Dorian and Juno walked through a world sculpted by art. On Sela, even the infrastructure was beautiful. The roads were not straight, efficient lines, but gentle, meandering curves designed to maximize the scenic views of the rolling, emerald-green hills. The streetlights were not simple poles but tall, elegant sculptures of spun metal that cast a soft, warm glow. Every building they passed was a unique creation, some carved with intricate, flowing patterns, others adorned with ornate, beautiful facades. There was a sense of profound, unhurried beauty in every step they took on this planet. It was a world built not for efficiency, but for the soul.
"Never been here before?" Juno asked, noticing the quiet awe on Dorian's face.
"Oh, no," he replied, shaking his head. "Honestly, I thought this planet was just filled with retirees, old masters of their craft put out to pasture."
Juno laughed, a bright, clear sound in the clean air. "It is. But because of them, it is this beautiful."
Dorian stopped and took a deep, deliberate breath. "Haaaaa," he exhaled slowly. "The air is so much better than Nexus, that is for sure."
"It is a good place to retire," Juno said wistfully, looking out at the idyllic landscape.
Dorian raised an eyebrow, a teasing glint in his eyes. "Two weeks of practical Solar classes and you are already thinking of retirement? Hahahaha."
"It is not like that," she said, playfully shoving his shoulder. "It is just a good planet. It is in a great sector, not too far from Nexus so we can visit once in a while. It is the best planet you can get in the mid-rim."
"Eehhh," Dorian countered. "Obelia II might want to challenge that."
"You are just obsessed with that planet because your favorite Stellarcaster lives there," she shot back.
They crested a small hill, and a magnificent building came into view, a structure of gleaming white stone and vast, crystalline windows that seemed to sing with the light of the sun.
"That," Juno said, her voice filled with a new reverence, "is the place where your piece will be played."
Dorian stared at the grand opera hall. It was real. It was professional. The scale of it suddenly hit him. "Juno," he began, his voice a little tight, "I thought we were just going to a recording studio and then we would be done."
"Oh, no," she said, her own excitement making her oblivious to his growing panic. "The White Beast and the Ice Queen are making their comeback. It is going to be a one-piece concert."
The words landed like a physical blow. "I just gave them one song," he said, the nervousness creeping into his voice.
"And it will only be one song," she confirmed cheerfully. "That is how much people want to see Maestro Gil and Rita back on stage together."
The revelation shocked Dorian into silence. He felt completely and utterly out of his depth. Juno, however, seemed as easy and carefree as ever.
"Fine," he said, the word coming out sharp and sudden, a desperate gambit to regain some control. "But you will be the one singing my song."
Juno stopped in her tracks, her cheerful expression vanishing. "B-but... they already found a professional singer to perform it."
"Nope," Dorian said, his jaw set, his fear hardening into a stubborn resolve. "It is my song. You are the one who sang the demo. You are the one who will sing it on stage."
"Dorian, it is a huge stage!" she protested, the reality of what he was asking dawning on her. "I am still an amateur! They are bringing in a professional!"
"If you are not singing," he said, turning to face her, his eyes blazing with a desperate, unshakeable intensity, "then I will not let them touch my song."
He then turned and ran, a panicked, decisive sprint towards the grand entrance of the opera house.
Juno stood there for a split second, jolted by his sudden, absolute ultimatum. "Dorian!" she shouted, her voice a mix of shock and frustration. "Please, be reasonable!"
Then, she chased after him.
Dorian reached the grand opera house first, his panicked run slowing to a halt as he took in the magnificent structure. The vast, crystalline windows were not carved or cut, but were single, massive crystals, placed to retain their beautiful, natural facets. He could only imagine how magnificent it would look during the day, the sun refracting through them into a million rainbows.
Juno arrived a second later. "Dorian, please, you are just joking, right?"
He ignored her question, a strange, new calm settling over him. He looked around at the beautifully sculpted gardens surrounding the opera house. "It is a good vibe," he said softly. "We should enjoy it."
"Dorian, I cannot sing on that stage," she insisted, her voice a mixture of panic and pleading.
He kept ignoring her practical arguments. He turned to her, a gentle smile on his face, and held out his hand. "Wanna take a walk around? The night is still waiting for us."
Juno froze. The blush that had started on her neck during their last conversation crept up her cheeks. Her brain, which was used to being the forward one, the one pushing, the one teasing, seemed to malfunction. He was taking the lead. This was new. After a long, silent moment, she placed her hand in his.
They walked side-by-side in a comfortable silence, their hands clasped together.
"Is it too fast?" Dorian asked, his voice a quiet murmur.
Juno's brain was still trying to reboot. She had spent all this time being the bold one, and now this single, quiet question, this one-two attack of insisting she sing and then sweetly holding her hand, had completely disarmed her. She just shook her head, unable to form words.
Dorian chuckled, a soft, warm sound. "The night is young," he said. "And so are we."
They stopped at the edge of the hill the opera house was built upon, looking out over the breathtaking scenery of artful Sela, now cloaked in the soft, glittering lights of night.
Dorian gently took Juno's other hand, turning her to face him. He looked directly into her violet eyes, all the teasing, all the panic, gone from his own.
"You are the most wonderful person I have ever met," he began, his voice sincere and vulnerable. "Your enthusiasm, your energy... it always brings the best out of me, especially when I am in my spiraling mind. Ever since I dropped out of school, I have been having these meltdowns, just overthinking everything. But every time I need to focus, every time I need to find a reason... do you know what I do?"
Juno, captivated, shook her head, her movement small and adorable.
Dorian chuckled softly. "I think of you. You... you complete me. But," he added, a flicker of his old self-doubt crossing his face, "I am not a wonderful person."
Juno's expression began to change, a mix of confusion and a dawning, profound emotion.
"I want to be the man that deserves all of it," he continued, his grip on her hands tightening slightly. "I want to be worthy of you. But I need time. Will you wait for me? Wait for me to become the man who can complement all of you?"
Juno's heart was beating so fast she could feel it in her throat. The world around them seemed to melt away, leaving only the two of them, suspended under the alien stars. Dorian's hands, so warm and solid in hers, felt like the only anchor in a dizzying, wonderful, terrifying new universe.
…
Gale Amanar arrived back from the Outer Rim. He dropped his heavy gear bag by the door, the sound a dull thud in the silent, sterile apartment. He carefully placed his modular power armor onto its designated bracket, the charging ports clicking into place with a quiet, final hum. He slumped onto the couch and closed his eyes. The screams, a phantom echo from the pacification mission, immediately began to play in his mind.
He started his breathing exercises, the slow, controlled rhythm a fragile dam against the flood of traumatic memories. His hands were shaking.
"Servo," he said, his voice a dry rasp. "Can you bring me my heliopad?"
His Compadre glided silently from the other room and placed the heliopad in his trembling hands. He opened and closed his fists, trying to stop the shaking. He took the device. "Order me a takeout, will you?"
"The usual noodles?" Servo asked.
"Let's do meat," Gale said, a sudden, desperate craving for something real. "A real meat steak this time."
He opened the Stardew Valley application. The cheerful, calming jingle started to play, a gentle wave washing over the harsh edges of his mind. He tapped Continue. He tried to remember where he had left off. He checked his in-game calendar, and slowly, surely, the rhythm of his farm life returned, pushing the ghosts of the Rims back into the shadows. At some point, he looked at his character's inventory and saw it: the Mermaid's Pendant.
He looked at the small, pixelated shell, a symbol of a simple, uncomplicated commitment. "Should I... marry Leah?" he muttered to himself. "We have been dating for like, a year in the game, I guess." He let out a short, hollow laugh. Was he really thinking about a marriage in a game before even considering one in his real life? He looked around his empty, silent apartment. He looked back at the game, at the vibrant, living world he had built. He stood his character up. There was nothing to be unsure about.
…
Roric leaned into his camera, a wide, performative grin on his face. "Alright, Void Dwellers, the big day is here! I have got the Mermaid's Pendant. But the question is... come on, chat, should we get married?"
The chat, which had been a steady stream of emotes and jokes, exploded into a chaotic waterfall of opinions.
: YESSS! ABIGAIL BEST GIRL!
: noooo don't get tied down! play the field!
: do it for the content roric!
"Okay, okay, I see we're divided," Roric laughed. "So, we are going to vote! A simple 'Yes' to Abigail. And if it is a 'No', we will do a roulette and let fate decide who we marry!"
He put the poll up on the screen. The vote bar began to fill, fluctuating wildly. Roric covered his eyes with his hands but peeked through his fingers. "Come on, guys," he pleaded playfully. "Do not disappoint me. Abigail is the one!"
The poll ended. 58% YES.
The chat erupted.
: HORRAY! SHE SAID YES... I MEAN WE SAID YES!
"LET'S GOOO!" Roric cheered, pumping a fist in the air. "Alright, chat, we're doing it!" He equipped the Mermaid's Pendant and started walking his character towards Abigail's usual spot by the mountain lake.
The scene was the same for both of them. The town square, decorated with flowers. All the friends they had made, the villagers they had helped, gathered together. Mayor Lewis stood at a small altar, his pixelated face beaming.
"When Gale first arrived in Pelican Town," Lewis began, his voice a series of cheerful digital blurbs, "no one knew if he would fit into our community..."
Gale sat in his silent apartment, a small, genuine smile on his face. He felt a sense of belonging he had not felt in years.
"...when Roric first arrived in Pelican Town," Lewis's voice came through Roric's stream, "no one knew if he would fit into our community..."
Roric watched, his own heart swelling, the shared victory with his chat feeling more real than any kill-streak.
"...But from this day forward," the Mayor continued for both of them, in their separate worlds, "Gale is going to be as much a part of this town as any of us!"
"...Roric is going to be as much a part of this town as any of us!"
"It is my great honor on this day, to unite Gale and Leah in the bond of marriage!"
"It is my great honor on this day, to unite Roric and Abigail in the bond of marriage!"
"I now pronounce you husband and wife!"
The scene played out. They saw their character lean in and kiss their new wife.
Then, the screen faded to black.
[Victor Lundberg – Small Fragile Hearts]
The screen faded out, and then, a beautiful, hand-drawn illustration appeared. It was the first time they had met their respective partners. For Gale, it was Leah, standing by her cottage, her expression thoughtful and artistic. For Roric, it was Abigail, standing in the town graveyard, a strange and intriguing first encounter.
Then, the music began.
A gentle, finger-picked guitar melody, a calm, cyclical pattern, filled the silence. It was the sound of a steady hand, of a calm heartbeat. It created a safe, quiet space. A soothing, gentle voice, began to sing.
"In the corner of the crowded room, Your eyes meet mine... Conversations fill the air, Lost in space and time..."
Gale, the soldier, sat in his cold, empty apartment. He thought of the chaos of the battlefield, the noise, the screaming. The music was a bubble, a momentary shield, isolating this one fragile, pixelated memory from the harshness of his own reality.
Roric leaned closer to his monitor, the usual performative energy gone from his face. The chat, which had been exploding with celebratory spam, slowed.
: Aww the first time we met her!
: this music is so chill
The illustration slid to the next image in the slideshow, a memory of an early conversation.
"I don't ask for your name, It's already carved in the air, mm-mm... I won't light the flame, It's already burning when you are near."
The steady guitar continued its gentle pattern. For Gale, a man whose life was defined by the destructive inferno of combat, the song spoke of a different kind of fire. Not an explosion, but a quiet, manageable warmth. A hearth. A home.
The slide continued, showing the first of their character's major heart events, the moments of conflict and vulnerability.
"Taking steps to keep my distance, I don't wanna fall... Am I strong enough to guide my heart, Away from it all?"
The lyric hit Gale hard. As a soldier, his entire training was about keeping his distance, about not forming attachments that could become liabilities on the battlefield. The song was verbalizing a struggle he lived with every single day. He felt seen.
Roric was completely silent now, his face a mask of quiet, emotional focus. The chat's usual jokes had vanished, replaced by a shared, sincere investment in the story.
: i remember this part. she was so sad.
: this song is making me feel things...
The slideshow moved to the events where they had truly connected, where their character had made a real, positive impact on Leah's art and Abigail's family life.
"I won't call your name, It's already carved in the air, mm-mm... I won't light the flame, It's already burning when you are near."
The second pre-chorus sucked them both deeper into the experience, the music and the images a powerful replay of the journey they had taken with these characters. Then, the slide showed the climax of the story, the moment their characters had truly changed Leah's and Abigail's lives for the better. The moment "I" became "we."
"Do we all so slowly lose control? As emotions overflow, Falling into the unknown."
For Gale, a man who fought, lived, and survived alone, the shift in perspective was everything. For Roric, it was a validation of the journey his community had taken with him. "See, chat?" he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "We did this. It is our story."
The final illustration appeared. It was a picture of their wedding, their character and their new wife, smiling, surrounded by all the friends they had made. The music softened, the voice a gentle, final comfort.
"Or do we all guard our small, fragile hearts? As we're softly breaking apart, Afraid to give in to the start, And open up our hearts."
Gale stared at the screen, at the simple, pixelated image of a life he had built, a love he had earned. It was a feeling, a warmth, a connection he had been missing for so, so long.
"Gale," Servo's voice said from the doorway, a jarring intrusion of cold reality. "The food is ready."
But Gale was not ready. He could not tear his eyes away from the screen.
Roric was not performing anymore. A single, genuine tear traced a path down his cheek. He was not the only one. The chat, which had been so quiet and reverent, now flooded with a torrent of shared, heartfelt emotion.
: [CRYING EMOTE] [CRYING EMOTE]
: im not crying, you're crying
: what a journey chat. what a journey.
: best game ever.
: best stream ever.
It was a beautiful, cathartic end to the long, shared journey of the "Supreme Chat" farm.
…
Juno stared at him, her violet eyes wide in the soft, ambient light of the city below. His words, so vulnerable and so sincere, hung in the air between them. For a long moment, she was completely silent, her mind trying to process the raw, honest weight of his confession. Dorian's heart hammered in his chest, the silence stretching into an agonizing eternity. He had laid everything bare. He had given her all the power.
Then, she smiled. It was not her usual bright, teasing grin. It was a soft, gentle, and profoundly understanding smile.
"I understand," she said, her voice a quiet murmur that was just for him. "Take as long as you need."
A wave of pure, unadulterated relief washed over Dorian. He smiled back, a shaky, grateful expression. "Thank you," he whispered. He was about to turn, to go back to watching the beautiful scenery, feeling as though the moment of terrifying vulnerability had passed safely.
"But Dorian," she said, her voice stopping him. "There is something I should warn you."
He turned back to her, his full attention focused on her eyes. "Yes?"
Juno's smile widened, a mischievous, confident spark returning to her gaze. She took a small step closer, rising up on her toes.
And then, she kissed him.
The world did not just blur; it dissolved. The glittering lights of Sela, the cool night air, the distant hum of the city, it all vanished, replaced by the simple, overwhelming reality of her lips on his. It was not a hesitant kiss. It was a kiss full of all the unspoken things between them, a kiss that was both an answer and a promise.
She pulled back just enough to look him in the eye, her own violet eyes sparkling with a fierce, wonderful light.
"I am only going to get more wonderful."
⋘ 𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒂.. .⋙
🎮: Stardwey Valley: Completed.
🎬: -
♬:
- Your Name – Elton John (ch.9)
- A Lovely Night – La La Land (ch.20)
- Merry Go Round of Life – Howl's Moving Castle (ch.25)
- Small Fragile Hearts – Victor Lundberg (ch. 27)
**A/N**
~Read Advance Chapter and Support me on [email protected]/SmilinKujo~
~🧣KujoW
**A/N**