Private Taungsday Night

[Elle Mors]

For how differently the two of them had turned out it was surprisingly easy for Sylvia Virtos and Elle Mors to fit together, almost like two pieces in a puzzle. Greenery, particularly plants and small animals, as well as general helpfulness, teetering on charity, were the general core of Elle's interests. There was art here, music there, but even those things had some tie to the natural world - like the tattoos that ran up her arm and shoulder. Sylvia, meanwhile, was incredibly more interested in technology that Elle had remembered even from childhood; perhaps it was making a livelihood out of it, or maybe it was hyperfocusing on it during the period they were separated from each other towards the tail end of their youth, but it went much further beyond the casual novelty of technomancy that Sylvia had exhibited in what she remembered from their past. Whether it was because of how different they seemed to be, or despite those differences, the two somehow managed to wander back into each others lives on Csilla and remained together almost immediately afterwards.

Excitement in that regard, however, was behind them - or at least behind Ellie. She had hung up the responsibility of putting her life on the line when she essentially buried herself alive trying to kill Carnifex in their last encounter, opting instead to occasionally lend a hand in less dangerous ways whenever Sylv was away from home for longer than a few days. Even the claustrophobic conditions of living inside of a small apartment made of what she assumed was a duracrete foundation in the heart of a neon city.. on a planet that was almost entirely that one, single, concrete jungle.. eventually became welcoming to her. She didn't want to be some heroine, wasn't ambitious and out to get a reputation or anything like this, all she wanted to do was be a good partner for her best friend. Normally she'd wear baggy clothing, maybe lounge about in sleepwear for a little longer than she should, or spend the afternoon out on a run to stay in shape, but today was Taungsday.

That meant date night. Or, at least, that's what it meant in Elle's head.

Whether it was dinner, a holoflic out or at home, or forcing Sylvia to endure the pain of picnicking in the wilderness of some remote planet so she could get some sun, almost every week she'd try to get the two of them to do something to keep their relationship alive - even if sometimes it was just a short holocall while Sylv was away from home, or the rare occasion where that role was reversed. This was just a normal Taungsday, though, so there wasn't even a hint of an interruption in sight. The only obstacle in the way was agreeing on something to do.. and not endlessly trying to get the other to make the decision. There were some signs that Elle had been working on her makeup, a bit of minimalism in eyeliner and foundation, when she poked her head around the corner from the bathroom into the bedroom. "Sylv, babe, did you have anything you wanted to do tonight?" She asked. It had never been a codified or even discussed thing between the two of them to have their night to themselves on such a specific day of the week, in fact they typically did things all across the week whenever the opportunity and mood struck, but it was the one singular day of the week that she made a commitment to try to do something regardless of how the rest of the week was going or had gone.

Part of her wondered if Sylv had caught onto her or not, though she only did because the notion of Sylvia being oblivious to something so routine was absolutely adorable to her.

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

melt
Elle Mors
​

Two women born to fight and die for a genocidal cult, that was who they used to be. Neither every truly had it in them, but to see where they ended up compared to where they started was still a shock. Thankfully, in all the right ways. A cute apartment, a few pets, regular tech work for one and charity work for the other, and a nigh-overwhelming amount of love shared between the two of them. It had been a perilous road that had left its scars, but they had made it to the other side. Life today was so much simpler. All Sylvia needed was what she already had. As far as she was concerned, this was what it meant to make your own fate.

Elle would find Sylvia lounging on the bed, dealing with a playful Spark floating around her. Sylvia's eyes quickly shot towards the bathroom door when Elle's head poked out, immediately noticing her girlfriend had been doing her makeup. She knew what that meant, and the question that followed confirmed that suspicion. A smile formed on her face before she replied.

"Hm, I don't have anything specific in mind..." Sylvia thought out loud, trying to come up with something to do. Quite frankly, the activity itself was basically irrelevant to her. Simple quality time with Elle was what made date night. If she didn't pick anything, though, it was bound to end up in a loop of 'no, you pick' for what often felt like an age. It was cute, but incredibly unhelpful.

Suddenly, Sylvia perked up. "Wait, actually. I was meaning to tell you, but apparently there's this little spot not too far from here, a secret garden-type deal. It's kept on the down-low to make sure it doesn't get ruined by too many visitors, so it's a pretty quiet place. Really pretty too, I've heard." She was glad she suddenly remembered hearing about it.

Sylvia hopped off the bed, deciding it was probably a good idea to pick out a better outfit than the pajama bottoms and crumpled flannel she was wearing now. "Apparently, tonight's a couple's night. Romantic lighting, incredibly sappy holoflicks, the whole nine yards," she explained while making her way over to the closet and opening it up. "How does that sound?"

 

[Elle Mors]

She nodded thoughtfully at the understandable notion of not quite having anything in mind, it was a natural consequence of never thinking these types of things through ahead of time and relying on the sort of spontaneity that the two just didn't quite get the hang of after being pulled back into a more subdued lifestyle. Elle was just about to duck back into the bathroom to finish putting some minor touches, lip gloss, really, to her face when she heard Sylv speak up again. "Mmhm?" She mumbled, stepping out from around the corner to listen as Sylvia seemed to come up with an idea of her own. She only needed to hear secret garden to fall in love with the idea, but really anything would have been an immediate yes from her - it was just enthusiastic now.

"Oooh." Ellie answered with a growing smile and a pitch that rose with her growing interest. She leaned up against the wall as she considered the setting, imagining the two of them doing something a little more romantic than something as mundane as dinner, while Sylv hopped up from her perch on the bed. It didn't really matter now what her thoughts were on the matter - Sylvia had given her enough indication in body language that it was what she wanted to do, Elle was just happy it checked off every box that made an ideal night out for her at the same time.

Making Sylvia Virtos happy was, in some ways, a better reward than most anyway.

"Sounds about as good as it gets." She said. "I get to have you outside, and romantic lighting with a movie to boot?" Elle asked while she turned to walk back into the bathroom to finish up. Though the idea of a romantic flic was certainly enticing, she had a distinct feeling that most of her attention would be on the real star of the night.

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Elle Mors
​

A curious look was cast into Sylvia's closet. She really needed more outfits that were closer to 'wear this to a date' than 'can get dirty while working on tech'. Thankfully, though, a nice leather jacket revealed itself after some digging. Sylvia couldn't say she remembered ever wearing it, much less buying it, but it would do. The joys of looking further than the first thing on the pile.

"Eeyup. Not too bad, right?" She was very thankful to the client who had given her the referral as an extra tip. Gushing over your girlfriend had its benefits, sometimes. "Good looking place, good looking you..." A sneaky grin crept onto her lips. There were a lot of reasons to admire Elle- the inside was beautiful, and the outside matched it.

"And something to watch as well, I guess," Sylvia concluded with a chuckle. The movies they'd watch together were mostly just an excuse for Sylvia to cuddle up to Elle, but the extra entertainment certainly didn't hurt. Not that she'd remember most of the movie afterwards.

After tossing a relatively new shirt and a slightly worn pair of jeans onto the edge of the bed, Sylvia closed the closet and went to get dressed. "Oh, babe, could you toss me the mascara once you're done in there?" she called out. Makeup was something she'd only very rarely do, but for a date night like this an exception would gladly be made. It was still pretty much the minimum, though much more would've likely come off as Sylvia trying uncharacteristically hard.