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“You know…” Chuchu glanced over at Miorine, curiosity shining through. “People might have questions years down the line…they might think we started the war.”
Miorine took a deep breath, gently putting down her dataslate. “I can see where someone would come up with that theory, but you know the truth just as well as I do. We were looking to develop the future of medical technologies. Something to help humanity and move it forward.”
“Yeah…we did exactly what we set out to do…didn’t we?” She scoffed, flexing her hand into a fist. “All that and more.”
“I feel like it may have been to much.” The former Heiress sighed. It was quiet simple really, a new company is formed, that was backed by her father just before he was put into a coma from a deadly assassination attempt. The Benerit group retaliated, starting a full blown war, and of course when the casualties started coming in with missing limbs, everyone turned to Earth House’s Gund-Arm. They went from being in the prototype stage, to producing and selling top of the line prosthetics in under a month. Making Gund-Arm a company worth trillions in less than a year.
They were basically all trillionaires now.
Add in the fact that they joined the war as a neutral force protecting civilian assets that would constantly get caught in the crossfire. It definitely gets suspicious if someone started looking at it too hard. In the end, the truth was that back then Earth house were a bunch of friends who were just trying to do their best to help people, and many of them paid the price in blood.
Miorine let her eyes wander over the fields of flowers, crops, and all sorts of other plants.
Her garden.
“No no…our garden.” She smiled more, watching as Suletta pruned some roses. So many years ago she took care of a small greenhouse as a favor, but now here was her groom working on an entire botanical garden. In a black tank top and shorts no less.
“I feel like she’s showing off sometimes…” Chuchu grinned.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She felt her damn cheeks heat up revealing the truth.
Miorine knew exactly what Chuchu was talking about.
Chuchu grinned, winking as she took a long sip of her drink.
Luckily, Not much had changed when it came to Chuchu. She was still hot headed, always eager to brawl it out rather than talk. She had become more experienced however, working as Suletta’s second in command would do that, someone had to pull Suletta out of the fire when things became to hot.
That was the price though…even from here, Miorine could see the scars covering Suletta’s shoulders and legs. Not only had the war affected her mentally, it had damaged her body over and over.
One arm lost in combat over Mercury, protecting an evacuation ship. Miorine remembers watching the beam of light lance through Ariel’s chest, hearing Suletta scream in pain and rage. Everyone thought she was dead…the ship who ‘Shot the Witch down’ celebrated the kill.
Their celebration stopped when Suletta opened the ship like a can of anchovies, they never got the bloodstains out of Ariel’s armor from that.
Her eye was gone a year later, shrapnel from a grenade that was meant for Chuchu. The one who had thrown the grenade had half a second to regret that decision. His screams still haunted Miorine’s dreams. But not as much as Sulletta’s own.
So many broken bones.
So much blood spilled.
All from her groom, for the safety of others.
She sighed deeply. “Whats bothering you?” Chuchu glanced over, lips thinned into a frown.
Miorine winced, “Am I that obvious today?” She really should be better than this at hiding her emotions. She used to be unreadable.
“Yes, now be a big girl and talk to me about it rather than the usual beating around the bush crap.” She took another long sip.
“Or you pull me into a headlock?”
Chuchu just nodded.
“Fine! Fine…I’m just worried…about all of us.”
“About Suletta” Chuchu corrected.
“I-” Miorine glared slightly, than sighed. “Especially Suletta yes. I almost died again barely a week ago…and She’s been hurt more times than I can count.” She sucked in a breath as her hands shook. “I’ve already lost so much of her…I’m worried that one day soon she won’t come back at all.”
“I mean…what did she tell you?”
“What?”
“You’ve talked to her about that…right? You seem really worried, so I’m assuming you two talked about it.”
“No! I don’t even know where I would start! I’m too scared of loosing her! What if I say something she doesn’t like and she leaves? How do I even start that kind of conversation? Just go, ‘hey Suletta…I’ve noticed you keep almost getting yourself killed. Can you not?’”
Chuchu groaned. “Oh my god, why are you asking me? I’m not the person to ask!”
“I know…But…I feel like you are the only person I can ask. I cannot ask Nika, as much as she has kept both of us going, Suletta is closer with her than I am. So she is a bit of a biased party. Ojelo and Lilique are gone…Nuno hates my guts still because of that fact. "
“I’ve told you before that wasn’t your fault. And I’ve told him to lay off.” Chuchu huffed. “Maybe making him apologize will help?”
“No, no, forcing him to apologize is a terrible idea. Let him do it on his own time please.”
“Fine…”
“Honestly, if Aliya was still around I would go straight to her…even though I always thought her divinations were bullshit…” She sighed. “She was always amazing at giving advice.”
Chuchu’s eyebrows disappeared into her hair with how quickly they raised. “I’m sorry did you just cuss?”
“Yes! I am under a lot of stress Chuatury!”
“Alright alright I’ll help! Never heard you cuss before thats all.” She chuckled and stretched, slowly standing up as she did. “Look…you love her right?”
Miorine looked insulted for a moment. “What? Of course I do! She’s stood by my side through so much she’s sacrificed her safety for my own time and time again. She’s always there for me…and…And…Just LOOK!” She throws a hand out, motioning to the massive gardens. “She made this…for me! Just so we could have a place to call our own away from everything else.” She sucked in a breath a tear running down her cheek. “But…she also terrifies me, she’s so quick to kill, to slaughter. She’s…changed.” “Then talk to her about it girl. It’s that easy.” “But…”
“No, no…” Chuchu held up a hand. “People change…it’s what we do as humans. We grow and change based off of our experiences, but we are still the same person. Just because one of your tomato plants decides to grow a larger than normal tomato doesn’t make it less of a tomato! Same goes for Suletta, sure she’s changed, sure she’s got some major PTSD and other issues, sure she’s not much of a dork anymore. She can be damn terrifying…” A flash of terror showed up on the ace pilot’s face. “But…she’s still Suletta…and she loves you with every ounce of her being.”
“How…how do you know?” Miorine frowns. “I…I never hear it from her anymore.”
“Well…you changed too you know? When I first met you, I thought you were just some rich, stuck up spacer who was just beggin to get their face kicked to the curb. But…then Suletta dragged you along, you got to know us…and well…You’re one of my best friends now. You changed based on your experiences, you got away from your father, you started your own company, you made friends and had a stable life. Yet there she is.” Chuchu motioned to Suletta, who was pouting as her prosthetic arm hung loosely at her side. “Still by your side."
That pout…was something Miorine hadn’t seen in ages. It was…mesmerizing, for a moment she could once again see the old Suletta. The happy smile, the dorky movements, all her silly reactions. It sent her heart a flutter.
Then it passed…
"She'll come to me sometimes, late in the night to ask questions about supply lines, or mobile suit repairs, or to get info on how our pilots are doing. And next thing I know she's talking about you."
Miorine quickly turned her head, looking at Chuchu again.
"Nothing bad! Nothing bad, just...talking about you. The small things that she loves."
Suletta talked about her?
"You know two months ago...when you two went out on a date?"
Miorine nodded.
"She would not shut up about it for the week leading up to the day, though she wouldn't say it directly of course. It was constant small things about how excited she was to see you."
She glanced back towards the garden.
Standing there, gently putting down some clippers with her working arm. Was a woman with confidence, strength, and jaw dropping beauty all in one, a sensation that sent her heart beating a mile a minute filled her soul. But Miorine knew the true Suletta, the one who broke down in tears in the middle of the night, reaching out to save someone she lost over the years. The one who's simple presence put terror into people’s hearts.
She truly was a witch…
But she was Miorine’s witch.
Her heart kept beating with the sensation of pure adoration.
Miorine stood slowly, brushing off her slacks. “Just…talk to her right?”
“That easy girl.” Chuchu nodded and grinned. “Now go get her, it’s bad enough having to deal with her talking to me about how she worries about you. I do not need both of you coming to me when you can just talk to each other.”
“Wait she’s been doing what?” Miorine’s eyes widened, she looked over to Suletta as she started to make her way to the gazebo where her and Chuchu had been sitting. She turned back to chew out the ace, but Chuchu was gone. Waving as she made her way to a nearby landing pad, where Ariel sat, it’s eyes lit up for a fraction of a moment. “Oh for fu-”
“Mio?”
She froze, slowly turning after a quick breath. “Su-” Her eyes widened.
Suletta looked a little worried, but she stood tall, her prosthetic eye glinting red in the sunlight. But in that moment, with the garden at her back, she just was a loving groom, checking up on her bride.
Miorine chuckled, a smile gracing her lips. “I love you…”
Suletta’s eye’s widened, her jaw dropped a good inch. She looked shocked, as if she had been shot. “Eh?” She shook her head. “No! No no no no no! I…” She pursed her lips, frowning again in annoyance, she glanced away and in the smallest voice she had ever used, replied as her cheeks reddened. “I love you too…”
Miorine’s smile widened at those words. “Did you loose track of time again?”
Her groom’s face flashed with embarrassment. “Well…I…there are a lot of roses and I…” She trailed off as she felt her hand taken, her still human hand.
“Come along, lets get you a new battery for your arm, and a drink. It’s quite hot today.”
Suletta just nodded. “Right.” She was slowly turning redder and redder, like a tomato.
“And…I’d like to talk to you about some things…Things I should have talked to you about for a while now.”
“Is…is it something serious Mio?”
“Yes…about us…I’m just worried about you and I’d like to at least be a good bride and talk to you about it.” Miorine paused, “If that’s alright?”
Suletta gave a quick firm nod. “That-” She paused, thinking a bit as she tilted her head. “Thats always alright. More than alright!”
“Wonderful.”
“Yeah…thats the word I was looking for…wonderful.”
Miorine blushed as Suletta’s fingers entwined with her own.
They talked for hours, both of them baring their hearts to each other. Becoming closer in the by the end.
Suletta never did get back to pruning the roses that day. But they did get up to some… passionate activities later that night.
They both had understood that there were changes in the world.
They accepted the good, and started to work on the bad.
Then, they looked forward to the future.