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It all starts because of Lisa.
Eula is helping her with the enormous stacks of books that have accumulated over time in the library— she’s used to it by now, Lisa more often than not lazes on the sofa instead of doing any work, and though her passion for books in general are considerably fervent, she also seems to stay away from them until the last minute.
“Thank you again, Eula,” Lisa says, sliding in what Eula hopes is the last book. “I swear, people are so inconsiderate of late fines.” She punctures her statement by shoving another tome so hard into the shelf that Eula is half-sure she splits the spine.
Personally she’s never witnessed Lisa Minci’s rage at people who don’t return their books on time, but Amber has, and the tales she’s told to Eula about it have made her extremely diligent about checking out books.
Lisa sighs and shakes her head, turning back to Eula with a bright smile. “Jean told me about an expedition to Dragonspine. It seems some mitachurls have been gathering, enough of them to be a concern. You know Jean, the dear would do it herself, but she’s been buried in paperwork for the last few weeks.” She frowns almost unconsciously as Eula nods. Jean Gunnhildr is one of the most hard-working people in Monstadt, and she almost never rests.
“I’ll get to it as soon as possible,” she says.
“You’re a life-saver,” Lisa says, and her voice is full of such sincere appreciation that Eula momentarily feels awkward. Amber always says she doesn’t know how to properly receive compliments, to which Eula replies that humble silence is the proper response. Amber just giggles and says she’s adorable when flustered.
Eula Lawrence is most certainly not adorable . She still needs to take vengeance on Amber for having said that.
“Oh, you should bring someone with you,” Lisa says, strolling back toward her desk. Eula follows. “Maybe your girl,” she muses.
Eula blinks, thinking she’s misheard. “My girl ?” she asks, and her voice rises to an uncharacteristic pitch at the question.
Lisa turns to her with a playful smile. “Oh, I’m afraid you can’t keep it a secret, sweetie. It’s very obvious what’s going on between you and Amber.”
She continues on, unperturbed, leaving Eula standing there in complete confusion and panic.
Her? And Amber ? Why would Lisa think that?
“I’m afraid you’re mistaken,” she says, speeding up so she’s once again by Lisa’s side. “Amber and I are just— friends.”
Lisa halts so abruptly it’s only because of Eula’s sharp reflexes and her rigid training that she doesn’t topple right into her. “What do you mean?” Lisa asks, spinning around, face bewildered. “You and Amber aren’t dating?”
Eula clears her throat, feeling heat on her cheeks. She lowers her eyes to the floor so her blush won’t be so noticeable. “No,” she says. “We aren’t.”
There is such a long stretch of silence that Eula looks back up at Lisa in confusion and a little bit of challenge. “…Oh,” Lisa says finally. “I’m sorry, dear, I just assumed.”
And Eula would gladly leave that topic alone forever, but there’s something bothering her about how Lisa says it, how certain she was that she was right.
“Does everyone think that?” she asks, fighting to keep her voice level, even though her heart is racing and she feels slightly faint.
Lisa hesitates just long enough to confirm Eula’s fears.
“Oh, archons ,” she says, absolutely horrified. “Oh, no.”
“I’m sure it isn’t a big deal,” Lisa says hastily, but the damage has been done, and Eula closes her eyes, takes a few breaths, and internally marks every single person in Monstadt as a target for her vengeance.
“I will bring Amber on the expedition,” she says, once her heart has slowed and she feels composed again. “I bid you a good day, Lisa.”
“Eula—” Lisa calls weakly after her, but Eula is already out the door, marching with a purpose towards the headquarters of the Knights of Favonius.
~
“Ah, Eula, you look distressed today,” Captain Kaeya says, leaning in that bored, easy, amused way he does against the wall.
She gives him a quick, curt nod, looking around for Amber, but there are only a few Knights around, going about their business. No sign of Amber’s usual bright red outfit. She sighs in frustration.
“Anything I can help with?” Kaeya asks, twirling a gold coin in his hand. He tosses it into the air and catches it neatly.
She hesitates, wondering if she should ask if he believes in whatever dating rumor is circulating Mondstadt these days, and decides it couldn’t hurt. She needs to know exactly how many people think this, and for how long. “Captain,” she says slowly, and Kaeya straightens, the irreverent glimmer in his eye turning serious. “Do you think that Amber and I are…” she swallows, making herself say it. “Do you think we’re together?”
Kaeya stares at her a heartbeat longer before throwing his head back and laughing. Eula watches him with a mixture of confusion and embarrassment as he doubles over with mirth. “Ah, Eula, I didn’t know you were such a comedian,” he says with a crooked grin. “Everyone sees you on those dates at Good Hunter. I may have one eye, but my vision is perfectly clear, you know.”
Eula can only stare at him in panic until his grin drops off his face. “Oh,” he says, voice uncertain. “Eula, you aren’t with Amber?”
“ No ,” she says. “No, no, I’m not, and I am confused why everyone thinks this. How long have you all assumed?”
He clears his throat, looking slightly uncomfortable. “My apologies,” he says. “We all thought that you two had been together… well, for quite some time.”
“Who is ‘ we ?’” she asks.
“Er, well Jean and Lisa, Sara, Glory, Marjorie, the sisters at the church, the traveler, the—”
“All right, all right, I understand,” she says, dizzy. “Thank you, Captain, that is helpful.”
“Apologies again,” he says. “It’s just that Amber is quite popular, as you know, and she’s never shy about singing your praises, and whenever you are within Mondstadt’s walls you are by her side. So we were all very happy for you, of course. And… Amber,” he says.
“Happy for us?” she asks, barely hearing her own voice over the roar of her thoughts.
“Yes,” Kaeya says. “In truth— and please don’t swear vengeance on me for this— you two would be good together. You are very well-matched, and everyone can tell how deeply you care about Amber.”
He peers at her in concern and she nods back at him. She feels like she’s experiencing a minor stroke. “Thank you,” she says again, and takes another calming breath. “Do you happen to know where Amber is at the moment? I came here looking for her, we’re supposed to dispatch some mitachurls in Dragonspine together.”
“Ah, so you two will be taking care of that one,” Kaeya says. “I think she left a few hours ago to do a patrol in the Stormbearer Mountains. She should be back soon.”
She nods stiffly. She doesn’t quite know what she’ll do when she sees Amber; the claim that they are a couple is distressing, mostly for the fact that it is untrue and she does not wish to disseminate lies and unintentionally fool the people of Monstadt. And, Amber is popular, like Kaeya says. Already she withstands the dirty glares that people give Eula and whispers about Eula’s character. The fact that people think the two of them are together could be damaging to Amber’s reputation. And Amber wants to prove herself almost as much as Eula does.
“Eula, if I may,” Kaeya says, and Eula looks at him. His face is serious and solemn, and she nods at him to continue. “What is bothering you so much about it? Amber would not be hurt by it. On the contrary,” he chuckles lightly, then shakes his head. “If you are worried it will ruin your friendship, you have nothing to fear. Simply talk to her.”
“You do seem to have the right idea there,” she concedes. “Very well. I will discuss with her.” He smiles, put at ease, and she clasps his shoulder, hoping the gesture does not scare him off. “Thank you, Kaeya.”
“Of course,” he says, with a dip of his head. “I only wish to see you happy.”
She is momentarily overwhelmed by a feeling of warmth towards him. He will need to pay for that later.
“ Eula!”
Eula starts, turning towards the sound of the voice, before a running figure in red sprints toward her and tackles her in a hug.
She registers the smell of cecilias and valberries and sinks into the embrace, wrapping her arms belatedly around Amber’s frame. “What’s this?” she laughs breathlessly.
Amber pulls away from her and grins. “You came to see me! Right?”
“Eula, so bold,” Kaeya says under his breath, and she shoots him a half-hearted glare. He grins lazily back at her.
“I did, yes,” she says, trying to keep her heart beating at a normal rate. If she had mora for every time Amber did this to her, she would be rich, and that is why Amber is never going off of her list of people to enact vengeance upon. “We were tasked to take down some mitachurls in Dragonspine,” she says. “Although of course we’ll delay it, you just got back from hours of patrol.”
“What?” Amber exclaims, finally pulling out of the circle of Eula’s arms. “No way! What’s a bunch of mitachurls to us? They’ll be down in no time.” She grins, broad and confident, and Eula sighs, leaning forward so her forehead is resting against the top of Amber’s head.
“I don’t want you to exhaust yourself,” she says gently. “And besides, Dragonspine is already dangerous enough with a full night’s rest. Your safety is more important to me than that.”
Amber simply smiles at her, eyes warm. “Don’t worry, silly,” she says, and Eula hears Kaeya snort next to her. Amber is the only one who dares to call her things like that— cute , and silly , and wonderful. “I know my limits. We’ve got this.” She gives her a little knowing look, tilting her head at her, and Eula knows she’s thinking the same thing she is; that this will be a prime opportunity to show off to Kaeya and Jean about their efficiency. And fighting will get her mind off of this dating fiasco that’s been stirred up.
“All right,” she exhales, and Amber lets out a victorious laugh. “But if you feel at any time it’s too much, I’m bringing you straight back.”
Amber nods at her. “I’ll be fine, Eula,” she says. “You worry way too much, you know.”
She shoots Kaeya a glare when she hears him chuckling. He shrugs back at her, and jerks his head in Amber’s direction with a wink. She’s quite sure it’s a wink, though his other eye is covered. There is something about the roguish way he does it, and the smile that curls across his lips.
She rolls his eyes at him, but she can feel herself smiling, so her annoyance is probably not conveyed. “Let’s go, Amber,” she says, and slips her hand into Amber’s without really thinking about it as they leave headquarters.
~
“This is fun, isn’t it?” Amber asks, as they walk hand-in-hand through the snow. She feels bad for Amber; her cryo vision is useless to Amber in this cold, while Amber’s pyro vision envelops them like a sheet of warmth. Eula herself is never bothered by the cold, and she often goes swimming in Dragonspine, but Amber keeps up with her easily, showing no signs of fatigue or chill.
Eula lets out a small laugh as they continue on, footfalls silent. “You have a unique perspective on things, Amber.”
Amber laughs. “No, silly. Not because we’re in Dragonspine, though the snow is pretty. I mean,” and here she stops, tugging on Eula’s hand so she turns to face her. There is something soft in her eyes that makes Eula’s chest feel tight. “Because I’m with you.” She laughs, shaking her head endearingly. “Archons, that’s cheesy.”
Eula feels suddenly like she might cry. “Amber—” she says, and Amber shushes her.
“You don’t have to say anything. I just— ” She looks at her a few moments longer, and smiles. “Wanted to remind you.” She grins, swinging their hands a little, and Eula thinks about that dating rumor and has to swallow past the lump in her throat.
“Amber, I need to ask you something,” she says.
Amber turns to her halfway, face confused. “Is something wrong?”
“No— ” she says, and cuts off.
Amber makes a noise of confusion and looks in the direction Eula’s staring at, then freezes. “ Oh ,” Amber breathes. “Sh— iddlesticks.”
Lisa had made the situation sound like a few mitachurls. Eula alone can handle fourteen or so without much hassle, and Amber can take down even more from afar with her bow, and isn’t bad in close range, but there must be about forty something mitachurls all gathered around several small fires, several feet away from them.
Eula immediately drops into a crouch and Amber quietly copies her by her side, holding her left hand out a moment to feel for the direction of the wind. She lets go of Eula’s hand to draw her bow and notch an arrow.
Quickly, Eula calculates their rates of success. Amber can probably take down at most four of them with her arrows before the rest of them get their shields up and attack, and at that point Eula can take down… twenty? Amber could take down the six of them that are on the outskirts, but that would still leave them open to five more.
They need backup. Curses . Eula hates needing backup more than anything else in the world.
Quietly, she draws her claymore. It hums in her hands, thrumming with power, and she closes her eyes and takes a meditative breath. When she opens them she feels calmer. “You can launch your arrows,” she whispers to Amber, and Amber lowers her bow as she leans closer to hear. “And I can take down most of the ones in the middle while you take out the ones on the edge. But you’ll have to use fiery rain and time it with my glacial illumination so we can melt them.”
Amber nods to show she understands and raises her bow again. Eula stills. Amber’s pyro vision warms against Eula’s side from its position on her belt, and then Amber looses her arrow.
Eula is already ducking out from behind the rock and charging forward, her claymore swinging in a wide arc, and she neatly ducks a flaming arrow as another mitachurl explodes beneath her blade. More arrows come flying as Eula swings her claymore, sending out a burst of cryo that collides with Amber’s fire-infused arrows. A mitachurl groans from the explosion and sprays its remains on Eula’s face.
The mitachurls on the edge come running but arrow after arrow hits its mark, relentless, and Eula stabs her claymore into a mitachurl’s chest and watches admiringly as another one melts into the ground, the snow smoldering with its death.
She flips through the air to avoid a rampaging shield and sends out another burst of cryo as she swings. There is another spray of dust on her skin as she turns, heaving her claymore with her. She easily ducks another punch, then attacks viciously, cutting down one and twirling her claymore into another, pulling it out to watch it dissolve into dust, then swinging it above her head to slam into another one brutally.
The ones with shields are relentless, though, and she spins and ducks, doing neat sidesteps and flourishes as she fights. She might be showing off. It is most definitely not for Amber, who she can feel watching her as pyro arrows land true, melting shields and allowing Eula to kill them quicker.
Her breaths are coming fast, and her heart is racing, her muscles burning with a thrill as she slams her blade into mitachurls as they charge, knocking them back and impaling them with her claymore. She dodges swiftly and gracefully, her claymore ringing when it collides with a shield, effortlessly avoiding Amber’s arrows as they fly past. Her vision turns frosty, glowing brighter on her shoulder as she continues.
Her claymore might be as light as a breeze for the way that she spins through the air, precise and clean, until she’s cut them down to four. She takes a breath, taking a step back, and channels her vision. Coldness races up her arms and explodes out of her claymore in a burst of white light just as a slew of flaming red arrows rain down.
When the glow from her claymore has died down and her vision has returned to its normal temperature, there is a ring of dust around her, the snow slightly smoking. She turns back to face Amber, who is standing there with her bow at her side, breathless.
She sheathes her claymore and takes deep breaths full of the biting Dragonspine air. Her skin is buzzing. She feels alive in the way she does only during battle, adrenaline singing through her bones. “You were right, Amber,” she says, into the cool silence. “That was fun.”
Amber lets out a bright peal of laughter, slinging her bow behind her as she walks over to Eula to observe the damage they caused. “We’re a good team,” she says.
And there is such a strong surge of affection for Amber that Eula feels dizzy again. “How are you standing right now?” she asks, teasing, to cover up for how fast her heart is pounding, not from the aftermath of the fight.
“Maybe I should be asking you that, Spindrift Knight,” Amber says, eyes sparkling. She shoves her playfully and Eula laughs, startled, brushing her hair behind her ear.
“You see me fight all the time.”
“I know, but that doesn’t make it any less cool,” Amber says, and the curl to her lips makes it clear the pun is intended.
“Cheeseball,” she says, pretending to be annoyed.
Amber grins at her and sighs, tipping her head back and closing her eyes. She looks indescribably beautiful like that, simply enjoying the Dragonspine air, bright red among the barren, white snow. She gives life to a freezing wasteland.
When Amber opens her eyes and glances at her, Eula realizes she was staring and hastily looks away.
Amber giggles. “Were you staring at me, Eula Lawrence?”
Usually she would hate people saying her full name— the word Lawrence haunts her wherever she goes, it is like a constant plague. But when Amber says it, it feels just like a name. Only a name. Weightless on her tongue.
“You’re very pretty,” she tells her honestly.
The flush that stains Amber’s face red makes Eula bite back a laugh. “ Now who’s the cheeseball?” she says, but she leans into Eula’s shoulder, warm like her pyro vision.
Eula only hesitates a second before putting her arm around her. It is so easy to be with Amber. She is her favorite person in this world.
She sighs at the thought, bothered. Amber might consider her a very close friend, but she would surely object to the claims of them being together. She could not bear to parade this falsity and thrust Amber under scrutiny like that.
“What’s wrong?” Amber murmurs, and Eula looks down at her to see Amber looking up at her with concern.
She flushes when she realizes how close their faces are to each other and pulls back a little. “I hate the idea of seeing you hurt,” she says.
Amber blinks in confusion, brow furrowing. “Hurt? But I’m fine.”
“I mean, by me,” she says. She clenches her jaw and looks away from her.
“What do you mean? Eula. You could never hurt me.”
She sighs and shakes her head, heart heavy. “I cannot ask for your loyalty when I place you under judgement from your peers.”
Amber’s brow stays furrowed in confusion, before she realizes what she’s talking about and huffs. She slaps Eula in the arm.
“What the—” she says, startled, and Amber puts her hands on her hips.
“Eula Lawrence,” she says, in that stern voice she adopts when she’s yelling at Kaeya for messing with the dandelions, or scolding Klee when she throws her deceptively cute-looking bombs into the lake. “You think I’m going to be bothered by a bunch of talk? Think again. No matter what anyone says, you matter to me, and I will not let you go. If people are bad-talking you, then I want nothing to do with them.”
“But you want to prove yourself to the Knights— ” She protests.
Amber huffs again. “I wouldn’t want their admiration or compliments if it had to come at the cost of losing you. You get that? You’re stuck with me forever.” She tips her head up defiantly, and it reminds Eula almost of herself.
Eula smiles at her, trying not to feel teary again. “Thank you, Amber,” she says, quiet.
“Don’t say something stupid like that again,” Amber says, mock-glaring at her, but her expression melts into something soft when she sees Eula’s face.
She cups Eula’s cheeks and leans forward so their foreheads are resting against each other’s. Eula doesn’t resist the touch, just holds her hands up to Amber’s wrists, fingers curled loosely around them. “I’m with you,” she says. “Always.”
They breathe each other in for a little while. Eula savors her closeness. She thinks she could gladly stay like this forever.
Perhaps those rumors have some truth to them.
Eventually she pulls away. “You might freeze to death, Amber,” she says. “If you don’t collapse first.”
Amber just grins, entwining her fingers with Eula’s again. “Let’s go report back to Master Jean first. Then you can take me out to dinner.”
“I paid last time,” she grumbles, but allows Amber to pull her along.
~
She watches for people’s faces as she and Amber enter the gates through Monstadt. Amber greets Lawrence and Swan in her usual cheery way, still holding Eula’s hand. She tries not to feel self-conscious, but they just smile and wave back, greeting Eula too with a courteous dip of their heads.
“Hey, Amber!” Sara exclaims, as they pass Good Hunter’s. “Hey, Eula. You two dropping by later?”
“Yep, Eula is gonna get me some Sauteed Matsutake,” Amber grins.
“I hardly remember ever agreeing to that,” Eula says, but Sara just laughs warmly at them, eyes twinkling.
“I’ll save you two a table.”
“Great, thanks, Sara!” Amber chirps, then continues to drag Eula up the stairs before she can further protest.
She pushes open the doors and they knock on the door of Jean’s office. To Eula’s surprise, it’s Lisa who opens it. She makes a sheepish expression when she sees them together. Eula feels a little bad. It isn’t Lisa’s fault, after all. Though when she finds the person responsible for that rumor, mark her words…
“Hey, Lisa,” Amber says. “Jean in?”
“Yes, goodness, I’m right here,” comes Jean’s voice from in the office. “Could you let them in, Lisa?”
Lisa angles her body to the side so they can come in, but doesn’t leave. Eula is unsurprised by this. The two spend so much time together that they could even be misconstrued as a couple.
Wait—
“Eula and I took care of the mitachurls,” Amber declares as she steps into the room. “There were… a lot of them, though. Almost had me worried.” She flashes Eula a grin, which she barely manages to return.
Her mind is racing. Could it be…?
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Jean says, leaning forward in her seat, brows knitted together in concentration. “The last time it was reported there were said to be only about twenty. How many did you both encounter?”
“Forty,” Eula says. “At least.”
“Oh, dear,” Lisa says from behind them. “Are you two all right?” She brushes past them to come forward, casually moving a large stack of papers on Jean’s desk aside and plopping down on the unoccupied space. Jean pays her no mind, even though Lisa is very close and taking up a vast majority of Jean’s personal space. Eula notices Lisa does this a lot; even to her, she isn’t shy about touching, running her gloved fingers down Eula’s cape and sometimes peering closely at her face to admire her eyes or some nonsense. But with Jean, it is done with such ease, such familiarity, the little space between them charged and electric like Lisa’s vision.
Perhaps, this is what people see when she is with Amber. In that case…
“— and she used glacial illumination while my arrows rained down. The mitachurls were decimated .”
“I am glad you two accompanied each other,” Jean said. “Of course you doubtless would have even if Lisa had not suggested it.”
Amber beams, shoulders held high. “Thank you, Master Jean.”
“Yes, you two make a very good… pair,” Lisa says.
Eula blinks, not missing the vague noun, but Amber doesn’t seem to notice. “We always do.”
“Get some rest,” Jean says. “You must be tired.”
“We will,” Amber says, and Eula takes a breath, looking down at her.
“Would you mind waiting for me? I have to speak to Lisa and Jean about something.”
“Of course,” Amber says, with one last backward glance at the three of them, and slips out, shutting the door behind her.
“Eula,” Jean says, surprised, as Eula turns back to her. “What is it?”
“It’s about what Lisa said,” she says curtly, and Lisa flushes in embarrassment as Jean cranes her neck up to look at her.
“Lisa,” Jean says, warning. “What did you do?”
“I may have assumed some things,” Lisa says. “Such as, Eula and Amber being together.”
Jean blinks, clearly having not expected that, and looks back at Eula. “You two aren’t … ?” she asks slowly.
Eula could scream. She won’t, for obvious reasons, she would never sacrifice her dignity and composure like that, but today has been a stressful and confusing day. “Yes, everyone thinks so,” she says impatiently, waving it away as if the claim has taken form in the air. “But, you see, how would I go on making it real?”
Lisa and Jean stare at her a few moments then exchange looks. Eula tries not to read too much into it. “Well, dear,” Lisa says. “Ask her if she is aware of that rumor. And if she is, you could ask her something like ‘well, why aren’t we together’ and if she isn’t, just ask her if she would like to go somewhere with you, in a romantic context. You already do many of the things actual couples do, so it wouldn’t have to be any grand notion. Make your feelings known, that’s all.”
Jean nods in agreement, and Eula notices that her hand is locked with Lisa’s on top of her desk. Perhaps Eula has been blind all along. “That seems like sound advice,” she says, and remembers herself saying those exact words to Kaeya mere hours earlier. She pauses. “You all really did think we were together?”
“Amber looks at you as if you have hung the stars in the sky, and you look at her the same,” Lisa says. “But I am sorry that we made our own assumptions, Eula. We shouldn’t have done such a thing.”
“It is all right,” she says. “I think— well, I think it’s made me realize some things, actually.”
Jean smiles warmly at her. “We want you to be happy.”
Her chest feels tight. She realizes she hasn’t really been an outsider, not for a long time now. Not by the people that matter to her the most, her friends, and the Knights. Amber was right, as she always is. Admiration and respect is insignificant if it is from people who do not truly know her.
“I am happy,” Eula says. “I am very happy.”
~
“So what were you and Master Jean and Lisa talking about?” Amber asks her, through a mouthful of matsutake. “You looked all serene and content when you left.”
“They gave me some advice, that’s all,” she says, sipping some cool sunsettia drink Sara’s made specially for her.
“Advice?” Amber asks, swallowing down her food. “For what?”
Eula looks at her. Looks at her clearly. And she knows what Amber meant, when she said because I’m with you . “Amber,” she says, and Amber tilts her chin, eyes wide. “You know that people think we’re together?”
There is a brief moment of silence. “Oh,” Amber says, thoughtful. “Do they?”
“Yes,” she says, trying to keep her voice steady, her heart calm. “Does that trouble you in any way?”
Amber blinks at her a little and then laughs, covering her mouth with one hand. It is so unexpected that Eula can only stare at her, flabbergasted. “Oh, Eula,” she says, eyes sparkling. She laughs harder. “ This is what’s been bothering you all day?”
“Yes—” she says, even more confused. “It’s a serious question, why are you laughing?”
“Because it’s so cute that you care that much,” Amber says, taking her hand from across the table. She squeezes it tight, smile fond. “I didn’t know you did, considering how long we’ve been together. Did someone say something?”
Eula’s brain glitches through cute and say something , and then registers the other half of the sentence. “How long we’ve been together?” she asks. She might faint.
Amber giggles at her. “Yes, silly. Months, I think. I wrote the exact date in my journal. It was the best day ever.”
Eula feels like she might be experiencing a heart attack with a simultaneous lobotomy. She didn’t feel this dizzy when she was being attacked by thirty mitachurls.
“But I haven’t—” she says, voice weak. “Kissed you, or— anything like that.”
“Well, I assumed you were being polite,” Amber says. “And lovely, as you always are. Wait a second. Are we not—”
“No, no,” Eula says, holding onto Amber’s hand. She wants to get rid of that terrible uncertain look on Amber’s face. “No, I— want to be with you. I want it to be just like this. Forgive my foolishness. I treasure every moment I am with you. I could not bear to let you go.”
Tears bloom in Amber’s eyes. “You— oh. I—”
She glances around, realizing how public this is, the two of them at a table in the open, with so many people watching. She could really care less.
“Amber,” she says, heart racing. “Would you accept?”
“Of course , silly,” Amber laughs through tears. “You’re my favorite person. And I sort of thought that we were already a thing, which, I have to admit in hindsight was probably totally my fault—”
“It’s not your fault,” she says, overcome with emotion, close to crying herself. “None of it is your fault. You have only ever been wonderful.”
Amber smiles, eyes crinkling up, and Eula leans her forehead against hers, her heart singing with happiness.
“Would you mind if I kissed you right now?” she asks quietly.
“Definitely not,” Amber whispers, and Eula presses her palm to her cheek and does just that.