[Third Person's PoV]
Mimosa and Stephen slowly pulled away from their kiss, Mimosa's eyes slightly unfocused as she basked in the aftereffects of the moment.
"Whoa…" Mimosa muttered as they separated. She glanced at Stephen shyly, holding her cheeks to stop herself from blushing. "Every time I'm with you, I end up blushing… how embarrassing."
Stephen chuckled and smiled at her endearing reaction. "I'll take that as a compliment. Thank you."
Mimosa looked down, pressing her fingers together nervously. "Can we do it again? It felt really nice."
"I would be more than happy to," Stephen said, gently lifting her chin so she could meet his gaze, before drawing her into another kiss.
As they kissed, Mimosa cupped his face while he held her waist. She lifted one leg, completely lost in the moment, caring about nothing else.
The sound of their lips meeting echoed through the empty space of the mirror dimension.
After a while, they pulled back slightly, their faces still close as they caught their breath, both smiling widely.
Stephen let out a small chuckle. "And to think we said we were going to take it slow," he teased.
Mimosa laughed lightly, their faces still close. Her fingers traced his features as if committing them to memory. "I'm not complaining…"
"Neither am I," Stephen muttered as their faces moved closer for another kiss.
…
Mimosa skipped back into her room from the mirror dimension and spun around on one foot before flopping onto her bed in a starfish position, letting out a contented sigh.
Her fingers lingered on her lips as she remembered the sensation of their kiss. They then trailed down past her chin to her golden clover necklace.
She held it up, gazing at it with a smile before pressing a kiss to it. "My very own good luck charm," she whispered.
Mimosa rolled around on her bed, her face turning bright red as she held her cheeks. "Ugh! I can't stop thinking about it! Am I becoming a naughty girl?"
"Is it wrong for me to want to drag him here and continue with the kissy-kissy? W-W-Would it have turned into something more?"
She covered her face with her hands and rolled around more vigorously, muffling her scream. "I'm so shameful! Bad Mimosa! No naughty thoughts!"
Taking a deep breath, she fanned her flushed face to calm down. She sat up, crossing her legs on the bed as she gazed at her pendant with a wary expression. "I almost forgot… I'm not the only one attracted to him. There are other girls who love him too."
…
[Flashback]
"I'll just order a carriage, don't worry about us, Mimosa," Noelle said awkwardly.
Mimosa stared at Noelle with a straight expression. "I have a question, and I hope you'll answer honestly… Why were you two following us?"
"Hahaha, what? We weren't following you," Noelle scoffed, waving Mimosa off nervously.
"You shouldn't lie. Hic, lying is bad," Stephen hiccuped, his gaze unfocused.
Noelle shot Stephen a glare that suggested she wanted to beat him up.
Mimosa turned to Wanda with a raised brow. "Well?"
"Umm…" Wanda mumbled, scratching the back of her head awkwardly. She hadn't expected the confrontation and was left speechless.
When no one answered, Mimosa sighed. "You're both in love with him, aren't you?"
"WHAT!?" Both Wanda and Noelle shrieked.
Their attention shifted to Stephen, who had stood up and was now chasing Nero around, laughing gleefully.
Noelle and Wanda panicked, their faces flushed as they waved their arms frantically, trying to dissuade Mimosa.
"Love him? Pfft, there's just no way!" Noelle said, blushing profusely.
"I mean, I'm eternally grateful to Stephen. Without him, I would've been stuck for all eternity, but love is too far-fetched! I admire him greatly and have immense respect for him," Wanda said, her own blush deepening.
Realizing her explanation was backfiring, Noelle shifted the focus. "It was all Wanda's idea! She planned everything, even had Finral teleport us! She even borrowed these binoculars from Gordon!"
"WHAT!?" Wanda exclaimed, looking betrayed. "I only came up with the plan because I saw how devastated you were when you found out he and Mimosa were going on a date! Since we're in the same squad, I wanted to help you out and support you."
"I WASN'T DEVASTATED! WHERE DID YOU EVEN GET THAT IDEA!?" Noelle shouted back.
"LAST NIGHT, YOU WENT TO STEPHEN'S ROOM AND WAITED OUTSIDE HIS DOOR TO THANK HIM. WHEN YOU WALKED AWAY, YOU WERE CRYING!" Wanda retorted, pointing at Noelle.
"You saw that!?" Noelle asked, horrified.
"Of course I did. I can't sleep alone; I get lonely, so I go to Stephen's room. I witnessed the whole scene—" Wanda's eyes widened as she slapped her hands over her mouth, realizing what she had said.
They both turned slowly to Mimosa, who was looking at Wanda with a raised brow. "You do what now?"
"It's nothing sexual or anything like that," Wanda sighed, lowering her hands before ruffling her hair awkwardly. "Ever since Stephen rescued me from my imprisonment, I can't stand being alone. I go to him because, with him, I don't feel like I'll be trapped again… And I know that if I ever were, he would rescue me." Wanda looked away in embarrassment. "But like I said, it's not love."
"Wanda…" Noelle said softly. "If you couldn't sleep alone, you should have told us. We would have been more than happy to spend the night with you."
Mimosa looked at Wanda with a hint of pity before glancing at Noelle and sighing. 'Stephen has done a lot for them… and they seem to love him, even if they don't realize it yet. Could I be so selfish as to keep him for myself?' Mimosa thought.
She shook her head and sighed. "I'm not really mad that you were both being creeps and stalking us on our date."
"Still as blunt as ever, huh?" Noelle muttered.
"The thing is, Stephen and I aren't officially together. We're in a sort of test run. We agreed that if either of us falls in love with someone else, we'd call off the engagement amicably. So you shouldn't feel like you've lost just because he and I went on a date."
"Huh? Why are you telling us this?" Noelle asked, confused. "Shouldn't you keep that information to yourself and keep other girls away so they don't think they have a chance of stealing him from you?"
Mimosa shrugged. "Probably, but it wouldn't be fair to Stephen…"
"You're naive…" Noelle said, sighing heavily.
Mimosa shook her head. "Anyway, it's getting late. I should go."
Noelle and Wanda watched as Mimosa walked over to Stephen. He raised his arms in excitement and hugged her.
Mimosa smiled before heading off with Stephen in tow.
"..."
"WAIT A MINUTE, WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE TAKING HIM!?" Noelle yelled, realizing Mimosa's true intentions.
Both Wanda and Noelle chased after Mimosa as she tried to run away with Stephen.
…
Mimosa sighed as she lay in bed, replaying the memories of the night before, "I really need to work on my Cardio" She muttered to herself.
She gazed at her four-leaf clover pendant, twirling it thoughtfully. 'Even though Stephen is my fiancé, I don't want to make Noelle sad. She's someone I greatly admire, and hurting her is the last thing I'd want.'
She kissed the pendant once more. "If only there were a way for all of us to be happy together with S…" Mimosa sat up suddenly, touching her chin and hooking a finger over her lips as she smiled. "Maybe there is a way…"
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