Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Golden Hour district was every bit as dazzling as Stelle had been lead to believe. She felt like a celebrity just being here beneath the lights. Casinos, shops, and restaurants lined the streets, each with bright displays to lure in passersby. In the gentle twilight, a thousand lights drowned out the stars in the sky: all the stars that mattered were down here on the ground.

She’d left her friends to go explore a mall in another part of the city. She wished she could have dragged them with her, but there just hadn’t been time in the schedule Asta had set out for them while they were in Penacony. In the end, Dan Heng had decided that shopping with March was better than the lights and sounds of the Golden Hour, so Stelle had been left to wander the bright streets alone.

Presumably, all while Dan Heng made passes at March. He wasn’t as slick as he thought.

Having some time to herself was nice though. The three of them went everywhere together, and as much as she loved them, it was always nice to do some solo exploring. Curiosity lead her off the main street, down a side road, to see what was hiding away from the brightest lights.

“Look at this fag!”

“Who does he think he’s kidding?”

The sight that greeted her was far from pleasant. A short girl, must be around Stelle’s age, was backed up against a wall, cornered by a pair of drunk-sounding adults.

“Fuck you you tranny freak.” Said the man as she shoved the girl into the wall. She looked desperately around for someone to help. Until moments ago, it looks like nobody else had been near enough to intervene. Now, there was just Stelle. Her eyes met Stelle’s, pleading. Stelle couldn’t help but notice they were extremely pretty.

“Hey, back off!” Stelle shouted as she drew closer.

The pair of them turned to face Stelle. The man squared up to Stelle, clearly trying to intimidate her with his height. “Fuck off home kiddo, be-”

Dan Heng would probably lecture her about deescalation later, but right now, she was seeing red. She knocked him off balance with the jab to the gut, swiftly followed by a knee to the groin. While he was reeling, she shoved him back towards his advancing partner.

“I said. Back. Off.” Stelle growled, stepping forward with her fists raised. She was relieved to see the pair of them immediately run off, bravado shattered.

A look of relief washed over the girl’s face, and she visibly slumped as the tension left her. “Th-thank you! I don’t want to think about what would have happened if you hadn’t shown up. Oh aeons that was so scary…”

Stelle ignored the aching from where her body had impacted that guy and drew herself up straight. She put her hands on her hips, trying to look heroic. This poor girl looked so shaky.

“It’s no problem, I’m always here for a damsel in distress.” Stelle said with a smirk. Truthfully, she probably didn’t feel much less shaky than the other girl looked.

The girl giggled. Stelle felt her stomach flip. She was really pretty, like, really pretty. Her smile was brighter than the lights of the main straight.

“Um, we should probably get out of here.” She said, interrupting Stelle’s train of thought. Right. She did just assault a man. Fuck.

“Oh, yeah. Um, where to?” Stelle said. Now that the adrenaline was ebbing, her brain felt scrambled.

“Follow me, I know a place.” She said, grabbing Stelle’s wrist and taking off towards main street. They weren’t kidding: anything could happen in the city of festivities.

The pretty girl lead her along the main street for a while, eventually settling into power-walking to avoid attracting too much attention. She still hadn’t let go of Stelle’s wrist, and Stelle had made no effort to wriggle free. Was she dreaming right now?

They drew to a halt outside of a diner. The girl straightened out her dress and checked her hair in her phone’s camera. “If we go in here, we can be out of sight in case they come looking for us. Besides… I’d like to thank you, for helping me.” She said, beaming at Stelle.

Her heart skipped a beat. This must be a dream. “Play it cool, Stelle.”

“That’s very kind of you, are you sure? I don’t need paying back, I just like to help.” Task succeded. Probably.

She giggled again. “Come on, my treat.”

They were seated in a booth inside. The atmosphere was pleasant, not too busy, not too empty. She’d already been to a real Penacony diner with the others, but being taken by a stranger? Man she was winning really hard at going on holiday right now. Something which was both normal to want, and possible to achieve.

“I should probably introduce myself. I’m Firefly.” The girl said, picking up a menu. She wasn’t looking at it. She was staring directly at Stelle. 

“I’m Stelle. Firefly’s an unusual name, isn’t it? It’s really pretty though.” She said. Smooth.

Firefly beamed. “Thank you, I… Picked it myself. It’s actually the first time I’ve introduced myself to someone as Firefly so, this is pretty new for me.”

Ah. That explains what her harassers were saying then: That sounded very trans of her. She could kind of see of now she knew, but that was far from important. Her main goal was making her feel comfortable, she’d just had a really horrible experience after all. Probably why she’d been so keen to offer her dinner.

“It’s a pretty name for a pretty lady.” She said with a wink.

Firefly turned a little pink. “P-pretty lady?”

Firefly was saved from her embarrassment by the arrival of a waitress to their table. They both ordered chocolate milkshakes. Stelle ordered a ‘Clockie’ Pizza, presumably a tie-in with Penacony’s most famous cartoon character. Firefly ordered a salad.

“You really need to try the oak cake rolls they do here! They’re my favourite food in the world. It’s really sweet, but it’s also got a, what’s the word, botanical? Flavour to it. I have one every time I come to Golden Hour.”

Her face really lit up when she was excited. Stelle’s heart was beating hard in her chest. This… was this a date? This felt like a date? She hated to admit it, but a pretty lady buying her food was probably all she needed for her to fall in love.

Right, she should probably say something.

“I’d love to try one. Do you come to Golden Hour often then?”

“Not… very often, no. I kinda come here to get away from things at home, I guess.” There was a gentle sadness to her voice as she continued. “Everything’s so alive here, sometimes I just walk for a few hours down the straight, taking it all in, window shopping, things like that. I actually-” She gasped. “Hey, how about I show you somewhere really cool after this, you’re going to love it!”

“That sounds really good.” Stelle said with a smile. She’d not had a real plan coming here, so honestly? Being dragged around by a pretty girl was perfect. March would be so jealous when she told her.

“Great! So, how about you? You don’t sound like you’re from Asdana. Is this your first time in Penacony?”

“It is yeah, I’m on holiday with my friends before uni. You know the city Azul? We’re from there” She said. She hadn’t thought she had that much of an accent. Ah well.

“No way, the blue city? Isn’t that where the Astral University is?” Firefly suddenly looked excited again.

“Well, technically the uni’s outside of town. They call it a ‘satellite campus’ or, something. I’m actually going there to study in September.”

“Me too!” Her smile was mesmerising. “I wanted to study abroad, and nowhere’s better to study than the Astral University! What college are you in? I got accepted by Terminus college!”

“Oh wow. I’m going to Akivili college myself. My guardian wanted me to apply to Nous college, but I think I like the sound of ‘Trailblaze’ more than ‘Erudition’, you know?” Stelle said. Herta had been so disappointed when Stelle had first told her her intention to apply for a different college, but she’d eventually relented when Stelle pointed out that she’d be less of a nuisance to her if she wasn’t a part of her college. Being both college dean and foster mother to her was probably more work than it was worth.

Mostly she just wanted to go to Akivili so she could get campus accommodation along with March and Dan Heng. Plus it was closer to the gym.

“Trailblaze, huh? That does sound pretty fitting for someone who’d step in to save a stranger.” Firefly said. “Finality does sound a little strange, but the woman interviewing me was really nice. It sounded like they do a lot to support their students.”

“I hope that works out for you! What course are you doing?”

“Engineering! I’m probably going to specialise into aeronautical when I can, though I’m still not sure yet. It’s all so interesting! What about you?”

“Physics. Astronomy and planetary physics, specifically.”

“Oh that’s really cool! We’re kind of on similar courses then. Engineering’s kind of like applied physics, right?”

“I guess so yeah. My teacher recommended I go for engineering, but nah, I like space too much. I wanna be an astronaut one day.”

“An astronaut? That’s so cool! Do they-”

Firefly’s question was cut off by the arrival of their food. The plate had barely hit the table when Stelle scooped up a slice and began eating. Firefly looked like she was about to continue asking, before thinking better of it, simply smiling instead. 

The food was delicious, the rich tomato sauce accenting every bite. It was quite different as well to the pizza she’d get whenever she’d go to an epsilonian restaurant. To begin with she’d tried to make an effort not to eat like a slob in front of this kind stranger, but that had lasted maybe half a minute. 

When she was done, she sank into her seat, her stomach happy. How had this happened? How could she be winning so hard at life right now?

Firefly smile over her salad. When she’d heard salad, Stelle had imagined leafy health food. What Firefly had was loaded with bacon and cheese, and covered in a thick dressing. If she wasn’t already full of her own food, she’d be jealous. Hell, she was a little jealous anyway.

“I’ll order a cake roll for us to share, and we can take it to go, once you can move again.” Firefly said happily.

“You sure you’re up for paying for this? I can pay for myself.”

“Seriously, it’s okay. I want to treat you, it’s only fair. Besides, it’s not like you ordered the whole menu.” Firefly said.

“That’s sweet of you, thank you.” Stelle said. She was curious about where Firefly wanted to show her, but she was too drowsy from the food to think straight. Asdana had a bit of a reputation for junk food, but damn if it wasn’t good food.

“Wait, fuck, shoulda taken a photo for March. Ah well.”

Firefly finished up her food, and went to go order a cake roll to go. Stelle took this as an opportunity to hit up the group chat.

GalacticBaseballer:

I think I’m on a date?
This cute girl is treating me to dinner
I win at holiday

 

SnowPrincess073:

Whaaaat
Stelle what did you do?

 

GalacticBaseballer:

Kicked some asshole in the bollocks
Cos he was harassing a girl
She takes me to a diner?

 

DanHeng:

You know that’s not how you should handle such situations, right? 

 

SnowPrincess073:

Must have felt good though
Did he cry?
Wish I’d been there to take photos

 

GalacticBaseballer:

Sure did
Ran off with his buddy
Didn’t even need a bat
I ’m just too swole

 

SnowPrincess073:

Why do these things always happen to you?

 

DanHeng:

Just don’t get carried away and lose track of time, we still need to catch the train back.

 

SnowPrincess073:

Yeah if Mr Arlan has to come pick us up we’ll never hear the end of it!
You’re gonna give us aaaaaaaall the details~

She put her phone away as Firefly came back with a bag in hand. “You ready to go, Stelle? I promise it will be worth the walk.”

Stelle nodded, and got to her feet. She had plenty of time before the train, and she’d memorised the way back to the station. Well, the nearest subway station, to get back to the overground station they’d have to catch the train from. Why Asta had chosen a hotel outside the city limits was beyond her. 

They walked south along the main street. Firefly pointed out builds along the way, giving her fascinating titbits of history that Stelle in no way dedicated to memory. She seemed so excited to give someone the tour and, well, Stelle loved her enthusiasm. She admired her outfit as they walked, a vibrant green dress with cute patterns. Those hair ribbons were adorable sat in her long silver hair. The thigh-high socks, well…

Stelle would be the first to admit that she was a simple creature. 

“And this is the Penacony Grand Theatre! It was built over a century ago to host plays, though nowadays it’s a music venue. Do you listen to Robin? She’s playing there tonight!” Firefly explained, a light in her eyes as she gestured to the huge building. It looked fancy, Stelle had initially assumed they had opera there or something.

“Robin’s my bestie’s favourite singer. I’m more of a rock and metal girl myself, but I like her voice.”

“Her voice is so beautiful, I could listen to her songs every day and never get bored.” Firefly said as she lead Stelle to an alleyway down the side of a restaurant. “Okay, so the path we need to take is a little… well, you’ll see. I promise you it’s worth it though.”

Firefly started climbing up a ladder, scaling the scaffolding on one side of the alley. Stelle stopped as she was about to follow: She didn’t know if Firefly was wearing modesty shorts under that dress, but she wasn’t willing to press her luck.

Sure she could be a bit of a perv sometimes, but being a creep was too far.

Once Firefly had gotten off the ladder, Stelle followed. There was a surprisingly small gap between the scaffolding and the adjacent fire escape, and crossing over was a trivial matter of climbing over the railing. From there, they took the stairs. Firefly stepped quietly, barely making a sound on the metal floors. Stelle tried to follow her example, but the clack of her heels made it tricky.

The rooftop was empty, standing a little higher than the buildings around it. From here, you could just about see into the theatre, enough to see the light show at least.

“I come to the Golden Hour whenever Robin’s playing, and I come up here to listen.” Firefly said, leaning against the side of the rooftop. Stelle leant next to her, watching the lights. A new song started, a gentle song, sad yet hopeful.

“If I Could Stop One Heart From Breaking is my favourite…” Firefly said, closing her eyes as she drank in the music. “Whenever I feel like I can’t go on, it gives me the strength to keep fighting. Fate isn’t always kind to me, but I want to be the sort of person who will fight for myself.”

Stelle smiled. There was a lot missing from Firefly’s words, but she could tell that this was a girl who faced a lot of hardships. Why did she feel the need to escape home? Why did she sometimes struggle to go on? She felt protective of her, this stranger. It didn’t feel enough to rescue her from an altercation on the streets: she wanted to save her from the things that hurt her in her life. Her expression must have betrayed that feeling. Firefly looked back to Stelle, before quickly turning away, pink on her cheeks, and a shy smile on her lips.

Somewhere else in the city, someone had started setting off fireworks.

Stelle shuffled closer, and Firefly followed suit. They leaned there, listening to Robin’s voice, arms pressed against each other. Stelle didn’t know if what was happening was appropriate, or even smart, but… This had been a date, right? There were signals, she wasn’t imagining that, surely?

“Stelle, I’m really glad I met you. I’ve had a really nice time this evening, despite everything.” Firefly said, smiling up at Stelle.

Stelle nodded. “Me too. I’d kick a transphobe for you any day.” She winked, and Firefly laughed.

The laugh was more beautiful than the music.

“Wanna take a selfie together?” Stelle asked, as the thought occurred to her. She needed absolute proof that this girl existed or March would be insufferable.

“Of course! I’d really like that.” Firefly said excitedly. 

Firefly got out her phone and switch to the front-facing camera. She handed it to Stelle, citing her longer arms. The pair posed for the camera.

“Say cheeeese!”

The photo was cute. She handed the phone back to Firefly, who looked pleased with it. Stelle didn’t know where to look: at the perfect smile on the photo Firefly’s face, or the excited beaming on the real Firefly.

Unfortunately, her phone rang.

“Huh, who’s…” Stelle muttered as she looked: Dan Heng. he answered.

“Dan my man what’s up.” Stelle said, trying to sound cool.

“I told you not to call me that. I wanted to call to make sure you were aware that the last train to central station from Golden Hour leaves in ten minutes.” Dan Heng said. His voice said that he knew she was not aware.

“Huh? It’s not that late, right?”

He sighed. She could sense the eye roll from here.

“Did you forget to check the cancellations before travelling? You’d better hurry.” He said, and then hung up. 

Stelle checked the time. “Time really does (fire) fly when you’re having fun, huh.” She thought, soothing her panic with humour.

“Is everything okay?” Firefly asked, looking concerned.

“I need to go or I’ll miss my train. Thank you for the tour, Firefly, it’s been magic.” Stelle said. “You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take…” Stelle reassured herself, before awkwardly offering out her arms in a hug.

Firefly practically threw herself into Stelle’s arms. She squeezed much tighter than Stelle expected. Just how strong was this girl?

She was already struggling to process what had happened, when Firefly leaned up to give her a peck on the lips.

“Go, don’t miss your train. May we meet again in the fall.” She said with a smile.

“Stelle.exe has encountered an error and needs to… right, fuck, train.”

She took off at a sprint, all but leaping down each stairwell. Every rainy morning jog was suddenly validated as she ran down the main street towards the subway station, weaving deftly between passersby. She slowed only for the turnstile, running down the stairs and through the closing doors of the train. She stopped just short of colliding with a pole in the middle of the carriage. She held onto it, panting, for the rest of the journey. She was aware she was getting funny looks, but hah! She did it! Victory for athleticism over careful planning!

Sweaty and out of breath, she disembarked at central station. There, Dan Heng and March were waiting on the platform for their train, surrounded by shopping bags.

“I see you made it.” Dan Heng said, face as impassive as always.

“About time! Dan Heng was really worried!” March chided.

“As I recall, you were the one saying ‘I hope Stelle makes it’ every thirty seconds.” Dan Heng said.

March scratched the back of her neck in embarrassment. “Never mind that, don’t you have deets to give Stelle?” 

“Love you too guys.” Stelle said. “We’ll talk on the train, let me sit down first.”

The train was nearly empty, allowing the trio to claim a table to themselves. A good thing too, given how many bags March had with her.

Dan Heng sighed. “I told her to be more sparing with her shopping. We still have to get all this on the plane.”

“It’ll be fiiiiiine, Asta will make it happen! She’ll understand!” She rounded on Stelle. “Now, tell me everything .”

Stelle recounted the story of her evening in Golden Hour. She embellished a few details, trying to make herself sound cooler. March hung onto her every word.

“Woah, she kissed you? Are you suuuuure you didn’t make all this up?” If March’s eyebrow went any higher, it’d fly off her forehead.

Stelle rummaged for her phone. “Yeah, we took a sel-” She opened her photo gallery, before realising. She’d taken it on Firefly’s phone. “Oh. We took a picture together, but it was on her phone…”

“Well that’s alright, she can just send it to you, right?” 

“Assuming, of course, that you remembered to get her number.” Dan Heng said.

Stelle froze. Did she seriously not ask for her number? Maybe she could find her on social media..?

“Seriously? You didn’t even get her number?” March said incredulously, picking up on her expression.

“Uh, well… She’s going to AU next year, so, maybe we’ll meet her there..?” Stelle said. 

Aeons above she hoped against hope that their paths would cross again.

Chapter Text

The world was spinning. Time had lost meaning. The past was all a blur.

March forced herself up in her bed, stopping to steady herself as her vision spun. How much had she drank last night? At least yesterday’s March had had the sense to leave painkillers and a drink on her bedside table. By the feel of things, she’d also remembered to take her makeup off too. If only she’d thought to drink less as well.

March downed as much of the drink as she dared, regretting it when it hit her stomach. Hopefully the nausea would settle soon so she could have breakfast. With any luck, she could get to the bathroom without bumping into Welt.

When she got back to her room, she lay down on her bed and checked her phone, hoping to piece together the night before. She remembered the three of them got there fine, though Dan Heng left pretty early as usual. Ah yeah, she remembered him pestering her in messages throughout the night to take care of herself.

People were pretty excited to hear about their holiday to Penacony. Unfortunately for March, this meant that she’d had to listen to Stelle telling the story of her date with a stranger over and over. Ugh! Stelle had been obsessed with that girl. She’d spent days looking for her socials, but couldn’t find head nor tail of her. She’d even considered asking SW of all people to look for a way to contact her.

Not that her obsession with this dream girl of hers had stopped her disappearing off into a dark room to make out with yet another girl from their year. How many parties had she done that at now? Somehow her ‘loser lesbian’ reputation worked in her favour, and other girls looking to experiment knew to come to her. It was so annoying.

Not because she was jealous, of course. She was straight after all, why would she want to make out with Stelle? She probably just found it annoying that her bestie got all the action and yet the boys at the party didn’t even wanna try her. Was she not cute enough? Sure she’d turn them down anyway, she was more of a romance kinda gal, but she wanted them to try smooth-talking her.

Maybe they really did think she and Dan Heng were an item? Ugh, but he liked boys! He’d confided in March and Stelle, but the rest of the year weren’t to know: He didn’t want to risk any more bullying. 

How could Stelle be such a cringe loser gamer girl and yet still be so good at everything! She got on with everyone! She even looked good when putting zero effort into her appearance. Stupid perfect Stelle. 

Her stomach rumbled, reminding her of the passage of time. Maybe she’d feel better for some breakfast. Or, well, brunch, at this point.

She quickly got dressed in comfy clothes and dragged herself downstairs, doing her best not to wobble at all. In the kitchen, she found Welt stood at the hob with the frying pan, a powerful smell of bacon starting to waft out to the rest of the house.

“Ah, good, I thought I heard you up and about. I figured you might appreciate something to eat after such a long lie-in.” Welt said, nodding to her as she walked into the room.

“Welt, you’re the best.” March croaked. Oops, she must have been singing along to the music far too loud last night. 

Welt chuckled in response. “So, how was it, did you have fun?”

“ Yeah ” March croaked, her voice catching in her throat. She cleared it and tried again. “Yeah, it was great! It was so nice to see everyone before we go off to uni.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Did you all get home okay then? I’ll admit I was in too deep a sleep to hear you come back.”

“Yeah, Stelle got us a taxi, no problems there.”

“Good, good. Would you like some toast as well?”

“I proooobably should. My stomach is not happy with me.”

Welt chuckled again. “Well, better you figure out your limits in the holidays than at university. Your first year may not count towards the qualification, but what you learn will lay the groundwork for your future grades.”

“I knooow I knooow.” March said dismissively. She loved him, but he could be such a fusspot sometimes.

Welt began serving up a cooked brunch for March, leaving a little for himself. He sat at the table with his tablet as she ate slowly.

“So, are you still going to be up for playing dungeons and dragons tonight?” Welt asked as he scrolled. “I have quite a plot-heavy session planned, you see.”

“Plot? I’ll need to wake up properly by then in that case. I don’t think I have the brain left for plot.” March moaned. The food was exactly what the doctor ordered, even if the greasiness meant she’d probably need to go for a run later to burn it off.

“Well, try not to push yourself. If needed I can try and pace it out across this and next Sunday. Is Stelle awake yet, for that matter?”

“Yeah she put up a photo from her morning run on Insta. I dunno how she was up at that time, she drank more than me!” March said. Seriously how did she do it?

“Well, that’s good then. Before I forget, Himeko will be coming over early today to help me look at the car.”

“Is the engine still being funny?”

“Well, I hope not, but I wanted Himeko to check so we can be sure. It would be rather tragic if we were to break down while moving you into halls.”

March shuddered. “Thank the Aeons for miss Himeko.”

She finished her food, and headed back to her room to get ready for a shower. Hopefully that would make her feel a little more like a person. She looked at her phone to see a discord message from Stelle.

GalacticBaseballer:

Booba?
*Boba
Oops lmao
Lemme try again.
Greetings my dearest friend March ‘7th’ Yang, wouldst thou do me the honour of accompanying my good self to a local bubble tea establishment, mayhap for afternoon tea?

 

SnowPrincess073:

Are you still drunk

 

GalacticBaseballer:

Might be honestly
Swear to Ena I nearly fell over like three times earleir
*earlier

 

SnowPrincess073:

Weelllll
I’m not gonna turn down bubble tea
You good for DnD still?
You’ll upset Welt if you fall asleep mid-session~

GalacticBaseballer:

Fuck I forgot DnD
Mr Yang noooooo
I would never betray your dad like that
I’ll just slam a monster itll be fiiiiine

 

SnowPrincess073:

Okaaay
I’ll let him know you’re still down

 

GalacticBaseballer:

So, boba, thinking 2?
2ish
Might be late
I keep forgetting time exists

 

SnowPrincess073:

2 works!
I’m gonna ask Dan if he wants in.
*Dan Heng
I need to a shower to wash the party smell off
See you then?

 

GalacticBaseballer:

See you then!
:Finger_Guns:

***

Stelle stared out from her perch onto the city. A run hadn’t made her hangover go away, so cycling to the park on top of the hill was the next port of call. The fresh air had, at least, made her feel a little better. Now with the promise of bubble tea with the besties her day was feeling a little brighter.

She wasn’t sure why she felt the need to sit up in the tree, but the view had turned out to be gorgeous. “Maybe I’m just a genius?” She thought to herself.

Though, for a genius, she was pretty stupid. Last night had been pretty fun, but it’d failed its purpose as a distraction. It wouldn’t lead to anything, she knew that, just a bit of dumb fun. Aaaand probably helping her figure some things out about herself in advance of uni. 

She hated to admit it, but seems girls just wanted her for the free trial, not the full subscription.

How could she feel so lonely? She was popular enough at school, her baseball team, she had two great besties, girls wanted to kiss her. Wasn’t that enough? Why was her heart still stuck in Penacony?

Firefly… Such a pretty name, for such a pretty lady. Would she see her again? They were going to the same uni but… uni is a big place. She’d been onto campus a few times, having a guardian who was dean of a college would do that, and it was big . She knew what degree she was on at least, so that might help with finding her.

Still, why wasn’t she on any social media? Surely a name like Firefly would be easy to find? It was hardly common, after all.

She was honestly starting to question her sanity. It had happened right? Was it a trick? It didn’t feel like a trick, but damn. She felt like such a fool for holding out hope like this. It probably wouldn’t come to anything, would it? There just… couldn’t not be some kind of catch.

She sighed, leaning against the tree. She’d have to come to this spot again some other time, it was nice. Maybe she could show Firefly?

Ugh, she really did have it bad.

“Okay, home, shower, sandwich, boba.” She resolved, putting her thoughts aside.

The trip into town was uneventful. Thankfully, she knew the area around the bubble tea place they frequented well, so she knew exactly where to chain her bike up. Despite this, the others had still managed to get there ahead of her.

“‘Sup nerds.” Stelle said with a wink as she sat at their table.

“Says the girl with the third best maths grade in the year.” Dan Heng said, unamused.

“Yeah, and the second biggest gamer too!” March chimed in, “Face it Stelle, you’re the biggest nerd here!”

“And don’t forget it.” Stelle said, leaning back in her chair with her arms behind her head. They took the bait after all.

March rolled her eyes. “Why are you like this?” She sighed, “We haven’t ordered yet, do you know what you want?”

“Yeah, plus it’s my turn to pay. I’ll go up.” Stelle said. They gave their orders, and she went to go queue up at the counter. She’d probably just get her usual, really. The staff here probably recognised them at this point: the three of them stood out quite a bit. 

When Stelle came back over with their drinks, March was showing Dan Heng photos from last night on her phone. Dan Heng looked across to Stelle with an eyebrow raised as she put the drinks on the table.

“So, I missed another of your conquests. I don’t suppose this means you’re over that Firefly girl.” He said with a smirk.

“Sounds like someone doesn’t want his tea.” Stelle snarked, reaching for the plastic cup she’d just put in front of him. Unfortunately, he swiped it out of her grasp before she could take it back. “What, jealous that I’m getting more than you?” She said, sticking her tongue out.

“Pleeeaase like you’ve gone past second base.” March chimed in.

“More like third now.”

“Ew gross, TMI Stelle!”

“Maybe second and a half…” Stelle said, staring off into the distance thoughtfully as she drank.

“Do we really have to have this conversation in public?” Dan Heng sighed.

“Better now than in front of Welt and Himeko.” Stelle pointed out.

“Please don’t talk about your sex life in front of my dad!” March said a little too loudly, turning at least one head. Stelle could only laugh. 

“Hey, Danny started it.” Stelle said defensively. She saw the look on his face. “Sorry, Dan Heng started it.”

“Thank you.” He said with a small smile.

Thankfully, she’d successfully diverted the topic away from Firefly. They’d known each other for barely an hour . Why did she take up so much of Stelle’s thoughts? She threw herself back into the conversation, hoping the banter would take her mind of it.

She still had a week and a bit to go before she might even possibly see her again. This had been the longest September of her life.

***

It was too crowded on the bus back to March’s place for them both to sit, so Dan Heng had let March have a seat while he held one of the handholds and stood. Unfortunately, this meant he was right back to overthinking.

They both still slipped up with his name from time to time, but it was only to be expected. He’d gone by just ‘Dan’ for the two years they’d known each other, and it was only as uni was drawing closer that he’d asked them to use his proper name. Still, it bugged him every time they forgot. At least with Mr Yang there this evening he wouldn’t have to correct anyone. March’s foster father seemed to understand the importance of names, especially when having moved country.

He smirked to himself. At least he hadn’t gone by a stupid nickname like ‘Blade’ all this time.

He almost lost track of time, and was shaken from his thoughts by March ringing the bell and gently pushing him towards the front of the bus.

They got into March’s house to see Welt and Himeko already around the table, while Stelle was collapsed, out of breath, on the couch.

“Did you seriously race the bus back here?!” March asked, exasperated.

“Well… I- I won… So hah…” Stelle panted.

“Because of traffic, rather than your excessive effort.” Dan Heng chided, before turning to the table. “Hello Himeko, Mr Yang.”

“Good to see you Dan Heng. You seem to be holding up better than the girls today.” Welt said, with a wry smile on his face.

“I try to practise moderation when I drink. And I don’t try to race buses.” He smirked over at March and Stelle. 

“What he means is that he turns bright red after a single shot.” March grunted, having taken it upon herself to try and peel Stelle off the couch.

“I do hope you’re getting this out of your system before university.” Himeko said. “You can’t afford to lose too many days to parties if you want to do well.”

March groaned, “Not you too Himeko! We’ll be fiiiine!” 

Dan Heng rolled his eyes. She’d be fine because he’d be there looking after her.

Welt chuckled, before saying, “Now, how about you three order your dinner and we can get started.”

Welt lead into the opening descriptions as they waited for their pizza to arrive. Judging by the stack of flashcard Dan Heng spied next to his DM screen, he’d prepared a big one: he always brought rough storyboards for his big dramatic scenes. Presumably he wanted to wrap up this arc next session. Dan Heng predicted a lot of reveals, leading into a big fight lasting the last hour of this session through most of the next. 

He was right about the reveals, at least. He’d deliberately made a quiet character so he could sit and take notes while March and Stelle got carried away with roleplaying, usually reacting to every little thing that happened.

He’d not been sure what to think when March had first invited him to the game, but a chance to spend regular time with his friends out of school hours was too good to miss. Socialising was hard. In the end, he’d ended up quite enjoying it, even if he stayed as quiet as ever. It helped, of course, that it gave him an excuse to watch March being excited and cute.

Today though, the game drew his focus away from her.

Welt placed card after card in the centre of the table, creating a sort of analogue cutscene as he described. “As the cleansing light envelops the fiend, you see its form shift, a shadow at first, but as the light clears, you see before you… a graceful elvish figure. After all your research, Dan Heng, there’s only one thing this could mean.” He narrated, looking towards Dan Heng.

Affecting his tiefling’s voice, quieter yet smoother than his own, he said, “...Devils were elves once, there’s no other explanation.”

“Well then…” Said Himeko’s elven barbarian, “I imagine the court of the eldar will be most distressed by this revelation.”

“‘oo cares if they were elves once?” Stelle’s human rogue scoffed, in a cartoonish criminal voice, “We still get to loot ‘is treasure hoard, ye?”

“Uh, guys, is anyone going to help him?!” March said, before squinting, “Wait, lemme try that one again. Good fellows, this is no time for argument, this gentleman requires aid!”

Dan Heng chuckled a little. She’d written at least twelve pages of backstory for her half-elven knight (she refused to let people call her a ‘fighter’ in-fiction), but still occasionally forgot to use the voice she’d decided on for her.

As predicted, not long after the plot reveal, a greater devil of Asmodeus arrived with minions, seeking to punish the party for invoking an angel’s blessing to cleanse a devil of sin. He’d never admit it, but Dan Heng had been on the verge of tears when he’d rolled his second failed death save in a row, and felt genuine relief when Stelle’s rogue had snuck by to feed him a healing potion.

“You owe me, priesty.” She said in that awful voice.

“Of course, my friend.” He replied, doing his best to act out a heartfelt smile.

The session concluded with the greater devil retreating, leaving him to wonder what on earth Welt must have planned for next time. They’d collapsed on the couches in the living room to decompress after the game.

“That was so cool! The way you cut that demon in half was awesome Himeko!” March gushed. Dan Heng and Stelle sat either side of her on the couch. 

Dan Heng desperately resisted the urge to correct her: it was a devil, not a demon. If she hadn’t learnt by this point…

“I do hope that lived up to your expectations.” Welt said, sitting in his armchair with a drink.

“Fantastic as always Mr Yang.” Stelle said lounging, putting her arm up on the back of the couch. March leant against her sleepily. Stelle turned to Dan Heng and grinned. “You too cool guy, join the pile.”

Dan Heng rolled his eyes, but smiled to himself as he leant against March. He knew that she’d figured him out, yet despite her own history with March, seemed to have designated herself as his ‘wingman’. He could never figure out what went on in that girl’s head.

“Yeah, thanks for the game Welt!” March said as she put her arm around Dan Heng.

“I had not expected my character’s research to bear fruit like this. I look forward to seeing how this wraps up next week.” Dan Heng said, trying not to visibly react to March.

“Well I’m glad.” Welt said with a satisfied smile.

“As much as I would like to stay in good company...” Himeko said as she finished her drink. “I’d rather not stay out too late with an early start in the morning. Would you like a lift home, Dan Heng?”

It was a shame to have to get up so soon, but he much preferred the sound of a lift than talking a bus halfway across the city at this hour.

“That would be appreciated, Himeko.” He said, getting to his feet. He turned to the other two, “I’ll no doubt see you during the week.”

“Obviously! We need to make the most of the rest of summer.” March said.

“We’ll drag you out of your room if we have to.” Stelle promised.

“I have no doubt that you will.” Dan Heng sighed. Those two were very silly, and could be a lot of work sometimes, but in the end? He could not ask for better or more loyal friends.

***

“So Sammy, how is packing going?”

“I’m almost finished, just the last set of clothes and I’ll be all ready to go.” Sam answered his mother.

“That’s good!” His mom said with a sweet smile. 

She was in a good mood today, that was good. A dinner out with her in a bad mood would be hell. He tucked into his food, hoping that this would keep up.

“I managed to reorganise my schedule, so I’ll be driving you to the airport after all. I’m so glad I’ll be there to see you off in person.” She said, not taking her eyes off him. Looks like she’s on the lookout for a slipup. Better remain on guard.

“That’s great! It’ll be a long time before I can see you again.”

“I’ll have to make sure I can come and visit. Glamoth have a branch in the blue city, perhaps I’ll make more excuses to visit in person.”

Ah, he should have expected that. He’d need to find a way to plan around that…

The rest of the meal was pleasant enough. Sam managed to get her talking about work for the most part. He didn’t know half of what she actually did , but she definitely seemed to believe that without her the company would fold. For some reason though, she’d insisted that her sons- children - not follow in her footsteps. Peter had enrolled years ago. Sam’s military scholarship had laid out his destiny as a pilot too.

The car ride back, too, was peaceful. His mom tended to actually focus on the road. He watched out the window. Penacony… It’d been his home this long. It was strange to leave it behind. He’d never been out of the United States of Asdana before, his mom refusing to take the family anywhere foreign on holiday. She said he’d soon get his chance as a pilot. He felt like there was irony there, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what exactly it was.

They stepped into the house, taking off their coats and shoes. He was about to head back to his room when his mum stopped him.

“Your hair’s getting a bit long, you should get it cut before you go.” She said, checking the length with his fingers.

“Don’t worry, I was planning to find a hairdresser once I was there.” He said. It was sort of true, well.

“You can’t make first impressions with hair this long Sam.” She insisted. “You should get it cut before you go.”

“But, I don’t have an appointment, and we’re flyi-” He started, immediately realising his mistake.

“Don’t talk back to me, Samuel!” She shouted, gripping his shoulder. “If I come home tomorrow and your hair isn’t cut you’re not going to college, you understand?!”

He weighed up the situation. He couldn’t afford to make things worse, not now.

“Yes, mom.”

She pushed him away. “Get out of my sight. Xipe almighty I thought I raised the pair of you better than this.” She fumed, storming off towards the living room. The door slammed as Sam climbed the stairs, hurrying towards his room.

Here… this room was a safe space. Phone. Headphones. Collapse on bed. 

Firefly sighed deeply as Robin’s voice began to sing in her ear, a song of hope in adversity. A song she needed to hear. Tonight could have been worse, really, but she’d so hoped to grow out her hair, at least for a while. Her mom had old-fashioned ideas of gender, hidden behind her military aspirations for her.

She sprung to her feet, and set about rummaging through her suitcase, trying not to disrupt her clothes too much by… there it was. She’d buried it deep so her mother couldn’t find it. She sat on her windowsill, looking out onto the night as she worked the wig onto her head. One day, she’d have hair like this, she promised herself.

It was hard to see the stars in Penacony, even in the suburbs. What she could see was beautiful though. She desperately wanted to go walk in the nearby woodland and go see the Fireflies, but she knew that if she left the house now, things would only get worse.

Just a few more days. Tomorrow would be rough, but the day after she’d be on the plane to her new life. She was so excited to finally study engineering, and…

She was excited to see her again. The charming lady who stood up for her, the first person to have ever really done so. It was such a strange twist of fate, that the first time she’d been stopped in the street for who she was would coincide with her meeting such a wonderful person. She unlocked her phone to look at the background: the photo they’d taken together. They’d had almost no time together, but it was like her world had been turned upside down. She’d be there this fall. What were the chances of that? 

Stelle… It was a pretty name. It made her think of stars, just like her eyes did. She’d been so charming, so pleasant and… Honestly? Pretty handsome too.

Maybe she was getting ahead of herself, but, she needed something to hold on to. There was a fire in her heart that had never been there before. She just hoped that that beautiful stranger remembered her too. 

It wouldn’t be too long before she found out now. This had been the longest September of her life.

Chapter Text

Firefly sat on her bed, staring out of her new window. The view was pretty, directly showing her one of the lakes that give the blue city its name. 

Her day had been long. First the plane journey, then sorting out her accommodation, and then unpacking. It was beginning to make sense why international students had an earlier move-in date than everyone else.

Terminus College was one of the smaller ones it seemed, housing a few lecture theatres and such, but no actual departments. Even its bar had apparently shut down a few years ago, and basically just got rented out for society events.

She grabbed a coat, making very sure that she had her room key on her person, and set off for a walk. It couldn’t hurt to take a walk around, right? After all, as tired as she was, she still wouldn’t get to sleep for a while yet: Jetlag and insomnia would likely be fierce allies. She just had to figure out where to walk to first…

Well, it was obvious, really: She needed to scout out Akivili College. Stelle would be moving in there in a few days, but it would help to get the lay of the land in advance.

The Astral University campus felt like it was as big of a town on its own. She had a map loaded on her phone to make sure she wouldn’t get lost, but it was hard to navigate even with it. She made a note to try and memorise landmarks as she went. Seriously, there were almost no signs up anywhere, how were people meant to find their way around?

She passed a few of the other colleges as she went. Qlipoth College was an odd mix of very modern looking lecture facilities and distinguished old red brick buildings. College IX seemed to mostly consist of brutalist architecture from late last century. Xipe College, at least, looked familiar, its buildings in a recognisably Asdanan style. She’d heard that the college dean was from Penacony, though she’d not looked into it further.

She made a note of her path as she went. Around the central lake, past the math (maths?) department, through that weird building with the nice courtyard, aaaand there it was. On the other side of campus: Akivili College. It was small, only a little bigger than Terminus, and its buildings looking a lot more welcoming. By the looks of it, the Faculty of Languages was here, so they even had an actual department to their name.

She was glad that campus was mostly empty right now, because it suddenly hit her that someone watching her might find this behaviour creepy. She’d have to be quick then. She made a note of the buildings as she wandered. Accommodation over there, common rooms here, teaching facilities, the bar…

She turned a corner, heading towards the gym (another important location to scout) when she spotted what seemed to be a coffee shop, just off the college’s central courtyard. She checked the name: Astral Espresso. As she passed by, there were two women at the door; one beautiful red-haired lady trying to lock up, and a handsome purple-haired woman leaning against the shop’s glass near her. Firefly couldn’t help but feel like she’d seen her before.

“I’m sure I’ve told you before not to bother me while I’m working.” Said the first.

“To me it seems like your work has finished for the day.” Said the second, her smug smile audible in her voice, “Why not join me for a drink, usual place? It’s on me this time~”

The red-haired woman sighed, “I can be there for eleven. For now, let me finish locking up.”

She got a chuckle in response. “You’re not so heartless after all. See you there~”

Firefly had slowly just a little to overhear more of their conversation, hoping to figure out where she knew that second woman from. She picked up her pace as she heard it conclude; she didn’t want to be caught eavesdropping.

As she turned the corner, she was suddenly overcome by a spell of dizziness. The world turned over this way and that in her vision, all blurred into one. By the time she figured out what was happening, she found herself on the floor. For a mercy, her instincts from years of martial arts had served her, and she’d managed to land on her butt, with only a few scrapes to her arms to show for it.

“You hurt?”

That purple-haired woman was now crouching next to her.

“I’m… fine.” Firefly said, trying to reorientate herself.

“Need a hand?” She said, offering one out to her. 

Firefly nodded, taking the assistance. “Thank you.”

“Sit down a while before you walk any more. Don’t push yourself.” The woman said, gesturing to a nearby bench. Something in her voice made it sound more like a command than anything else. Either way, Firefly obeyed.

They sat there quietly while Firefly recovered. She didn’t feel dehydrated, at least. Maybe it was just jetlag? Still, she’d had that dizzy spell a month ago too, was that related? It was probably a coincidence.

“Hmm, I thought I recognised you. Samuel Knight, yes? Almost didn’t recognise you with the haircut.”

Firefly froze. Of course, they’d not made any attempt to pass, given they’d not expected to interact with anyone.

“Y-yes, that’s me.” He said, suddenly a lot more anxious.

“Little lost are we? Terminus College is on the other side of Campus. Remember me? Name’s Kafka, I did your college interview.”

Had he seriously collapsed in front of an academic? And the one that could recognise him? Fate was playing a cruel trick on him.

“Relax, you’re in good hands.” Kafka said, getting up off the bench, “Let me walk you back, just to be safe.”

The walk back was mercifully quiet. Kafka seemed to pick up that he’d rather have some quiet, and didn’t press him. Before long, they’d reached the accommodation blocks of Terminus College.

“You’ll be able to make it back to your room from here I’m sure.” Kafka said with a smile. “I have a prior appointment to keep. So long~”

It suddenly occurred to Sam: had that woman’s face ever not been plastered with that smug grin?

“Th-thank you. Your assistance was appreciated.” Sam stammered, before hurrying off to his room.

As soon as Kafka was out of earshot, they breathed out, long, and slow.

Firefly made her way back up to her room. What an annoying start to her university career. Still… she had an idea for how to find Stelle, at least. She opened her phone as she lay back on the bed, looking at her background. She looked so happy there. She’d been so happy then. This woman… She wanted to be with her again.

Stelle would, once again, be the lifeline that calmed her today.

***

“That’s seriously the theme? ‘Slutty or crossdressing’?”

March grumped at the event calender for Akivili College’s Freshers’ week. All the events either sounded really lame, or just an excuse for heavy drinking. She liked parties, sure, but all week ? She’d be hungover for the rest of term!

“It’s an excuse for me to go in drag, I guess.” Stelle shrugged. She was trying to set up their new flat’s TV. She’d been very insistent on bringing it with her from home.

“Alright for you! My only girly option is ‘slutty’? Gimme a break, I kinda don’t wanna go now.”

“Denying the people what they want Marchie.” Stelle grunted, reaching over to sort some cables.

“Urgh, don’t be ridiculous Stelle. Even if I did catch a guy’s eye like that, it’s hardly a fairytale romance!”

“Who needs fairytales? Sometimes you’ve just gotta get s…”

“As insightful as I’m sure your next comment is,” Dan Heng interrupted, “The freshers’ fare is on the next morning. If you go too wild you’ll likely miss out.” He was standing in the doorway, arms folded, watching the two of them. 

“Oh yeah! What societies were you guys gonna join?”

“Baseball.” Stelle said with no delay. She’d picked up the remote and seemed to be fighting with the channels to get them working.

“Well, obviously! I kinda wanna do all of them! I saw on their website that they have a roleplaying society. Did you know there are other roleplaying games than DnD?” March said excitedly. She’d been scrolling through the society list the night before and struggling to narrow down exactly what she’d want to join.

“I can’t believe you’d betray Welt like that.” Stelle chimed in.

“Hey! It’s not betrayal! I just wanna play more stuff like that!” March replied. She knew that Stelle was just winding her up, but somehow she always fell for it.

“The university has a wide range of Xianzhou martial arts societies by the looks of it,” Dan Heng said, saving March from further teasing, “I haven’t kept up with my spear practice since I came here. I can’t have uncle Jing Yuan accuse me of slacking next time I see him.”

“Martial arts huh? Maybe I should do something something like that. I do kinda wanna exercise more, but going to the gym is so dull.” March mused.

Stelle turned around, and March braced herself for a retaliation, as she realised she’d insulted the gym. To her surprise, Stelle said, “There’s a legbutt club, right?”

“LGBTQ+ association.” Dan Heng said, translating before March could even process what Stelle was trying to say.

“El jibbity society.” Stelle responded with a grin. “Wanna check it out with me Dan Heng?”

“I’m not sure I have much to contribute in terms of activism. At least, not enough to justify taking time out of my studies.”

“You know I meant for partying with other gays, right?”

“And I’m sure this is in no way motivated by the off-chance of mee…”

March continued scrolling through the society list, zoning out their bickering. March wasn’t gay, so she probably shouldn’t go to the gay society. Her gay besties can go to that together, she didn’t need to do everything with them.

There were so many sports clubs here. The university was very big on being an ‘International’ university, so it had many sports and martial arts that weren’t normally popular in the country available. Now she thought about it, that was probably why Azul had baseball teams in the first place.

Tai chi looked good… Ooor what about kendo? It wasn’t Xianzhou swordsmanship like from the movies she loved, but it’d be similar, right? Fencing seemed a little competitive, and she’d never done it before… She was sure she’d figure something out at the fare, if nothing else.

“...But maybe it did cross my mind that, if she’s trans, she might be there…”

“Stelle, if a girl kisses you they’re probably not straight, regardless of if she’s trans or not.”

“...Oh, right."

March snapped out of her thoughts to see Dan Heng smirking at a confused looking Stelle. Hopefully they’d finished with whatever nonsense it was that she’d missed.

“Hey, guys? We’ve been here a whole day and we still haven’t gone to visit Himeko! Isn’t her café like right round the corner?” March said, as the thought occurred to her.

“Oh, right. To be honest I’m still only half-awake.” Stelle said.

The bunch of them had been dragged out to socialise by the second years assigned to watch over their block, so they’d ended up clubbing on their very first night. Well, Stelle and March had, at the very least. Dan Heng had excused himself halfway through pre-drinks. March had gotten too tired to keep up by midnight and gone home where there were still normal buses, since she didn’t want to deal with a hangover before she’d even gotten all her stuff unpacked.

Stelle, meanwhile, gotten back home at four in the morning, judging by the noise she’d made. And then gotten up to jog at her usual time!

“Himeko’s coffee will definitely wake you up then!” March said cheerfully, already getting to her feet.

Stelle groaned, “I think Himeko’s personal blend would kill me right now.”

Despite Stelle’s protestations, the three of them set off to Astral Espresso. Thankfully, the place wasn’t too busy, and there was only a short line when they got there.

The café’s decor was magnificent, rich red cushions on the chairs and couches, large paintings of stars lining the walls. The plants and tasteful lighting gave it a very comfortable feel.

The person in front of them was a short, black-furred, rabbit-like creature in a fanciful red outfit, and seemed to be having a conversation with Himeko over the counter.

“Pom-Pom appreciates Himeko’s input on this. Pom-Pom will have to make adjustments for next year.” They said, apparently finishing part of a longer conversation.

“I’m more than happy to help.” Himeko said, handing over a takeaway smoothie to Pom-Pom, “Well, seems we have visitors. Pom-Pom, this is Dr. Yang’s girl, and her friends.” She looked up and nodded to the three of them.

Pom-Pom turned around to face them. “I know you three, students Stelle, March, and Dan Heng right? Welcome to Akivili College, home of the Trailblaze!” 

“Nice to meet you Pom-Pom.” the three said practically in-unison. March couldn’t stop staring. She’d heard that Pom-Pom was the name of the college dean, so that means…

She’d never expected the dean to be so cute .

“I hope you three all enjoy your time here! If you need anything at all, just ask Pom-Pom.” They said with a smile that nearly made March melt with adorableness, before waddling off towards the door.

Himeko watched Pom-Pom leave before turning back to the trio. “Well then, are you three here for coffee, or just to say hi?”

March stared up at the menu while the others made their orders. Did she want a smoothie? Tea? Maybe try some coffee to see if she liked it now? Ugh, so many choices…

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted someone staring at the lot of them. Behind a laptop, she saw a pair of bright eyes, deep blue with a splash of pink, peering over the top of the screen towards them. Their gaze lingered a little too long, until they spotted March looking back, and then ducked back behind their laptop. March couldn’t really make out any other features; they were wearing a beanie, so she couldn’t even see their hair.

She shrugged. “It’s probably just ‘cos we stand out, right?”

***

That had been a close call. That pink-haired girl (was that one March?) had definitely made eye contact with her.

Either way, that was her! That was Stelle! She was really here, in the flesh! She wanted so badly to rush over to her and… and… well, at least talk to her, but… In front of her friends? Looking like this? If Stelle remembered her at all, she’d remember the makeup-wearing, overdressed girl she was that evening, not some dishevelled boy in a hoody and beanie. 

No, it wasn’t time to talk to her yet.

She waited for a moment when all the pieces are distracted. There, they were settling down at a table. She packed up her laptop and put her bag on the table to better hide her face. She got out the the letter she’d written. On the envelope was the words ‘To Stelle’ and a few doodles so she’d know it was here: A firefly, a pizza cut into twelve, a hand in that v-shaped pose they’d both done for the selfie, a few stars… Hopefully it would be enough.

She picked her moment. The barista (Himeko?) went to take the trio’s drinks to their table. While they were busy, she stood up and strode towards the door. She past the counter on her way, and carefully slid the letter down the side of the cash register. Hopefully that would buy her a little bit of time before it was discovered.

Letter planted, she hurried towards the door. As she passed their table, she heard Stelle laughing at something. Her voice was so beautiful It made her heart ache. Why couldn’t she just go and say hi? Why did everything have to be so complicated?

She left the café and made her way back towards Terminus College. If all went according to plan, then she’d have her chance before the week was out.

Chapter Text

Dear Stelle,

 

I really hope it’s you reading this letter. I’m sorry I couldn’t give it to you in person, but I’m afraid I’m too nervous. 

We both made it to university! I have so much I wish to say to you, and would love if we could meet again.

Please come to the entrance of my college, the one I told you I’d be attending. It would mean the world if we could meet again, just the two of us. I’ll be waiting at eleven pm on Monday.

 

Firefly

Stelle read the letter for what must have been nearing the twentieth time, as if some new clue would reveal itself. It looked carefully written, but a little too perfect for that. Perhaps she had practised writing it. Or, maybe she’d written it out on a laptop before writing it by hand.

The drawings she’d left… That must be her. Who else could possibly have known that many details from her date.

“Stelle, you’re not going to make tomorrow come any sooner by staring at that.” Dan Heng sighed from atop his book.

“What if I’ve missed something?” Stelle mumbled. 

“Are you suuure this is a good idea? Doesn’t this feel a little stalkerish to you?” March asked. She was sat next to Stelle, ‘testing’ the console set up by playing Aetherium Wars.

“How else was she supposed to contact me? I was the one who forgot to get her number.” Stelle shrugged.

“Uh, talking to you?” March said sardonically.

“She’s shy.” Stelle said defensively.

“Stelle, she kissed you an hour after the two of you met for the first time.” Dan Heng said.

“After taking you up a random building to watch fireworks!” March chimed in.

“That’s unhinged, not mutually exclusive with shy.” Stelle said, putting the letter away. Of course their first meeting had been so weird. Why did they think she was so obsessed?

Urgh. And now here she was admitting she was obsessed.

“Just be careful, alright?” Dan Heng said.

“Yeah yeah, I can handle myself.” Stelle huffed, plugging in her laptop’s changing cable. She fired up one of her gacha games and put on her headphones, making it clear the conversation was over.

She wondered what Firefly must be doing at that moment. Was she as nervous as Stelle was?

***

Firefly breathed deeply. They’d been psyching themself up to go and meet with their flatmates for nearly an hour now. From the sounds of voices in the communal area, they must have been chatting since they arrived. 

Okay. Ready.

Sam opened the door, peaking towards the kitchen. It looked like they were sat at the table there. A short girl with grey hair sitting with her feet on the table, and a taller, broad-shouldered man with dark hair and nearly as dark an expression. 

“Hey.” He said. “I’m guessing you’re my new flatmates?”

“‘Sup.” Said the girl. “We were taking bets on when you’d come out your room.”

“I wasn’t taking bets.” The man said flatly.

“Don’t mind him, he’s boring. I’m Silver Wolf.” The girl said, looking away from her phone.

“Blade.” The man said.

“I’m Sam.” Sam said with a heavy heart. “Those are some unusual names you both have.”

Silver wolf rolled her eyes. “Not our real ones obviously, but what the fuck kind of name is Bronya . Call me Silver Wolf. Or Wolf, Wolfie, SW, whatever. Definitely don’t call Bladie his real name.”

“Birth name, not real name.” Blade chimed in.

These two seemed to have quite the dynamic already. Were they a couple or something? He pulled up a chair and sat down, hoping to get to know the pair of them better.

“So, how do you two know each other? You already seem close.” He asked.

“Siblings. Adopted, obviously.” Silver Wolf said. “Mom wanted us in the same place so we could look out for each other. She's kind of a control freak sometimes.”

Ah, siblings. That made more sense. What to ask next…

“Where are you from?” Blade asked. “Your accent sounds Asdanan.”

Was it that obvious..? “Oh, I’m from Penacony.” He said.

“Penacony? I’ve heard it’s a nice place for a holiday.” Silver Wolf remarked.

“Then you’re an international student.” Blade said. “We’ve lived in this city for most of our lives. Ask, if you need help adjusting.”

The sentence felt strange in his raspy voice. Maybe he was nicer than he looked…?

“Thank you,” He said, “It’s my first time so far from home. My mom wasn’t keen to let me go…”

“Parents.” Silver Wolf scoffed. “Might as well get it out the way: What are you studying?”

“Engineering. What about you?”

“Comp Sci.” Silver Wolf said. “I bet I know it all already, but a degree’s a degree.”

“You sound confident!” Sam said. “Maybe I can ask you for help when I have to do programming myself.”

“Sure, if I’m bored enough.” Silver Wolf smirked.

Sam turned expectantly to Blade. If he understood social cues right, it was his turn to talk.

“History.” Blade said. Sam wasn’t sure if he was supposed to explain, but it seemed like he wasn’t going to. Wait, Sam hadn’t explained his choice either… Should he go back to that, or was he too late..?

“Blade’s our token humanities student I guess.” Bronya said with a grin. “I’ll be honest, I’m more interested in the gaming society. Looks like they host LAN parties, in this day and age!”

“Right, clubs.” Sam said. He’d done a little bit of research in advance. “I should probably keep up with my martial arts. Then I have officer training on wednesdays…”

“What the fuck’s officer training?” Silver Wolf asked.

“Um, it’s for my scholarship. I’m training to be a pilot.” Sam said. Well, that was one bridge he’d have had to cross at some point.

“Like a fighter pilot? Damn.” Silver Wolf said. Blade’s silence felt pointed, somehow.

“Yeah. I love planes. I’m… less keen on the military, but… well, it’s complicated.” Sam said. No need to burden them with all that just yet… That said, there was one other thing he needed to run by them, just to test the waters. They braced themself.

“I was also thinking of joining the LGBTQ+ club? I don’t really know what they do there though.” They said. They watched intently, trying to gauge reactions.

“Yeah I wouldn’t bother, I can be gay on my own time.” Silver Wolf said nonchalantly. “Not like I wanna go clubbing or anything with them either. Looks like they do a lot of socials.”

“Those three would no doubt be there, as well.” Blade said to Silver Wolf.

“Huh?” Sam asked, tilting their head in confusion.

“You know it’d just be the two.” Silver Wolf rolled her eyes. Seeing Sam’s confusion, she sighed, “Some dorks from our year at school who also came here. Blade’s got beef with them for some reason.”

“It goes beyond ‘beef’.” Blade said flatly.

“Whatever. Anyway, one of them wouldn’t be there cos she thinks she’s straight. Even though she’s dated a girl before.” Silver Wolf chuckled.

Sam was caught up in the joy of getting to talk about these things openly. She had to know this gossip about people she’d never met. “Wait, how does a girl date a girl and think she’s straight?”

“Stupid girl thought the other one was a closeted trans guy. Turns out she was just a massive dyke.” Silver Wolf cackled. “I’ll never understand how they stayed friends after that.”

“Wow…” Sam said, before retreating into their own thoughts.

She’d acknowledged that trans people existed, in a way. That didn’t necessarily mean she was accepting of them though. But if she wasn’t, wouldn’t she have been more disparaging? Why did this have to be so complicated?

No. Not the time. He could think about that later. He should focus on Stelle, for now.

Wait. If they were going to meet Stelle, they’d have to dress up femme. If they dressed up femme without coming out first… What if they got caught on the way out.

Well. Nothing for it…

“Actually, I did have something I wanted to say, on that front. Sam is… not the name I prefer.” She said. She could do this. She couldn’t make eye contact, and she was starting to shake a little, but she could do it. “I’m… My name is Firefly. Um, I was hoping to transition while I was here.”

She braced herself, waiting for a reaction.

“Yeah, from what I hear from Asdana, doing that here’s probably better. You nonbinary or the full she/her?” Silver Wolf asked nonchalantly.

“I’m a trans woman, I’m pretty sure.” Firefly said. “So, she/her, please.”

She braved looking up to see Blade nod silently. That seemed like a good sign. She breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank you, for being understanding. I wasn’t sure how long I wanted to keep living a lie before I told you…” Firefly said.

“There are many things to judge someone on. That’s not one of them.” Blade said.

“Yeah, you do whatever you like with your gender, just don’t be an idiot.” Silver Wolf said.

They were a strange pair, but Firefly got the feeling they’d got along just fine.

***

“Maaaaaarch heeeeelp.” Stelle whined from her room.

March rolled her eyes and closed the manhua she’d been reading. Honestly, this was on her for not expecting this. She opened the door to Stelle’s room to see her in boxers and a sports bra, staring at clothes strewn across her bed. Her muscles caught March’s eye. She’s forgotten just how buff she looked. How had she managed to get ab definition like that? She averted her eyes, feeling a little embarrassed.

“What do you need me for?” March sighed, “And why aren’t you wearing clothes?”

“Eh you know what girls look like. Help me pick an outfit.” Stelle said.

“It’s like half ten, why haven’t you picked an outfit yet?” March asked, trying to focus on the clothes. Seriously, why were her legs so distracting? March sighed and walked over to get a better look. “Well, you’re not actually going on a date yet, right? So, not the suit, that’s trying too hard. Wait, why do you have the tracksuit out?”

“Just in case?” Stelle shrugged, looking uncertain.

March sighed. This girl was hopeless without her. “Let’s see what we’re working with…”

Before long, they managed to throw a nice enough outfit together: a skirt, a loose white t-shirt, and a nice long coat jacket. It wasn’t what March would ever consider wearing, but it managed to work with Stelle. She had a knack for looking ‘tastefully disheveled’. Plus, she still had her legs out. This ‘Firefly’ would appreciate her making that decision, she was sure.

“Do you think I should do up my hair..?” Stelle asked, looking in the mirror.

“Uh, maybe if you didn’t have only ten minutes to get there.” March said.

“Huh?” Stelle checked her phone. “Fuck. Okay I gotta go love you March thank you.” Stelle said in one breath, giving March a quick hug before rushing to put on her shoes and get out the door.

March went back to the couch, and her comic, feeling warm inside. Stelle was a handful, and a menace, but it was clear she really valued March as a friend. March loved her too. As a friend.

***

Stelle was grateful for all the times she’d been out jogging first thing in winter. Someone with less cold resistance than her would be suffering in this temperature with bare legs. She hadn’t even had anything to drink to help!

She followed the map on her phone to Terminus College. That was where she’d said, right? The one with the motto of ‘Finality’?

Yeah that one still sounded kinda creepy to her.

The university’s central lake was kinda pretty in the dark, she thought. The lights of buildings flickered off its black surface, almost like the night sky. She crossed a little wooden bridge over a stream that fed into the lake: She was nearly there. All she had to do now was keep her cool. She needed to make a good second impression.

At least she’d reached Terminus college. 23:03, according to her watch, basically on time. She passed through a walkway under one of the college’s dorm blocks, into the college itself. Looking around, there was no sign of her.

She bit down on the panic that threatened to well up within her. There was surely a good reason for this. Maybe she was running a bit late? 

A door opened to her left. She spun around to see a young woman in a white-and-green dress with long silver hair walking out of it. Her heart leapt for real, panic turning into pure nerves. This was her, really her, after a month of waiting.

“Hey.” Stelle croaked, scratching the back of her head nervously.

“Hey. It’s nice to see you again.”

Chapter Text

Stelle couldn’t help but stare. She’d been dreaming of this reunion over and over, and now that it was here, all words had left her.

Here she was! The sweet silver-haired lady that had lived rent-free in her head for weeks, in the flesh!

“So… Would you like to take a walk?” Firefly asked, finally breaking the silence.

Stelle nodded, willing her throat to cooperate. “That sounds good. Do you have a secret rooftop view to show me here too?”

Firefly giggled. Aeons she’d missed the sound of that. “Not yet. Maybe we can look for one together?”

“Sounds good, I’m in.”

They set off walking, heading towards the campus central lake. Funny, now Firefly was here all thought of the cold had left her. Maybe she was just too distracting, or maybe because her body felt like it was on fire. She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what she was feeling - nerves? Desire? The combination pizza hut and taco bell?

They took a side-path around the lake, away from the main thoroughfare, towards the greenery at the edge of campus.

Firefly was the first to speak once again, “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable last time we met. I got caught up in the moment, and made an assumption that you’d be okay with it.”

What was she..? Oh, right. “No need, I’ve been thinking about that kiss all month.” She said, before realising that might sound like she was down bad. “You won’t see me turning down a kiss from a pretty girl.”

“That’s good to hear.” Firefly said, beaming up at her.

Stelle wracked her brains for something to say. She couldn’t let Firefly have to carry this entire conversation by herself.

“So… How was your flight? You settle in alright?” She asked. She can’t go wrong with small talk like that, right?

“It…was as smooth as I could hope for with a flight that long. The view from the air is so beautiful, I felt like I could watch the world go by like that forever.” She said wistfully. “Going through the airport after that was a lot less enjoyable.”

Stelle stared as Firefly spoke. Her face lit up when she was talking about flying. She was breathtaking.

“At least I managed to move all my things in before campus got busy. I met my housemates yesterday too, actually, they seem nice. I was worried they wouldn’t be okay with someone like me.” Firefly continued.

“Good to hear. If anyone gives you trouble, you know where to find me. My boot’s got a taste for transphobe balls now, it’ll happily kick ‘em any time.” Stelle said, flinching at how weird what she just said was. She didn’t even kick that guy! She used her knee!

Firefly started laughing so hard she nearly came to a stop. Stelle stood there grinning as the silver-haired beauty caught her breath. She looked up, wiping away a tear. Stelle’s heart leapt as their eyes met, those deep-blue eyes dashed with pale pink. She met Firefly’s smile with a grin.

“Thank you, Stelle, it’s really nice to hear someone say that.” Firefly said. 

They’d both stopped fully now. Stelle wanted to reach out and embrace her, gently guide her by the chin until their lips…

Firefly looked away first, a deep pink blush spreading across her face.

“H-how about we go look for somewhere high up?” She said nervously, “I’d love to have a secret base here too.”

“Sounds like a date.” Stelle grinned. She could wait. She felt like she’d get that kiss sooner or later.

“So this is a date, huh?” Firefly asked playfully, turning even redder.

“Our second by my count.” Stelle winked as she set off, taking care not to actually start skipping from the warm emotions running through her.

“Well, if it’s a date…” Firefly grinned slyly, threading her arm through Stelle’s.

The two walked, giggling, arm-in-arm. Stelle hadn’t been to this part of Campus before. Which department was this? She wasn’t sure. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was Firefly.

Firefly pointed out a tall set of buildings, and the pair of them set off for them. They passed a set of signs indicating that they’d arrived at Xipe College. The buildings here were tall and, now Stelle looked properly, kinda reminiscent of the ones in Penacony.

Stelle met Firefly’s eye. They must have been thinking the same thing, because she said, “I wonder if someone from back home designed these buildings. They look so familiar to me.”

“Xipe College does get a bunch of funding from Asdana. Makes sense, since Ena is still bigger here.” Stelle said. Finally, a use for listening to her guardian go on about university funding drama.

“Wait, I thought this country followed the Harmony?” Firefly asked, leading the pair of them up a hidden set of stairs she’d spotted.

Stelle laughed. “Yeah my guardian says this country’s weird theologically. We kept Ena, but we swapped from Order to Harmony. Wild right? Thing is, that’s where she got her inspiration for ‘path assimilation events’ as part of aeonic theory.”

The pair of them surveyed their new surroundings for somewhere higher to climb as their conversation continued.

“Right, you said something about your, um, guardian, wanting you to apply to Nous College. Are they an academic?” Firefly asked. “Ooh, over there!”

“Good spot!” Stelle said. “Yeah she’s actually head of Nous College.”

“Wait, really?” Firefly asked as the pair descended back the way they came from so they could ascend a different set of stairs.

“Yup. ‘The illustrious Madam Herta’ herself.” Stelle said, putting on a fancy voice. “Please don’t tell anyone, they’ll think I’m posh.”

Firefly giggled. “Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.”

They reached the top of another low building and began ascending the fire escape, being careful not to make too much noise. She didn’t know how much trouble they’d be in if they bothered the student in the halls they were climbing, but she didn’t care to find out. At long last, they made it to the roof.

Firefly excitedly grabbed Stelle’s hand and pulled her to the edge of the building. She’d forgotten how strong this woman was. As she was yanked along behind her, all Stelle could think about was what kind of muscle she must be packing under that dress.

Leaning on the short wall, they could see half of campus, illuminated in the autumn darkness. The streams and lakes full of black water, window lights reflected in them like stars. If only the light pollution weren’t so bad around Azul, they could see even more of the real stars in the sky above. 

Firefly sighed wistfully, saying, “I can never get enough of views like this. This place feels so alive…”

“I should take you stargazing sometime.” Stelle mumbled to herself, staring up at the sky.

Firefly grabbed hold of her arm again, and leaned her head on Stelle’s shoulder. “I’d really like that. I love the stars.”

“There’s a park just outside of the city where you can get really clear views of the sky at night, I’ll have to take you.” Stelle said, before remembering somewhere else. “Actually, there’s a dark zone in this country I’ve been camping in before. Maybe one day we can go together?” Stelle said excitedly.

Firefly looked up at her, beaming, saying, “I’d like that.” She pulled away, sliding her arm out from Stelle’s, and taking her hands instead. “Maybe this is a bit quick, but, I-I’d been hoping to meet you again. Ever since we met in Penacony, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Meeting you felt like a dream come true, it… I still struggle to tell if this is real. This is real, right?”

Stelle grinned, moving a hand to Firefly’s cheek. She saw tears of joy forming in the girl’s eyes. “You’re all I could think about for a month. Maybe I’m crazy, but meeting you felt like fate.”

Firefly rolled her eyes. “That’s so cheesy.” She said, pulling in closer to wrap her arms around Stelle, locking her in a tight embrace. “For so long I thought the only future I had was an unhappy one. If I had a ‘destiny’, it would be full of suffering.” She looked up at Stelle, her expression hard, determination burning in her eyes. “I refuse to give up on myself, but you should know that this is the person you’re dealing with, if you, um, want us to be close…” She trailed off.

Who had hurt her like this? Nobody ends up this sad without some one or some thing hurting them. She couldn’t imagine herself happy? That wouldn’t do. Who had made this woman feel she needed to give a disclaimer before she got close to someone?

“Don’t worry. I’m not passing up my dream girl that easy.” Stelle said with a wink. She could be serious about it later. Now felt like the time for reassuring charm.

Firefly laughed in relief, a few tears leaking from her eyes. She beamed at Stelle, face alight with affection. Now was her chance.

Stelle gently lifted Firefly’s chin, slowly closing the distance between their faces. Firefly looked surprised, and suddenly went tense. Stelle was relieved when Firefly closed her eyes and began to lean in. That was her sign. She held Firefly by her lower back with one hand, guiding her chin with the other.

Their lips met.

This wasn’t Stelle’s first kiss, she’d had many before, but this one felt different. This wasn’t some drunken fling, this felt like something else. Her heart was pounding with heat as she felt Firefly’s soft lips. When they pulled away, Firefly immediately started giggling. Stelle put her forehead to hers, and joined in. Finally, her waiting had paid off. 

“I can’t believe you kissed me even when I made the mood weird. I really must be dreaming.” Firefly said. As she spoke, she accidentally let out a shiver.

Stelle didn’t miss a beat. She whipped her coat off her shoulders and handed it to Firefly. Sure she was freezing , but that didn’t matter. If she was going to be a girlfriend, she was going to be a perfect gentleman to her. 

Firefly looked hesitant for a second, before accepting the coat with a smile. “You look cold too. Maybe we should go somewhere warmer? My flatmates are visiting their mom this evening, so my flat should be empty.”

Stelle was taken aback by how quickly Firefly swung between nervous and forward, but resolved to take it in her stride. After all, that was something she adored about her.

***

It was gone midnight when they got back to her flat. Firefly hung both of their jackets by the door and switched on the lights before leading Stelle in.

“I have some hot chocolate, I could make us some if you’d like?” Firefly asked, heading to the kitchen.

She turned to get Stelle’s response, catching her checking her out. “Sounds great.” Stelle said. Firefly turned back to getting mugs out. She gave a small smile. It felt so strange to her: she’d felt undesirable her whole life, and then all of a sudden this silly, charming girl appears and upends everything. No matter how weird she got, she acted like she was the perfect woman.

Hell, the fact that she treated her as a woman at all was already huge.

She was real, right? This wasn’t some… scheme? Not that she was important enough to deceive for any reason…

No, this was no time for those thoughts. The gorgeous woman who’d saved her was her, in her flat! They’d kissed for Xipe’s sake! It was no time to doubt herself.

She sat down as the first hot chocolate began to warm in the microwave, and caught Stelle staring at her arms again.

“So, you do any sports?” Stelle asked. Wow, she wasn’t even trying to hide it.

“I do fencing mostly. Also some judo, aikido… I actually tried krav maga at one point.” Firefly said sheepishly. They were hardly the most feminine hobbies.

“Damn, that’s hardcore.” Stelle said, eyes wide. “I do some kickboxing myself, which I’m sure you remember.” Stelle said with a wink, prompting a giggle from Firefly.

“It’s hard to forget. My knight in shining armour.” She said with a grin, before getting up to fetch the mug. She placed the second mug in the microwave and sat back down, stirring the powder into the first. “Here you go, this one’s yours. Sorry, I don’t have any marshmallows or anything yet.”

Stelle hungrily reached for the mug and held it in her hands, sighing happily at the warmth. Firefly couldn’t help but be reminded of a raccoon, the way she was holding it. Suddenly, a thought came to Firefly.

“Hey, I should get your number! That way I can message you without having to leave a letter at the coffee shop.” She said, pulling out her phone.

“Right, fuck, yeah.” Stelle muttered, scrambling for her own phone. “You got discord?”

“Is that a social media?” Firefly asked, receiving a bemused look from Stelle. “Sorry, mom doesn’t really let me go on stuff like that. I do have whatsapp though?”

“That’ll do.” Stelle said, handing over her phone with her contact number on for Firefly to copy. “Damn, no socials though? No wonder I couldn’t find you.”

“Well, I do have an old facebook but I don’t really use it. It’s… in my birth name, too.” Firefly said.

Stelle buried her face in her palms, sighing. “Right. Duh. Of course.” She groaned. “Didn’t occur to me. Daughter of a genius by the way.” She finished up by pulling a funny cross-eyed face, prompting a laugh from Firefly.

“You’re so silly!” Firefly said, handing back Stelle’s phone.

“I’ll stop being silly when it stops making cute girls laugh.” Stelle said with a wink. “Ah, got your text.”

“You’ll be silly for life then!” Firefly said with a grin.

They chatted away with their hot chocolates, talking about nothing in particular. Sports, martial arts, science, stars. Stelle sounded really serious about taking her stargazing, which she couldn’t help but be heartened by. She’d been worried that she’d come across as intense to her, but here Stelle was already making romantic future plans!

She checked her phone, and somehow, without her realising, it had gotten to nearly two in the morning.

“Oh, it’s gotten late. We should think about sleeping.” Firefly said.

Stelle checked her phone and winced. “I’ll go get my things then. It’s been really nice Firefly.”

Firefly found her mouth moving before her brain could, saying, “Wait, what if you stayed the night?”

Stelle turned around, a big grin on her face. “I’d love that, Firefly.”

Firefly showed her where the bathroom was, before leading her to her room. She clicked on the light before quickly rushing to try and tidy things up. “I’m sorry about the mess.” She said.

“What mess?” Stelle asked. “This is basically pristine compared to mine.”

“Still.” Firefly chuckled, trying to push her clothes out of sight. 

She turned around to find Stelle sat on her bed, and so sat next to her. Okay. Breathe. Communicate.

“I… Before we get changed, I have to ask. Are you really okay with a trans girl like me? I’m… hiding a lot about myself right now. I’m worried you’ll think differently of me when you see the real me.” Firefly said.

Stelle looked confused. “Isn’t this the real you?”

Firefly sighed. She was well-meaning, but she didn’t feel like Stelle got it. “Let me show you what I really am.” She said.

Carefully, she removed her long wig, taking care not to pull on her wig cap. She removed that next, gently placing it to the bedside, letting their awful short hair breathe. They got up to pull up their dress next, taking care not to damage the tight fabric. They were shaking as they undid the bra that didn’t quite fit them, breathing out properly as the weight from the fake boobs they’d been using fell away.

“This… is me.” Firefly said, letting their voice drop to its default pitch. They’d always hated it, so deep and growly.

Stelle looked them up and down. What they’d just done began to dawn on them, and they could feel their cheeks warming up as they tried hard not to shake.

“Is that your normal voice?” Stelle asked. “Is it bad that that does things for me?”

Firefly doubled over laughing, all the tension leaving her at once. How was that what she just said?

“You can join the small tiddy gang with me.” Stelle said, shuffling closer and running a hand along her back. “You do look nicer with long hair though, suits you more. Not hard to fix at least.”

Firefly straightened up, ignoring the tears forming in her eyes. Stelle’s expression was simple, but warm. She really was just like that, wasn’t she? She was one of a kind. She wrapped her arms around Stelle’s shoulders and fell backwards onto the bed, pulling Stelle into another kiss.

Where the kiss on the rooftop has been sweet and romantic, this felt different. She wanted Stelle in her entirety, wanted to press their bodies together so close they became one. Stelle’s weight was on her, pressing her into the mattress. She’d fantasised about this moment for a long month. She reached for the bottom of Stelle’s shirt, clumsily trying to pull it up, hardly able to concentrate from the sensation of Stelle’s lips pinning her to the bed.

Stelle knelt up, pulling her shirt over her head and launching it across the room. She deftly removed her bra, sending it to join its companion in clothing. Huh, Stelle hadn’t been kidding, she really was kinda flat. That didn’t matter though. Those toned muscles, that soft skin… She ran her fingers along her, fighting the urge welling up within her telling her to sink her teeth into her. That was new.

“Xipe you’re gorgeous…” Firefly sighed as she got a feel of Stelle’s biceps.

“You’re not bad yourself.” Stelle grinned as she swooped back towards Firefly’s neck.

As much as she was enjoying herself, a fact that Stelle could no doubt feel at this point, let alone intuit, there was this feeling welling up within her. She felt… off. Like the beginnings of a panic attack.

Could she do this? Could they do this? Could he-

“Wait, wait, stop…” Firefly said, as firmly as they could manage.

Stelle immediately sat back up, taking her weight off them so they could curl up.

“Is something the matter?” Stelle asked, eyes full of concern.

Firefly broke eye contact. Damnit, why couldn’t they just enjoy themself?

“Sorry, I don’t think I’m ready yet.” They said, trying to keep their breath steady.

“For this? Or for us?” Stelle asked.

“Just- just this. You’re… we’re okay.” They said. Urgh, they’d probably ruined everything with their…

“Are you okay to cuddle?” Stelle asked.

Firefly sighed. “Yes, please.”

The pair of them shuffled together, the feeling of skin on skin soothing them as Stelle engulfed her in a hug. They breathed slowly, in, out, in out…

Eventually, she was ready to talk again.

“I’m sorry, I thought maybe I was ready, but I just made a mess of things.” Firefly said.

“That’s okay, take all the time you need. No-one’s going to think less of you.” Stelle said soothingly.

Firefly sighed. “I think less of me.”

“Hey, that’s my girl you’re being mean to.” Stelle said.

Firefly flinched a little, before she figured out what Stelle meant by that. She chuckled, turning around to hug this big silly girl.

“I’m your girl then?” Firefly whispered happily.

“If you wanna be.” Stelle said, kissing her on the top of her head.

“Of course I wanna be. You’re right, I’ll take my time.” Firefly said, looking up at her sweet, silly girlfriend. “But I still want to be yours.”

Stelle’s face twisted into a big goofy grin, and she pumped her fist, saying, “Yessss.”

Firefly giggled, moving up to give her another kiss. The day had been an emotional rollercoaster, but it ended exactly as she’d hoped: with her drifting off to sleep in Stelle’s embrace.

Chapter Text

Darkness. She reached for her phone, only to find herself trapped, restricted. A moment’s panic set in before she remembered what, who , it was that was wrapped around her.

It was surreal. It kept hitting her, over and over: She had a girlfriend . It hadn’t sunk in. She wondered how long it would take for it to do so. 

Her thoughts were interrupted by her body reminding her why it had woken her up at this hour. She tried to extract herself carefully from Stelle’s embrace. The lanky girl grumbled as the object of her cuddling disappeared. Firefly stifled a giggle as she watched Stelle bundle up half of the duvet to replace her in her arms.

Firefly grinned as she donned her dressing down, and set off for the bathroom. On the way, she checked the time: 4:37 am. Too early to just stay up for the day, but too late to hope for a decent amount of sleep. Maybe she could have a lie-in? Classes hadn’t started yet, after all

That did feel like a dangerous thought to have this early in term though.

Before she set off back to bed, she stopped by the bathroom mirror. A thought had occurred to her. She sighed as she switched on the light and looked at herself. She could feel a voice in the back of her head, whispering that she was being so cliché, but she silenced it. Couldn’t a girl look at herself in the mirror?

Blinking, she examined her features. She really wished her hair wasn’t so short. Maybe, if she could just avoid her mom long enough, she could grow it out properly? She could stop relying on that wig. 

She stared down at her collar bones, peeking out from her dressing gown. Stelle had compared their chests, in her own humorous way. But now she looked at it… bar one, well, two really, rather obvious differences, was there really that much that set them apart? And even then…

In a way, maybe it was easier for Stelle to see her as a girl than she did herself. While Firefly looked, she could feel the voice in the back of her head telling her all the things that would ‘give her away’. Stelle, she assumed, just saw a woman. A beautiful one, apparently. Well, she had to admit, when she dressed up nice she could believe that. Maybe, in time, she could believe it without having to dress up for it. She sighed, a grin falling finally, and reached for the light.

If someone could love her like this, maybe she could too?

Back in her room, she gently pried the covers away from Stelle and took her rightful place in her arms.

Stelle breathed deeply, grumbling as her sleep was disturbed. She pulled Firefly in closer to her, her body heat rapidly warming Firefly back up. 

“Time’s’it?” Stelle mumbled.

“Nearly five in the morning.” Firefly whispered.

Stelle mumbled, barely coherently, “Awful. Mmmm soft- girl though.”

Firefly smiled and tried to cuddle in closer to her. She shuffled her body so they fit together, maximising the skin contact she had with her.

“I think I could get used to this.” Firefly sighed quietly. “Waking up with you there, not waking up this early.”

“Mmm…” Stelle grumbled, clumsily trying to kiss her on the back of her head.

Time melted away. Firefly didn’t notice when Stelle fell asleep, but she could feel her quiet slumbering breaths. She was dipping in and out of sleep, skimming her dreams like a stone over water. Not that she ever remembered her dreams anyway.

Firefly was no stranger to insomnia. Part of her was frustrated that it had hit on her first night with Stelle. Part of her was comforted that at least this time she could have a gorgeous woman cuddle her.

And every part of her was aching with exhaustion.

The sun must have come up already by the time she had properly fallen asleep again. She only knew she’d managed it when Stelle’s alarm went off. The sound of rock music began emanating from her phone as it vibrated from the pile of Stelle’s clothes on the floor.

Firefly felt Stelle jolt awake and scramble to reach her phone. Firefly rolled over and took her side of the bed. It smelled like her now. Five more minutes…

Stelle climbed back under the covers and wrapped herself around her again.

“Sorry.” She said, “Forgot to turn it off."

“Tha-t’sokay.” Firefly mumbled. Her leg muscles were burning like she’d been running. Maybe she’d need to take it easy.

“Sleep okay?” Stelle asked.

“Not really.” Firefly muttered. Not wanting to leave that on a negative note, she forced her consciousness through the sticky feeling of sleep to say more. “But it was nice that you were here, at least.”

“Oh. Something up?” Stelle asked. She sounded a lot more awake than Firefly had expected. Maybe having to get out of bed had woken her up?

“Insomnia. I get it a lot. It’s… exhausting.” Firefly said.

“You can’t catch a break can you?” Stelle sighed. “How about I make you breakfast?”

Firefly turned over and cuddled up closer to her. Soft, warm skin welcomed her. Stelle pulled her closer, legs tangling with each other as Firefly rested her head on her shoulder. “I’ll be fine. I don’t really have anything exciting in for breakfast anyway.”

“I could cook you something nice at mine? I’ve got sausage, egg… I fry a good up.” Stelle said.

“Fry a… what?”

Stelle cleared her throat. “I make a good fry-up.”

Firefly laughed as her brain caught up. “Maybe some other time. I think I’d like to meet your housemates first before I show up at their breakfast table.”

“Oh yeah! March and Danny… Sorry, Dan Heng, they’d love to meet you.” Stelle said, suddenly excited. “Fair warning, March might try and give you the ‘if you hurt my friend they’ll never find the body’ talk.”

Firefly giggled. “My first shovel talk, that’s kind of exciting.”

“Wait, is that what it’s called? I didn’t realise there was a term…”

“Yeah. I think I heard my cousin use it once?”

“Term hasn’t started yet and I’m already learning.”

Firefly sighed happily as she rested on Stelle’s chest. “I want to just lay here, with you.”

“Fair warning, I might fall back asleep.” Stelle said.

“A lie-in would be amazing.” Firefly mumbled.

“Mmm. I don’t need to be up until this afternoon anyway.”

“Oh? Then why the alarm?”

“I’d usually go for a run. I think I can be excused this once.”

Firefly gripped her tighter. “It’s not every day you get to cuddle your new girlfriend.”

Stelle ran her fingers softly down Firefly’s back. “Are you feeling better today?”

“Yeah, I think so. I’m sorry I freaked out like that.” Firefly said, remembering the shame from how she reacted.

“It’s fine, really. I’m not impatient.”

“You’re wonderful.”

“No you.”

***

March danced around her room, waiting for her primer to settle. Her Robin playlist played at max volume as she searched through her wardrobe. She’d so far managed to pick out a nice set of underwear, but nobody else was going to see that. What about the rest of the outfit?!

She briefly considered going to ask Stelle for advice, before remembering that she was half-naked. Wait! Dan Heng was gay right? He wouldn’t care! March grabbed the two dresses she was most feeling for tonight and rushed out of her door.

“Stelle, stay in your room!” March shouted as she passed Stelle’s room, rock music blaring as Stelle got ready for her own night out.

March rounded to the living room to find Dan Heng reading a book in the corner.

“What do you think, this one? Oooor what about the pink?” March asked, holding the dresses over her front.

Dan Heng looked up at her, and blinked. She must have sprung it on him too fast. Oops! 

“I- I’m not sure…” Dan Heng cleared his throat, “Hmm, I think the first one suits you better. It contrasts your hair, which makes it stand out.”

“Hmmm, yeah, you’re right. Gotta make a good impression for the bar-blazing social! Thanks bestie~.”

March spun around and headed back to her room. Before she could close the door, she heard Stelle’s door open.

“You say something March?” Stelle called to her.

March poked her head out of the door to see Stelle stood in her own doorway, also half-dressed. She rolled her eyes and averted them.

“I just said stay in your room! I was asking Dan Heng for his opinion on what to wear.” March said.

“Huh? Oh.” Stelle Said as she put two and two together.

Both of them turned as Dan Heng said something that was inaudible over the clashing music. He must have realised he’d gone unheard because he appeared around the corner. “If you two didn’t have your music so loud, maybe you could hear each other.” he said.

“What?!” Stelle shouted, putting a hand to her ear, pretending that she couldn’t hear.

March rolled her eyes at Stelle. “But it’s part of going out! You’ve gotta psych yourself up first!”

Dan Heng sighed, waving his hand dismissively as he went back to reading. March herself went back to finish up getting ready. She had like half an hour until she needed to head to the college bar where she’d agreed to meet with some of the other students on their floor of the block.

Once ready, she turned off her laptop and walked into the living room to see Stelle lying on the couch, texting. She’d gone for a suit for tonight, evidently trying to flaunt her gay credentials for the LGBT club. She caught herself wondering if Dan Heng could pull off a suit as well as Stelle did.

“Uh, didn’t you say your social starts from Aha College? Isn’t that on the other side of campus?” March asked.

“I can be late.” Stelle said, caught up in whatever message she was writing.

“Isn’t Firefly going to be there?” March sighed, rolling her eyes. Ever since they’d met up again, Stelle had been talking to her constantly, meeting her for walks, and so on. March couldn’t help but feel a little jealous, honestly. Her best friend was being taken from her!

“Nah, she’s not really the clubbing sort.” Stelle said. “She’s chilling with her flatmates instead.”

“Oh, right. Well, try not to drunk text her too much, I’m not sure she’s ready for drunk Stelle yet.” March said.

“No promises.” Stelle said, putting her phone in her pocket. She swung her body round and stood up from the couch in one smooth movement. She even decided to do a little twirl once she was up.

“Show-off.” March said, clapping sardonically. Not that she wasn’t impressed, but… 

“Dance lessons gotta be useful for something.” Stelle said, pulling finger guns. “Right, I’m off. Walk with you to the bar?”

“Yeah! Lemme just get my shoes on…”

***

“Woah, you’re on the team? I thought you were a fresher?!”

“Yeah! The coach knows me though, I’m a baseball prodigy. Was only a matter of me hitting uni age before I made the team.”

Stelle looked her new friend up and down, bored already in this queue for the bar. She couldn’t make sense of it. Shorts… but kind of a dress? She had kind of a butterfly theme going on. Weird. Still, she was rocking it. Maybe she was just drunk.

“You’re that famous?” ‘Seele’ asked, eyebrows raised. She was getting a good grade in first impression, hell yes.

“Nah I’m just local.” Stelle said. “Been in this city my whole life, coach scouted me from my sixth form team. Not that I was ever going anywhere but here you know?”

“I’ll have to ask you to show me around, I just got here last week, I never realised this place would be so sprawling!”

The two of them shuffled as their spot in the line got closer and closer to the door.

“Yeah the lakes make the layout weird, you’ve kinda got to be here a while before it starts making sense.” Stelle said. “Where you from anyway?”

“Belobog!” Seele said. Oh, well that would explain why she wasn’t freezing to death in that outfit.

“Oh, like Mechanical Fever!” Stelle said excitedly.

“Wait, that’s the first thing you think when you hear Belobog?” Seele asked, looking surprised.

“You kidding, Serval Landau was my gay awakening! Did you know she actually lives in this city these days?”

“No way, really!? I knew she…”

“Hold up.” Stelle said, gesturing to the doorman, who was waving them to move up. IDs checked and hands stamped, they started climbing the steps up into the bar proper. Apparently ‘Elation’ was the best club in Azul, but she’d never been. They only let students in, so she’d steered clear before now.

“Hey, do you think we started at Aha Bar cos they knew we’d end up at ‘Elation’?” Stelle asked.

“Huh?!” Seele shouted over the music, growing louder as they got closer to the dancefloor.

The pair of them came up to the dancefloor at least, and looked around. The place was spacious, but dimly lit. Old-fashioned and cheap disco lights lit the dancefloor as the music played way too loud. The floor felt sticky.

Stelle leaned over close to Seele to make sure she could be heard over the music. “Place like this has got to have cheap drinks at least! Shots?!”

“Aeons I hope so!” Seele said back, marching over to the bar with her. There was a mass of students, all trying to get close enough to the bar in the hopes of being the next to be served.

“Did you see that girl with the grey hair in front of us by the way?!” Stelle asked, trying to make conversation while they waited.

“Oh with the hair drills? Her earrings were enormous!” Seele responded. Nice, she loved to gossip too.

“Was she with the eljibbities too? I don’t think I saw her at the other bars.” Stelle said.

“I don’t think so! Why?”

“Think she was on her own then! I dunno, she just stood out.” Stelle said. Not to mention, she gave it a seventy percent chance that that girl was gay too. Stelle had a powerful gaydar. Even if she had been wrong about March, somehow.

When it was their turn, Stelle ordered two rounds of shots for her and her new friend. It was her first night out as a student, she wanted to go hard.

The pair of them moved to the dancefloor where they met a group of the others they’d met earlier. The music seemed to be an eclectic mix of popular music, popular music from twenty years ago, and a few timeless classics. At one point she swore she heard that one song about a boy obsessed with his best friend’s mother. Still whatever the DJ was doing, they at least knew how to put together a set you could dance to.

Her thoughts strayed. How was Firefly doing? It’d been an hour or two since she’d last messaged her. She left the dancefloor to the little mezzanine full of tables to sit down and check her phone

Firefly:

Have fun!
Speak to you tomorrow~

 

Stelle:

Made a new friend
She’s called seele sges cool
From belobob
Belobog
How’s hiisemates?

Stelle stared at her phone for a minute before remembering that it would take Firefly some time to reply.

She looked around, not really taking anything in. There was people, lights, and movement.

There! Seele was walking towards her. She was gesturing towards the door while shaking a pack of cigarettes.

Stelle nodded and stood up to walk with her.

With the fresh air and the distance from the music, it was a lot easier to think outside. She accepted a cigarette and a light from Seele and breathed deeply. 

“Wasn’t sure you’d smoke, miss athlete.” Seele joked.

Stelle shrugged, “Just socially. ‘Sides, I’m fit enough to tank it.”

“Hah!” Seele laughed. “Oh! I should add you.”

Stelle pulled out her phone again. She had a message from Firefly.

Firefly:

That’s a few typos there.
It’s okay, we can talk in the morning.
You just focus on enjoying yourself!

Hmm… Had she upset her? Though, given it took her three tries to try and read text. Maybe she was too drunk to text. She sent a big string of heart emojis before looking for Seele on social media.

“Sorry, girlfriend texted.” Stelle said when she’d finally sent a friend request.

“Hey no worries! High school sweetheart or what?” Seele asked.

“I met her on holiday!” Stelle said, excited to tell the story. “I beat up some pricks harassing her and now we’re in love! She even came here to study!”

“No way! What are the chances of that?!”

“I know!” Stelle said. Hmm. She hadn’t actually told Firefly that she loved her. Would that be too soon?

The March inside her head that nagged her when she was about to make a stupid decision started to speak: ‘Don’t tell her that drunk!’

Right. She thanked her brain-March and finished her smoke.

“Right. shots?”

Time passed in a blur. She remembered shots. More dancing. More shots. She cheered when a Mechanical Fever song came on. She went to the bathroom.

Her stomach was turning. Oh no.

***

March’s evening had been amazing! Elation turned out to be a sticky mess of a club, but at least the music was fun!

She’d even seen Stelle at one point, but she seemed to be having fun with some new girl from the LGBT club, so she’d left her to it.

Still, it was getting late. If she had any more to drink she would definitely have a nasty hangover, but the music was getting too loud for her. She’d lasted a fair bit past midnight, it’s not like she was bailing early .

She went to the bathroom in preparation to leave, thanking the Aeons that the queue was short. 

Especially since it seemed like one of the cubicles was occupied by some girl vomiting. She tried her best not to listen as she went about her own business. She couldn’t help but feel sorry for whoever it was.

“Sorry…” Came a familiar voice from the other cubicle. “I’m not- normally this bad.”

“You seemed like you were under control!” Came another, much less familiar voice.

“I- thought so t-” The first girl said, before throwing up again.

March sighed. That had to be Stelle. Of course it was. She really was useless without her bestie!

She washed her hands and went to go survey the damage. At least it looked like Stelle was being taken care of. When March saw her, Stelle was slumped on the bathroom floor, eyes closed and swaying, dazed.

“Stelle? Really?” She sighed at her. “You overdid it the one time you didn’t have me watching you?”

“Hmm?” Stelle looked up, her expression pathetic. She smiled sheepishly once she realised March was there.

“You her friend?” The stranger asked.

“Yeah, her best friend!” March said. “Thanks for looking after her, normally she has me for that!”

“I’ll always help someone in need. Seele, by the way.”

“I’m March! Help me get her up, I’ll get her in a taxi.” 

Seele helped a very apologetic Stelle to her feet. She seemed mostly able to support herself, but she was wobbly. It looked like March would need to support her.

“You got her?” Seele asked. “You gonna be okay with her?”

“I’ll be fine, I’m used to helping her deal with the consequences of her actions. Thanks for helping me carry her.” March said.

“No worries! Let me know in the morning how she’s doing.” Seele said, waving as March turned to leave the bathroom.

“I’ll get Stelle to keep you updated. Hope you enjoy the rest of your night!”

Stelle spent most of the taxi ride home whining pathetically on March’s shoulder. By the time they’d gotten back to campus, she seemed to have exhausted her apologies at least.

March wished their building had had a lift. But no, she had to help Stelle up the stairs instead. They got into the flat, as careful as possible to not make too much noise and wake Dan Heng.

Stelle lay down on her bed, staring up at March.

“Marchie.” She said seriously. “My brain-March said I was too drunk, but can’t I tell Firefly I love her?”

“Huh? Your wh- Hey, wait, haven’t you guys only been together for like, half a week?” March asked, confused by the conversation.

“Yeah but it’s love. I love her. We’re in love.” Stelle said. “I love her.”

March sighed, and sat down on Stelle’s desk chair. “Maybe wait until a more romantic time to tell her? Didn’t you say you two were going on a date on Sunday?”

“Yeah! Second date. Wait no third date.” Stelle said. “We’re goin- park.”

“Hey, you’re falling asleep.” March said, and was thankful when Stelle’s eyes jolted back open again. “Remember to take your clothes off before you sleep, you don’t know what you got on them tonight.”

“Right.” Stelle said, already starting to undress. March looked away. This needed to stop happening! “Thank you, Marchie.”

“I dunno what you’d do without me.” March sighed, smiling at her silly goofball of a best friend.

Chapter Text

The whole world was spinning. Stelle’s world was dark and blank, yet somehow it spun. Slowly, her senses returned to her as she woke up. Unfortunately, that meant the pain could finally hit her.

She groaned, forcing herself to move. Last night was a blank in her memory, but she had a feeling she’d gone too hard. She tried to check her phone, but her eyes were refusing to focus on anything she looked at. At best, she noted that it was nearly noon. Oops.

She got up, nearly tripping over the haphazard pile of clothes next to her bed. She put on her dressing gown and some underwear and ventured out into the apartment.

Her goal had been to head to the kitchenette and get some water, but she got distracted by the sounds emanating from the living room. There, she saw March sat on the sofa gaming, tongue stuck out the side of her mouth from concentration, while Dan Heng watched the screen from over the top of a book.

“Mor- wow I sound bad.” Stelle croaked. “Mornin’.”

“Oh wow, you sound terrible.” March said, not looking away from her screen. There was the sound of an enemy dying, and she finally put down the controller. “You want some lunch? Or, I guess it’d be breakfast for you. Brunch? Is it still brunch if it’s at lunch time?”

“If it- I mea-” Stelle sighed. Her throat was way too sore to be articulate. “Food good.” She croaked, giving a thumbs up. “I help.”

“You are gonna have some water and paracetamol and not push yourself.” March commanded, guiding Stelle forcefully to one of the dining table chairs. She handed Stelle a glass of water and a card of painkillers, and set about pulling pans out of the cupboards.

She downed the water in one go, feeling the pounding in her head get just a little gentler. “Let me fry eggs. I can do that.”

March sighed. “Fiiiine. How are you feeling anyway?”

“Like the Destruction took a fiery crap inside my skull.” Stelle croaked, wheezing out the last few words as March flinched in disgust.

“Ew. Anyway, you’d better thank your new friend Seele for looking after you.” March said as she began to fry up some food for the pair of them.

Stelle started piecing together memories. Right, she’d met Seele, she was cool. She must have been the one who stopped her from puking all over herself then. She pulled out her phone, and found herself distracted by another message.

Firefly:

How are you feeling?

Sounds like someone’s having a big lie-in.
Let me know when you wake up.

Stelle smiled. She was so sweet.

Stelle:

I’m awake
Alive too
Feel like death tho
Gonna need to take it easy today.

She put her phone back down, before realising she’d meant to text Seele too.

 

Stelle:

Yo.
Thanks for last night.
March said you were helping me when i was having a bad time
Appreciate that
Hope I made a decent enough impression otherwise at least lmao

Now she could put her phone down. She got up to get more water, and to help March with the eggs.

“Dan Heng, did you want any of this?” March asked, raising her voice over the sound of the extractor fan.

Dan Heng looked up. “Hmm, I’d like a little bit, if that’s alright. It’s too oily for my tastes.”

“Of course it’s oily, we’ve got hangovers to cure!” March said indignantly.

“That’s not… you do realise fry ups don’t help with hangovers, right? They’re hard on the stomach, and they dehydrate you faster.” Dan Heng said.

“Whaaat?” March was taken aback. “No way that’s true!”

“Good for the soul though.” Stelle mumbled, unstucking the white of one of the eggs from the pan.

“What would you suggest then mr smart guy?” March asked.

Dan Heng sighed. “I don’t know, I’ve never had a hangover. I just looked that information up out of curiosity. I’d recommend proper sleep and hydration though.”

“Instructions unclear, falling asleep in the shower.” Stelle said.

“Ugh no please don’t!” March said. “I don’t wanna have to drag you out when I need the bathroom.”

“Just gonna lie there with my mouth open drinking shower water.” Stelle continued.

“Why are you so gross!?” March whined.

March shooed Stelle away once the food was cooked, and began plating up. First Dan Heng took some mushrooms and half a tomato to supplement his own lunch, then March took what she wanted, before piling up the remainder onto Stelle’s plate.

Stelle checked her phone as she ate. Looks like Seele hadn’t gotten back to her yet, hopefully she was just sleeping off her own hangover. Firefly, meanwhile, had replied.

Firefly:

Oh dear.
Make sure you get plenty of rest!
Would you like me to bother you less today?

 

Stelle:

Don’t worry about that tbh
I like hearing from you
Of course
You’ll hear everything from me tomorrow anyway lmao

 

Firefly:

Good point ^_^
Rest well sweetie <3

 

Stelle:

Will do
You’ll have me all to yourself tomorrow ;)

 

Firefly:

<3

***

Firefly sat on the bench in Terminus college’s courtyard. She felt strangely uncertain with her appearance. She’d done her makeup and femmed up as normal, but she’d opted to wear more comfortable clothes than her dress, since Stelle said they’d be walking a lot. She’d never mixed and matched clothing in public before: she’d always just worn the one outfit.

“Afternoon, gorgeous.” Came a voice.

“Hey Stelle.” Firefly beamed up at her, getting to her feet. “How are you feeling today?”

They hugged, and Stelle planted a kiss on her cheek. She had a way of having her insecurities just melt away completely.

“Little stiff, but a walk should fix that.” Stelle said, rolling her neck muscles. “How about you?”

“I’m good, I’m all set for classes to start. I actually went to my first Judo club meeting yesterday evening! I think they were thankful to have someone else join who’d already practised before.” Firefly said.

“Oh cool. Tell you what, let’s get walking, we can talk as we go.” Stelle said, pointing to a path on the opposite side of the courtyard.

The path led them to a small bridge over a canal, shortly followed by a cattle grid and wooden turnstile hidden among the trees off the side of campus.

“Wow, it’s amazing how quickly you reach wilderness here.” Firefly said.

“Yep, benefit of being a satellite campus I guess.” Stelle said. “Should be a river in a bit, we can follow that back to the city. Should get us pretty close to Memorial Park.”

They walked along the dirt path through the woodland, chatting as they went. There was a cool autumn breeze that accompanied them as they went, shaded by leaves of every colour from green to brown. It looked like they’d only just started to fall.

They came to the river before long. It was some distance below the path, with farmland on the far bank. The tall fences that backed onto the waters spoke of the farmer’s caution. Firefly could spot sheep lying resting on the grass on the far side of the field. After a quick stop to take a picture, they took the path towards the city.

“So, how was your night out then? Sounded like you had a rough time of it.” Firefly asked.

“It was good for most of it. I guess I’m just too used to having March there to stop me going too hard.” Stelle chuckled. “I made a new friend though, she’s cool. Also turns out the big student bar people talk about’s fun. Filthy, cheesy music, and one quid shots like, pretty much ideal for a club if you ask me.”

Firefly laughed. “I’ve never been on a night out actually, the drinking age is higher in Asdana than it is here. I’ve always found it strange how people would willingly go somewhere loud and full of people, just to feel awful the next day.”

“Honestly that was me a couple years ago. It’s a lot more fun than it sounds, trust me.” Stelle said, leaping to stomp on a particularly crunchy-looking leaf.

Firefly grinned at her. “Well, maybe you could take me on a night out some day? I think I’d be a lot more likely to enjoy it with you there.”

Stelle gave a big goofy grin. “Sure thing! Wanna go with housemates, or with the el jibities?”

“The who?”

“The LGBTQ+ peeps. They throw a solid party.”

“Hmm…” Firefly thought. “Wait, would your housemates not come with you for that?”

“Nah, Dan Heng doesn’t like drinking, and March is apparently straight.” Stelle said, rolling her eyes. “Wait, I still need to introduce you to them.”

“That would be nice. It feels strange that we’ve heard so much about each other, but I’ve never met them.” Firefly said.

“Tell you what, we’ve got enough room in the living room that we could watch something, all four of us.” Stelle said. “Why don’t I see what evening we all have free and organise a movie party?”

“Sounds great.” Firefly smiled. “What sort of movie?”

“Hmm… probably one Danny- sorry, Dan Heng, will approve of.” Stelle mused. “Don’t worry, his movie taste isn’t as boring as his other tastes, I can easily talk him into something fantasy. Maybe that extended edition he has a box set of…”

They talked about the things they enjoyed watching as they walked. Firefly gushed about the mecha shows she loved, nearly bouncing with excitement as she gave summaries of the interpersonal drama that inevitably followed high-stakes combat. Stelle dropped the names of a few shonen shows she liked, but for the most part let Firefly talk about her own interests.

The riverside path was paved, but poorly maintained, leaving muddy puddles from time to time that the pair of them needed to avoid, or in one case hop over. The farmland on the other side of the river gave way to more woodland, rows of tall trees leaning gently towards the water, framing their walk in green, yellow, and orange.

Firefly felt a drop of water land on her hand. She looked up at the sky, seeing grey clouds behind the canopy. She prayed that it wasn’t about to rain.

***

The pair of them ran for the shelter. Inside, Firefly sat on the bench, shaking Stelle’s jacket out to get the water off it. Stelle pulled her t-shirt off and began wringing it out. She stood by her decision to give her jacket to Firefly, but boy was she paying for it.

Outside of the small brick structure, the rain was really starting to come down now. Stelle looked out as she shook her t-shirt out, watching the rain bouncing off the pavement, kicking up pale mist.

“Maybe I should have checked the forecast today.” She thought, kicking herself internally.

“At least it waited until we were in the park?” Firefly said sheepishly.

Stelle spread her t-shirt out on a dry part of the bench that looked vaguely clean, before plonking herself down next to Firefly, sighing, “My bad for thinking the weather would behave I guess.”

“It’s alright.” Firefly said, leaning against her. “Anywhere with you is wonderful.”

Stelle put her arm around her and kissed the top of her head. She hoped she could feel that properly through the wig.

“To be honest, I wish I’d at least brought an umbrella.” Stelle said. “Then we could share an umbrella and be insufferable about it.”

Firefly giggled, “That sounds nice.”

They sat in silence, the sounds of driving rain hitting the roof drowning out her thoughts. She could feel Firefly cuddled up against her, she could smell the rain, she watched as rivulets of rainwater began to run down the slope. She could see the path which led to the gardens from where they were, but there was no way they’d be able to enjoy a leisurely stroll through those in this weather. At least they could admire some impressive trees swaying in the wind from where they were.

Stelle was surprised to see a woman with long indigo hair strolling along the path, seemingly unbothered by the rain beneath her bright-red umbrella. She stopped, turning to face the shelter they were sitting in. After a moment’s consideration, she strode over to them. Stelle gently nudged Firefly as she straightened up, trying to point out the impending social interaction.

“Are you girls alright?” The stranger asked, her voice deep, yet soft enough to be a struggle to hear against the rain.

“Yeah, just got caught off guard by the rain.” Stelle chuckled. “Lived here all my life and somehow I still get surprised by the rain.”

Her bright eyes surveyed the pair of them, clearly looking for something.

“You don’t seem to have an umbrella between you.” She said, “I have a spare, if you’d like.”

Stelle was taken aback as she pulled a second umbrella from out of her messenger bag. It looked fancy, hardly something one would want to hand to strangers. Clearly, Firefly thought the same.

“A-are you sure? We can just wait for it to get lighter.” Firefly said.

The woman smiled. “It would be a shame for the rain to ruin the makeup of a beautiful young lady.” She said. Stelle watched as Firefly turned bright red, stammering her confusion at being complimented out of the blue. The woman turned to Stelle, offering the handle of her spare umbrella. “Be sure to keep her dry.”

“Yes ma’am.” Stelle said, saluting as she took the umbrella. “Still though, you sure we can have this?”

“Consider it borrowed.” The woman said. “If fate decides that we should meet again, you can hand it back to me.”

“Thank you, miss…?” Firefly said.

“You can call me Acheron.” She said, “I hope you two enjoy the rest of your date.”

Stelle watched with an eyebrow raised as Acheron strolled off again, her long boots splashing through the small streams of water running down the slope as if they weren’t there.

“What just happened?” Firefly asked.

“Older lesbian just clocked us I guess.” Stelle laughed. “That’s gonna be me some day.”

Firefly cuddled back up to her. “I’m… not used to positive attention in public like that.”

Stelle put her arm back around her, and patted her reassuringly. “This city’s pretty accepting, all things considered. Hmm, though, I just thought. There’s a place with a better view, that’s a little less public. Wanna try making a move while the rain’s a little lighter?”

“That sounds nice.” Firefly said.

Stelle put her t-shirt and coat back on, and the two of them set off under their new umbrella. They had to scooch in close together to both get any amount of protection from the rain, but it was a lot better than before. The rain was loud against the umbrella as they hurried up the hill to the location Stelle had in mind.

They had just passed the park’s eponymous memorial when Stelle’s boot caught some slick mud that had been washed onto the pavement. She felt her foot slip out from underneath her, sending her plummeting towards the floor. In a flash, a pair of arms had wrapped themselves around her, halting her fall.

She looked up at Firefly’s face, her eyes staring into her own as she checked to see if she was alright. Once the surprise had worn off, Stelle began to laugh, prompting Firefly to do the same. Firefly pulled her back up to her feet, where the two pressed their foreheads together as they both laughed the shock out of their systems.

“Nice save, Fly.” Stelle said before kissing her.

“I’m just glad you’re alright.” Firefly beamed.

Stelle led her down a side path away from the memorial, up to a Xianzhou-style pavilion at the very top of the hill. Stelle thanked her lucky stars that nobody else was there already. She shook out the umbrella, and went to lean against the nearby railing. Thankfully, the angle of the wind meant that the rain wasn’t blowing into the pavilion on this side.

“Wow…” Firefly breathed as she joined her.

From that hill, they could look out across half the city, blocks of flats, houses, shops and parks all interspersed amongst the rivers of the Blue Delta, all flowing out into the bay off in the distance. The dark clouds overhead were moving fast, carrying the heavy rain as far as toward the horizon. In the distance, Firefly could see aeon rays peaking out from the clouds above the offshore wind farm.

The Blue City was small compared to Penacony, the sprawling suburbs far less neat than Firefly was likely used to: even had the city's development been as well-planned, the rivers made any regularity in the city’s blocks night on impossible. Stelle saw a kind of beauty in the chaos. 

“I wonder what it looks like at night…” Firefly mused.

“We’ll have to come sometime.” Stelle said. “When the weather’s better.”

“That sounds lovely.” Firefly said. Stelle felt an arm around her waist as Firefly sidled up to her. She placed an arm around her shoulder in return. 

This wonderful woman… she was so fun to be around, her excitement was infectious, and she was so, so pretty. Maybe it was reckless, moving too fast, but…

“Hey, Firefly?” Stelle said.

“Hmm?”

“Maybe it’s stupid to say this after only a week but… I- I think I’m in love with you.” Stelle said.

Firefly beamed, eyes widening with surprise, before burying her face in Stelle’s chest.

“I love you too.” She said, “I’ve been too embarrassed to say it but… if this isn’t love, I don’t know what is.”

Stelle laughed, squeezing Firefly tight. She felt giddy. Firefly loved her too! Stelle hadn’t believed in soulmates before, but after everything with Firefly, she’d been reconsidering her stance.

She put a hand to Firefly’s cheek, pulling back to look at her. There was such adoration in those eyes, moistened with happy tears. Firefly wrapped her arms around Stelle’s neck as she leaned in to kiss her.

***

Firefly hadn’t expected Stelle’s family house to be so grand. She seemed so down-to-earth, the sort of rough-and-tumble girl who came from an ordinary background, not a detached house just beyond the city.

Stelle had suggested heading back there to dry off before getting a taxi back to campus. Since the nearest bus stop with proper shelter was apparently further away, Firefly agreed, eager to stay as dry as possible. Besides, she was excited to see Stelle’s childhood room.

“Yo, anyherta home!?” Stelle yelled as she let Firefly in, wiping her boots on the mat.

“Could you keep that down!” a muffled voice called back from somewhere inside.

Strange, Firefly thought. The voice sounded a lot younger than she’d expected from Stelle’s guardian.

“Ah, didn’t expect her to be home, guess she must have got back from her conference.” Stelle said. “I’ll introduce you.”

The pair of them took off their shoes and jackets before Stelle led Firefly upstairs. The house was cluttered, to say the least. Piles of books and knicknacks and antiques lined the hallways, making navigating it a difficult task. On the first landing, Stelle knocked at a door and opened it.

“What is the point of knocking first if you’re just going to barge in?” A girl answered, exasperated. She swivelled her office chair around to face the two of them, and turned off the classical music she had playing from a nearby device.

“Hey, so, Firefly, this is my sister Dolly. Dolly, meet my girlfriend Firefly.” Stelle said, stepping aside, showing off Firefly like a prize at a game show.

“H-hi, I’m Firefly. It’s nice to meet you.” Firefly said. She hadn’t realised that Stelle had a sister, and had prepared herself to meet her guardian. In so much as she’d had any time to prepare at all.

“If you’re going to do introductions, you can at least do them properly.” The girl snapped. “Dr Herta Azul jr., daughter of the genius Madam Herta, and younger sister to this twerp.” She turned to Stelle, a wicked grin on her face. “Did you at least remember to check if this one likes women first?”

“As you can see, I got all the charisma in the family.” Stelle sniped, rolling her eyes.

“I don’t need charisma, I need peace and quiet to finish deriving the necessary parameters for this stage of the development.” Herta said, before turning to look Firefly in the eye. “I’m sure you’re a lovely girl, but right now I’m busy. I’m sure mother would want you to come round for dinner sometime.”

“Alright alright I’ll schedule an appointment, sheesh.” Stelle sighed, putting her hands up defensively.

Before they could walk away, Herta jr. added, “Oh and one other thing, Mei is sad you haven’t messaged her in the past week. Could you text her? She’s getting mopey.”

Stelle rolled her eyes to Firefly. “Yeah yeah I’ll do that, I’ve just been busy.”

She closed the door and walked away. Up another flight of stairs, they found Stelle’s bedroom.

“Sorry about that.” Stelle sighed, flopping onto her bed. “She gets narky when she’s busy.”

Firefly sat down next to her, letting her nerves settle. “She seems a little… hard to get along with.”

“Yeah she is. Getting a PhD at twelve will do that to your ego I guess. And being a biological clone of a genius.” Stelle said.

Firefly pulled her gaze away from Stelle’s band posters to look at her incredulously. “She’s… a clone!?”

“Yep, only known instance of successful human cloning out there.” Stelle said. “Mum’s long-term situationship is obsessed with genetic research, and apparently decided to get her a clone for her birthday one year. Before they made laws against that I guess.”

Firefly reeled at this information. It did make a strange sort of sense though: the girl had looked eerily similar to all the portraits on the walls of the woman she assumed was Stelle’s guardian. Firefly’s assumptions about Stelle’s family life had not only been shattered, but at this point had been ground into a fine powder.

“That’s… a lot to take in.” Firefly said.

“Yeah, sorry. Genius families are never boring I guess.” Stelle sighed, sitting back up. She kissed Firefly on the cheek, and said, “you gonna be alright to entertain yourself while I take a quick shower? Feel free to nose around my stuff.”

Firefly chuckled, and kissed her back. “Yeah, don’t worry, some time to process everything might be good for me.”

Stelle made fingerguns at her and clicked her tongue, before getting her dressing gown and some fresh clothes and heading off to shower.

Today had been… honestly, on paper, it had probably been a bad date. They’d been soaked through, Stelle had nearly fallen over, and then whatever that was with Stelle’s sister. Yet… they’d laughed together, and shared so much joy. Wherever Stelle was was her happy place; she never failed to make her happy. All those problems just seemed charming now she was looking back on them.

She loved her. She’d never met anyone like her before. Still, they’d only been together a week. By all counts, that was the easy part. They still had college to worry about, then whatever came after. They had families, friends, their own interests and hobbies, and would need to figure out how their relationship would fit into all of that.

But, if it meant she got to be with Stelle, any challenge seemed worthwhile.

She stood up to go and sit by the window, and was struck by a sudden dizziness. She gently eased herself onto the chair, breathing deeply. Just as suddenly as it arrived, the dizzy spell was gone.

Maybe she shouldn’t have walked so much today, she was probably dehydrated. Come to think of it, she hadn’t packed a water bottle. She made a note to ask Stelle for some water when she got back. Maybe she hadn’t quite settled in yet, and that was making her feel a bit off.

She stared out the window, across the huge garden attached to the house. Classes would start the next day. She was excited, and more than a little nervous. Still, whatever college would throw their way, she and Stelle would face it together.

Chapter Text

Dan Heng breathed deep of the steam rising from his coffee. He shuddered: Mrs Himeko’s blend smelled acrid today.

“So Dan Heng, how were your lectures?” March asked.

“They’re mostly just introductions so far.” He said, putting his coffee down until he was emotionally prepared for it. “We’ve been given a reading list for each module, however. I’m planning on getting an early start on those this afternoon.”

“Seriously? Wait, did you really not sign up to any society?” March asked, incredulous.

“They don’t have a club for Xianzhou spearmanship here, so no.” Dan Heng said. “Wednesday afternoons are for sports clubs, right?”

“Yup.” Stelle finally spoke up. She was slumped in her seat on the couch, nursing a cup of mocha. Apparently, she’d gone out the night before with people she’d met on her course, hoping to make more friends.

“I hope your coach is lenient, if you intend to show up like that.” Dan Heng sniffed.

“Oh lighten up,” Stelle rolled her eyes. “Coach said I’d have to drop dead before he wouldn’t put me on the team anyway. If you can’t play hungover, you can’t play anyway.”

“Easy for miss prodigy to say.” March said.

“What about you, March?” Dan Heng asked. “You were looking at a number of societies weren’t you?”

“I decided on archery!” March said excitedly. “I narrowed it down to one sport, and one hobby, so I picked the archery club, and roleplaying!”

“Roleplaying? Welt’s game not enough for you?” Stelle asked, mouth full of coffee.

“There’s more to life than just DnD! I love my dad’s game, but I wanna try something new too, you know?” March said. 

“I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear that.” Himeko said as she came over to place March’s tea in front of her. “I’m sorry for the delay.”

“That’s okay Himeko! Thanks for the tea!” March said cheerfully.

“I see you’ve already picked your favourite spot in the café.” Himeko said smugly, folding her arms.

They’d picked the same comfortable nook as they had last time they’d come to Astral Espresso. The couch and seats were inviting, the nearby fireplace (purely decorative) charming, and the corner out of the way of the rest of the shop. 

“When one has found somewhere comfortable, there’s little reason to try anywhere else.” Dan Heng said.

Himeko smiled. “I’ll leave you three to it. Enjoy your drinks.”

Once Himeko had returned to the counter, half a room away across tables and noise, Dan Heng decided to brave his coffee. He winced as the acidic taste hit his tongue. He put the mug down, trying to place what the aftertaste reminded him of. It was surprisingly pleasant, at least compared to the initial flavour.

“That bad?” Stelle asked, watching him.

“It’s… not the worst I’ve had from Miss Himeko.” Dan Heng said diplomatically.

“I’m just glad she has a normal blend too.” Stelle said, sipping her own drink.

“I would worry for the future of her business if she only served her experiments.” Dan Heng said, before taking another sip. He wondered how Himeko would feel if she knew he mostly ordered her own blend in order to test himself. It helped, at least, that sometimes her experiments did actually produce good results.

“Oh bum, is that the time?” March said, looking at her phone. “I should get going if I want to get there on time.”

“Just say fuck.” Stelle laughed.

“I’ll say whatever the fuck I want to, Stelle.” March said, sticking her tongue out as she grabbed her bag.

“Touché.” Stelle said, taking another sip.

Dan Heng chuckled to himself. There was never a dull moment with these two. He waved goodbye to March and wished her a good afternoon as she left.

“I should probably keep an eye on the time myself, probs need to run soon.” Stelle said, taking out her phone.

“Late and hungover might not make the best impression on your future teammates.” Dan Heng said.

“Oh right, I need to make a good impression for them too. Bugger.” Stelle grimaced. After a brief moment of consideration, she shrugged, and focused back on her coffee.

Dan Heng rolled his eyes before checking his own phone. No messages, only a few emails from his department, as had been happening all week. It was a shame that there were no extracurricular activities that appealed to him, but he considered it a minor miracle he’d found friends at all. Still, it gave him more time to focus on his studies. If he wanted to pursue his environmental science degree to PhD level, he’d need to distinguish himself somehow.

He looked across at Stelle, who was sinking slower in her seat, staring up at the ceiling. He felt the need to make conversation now that March was gone, but he wasn’t sure how to approach it. Ask about Firefly? Ask if she was excited for DnD on the weekend? Bring up the matter of the bins? Definitely not the latter, he was barely in the mood to talk about the flat, he couldn’t imagine Stelle was either.

He began packing up his bags. Hopefully he would have better success later. “I’m going to the library now then. Have a good afternoon, Stelle.”

“Yeah you too.” Stelle said, sitting back up in her seat. “See you later.”

Dan Heng picked up his mug and, after checking that Himeko was looking away, finished the rest of the now-lukewarm concoction in one go, shuddering as it went down. After that experience, the only place his afternoon had left to go was up.

***

March read through the character sheet that had been placed in front of her. It had been her own decision to try a game that wasn’t DnD, but now she was here, she was a little intimidated.

The DM (storyteller? She thought she’d heard him refer to himself as that) was a quiet man with bright eyes, who seemed to be very excited to run the game. It hadn’t taken her long to realise that the other guy who had a reserved space in the game was his boyfriend. She couldn’t help but notice that, out of the five players at the table, she was the only girl.

He had been talking the table through character creation, which was quite different to what she was used to from DnD. She huffed, and picked up the rulebook. She hoped that, instead of worrying about stats and numbers, reading about the setting would give her more inspiration. She’d never heard of ‘Changeling: the Lost’ before, but it sounded fun. A story about fairies and dark pasts and enchanting magic? If only she’d heard of it sooner!

“Do you need any help?” The storyteller asked after a while, noticing she’d been quiet while the others talked.

“I’m just trying to get some inspiration,” March said, “I’m really stuck between if I want to be a beast or a fairest, or maybe even an elemental. There’s a lot of choice here!”

“Well, if you need any help, just let me know.”

March thanked him and went back to the book. There was a lot for her to think about. She could already feel that she’d need to go home and think a lot more about this character. The numbers on her character sheet meant little to her, but who her character would be meant everything.

There was a knock on the door to the seminar room the roleplaying society had booked for them. Through the door came a blonde woman in a stylish outfit and long boots.

“Hey, is this the changeling game?” She asked. “I was late to the meeting so I didn’t get a game, I was told you guys had a spot?”

“Ah, come in, you’re welcome to join us.” The storytelling said with a smile, waving her in.

The girl sat down next to March, pulling out a notepad and pencil case out of her back. She leaned in to whisper to her, “Have you ever played this before?”

“I’ve only played DnD, but I wanted to try something new.” March whispered back.

“I wanted to play DnD too, like that one show! My classes overran though so I was late.”

“Well, the guy running it seems nice, and I can help you too if you want.”

“Thanks. I’m Montana by the way.”

“I’m March!”

The evening passed, and by the end of it everyone had made characters, ready to start playing properly the next week. March had settled on a mysterious yet beautiful snow elemental, whose memories had been stolen by the true fae that had held her captive. She couldn’t wait to get home and start writing up a backstory for her. The storyteller had even said he’d send her a pdf of the rulebook so she could read it in her own time. That said…

“It was kind of a sausagefest in there huh?” March said to Montana, as they walked past one of the lakes together as they went to their respective rooms.

“Right? I guess some stereotypes are kinda true.” Montana said.

“I hadn’t even thought of it. There are more girls than guys in the game my dad runs at home! Still, the club exec seemed fairly balanced. Did you see that girl in the shortshorts and…”

“Oh the ninja girl? What was her deal?”

“She said she ran the LARP or something I think.” March said, casting her mind back. “I like DnD, but LARP sounds like way too much for me!”

“Yeah, like, I hadn’t even heard of this changeling game before, so that’s weird enough for me!” Montana laughed, pulling out her phone. “I need to go this way to get back to Xipe college. March Yang you said right? I’ll add you on facebook!”

“That would be great! See you next week Montana~.” March said, waving her new friend goodbye. 

She pulled out her own phone as she walked, and saw messages in the group chat.

GalacticBaseballer:

Firefly said she could do Monday btw
Youse down?

Dan Heng:

Fine by me

March VII:

I can do Monday!
I’m looking forward to meeting her~

***

Firefly braced herself as Stelle opened the door. She took a deep breath, and stepped into the apartment.

The apartment itself wasn’t too dissimilar to her own, it seemed. She took off her jacket and boots and put them to the side of the door along with the others. Down the corridor, she could see a table and kitchenette, at which two people were sat: Stelle’s best friends, March and Dan Heng.

Stelle led her to the table where her friends waited. “Lady and gentleman, I introduce to you, my sweetheart Firefly.” She said in an overly dramatic voice, bowing deeply.

Firefly laughed despite her nerves, and rolled her eyes. It looked like March had done so too. “Hey, it’s nice to finally meet you two.” Firefly said, taking extra care to make her voice sound feminine.

“Nice to meet you.” Dan Heng said. He wasn’t smiling. Was he unimpressed, or was he just… like that. Blade also didn’t smile much, maybe they were similar like that?

“So you’re the Firefly I’ve heard so much about.” March said, standing up. “Let me get a look at you.”

“Sorry, she’s very protective of her bestie.” Stelle said apologetically as March steadied Firefly by the shoulders.

Firefly’s heart pounded as March looked her up and down. What was she looking for? Firefly was suddenly accurately aware of her Adam’s apple.

“Well, you’re definitely cute enough for Stelle.” March said after an agonising twenty seconds.

Firefly’s relief was short lived though, as March immediately shooed away Stelle and Dan Heng and sat Firefly down at the table.

“Alright Firefly, as Stelle’s lifelong best friend, it falls to me to make this clear.” March said, drawing up in her seat in an attempt to look as intimidating as possible. “If you hurt her at all, they’ll never find the body, understand?”

Firefly nodded. “Loud and clear.” She said, forcing the words out. She couldn’t help but feel that, if it literally came to that, March wasn’t exactly the most imposing, but that wasn’t the point.

“Phew, okay good.” March said, deflating a little and putting on a smile. “That was way more stressful than I thought it’d be, urgh.”

Firefly laughed nervously as the tension lifted, “You’re telling me.”

“I know I know, I’m sorry.” March said, putting a reassuring hand on Firefly’s shoulder. “And hey, if she ever hurts you , just tell me, I know the best ways to get her back.”

“Love you too Marchie!” Stelle shouted from the living room.

“You’re not supposed to be listening!” March shouted back.

Firefly smiled. Her nerves were shot still, but at least the immediate threat was over. Stelle had friends who really cared for her it seemed.

March stood up and waved Firefly to join her as she went to the living room. March flopped down onto the couch next to Stelle, and Firefly took her place on Stelle’s other side. She was relieved to feel a reassuring arm immediately pull her in, and she leant against her Stelle, comfortable and safe. Dan Heng had started setting up the movie.

“You know, Firefly, when Stelle talked about you being like, strong and trans and her dream girl or something,” March said, “I thought you’d be like, a tomboy like her. I didn’t expect you to be this girly!”

Something about March’s wording felt a little off to her, but it at least sounded like she was trying to be friendly now.

“I don’t get many chances to be girly, so I take whatever opportunity I can get. It took a long time for me to be comfortable dressing like this.” Firefly said.

“Oh! Did you wanna go shopping together sometime? I could do with an actually girly girl to go shopping with, instead of this hopeless mess.” March asked excitedly, gesturing to Stelle.

“My rizz is strange and unparalleled, you wouldn’t get it.” Stelle said.

Firefly chuckled. “That would be really nice, March. I’m pretty new to all this stuff, but I can do my best.”

March gasped excitedly. “Does that mean I get to show you the ropes? That’s even better! Okay we have got to make this happen.”

“Are you all okay with subtitles?” Dan Heng asked, now he had a moment to speak.

“My ears and brain are not friends.” Stelle said.

“Wait, is this the extended edition?” March asked, squinting at the screen.

“Yes.” Dan Heng said. “We don’t have to watch it all today, but the regular cut misses a lot of important scenes.”

“But it’s so looong.” March whined.

“Yeah, let's just watch half this evening.” Stelle said. “I’d like to sleep some time tonight.”

The film itself was slow to start, spending a long time setting up both the world and the characters. She’d seen the film referenced a lot online, and knew her cousins were a fan of it, but she’d never actually seen it herself, so she was excited. She was enamoured first by the choreography of the elven knights fighting in the ancient battle, then by the quaint green country that the halflings lived in. Was countryside life really like that? At least in this country?

More than the film, however, she enjoyed Stelle’s embrace. She sank deeply into her, resisting the urge to close her eyes and rest. The three of them were talking a lot through the film: Dan Heng making commentary on the differences between the film and the books, Stelle cracking jokes, and March bouncing off the pair of them with observations of her own.

They were so close, the three of them. She was content to just listen, watch the film, and enjoy the close contact with her girlfriend. Despite the bumpy start to the evening, she felt like she could get used to this.

***

Stelle flopped down heavily onto Firefly’s bed. It had hit midnight before they’d gotten back to her flat, thanks to Firefly getting excited enough to ask to see the whole movie. It was a good film, but four hours of a good thing was still a marathon.

“You comfortable there?” Firefly grinned, putting her bag down by her desk.

“So comfy. Gonna just sleep like this honk shoo honk shoo.” Stelle said, spreading out like a starfish and closing her eyes.

Firefly laughed. “You’re so silly sometimes.”

“Only sometimes? I need to up my game.” Stelle said, smiling up at her. Firefly had sat down on the edge of the bed next to her, looking at her with adoration in her eyes.

“I love you, my star.” Firefly sighed happily.

“I’m your star am I?” Stelle asked, “Damn girl you’ve got game.”

“I must do if I caught the eye of a hottie like you.” Firefly said, leaning in to kiss her.

Stelle kissed her back, pulling her in closer to her. Tender kisses gave way to making out hungrily, and Stelle found herself atop Firefly, panting. She bit her lip as she looked down at the adorable woman she loved. Firefly was beaming wildly, eyes closed in contentment.

“Wanna try again?” She whispered.

Firefly’s eyes opened, taking in Stelle’s face. She smiled shyly, and nodded.

Chapter Text

Firefly’s body felt heavy. In the darkness of early morning, she could feel herself slowly waking up. The campus ducks were making a racket somewhere off in the distance, maybe they were what woke her up?

She cuddled up to Stelle without bothering to open her eyes. If she could wake up next to her every morning, she’d be a happy girl. She smiled as warm memories of the night before returned to her. She was proud of herself for having taken that step. She nuzzled in closer to the girl she loved, grinning widely to herself.

A loud tone played, Firefly’s alarm causing her to jump. Heart racing, she turned off the alarm before it continued making that awful noise. Stelle grumbled next to her, gathering up more of the duvet to herself.

She had a notification. She’d seen it before she went to sleep, but decided it was a tomorrow Firefly problem. Tomorrow Firefly was now today’s Firefly, so she opened up the message.

Silver Wolf:

Mind reducing the seismic activity a few notches on the Richter scale next time?
Good for you but I don’t wanna hear it

Oops. She’d been so focused on Stelle that she’d forgotten to consider that her bed shared a wall with Silver Wolf’s room.

“Don’t wanna…” Stelle mumbled, cuddling up to Firefly once again.

“We can’t miss lectures, silly.” Firefly said, ruffling Stelle’s hair. “Also, we may need to be quieter next time.”

“Hmm? Housemate complainin’?” Stelle asked.

“Yeah.” Firefly said. “She was, um, quite graphic too.”

She showed Stelle the message on her phone. Stelle squinted as her eyes adjusted to the light. “Wait…” Suddenly she was alert, hoisting herself up and holding the phone steady in Firefly’s hand as she re-read. “Does that say Silver Wolf?”

Right, she’d forgotten her housemate’s unusual name. “Yeah, she said she doesn’t like her name so sh-”

“Grey hair, terminally online, about this tall?” Stelle asked, setting her hand comically low above the bed.

“Um, yes?” Firefly replied, confused.

“No fucking way.” Stelle scrambled to get out of bed, repeating herself as she reached for the dressing gown.

“Please at least get dressed first!” Firefly called after her.

Firefly threw on jeans and a t-shirt, unable to get properly dressed if she wanted to keep up with Stelle’s pace. She was confused as to what was happening, but Stelle was suddenly on a mission. Still, after that text she’d received, she thought she’d die of embarrassment if her girlfriend had burst out into the apartment in nothing but a dressing gown.

Silver Wolf and Blade were sat at the kitchen table. The former face down in front of two cans of energy drink, the latter reading his phone as he sipped his coffee.

“‘Sup guys, been a while.” Stelle said as she walked into the kitchen.

Silver Wolf peeled herself off the table and turned around. She blinked a few times. “Bladie, am I seeing things?”

“No.” Blade took a long sip of his coffee, “Stelle Azul is in our flat.”

“You’re shitting me,” Her eyes fixed on Firefly, “You’re here two weeks and you find the city’s most hopeless dyke to fuck?”

Stelle wrapped her arms around Firefly, peering over her shoulder, “Actually we met on holiday and we’re in love, so mleh.” She could hear Stelle stick her tongue out at Silver Wolf next to her ear. She felt her face reddening at such an overt display of affection in front of others.

Silver Wolf fake-retched in response. She grabbed the energy drink she hadn’t already drained and cracked it open, taking a couple of gulps. “So let me get this straight; the girl you’ve been pathetically pining for since the start of September is now my flatmate?”

Stelle was dumbstruck. Firefly could hear her open and close her mouth a few times as she tried to come up with a retort. Had Stelle really been that hung up over her?

“You forget how big a gossip March is,” Silver Wolf said smugly, “if she knows something, I’ll find out sooner or later.”

Stelle sighed, “Of course it was March...”

“Well done on finding someone actually queer this time.” Silver Wolf smirked.

“Knock it off, Bronya.” Stelle snapped. 

Firefly watched Silver Wolf’s eyes widen as she processed what Stelle said. Firefly braced herself. How had her morning, which started off so nicely, ended up like this?

Blade cleared his throat. The whole room turned to look at him. He’d put his phone down, and watched the bickering unfold with a tired look on his face. “There’s no need for this.” He said, voice level.

“I see someone’s anger management classes paid off.” Silver Wolf rolled her eyes.

“Wolf.”

“Fine, fine.” Silver Wolf rolled her eyes, before turning back to Firefly. “We go way back. It’s kinda always been like this.”

Stelle let go of Firefly. Firefly hadn’t realised how tight her grip had gotten until it was gone. “Yeah, just a little early for the Wolf v. Stelle special.” Stelle yawned, before breaking into a big stretch. She shook her body out as she relaxed, before sticking a hand out. “Truce?”

“Yeah alright.” Silver Wolf sighed, taking Stelle’s hand. “Guess we better behave in front of your girlfriend, huh?” 

“This is not how I expected my morning to go.” Firefly chuckled nervously.

“Sorry bug, looks like destiny made things weird for us.” Stelle laughed, putting an arm back around her.

“Oh don’t start with the destiny stuff too, I get enough of that from mom.” Silver Wolf rolled her eyes, picking up her energy drink again. “Don’t you have lectures to get to?”

“Right, yeah. I assume you’re just gaming today?” Stelle asked.

“Nope, got something I gotta work on, hence the drinks.” Silver Wolf gestured with a can. “Then I can sleep, finally.”

“She’s been awake for forty-three hours.” Blade said, now back to his phone.

“Sleep’s for the weak.” Silver Wolf shrugged. “World firsts are more important. Fourth by the way. Maybe third if the winners get disqual'd, cheating bastards.” 

“‘Ey grats.” Stelle nodded. “Right, well, see you ‘round I guess.”

Back in Firefly’s room, Firefly closed the door carefully as Stelle flopped onto her bed.

“Not how I was hoping that would go.” Stelle groaned, head in her hands.

Firefly strode over to sit down next to her, gently stroking her back sympathetically. Her heart was still racing from anxiety after what just went down.

“Should I be worried?” Firefly asked.

“Oh nah it’ll be fine.” Stelle said dismissively. She flipped back over and took Firefly’s hand. “We both take truces seriously. ‘Sides, we’ve known each other since forever, the banter’s unavoidable, but we’re still friends. Blade meanwhile…”

Firefly watched Stelle’s frown as she began to think. After it became apparent that Stelle was lost in her own thoughts, she asked, “What about Blade? Is there drama there?”

“Drama’s… I guess it’s drama,” she yawned, “Oh, pardon me. Yeah, so, I kinda wanna be out the flat if I’m talking about that. Let’s get ready.”

“If you say so.” Firefly said.

The crisp October air was refreshing. She hadn’t had enough sleep, but at least now she’d be awake. She distracted herself watching the wind blow ripples across the water as the pair of them made for Astral Espresso for a quick breakfast. The café’s warm exterior was inviting, its tables empty. In the quiet, she could just breathe deep of the smell of coffee instead of worrying about the other people present.

Stelle went up to order, while Firefly claimed the table: the one in the corner next to the fireplace, with the couch. She nearly took off her scarf, before she remembered what her neck looked like when she checked the mirror that morning. She grinned to herself at the thought.

Stelle returned with a couple of coffees, a bacon butty for herself, and a pastry for Firefly.

“Himeko says hi, by the way.” Stelle smiled, taking off her own coat and scarf. “Didn’t want to come over and spook you though. Honestly, I think she might suspect something.”

Firefly looked up to the counter where Himeko was suddenly very busy getting everything ready for the morning rush to start properly.

“Hmm, I guess I should get used to everyone knowing we’re together then.” Firefly smiled. She could think of worse fates than everyone knowing that this handsome dork was hers.

“I guess.” Stelle said apologetically, scratching the back of her neck. “So, Blade.”

“Yeah. Do you two not get along then?” Firefly asked.

Stelle’s face contorted as she tried to figure out her wording. “More like… he did something I can’t forgive.” She took a sip of her coffee, then leaned forward. “So, Blade, Wolf, Marchie, and I, we met in this group for adoptees right? Known each other since at least primary. Uh, wait, Asdanan… like… yeah I dunno how grades work. Since we were like eight. Anyway, we go to the same schools all the way through, Blade in the year up, Wolfie gets bumped up to our year for being a prodigy.”

Firefly swallowed a mouthful of pastry, saying, “You weren’t kidding, you’ve all known each other for ages.”

“Right. So it changes when we get to sixth form, cos a guy named Dan Heng comes into the picture.” Stelle said. “Now I don’t really know what went down, but one day Blade confronts Dan Heng in the library, Dan Heng says something back, next thing we know Blade’s knocked him to the floor beating the shit out of him.”

Firefly’s eyes widened. She hadn’t been sure what to expect, but it wasn’t that. She frowned, leaning in. “What happened next?”

“Yeah so, school investigates, Blade gets suspended after everything’s settled down. In the meantime, March decides it’s our job to take care of the ‘poor new guy’ our friend beat up. Kinda ended up more like her bothering him until he gave in and started hanging out with us.” Stelle chuckled, “He appreciates it, really. I think he’d have actually just fobbed March off if he didn’t.”

“I had no idea that’s how you guys met.” Firefly said. “Did you three know Blade would be coming here too?”

“We did yeah,” Stelle shrugged, “Dan Heng said it wasn’t his place to dictate what he does with his life. I’m not convinced he’s cool with it, but he refused to make a fuss.”

“What about us, what does this mean for us?” Firefly asked. Selfish as it was, that was the part she was most worried about.

“Probably nothing.” Stelle said. “I’ll let the others know, but I think it’ll be fine. Silver Wolf never really offered sympathy over the incident, but she never exactly defended him either. He seems chiller these days anyway. I don’t think SW was just making fun when she said he’d had anger management classes.”

It was a lot to take in, so Firefly thought quietly as they finished their breakfasts. She’d thought Blade was intimidating, but she’d not suspected he’d ever done anything like that. It was scary to think about. Then again, if Stelle wasn’t concerned, Firefly could trust that. That said, one detail was missing.

“Did you ever find out why he did that?” She asked.

“Oh, right. Blade never said, but Dan Heng said it was something about ‘bad blood between their fathers’ or something.” Stelle shrugged. “He also said it was ‘nothing we should concern ourselves with’ so we dropped it.” She said, making air quotes.

Firefly shook her head and smiled as she sipped her coffee, “your life sounds so exciting.”

“March called me a Mary Sue once, honestly she’s not wrong, I’ve got main character vibes.” Stelle shrugged. “At least the main love interest is cute.” She finished with a wink.

Firefly giggled, “just the main love interest? Are there other potential interests?” She teased.

Stelle looked taken aback for a second, “well, I mean, you know fans, they’ll ship anyone with anyone.”

“I’m just teasing.” Firefly grinned, reaching across to boop Stelle on the nose. “I don’t think I’m really the jealous type.”

“Really? So I can check out other girls still? Not gonna get mad if I go ‘oo’ at a pretty lady walking past?”

“So long as I can join in,” Firefly said, laughing, “but really, it’s okay. Somehow, making you stop checking out pretty women feels wrong, like I’m trapping a bird in a cage.”

“Rather let me live a dream unchained, eh?” Stelle smirked.

Firefly’s heart skipped a bit. She shifted excitedly in her seat, singing, “Let my heart bravely spread the wings, soaring past the night~.” She smiled broadly, “If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking. You remembered the song that played back that.”

“Couldn’t forget if I wanted to.” Stelle grinned. “I wasn’t really a Robin fan before, but I guess you changed that.”

“Good! Robin’s amazing. I’d love to go to one of her shows for real one day.” Firefly gushed.

“How come you haven’t been to one? Couldn’t afford a ticket?” Stelle asked.

“Well, we could have, but my mom would never let me.” Firefly said. She checked her phone, and realised she only had five minutes to make it to her lecture. “Oh no, I should get going.”

“Hmm?” Stelle checked her own phone, “Ah fuck, yeah we should get a wiggle on.”

The pair stood up, retrieving their coats and bags. Their lectures were in opposite directions, and the walkways outside looked very busy with students. Firefly stood on tiptoe, putting a hand on Stelle’s cheek as she kissed her.

“See you later, Fly,” Stelle said with a grin.

“See you later, Stel.” Firefly smiled, before turning to wave to Himeko. Himeko waved to the pair of them as they left to start their days.

Somehow, Firefly managed to get to her lecture theatre before the lecturer did. She managed to pick out a seat off to the side, near-ish to the front, to sit in. She got out the folder for this module’s notes, straightened her back, and closed her eyes. With how full her brain felt already, she felt like a minute or two of not taking anything in was needed.

Part of her felt guilty that she knew that story about Blade now, without him knowing that she knew. But then, how could she ever bring that up? She’d keep it to herself, for now. Maybe she’d find the right opportunity one day.

No, despite it all, one other conversation loomed far larger in her head: her mother. She’d not mentioned her mother at all to Stelle before. Stelle would be bringing Firefly for dinner with her family next week, and there was no way that Firefly’s own family wouldn’t come up.

Firefly was shaken from her thoughts by someone handing her the attendance sheet to sign. Right, one problem at a time, she could worry about all that later. She was at university to study, after all. Surely that should be her biggest concern... right?

Chapter Text

Firefly looked up at the secluded house that was Stelle’s family home. It seemed so imposing under the gloomy fall sky, the clouds threatening to rain as they so often did. Stelle squeezed her hand reassuringly, before turning to unlock the door. She hadn’t been her usual chatterbox self on the bus into the city, so Firefly assumed she was just as nervous as she was. 

The portrait in the hallway seemed more judgemental than the last time she’d seen it. What sort of woman would hang such a big painting of herself in full view of the front door? The sort of woman who had a clone of herself as a daughter, she guessed.

Madam Herta, one of the most prolific living academics of the Genius Society. Firefly had refrained from researching her in advance, for fear of biasing herself too early.

“Yoohoo, anyherta home?” Stelle called out into the house.

“Come in, no need to shout!” responded a voice from the living room.

The living room itself was spacious, but so much of the space was filled with books, nicknacks, and electronics. Opposite a grand, crackling fireplace was a woman, flicking through a book. Not even looking up, she held up a finger, commanding quiet until she finished her page. After an eternal thirty seconds, she slid in a bookmark, and put the book on top of the pile next to her chair.

“So, you must be my daughter’s new girlfriend.” Herta said, quickly looking Firefly up and down, “Don’t just stand there, go on, sit down. We don’t do formal here.”

Could have fooled Firefly, but she smiled and sat down on the sofa Stelle gestured to. Herta was the spitting image of her portrait, like no time had passed. She briefly entertained the idea that she was a vampire. Would that make Stelle half-vampire? At least legally? She forced the thought down before she made herself laugh.

“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am,” Firefly said with a smile, “I’m sure you must be busy.”

“I am,” Herta said, “but Asta keeps bugging me to take an interest in Stelle’s personal life, so here I am.” Firefly was taken aback at how bluntly she said that. It must have shown on her face, because Herta immediately followed up with, “Oh don’t give me that look, little Stellaron here’s always been very independent, she doesn’t need me fussing over her constantly.”

“Behold, the least maternal mother in the world.” Stelle said in her usual deadpan. Behind her, Firefly heard the sound of someone entering the room. Dolly?

“I have two daughters by very deliberate choice. One adopted, one made bespoke for me. Surely that has to win me some parental points.” Herta said, eyebrow raised.

Dolly, who had perched on the edge of the other couch, chimed in with, “As my non-gestational DNA doner, you’re more like a father to me than a mother.”

Firefly stifled a laugh. It was surreal, hearing this woman dragged in a voice so like her own.

Herta shrugged, turning to Firefly to say, “And they wonder why I don’t spend time with them. Come, dinner should be nearly ready.”

They followed Herta Senior through to the conservatory, where a small table sat surrounded by even more bookcases. They’d walked through what was presumably the dining room to reach it, passing a table that could have fit three times their number, in favour or something cosier.

“Now I don’t know how much of the house you’ve seen,” Herta said, “but feel free to wander, so long as you don’t walk in on mine or Jr’s rooms. Or offices.”

“It’s a really nice house. I was surprised Stelle grew up someplace like this, I always assumed she had a more, um…” Firefly started, before realising she had no idea how to finish her sentence without potentially insulting her host.

“Feral, upbringing?” Herta laughed, “I never cared about whether or not she was brought up ‘properly’, all I cared about was that she was learning. All those airs or, Nous forbid, graces are a waste of brainpower.”

“See, I’m being smart,” Stelle raised fingerguns to Firefly, winked, and clicked her tongue.

“That does explain why the daughter of a genius is taking me dumpster-diving next week.” Firefly said, sticking her tongue out at Stelle. Diagonally across from her, Dolly rolled her eyes at the pair of them and let out a quiet ‘ew’.

“What, March is taking your shopping, I thought I’d take you somewhere a little more Stelle.” Stelle said smugly.

“Oh good, you’re getting on with March 7th,” Herta said, “you know, when Stellaron said she had a new girlfriend I was worried there’d be drama there.”

Firefly tilted her head in confusion, looking to Stelle to see a sheepish expression on her face. “Why would there be drama?”

“I hadn’t told her yet…” Stelle muttered.

Herta rolled her eyes, sighing, “really? Well you really should stop beating around the bush, the longer you leave it the worse it’ll be.”

Firefly looked at Stele, concerned. She’d not even thought to be anxious about this, but now her heart was pounding. Stelle sighed, and said, “March and I dated for a few weeks, back when we were sixteen.”

“Oh.” Firefly said. Her brow furrowed as she thought. “Why… would that cause drama?”

“Oh just, um, well, I was worried you’d be, I dunno, suspicious of me living with her or something.” Stelle stammered quietly, slowly turning pink.

Firefly flicked through the information. Something stirred in her memory. A story that Silver Wolf had told her in passing. “Hold on… I thought you said March is straight, but, no way…”

“We don’t have to talk about this.” Stelle muttered, shrinking into her seat.

“March thought Stelle was a trans guy in denial and decided to preorder.” Dolly said, a shit-eating grin spreading across her face.

Firefly snorted at Dolly’s wording, but seeing Stelle’s distress, added, “Alright, let’s change the subject. I really don’t mind, Stel.” She put her arm around Stelle’s shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

“Fine, fine,” Herta said, folding her arms, “where is dinner anyw- theeeere we go.”

Through the door came a young man carrying several plates of food. He laid them out on the table in front of them. Firefly watched, confused, as he behaved much as a waiter would, before Herta dismissed him.

“Mum doesn’t like cooking. This is her putting in some effort.” Stelle whispered, leaning in to Firefly.

“If you’re going to be a smartass, I guess you don’t want the pudding I’ve made for us.” Herta said sarcastically.

Stelle jolted upright at the mention of pudding, clearing her throat and apologising. Firefly smiled and tucked into her meal. A roast dinner on a Sunday seemed so old-fashioned, but in an old house like this it only felt appropriate. Not to mention, it was delicious. To be expected, if Herta had really hired someone to cook dinner for her.

How much could that have cost? She’d had her suspicions when she saw the big old house, but was Stelle’s family… rich? Her own family was pretty well-off themselves, what with her mother’s job, but they were still very much middle-class. 

As if summoned by the thought, her phone started to ring. She looked at her phone, and blanched. If it had been anyone else, she would have rejected the call on the spot. Unfortunately, there was no telling how mad her mom would be if she rejected her call. Swiftly, she excused herself and left the room. Once she was in the hallway, they answered the call, and continued to make their way up to Stelle’s room.

“Hey mom.” They said.

“Hey Sammy, is everything alright? I was worried you weren’t going to pick up.” Her mom said.

“I’m just having dinner, I had to leave the table,” they said, hoping to change the subject as quickly as possible, “How about you, how are things?”

They pushed open the door to Stelle’s room and shut themself inside. They subtly coughed to try and drop their voice’s pitch a little.

“I’ve been very busy, work’s been manic lately. I’ve been very lonely without you at home; with both my boys off doing their own thing, it’s just me.” Their mom said. Sam felt a pang in their heart as she realised the unsaid - their dad wasn’t home either.

He couldn’t be.

Sam went along with their mom, making small talk, listening as she talked about the nonsense she was having to put up with at work. They talked about the campus, and the course, prompting their mom to start reminiscing about her own times studying at Astral University, about the mischief she got up to with their dad.

The clock reminded them that Stelle’s family were waiting downstairs.

“It was nice talking to you, but I should get back to my food before it goes cold. I’ll talk to you tomorrow?”

There was a moment’s pause, before she replied with, “Of course, I’ll be here tomorrow. You call me when you’re free. Love you Sammy.”

“Love you too mom.”

Phone closed. Breath in. Breath out.

It had been a pleasant call, at least. It was times like that that made her feel that maybe coming out to her wouldn’t be so bad. If it weren’t for the memories of how she’d reacted to Firefly’s cousin…

She shook her head. She didn’t need to worry about that right now. Right now, she had Stelle’s mom to worry about. She’d been absent for long enough. She made her way back downstairs to where the others were waiting.

***

“-so we should be able to properly launch the experiment by May next year, unless our friends at the IPC decide to delay us again.” Herta explained.

“I’m so sorry about that, my mom called.” Firefly said as she came back into the room. She looked pale, and the smile she flashed Stelle looked a little shaky. Stelle squeezed her hand reassuringly under the table.

“That’s okay, we were just talking about mum’s latest project.” Stelle said.

“Latest project? Is that how you’re going to introduce the Simulated Universe to someone? Try again, you can do better.” Herta scoffed.

Stelle turned to Firefly, who was shovelling food into her mouth to try and catch up to everyone else. Putting on a posh scientific voice she explained, “during the course of your absence we engaged in discourse about the innovative Simulated Universe project as initially proposed by Professor Herta Azul et al., seeking to derive universal laws from first principles using imaginary path-space equations.”

There was a brief quiet in which the patter of rain on the conservatory roof was all that could be heard. Firefly was obviously stifling a giggle at the funny voice she’d put on. After a bit, she replied, “so, trying to work out how to make normal physics from… Aeon physics?”

“It’s a theoretical astro-theology problem, let’s not give the Aeons all the credit.” Herta corrected, “it’ll pass for layman terms though. What do you study again?” 

“Oh, engineering.” Firefly said. Stelle had déjà vu to the last few weeks of introductions. Meeting people in university really did follow a script, and that script went ‘hi, what’s your name, sorry I’ll probably forget, what do you study?’

“Really? And what do you intend to do with that?” Herta asked. Stelle saw Dolly had fully clocked out of the conversation, and was solving an equation on her napkin.

“Oh, I, um, I have a military scholarship, so… I’m kind of on-track to be a pilot.” Firefly said. 

Stelle blinked. She hadn’t realised she’d had aspirations like that. It seemed so contra to the Firefly she knew. She was tough, sure, but she was gentle too. Did she really want to be part of the military?

“Oh, that’s a pity,” Herta said bluntly, “waste of a good mind. There are far more interesting pursuits out there than how to make a killing machine go faster.”

Firefly shuffled in her chair, looking uncomfortable. “Well, I-”

Herta cut her off with a dramatic sigh, “make sure to talk some sense into her, Stellaron. Still, you have, what, four years to figure it out? I’m sure you’ll figure it out by then.”

There was an uncomfortable silence again, the sound of Dolly’s pen intermingling with the patter of rain on glass. Stelle tried to think up a joke to break the tension and rescue Firefly from the awkwardness. Thankfully, something else decided to intervene for her.

Herta’s voice emanated from a speaker hidden somewhere in the dining room next door, announcing, “Hey, someone’s waiting at the door, go answer it.”

The real Herta raised her eyebrow and stood up from the table. “Now who could that be…” she mused as she left. 

Stelle used the opportunity to give Firefly a hug, and a kiss on the cheek, saying, “sorry, she can be a little judgey.”

“That’s okay, I get it. It’s… complicated.” Firefly said, though she was clearly still down. “Also, what was that voice?”

Dolly, without looking up, answered, “home security system, she recorded all its lines herself.”

Stelle shrugged, “dunno if you noticed, but mum likes being surrounded by her likeness.”

Firefly’s eyes flashed across the table to where Dolly sat, now computing the results of her algebra on her phone. Stelle nodded pointedly.

“I know you’re looking at me.” Dolly said, before sighing wistfully. “One day, I’m gonna replace all of those portraits with mine.”

Firefly finished off her meal while they waited for Herta to come back. When she did, she had a second in tow, causing Stelle to leap to her feet.

“Mei!” She exclaimed, running to hug the smiling woman. 

Ruan Mei hugged her back as awkwardly as ever, before holding her shoulders to get a look at her. “Still growing I see. I wonder how tall you’ll become, given time.”

Stelle smirked proudly. “Oh, Mei, meet Firefly, my girlfriend.” Stelle said, gesturing to Firefly.

Firefly stood up awkwardly as she was introduced. Stelle watched as Ruan Mei examined Firefly up close, moving her head with her fingers. Seemingly satisfied with what she saw, Ruan Mei let Firefly step back out of reach. Stelle went to go stand next to her. She’d forgotten that Ruan Mei tended to do that with new people.

“Stelle has mentioned you in her most recent texts, seems like you make her very happy. I hope she’s taking care of you in return.” Ruan Mei said in her usual ethereal tone.

“Oh, I-I’m glad to hear that. Don’t worry, I’m doing my best to keep her out of trouble.” Firefly said.

Ruan Mei laughed, covering her mouth as she did. “I find that hard to believe,” she said, “but do make sure to pick her back up when she gets into too much trouble.”

Firefly grinned back, “that one I can definitely do.”

Herta unfolded her arms, saying, “if we’re all done with introductions, Mei and I have a lot we need to discuss. Help yourself to the pudding in the kitchen, don’t take more than your portion. I assume I’ll see you again, Firefly. Try not to let this twerp distract you from your studies too much.”

Before Firefly could really reply, Herta and Ruan Mei had left the room, leaving the three teenagers on their own. Stelle decided to break the silence this time with, “yeah she uh, does that sometimes.”

“All the time when Mei’s here.” Dolly muttered.

Firefly furrowed her brow, before asking, “so, what do we do now?”

“Personally, I’m up for bugging out before those two finish their discussions and move onto ‘discussions’.” Stelle said, adding heavy air quotes with her fingers. She still bore the emotional scars from the one time her mother figures forget she and Dolly were home during a ‘meeting’. 

Firefly grimaced, and nodded. Dolly hopped to her feet and said, “I’m probably going to be spending the rest of my evening in headphones. See you later twerp, Firefly.”

“See you shortarse.” Stelle said, ruffling her sister’s hair. Dolly turned around and slapped her hand, backing out of the room with a grumpy expression.

Firefly put an arm around Stelle’s waist, drawing her close to her side. “You and your family seem a little… hostile.”

Stelle shrugged, “Hertas are like that I guess. Honestly, mum once said people should feel honoured if she bothers to be rude to them directly. I don’t take it personal.”

Firefly stood on tiptoes to kiss Stelle on the cheek. “So, your room or mine?”

“Mine,” Stelle said firmly, “I think if I have to deal with SW’s shit after Dolly’s I’m going to combust.”

Firefly giggled. Stelle smiled. Her laugh was always a surefire way to cheer her up. How good, then, that Firefly loved her awful sense of humour.

The pair of them grabbed their things, and packed up their pudding - slices of a decorated sponge cake. Seeing it, Stelle had to wonder if she’d really been so surprised to see Ruan Mei show up. She always baked when she knew she was coming, and always put in a special effort for her.

The bus back to campus was relatively empty. Firefly lay against her arm resting her head on Stelle’s shoulder.

“I hope that wasn’t too stressful for you.” Stelle said. All things considered, the evening could have gone a lot worse, but there was a lot of residual anxiety running through her. She had to imagine Firefly wouldn’t be feeling much different.

“I wish my mom hadn’t called.” Firefly said, quietly. “I need to call her tomorrow, too.” She sighed before adding, “I guess we should probably talk about some stuff too?”

Stelle shrugged, gently so as not to budge Firefly too much, “another time, I’m really tired. I’m sorry she was rude to you.”

“It’s okay, I’m sorry she brought up stuff you’re uncomfortable with.” Firefly said.

“Yeah…” Stelle said. “I mean, if you wanna talk about it…”

Firefly kissed her on the cheek, “it’s okay, really. I think I wanna just recover from that evening first.”

Stelle kissed her back on her forehead. “Me too.”

The bus turned onto the A-road that led to campus, the lights of the city giving way to gentler residential lights. Stelle closed her eyes and leant against the window, imagining the dark world going past as they went.

“Actually, I do have one question,” Firefly said, “why does your mom call you Stellaron? Is that your full name or something?”

Stelle laughed, “no, no, it’s just a nickname. Theoretical physicists are just weird.” Stelle said. “Actually, since it’s longer than my real name, I guess it’s more of a nicholasname?”

Firefly snorted out a giggle, and hugged Stelle’s arm tighter. The rest of their trip passed in a comfortable silence, until finally they curled up in Stelle’s bed to sleep off the events of the evening together.