What You Do To Me

She stood by the buffet tables with a scowl, staring out over the town center where the Joltereans frolicked. Their team had arrived for a diplomatic mission in the midst of the New Leaf Festival, a celebration to kick off the arrival of spring. Part of this celebration was a dance.

Kovya never danced.

It was both a matter of principle and the simple fact that she never really learned how. All the worlds they’d visited, all the species and cultures they’d encountered, she never had to partake in an event this grandiose. She felt out of place amidst the people there.

The Joltereans were a deer-like species, lightly furred and hoof footed, bearing grand horns that came in every color on the spectrum. They were soft, with lithe bodies and slender frames. Warm and inviting. Nonthreatening. Everything that she wasn’t.

Kovya towered over even the tallest of them at nearly seven feet of solid muscle and hard edges. Four thick arms, with broad hands armored by an exoskeleton around the knuckles and tops of her fingers, as well as armored plating that wrapped over her chest and upper back. Leathery skin, colored a deep blue, made the glowing scarlet of her eyes pop that much more. 

She wasn’t meant for dances or parties, pastel colors and flower crowns. She was built to be a warrior. It's all she felt she was good for.

A face grinned at her from the edge of the dance floor, one devoid of fur and horns.

Juno.

Kovya watched her from the moment she stepped onto the field. Juno fit right in with them, flowing effortlessly with the crowd, moving without hesitance or inhibition. Her dance moves weren’t quite the same, but that made her all the more striking. She was vibrant. Energetic. Contagious. Kovya thought back on all the times she caught her dancing on the ship when no one else was around.

It was one of her favorite things, catching Juno in those fleeting moments where no one else existed, where it was just her and her music. Sometimes, she'd even catch her singing. There was something magical in those moments that made her heart race and filled her chest with fire. It was intimate in a way she felt she could never be.

Seeing Juno grin at her, with flushed cheeks and sweat on her brow, eyes crinkled with the force of her smile, a whirlwind of feelings tore through her mind.

What is she doing to me? Kovya thought.

Juno fixed her hair as she made her way to Kovya, tying it back into a short ponytail. The silvery whites and blues of her uniform had been replaced with the light pastels of Jolterean outerwear. The quiet greens and sky blues complimented her tanned skin perfectly, and a pink flower tucked behind her ear highlighted her emerald eyes. Kovya let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

“Having fun?” She asked.

“Oh absolutely! It’s been years since I went to a dance like this!” Juno stepped up to the table and grabbed a napkin to wipe her face. “I think the last time was prom? God, that was like 9 years ago. I mean, I still danced after that but those were just random classes…"

“I’ll never understand the appeal. It’s all too… froofy.” Her eyes narrowed at the crowd as they all let out a shout. “... what’s a prom?”

“Mm! Prum ish--” Juno gulped down the bite of food and took a breath-- “prom is a big dance held for high school seniors, their last dance to end off their time as high schoolers.” 

She moved to take another bite, then stopped. “You don’t know what high school is do you?”

“... no.”

“Oh, jeez, um… you know how we all had to do training before going into space?”

Kovya raised a brow and nodded.

“High school is kind of like that. You learn different subjects, do work to hone your skills to prepare you for the future. At the Explorer’s Academy it was to prepare us for space travel. In high school it’s supposed to prepare you for college, adulthood, jobs and careers. In my opinion, it doesn’t do a very good job of it.”

“You didn't learn anything?”

“I did. But like, how relevant are my two years of french now when I have access to universal translators? Or, or knowing what the hell a daguerreotype is?” She angrily bit into something akin to a dumpling. “Don’t ask me about daguerreotypes.”

Kovya let out an amused chortle, and turned her attention back to the band. The song slowed in tempo, leading some to seek partners to dance with more intimately. She heard a gentle swish from beside her, and turned back to see Juno swaying with the tune.

Kovya smiled. “Did you learn to dance from high school?”

Juno perked up at the question as she angled her eyes upward. “Kind of? They offered a dance class instead of p.e.-- uh, physical education, so I learned a bit about dancing from there. Mostly I was self taught, though.”

“I see…” Kovya’s shoulders sagged, and lowered her voice to a whisper. “I wish I had that freedom growing up.”

A hand settled on one of her forearms, and she followed its trail back to Juno. The sparkle in her eyes was replaced with a furrowed brow, her smile with a frown. She started to speak but stopped short when a group strode up to the table nearby. Juno grumbled under her breath and grabbed two drinks.

“Come with me,” she said, and stomped away from the main area.

Kovya followed her to a tree with wide spread branches, perched several yards away from the festivities, and took a seat with her beneath. Juno handed her one of the drinks as she sipped at her own.

“You looked uncomfortable.” Juno explained. “Actually, you’ve looked uncomfortable since this whole thing began. I thought maybe you’d want some space? Away from all the excitement I mean.”

“Oh. Yeah, yeah it helps. Thanks.”

Kovya tilted her head back against the tree, staring wistfully at the beads of sunlight peeking through the leaves. The music picked up again, and so too did her heartbeat. A small shuffle beside her made her tense, but the brush of warmth that came with Juno’s presence had her smiling again. Without having to look she already felt her looking up at her.

“Something you want to ask?”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind… I just, I was wondering, you sounded kind of… sad... when you mentioned growing up earlier.” She held herself nervously and lowered her voice. “What was it like for you, back on your world? Before we came.”

Kovya squinted as sunlight hit her eyes through the foliage. "Before you came, life was… stagnant.”

Juno shuffled closer, and bumped her shoulder encouragingly. Kovya leaned into the touch and dropped her gaze to the ground.

“All eyes were on me as the daughter of Rogknak. Our family line was one of the strongest in all the territories, supposedly one of the purest!” She laughed bitterly. “So much pride staked on our coloring. ‘Chosen by the gods’ they’d say. We were royalty. But as royalty, that also meant there was no room for failure.”

Kovya drew her knees up to her chest and crossed her lower arms over them, with her upper arms resting atop. “Grow strong and take power for yourself. Become a warrior worthy of the gods. Prove your strength in battle. That was the only way to gain my father’s favor, even as his child.”

Kovya watches as a dozen children passed, chasing an older boy with a ball. “There was no room for leisure. As a royal, as his daughter, I was thrust into battle the moment I turned ten. All I learned was that which was relevant to war. It’s all I was good for.”

“Kovya…”

“And I was content!” Kovya threw her hands up in exasperation. “Because eventually I proved myself worthy. I finally earned my father’s respect. There was even talk of officially giving me the rank of High General.”

“You never got the title?”

“No.”

“Why?” 

Kovya reached out and tapped her knuckles against Juno’s chest. “You came.”

Juno’s eyes blew wide and shimmered as they caught the light. It was enough to make Kovya’s breath hitch, but she pushed through and continued.

“Your team came... to recruit someone, for your ship. I never thought that there was more opportunity out there beyond that fortress. But then…”

Kovya's heart was thrumming at the look in her eyes. Juno was heavily invested and practically bouncing with excitement. Kovya didn’t quite understand it, but the fact that she was interested at all left her feeling whole. Looking back, it seemed like it was always only ever Juno who had that effect on her.

“Then what? What changed?” Juno asked, voice raising in pitch to match her anticipation.

Kovya moved her hand to point to the scattered light above them. 

“Stars.” She murmured reverently. “That first night, you stole me away to your ship to stargaze in the observatory. Hearing you talk about Earth, the Mars colonies, constellations, all these planets and nebulas while I looked at all those little stars, it just… it woke something up in me.”

Juno pressed closer, following the trail of Kovya’s arm up to the leaves. 

“You were so passionate talking about all those things that excited you, it was contagious. I knew then what I really wanted from life. I wanted…”

Don’t say it don’t say it don’t--

“I wanted… to explore. See more than just… torched bases and battlefields.” 

It wasn’t a total lie. But it wasn’t the total truth either. 

Kovya glanced down at the woman beside her as the truth rattled in her head. I wanted to be near you.

Juno, however, was cycling through emotions too rapidly for Kovya to follow. There was joy, perhaps admiration, then shame, as something dark twisted her expression. “Do you ever regret leaving with us? You almost had it, the higher rank, your dad’s respect… you could’ve had everything. Do you regret leaving that behind?”

“Never.” 

Juno didn’t seem convinced. She chewed on her lip as she struggled with her next question.

“Are you happy?” 

Kovya let it hang in the air, waiting for Juno to muster the nerve to meet her gaze. When she finally did, Kovya gave her an earnest smile.

“I am.” 

She truly was. She never told Juno, but when Kovya told her father of her decision to join their crew, he exiled her. 

He exiled her, and she laughed in his face. She'd never felt so free.

The music’s tempo picked up once more and practically doubled the energy of the crowd. Juno still looked conflicted, but it was clear that the rise in energy drew her attention.  

“You should go dance,” Kovya said, nudging her.

Juno eyed her with a bit of irritation, but after a few seconds an impish grin crept across her cheeks.

“Sure, I’ll go.” She stood, and immediately turned to extend a hand to Kovya. “But there’s no way I’m leaving you here alone.”

“I was bred for fighting, not dancing.”

Juno rolled her eyes and reached down to grab her wrists. She tugged in vain at Kovya’s arms, nowhere near strong enough to get her off her feet. “You shouldn’t limit yourself like that, you’re great at a lot more than just fighting! Anyone can dance, Kovy. You just… need to… try it!”

Kovya couldn’t help but think how adorable it was that Juno was trying so hard to move her. She’d left scuff marks in the dirt from the many times her feet skidded out from under her. The determination on her face stirred something in Kovya’s chest.

“Alright, alright,” she huffed, “but you need to tell me what to do first, I have no idea how to move out there.”

“Y’know a certain sparring partner of mine always tells me it’s best to learn by trial and error.”

“Don’t you use my words against me.”

“It’ll be fine, I’ll be right there with you the whole way, promise!”

Kovya waited another second just for the chance to look at her. Juno stood over her with a sheepish smile, bouncing from foot to foot in time with the music, still holding Kovya’s hands in her own. The sunlight behind her made her look radiant, and the sparkle in her velvety green eyes brought her back to the stars. Her mind turned to mush. Skin tingled where their hands met, and a bubbling heat rose slowly in her stomach.

Gods, what is she doing to me?

She stood, and was immediately pulled along by an overly eager Juno. They reached the center in no time at all, but stopped at the edge of the crowd. Kovya looked over the gathering with abject horror in her eyes, seeing how small they truly were compared to her. One stumble and she might break someone in half. Juno placed herself between Kovya and the people.

“Hey… you don’t have to go in with me if you really don’t want to. I just… I think you deserve to enjoy this too, and I thought maybe if we danced together…”

Kovya took her hand again. “Lead the way.”

She had no time to regret saying yes. They entered the crowd, with Kovya staying right on Juno’s heels as she carved a path through to a small break in the mass. Those around the pocket of space spread further with knowing looks and friendly smiles, but even with that she felt suffocated. A hand on her cheeks pulled her from her troubled thoughts.

“Don’t worry about them, okay? Keep your eyes on me.” 

Juno started swaying her hips with the music, already back in her groove from before. Her movements were fluid, devoid of apprehension, but electrifying all the same. Kovya was hopelessly entranced. Graceful, elegant, fearless, confident, all passed through Kovya’s mind as she watched her. She was astounded at how easily Juno fell into a rhythm with the people around them.

Before long, she found herself rocking from foot to foot, a little off beat but moving nonetheless. Juno raised her arms triumphantly.

“Yeah, there you go Kovy! Now add a little more bounce, keep yourself loose. Think like we’re sparring.”

Sparring. That she understood. She followed Juno’s directions and changed her footing, keeping light on her toes and adding a little spring in her step. Gradually, the tension left her shoulders, shook out of her hands, melted from her face. The atmosphere around them was no longer stifling. 

Kovya was dancing.

“What uh… what do I do now?” She asked.

“Whatever feels right!”

Whatever feels right. She wasn’t sure what felt right when it came to dancing. The only thing she felt certain about was her. Juno. It felt right to be near her, to share those intimate memories of everything that helped or hurt her. It made her feel whole. Wanted. Loved.

Oh.

Kovya’s movements ground to a halt, and a smile blossomed on her face.

That’s what you do to me.

As if she’d read her mind, Juno directed her attention back to Kovya and smirked. “What, you tired already miss ‘I run ten miles without breaking a sweat”?

Kovya let go of a disbelieving laugh. She caught a glimpse of something in her periphery and finally had an idea of what to do. Diving forward, she swept a giggling Juno up in her arms with a growl.

“You don’t even know you’re doing it!” She shouted.

“Doing what!” Juno sputtered. “What did I do!”

Her fit of laughter soon spread to Kovya, and the two relished in each other’s voices. Being so close, feeling the warmth and joy radiating off of Juno, that felt right.

Juno finally calmed enough to ask, “having fun?”

Kovya’s face softened as she held her gaze. “Oh, absolutely.”