Garbage Day

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Suke stares at herself in the mirror. She takes a deep breath, exhaling loudly. She straightens the black, sleeveless dress that Taichu had bought her for her birthday for the twentieth time. She half-turns, observing the sides and back of the dress. She straightens those parts, too. Again. She fusses with her hair, tying it into ponytails, then letting it down again, only to tie it back into a single ponytail, and finally let it back down again. She shakes her head in frustration and looks back at her reflection, exasperated.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Why am I so nervous?

"Suke," Cota says, peeking her head into the doorway. "I thought I heard you making noise in here. What's wrong?"

Suke spins to face her friend, holding her hands up together in front of her chest in surprise. She blushes a bit, looking away from Cota.

Cota cocks her head quizzically. "Trying on your dress? What for, Suke? Are you going somewhere?"

Suke blushes a little bit more. She nods.

"Oh, that sounds wonderful! Where are you headed? Should I get my things?"

Suke smiles and shakes her head. *I'm heading out with... Sugar,* she signs.

Cota smiles back. "Oh, that sounds fun! What are you guys up to?"

*We're going to her favorite cave again,* Suke responds, her signs come slow, almost hesitantly. Her face turns a dark blue-gray

Thump thump. Thump thump.

*Together.*

Cota laughs. "Well, of course you're going together. Why would you go separately?" she asks, completely missing Suke's point.

Suke smiles and chuckles silently. For as kind and smart as Cota is, she sure is bad at picking up on things like this. She shakes her head. *No, Cota. I mean together. Like, as in a...*

Suke swallows hard.

*...date.*

"Oh." Cota says, staring at her blankly. A few moments later, her hands shoot up to her mouth and her eyes widen. "Oh! Oh my gods! Oh my gods, Suke, I had no idea! So then, at the party? The girl that you had a crush on? It was...!?"

Suke scratches the back of her head with one arm and shrugs with the other.

Cota smiles a big, bright, excited smile. "Suke, that's absolutely precious! I am so happy for you guys. Do you need help getting ready? Where's Taichu? She should be here to help you, too!"

Suke looks around and shrugs. *I couldn't find her.*

Cota ponders for a second. "Well, that's okay. I'm not as good as Taichu at any of this, but she has been showing me how to apply makeup. I can get you looking almost as good as she could."

Taichu cocks her head. *...Makeup...?*

"Of course," Cota says. "Tai would never forgive me if I let you go on a date without proper makeup. Don't worry, I won't use that much. I don't think our complexions necessarily need it."

---

About an hour later, Suke was ready. Cota had decided that Suke should wear her hair down. She teased her hair a little bit, adding a bit more volume. To accessorize, they had collected a white flower that they found growing around Amdapor and pinned it into her hair.



She had opted for a very light white dusting on Suke's cheeks, to bring out her natural complexion and her eyes. A small amount of gloss was all that she needed for her lips - full-blown lipstick wouldn't do for someone like Suke.

Her eyes, on the other hand were the perfect place to experiment with Cota's burgeoning makeup skills. She tried to make Suke's eyes the focal point of the entire job.

The experiment was a success.

Cota was able to darken the area around her eyes with a light shadow; just enough to stand as a perfect backdrop to the bright white limbal rings around her eyes. Her lashes flared up and out, thick and rich, drawing one into her own eyes, which were finally outlined with a thin line of dark eyeliner. All together, it brought what Taichu had always called Suke's "Killer Features," - her eyes and her freckled complection - into a work of art.

"Whew," Cota says in relief after finishing. "I think that's all done. Well, go on, Suke," she says, gesturing towards the mirror again.

Suke walks towards it, meticulously. She closes her eyes as she steps towards it, and then opens them after a moment of internal preparation.

Her mouth drops open. Wow. That's... me?

Cota moves over to interrupt Suke's soundless gaping. "You look adorable, Suke! I think Sugar's going to agree, too."

Suke reaches up and touches the side of her face, and smiles. She whirls around and throws her arms around her friend. *Thank you so much, Cota!* she signs after leaving the hug.

"Have fun, and be safe, okay Suke?" Suke nods, spins around, and zips out the door. Cota waves and laughs as she goes. "I hope I did alright," she asks no one in particular.

---

Suke speeds out the door, heading to the Aetherite. She didn't know exactly how long that had taken, but she certainly didn't want to be late for Sugar.

"Suke!" She hears a voice call out from the house. It's Sokhatai. Suke screeches to a halt and turns around. Sokhatai waves her new sun hat in the air - the one Tai had gotten for her to go with the dress. Suke puts a hand up to her mouth and jogs back to Sokhatai.

"No need to rush, Suke. You'll ruin your makeup way too early." Sokhatai smiles and plops the sun hat on her young companion. She smiles, the hint of a dark blush sneaking its way through the makeup on her cheek. "Have fun, okay?"

*Thanks, Sokhatai!*

"Don't mention it, Suke. Be safe!" Suke backpedals, waving at her friend as she goes, before spinning back around. She swiftly makes her way through the swamps of the Rootslake and makes her way to Camp Tranquil, without getting a spot on her dress.

No way I'm going to let a little swamp ruin my date, or all the hard work Cota put into this makeup!

She looks up at the glowing blue crystal.

Thump thump thump thump. Thump thump thump thump.

She reaches her hand out and touches the crystal, picturing the small plaza outside of the Mist; where Sugar had said to meet her. Moments later, she is swept away on the aetherial sea, only to be deposited on to the plaza in the Mist.

She looks around. Sugar is nowhere to be found.

Thank the Dusk Father I'm not late!

She walks over to a small bench and sits down. She looks around, waiting for Sugar, periodically adjusting her dress and hat.

Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump.

She kicks her feet slightly, trying to distract herself from the butterflies frantically trying to escape her stomach, or the brick that seemed to be caught in her silent throat.

[This is happening at the same as Suke is getting ready]

“Tai, I really appreciate you helping me, but are you sure this isn’t a little too much?” Sugar says as she looks at herself in the mirror. She fiddled with the buttons on the dark blue and black dress that her friend picked for her.



“I mean the dress is really pretty and I really, really like it,” She turns to look at the dress from another angle. Her ears perk up as she admires the new outfit, then turns to Taichu. “But we are going to be exploring in a cave”

"Oh, please Sugar. Yeah, you're going to a cave, but you and I both know that eyes aren't gonna be on the rocks for very long. And look at yourself, girl! You look absolutely amazing! Besides, you've got shorts on underneath for all of your exploratory needs," Taichu says, eyes narrowing into a sly grin, suggesting... something? "And besides, as an adventurer, you have a sacred duty to look super cute while saving the world and doing... whatever else it is you guys do. Now close your eyes; I gotta put this stuff on and you keep blinking!"

---

"Sugar, don't rub your eyes! UGH, those lashes took like, ten minutes!"

...

"It's fine, it's fine. Here, let me just re-do it. And try not to rub your face."

...

"Yes, I know it feels weird, Sugar, but you can't rub your face or it'll smudge everything!"

...

"Yes, I mean all night. You gotta be careful with this stuff Sugar!"

...

"Hey! It is not 'stupid.' It's fashion! And fashion means suffering. It's a sacrifice the beautiful have to make."

...

"You do too want to be fashionable, Sugar! Especially with a certain someone around~"

...

"...What? Sugar, don't be ridiculous! Of course you're beautiful."

Taichu smiles down at her friend, taking a cautious step back from her, hands still extended carefully towards Sugar as she admires her handiwork. Sugar's face was perfectly pampered with a dark blue blush. Her lips were a deep maroon, her lashes flared and popped, and her liner was a shade of purple so dark that it almost looked black. Her shadow was just smokey enough to add an onze of mystery to her friend's appearance, and her hair was a pristinely-made braid that swept part of her violet hair around either side of her temples and back into a ponytail that cascaded down beyond her shoulders.



"I mean, just look at you, girl! You look amazing."

She gestures over to Sugar in the mirror.

"Now that's a beauty if I've ever seen one! Hee hee, Suke's gonna lose her mind!"

She takes a look at herself in the mirror.

“Wow.”

Is that really me? It can't be...

Unconsciously, her hand raises to touch her face. She freezes, remembering all of the fuss she just went through with Taichu to get it to this point.

Don’t touch your face! Tai will kill you if you mess up your face again!

Immediately her hand shoots back down to her side. She takes a few moments to admire her friend’s work, turning her head to get a better look at the braids in her hair.

Tai’s really good at this.

Sugar turn her head to Taichu, a light blush appears on her face.

“You really think Suke’s gonna like it?” Her ears fold back nervously as she fidgets with the bottom of her dress. “I’m not gonna lie, I’ve never really done anything like this before and I’m kinda really nervous Tai.”

"Girl, she's going to love it. Trust me." Taichu pulls her arms close and hops in place for a second, her giddy expression plain across her face. "Ugh! You are so cute right now I can't even handle it! C'mon, you gotta get down to the plaza. I bet Suke's going to worry herself into a corner if you don't meet her soon!"

Taichu grabs Sugar's hand and pulls her out of the room. Tai stops and holds a finger up. "Wait! We forgot something important!" She turns back and grabs something off of the dresser. She flings it around Sugar's neck and clasps it together behind her back. It is the charm of protection that Suke had given her, with the symbol of Menphina emblazoned on a small navy blue bag that matches her outfit as if it was made to.

"There. Now you're ready!"

---

Taichu closes the front door of the Mist behind Sugar.

"Okay, Sugar. It's time for you guys to get going! Now get out there and make Tai proud, okay?" She beams at her friend and waves her off excitedly.

"Go on! Your princess is waiting just down there. And don't do anything I wouldn't do, okay?" She punctuates with a wink as she waves goodbye.

“Thanks again Tai.”

Sugar takes a deep breath and makes her way down to the plaza.

I can do this.

She looks around and spots Suke sitting on a bench. Her tail twitches.

Oh no. I hope she hasn’t been waiting long for me.

Sugar picks up her pace and heads up to Suke.

“Suke I’m so sorry I’m late.” Her hands clap together in a begging motion. “I hope that you weren’t waiting too long. I didn’t…” Sugar stops mid sentence as she get a better look at Suke. A dark blue washed over her face. Suke looks gorgeous.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

What’s going on?...

Thump. Thump.

Why is my heart beating so loud?

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Can she hear it? It’s so loud… No that’s silly... of course she can't… pull it together Sugar.

She gulps and blinks hard, still staring at the Au Ra.

“...I...Tai was helping…and I...ummm...I…” Sugar takes a deep breath.This was going nowhere.
She shakes her head, trying to gather her thoughts. With a warm smile, she says the first thing that ‘s on her mind.

“Wow Suke you look amazing.”

As Sugar calls out her name, and Suke turns, her heart practically jumps out of her chest.

Clearly, Sugar's blush was contagious, as Suke found cheeks warming as she spoke.

Suke slowly stands up and straightens her dress. As Sugar fumbles over her words, Suke can't help but smile sheepishly.

“Wow Suke you look amazing.”

Suke looks down for a second, shifting from foot to foot. She looks back up to Sugar a second later.

*You are one to talk,* She signs. She takes a few slow steps towards Sugar.

She stares up at Sugar again. Her dress was adorable, and it matched the charm of protection - which she still wore, after everything. The braid through her violet hair, and the way her makeup made her violet eyes shine in the setting sun, silhouetted behind her...

It was suddenly hard to breathe.

Wow...

A part of her wanted to step closer to her, right then and there. To...

No. No no no, that's not a good idea. Suke, calm down. It's fine. It's just a date. Be calm. This is just like a hunt. You can't just run into this like an idiot!

She smiles, the white blush lightening causing the blush forming on her cheeks to brighten.

*Are we... flying on your friend again?* she says, a worried look coming across her face. Subconsciously, her eyes flicker down to Sugar's hand at her side, and then back up to her bright, bright purple eyes.

Wow she’s really cute when she blushes.

Sugar scratches the back of her head as she says, “Yeah I think taking Vivi would probably be the easiest way to get there given what we’re wearing.” Giggling as she motions to both of their dresses. She holds the bottom of her dress, pulling both sides out. “I don’t think these are the best for climbing.”

She laughs again as she whistles for her ahriman. In no time, Vivi can be seen taking off from the roof of the free alliance’s house. It only takes her a few moments to land in front of the two girls.

“Vivi!” Sugar runs up to her voidsent with open arms and hugs her. She looks at her, smiling as she pets her head. “We’re going to need you to take us to the cave again ok?”

The ahriman blinks and licks her eye. Vivi then looks over to Suke. Her eye looking a little concerned.

As if Sugar understood her friend, she pets her again and smiles. “Vivi, Suke’s my girlfriend now and she’s one of my best friends. She’d never do anything to hurt you. I promise”

Sugar giggles to herself as she remembers when Vivi and Suke met for the first time. How she forgot to mention to her friend that she had a voidsent for a pet. Sugar had to practically tackle Suke to stop her from using her bow. She couldn’t help herself from laughing at it now.

Vivi blinks again and nods as she lowers herself to let the girls climb on her.

Sugar smiles brighter as she climbs up onto Vivi. “That’s a good girl. I knew you’d understand.”

She turns over to Suke, still smiling and extends a hand to help her up. “Come on Suke. It’s ok. Vivi likes you.” Sugar giggles again. “I just need you to hold on tight when she starts to take off.”

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The thought of Suke holding onto her close makes Sugar start to blush again.

Pull yourself together Sugar.

Suke takes a cautious step forward, towards the big, beady eye of Vivi. *Sorry for... almost shooting you?* she tries to sign to the ahriman.

Yeah, nice going, Suke. I'm sure the ahriman can understand sign language.

Suke sighs and looks up to Sugar, now propped up on to the ahriman above her. She smiled and held a hand out to her. Taichu always talked about stories of knights on horseback sweeping princesses off of their feet and away from danger onto their gallant steeds. This was hardly comparable, but Suke couldn't help but silently giggle as she took Sugar's hand and hopped up on to the back of the ahriman. It was strange; the voidsent's skin was almost rubbery against her legs. A shiver made its way up her spine as she acclimated to the odd texture.

She looked at the woman - her girlfriend - sitting in front of her. She scoots forward, pressing herself close to Sugar. Her heartbeat was going a mile a minute as her arms tentatively make their way around Sugar's waist, almost as if asking permission to not plummet to her death once they started moving. She suddenly found it hard to breathe, even though she was perfectly comfortable.

Deep breaths, Suke. Deep breaths.

As she inhales deeply, her nostrils are filled with a sweet, soft aroma - one of strawberries and a soft, sweet cream. It filled Suke's chest with a warm, comforting sensation. She smiles.

She smells really good...

Her grip eases to a comfortable security. She nestles in close, resting her head to the side of Sugar's far enough away so that her horns were not pressing against her neck or making her uncomfortable.

She brings her hand up in front of Sugar and gives her a thumbs-up.

It’ll be fine. It’s just like last time…

Ș̞̭̗̫̗h̤̱̗̝̱e̦ͅ'̟s͚̘ͅ ͍̦͔̯̰͓͎y̲̘͈͎̬͔̦o̤͔̘̬u͖̮̙͎͖̥̝r̤̙ ̞͖g̪̝͖̦͕̙i͉̹͕͖̰ͅṟ̙̰͈̥̦ͅl̼͖̹̻f̩ͅr͎͔̟i̪̺̲͖e͕͚̝͕̮͓n̖͈͇̼͎͈͕̖d̟̘͕ ̤̘̠̭̰̳n͉̖̫̭̫̜̯̞o̞̻̱̻͍w̫̬̰̦ ̩͈S̼ͅw̮̬̺̦̦̱̺̬e̪e͎̪̜̠̪̖̤͇t͔̦̮͓l̻̝̻̻i͖̭̦ͅn̬̬̘̪̺g͉̹.̝̣


Nerezza’s giggling rings in Sugar’s head. As Suke wraps her arms around her, she snaps out of it. Her blush returns. She could feel Suke’s warmth. It was comforting.

I can feel her heartbeat.

She smiles softly, as Suke adjusts her head close to hers.

This feels so nice.

Y͙̰̠̲̥̜̦̥o͎̫u͍̺̼̬͚ ̫͕̣͈c̦̬̖̟̺̰̳͖̘o͉͉̙u̙̩͈̙͓̥̦l̻͕͓d͙̳͙͎̬̳͇̼ͅ ̙̲̤̘̙̳̟ͅd̲̼̩̪͈̹̜̝o͚̟̯̪̲͚̖̱̰ ̞̫̳̳̻ͅi̳̥̱̭t͈̭̠̜ ̣̝̠̙̝r̙̟i̻̖̫̫̩͚g͎͙̠̩͚̰͙ͅh̝t̝̻̳̖̭͈̗ ͎̰͓̤n̗̘̱̪̯o̝̖w̜̳͉̼̞.̫̳̖̮̬̗.̠̗͇̻̖.̻ͅY̰̼͇̻̮̳̟ͅọ̦̲̪u̳̤̠̲̹ ̩͚̮̻͙c̥͚̣̤̻͎o̥ụ̟̟̗͇l̥̥͖d̬̞̪̯͇̠̤͇͔ ͇̺k̬̭͚͍i̘̝̭̝͍̪s̞̭̭s̻̺͖̲̠͖ͅ ̜͇̝͔h̖̮̺͖̯̜̟e̯̞̪͕̥̣̖r͖͙̭̮̩̗̠̺͓ ̼̲̝̼̰̖͍r̪̺ͅi̯̠̥͕g̦̞h̘̭t̻̜̫̭̼̬͔̦ͅ ̯̼͔̼h̠͍̜̱e͉̟̬͇ͅr͎̥̩̘ḛ̜̗͇͉̭̟.̭͉͕̟̲̺̼͕.̘̜͉̞̗̼.̖͓̝̯͖̘ ͈̗̬̭̬̖̰͔̜N̗̬̙o̹͔ ̥͔o̩͎͙n̺̳͔͙̞e̥̟ ͕̻̙̤i̖̰̯̫̘̜̻s͕̘̳̙͕ ̬͕͇̥w̯͇͓͎̹̝a̰̩̩̪̣̥t̞͖̬̥̣̹ͅc͈̲͈̭͎h̙̻̫i̞̝̦̱̬̱̻̭ͅṋ̰͚̹̥̫̫̣̩g͕͎͖ ̭̞̲̝̲S̩̪̼̱̜w͚̮͈̗̗̣e̯̲͈̬͈͔ẹ̺͉̠͕t͇͙̮ḻ̠̦̰̬͉̬̫i̲̦̣͓ͅͅn̙̫̞̯̣̞g͕̖̝̮̼͇̣ͅ.̞̞


Sugar takes a moment to think about Rezza’s words.

I͉'͓̩̼m̞͉̫̮ ̝̞̙̯̻̯̼̞s͍̩̱̝u̝̦̤̯̞̼̺̲ͅṟ̼͔e̬͓̭̖̗̮͚̻͓ ̱̰s̱̰͉̼h̪e̱̮͍ ̭̝̣ͅw̲͎̤͕o̯̦͉̥̟͈̖̯̪u̜̣̖̥͉l̙d͉̱̠ ̤̗̹̘͍ͅe̩̪̗n̞̲j̰̠͇͈̻͍ͅo̭̭̦̹̱̳͙͚y͇̗̮̪̫̤͍̺ ͚̘̗͉̰ͅi͕̖͈t͎̬̝͕͉̜̱̙


She closes her eyes. Images of her kissing Suke right then and there play in her head.

a̞̭̳̩̺̹̹n̹̤͍̻̼d̖̠̝͓͕ ̭̫̠̯y͈͉̠̰̱o̹̜͎̫u̺̤ ͔̫̳̘̺̰̯̪̞w̱̳̝o̩͓̖̺̜u̫̠̹̫̯͉̥͍l̺̯̰̠̦̲͇d̝̠̜̰͈ ̙͓̬̰̲͔̥ṱ̳̻̼̯̲̘̩o̼͖̤͓͖̱̳̯o͉͚̹̙͎̱͚͎̙


Her ears start to burn and twitch.

I͔̱̙̺͉t̤͕͍͈̖͍ͅ'̼̩̥s͇̤̖̳ ̘̭͙̬͓ͅa̰̥̠͕̮n̦̯̤͓̻͇͈̹ ͍̣̰a͓͖̥̣m̩̼̣̭a̮̹̟̘͔̠̞ͅz̪͓͖̟̺̟i͕̟̻̪̱̫̟n̗̣̟͉͙̬g̤̭ ̰f̟e̠̻̻̖̝̹̘̪e̪̠̞͖͉̝l͚̭̥̘͕̱i̠̤ͅn͇g̜̟̙͇̫̼̙ͅ ̗͉̖̲͎͍S̤͖̜͖w͓̯̪͖e̪e̞͓͓̤̙͓t̘͙̱͔͇͉͚ͅl͕͍͍̭̭̩̞̻i̦̣͉͉̝̬̞͇n̘͉g̺̯̞̘͎̰̱̘.̪ͅ.̙͖̪.͓͉͎̻̘̠̝̬̦ ͕̮̜̣̱̼̱͎̝T̳o̤͖̦̗ ̱̩̗̰̝̻̪̣b̞̰̣e̙̩ ̱̪s͈͔̗̹͉̞̼o̤̟̫̺͔̩̪̭̮ ̜̟c̪͚ḻ͖̦̠o̺̘͇̻̤̪̥s̖̦̪̜̥e̗̲̝̯ͅ.̟̝̻̤̣.̦̪͖̰͖̼.̼


STOP!

The images fade from her mind. She decided against it. Her father had always told her that your first kiss was special. You had to wait for the right moment. Now wasn’t that time. She opens her eyes to see Suke giving her the thumbs-up.

“Alright let’s get going then,” she pats her ahriman. “Come on Vivi.”

Vivi flaps her wings and takes off. Sugar still smiling as her girlfriend holds onto her. They make their way to the cave.