closed ⚡🌠 you make my heart feel like it's summer

[starshower]

Who: Eustace & Tifa Lockhart.
Which: Closed log.
Where: Somewhere in the Wildlands.
What: Eustace and Tifa take some much-needed time away.
Warnings: The usual EusTifa warnings. They're gross. :)


[Hardly a week has gone by since their last stint in a dreamscape before they are finally seeing their plans to fruition. They'd briefly talked about it in the room the wolves had provided for them, and then again when they woke up from their dreams, and Tifa wasted no time in preparing for the few days that they promised to spend away from town. After everything that they had seen and been through—not just on the moon but everything that came before—they agreed that time for themselves would be good for both of them. Time away from the noise and chaos of the town, from the dogs, from responsibilities, from potential threats... Time to just exist together, to be, and breathe for a little while.

She spent the days leading up to their trip shopping and packing and making sure that she's found friends who could check in on both the corgis and flower dogs in their absence. It would only be two nights out in the Wildlands, but she wanted to be certain that they have everything they would need and covered all their bases for those few days. She's packed an assortment of meats, frozen for the trip, containers of fruits and vegetables, water, and some alcohol for the evenings—wine and a fine whiskey, perhaps a few others—anything that she thinks they might enjoy over a campfire. Of course, she can't forget the campfire snacks, either. She's never been out camping properly before, but she knows those are a must.

Meanwhile, Tifa left Eustace to worry about their gear. A tent most of all, but anything that they might equip it with as well. Blankets, sleeping bags, pillows, the works. Anything to make a fire that he thinks they'll need, tarps in the event that there's rain. She never quite knows what is and isn't necessary for a camping trip, especially in these parts, but it's best to be ready for any kind of weather with how finicky it can be sometimes, and she trusts that he'll know exactly what they'll need.

Thankfully, they've packed light and in such a way that it wouldn't be difficult to carry between the two of them, but of course, Eustace never goes unprepared, and when he goes all in on something, he tends to go above and beyond Tifa's expectations. When she wandered out of the house, she was surprised to find two horses waiting for them—one she recognized as the white mare from the night they rode to the flowery fields outside of Reverein, the blue flowers that were once smaller now grown and blooming large as they thread into her mane. The other, a large, magnificent black stallion with interesting markings over his body that she feels is almost too perfectly suited for Eustace. They beat their hooves gently on the ground in greeting, and Tifa reacquaints herself with the mare before they finally ride off on their backs towards the Wildlands.

They don't go far, sticking mostly to the northern forests closer to town, but it's far enough that they can no longer hear or even see Reverein through the thickness of the trees, and with the horses, the trek itself isn't very long. The lake isn't far either from where Eustace ends up leading her to, and she can hear the sound of water nearby—perhaps the river coming from the city? Although Eustace did mention knowing of some waterfalls, and the thought sends a warm thrill through her...

It's when they reach a light clearing surrounded by trees that she allows herself to stop, tugging on the mare's reins with a gasp so that she might take in the full sight of it. There are flowers everywhere, and the afternoon sun peers through the canopies of trees overhead to bask it in an almost magical glow. Through the bushes, there's a winding path that, judging from the trickling sounds, leads down a small hill to some manner of body of water.

It like it's straight out of a fairy tale picture book.]

... Is this it?

[It must be... It's the most stunning place she's ever seen, and she's a touch overwhelmed to come up with much more than that.]

It's beautiful.

[How did he even find this place? ... She's been asking that a lot with him, hasn't she? The field of flowers, the barn, and now this. He never ceases to surprise and amaze her and this time is no exception.

Consider Tifa completely blown away once again.]

Comments

[flamekthunder]

[Yes, get drunk off him instead—]

Mmm... Most likely.

[His own arm slips behind her, his other hand rising to lightly brush against the side of her face as he breathes in her scent, always finding it the sweetest and most alluring thing. AS if made just to attract him to her. His own alcohol intake isn't helping, but he's holding a little steadier than Tifa it seems.

If barely.

Then again, he doesn't need alcohol to want to be closer.

But he's quiet for a moment before he asks softly:]

...I'll make it up to you. The things we couldn't do before.

[starshower]

[She's peppering shy kisses and brushing the tip of her nose lightly over his jaw, unable to help herself now that she's here, as she grows drunk off that musky, masculine scent of his, but Tifa pauses, pulling back just far enough to look at him, confusion edging her otherwise heavy gaze.]

... You don't have to make up for anything.

[Even if he did, he'd have done so a thousand times over by now.]

You already do so much...

[flamekthunder]

[The scent of her wine on her breath is almost just as intoxicating as the wine they just drank, her little kisses not helping whatsoever, and it really doesn't take much for him to lean in and take her lips with his own, swallowing her words. His tongue teases her lips, lightly brushing against him to take more of her taste before he pulls back, forcibly reminding himself that it's not yet time.

...Though it's getting harder to prolong it, so now is as good a time as any for what he had planned to do.]

No...I do. I want to.

[He pulls farther back so that he can look at her clearly, both hands now taking hers to hold between them as he stares down at her with a deep, meaningful gaze.]

...I've made you insecure about a lot of things...and I can always tell you my promises and vows, but...I want to give you proof. Proof that no matter what, what we have will always be real. ...That my love and wish to always be with you and only you is real.

[As he speaks that last line, he lets go of one hand and reaches behind his neck to unclasp the small chain that he had worn that day and pull out what had been hidden beneath his shirt. With a soft metallic clink, two dog tags are revealed, and he slips off one from the chain to pocket it. With his other hand now holding hers palm up, he puts the one still on the chain in her hand, still warm from his body heat.]

...It's not a ring—not yet. [The smallest, faintest flush of his cheeks as he quickly continues.] But this is the closest thing I had on hand that I thought could serve as a symbol of my sincerity to you.

[starshower]

[Her eyes teem with curiosity when he pulls back from her and takes her hands in his, and the words that follow tug at every thread in her heart as it beats wildly in her chest—so fast that her breath catches and she gasps, her fingers tightening ever so slightly in his grip as she tries to stand strong against this sudden wave of love that she can feel surging in her.

As far as she's concerned, he has nothing to make up for. Nothing to prove. Yes, they have had their disagreements and have settled their differences in the past, but that's just a part of being together with someone, isn't it? So, what else does he need to prove...

She watches, too stunned to form words, as he pulls something free from around his neck that he'd been hiding until now. A chain... The way the dog tags clink together seems to echo loud around them, mingling with the crackle of the fire to fill the heavy silence in the air, and she's taken aback by how they catch the light, shining brilliantly between them as he sets it in the palm of her hand.

Her eyes move from his face to the tag, and she finally registers—understands what this is. What it means. These are his dog tags. The one thing that is truly, fully his. And he's giving one to her.

When he's finished, Tifa stares down at it in silence for... she doesn't even know how long, before her eyes, wide and glistening with the beginnings of tears, land back on his face.]

... I said you didn't need to prove anything.

[But she's smiling, wide and bright, and her face is redder and hotter than it's ever been.]

I... I don't know what... to say...

[Her voice cracks under the weight of it all.

She isn't sure there is anything that she could say in words that could convey what she's feeling right now. This roaring surge of love and adoration, of devotion, appreciation... All of them more overwhelming than she can take, and all of it for him.]

[flamekthunder]

...Hm. Then listen to the rest of what I want to say...and answer then.

[He looks at her, thoughts tumbling over in his mind. Until his fingers curl over hers, eying the one on her left hand.]

I asked you once if you wanted to marry me to feel things out, and you told me your answer then.

Now...

[His grip tightens as there's just the faintest quiver of his lips as he stares down at her, his heart trembling at the warmth and happiness she continues to express and give him before it all hardens with resolve.]

I want to ask you, Tifa Lockhart, will you marry me?



[Even if it's just formality at this point, Eustace had thought about it since the first time they broached the topic; thought about how he wanted to make it official but wanted to do it right. Get a ring, propose to her in a special romantic way even if that really isn't his style. He only makes the extra effort for her sake. But after what happened in the moonscape and incidentally finding his dog tags, he had decided he couldn't wait for that. He still will get her a ring, and likely do this all over again.

But he wants to make it all clear now. Right here, in this moment. So that no matter what happens there are no doubts left. And even though he knows her answer, known for a while now, his heart still beats loudly in his mind as the gravity of it all weighs on him. How much more real all of this is really becoming with every passing second, hour, day.]

[starshower]

[Tifa doesn't know what she was expecting him to say—she hadn't expected any of this at all—but when he asks his question... that question... she's overcome with a weight on her chest so heavy that she feels she might crumble underneath it all. But it's warm, like a tide kissing her skin on a summer's day. Or when the sun hits just right on her face as it rises in the morning. Or when Eustace wraps his arms around her, blanketing her in his warmth. In him.

She goes completely still, or perhaps it's the rest of the world that stops in that singular moment, where the only sounds she hears are his breathing, her heart beating in her chest as if it were trying to leap free and soar, and his voice echoing those words over and over in her head.

Tifa Lockhart, will you marry me.

One day, she knew she would hear those exact words. After they talked about it in their bed, after he had asked if she would like to one day and she had answered with a yes without a single beat of hesitation, she knew. One day... but if anyone had asked her yesterday if she thought it would be today, she would have said no. She would have said maybe another time, later in the future. Weeks, months, maybe. But Tifa would have been content to wait, and she wouldn't need a ring or a dog tag or a necklace or anything to prove it, even if he would go above and beyond her expectations as he always did. All she would need is him. She had said she would wait as long as it took—if it meant waiting an eternity before he did, then her answer would still be yes...

But here he is, his eyes reflecting the weight of the very same emotions that are coursing violently through her every nerve, every neuron, every inch of her soul as they gaze at one another. She thinks she feels her eyes burning with tears, and she thinks she feels them falling over her cheeks, but she's so caught up in him—in the way he looks at her, the way his hands feel over hers as he holds them as if she's the most precious, delicate thing in his world, and the way his expression hardens with a determination and fire unlike any she's ever seen in him before as he asks the question...

She had said it once, but she will say it again and now she knows with absolute certainty that she's never been more so about anything in her life.]

Yes. [The word spills out of her in a sob—an overwhelmingly happy one.] Yes. Yes.

[And then again, and again, before she's reaching for his face and crashing her lips to his in a kiss. It's desperate, fervid, hot, and wet with her tears as she allows them to fall freely. She drowns a pleased little noise into the kiss before she's parting with him, only so that she can repeat the word between gasps for air as many times as it takes for her to fully believe that this is happening, and so that she can collapse her lips over his.

Tifa doesn't want to stop, but she feels like she has to so that she can confirm one more time, but she'll never go far. With her lips brushing against his, she whispers...]

I'll marry you...

1/2

[flamekthunder]

[Even though he knew she would accept it, there is still a rush of relief and joy when she does voice it. The scent of newly blossomed flowers permeate through the air, the fire crackling louder as hot white lights fly up high into the air and dance—all unseen and unnoticed as Eustace wraps his arms around Tifa and returns the kiss in full fervor. The moment she clearly states she will marry him, he once more swallows her lips, pulling her into rougher, deeper kiss. And this time his tongue doesn't tease her, instead immediately pushing in to find hers.

He's held back for so long, everything now rushes out like a river overtaking a burst dam. He only parts briefly to breathlessly murmur:]

I love you... Tifa, I love you.

[He might not always verbally express it often or so freely, but he can't help it now. Never in his wildest dreams would he imagine himself in this position, but here he is his right now with someone who has managed to turn his entire life upside down—and for the better. Someone who managed to take his heart and help it move past the final hurdles that kept it in seclusion. Someone he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and can't imagine anyone else.]

2/2

[flamekthunder]

[But things will take an interesting turn.

Due to their fervant and desperate movements to pull closer to one another as they continue their heated kiss, as well as the flowers and vines sprouting beneath them, the log they are sitting on as a makeshift bench begins to tilt slowly. And when Eustace starts pulling Tifa to him, the weight is just enough to actually make the log roll and send them over to the ground, with Eustace landing on his back and Tifa on top.

Oof.]

[starshower]

[Tifa moans happily into the kiss, inviting him further as she arches her body to his. She wants to be close... more than anything right now, she just wants to fill every inch of the air around her with him. Already, her hands are searching for purchase, unclasping the front of his shirt to be rid of anything and everything that separates the two of them, and in between kisses when she comes up for air, she quietly repeats the same words back, murmured in a drunken fervor as she surrenders to the flood of brand-new feelings that guide her and make her head spin.

Spinning, spinning...

Until—]

Oh!

[Quite literally spinning over before they both collide with the ground, or rather, the newly bloomed bed of flowers that soften the fall for him when Eustace lands on his back. Tifa doesn't have time to brace herself, and so her face falls right into the crook of his neck where the scent of the lilies and star flowers fill her slowly blissfully clouded mind.

...

.....?

When she lifts her head to look down on him, it takes her a moment longer to register what's just happened... before she bursts out into a fit of giggles. In the midst of that heat, did they really just take a tumble on this log? They are always so perfectly in sync, and she doesn't doubt that they still are, but there was just something about this—

Those giggles turn into laughs that bubble up from her stomach, and she buries them into his chest where she hides the flush of her face.]

I'm sorry...

[flamekthunder]

[He's surprised by the sudden fall and impact, but the bedding does soften the blow to the point it almost felt like falling on a thick blanket. And hearing Tifa laugh... It's infectious and he can't help but chuckle as well, his head turning to kiss the top of her head as an arm wraps around her shoulder.]

Don't be. If anything... Just makes it easier for me to do this.

[And in a move that was probably seen a mile away, he rolls them over so that she's now beneath him, his eyes looking down at her. Although they glisten with mirth, there is also that heat that has yet to be doused. And before she can say more, he resumes their kiss, one hand snaking up beneath her shirt as his mouth eventually parts to kiss her jaw and then down to her neck.

It's clear he isn't going to let a tumble off a log stop him.]

[starshower]

[He gets a tickled squeak out of her when he rolls Tifa onto her back, but that sound dies away when his lips consume hers again and picks them up right where they left off. The flowers beneath her feel like silk on her skin, and they only serve to heighten her senses. She deliberately arches herself up to him, her head rolling back over the petals with a satisfied noise, allowing him the access that he needs for his lips to make their journey to the places she wants them most...

The fire roars higher and brighter with each sound he draws from her, and she can feel its heat washing over them, and it's a crackle of the burning wood that briefly pulls her free of those waves of bliss.]

Wait...

[The word comes out of her mouth in a whisper without her realizing it at first, but her free hand is resting on his cheek to grab his attention, and she repeats it again, more sure of herself this time.]

Wait.

[There was something that she wanted to do as well... before he had surprised her with the tags and the question. She gazes at him, her eyes now thick and heavy with yearning, but she very gently signals to him that she wants to get up.]

I have something for you, too...

[Because she knows far too well where this will go, and then she'll never get her chance, and this feels like the perfect opportunity...]

[flamekthunder]

Can't it wait?

[Just a low growl as lunges forward again, mouth taking her lips as that roaming hand of his sneaks behind her back to start undoing the clasp of her bra. Which by now he can do fairly easily so she'll have to try harder to make him stop.]

[starshower]

[She will indeed have to work for it, but when she feels his fingers so skillfully unhook her bra, and when he ravages her lips again with his, it becomes increasingly difficult to fight back when she knows where this is heading.

Which is why she hooks her legs around his and flips him over in a single swift motion so that he's on his back beneath her now, and before he can say or do anything further, she presses a finger to his lips.]

No. So wait here.

[Tifa scurries to her feet then, but she does slip her bra out from under her shirt so that she can give it a lazy toss over him, and it lands right on his face before she struts away, her hips wagging playfully with the hope that he's watching her until she disappears into their tent.

He'll hear her rummaging around for only a few moments before she comes back out, the chain and dog tag clutched in one hand, and a small velvet satchel in the other, but she doesn't walk back to him, and instead waits for him to come to her.]

[flamekthunder]

[—All right, he did not see that coming so he's a little stunned and unable to move at first, completely captured by seeing her above him. And then she has be a cheeky little rabbit by throwing her bra in his face—wow. He only wryly pulls it away as he sits up, watching her retreat to the tent as he "lets" her escape. Whatever it is she wants to give him, it must be really important to break them up from that.

When she finally reappears, he looks at the items in her hands curiously...and when he realizes she's waiting for him—]

I can move now?

[A wry voice as he stands and saunters over, tossing her bra inside the town once he's near. However, as tempted as he is to push her back in, he is curious about all this so—]

So what is it?

[starshower]

[She never once takes her eyes off him as he crosses over to her, a grin still pulling at the corners of her lips. Her hands are working to wrap the chain around her wrist for safekeeping for now, and she'll wait for him to stop in front of her before she pulls open the pouch.]

It worked out perfectly...

[The necklaces, she means, as there's a telling metal clink at her wrist as she shakes out what's inside. Into her palm fall two empty glass-like charms—a moon and a matching star—as well as a matching set of chains to string them on. Too perfectly, she reminds herself, smiling down at them before she moves her eyes to meet his, reading his expression for a reaction.]

They aren't much, but...

[Tifa's blushing again, shoulders squaring near her ears, as she explains.]

The man who made these said that if we fill them with dreamotion energy... our dreamotion energy, they'll protect us.

[She isn't sure how much of the story she actually believes, but she'd like to think there is some truth to it. Somehow.]

[flamekthunder]

[He watches her a little confused before his eyes widen—for more than one reason. The charms themselves already causes a small flutter in his chest. Even though he's not really one for accessories or jewelry, it doesn't change the fact that she had picked something for the both of them. But it's what she says after, how they have a protective charm, that also makes him stare at her a little mystified.]

...It's the same.

[His eyes flick towards the dog tag in her hands.]

It might be a different kind, but...I had a protection spell enchanted on the tag.

[starshower]

Huh?

[Her gaze flits to the dog tag wrapped around her wrist, then back up at him, and it's then that Tifa breaks out into another brief fit of giggles.

They really did have the same idea, without even knowing it. She had just been out browsing after work the other day looking for something she could give him, and she does know that he isn't much of a jewelry person, but when the man had explained what they were, what they could do...

She remembered what she witnessed him go through in the moonscape, and before that, when he had been shot...]

Sounds like we'll be extra protected, then.

[An odd sense of relief washes over her at that, and she can't help the faint sigh that she looses when she takes him by the hand and opens his palm so that she can set the little glass star in its center.]

This one's yours.

[flamekthunder]

[A light smile forms at her laughter, the sound always so clear and infectious.]

Just like the clovers.

[How they both got four leaf clovers for each other, both wanting to have that precious first date not be marred by the terrible luck they had been having until then.

He then looks curiously at the star charm.]

Why the star?

[Not that he's complaining, he just would have expected receiving the moon.]

[starshower]

[When he brings up the clovers, her eyes widen a touch before her whole expression softens as she gives him a short nod. Just like the clovers... That had been a funny coincidence too. Or perhaps not that, but rather, the two of them being so in sync that things tend to just work out that way.

It's his question that gives Tifa pause, however, and she immediately feels her face heating up again. How many times is this going to happen over the next two nights? She dips her chin, and words suddenly don't come quite so easy to her.

Why the star?

She had thought about it long and hard on her walk home from the marketplace that day, and then well into the night. It should have been obvious to her from the start which would be more fitting, but she wanted to be sure. This was, after all, her own little trinket to prove her devotion to him and she needed it to fit to them perfectly.

Tucking a hair behind her ear and shaking her head, she huffs out a shy laugh.]

It's silly...

[But when she lets her eyes move up to his, she's reminded that no, it's not so silly. It makes perfect sense. This... all of this... it all makes so much sense to her, and she finds herself biting down on her lip with a smile again.]

Back in Nibelheim, I'd sit at my window all the time and watch the stars. They were... always so pretty. Special. When I moved to Midgar... well, can't see them from the ground floor, what with the plate and all, but I imagine they were just as pretty there too for the people who could.

[Gods, she feels so silly saying all of this, and there's no doubt that he'll be able to see the colour in her cheeks by now.]

Then, when I went to Camelot, I could see them again. Here, too. And... in both those places, I met you.

[Her fingers curl over his hand, her thumb stroking shy lines across him palm near the little crystal moon.]

The stars have always reminded me of home... but now... I have a new one. Here... With you.

[Tifa lets her gaze meet his now.]

That's why I wanted you to have the star. So that maybe it could remind you, too...

[flamekthunder]

[At first he listened in half wonderment, but then his eyes widen slightly.

The stars have always reminded me of home... but now... I have a new one. Here... With you.

Home.

It's something he had thought of about her before, and for a person like him, that's huge. As people get older, what they considered "home" changes as their lives change and they move, both physically and emotionally. Eustace lost his childhood home long ago, and there's been no reason for him to return with it completely gone. For most of his life he had called the Society organization "home," but only as a place of residence. It was through Gran and the others that he was able to call the Grandcypher his real home, a place where he really felt he belonged and knew he could always return to after all those years of drifting alone. It's good, but...]

...It's the same for me.

[His hand covers hers over the charms, stepping in a little closer to her.]

You...are my home now. The only person I want to return to...no matter where you are.

[His grip tightens a fraction, his words layered with many different meanings. Here, Camelot, some other world they might get tossed into, some other lifetime. There will be inevitably places where their fates won't intersect, their own worlds being prime examples, but where they do? He's certain, if given a chance, they would build it all over again.

Eustace leans down and lightly brushes his lips against the top of her head.]

The stars won't just remind me...they'll also guide me to you.

[starshower]

[Her eyes slowly shut, and a breath flutters free from her when she feels the warmth of his kiss on her forehead. Her chest swells with love, her heart feeling like it's soaring and her body like it's melting, and Tifa wants nothing more than to lean up and steal his lips with hers. To wrap herself up in him and never leave, but she knows the moment that she does, she'll be done for.

So, she can only gaze up at him for now with a little nod.]

That's why it's yours. So that no matter where you are, you'll always find your way back.

[Back home. To her. And maybe, just maybe, it'll guide him back to her across the universe, too.

Her hand slips out from beneath his just far enough to reveal the star as it begins to shimmer with a dim blue light at its center. It's small, barely noticeable with the fire roaring higher, but it's there.]

And mine is the moon... [Tifa drops her gaze down to where their hands are still threaded together.] My guiding light...

[flamekthunder]

[There's a soft smile as he follows her gaze.]

Always watching over you.

[It really is fitting, and knowing she put so much thought into these really warms his heart. She thinks he gives her so much, but he feels the same—that she's always giving him so much that he can only do whatever he can to match it.

But he does notice how the charm shimmered just now, and he remember what else she said about these charms.]

You mentioned these use dreamotion?

[starshower]

[There are other words resting on the tip of her tongue, caught behind the coy smile that she offers him before he's steering the subject. Her lips part to make a playful quip about how he is her Wolfman, and wolves and the moon, but his question has her focus shifting.]

Yeah. They do. Or so he said.

[Clearly, it does something if it's blinking like this. Does that mean it's picking up on the feelings that are lingering between them right now?

The corners of her lips pull higher.]

He said... we need to channel our dreamotion into them for them to work.

[flamekthunder]

Did he say how much? Or what kind?

[...Really, he can take a guess, but she knows him and wanting to know specifics. Still, he'll do a little test of his own, pouring out some of his love for her towards the little charms.]

[starshower]

[She does know, but Tifa doesn't say anything, only giving him a little hum at first.]

He did.

[That's the only answer he'll get, and she knows that it isn't much, but she's sure that he can guess what it is already, before she's slipping the shimmering star onto one of the chains from the pouch, and she lifts it to dangle between them for him to take.]

He said it's going to need a lot.

[If her face has ever stopped being so red, then it's already flushed again. The maker had explained that an intense lover's connection would be needed to imbue the proper magic, and it would need a lot of it to manifest, and Tifa knew what that meant—or at least, what that means for them. They always have so, so much to give... too much sometimes, but the way her eyes seem to gleam with that suggestion should be telling enough as she waits for him to accept the chain, never quite meeting his eyes fully.]

... I can show you, if you'd like.