Chapter Text
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That’s how the story ended. A single period, bringing the entire epic to its close.
Stelle closed the book she had penned with another.
She placed her pen in the weapon rack. It floated there, looking ever so delicate now it was out of her hand.
The bath felt strangely lonely now. Even Robin’s gentle voice over the speakers couldn’t quite shake the quiet. There were no crowds, no laughter, no splashing and gossiping. Just the scent of milk and roses.
There was a pressure in her head that wouldn’t shift. Too many thoughts and memories had been crammed into it. Having to remember the whole cosmos would give anyone a migraine, surely.
She towelled off and flopped down onto her bed. No matter how accustomed she’d grown to the klines of Amphoreus, nothing beat her huge fluffy bed. She could sleep with no light blinding her. She could wrap up so cosily in the soft duvet. Her hand strayed to the other side of the bed. In her mind's eye, she was there. She would love a bed like this, so soft and warm.
Like an embrace…
A knocking at the door stirred Stelle from her reverie. It was probably Marchie. That was good. Even if they’d all said they needed some peace and quiet, Stelle wasn’t sure she could bear the loneliness any longer.
“Come in!”
Stelle rolled over to see Marchie… and Dan Heng.
“Fuck, wait, uh, Dannie look away.”
Now dressed, the three convened on the couch. Stelle launched in the Amphorean style, while March sat next to her. Dan Heng sat upright at the other end.
“So I know we said we needed time to relax, but I felt like I was going crazy back in my room!” March said. “How do you just… go back to normal after that?”
“You don’t,” Dan Heng said, “the best we can do is endure, until a new normal comes around.”
Stelle wasn’t sure what to say. Everything she had felt, she had already bled onto the page, her pen carving both her joy and her wounds into the text. Now? Now she was just tired.
“Stelle?” March asked. Stelle saw concern on her face.
She scratched the back of her head. What could she say? What could she manage to say?
Staring up at the ceiling, the thought came to her.
“As the Stellaron, I have observed…”
Dan Heng groaned and March slapped her arm as she cackled.
“Okay, I feel a little better.” Stelle grinned.
March rolled her eyes. “You are such a menace you know!”
“I know.” Stelle winked.
Stelle shuffled up to hug March. Over her shoulder, she saw Dan Heng smiling, looking away politely.
“Dan Heng, get in here,” she said, pulling away from March.
Dan Heng looked surprised, “I… didn’t want to get between you.”
“Come on Dan Heng! This is a certified Trailblaze Trio hug!” March said, pulling him in.
The positioning was awkward on the couch, and nobody knew when to let go. For a while, all they could do was hold each other tight. No words were needed. They had each other.
When finally they broke the embrace, Stelle spotted a tear in Dan Heng’s eye.
She’d known him long enough to know that if he was showing any sign of emotion like that, it must be eating at him fiercely. “You know, Dannie, if you want to talk about it…” Stelle said. Was it mean, using Hyacine’s nickname for him? Maybe. But if it helped…
Dan Heng hesitated, refusing to make eye contact. “You two are hurting too. I don’t want to add my burdens to yours.”
He was still being a stubborn old dromas about it. Fine then. “Why hide it? No-one here would mock you for showing true vulnerability.”
His face scrunched up, as he sucked in air through his teeth. March looked between the two of them, puzzled.
“...I’ll miss her.” Dan Heng whispered. “I’ll miss Hyacine. I’ll miss Phainon, Castorice, Mydei… all of them.”
Stelle turned to March and nodded. The pair of them shuffled Dan Heng into the middle of the couch before he could protest, and wrapped their arms around him.
“I- you don-,” he protested.
“Dan Heng!” March chided, “you’re our best friend! Of course we have to!”
“After someone boards the express, the word ‘alone’ ceases to exist,” Stelle said smugly, “someone very cool said that once.”
March grinned proudly, “yeah, that was pretty cool of me wasn’t it!”
“Almost makes up ‘bedding of memory’” Stelle said, leaning over Dan Heng, a shit-eating grin on her face.
“Uuuurgh don’t make me bite you!” March’s expression had immediately dropped to a grumpy one.
“That a promise?” Stelle asked, wiggling her eyebrows.
Dan Heng cleared his throat, “I’m still here you two.”
March and Stelle shared a look, before bursting into laughter.
“Sorryyy!” March said sheepishly.
Dan Heng smiled, a smile like the sun peaking over the earth at dawn. “It’s okay. I’d… missed this. I’m glad we're all back together.”
“Uuugh you’re gonna set me off now.” March said, wiping a tear away from her eye.
Despite being reunited, they’d been so focused on stopping Irontomb that they’d barely had any time to relax. Even their downtime had come with the duty of upholding the physical laws of Amphoreus. This was the first moment they could truly just… breathe. Together.
Stelle hopped up to go open her fridge. The dessert she’d gotten months ago was still there, in perfect condition. It had only been a few days at most for it out here, of course.
“So, cheesecake?” She asked, bringing it to her dining table.
“Oh PLEASE I’ve been dying to eat that thing!” March said, running to join her. Stelle had gotten March’s favourite, of course.
“I can risk having a little.” Dan Heng said with a smirk, wiping away the tear from the corner of his eye, and hurrying to join them.
They laughed as they shared little stories. March had a lot of questions for the pair of them, a lot of scenarios where ‘If you two could hear me, I would have said…’. Stelle was thankful that she seemed to be avoiding the topic of Cas and Hyacine, despite how much Stelle knew she’d want to gossip. After everything they’d been through, it was emotional enough discussing things without bringing love into it.
No, love wasn’t quite the right word. Romance. Love was very much a part of it already. She loved Amphoreus. Its flawed, heroic people. Its beautiful vistas. The hum of life that followed you into even the deadest parts of it.
And Cyrene had loved it all. She had loved it enough to overcome its destiny of destruction.
Now that Stelle was apart from all that, the love she’d felt for it all felt like grief, like sadness. Was this how Cyrene felt all the time. PhiLia093, ‘Lament’? Love and grief, two sides of the same coin, like Life and Death - an imperfect and messy Equilibrium.
She shook herself out of it. Was she really going to be this much of a mess right after saving the cosmos? No.
She opened her phone, and switched the connection back on. She’d kept the connection off when she got back to fear of being overwhelmed, but now the distraction felt welcoming. She was surprised to see that her energy had been spent during the day she’d missed. Who could have..?
Oh. Right. Duh. Silver Wolf.
Wait. The Stellaron Hunters.
“Fuck, wait, I haven’t messaged Fly.” Stelle suddenly announced, hopping to her feet. March grimaced and checked her phone while Stelle waited for Firefly to pick up.
The voice that answered when Stelle got through made her heart sink.
“Well done on not dying.” Silver Wolf said. “Firefly’s not here right now though. She’s off on a mission where she’ll be out of contact for a while. Didn’t you get her message?”
“Oh…” Stelle said, “I… haven’t checked my messages yet. I wanted to hear her voice.”
Silver Wolf paused, before saying, “you’ll have to wait a little longer. You know, she didn’t like the idea of being away when you got back either.”
Of course she didn’t. Had she been told about what her girlfriends would be facing in Amphoreus?
“Right. Well, I’ll leave a message for her. Thanks for not leaving me hanging, Wolfie.” Stelle said.
Silver Wolf groaned, “don’t be sentimental with me, I’m just doing what I’m told.”
Stelle snorted, “Uhuh, yeah. Thanks for the dailies too, by the way.”
“I cleaned your inventories out too, you need to get your shit together.” Silver Wolf said, before hanging up.
March looked up at Stelle, showing her her phone. “Poor Fifi…”
March 7th:
Soooo guess who got sick instead of getting to go to Amphoreus!
Firefly:
Oh no!
How bad is it Marmar?
The Nameless are taking care of you at least?
Let me know if you need anything.Firefly:
Marmar?
Are you there?Firefly:
Is everything alright? I texted Stelle to ask how you were doing and she hasn’t responded.
Nothing from Himeko either…
Please be okay, princess.
Stelle’s heart lept, and she rushed to open her own messages.
Firefly:
Hey Stel, is March okay?
You’re probably busy with landing in Amphoreus, but if you could message me when you can, that would mean a lot.
Stay safe, my Star
Among the sea of notifications, she scrolled to find their group chat. Surely there had to be more, right? Sure enough, there it was, in the Stellar Cuties chat, more messages.
Firefly:
The ‘Script’ is sending me off on another mission. I’ll be out of communication range for a while, so I probably won’t be there when you return from Amphoreus.
Kafka told me not to worry, and that you two will be back.
She… didn’t tell me much beyond that though. I hope you two stay safe, and look after each other if you can.
I love you both more than words can say.
I look forward to meeting up once both ‘Scripts’ are complete. You can tell me all about your Trailblaze journey, and we can share oak cake rolls together. I’ll bring back enough for all of us, don’t worry.
If you do get back before me, please let me know. See you soon, my loves.
Stelle looked up at March, who was biting her lip in concentration, trying to figure out how to respond.
“I think that’s a good point for me to go wind down.” Dan Heng said tactfully, “I’ll see you t- um, I mean, sleep well.”
Stelle hopped up to give him another hug before he went. “Sleep well, Dannie. Even if I know you’re just going to be updating the database for hours first.”
Dan Heng looked like he was about to correct her on his name, before shrugging. “It calms me down.”
“He didn’t protest!” March said in amazement, “Goodnight Dannie!”
Dan Heng rolled his eyes, but the smile on his face as he departed gave the game away.
“I can’t believe he finds writing in the database relaxing…” March grumbled once he was gone.
Stelle stared at her phone. What could she possibly say over text? Was more information better? Or would that just overload her?
March beat her to the punch.
March 7th:
FIFI
I’m sooo sorry I worried you!
Stelle and I are back! We’re alive!
That journey was a LOT.
We have SO much to tell you!
Stelle has a whole bunch of letters for us too! I’ll wait until you’re back so we can all open them together.
Looking forward to seeing you!
Stelle smiled. “You’re much better at this than I am. I think all my words are gone. Used them all up writing As I’ve Written.”
March rolled her eyes, “come on, she just wanted to know you’re alright! What sort of message would you want to see when you got back after a mission?”
That was true. She didn’t have to dump all that grief and hardship on her right away. She didn’t need to give a blow-by-blow account of everything. She just needed to send something to let Firefly know she was alright.
Stelle:
It was a romantic story like none that have come before.
***
Castorice hummed to herself as she patted down the earth around another young flower. The sunlight in The Eternal Page was warm and gentle, like Miss Hyacine. She wiped the sweat from her brow, and looked over the flower bed. When these flowers boomed, it would look so beautiful, and full of life.
She stripped off her gloves and stretched. She would go wash off, then settle down to do some sewing before dinner. Phainon and Mydei were squabbling over who could cook better again, so Castorice was looking forward to what they’d make. Those two always did their best when competing.
She rounded the corner on the way to the baths, when she nearly bumped into someone. Thirty million cycles of instincts kicked in, and she leapt backwards before she could accidentally make contact.
“I’m sorry, I-” She started, before she looked up to see the grey hair and fiercely bright yellow eyes of the woman she’d nearly collided with.
“Hey Cas,” Stelle smiled.
“Miss Stelle!” Cas said excitedly.
Stelle offered out her arm, “wanna take a walk?”
Castorice froze for a moment, before taking her arm. “Of course, that would be lovely! I must admit, it’s still a little odd to make sometimes, being able to touch people. E-even you.”
“I get it, old habits. How many Castorices couldn’t touch anyone?” Stelle asked.
“Far too many.” Cas said sadly, “It’s okay though. Now, I can hug anyone I want. A-anyone who wants me to, that is.”
Stelle smiled, and led her out to the platform in the corner of their reality. They sat together on the edge, watching the sight of the newly-born Amphoreus as it coalesced in the ‘real’ world.
Hand-in-hand.
“You know, miss Stelle-”
“Please, Stelle is fine.”
Castorice smiled. Right. She didn’t have to be so polite with her, did she. Especially after…
She pushed the memory from her mind, blushing furiously. The tips of her ears felt so warm.
“Right, yes. Um, Stelle, now that this is all over, what does this mean?” Cas asked, her blush getting no better, “That is, between, um, us. Sorry if that’s presumptuous to ask, but…”
Stelle put a hand on her cheek and turned her face towards hers. Warm lips on hers, warm arms around her. A warm heartbeat being shared with her.
Stelle smiled once their lips parted. “I don’t know how it’ll work, but my feelings haven’t changed.” Stelle said, holding both of Cas’s hands in her lap. “You’re real to me. And this love is real too.”
Castorice’s heart was pounding. She loved her? They hadn’t exchanged ‘I love you’s before, not even in that cycle where they’d met. If this was her chance…
“I… I love you too, Stelle.” Cas said, wiping a happy tear from her eye. “I-If your partners are okay with it…”
Stelle paused. She scratched her head, the way she did when she was unsure of something.
“March was very enthusiastic about us.” Stelle said, still not making eye-contact. “I haven’t been able to contact Firefly yet. I think she’ll be fine with us, but…”
Castorice ran her hand along Stelle’s cheek. She looked so conflicted. She would make it easier for her. “I waited thousands of years for you to return to me. A few real-world days is nothing more to wait.”
Stelle’s mouth opened in surprise, before settling into an adoring smile. “Yeah, if you’re okay with that,” she said, squeezing her hands.
“Of course,” Castorice beamed. “I don’t know when, or if, I’ll get to meet Miss Firefly, but if she’s important to you, then she’s important to me. Besides, I don’t want to make things more difficult for you.”
Stelle kissed her chastely on the cheek, and hugged her again. Cas fell into that warm embrace again, like she’d done so long ago. Her friend, and past lover, and hopefully, one day her lover again.
They walked back to the beacon that Stelle used to enter the Eternal Page. It was a beautiful day, all the more beautiful for her being there.
“You know, I actually made something for you.” Castorice said, reaching into her bag. She pulled out the protective wrapping and undid it. Inside was a flower crown, each flower picked especially for her. “In Aidonia, girls give flower crowns to travellers before they leave on a journey. What better gift to give to one such as you, who travels the stars?”
Stelle took the flower crown and examined it, before sliding it into her messy hair. Castorice chuckled as she fixed the fit, making it even, and brushing away stray hair.
“How do I look?” Stelle asked, posing with her hands on her hips.
Castorice beamed, “I knew those flowers would bring out your eyes. You look beautiful, Stelle.”
Stelle grinned goofily at the compliment, before giving one last hug.
“See you tomorrow, Cas.”
“See you tomorrow, Stelle."