[ Ayaka had explained to the director her plan for her beau. He was interested in him, so she of course, talked about Cloud! How they met, how they became close and got roles in a movie and became practice buddies. Just like Ayaka, Cloud values his privacy, and she thinks that is one of the reasons why they got along so well to begin with. And because she is his beau, the director is allowed to look... She knows what he likes, he's mentioned it to her before, so she has to put her boundaries.
No acting overly familiar with Cloud. He would not appreciate that, and might even snap at you if you push him.
Like an angry cat.
The director places a hand on his hips and starts tutting. ]
Straight to the point. . . no foreplay at all. That would hurt, you know.
[ Poor Ayaka, he thinks, but maybe the girl likes it that rough despite how she looks.
He looks back at Cloud and shoves a script his way. No touching, but the script is pressed against his stomach. ] Follow me. Act 3. Those people on the first row are all auditioning for the hero of the story. You're going to show them what a hero actually should be like.
[ By which he means, start reading the act as they walk down. It's a very romantic scene... ]
[ And yet, once more, it is because of Ayaka that this angry cat did not whip out his claws. Though if the Director kept that up longer without any further explanation, it might have gotten to that point. Luckily, Cloud's at least not too uncomfortable; he calms down and settles in as best as he can to his new position at this theatre. The Director laments no foreplay, and...frankly, yeah. Cloud's been softened up by his tenure in Nippon on that front. Sexual undertones don't bristle or embarrass him as much anymore.
There's something hovering around in Cloud's brain about how foreplay's getting skipped if they're turned on fast enough COUGH KYUSHU COUGH but. He's also not dignifying that with a response. He holds his ground, only sighing with a simple: ]
Right.
[ That's when the script gets shoved directly against his stomach, and he places his hand over it to prevent it from scattering to the ground. Cloud knew it. He wasn't about to exactly retrace the script by heart, the one from their time back in Nippon, but this is still all so familiar to him. The entire time, he keeps a calm, businesslike expression on his face, flipping towards Act 3 in advance while he pays attention to the Director's instruction.
It's...actually more familiar than he thought it'd be. He really did spend a lot of time going over the script with Ayaka, as well as spending a lot of time in the district of Gion for the movie. And that feeling was bubbling right back up to the surface. ]
"Hero", huh?
[ And sure enough...it's a very romantic scene, indeed. Pulling at the heartstrings, the music already crescendos at the right moment in his head, and this moment calls for a hero's tenderness as much as it calls for his boldness.
It's not so much the content of the act and his lines that causes color to creep back up to his cheeks.
It's the memory of catching Ayaka that day, and everything that would follow when they celebrated at the teahouse. Well. There he goes, then. Back on stage once more. If he were being honest? He didn't think he'd ever do this again. But, at the same time, once he'd taken a deep breath and sucked it up stifled his doubts, then it's just like what happens to his girlfriend when the camera starts rolling. He becomes an entirely different person.
He has experience doing that. For better or for worse.
Right, then. He has his lines. And whether or not he's going to be working alongside someone for this scene, or it's a monologue, he asks as he hangs on the Director's every word. This is his task. ]
[ The boy could use to use more of his words. The director interprets it in two ways, and it is with a flourish of his hand that he explains: ]
Why, of course you'd want to gain a new letter so you know where to go.
[ That should be Cloud's motivation to finish this task. Properly.
Up they go on stage, shooing away the other people who are practising so that he and Cloud can be at the centre. ]
Your character, on the other hand, needs to rescue his childhood friend played by yours truly. I've gotten sick, you see. [ Well, isn't that familiar? ] Act 3 is when your character finds out about just how sick I have become. You have the medicine to cure me, but because you took so much time...
[ It does not sound like a happy ending. But maybe that is familiar to Cloud, too. And so, the director does not even wait for confirmation that Cloud is ready. He should be ready. He should be able to adapt to his surroundings, and the director tests that by throwing himself at the blond.
[ Cloud has to bite back the "No shit" that threatens to bubble out when the Director flourishes his hand and explains the goal of retrieving the letter. Of course that wasn't what he was going for! His motivation for the scene. He's taken a read of the lines, but much like the first audition, there was also prompts to guide the actors through it. More than anything, he suspects that there would be another actor. Or maybe an actress? It didn't quite matter to him, since they were all just playing characters, after all. As the Director explains that he has to rescue his childhood friend, ]
...
[ He feels a strange weight settling in his chest. Even when the much taller, fashionable man mentions that he's gotten quite sick. That he has the medicine to cure him, but does he make it in time? Without so much as another word, as he prepares to fold up and stuff the script in his back pocket because he anticipates that he's going to need his whole body for this performance, he looks away as he takes a deep breath. In through his nose.
Out his mouth— ]
!?!
[ His senses work in overtime for him, quickly registering the Director in his peripheral as he throws himself at him!? NO WARNING?! But in that quick span of a second, it almost feels like time slows to a crawl for him. The stage disappears around him. The aspiring performers seated in the front row disappear. The young lady who took those sushi rolls to snack on down? Disappears. Only the man who throws himself at him, the spiky-haired blond's eyes snapping wide—
"I didn't think you would come for me,"
And as Cloud lets the script in his hand just fall to the ground, catching the Director like it was the most natural thing, he adjusts him in his arms, just managing to get an arm around the back of his shoulders for support as he starts kneeling down with him. Setting him down easy as he looks into the Director's eyes (is he still wearing those shades...either way, still doing it) ]
.....
[ The audience waits. The Director waits. It's Cloud's line. ]
[ The Director would feel the muscles in Cloud's arm around his shoulders hold him just a little tighter as he starts shaking his head, loosing a shaken breath. ]
Nono no... Come on. It's okay. You're gonna be okay. I've got it... I've got it right—
[ Right here. In his pocket. The medicine he pulls from his pocket, nothing but thin air for the scene but in this reality, it's everything that his childhood friends needs. He made it, right? He caught them just in time... Right? ]
[ The Director is most certainly still wearing those shades, yes. And the Director is a very skilled acteur, getting into his role of Cloud's heroine fairly easily. He does know the script by heart, after all, and he's very pumped to play the heroine in this case if it means being in the arms of such a beautiful man. ♥
He wears his mask very well, and the staff, the crew, the other actors hoping to get a role, are already to enamoured even when he hasn't said a line yet. It's Cloud who has the first spoken line in this scene, and the Director tries not to criticise him in his head. He'll have to keep the scene going, after all.
The heroine and hero find each other after some time apart. The hero had gone off to search for a cure for his friend's sickness, only to arrive a little too late when there's no way of curing the sickness already. And so, with a voice soft and weak, the heroine responds. She sounds happy even as she struggles to keep her eyes open, merely calling Cloud by his name and acknowledging his presence.
And the scene goes on with its dramatics, with the heroine being so grateful to Cloud just for being here and for changing her life, for everything they've gone through together, and she hopes he would forgive her and himself for leaving so soon... He's always been so stubborn, after all. . . and she just knows he would be angry and take it against himself for letting this happen.
If Cloud was expecting one of his Ayaka's lines to be recited to him? Well, he might not get the one that he was thinking of... Because the Director's last words aren't anything like it. ]
Please... can you smile for me one last time? You are much more handsome when you smile.
[ It's only the very back of Cloud's mind that finds the juxtaposition between the real man he's holding tenderly and the delicate heroine he's playing to be jarring. Luckily, thanks to that very theatrical tenure in Nippon (or just Cloud's penchant for getting into sticky situations by default,) it stays put— in the back of his mind while the forefront brings out a character desperately trying to hold on. Hold fast to what little emotional integrity he has left as the one person he couldn't stand living without was fading away in his arms.
She struggles to keep her eyes open, so heavy-lidded with fatigue as her final minutes are fast approaching. And Cloud can't stop any of it, even when he tenderly cups the side of his acteur's cheek in a bid to keep their gaze on him.
"Look at me," he pleads as they pour their heart and souls out. Cloud raises his voice during a couple of pivotal moments, mindful that this is a theatrical production. He's effectively begun to improvise at this point, albeit while keeping a key point lingering upon the fringes of those backstage thoughts. Lines to recite. How many things she loved about him. How he loved her too damn much to let her go. To please stay with him. And though Cloud doesn't put on the waterworks or cry (he can't do it like Ayaka can), his breath does tremor. He can feel his mouth going dry. And there's tension in his whole body as if he was fighting against very fiber of his being not to just break.
Keep it up, Cloud. You're almost there. You're almost there... ]
...what...?
[ The curveball almost breaks his immersion, blinking bright and wide-eyed down at his fading love, one hand resting in the center of the Director's chest with a gloved grip curling against his suit.
He closes his eyes, clutches her body closer as he bows his head as if to mourn as he comes to accept the pain that sweeps his entire being...
"You always were the stubborn one between the two of us."
Ayaka's words ring in his heart with a clearing resonance. And as her voice carries him through to the end of this scene, he's taken back with a flash of a precious moment he cherishes to this very day. From the day she gave him a tour of the first Kamisato Estate, the adorable way in which she peeked back out at him from behind a sliding door, trusting him with her 'secret'...
"But... I've always loved that about you."
He wants to see her again. It's only been a couple of hours and he wants to see her. Cloud opens his eyes, her guiding voice and the promise of what waits for him at the very end, and though his lips do curl for the Director... ]
I wanna keep smiling for you... [ It's somber. Bittersweet. A smile steeped in loss that he never wants to feel again. ] So please—
[ Cloud's smile is the last thing the heroine sees before she passes, and so, with a soft "Thank you", the Director closes his eyes.
For a whole of five seconds, which might be the longest and most awkward five seconds of Cloud's life. ]
End scene.
[ It is only then that he pulls himself away from Cloud's hold so that he can stand up, almost as if the whole thing never happened. What happened to the sickly girl? She's nowhere to be found now. The man Cloud is on stage with is the Director, one who is now being given applause! Cloud gets some recognition too, of course, with some of the people auditioning cheering for him and telling him that that was great.
They're going to use his performance as their inspiration for when they audition!
While the Director does not give Cloud praise for his performance, he does smile at the blond as he hands him yet another familiar-looking envelope. Where did he pull that from? Oh, somehow it came from his breast pocket inside his shirt. Don't mind him casually pulling that out and all. ]
I'm guessing you won't take up acting again unless the proprietress is involved. A pity, you're very talented. And she doesn't like the spotlight.
Do come and watch us when our production is on stage. I'll send tickets your way.
[ For now, with the job done, the Director heads back down the stage and starts to call the attention of those auditioning. They'll want to get ready soon, because he wants to see some fine acting as they get back to work!
No one pays Cloud any more attention after that, but the assistant does come back to show him the way out. She's very energetic, it seems, talking about how the Director met Ayaka at the festival she organised last year, and how they wanted to work together. It would seem that nothing has happened yet with regard to that until today.
Once they're at the entrance, the assistant waves him goodbye and repeats the Director's words that he and Ayaka should come watch them once they're on stage with the play. ]
[ And that's another task down for Cloud Strife! He's left with one more envelope and letter to go through, but that should be the end of his tasks now, right? Ayaka only handed him two bags to deliver, after all.
Celebrating might be a little too soon, though, as the letter reads:
‘I’ll be back soon!’ You said, and left; From that morn I’m sunk in gloom as lengthy as the cicadas’ Constant song.
Hehe, it feels like that poem encapsulates how I feel at this very moment. Even though I am writing you this letter well in advance, I know in my heart that at present, I would be missing you terribly.
We did not get to say goodbye to one another properly, after all. I would send you out on some deliveries, but I am afraid that you would no longer find me at the teahouse if you do go back there now.
The second task for you was at the theatre. That was when we saw each other again after our initial meeting, and to this day, it still feels like such a serendipitous moment. I know that we are in a relationship now, but when I think of the moment after the audition where we had sashimi and had tea together, it makes me feel very giddy.
I enjoyed being able to spend time with you then. Never would anyone see me rest my head on someone's shoulder in public in Inazuma, but I was too comfortable around you that I had to make an exception. And now, when you are the one who knows me best, who has seen me for who I truly am, I do not wish to hide how I feel for you even in public. I love you, Cloud, and you are always in my mind and in my heart.
For your next task, I would like you to meet Thoma. Please do get in touch with him on your own, and do make sure you bring a gift for him when you do meet. It is only polite to offer a gift to someone, after all.
We shall meet soon. I am very excited to see you again and hear about your day. I do hope the Director was not too familiar with you. He is the same with me, but I had to let him know that he must respect your personal space. Won't you tell me about the task he had you do when we meet, as well?
... [ One second. ] .... [ Two seconds. ] ..... [ Three seconds. ] ...... [ Four seconds um is he supposed to put his "lost love" down now and get up or— ]
[ "End scene." ]
Ah—
[ Like somebody just snapped their fingers in front of his eyes, the mood shifts in an instant. He blinks, and Cloud is already loosening his hold on the Director as the man rights himself. Another shrug of his shoulders as the tension leaves his body, taking a couple extra breathes to calm himself and come back to reality. It wasn't until he reflected back on this later that it was going to hit him that he...really gets into his roles— that he really steps up to the plate whenever the time called for it. If he was uncomfortable, he didn't show it. And even if he did show it? He worked it harder than most would on the fly.
At this stage, if all the hard work he put into impressing Andrea Rhodea didn't do anything for this new olive branch of skills, nothing would.
He only offers a light bow of his head to the people auditioning that applaud and start murmuring about the blond hero before he's back to following the Director when he suddenly retrieves a familiar envelope from his breast pocket. It nets a blink and widened gaze from the semi-retired actor as he reaches out for the letter. Since the Director was in on this and the name of the game was Valentine's Day? Before Cloud can even read the letter, of how Ayaka did not wish to hide her displays of affection for him in public: ]
That's right. [ It's very likely he wouldn't take up acting like this if she wasn't involved. And that's because... ] She's my motivation.
[ "Do come and watch us when our production is on stage. I'll send tickets your way."
To that? Cloud nods. ]
We will.
[ Armed with his second letter, and liberated of the bags of food he's given her, he can only imagine that it was time to return to the teahouse. He's spent long enough out that their shifts would be ending soon enough. But if he hurries back quick enough... ]
— — —
...
[ After reading her letter, an echo of her voice trailing off his lips as they reminisce over sashimi and tea, it's starting to become clearer and clearer what this was all about. Absence made the heart grow fonder. And so Cloud finds himself unable to help but smile as he folds the letter upon finishing it. She's making him feel everything that she did in setting all of this up. As to where this was all going to lead and end?
Well... ]
Okay. What do you got for me, Thoma?
[ Cloud was willing to defy fate itself a hundred times over if it meant being with her again— crossing his way to Teyvat by any means necessary if it meant fulfilling that wish to stay with her. If he was willing to go that far, what was a few more stops down memory lane if it meant he had her waiting for him at the end of it all?
Right. Time to procure a gift before he contacts his fellow blond. With Task #3 soon to be under his belt, following these breadcrumbs was eventually going to take him farther and farther away from the teahouse. Farther and farther away from Sunwaning. But at this stage? Cloud was prepared. He had every letter she wrote him to keep him warm and guide him; he had every memory etched within her words to keep him going. ]
[ It may have been a trip down memory lane for most of the afternoon, but what Cloud has to do for his task with Thoma is a little different. Likely more challenging.
If Cloud has been keeping his eyes on Ayaka, like she asked him to when he witnessed her do her fan dance for the first time, though, then perhaps it might not be too difficult in the end.
The art of tea ceremony has so much history behind it all, and proper etiquette is such a big part of it. Learning tea ceremony and being a master of it is something Ayaka prides herself in, because of her interest in tea in general, and because it has helped her become who she is today. While she does not expect Cloud to follow all rules of tea ceremony, and merely just prepare matcha, she does believe in his capabilities of being able to mix a good version of it.
If Cloud and Thoma (and Ayato) become closer because of it, then that's a bonus!
By the end of it all, Ayaka hopes that it'll be close to sunset. It would give enough time for Cloud to prepare for his date and zoom on over to meet Ayaka. It is why she does not let him dawdle any longer. The letter Thoma (or Ayato...) would be giving him simply says:
A string of stars bright Wishes and promises made Winter moves to spring
He can figure it out, right? Right?????
By which Ayaka means, "please come to the observatory in Coldreach. I will be waiting for you."
Compared to their anniversary date, though? Cloud won't be finding the observatory with lots of people. The entrance will have a couple of sakura petals, indicating that he's in the right place, though. Meanwhile, the walk up there and once he reaches the top where the telescope is will be completely deserted. Not even the staff are around.
Did Ayaka rent out the entire observatory? Surely not, right? Haha.... ha................
Where's Ayaka? He might have some difficulty looking for her as he roams around. . . But if he does go outside to the open area that overlooks the rest of Coldreach, he might spot a picnic mat already set up. There's no food set up just yet, but there is a rather large basket and a rather large box which obviously looks like his present resting in the middle of it. She's hiding behind one of the pillars so she can surprise him ]
[ If he were being evaluated by a true master in the art of tea ceremony with no bias, there's a good chance that Cloud would have failed. Whether he didn't take enough time, or rushed particular steps by seconds; in the end, through his errors he passed his trial. If only because he did just that— kept his eyes on her. The teahouse in Gion that was now like an old haunt of their memories, was where he first witnessed her performing an abridged summation of the tea ceremony. At the time, despite his attempts at paying attention, he was watching the wrong parts... Her words, gentle as they flow from her lips as she explained, the way her lashes accentuated her silvery blue hues, only barely registering "wagashi" as she left him dazed with a sense of wonder before he could snap out of it. Yet it's because of this memory that he drives himself forward. And in the end? Whether it was truly up to standard or not when he finished preparing the matcha... ]
❄️🌸
[ He made it. Having the wherewithal to heed the final(?) letter's advice, it only took him ten minutes of mulling the poem over before he made his way back to their home in Sunwaning. Somehow, the closer he got on his scooter, the more his heart started racing and the hairs on his arms raised. As if he needed to get in and get out as fast as he possibly could. He was on a mission this time, and it's all thanks to a Haiku that might as well have been his map. His phone, warmer clothes better suited for the wintery segments of this realm (a navy scarf, black winter trenchcoat...), and the only thing he actively elects leaving behind are both his weapons. Although for this run...he was tempted to take Nagareboshi Tsubaki with him— a blade that symbolized his binds with the Kamisato Clan.
But for this special day, he won't need it. He's not worried about running into trouble when Ayaka has never lead him astray before. Not once on this entire scavenger hunt did he ever feel lost. He had a path. And he continues to follow it even now as snow gently falls upon a twilit Coldreach, snowflakes dotting his black coat like pure white dust. He can see it from here, the tallest point in the region; and he runs a gloved hand through his hair, brushing the snow that wets his spikes back before reaching into deep coat pocket for the Haiku. Or more specifically... ]
A string of stars bright...
[ His map. And what he can feel in his heart is the final destination. It's the only memory she's taken him down that wasn't from Nippon. It's of Ellipsa. It's this world. It's here. And as Cloud puts the Haiku away, he starts to run and slide his way down the gently powdered hilltop he once took Ayaka to, witnessing the quaint town that awaits them. No text messages. No calls. She hasn't read or seen anything from him, and every time he checks back, there's been no sign of activity on the other side. There, at the top of the observatory, he's looking for the brightest star he knows.
And it won't be in the sky either.
There's no one here, only sakura petals preluding and causing his breath to clip as he enters the emptied Observatory. With no one else's voice but his own to carry and echo when he finally...
Finally— ]
Ayaka?
[ —calls her name. There's no answer. But he doesn't stop for very long. It almost feels like he's in a dream. She didn't rent out the entire Observatory for them, did she? Was he getting ahead of himself? Was this even the final stop? Did she have anything else in mind to make his heart weigh that much more from not seeing her? From the day they first met, to catching stars in the sky a year ago...it feels like he's had to endure all of it again. All of that space of time, compressed into one single day. And for the first time since he began this series of trials on Valentine's Day?
He sounds slightly out of breath. Panting, gently huffing as he runs up the spiraling stairs, to the next floor...and the floor after that... ]
[ "So if we're making wishes... We don't hafta make them come true on our own." ]
[ Come on, Cloud. You're almost there. ]
[ "I will protect you, too. All your wishes." ]
[ And when Cloud finally reaches the top, swallowing for air as he calls her name one more time, ]
Ayaka...?
[ "I will make your wishes come true." ]
[ He roams, searches high, looks to the starry ceiling, searches low, sighs alone at the very top when he pulls out his phone one more time. Cloud taps her name, opening up her contact page... ]
[ "So... please," ]
[ He's about to call her. So close to the end— before Cloud can press the button, he hesitates. His saving grace in keeping him from giving up dangles from the end of his phone. Kamisato Ayaka's camelia, the one that she entrusted to him as he gave her his cherry blossom. He said it himself, didn't he? That he'd never fall. ]
[ "Continue to keep your eyes on me." ]
.....
[ Cloud puts the phone away, the camelia telling him to look outside. To retrace one final memory that further committed a girl from beyond the stars into his heart forever. So he finally steps outside, cocking a brow at the picnic mat with a large basket and equally big box settled in the center of it. Slowly, he approaches the mat, only sparing fleeting glances around just in case. But there's no one.
Just echoes of memories that have guided him back here all over again. None the wiser to what was about to happen despite the anxiousness that builds in his chest the closer he gets to the goodies, only to stop and take a deep breath as he closes his eyes. ]
[ With Ayaka being alone in preparing for this, she really did need all that time to get ready. She, too, went back home to get dressed. Perhaps to add to the surprise of it all, she put on a kimono instead of something less traditional. It is a date, after all, so she must look her best! And no doubt she knows that Cloud would want to look his best for tonight, too.
By the time the skies start growing dark and the sun goes down, Ayaka's picnic set up is all ready. All that's left to do is to wait for Cloud. Every now and then, she checks her phone to see if there are any updates from the people she's asked help from, and much as she appreciates it all, she cannot wait to see Cloud again and for him to tell her his side of the story.
No, scratch that. She cannot wait to see Cloud again. Period.
Every so often, she peeks from the top of the observatory to see if there is anyone walking towards the building. Once she spots her, she immediately goes into hiding.
She didn't even plan it initially! But in her giddiness and excitement, she thought it best to hide behind one of the doors leading to the open area of the observatory. She isn't even sure if Cloud would realise where she is, but she thinks her own heartbeat might reveal her hiding place because of how loud it was. It feels even louder than his footsteps!
When he passes by the door where she's hiding behind, she stops breathing for a bit until she sees him pass. Slowly, she takes a few steps to the side until she isn't concealed anymore. It's just a few more steps to take, and she can wrap her arms around her beau and greet him proper. A true surprise! ]
My love? [ Even her own excitement gets the better of her, because she calls him and beckons him to turn around, unable to keep it to herself anymore. So much for surprising him... But when he does turn to face her, he'd better be ready because he has to catch her all over again. ] Happy Valentine's Day!
[ Cloud barely has time to register her voice, almost lost between wondering if it was still a dream or if he was imagining things like he did before. Yet every fiber of his being was telling him to just turn around. Quickly. There's not much time left. And just as he does, pivoting on his heel with hopeful, baby blue eyes, his heart leaps in his chest— out of surprise and also knowing that he finally made it to the end. Her stunning kimono, the articles in her hair, soft white silk and her arms thrown around him as he does just that.
He catches her again. Like their audition. Like at the end of racing to make the last train. Like he did when they were climbing down from their tree. Just like he would continue to do for the rest of his life as his arms envelop her tight and his breath shakes upon the chilled night air, laughing softly as emotions overwhelm him.
He braces himself for her, only stepping around on his feet to carry her momentum into one little spin before she's safe and sound in his hold.
But instead of saying it right back, Cloud has other ideas— one of which was something he'd missed doing far too much for his own good as he takes what little breath was granted them away with a kiss. He did this too, when she finished her fan dance for him and the only answer he could find was something words couldn't portray. And just like that, it feels like he's being released. He's set free, like his white heron who could fit through the opening of that opened cage.
[ They laugh at the same time, and there's something about hearing Cloud laugh that makes her heart swell.
He's happy. He's not one to be as emotional as she is, but any sign of his happiness is something that delights her, makes her feel even happier, like she was on top of the world.
Before she can ask him about his day, he kisses her, and this time? She's ready! Not because she was expecting it from him, but because she's wanted to kiss him from the moment they went their separate ways. She smiles when their lips touch, pressing herself against him even more, as if the distance between them was far too much despite being held by him now.
When he pulls away, Ayaka cannot help but let out a deep breath. ]
I'm so glad you're here... [ Somehow a little later than what she was expecting. Did he experience any hitches along the way? Ah, well. He'll tell her later. ] I missed you so much today.
[ His emotions come in bursts, steeled beneath the surface on most occasions; they were before he met Ayaka. Even in Midgar, while his guard was lowered and chinks in his armor were found, Cloud hadn't truly opened his heart until he set foot on Nippon soil. And now that he's let himself be this way, through every up and down on this rollercoaster of a journey they've embarked on across worlds together, he didn't want to have a single regret— knowing that he didn't have the chance to tell her and show her how happy she's made him.
It's like he told the Director. She was his motivation. On and off the stage. And kissing her like this felt like a punctuation on the fact that she was everything. This whole trial was worth it to make it to this point. And now that they were here, prepared to enjoy their date beneath the waking stars as night falls, Cloud was still figuring out if there was a way to make this never end. ]
The Haiku was beautiful, [ the one that guided him here in the end. But as he says this, he softly shakes his head as he tenderly cups the side of her face in his gloved hand. There's no one else up here but the two of them. Just like their walk home from Frostreign, on a day like today? He can remember to be a little extra affectionate. Consider it practice for how much more she deserved and would receive in the coming days. Because he wants more of this for her. For them both. ] Mn. Every letter was.
[ He sighs into kissing her again, shorter and sweeter this time before he breathes, ]
I missed you too.
[ ... .... ..... one more? One for every task? They can date soon he promises. ]
[ It makes her happy that he liked the letters. She's always liked writing, whether it was poetry, stories, or even letters to people at work or for people she loves. She loves receiving letters as well, and it's why each and every letter Cloud has written for her, no matter how short or how simple, are all kept in a nice box with all other trinkets she's gotten from her beau.
Before she can say anything though, he kisses her again. In an instant, she melts. She would kiss him again now, after hearing him say that he missed her too, but she has some restraint... Some. ]
I would kiss you again, but I'm afraid our food would get cold.
[ The basket should keep the warm food warm and the cold food cold, but she doesn't want to take any chances! ]
[ Frankly? It's because of her that he even started taking up writing more in his spare time. Poems, letters for her birthday...and no doubt what was to come when White Day rolls around. But he cherishes each and every single one. Every note she's gifted him is kept safe and sound in kind. If Cloud needed motivation on those longer treks into the various seasonal regions, then he would on occasion slip one of those envelopes into his pocket, a reminder on lonelier nights if he hadn't already texted or called her (reception notwithstanding.) ]
... [ He agrees. But, consider— One last peck. ] One for the road.
[ And he finally steps back, only to take her hand in his with a loving squeeze. He'll take off his gloves shortly so that he can get to lacing their fingers proper, but she's right. They have a dinner to enjoy! He's excited, but he tempers it on the surface well for her, taking her over the rest of the way to their seating arrangement, a private picnic with a cushy picnic mat beneath the night sky. He's learned enough; she's getting the royal treatment she deserves, too. So as they walk and talk and prepare to sit down, Ayaka's beau will kneel alongside her, holding her hand on the way down so that she can get comfortable. ]
How long were you planning this?
[ Because he had. No. Clue. Just his own imagination of what would happen after work running wild in his head. ]
Hmm... I believe it was about three weeks? [ On and off, anyway. Ayaka's assisted as she sits down, and she appreciates her beau for all of it. Though if he thinks the surprises are over, there is still one more. ] I also booked us a room at one of the resorts in Frostreign. But since this all had to be a surprise, it's for tomorrow.
[ Considering they don't have any other stuff with them now!! ]
I was so nervous that you might find out before today... [ That gets an airy laugh out of her as she settles down and brings out various bento boxes for their dinner from the basket.
The first one she brings out is a stack of wooden boxes which has been kept cold by her Vision. Two stacks of sashimi platters, because these two do love their sashimi. Taking the lid off and pouring soy sauce into a small plastic sauce dish, she offers it to Cloud, finally. There are chopsticks which he can get from inside the basket!
Once that's served, she pulls out another bento box with some pan de mie sandwiches. ] You must be hungry from everything you had to do today. I'll prepare the tea shortly, as well.
[ No sushi for Cloud today, but she does have another bento that's been keeping warm! Chicken with pumpkin and curry sauce, tamago, and some veggies. There's another set for her as well, which Cloud is more than welcome to have some of if he wants more. ]
I wanted to make the food for our dinner tonight. I hope you don't mind that I didn't order from a restaurant, even though we agreed to have dinner at one. I just... thought it would be more special.
[ Except for the sashimi, anyway. But she does hope Cloud would not mind. She wanted everything to be personal for him, and it is a wife's duty to prepare meals for her husband, right? She does love taking care of him, and she knows she does that everyday for as much as he'd let her. Working in the kitchen has been difficult, because she isn't an expert like Thoma when it comes to cooking, but... she wants to think that she's gotten better. He's her motivation when it comes to these things. ]
Three—? [ Cloud realizes the shift in his pitch, blinking surprisingly at her. It wasn't a bad thing! Far from it! It just lends to Ayaka's ability to keep a surprise. To keep a secret. Even from somebody as perceptive as her beau. Once he's settled her down, he takes his own position by her side, for now opting to exercise his own seiza posture. It just...grew to become a natural thing for him. He takes up less space like this. His legs aren't kicking out! ... he'll do that later, but, nonetheless— ] Well, there's our extended plans after all.
[ He'd genuinely thought that the two of them were going to be resigning themselves to a closed off, intimate time back at the estate for Valentine's Day. And that was hardly a complaint from him. Every day, every birthday, every anniversary, every milestone they can share— it's everything he cherishes as it drives him forward.
Keeping his hands neatly settled in his lap, he hums his approval upon her airy laugh. ]
You did good. I didn't suspect a thing till I got that letter from Chinatsu.
[ If there was one constant when it came to her blond prince from another world, it's that he expressed his emotions best with his eyes. Such as when Ayaka prepares the two stacks of sashimi— a breathtaking assortment with what looks like...toro?! How much did she spend? He's not worried, but more touched that this was just a piece of the extent she was willing to go for Valentine's Day. And yet, as they indulge and he breaks his chopsticks to enjoy clipping a slice of salmon sashimi and dipping it into the little soy sauce container, he remembers everything else that lead up to this point. From her letters to even— ]
Speaking of hungry, the Takoyaki and Boba for HQ? [ He knows. ] Was that on purpose?
[ And if she somehow didn't?? It was a beautiful coincidence. Yet another reason stacked upon the pile of many more as to why he fell so hard for her in the first place. So much for characters needing time to develop their feelings over a long period. He broke that rule in record time and has never looked back, across two worlds and all. ]
You kidding? [ A beat. ] You give restaurants a run for their money.
[ He goes for one of the pan de mie sandwiches after he's had a couple slices of sashimi, setting his chopsticks at his side for now as the corner of his mouth lifts with a smirk. ]
Since my plans involved others, I had to make sure their schedule was free for what I would ask of them.
[ Especially Thoma and Ayato! She'd disturbed them from celebrating Valentine's Day together, after all, even if it was just for an hour or so. Ayato's time is very precious, and Ayaka does not dare to take too much of it, unless he is willing to give it to her.
With the food spread out, Ayaka prepares the tea! Sadly, it's not matcha for tonight, as they do have a lot to eat already. Matcha might be too heavy for this meal, so she's decided to bring sencha in a thermos again. One cup for Cloud, before she serves a cup for herself! ]
Well... What I had in mind initially was Chinatsu seeking your help after learning about you from the guild, but when she decided to order some takoyaki for her class as well, I thought it was perfect to change the plan to what you had to do. The milk tea was something that I had to upsell to her.
[ And it worked! It really felt like fate, in a way. And if he's curious about the Director... ]
As for the Director, we met during the Arts Festival last year. Since we don't serve sashimi, I thought the closest would be some sushi rolls, which is perfect, since he does order it often whenever he gives presents to people.
[ Cloud's set his chopsticks down now, but Ayaka takes one of the salmon sashimi pieces, dips it in soy sauce, and offers it to him with a smile. He can have all the salmon pieces if he likes, Ayaka isn't going to steal any of them when she knows he likes those. ]
Then... at my restaurant, which only operates in Planet Cloud, customers must allow themselves to be fed like this.
Looking back, I'm... [ Chinatsu and the students were one thing. As was the Director. But there was, of course, something even more special about the trust she'd placed in Ayato and Thoma. And when Ayaka mentions making sure schedules were free... Not only was Cloud racing against the clock in his own mind to not keep Ayaka waiting at the end of these letters, but it was also for her brother and boyfriend's sake. They deserved this day just as much as Cloud did with her. ] I'll go thank Ayato and Thoma again.
[ Not now, of course! But after they've finished this date and completed their little Frostreign getaway, Cloud was going to make the effort in taking both of them to heart further. Hopefully, wherever they were right now, they were making it a day to remember now that they've seen the white heron and her prince off. ]
Ohhh, [ Cupping his sencha tea between his hands, he can feel the warmth spread through his gloves. Although, up here, it still wasn't so cold. After he takes a drink and sets his cup down safely, he'll probably take them off. ] Your little Slime Toad challenge, by the way?
The students liked the Kamisato Art Tachi Jutsu demonstration.
[ He sounds proud. In a way, his choice too, was a callback to how he felt Ayaka was the one who claimed decisive victory against the Salamander.
And the Director? ]
He's gonna send us tickets for when their production goes live.
[ When she greets him once more with a glistening slice of salmon sashimi, dipped in soy sauce as it was, if it weren't for the fact it'd start dripping soon if he didn't act quickly, he'd be caught looking into her eyes for too long. Which is all the more reason for her beau to lean in, graciously accepting the slice as his lips gently close around the tips of the chopsticks. A gentle hum of approval before he leans back once he's finished savoring and swallowing it. ]
You made the idea of Planet Cloud cute. [ Of all things. And she pulls it off with flying colors. Funny how "beautiful" was more common in his vocabulary than "cute", but it feels right here. With no one to perceive them up here, the observatory fully reserved for the two of them, it's like being behind closed doors once more. Where he can let his hair down, and trust her with more words and displays of affection. Nearing two years... She's made him this comfortable over that time that he can trust her with being a little braver.
He hopes she's prepared for Frostreign. ] Lucky us, we get the universe's best host.
[ So adorable that a part of him wants to enjoy her meal quicker. ]
Chinatsu said you were quite flashy! Though, she did not get to take any photos. I would have loved to see you in action.
[ A pity! But it is what it is. And she's glad he was successful with the task! Her beau has a lot of talents, and fighting is one of them. He's developed his own style even though he follows the Kamisato Art Tachi Jutsu, furthering the art itself by creating his own sub-branch of sorts. She can only imagine how Cloud would be like on the battlefield, were he a master of the art years from now.
And then he talks about the Director and how they're going to get some tickets in the future. Haha! She thought he'd have more to say about him... but that's alright. Maybe it is for the best that he doesn't, considering the Director's personality. ]
Then... it is another date night. [ They'll watch a play, have dinner, and just enjoy the rest of the night together! They spend so much time with the other that it might not feel like it's anything new, but whenever they go out and use the word "date"? It just makes her feel so giddy and excited. Almost two years of dating, and Ayaka still can't help but feel so elated whenever they're doing "boyfriend-girlfriend" stuff.
Once Cloud's had his own sashimi, Ayaka takes a piece of tuna to eat! She's so excited... She's been wanting to eat these even before Cloud arrived. ]
Maybe I should not have given you chopsticks... [ Hahah, don't spoil her, Cloud. She might actually pull something like that one day! ] Then I could feed you the entire meal.
[ And this time, he's determined to win! Their track record when sparring in just Kamisato Art Tachi Jutsu was heavily skewed in his girlfriend's favor. Understandably so. Because while he still continues to practice at home with her from time to time, he's also taken his training on the road, between their time spent in Nippon and now here in Ellipsa. And Cloud would like to think that he's improved despite having a long ways to go on the road to mastery. ]
Can't say I was expecting him to be my "dying love" on stage, but...guess I did good enough for those tickets.
[ He's of the same mind! They may spend practically every day together, but even her beau's come around to letting excitement fill him at the prospect of proper "dates". Going out to shop together, or bring home groceries or restock the teahouse didn't count as outings to him. So long as their dates didn't take them anywhere overly crowded, he was comfortable. Comfortable enough that sitting in a packed theatre, despite himself, actually wasn't such a bad thought either. It came with the territory of becoming an impromptu actor with her.
Cloud fixes Ayaka with a stare, canting his head with a tug of a smirk on his lips. ]
Really now.
[ Glancing back to the side of his lap, he grabs his chopsticks. Sigh. He's really gonna try this up here, huh. Plucking a tender piece of tuna, mindful not to pinch too hard that it falls apart, he lightly dips the end of it in soy sauce. ]
Then...
[ If Ayaka was too busy feeding him everything, then... ]
Whose got you?
[ He asks, the fatty piece on the end of his chopsticks offered to her. ]
[ It was rather bold of Ayaka to practically declare that she would feed him in every opportune moment. All the time, if she could! Her love for Cloud just goes beyond giving him presents and physical contact— though she does love it when his hand is in hers... Her love transcends beyond those ideas, and in every possible way, she wishes to show him that she loves him.
That includes serving him! Whether it's packing him lunch, preparing him tea (making tea for Cloud versus her making tea for anyone else is yet another different feeling for her), or in this case, feeding him. She knows he is a mature adult, a respectable and chivalrous prince, but his princess only wishes for him to get spoiled from all the affection that she can give.
And tonight, on Valentine's Day, she hopes to erase any and all inconveniences for him.
So when he takes his chopsticks to turn the tables on her? The more playful side of Ayaka surfaceds, and she covers her mouth with both hands. She's guarding it as she shakes her head, the way her eyes squint showing that she's smiling so happily behind those hands of hers. ]
It is Valentine's Day, my love. Today is all about you.
[ No feeding her, Cloud!!! Unless it's with your dick. ]
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2024-02-07 09:00 am (UTC)No acting overly familiar with Cloud. He would not appreciate that, and might even snap at you if you push him.
Like an angry cat.The director places a hand on his hips and starts tutting. ]
Straight to the point. . . no foreplay at all. That would hurt, you know.
[ Poor Ayaka, he thinks, but maybe the girl likes it that rough despite how she looks.
He looks back at Cloud and shoves a script his way. No touching, but the script is pressed against his stomach. ] Follow me. Act 3. Those people on the first row are all auditioning for the hero of the story. You're going to show them what a hero actually should be like.
[ By which he means, start reading the act as they walk down. It's a very romantic scene... ]
no subject
Date: 2024-02-07 09:43 am (UTC)There's something hovering around in Cloud's brain about how foreplay's getting skipped if they're turned on fast enough
COUGH KYUSHU COUGHbut. He's also not dignifying that with a response. He holds his ground, only sighing with a simple: ]Right.
[ That's when the script gets shoved directly against his stomach, and he places his hand over it to prevent it from scattering to the ground. Cloud knew it. He wasn't about to exactly retrace the script by heart, the one from their time back in Nippon, but this is still all so familiar to him. The entire time, he keeps a calm, businesslike expression on his face, flipping towards Act 3 in advance while he pays attention to the Director's instruction.
It's...actually more familiar than he thought it'd be. He really did spend a lot of time going over the script with Ayaka, as well as spending a lot of time in the district of Gion for the movie. And that feeling was bubbling right back up to the surface. ]
"Hero", huh?
[ And sure enough...it's a very romantic scene, indeed. Pulling at the heartstrings, the music already crescendos at the right moment in his head, and this moment calls for a hero's tenderness as much as it calls for his boldness.
It's not so much the content of the act and his lines that causes color to creep back up to his cheeks.
It's the memory of catching Ayaka that day, and everything that would follow when they celebrated at the teahouse. Well. There he goes, then. Back on stage once more. If he were being honest? He didn't think he'd ever do this again. But, at the same time, once he'd taken a deep breath and
sucked it upstifled his doubts, then it's just like what happens to his girlfriend when the camera starts rolling. He becomes an entirely different person.He has experience doing that. For better or for worse.Right, then. He has his lines. And whether or not he's going to be working alongside someone for this scene, or it's a monologue, he asks as he hangs on the Director's every word. This is his task. ]
What's my motivation?
no subject
Date: 2024-02-07 05:08 pm (UTC)[ The boy could use to use more of his words. The director interprets it in two ways, and it is with a flourish of his hand that he explains: ]
Why, of course you'd want to gain a new letter so you know where to go.
[ That should be Cloud's motivation to finish this task. Properly.
Up they go on stage, shooing away the other people who are practising so that he and Cloud can be at the centre. ]
Your character, on the other hand, needs to rescue his childhood friend played by yours truly. I've gotten sick, you see. [ Well, isn't that familiar? ] Act 3 is when your character finds out about just how sick I have become. You have the medicine to cure me, but because you took so much time...
[ It does not sound like a happy ending. But maybe that is familiar to Cloud, too. And so, the director does not even wait for confirmation that Cloud is ready. He should be ready. He should be able to adapt to his surroundings, and the director tests that by throwing himself at the blond.
You know.
"Catch me." ]
1/2
Date: 2024-02-08 06:35 am (UTC)...
[ He feels a strange weight settling in his chest. Even when the much taller, fashionable man mentions that he's gotten quite sick. That he has the medicine to cure him, but does he make it in time? Without so much as another word, as he prepares to fold up and stuff the script in his back pocket because he anticipates that he's going to need his whole body for this performance, he looks away as he takes a deep breath. In through his nose.
Out his mouth— ]
!?!
[ His senses work in overtime for him, quickly registering the Director in his peripheral as he throws himself at him!? NO WARNING?! But in that quick span of a second, it almost feels like time slows to a crawl for him. The stage disappears around him. The aspiring performers seated in the front row disappear. The young lady who took those sushi rolls to snack on down? Disappears. Only the man who throws himself at him, the spiky-haired blond's eyes snapping wide—
"I didn't think you would come for me,"
And as Cloud lets the script in his hand just fall to the ground, catching the Director like it was the most natural thing, he adjusts him in his arms, just managing to get an arm around the back of his shoulders for support as he starts kneeling down with him. Setting him down easy as he looks into the Director's eyes (is he still wearing those shades...either way, still doing it) ]
.....
[ The audience waits. The Director waits. It's Cloud's line. ]
[ "—but... I'm glad." ]
2/2
Date: 2024-02-08 06:40 am (UTC)[ The Director would feel the muscles in Cloud's arm around his shoulders hold him just a little tighter as he starts shaking his head, loosing a shaken breath. ]
Nono no... Come on. It's okay. You're gonna be okay. I've got it... I've got it right—
[ Right here. In his pocket. The medicine he pulls from his pocket, nothing but thin air for the scene but in this reality, it's everything that his childhood friends needs. He made it, right? He caught them just in time... Right? ]
no subject
Date: 2024-02-08 08:23 am (UTC)He wears his mask very well, and the staff, the crew, the other actors hoping to get a role, are already to enamoured even when he hasn't said a line yet. It's Cloud who has the first spoken line in this scene, and the Director tries not to criticise him in his head. He'll have to keep the scene going, after all.
The heroine and hero find each other after some time apart. The hero had gone off to search for a cure for his friend's sickness, only to arrive a little too late when there's no way of curing the sickness already. And so, with a voice soft and weak, the heroine responds. She sounds happy even as she struggles to keep her eyes open, merely calling Cloud by his name and acknowledging his presence.
And the scene goes on with its dramatics, with the heroine being so grateful to Cloud just for being here and for changing her life, for everything they've gone through together, and she hopes he would forgive her and himself for leaving so soon... He's always been so stubborn, after all. . . and she just knows he would be angry and take it against himself for letting this happen.
If Cloud was expecting one of his Ayaka's lines to be recited to him? Well, he might not get the one that he was thinking of... Because the Director's last words aren't anything like it. ]
Please... can you smile for me one last time? You are much more handsome when you smile.
no subject
Date: 2024-02-08 09:29 am (UTC)She struggles to keep her eyes open, so heavy-lidded with fatigue as her final minutes are fast approaching. And Cloud can't stop any of it, even when he tenderly cups the side of his acteur's cheek in a bid to keep their gaze on him.
"Look at me," he pleads as they pour their heart and souls out. Cloud raises his voice during a couple of pivotal moments, mindful that this is a theatrical production. He's effectively begun to improvise at this point, albeit while keeping a key point lingering upon the fringes of those backstage thoughts. Lines to recite. How many things she loved about him. How he loved her too damn much to let her go. To please stay with him. And though Cloud doesn't put on the waterworks or cry (he can't do it like Ayaka can), his breath does tremor. He can feel his mouth going dry. And there's tension in his whole body as if he was fighting against very fiber of his being not to just break.
Keep it up, Cloud. You're almost there. You're almost there... ]
...what...?
[ The curveball almost breaks his immersion, blinking bright and wide-eyed down at his fading love, one hand resting in the center of the Director's chest with a gloved grip curling against his suit.
He closes his eyes, clutches her body closer as he bows his head as if to mourn as he comes to accept the pain that sweeps his entire being...
"You always were the stubborn one between the two of us."
Ayaka's words ring in his heart with a clearing resonance. And as her voice carries him through to the end of this scene, he's taken back with a flash of a precious moment he cherishes to this very day. From the day she gave him a tour of the first Kamisato Estate, the adorable way in which she peeked back out at him from behind a sliding door, trusting him with her 'secret'...
"But... I've always loved that about you."
He wants to see her again. It's only been a couple of hours and he wants to see her. Cloud opens his eyes, her guiding voice and the promise of what waits for him at the very end, and though his lips do curl for the Director... ]
I wanna keep smiling for you... [ It's somber. Bittersweet. A smile steeped in loss that he never wants to feel again. ] So please—
Don't go...
1/2
Date: 2024-02-08 02:24 pm (UTC)For a whole of five seconds, which might be the longest and most awkward five seconds of Cloud's life. ]
End scene.
[ It is only then that he pulls himself away from Cloud's hold so that he can stand up, almost as if the whole thing never happened. What happened to the sickly girl? She's nowhere to be found now. The man Cloud is on stage with is the Director, one who is now being given applause! Cloud gets some recognition too, of course, with some of the people auditioning cheering for him and telling him that that was great.
They're going to use his performance as their inspiration for when they audition!
While the Director does not give Cloud praise for his performance, he does smile at the blond as he hands him yet another familiar-looking envelope. Where did he pull that from? Oh, somehow it came from his breast pocket inside his shirt. Don't mind him casually pulling that out and all. ]
I'm guessing you won't take up acting again unless the proprietress is involved. A pity, you're very talented. And she doesn't like the spotlight.
Do come and watch us when our production is on stage. I'll send tickets your way.
[ For now, with the job done, the Director heads back down the stage and starts to call the attention of those auditioning. They'll want to get ready soon, because he wants to see some fine acting as they get back to work!
No one pays Cloud any more attention after that, but the assistant does come back to show him the way out. She's very energetic, it seems, talking about how the Director met Ayaka at the festival she organised last year, and how they wanted to work together. It would seem that nothing has happened yet with regard to that until today.
Once they're at the entrance, the assistant waves him goodbye and repeats the Director's words that he and Ayaka should come watch them once they're on stage with the play. ]
no subject
Date: 2024-02-08 02:27 pm (UTC)Celebrating might be a little too soon, though, as the letter reads:
‘I’ll be back soon!’
You said, and left;
From that morn
I’m sunk in gloom as lengthy as the cicadas’
Constant song.
Hehe, it feels like that poem encapsulates how I feel at this very moment. Even though I am writing you this letter well in advance, I know in my heart that at present, I would be missing you terribly.
We did not get to say goodbye to one another properly, after all. I would send you out on some deliveries, but I am afraid that you would no longer find me at the teahouse if you do go back there now.
The second task for you was at the theatre. That was when we saw each other again after our initial meeting, and to this day, it still feels like such a serendipitous moment. I know that we are in a relationship now, but when I think of the moment after the audition where we had sashimi and had tea together, it makes me feel very giddy.
I enjoyed being able to spend time with you then. Never would anyone see me rest my head on someone's shoulder in public in Inazuma, but I was too comfortable around you that I had to make an exception. And now, when you are the one who knows me best, who has seen me for who I truly am, I do not wish to hide how I feel for you even in public. I love you, Cloud, and you are always in my mind and in my heart.
For your next task, I would like you to meet Thoma. Please do get in touch with him on your own, and do make sure you bring a gift for him when you do meet. It is only polite to offer a gift to someone, after all.
We shall meet soon. I am very excited to see you again and hear about your day. I do hope the Director was not too familiar with you. He is the same with me, but I had to let him know that he must respect your personal space. Won't you tell me about the task he had you do when we meet, as well?
Your Ayaka ]
no subject
Date: 2024-02-09 05:35 am (UTC)[ "End scene." ]
Ah—
[ Like somebody just snapped their fingers in front of his eyes, the mood shifts in an instant. He blinks, and Cloud is already loosening his hold on the Director as the man rights himself. Another shrug of his shoulders as the tension leaves his body, taking a couple extra breathes to calm himself and come back to reality. It wasn't until he reflected back on this later that it was going to hit him that he...really gets into his roles— that he really steps up to the plate whenever the time called for it. If he was uncomfortable, he didn't show it. And even if he did show it? He worked it harder than most would on the fly.
At this stage, if all the hard work he put into impressing Andrea Rhodea didn't do anything for this new olive branch of skills, nothing would.
He only offers a light bow of his head to the people auditioning that applaud and start murmuring about the blond hero before he's back to following the Director when he suddenly retrieves a familiar envelope from his breast pocket. It nets a blink and widened gaze from the
semi-retired actor as he reaches out for the letter. Since the Director was in on this and the name of the game was Valentine's Day? Before Cloud can even read the letter, of how Ayaka did not wish to hide her displays of affection for him in public: ]That's right. [ It's very likely he wouldn't take up acting like this if she wasn't involved. And that's because... ] She's my motivation.
[ "Do come and watch us when our production is on stage. I'll send tickets your way."
To that? Cloud nods. ]
We will.
[ Armed with his second letter, and liberated of the bags of food he's given her, he can only imagine that it was time to return to the teahouse. He's spent long enough out that their shifts would be ending soon enough. But if he hurries back quick enough... ]
...
[ After reading her letter, an echo of her voice trailing off his lips as they reminisce over sashimi and tea, it's starting to become clearer and clearer what this was all about. Absence made the heart grow fonder. And so Cloud finds himself unable to help but smile as he folds the letter upon finishing it. She's making him feel everything that she did in setting all of this up. As to where this was all going to lead and end?
Well... ]
Okay. What do you got for me, Thoma?
[ Cloud was willing to defy fate itself a hundred times over if it meant being with her again— crossing his way to Teyvat by any means necessary if it meant fulfilling that wish to stay with her. If he was willing to go that far, what was a few more stops down memory lane if it meant he had her waiting for him at the end of it all?
Right. Time to procure a gift before he contacts his fellow blond. With Task #3 soon to be under his belt, following these breadcrumbs was eventually going to take him farther and farther away from the teahouse. Farther and farther away from Sunwaning. But at this stage? Cloud was prepared. He had every letter she wrote him to keep him warm and guide him; he had every memory etched within her words to keep him going. ]
no subject
Date: 2024-02-09 09:23 am (UTC)If Cloud has been keeping his eyes on Ayaka, like she asked him to when he witnessed her do her fan dance for the first time, though, then perhaps it might not be too difficult in the end.
The art of tea ceremony has so much history behind it all, and proper etiquette is such a big part of it. Learning tea ceremony and being a master of it is something Ayaka prides herself in, because of her interest in tea in general, and because it has helped her become who she is today. While she does not expect Cloud to follow all rules of tea ceremony, and merely just prepare matcha, she does believe in his capabilities of being able to mix a good version of it.
If Cloud and Thoma (and Ayato) become closer because of it, then that's a bonus!
By the end of it all, Ayaka hopes that it'll be close to sunset. It would give enough time for Cloud to prepare for his date and zoom on over to meet Ayaka. It is why she does not let him dawdle any longer. The letter Thoma (or Ayato...) would be giving him simply says:
A string of stars bright
Wishes and promises made
Winter moves to spring
He can figure it out, right? Right?????
By which Ayaka means, "please come to the observatory in Coldreach. I will be waiting for you."
Compared to their anniversary date, though? Cloud won't be finding the observatory with lots of people. The entrance will have a couple of sakura petals, indicating that he's in the right place, though. Meanwhile, the walk up there and once he reaches the top where the telescope is will be completely deserted. Not even the staff are around.
Did Ayaka rent out the entire observatory? Surely not, right? Haha.... ha................
Where's Ayaka? He might have some difficulty looking for her as he roams around. . . But if he does go outside to the open area that overlooks the rest of Coldreach, he might spot a picnic mat already set up. There's no food set up just yet, but there is a rather large basket and a rather large box which obviously looks like his present resting in the middle of it.
She's hiding behind one of the pillars so she can surprise him]no subject
Date: 2024-02-09 11:07 am (UTC)[ He made it. Having the wherewithal to heed the final(?) letter's advice, it only took him ten minutes of mulling the poem over before he made his way back to their home in Sunwaning. Somehow, the closer he got on his scooter, the more his heart started racing and the hairs on his arms raised. As if he needed to get in and get out as fast as he possibly could. He was on a mission this time, and it's all thanks to a Haiku that might as well have been his map. His phone, warmer clothes better suited for the wintery segments of this realm (a navy scarf, black winter trenchcoat...), and the only thing he actively elects leaving behind are both his weapons. Although for this run...he was tempted to take Nagareboshi Tsubaki with him— a blade that symbolized his binds with the Kamisato Clan.
But for this special day, he won't need it. He's not worried about running into trouble when Ayaka has never lead him astray before. Not once on this entire scavenger hunt did he ever feel lost. He had a path. And he continues to follow it even now as snow gently falls upon a twilit Coldreach, snowflakes dotting his black coat like pure white dust. He can see it from here, the tallest point in the region; and he runs a gloved hand through his hair, brushing the snow that wets his spikes back before reaching into deep coat pocket for the Haiku. Or more specifically... ]
A string of stars bright...
[ His map. And what he can feel in his heart is the final destination. It's the only memory she's taken him down that wasn't from Nippon. It's of Ellipsa. It's this world. It's here. And as Cloud puts the Haiku away, he starts to run and slide his way down the gently powdered hilltop he once took Ayaka to, witnessing the quaint town that awaits them. No text messages. No calls. She hasn't read or seen anything from him, and every time he checks back, there's been no sign of activity on the other side. There, at the top of the observatory, he's looking for the brightest star he knows.
And it won't be in the sky either.
There's no one here, only sakura petals preluding and causing his breath to clip as he enters the emptied Observatory. With no one else's voice but his own to carry and echo when he finally...
Finally— ]
Ayaka?
[ —calls her name. There's no answer. But he doesn't stop for very long. It almost feels like he's in a dream. She didn't rent out the entire Observatory for them, did she? Was he getting ahead of himself? Was this even the final stop? Did she have anything else in mind to make his heart weigh that much more from not seeing her? From the day they first met, to catching stars in the sky a year ago...it feels like he's had to endure all of it again. All of that space of time, compressed into one single day. And for the first time since he began this series of trials on Valentine's Day?
He sounds slightly out of breath. Panting, gently huffing as he runs up the spiraling stairs, to the next floor...and the floor after that... ]
[ "So if we're making wishes... We don't hafta make them come true on our own." ]
[ Come on, Cloud. You're almost there. ]
[ "I will protect you, too. All your wishes." ]
[ And when Cloud finally reaches the top, swallowing for air as he calls her name one more time, ]
Ayaka...?
[ "I will make your wishes come true." ]
[ He roams, searches high, looks to the starry ceiling, searches low, sighs alone at the very top when he pulls out his phone one more time. Cloud taps her name, opening up her contact page... ]
[ "So... please," ]
[ He's about to call her. So close to the end— before Cloud can press the button, he hesitates. His saving grace in keeping him from giving up dangles from the end of his phone. Kamisato Ayaka's camelia, the one that she entrusted to him as he gave her his cherry blossom. He said it himself, didn't he? That he'd never fall. ]
[ "Continue to keep your eyes on me." ]
.....
[ Cloud puts the phone away, the camelia telling him to look outside. To retrace one final memory that further committed a girl from beyond the stars into his heart forever. So he finally steps outside, cocking a brow at the picnic mat with a large basket and equally big box settled in the center of it. Slowly, he approaches the mat, only sparing fleeting glances around just in case. But there's no one.
Just echoes of memories that have guided him back here all over again. None the wiser to what was about to happen despite the anxiousness that builds in his chest the closer he gets to the goodies, only to stop and take a deep breath as he closes his eyes. ]
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Date: 2024-02-09 09:34 pm (UTC)By the time the skies start growing dark and the sun goes down, Ayaka's picnic set up is all ready. All that's left to do is to wait for Cloud. Every now and then, she checks her phone to see if there are any updates from the people she's asked help from, and much as she appreciates it all, she cannot wait to see Cloud again and for him to tell her his side of the story.
No, scratch that. She cannot wait to see Cloud again. Period.
Every so often, she peeks from the top of the observatory to see if there is anyone walking towards the building. Once she spots her, she immediately goes into hiding.
She didn't even plan it initially! But in her giddiness and excitement, she thought it best to hide behind one of the doors leading to the open area of the observatory. She isn't even sure if Cloud would realise where she is, but she thinks her own heartbeat might reveal her hiding place because of how loud it was. It feels even louder than his footsteps!
When he passes by the door where she's hiding behind, she stops breathing for a bit until she sees him pass. Slowly, she takes a few steps to the side until she isn't concealed anymore. It's just a few more steps to take, and she can wrap her arms around her beau and greet him proper. A true surprise! ]
My love? [ Even her own excitement gets the better of her, because she calls him and beckons him to turn around, unable to keep it to herself anymore. So much for surprising him... But when he does turn to face her, he'd better be ready because he has to catch her all over again. ] Happy Valentine's Day!
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Date: 2024-02-09 10:34 pm (UTC)He catches her again. Like their audition. Like at the end of racing to make the last train. Like he did when they were climbing down from their tree. Just like he would continue to do for the rest of his life as his arms envelop her tight and his breath shakes upon the chilled night air, laughing softly as emotions overwhelm him.
He braces himself for her, only stepping around on his feet to carry her momentum into one little spin before she's safe and sound in his hold.
But instead of saying it right back, Cloud has other ideas— one of which was something he'd missed doing far too much for his own good as he takes what little breath was granted them away with a kiss. He did this too, when she finished her fan dance for him and the only answer he could find was something words couldn't portray. And just like that, it feels like he's being released. He's set free, like his white heron who could fit through the opening of that opened cage.
They can finally fly together again. ]
Happy Valentine's, Ayaka.
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Date: 2024-02-09 11:18 pm (UTC)He's happy. He's not one to be as emotional as she is, but any sign of his happiness is something that delights her, makes her feel even happier, like she was on top of the world.
Before she can ask him about his day, he kisses her, and this time? She's ready! Not because she was expecting it from him, but because she's wanted to kiss him from the moment they went their separate ways. She smiles when their lips touch, pressing herself against him even more, as if the distance between them was far too much despite being held by him now.
When he pulls away, Ayaka cannot help but let out a deep breath. ]
I'm so glad you're here... [ Somehow a little later than what she was expecting. Did he experience any hitches along the way? Ah, well. He'll tell her later. ] I missed you so much today.
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Date: 2024-02-10 12:07 am (UTC)It's like he told the Director. She was his motivation. On and off the stage. And kissing her like this felt like a punctuation on the fact that she was everything. This whole trial was worth it to make it to this point. And now that they were here, prepared to enjoy their date beneath the waking stars as night falls, Cloud was still figuring out if there was a way to make this never end. ]
The Haiku was beautiful, [ the one that guided him here in the end. But as he says this, he softly shakes his head as he tenderly cups the side of her face in his gloved hand. There's no one else up here but the two of them. Just like their walk home from Frostreign, on a day like today? He can remember to be a little extra affectionate. Consider it practice for how much more she deserved and would receive in the coming days. Because he wants more of this for her. For them both. ] Mn. Every letter was.
[ He sighs into kissing her again, shorter and sweeter this time before he breathes, ]
I missed you too.
[ ... .... ..... one more? One for every task? They can date soon he promises. ]
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Date: 2024-02-10 09:13 am (UTC)Before she can say anything though, he kisses her again. In an instant, she melts. She would kiss him again now, after hearing him say that he missed her too, but she has some restraint... Some. ]
I would kiss you again, but I'm afraid our food would get cold.
[ The basket should keep the warm food warm and the cold food cold, but she doesn't want to take any chances! ]
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Date: 2024-02-10 10:14 am (UTC)... [ He agrees. But, consider— One last peck. ] One for the road.
[ And he finally steps back, only to take her hand in his with a loving squeeze. He'll take off his gloves shortly so that he can get to lacing their fingers proper, but she's right. They have a dinner to enjoy! He's excited, but he tempers it on the surface well for her, taking her over the rest of the way to their seating arrangement, a private picnic with a cushy picnic mat beneath the night sky. He's learned enough; she's getting the royal treatment she deserves, too. So as they walk and talk and prepare to sit down, Ayaka's beau will kneel alongside her, holding her hand on the way down so that she can get comfortable. ]
How long were you planning this?
[ Because he had. No. Clue. Just his own imagination of what would happen after work running wild in his head. ]
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Date: 2024-02-10 10:44 am (UTC)[ Considering they don't have any other stuff with them now!! ]
I was so nervous that you might find out before today... [ That gets an airy laugh out of her as she settles down and brings out various bento boxes for their dinner from the basket.
The first one she brings out is a stack of wooden boxes which has been kept cold by her Vision. Two stacks of sashimi platters, because these two do love their sashimi. Taking the lid off and pouring soy sauce into a small plastic sauce dish, she offers it to Cloud, finally. There are chopsticks which he can get from inside the basket!
Once that's served, she pulls out another bento box with some pan de mie sandwiches. ] You must be hungry from everything you had to do today. I'll prepare the tea shortly, as well.
[ No sushi for Cloud today, but she does have another bento that's been keeping warm! Chicken with pumpkin and curry sauce, tamago, and some veggies. There's another set for her as well, which Cloud is more than welcome to have some of if he wants more. ]
I wanted to make the food for our dinner tonight. I hope you don't mind that I didn't order from a restaurant, even though we agreed to have dinner at one. I just... thought it would be more special.
[ Except for the sashimi, anyway. But she does hope Cloud would not mind. She wanted everything to be personal for him, and it is a wife's duty to prepare meals for her husband, right? She does love taking care of him, and she knows she does that everyday for as much as he'd let her. Working in the kitchen has been difficult, because she isn't an expert like Thoma when it comes to cooking, but... she wants to think that she's gotten better. He's her motivation when it comes to these things. ]
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Date: 2024-02-11 11:12 am (UTC)[ He'd genuinely thought that the two of them were going to be resigning themselves to a closed off, intimate time back at the estate for Valentine's Day. And that was hardly a complaint from him. Every day, every birthday, every anniversary, every milestone they can share— it's everything he cherishes as it drives him forward.
Keeping his hands neatly settled in his lap, he hums his approval upon her airy laugh. ]
You did good. I didn't suspect a thing till I got that letter from Chinatsu.
[ If there was one constant when it came to her blond prince from another world, it's that he expressed his emotions best with his eyes. Such as when Ayaka prepares the two stacks of sashimi— a breathtaking assortment with what looks like...toro?! How much did she spend? He's not worried, but more touched that this was just a piece of the extent she was willing to go for Valentine's Day. And yet, as they indulge and he breaks his chopsticks to enjoy clipping a slice of salmon sashimi and dipping it into the little soy sauce container, he remembers everything else that lead up to this point. From her letters to even— ]
Speaking of hungry, the Takoyaki and Boba for HQ? [ He knows. ] Was that on purpose?
[ And if she somehow didn't?? It was a beautiful coincidence. Yet another reason stacked upon the pile of many more as to why he fell so hard for her in the first place. So much for characters needing time to develop their feelings over a long period. He broke that rule in record time and has never looked back, across two worlds and all. ]
You kidding? [ A beat. ] You give restaurants a run for their money.
[ He goes for one of the pan de mie sandwiches after he's had a couple slices of sashimi, setting his chopsticks at his side for now as the corner of his mouth lifts with a smirk. ]
And I get to sit at your table.
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Date: 2024-02-11 11:28 am (UTC)[ Especially Thoma and Ayato! She'd disturbed them from celebrating Valentine's Day together, after all, even if it was just for an hour or so. Ayato's time is very precious, and Ayaka does not dare to take too much of it, unless he is willing to give it to her.
With the food spread out, Ayaka prepares the tea! Sadly, it's not matcha for tonight, as they do have a lot to eat already. Matcha might be too heavy for this meal, so she's decided to bring sencha in a thermos again. One cup for Cloud, before she serves a cup for herself! ]
Well... What I had in mind initially was Chinatsu seeking your help after learning about you from the guild, but when she decided to order some takoyaki for her class as well, I thought it was perfect to change the plan to what you had to do. The milk tea was something that I had to upsell to her.
[ And it worked! It really felt like fate, in a way. And if he's curious about the Director... ]
As for the Director, we met during the Arts Festival last year. Since we don't serve sashimi, I thought the closest would be some sushi rolls, which is perfect, since he does order it often whenever he gives presents to people.
[ Cloud's set his chopsticks down now, but Ayaka takes one of the salmon sashimi pieces, dips it in soy sauce, and offers it to him with a smile. He can have all the salmon pieces if he likes, Ayaka isn't going to steal any of them when she knows he likes those. ]
Then... at my restaurant, which only operates in Planet Cloud, customers must allow themselves to be fed like this.
[ Isn't your girlfriend adorable, Cloud... :) ]
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Date: 2024-02-12 09:59 am (UTC)[ Not now, of course! But after they've finished this date and completed their little Frostreign getaway, Cloud was going to make the effort in taking both of them to heart further. Hopefully, wherever they were right now, they were making it a day to remember now that they've seen the white heron and her prince off. ]
Ohhh, [ Cupping his sencha tea between his hands, he can feel the warmth spread through his gloves. Although, up here, it still wasn't so cold. After he takes a drink and sets his cup down safely, he'll probably take them off. ] Your little Slime Toad challenge, by the way?
The students liked the Kamisato Art Tachi Jutsu demonstration.
[ He sounds proud. In a way, his choice too, was a callback to how he felt Ayaka was the one who claimed decisive victory against the Salamander.
And the Director? ]
He's gonna send us tickets for when their production goes live.
[ When she greets him once more with a glistening slice of salmon sashimi, dipped in soy sauce as it was, if it weren't for the fact it'd start dripping soon if he didn't act quickly, he'd be caught looking into her eyes for too long. Which is all the more reason for her beau to lean in, graciously accepting the slice as his lips gently close around the tips of the chopsticks. A gentle hum of approval before he leans back once he's finished savoring and swallowing it. ]
You made the idea of Planet Cloud cute. [ Of all things. And she pulls it off with flying colors. Funny how "beautiful" was more common in his vocabulary than "cute", but it feels right here. With no one to perceive them up here, the observatory fully reserved for the two of them, it's like being behind closed doors once more. Where he can let his hair down, and trust her with more words and displays of affection. Nearing two years... She's made him this comfortable over that time that he can trust her with being a little braver.
He hopes she's prepared for Frostreign. ] Lucky us, we get the universe's best host.
[ So adorable that a part of him wants to enjoy her meal quicker. ]
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Date: 2024-02-12 12:46 pm (UTC)[ A pity! But it is what it is. And she's glad he was successful with the task! Her beau has a lot of talents, and fighting is one of them. He's developed his own style even though he follows the Kamisato Art Tachi Jutsu, furthering the art itself by creating his own sub-branch of sorts. She can only imagine how Cloud would be like on the battlefield, were he a master of the art years from now.
And then he talks about the Director and how they're going to get some tickets in the future. Haha! She thought he'd have more to say about him... but that's alright. Maybe it is for the best that he doesn't, considering the Director's personality. ]
Then... it is another date night. [ They'll watch a play, have dinner, and just enjoy the rest of the night together! They spend so much time with the other that it might not feel like it's anything new, but whenever they go out and use the word "date"? It just makes her feel so giddy and excited. Almost two years of dating, and Ayaka still can't help but feel so elated whenever they're doing "boyfriend-girlfriend" stuff.
Once Cloud's had his own sashimi, Ayaka takes a piece of tuna to eat! She's so excited... She's been wanting to eat these even before Cloud arrived. ]
Maybe I should not have given you chopsticks... [ Hahah, don't spoil her, Cloud. She might actually pull something like that one day! ] Then I could feed you the entire meal.
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Date: 2024-02-13 12:45 am (UTC)[ And this time, he's determined to win! Their track record when sparring in just Kamisato Art Tachi Jutsu was heavily skewed in his girlfriend's favor. Understandably so. Because while he still continues to practice at home with her from time to time, he's also taken his training on the road, between their time spent in Nippon and now here in Ellipsa. And Cloud would like to think that he's improved despite having a long ways to go on the road to mastery. ]
Can't say I was expecting him to be my "dying love" on stage, but...guess I did good enough for those tickets.
[ He's of the same mind! They may spend practically every day together, but even her beau's come around to letting excitement fill him at the prospect of proper "dates". Going out to shop together, or bring home groceries or restock the teahouse didn't count as outings to him. So long as their dates didn't take them anywhere overly crowded, he was comfortable. Comfortable enough that sitting in a packed theatre, despite himself, actually wasn't such a bad thought either. It came with the territory of becoming an impromptu actor with her.
Cloud fixes Ayaka with a stare, canting his head with a tug of a smirk on his lips. ]
Really now.
[ Glancing back to the side of his lap, he grabs his chopsticks. Sigh. He's really gonna try this up here, huh. Plucking a tender piece of tuna, mindful not to pinch too hard that it falls apart, he lightly dips the end of it in soy sauce. ]
Then...
[ If Ayaka was too busy feeding him everything, then... ]
Whose got you?
[ He asks, the fatty piece on the end of his chopsticks offered to her. ]
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Date: 2024-02-13 02:47 pm (UTC)That includes serving him! Whether it's packing him lunch, preparing him tea (making tea for Cloud versus her making tea for anyone else is yet another different feeling for her), or in this case, feeding him. She knows he is a mature adult, a respectable and chivalrous prince, but his princess only wishes for him to get spoiled from all the affection that she can give.
And tonight, on Valentine's Day, she hopes to erase any and all inconveniences for him.
So when he takes his chopsticks to turn the tables on her? The more playful side of Ayaka surfaceds, and she covers her mouth with both hands. She's guarding it as she shakes her head, the way her eyes squint showing that she's smiling so happily behind those hands of hers. ]
It is Valentine's Day, my love. Today is all about you.
[ No feeding her, Cloud!!! Unless it's with your dick. ]
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