Knock Knock
Stella stood in front of Jeanne's house. It was a place she hadn't visited in a long time—long enough for it to feel unfamiliar, almost estranged.
She shifted her weight, nerves tightening in her chest. For a moment, she wondered if coming here had been a mistake.
As she waited, her thoughts drifted back to a simpler time.
***
Once, Jeanne and Stella had been inseparable.
They had been promoted together—two new Commanders thrown into responsibility far too heavy for their shoulders. They made mistakes, learned quickly, and survived the same trials every rising officer faced. Side by side, they endured long nights, impossible decisions, and the quiet pressure of expectations. In time, they earned the respect of their subordinates—and the astonishment of their superiors.
They were opposites in the best way.
Jeanne was empathetic and warm, the kind of leader who brought people together simply by listening. Stella was precise and relentless, dependable to the core, turning chaos into order through sheer will. Where one faltered, the other stood firm. Together, they completed each other
Even outside of work, they were rarely apart. Often seen eating and visiting each other.
Then Jeanne's parents died.
It didn't break all at once. There was no single argument, no dramatic falling-out. Instead, something subtle shifted. Jeanne retreated into grief, carrying it silently. Stella wanted to help—but didn't know how. She offered solutions where comfort was needed, distance where closeness was required.
They continued to work flawlessly.
But the warmth between them faded.
They were still "friends".
Just not the way they used to be.
Then Commander Incarceratus arrived.
He was personally promoted by the General himself—an unusual decision that raised more than a few eyebrows. No one knew why. Or how. At first, Jeanne and Stella treated him cautiously, addressing him only by rank despite their equal standing, which would still carry on to this day. Respectful. Professional. Distant.
And then Jeanne fell in love with him.
It was obvious to everyone except the Commander himself.
Stella noticed first. And it hurt more than she wanted to admit.
She missed Jeanne's attention—the warmth, the laughter, the quiet understanding they once shared. And when that warmth shifted toward someone else, something bitter took root in her chest.
Maybe it was jealousy.
Maybe it was loneliness.
Maybe she just wanted to be seen again.
So she started flirting with him.
At first, it was half a joke. A way to provoke Jeanne. A way to remind Jeanne that she still mattered, even if it was as a romantic rival. But the Commander was an unyielding wall—polite, friendly, and distant. With both of them.
Yet over time, Stella watched that wall crack open for Jeanne alone.
It never did for her.
And that hurt the most.
Because Stella saw herself in him. His isolation. His restraint. The way he kept everyone at arm's length to protect himself. She knew that loneliness intimately.
What began as petty revenge turned into something real.
She fell for him.
And watching someone so similar to herself open up to the person who used to be hers—the friend who once filled that emptiness—made her feel replaced.
They became rivals without ever saying the word.
Neither confessed. Neither needed to.
They both knew.
Still, Stella never hated Jeanne.
A part of her longed for the past—for the days filled with warmth and color, when it felt like the two of them against the world. But she never found the courage to bridge the distance, always afraid that reopening old wounds would only hurt Jeanne more.
***
"Stella? Stella? Hello?"
The voice pulled her back to the present.
The door had opened.
Jeanne stood before her, thinner than Stella remembered. Her shoulders sagged, her eyes hollow with exhaustion and grief.
Something inside Stella cracked.
She nearly broke down right there on the doorstep.
Jeanne had already lost too much.
Without thinking, Stella stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her. It was time to break this invisible wall between them. Jeanne stiffened in surprise—then slowly, hesitantly, returned the embrace.
"W-Why are you here?" Jeanne whispered. "Aren't you busy?"
"I'm here to see my best friend," Stella said softly, pulling back just enough to meet her eyes. "Do I need a reason?"
Jeanne blinked, as if unsure she'd heard correctly.
"D-Do you really mean that…?" Her voice trembled. "Are we still best friends?"
Stella's throat tightened.
"Yes," she said without hesitation. "I've always wanted us back. The way it used to be. I'm sorry for ever leaving you, Jeanne."
Jeanne's eyes filled with tears.
"Thank you," she whispered. "I don't know what I'd do without you… and the Commander."
Stella's expression softened completely. She looked at Jeanne with quiet affection.
"You won't have to find out," she said. "I'll always be here for you."
Jeanne smiled—a fragile, trembling thing.
Stella gently guided her inside. It was time to
"Now," she said, forcing a lighter tone, "let's get you something to eat. You look like you've been starving."