[She seems to read his mind—she already knows what he's thinking without him having to say it out loud—and she runs her thumb along his cheek in an effort to reassure him some.]
... I don't think there's a single thing that could ruin the day. I'll be marrying you...
[There's no way that there will be anything big enough that could make it anything but the best day for her. For either of them.]
{Even if they've said it to each other many times now, hearing her say she's marrying him still sends a warm ripple in his chest and makes him smile a bit, the corners of his mouth curving up a fraction.]
...And I'll make it so.
[Nothing will ruin this day so help him—
But he gently places his hand over hers before turning his head slightly so he can kiss her fingers and then her palm.]
...Sometimes I think we should just go ahead...at this point we're practically married, anyway.
[A light grin as he remembers Trahearne's confusion.]
[They really do act like they are on their permanent honeymoon at this rate, so she can't exactly blame Trahearne, or anyone else, for their confusion.]
... Do you want to?
[There's that spark in her eyes again—the very same one that had just flickered to life only seconds ago, but this time, it doesn't go out.]
The wedding is nice, but I don't need all the fanfare. [She leans in to press a light kiss to his cheek.] Just you.
[She doesn't want to recall that night, but she does remember the collective reaction when he had almost called off the wedding, and she can only imagine how it would be if they simply ran off to marry without telling anyone. The thought, however, is chased away by the tickle of his hair that she sweeps from her skin.]
I guess we would. Big party it is, then.
[Tifa does stretch out her left hand to show off and admire the ring, wiggling her fingers so that the aquamarine catches the firelight.]
... Feels like it's just a formality at this point. After all the times you've asked me, we might as well be by dreamworld standards.
If we went by those standards, then we already did.
[In the dreamscape. It's the one that really snowballed everything, the one that both pushed them forward...but also threw so much heartache. Talk about testing their "for better or worse" vows.]
[She remembers. That was one of the only good memories she has of that dreamscape, and the part that she hadn't pushed away but rather, kept in a place with all of her other cherished memories with him.]
I guess we are technically married...
[In spite of the heavier dreamscape, Tifa's laugh is still light.]
Have we counted that night you asked me to marry you with all the others?
[She sets the cider down again so that her hand can slide around the back of his neck and up into his hair, and she brings him a little closer until their lips are grazing against one another's, and she can taste the rum on his breath.]
... Okay.
[Tifa presses their lips together into a tender, lingering kiss, one that makes her feel fuzzy as a wave of warm happiness washes over her, only made more violent by the alcohol that's making her blood run hot.
She remembers that night on the terrace, and how they had been just like this. Close, overcome with feelings, but now, she's no longer confused and conflicted. Her heart no longer wishes to go to him, but he holds it in his hands now.]
I'll never get tired of hearing you ask.
[And just like that, more starflowers bloom around the log they're sitting on, and even some of the dogs lift their heads up to watch them spread outward.
There's a pause as she captures his lips again for another.]
I know that you're worried about the wedding... and making sure it all goes right. That it's perfect, but... [She smiles against his lips as she nuzzles their noses together.] I just want this. This is enough.
[He smiles at her answer, his lips eagerly taking hers as his arm wraps around her shoulder to pull her more flush against him, his fingers threading between hers as he keeps hold of her hand.]
And I'll never tire hearing you accept it.
[How could he? He could say it again right now, and just like before there would be that giddy ripple, an emotion that he only ever feels around her and no one else—not even the dogs. Tifa, his precious, treasured beloved. Who else would he show this side of him other than her? He can't imagine it. He doesn't want to.]
But even if this is enough... I still want to give you more.
[Give her everything and anything she could ever want. Not in the sense of luxuries (but he would damn well try), but just to keep her happy and smiling. His beautiful light, his radiant sun.
His spring.
With his lips brushing against hers, he says it again, his voice lower than before.]
Marry me.
[This time he follows it with a deep kiss, his words carrying more of that sincere weight than the more playful one from before.]
[She doesn't even get the chance to respond with words, so she uses the kiss he interrupts her with instead. She invites him deeper, the taste of the rum and the apple so intoxicating that she feels dizzy, but beneath all of that, Tifa's answer can be felt. Felt in the way the fire surges brighter and hotter, the crackling loud and comforting. In the way her ring grows warmer around her finger, and in the glow of their charms as they chime together at their chests as she presses her body close to seek him. It's in the way she breathes him in and keeps him close to her until she's had her fill, too.
Which will be never, but she has to compromise with herself somewhere.
It's only when she's slightly out of breath that she frees him from her, but she doesn't go without a small nip to his lip first.]
I wish... we could get married tomorrow. That I didn't have to wait to be your wife...
[But she knows better than that. She knows that there's plenty of preparation they still need to do if they want to have the wedding they deserve. To celebrate the love between them with those who have stuck at their side even during their toughest times...
It doesn't mean a girl can't wish, though.
She can hear the rustling of some of the dogs getting up as the flowers continue to spread, and in the corner of her eye, she sees Eria move in the direction back to the house.]
[Passion and love... Two emotions Eustace never thought he would have yet here he is filled to the brim and it overflows into the kiss and in his touch and heat that wraps around them, the crackling fire fueled by their love distant as he hears her breaths and the way their lips meet over and over again. He could repeat those two words a thousand times and he doesn't think it would truly satisfy how much he wants her in his life. How grateful he is.
When she eventually pulls away he wants to pull her back, only half mindful how the dogs are disappearing. He can vaguely hear the clicking of Eria's tongue and the soft mutters and giggling whispers of There they go again, but he doesn't care. It was inevitable. So as they quickly become more alone, he smiles faintly at her cute complaints.]
I thought you already were.
[His wife. He's called her that a few times already, partly in jest, but at other times more symbolic of how he already considers her. So there's a light gleam as he whispers softly, breath warm.]
My wife.
[A teasing nip of her lower lip as if in return for the one she gave.]
My precious mate.
[And then he pulls her into another sweet kiss before murmuring against her lips.]
My only love.
[How many more things could he call her? Better yet, how much more can she stand?]
Tifa could listen to him call her all these things a million times and she would never grow tired of it. Each one sends a shiver rippling through her, heightened by the kisses he embellishes them with, her mind already dizzy and drunk from the combination of his scent filling her head and the rum that's swimming in it, and she can only breathe soft laughs on his lips before it's her turn to kiss him.]
I guess I am.
[All of those things. It's said both with a sweetness and appreciation to it, but there's an air of possessiveness and pride to it as well, drowned out in another kiss.]
And I'm the luckiest girl in the world.
[That she's somehow managed to find someone like him... Someone so supportive and loving, so gentle and caring... He has sharper edges, but there is a softness that she knows is reserved only for her, and that she is the only one that can see that part of him? She feels on top of the world to be that girl. The one that he chose to give his whole heart to the way she did with her own to him.
She smiles on his lips, and Tifa has practically wrapped herself around him on his lap.]
[The luckiest man in the world to find someone as loving, caring, and supportive as her. Someone who has saved him from his old hollow shell countless times stuck with him despite the hells they've had to suffer through. Reminded him of the potential he had, the potential future he had. Someone be could truly open up and give his fragile heart, knowing no matter how many times it breaks she can help mend it. As terrible as the whole noctaere ordeal had been, it had also been the ultimate test to prove...they really are for each other.]
But what is it?
[His lips have moved to her chin and to her checks, soft little pecks as he slowly moves down to her neck.]
[Tifa's thoughts are broken up when his lips find that tender little spot between her chin and her throat, and she tips her head back, allowing herself to savour in the feeling first before she's seeking out his eyes with her own.]
... When did you know for sure? That you wanted to marry me, I mean.
[There's no reason for her asking besides out of pure curiosity, but all of this talk about the wedding has made her wonder.]
[He pauses at her question, lips lightly resting against her soft, sensitive skin before his teeth lightly graze it as he murmurs against it.]
From the moment I decided to enter a relationship with you.
[Of course he knows how that sounds so he continues, pulling back to look at her properly.]
I'm not someone who would date or seek a partner carelessly. While I was aware things could change and it might not work, the intent to remain loyal to only you was a factor in whether to pursue or not.
But the real moment that I knew I wanted you as my life partner...it was during our "first night" in the Romeo and Juliet dreamscape...and remained even after. [When they officially ended their song and dance and committed themselves to each other.] I know it seems rash and I sometimes wondered if I was given how quickly we fell into it, however...
[His gaze deepens as he meets her eyes, a hand rising to gently brush against her cheek.]
I just knew you were the one who moved me to this point...and the only one who ever will.
[Call it a gut feeling or some primal, ancient erune instinct, but he just knew. Knew that she was the one... That she would be his mate for life.]
[She leans her cheek into his touch, and she doesn't bother to hide her surprise at his answer. She swears that he might be able to hear her heart beating furiously in her chest, or the butterflies that flutter in her stomach like they are trying to break free from her. Tifa knows that, under the intensity of his gaze, he will see the way her eyes grow heavy with the weight of all the feelings his words thread through her, piercing right into her very soul and carving themselves there.
It isn't the answer she was expecting, but after her initial surprise, what comes next is shock that she was even surprised by it at all. That night had been a tipping point for both of them and their relationship. It hardly had a definition back then, but she knew that those things she felt for him in that dreamscape were her own. They weren't scripted or written into her, but she felt them in every bone of her body, and her heart pulsed it through her with every beat until her blood was saturated with it.
With him.
Tifa doesn't say anything, but she practically falls into him, her lips crashing against his because he has rendered her completely speechless and breathless again that she kisses him like she needs him for air to live.
...]
That was before you got your memories back.
[Which is why it astonished her at first... but in all the good ways.]
[He eagerly welcomed her, arm fully wrapping around her as his hand cradles her cheek, supporting and holding her fast to him. His own heart pounds, his blood rushing and heating his body as their connection to each other continues to strengthen. Having to confess all these things is making him grow more impatient, wanting to fully embrace and show her the depths of his love—even if he's done so countless times already.]
Yes.
[The hand at her cheek rises up to thread through her hair, thumb roving over her ear.]
Even without them I still fell in love with you... And had things been different in Camelot, I would have gone down the same path.
[Back there... They were still in the beginning of their (at least there) ill-fated love, too short for him to have decided how far he wanted to go with her. Far enough at least to enter the relationship, and he knows if they had had a little more time together...]
...No, I already knew even then.
[A small, rueful smile as he looks at her.]
On that last night... When I felt the regret of leaving you... I realized then that I was truly in love... And wanted to stay with you.
[He didn't want to leave. He had tried so hard because he really didn't want to part from her. Not when they had just started to be together, caught that sweet glimpse of a brighter future. Even if it might not have been appropriate given the situation... He didn't want to lose it. He wanted to take it.]
[Tifa never needed any further proof, but when it's so readily offered to her, she takes it and holds onto it. Proof that there was something that the stars saw in them, and that something was written within them that would inevitably draw them together. Hearing this only makes her more sure that in every world, every dream, every iteration this universe could think of, their hearts would always find a way to each other.
She can feel her eyes growing warm with the tears that line them at that bittersweet memory, and she closes them against his touch, sighing when she feels one streak down over her cheek. She remembers that letter and how she read it a thousand times, and how cold the bed felt when he was gone. How much she missed his warmth and wished harder than she's ever wished for anything that he would come back. By the time either of them realized just how far and how hard they had fallen, it was too late in that world.
...
But then... this place gave them that second chance.
She laughs quietly under a shaky breath.]
I still wonder sometimes if that was what brought us here. Those feelings, the wishes...
[She can't say how many times she wished, but it was more than she could ever keep count of.]
The timing's a little funny but isn't everything around here? I wonder if maybe we wanted it so much that we put ourselves here.
[Until there's another, better explanation for their timely arrival, she chooses to believe it.]
[He gently smiles as he brushes the tears with his thumb before leaning in to kiss her right beneath her eye, tasting the salty water.]
It would be nice if true... To know that we will somehow always find each other.
Like how I returned to you.
[When he had unexpectedly disappeared yet still somehow saw her in his dreams. That despite being from different times, different worlds, at least in one lifetime they could meet and be like this. That perhaps in another lifetime, they could share the same story same love. Even if it's not all the time... As long as he can have her at some point, that's enough. And as long as he has her here, then that's all that matters.]
Or maybe this is our only chance... So we need to make the most of it.
[They already are. They do every day, and that's exactly what they're doing right now. Something as simple as curling up together with cider near a fire means so much more to Tifa than she could ever put into words. The dogs, and perhaps others, may scoff at them for being far too into one another, barely able to keep their hands off each other, and maybe their tree is covered with too many flowers, but to Tifa, it isn't enough. It isn't enough when this could very well be their only chance and they need to take advantage of every second they have together to make it the best they can be.
If she didn't, she could never forgive herself.
Regardless of if it is or just one of the million chances they might get, she isn't going to let any of it go to waste.
She leans in to kiss him again, this one a touch more bittersweet, but still tender. Loving. Just another moment seized by her to make the most of it.
When she parts, she lets her eyes remain shut, and she can feel the lingering tingle of where he'd pressed his lips to her cheek as she takes in a trembling breath while she sorts through the memories in her heart.
...]
I think... the day I realized I had feelings for you was... that night after that dream. The first one, a year ago...
The one when we were in it together? Of your hometown?
[Thinking back, he remembers how even then he had already noticed his feelings and how desperate he was to not allow them to even grow. Things were still complicated, and yet...]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
flamekthunder) wrote2025-04-07 09:12 pm
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...I suppose you're right. We'll just have to deal with whatever comes, then.
[He just wants this day to be the best for her.]
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... I don't think there's a single thing that could ruin the day. I'll be marrying you...
[There's no way that there will be anything big enough that could make it anything but the best day for her. For either of them.]
I don't care about anything else.
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...And I'll make it so.
[Nothing will ruin this day so help him—
But he gently places his hand over hers before turning his head slightly so he can kiss her fingers and then her palm.]
...Sometimes I think we should just go ahead...at this point we're practically married, anyway.
[A light grin as he remembers Trahearne's confusion.]
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... Do you want to?
[There's that spark in her eyes again—the very same one that had just flickered to life only seconds ago, but this time, it doesn't go out.]
The wedding is nice, but I don't need all the fanfare. [She leans in to press a light kiss to his cheek.] Just you.
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Just elope?
[A wry grin as he hovers near her, the fringe of his hair gently brushing against her skin.]
I think we'd have several people throw a riot if we did.
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I guess we would. Big party it is, then.
[Tifa does stretch out her left hand to show off and admire the ring, wiggling her fingers so that the aquamarine catches the firelight.]
... Feels like it's just a formality at this point. After all the times you've asked me, we might as well be by dreamworld standards.
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If we went by those standards, then we already did.
[In the dreamscape. It's the one that really snowballed everything, the one that both pushed them forward...but also threw so much heartache. Talk about testing their "for better or worse" vows.]
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I guess we are technically married...
[In spite of the heavier dreamscape, Tifa's laugh is still light.]
Have we counted that night you asked me to marry you with all the others?
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[A light grin.]
How many times has it been? Should I add another?
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[Tifa takes a giant swig of her cider, and she pauses with a hiccup before she's setting it down.]
You wanna ask me again?
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Marry me.
[Yep. Just gonna drop it just like that.]
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... Okay.
[Tifa presses their lips together into a tender, lingering kiss, one that makes her feel fuzzy as a wave of warm happiness washes over her, only made more violent by the alcohol that's making her blood run hot.
She remembers that night on the terrace, and how they had been just like this. Close, overcome with feelings, but now, she's no longer confused and conflicted. Her heart no longer wishes to go to him, but he holds it in his hands now.]
I'll never get tired of hearing you ask.
[And just like that, more starflowers bloom around the log they're sitting on, and even some of the dogs lift their heads up to watch them spread outward.
There's a pause as she captures his lips again for another.]
I know that you're worried about the wedding... and making sure it all goes right. That it's perfect, but... [She smiles against his lips as she nuzzles their noses together.] I just want this. This is enough.
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And I'll never tire hearing you accept it.
[How could he? He could say it again right now, and just like before there would be that giddy ripple, an emotion that he only ever feels around her and no one else—not even the dogs. Tifa, his precious, treasured beloved. Who else would he show this side of him other than her? He can't imagine it. He doesn't want to.]
But even if this is enough... I still want to give you more.
[Give her everything and anything she could ever want. Not in the sense of luxuries (but he would damn well try), but just to keep her happy and smiling. His beautiful light, his radiant sun.
His spring.
With his lips brushing against hers, he says it again, his voice lower than before.]
Marry me.
[This time he follows it with a deep kiss, his words carrying more of that sincere weight than the more playful one from before.]
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Which will be never, but she has to compromise with herself somewhere.
It's only when she's slightly out of breath that she frees him from her, but she doesn't go without a small nip to his lip first.]
I wish... we could get married tomorrow. That I didn't have to wait to be your wife...
[But she knows better than that. She knows that there's plenty of preparation they still need to do if they want to have the wedding they deserve. To celebrate the love between them with those who have stuck at their side even during their toughest times...
It doesn't mean a girl can't wish, though.
She can hear the rustling of some of the dogs getting up as the flowers continue to spread, and in the corner of her eye, she sees Eria move in the direction back to the house.]
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When she eventually pulls away he wants to pull her back, only half mindful how the dogs are disappearing. He can vaguely hear the clicking of Eria's tongue and the soft mutters and giggling whispers of There they go again, but he doesn't care. It was inevitable. So as they quickly become more alone, he smiles faintly at her cute complaints.]
I thought you already were.
[His wife. He's called her that a few times already, partly in jest, but at other times more symbolic of how he already considers her. So there's a light gleam as he whispers softly, breath warm.]
My wife.
[A teasing nip of her lower lip as if in return for the one she gave.]
My precious mate.
[And then he pulls her into another sweet kiss before murmuring against her lips.]
My only love.
[How many more things could he call her? Better yet, how much more can she stand?]
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Tifa could listen to him call her all these things a million times and she would never grow tired of it. Each one sends a shiver rippling through her, heightened by the kisses he embellishes them with, her mind already dizzy and drunk from the combination of his scent filling her head and the rum that's swimming in it, and she can only breathe soft laughs on his lips before it's her turn to kiss him.]
I guess I am.
[All of those things. It's said both with a sweetness and appreciation to it, but there's an air of possessiveness and pride to it as well, drowned out in another kiss.]
And I'm the luckiest girl in the world.
[That she's somehow managed to find someone like him... Someone so supportive and loving, so gentle and caring... He has sharper edges, but there is a softness that she knows is reserved only for her, and that she is the only one that can see that part of him? She feels on top of the world to be that girl. The one that he chose to give his whole heart to the way she did with her own to him.
She smiles on his lips, and Tifa has practically wrapped herself around him on his lap.]
... Can I ask you something?
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So am I.
[The luckiest man in the world to find someone as loving, caring, and supportive as her. Someone who has saved him from his old hollow shell countless times stuck with him despite the hells they've had to suffer through. Reminded him of the potential he had, the potential future he had. Someone be could truly open up and give his fragile heart, knowing no matter how many times it breaks she can help mend it. As terrible as the whole noctaere ordeal had been, it had also been the ultimate test to prove...they really are for each other.]
But what is it?
[His lips have moved to her chin and to her checks, soft little pecks as he slowly moves down to her neck.]
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[Tifa's thoughts are broken up when his lips find that tender little spot between her chin and her throat, and she tips her head back, allowing herself to savour in the feeling first before she's seeking out his eyes with her own.]
... When did you know for sure? That you wanted to marry me, I mean.
[There's no reason for her asking besides out of pure curiosity, but all of this talk about the wedding has made her wonder.]
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From the moment I decided to enter a relationship with you.
[Of course he knows how that sounds so he continues, pulling back to look at her properly.]
I'm not someone who would date or seek a partner carelessly. While I was aware things could change and it might not work, the intent to remain loyal to only you was a factor in whether to pursue or not.
But the real moment that I knew I wanted you as my life partner...it was during our "first night" in the Romeo and Juliet dreamscape...and remained even after. [When they officially ended their song and dance and committed themselves to each other.] I know it seems rash and I sometimes wondered if I was given how quickly we fell into it, however...
[His gaze deepens as he meets her eyes, a hand rising to gently brush against her cheek.]
I just knew you were the one who moved me to this point...and the only one who ever will.
[Call it a gut feeling or some primal, ancient erune instinct, but he just knew. Knew that she was the one... That she would be his mate for life.]
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It isn't the answer she was expecting, but after her initial surprise, what comes next is shock that she was even surprised by it at all. That night had been a tipping point for both of them and their relationship. It hardly had a definition back then, but she knew that those things she felt for him in that dreamscape were her own. They weren't scripted or written into her, but she felt them in every bone of her body, and her heart pulsed it through her with every beat until her blood was saturated with it.
With him.
Tifa doesn't say anything, but she practically falls into him, her lips crashing against his because he has rendered her completely speechless and breathless again that she kisses him like she needs him for air to live.
...]
That was before you got your memories back.
[Which is why it astonished her at first... but in all the good ways.]
no subject
Yes.
[The hand at her cheek rises up to thread through her hair, thumb roving over her ear.]
Even without them I still fell in love with you... And had things been different in Camelot, I would have gone down the same path.
[Back there... They were still in the beginning of their (at least there) ill-fated love, too short for him to have decided how far he wanted to go with her. Far enough at least to enter the relationship, and he knows if they had had a little more time together...]
...No, I already knew even then.
[A small, rueful smile as he looks at her.]
On that last night... When I felt the regret of leaving you... I realized then that I was truly in love... And wanted to stay with you.
[He didn't want to leave. He had tried so hard because he really didn't want to part from her. Not when they had just started to be together, caught that sweet glimpse of a brighter future. Even if it might not have been appropriate given the situation... He didn't want to lose it. He wanted to take it.]
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She can feel her eyes growing warm with the tears that line them at that bittersweet memory, and she closes them against his touch, sighing when she feels one streak down over her cheek. She remembers that letter and how she read it a thousand times, and how cold the bed felt when he was gone. How much she missed his warmth and wished harder than she's ever wished for anything that he would come back. By the time either of them realized just how far and how hard they had fallen, it was too late in that world.
...
But then... this place gave them that second chance.
She laughs quietly under a shaky breath.]
I still wonder sometimes if that was what brought us here. Those feelings, the wishes...
[She can't say how many times she wished, but it was more than she could ever keep count of.]
The timing's a little funny but isn't everything around here? I wonder if maybe we wanted it so much that we put ourselves here.
[Until there's another, better explanation for their timely arrival, she chooses to believe it.]
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[He gently smiles as he brushes the tears with his thumb before leaning in to kiss her right beneath her eye, tasting the salty water.]
It would be nice if true... To know that we will somehow always find each other.
Like how I returned to you.
[When he had unexpectedly disappeared yet still somehow saw her in his dreams. That despite being from different times, different worlds, at least in one lifetime they could meet and be like this. That perhaps in another lifetime, they could share the same story same love. Even if it's not all the time... As long as he can have her at some point, that's enough. And as long as he has her here, then that's all that matters.]
Or maybe this is our only chance... So we need to make the most of it.
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[They already are. They do every day, and that's exactly what they're doing right now. Something as simple as curling up together with cider near a fire means so much more to Tifa than she could ever put into words. The dogs, and perhaps others, may scoff at them for being far too into one another, barely able to keep their hands off each other, and maybe their tree is covered with too many flowers, but to Tifa, it isn't enough. It isn't enough when this could very well be their only chance and they need to take advantage of every second they have together to make it the best they can be.
If she didn't, she could never forgive herself.
Regardless of if it is or just one of the million chances they might get, she isn't going to let any of it go to waste.
She leans in to kiss him again, this one a touch more bittersweet, but still tender. Loving. Just another moment seized by her to make the most of it.
When she parts, she lets her eyes remain shut, and she can feel the lingering tingle of where he'd pressed his lips to her cheek as she takes in a trembling breath while she sorts through the memories in her heart.
...]
I think... the day I realized I had feelings for you was... that night after that dream. The first one, a year ago...
no subject
The one when we were in it together? Of your hometown?
[Thinking back, he remembers how even then he had already noticed his feelings and how desperate he was to not allow them to even grow. Things were still complicated, and yet...]
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FIN