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Penacony’s skyline was truly breathtaking.
From an aerial view, Firefly could see the twinkles of streetlights and high beams of ever-flowing traffic, the honks and chatter a light buzz beneath her. The rumble of S.A.M.’s jet propulsion nearly drowned out the white noise of the city, her ears straining to pick up on the hustle and bustle.
“Are we going to move, or…?”
Firefly tore her gaze away from the skyline, to the reclined Silver Wolf in her arms. Despite the cold metal of S.A.M.’s armor, she seemed relaxed, tapping away on a holographic screen with lines of code she wouldn’t even pretend to understand. Her eyes flit back and forth from the screen to S.A.M.’s visor, eyebrow raising in expectation.
She wondered if Silver Wolf could see her grimace from beneath the visor. “I just don’t want you to get motion sick from flying while on your screen. I’m taking a break for you.”
Silver Wolf immediately scoffed, the excuse rolling off her with a shake of her head. “That has never happened. Ever. I seriously don’t understand why you’re so nervous about going up there, dude.”
The Trailblazer’s Stern seemed to loom over the pair, a shadow over the city Firefly had been admiring. Laughter and faint music echoed from the floating ship, permeating over the rumble of her jets. She could recall the swing in the atmosphere, the constantly-occupied dance floor, the statues of Stelle that littered around every hallway watching every passerby. The crowds seemed daunting even just remembering them.
The fact that Silver Wolf recommended they make the flight up to the Stern caught Firefly off guard. Firefly was more accustomed to crowds than her partner, preferring to be in S.A.M.’s suit rather than a hologram. Silver Wolf had waved off her surprise with the excuse of ‘wanting to see the arcade in person’.
Of course, going by herself was out of the picture. A plea of ‘wanting to chill together’, ‘no missions, just vibes’, and Silver Wolf’s rare use of not-quite puppy-dog eyes had the pair suspended in midair beneath the shadow of the Stern, and Firefly severely regretting her fragile sense of self-preservation.
Her grip on Silver Wolf tightened. Silver Wolf’s raised eyebrow shifted to a pout, the tapping against the holographic keyboard halting with an exasperated huff. “You’re not debating on bailing, are you?”
Firefly cleared her throat, searching for the right words. She wasn’t planning on turning around and carting the pair back to Penacony’s crowded streets, but the idea seemed tempting. “No, but… I don’t know. Why not just go to the mall?”
“Again?!” S.A.M. registered a punch against her arm, Silver Wolf now glaring at her visor. “I am not going to the mall with you again. You’ve spent enough money on shit you don’t use.”
“It’s easier to blend in with the crowd, though. We could–”
“Firefly, come on. You end up stressing out over ‘blending in’ enough. Everyone on that ship is so drunk off spiked Fonta they don’t even know their own name. We’ll ‘blend in’ just fine.” Silver Wolf said, shifting back to recline against S.A.M. once more. “Besides, barely anyone other than the Trailblazers actually use the arcade. It’s empty right now. I checked the cameras.”
An arcade all to themselves. Worry still sat like a stone in Firefly’s stomach, though it quickly dispelled once Silver Wolf began lightly punching her arm again.
S.A.M. once again posted a warning about a threat. Silver Wolf’s eyes seemed to stare through the warning sign, right into Firefly’s own. “Let’s just… relax. Just us and some games. Live a little.”
“...Alright.” Her voice sounded too soft in her throat, too distorted from her visor. She hoped Silver Wolf didn’t notice how it softened, hoped the wind drowned out her worries as she boosted forward to the Stern’s deck.
The Stern itself was exactly how she remembered it. The same swing, same statues, same blaring music. Silver Wolf seemed unfazed at the arrival as she hopped out of Firefly’s arms, shoes tapping against the floor loudly; no one noticed the sudden noise, despite Firefly flinching. Her arms grasped at the empty air, missing the weight of her partner.
S.A.M. was dispelled before Firefly could begin to back out. Silver Wolf seemed to relax more at her silent acceptance of their trip, a small smile creeping onto her stoic face. She turned before Firefly could comment on her demeanor, taking in the scene of the deck below the pair.
“It’s definitely a lot more crowded than how it felt as a hologram,” Silver Wolf said, eyes tracing the ever-moving bodies on the floor beneath them. Firefly moved to stand next to her, agreeing with a silent nod. Even with the atmosphere of the Stern being nearly identical to her first visit, Firefly couldn’t find it in herself to completely dispel her nerves. Sweat built on her palms, her absentmindedly rubbing her hands together, drawing Silver Wolf’s attention from the crowd. Her small smile shifted to an unreadable expression, near-worried but still stoic.
A shrug and a confident turn on her heels had the pair leave the deck, Silver Wolf guiding them towards the arcade. The sound of vacant cabinets began to pierce through the thrum of music, endless circles of catchy trailers and 8-bit sound effects that immediately made Silver Wolf perk up. The glimmer in her eyes at just the sounds alone made Firefly’s worries ease, if ever so slightly.
The arcade was in line with what she imagined an ‘old fashioned’ arcade would be: dimly lit, a strange smell of old snacks stuck to oddly patterned carpet, all accompanied by brightly-colored cabinets boasting a large variety of games. Silver Wolf seemed right at home with the odd environment, icy expression melting at the sight of some sort of bird game.
She was excited enough to grab at Firefly’s hand, tugging her towards the cabinet. Only a bewildered noise could leave Firefly’s mouth before Silver Wolf interrupted her, excitement seeping into her tone.
“This game should be beginner friendly,” she started, parking Firefly at her left, dropping her hand to take control of the stick. “It’s a sort of matching game. The fruits on the screen have to line up,” she gestured to the looping tutorial screen, bright LEDs displaying a line of strawberries exploding into confetti.
The whole game seemed familiar. She stared at the screen for a moment longer before perking up, whipping her head to face a grinning Silver Wolf. “You’ve shown me this game before— I literally have it on my phone! Why not start with something a bit…different? New?”
Silver Wolf only clicked her tongue in rejection. Against the harsh light of the arcade cabinet, Firefly could see the way her dimples curved with her smile, the raise of her eyebrows in poorly-hidden joy, accompanied by crinkled eyes. A rare sight from her partner. It made her want to turn back to the screen, watch the strawberries explode again.
A few kicks to the side of the cabinet had the game slowly boot up, stacking pixels upon pixels to reveal a game similar to the phone game’s layout. Firefly barely had enough time to register being given a silver bird compared to Silver Wolf’s purple bird before her partner launched into the game, slapping her hand against the buttons and flicking the joystick faster than Firefly could comprehend.
“Wait, woah,” she stammered, watching as Silver Wolf’s score shot up compared to her own zero. “You won’t even give me a tutorial? Give me some grace before I inevitably lose?”
Silver Wolf had the audacity to laugh, waving her off with a barely-visible roll of her eyes. “You’ll learn while we play. Better get started.”
Firefly muttered some barely audible expletives, tapping buttons and moving the joystick at a significantly slower pace than Silver Wolf, earning another laugh. She didn’t slow down, and by the third kick against the cabinet to restart their game, Firefly could even say she learned how to use the joystick about thirty-percent as well as her partner could.
The pair flitted between different cabinets, some games Firefly recognized from past conversations with Silver Wolf, some completely new to her. Each had the same configuration of joystick and buttons, each with completely different goals to one another; one cabinet had her firing seals into Silver Wolf’s own, another had her shooting at Penacony’s beloved villain Boss Stone. Each game had her lose significantly, though she won the prize of Silver Wolf’s growing smile cast her way after each loss.
She was eventually dragged over to a racing game, sitting in low seats rather than standing shoulder to shoulder. Old leather rested comfortably against her back, the steering wheel was mildly sticky against her hands— something she’d grown unfortunately used to with her use of joysticks on other cabinets.
Silver Wolf attempted her usual ‘hacking’, that being kicking against the side of the machine until it accepted a nonexistent token. After a few unsuccessful kicks, a loud sigh signaled defeat before she crashed into the chair next to Firefly, waving her usual holo-keyboard into view.
“No dice on your old-school methods?” Firefly asked, watching as Silver Wolf’s laidback expression shifted to something more serious. Her eyebrows pinched together as she leaned towards the token slot, peering into the glowing sign beside it before leaning back, refocusing onto her keyboard.
“Nope,” she replied, clicking her tongue in slight disappointment, “but this should do it. I kinda wanted to be newgen-hack free for now. Unfortunate, huh?”
Firefly was almost able to coo out a tease, something along the lines of ‘going old-school for her’ before an alarm began to blare from the machine. Immediately, her original fears before becoming lost in the arcade returned tenfold, worries of being discovered on her day out, being cornered by Bloodhounds again, being ripped from her sweet dream and back into reality.
The alarm only lasted two seconds, potentially less; Silver Wolf disarmed the screeching before it could even breach the dense walls of the arcade. Firefly could see her glance towards her paling face after the disarming, Her features quickly dissolved into a frown, the leather seat squeaking beneath her as she shifted to face Firefly.
“That really got to you, huh?”
Firefly swallowed thickly, hoping to swallow her intensely-growing worry with it. “A little.”
“A little,” Silver Wolf huffed beneath her breath, absent of any expected vitriol. Instead, her eyes traced Firefly’s face, as if searching for an answer, a way to help.
“We could go get a drink downstairs?” She eventually supplied, bringing Firefly’s attention back to her. “Not, like, a drink-drink, but a cola or something.”
She had to be insane. Firefly’s chest nearly burst out of her chest at the thought of going into the crowd of people, out of disguise and exposed to the public. Everyone who boarded the Stern was aware of the Nameless, and in turn, had to be aware of the Stellaron Hunters. Had to be aware of Silver Wolf, of her.
They weren’t exactly a subtle group.
Silver Wolf could clearly read Firefly’s thoughts clearly on her expression, huffing once against and hoisting herself out of the leather chair. “This could be the wake-up you need, Firefly. We’ll go get a drink downstairs, sit in one of the corner booths, and no one will notice our existence. Hell, I could even hack the bot down there to have our drinks ready so neither of us have to order.
”But seriously, no one will know we’re there,” Silver Wolf finished, making her way around the machine to stand in front of Firefly, looming over her as she curled into the chair. A hand was offered to her, the chance to either confirm her fears, or have the Bloodhounds sicced onto them.
A question lodged in Firefly’s throat, one that had been stuck since Silver Wolf first suggested going to the Stern in the first place: “Why?”
Silver Wolf grimaced, quickly avoiding eye contact with Firefly. She hesitated for a moment, hand still outstretched, awaiting Firefly’s hand on her own.
Her mouth opened, closed. Opened again. Finally, she sighed, a long, resigned sound. “I’m worried about you. As your partner and as your friend.”
Firefly stayed silent, absorbing what she heard. Silver Wolf took it as an ask to continue, hesitantly meeting Firefly’s gaze again.
“Since… what happened—” It was Firefly’s turn to grimace, recalling the events with Sleepy and her time with Stelle, trust given and trust broken, “— you’ve been so hesitant to go anywhere. I… want you to have a better time here. A better time you can have out there, that is.”
As Silver Wolf’s words washed over her, the seeping realization that she was right stabbed at her chest. Out there meant constantly in S.A.M., meant time in a cryo chamber, meant memories lost to her failing body. Her chest ached at the thought, at how Silver Wolf was so determined to right the wrongs Firefly was given, the limitations she set upon herself.
She had to live a little. Silver Wolf had told her so, before their descent to the Stern.
Firefly finally found herself nodding, placing her hand into Silver Wolf’s own. A creeping smile made its way to Silver Wolf’s face, one Firefly clung onto more than she’d care to admit.
“Let’s just… relax. Just us and some drinks. Live a little.”
Silver Wolf exhaled, a breath Firefly hadn’t noticed she’d been holding. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”
Their drinks ended up being ordered through Silver Wolf’s systems, a cola for Firefly and non-spiked Fonta for Silver Wolf. As an added layer of caution for the sake of Firefly’s heart, their drinks were even delivered by a controlled bartending bot at the hands of Silver Wolf, to a table nestled in the back of the Stern’s hub.
As Silver Wolf had predicted, the other patrons seemed too absorbed in their own conversations; despite such a nicely set center table, people milled about in standing groups, some in the center of the two half-circle tables, some spilling into the balconies on the edge of the ship. Their own table was mildly crowded in on, the backs of nicely-dressed individuals with neatly-tucked suits to the pair.
“I feel underdressed,” Silver Wolf murmured into her ear, earning a laugh and a squeeze of their conjoined hands. As an olive branch, Silver Wolf had offered to continue her grasp onto Firefly’s hand as a ‘grounding’ technique, the warmth of her hand something she found herself relying on as her worry seeped into her bones.
She counteracted it with a sip of her cola, feeling the sugary drink fight against her nerves. “It’s such a different vibe from the arcade,” she found herself saying, ignoring the underlying wobbling of her tone, “like, there’s neatly set tables here, but if we go upstairs, I bet I could find at least three machines with pizza grease on them. Is there even pizza here?”
“I think it comes with the ownership of an arcade.”
The pair quietly giggled, doing their best as to not disturb the people crowding around the area. It felt like they were living in their own bubble, despite the hoards of people that could call on authorities to imprison them at any moment. It terrified her, but each grin Silver Wolf shot her way counteracted the fear more and more. They leaned close enough into each other that she could feel her breath against her collarbone, her laughs puffing warm air against her.
After a few moments of comfortable silence, Silver Wolf hummed lightly. “How do you feel?”
“Scared,” she answered honestly, earning a nod from Silver Wolf. “But you’re helping a lot. I feel like I can do a lot more if I have you with me.”
She accented the point with raising their conjoined hands into view. Under the warm, dim lights, she could nearly make out the sudden blush that spread across Silver Wolf’s cheeks, dusted over her nose. “You’re way too honest sometimes,” she huffed, but her grasp on Firefly’s hand never wavered.
“If I wasn’t, you wouldn’t want to keep holding my hand. I could lie to you right now and tell you I’m feeling fantastic, and that my whole ‘worry over crowds’ thing is gone.”
Silver Wolf clicked her tongue in disapproval, moving to take a drink of her Fonta. “Well don’t start lying now. I don’t like liars.”
“So you like me, then?”
A sudden pause enveloped the two, with the Fonta bottle hanging near millimeters away from Silver Wolf’s lips. She slowly lowered it, a dull thud against the table ringing out in the silence. “I guess I do, yeah.”
“If it helps,” Firefly supplied, trying to ignore the sudden crushing weight of something looming over them, “I like you, too. Wouldn’t trade you for any other partner in the universe.”
A weak smile was all she got in return, before the silence enveloped them once again. Silver Wolf’s free hand drummed against the table, eyes darting back and forth between the bottle and their conjoined hands. Her lips curled in a familiar way, one that indicated she was thinking.
“Sip of cola for your thoughts?” Firefly dangled her own drink in front of her partner, her gaze lazily drifting from the dark bottle to Firefly’s face.
Silver Wolf finally shook her head, pushing the bottle back towards Firefly. “No need. I should probably get this out of the way. Be honest in return for your honesty and all that.”
Firefly opened her mouth, a question sitting on her lips, but was silenced by Silver Wolf’s finger resting in front of her lips. “Lemme talk for a sec.
“As I told you before, I am pretty worried about you as of late. I wanted to get you out of our little abode in the dreamscape to help you lighten up, but I’ll be very honest and say this wasn’t just for you.” A deep inhale, slow exhale. “I really like spending time with you, Firefly. Maybe that’s childish to say. As much as I despise going to the Oti mall to look in the same ten shops and debate buying the same twenty things, I always go with you. I just, I…”
A lot of things began dawning on Firefly as Silver Wolf spoke. In her own moments of panic and false bravado as S.A.M., within and away from the sweet dream, Silver Wolf had been the first person she’d turned to. They’d call each other ‘partners’ early into their time together as Stellaron Hunters. She’d begun turning to her to repair S.A.M. in moments of dire need; then it shifted to any point she felt she needed a tune up. Then it shifted to excuses that Firefly swore she wasn’t giving to sit beneath a focused Silver Wolf, watching as she poured over every inch of her suit to find an issue Firefly knew didn’t exist. She began to swear she could feel her featherlight touches against the metal.
“…I really like you, Firefly. Maybe a stupid amount.”
In the sweet dream, they’d taken over an unused apartment together. Became near domestic. Firefly would get onto Silver Wolf for eating microwaveable noodles for three straight meals, while Silver Wolf would document her spending on miscellaneous items. They’d eat together, breathe together.
Live together.
Firefly felt stupid. She couldn’t even picture life without Silver Wolf, but here she was, only just now realizing it.
“I think,” Firefly started, refocusing from her reminiscing onto Silver Wolf’s hand in her own, “I’m probably in love with you”
Silver Wolf blinked. “You think? Probably?”
“I’m kinda just realizing that I don’t think I can live without you,” Firefly admitted, watching as Silver Wolf’s expression shifted to one of surprise. “I’m pretty sure I’ve been in some sort of love with you for a while.”
The crowd around them had faded into a quiet buzz in Firefly’s ears. She wanted to both slam her head against the table for being so dense while simultaneously wrap her arms around Silver Wolf and refuse to let go. Part of her wanted to apologize for not admitting her feelings sooner, despite only reflecting upon Silver Wolf admitting her own.
She decided, then, that the best way to announce her feelings was to kiss her.
Their already close proximity while talking made it easy to lean into Silver Wolf, barely noticing how she had met her halfway. Their kiss was chaste, but enough for Firefly to feel the roughness of her lips against her own, feel the hesitance melt into acceptance, feel how she chased her after Firefly pulled away too fast.
“Definetely in love with you,” Firefly murmured, heart nearly escaping from her chest as Silver Wolf’s eyes crinkled with a smile, her rare sighting of dimples visible in the low light.
“I—“
The lights flickered before Silver Wolf could speak, drawing their attention away from one another to the general populous. From their seats, they could make out figures standing on the junction of stairs leading to the dining area; three people, one equipped with a staff, one with a bow, another frantically waving their arms beside them.
Firefly felt her blood turn from blissfully warm to cold.
“Guests, please be aware of two dangerous individuals on board,” Dan Heng’s voice rang out in the quickly-silencing room, reverberating against crowded walls. Steadily, he continued, despite Stelle beside him gesturing to the crowd in a frantic attempt to get them to ignore him, “one is wearing a cropped purple jacket, the other is in a white and green dress. They are known and dangerous criminals. If anyone sees these individuals, please notify us immediately.”
“Or let them go on their date before jumping them,” Stelle loudly interjected, unsuccessfully trying to divert the crowd as they devolved into hysterics. The suited men crowding in front of Silver Wolf and Firefly’s table seemed to turn in unison, loudly gesturing and waving the Nameless over to where the two had nestled into one another.
“I think it’s time to go,” Silver Wolf grumbled, dragging a stunned Firefly away from her seat and onto the balcony. “Definetely wasn’t what I was going to say, but, whatever.”
Firefly burned. Burned with frustration, with fear, with endearment. Burned with enough force to call forth S.A.M., armor-clad hand still engulfed in Silver Wolf’s, now dragging the shorter woman along the balcony.
S.A.M. displayed the optimal route out; the pool area. Silver Wolf seemed to follow her direction, firing quantum-laden projectiles towards the Nameless, rounding the corner behind them at a breakneck pace.
“What are you even doing here?” March 7th’s shrill shout wavered behind them, ice-tipped arrows landing at their feet, peppering the walls.
Stelle followed behind, baseball bat noticeably absent. “I literally just told you! I’m pretty sure they’re on a date!”
An arrow whizzed by Silver Wolf, earning an alert on S.A.M.’s screen and a small chuckle from Silver Wolf. “Sure, whatever you say.”
“Now is not the time to be mysterious! I am literally on your side!”
Firefly bit back a laugh at Silver Wolf’s antics, fighting to remain stoic as S.A.M. in the Nameless’ presence. Instead, she hoisted Silver Wolf up to her chest, narrowly avoiding another arrow.
“Get us to the hideout,” S.A.M.’s voice growled, thinly veiling the plea of let’s go home. She’d had enough excitement on the Stern.
Silver Wolf nodded, already donning her visor, fingers flying over her holographic keyboard. One final doorway breached the chase into the pool area, startling guests at the sight of S.A.M.’s intimidating armor, followed by the Nameless with weapons donned. With little more than a nod to her partner, Firefly dashed to the edge of the Stern, tossing Silver Wolf over the edge.
Firefly made to jump after her, one foot on the edge before dropping over, before a blaring alert took over S.A.M.’s visor. It was quickly followed by a searing pain on her right shoulder, comparable to being impaled by an ice cube. March 7th whooped behind her, followed by a gasp from Stelle.
With a grimace, Firefly broke off the edge of the arrow, tossing it behind her, before dropping off the edge of the Stern. Wind whistled behind her, biting into the arrow lodged into her shoulder, tensing as she activated S.A.M.’s boosters to make her way to Silver Wolf. The more she sped forward, the more errors breached her visor, clouding her vision except for one thing.
Silver Wolf is…
… laughing.
It’s absurd.
Absurd enough to tear giggles from Firefly’s chest, distorted by S.A.M’s voice. The fall from the Stern doesn’t feel so terrifying. When pain and adrenaline made her vision spiral, leaving only Silver Wolf in her mind’s eye, she didn’t feel scared. She felt alive.
When Firefly finally comes to, she finds herself in a more pleasant environment, enveloped by a comfortable couch and blankets rather than falling through Penacony’s night sky.
The warm kitchen lights from Silver Wolf and Firefly’s shared apartment feels like a hug compared to the Stern’s fluorescent chandeliers. Her partner piddles around the small corridor, fumbling through cabinets before finally producing instant noodles with a satisfied smile from beneath her visor. She’s finally changed out of her fluffy hoodie and shorts, the sound of their tiny washing machine thumping indicating she’s finally washing the thing— it’s replaced by an oversized sweatshirt and patterned pajama pants.
The comforting sight is enough to make Firefly audibly sigh in relief, the motion quickly sending a small spark of pain through her shoulder. It alerts Silver Wolf immediately, her visor flipped up to reveal a developing frown.
“Hey, you. You’re finally awake?” Silver Wolf starts, moving to sit on the edge of their shared couch. “You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that imperial ambush.”
Her words fall flat. Firefly stares incredulously, pain momentarily forgotten. “What?”
Silver Wolf waved dismissively. “How are you feeling? How’s the shoulder?”
How was she feeling? Firefly took a moment to assess herself. Her shoulder hurt, like she had been shot by an arrow not even twenty-four system hours ago. Her head spun, conflicting feelings of lingering adrenaline and endearment for her partner, who continued to stare at her like a deer in the headlights.
“I should be really mad at you,” Firefly found herself mumbling, quiet enough that Silver Wolf had to lean forward slightly to hear her.
She tensed at the admission, breaking eye contact to look anywhere but Firefly’s face. “Are you?”
No. Firefly really should be. She should be furious that Silver Wolf essentially confirmed her fears by having them be caught by the Nameless, out of everything. She dragged them out of Firefly’s comfort zone to experience the simplicity of playing arcade games, most games she was already well aware of and fully capable of playing from the safety of their apartment.
It really wasn't for Silver Wolf, though. The thought wormed her way into her head as she recounted the night, the looks she shot Firefly’s way when she thought she wasn’t looking, the intentional drag out of her comfort zone to have her live a little— even if Silver Wolf didn’t say it aloud, her actions spoke louder than words. They always tended to.
She also kissed her that night. Firefly’s opinion may be swayed from recounting the soft brush of her lips against hers, even if the night went to hell after the moment passed.
”I’m not,” Firefly admitted, watching as Silver Wolf’s shoulders visibly sagged in relief. “I feel… alive.”
The smile she earned from her admission nearly made the arrow in her shoulder worth it. Silver Wolf scooted across the edge of the couch, leaning to inspect the haphazard bandage on her shoulder. “The way you heal is weird.”
Firefly found herself growing a smile of her own, watching Silver Wolf tear her eyes away from her wound, meeting her own. “You like me though. You like me and my weird healing.”
Silver Wolf only hummed, scooting off the couch so that she kneeled at her side. “I do. What are you going to do about it?”
“Kiss you, probably.”
When her lips met Silver Wolf’s own, faintly, she thought she should send an apology and ‘thank you’ letter to the Nameless.