Worlds Apart
Mia waited near the landing pad while the storm raged all around her.
More or less. The harsh, sand-filled winds that battered everything on
the planet were just another aspect of everyday life here on Artemis.
Only Earthlings would call it a storm, Artemesians called it a nice day.
Mia looked up when she heard the roar of the shuttle engines coming
nearer. It was basically a white cube, although it was already being
stained by patches of red dust. The shuttle hovered uneasily above the
landing pad for a few seconds and then set down. The door in the side of
the shuttle slid open. Mia's heart jumped when she saw an young blonde
woman in a black E-suit set an awkward foot on the landing pad.
Arine struggled against the storm and managed a few difficult paces
before the wind blew her down, but instead of landing painfully on the
ground as she'd expected she found herself caught in Mia's arms.
Arine looked up and smiled. "That was quick of you."
"Kind of," said Mia.
Mia helped Arina back to her feet, keeping both her hands on the
blonde's arms to make sure she wouldn't be blown away again. They looked
at each other for a moment, their eyes saying more than their vocal
cords possibly could. And then they were in each other's arms, hugging
each other closely. The cold, thin layer of Arine's E-suit prevented
them from really feeling each other's bodies, but the mere presence of
other was good enough for the both of them.
By the time the two girls ended the hug, the shuttle was long gone.
"So," said Mia, "think you can make it all the way to the manor?"
Arine looked at the short path leading from the landing path to the
manor.
"No, probably not," she said.
Mia laughed. "Well just lean on me then."
"Couldn't you just carry me?" Arine asked.
"Probably, but I'd like to keep some of your dignity intact."
"I wouldn't mind. It'd be kind of romantic."
"The handsome princess sweeping the beautiful princess of her feet, eh?"
said Mia.
"Sort of," Arine mumbled, a blush starting to spread across her cheeks.
-----
The were a few advantages to being the daughter of a magistrate. One of
them was the prestigous opportunity of going to high school on Earth.
Mia had been excited about that, at first. Earth was the source of
humanity after all and it was from there the galaxy was ruled. She
hadn't even minded the fact that she would have to wear an E-suit for
her entire stay. Because of extensive gene manipulation and hormone
treatment that had started before she was even born, Mia had been
designed to comfortably live and survive on Artemis, but because of that
same treatment she would choke on Earth if she ever took off her E-suit
there. And the problems didn't end there. Mia was healthy and in good
condition for Artemis, which meant that on Earth she was always breaking
things or running into walls because she couldn't accurately judge when
to start slowing down. Only her good grades stopped people from calling
her a dumb brute, settling instead for clumsy oaf.
No, Earth hadn't been as nice as Mia had hoped. It would've been
unbearable if it hadn't been for one thing.
Arine had been fascinated with her from the moment she saw her. When she
looked at Mia's slightly pointed ears and the glittering points of light
that dotted her brown hair, she hadn't seen some altered near-human from
some backwater planet, but a creature of strange beauty and wonder. Mia
had been a bit annoyed by that as well, but in the end Arine's sincerity
and innocence enchanted her.
By the time the girls graduated, Mia would have been prepared to take
off her E-suit and face certain death just so that she could kiss Arine
just once.
That had been six years ago. And Mia had spent those six years making
very thorough plans.
-----
"And this is your room."
"Nice," said Arine weakly.
Mia smiled faintly. "Liar. But at least it's functional."
"Most of the house is like that, I've noticed," said Arine.
"Yep," said Mia. "And it's a manor. Technically."
"Sorry."
Arine walked to the unimpressive but functional bed, where some helpful
service droids had already deposited her suitcases. She pushed them
aside and sat down. As far as she could tell through the E-suit it was
pretty soft and would be reasonably comfortable, insofar as sleeping
inside an E-suit could be called comfortable.
"And this room also comes with one nifty feature," Mia said before
pressing what Arine had assumed was a light switch.
"Really? Wha-" Arine began before the sudden noise drowned all sound.
When the sound cleared, Mia was standing on shaking legs, leaning
against the wall, breathing with obvious difficulty. Arine stood up
quickly.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Mia gasped. "It just... takes a bit of... time switching to
oxygen."
"Oxygen?" said Arine. "But... you breathe..."
"Methane, yes," said Mia. "But, since about two weeks ago I can also
breathe oxygen."
"How...?"
"I'd rather not talk about it," said Mia. "But let's just say I'm even
less human now than I was when we last saw each other."
Arine raised her left arm and looked at her wrist, where six little
lights were shining happily. "Does this mean I...?"
"Yeah," said Mia. "As long as you keep the door and the windows shut."
Arine quickly let her fingers tap red-green-green-blue. There was a hiss
as her E-suit unsealed and the whir of all the filters and features
wound down and become quiet. Mia turned around and looked at the wall.
"I'll wait until you put some clothes on."
"I only took a spare E-suit with me."
"Oh," said Mia. "Well, if you put your suit back on I can go fetch some
of my clothes and we can go shopping tomorrow, alright?"
"No."
Before Mia could ask about that answer, she could feel Arine's body
pressing against her back, her arms around her waists. Mia melted into
Arine's embrace, her heart singing. For so long she'd wondered how it
feel to touch Arine without an E-suit barrier between them and, as it
turned out, fantasy couldn't measure up to reality.
Mia turned around in Arine's embrace and half expected to see the girl
blushing. Arine was naked and beautiful, but those little facts barely
registered. For the first time Mia could see Arine's eyes without a
filter between them and the love she had always seen there shone
brighter than she could ever have imagined.
Closing their eyes, both girls leaned forward ever so slightly and
kissed for all of eternity.
"You're insane, you know," Arine whispered, her forehead resting against
Mia's.
"No," Mia said. "Just in love."
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