She might have been afraid to really believe in that once. She would have hesitated, would have convinced herself that it's not something that she can promise. That believing in it fully and truly would only leave her feeling empty in the end... but...
Now, there's no voice in her head that tells her no. There hasn't been for a while, but after today... After talking so much about the finer details of their future like what kind of welcome mat or coasters to get, how to set up the garden of the business they'll be running together, Tifa's head and heart have never been clearer.
It's an overwhelmingly deep feeling that rises in her chest, but she resists the urge to let it free as a sob or a sniffle or a laugh... even more words. Instead, it comes out in her smile, the glint in her eyes, and the kiss that she presses to his lips again, soft and sweet.
But there's an excitement simmering beneath it as well—not just for their little celebration, but for everything that's to come later down the line. Even with the wedding over, there's still so, so much to look forward to.
On that note... With a smile, she murmurs into the kiss.]
Go wait for me.
[Even though it's hard for her to let him go now that she has him.]
[He's slow to part, instead taking her lips again, savoring her taste and that light buzz that's hidden beneath it. Such a light, freeing feeling—it's difficult for him to not want to chase it.
But he'll eventually let go, smiling softly.]
Don't take long or I'll come get you myself.
[A light smirk before he steps around to head to their room.]
[She only looks back over her shoulder at him with a grin when he leaves.]
Maybe that's exactly what I want.
[But she'll wait for him to disappear into their room before she moves at all... and she won't keep him waiting for long. Maybe a touch longer than needed, because how long does it really take to grab wine and a pair of glasses, just to build up the anticipation a bit more before she appears in the doorway. She's already taken it upon herself to pop the cork off the wine, and its label bears the name of Barok and Diluc's winery on it.]
A red wine I haven't tried yet.
[As she slips into the room and nudges the door shut with her foot.]
If it's too sweet for you, I can always grab or make you something else.
[After sending a signal to one of the dogs to keep an eye on Lyria—specifically, to keep her away for a bit—Eustace just freshens up a bit before flopping onto his side of the bed, his journal already appearing in his hand. Could he just lie there and relax? Probably, but he's just not the type, and he's already wanting to go through the notes they've made.
So he looks up when he hears her coming, his eyes drifting to the wine before looking back to her.]
[She admires him silently and openly first. Even when she asks him to relax, he still has to keep himself busy. She doesn't mind it, and it is something she's always found so endearing about him, but there are moments when she wishes that he would for his sake. Of course, with all this work that needs to be done, it's hard not to go over all of it.
So, it's with a fond, crooked smile that she crosses the room and slumps on the bed beside him, careful not to spill as she hands him an empty glass, and she'll fill his up first as soon as it's out of her hands.]
We got some good ones in there, at least. A lot, too.
[She's brimming with joy and pride, her cheeks flushed with it, as she fills her glass second. Not too much for either of them for now, but enough that they can get some good tastings before diving into the bottle. They got a lot done today—much more than she imagined—and it's all a giant leap in the right direction.
So, once they both have their glasses and she's set the bottle down on the table on her side of the bed, she raises hers to him.]
Here's to... a successful first day on the job. And... [Her gaze lowers from him to her glass, her smile turning shy.] ... New dreams for us.
[She wiggles with happiness when he goes along with it, and she catches herself wanting to smile more as the sound of their glasses together fill the space, and she hides it all behind her first sip. Not to her surprise at all, the wine is a bit sweet, but not too sweet or tart. It's pleasant, and leaves behind a smooth aftertaste, with the burn in her throat not overwhelming.
Honestly, she's surprised at how much she does like it, and helps herself to a second, smaller sip, enjoying the brief, comfortable silence that's fallen between them. The sun has already begun to set, but it's still warm as it filters through their window, bathing their room in oranges and reds, and she pauses to admire the way Eustace's hair always seems to soak up the colours from behind the rim of her glass.
She catches herself staring, however, and after her third sip, she sets the glass down on her lap, and her eyes follow until they reach the ripples in the red drink. Her shoulders lift and fall in a sigh, and she suddenly feels... nervous again.]
... There was something else, too. Something I've been meaning to do.
[He watches her take her sip first, watching the slight change in her eyes as she tastes it. Only then does he finally take a sip of his own, his own thoughts similar. Not too sweet, not too tart. It runs smooth and he could certainly enjoy a wine like this...especially in this quiet, peaceful setting. Even if this isn't the first time they've been like this, he always relishes it. Appreciates that he can have this now.
But he can sense there's something else. She had said as much before, but he feels her stares at her fidgeting. So whens he sets her glass down, he follows suit as he stares at her, waiting.]
[More long pauses as Tifa's finger now runs along the top of her glass, and she listens to the gentle sound that it makes. She can feel his stare on her still, and when she peeks up at him finally, she feels the colour immediately rise up into her face.]
Hm...
[It's only a hum as she sets her glass down on the table next to the bottle, and she shuffles, turning her back to him so that she can rummage through the drawer instead. It's something kept at the bottom that she has to shuffle around for, and when she finally faces him again, it's with a wrapped box in her hands, small enough that it fits easily into both her palms.
... Oddly enough, he will likely notice that it has wrinkles and stains all across the fine, beautifully decorated paper, like something had spilled over it. Coffee and orange juice, perhaps?
She doesn't hand it over to him just yet, though, and instead, holds it close to her chest.]
I meant to give this to you on your birthday, but... couldn't.
[He keeps waiting, wondering what in the world she wants to say or do. He really can't even figure out an idea even when she opens her side drawer and starts rummaging around. And he's still left clueless whens he pulls out...a small present?]
[Why does she feel so anxious about this? She wants to reach over and give it to him, but she still holds it close, her fingers wrapping around it protectively now... and he'll soon find out why, when a bittersweet look flickers across her expression.]
This was supposed to be my gift for you for your birthday in Camelot.
[Which is why she's having a harder time handing over this one. It's one of the few things left from their lives in that world that hasn't been lost, and she feels almost scared that if she lets him unwrap it, those memories will fade to dust. And it being tied to such a strong, vivid, sad memory... Is it really okay for her to do this?]
He's a little stunned, his eyes immediately going to the present...one that was from all the way from Camelot...and on that fateful day when he first left her. It would be a lie to say he didn't feel anything from it, a slight squeezing in his chest, little pricks stabbing at him. Even if he hadn't thought about that for a long time, now it all comes rushing back.
...And how much more devastated she must have been when he didn't wake up.
...Come to think of it, didn't he disappear around her birthday, too, in this world? Primals, they've had real shit luck with birthdays.
Slowly he moves to set his glass down on the table before he raises it to first brush against her cheek, knuckles pushing back the loose strands of her bangs before his other hand reaches out rest over hers holding the box so protectively.]
[She'd been briefly lost in thought when he touches her, and it starts her back, drawing her to this place and not where she had wandered back to that morning in the room, where hope and happiness had been completely knocked out of her. She hasn't thought about it in a long time, and for a while, she tried not to think about it until it simply became that she had no reason to.
Until his birthday started drawing closer. It had been terrible timing given the wedding, but there was that small part of her that worried... and then worried more when she made the decision to take one of her baubles to the well and wish for it back. And as she held it in her hands, the box still soaked in coffee and orange juice as if it had been snatched straight out of that memory as it had been left, she wasn't sure if she would ever find the courage to give it to him.
In hindsight, it's such a silly gift now too, given that they have so many new memories together...
The warmth from Eustace's hands spreads through her like a fire on a cold day would, and she looks down to where his rests over hers wrapped around the box, and her grip tightens on it.]
... I don't want it to hurt you.
[She saw that slight flicker of pain in his eyes. She never misses it... but it had been there, and that was the exact thing that she was worried this would do. He says it's okay, but she needs to be absolutely sure that he truly is.]
He's always so thoughtful. So sweet that sometimes, she simply wants to break down and cry. Of course having it in her hands when she first received it had been difficult, the scents being enough to turn back time for just a moment, but that had been more than enough to remember it all so clearly. It's not something she ever wants to do again, but with this here now, about to be handed to him, there isn't much left from their lives in Camelot.
She manages to smile for him again, and he'll feel Tifa's fingers loosen slightly on the box before she carefully slips it into the hand that's curled over hers.
And as soon as he takes it, she shrinks back with a flush to her cheeks. No longer does she feel nervous about dredging up unwanted memories in him. Now, she's just nervous that he'll think the gift is silly or stupid or useless.
Tucking a hair behind her ear, she tries her best to meet his eyes.]
... Sorry about the wrapping. I... didn't wanna unwrap it.
[Would it have been less meaningful? Maybe... which is why she left it as is. Now that they are here, together, and are about to find ways to stay in this world, it shouldn't matter what their past had been like.
Whenever he does unravel the paper and open the box, he'll find two small, velvet pouches inside—one with a label of his name and one with Tifa's written in her neat handwriting, each decorated with a little heart. He'll likely hear the sound of metal before he opens the pouch, but what he'll find inside is a small engraved, circular pendant on a sturdy chain with an even sturdier clasp on the other end.
The carvings on the steel is of a wolf and a rabbit creating the circle, drawn into the metal in a yin-yang shape, like they're chasing one another. Embedded in the wolf's eye is an aquamarine, and in the rabbit's, a ruby.
However, that isn't all... and as Tifa watches him nervously, she finally finds the words within her to tell him through a reddened face—]
... Open it.
[The small lock on the side will click with the press of his finger, and it snaps open to reveal a coloured photo of them burned onto the inside. Eustace looks as grumpy as ever, and she's still not sure if he was even aware at the time that she was taking a photo, while Tifa is beaming wide and flushed like she had been in the middle of laughing, and they're both sporting the 3-D glasses from the movie theatre, his sitting crookedly on his face after she had tried to fix them for him.
As soon as he sees it, Tifa shrinks back against the head of the bed, and she grabs a pillow to hug it to herself and to bury her face into.]
It's so stupid, I know...
[So silly and useless.
He can open the Tifa-labeled pouch if he would like, because he will find the same thing in there, only smaller, and tied to a thinner chain that's made to be wrapped around her wrist. Or rather, her gloves as he might recognize, from the bomb and chocobo charms she came with.]
[Once he's taken the box, he realizes just how small it is in his hands...and he also can fully see the stains on it. He doesn't know what they are or how it got there—coffee? Juice? But he could make some guesses. If she had it with her when she was his apartment... He remembers how she had left the room to make breakfast, intending to bring it to him. Could she have had the box then? And if so...
Again there are those glass like pricks in his chest, the room darkening slightly as if clouds had passed in front of the sun. Not completely dark, but just a little dim as he slowly and gently runs his fingertips over the paper. And without responding, he slowly finds where the paper had been taped and carefully pries it loose, not really tearing into the paper much as he begins to unwrap it.
Opening the box, he looks curiously at the velvet pouches before first picking up the one with his name. Again he can't help but slowly feel it over before turning it over to pour out its contents. Holding up the pendant, he can better see the details of the carvings, their little wolf and rabbit motif existing even from back then... He can't help but smile a little at that.
However, it's not until Tifa tells him to open it that he realizes it's not just a pendant, but a locket of some kind. Glancing at her, he opens it...and is once again stunned by the photo inside.]
This...
[...It's when they had gone on their first "date," if it could even be called that. Hell, it was more of an outing made on a whim between friends. But it was also the first time they encountered that woman and everything after that...
Still, the day itself had been one he always remembered. Of his first real leisure activity in gods know how long. And how it was likely the first real day the two of them really started to get to know one another, where that little bit of a spark between them likely began.
As he also considers the original timeframe and intention for this, how this was originally to be given when their own relationship there had only recently started to become real... How that night she had thought about them living together, of wanting to be with him... Of that prospects they could have had and what her own ideas and visions might have been...
His fingers curl over the pendant tightly as there is a swell of emotion, a mixture of joy and remorse.]
It's not.
[He doesn't open her pouch just yet, already guessing it's a matching pair. For now he focuses on her...and how adorable she is trying to hide behind that pillow. With a soft, fond look, he reaches out with his other hand to try and gently pull it away, leaning in closer to her.]
This...is something I'll always treasure and keep with me.
[From where she's sitting, she watches him carefully, eyes hidden behind the curtain of hair that falls in front of them as she hugs the pillow closer. Butterflies explode in her stomach at the mix of emotions on his face, and her face feels hot and like she might suddenly melt away.
When he moves to her, she lets him pull the pillow away with ease, and the way the sun returns to the room highlights and saturates the colour in her cheeks. Wide, hopeful, red eyes gaze at him as she keeps herself curled up, but his words draw a smile out of her, and there's a very visible sigh of relief that passes through her whole body.]
... Really?
[It's not as if she expected otherwise. Eustace had never been the kind of man who would think anything less of the things she gave him, but still, that small part of her worried that he'd see it as just another trinket, and not the memento that she always intended for it to be. A memento that carries so much more weight now than it did when she meant to give it to him, funnily enough—one that is now a symbol of the beginnings of what they've built, and the only thing of that life that they have.
Tifa lowers her arms and her knees and lifts her chin enough that he can see the crooked smile.]
It was meant to be a sort of... good luck charm. [She reaches into her shirt and pulls out the small glass moon that hangs next to the dog tags.] But I guess we've already got those now, huh?
[The trinkets clink softly as she lets them fall back to her chest, and she motions to his hand.]
I had it specially made, and was going to tell you to attach it to Flamek... so if you were ever out there fighting without me... I'd at least still be with you somehow.
[A very gentle smile as he closes the distance to lightly press his lips against the top of her head before lightly resting his forehead against hers, eyes closing briefly.]
Then and now... I would and always will treasure this. It is true we already have a few charms and trinkets, but I'll always find room for more. [His eyes meet hers.] Whatever you give me, I'll always have a place for it.
[He then reaches over to grab the pouch that had her name on it to hold it.]
[He may never know just how much those words really mean to her. It isn't just that she knows he'll always have a place for the things she gives him, whatever they are... but that there will always be a place for her, too. No matter the time or the universe, they'll always have a place for each other.
With a small nod, she reaches out, not to take the pouch but to pull it open while it's in his hand so that he can see it for himself.]
Yeah. I didn't wanna go anywhere without one either. Though... [She laughs quietly.] I don't find I need my gloves as often here anymore. Not with you around.
[His voice is so gentle and soft, as he looks down at the matching charm and noticing how it would fit the ones on her gloves. But he's glad she doesn't need to fight as much. Not that he doesn't think she can, but just because he wants to be there to protect her, to let her know that he'll always have her back and take away some of that burden she's been carrying for so long, just as she's been doing the same for him.
...To never be too late again.]
We can still attach it to our weapons unless you would rather add it to the others.
[She shifts, moving in his direction until she's close enough that she can wrap her arms around him, her smile pulling wider as she leans in for a kiss, all of her relief pouring out of her through it.]
Do you think they would look good somewhere else? They don't have to go there.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
flamekthunder) wrote2025-04-07 09:12 pm
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[Always.
She might have been afraid to really believe in that once. She would have hesitated, would have convinced herself that it's not something that she can promise. That believing in it fully and truly would only leave her feeling empty in the end... but...
Now, there's no voice in her head that tells her no. There hasn't been for a while, but after today... After talking so much about the finer details of their future like what kind of welcome mat or coasters to get, how to set up the garden of the business they'll be running together, Tifa's head and heart have never been clearer.
It's an overwhelmingly deep feeling that rises in her chest, but she resists the urge to let it free as a sob or a sniffle or a laugh... even more words. Instead, it comes out in her smile, the glint in her eyes, and the kiss that she presses to his lips again, soft and sweet.
But there's an excitement simmering beneath it as well—not just for their little celebration, but for everything that's to come later down the line. Even with the wedding over, there's still so, so much to look forward to.
On that note... With a smile, she murmurs into the kiss.]
Go wait for me.
[Even though it's hard for her to let him go now that she has him.]
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But he'll eventually let go, smiling softly.]
Don't take long or I'll come get you myself.
[A light smirk before he steps around to head to their room.]
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Maybe that's exactly what I want.
[But she'll wait for him to disappear into their room before she moves at all... and she won't keep him waiting for long. Maybe a touch longer than needed, because how long does it really take to grab wine and a pair of glasses, just to build up the anticipation a bit more before she appears in the doorway. She's already taken it upon herself to pop the cork off the wine, and its label bears the name of Barok and Diluc's winery on it.]
A red wine I haven't tried yet.
[As she slips into the room and nudges the door shut with her foot.]
If it's too sweet for you, I can always grab or make you something else.
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So he looks up when he hears her coming, his eyes drifting to the wine before looking back to her.]
It should be fine.
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So, it's with a fond, crooked smile that she crosses the room and slumps on the bed beside him, careful not to spill as she hands him an empty glass, and she'll fill his up first as soon as it's out of her hands.]
Already going over our notes?
[She motions to the journal with her eyes.]
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[A light smile as he sets the journal down and takes the glass, holding it for her as she fills it.]
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[She's brimming with joy and pride, her cheeks flushed with it, as she fills her glass second. Not too much for either of them for now, but enough that they can get some good tastings before diving into the bottle. They got a lot done today—much more than she imagined—and it's all a giant leap in the right direction.
So, once they both have their glasses and she's set the bottle down on the table on her side of the bed, she raises hers to him.]
Here's to... a successful first day on the job. And... [Her gaze lowers from him to her glass, her smile turning shy.] ... New dreams for us.
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To new dreams.
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Honestly, she's surprised at how much she does like it, and helps herself to a second, smaller sip, enjoying the brief, comfortable silence that's fallen between them. The sun has already begun to set, but it's still warm as it filters through their window, bathing their room in oranges and reds, and she pauses to admire the way Eustace's hair always seems to soak up the colours from behind the rim of her glass.
She catches herself staring, however, and after her third sip, she sets the glass down on her lap, and her eyes follow until they reach the ripples in the red drink. Her shoulders lift and fall in a sigh, and she suddenly feels... nervous again.]
... There was something else, too. Something I've been meaning to do.
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But he can sense there's something else. She had said as much before, but he feels her stares at her fidgeting. So whens he sets her glass down, he follows suit as he stares at her, waiting.]
What is it?
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Hm...
[It's only a hum as she sets her glass down on the table next to the bottle, and she shuffles, turning her back to him so that she can rummage through the drawer instead. It's something kept at the bottom that she has to shuffle around for, and when she finally faces him again, it's with a wrapped box in her hands, small enough that it fits easily into both her palms.
... Oddly enough, he will likely notice that it has wrinkles and stains all across the fine, beautifully decorated paper, like something had spilled over it. Coffee and orange juice, perhaps?
She doesn't hand it over to him just yet, though, and instead, holds it close to her chest.]
I meant to give this to you on your birthday, but... couldn't.
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...My birthday?
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[Why does she feel so anxious about this? She wants to reach over and give it to him, but she still holds it close, her fingers wrapping around it protectively now... and he'll soon find out why, when a bittersweet look flickers across her expression.]
This was supposed to be my gift for you for your birthday in Camelot.
[Which is why she's having a harder time handing over this one. It's one of the few things left from their lives in that world that hasn't been lost, and she feels almost scared that if she lets him unwrap it, those memories will fade to dust. And it being tied to such a strong, vivid, sad memory... Is it really okay for her to do this?]
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He's a little stunned, his eyes immediately going to the present...one that was from all the way from Camelot...and on that fateful day when he first left her. It would be a lie to say he didn't feel anything from it, a slight squeezing in his chest, little pricks stabbing at him. Even if he hadn't thought about that for a long time, now it all comes rushing back.
...And how much more devastated she must have been when he didn't wake up.
...Come to think of it, didn't he disappear around her birthday, too, in this world? Primals, they've had real shit luck with birthdays.
Slowly he moves to set his glass down on the table before he raises it to first brush against her cheek, knuckles pushing back the loose strands of her bangs before his other hand reaches out rest over hers holding the box so protectively.]
It's okay, Tifa.
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[She'd been briefly lost in thought when he touches her, and it starts her back, drawing her to this place and not where she had wandered back to that morning in the room, where hope and happiness had been completely knocked out of her. She hasn't thought about it in a long time, and for a while, she tried not to think about it until it simply became that she had no reason to.
Until his birthday started drawing closer. It had been terrible timing given the wedding, but there was that small part of her that worried... and then worried more when she made the decision to take one of her baubles to the well and wish for it back. And as she held it in her hands, the box still soaked in coffee and orange juice as if it had been snatched straight out of that memory as it had been left, she wasn't sure if she would ever find the courage to give it to him.
In hindsight, it's such a silly gift now too, given that they have so many new memories together...
The warmth from Eustace's hands spreads through her like a fire on a cold day would, and she looks down to where his rests over hers wrapped around the box, and her grip tightens on it.]
... I don't want it to hurt you.
[She saw that slight flicker of pain in his eyes. She never misses it... but it had been there, and that was the exact thing that she was worried this would do. He says it's okay, but she needs to be absolutely sure that he truly is.]
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It won't.
[The hand over hers tightens a fraction.]
...I'm more worried about you.
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He's always so thoughtful. So sweet that sometimes, she simply wants to break down and cry. Of course having it in her hands when she first received it had been difficult, the scents being enough to turn back time for just a moment, but that had been more than enough to remember it all so clearly. It's not something she ever wants to do again, but with this here now, about to be handed to him, there isn't much left from their lives in Camelot.
She manages to smile for him again, and he'll feel Tifa's fingers loosen slightly on the box before she carefully slips it into the hand that's curled over hers.
And as soon as he takes it, she shrinks back with a flush to her cheeks. No longer does she feel nervous about dredging up unwanted memories in him. Now, she's just nervous that he'll think the gift is silly or stupid or useless.
Tucking a hair behind her ear, she tries her best to meet his eyes.]
... Sorry about the wrapping. I... didn't wanna unwrap it.
[Would it have been less meaningful? Maybe... which is why she left it as is. Now that they are here, together, and are about to find ways to stay in this world, it shouldn't matter what their past had been like.
Whenever he does unravel the paper and open the box, he'll find two small, velvet pouches inside—one with a label of his name and one with Tifa's written in her neat handwriting, each decorated with a little heart. He'll likely hear the sound of metal before he opens the pouch, but what he'll find inside is a small engraved, circular pendant on a sturdy chain with an even sturdier clasp on the other end.
The carvings on the steel is of a wolf and a rabbit creating the circle, drawn into the metal in a yin-yang shape, like they're chasing one another. Embedded in the wolf's eye is an aquamarine, and in the rabbit's, a ruby.
However, that isn't all... and as Tifa watches him nervously, she finally finds the words within her to tell him through a reddened face—]
... Open it.
[The small lock on the side will click with the press of his finger, and it snaps open to reveal a coloured photo of them burned onto the inside. Eustace looks as grumpy as ever, and she's still not sure if he was even aware at the time that she was taking a photo, while Tifa is beaming wide and flushed like she had been in the middle of laughing, and they're both sporting the 3-D glasses from the movie theatre, his sitting crookedly on his face after she had tried to fix them for him.
As soon as he sees it, Tifa shrinks back against the head of the bed, and she grabs a pillow to hug it to herself and to bury her face into.]
It's so stupid, I know...
[So silly and useless.
He can open the Tifa-labeled pouch if he would like, because he will find the same thing in there, only smaller, and tied to a thinner chain that's made to be wrapped around her wrist. Or rather, her gloves as he might recognize, from the bomb and chocobo charms she came with.]
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Again there are those glass like pricks in his chest, the room darkening slightly as if clouds had passed in front of the sun. Not completely dark, but just a little dim as he slowly and gently runs his fingertips over the paper. And without responding, he slowly finds where the paper had been taped and carefully pries it loose, not really tearing into the paper much as he begins to unwrap it.
Opening the box, he looks curiously at the velvet pouches before first picking up the one with his name. Again he can't help but slowly feel it over before turning it over to pour out its contents. Holding up the pendant, he can better see the details of the carvings, their little wolf and rabbit motif existing even from back then... He can't help but smile a little at that.
However, it's not until Tifa tells him to open it that he realizes it's not just a pendant, but a locket of some kind. Glancing at her, he opens it...and is once again stunned by the photo inside.]
This...
[...It's when they had gone on their first "date," if it could even be called that. Hell, it was more of an outing made on a whim between friends. But it was also the first time they encountered that woman and everything after that...
Still, the day itself had been one he always remembered. Of his first real leisure activity in gods know how long. And how it was likely the first real day the two of them really started to get to know one another, where that little bit of a spark between them likely began.
As he also considers the original timeframe and intention for this, how this was originally to be given when their own relationship there had only recently started to become real... How that night she had thought about them living together, of wanting to be with him... Of that prospects they could have had and what her own ideas and visions might have been...
His fingers curl over the pendant tightly as there is a swell of emotion, a mixture of joy and remorse.]
It's not.
[He doesn't open her pouch just yet, already guessing it's a matching pair. For now he focuses on her...and how adorable she is trying to hide behind that pillow. With a soft, fond look, he reaches out with his other hand to try and gently pull it away, leaning in closer to her.]
This...is something I'll always treasure and keep with me.
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When he moves to her, she lets him pull the pillow away with ease, and the way the sun returns to the room highlights and saturates the colour in her cheeks. Wide, hopeful, red eyes gaze at him as she keeps herself curled up, but his words draw a smile out of her, and there's a very visible sigh of relief that passes through her whole body.]
... Really?
[It's not as if she expected otherwise. Eustace had never been the kind of man who would think anything less of the things she gave him, but still, that small part of her worried that he'd see it as just another trinket, and not the memento that she always intended for it to be. A memento that carries so much more weight now than it did when she meant to give it to him, funnily enough—one that is now a symbol of the beginnings of what they've built, and the only thing of that life that they have.
Tifa lowers her arms and her knees and lifts her chin enough that he can see the crooked smile.]
It was meant to be a sort of... good luck charm. [She reaches into her shirt and pulls out the small glass moon that hangs next to the dog tags.] But I guess we've already got those now, huh?
[The trinkets clink softly as she lets them fall back to her chest, and she motions to his hand.]
I had it specially made, and was going to tell you to attach it to Flamek... so if you were ever out there fighting without me... I'd at least still be with you somehow.
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[A very gentle smile as he closes the distance to lightly press his lips against the top of her head before lightly resting his forehead against hers, eyes closing briefly.]
Then and now... I would and always will treasure this. It is true we already have a few charms and trinkets, but I'll always find room for more. [His eyes meet hers.] Whatever you give me, I'll always have a place for it.
[He then reaches over to grab the pouch that had her name on it to hold it.]
I'm guessing this was a matching set?
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With a small nod, she reaches out, not to take the pouch but to pull it open while it's in his hand so that he can see it for himself.]
Yeah. I didn't wanna go anywhere without one either. Though... [She laughs quietly.] I don't find I need my gloves as often here anymore. Not with you around.
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[His voice is so gentle and soft, as he looks down at the matching charm and noticing how it would fit the ones on her gloves. But he's glad she doesn't need to fight as much. Not that he doesn't think she can, but just because he wants to be there to protect her, to let her know that he'll always have her back and take away some of that burden she's been carrying for so long, just as she's been doing the same for him.
...To never be too late again.]
We can still attach it to our weapons unless you would rather add it to the others.
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Do you think they would look good somewhere else? They don't have to go there.
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As if we don't have enough protective spells as it is.
[The glass charms and the dog tags... That isn't to say they are terrible to have, and she wouldn't say no to more of them.]
If we do, it would make sense to keep it on Flamek. You never go anywhere without that thing anyway.
[A bit of ribbing, but she's only teasing.]
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🎀