Ulla props her weight on one arm so the other is free to take the ring.
She raises Taylor's hand to her lips, brushing a kiss over her knuckles
before she slides the ring into place.
"I'm yours for the rest of your life, sweetheart. I'll love you for the
rest of mine. If our time is limited, I won't waste it shying away from
what we both want."
Taylor has to blink hard, the light coming through the leaves above them becoming a thousand green-tinged stars behind Ulla’s head as she tries so hard not to tear up. She clasps their hands together, pressing them to her chest, and tries to speak, but for a moment, it’s beyond her.
She doesn't need to speak for a moment anyway, because Ulla is leaning in
to kiss her softly.
She'd assumed that this would dwindle eventually. Into fond occasional
visits, and perhaps Taylor finding someone who could offer her the
things Ulla can't, or won't. But she gets to keep Taylor. Not
forever, but for so much longer than she hoped.
It's forever for Taylor, and it scares her. But in a way that feels like standing on a stage, about to begin something wonderful. She holds onto Ulla, both her arms around her, the hand wearing the ring buried in her hair.
"Hanna rushed me a little," she murmurs, grinning. "I didn't expect him to graduate so fast. I only changed my deal about a month ago."
Ulla laughs softly. "We would have managed without the deal. Iris, or
some other way. If you needed it elsewhere. But I love that the rings
connect worlds and families as well as you and me."
"I've been thinking a lot, about our lives after the Barge. I'd been starting to think about leaving. I'm not ready for that. There's still Jasper. And I'd still like one more deal."
"I don't need another," Ulla tells her. "Especially with your latest one.
If I'm paired and have another inmate graduate, I was planning on offering
my deal to them, or to you."
Taylor chuckles. "I just want a version of this-" She pulls a watch from her pocket, and opens it to show the little metal turnkey inside. "That works off-ship. It lets me turn my powers off, or up." She hasn't shown it to Ulla before - she's been ashamed of it on some level. "But I can't have a permanent one without a deal."
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Re: Greenhouse
"Let me see the other ring, please." Because it's Taylor's turn. The rings are a matched pair, after all. And Ulla wants to slide it onto her hand.
Re: Greenhouse
Re: Greenhouse
Ulla props her weight on one arm so the other is free to take the ring. She raises Taylor's hand to her lips, brushing a kiss over her knuckles before she slides the ring into place.
"I'm yours for the rest of your life, sweetheart. I'll love you for the rest of mine. If our time is limited, I won't waste it shying away from what we both want."
Re: Greenhouse
Re: Greenhouse
She doesn't need to speak for a moment anyway, because Ulla is leaning in to kiss her softly.
She'd assumed that this would dwindle eventually. Into fond occasional visits, and perhaps Taylor finding someone who could offer her the things Ulla can't, or won't. But she gets to keep Taylor. Not forever, but for so much longer than she hoped.
Re: Greenhouse
"Hanna rushed me a little," she murmurs, grinning. "I didn't expect him to graduate so fast. I only changed my deal about a month ago."
Re: Greenhouse
Ulla laughs softly. "We would have managed without the deal. Iris, or some other way. If you needed it elsewhere. But I love that the rings connect worlds and families as well as you and me."
Re: Greenhouse
Re: Greenhouse
"I don't need another," Ulla tells her. "Especially with your latest one. If I'm paired and have another inmate graduate, I was planning on offering my deal to them, or to you."
Re: Greenhouse
Re: Greenhouse
"That's a good deal," Ulla tells her approvingly. "So it's always your choice. I'm glad you have one already, even if it's not forever."
If Ulla has another inmate graduate who isn't in desperate need themself, she wouldn't mind spending a deal of her own on that.