A/N:
I suggest reading the first story, Logical Sympathy, before reading this. It might be pretty confusing otherwise.
"Hello, Mew Lettuce-san."
Retasu was in shock. Pie was right in front of her. He was listening to her emotional rambling for who knows how long. She felt her face start to warm up. How embarrassing …
She swallowed dryly and tried to rub her face dry. "H—hello … Pie-san."
He didn't respond right away. His face remained stoic as his gaze moved from one part of her face to another, as if he was closely studying each individual detail. Retasu couldn't possibly imagine why he was doing this, but being his center of attention for so long only made her face warmer. Clumsily pushing up her glasses with a shaky hand, she cleared her throat awkwardly.
"Why are you here? I … I mean, how did you find me? I mean … uh … Can I help you? I mean—oh, goodness—did you hear all that? I mean … ugh!" She brought her hand to her forehead in exasperation. What could she say?
Pie didn't seem to respond to any of her questions until she finished performing her act of nervousness. His gaze moved from her (admittedly barely noticeable) dimple on her chin to her eyes as his eyebrows raised in acknowledgment.
"In honesty, I don't know why I'm here. I found you by accident. I do not need your help. And yes, I did hear ... 'all that'," he said. Retasu stared at him in shock that he remembered every one of her questions. She quickly composed herself as she remembered which alien this was.
She bit her lip. "Uh … so—" She inhaled sharply when she noticed Pie moved to sit next to her. "I … I … I …"
She could've sworn she saw him smile slightly at her surprise, if only for a moment.
"It does feel almost wrong, doesn't it?" he asked quietly.
"Hm?" Retasu felt almost uncomfortable. She wouldn't have expected him to say something that sounded so regretful.
"This war." He looked up at the stars. "As a child, I knew the prophecies foretold we would return to Earth. I never would have guessed it would be reclaimed by war."
Retasu looked at him incredulously. "Then why … ?"
"Mew Lettuce-san, you must understand. My leader—my ruler—is the only one who knows how to keep my people safe. What he commands, I must do."
"But … what if he's wrong?"
He sighed. "He's not mortal, Mew Lettuce-san. He is above both of us. He knows what is and isn't, what was, and what will be. He knows what is best for my people."
Retasu grabbed her neglected blanket and wrapped it around herself. "But … does he know what's best for humans?"
Pie shifted. "Yes."
Retasu looked down in hesitancy. "And … what would that be?"
"Do you really want to know?"
"... Probably not?"
Pie looked down at her. "I'm flattered that you wish my people well, but you cannot do anything to change your fate."
Retasu frowned. "You talk about the death of humanity as if it isn't that big of a deal."
Pie looked away. "It shouldn't be to me."
"Is it? A big deal to you, I mean …"
Pie didn't answer. Retasu ignored her fear of the tall, rather intimidating alien to ask another question.
"If you could choose the fate of both your people and mine, would you want both peoples to live happily, together or otherwise?"
Pie looked at her with a look—not quite disgusted, but it definitely felt that way. "I am under no authority to answer that."
Retasu pouted. "Yes, you are. It's a question of opinion, not fact."
"I cannot choose my people's fate."
"But if you could—"
"Mew Lettuce-san, please—"
"It's just a question! What if—"
"Reta— … Mew Lettuce-san, 'what if' questions are irrational."
Realizing he almost said her given name, she shut her mouth. An emotion she couldn't explain rushed through her. She subconsciously started fidgeting with a strand of hair as she broke eye contact and looked away.
"I just … wanted to know if you were a good person …" she mumbled, slurring the words together so it sounded hardly understandable. She wondered for a moment if Pie understood her sentence, though she didn't doubt he at least heard her.
Retasu felt his gaze still on her. She then bit her lip as she realized her disrespect. "I'm sorry … I … I should've dropped the subject …"
She heard the gentle rustle of his shirt as he moved to look back at the stars. "... I'm sorry, as well."
Her head snapped back to look at him as her eyes widened. What he had said was hardly audible, but the silence of the night had given her the ability to hear it well enough.
"W—what?"
He glanced at her, furrowed his brows, and looked away so she couldn't see his face. "I shouldn't have called your question irrational."
Retasu's eyebrows raised. "But … aren't I your enemy?"
He turned to her again. "You apologized, didn't you?"
"Well … well, yes, but—"
"Then there shouldn't be an issue."
"S—sorry, I just didn't know how to respond, I guess."
"I understand."
Retasu pulled her blanket tighter.
"Can I ask you another question?" she asked.
Pie laid back against the roof and looked back at the stars. Crossing one leg over the other, he said, "I suppose."
She allowed herself to lean back, as well, not realizing the intimacy of lying beside him. "Why didn't you attack me today?"
He paused. "I did attack your team today."
She frowned. "That's not what I meant, and you know it."
He winced.
She pressed, "I was the only one you didn't attack."
He looked away. "I … You …"
She blushed as she realized she had flustered him.
"You … make me think of my family." He seemed unsure of his answer. He looked back at her before continuing, "That is, you make me worry about them."
She blinked. "Why?"
"Because you seemed … concerned about my relationships back when …"
"... when we had that talk?"
Pie nodded and looked down, as if in thought.
"Oh … W—well, I hope they're doing well." She smiled encouragingly.
He merely glanced at her before looking back at the stars.
Retasu looked at him sympathetically, reading his response as regretful. Seeing how serene he looked, she allowed herself to study his face as he remained quiet.
She tried to read him, but he remained an enigma. She couldn't help but find a need to know him. Something about him seemed to tell her he wasn't a bad person after all.
As Pie pursed his lips together, she could now see his cheek dimples. The edges of her mouth curved into a smile.
"You know it's rude to stare, right?"
She jumped in embarrassment. Composing herself, she replied, "I … I could say the same to you!"
Pie frowned. He sat up. "That's not—!" He stopped himself, sighed, and stood up. "I should go back."
Retasu felt a pang of disappointment. She felt like she enjoyed his company, at least because they weren't fighting this time. "Okay …"
He looked at her again. "Please ... do not tell anyone about anything that happened tonight. I shouldn't have been here."
Retasu was quiet for a moment. "I understand."
He nodded before turning.
"Pie-san!"
He stopped.
"Will you visit again?" It was a stupid thing to ask, but she did genuinely enjoy seeing his vulnerable side.
His eyebrows raised as his cheeks seemed to turn a pale pink. His gaze shifted from one of her eyes to the other, then back again. He started to lift himself off the ground. "I think that would be a foolish thing to do, Mew Lettuce-san."
Retasu looked down. "Oh …"
"But I am truly flattered," he said quickly before teleporting, as if flustered by what he was saying.
Retasu looked up to see him gone. She smiled. He seemed to enjoy her company, too. What this meant for the future, she was not certain …
But at least they were friends … or something …
A/N:
I wrote this in a day.
I haven't written in a while. I feel bad about it.
Btw. Writing from Retasu's perspective will prove a challenge because Pie can be hard to understand when you're not inside his head. So this sequel is going to have Retasu struggle to read Pie. Fun stuff.
Anyway ... my show got postponed to the end of May (unless we can't do it at all thanks to all this coronavirus stuff).
BTW
YOU KNOW HOW PIE HAS GLASSES IN THE RETURN MANGA?
WHAT IF
HEAR ME OUT
WHAT IF!
HE DOESN'T NEED THEM
BUT HE WEARS FAKE GLASSES
TO COPY RETASU
xD
alright anyway, thank you so much for reading uwu
have a nice day, lovelies