songerein | closed 🌠 safe and sound, alive under the stars

[She is about to lean forward so that he might steal a kiss from her if he so wishes, but when there's a sudden slam of snow over him and he falls right into the bank, Tifa cries out in surprise and tumbles backwards, slipping on the half-ice half-snow as she lands flat on her bum.]

Did you—!?

[Just dump a bunch of snow on himself???

No. Wait.

Her eyes move past the rink to the other side, and she sees a familiar face. Or rather, two. And the snowwoman from earlier is glaring at him.]

Where did you guys come from?

[She should maybe help her husband out of the pile of snow!? But she's still in too much shock and processing everything first... ... ... as they both slide onto the ice to start "skating" together (really, it's more like sliding) as if none of that had just happened.

What in the world... is...]

Eustace. Are you okay?

[Crawling over to him, she starts melting away the snow.]

Edited 2023-12-16 02:49 (UTC)

[Eustace is completely covered, and while the snow shifts as he works to try and dig and push himself out, it's only thanks to Tifa's fire that he's finally able to shove his head up with a gasp.]

What the hell happened?

The...

[Tifa glances to the rink, seeing how they have both stopped moving to stare, only for them to continue the moment she turns her eyes to them. But she swears that the snowwoman might have winked at her. That, or the cold is getting to her head.

Leaning in, hands pressing to the pile closest to his head, she lowers her voice.]

Remember those snowmen from earlier?

[He's not trying to sit up, but he can't quite look back because of all the snow still on his back. Instead he just looks up at her with a furrowed brow.]

What of them?

[She whispers now, and jabs a finger subtly in the direction of the ice.]

They must have followed us here, and the snowwoman dumped all this on you.

[There they are, still skating around, but don't think she doesn't know that you are watching and listening!!!

But Tifa bites down on her lip, stifling a grin.]

Guess I'll have to thank her later for letting me catch you.

[There's just a look of disbelief before he laughs and lowers his head for a moment.]

Isn't that cheating? But...

[He then looks back up at her, eyes shining a little with a smile.]

I suppose it can count.

[She brushes away some of that snow that's still stuck to his hair and ears before leaning in over him... and stealing a kiss. One that she has waited far too long for.

She can feel the black eyes on them, the sound of the snowcouple's moving stopped, but she doesn't mind this time. Let them watch, she's going to kiss her husband whether they are or not. It took her this long to catch him and she wasn't about to let this opportunity slip.]

Good... Because it's time we headed inside.

[And with most of the snow over him melted by now, she slips her hand into his, threading their fingers together before she raises it to her cheek.]

Got you.

[A quiet laugh as he pushes himself up to steal another kiss, one that lasts a little longer this time.]

Time for your reward then.

[And he will not pull her down, instead standing so that they can finally head inside.]

Good.

[She'll even help him get to his feet, and she will not be letting go of him this time.]

I was starting to get cold anyway.

[A glance to the snowwoman who waves an arm at her, and Tifa smiles gratefully back. What a strange turn of events... and now they're out on the rink skating the night away.]

Plus. We should let them have some privacy too.

[As she pulls him along towards the house.]

[He just glances at the snowcouple, shaking his head in mild disbelief.]

I'm a bit amazed they even came this far... Hopefully they don't try to come inside.

[Once at the door, he'll start to change from his skates to his boots, patting off the snow that had accumulated over them.]

I doubt they'll want to.

[They really, probably should not.

She'll give him the space he needs to take his skates off and change, all while blocking his path away from the door because no more funny business, mister!

But as soon as he's done, she's stepping right up into his space again and staring up at him, her eyes eager and sparking with some anticipation, but before they head in...]

... Hey, Eustace.

[Her voice is soft. So, so quiet against the wintery silence, her cheeks pink both from the intimacy that this calmness allows, and from the chill.]

Thank you again. This was fun.

[Even if she did get a bit impatient there at the end... but it was all just for play.]

Been a while since we've been able to do something like this.

[He's not going to run!!! He's ready to head inside to do that little surprise...and then see her surprise.

But just as he's about to reach towards the door to have them go inside, he stops when Tifa approaches...and smiles softly, hand now moving to take hers instead.]

...I'm glad. I know got a bit carried away there... [A small laugh as he shifts closer towards her.] But it's true it isn't often we get to do this.

[Just play around, have fun. Relax.]

Been so busy lately.

[Stepping even closer, pressing her body flush to his, seeking whatever warmth he can give her. She is still just wearing her dress after all, her discarded jacket still near that little flowerbed they made for themselves. She'll grab it later, she has other things on her mind right now.]

Let's make time to do this more often? Not even dates, just... this.

Mm...

[His eyes soften as he begins to brush his fingertips against her cheek, feeling the warmth of that flush.

And as he leans in, his touch firming to brush back against her hair, he stops when he feels something softer and wider that isn't her hair. Blinking, he pulls back just a bit so he can look and...

...

A quiet smile as he reaches over and pulls the flower from her hair, bringing it between them so she can see.]

This reminds me of something...

[Her eyes close when his fingers find her cheek, leaning into the exchange of heat between them, but...]

Hm?

[She feels something being pulled from her hair, just above her ear, and she opens them again just in time for the glow of the starflower to shimmer in her eyes as they follow it. They go wide in surprise because where did that come from—did he do that or did she?—but it quickly softens when she remembers...]

... Yeah?

[A memory that feels so long ago now, when really... it wasn't. It had been a December night just like this one, quiet and calm and so very peaceful. Of course, on the inside, it wasn't so. It had been a time of confusion, a time of unresolved feelings, but...

He had pulled a flower out of her hair just like this.

She brings her gaze up to meet his.]

I'm forgetting how that all ended, though...

[No. She remembers it so very well, but she'd rather remember this one instead.]

Well...

[He remembers it, too. How he had leaned in just like he did before, an unknown temptation that had drawn him closer to her. A temptation that almost resulted in something he wouldn't have been prepared for at the time, but after he left... Hit him like a bolt from the blue. Made him realize the feelings that had been secretly growing and became so large he didn't know what to do at first. It had been both exhilarating and terrifying, an unknown he didn't know how to deal with.

But now...

With eyes so soft and filled with love, he leans in closer, closing that distance between them.]

I can do what I wanted to back then now.

[A soft, quiet whisper before his lips takes hers, the kiss soft, sweet, but no less passionate than the others as his arm wraps around her waist to pull her closer to him.]

[It's like time stops the moment he leans in and kisses her. As if the snow has stopped falling, the world's stopped turning, and she's sure that her heart had nearly stopped in her chest too, if it weren't for that breath of him that she takes before she melts into the kiss, yielding to his lips.

Her hand finds his, fingertips brushing over the back of it before they touch the starflower, the petals so velvety, soft, and warm...

She falls into him easily enough, and her other hand tightens around his, a silent promise that she will not ever let go as she feels his ring pressing into her finger.

And when she parts for air, their warm breaths turning to clouds in the small space between their lips, she smiles.]

... Is that really what you wanted to do back then?

[His own hand squeezes hers before he breaths a small sigh.]

...Yes, though I wasn't thinking of it at the time. More of an...impulse.

[He gazes down at her, eyes deep with those emotions as he briefly thinks back.]

It was only after I parted did I realize then that I had feelings for you.

Edited 2023-12-16 06:45 (UTC)

Mm...

[Her lashes flutter up at him under the weight of those emotions. She'd been so clueless then, so caught up in her own feelings at the time that she didn't even now how he'd felt. How much she wished so, so bad that he would have leaned in to kiss her, but then regretting even thinking it for a second. She'd been so presumptuous back then, and a little bit selfish for wanting more than what he could give...

But now...]

You don't have to worry about it anymore. [A pause, and she presses up further to him.] And... I think you should do it again.

[There's a quiet laugh as he smiles against her lips.]

I think you're right.

[And in the next breath, he kisses her once more, this one a little deeper and a little longer, his hand cupping her cheek as he pulls her in even closer. As close as they can for this moment.

And around them, starflowers will bloom over the tree, the ones in the branches seeming to shimmer under the moonlight.]

[Closer, still, as her body gives a small shudder in response... if such a thing were even possible, but he finds a way. She would meld right into him if she could, give him her whole soul. Alas, this is all that they can do for now, but it's good enough. It always is with him.

Her fingers curl around that flower in his hand, and mid-kiss, she pulls the stem of it gently from between them so that she can hold it instead.

She remains oblivious to the world around them, but she swears he looks just a little more ethereal right now as she lets her eyes flutter open to gaze into his again.]

... Think I wanna keep this one.

[He just gives her another kiss, remembering the flower he still he has in that box where he keeps various little mementos of their time together.]

You should. ...I still have the other one.

[She twirls it between them, accepting the kiss and then stealing another, soft and quick but still lingering even after her lips are gone from his, though never far.]

I know.

[She remembers the day that he showed it to her, too. Told her about what happened that night. And, in some ways, a part of her always had a feeling that there had been something, but she could never figure it out. Not until then.]

We can put it with the other one?

[She nuzzles her nose against his.]

Mm...sure.

[And he is so, so tempted to kiss her here. To just continue where they left off earlier right here. But after taking in her breath, he looks at her.]

...We should take it inside. Keep it somewhere safe.

I think so, too. It's getting a little cold again.

[A complete lie. Nothing more than just an excuse to get her through that door and into his arms where she can wrap herself up in his warmth more properly. The air around them is actually quite cozy, her joy keeping the heat buzzing gently, enough that it tingles on her skin but isn't too overwhelming.

Comfortable.

And, without any warning whatsoever, she wraps her arms around his shoulders and leaps up, expecting and trusting that he will catch her.]

closed 🌠 safe and sound, alive under the stars

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