Celeste

Dri got Celeste out of her apartment, which was rather hard to do because she wanted to stay inside.

He hasn’t taken her on a date in a while because of everything that happened. She needed to clear her mind, so he thought. She was always working on something, and as much as she’s getting sleep, she needed a break, too.

“I haven’t worn a skirt that wasn’t for work in a long while.” She said, trying to pull down the white skirt, but it was tight against her thighs. “Came in handy, didn’t it?” She turned back to look at Dri.

She had a devious smile on her face because she knew what she did, what they did. She can be rather tempting and provocative.

Dri couldn’t say the skirt wasn’t the best thing that happened to him today. “Yes, it did.” Dri didn’t want to fall for her trap, though.

If he wasn’t careful, they’ll run off again which wasn’t the purpose of going out.

Celeste could make people want her.

The skirt was revealing. The entire outfit was revealing if Dri was being honest. He was graced by the hand of a higher being that brought him Celeste. He was lucky to have her.

He was definitely lucky five minutes ago.

Celeste turned around, moving her silver hair back from her face. She couldn’t pull the skirt down anymore so she stopped trying. The top she wore was thin laced, and the jacket she had on didn’t cover her. She knew what she was doing when she picked her outfit.

Dri didn’t stop her.

But if all she wanted was to get touchy, they could’ve done that at her place.

Dri had to take her out.

They were walking underneath a violet flower garden, the pathway lowly lit with lights that glowed dark blue and purple. The flower seemed more radiant in the dark, and they were, grabbing their source of energy from the low lighting. They were blooming, even in cold weather.

Celeste was smiling and happy, talking about things that got her excited. She went on and on about Aurora saying her blue print was incredible, and that she was a genius.

She was excited.

Most of all, she was proud of herself because she actually did something that she thought was worth it.

That was the first time she realized she actually needed to work in her field permanently. She’s spent years only doing part time work when she felt like it, trying to keep her stress low, not wanting to be compared.

And now it just settled.

She felt like she could do it, of course on her own terms, but she could still do it.

After going through all that anxiety just to be triumphant over it was enough to give her strength.

Dri couldn’t stop staring at her. He didn’t move even as she kept walking, barely noticing that he hadn’t moved with her. She was still talking but after a second she stopped and looked around because Dri wasn’t next to her. She turned back to find him standing there.

He was amazed.

“What’s wrong?” She asked him.

She was standing under a low glowing purple light underneath the dark violet flowers. She seemed to be as radiant as the flowers. Celeste had an expression of concern as she looked at Dri and he was in awe because it wasn’t till that moment, seeing her under the lights, that he realized he was in love with her.

Really in love with her.

The kind of feeling that makes his heart race, his mouth dry, his hand sweat. He felt strongly about her before but this was so much different.

He loved her. He loved that she was crazy, and sometimes did stupid things. He loved when she came up with crazy ideas. He loved that no one could control her, that she’ll do what she wants whenever she wants to. He loved how smart she was, how strong she was.

He’d do everything to make sure he never sees her cry.

He wanted to be with her.

He decided not to say anything. She had a lot going on and the last thing he wanted to be was a distraction. He kept his comment to himself, since he was definitely going to tell her he loved her in the next minute if he wasn’t careful.

He walked over to her, and his hands moved to her face as he kissed her.

Celeste was lucky.

She experienced love from many different people.

She wasn’t shocked when Dri kissed her, though she did swoon. She never thought of herself as a romantic but she could imagine how anyone would fall in love while being kissed under a path of hanging flowers.

It was romantic.

He pulled away from her, his hands still on her face. He could stare at her all night.

“You talk so much.” He said to her.

Though he enjoyed when she went off on a tangent.

“I know a way or two to keep quiet.” She suggested.

“That’s even worse.” He caught on quickly but that sure wasn’t going to help.

She smiled though, and he was happy to see her do it.

“You didn’t let me finish my story.” She pushed him away. “Come on, let me finish.” She took his hand.

He definitely wanted to hear how she got passed sector zero. She knew Dri would enjoy this one, that is if she didn’t give him a heart attack first.

It was early in the morning when Celeste rose out of bed. She had to be somewhere, it almost slipped her mind yesterday since Dri was in her most of the day. She didn’t dress in white like she has been.

She wore her darker clothes with boots to match. Her coat was long and black as well. She wore her hair up, too. She looked like she had business to take care of, and she did.

She didn’t want to wake Dri, but he began to stir in bed. His vacation was almost over, which should excite him because the vacation was actually punishment, but nothing was better than actually being in bed for two weeks.

Though that’s not how it happened.

He started to get up, catching a glimpse of Celeste picking up her tablet off the nightstand. She was already dressed to leave, she wasn’t going to be gone long.

“Where are you going?” He asked lazily, his head resting on the pillow again as she kissed his forehead.

“To see Zinnia.” She answered.

“Celeste.” He wanted to warn her not to do that. She was just going to become fragile again and he won’t be able to take another day of her crying. “Please, don’t.”

She knew that was coming. “I requested that she get her implant removed.” She said.

“Hm.”

“I wanted Clover to be the one to do it, but I doubt they’ll approve that.” She was worried some other surgeon might kill her.

Clover was the one that put it in, and he’s seen the blue prints.

“I’m just...I want to see her again.” She admitted.

Dri was looking at her now and he was tempted to try and keep her from going.

Telling Celeste that she couldn’t see Zinnia would be worse than letting her go. Celeste was trying to get over what she was feeling and it was hard. Getting rid of everything was going to be the worst part of it, and that won’t happen in a day.

She’s felt a bit of longing for a while because she still didn’t have closure.

“I should come with you.” Dri began to move up, lifting the blanket off him.

“I’ll be okay.” She didn’t sound that convincing. She’d have to swallow all of her feelings to get over this.

She knew what kind of feelings were going to come out of this.

She needed to remind herself she could handle it.

Dri was still going to be nearby, that’s what he decided. He had a feeling Celeste might have an outburst of emotions if the wrong words are said. Knowing the situation right now, anything could be the wrong words.

It was better if he was nearby.

She left without him, but he was coming too, more so to make sure she’s okay when she’s done, because it wasn’t going to be easy for her.

She reminded herself not lose focus, to not get swallowed in her emotions. She kept calm, she took deep breaths, she was careful with her anxiety. She was doing fine. She knew what she wanted to say, and as long as she stays focused, then she can do it.

That’s all that mattered.

It was kind of her to warn Zinnia what was going to happen next. It was kind of her to tell her up front she was going to have the implant removed and that she was the one to make the request.

It was kind and generous of her.

Celeste didn’t get too comfortable.

Seeing Zinnia made her uneasy. Seeing her in handcuffs was different and made her feel like she needed to save her. Zinnia wouldn’t want that, but still Celeste would try.

They weren’t outside today.

They stayed in, and it was just the two of them in a room together. Zinnia’s dark hair was pushed back out of her face, her eyes tired, her expression dull.

Prison does that to people.

She didn’t expect to see Celeste, but it was nice. Zinnia wanted to be friendly but she could tell Celeste wasn’t in the mood.

What they had before, everything that was going for them, all of that was gone.

Celeste might still have feelings for her, but she was going to swallow all of it just to make it through this.

She was standing in front of Zinnia, her arms crossed, her expression plain, her affect flat. She didn’t want to be consumed by self pity and sadness so she made sure she could handle being around Zinnia.

She had to remind herself over and over again that what Zinnia did was a crime, and that she was going to be in prison for the rest of her life.

But standing in front of her, seeing her there was softening her heart.

So she had to make this quick.

“I’ve made a request to have your implant removed.” Celeste said plainly.

She didn’t want to see Zinnia’s information on her tablet anymore. Once the device is turned off, she won’t have any access.

Plus it must be annoying to have to deal with paralysis a few hours of the day. Celeste’s solution was only temporary, and it wasn’t as effective as she wanted it to be. She knew more implants were being made, the blue prints were probably altered, British engineers probably found a way around the signal issue.

She was coming up with a permanent fix.

“It’s going to be approved, I just don’t know when.” She said.

“Okay.” Zinnia wasn’t going to stop her.

“After that, I won’t bother you.”

That hurt them both.

She knew Celeste was upset, and she wasn’t going to change that, but she wanted to say something first. “Celeste-”

“Please don’t.” Celeste stopped her. She didn’t want to hear Zinnia say that this wasn’t some game between them.

Celeste was tired of breaking down and crying and feeling sorry for herself. She was betrayed, and everything happened the way it did. She has to move on.

She knew this.

She hated how she felt. “I miss you.” She admitted, not ashamed or upset. She stared Zinnia right in her eyes and hoped for her to apologize, but that didn’t happen. “I get so upset that you’re not near me and I hate it.”

She wasn’t sad right now.

She was almost angry. Just almost.

She kept herself composed as she looked at Zinnia. It looked like she wanted to say something but she held it back. Celeste didn’t have the time anyway.

She did miss her, she missed her so much.

And for Zinnia to say that she didn’t miss Celeste would be a lie.

She took her for granted.

Celeste was everything to her, but she made her choice and she was going to live with it. She didn’t hope for some miracle to happen so she could be with Celeste again.

And there was no waiting.

Celeste wasn’t going to wait a lifetime for her.

The way they looked at each other, that horrible tension lingered. It wasn’t going anywhere. If they could be together, they would.

But Zinnia was so paranoid that Celeste was moving too fast in the relationship. Though she said she loved her anyway.

Then she broke Celeste’s heart.

“I’ll destroy the implant after they take it out. No one will see anything.” Celeste said. She didn’t think it would be useful to extract anything from it. Zinnia’s memories were her own memories.

No one needs to look at it.

Zinnia looked down. She used some of her time to use the implant. She had the ring concealed so no one knew she had it. Once in a while she would rewatch things, she’d rewatch Celeste. She didn’t have the implant for a long time, but it was enough for her to find her favorite moments.

She was going to lose it soon.

Celeste wanted to feel bad, and she was about to, but then she reminded herself what Zinnia did. So she couldn’t feel bad for taking the implant away.

She needed to do what was best.

“Like I said, I won’t bother you.” Celeste stood up straight. “I just wanted to let you know so you don’t panic when they take you.” She said as she started to leave.

She got her time. She said what she needed to. It was more closure than it was before, even if she didn’t let Zinnia talk to her. Leaving was the part that hurt her. Even with her back to Zinnia, she still felt that urge to conceal herself, to show that she was strong enough to handle it.

And she was.

As the days go by, it gets better to control.

It won’t be easy, but Celeste was handling herself. She could do it.

Zinnia lifted her head and stared at the wall. She could hear Celeste leaving but she didn’t turn to stop her.

“I’m sorry.” She said quietly.

It was the first time she had apologized to Celeste for what she did.

“I am, too.”

There was nothing more for her to say.

So she left.

She rushed out before she could start crying. She had this sensation like her throat was closing and she couldn’t breathe. When she made it outside, she took a deep breath, mostly to calm her nerves. Her eyes were still filled with tears but she didn’t cry.

She reminded herself to breathe, to keep breathing, to think that everything was going to be okay and that what she was going through wasn’t going to kill her.

And that was enough for her heart to slow down.

She could handle it.

“Hey...” Dri came over to her quietly, holding her arm.

He was watching, but he thought it would be easier for her if she took a minute to herself.

“Hey...” She said, keeping her eyes down as she looked at her gloves.

The air was cold. She saw her breath as she let it out. Her face wasn’t as hot, she didn’t feel flushed.

The panic had settled for now.

“You okay?” Dri asked, moving her hair back.

He lifted her head up so she would look at him. There were no tears in her eyes. She nodded and he let go of her.

He didn’t ask what they talked about.

He didn’t want to upset her.

They walked together for a moment, he wanted to give her time to get settled. She just needed to a bit of silence.

But he had good news.

“Libra and Haroldo will talk to you.” Dri told her. It actually was good news, she didn’t think she’d be that lucky. “Are you going to tell me what you’re working on?”

“No.” She said.

It was hard convincing Libra and Haroldo to talk to Celeste, and Dri had no idea what to tell them except that it was important. That’s the impression he had.

It was important, right?

“I can’t have anyone finding out.” She sighed to herself. “Surprise is a necessary element.”

Dri made a disapproving sound as he shook his head. He definitely didn’t like Celeste’s choice of words. “I don’t know about that one.” He said, clearly wanting to be cautious.

The last time she came up with a plan, she ended up in handcuffs so Dri really was going to stop her this time.

“Relax, Dri. I’ve got it-”

“Do you?” He asked to be sure.

She was about to answer but she stopped and thought about it. She looked away for a second.

She was only at seventy percent for a theoretical model. She’s scrapped hundreds of blue prints and that’s as far as she’s gotten, but she hasn’t been working that long, so she figured she could get it right.

Then she started thinking about the margins, the parameters, how well the device would have to work, what the radius was like if she was even going to use a radius, how it was going to operate, what signal to use...etcetera.

She began mumbling to herself as she turned away.

She tried hard to make it work. The changes she’s made were significant but it didn’t improve the numbers.

Theoretically, it wasn’t good enough.

“...Celeste?”

She turned to the sound of her name. She had walked a few steps away, zoned out and muttering to herself without realizing she was having a conversation with Dri.

She’s been deep in thought for days now.

“Did I tell you to relax already?” She couldn’t remember. His expression changed and she tried to calm him down. “I’m serious.” She went over to him. “I’m not going anywhere, and if my plan works, Britain will surrender-”

“Oh, God.” Dri was nervous for her.

He complained about why he had to be the sensible one. Why he had to be the responsible one. Why he had to stop her big ideas.

Next she was going to talk to both commanders in defense and ask for their help.

Well she was going to tell them they were going to need her help. After all, she was working on the solutions to all their problems.