"AHHHHH!" Lulu's scream echoed through the fields as she scrambled backward, tails fluffed out like startled fireworks. She tripped over herself, landed on her backside, and buried her burning face into her own fur.
"M-Mom, I can't get married anymore!" she wailed, voice muffled in fluff. "I'm ruined!"
A calm voice cut through her whining, steady as moonlight. "I'll take responsibility."
Lulu froze. Her ears twitched violently. Slowly, she peeked over the top of her tails and found those crimson eyes fixed on her.
Her breath caught. "W-wait… what do you mean by that?!"
The woman didn't blink. "You said you can't marry anyone anymore." She stepped closer, unhurried. "Then I'll take responsibility. By marrying you myself."
Lulu nearly exploded on the spot. Her ears shot up, tails thrashing wildly. "Th-that's not how it works! You... you're the one who ruined me in the first place!"
A faint smile tugged at the corners of the woman's lips. "Exactly."
"E-exactly?!" Lulu squeaked, pointing a trembling finger. "That's the opposite of how responsibility works! You're supposed to apologize, not propose!"
"Not propose." The woman's voice was smooth, final. "I already married you."
"EEEHHH?!" Lulu shrieked so loud her own ears rang. She clutched her tails tighter, cheeks flaming crimson. "S-stop saying that like it's already decided! The System can't just... just hand me out like a snack prize!"
No response. The void was silent, the System utterly indifferent.
The woman, however, was not. She stepped forward again, slow and steady, golden hair gleaming in the light. Her crimson eyes never wavered, their weight pressing on Lulu until she squeaked and scuttled back another step.
"Wh-who even are you?!" Lulu demanded, voice cracking. "I-I don't even know your name! And y-you're calling yourself my wife already?!"
The woman tilted her head, lips curving slightly. "Amelia."
Lulu blinked. Her ears twitched. "…Eh?"
"My name," she clarified, calm and unhurried. "Amelia."
"That's not what I meant!" Lulu flailed, practically bouncing on her tails. "Names aren't the problem here! The problem is..." She stopped mid-sputter, eyes widening as she finally, really looked at her.
Tall. Golden hair spilling down her back like molten silk. Crimson eyes, sharp and unshaken, gazing at Lulu as if she'd already won. Even the way she stood was unfair.
Too tall. Too pretty. Too composed. Definitely not normal. Definitely not fair.
"W-why are you looking at me like that?!" Lulu squeaked, hugging her tails tighter. "S-stop staring like I'm already yours!"
Amelia didn't blink. Her lips curved again, faint and confident. "Because you are."
"NO I'M NOT!" Lulu's scream cracked across the sky, high and desperate, but her flushed ears and twitching tails betrayed her completely.
Amelia remained unmoved. Her voice was calm, steady. "You are."
Lulu froze, ears twitching. "S-stop saying that like it's already decided!"
"The System agreed," Amelia replied, tone as even as still water. "Your denial doesn't change the result."
Lulu stomped her little foot, tails puffing like angry clouds. "Th-that's not fair! Constellations are supposed to... to..." She faltered, fumbling for rules she didn't actually know. "I don't know what yet, but definitely not this!"
Amelia stepped forward. One slow stride. Then another.
Lulu squeaked, scrambling backward until she couldn't retreat any further. "S-stop! Respectful distance! R-respectful distance!"
Amelia's crimson eyes stayed locked on hers, unwavering. "No distance. Not anymore."
"Uwaaaahhh, this isn't fair! Mom, the mortal's bullying me again!" Lulu squealed. Her cries rang across the field, rising and falling in a mix of indignation, panic, and far too many squeaks for a so-called Constellation.
By the time the noise finally died down, Lulu was a trembling bundle of fluff, clinging to her tails as though they might shield her from fate itself. Amelia, meanwhile, stood exactly where she had been, composed as if nothing had happened, her gaze never once wavering.
The balance of power had been decided, even if Lulu refused to admit it.
"W-w-whatever!" Lulu stammered, puffing her cheeks, desperate to recover even a shred of dignity. "F-fine! But don't think this means anything! You're still just... just some mortal who cheated the System!"
Amelia's expression didn't shift. "Your mortal," she corrected.
Lulu's ears twitched, her whole face going pink. "Th-that's not what I said!"
A faint curve touched Amelia's lips, almost a smile, but not quite. "It's what I heard."
Lulu stomped her foot, fluffing her tails into a trembling wall behind her. "Uwaaaahh, this isn't fair! I'm supposed to be the one in control! Constellations don't get... get claimed by mortals!"
[Spousal Privileges Unlocked.]
Lulu froze. Her eyes bulged. "S-spousal WHAT?!"
[Commencing Location Synchronization.]
"UWAAAAHHHHH!" Lulu's scream spiraled as the plains dissolved in a whirl of light.
When she opened her eyes again, she was no longer on the plains. Her face was pressed into something soft. Warm. A gentle scent clung faintly there, sweet and soothing, like warm milk.
Her twitching ears sagged at the touch of steady fingers combing through them. Slow strokes. Gentle pats. The kind that made her body go loose.
"Mmm…" A tiny sigh escaped before she could stop it. Her tails flopped against the sheets, spreading like lazy fans. Cozy. Safe. Almost addicting.
She could have stayed like that forever.
Then her thoughts caught up.
Her eyes shot open. Wait. Wait wait wait...
She pushed up on her hands and froze. Beneath her was Amelia, lying flat on her back, golden hair spilling over the pillow, crimson eyes watching her with calm certainty.
Lulu's whole body locked. Her face turned crimson.
"EEEHHHHH?!"
Her tails went off like startled fireworks as she scrambled backward off the bed in a flailing mess, landing on the floor with a squeak.
"You... you can't just... just use me as a pillow!" she shrieked, hiding behind her tails.
Amelia propped herself up on one elbow, golden hair tumbling across her shoulder. Her gaze never wavered. "You seemed comfortable."
"C-comfortable?!" Lulu's ears twitched violently, folding flat against her head as she buried deeper into her tails. "You took advantage of me! Uwaaahhh, shameless mortal!"
Amelia didn't move to argue. She simply settled back against the pillows, her crimson eyes following Lulu with quiet certainty.
Lulu peeked over her tails, ears twitching nervously. "Wh-what's with that look?! Stop staring like you're just waiting for me to crawl back!"
Amelia said nothing.
Lulu stomped her foot, puffing her cheeks. "I-I'm serious! I won't! I've got self-respect, dignity, pride..."
Grrrgle.
Her stomach cut her off.
Lulu froze. Her ears drooped flat. "…T-that was a coincidence."
Amelia rose from the bed without a word. Lulu squeaked, hiding again, but then...
Crinkle.
Her ears snapped upright, twitching like radar. Her nose wriggled, sniffing the air. A soft, sweet scent drifted over, warm, buttery, unfair.
She peeked out just as Amelia returned, holding a small wrapped pastry in one hand. Calm, unhurried, patient as ever. She broke the pastry open, steam curling upward.
Amelia patted her lap. "Here."
Lulu's whole body jolted. "Y-you can't just… just wait for me like I'm some stray fox you're luring back with treats!"
But her tails betrayed her, wagging faintly. Her ears twitched again. Step by step, she shuffled forward, grumbling all the way until she was perched stiffly on Amelia's lap.
Amelia guided a piece of pastry to her lips, the other hand stroking her ears in steady rhythm.
"Mmmph!" Lulu squeaked as she bit down despite herself.
Her tails wagged harder.
Amelia's lips curved, calm and certain. "I knew you'd come back."
"Uwaaaahhh, d-don't say it like that!" Lulu wailed, cheeks puffed full with pastry.
Her ears flicked furiously, but her tails betrayed her with happy little wags against Amelia's arm.
Amelia brushed her fingers along one ear, calm as ever. "You like it."
Lulu nearly choked. "Mmmph! N-no I don't!" she squeaked, her cheeks swelling like stuffed dumplings. "Th-this is forced feeding! I have no choice!"
Amelia tilted her head, eyes half-lidded in amusement. "No choice?" she repeated softly, guiding another bite toward Lulu's lips. "Strange. Your mouth opens every time I offer."
Lulu puffed out her cheeks harder, glaring up at her with watery red eyes.
"You… you're cheating…!" she mumbled around the pastry, ears twitching like they wanted to betray her more than her wagging tails already did.
Lulu tried to twist her head away, but the smell, the warmth, the hand rubbing behind her ear, it all melted her resistance. Her lips parted again, almost by instinct, and she squeaked as the sweet taste slipped past them.
Amelia's fingers continued their slow rhythm, stroking along the base of Lulu's ear where the soft fur twitched beneath her touch.
Lulu shivered, cheeks puffed, eyes shimmering with flustered defiance. "Mmmph… s-stop…! I-I don't… like it…"
Her voice faltered as another bite brushed her lips. Instinct betrayed her again, her mouth opened, and the sweet taste slipped past before she could stop herself.
Amelia leaned closer, calm as ever, her breath warm against the quivering ear. Then she placed a small, deliberate kiss right on its tip.
"Hhnnnnnn?!" Lulu squealed, body jolting. Her tails exploded into frantic waves, battering Amelia's side in wild betrayal.
Lulu's squeal rang sharp, her tails flaring in frantic waves. She clutched her ears with both hands, trembling from head to toe. "Y-you… you can't just…! T-that's not fair…"
Her words cracked apart, melting into a pitiful whimper as her face disappeared into her fluff.
Amelia didn't press. She only let her hand fall back into Lulu's hair, stroking slowly, steady as a heartbeat.
The rhythm soothed the chaos, little by little. Lulu's ears twitched, still hot, still trembling, but the furious lash of her tails dulled into hesitant wags.
Her voice, muffled, slipped out. "…stupid mortal… always doing whatever you want…"