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

[starshower]

[Seeing the tag and the charm together around his neck makes her heart flutter. It's one thing having them in the palm of her hand, but another to see him wear that symbol of her love for him. It suits him, she thinks. They're simple charms, small in comparison to the dog tag, but they didn't need to be big and extravagant. As long as the two of them knew what they meant—what the little light that beats at their center means, then that's all that matters.

But how, indeed...

She doesn't miss that surge of fire in his eyes, and she knows that he knows exactly what she's thinking, but where would be the fun in simply giving him the answer?

So, Tifa takes her sweet time in unraveling her own chain from her wrist, the sound of the metal tag like music to her ears when she slips the moon on beside it. Her eyes will flick to his through her lashes, and there's a decorous, playful gleam in them. She even pauses, drawing out the moment as long as possible, to reach across him, her body pressing deliberately to his as she takes her glass of wine for a sip before she sets it down elsewhere and turns her back to him.

Silently, her hand combs her hair forward, draping the long black locks over her shoulder to expose the back of her neck, and with a trembling breath, she peers at him expectantly, her hand stretching back to offer him her chain.]

[flamekthunder]

[He watches with some curiosity before a light smirk forms. So that's how she wants to play it, hm?

With the invitation clear, he slowly moves to be behind her, fingers lightly taking the chain from her grasp. At first he does little more than clasping it together, but as he gently lets the chain fall over her neck and shoulders, his lips follow to brush and kiss against her soft skin, his arm slipping around her waist. The weight of both the tag and charm pull the long chain down to the center of her chest, and as he glances over her shoulder a softer look appears, happy to see her wearing something used to be his. It's a strange thing, maybe even silly, especially since he never really had any sentimental feelings towards his tags before. But now they do. Now they have an actual meaning to his "identity."

Although the sight stokes those heated embers, he's going to play nice and let Tifa continue to lead.]

And now?

[starshower]

[Oh. He's behaving, is he? Even after she dips her head to grant him access to the skin on the back of her neck, and even after his breaths raise goosebumps all over her? She was prepared to have to shrug him off and slip away, to continue their little game of cat and house—or in their case, wolf and rabbit again, but she's both surprised and, admittedly, a mite disappointed when his lips leave her.

There's a pause, as if everything around her slows down, when she lifts her hand to touch where the charm and the tag rest on her chest. Her fingers graze over the metal engravings on the tag where she knows every single piece of Eustace—his identity—is carefully inscribed there. This new weight around her neck is so new but knowing what it is and what it symbolizes... it's exhilarating, and he'll feel her tremble against his body when a satisfied tingle pierces all the way through her.

Their devotion to one another, their love, and the promises they've made... their vows all wrapped into two little trinkets...]

Now...

[The word is a ghost of a whisper, almost nothing at all as she finds his hand around her waist and gently removes it. She chances a knowing glance over her shoulder at him when she bends forward to gather her glass of wine and the bottle beside it, and she can feel her heart leap in her chest before she leads him silently to the winding downward path that leads to the little cove, the sound of the trickling waterfall growing near.

And the sight they arrive to leaves Tifa nearly breathless.

With the dual moons now shining brilliantly in the sky, their bright light filters through the canopies and they hit the water in such a way that it makes it shimmer as the ripples spread outward. Small fireflies flit about, their lights reflecting off the water. Already, star flowers have begun to bloom at her feet, their blue glow helping to light them up. All of it together presents the cove with an enchanting, sensual radiance...

Rather than pause to admire it, she turns to face Eustace with that playful gleam of mischief in her eyes blazing brighter.]

How about a dip?

[flamekthunder]

[He can tell she's disappointed, but it's probably for the best—had he done more she might not have been able to push him off to go to her intended location, which, as he suspected, was the pool. So he just lets her lead him over, and there's a light smirk at her proposal.]

Had a feeling that's what you wanted.

[He steps up to her, his hands slipping beneath her shirt as he lowers his face to press a light kiss on her lips before it deepens. Slowly one hand moves down to curve behind her... And then there's a flash in his eyes, a smirk against her lips before he pulls back and suddenly lifts her up into his arms.]

[starshower]

[She melts under his lips, her body arching to his to seek his warmth, and she loses her grip on the wine and glass as her arms fall loosely to her sides, her entire being yielding to him. The bottle falls with a thud to the ground, the glass with a little clink as it lands on her foot, but she doesn't seem to notice or care. They can come back to it later.

Because she's about to help him with his shirt, her fingers already working to unbutton its front when she suddenly feels her feet leaving the ground.]

What--!?

[She breaks the kiss with a small, surprised yelp, and her arms snap around his neck to support herself as she looks at him through wide eyes and a gaze so thick with emotion that she looks as if she can hardly process what's happening.]

Eustace! [But in spite of her surprise, she's blushing and biting on her lip to stifle another giggle.] What are you doing?

[flamekthunder]

Helping us in?

[Just a mischievous grin and a light chuckle as he turns them towards the water. She has three guesses as to what he's about to do next.]

[starshower]

[Here she was, trying to be the playful one. To keep him wrapped around her finger until the very last second when she could unravel them both, but he has her in a firm hold and she doesn't bother to fight him.

Instead, she looks to the water, then back at him. And then once more for good measure and dramatic effect.]

Don't you dare...

[But that can hardly be passed off as a protest...

In fact, her lips turn ever so slightly with a stifled grin. Is she calling his bluff?]

[flamekthunder]

[There are so many ways this could go as he starts slowly walking towards the edge of the pool. He could fake her out and not do anything. He could throw her unceremoniously into the water. Or...

SPLASH!

He could tighten his grip on her and jump in with her together. The water is not too deep so his feet reach the bottom, but they will be mostly submerged upon initial entry before he brings them back up.]

Ha, shit it's cold!

[And it really is—although not freezing, the water is a very brisk cold that cuts straight to the bone. But Eustace just laughs despite it.

[starshower]

[She's holding onto him, prepared for him to toss her in first but instead, she feels his fingers dig into her muscles, his arms loop tighter around her, and then it's followed by an abrupt SPLASH! and a yelp from Tifa before she's completely submerged in the pool from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. That only lasts a second because she lifts her head from where she'd tucked it against his chest to suck in the air that had left her lungs when they made their impact.]

Oh my god—!

[It really is cold, and as she blinks the water out of her eyes, she has no choice but to pull herself closer to him... and bump a fist against his chest in playful protest.]

We could've just walked in, you know!

[But in spite of the sudden briskness that envelops her, she is trying her best to stifle the laugh she feels bubbling up in her chest.]

[flamekthunder]

Better to just get it over with at once.

[Said between trembling laughs as he slowly wades through the water to help stir up circulation.]

We'll warm up soon enough.

[starshower]

Uh huh...

[She holds herself closer, still playfully scornful with the look she gives him before her cold nose finds a place to tuck away in the crook of his neck, but she does note how her clothes are clinging to her skin, weighing down on her as they move through the water.

Tugging on the collar of his shirt, she raises her face just far enough that she can meet his eyes.]

These aren't going to do us any favours if we want to warm up...

[flamekthunder]

Hmmm, maybe so. But...

[He brings them closer to the edge and nearer the waterfall, pressing her back gently against the rocky wall. The hand holding her behind her legs now trails up her thigh, touch gliding underwater before it moves over her shorts to her exposed back where the bottom of her shirt was floating up from the water displacing it upward.]

That's easy enough to fix.

[He then lowers his face to meet her lips, his arms no longer holding her up as his hands instead rove over her back, sides, and chest, forearms pushing whatever fabric caught between them further upward.]

[starshower]

[Already, as the charms float among the ripples when he moves them, they begin to beat with light again—the star a blue and the moon a soft yellow. They're dim, and Tifa only barely notices when her back hits the rocks and his hands rove over her skin, surprisingly warm in comparison to the sharp cold of the water. She rewards him with a shudder, and a satisfied noise that dies into the kiss, and her legs easily thread between his to pull him closer.

She breaks, only for a moment—one long enough to breathe him in, to steal the hot breaths that pass over their lips, and so that she can murmur, her smile pulling into one that's teasing and coy, with an echo of mischief lining her words.]

Then we'll fix it. I'm freezing.

[As for what happens next, that will only be for the two of them and the nature that surrounds them to know...]

🌙🌠 timeskip 🌠🌙

[starshower]

[It's been a long while since Tifa lost track of time—how many rounds and for how long they were in that cave behind the waterfall before they finally fell asleep among the flowers. It was inevitable that, once they lay down in them, they would never leave and sensing this, the blossoms had spread and thickened until they padded the rocky floor, creating a bed for them. The lights lining the crevices within the rocks have dimmed, but the star flowers still glowed brighter than ever as they wrapped themselves up in one another, bathing in their soft, blue light.

One of the very last things Tifa remembers before she had fallen asleep to the sound of his heart, his breathing, and the gentle trickle of the waterfall were the sweet nothings that they whispered to each other, and the tender kisses that pressed between every word.

But before she could fall completely to the depths of that gentle euphoric bliss that rocked her, she whispers something in Eustace's ear. A single wish that she hopes—even after the long night that they've just had together—he's willing to grant her.]

I want to watch the sunrise with you...

[flamekthunder]

[Eustace watches her as she starts to drift, a soft, sweet smile and gaze that seems so different compared to what he just put her through, but no less genuine. He holds her close, ready to fall asleep alongside her when he hears that last soft murmur. It's such a simple wish, yet it brings a warm flutter to his chest that he can't help but whisper gently in response.]

As you wish.

[Even if sunrise is only a few short hours away, he would be able to rouse them both, already knowing the perfect spot as he had prepared it beforehand. And after a short bit blissful sleep, the sound of the birds and the shift in the air immediately awakens him. A quick glance at the cave entrance confirms it's still dark, but it won't be too much longer before sunrise.

As he returns his gaze on Tifa, a strange, deep emotion stirs in his chest as he takes her in. He always gets this flutter of peace and contentment whenever he wakes up first and is able to look at her cute sleeping face, but this time... This is the first morning they are greeting together after making their future official. The dog tags that hang from their necks and rest against their bodies shimmer from the glowing charms, illuminated with the intense love they filled them with. Will the charms glow forever? Or will they eventually dim?

...No, he's certain they will remain glowing because they will always be pouring in more.

Untold amounts of joy fill him as he is no longer able to resist and soon brings his lips to lightly brush against Tifa's cheek and nose.

His love. His fiancée. His wife. His mate.

Words Eustace never imagined he would ever have for someone, but Tifa has captured them all and more just as she had captured all of his heart and opened it to reveal parts he never knew existed it. He's so grateful to her for it.]

...Wake up little rabbit.

[His lips now go to hers to drop a soft kiss before he playfully nibbles on her lower lip.]

[starshower]

Mm?

[She smiles before she even stirs when she feels the press of something on her lip, and the little nibble that follows, and as soon as her sleepy consciousness returns to her, she's overwhelmed by his scent and the warmth of his skin on hers. It rouses her and stirs the emotions that are already swelling in her heart at the sound of his voice. That little name he's given her, only for when they're alone like this.

Her arms circle around his neck so that she can pull him in for another kiss, tender and sweet, lazy and slow, but it's no less earnest than any of the hundreds they've shared. When she blinks her eyes open, she pulls back, and her vision is filled immediately with the sight of him as she fights the sleep from her eyes.

The sight of him in the morning is the most beautiful thing in the world to her—the way his thick hair is tossed about, how his eyes are thick with sleep but still somehow shimmer like snowflakes under moonlight, how his smiles sit in an almost crooked, boyish way that makes her heart beat for him... She asks herself the same question every morning and she asks it again now...

How did she get so lucky?

The soft metal clink and the gentle glow of their charms reminds her of the things that they did last night, and there's a flush that creeps up into her cheeks as she nuzzles her nose against his. Those dark, sinful things that she doesn't dare repeat aloud, but more than that, she thinks back to the moments before, when he had slid the chain around her neck. When he had asked her to marry him.

He would become her husband soon... In all ways, she would become his, and a little, happy noise escapes from her—a cross between a giggle and a purr before she's stealing another soft kiss from him.]

Is it already morning...?

[flamekthunder]

[Once again he is struck by her loveliness, and for a moment he loses himself, leaning over her as he kisses her again, deeper this time. He lingers, his hand finding her face to gently hold and caress before he finally manages to pull himself away just enough so he can answer her.]

Mm... Just before sunrise.

[And although he promised to show it to her...........she's going to notice that he's starting to want to skip it and stay in instead.]

[starshower]

[She, too, is starting to feel that warm tingle spreading over her skin when he kisses her that she almost pulls him back for more when his lips leave hers, and there's a small whine in the back of her throat at the loss of contact.

But she knows better than to allow either of them to fall too deep into it, because if she did, they would never, ever leave this cave. So she takes the opportunity, as much as it pains her to, to sit up and look out to the mouth of the cave, past the waterfall where the sky is still dark, but the moons have disappeared from view.

When she looks back at him, her eyes glimmer with adoration.]

... You remembered.

[flamekthunder]

[He smiles as he sits up and wraps his arms around her waist before nuzzling against her neck.]

Mm... I always remember everything you ask for.

[...And once again they are in danger.]

[starshower]

I know.

[He remembers, and then always takes it all a step further just for her. Always finds a way to one-up himself. Always finds a way to show her that he's thinking of her...

She presses a kiss to the base of one of his ears, letting her nose linger there for a moment as she takes in the scent, and the softness that tickles her pink. And once again, she feels herself falling to the whims of her desires, and for him, so she leans back just far enough that his breath is no longer on her neck.]

I don't want to miss it.

[flamekthunder]

...There are plenty of others.

[His voice is a low, lazy drawl as his lips travel back to her neck, but he's teasing her. In truth he doesn't want to miss this particular sunrise.... But if they did they can always make up for it later—]

[starshower]

[Tifa coos at him, carding her fingers through his hair and tipping her head to offer him more of her neck to his lips, unable to resist the soft feel of them as they drift over her skin, or the warm tingle that they leave in their wake. But she, once again, has to force herself to keep from spinning to the dizzying heights he's already sending her to, and this time, she slowly rises to her feet. The flower petals that have clung to her skin flutter away.

As she waits for him to join her, a flush settles into her cheeks when she realizes she's still completely bare and sheened with sweat, red marks trailing cross her skin. A shy arm wraps around herself to cover up, although it's a poor attempt, and instead, she fiddles with the dog tag at her neck.]

But this one's special.

[Every one she watches with him would be special, but this is the first sunrise after they've fully declared and promised themselves to one another in a very official way. Just like how the sunrise the morning following their wedding will stir the same feelings in her when that day finally comes...]

[flamekthunder]

[His eyes watch her as she rises, a part of him wanting to pull her back down but knowing he shouldn't. So he manages to restrain and just satisfies himself with the view of her body illuminated by flowers around them.]

...All right.

[A light smile as he's soon up with her, his arms wrapping around her because he really can't keep his hands off her despite his best efforts.]

But can you walk? Or do I need to carry you?

[Now a more insidious grin as he looks down at her.]

[starshower]

[She leans her body against him, using him to shield herself from his wandering eyes, and her forehead falls against his chest as a new, violent flush of pink surfaces in her cheeks and the tips of her ears.

...

.... ]

I'm still a little sore.

[Not that she would mind him carrying her regardless. Tifa is a woman who can handle herself, who could do whatever she puts her mind to, but when it comes to Eustace, she melts into a pool of pure adoration that she'll dote on him and seek any opportunity to have him do the same.

So yes, carrying her sounds kind of nice regardless of how she feels.]

[flamekthunder]

[Just a low chuckle as he sneaks another kiss by her ear before he's suddenly lifting her into his arms.]

Let's stop by the tent first.