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Although there hadn't been a lot of time for Stelle to think, she certainly didn't expect to find herself riding among the stars.
Her eyes were still adjusting to the sight of them, seemingly so close to the windows that lined the Astral Express. After waking up in the gloom of a half-lit room, she hadn’t known quite what to expect of the outside world. After all, from her first few moments awake there had been something bigger going on: a battle to fight, a mission to complete. A goal to get to.
And then there had been all the talk about a Stellaron… An issue that plagued her thoughts even in the apparent tranquility of the train that awaited for departure.
Most of the other passengers were already seated, including Stelle herself. Mostly because she felt it was easier to brace herself not against the jump which was still a few minutes away according to Pom-Pom, but against the myriad of doubts that resonated within her mind. Her eyes wandered, sometimes focusing on the station outside, the many glittering stars that shone and soothed her—a reminder that the world would continue to just be, regardless of what she decided, where those new people would take her.
Then she would glance inside, and smile at a certain someone who refused to take a seat.
Apparently it was common for that to happen, if Himeko’s words could be trusted. March 7th was always one to challenge herself, to try and remain on her feet when the Astral Express roared to life; no matter how many times she had failed and how many bumps had been the result of that act of courage.
No matter how impossible it seemingly was for one to keep their balance upright due to how violent the process was, Stelle had a feeling she would attempt that again and again. Just because.
Her attitude was a breath of fresh air amidst that much seriousness, the grim battles and sense of danger which had surrounded Stelle from the moment she had woken up. The sound of March’s voice had been an anchor to her, especially during their last, perilous fight.
To see her standing among the rows of plush, red seats lining the windows, proudly making her stand with a smile on her face no matter what Pom-Pom said, was somewhat… cute.
Stelle found herself beaming as well, finally able to pay attention to something or someone rather than her own weird, grim situation. It wasn’t the novelty of it all, or the pretty lights inside the Express, that had eventually dissolved her questions—no, it was March’s demeanor, the sweetness to her acts.
The way she smiled even wider, once their eyes met and the other girl placed both hands on her hips as if to show how determined she was.
“They don’t believe I’ll be able to stay up when the train goes, but I know this time I will! Because you’ll give me luck, won’t you, Stelle?”
“Do we have to go through this again…” A tired voice complained from the other side of the room; Dan Heng shook his head, another confirmation that maybe that was a familiar sight.
That maybe it could become a familiar sight to Stelle as well, if she so desired to stay with the others in that strange adventure.
“I believe in you,” she said after turning back to address March. It wasn’t a lie, though part of her didn’t exactly understand what the issue was with it. Maybe the excitement of a new trip was too much for the other girl to sit still like Himeko.
Maybe she was just as antsy as Stelle, willing to discover what other places could be lying out there.
Or maybe, just maybe, doing the predictable was just too boring, and March was forever one to look for the exciting part of life.
If it was the former, well, Stelle herself might do well in trying to be a bit more like her, what with how uncertain things were when she was concerned.
“All passengers, get to your seats!” Pom-Pom announced, and somehow she knew that was the last warning: there was a tired note to their voice, almost as if they had finally given up dealing with the likes of a certain archer girl. “The Astral Express shall move in 5…4…”
“I won’t fall, I won’t fall…”
March 7th braced herself, bending her knees. It was probably something she had learned from fighting or with one of her companions, a way to have better control over her balance since she was closer to the ground. Still, the more Stelle examined her posture, heard the sound of her gentle voice growing more doubtful with time and making a countdown of its own, the more she was sure there was something wrong with the entire thing.
That no matter what, she wasn’t stable enough to keep standing due to how uneven her feet were, or how unsuited to sudden, fast movement her whole position was as well.
The final numbers barely reached the newcomer’s ears or registered in her brain. Her mind was focused not on where they would be going and how the train operated (which would be very valid points to consider since she couldn’t answer either question) but on March’s position, the way she held herself taut. Too taut, even, to the point that it would be almost impossible for her to react to the way the train would move.
Hence it came as no surprise to Stelle that the second she heard the loud noise of engines getting to work and sensed movement in the whole around her, March 7th’s litany of “I won’t fall”s turned into a squeak, her torso tilting forward a millisecond after the Express did.
Stelle had almost no time to react; it was mere luck that she had been sitting that close to where the pink-haired girl had chosen to stand, or so she justified as soon as she had another, coherent thought. Before she could stop herself, talk some sense into what was going on and what her muscles wanted her to do, she was already on her feet, standing behind March and gripping her. Pulling her backwards until her body could get its bearings, weight leaving the points of her feet and reaching the ankles as both of them wobbled the slightest.
They were sure they had an audience even before the entire thing was over. Both of them could feel surprised gazes on them, as well as hear a gentle chuckle that came from none other than Himeko. The sound barely registered in the back of Stelle’s mind, however, as she tried her best to hold them upright and stop her own body from going back.
Yet it was her first time riding a train as far as she knew, and her first time aboard the Astral Express as well. The jump had been more than a machine simply roaring to life and lurching them forward: there was a lot more to it, sensations she couldn’t explain running through her spine. A queasy feeling took over her stomach and she clamped down on it, clamped down on everything that wasn’t related to keeping her and March standing up.
The moment she was about to give in and let them both fall was the same in which the girl in her arms took action, leaning a bit forward so they wouldn’t overbalance to the other side.
“W-we’ve got this, Elle!” March exclaimed, holding on to the arms that circled her torso. Holding on to the warm sensation in her chest that had nothing to do with the fact that for once it seemed like she was about to make her dream come true, to stand up with the train left the station.
Rather, it had everything to do with Stelle, the mysterious woman that had made her feel so many things all of a sudden… and who had almost sacrificed herself during their way there, too.
She had been sure that the newcomer would laugh at her face like the others had, when they were safe and waiting for the train to depart. To have her holding March by the waist, helping her balance so she could do what she had wanted to since her first trip on board of the Astral Express was… new.
Fun.
Amazing.
No, none of those words really described it well. It was, it was…
“Cute.”
She mumbled it without realizing, her cheeks glowing with heat for no reason as well. Her voice was even softer, especially when she felt the arms around her waist loosen their hold on her but not let go still. It was easier to take a deep breath, then, and to enjoy the warmth which coursed through her.
The thrill of exhilaration, at the fact that she and Stelle were indeed standing up together in the middle of the train that by then, had stabilized in its course.
“Hm?” The newcomer asked, tilting her head. She wasn’t sure if she should let go, or why that should be a question to begin with. They were both safe, still, standing.
The train was moving, and unless they hit something, stable enough for everyone else to be on their feet on their own.
Then March 7th put an end to her doubts once more by turning around, enveloping her in an embrace that was so gentle she couldn’t think about anything else.
“We did it, we did it!” She cheered, the joy in her voice making Stelle’s heart skip a beat, her cheeks glow with a small tinge of pink. Even more so when she pulled away and regarded the newcomer with an earnest, excited glance. “See? I told you you're my good luck charm.”
Stelle couldn’t argue and simply beamed back, caressed her companion’s back before letting gop. Not because she was uncomfortable with the closeness, or since she wanted to go back to silently brooding over what her life had become, what it would become.
But only since she was pretty sure she would combust if she stood another second that close to March 7th, without understanding what those feelings were.
“I uh, I did nothing,” she stammered, even though a portion of her mind was quick to say that she had pretty much stopped the other girl from falling. Everything else had been just them working together in amazing tandem, managing to find their sense of balance not apart, but together. “But I’m glad you were able to—”
“Bah, don’t be silly. Thank you for believing in me.” March took one step closer to Stelle, then apparently thought better about it and shied away, glanced at the windows as if something outside was more impressive. “H-here, let us sit now and enjoy the ride. And see if Pom-Pom still remembers I asked them for a drink.”
They took seats together, hands brushing as they turned sideways in order to look outside at the vast space. A lot more would happen in the days to come, they could feel it.
What they wished for the most, secretly so, was that they would be able to rely on each other and grow closer still, every passing day.