle’s still smiling over her success, but then March scratches her head and looks down at the floor, and that’s something Stelle can’t ignore. “You’re not going to sleep in all that, are you?”

Stelle looks down too, giving herself a once over. Her long black coat, her half-untucked shirt, her admittedly sort of short skirt that’s only ridden up more against the pressure of her hip bones…yeah, it probably wouldn’t be very comfortable to sleep as she is, would it? Especially with the metal buckles and nylon straps hanging from her clothes.

“And you definitely don’t have any pajamas, either, do you,” March muses. It’s not a question, but Stelle shakes her head and shrugs all the same. But that being said, it’s not like March is dressed down or anything either. She’s still in her full outfit too.

“I’ll be fine in just my shirt and shorts,” Stelle says, waving off March’s concern. The chances she’s had to sleep so far were all just her propped up against a wall or splayed out on a couch in a common room anyway, and she didn’t do much more than drape her coat over herself in those instances.

Now that Stelle thinks about it, this is really her first actual night that she gets to sleep through. And maybe her first full-length sleep too, though that nap she scored propped up against March’s shoulder earlier felt good enough to be one anyway. What a strange series of events this whole thing is shaping up to being.

“I’d let you borrow some of mine,” March interrupts, smirking even though her cheeks are tinted a little pink. “But, well, I don’t think you’d fit…”

Stelle looks down again, rotating her body around to get a good look at herself. “I'm not that much bigger, am I?” she asks, a little taken aback.

“Stelle, you’re like a whole head taller than me!” March giggles, stepping forward and demonstrating how she has to lift herself onto the tips of her toes just to be eye level with her. “Plus we have totally opposite styles. You’ve got the baggy laid back vibe and everything I have is pretty form-fitting.”

“I can see how that could cause a problem. But don’t worry, I’m more than comfortable in this anyway.”

“That’s a relief.”

Stelle, not wanting to delay any longer because, honestly, it has been a long day, pulls back a little and lets her coat drop from her shoulders. March is certainly right, she does prefer the loose and baggy clothing so far, and her coat is no exception. Really the only reason it stays on in battle is because of the clips fastened to keep everything tight where she rolls the sleeves up around her elbows. But once she unclips those, which she does now, the entire thing falls to the floor in a heap.

March yelps a little, stepping back quickly and placing her hands over her face, sputtering something that Stelle can’t even hope to make out. Did…Stelle do something wrong? Was this not what was happening right now? They were just talking about pajamas and everything, Stelle thought they were getting ready for bed. Sighing, Stelle supposes she can stay up a bit longer if March was wanting to do something else first.

“At least warn me first!” March shouts, spinning on her heel and turning around, mumbling to herself and breathing hard. Stelle tilts her head, confused, but she supposes it’s just some March thing she’s not used to yet and continues where she left off. She’ll learn all those quirks eventually, she’s just a little too tired right now to puzzle this one out.

The clothes Stelle came with also included a pretty much full-length camisole bra, but her shirt is plenty layered to keep everything covered and then some, so it’ll be fine if she takes that off too. She pulls her shirt halfway down her shoulders and then tugs lightly at the straps that are set into her skin at this point. The whole thing stays comfortably secure around her chest, but it comes undone easily and slips over her head without any problems. Stelle smiles, a little proud of herself for pulling that off without having to take off her shirt, then tosses it to the ground.

Her skirt comes undone just as easily, just a clip on the inside and a zipper running halfway down one side keeping it in place. It’s pretty tight and rides up easily, not quite fitting around her hips. It almost feels like she’s growing out of it. Stelle kicks off her shoes and socks last, just after peeling off her gloves, picks up all of her clothes from the floor, and then looks up.

March is still facing away from her, staring at the corner where her globe chair sits as silent as ever. She’s humming something to herself, her voice a little strained. Stelle clears her throat, catching March's attention and making her fall silent. She doesn’t turn around yet, though.

“Hey, March?” Stelle asks, receiving a nod and a half raised hand in response. “Do you mind if I just set my clothes by your mirror or something? Or maybe on your desk chair?”

“Um, by the mirror’s fine,” comes the quiet response. March shifts, her fingers fussing at the ends of her skirt nervously. Stelle waits patiently for her, content to become that space between the stars whenever March needs her to. She’s here to learn, not just to live. “And Stelle?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t think this far ahead…” March hangs her head a little, her fingers clenching and unclenching. “But would you step out while I get changed?”

Stelle sets her clothes down by the mirror, smiling gently. The warmth is dim now, but it’s still there. A little waver in its flicker is nothing, not to her.

“Of course.”

Stelle straightens herself by the door, fixing her shirt and making sure she actually does look decently put together. It’d be really awkward if someone else happened upon her looking far too under-dressed to be in the hallway at night. Especially on her first night here. But after a moment, Stelle decides she looks just fine, and she walks out into the hallway of the passenger car.

Almost as soon as the door clicks shut behind her, there’s a sound of shuffling and muffled words on the other side. Stelle chuckles, leaning up against the wall beside the door and trying not to eavesdrop on whatever March is essentially berating herself for. Everything is still new to her, sure, but Stelle has at least a decent idea that March didn’t quite think everything through before inviting her to her room.

A few minutes of shuffling and covered up pseudo-cursing later, a knock comes from within the room and the door clicks as it slides partially open. Stelle raises an eyebrow, waiting for March to step out or say something, but one moment drags into the next on and on. Stelle breathes out a laugh to herself. March must want them to see each other at the same time.

“Um!” March says, and Stelle can imagine the look on her face as she gathers the last scraps of her confidence. “You can come in now!”

Stelle peeks her head around the corner, pulling the door all the way open and stepping over the threshold back into March’s room. She was right in thinking it wouldn’t end up being some sort of grand reveal thing. But even so the sight of March standing there, expression hardened with the cutest pajamas Stelle’s ever seen hugging her body, is certainly something to behold. Stelle closes the door silently.

Really, Stelle shouldn’t have been surprised. March wearing the most adorable two piece matching shirt and shorts that basically scream “March 7th!” is well within what should’ve been the bounds of expectation. Pink base, blue and white hearts plastered all over the fabric…yeah, Stelle wouldn’t be surprised if March got her pajamas custom made or something.

“Well,” Stelle drawls, tearing her eyes away so that she isn’t quite staring. “You’ve somehow exceeded my expectations, I think. Those are really cute.”

“You think so!?” March asks, not exactly quiet. Stelle puffs out a soft laugh and nods in confirmation, glancing back at March to see the red slowly receding from her face. It feels like they’re finally getting there, over the hurdles of awkwardness and embarrassment.

“Anyway, where do you want me?” Stelle asks, smiling now. And the red comes back. Damn, she’ll learn eventually. She will!

“H-Huh!?” March cries, waving her arms in front of her with an almost mortified expression. Stelle tilts her head, not understanding what the fuss is this time. That’s okay though, it’s just another thing in the endless sea of things to learn about March 7th. She can take it in stride.

“I mean, I was thinking I’d be fine on the floor,” Stelle clarifies, musing mostly to herself. “If you’d let me take the chair, that’d be fine, though I’m not sure quite how well my body will like it in the morning. I suppose I could also sleep on the desk if—”

The sound of March basically slapping herself in the face as her head drops into her hands is enough to make Stelle pause. March groans, twirling around and lamenting about something or other before she falls face-first into her bed. Stelle’s actually a little impressed how well she landed that without being able to see.

“I should’ve known,” March grumbles into the blankets, hiding her face away. Stelle pads up beside her, sitting on the carpet rug laid out beneath the bed and settling herself against March’s side. She doesn’t get it, of course, but it feels like March is always there for her, so why not the other way around?

It takes a moment before March has the strength to lift her head, groaning and flipping around onto her back. Stelle follows her, scooting over and looking up at the false universe above them. A sea of stars, made just for them. Or, well, more for March than them both, but Stelle doesn’t think March would mind much if she looked up to them too.

“You’re sleeping on the bed with me,” March sighs. Stelle blinks once, then twice. Oh. Well that would make sense. “I’m sorry I didn’t clarify. If that makes you uncomfortable or something, you should probably go back to the couch. The cricks in your back from sleeping on the hard floor or ball chair will thank you later.”

“That’s okay,” Stelle says, reaching up and offering her hand. March takes it, briefly threading their fingers again. It’s comforting. It’s something Stelle seems to look for now. “I don’t mind at all, I just didn’t think that was an option.”

“I’ve really got to get better at this whole ‘communicating’ thing.”

“I think my understanding could use a lot of work.”

“Together?”

“Together.”

March huffs and pulls herself up and away, bouncing a little as she stands. There’s still a bit of an embarrassed smile on her face, but Stelle can see the sparkle return to her eyes. She looks happy. It’s a nice look on her.

She walks over to the wall of photos and souvenirs, humming and reaching a hand beneath the bulky electronic pillar. She flicks some switches with practiced hands and the room immediately begins to dim. The panels that perpetually display March’s saved photos flicker out, the overhead lights dim until they’re dark, the lights strung along the walls die down. All that is left is the standing lamp beside the bed, illuminating enough for them to still see.

Stelle stands, waiting ever so patiently as March grabs an extra pillow from her rest area and returns to the bed, smiling all the while. Stelle smiles back, since she can’t find it in herself to do anything but match the aura March is always exuding. The warmth returns to her, finding its way right into her heart.

“If you sleep on that side you’ll get a better view of the stars,” March whispers, nodding to the side of the bed closest to the window. Stelle nods, since she can tell that it’s not just a string of factual information, it’s a suggestion. A step forward in her learning, she thinks.

“Thanks,” Stelle whispers back, walking around the edge of the bed and slipping into bed at the same time March does. It’s certainly big enough for two people, Stelle learns.

“Of course.”

Softly and silently, they settle themselves under the covers. Together. And that’s enough for now.

March turns over onto her side, looking at Stelle with an expression that she can’t quite read. But that’s okay. Everything she doesn’t know about March right now will be learned in time. And they have all the time in the universe, don’t they?

Stelle reaches up and hits the luckily very obvious button on the side of the lamp. It dims quickly until it is dark and silent, the only light left coming from the dim stars above them and the shining stars outside the window.

March was right. She does have a better view of the stars on this side.

“Goodnight, March.”

“Goodnight, Stelle.”

“March?” Welt calls, knocking on her door lightly. “Have you seen Stelle?”

He receives a groan in response that sounds very much like someone being too tired to even think about whatever they were just asked. Welt rolls his eyes, smiling and knocking again. He doesn’t want to wake her, but if Stelle’s gone missing already then they’ve got another problem on their hands.

At the sound of the second, louder knock, Welt receives more than one groan in response. He blinks, briefly surprised. Then he laughs and turns away, waving Himeko away from her place checking Dan Heng's room.

“It appears she’s already found her new room,” Welt muses with a smirk, looking at Himeko with a knowing look. She huffs out a surprised laugh and covers her mouth, her eyes warm. “I don’t think we’ll have to be worrying about her for a while.”

Belobog is cold. The enveloping warmth of the Goethe Hotel is a sanctuary in the freezing city.

Jarilo-VI is turning out to be quite the interesting planet so far, that much is certain. When Stelle had first laid her eyes on it, she had briefly wondered if, by chance, this was one of those places waiting for them between the stars. There had been a twinge in her chest, a fire in her eyes. She had asked March if this might be her home. But the look Stelle received…it was the thinly veiled pity of someone who had gotten their hopes up again and again, only to be let down every time.

March had only been musing. She isn't holding out hope anymore.

But that's okay, because Stelle is content to wait for as long as it might take. She doesn't wonder if she might find something here, doesn't reach for links to a past that might not exist. One step at a time, focusing only on what's right in front of her. Stelle doesn't even stop to ponder why finding March's past seems more enticing than finding her own.

"We're encountering a slight setback," Dan Heng says, stopping in front of the two of them and gesturing behind him towards the hotel's front desk.

"Ah, jeez," March grumbles from just a breath away from Stelle's side. She huffs at a strand of hair that's fallen into her vision and crosses her arms. "Didn't the Supreme Whatever recommend this place, though? You'd think she'd have made it work for us."

"The Supreme Guardian, Cocolia," Dan Heng corrects. March rolls her eyes but doesn't fire back, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "And it appears she did, or at least tried to."

"So what's the problem?" Stelle asks, already thinking of possible solutions. They haven't established a whole lot of good will with Serval, but Stelle bets they could probably cash in now if they really needed to…

"They only have two rooms available for us."

There's a beat of silence before Stelle glances over, catching March's eye. She smirks as light as she can muster, raising an eyebrow just to make sure. March rolls her eyes and turns back to Dan Heng with a smile.

"That's it?" she asks, already breathing out with relief. It seems Stelle wasn't the only one thinking up alternatives.

"Yes," Dan Heng confirms with a nod. "I didn't catch the entire explanation, honestly, but they said that there were only two rooms they could get ready in time—"

"No," March interrupts, shaking her head. "I mean, that's the setback? It's just two rooms instead of three?"

"Correct."

"Had me worried there," Stelle butts in, already turning in the direction she saw Dan Heng point earlier when he was talking to the man at the front desk. "March 7th and I will take a room together, that's fine."

"Heyyy," March drawls, pouting. Stelle stops for a step, locking eyes with March and searching her gaze. "Did I get demoted already? I thought I was doing pretty good!"

"Demoted?" Stelle plays along, acting surprised. "You're rooming with me, the Great Stelle, isn't this supposed to be your promotion ceremony? Well, now that I think about it, Himeko and Mr. Yang didn't show up, so maybe you really are being punished."

"Hey! C'mere, you! I was talking about you using my full name!"

Stelle laughs and spins away, just barely avoiding March's outstretched fingers and racing through the lobby as quickly as possible. Their laughs fill the corridor as they dance down the hallway, Stelle always just barely remaining out of reach until suddenly a wall is bearing down on her, marking a dead end.

"I've got you now!" March cries, waggling her fingers and grinning mischievously. Stelle glances to both sides, looking for an escape. Dan Heng appears down the hall, slowly following them into the corridor, but not even her super amazing pleading expression gets through to him.

"Not without a fight you don't!" Stelle says, feinting to one side and then the other to see how March follows her. Stelle laughs again, cackling maniacally and stepping forward.

"Then I challenge you," March says darkly, hiding her eyes behind her bangs. Stelle stands at the ready, but stills in anticipation. "To a pillow fight!"

Dan Heng sighs from behind her, stopping next to the door on his left and shaking his head. Stelle smiles, sharing a look with him that doesn't go unnoticed.

"Hey, wait, no fair!" March pouts, dropping her arms and looking between Dan Heng and Stelle. "Dan Heng should be on my team, I need him more!"

Stelle laughs, relaxing and leaning up against the wall. Dan Heng hangs his head, clearly exhausted from just their slight antics. March puts her hands on her hips and pretends to be serious, asking with her eyes whether or not they're really going to gang up on her.

"No pillow fights," Dan Heng says coldly, receiving a groan in response. "It's been a long day and we're going to need all the energy we can get for tomorrow morning. If we show up to talk to Cocolia about the Stellaron and you two are dead on your feet from staying up too late, I'm going to be very disappointed."

"You're not my dad," March teases in a sing-song voice, sticking out her tongue. Stelle can't help but laugh from the sidelines, trying her best to hide her snickers behind her hand.

"No," Dan Heng agrees, reaching into his pocket ominously. When he pulls out his phone, Stelle laughs harder. "But I have a direct line to Mr. Yang. And Himeko, for that matter."

"You wouldn't dare." March's voice is cold, her eyes narrowed.

"Are you willing to bet on that?"

A beat. Another. Stelle schools herself down and tries her best to appear serious, looking at Dan Heng with an almost horrified expression.

"Fine," March humphs, turning her nose up and crossing her arms playfully. "You win this round, villain. But make no mistake! I will not let this slight go unpunished!"

"Get some sleep, you two," Dan Heng says with a light smile, breaking them all from character. March smiles back and salutes, Stelle quickly mimicking her. "I'll see you in the morning."

Stelle nods to him, pushing off of the wall with one foot and turning to the other room across from Dan Heng's. She's pretty sure that it's the right one, and it’s definitely not because she stopped by earlier and snooped through the place. She doesn’t regret it though, she got to see a hotel devil up close and personal!

"Goodnight Dan Heng!" March calls out as he slips into his room. He grunts once in response but then the door clicks shut and it's just Stelle and March left in the hall. Stelle turns to her new roomie and gestures forward, letting her go ahead.

March practically flings open the door, wincing and giggling awkwardly when it hits the wall on the inside. Stelle rolls her eyes and follows behind March, glancing at the wall to make sure it didn't leave a mark. Luckily, it doesn't seem to have.

Stelle closes the door behind them, feeling it click shut softly before turning to the huge window on the far side of the room. March follows her gaze, taking initiative and walking up to it to peer out at the slowly darkening sky above Belobog.

“Stelle,” March calls out, moving the chairs around and gesturing for Stelle to join her. “Come watch.”

Stelle nods and makes a sound of acknowledgement, kicking off her shoes by the door and padding across the floor to join Stelle at the table. She pulls the other chair around, sitting and staring out the window to look for whatever has caught March’s attention. There’s a quiet moment where they both just sit there, together.

“You can’t really see the sunset from here,” March says, turning to Stelle and resting a hand on the table. Stelle looks at it for a moment. “But you can still see the sky change colors. Isn’t it beautiful?”

Stelle looks up, finding March’s eyes. Maybe a sunset is beautiful, maybe the colors of the sky really are gorgeous, but that’s barely more than a passing thought in Stelle’s mind. She pays it no mind, smiling and placing her hand on top of March’s.

“It is,” Stelle agrees, refusing to glance away for even a moment. The pink brushing against March’s face is certainly something to behold. Stelle would call it gorgeous if she wasn’t certain that that would make March hide it away.

March does eventually turn back to the window, a long moment between them wrapping up naturally. She shifts her hand to hold Stelle’s properly, lacing their fingers together. Stelle follows her, gazing out the window with muted interest and a soft smile on her face. Her first sunset passes uneventfully, but really she wouldn’t trade it for the world.

The final rays of light shining over the southern end of Belobog dim and dim until they disappear completely, leaving only the dark blues of a sky falling into night. But the city itself stays lit, street lamps and outdoor lights lighting up one by one until it is almost day again, the buildings ablaze in the nightlight. The hustle and bustle of the last bastion of Jarilo-VI dies down, but never away. The city keeps moving, on and on, and Stelle is content to let every last thing slip by in the silence between them.

But eventually their moment comes to an end, as it seems all good things do. If it were up to Stelle, she’d probably ignore all of Dan Heng’s warnings and stay here well into the morning, simply being with March. There is just something so precious in their time together. But there will be more time tomorrow, Stelle believes with a smile.

“I suppose we should get ready for bed,” March sighs, the exhaustion creeping into her voice. Stelle hums in response, agreeing but not quite voicing it. Neither of them make any attempt to move.

“Alright,” Stelle sighs after a solid two more minutes of silence. She scoots her chair back and stands, gingerly untangling her hand from March’s. The warmth is amazing, but it will wait, same as everything else. “I’ll be the responsible one tonight. Let’s get to sleep.”

“But I don’t wanna,” March drawls with a pouty face, slowly slipping down her chair until she’s practically on the floor. Stelle huffs out a soft laugh, relating but not willing to let March’s antics change her mind. “Cocolia said she would send someone at noon, didn’t she? We can stay up a little.”

“Then we can stay up a little in bed,” Stelle reasons, leaning down and smiling at March’s expression. March thinks about it for a second before turning her eyes away and crossing her arms. “Come on, don’t make me lift you up and carry you to bed.”

March stills, hiding her face away even though Stelle can still clearly see the beet-red tips of her ears. Stelle’s learning that she’s actually really good at this whole “flustering March” thing, though she still doesn’t know how she does it. She should keep practicing. To learn more about March.

Stelle shucks off her jacket while she waits, draping it over the back of her chair and leaning onto the table with one hand. She smirks down at March, placing her other hand on her hip and finally catching March’s eye.

“You coming?” Stelle asks gently. March blinks, slowly relaxing.

“Ah, jeez,” she relents, rocking forward and getting to her feet. She pats down the wrinkles in her skirt, clearly focusing on anything but Stelle’s face. “When you ask me like that, all pretty looking…how could I say no?”

Stelle blinks, briefly taken aback. “You think I’m pretty?”

“Could anyone not?” March raises in response. Stelle blinks again, thinking that over. She comes to the conclusion that that’s March’s way of saying, “Yes, I do.” Stelle smiles, pushing off the table and standing a little straighter.

“Well you’ve definitely got me beat, anyway.” Stelle shakes her head, tugging her socks off as she hops over to the door. March, surprisingly, lets that one go with nothing more than a hum, though Stelle can’t really guess as to why yet. Perhaps she’s embarrassed? It’s not like Stelle said anything that wasn’t completely true.

Stelle decides not to delay any longer, unclipping the waistband of her skirt and pulling down the zipper. A harsh exhale comes from across the room, making her pause. March had a whole reaction last time, too. Stelle figured it was probably just the shock since March had told her to warn her first but maybe it was something more?

“Sorry,” Stelle apologizes, completely halting and standing there awkwardly for a moment. “You asked me to warn you and I totally forgot.”

“It’s okay,” March says, her voice a little shaky. “I don’t mind. Just…not used to it yet.”

“You sure?” Stelle would be more than willing to find someplace else. She doesn’t want to make March uncomfortable, but maybe she’s been doing something weird without realizing it.

“I’m certain.”

Stelle hums and nods her head even though March can’t see her. She trusts March’s word more than anyone’s, after all. If she says it’s okay, then it’s okay. And so Stelle slips her thumbs under the waistband of her skirt and lets it fall to the floor. She kicks it over to her shoes and then deals with her camisole bra, tossing it down much the same.

“All done,” Stelle says with a lilt in her voice, feeling free from the confines of her usual clothes. She skips up a step and swings her arms, stretching her back as she looks back over at March. “You can look now!”

“Sorry,” March sighs, turning around with a sad expression. She pointedly avoids looking at Stelle directly. “I don’t mean to make it awkward or anything, I just…” She waves her hands around like that explains it.

“There’s no need to apologize,” Stelle assures, stepping forward once, then twice, to close the distance between them. The warmth is so close she could touch it. “If you ever want me to change somewhere else or just go in general, I would be more than happy to.”

March laughs a little humorlessly, finally looking up and meeting Stelle’s eyes. She clears her throat and shrugs a little. “Believe me, that’s the last thing I want. I like knowing you’re here, it’s just a—Huh?” A pause. March’s eyebrows furrow. “You have a stain on your shirt. Where did this come from?”

Stelle’s eyes widen for a split second before she can school them down. Stay cool, it’s just a stain. Perfectly explainable, not suspicious in any way. Stelle grunts and looks down, pretending to have just noticed it for the first time.

It’s not a huge thing, just a splotch of discoloration around her right shoulder. It can’t be bigger than a dozen centimeters in diameter, it could’ve come from anywhere. March leans closer and brushes her fingers around it, frowning.

Then, March makes the horrific decision to lean in more and breathe in through her nose.

“Oh, Aeons!” March gags, immediately recoiling and clawing at her nose. Stelle frowns, then lifts her shoulder to sniff at it herself. Okay, yeah, that’s pretty bad. “Stelle what did you—You went through the trash cans again!”

Stelle immediately looks away, totally caught red handed. She chuckles awkwardly, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. She didn’t think the trash would leave its grimy mark on her, though. She trusted them! And they betray her like this!?

“Stelle!” March cries, indignant. Her eyes are wide and horrified. Stelle can only meet her gaze for half a second at most before she has to look away again, chuckling without any semblance of humor in her voice. “I thought it was only the one! How many did you go through?!”

That’s a hard question to answer since she stopped counting somewhere around six. She’d been rather sneaky about it too, doing it out of sight of her companions after the clear disapproval she received from her first trash exploration expedition. But, well, she walked the entirety of the area around the central square, which was mostly the only place that mattered. So then she probably went through…

“What was that?” March asks, not having heard her whisper. Stelle looks down, twiddling her thumbs and rocking back on her heels.

“All of them…” she mutters, a little louder than the mumble it was at first. The silence she receives is deafening. She does actually feel a little bit of shame, even if she definitely thinks that it was the trash cans’ fault for looking so pristine and explorable in the first place.

March gags again, the thought alone clearly having provoked her. Stelle sighs, closing her eyes and awaiting punishment. She doesn’t think it was bad, what she did, but she does understand why March definitely has something to say about it. She was pretty explicitly clear with her displeasure earlier.

“Is your bra constricting?” March asks quietly, leaning her hands on the table and staring down so her hair curtains her face. Stelle jolts, snapping her head up with a question in her eyes. She has no idea where this is going.

“Not really,” Stelle answers, turning and hurrying to the door to grab her form-fitting camisole from the heap of clothes by the door. She holds it up with a hum, letting March look over at it from her position at the table. March clears her throat, the faintest pink tickling her cheeks.

“Would you be uncomfortable sleeping in it?” she asks, almost at a whisper. Stelle looks down at the garment, thinking it over. Probably not, all things considered. It contours over her skin pretty close, but it’s not tight. Stelle shakes her head. March hums, then looks away and says, “You can wear that tonight. I didn’t smell anything earlier, so it’s just that one stain that really needs to go.”

Stelle nods even though March can’t see her and immediately rips her shirt over her head, quick to obey. She slips the camisole back on, adjusting it around her chest and pulling it down so the hem rests around the bottom of her diaphragm. It’s just as comfortable as her shirt, really, just a little different feeling.

March straightens when she hears Stelle stop shuffling around, looking over at her with an apologetic look. She opens her mouth to say something, but Stelle stops her with a shake of her head. It doesn’t matter now, it was her own fault. Smiling sheepishly, Stelle deposits her shirt on the floor next to her chair. She doesn’t want it with all her other clothes if it smells that bad.

“I didn’t mean to overreact,” March says sadly. Stelle turns her head, looking back at her with a surprised expression. “I just wasn’t expecting it, that’s all. I’m sorry.”

“It’s my fault,” Stelle tries to assure, taking a step to be in front of March again. She doesn’t like it when her warmth retreats so far away. “And I certainly don’t blame you. If you want, I can sleep on the floor this time, or maybe even this chair—”

“No,” March says with a tone of finality. She finally raises her head and gets a good look at Stelle without her shirt on. She doesn’t seem too torn up about it. “The bed will be fine. I want you there.”

“Then that’s where I’ll be. Do you want me to step out while you get changed?”

March shakes her head, smiling softly. Stelle can already feel the warmth growing again, slowly but surely stoking itself once more with each second March continues to smile. Stelle likes it much better this way.

“You’re fine right where you are,” March hums, reaching for the one bag she brought along. “Just turn around for a second, would you?”

Stelle is all too happy to oblige, immediately spinning on her heel and facing the wall. She even takes a step closer, just for good measure. She wouldn’t want to mess up any more tonight, not after that fiasco. What a close call.

The sound of shuffling and ruffling clothing fills Stelle’s ears for an almost agonizing minute or two. She’s starting to realize why March is always so red and awkward whenever Stelle gets ready for bed. Like wow the thoughts running through her head are making her question just about everything she’s ever been through. Though that doesn’t mean much, since she’s only actually been for about a week at most.

But even so, the sound of clothes being thrown to the floor gives her a lot to think about. A lot to think about regarding the intricate insets of cloth that she knows make March’s outfit beautifully complex. A lot to think about regarding the two buttons on the shirt that may or may not open up, since Stelle’s never seen it in any state other than how March usually wears it. A lot to think about regarding what March wears under—

Nope. Stelle cuts off that train of thought faster than a Stellaron breaking apart the Star Rail. Wow, if this is what March has dealt with both times, Stelle almost feels like she should be apologizing. Her face is warm, she wonders if she's noticeably blushing. 

"Okay," March calls out lightly, a little nervous waver in her voice. "You can turn around now."

Stelle does so immediately, spinning on her heel even though she's certain her face is still red. March is standing there, same as the night before, in the cutest pair of pajamas Stelle has ever seen. She's really, really cute.

March coughs and glances away, messing with her fingers and pretending to be interested in the wall. Her face is as red as Stelle feels. Stelle looks down. Oh, right, she's not wearing a shirt.

"Well," Stelle tries, wincing at how high pitched her voice sounds. It feels different this time. More…intimate. "We should probably get to bed."

"Yeah," March agrees, though she doesn't make any attempt to move. She looks up, clearly trying to subtly get a better look at Stelle in her nightwear. Stelle stands a bit straighter, posing as naturally as she can and pretending to be distracted with something outside the window.

Eventually, March relents and lets out a huge sigh. Stelle turns to her to find her walking towards her with an awkward expression. March stops right in front of her, less than an arm's reach away.

"Sorry," March says apologetically, pointedly avoiding Stelle's eyes. Stelle raises her eyebrows in question when March leans in. "I just…need to make sure."

Stelle freezes up when March very much enters the personal space around her neck. She's so close. She's close and her hair is tickling against her bare shoulder and she closes her eyes and oh by the Aeons—

March breathes in through her nose. She places one of her hands—they're so small—against Stelle's shoulder, chuckling and shaking her head lightly. Stelle breathes a shaky breath out, her arms twitching as if they want to wrap around March's waist and just hold her there forever.

"I don't know how you do it," March whispers, slowly leaning away. Stelle itches to stop her, but March stops herself halfway back to a standing position, looking up to find Stelle's eyes.

"Do what?" Stelle asks, her voice now reaching well up into the squeaky territory. March laughs softly.

"You smell good," she admits. Stelle wonders if she has a heart because she's pretty sure it would've just exploded if she did. The warmth is more like a scorching fire and Stelle is burning. "Which is weird since, you know, you've been digging through trash all day."

"It wasn't all day," Stelle defends, if only to desperately attach to something else to focus on rather than the sight of March staring up at her with tired eyes and a light smile and wow she smells good too…

"Really? What else did you do today?"

"I scared a hotel devil away by hiding in the closet."

March is silent for a beat. Her eyes slowly widen more and more, her jaw falling open. Stelle is trying hard not to stare but March is just so close that it's hard not to.

Then March saves her by breaking down in laughter, the electric atmosphere vanishing immediately when she doubles over. Stelle smiles, letting out a huge sigh to expel the tension in her shoulders. She doesn't think her good deed was all that funny, but if March is laughing about it then it certainly is.

"You what?" March wheezes, squeezing Stelle's shoulder tight to stay standing. Stelle almost places a hand against March's side to keep her stable, but shies away at the last moment. Too much.

"There was a devil here earlier," Stelle says surely, though the look March gives her melts some of that sureness away. She doesn't mind though. "I was in the closet at the time cause it's a really nice closet—perfect, even—and I scared it away when it came in disguised as room service."

March completely loses it, leaning fully against Stelle to stay upright. Stelle is quick, placing her hands on March's sides to keep her steady, hesitation gone. She can't help but grin, delighting in March's light, slightly stifled laugh. March is clearly trying to hold back, but it's also clearly not working very well.

Not that Stelle minds, anyway. No, Stelle is content right here, holding March against her body and smiling without a single care in the universe. She loves the laughter, the warmth. And now that she thinks about it, maybe hiding in the closet was a little strange. Not that she regrets it.

"Come on, you weirdo," March says happily, catching her breath and smiling with a look Stelle can't believe is aimed at her. March giggles a little more, leaning away with a happy sigh. "Let's get to bed."

"With you?" Stelle says with a smile. "Happily."

They turn out the lights one by one, content smiles on their faces, until they are under the covers once more. Stelle sighs almost dreamily, looking out the window towards the murky starline and then finding her real, tangible star right beside her.

March's eyes sparkle in the dim starlight, drawing Stelle in, ever closer. There is still space between them, but it feels like with every moment they are with each other it grows smaller and smaller. Stelle almost can't wait for it to be gone altogether.

But she will. She is patient, much the same as her past. She will take each moment as it comes, focusing on what's right in front of her first and foremost.

Luckily for her, March is the one right in front of her right now.

“Come on, March!” Dan Heng calls out through the door, knocking again. The commotion outside is only going to grow the longer they wait, and he doesn’t have a good feeling about this one.

The sounds of muffled cursing and frantic whispering drift through the door, making Dan Heng roll his eyes again and tap his foot against the floor. He crosses his arms and tries his best to not mind, but he’s anxious now.

“My shirt!” Stelle hisses, Dan Heng’s ears barely picking it up from his position in the hall. “March, where’s my shirt?!”

“I don’t know!” March calls back, sounding like she’s approaching the door. “Where did you throw it last night when I made you take it off?”

Dan Heng stops listening at that very moment, stepping away from the door and pointedly finding something else—anything else—to do. He can check on the situation outside again, surely.

“How many rooms, did you say?” Stelle asks, placing her hand on her chin. Gertie blinks, briefly looking down at the keys to make sure.

“Well Oleg didn’t actually tell me how many you were askin’ for,” she says, her eyes apologetic. She holds up the keys and presents them to Stelle. “But we’ve got three ready for y’all. If you need another, for whatever reason, just let us know, y’hear?”

“Three is perfect,” Stelle assures, smiling. Gertie looks relieved, happily smiling back and handing over the keys. Stelle takes them, checking the room numbers to see if they’re all next to each other. They are.

March perks up when she walks back up to them, keys in hand. Dan Heng stretches his back almost imperceptibly, crossing his arms and actually looking a little tired. It has been a long day, after all. For all of them.

“Three rooms?” March pouts, looking at the keys in Stelle’s hand. “Aw, man!”

“Hm?” Stelle asks, pausing as her smile drops a little. Did she misread March again? She thought this would be perfect. “Were you hoping for four? Gertie said we could ask if we needed any more…”

“Four?” March asks, tilting her head. “Why would we need four? There’s only three of us.”

“Bronya’s staying here too, right?” Dan Heng asks, looking at Stelle pointedly. Stelle nods, having figured that much was obvious. Where else would Bronya stay? Well, unless Oleg offered her some other place.

“Oh, Bronya!” March shouts, thoroughly surprised. Stelle feels the tension leave her in a heartbeat. “Oh this is perfect then! I totally forgot she was staying here too, sorry.”

Stelle laughs and shakes her head at March’s embarrassed smile, huffing and bumping March’s shoulder with her own. For a moment she really thought she had been misreading absolutely everything that’s happened between them. Maybe Stelle should work on that whole “communication” thing a little more too just to clear things up.

Besides, what even is this thing between them right now? It’s intangible and a little scary, but Stelle can tell that it’s something that she wants. At first she kind of figured it was normal, to feel this way, but the more she interacts with people the more special it feels. Like she couldn’t ever form this type of connection with anyone else, and maybe that she wouldn’t ever want to either. Stelle sends a glance March’s way, wondering if she feels the same way. It certainly feels like she does, but Stelle can’t really be certain.

Just how long have they known each other, again? It feels like years ago that Stelle was blinking her eyes open to the sight of a March 7th leaning over her, a worried expression on her face. Even though Stelle knows they’ve only shared a bed twice before, this night feels like just one of many.

“What do you think, Stelle?” March asks cutely. Stelle shakes her head a little to clear the thoughts from her head and tries her best to focus on whatever conversation is currently occurring. “Should we go ahead and call it a day, or walk around a bit more first?”

"I'm tired," Stelle shrugs, sagging a little. She's already explored all the trash cans anyway (making sure to be extremely careful this time), there's nothing left to keep her out here. "Let's go up to the room to rest."

"Time to rest again," March agrees easily, a soft smile on her face. Stelle turns to her, smiling back perhaps a little too strongly, since March quickly looks away with a bit of redness in her face. "I hope there aren't any surprises this time."

Stelle agrees. By the time they finally get around to actually walking into their room together, with Bronya safely stationed outside the hotel on watch, Stelle's starting to believe maybe there really won't be any. Or perhaps hoping is the correct term, she doesn't want to jinx anything.

March yawns, for real this time, as she shuts the door closed behind them. Stelle looks around the room while she has a moment, surprised at how similar it is to the one at the Goethe Hotel. They're about the same size, though this one feels noticeably emptier. But it's not a bad thing. She feels right at home.

"Huh," March says smartly, placing her hands on her hips. Stelle smiles at her, a knowing look in her eye. "This is just like my room back on the Express."

Stelle laughs softly, reaching a hand out to find March's and pull her along to the table at the window. "It certainly feels like it, doesn't it?" she asks, pulling out March's chair for her. March obliges with soft thanks and tinted cheeks. "Although it's missing a thing or two, I think."

"The stars," March says, her tone ticking up almost like a question. Stelle smiles and shakes her head.

"I have all the stars I need right here," she whispers, more to herself than anything. She looks out the window in front of them with a smile, her thoughts already wandering to happy memories and happier futures with March by her side.

The ceiling of the Underground is rough and shrouded in darkness, though the faintest remnants of light shine down in the form of electric bulbs from the furnace and the stray crystal Geomarrow. Stelle can totally pretend that they're actually stars twinkling in the distance of space if she wanted to. She doesn't because her star is currently sitting right beside her.

"Stelle," March says, her mind far away. Stelle turns, leaning an arm against the table and placing her chin on her hand happily. "Can we talk about this?"

"About what?" Stelle asks while tilting her head. She can't seem to look away even when March finally glances up, catching her eyes. March looks small like this.

"This thing," March whispers, staring at her hands. "Between us."

Stelle looks down with a frown. March seems serious about this, her face is even furrowed in like it does when she's trying to plan a strategy against a particularly tough creature of the Fragmentum. Stelle's not entirely sure she's following, though.

"The table?" Stelle asks, trying to wrap her head around it. It's certainly a table, but is it secretly something else in disguise? Stelle hadn't noticed, and it still feels like a normal table against her hands. March is smarter than her, she must've realized something or other.

March snorts, all the tension leaving her in an instant. It's replaced by delight, and suddenly Stelle doesn't care about the table any more. She doesn't care what it is, but if it's something that can make March smile like this then it must be good.

"Stelle!" March laughs, holding a hand against her face to stifle what she can. Stelle scoots in and lays her arm down, taking March's free hand from across the super special table thing. March sobers quickly as she stares at their now linked hands, but she can't seem to wipe the smile off of her face. "Not the table, silly."

Stelle hums, running her thumb over the joints of March's fingers. She had figured as much, as soon as March had started laughing, but that's okay. Waiting while unknowing is her new favorite thing to do, as long as March is on the other side waiting for her.

"I was talking about this," March says a little cutely, lifting their hands from the table. Stelle's eyes flicker up, catching March's smile. "This thing between us."

"Ohhh," Stelle drawls, the allusion finally clicking in her mind. March is talking about the romance between them. Or, well, is romance even the right word? "I get it now. What's there to talk about?"

March sighs, something like sadness flashing across her face. "Everything?" she says, more question than answer. Stelle squeezes lightly, trying to reassure her. "All of this has gone unspoken this whole time, don't you think we should talk about it?"

"I'm more than happy to talk about it if that's what you want, March." Stelle smiles, raising her eyebrows. "But I'm not really sure what there is to talk about, so you'll have to start."

March nods, swallowing and looking away for a moment. The glint of the pseudo-stars catch Stelle's eyes from the corner of her vision, and she wonders something. Their future has always been as uncertain as their past, definitely so throughout the entire week or so that Stelle's been awake. And for the first time since placing her worries among the stars, Stelle is without them. Perhaps that's why it seems March's worries are bubbling up now, when the both of them are far beneath the ground and hidden away from that that keeps them focused ever forward.

"Are we going too fast?" March asks quietly, staring out the window and pointedly avoiding Stelle's searching eyes. Stelle can feel the slight tremble in March's hand more than she can hear the shakiness in her voice. "I don't know how to feel right now because it seems like I've known you all my life but I know we've only actually stayed two nights together."

"Is 'fast' a bad thing?" Stelle challenges. She doesn't think so, but she understands just enough to see March's perspective. "Is there a speed that must be adhered to for whatever reason? Because I don't know about you, but it just feels right to me."

"That's the problem," March groans, hanging her head. "It feels right to me too, and that scares me because I've never felt this way before. It's new and unfamiliar and it's fast."

"Do you want to slow down? It might take some getting used to, but you know I'd be more than happy to."

"That's the other problem, though!"

Stelle's caught off guard. March snaps to her, leaning across the table and pointing an accusatory finger at a surprised Stelle.

"What about you, Stelle?" March questions, her eyes glinting in the dim light of their hotel room. Stelle's mouth falls open, but she can't find any immediate words. March presses on anyway. "You're focused so much on me that I can't tell if you even know who you are yet. You've barely started your adjustment period with this whole 'life' thing and I feel like you haven't even stopped to wonder whether or not you are who you want to be!"

Stelle ruminates on that for a moment, wavering but forever staring into March's eyes because she needs to know. She needs to know Stelle is serious, even here when she's being questioned so thoroughly. It's just going to take a moment to sort through all these feelings and turn them into words.

"Sorry," Stelle says, stalling, "but you'll have to give me a second to think on that."

"I know, and don't you ever apologize for it," March says, sniffling for reasons far beyond Stelle. "Take all the time you need, now and forever."

Stelle nods, clearing her throat even though she's not ready to speak. Neither of them have broken eye contact, but that's okay. Stelle is comfortable when she's looking into March's eyes, they always seem to be able to soothe her. But still, the warmth feels distant again.

Although, distance is not necessarily bad. That's one of the things Stelle really has learned just by being near March. It's their pasts that are distant, ever out of reach, but neither cares anymore. That distance is comfortable in its own way.

"I'm not sure what I am," Stelle finally says, grasping the first words she's happy with. She doesn't give herself time to second guess them. "Physically, I mean, I have no idea if I'm a human harboring life through the Stellaron in my chest or just a puppet made to carry it. Or maybe something different altogether. I don't remember a single thing about myself from before waking up. Even my name is just something I ran with when Dan Heng mistook me saying 'Stellaron' for 'Stelle.'"

March's breath hitches. Stelle smiles lightly, having guessed March hadn't figured it out yet. They're more similar than maybe either of them realize, really. But Stelle certainly doesn't mind the fact.

"I have no idea if I had a life before," Stelle continues with a shrug. "Frankly, I don't much care anymore. I did, though. For the first few days it was just all I could think about, y'know? But you taught me something, then, about being able to place my past among the stars and allow it to come to me when it's ready. I can seek and seek and seek all I want, but it might not ever be what I want it to be, so it's better to leave it there and focus on what's right in front of me instead."

Stelle thinks that if it weren't for March, she'd have spent a much, much longer time worrying about a past out of reach and a life without purpose. Maybe she'd still be on Herta Space Station, wandering aimlessly and routinely cleaning out the remaining Fragmentum. The only reason she tossed all those worries aside so fast was because March taught her how.

"I think I still have a lot to learn," Stelle admits, "but I do think I know who I am. I'm happy being a Trailblazer, I'm happy walking down this path and forging into a forever unknown. I got a taste of both the more exciting life and the more peaceful life on Herta Space Station, and neither of them particularly interested me. I wasn't sure about it when Himeko proposed I should join you all, but it didn't take much convincing because, honestly, you're the one thing that caught my eye."

"Why?" March asks, quiet.

"I don't know if I can answer that one just yet," Stelle says with a smile. She doesn't think she could put it all into words right now. "You told me that when you first woke up, knowing nothing, you reached up for the lights because you thought they were stars." March nods. "Well I think I did something similar with you. You're the first thing I really saw, and you just lit up the room so perfectly without even trying that it made me want to reach for you."

"Am I just a fleeting interest to you?"

"Of course not. Not in the slightest. You're the One, remember? The One thought that keeps drawing my focus and getting stuck in my head. The One thing that matters most to me because it makes me feel so strongly. You make me feel so strongly. All I can think of every time you're near me is how warm you are and how I so desperately want to be near that warmth forever. It's something that rises in my chest and makes my brain run wild because I still don't quite have the words to explain the nervous twitching in my hands and the sudden blush on my face when I catch a glimpse of you. And, honestly, I never want those words."

A moment passes in silence, Stelle having finally said her piece. It's not perfect, in fact Stelle would argue it's far from it. But she must admit that March has a point. They've known each other for a week, is that really long enough to feel the things they feel? Is that long enough to form such a connection that will actually stick?

"Wow," March breathes, her eyes a little wide. "That's a lot."

"I couldn't think of any other way to put it," Stelle apologizes, already thinking up page-length explanations and responses just in case.

March finally breaks away, her head turning down towards the table and her eyes finding themselves on their hands again. She taps on the table with her free hand, frowning in thought. Stelle isn't anxious, but she is a little worried that March will get too caught up in the technicalities of every word and not focus on what she actually means.

"Hey," Stelle says, leaning forward. "Don't think too hard about the specifics. Just believe me when I say that I like you enough to want to stay here, by your side."

"I just don't know," March sighs, "if I can be enough for you. When I woke up it took weeks, maybe even a few months, to work through things enough to be happy moving forward without a past."

"You're more than enough already," Stelle sighs, a little dreamily. Perhaps March could never understand the extent of that statement, but Stelle would certainly like to try to explain. "While I might not have been completely lost without you, it probably would've taken me just as long to get to that point. The one reason it didn't is because you were there to help me."

March hums, thinking all of that over. She looks up every once in a while to find Stelle's eyes again, but glances away just as quickly each time. Stelle smiles the whole time, content in such peaceful silence.

"So this thing," March tries, lifting their still joined hands in the middle of the table. "Is it something you could name? Is it just some admiration, some sort of vanity? What are we, Stelle?"

"That's ultimately up to you," Stelle says, pushing down whatever nerves are left. She's been a bit anxious this whole time, but now she really has to step harder if she wants to tell the truth. "I would call this thing love, I think. But what you do with it, that's not really up to me."

"Love?" March asks, breathless. Stelle nods as sincerely as she can, sure of herself and her words. March looks away with an obvious blush on her face, clearing her throat in a not-so-subtle manner. "Can such a thing really be called love? It's all just so fast."

"With you, it doesn't feel fast. And I wouldn't want it any other way."

March thinks about that, chewing on her bottom lip and staring at the floor. Her thumb taps against the back of Stelle's hand, some sort of nervous tic that keeps her thinking. Stelle lets her go, used to the ebb and flow of the warmth she's gotten to know so well. It comes and goes in waves, and that's a good thing.

"I still have a lot of reservations," March says, shutting her eyes for a moment to prepare herself. When she opens them, she's peeking up at Stelle through her bangs. "I've never felt this way about someone before, but I know I don't want to lose it. I'm terrified of losing it."

"I'm not going anywhere," Stelle says, believing in herself wholeheartedly. She doesn't want to lose March just as much as March doesn't want to lose her. "All I want is to be right here with you."

"Then let's start with that. For just tonight, let's slow down enough to learn what it means to be together."

"Of course."

March stands suddenly, gulping down her nerves and expelling her tension out in a harsh breath. Stelle moves to follow her, but March's hand tightening stops her. It takes a moment for either of them to move from that position, but, after a few seconds that tick too slowly, March finally moves.

She walks around the table, coming to stand in front of Stelle. Her hand shakes a little, her breathing coming out in quick, shaky exhales. Stelle tries to smile to reassure her, but her confusion must be written across her face because March just closes her eyes and shakes her head lightly.

Another harsh breath has March stilling. A moment drags on between them, calm and quiet and wholly benign. The electricity in the air dissipates in an instant, and Stelle comes to understand that she trusts in March completely. She might trust March more than she trusts herself.

"Stop me if it's too much," March whispers, leaning down slowly. Stelle blinks the final remnants of confusion away and nods in complete belief. March takes it, nodding in turn and taking a final step forward, directly into Stelle's little bubble of personal space.

It's one leg and then it's two legs placed on either side of Stelle's own. It's the warm and inhumanly soft body of March settling down right there on her lap, soft arms wrapping around her neck and staying there. It's March nestling into her, placing her head against Stelle's shoulder and letting herself finally relax. It's Stelle immediately wrapping her own arms around March's waist, pulling her impossibly closer and wrapping around her.

The chair isn't very comfortable, especially with the both of them squished into it, but Stelle spares it barely a single passing thought. She's too caught up in the feeling of March's body in her arms, too focused on the sound of March's breathing against her neck, so completely taken in by the soft, sweet smell of her March 7th.

She smells like the cold but she feels so completely warm.

"Is this," March whispers, her voice a little shaky, "too much?"

"No," Stelle immediately reassures. She wraps her arms a little tighter, getting lost in the March 7th currently sitting in her lap and completely encased in her arms. "This is perfect."

"Good," March hums, a smile finally coming to her voice. She nestles further into Stelle's shoulder, shifting slightly. "I'm glad."

Stelle lifts her eyes to look out the window again. The Underworld is different from the Overworld in too many ways to count, but the lack of a true night is the most obvious to her right now. No lights click on as the sun sets, no people begin to wind down at the end of a long day. The only thing telling people what time it is is their clocks, and it appears that quite a sizable portion of the population disregards them altogether. Everyone is independent down here, awaking and living when it suits them first and foremost.

Stelle can’t decide whether she thinks that’s a noble or lonely existence, but she wonders if she’s much different. She’s always focused on what’s right in front of her, same as these Underworlders who so wholly believe that a light might not exist on the horizon. But the thing that separates them, the thing that keeps Stelle from drifting off to the edge of space without purpose, is March. March taught her to look to the stars, and now she’s teaching her to look away every once in a while. Stelle wants nothing more than to last in this moment forever.

Her thoughts bounce around her head without much purpose. They fill the silence of a room reserved just for them, keeping Stelle grounded and focused on what it means to love the girl in her lap. She wonders about her position in the universe and the meaning of being alive for the sole purpose of wanting to become even closer to March. She wants to love even stronger than she does already.

March’s breath suddenly hitches, her upper body jolting. Stelle immediately looks down, finding March’s wide eyes with her own curious ones. March stares at her for a moment, then looks down at Stelle’s chest, then looks back up. Stelle raises an eyebrow silently, rubbing one of her hands into March’s back in an attempt to calm her.

March closes her mouth, setting her jaw and looking down again. She leans in with newfound purpose, turning to the side and pressing her ear against Stelle’s chest. A moment passes, and then two. March presses closer, closing her eyes and seeming to focus.

“You don’t have a heartbeat,” March mutters, staying an extra few seconds to make sure. Then she looks up, opening her eyes to blink up at Stelle. “Stelle…”

“No,” Stelle says with a smile and shake of her head, her expression softening immediately. She can tell that this is a surprise to March. She takes her hand gently, lifting it and placing it against the center of her chest, pressing it there. “I don’t have a heartbeat, but—”

March gasps. She stares at her hand placed in the middle of Stelle’s chest, pressing a little harder. Stelle knows it's extremely faint and not in the place one would expect, she’s not surprised March missed it. And technically, it’s not a heartbeat anyway.

“What is that?” March asks, her eyebrows furrowing as she focuses. Stelle smirks, rolling her eyes playfully.

“The Stellaron,” she says gently, letting her hand fall back to its position around March’s back. She tucks a little closer, letting March feel the quiet, slow pulse of the Stellaron. It doesn’t beat like a heart, but still its energy seems to oscillate in her chest, pushing and pulling in almost silent vibrations.

“Wow.”

They stay like that for a while, March simply listening to the “Stellaron-beat” that pulses in Stelle’s chest while Stelle herself remains wrapped around March’s smaller body. It’s comfortable in the way that Stelle can feel the cheap chair digging into her back just as much as she can feel the warmth of March enveloping her. But Stelle wouldn’t trade it for the world.

“Hay, Stelle?” March asks after a few minutes of silence, shifting uncomfortably. Stelle hums in acknowledgement, leaning down a bit and tucking her head against March’s. “Do you…want to go to bed?”

“Only if we can keep cuddling,” Stelle grunts, too happy to even consider letting go. March laughs, the sound of it ringing in Stelle’s ears and making her smile.

“Of course,” she says, shifting to slowly extract herself from Stelle’s grip. Stelle whines a little, but otherwise pulls her arms in and allows the warmth to slip away. March assures her with a smile reserved only for her. If Stelle really did have a heart, she knows it would be beating wildly. “Just make sure you take off your shirt again, I know you haven’t washed that stain out yet.”

Stelle looks away, chuckling and rubbing the back of her head. No, she definitely hasn’t. It’ll be nice to finally grab some showers in the morning, maybe they’ll even have time to wash their clothes if they’re lucky. But those are thoughts for the future, Stelle couldn’t care about that now when March is right in front of her, already beginning to untie the bow that keeps her clothes in place around her waist.

Stelle stands and turns away, knowing well enough by now how this part goes. She hears March turn away as well, and this time they undress together, separated only by sight. Stelle smiles, her chest filling with warmth and appreciation that March is feeling more and more comfortable around her each day. But as always, Stelle will wait patiently, for as long as it takes, forever more.

It isn’t until the lights have been turned off and the curtains drawn closed that Stelle invites March into her arms once more, sliding into bed beside her. Stelle can barely see the smile March points at her in the darkness, but her warm body tucking up against her is more than enough for her anyway.

She drapes an arm over March’s torso, her body wrapping around March’s completely. Stelle gulps her nerves down one last time, her chest squeezing at March’s trust in her. She hadn’t really considered just how much taller she was until just now, but it is certainly a feeling to behold. March is…really small.

Stelle closes her eyes, pulling March’s tiny body ever closer to her own and trying her best to completely envelop her. Her star, in reach. Not just in reach, her star is well within her grasp. Stelle never wants to let go.

When Stelle finally does drift off to sleep, a happy smile on her face and her arms full of the girl she loves, it’s something restless and plagued by hazy visions. That’s not March’s fault, though, and so when Stelle leaves a few hours later, it’s because she can’t stand to think that she might interrupt the peaceful expression on March’s face with her own problems.

"Dan Heng!" March 7th hisses, knocking on his door as quietly yet loudly as she can. She doesn't want to disturb the other guests, but she needs to talk to him immediately. "Dan Heng! Wake up!"

The door swings open to reveal a groggy Dan Heng rubbing his eyes and yawning. He looks bothered by March 7th's sudden interruption, but he doesn't seem surprised in the slightest. Well fine, she doesn't care what he thinks anyway!

"March?" he croaks, already sighing through another yawn. "What do you want? It's way too early for this."

"Stelle's gone missing!" March 7th frets, turning back to the door to her room down the hallway, her mind racing. Did she push Stelle too far too fast? No, that wouldn't make sense, it was her who asked to take things slower.

"Of course she has," Dan Heng says, blinking heavily. He stumbles a tiny bit, leaning up against the doorframe. "What, you're worried about her? Just go after her or something. You disappear all the time."

March has to give him that. Should she even be concerned about Stelle's sudden disappearance? Perhaps Bronya came to fetch her because something happened at the mine, or perhaps she went out on her own to swap for the lookout shift.

"Don't be a hypocrite," Dan Heng says, looking tired. He grabs the door with one hand when he sees March 7th worry her bottom lip between her teeth and turn away. "If anything, we should be worried about whatever Stelle runs into, not her. Good night."

"Wait, Dan Heng!" March 7th cries, but the door is already slamming in her face. "Dammit, I wanted to know if you think she really likes me back or not!"

A decently warm shower and a change of clothes is finally afforded to Stelle.

Finally.

“That was way better than it had any right being,” Stelle sighs dreamily, taking a seat by the window once more. March hums in agreement, having taken her shower that morning while Stelle was out. Though, considering what they’ve been through today, Stelle wouldn’t be surprised if she went for round two.

“How are your clothes?” March asks, turning in her chair at the desk and tossing her pen aside. She smiles at Stelle, leaning back a little and stretching her arms above her head.

“Mmm, comfy,” Stelle admits, shrinking in a little and averting her eyes to prevent herself from staring. Her freshly washed clothes really are comfortable though, it appears they fluff up wonderfully in the wash. “Still a little warm, though.”

“I’d offer to cool you back down, but I don’t think you’ll like six-phased ice very much.”

Stelle shakes her head, chuckling a little. No, she probably wouldn’t. Though, if it was from March herself, she might not mind. She wonders if her body heat matters, since her lifeforce is basically just a Stellaron anyway. She certainly feels the temperature, but could she die from it?

“You’re thinking something strange again, aren’t you?” March suddenly asks, catching Stelle off guard. Stelle’s sheepish grin must be answer enough, since March giggles and leans forward with a knowing look in her eyes. “Tell me what you’re thinking. I love to hear what’s going on in that beautiful mind of yours.”

“Do you think the cold would kill me?” Stelle asks, not one to disappoint. March blinks once and then twice, wrapping her head around that. Stelle continues on, “Like I can feel temperature but does a Stellaron care about that? The one we’re chasing is somewhere hidden out in the cold, right? I might be fine…”

March stands and walks over to the table, shaking her head happily and pulling the other chair over to sit right next to Stelle. Stelle leans over and grabs March’s arm, looking up at her with a curious expression, expecting an answer even though she looks a little serious now.

“You know you’re not just a Stellaron, right?” March asks, lifting a hand to swipe away Stelle’s bangs. Stelle blinks, turning that over in her head. March smiles gingerly, her eyes full of something that Stelle thinks she might finally be able to begin to place. “You’re so much more than that, Stelle. Even if the Stellaron wouldn’t care, it’s only a part of you. I think the rest probably wouldn’t be happy, right?”

Stelle nods slowly, humming in agreement. She hadn’t really considered it, but she has been a bit more conscious of the Stellaron in her chest ever since last night. Perhaps she started thinking of herself as the Stellaron at some point. But March is right, it’s just a small part of her at the end of the day. She's still human in every other way that matters.

“You’re so smart, March,” Stelle smiles as she shifts in her seat to pull March closer to her body. She wraps her arms around March’s waist and raises back to a sitting position, tucking March in below her chin. “I hadn’t even thought about that! The rest of me would definitely mind.”

“You’re far smarter than me,” March challenges, looking up and raising her hand to place it on Stelle’s cheek. Stelle leans into the touch, but she frowns down at March all the same. “You amaze me every day.”

“Well, why can’t we both be smart?” Stelle pouts, finding March’s eyes and staring intently. She doesn’t want March to feel left out. “Does it have to be a competition?”

March blinks, silent for a moment. Her hand relaxes, but Stelle raises her own to keep it in place against her cheek. The warmth is nice, even if her clothes are fluffy enough to keep her “warm” right now. It’s the other kind of warmth that she wants beside her right now.

Then March laughs, a sort of free and happy laugh that brings lights to her eyes and simple joy to her face. “There’s that brilliance again,” she sighs, lowering her head and shifting to nuzzle back more into Stelle’s side. “But you’re right. It’s not a contest.”

“Yay,” Stelle says, genuinely happy. She rocks against March’s body, a little giddy from whatever feeling is rising in her chest. She’d still like to call it love.

“Aeons, you are so cute it hurts.” March shakes her head and laughs again, a bit fuller this time. “Sometimes I can’t believe how adorable you are.”

“Have you seen yourself lately?” Stelle asks, a bit dumbfounded. Her cheeks are burning already. “You’re just about the picture-perfect definition of cute and adorable. Do you have any idea what you do to me just by being so…small?”

March sputters, squirming. Luckily, she’s so tiny that Stelle can easily lock her in place just by boxing her arms and squeezing a little. March squeals, laughing happily and turning to look up at Stelle’s smiling face again.

“Hey,” March fake pouts, her eyes glinting almost mischievously. Stelle just grins wider and refuses to move. March blinks, as if realizing something, “Wait, whatever happened to that whole no competitions thing?”

Stelle suddenly breaks eye contact, glancing away sheepishly. Well, March got her there, she did just say they could both be smart, why shouldn’t they both be cute? Stelle shakes her head, acquiescing the point to March.

“Sorry,” she says anyway, looking back down and nuzzling into March’s hair. “I just wanted to say that you’re cute too. Perhaps to a stronger degree, even.”

“Fine,” March says, rolling her eyes but unable to wipe the giddy smile on her face. Stelle smiles back, sighing in contentment and letting everything else melt away. “And anyway, the point was that you shouldn’t go rushing into the cold without me. Don’t go dying on me now.”

Stelle hums and nods, accepting March’s request easily. She doesn’t quite want to be going anywhere away from March any time soon, so it should be easy for her to stay here where it is warm. She likes it where it is warm.

March shifts in her arms, grunting a little and clearly trying to get comfortable. Stelle releases her grip for a moment, allowing March to climb fully onto her lap, where she then sticks her legs out and rests them on her chair beside them now. She sits sideways, turning her body to face Stelle but leaving her legs twisted.

“Better?” Stelle asks, her arms hovering in the air while March furrows her eyebrows and thinks about it. After a moment, March nods and leans back in.

“Much,” she beams, allowing Stelle to close her arms and hug her once more. Stelle wonders if she’ll ever get tired of this. Hopefully not, since she loves every last moment of it, but she does faintly think that March was smart to slow them down. Too much too fast could’ve been a problem.

March nuzzles into the crook of Stelle’s arm, murmuring appreciations to herself and placing her arms behind Stelle’s back. The moments they share like this seem to grow in both quantity and intensity every day, but Stelle thinks they feel so absolutely right. March seems to agree, if her muttering about the “warm and fluffy” things she’s currently enveloped in is any indication.

Stelle turns her head, finding herself looking out the window again. The lights are the same as the night before, but somehow they seem all that much brighter. She thinks they’ll all be happy to be above ground again, but Stelle certainly hasn’t minded her time down here in the Underworld. She’s learned so much each and every day, she can’t wait for what tomorrow brings.

One second drags into two which drags into three until it has been minutes since they last moved, both content to stay in the other’s arms. Stelle continues to stare out the window at the busy yet shady streets of Boulder Town, ruminating on her time alive and the time she will continue to be alive. She holds March tight, afraid to let go but just as afraid of squeezing too tight. What’s the right answer? How does she even do this?

“Hey Stelle?” March asks, breaking their soft silence with quiet words. Stelle hums in acknowledgement, but does not move. March sighs out a breath that feels heavy against the warm clothes hanging to Stelle’s body. “You…mentioned love, yesterday.”

“I did,” Stelle nods, her eyes far but her thoughts completely focused on March. She’s even more certain that that feeling really is love, especially since it’s still settled comfortably in her chest. “What about it?”

“I was just wondering…” March mumbles before trailing off, lowering her head further into Stelle’s arm. It takes a moment before March sighs and forges onward, “I was thinking that maybe I love you too.”

Stelle smiles, her chest suddenly squeezing with that feeling that she’d really, really, really like to call love. She does turn now, moving to pull just half a breath away and look down at March, who's hair curtains around her head and hides her face.

“You just wanted to steal that from me, didn’t you?” Stelle teases, beaming at March with the happiest smile she thinks she’s ever mustered. She can’t even begin to describe all the feelings she has in this moment.

“Huh?” March asks, pulling back a little and finally looking up at Stelle. Her cheeks are ablaze, but still the confusion is written all over her face. “Steal what?”

Stelle clicks her tongue and shakes her head in false disapproval. “I never even got to say I love you,” she chides playfully, her grin breaking back out in a giggle before she can even get out the full sentence. March blinks once, then twice, and then turns away quickly as her entire face goes red. Stelle laughs, delighting in the embarrassed March 7th trapped in her arms once more.

“You dummy,” March mumbles, tucking back into Stelle’s side and squeezing her torso tight. Stelle responds in kind, finding her way back to the top of March’s head, burrowing her face into March’s hair.

“Then let me say it now.” Stelle feels March tense, but she relaxes and nods silently a second later. Stelle smiles impossibly wider. “March 7th, I love you.”

March gulps and exhales, the action clearly defined when she’s so close she’s practically merging with Stelle’s body. Then she nods and hums in delight. “Stelle, I love you too.”

Yes, this feeling is definitely love. What else could it be? What else could describe the squeezing yet overflowing of her chest, the warmth suddenly flooding through her veins, the tightening of her lungs, the seizing of her muscles? She wants to give an infinite amount more to March, it hurts to not be able to. She wants to scream her love from each and every rooftop, yet still she is not able to.

Perhaps she should anyway, just to prove that maybe someday she could. No, not yet, they’re supposed to be taking it slow. She can be patient, can’t she?

“You know,” March mutters, twisting enough to just barely peek at Stelle through her hair, "I never would've expected this is where I'd end up when I first met you."

"Really?" Stelle asks with a hum, unclasping her hands and tapping idly on March's side. It calms her a little, and luckily it doesn't seem like March minds. "I saw Dan Heng first, but you were the first thing I focused on. I had a feeling, even back then."

"Seriously?" March questions in turn, her tone incredulous. "You've known all along?"

Stelle thinks it over for a moment, humming idly and reaching her other hand up to play with March's hair. She's beginning to really, really love simply being idle and cuddling with March.

"I wouldn't say I knew I'd fall in love with you," Stelle says, glancing up at the ceiling to think it through. March exhales a shaky breath in the quick silence. "Moreso that you were the thing I latched onto. You were my light, you were my star. You still are."

March whines, looking down in embarrassment. Stelle lets her hide away, simply smiling to herself and patting March's side as if to remind her it's okay. 

"I'm really glad you're the one I chose to chase after," Stelle whispers, ghosting a breath and then a light, almost intangible kiss to the crown of March's head. She's not sure if March feels it, but she receives a shudder in return all the same.

"Is this really okay?" March wonders, almost directed at herself. Stelle runs her hand through March's hair as if to reassure her. "Is it really okay to fall in love so quickly? I know I feel like I've known you all my life, but the truth is that I haven't. It's still so fast."

"I'll go as slow as you want," Stelle promises easily. "If this is too much, if this is all too much, I'll step aside with nothing more than a passing thought."

"And what do you want, Stelle?"

"To stay here with you forever, pretending this moment could never end."

"And when it does eventually end?"

"To continue forward step by step into the unknowns of our futures, side by side with you."

Silence. A beat and then March is nodding. She breathes out a shaky breath, nodding a little faster, a little more sure. She grips Stelle's back for a second, but then it passes and she's letting go with a happy sigh. March pulls away just a breath, adjusting to meet Stelle's eyes again.

"Okay," March all but whispers. There are tears shining in her happy eyes. Stelle moves to catch them with her thumbs, smiling back at her star. "Okay. Let's do it. Let's love each other."

“You have no idea how happy that makes me,” Stelle breathes, blinking in surprise as she feels tears pricking at the edge of her vision. She swallows thickly, nodding as if that would say something more. She glances away, letting her mind take off at lightspeed into thoughts that don’t quite fit together. She’s just so happy right now that she has to let it go.

Stelle is acutely aware of March leaning back in and wrapping herself around her body, tightening her arms and holding Stelle close. Stelle smiles, nodding a few more times and then responding in kind, her chest positively aching at not being able to give enough. If she could give March the universe, she would, but still she knows that it would never be enough.

It hurts to love, Stelle realizes. It’s an actual, physical pain in her chest, an aching in her muscles that forces her to pull her love as close as possible, it's a loss of all the breath in the world. Stelle buries her head in March’s neck, trying her best to let everything slip away all at once. Maybe she's not entirely successful, but all she wants right now is to be right here, enveloped by March’s arms.

The exhaustion sets in slowly and yet all too quick, reminding Stelle that she has not had a good night’s rest in far too long. But she wants so desperately to stay right here with March, she briefly considers letting her eyes slide shut and simply falling asleep right there. But then March is stirring in her lap and whispering sweet nothings and Stelle knows that the quicker they get in bed, the quicker they can continue cuddling.

“Let’s go to bed,” March mumbles directly into Stelle’s ear, rubbing comforting circles into her back. “It’s been a long day for both of us.”

Stelle sighs and nods, loosening her arms just a little to let March wiggle from her grasp. She swings around, lowering her legs and shifting on Stelle’s lap. Before she goes, she gives Stelle one last glance, one that holds so much and says so much more. Stelle briefly considers leaning in to close the gap between them, but she knows that it’s her who won't be able to handle it.

“Thank you,” Stelle says. She thanks March for everything at once, counting her lucky stars in just a single moment. March immediately understands, smiling wider and giving an almost imperceptible nod. Then she slips away, standing on wobbly legs and stumbling a step forward.

March laughs to herself, looking down and simply standing there for a moment as her legs readjust to circulation. Stelle may not be entirely human, but she does still have all these memories of humanity all the same. March takes a shaky step forward, then stomps her leg once to finish it off.

Stelle follows her, standing up after a second and watching in amusement as March wills feeling back into her legs. She loves this…domesticity. She just…really loves March 7th.

Okay, her eyes are starting to feel really heavy now, she really should get to bed. Not even vivid dreams and restlessness could hold her back from sleeping with March in her arms now. Finally, she will be free to love and love freely. Although she’s probably going to fall asleep the second her head hits the pillow.

“Hey, Stelle?” March asks, still turned away and facing the wall. Stelle hums a question in response, idly stretching out her back and sighing at the faintest pops. March hesitates for a moment or two, but then, “Do you…want to turn away?”

“Oh, yeah, of course,” Stelle says, an apology rapidly falling from her lips. She didn’t realize March was getting ready already, they’re barely a few steps away from each other! Something about getting even more comfortable, she supposes.

“No,” March all but whispers, catching a glance from Stelle before she turns back away, knowing March likes her privacy. Stelle waits patiently for March’s explanation. “No, I mean, do you want to turn away?”

Stelle freezes, thinking it over thrice before even beginning to parse it. She braces herself, begins to turn, second guesses herself, stops, shakes her head, and then gathers enough courage to actually fully turn back around all in the span of just a few seconds. She stares at March, who’s turned her head just enough to peek at Stelle through her bangs.

“Are you asking me,” Stelle says, dumbfounded, “if I want to watch?”

Stelle blinks. March blinks. They both blink again.

“Well not when you put it like that!” March yelps, turning fully away and hunching in on herself to hide her face in her hands. Stelle stutters out a laugh, her cheeks burning hotter than the entire organization of Wildfire put together. She avoids looking at March completely, the embarrassment making her feel light-headed. “Dummy, that’s not what I meant! Agh, why is this so hard!?”

“Hey, hey,” Stelle sputters between self-aware laughs, taking a quick step forward to crouch down beside March. Her blush is already spreading throughout her entire body, she can feel it, but she has eyes only for March now. “Sorry, I’m sorry. I know that’s not what you meant now, I just misunderstood.”

“Don’t apologize for that,” March mumbles, keeping her head down but shifting enough to reach out and grab Stelle. She pulls her close, tucking her head into Stelle’s neck again. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get worked up. And I don’t ever mean it when I call you a dummy. I love that gorgeous brain of yours, remember?”

Stelle laughs softly, finding herself entranced by an embarrassed March once again. “I know,” Stelle whispers, and she means it. She knows March would never mean it.

“Good. I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

March sighs, pulling away and looking up at Stelle with a determined gaze now. Stelle places a hand on her cheek, gazing into those breathtaking iridescent eyes that she’s come to love so much. March is beautiful all the time, but she’s particularly beautiful on occasions like these.

“I'm serious, though,” March says then. Stelle tilts her head a little, silently asking March for clarification. “If you don’t want to turn away any more, you don’t have to. I’m more than comfortable enough with you.”

“Okay,” Stelle says with a nod. She understands that this is March’s way of forging onward well enough by now. The steps are a little different from what she expected, but Stelle isn’t exactly complaining. “Then you don’t have to turn away from me, either, okay?”

March clears her throat a little, breaking her gaze and looking away in embarrassment. She coughs awkwardly and then nods, whispering a quiet, “Okay.”

Stelle beams and guides them both back to a standing position, allowing March to untangle herself from their mess of arms. What a night it’s been so far. Stelle feels the awkward atmosphere physically, shifting from foot to foot as if in preparation. She takes a step back, and then another, just to be safe.

Without words, Stelle decides to just get it over with. Her shirt is clean now, so she doesn’t have to take it off, but she still has to get beneath it to remove her cami bra. She’s almost used to sleeping in just that now anyway, but she does still think that her shirt is comfier for sleep. Especially with how fluffy it still is from the wash.

Humming and looking away, Stelle shucks off her coat first, tossing it over the back of the chair quickly and sparing it no second thought. The hard part is getting the rest off without melting into a puddle of goo on the floor. She can feel March’s eyes burning into her from the edge of her vision, but she finds she doesn’t mind the attention.

Stelle pulls her arms in and lets her sleeves fall. Her shirt is pretty loose already, Stelle finds herself fixing the shoulders far too often while out and about. Luckily, because it's so loose, it's not too much effort to pull one arm out of her bra strap and then pull the other out without letting it fall. The freedom is liberating when the garment finally peels away from her chest.

And so she is down one bra, it slipping over her head without her shirt riding any lower than the first hint of curvature it meets. Stelle places her arms back into her sleeves, sneakily stealing a glance to see how March took that. Very well, if her peeking through the gaps of her fingers is any proof. Stelle can guess how red her face must be if she's completely hiding it behind her hands.

Unfortunately, the rest of her outfit is far less exciting. Her shoes, socks, and gloves slip off easier than ever and she simply steps out of her skirt to reveal the shorts she always has on underneath. The only thing she even slightly makes a show of is the strap around her left thigh, but even then all she can reasonably manage is bending over to slide it down her skin while keeping a careful eye on how much her shirt hangs.

When Stelle is finally clad in just her shirt and shorts, she gathers all her clothes and sets them on her chair. She leans on the back, finally turning to face March fully, one eyebrow raised. March scoffs, quickly removing her hands and turning away as if Stelle didn't know exactly what she was doing the whole time.

March pauses, swinging her arms a little and taking a deep breath. She hesitates for a moment too long and Stelle gets worried.

"You know you don't have to—" Stelle tries to say, but March holds up her hand to stop her.

"I want to," she claims, her tone final. Stelle believes her because of course she believes her, but even still it takes a moment before March looks sure of herself. "I just haven't really done this before. Ever."

"Take all the time you need," Stelle says, bowing her head even though March can't see her. She wants this to be a comfortable moment, not an obligatory one.

"Thank you." March pauses for a second. "But I'm ready now."

She's not kidding. For the first time, Stelle gets a good look at just how March's intricate outfit works. It's way more interesting than Stelle gave it credit for.

First comes the coat. It's simply wrapped around March's waist, but it still provides her with her iconic blue and pink sleeves. She unties the front, a simple knot that keeps it bound, and pulls it up from beneath the waist of her skirt. It's tucked in pretty well all the time, but it turns out that it comes undone quite easily when it's untied. Really, it's just a loose piece of fabric that falls to the floor when March unclips it from the collar of her shirt.

Stelle takes a moment to breathe a harsh breath out through her nose, her once cocky position leaning against her chair becoming more meek by the moment. She's staring pretty hard, but she has permission to, right? She's totally not being weird about it. Totally normal, average thing that girlfriends do. Wait, are they girlfriends now?

March unbuckles her skirt. Stelle immediately goes ramrod straight, trying her best not to be obvious but not quite succeeding with how curious she is now. She hadn't been able to figure it out when she first pondered March's outfit back on Herta Space Station, but now she gets to see it up close.

It turns out the belt-like orange strip of polyester that hangs around the side of March's hips actually tucks around back to wrap around her waist on the inside of the skirt. The two layers of utility on top and pretty cloth on bottom are actually connected, completely sewn together with just the belt kept between them. When March pulls a certain way on the bottom of the orange strap where her camera hangs, her entire skirt just loosens.

Stelle's so focused on the mechanism of the skirt that she almost misses when March pulls the strap and lets it fall to the floor in a heap. Stelle stares for only a single second, then immediately looks away, her cheeks warmer than ever.

Oh Aeons she was not prepared for that. Oh wow. Oh wow oh wow oh wow. Stelle raises her hands to place them over her face, trying her best to be subtle about how much she's freaking out. Her breathing is harsh enough to be audible.

March giggles, drawing Stelle's attention again, but then she realizes she's been caught and places a hand over her mouth. She sends a knowing glance Stelle's way, it caught by a Stelle peeking through the gaps between her fingers. She gets it now.

March continues, bringing her hands to her chest to undo the buttons of her shirt. The top two buttons are all that exist, but they prove to be all March needs for her purposes. Her shirt actually goes decently far down, all the way to her hips, so instead of dealing with far too many buttons she just grabs the hem of her shirt and pulls it right up over her head.

Stelle stares, then stares some more. Wildfire has nothing on her blushing power, she's sure of it now. March's underwear matches. Because of course it does. It's also insanely cute. Because of course it is.

Unfortunately for Stelle—or perhaps fortunately from the right perspective—March wears a full-cup bra. Which would be horribly uncomfortable to wear to bed. Which means that now March has to take off her bra. Which means it is definitely time for Stelle to spin on her heel right now.

The sight of March's back facing her, her hands coming up behind her to find the clasp there, is burned into Stelle's mind. Perhaps forever. She absolutely does not want to forget it, but she also absolutely could not deal with accidentally getting an eyeful or something. She would probably be less than a puddle of goo at that point.

Rustling and soft humming suddenly greets Stelle's tired ears. March definitely heard her turn around, so it seems like now she still wants to keep Stelle included even though she's not watching anymore. To Stelle, it's just about the sweetest thing she could ever think of.

Stelle almost wants to take a peek. Almost. She knows that the various harness-like strips of material and shoes are all that's left for March to take off, which she likely already did in the time it's been since Stelle turned around. So then the only thing left would be actually putting on her sleepwear, and that's the part Stelle wouldn't mind seeing. But there's always next time, when maybe she's a little more confident and a little more able to handle March's back completely bare.

She's so wrapped up in her thoughts that Stelle doesn't even hear March sidle up behind her. It's not until March throws her arms around her shoulders, now clad in her pajamas, that Stelle yelps and notices her presence.

"You okay?" March asks, her concern evident in her tone. Stelle nods, lowering her hands and leaning back into March's arms. "Sorry if that was too much."

"It wasn't," Stelle assures, shaking her head with a happy smile on her face. She wouldn't have had it any other way.

"Good," March smiles, pressing a soft kiss to the back of Stelle's neck. "I'm glad."

Stelle really, really wants to focus on that kiss. She wants to hoop and holler about it, wants to obsess over every little thing it could mean. But unfortunately her exhaustion finally hits her and makes her yawn. Loudly.

March giggles from behind her, her lips vibrating against Stelle's neck and sending a shiver down her spine. That feeling is back, overwhelming all of Stelle's senses and yet still feeling so unequivocally right in her chest.

"Let's get to bed," March says, unwrapping her arms and finding Stelle's hand. She tugs, pulling Stelle around and towards the bed without any complaint against it. They turn out the lights happily, dimming their hotel room into darkness one light at a time.

And then, finally, after far too long awake, Stelle is finally in bed once more with March 7th, her love and her star. Stelle doesn't even pretend to be hesitant this time, she just immediately grabs March around the waist and pulls her in, slotting her right where she wants her. March sighs something happy, tucking against her as if she, too, wants nothing more in the world than to simply cuddle. Perhaps that's not too far off…

Stelle closes her eyes, breathes in the fresh scent of March 7th's hair, and then immediately drifts off to the happiest sleep of her life.

Bronya stares up into the sky, her jaw slack and her eyes wide.

No. No, no, no this was not supposed to happen, this isn't how it goes. She can only barely will herself to keep staring, the entire world moving in slow motion for that split second.

Stelle is falling. There's a pillar of ice sticking through her chest on both ends, a lance directly through the heart. If Stelle didn't die on impact, she's certainly not far from it.

A wail rips from March 7th's lips from beside Bronya. She moves before any of them can, taking that first running step forward as if she could hope to save Stelle. Bronya kicks forward less than a second later even though she knows it won't matter.

What matters is keeping March 7th from doing something drastic after witnessing her lover die in front of her. Bronya's the head of the Silvermane Guards, she's seen this song and dance far too many times. And March 7th and Stelle are the worst lovebirds she's ever met

Were. They were the worst.

A pulse of red, of flame, wraps around Stelle's body for a moment. It manifests and then forms itself into something none of them can make out far too fast for any of them to recognize what just happened. Stelle's body disappears behind the giant robot's figure and March reaches out a hand, desperate.

She's standing. Stelle is standing there, a flaming lance that looks suspiciously like the spear that was just in her chest gripped tightly in one hand. She's alive.

March 7th laughs and maybe sobs in complete relief, staring up at Stelle with an immensely thankful and even more immensely overjoyed expression. Bronya and the rest of them slide to a stop next to her, looking up at Stelle in disbelief.

Stelle nods, and then she turns and points her lance at Bronya's mother. There's no more going back.

Bronya's ready to see this through. And if the tears running down March 7th's cheeks are any indication, she is too. They can protect everyone. They can save everyone.

They have to.

The door clicks shut behind her, the silence enveloping. Stelle stands there, the joyful yet somber mood of everything slowly fading away into the background.

March 7th stands in front of her, her back turned. She's staring at her own bed, her hands clenching and unclenching over and over again. Stelle waits for a long, drawn out moment, never daring to take her eyes off of her March. Not when she's like this.

"Come here," March commands, and Stelle obeys. She steps forward immediately, heeding March's second call which takes the form of a finger curling in a gesture. March breathes out a slow, controlled breath. It's clear that now that their downtime has finally begun, everything they put off is finally starting to hit.

Stelle waits, as patient as ever. She stares at March and continues to stare, unable to catch those beautiful eyes she loves so much. March's head is tilted down, her hair covering her face. She clenches her hands again, and she doesn't relax them.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was?" March asks quietly. Her words, though whispered, are louder than the howling winds of The Eternal Freeze to Stelle's ears. "Worried doesn't even begin to cover it. I was completely heartbroken, torn up and thrown aside, slammed into the deepest pits of the worst reality, whatever you want to call it, in that moment. Do you know how awful that was?"

"I could make a guess," Stelle says, clasping her hands in front of her. She's never experienced those feelings in the way March has, but just the thought of their positions being reversed sends so much anxiety through her body that she doesn't want to consider it. That's why she threw herself in front of March back on the Herta Space Station. "I'm sorry."

"'Sorry' doesn't matter when you're dead, Stelle," March says, her voice trembling. She shakes a little, and Stelle wants nothing more than to reach out and find her warmth again.

"I know."

They're both silent for a moment, their trembling breaths the one sound in March's silent room. Their silent room? Stelle wants to be here, as long as March stays by her side, but things aren't exactly right between them as of now.

Stelle will apologize for making March worry, for making her feel such raw loss, as many times as it takes. She knows that March saw the whole thing, reaching up even though she was powerless to stop it. Stelle was thinking about her the whole time she was there, in the Universe, but even so…

"If it meant protecting you—" Stelle tries to say, but suddenly March is turning on her heel and stopping her with sheer force. March grabs Stelle's coat collar and heaves, pushing Stelle down into her bed within mere moments. March fumes above her, her knuckles squeezing around Stelle's clothes as tight as they can.

"Never again!" March cries, tears streaming freely down her face. The heartbreak in her voice, in her beautiful, beautiful eyes, is immediately enough to make Stelle's bottom lip quiver. "Never do that again, Stelle! Do you know how terrified I was? Everything we had built together, erased in an instant! I don't know how to live without you anymore!"

March's tears drip down, falling onto Stelle's face to join her own. She can feel her nonexistent heart shattering, the absolute and unadulterated despair in March's voice enough to make Stelle sob. She stares up at a March who has known loss, a March who has seen love ripped away from her in an instant, if only for that one moment.

"March, you are my everything," Stelle sobs, blinking rapidly just to let the tears clear up enough to see her love above her. "I never, ever, want to make you feel this way again. I am so, so sorry. You have no idea how much you mean to me, I can't even begin to imagine how you felt."

"How I still feel!" March wails. She bows her head and squeezes her eyes shut as if to stop the encroaching thoughts. "Even now, I can't bring myself to believe you're alive. You're right here and yet all I can think about is how you died, Stelle! I can't shake it from my mind that this is all some cruel dream I'm imagining up as you fall, some insane rambling long after I've watched your body drift off into the nothingness."

"I'm here," Stelle promises, raising her hand to palm March's cheek. She guides her back up, watching as March blinks open her eyes and finally meets her gaze. "I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere, I'm alive, this isn't a dream. I'm right here forever, I'll never leave your side again."

March's body racks with another sob, her hands finally unclenching. Stelle thumbs at her tears, quietly shushing her and trying her best to reassure her love. Her life. March deserves far more than Stelle can ever give her, far more than the Universe will ever have for her.

"I'm sorry," Stelle whispers, because it is the only thing she can think to say. This is her fault, after all. "I'm so sorry, March. You are my life and my star, I am so sorry for putting you through this."

"Never, ever do something like this again," March pleads, her eyes begging. "Please. Promise me."

"Never," Stelle swears, shaking her head rapidly. "I never want to be separated from you. I never want to consider a world without you, an existence cut short by my mistakes."

Stelle really does regret it. She knows there wasn't much of another option, she knows she did what she had to do to save Belobog, to save everyone. Stelle saved Jarilo-VI by forcing Qlipoth to make its choice, but she will forever regret the method that it came with. She doesn't care about Aeons or power or being the savior, she just wants to live happily beside her March 7th.

"I need you to know," March says, leaning down a little. She moves her hands, first smoothing down Stelle's collar and then finding their way to her face, cupping it gently. "I need you to know what you mean to me. I need you to know how much I love you."

"Anything," Stelle breathes, her eyes wide. She wants nothing more to do the same. She wants to prove her love so bad it hurts.

"Can I kiss you?" March 7th asks, her voice husky and drenched in need. She needs this because she needs her to know. Stelle needs it too.

"Please do," Stelle says. "Please kiss me for as long as it takes until you are convinced I am real. Until you understand how much I love you too, until you understand what I'd do for you. Until you believe me."

March nods, her eyes half-lidded. Then she leans down further, her pupils flicking down to watch Stelle's lips. Stelle swallows, nodding her head to March as final confirmation. Then she preens up, licking her lips and placing her other hand on March's other cheek.

"I love you so much," Stelle whispers, closing her eyes as their noses bump. She can feel March's breath against her skin for the one second they both hesitate. Then March closes the gap.

March's lips taste like salt. It's from the tears, but Stelle cannot even begin to care when March's lips are moving against her own. Her chest aches and her body is ablaze. Faintly, Stelle decides that maybe this is the greatest moment of her life.

Stelle slides one hand up, finding it a place tangled in March’s soft, silky hair. She pulls down, guiding March ever closer to her, their bodies beginning to meld into one as they kiss. Stelle wants to stay in this moment forever, Universe be damned. She can’t help but sob against March’s lips, her entire body aching with unreleased love.

March breaks them apart, leaning up and hovering just centimeters above Stelle’s head. Stelle blinks open her eyes, straining against the tears, to find March again. Her head is flushed and her lips quiver, yet still March is smiling. She’s smiling and her eyes look so completely overjoyed. Stelle moves her thumb, wiping away the remnants of tears still shining in her March’s eyes.

“Was that—” March attempts to say, but Stelle’s chest seizes and she whimpers. March stares at her for just a moment.

“Please, March,” Stelle begs, squeezing her eyes shut as if to block out the longing ripping through her veins. She can’t take it anymore, that wasn't enough. “Please kiss me more. Please, please, please—”

She shuts up when March connects their lips again, fiercer this time. Stelle whines, surging up to meet her and follow her every movement. Stelle doesn’t care how much it hurts to love, all she knows is that this feeling of them pressed so close together is greater than anything she has ever felt before. This feeling of their lips moving against each other is the height of everything Stelle has ever known.

Stelle doesn’t have a heart, or at least not one that beats, but she can feel the Stellaron in her chest beating wildly all the same. It feels like she’s reacting directly to March, like March is dragging her deepest feelings out and up to the surface. Her body is alight with feeling, every last one caused by March and every last one surging with something far greater than love.

Dedication, passion, infatuation, yearning, Stelle doesn’t know what to call it. She wants to give it a name but she’s far too busy responding to March’s rapid, desperate kisses to think too hard about it. Her hand tightens in March’s hair, vainly attempting to convey even the barest whispers of these emotions. Stelle cherishes Match, is completely enchanted by her, loves her in complete desperation.

Devotion. This is devotion.

Stelle would devote every last atom of her being to March 7th. Every last feeling she might ever feel, every last thought she might ever think, it all belongs to March. March deserves far more than Stelle could ever give her, so Stelle will give her everything and more in apology.

She will bottle the stars and present them to March, their pasts hidden somewhere among that little glass container. She will trudge through the worst blizzards of Jarilo-VI just for the faintest hope of making March happier, will deal with anything Herta could ever throw at her for the sake of March’s well-being. Stelle doesn’t care where it comes from, she will simply find every possible source of March’s happiness and work tirelessly to amplify them infinitely.

March breaks away again, heaving for breath against Stelle’s mouth. Stelle mimics her, opening her eyes to find March’s. March’s pupils are blown wide, her face redder than Stelle has ever seen her. She’s absolutely gorgeous.

Stelle smiles gingerly, pouring all the love that makes her muscles ache into her eyes and shining up at March. March huffs out an almost disbelieving laugh, moving her hands to see more of Stelle. A hand goes to her chest, pressing in on the center and feeling for the pulse of the Stellaron. Stelle happily lets her, more than happy to give March her everything.

March blinks her eyes heavily, breathing out as she stills for a moment, waiting for the pulse. It comes and makes her eyes flutter, her head hanging in focus. It comes again and March is leaning down, softly gripping Stelle’s chin with her other hand.

March presses a kiss to Stelle’s chin, then ghosts another against her jawline. Stelle lets her eyes slide shut, the feeling of March against her like this almost overwhelming. March doesn’t let up for a single moment, pressing kiss after kiss to Stelle’s jaw and then moving on, reaching lower and breathing against Stelle’s neck.

Stelle shivers, her breath hitching in delight. March kisses softly at first, as if afraid of scaring her off. Stelle pulls March’s head just that little bit closer, reassuring her without words. She can feel March smile against her skin, can feel the bolder kisses March gifts her with. Each one sends shivers through Stelle’s body.

March kisses down her neck and then back up, leaving almost no expanse of skin uncovered. She holds Stelle’s head in place the whole time, preventing her from squirming. One kiss turns into five which turns into a dozen which turns into an uncountable number within moments, each one burned into Stelle’s neck and each one infused with so much feeling, so much love.

“I love you,” Stelle practically whimpers, her brain beginning to get too fuzzy for her to even pretend to be able to think. She stretches her neck, giving herself up completely to the girl she loves. “I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” March whispers against her skin, pressing three kisses against her in rapid succession. “I love you perhaps more than you could ever know, Stelle. I love you, I love you. I love you for you and nothing else.”

Stelle strains against March’s hold, her eyes shooting open. March relaxes, letting her move on her own. But all Stelle wants is to pull March back up and connect their lips again, her devotion to March clear and completely on display. March smirks into the kiss, tilting her head a little to reach Stelle easier.

“I know that you still haven’t quite found yourself,” March mumbles, sighing happily. “That’s okay. I’ll be here as long as you need me. Until you can focus on yourself, you can focus on me.”

“I know who I want to be,” Stelle promises, punctuating her words with another kiss. Her hand curls in March's hair, holding tight as if to make her believe. “I’m happy as a Trailblazer. I’m just far, far happier with you.”

"You're still far too selfless," March insists around her lips. She presses against Stelle a little harder, stressing her point. "I never want to lose you, okay? Think about yourself every once in a while."

"I'll work on it for you."

One kiss turns to five which turns into a dozen until March pulls away again, moving her hands to either side of Stelle’s head. She hovers there, her face flushed and her lips red and swollen from the sheer amount of kisses they’ve shared. Stelle lets her go, the cotton in her head beginning to make her light headed again.

“Okay,” March says, nodding. Stelle stares up at her, blinking softly. “Okay, I believe everything now. I believe in you.”

“I’ll never leave you again,” Stelle promises once more, the words falling from her lips almost too easily. She will vow to never make March hurt ever again. “I’ll stay beside your side far into the future, long after we have found our pasts.”

March’s breath hitches and she leans down one last time. She presses a kiss of finality to Stelle’s lips, Stelle herself feeling a sense of relief spread throughout her body. She’s been on the last fringes for a while now, but if this continued much longer she might’ve just fully passed out. Luckily, March is already acutely attuned to every need and feeling of Stelle, never pushing just that one step too far.

March lifts herself up, looking down at Stelle one last time before she disappears, slipping away to stand up. Stelle takes a moment, staring up at the shining lights of stars on March’s ceiling. Then she follows, standing on shaky legs and finding March once more.

Halfway through undressing themselves, Stelle has a thought. She glances up and around again, taking stock of March’s room. March is the only star she’ll ever need, but surely it couldn’t hurt to have a few more, just to represent their newfound love.

“We should get you some more stars,” Stelle muses, pulling her shirt back up over her shoulders. March pauses, skirt halfway down her legs, and glances at Stelle with a curious expression. “Those classic ones, like the ones that are physical. We can stick them to your walls and fill that blank space where the ceiling display doesn’t reach.”

“Like, those glow-in-the-dark ones?” March asks, almost incredulous. She lets her clothes fall and raises an eyebrow in Stelle’s direction. “Stelle, that’s so retro.”

“I think they’d be cute,” Stelle shrugs, glancing up and imagining it. The room’s not exactly all that dark with all the lights off, so maybe they wouldn't be terribly visible, but the vision in her head still makes sense.

“They’d be adorable,” March assures, smiling and stepping towards Stelle to find her head with her hand. She leans in and presses a quick kiss to Stelle’s lips before she dances back away, rummaging around for her pajamas. “Of course we can get some retro stars. Want to stick them up with me?”

Stelle imagines a life of domesticity, one where she can freely love and freely be loved with March 7th by her side. She nods, wanting nothing more than to simply be under the stars stapled to their ceiling.

Pom-Pom is very confused.

On the one hand, Pom-Pom understands that perhaps Pom-Pom really should not be going through other peoples’ things. On the other hand, Pom-Pom is the conductor of the Astral Express and largely handles mundane external affairs themselves; this was bound to happen.

Pom-Pom has tried very hard to make sure Stelle has had a home here on the Astral Express, and Pom-Pom thinks they’ve done a very good job so far. Pom-Pom even took it in stride when Stelle said she wanted to stay in March 7th’s room!

So when a package arrives on the Astral Express for Stelle, Pom-Pom decides to take it upon themselves to make sure everything is in order for her return. It is her first package, after all! Pom-Pom just wanted to be nice, make things a little easier for Stelle after whatever sort of long day she’s had carrying out Herta’s commands.

Pom-Pom stares at the little plastic bag of physical, glow-in-the-dark stars. Then Pom-Pom looks over at the stapler freshly unpacked on the table beside them. Pom-Pom is terribly confused.

“Himeko?” Pom-Pom asks, looking up at the amused stare of their company for the day. Himeko takes a sip of her coffee, tilting her head. “Has Pom-Pom missed something very important? Pom-Pom doesn’t think Pom-Pom understands.”

Himeko sputters a laugh, quickly setting her coffee down and hitting her chest twice. She covers her mouth with her hand, making Pom-Pom even more confused.

“Oh Pom-Pom,” Himeko sighs through giggles, “I don’t think young love was ever meant to make sense.”

“Young…love?”

“You’ll have to ask Welt about that one.”

Hours later, Pom-Pom takes Himeko’s advice and has a long conversation with Mr. Welt, trying their best to learn. Pom-Pom’s not so sure they understand completely, but that’s okay. Pom-Pom learns enough.

“March 7th?” Pom-Pom calls, waddling over to where she’s just arriving back on the Astral Express. March 7th looks down, stepping forward towards Pom-Pom when they hold something up, presenting it to her. “Pom-Pom is very proud of you for kissing Stelle, and supports you 100%!”

March 7th promptly trips over her own feet and faceplants into the floor.