this chapter is for you all.
After what felt like an eternity, which really had only been a few hours, Wolfgang could not stand the kisses Rebekah tortured him with any further and, taking her face in his hands, kissed her deeply.
"Ich liebe Dich, mein Fräulein Rebekah" the semi-human being whispered with a smile, and she smiled back knowing he was honest to the letter.
"I love you too, mein Roboter" she replied, and the two hugged each other tightly. She then stood up, holding out her hands to him. "Come on, Wolfgang" she spoke again. "The gang's probably wondered what we were up to."
He chuckled as he held her hands, and she helped him up.
"If they ask, we'll just let them guess" he replied with a smirk, and arm in arm the couple walked out of the park, towards the cafe where Andelina and the Vienna Sisterhood worked. The rest of the gang assembled there, and Wolfgang and Rebekah made the introductions. Andelina, with a joyful grin, went to Elizabeth.
"You are a legend here in Vienna," the Vienna Sisterhood Captain said to the leader of the Quartet.
"I've heard of your wonderful hospitality, actually" Elizabeth replied kindly. "It's a thrill to be here at last in Vienna. This is our first time here."
"Is it really!?" Andelina asked, a bit stunned.
"Ja" Elizabeth answered.
"Well then!!" the cafe owner exclaimed. "The hell with it, on the house tonight!"
"No really, you don't have to!!" replied the kind brunette, but the Viennese woman wouldn't have any of it.
"Now now, Miss Elizabeth of the Quartet" Andelina retorted, "you are our guests here in Vienna. The least we gals can do is make you lot at home. And, as we are Clandestinians all..." But her sentence died, and she just smiled at Elizabeth, who sighed.
"Ah well then," the Captain of the Quartet answered with a grin. "Thank you so very, very much."
The two hugged, and Andelina nodded. "As the Spanish puts it best, nuestra casa es su casa. Our home is your home. However long you need be here, we've got ya covered."
As the gang settled down at tables, Florian sat beside Elizabeth, smiling warmly at her. As the journey home progressed, he had come to admire the green-eyed tour de force, and was a bit beside himself when she began to show feelings for him as well. She had inspired him to break out of his shell a little, as the two began to talk a little more as the days and weeks progressed. Earlier in the afternoon she picked up a hat for him, with flaps that covered his ears. She giggled as he tried it on, and he asked her if it made his head look wierd. But she replied that it made him look rather adorable. In return he picked out a hat that also had flaps to cover her ears, but in her favorite color: green. She loved it.
"That hat suits you good, Elizabeth" Florian spoke, glancing to her. Then, as the string quartet of the cafe started a waltz, he stood and, extending a hand to her with a slight bow, asked, "Now, may I have the honor of a waltz with a bright green-eyed angel?"
With a blush and a warm smile she stood, nodding. "With you, always" she replied, and the two had a waltz beneath the bright full moon and the stars, with the gang conversing and watching on.
"They look so cute together, Wolfgang" whispered Rebekah to her boyfriend. He grinned, nodding in agreement.
"I still think Ralf and Johannes are the sweetest couple there is" he replied, "with us being the most-unlikely-to-be-happy-together couple, and Karl and Anneke being the goofiest couple. Florian and Elizabeth, well, they're just the most unlikely yet wonderful couple. It's as if...
"It's as if we've all found the other half to our souls... us Roboter having found our beating hearts."
Wolfgang blushed a bit, looking away, but Rebekah tilted his face to smile at him. "That was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard you say, second to the fact that you love me" she whispered and, with a happy smile, kissed his lips. He couldn't help but smile back.
As Florian and Elizabeth's waltz ended, Karl and Anneke had a dance, followed by Wolfgang and Rebekah. Then, after a rousing sing-along of "That's Amore" another waltz began, and the last couple stood up for their little reverie...
Ralf stood up and, holding Johannes by her hands, helped her up. "I think we're up for a waltz, Fräulein Johannes" the mensch-maschine said softly. But she only had a blank stare on her face.
"I... I do not know how to dance, no one's ever taught me how to dance the waltz" she replied sadly.
"It's alright, I'll teach you" the kind Roboter responded, and with that he patiently led the waltz as she followed along. But the two only took small, careful steps, pacing themselves so that she would try to get the hang of it.
Andelina watched carefully at the couple's cautious steps, and glanced to Elizabeth.
"What is wrong with the girl, has she never danced a waltz before?" she asked curiously.
"That girl is my sister, Miss Andelina," Elizabeth answered with a smile. "She was born blind, so no one ever wanted to dance with her. I wanted to teach her, but she was afraid. This is the first time anyone's wanted to dance with her, so she's trying to be careful with her steps. She doesn't want to step on Herr Ralf's feet."
"And it shows he's being very patient with her" the cafe owner replied, also smiling. "That is absolutely a blessing."
"The two are meant for each other" the elder sister said. "Mark my words, Andelina, if they get married I'm making sure you and the gals are there."
Andelina smiled at the couple. "You know... the look of adoration in his eyes... the gentle way he leads her along... the humble smile of being in the presence of someone he loves dearly... the warm, comforting way his hands hold hers...
"It is amazing that she has found someone she could trust fully with not just her life but her heart as well."
Elizabeth watched Ralf carefully. Andelina was right--why hadn't the elder sister of the blind one noticed before!? How could she have missed it all along, when he truly cared for and loved her younger sister for who she was? How could she...
how could she have missed the signs? Somehow, she had to mentally scold herself for not taking the time to thank him for being there for her more than ever. These days he had been there for Johannes, as Florian had been for her.
Fireflies began to appear and, floatingly, surround the gang seated. Karl, curiously, watched the little glowing insects make for a very ambient atmosphere. Anneke smiled, noting his curiosity for even fireflies. If anything she found admirable in him, it was a lot for her to mention, but she always loved his curiosity for the world around him.
But his curious nature took a stop as he received a Morse code message from one of the lookout Clandestinians, translating the message as it was received--
RED ALERT
-.. .- .-. -.- ... - .-. --- -- ..-. --- .-. -.-. - ... ... .--. --- - - . -.. ...-- -- .. .-.. . ... ..-. .-. --- -- ...- .. . -. -. .- -.-. .. - -.-- .-.. .. -- .. - ... .-.-.-
DARKSTROM FORCES SPOTTED 3 MILES FROM VIENNA CITY LIMITS.
-... . --- -. -.-. --- -. ... - .- -. - .-.. --- --- -.- -....- --- ..- - ..-. --- .-. . -. - -- -.-- ..-. --- .-. -.-. . ... .-.-.-
BE ON CONSTANT LOOK-OUT FOR ENEMY FORCES.
Karl sighed to himself. "Damn" he muttered. Things just went a tiny bit bleak.
"What is it, Karl?" Anneke asked, her face now alarmed and glancing to the face of her companion.
"Just got a Morse code message from a Clandestine Lookout. Darkstrom troopers have been spotted 3 miles outside this city" he answered with a glare. "Seems we might have to close up shop early."
"...verflucht es zur Hölle" she answered.
Elizabeth's ears picked up the comments made from the two, and looked with alarm to Florian. "We've got trouble, hun" she said, and he nodded glancing to Wolfgang.
"Flür, erhalten Ihre Gewehr" he warned, "we've got trouble three miles from this town.
"Get your gun, get it ready. We might need it."
Wolfgang nodded, glancing to his .45, then to Rebekah.
"Sounds like a long night ahead of us" he told his girlfriend, who glanced to Ralf and Johannes, who seemed unaware of whatever was going on.
Johannes meanwhile mentally paced herself as she and Ralf waltzed to the music. It was a bit out of the ordinary for her to experience her first waltz like this, but she almost stepped on his toes. Yet he was patient and kind with her, smiling at her every moment, every second that he had to spare. He wished he could just see the smile on his face but, at the least, she could feel its warmth in her heart.
The fireflies dispersed as Karl received another Morse code message, translating it to the others as it was being received--
CODE RED: DARKSTROM FORCES ARE 1 MILE FROM CITY LIMITS.
.- .-.. .-.. -.-. .-.. .- -. -.. . ... - .. -. .. .- -. ... .. -. - .... . .- .-. . .- --..-- .--. .-.. . .- ... . .--. .-. . .--. .- .-. . - --- .-. . - .-. . .- - - --- -. . .- .-. . ... - .... .. -.. .. -. --. ... .... . .-.. - . .-. .-.-.-
ALL CLANDESTINIANS IN THE AREA, PLEASE PREPARE TO RETREAT TO NEAREST HIDING SHELTER.
-.-. .-.. .- -. -.. . ... - .. -. .. .- -. - .-. --- --- .--. . .-. ... --..-- .--. .-. . .--. .- .-. . ..-. --- .-. .--. --- ... ... .. -... .-.. . -... .- - - .-.. . .-.-.-
CLANDESTINIAN TROOPERS, PREPARE FOR POSSIBLE BATTLE.
Anneke sighed, glared about, and looked to Andelina. "Is it possible you could find us a place to stay for the evening, so that the enemy doesn't find us?" she asked the cafe owner, who nodded in reply.
"Right beneath this cafe is an underground hiding shelter" Andelina replied. "There you all can rest up for the night and hide from the Darkstrom."
"Thank you so much" the swift-thinker of the Quartet answered, but as the final Morse code transmission came in, Karl didn't bother with translating, and the gang were about to head out for the shelter.
But Elizabeth, who knew damn well than to leave her younger sister and her beloved behind, stopped the gang for a moment.
"Wait" she said, "the fireflies..." and quickly the gang turned to watch most of the fireflies surround Ralf and Johannes, who were still lost in their waltz.
Ralf, somehow more than overwhelmed by his love for her, held her hands close to his chest with one of his, while the other touched her pale yet life-sparked face. Then, in a daring move that he would've never considered, he kissed her lips, carefully, but endearingly. For a moment she blinked before closing her eyes, not sure of what was going on, yet liking this moment that, for once, was hers, his, and theirs alone. At this point the two had adjusted well to the waltz, but for Ralf, his feelings finally consumed him.
"Fräulein Johannes" he whispered, "I fear that... I have fallen in love with you..."
"I came to realize that... a long time ago, Ralf" she whispered back, "not simply with your heart but with mine also...
"I just... I just do not know what else to think than, I fear I've begun to love you... when you promised me you wouldn't let me go..."
But the sentence died on her lips as he kissed her again, and at a distance Elizabeth knew then and there how much Ralf truly loved her younger sister.
"Florian... we had better make sure they don't get separated" she told her companion, who nodded.
After the waltz ended Karl and Anneke sent word of the Morse code alert to the two sweethearts, and Ralf carried Johannes so that she could rest up. From there the gang made a run for the underground shelter, the blind young woman falling asleep in her true love's arms.
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