[With her back to him, he doesn't notice how much his words had affect her, not even realizing she could have taken them with such a deeper meaning. Instead he continues to follow her out and waits for to recreate the stars above them. So at her words, he looks up.]
Hm... Something like this?
[Once more the sparkling snowflakes fill the air, twinkling like stars as they drift around them.]
[Tifa stares up in awe, flinching back with a giggle when one of the snowflakes lands on and chills the tip of her nose, chasing away some of that flushed warmth that's starting to settle there again.
She remembers that night he showed them to her. It's a bittersweet memory now, far in the past, but she will never not fall in love with the way they sparkle.]
Just like that. Much better.
[When she spins to face him again, he might catch the glassy look over her eyes when she smiles at him.]
From the top then?
[Is she just looking for an excuse to keep dancing with him? Absolutely.
There's a sound that echoes through the air, like a new record that's about to play over the speakers all through Midgar...]
[He can't help but laugh a little when she spins around, but he does notice the look in her eyes. It makes him pause, wondering why it's there. She's clearly not upset, but...
...
Expression softening a little, he reaches out to her to pull her back into their dance position, but he's searching her face, trying to make sense of it.]
...Are you feeling all right?
[He wants to believe it's out happiness or joy, but...given where they are, it wouldn't be impossible if there was something more bittersweet.]
[There's a humming in the air, but the music waits even as Tifa steps up to him again, her hand finding its place on his shoulder while the other slips back into his.]
Yeah. I am.
[Though, she tries to blink back a few tears forming in the corners of her eyes.]
Everything is just... perfect. That's all.
[If it's perfect now, then she wonders what kind of an emotional mess she's going to be at their wedding, when she's pronounced his wife, and they get to dance and celebrate with all of the people they've come to care for here. It's a lot to think about, but it makes her overwhelmed with joy. Even just standing here right now, in an empty Sector Seven with the music cued up makes her unbearably happy. Simply because she's here with him.]
[There's that familiar ripple and twinge of warmth as he looks down at her, and rather than let her go he just leans down to brush his lips against the corner of her eye, catching the ones that threaten to fall.]
I'm glad.
[That she feels this way...that he's able to give her this—this life, this love. To let her experience this joy and happiness...and that he could be a part of it.]
[She closes her eyes, and while no tears fall, the warmth of his lips there is as comforting as it always is. There's nothing in this place right now that could bring down this whimsical, dreamy high that she's riding, and as the music starts to play all around them, as if every single speaker in Sector Seven is playing the same song, she leans up on her tiptoes to kiss him.
... And then suddenly leads them into the steps all over again.]
For someone who hasn't really danced like this before, how am I doing?
[Now she's just self-conscious about stepping on his feet! But she's able to shake it off quickly with a laugh.]
I guess I just had a great teacher. Got the hang of it pretty—whoops!
[She does trip a little then. She doesn't step on his toes, but her feet fumble a little now that she's paying more attention to where they are, and she catches herself with her hands gripping his coat. There's a small pop! as one of the little stars nearby explodes into a single firework.]
[She murmurs quietly with a sigh against his lips, but she can feel her pulse already racing again at their closeness. There's a surge of heat that picks up around them in a hot breeze, and it swirls the stars and the snowflakes around, and Tifa waits with bated breath to see if any more of those stars will crackle and explode...
...
...
So far, so good. Her eyes move up to his, and she brushes their lips together again, and—
Pop!
That one startles her as it's right near her ear.]
[His laugh is a little louder this time before he looks down at her, his eyes seeming to sparkle a little with the lights and snow twinkling around them.]
All right, I'll stop.
[She's just so easy to tease...and he only ever feels so careless and carefree when he's around her. To relax and fool around, acting a little differently than he usually does. It's coming out more and more, little by little with others, but it's really only because of her that it is.
So he loosens his grip and readjusts his hands to properly her, guiding her back into the dance.]
[Her hand gives the side of his face a gentle pat before it moves back to rest on his shoulder, and as he brings her back into the dance, she realizes that there's no shortage of stars for them. As they start the dance over again, Tifa peeks up every now and then to see that the number of them grows, more and more blinking to life right over their heads whenever she looks at him. So many that they've started to twinkle around them too, and it's like they're dancing with the stars rather than beneath them.
A few of them do crack like fireworks when Eustace twirls her, or when their noses touch, or when she spots the softness in his expression and behind his eyes. Or if he does end up teasing her again...
By the time they start to reach the climax of the song, she already has rosy cheeks and is almost breathless with joy. And she's only tripped again once! They're surrounded by little lights, snowflakes, and the flames and lightning from before are snapping through the air again, whirling around for added effect.
Tifa watches it all before she's turning back to him as the song builds...]
[With each step and flourish, although it's subtle and not too overwhelming, he does feel a gentle build up of his general feelings for Tifa, especially as he watches her expressions and seeing how happy and content she is. All of which is reflected in the atmosphere around them. The flickering lights, the crackling snowflakes, the occasional pops—they all elicit soft smiles, warm chuckles, and the temptation to pull her in closer. Again he can only quietly marvel at how he's able to have this kind of experience of joy and love, a life with another. He never would have thought of it, not even in a dream.
Which just makes this all the more meaningful and special for him. His once cold, broken heart now warm and healed.
Until at last they reach that moment and with only a mischievous smile and a glint in his eyes as her "warning" of what's to come. The winds build around them, scattering the flower petals and snowflakes further up and around them as the electricity in each snowflake crackle brighter to illuminate them. At the right moment, Eustace lifts Tifa up for spin, pivoting on his heel in place so that the skirt of her dress flares out for two revolutions before he drops her down just enough so that he can catch her with a kiss.
Surely that should cause a few explosions of dreamotion, and if so it would be a colorful mix of ice, lightning, and fire.]
[It certainly does create an eruption of dreamotion—one much bigger than she anticipated as he lifts her for those spins, and brings her in for a kiss with his arms completely and wholly embracing her. Every star that they've created, every little snowflake that flutters in that warm breeze, every flame and burst of electricity burst into a skyscape of fireworks that completely drown them in shades of red, purple, blue, and yellow.
And at the same time their lips meet, flames swirl around them and flare outward, lighting up the ground in the shape of a starflower.
Yet, even as the spectacle happens all around them, Tifa holds him to their kiss, her hands wrapping around to the back of his head to greedily keep him to her for just a little big longer before she frees him. She does want to see what they've created, and her eyes go wide and her mouth falls open in awe when she looks up, her laughter bubbling up in her chest and bursting out of her.]
There are hundreds of them...!
[The fireworks go off in sequences, like one sets off the next and then the next, until—]
Ah—!
[Several of them crackle and pop right next to them, setting off another chain reaction. It startles her, and she clings to Eustace as if he were a lifeline and a shield.]
[They are anything but harmful—whenever one spark or flame or firework comes close enough that it brushes her skin, it tingles and leaves her feeling giddy and warm.]
Is it...? That was bigger than I thought it would be...
[They are completely surrounded by stars, and even from here, she can barely see the steel plate over their heads from behind them, the lights and fireworks completely shrouding them from the rest of the world.]
[He deserves a little swat on the shoulder for that.]
Nothing will!
[So far so good, at least. Tifa hasn't burned down all of this dream version of Sector Seven even with all of her emotions running at an all-time high. She'd call that a win.
But as the song begins its gradual descent to its conclusion at last, her expression warms, her eyes soften, and she looks from the stars to him, and her forehead comes to down to rest against his as gently presses their lips together.
And there, she whispers the words of the song under her breath, as if she were only speaking loud enough for them to hear, even if they are the only two people in this world.]
You know I want you... It's not a secret I try to hide...
[The rest she leaves out, now that the final two lines are no longer applicable to them, and instead, once the world goes silent except for the twinkling sounds of the stars, she seals it all with—]
[He does and he just takes it, that smile never wavering. Even when she presses her forehead against his he just continues to smile, content. Happy. And then when she quietly sings, and her proposal...
His smile lifts a little more.]
I know you want me You are the one I was meant to find.
[A bit of ablibbing, but it works. A verse for a verse to mirror her.]
Yes.
[Always.
He'll seal the vow with a kiss of his own, his arms tightening around her as lips press firmly against her, more snowflakes and petals bursting around them.]
[Everything about this moment is perfect, and the only thing that could make it more perfect is for it to be their wedding day. For him to be holding her up with their arms around one another in this little envelope of stars and lights and snowflakes that they've created for themselves. For her to be in her wedding dress with flowers in her hair. For their friends to be with them, celebrating and laughing and smiling alongside both herself and Eustace.
The image of it is so perfect that, as he returns the words to her, she wants to cry. She doesn't—she'll save the rest of her joyful tears for the wedding day because Shiva only knows she's going to need them, but she does steady herself with a quivering breath that spreads over his lips as he kisses her.
Back then, when they had said those words—"marry me"—they had no idea what it meant. Too caught up in the moment to care or realize, or even pause to think that maybe it would lead somewhere in the end... but back then, she didn't think it would ever take her here. From a pretend wedding that she wished, in the back of her mind, was real, to a wedding that is looming just on the horizon.
[He continues to hold her in place, the kiss drawing out longer yet remaining gentle and sweet. It doesn't matter how long he holds her up, he could carry her until the end of time and never grow tired.
A soft laugh escapes him as he quietly kisses her before answering.]
...After everything we've been through? We better be.
[All the torment, the agony, the grief and pain... In truth it would not be surprising if everything ended far earlier. People can only take so much, endure so much. He himself had faltered... Had thought it better to let her go. It was foolish, of course, and she more than once proved it to him. In that regard he still has some regrets in his momentary weakness.
Yet he no longer allows it to cripple him, instead using it as a reason to push forward. So he pulls her back in for a more heated kiss, a desperate one—one that conveys that emotional weight that they've built and carry together. One that causes the stars and the snowflakes to kick up in a powerful wind, bursting higher and louder in the air.
Even after he finally releases her lips, his eyes remain heavy with that resolve and conviction, that innate desire to prove his devotion and loyalty to her.]
We'll be fine.
[For the wedding, for their future, for whatever is in front of them. So long as they stay together and hold each other up when the other one falls and pick up the pieces, he fully believes they can handle anything.
Including beating this world and find a way to truly live out their dreams together.]
[A flutter in her stomach kicks up that's both nervous and positively smitten, and there's a small, anxious buzz that's like noise in her head, but all of it is quickly drowned out when he crashes their lips together again, offering her all of the reassurance that words alone can't carry on their own. And she returns it, pouring all of her own feelings into it and deepening the kiss, her hands on his face keeping him in place as she tries with all her might to pass on what she wishes to tell him.
All the things that are overwhelming her right now and have been for some time.
It's true that after everything they've been through, it would almost feel silly not to be prepared for a wedding, but it's also for that very reason that she's been feeling the way she has been.]
... I'm still a little nervous.
[It's said under a breath as she nuzzles their noses together, and while it's calmed a bit for now, she knows that as soon as this little pocket in time of theirs ends, it's going to all come flooding back.]
[He only gently rubs his lips against hers as he speaks quietly in return.]
Don't be.
[Is it surprising or not that he isn't? That isn't to say he is completely calm, but... He is more than ready for this now. He's accepted everything and he just wants it to be done so they can continue to move forward and build on their relationship.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
flamekthunder) wrote2025-04-07 09:12 pm
no subject
Hm... Something like this?
[Once more the sparkling snowflakes fill the air, twinkling like stars as they drift around them.]
no subject
She remembers that night he showed them to her. It's a bittersweet memory now, far in the past, but she will never not fall in love with the way they sparkle.]
Just like that. Much better.
[When she spins to face him again, he might catch the glassy look over her eyes when she smiles at him.]
From the top then?
[Is she just looking for an excuse to keep dancing with him? Absolutely.
There's a sound that echoes through the air, like a new record that's about to play over the speakers all through Midgar...]
no subject
...
Expression softening a little, he reaches out to her to pull her back into their dance position, but he's searching her face, trying to make sense of it.]
...Are you feeling all right?
[He wants to believe it's out happiness or joy, but...given where they are, it wouldn't be impossible if there was something more bittersweet.]
no subject
Yeah. I am.
[Though, she tries to blink back a few tears forming in the corners of her eyes.]
Everything is just... perfect. That's all.
[If it's perfect now, then she wonders what kind of an emotional mess she's going to be at their wedding, when she's pronounced his wife, and they get to dance and celebrate with all of the people they've come to care for here. It's a lot to think about, but it makes her overwhelmed with joy. Even just standing here right now, in an empty Sector Seven with the music cued up makes her unbearably happy. Simply because she's here with him.]
no subject
I'm glad.
[That she feels this way...that he's able to give her this—this life, this love. To let her experience this joy and happiness...and that he could be a part of it.]
no subject
[She closes her eyes, and while no tears fall, the warmth of his lips there is as comforting as it always is. There's nothing in this place right now that could bring down this whimsical, dreamy high that she's riding, and as the music starts to play all around them, as if every single speaker in Sector Seven is playing the same song, she leans up on her tiptoes to kiss him.
... And then suddenly leads them into the steps all over again.]
For someone who hasn't really danced like this before, how am I doing?
no subject
You haven't stepped on my feet yet, so that's something.
[A light cheeky grin.]
no subject
[Now she's just self-conscious about stepping on his feet! But she's able to shake it off quickly with a laugh.]
I guess I just had a great teacher. Got the hang of it pretty—whoops!
[She does trip a little then. She doesn't step on his toes, but her feet fumble a little now that she's paying more attention to where they are, and she catches herself with her hands gripping his coat. There's a small pop! as one of the little stars nearby explodes into a single firework.]
no subject
Spoke too soon.
[But he just grins as he just takes the opportunity to pull her in closer and bring his lips to hers, kissing her gently.]
Will you be able to stay calm enough to not let the fireworks off early...?
[A terrible tease as he nibbles on her lips, as if trying to provoke her. No, he really is trying to provoke her.]
no subject
[She murmurs quietly with a sigh against his lips, but she can feel her pulse already racing again at their closeness. There's a surge of heat that picks up around them in a hot breeze, and it swirls the stars and the snowflakes around, and Tifa waits with bated breath to see if any more of those stars will crackle and explode...
...
...
So far, so good. Her eyes move up to his, and she brushes their lips together again, and—
Pop!
That one startles her as it's right near her ear.]
That one was your fault.
no subject
How is it my fault? I didn't do anything.
[Except exist and tease her emotions like this. His hand may also be teasingly moving along the side of her waist.]
no subject
... Wait until after the dance? Don't want all the stars to explode before the grand finale, do we?
[They both have to practice for the wedding!!!
And for very different reasons...]
no subject
All right, I'll stop.
[She's just so easy to tease...and he only ever feels so careless and carefree when he's around her. To relax and fool around, acting a little differently than he usually does. It's coming out more and more, little by little with others, but it's really only because of her that it is.
So he loosens his grip and readjusts his hands to properly her, guiding her back into the dance.]
no subject
[Her hand gives the side of his face a gentle pat before it moves back to rest on his shoulder, and as he brings her back into the dance, she realizes that there's no shortage of stars for them. As they start the dance over again, Tifa peeks up every now and then to see that the number of them grows, more and more blinking to life right over their heads whenever she looks at him. So many that they've started to twinkle around them too, and it's like they're dancing with the stars rather than beneath them.
A few of them do crack like fireworks when Eustace twirls her, or when their noses touch, or when she spots the softness in his expression and behind his eyes. Or if he does end up teasing her again...
By the time they start to reach the climax of the song, she already has rosy cheeks and is almost breathless with joy. And she's only tripped again once! They're surrounded by little lights, snowflakes, and the flames and lightning from before are snapping through the air again, whirling around for added effect.
Tifa watches it all before she's turning back to him as the song builds...]
... You ready?
[She has no idea what to expect...]
no subject
Which just makes this all the more meaningful and special for him. His once cold, broken heart now warm and healed.
Until at last they reach that moment and with only a mischievous smile and a glint in his eyes as her "warning" of what's to come. The winds build around them, scattering the flower petals and snowflakes further up and around them as the electricity in each snowflake crackle brighter to illuminate them. At the right moment, Eustace lifts Tifa up for spin, pivoting on his heel in place so that the skirt of her dress flares out for two revolutions before he drops her down just enough so that he can catch her with a kiss.
Surely that should cause a few explosions of dreamotion, and if so it would be a colorful mix of ice, lightning, and fire.]
no subject
And at the same time their lips meet, flames swirl around them and flare outward, lighting up the ground in the shape of a starflower.
Yet, even as the spectacle happens all around them, Tifa holds him to their kiss, her hands wrapping around to the back of his head to greedily keep him to her for just a little big longer before she frees him. She does want to see what they've created, and her eyes go wide and her mouth falls open in awe when she looks up, her laughter bubbling up in her chest and bursting out of her.]
There are hundreds of them...!
[The fireworks go off in sequences, like one sets off the next and then the next, until—]
Ah—!
[Several of them crackle and pop right next to them, setting off another chain reaction. It startles her, and she clings to Eustace as if he were a lifeline and a shield.]
no subject
Too much?
[But he'll protect her in his own way, keeping a bit of wind so that the sparks don't hit them, even if they would be harmless.]
no subject
Is it...? That was bigger than I thought it would be...
[They are completely surrounded by stars, and even from here, she can barely see the steel plate over their heads from behind them, the lights and fireworks completely shrouding them from the rest of the world.]
no subject
[A small laugh.]
As long as nothing catches on fire.
no subject
Nothing will!
[So far so good, at least. Tifa hasn't burned down all of this dream version of Sector Seven even with all of her emotions running at an all-time high. She'd call that a win.
But as the song begins its gradual descent to its conclusion at last, her expression warms, her eyes soften, and she looks from the stars to him, and her forehead comes to down to rest against his as gently presses their lips together.
And there, she whispers the words of the song under her breath, as if she were only speaking loud enough for them to hear, even if they are the only two people in this world.]
You know I want you...
It's not a secret I try to hide...
[The rest she leaves out, now that the final two lines are no longer applicable to them, and instead, once the world goes silent except for the twinkling sounds of the stars, she seals it all with—]
... Marry me.
no subject
His smile lifts a little more.]
I know you want me
You are the one I was meant to find.
[A bit of ablibbing, but it works. A verse for a verse to mirror her.]
Yes.
[Always.
He'll seal the vow with a kiss of his own, his arms tightening around her as lips press firmly against her, more snowflakes and petals bursting around them.]
no subject
The image of it is so perfect that, as he returns the words to her, she wants to cry. She doesn't—she'll save the rest of her joyful tears for the wedding day because Shiva only knows she's going to need them, but she does steady herself with a quivering breath that spreads over his lips as he kisses her.
Back then, when they had said those words—"marry me"—they had no idea what it meant. Too caught up in the moment to care or realize, or even pause to think that maybe it would lead somewhere in the end... but back then, she didn't think it would ever take her here. From a pretend wedding that she wished, in the back of her mind, was real, to a wedding that is looming just on the horizon.
A real one.
Their real one.]
... You think we're ready?
no subject
A soft laugh escapes him as he quietly kisses her before answering.]
...After everything we've been through? We better be.
[All the torment, the agony, the grief and pain... In truth it would not be surprising if everything ended far earlier. People can only take so much, endure so much. He himself had faltered... Had thought it better to let her go. It was foolish, of course, and she more than once proved it to him. In that regard he still has some regrets in his momentary weakness.
Yet he no longer allows it to cripple him, instead using it as a reason to push forward. So he pulls her back in for a more heated kiss, a desperate one—one that conveys that emotional weight that they've built and carry together. One that causes the stars and the snowflakes to kick up in a powerful wind, bursting higher and louder in the air.
Even after he finally releases her lips, his eyes remain heavy with that resolve and conviction, that innate desire to prove his devotion and loyalty to her.]
We'll be fine.
[For the wedding, for their future, for whatever is in front of them. So long as they stay together and hold each other up when the other one falls and pick up the pieces, he fully believes they can handle anything.
Including beating this world and find a way to truly live out their dreams together.]
no subject
All the things that are overwhelming her right now and have been for some time.
It's true that after everything they've been through, it would almost feel silly not to be prepared for a wedding, but it's also for that very reason that she's been feeling the way she has been.]
... I'm still a little nervous.
[It's said under a breath as she nuzzles their noses together, and while it's calmed a bit for now, she knows that as soon as this little pocket in time of theirs ends, it's going to all come flooding back.]
no subject
Don't be.
[Is it surprising or not that he isn't? That isn't to say he is completely calm, but... He is more than ready for this now. He's accepted everything and he just wants it to be done so they can continue to move forward and build on their relationship.]
...But even if you are, I'm here with you.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
~fin.