#chevori

But Chevreuse’s presence was different. It was comfortable, serene, still. Like ember in the form of water. Like the fire of the hearth, bright and encompassing yet humble and healing. Chiori was sensitive of her personal space, yet Chevreuse fit in like she was already a piece of her.

"You don't need to. I guess this is also good practice when we get married."

"Yeah, I guess..." Chevreuse then almost dropped her book, and her jaw, upon realizing something. "What did you say?"

Chiori shrugged. "When we get married, I'll be living with you often, so that means there will be times that I'm working and it's inevitable you're within the same space I am, and I have to..." Chiori looked up to Chevreuse who dumbfoundedly stared and blushed in front of her. "Just stating facts. I mean..." She softly chuckled, seemingly with a hint of nervousness. "This is not a proposal, Chevreuse. It's speculation. We might not have dated for so long but we are still dating, nonetheless. Marriage might become an option for our relationship someday."

Chevreuse’s mouth opened and closed like that of a fish, failing to create any coherence. She cleared her throat and gazed to the ground, redder than ever. "I-I mean you're right. Nothing wrong with a marriage talk once in a while."

Chiori laughed softly, but the way it reached Chevreuse, it seemed she was being egged onto something else. It was oddly inviting, the way the seamstress looked at her with a sly smile as a needle was lodged in between her teeth — a dangerous habit — much like Chiori herself. "Do you see me as a potential wife in the future, Captain?"

"I, um..." Chevreuse tried to focus on her book, attempting to allay her sudden discomfiture coupled with a fear of saying the wrong thing. She had taken off her gaze from Chiori, quickly falling quiet and reclusive. The seamstress immediately saw through it. She dropped her smirk and looked on with concern.

"You don't have to answer that one if it doesn't make you comfortable."

Chevreuse shot up a glance to Chiori, shock written in her face. She then sighed upon realizing how worked up she had become. "No, I was... I just don't want to say anything wrong."

Chiori shook her head and chuckled. "Perhaps it wasn't really a simple thing to ask. But you don't have to answer me just to please me. Or you can say whatever you want, no hard feelings. And just so you know, whatever your answer, the future always changes—"

"I want to marry you someday," Chevreuse blurted out.

Silence instantly filled up the space they occupied. The Boutique, being a peaceful and unassuming background, suddenly seemed to wake with eyes as wide as Tamoto’s and turned to the young lovers. A hot, hot blush spread to the Garde captain’s face that the thought of biting her tongue off suddenly didn’t seem stupendously irrational nor torturous. What did she just say? She wanted to slap the book on her face, the most useless thing she could try to do to hide her unfathomable embarrassment. She instead covered her mouth and squirmed uncomfortably like a worm dying in her own sweat. She hated her uniform at the moment. 

From her peripheral view, it seemed that Chiori wore a serious face. Did she say something wrong? Was this, by the gods, the wrong answer? More blood rushed to her face now. She took another deep breath. She had to face this head on. This was the most important thing she learned as a soldier. So Chevreuse took another swig of air and courage, then raised her gaze to her lady.

Chiori was holding in her laughter.

Very hard.

"It was…” Chiori said, nearly choking on her own stifled laughter. “It was just a 'yes or no' question."

Crap. Chevreuse completely turned tomato when she realized how corny she sounded, especially now that Chiori's laughter broke out. Her partner was cackling so hard she shut her eyes and had tears pooling in the sides. Captain Chevreuse wanted to go back to being a worm to die in her own sweat. "I'm sorry, okay..."

Chiori let herself giggle a bit more, head slightly bent backwards. She wiped her tears of laughter away and faced Chevreuse with an incredible softness and a beautiful smile that the captain burned in her mind. "What are you sorry for? You didn't say anything wrong." Then her gaze almost instantly shifted in intensity that the captain froze with the subtle bait and switch. But Chiori was… gentle? Happy? In love, perhaps? Chevreuse gulped at the thought.

"Okay. To be fair to you, I see you as my future wife, too, Chevreuse. Or husband. Whatever you prefer."

"So it's mutual, huh?" Chevreuse said, breaking into a grin of relief before her brain and shame could catch up. She blushed all over her face again, but at least she could properly gaze eye to eye with her significant other this time. They laughed together, shaking their heads from the things they just found about each other. Like Chiori said, even their feelings, as strong as their bond may have been now, could change somewhere down the line. Yet, Chevreuse couldn't help the excitement that swelled in her heart upon knowing that she wasn't the only one who saw such a future for the both of them.

Chiori only answered with a wide smile before she resumed her sewing work. Others would have waited, but Chevreuse didn't need the words. If there was anything she liked about their relationship, it was the miraculous ease at which they talked without saying anything. Chevreuse stood up from the sofa and walked across the room towards Chiori.

"Can I disturb you tonight just this one time?" she asked.