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The first time Dido encountered Littorio, she didn't know what to think.
The maid had been confused about how the green-haired Sardegnian had swooped in and steadied the tray that Dido had been about to drop, and had flashed a warm grin that screamed confidence. The battleship's fierce warmth and flirtacious words confused Dido. Didn't the woman see that the humble maid wasn't worth her time?
The confusion didn't go away when Littorio tucked the rose she carried into Dido's hair, and sauntered away. Dido had kept the rose though, and had received quite a few inquisitive looks from her fellow maids, each one causing her to flush from the attention.
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The second time Dido met Littorio, she felt a little more ready to handle her fierce Sardegnian confidence and flirtacious manner, having asked Miss Illustrious about the battleship one night.
Unfortunately for the shy maid, she was just as unprepared when Littorio greeted her with another rose and a wink, sending poor Dido into a fit of stuttering as Littorio once again placed a rose in Dido's hair, this time on the opposite side from before, before sauntering away once more.
Again, Dido wondered what drove Littorio to flirt with her. Was it simply a game, flirting with her, or was there some nefarious ploy she wasn't seeing? Regardless, she didn't have time to dwell on it. After all, a maid's duty never truly ends.
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The third time Dido met Littorio was during training. Despite being, by her admission, poor as a maid, Dido was a strong combatant with both rigging and with her cursed blade, though she preferred not to let others know about the second one.
However, her secret was found out when Littorio, somehow knowing precisely where Dido had gone, had walked onto the training field as Dido was practicing her swordplay, sending arcs of black energy with each swing. The Sardegnian had decided to announce her presence with neither confidant boast nor by poetic flirting, but by parrying Dido's overhead swing with a twist of her saber, sending the cursed hand-and-a-half sword's blade crashing into the dirt, the energy that had begun to gather along the enchanted steel lancing into the ground, cracking it.
Rather than fleeing at the dark magic, Littorio merely smirked and began to compliment Dido on her swordplay, once again bewildering the poor maid. Didn't Littorio see the obvious? Dido was cursed, and those who knew never stayed for long.
Their encounter once again ended with Littorio tucking a rose into Dido's hair before taking leave, this time throwing a wink over her shoulder, and a promise to train with her again.
Dido found herself liking the idea despite herself.
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By the fourth encounter, Dido had been feeling more confidant. Just as promised, Littorio had taken to training Dido, helping the maid to correct flaws in her technique and giving her a proper opponent to test herself against.
Dido had just begun to pull out ingredients to make lunch for the Queen when Littorio practically danced into the kitchen, greeting Dido with a wink and a smile, and asked what she was making. Upon receiving an answer, Littorio thought for a moment, and asked if she could help Dido cook something from Sardegna, as a way to surprise the Queen and help Dido improve, a request that was readily agreed to.
As the two cooked, Dido found herself enjoying the battleship's company, the old thoughts of waiting for the other shoe to drop since faded with every moment spent together. While at first the fiercely confidant manner of her green-haired companion made her nervous, she'd gotten to see just how kind Littorio was, every word and action raising not just Littorio herself, but everyone around her to be better, to shine brightly. Even someone like Dido, whose powers were her negative feelings made manifest, couldn't help but feel emboldened by Littorio.
When the two served their creation to the Queen, she was surprised to find that Dido was at ease around the boastful Sardegnian, though that surprise gave way to bliss when she took her first bite of the risotto the two had made. It was enough to make her not notice as, once more, Littorio tucked a rose in Dido's hair, this time taking a moment to pat the maid's head as she did so.
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The fifth time Dido and Littorio met, the two were both in casual clothing, walking hand-in-hand as they made their way to the quaint little bakery that Dunkerque had opened, the cool breeze ruffling their hair and whispering in the leaves of the trees growing along the street, carrying with it the voices of various kansen going about their day.
As Dido leaned against Littorio's arm, she blushed lightly, feeling safe next to the slightly taller woman who had taught her to be confidant in herself. Never did Dido think she would ever be like this, holding the hand of the Glory of Naples as the two spent the day together, stations in life forgotten as they shared a warm pastry, the only thing on each others minds being how beautiful the other was, and how they were glad to have been able to take the time to just be together like this.
As Littorio walked Dido home, the setting sun slipping below the horizon, Dido's mind wandered. She knew, by this point, precisely how she felt about Littorio, and wanted to show her what she couldn't quite express in words. When the two reached the gate of the Royal Navy dorms, Littorio tucked a rose in Dido's hair once more, and kissed the maid's hand. However, before she could leave, Dido reached up and grabbed Littorio's shoulder and, with a strength of will she didn't really know she had, spun the woman around to face her, grabbed her head, and pulled Littorio into a kiss, surprising the normally confidant Sardegnian.
Before Dido could pull away, Littorio deepened the kiss, putting as much passion and care into it as she could, wanting to show Dido just how much Littorio had come to love her.
As the two broke from the kiss, they stared into each other's eyes, and without a word, Littorio scooped Dido into a bridal carry and made her way to her own villa, her lover comfortable within her arms.
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Years later, Dido stood upon the balconey of the home she shared with her wife, staring out at the sea as she idly rubbed her pregnancy-swollen belly, the morning breeze ruffling her hair as she let her mind wander back to that first meeting.
"There you are, mia signora!" The voice of her beloved wife spoke from behind her, a pair of familiar arms wrapping around her as a manicured hand adorned with a silver wedding ring rested on her baby bump. Feeling her wife's lips on the crook of her neck, Dido leaned back against her and smiled.
"Just admiring the morning breeze, and the sea. How's Veneto this morning?" Dido asked, the stutter she once had long since gone.
"She's doing fine, though she might be getting impatient to meet her niece. She's already offering to babysit." Littorio responded, amused at how doting her sister had become.
Then again, it wasn't like Veneto wasn't the only one eager to meet their daughter. Each of Dido's own sisters had expressed their desire to spend time with their niece, something that warmed the hearts of the parents-to-be.
"Do you remember, dear, when we first met?" Dido asked. Littorio hummed, nodding against her wife's shoulder.
"Indeed. Even then, you were beautiful, burdened as you were by doubt and fear. You've grown only more amazing since. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, just reminiscing."
It had been twelve years since that first meeting, and Dido had kept every rose Littorio had given her,
all pressed and preserved in an album. Each of the one-hundred roses carried with it a memory, cherished dearly by the two of them.
Dido no longer wore a rose tucked in her hair. Instead, her ring bore an engraving of a rose, along with an inscription: "Our love shall last as long as this rose", rendered in Littorio's home language, a vow that she need not fear abandonment any longer.