#player-one

Pauline was true to her word, and she swiftly arrived at the comet observatory the following afternoon with light baggage in preparation for her trip. Rosalina glided down from her garden, where she had been tending to the flowers, and greeted her at the entrance to the observatory. She seemed much shyer than she had been the night before, and Pauline found it confusing but endearing.

“Are you ready?” she asked. Rosalina nodded.

“Yes, let’s go,” she decided, smiling a little. Pauline offered Rosalina her arm in a somewhat goofy display of mock-royalty, as it was a gesture similar to that of what a prince would do in escorting a princess. Rosalina giggled a little and took her arm, letting her lead the way to the appropriate Launch Star. Within a moment of traveling at light-speeds, they had landed in Seaside kingdom at sunset. In retrospect, it always seemed to be sunset there, and neither of them really minded. Pauline took a step forward, releasing Rosalina’s hands in order to take in the warm, evening air.

“This is going to be nice…” she murmured, smiling and turning around to her partner. A wide, affectionate grin crossed her face when she saw her expression. Rosalina was absolutely dumbfounded by what she saw. She was looking around slowly, trying to take it all in. The gorgeous colors were unlike anything that she had ever seen, with the splashes of bright orange on the canyons behind her, and the teal-blue water in front of her, shimmering with the reflection of the setting sun.

Pauline decided to remove the rest of her clothing as she was wearing a bikini underneath, setting it all neatly aside with the towels that she had brought along before trotting up to Rosalina.

“Are you ready?” She asked, barely able to restrain herself from jumping into the water. Rosalina was staring at her in confusion, cheeks flushed a deep red.

“O-oh.. Um…” she stuttered, looking away, “you’re wearing that? ”

“I mean I could probably find something else if you’d like,” said Pauline, but Rosalina shook her head fervently.

“No no, it’s good… it’s better than good… I just wasn’t expecting it right now is all,” she said.

“You weren’t expecting a swimsuit..?” asked Pauline, still confused.

“A what?” asked Rosalina. Oh. Right. Riiiight. She wouldn’t be familiar with the practice of swimming.

“Oh- I’m so sorry! I forgot that you probably didn’t know about this,” said Pauline, leaving the water’s edge to get closer to Rosalina, “we generally wear these things when we swim. Either a bikini or a one-piece,” she explained. Rosalina nodded slowly, still not meeting Pauline’s eyes.

“Ah… I may have… forgotten one…” she said quietly, seeming embarrassed. Pauline waved it off.

“That’s no problem,” said Pauline, “I can just swim to the merchants over there and pick one up for you. That is, if you’re comfortable wearing one.” Rosalina mulled this over for a moment, before nodding slowly.

“I think I’d like one, if that’s alright,” she said. Pauline nodded and dove into the water, causing Rosalina to gasp in astonishment. Of course, she knew what water was, but it was still surprising for her to see Pauline just jump in and go straight towards the bottom. She was very scared that the woman might sink, before she observed her begin to “swim” gracefully towards the surface, coming up for air before swimming just below the surface towards one of the merchants.

‘Ah,’ Rosalina observed, ‘that must be swimming, then…’ Bikinis really just looked like underwear to her, but if it was an earth custom, then so be it. Within a minute, Pauline was back, and she pulled herself out of the water with a soft blue bikini for Rosalina.

“I figured that this was more your color,” she said, handing it to the woman. Rosalina nodded, thanking her quietly, before waving her wand. In a brief moment, her body and bathing suit were surrounded by a white light. When the light faded, she had changed into the suit and her dress sat neatly-folded in her unused arm, where the bikini had been. She set it next to Pauline’s clothing and joined the woman.

“Am I ready now?” she asked, looking up to her. Pauline smiled a little. The princess of the cosmos was honestly quite cute.

“Yes,” she responded, “so long as you know how to swim.” Rosalina was silent for a moment.

“I think I can figure it out,” she decided, getting into the water. Pauline was about to stop her, before she saw Rosalina replicate her dive perfectly, and come to the surface with no problem. Well, there was one abnormality. She wasn’t moving her arms or legs in a way that should actually have been keeping her suspended. As Pauline joined her, she regarded her with an affectionate look of confusion.

“How are you doing that?” she asked. She, of course, was treading water as people normally do.

“I’m just hovering, as-per-usual,” responded Rosalina. Oh, of course. That reassured Pauline. Even if the woman didn’t know how to swim, she did know how to hover, so there was no danger of her drowning. She grinned, looking over to her companion.

“Nice!” she said, “now there are normally games that people play in the water.”

“Oh?” Rosalina inquired, seeming genuinely curious.

“Mmm-hmm,” hummed Pauline, “this is one of them.” With no warning, she splashed the princess and dove away, coming back up a few feet away from her. Rosalina looked stunned for a moment. She was just… hovering there, looking distraught. Concerned, Pauline swam back over to her.

“I’m sorry, did that-” before she could finish, she was hit with a small wave of water, and as soon as she had cleared it from her eyes, she realized that she could no longer see Rosalina. Looking around frantically, she saw a small ripple in the water, looking below and seeing the princess dive even further away. Pauline grinned mischievously, diving after her and propelling herself through the water with the combined dolphin kick and butterfly stroke. She emerged behind the other woman as soon as she came up for air and splashed her from behind, receiving a startled squeak as Rosalina whipped around to splash her. She was too late, however, because Pauline was already underwater. Rosalina smiled evilly, diving back down after her.

To dry off for a moment, Pauline decided to take them both out of the water and sit in the warm sands, where they lazily spoke of whatever came to mind. Their calmness was, however, disrupted by a young Bubblanian who called to them from across the beach.

“Get on the court! I can take both of you!” he called. Rosalina looked to Pauline, who quirked an eyebrow.

“I think he wants us to play volleyball,” she said, responding to Rosalina’s confused stare.

“Volleyball?” asked Rosalina.

“Basically, you just hit the ball over the net and don’t ever let it touch the ground on your side,” explained Pauline, “it’s actually pretty fun. Do you wanna give it a shot?” Rosalina nodded, and Pauline stood up, helping her up as well. They brushed some of the sand off of themselves before trotting over to the Bubblanian, who immediately tossed the volleyball towards them. Pauline was able to easily hit it back over the net, and the game began.

As the rounds passed, however, it got more and more difficult for them to actually hit the ball over the net without it getting past them. They soon found themselves diving across the court to catch the ball, one round actually being won by the fact that Pauline dove across the court, landing on her stomach, and hit the ball over the net just before it would have hit the ground. The woman was sweating a little, and flushed from all of the exercise, as well as still being clad in her bikini. Rosalina definitely didn’t mind, although she was too shy to flirt with her out loud. When they finally won, having hit the ball one-hundred times, Pauline looked about ready to fall over. Rosalina politely thanked the coach, before finding both of them two chairs on the beach nearby, where Pauline was able to relax.

After Pauline made her recovery, and there was another short while of playing around in the water, Pauline decided showed Rosalina something amazing. She had a playful glint in her eye as she climbed up one of the stone structures which housed a water geyser. She jumped into it, and suddenly, she was gone. Rosalina gasped, trying to figure out where she had went. After a moment, she was able to spot a very far-away Pauline, jumping and waving to her from the top of the Glass Tower. Rosalina could just float up to her, but she smiled a little and decided to let herself have fun.

Launching herself out of the geyser of water was amazing. She couldn’t keep herself from screaming in excitement, as one would on a roller-coaster, as she was shot at high-speeds through the air, eventually landing upon a large cork atop the water in the Glass Tower. To her surprise, she found Pauline sitting on a red-and-white-checkered picnic blanket, upon which there lay an assortment of foods. The water above her dispersed so much that it was barely just a fine mist above their heads, and it made a rather pleasant feeling without actually getting either of them (or the food) wet.

Pauline smiled and patted the blanket next to her, where Rosalina promptly sat.

“Wow…” she murmured, surprised by all of what Pauline seemed to have planned.

“I got some friends to help me set this up right before we got here,” she explained.

“It’s just…” Rosalina didn’t have words. Everything was just so beautiful and romantic, and she didn’t know how to express the way that her heart felt. “Wow…”

“I’m glad you like it,” Pauline smiled, tousling Rosalina’s still-wet hair, before beginning to dig in. It was a high-quality meal, too. There were these things called crepes, which Rosalina had never tried before, and she was amazed by how they tasted and felt in her mouth. First, there were savory ones, but after that there were also sweet crepes filled with nutella and bananas, and it was possibly the most delicious thing that she had ever had. Topped off with a small glass of “Le Cigare Volant Réserve” and well… it was really, really nice.

She felt generally… warm, cozy, and relaxed in a way that she hadn’t been for quite a long time. The end of the meal found both her and Pauline, lying on their backs and staring up at the sunset sky, which grew slowly darker, and talking about whatever came to mind. Rosalina was lying in a way similar to that of the prior night, with her head resting on Pauline’s chest and the woman’s arm around her shoulders and stomach. She had to shiver every now and then, when Pauline accidentally brushed her bare skin by shifting slightly, but that was really the last thing on her mind. She was really just enjoying laying there, warm and in the arms of someone who seemed to care deeply for her, sharing a moment that was only between the two of them. Pauline finished speaking about her hopes and dreams, and there was a brief, comfortable moment of silence, which neither of them really wanted to break too soon. All that existed was them, the fading sunlight, and the sound of the waves lapping against the far-off shore.

It was when Rosalina’s breath hitched that Pauline decided to look over to her, seemingly broken out of a trance. She had been absently stroking the woman’s stomach as she thought, and it didn’t seem to lack an effect. Rosalina looked to her, furrowing her brow.

“Today was amazing, Pauline…” she murmured, pressing further into Pauline’s side with a content sigh. She was a little worked up, and yet… she didn’t really want her lust to take away from her love in that moment. Pauline smiled, kissing her hair.

“I’m glad you liked it,” she responded, “I was just happy to get to spend it with you. You’re really cute when you’re learning new things, you know that? You’re generally just really pleasant to be around.” Rosalina blushed slightly deeper.

“I-um-thanks,” she squeaked, “I feel the same… for you…” It had been so easy to flirt with the woman just twenty-four hours earlier, but now she found herself stumbling for words and second-guessing herself.

“Rosalina…” murmured Pauline, “I’d like it if we could be together. I want to get to know you even more, and I’d like it if… well…” she paused, and her face reddened, even though she seemed confident, “would you be mine?” Rosalina lifted her head, smiling affectionately down at her.

“I thought you’d never ask,” she managed, feeling genuinely ecstatic for the first time in as long as she could remember. Her heart pounded in her chest as she watched Pauline’s face first turn to a look of relief, before lighting up into a look of genuine, true love for the woman. Rosalina was shy, but she was unable to restrain herself in that moment. Without concern for anything in the world, she dipped down and kissed Pauline. It was a slow, languid kiss, and as Pauline slipped her idle hand into Rosalina’s hair, she felt nothing but pure affection for the woman in her arms. Or… well, beneath her, to put it literally.

They only ever broke apart for air, and the breaks were brief, as one of them would quickly pull the other back in. Rosalina, though incredibly shy, nibbled on Pauline’s lower lip in a silent question, and was pleased when the woman took her queue and opened her mouth, allowing Rosalina to tentatively slip her tongue inside. What she wasn’t expecting was for Pauline to suck delicately, which elicited a light moan from her. She pulled back in shock, covering her mouth in blushing.

“Oh, I… uh…” she tried to explain, fumbling for words and growing more embarrassed by the second. Pauline sat up to join her, smiling a little.

“You don’t need to worry about that,” she said, with a smile “it was…” She ran through the list of words that she had to describe the adorable, exceptionally alluring woman, before arriving at a conclusion. “Cute.” Rosalina smiled, still looking embarrassed. Pauline leaned forward, kissing her briefly for a moment, before standing up and offering her a hand, which she took.

“Should we be heading back?” she asked. Rosalina wanted to say no, but they had left both of their respective kingdoms for quite some time now, and she knew that it was her duty to say yes.

“I don’t want to,” she confessed, “but we probably should.”

“Yeah…” agreed Pauline. She looked somber for a moment, before breaking into a wide grin.

“Race you to the Launch Star!” she yelled, leaping over the edge of the Glass Tower and diving gracefully into the deep waters below. Rosalina was shocked for a full ten seconds, but she was able to conjure a much smaller Launch Star and propel herself through the air towards the beach. She could see Pauline’s sleek figure shooting through the clear water below her like an arrow, and she was barely ahead of her. When Pauline came up for air and realized what Rosalina was doing, she shot forward with more vigor, launching herself into the air at the last possible second to gain the extra speed, before landing on the beach, just milliseconds before Rosalina landed next to her.

“Darn,” sighed the princess of the cosmos, “that was close.” Pauline was panting a little, but grinning widely. Thanks to her most recent idea, however, she was soaking wet while Rosalina was able to change into her completely dry dress for the trip back to the much colder outreaches of outer space. Pauline shrugged, thinking that she would figure something out.

After landing in the very, very cold comet observatory, she realized that she was wrong . The poor woman was shivering, and Rosalina immediately took on a look of deep concern.

“You must come inside immediately to dry off,” she insisted, leading Pauline to her bedroom. It was the only place that was both indoors and outfitted for relaxation. While Pauline was already in a towel, Rosalina also grabbed her a heavy blanket, wrapping her in it as best she could and making sure that she was entirely warm and comfortable before she stopped moving. If Pauline could have spoken through the layers upon layers of blankets, she would have called Rosalina’s fussing “absolutely adorable.” She had to admit, it made her heart skip a beat when she realized how much the other woman cared for her.

Rosalina did her best to cuddle with her through the layers of blankets, and Pauline smiled affectionately.

“Maybe just one blanket will do for the both of us,” she tried to say. It came out as “mmm jmmm ommm blmmm wmmm dmmm fmmmr thmmm bmmmth mmmmf mmms.” Rosalina giggled a little, helping Pauline with the blankets before the woman repeated herself. Rosalina blushed slightly, before nodding her head in agreement.

“That’s good, so long as you will wear something else to bed… That bikini is covered in sea water and it can’t be comfortable to sleep in,” she said.

“I haven’t brought anything with me,” said Pauline.

“Then I suppose I’ll just have to return your earlier favor,” hummed Rosalina, grabbing a set of her pajamas and bringing them over to Pauline, who blushed a little.

“How could I say no to that offer?” she asked, grinning and beginning to get herself out of the blankets with much help from Rosalina. She took the pajamas from Rosalina, who stared at her expectantly. Pauline stared back, smiling a little.

“Uh, while I don’t mind putting on show,” she began, not needing to continue as Rosalina lightly apologized, turning around so that Pauline could get changed in peace. When she was done, they both crawled into the woman’s amazingly soft bed, and Pauline cuddled her close.

“You’re like a stuffed animal…” she mused, “so fun to hug.” Rosalina giggled a little.

“Same to you,” she responded, nestling herself into the other woman’s arms. She was lying so that her head was right at the center of Pauline’s chest, and she could hear the woman’s heartbeat. It was so steady and reassuring. As she was beginning to fall asleep, Rosalina thought over how nice it was to have someone to hold. She was usually so alone out in space. Certainly, she had the lumas, but they didn’t offer companionship that paralleled this in any way. Pauline was just so… close, and warm, and just… soft.. Rosalina could feel her heart swell, and she let the small smile cross her face as Pauline gently stroked her hair. Without warning, a loud, harsh ringing disrupted the silence. Pauline looked surprised for a moment, before she hopped out of bed and went to her work clothes, where they lay in a pile on the floor. Rummaging around for a moment, she retrieved a phone and held it to her ear.

“Hello? Oh! Oh no!” she began to look troubled, “yes, of course. Of course, I’ll be there right away!” She hung up and began stripping with no concern for whether or not Rosalina saw her this time, although the princess turned to give her privacy as she changed into her work clothes.

“What’s going on?” she asked, sounding worried.

“Nothing that you need to be concerned about,” Pauline said, trying to calm her down. She walked over and gave her a kiss on the forehead, before going to the door, “Someone’s been causing trouble around New Donk City, and they need me there to clean it up. It shouldn’t be a big deal, so don’t worry too much, I’ve just gotta go and resolve it. You've got surprisingly good reception out here, by the way. Sorry to leave you so soon, but I have to run! Love you!” Pauline was out the door before she even realized what she said, leaving Rosalina slightly bewildered on the bed as the woman’s words registered in her mind. Love was such a strong word, and yet… it suited the situation.