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[There was a knock at Setsuna's door around sunset and a smugly grinning woman leaning against the frame of her door. Oh, she'd made her presence felt quietly at the party as well, but she wasn't quite so big in major events these days. Private, friendly visits? Entirely different.

Once the door opened, she held up the sparkling cider and winked.]

Mmmm if that's your resolution, we should get started shouldn't we?

[Setsuna had been hoping that Vira would accept the invitation even though Setsuna had not explicitly included one. She took it as a good sign that she was doing alright with everything that had happened. Opening the door Setsuna was dressed up a little more than usual but nothing too elegant, and she smiled ushering the other in.]

I'm glad that you're willing to help me with it. Have you made any of your own?

[Her own outfit revealed little in the way of skin. Lately, she'd taken to Ao Dai like these, being more comfortable with less of her pale skin on display. Slipping in, she smiled at her friend and allowed her a little once over.]

Mmmm, that looks cute on you. Expecting someone special tonight? [She winked a little.] Mmmm, resolutions, resolutions.

Besides saving everyone and making a few people smile.... I've resolved to try and listen a little more. I think I might miss out on something important if I spend all my time talking and not listening.

[That outfit... Vira-Lorr did notice it. It wasn't 'too' elegant, and Setsuna was such a clothes horse, while she herself loved the elegance of outfits like her own enough that it wasn't odd to see her in one. But... it was just the two of them, right? She sniffed the air quietly, a little curiosity there if she smelled perfume.]

[The only perfume was that which Setsuna was wearing, a warm, powdery, sweet scent. Though there was also a candle burning in the living room. Closing the door behind Vira, Setsuna lead her inside properly.]

I'm not sure if they have other plans already, but I was hoping that someone would come by; yes.

[And luckily she had.]

Listening is a good skill to develop, and I have confidence that you will do all that you can to save as many people as possible. Just remember that everyone includes yourself.

[It was still a nice scent, not unlike the light hint of lilac in the air around the seer as she walked in with her. She managed a thin chuckle, finding the play on words that they were clearly doing right now kind of amusing. They were talking about each other, she was pretty sure.]

I certainly would hope they wouldn't make additional plans with company like yours...

And don't worry. [She smiled and settled down slowly into a chair.] I'm being careful not to get in over my head alone.

I'd continue waiting for them if they did.

[Grabbing a pair of champagne flutes, Setsuna took a seat across from where Vira had settled for when the bottle was eventually opened. There were also a pair of glasses with water out as well.]

So, do you have any other plans for this evening?

[To make it clear that Vira had been the one that she was talking about.]

[She watched her as the woman came over with the glasses, her eyes curious. She was having a little trouble placing it, mostly because she was trying not to assume. But it certainly seemed like Setsuna wanted her here all by herself.]

No. I believe you have me as a captive audience this evening. In fact...

[She pulled out her fluid, and very obviously turned it off before slipping it into her handbag and setting it to the side. Reaching up and resting an arm on the couch, she raised an eyebrow.]

I only told the Doctor and informed the staff at FEAR I'd be out tonight. Nobody knows where to find me. So. You may consider me all yours. I was really hoping for a quiet night. So... your company is perfect.

You look you might have plans of your own tonight. Almost like you planned this.

I was hoping that we could have a quiet night together as well, but I wasn't sure if you had other plans. I didn't want you to feel obligated by asking and well I thought it best not to ask any of your housemates either since they might have made it uncomfortable.

[Really she hadn't planned very much, she hadn't been entirely certain that Vira was coming, or whether the other would want to stay once she figured it out.]

My only plan is to spend the evening with you and start the new year with someone that is important to me if you'll stay.

[She laughed softly and smiled, slipping a little closer and resting one arm up along the back of the couch. No, she wasn't wrong. As much as she loved Albus, the Doctor and Jack? They were a lot, and they'd been a LOT the last month. It was good, but it was also..

And then she remembered why she wanted to be alone on New Years. It had been when Max had turned her down. Oh this holiday. Sighing, she stopped her smile from slipping and winked.]

They're sweet, but they are oh so much aren't they? And... I like the idea of you being the first person I see in the new year.

[Wait... what would they do about the new years... shelve that shelve that.]

[Setsuna hadn't been certain if this was too soon, but then she didn't want for something else to happen, or for Vira to confuse her intentions with something that this place might have been influencing. But the statement about wanting her to be the first person that she sees, it was a little helpful in her making up her mind that tonight might be the right time.]

I would like that as well. You were the first that I met in this world, and now I'd like for you to be the first to see in the new year. And for it to be a new beginning for a number of things.

[Moving next to her, Setsuna's cheeks had a bit more color than usual, a slight blush creeping up as she spoke.]

There's one last thing I need to tell you though, I would have in November after telling you everything else. But I couldn't chance ruining the happiness that you had, since then the time just hasn't been right. But I want you to know this final secret so that the new year can begin with everything revealed.

[Vira-Lorr's personal emotional radar could be the sort of thing that rode along with blinders at times, seeing what it wanted to see. However, Setsuna's body posture was making it very hard to miss what was possibly going on here. The seer felt her pulse picking up and her eyes widening. Color was coming to her cheeks as about a thousand thoughts entered her mind. She swallowed once, unsure what it was Setsuna was going to say, but having so many suspicion...

... Breathe. In. Out.

She had promised to listen. Not to assume. Whatever Setsuna was about to tell her? She could handle it. Smoothing her hands on her dress and leggings, she half closed her eyes.]

Let there be no secrets between us, Setsuna. In return, I'll answer any questions you might ever have of me. I'd like that, I think.

[She'd spoken to Reaper, asked him to keep an eye on Vira for the last month and he had been agreeable enough to do so. Perhaps waiting longer would have been better, but she didn't want to chance what might complicate things come Valentine's day.]

It's not a question, and you don't have to have to respond now if you don't want to. But I want you to know, as I said before I want nothing but happiness for you. That's because I have feelings for you. I thought that you did as well, but at the time I realized it, you confessed your feelings for Makoto.

[Setsuna had thought about confessing in their conversation back in September. But after hearing how she felt about the other Senshi she couldn't do that to either of them.]

[Her pulse accelerated again a little, and she could practically feel it pounding inside of her chest. Her breathing had become shallow and her mouth felt dry. She was thinking back to the same conversations, to the uncomfortable moments and how she'd felt that she'd been overstepping in her flirtations. She'd been flirting with both of them at that point, and when Makoto had seemed... responsive, and a few very specific encounters had bolstered her interests, she'd let the interest in Setsuna be shelved.

Only in this minute, she realized that this might have been leading her friend on. The color in her cheeks flooded worse and she could feel a little shame blossoming there. It wasn't that she was unattracted, or that she wasn't interested. Setsuna was... she was beautiful. She was confident. She was intelligent. She was emotionally stable in ways the young, passionate and sometimes flighty red-headed would never be. The two of the were both old, older than most of their human counterparts, and there was a certain amount of kinship there. She could think of many reasons to want to say yes right here and now.

But... she also knew something. A swallow, and she had to accept it. she was still getting over the sting of Makoto turning her down. She still had feelings for her, even if she might actually be interested in Pluto. Breathing out cautiously, she reached for one of Setsuna's hands.]

I'm sorry if I've led you on these past months... I... I could very much see us together. [Another thick swallow] But you are important to me, Setsuna. And you deserve not to be a rebound. I'm not saying no.

But you... you deserve to know that the person whose heart lays claim to yours is yours and yours alone, that my heart is not still aching for Makoto's when I look in your eyes. So... for the moment. May I reply to say that I am interested... but that I want to be sure, sure for your sake as much as mine?

[It stung a little, but she understood fully. It had been a bit too soon after all, Setsuna closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Vira had not said no, simply that she wasn't ready, that she couldn't be sure and Setsuna could understand that. Either way, how she felt had been made known so there were no more secrets between them.]

I understand. You have nothing that you need to apologize for, similar to you I simply waited too long. But I will continue to wait until you're ready and have figured out whether it would be the right thing for you.

[Opening her eyes again she placed her other hand on the one that Vira had reached out with, holding it between hers.]

If you find that your interest is more than something born from your longing for Makoto I will be here. If could ask though, would consider still remaining tonight, so that we can begin the year at least with a close friend?

[Another scoot and another moment where the two of them were getting a little bit closer. It felt like she needed to be just a little clearer, so she was going to try to make this as clear as she possibly could. Her fingers gripped and she leaned in just enough that the only thing Pluto would see were her eyes.]

Setsuna, wild horses won't drag me away from your company tonight. [She smiled a little.] But I'm staying here, not only as your close friend... but a potential lover down the road.

Until our hearts have both decided, I'm not looking anywhere but towards you. I... just want to take time. You... deserve to be more than my rebound. You deserve to be loved, deeply, with every ounce of someone's heart, and I am making a resolution that I am going to find out if that heart is mine this year.

....

Preferably long before December next year. [She managed the tiniest of laughs.] I don't want to keep you waiting nearly that long.

...

At midnight. ... [Her face was beet red] Should we... uh...

[She wasn't sure, but part of her really wanted to.]

Edited 2021-01-02 21:10 (UTC)

[Setsuna smiled, even if it was until next December she would be fine. She had waited for millennia for a love that she could never have, twelve months for one simply needed time to sort out her own feelings would be easy enough.]

And you deserve the chance for your heart to decide what it wants, you have been the only one to catch my eye and I do not plan to look elsewhere either.

[At the mention of midnight, Setsuna put a finger underneath Vira's chin, locking eyes so that there was no misunderstanding.]

Only if you would like, I have no expectations and there is no obligation for us to kiss at midnight. That wasn't why I had hoped you would come, though I was aware there was a possibility of one occurring.

[She was looking at her. Fuck, she was looking at her, with a kind of sort of mature interest that was patient and ... Yeah, Vira-Lorr's heart skipped a beat. For a split second, she felt a century or two younger, but for different reasons than she had with Makoto. She hadn't had anyone be this... mature about the whole thing except arguably Keith, and that... had been a terrible idea from the start. This? This was something very different.

Feeling the heat starting to form, she thought about it and the swallowed before managing a small smile.]

It's tradition. I... think I'd like to keep that tradition. We could think of it as ... a little experiment. To see how it feels. While we're both still figuring things out.

And I know, I know you didn't invite me here for something like that. You're not like that. Thank you for being patient with an old woman, heh.

[Setsuna lowered her hand, though she didn't back away or divert her gaze from the other. If that was the decision that she had made, then it was one that Setsuna was fine with. Traditions were important to many, and if it would help to further explore how they felt, it would be beneficial.]

Alright, then we'll see how we feel at midnight, and if it's right we'll have our New Year's kiss to see how it goes.

By comparison, you're still rather young. And have the impulse and passion of one much younger.

[It was kind of an excuse to kiss Setsuna and pretend 'it's tradition' but it gave her a chance to see how it felt, how it felt to build up to it, to want it. She hadn't actually thought the elegant woman had appreciated her flirtations at fist. She'd been a little concerned that she'd overstepped when they first met, so this was ... surprising.

A thin chuckle and her hand went up to brush at a cheek while she closed her eyes.]

That's the first time I've been accused of being young and impulsive in a few years. I kind of like it.

[It was true that at first she hadn't been certain how to handle Vira's flirtations, and had been reminded of Haruka. But over time she'd realized just how much they were a part of the other showing that she cared, and they had grown on her.]

That doesn't make it any less true. And I'm not the only one that thinks so.

[She laughed brightly, finding in the thought that Setsuna thought she was young at heart a bit of comfort. Sometimes she felt so old. She didn't really think she'd find anyone but the Doctor who felt that way, and somehow he was different.]

You, my dear, have been talking to Reaper I see! [She winked] I know he accuses me of it from time to time.

[And as they talked, it started dawn on her while her foot rested beside Pluto's... the senshi was never informal She didn't get to let her hair down, ever.]

I suppose what they say is true, mmm? We are only as old as we feel.

I have, we spoke briefly earlier in the month. After you had come over.

[She'd asked him to keep an eye on Vira, to ensure that she was alright. The was no guilt or shame in it as she continues to smile as Vira winked. Granted the other had not seemed entirely pleased with the fact that Setsuna knew to think well of him even a bit.]

The way we act and feel certainly plays a role in it yes.

[Age wasn't really much of a concern when millennia were concerned.]

But tonight you also have a youthful glow as well. And it's good to see you smile so brightly.

Ahhhh, I see. [She did snicker. So, he was keeping an eye on her through friends? Yeah, she'd buy that.] One day, that old buzzard will realize he still has a heart beating somewhere deep in his chest. I'm sure he'll growl at the both of us on that day.

Mmm. It's... good to spend time with someone you care about, and a private meeting is better than those parties anyway. It just sort of lets me focus, not have to worry about appearances, though you do look lovely tonight. I really should have said that sooner.

Thank you.

[Setsuna tucked a strand of hair back behind her ear at the compliment, not having really expected it just then. She had taken the time to dress up a little, in hopes of the best occurring, and while it hadn't gone ideally it had progressed and where they both stood had been made clear.]

I prefer smaller gatherings as well. With large parties, there's just too much noise and too many people to focus on so something is going to be missed or someone is going to be left to their own devices.

I'm not sure this conversation would have gone quite as well with a crowd either.

It would have been painfully awkward. I... think you would have had to confess to me right was the ball dropped. I can say from experience that a confession right before the New Year's kiss can be 'quite' the passionate moment but it almost always goes disastrously.

[Yep, definitely she knew that from experience.]

Here... we have time to just absorb each other, to take our time with it. May I ask, Setsuna? When you look at me.

...

What do you hope for?

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