Coming Home [Racheal]

[Syrenia Renkl]

The long weeks spent away from Bastion, aboard the Renkl, had been very valuable to Syrenia. She had learned a lot as a soldier and in a way, she believed that giving time to Racheal to consider her unexpected confession, the day prior to her departure. The Empress's daughter didn't regret having told her friend how she had fallen in love with her, and she had kept close to her heart Racheal's words that no matter what would happen, they would still be friends.

She had missed Racheal more than she would have thought possible. She had thought it wouldn't be that bad, but being unable to speak to her friend and spend time with her had been difficult.

And yet, she had felt a little afraid of seeing her friend again once back to Ravelin. In a way, she was terrified of what Racheal might have decided.

Dressed in black and blue, she reached the corner of the streets in downtown where they had agreed to meet. The wind blew into her cropped brown locks and she pulled the collar of her black jacket up. She knew she had arrived early, but she hadn't done so on purpose. She'd just wait and hope she wouldn't suddenly get scared and walk away.

[Racheal Nystrom]

With her best friend away, thankfully there was a lot going on to keep Racheal out of trouble and thinking too much on Syrenia's absence. Even though she should be thinking about her, sadly, as she promised. Nikole and Aurelia's new duties as Moffs had her babysitting more, she was helping mother get Aliya home, Katja and Colère were getting married soon, and the entire family was coming together for a meeting about their future - Wild Space or not - it was too much!

But in those rare, quiet, moments, Racheal would lay awake in her bed and war with herself. Did she and Syrenia have a connection that went deeper than friendship? And how the hell would one go about dating the damn heir to the Empire anyway? There was so much pressure to decide because of her promise!

Her internal debate warred throughout the weeks because she just didn't know how she felt. Her feelings ran deep, that Racheal didn't question because it hurt not having Syrenia here. She had just become accustomed to having her friend a comlink away! They did everything together for the most part, and had seen each other at their worse... especially Syrenia after her accident. Moving into her hospital room and living their until her friend was discharged ... could that be interpreted as the best friend in the galaxy award, or something a potential lover would do? Racheal loved Syrenia so much, but had it dipped into a whole new realm of longing...

Also why she was running late. Caught up in the internal debate still going through her head, Racheal had haplessly threw on a pain of jeans, boots, shirt and jacket that was mismatched and ran out of what Aurelia had dubbed 'Nystrom Towers'. She zigzagged through pedestrians as she full out ran, hoping that she'd make it on time and not be late!

Please oh please oh please oh please don't be late! Don't think I'm standing ya up either! GAH!!!

She was frantic and panic as her luck would have the walking crowd mostly heading in her direction. "Frakking really?!!

So she went running between the rails and the parked speeders, hip checking one by accident and setting off the alarm. "SO SORRY!!!" she yelled, turning the corner and hoping to catch a glimpse of Syrenia ...

[Syrenia Renkl]

Syrenia didn't dare check the chrono at her wrist, because she knew that Rach was late. She was petrified. She suddenly wondered whether her friend had suddenly other plans or a reason not to show up. Maybe in the end, all her damn confession had been just a terrible mistake. Thing was that she didn't want to risk dying again without having told Rach how she felt. She didn't plan on dying but she had returned from the dead too many times, figuratively or literaly, to want to risk this. She needed to be honest with people she loved.

She bit her lip, almost enough to draw blood, with how stressed she was. She felt stupid for thinking the worst. She believed Racheal when she had said that they would always be friends no matter what. She just had her insecurities running rampant right now. She couldn't imagine life without Racheal, not after all they had gone through together. Of course, it was likely that Racheal could hope for a better significant other, someone older, with more experience and maybe not accustomed to flirt with death.

She felt like walking away, but deep inside she refused to do so. She didn't care about some people giving her weird looks as she had been standing here forever.

She swallowed with difficulty, taking a few deep breaths. She got startled as she suddenly heard a speeder alarm ring not too far from where she was. She looked into the direction, and soon she saw her friend.

Relief washed over her at once. "Rach!" She called out, waving. She had planned to stand where she was but before she knew it, she rushed to Racheal and pulled her into a hug. "Missed you!"

[Racheal Nystrom]

She heard her name! Her name spoken by Syrenia!

She was here and didn't run off when I was late! Yay!

Racheal immediately veered herself towards the waving form of the woman she severely missed for the past weeks. She missed her terribly but now that their gazes met, she suddenly realized she had badly she missed Syrenia. Almost as if her very soul was coming to a foregone conclusion to the question that she hadn't an answer for.

Scooped up into the embrace, Racheal returned it fiercely, glad that her exceptional strength could be taken by the woman in her arms. "Gods I missed you too!"

She pulled back, staring into Syrenia's eyes, her own glistening with how overwhelmed the Morellian felt in the moment. "Ya know, I ... I know I was supposed to give ya an answer. But I know it and I kinda don't know how to say it. And we're surrounded!" she added with a chuckle because the group around them were focused on their rather vocal reunion.

"Ah frak it!" She decided to just go with her gut, grab Syrenia by the face and kiss her hard in answer to the lingering question that was between them.

[Syrenia Renkl]

Syrenia had always been exceptionally strong since she grew up to adult age, albeit way too fast. And the cybernetic replacements had only made her stronger. She remembered being worried the first times she had hugged Racheal with her new arm that she'd crush her, but she had realized that her friend could take it, just like Syrenia could take Rach's strength. That had been a very good surprise.

She felt all choked up when Rach said she had missed her too. Embracing her tightly made her feel alive again, moreso than during the weeks spent aboard the Renkl. Frak, she had missed Rach so badly. She found herself unable to breathe as their gazes met, hoping so bloody hard that there was a chance Rach could return her feelings.

She suddenly turned pale as death when Rach said she had an answer but didn't know how to say it. "As long as you're..." She didn't have the opportunity to finish her sentence that Racheal had grabbed her by the face and kissed her.

Without hesitation, Syrenia's hands fell onto Racheal's hips, pulling her tightly to her as she returned the kiss. Her experience was close to nonexistent, but her instincts kicked in and she was so elated by the answer to her doubt that she couldn't give a dren about people around.

[Racheal Nystrom]

She forgot, for the time, that they were in public and wrapped her arms around Syrenia's neck, lost in the kiss. Because really, if she were in her right mind, she wouldn't be kissing the Empress' daughter out in public!

HOLY DREN! I'M KISSING THE EMPRESS' DAUGHTER IN PUBLIC!

As wonderful and right it was, she realized that they'd be making the news in no time.

"Dren Syrenia!" she exclaimed, breaking the kiss in a hurry. "Let's go somewhere else where everyone's not watching us!"

Because they were. All of them. Quite a few of them taking pictures with their 'pads too.

[Syrenia Renkl]

Syrenia had completely forgotten about Racheal and her being in public. When the other brunette suddenly broke their liplock, she realized that everyone was staring. "Frak!" She laughed and reached out for Racheal's hand.

"Let's get the hell away!" She didn't want to think about what people will say about all of this. As they left the location, the public exposure began to dawn on her. "Err... I didn't mean for all of this to be in the middle of the frelling street, but I don't regret what just happened!"

[Racheal Nystrom]

"Eh well, just make sure your mom doesn't kill me as this is now getting leak all over the 'net," she said, horrified. "Just ... not how I wanted that to go. Not that the moment wasn't good, cuz it was! Just I really wasn't sure what to tell you when I saw you and then it was all BAM! And it all made sense. Just making sense, and making out, in front of a group of people wasn't on the agenda!"

She was just rambling at hyperspace speed as Syrenia led her off to who knows where!

[Syrenia Renkl]

"Well I hope your mother doesn't kill me." Syrenia suddenly added. Oh Gods, what did they get themselves into? "I mean, we're not blood related anyway..." This could be a frelling mess. And yet, she was very happy with what had happened.

"I was scared you wouldn't show up because I did your head in and you realized you didn't want to deal with me any more." She was rambling as she was taking them off to wherever.

"And I felt all better the moment I saw you. And the way you said it, well, I'm good with it!" She grinned as she suddenly realized where she was taking Racheal. She laughed. "I think we're headed to your place." Rach's place had always been a safe one for Syrenia so she had instinctively gone there.

[Racheal Nystrom]

"Hey!" She was laughing because Syrenia was off rambling worse than Racheal was! Looking around she had to agree that they were heading towards the affectionately dub Nystrom Tower that Aurelia coined. "Looks like we are. Ya sure you're not taking me back to my place just to continue what we started in front of the crowd?"

Racheal couldn't help it! She just let the words fly right out of her mouth.

[Syrenia Renkl]

Syrenia laughed at Rach's question. "Well... To answer this, I'd need to be able to think clearly." She winked, because right now she was still processing as much as possible, given she was still stuck somewhere on a little cloud as well.

"And hopefully we're not going to stumble onto half the family as we get to the Tower!" She said, looking a little sheepish though she hadn't let go of Rach.

[Racheal Nystrom]

Racheal got them inside the building and into the lifts. So far, no one from the family was around. "So far so good. Right?"

As saturated as the building was with her family, they didn't always run into each other. Busy schedules, different working hours, Aurelia and Nikole in their own home, and off planet affairs helped to keep Nystroms from running, literally, into each other. Stopping on her floor, she pulled out her keycard and led them inside. "So ..... wanna drink or something cuz, that might be a good idea."

Then she frowned. "Or not! We should probably talk about this with clear heads and stuff."

[Syrenia Renkl]

"Couldn't get any more public than earlier on, right?" Syrenia chuckled a bit awkwardly as they reached Rach's floor. She followed her inside her apartment. She suddenly laughed. She gave a look at the other brunette. "Just remembering that time you were all tangled into your bedsheets when I dropped by bringing food and caf."

As to whether to drink or not, she shrugged as she took her jacket off. "Skipping the booze until we talked might be clever indeed." She suddenly hoped that Rach didn't regret what had happened earlier on, but she muzzled her rambling mind for the time being. She could panic later on if need be.

[Racheal Nystrom]

"Ah. Right," she laughed, remembering that mess. She was caught off guard by Syrenia stopping by when she was watching her nephew, Ronan.

At least they were on the same page with the no liquor idea and decided to brew them some caf. "In honor of that, caf it is."

She methodically went through the motions of making it and threw some glances towards the royal sitting on her stool in the kitchen. This was an awkward situation because both their mothers were so close that they had a mother/daughter relationship. Which had the family going back and forth regarding the other as siblings. It was just weird. All of it.

[Syrenia Renkl]

"And good caf at that." Syrenia smiled, knowing that Rach always had some nice blends. She was to help the other brunette but with how Rach was taking care of everything, she simply took a seat on one of the stools.

The silence was kind of awkward, contrary to how it used to be. The young soldier wondered whether this was a bad sign. She had a knack to see when people were perfect for each other, but she had no idea whether it was the case right now. She loved Rach, and didn't regret what had happened, and was still happy about it. She was just worried as well.

"I have no idea whether our mothers are going to go insane when they find out... I mean, I know they will, but I just don't know how much." Family was everything for them, just as it was for everyone in it, but she didn't like the idea of giving up on Racheal because their change of relationship might be considered inappropriate.