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It had been a long week. With the stress of the recent days off her mind, Sandrone enjoyed the tea party with her peers. Not only did she feature in a movie, she also “resolved” her anomalies, and cleaned up one of the messes left by the Narssissenkreuz Ordo. Nothing less to be expected from Allain Guillotin's masterpiece.
One by one, her guests began to filter out of the room, each leaving to tend to their own affairs. Yet Columbina stayed, looking at Sandrone with an uncertain look in her eyes.
“Are you heading out soon?” Sandrone inquired calmly, trying to hide the curiosity, and silence the part of her that wanted the answer to be “no.”
“Yes, I need to return to Nod Krai. My hotel reservation ends today,” Columbina stated, a hint of disappointment in her voice. Perhaps she wanted to stay for longer? No, that's a stupid thought.
“Of course you do.” The puppet tried to ignore the nagging feeling inside of her that wanted to beg the Moon Goddess to stay. Obviously she would have to head back; the festival was over. Hoping for any other response was naive.
“What about you? I heard that you've been sleeping on the Wingalet?” Sandrone wasn't shocked to hear the question repeated back at her, but the reminder of why she was sleeping on a ship to begin with left a bitter taste in her mouth.
“I have. It's not as comfortable as my bed back in Snezhnaya, but it does fine,” she tried to feign her usual nonchalance, but it felt more difficult than usual. Perhaps it was because of her lack of enthusiasm when it came to returning to Fatui and having to sit through endless reports of what happened to her. Maybe it was the unrest of being away from her “home” for so long. It was hard to tell.
Columbina nodded, and stayed silent for a few moments before muttering, “I still find it so hard to believe that you're back…” her soft tone reminded her of the words she said when they reunited, "You're back? Why didn't you tell me? You avoided me? Why?”
Why did she avoid her? If anyone else were to ask, she would say it was because she wanted to work on resolving her anomalies uninterrupted, or that she wanted to get Columbina back good and needed more time to think. In reality, she was afraid. Afraid of facing Columbina after her return. Afraid to admit that even though she infuriated the puppet to no end, she would die for her. Afraid to admit that it all came from a place of undying affection.
Huh, that's a strange thought. She knew she'd spend the night mulling it over.
But just for one day, perhaps she could indulge. It had been a long time since she and Columbina had had any uninterrupted one-on-one time together, after all. “You know, I still have a day left before I need to give the ship back…” Sandrone coaxed. So what? After dealing with so many problems in so few days, she wanted to spend more time with the Moon Goddess.
“Meaning?” the former Harbinger prodded, a hint of mischief in her voice.
“Meaning, you can stay here for tonight if you want,” Sandrone directed, trying to hide the apprehension in her voice. “Go back to Nod Krai tomorrow, it's not like you have urgent matters to attend to.” She tried to keep the desperation from showing, but wasn't sure how successful she was.
“Are you inviting me to stay over?” Columbina's eyes flickered with an unknown emotion as she spoke in that signature curious tone of hers that drove Sandrone up the wall. The audacity of this woman to play with her like this! What did she think those words meant?
“What do you think?” the Harbinger demanded. She wasn't yelling, but it was a close thing. “You know what? Forget it. You shouldn't stay if you're going to get on my nerves the entire time.” As much as she missed the Moon Goddess, raging for an entire night was the price that came with her company. How could she forget that?
Seeming to have sensed her teasing going too far, Columbina backtracked, “Ah, but is that really a problem, my dear Sandrone? Thank you for the offer, I'll gladly take you up on it,” she smiled.
“Ugh, whatever…” Sandrone's crossed arms and stiff posture couldn't hide the pleased expression on her face. Damn Columbina for doing this to her! Turning her into this mushy little puppet who gets controlled by her emotions!
‘<~{☆}▪︎---/----♡----\---▪︎{☆}~>’
After about an hour, Columbina returned with the little amount of baggage she had. Nothing more expected from the Trilunar Goddess.
“Sandrone, where should I leave my stuff?” Despite having filmed on the Wingalet, Columbina didn't know her way around the ship well. Just as the genius predicted, she only knew the few rooms that were open to the public.
An idea began to emerge in Sandrone's head. She would debate the morality of it later, “Every other room is filled.” A bold-faced lie. Most rooms in the Wingalet were empty and unoccupied. Columbina didn't need to know that though. “I suppose you'll just have to leave your luggage in my room,” Sandrone offered, knowing damn well what she was doing.
A chuckle escaped from Columbina. It seemed as if she knew too. “Thank you, Sandrone,” she replied regardless.
“Don't mention it, now hurry up before I change my mind!” afraid that the blush on her face was growing, Sandrone quickly turned around and walked away to check on Citlali. She had gone out to have a few drinks with her newfound companions, but she was unsure of when the Shaman would return.
Upon going back to her room, the robot saw the Moon Goddess’ pathetic amount of bags resting in a corner. Columbina was looking around the room, her fingers dragging across every piece of furniture that Sandrone had placed.
As the genius’ eyes fell on her bed, exhaustion overtook her, and she plopped down on it swiftly and with no elegance. What an extreme deviation in character.
Columbina smiled at the sight, before approaching the bed slowly. Gently, she sat down on the unoccupied side, turning to smile at Sandrone, and judge her reaction. She appeared to get what she wished for, as the apprehension wiped from her face. She calmly laid down in front of Sandrone, taking off her eye mask and looking at the puppet with her beautiful violet eyes.
They stayed like that for a while. Sandrone hadn't had a real chance to gaze into Columbina's eyes. In all the time she knew her, she never took it off. She made a mental note to ask about this new development later.
Columbina had a pensive look on her face, before she broke the silence yet again, “Sandrone, why did you avoid me?” The hurt in her voice was evident. It made Sandrone's stomach sink.
I was afraid. “What do you mean?” Sandrone deflected.
“I could sense you, the entire time I was filming, yet I couldn't find you…” the pain in her voice was clear. She didn't know how long Columbina had had to go through this on her own.
I couldn't bear the thought of facing you. “I needed to fix my ‘anomalies,’ and clean up a mess left by the Narssissenkreuz Ordo. It was nothing personal,” another lie, a pitiful excuse to avoid explaining the truth. To explain how she would have to face the feelings she wasn't yet ready to look too closely at. It was pathetic.
“Anomalies? What anomalies?” Concern overtook Columbina's voice. She couldn't believe this woman cared this much about her.
Sandrone let out a silent tsk, masking her guilt with the illusion of indifference. “Just my emotion module interfering with my choices, nothing special,” Sandrone clarified, but deep down, she knew she was trying to calm Columbina's worries.
Columbina hummed, “I see.” She pondered the statement for a few moments. “Does this mean your emotion module is now ineffective?” she posed the question carefully, almost sounding afraid, but also hopeful.
Frustration was starting to slowly creep its way back into Sandrone's mood. Could she stop prodding for more information? Any more, and words that have no place in their ‘friendship’ would begin to slip out. “No, I resolved the issue in a different manner.”
“How?”
Sandrone sighed in defeat, there was no hiding this. “I accepted them.”
Judging by the smile on her face, this was the correct answer. Columbina looked extremely pleased. “I'm glad,” she nodded. “You're back, and even healthier than before.” Her expression darkened slightly, her face scrunching up in the sorrow of unsaid words. Sandrone wasn't sure what she was thinking, but she could take a guess.
“Hey,” Sandrone's hand reached for Columbina's. “I'm here now, aren't I?” Sandrone soothed. Why did she have to worry so much? Couldn't she just tease her and flash that stupid smile at her again? She didn't let those sentiments reach her face, though. She never did.
The Moon Goddess reached her other hand out, and placed it on the puppet's cheek. They had kissed before, but it felt brief and meaningless. Or at least that's what Sandrone had told herself back then. Columbina leaned in, never taking her beautiful eyes off of her.
Eventually, their lips touched after what felt like an eternity. Sandrone's stomach filled with butterflies as they leaned into each other, her hand resting on the back of Columbina's head as the former harbinger began to float on top of her.
Their lips moved against each other in a fluid motion, a dance they had perfected since their start in the Fatui. Sandrone slowly began to deepen the kiss with her tongue, which was well received by the moon goddess.
There was distance between their bodies. Columbina always did this back in the Fatui, remain out of reach. It irked Sandrone to no end. No matter how far she pushed her body up, or how hard she pulled Columbina down, she could never maintain the touch for more than a few seconds.
Sandrone pushed Columbina's face away abruptly. “Columbina!!!! Not this again!” Sandrone whined. This wasn't happening on the day they finally got to be together. Absolutely not!
“Not what again?” Columbina teased gently. That girl… She knew exactly what she was doing!
“Stop,” she said roughly as rage overtook her. “Trying to get away from me!” she flipped them around successfully, landing on top of Columbina, and straddling her.
Columbina let out a small gasp at the motion, seeing Sandrone's fuming expression on top of her. A smile began to creep its way onto her face, as she sharply pulled Sandrone back into her.
It felt different this time, not as hesitant. They took their time savoring each other, savoring the moment. They had all the time in the world, after all. Compared to their short makeouts back in the Fatui, this one felt sure, guaranteed to lead to something more.
Back then, she would chicken out the moment things got too heated. It wasn't a matter of want, because she wanted it more than anything. It was more so a matter of pride. What would become of her, if she surrendered to her emotions and allowed Columbina to take this step with her? She didn't have the guts to admit what that would insinuate.
Sandrone's hands seemed to have a mind of their own as they began to take off Columbina's flowy robes, leaving her in her plain, white undershirt. Columbina did the same for her.
“I missed you so much,” Columbina whispered, letting her hands run across Sandrone's smooth, mechanical body. The touch sent a shiver down her spine.
“You really mourned me, huh?” Sandrone chuckled, but there was no real humor behind it. “Let me take care of you this time.” Her tone had softened. In the thrill of the moment, she had forsaken her feigned disinterest.
Sandrone's hands began to descend on Columbina's body, resting at her waist. She peppered kisses all over Columbina's face, getting a small chuckle out of her. Eventually, she moved to start kissing her jaw and neck.
The feeling is captivating. Being surrounded by Columbina's scent, having her like this… She could never ask for anything more. Columbina's soft gasps as she kissed her neck only continued to turn her on, making her want to give the world to the Moon Goddess. Her skin felt sensitive under her lips and so, so soft.
Before moving further down her body with her mouth, Sandrone raised her head, just to look at Columbina. Her face was flushed, hair scattered on the pillow. She looked absolutely, and utterly, “Beautiful…” she wouldn't have realized the words had come out of her mouth, were it not for Columbina's blush deepening as she avoided her eyes. Sandrone let out a quiet chuckle. Small victories.
Her hands eventually moved towards the hem of Columbina's dress, before she whispered softly, “Can I?”
“Please, Sandrone…” Columbina sounded so pretty for her. Taking it as a yes, Sandrone began to take the rest of their clothes off.
Looking at Columbina was life changing, she's always known that. But seeing her like this? She didn't think any sight in Teyvat could even come close. With determination, she began to take the rest of her own clothes off. Columbina's breath hitched. Based on her flushed, taken expression, Sandrone could deduce that she liked what she saw.
She began to move her hands up to her chest, taking her breasts in her hand and massaging them. Columbina moaned softly, enjoying the touch. Sandrone lowered her face into her chest, kissing and sucking on her breasts. Columbina's hands moved up to Sandrone's head, pulling slightly at her perfect bun. She didn't care though; she knew her hair would be ruined the moment she laid in bed.
Columbina sighed softly, her body arching up slightly into Sandrone's mouth. If heaven had a taste, it would be Columbina in this moment.
After what felt like hours, she moved up to kiss Columbina's neck again, while her hands moved to rest on her thighs. She was dying to know what Columbina felt inside, but she felt as if she was missing a step.
She moved away from Columbina's face, and looked her in the eyes with a pondering expression. “Lube,” she muttered to herself quietly. She knew that to make Columbina feel the most comfortable, she would have to use lube, but where could she get it from?
Seeming to have heard her, Columbina tilted her head “We're on a ship, surely there's gotta be some sort of lube lying around?” she replied curiously.
“Yeah, for keeping the ship smooth and running. I'm not gonna finger you with marine lubricants!” In her fit of rage, she seemed to have forgotten to keep the last part to herself. She could feel her face burn in embarrassment. They both might've known what was coming, but saying it out loud seemed to have caused Columbina to short circuit. Her face was burning hot red, seeming to consider something.
A moment later when Sandrone's rage and fluster had died down, Columbina gently took her hand into hers. “I might have a solution, can I try it, Sandrone?” she offered softly, sounding almost too shy to ask.
And what could she do but agree? Sandrone was a weak, weak woman. “Y-yeah. Not like we have a lot of other options.”
Columbina began to carefully bring Sandrone's hand closer to her mouth. She allowed her fingers to rest on her lips, staring up at Sandrone with big, pleading eyes.
Sandrone's breath hitched. She got the memo, and separated her middle and ring finger from the others. Columbina slowly opened her mouth, and began to take in Sandrone's middle and ring finger.
The sensation was amazing. Feeling Columbina's tongue around her fingers made her let out a soft moan, and before long, her hand was free again.
She slowly began to bring her hand near Columbina's legs. The Moon Goddess opened her legs slightly, allowing Sandrone to sit in between her legs. With much apprehension, Sandrone's fingers began to approach Columbina's hole.
She began slowly, gently drawing circles around Columbina's opening. Seeming to have had enough with the teasing, Columbina spoke up, “P-please Sandrone, just do it…”
“Hmph, whatever you say.” Sandrone's middle finger slowly began to enter Columbina. She felt so warm. “So wet for me already, huh?” the robot teased gently. Columbina's breath hitched as Sandrone went further inside, she gasped Sandrone's name in broken sighs.
As she was knuckle deep inside, Columbina slowly began to twist and move her hips. “Are you uncomfortable? Do you need something?”
“N-no, just move. Please, Sandrone,” Columbina muttered in a haste. Sandrone began to move her fingers in a wave-like motion, while slowly moving in and out of Columbina. Very slow at first, but it seemed to do the trick, as it had Columbina gasping and calling her name every other second.
After a while, Sandrone withdrew her finger, and was faced with a scowl. She placed a kiss on Columbina's lips, and went back in with two fingers. She slowly moved her fingers in, and waited a few seconds to make sure Columbina was comfortable. With a sigh and a nod from Columbina, she began to move again.
Against the front wall of Columbina's wall, Sandrone continued to move her fingers in the same way. Columbina continued to moan and push against her. Fearing them being too loud and waking Citlali, she went up and began to kiss Columbina harshly, their tongues rubbing against one another. Against her the Moon Goddess’ ear, the robot whispered sweet nothings as she fucked into her.
“Please, don't stop, Sandrone..” Columbina gasped against her mouth. She wouldn't have to worry, she wasn't planning on it.
Soon, Sandrone could feel Columbina's walls becoming more spacious, and could hear her gasping her name as she came. She pulled her hand out, and laid down next to her.
“Archons, I love you…” Columbina professed. Sandrone's eyes widened in shock, they had never said that to each other before, crossed that invisible line that stopped them from finally confessing. The robot could feel them getting closer when they had embraced during their reunion. She could feel the walls separating them shatter further when she pulled the Moon Goddess back in, and refused to let go. Perhaps this was meant to be. Perhaps they had just been tiptoeing around the words all along. After all, this feeling of affection was unprecedented for Sandrone.
“I love you too, Columbina,” the robot answered. Because from here on out, that's what she would always do, answer.
She placed another kiss on Columbina's lips, before laying her head down on her shoulder. They spent the next few minutes savoring each other; savoring the moment their lives changed forever. With a happy sigh, Sandrone stood up, and offered her clean hand to the Moon Goddess.
“Let's go, we need to get ourselves cleaned up,” the puppet prompted. As much as she loved – loved – Columbina, she couldn't deal with the stickiness of her fingers for a second longer. Hand in hand, she dragged her lover inside the bathroom. As Columbina pulled her inside the shower, she knew that no amount of fear could make her watch Columbina walk away from her ever again.
This is uncharted territory for both of them. Neither truly understood these human connections, but they would have an eternity to figure it out together. Because Sandrone was back, and she was here to stay. No matter what lay ahead.