closed 🌠⚡ it's far too easy to miss the beauty in the simple things

[starshower]

Who: Eustace & Tifa Lockhart.
Status: Closed.
Where: Around.
What: It's Tifa's birthday, and she's overworking again, so Eustace takes her away. Event stuff tba.
Warnings: Fluff.

Comments

[flamekthunder]

[There's a quiet exhale as he briefly closes his eyes before he rests his head against hers, his hand leaving hers only so that it can slip behind her to better support her.]

It is.

[It's quiet...peaceful... Everything he's ever wanted and sought for and to think he'd find it most with her right at his side like this. Through the corner of his eye he can see how the soft oranges, yellows, and pinks wash over her, somehow accentuating all her features. It makes him think of all the effort he's put into things lately... How while he's lived mostly the same, there have been notable changes, too.

And how he feels a bit more whole like this. After all, he's seen many different sunset on his own, but... This is different. It feels different.

Maybe that's what it means to be in a relationship...]

[starshower]

[There really are no words that could properly convey the things she feels right now. Happy is not enough, at peace doesn't feel quite right. Maybe just... speechless? It seems to encompass the many different things if only because each one has left her that way. Between the sunset, the breeze, the sweet smell of the flowers, and most of all, him at her side, his warmth wrapping around her protectively, she feels so very at ease. And after everything that had kept them apart only a month ago, she is glad to just be here again.

So she says nothing more, because nothing really needs to be said, as they stare out at the setting sun until soon—a little too soon, she thinks—it has nearly vanished beneath the horizon, leaving them with a sky speckled with shimmering stars.

She casts her gaze up, smiling.]

They're so bright out here. You rarely get to see them like this so close to the towns.

[flamekthunder]

You're right. And you can get a better view of them....

[With his hand taking her side, he suddenly pulls her down with him as he flops onto his back so that her head can be against his chest when they land.]

Like this.

[starshower]

[That earns a surprised noise out of her, but she falls with him into the flowers anyway, petals flying up as they land in the grass and her head on his chest. A few get caught in their hair, and when she looks at him, she brings a hand up to pluck it away from his ear.

And without ever taking her eyes off him...]

Yeah, much better from here.

[There is a beat that passes, or several if she is judging by her own heart, before she glances up at the sky, no longer able to hold his gaze when she feels her cheeks growing warm.]

You know any of the constellations?

[flamekthunder]

[His own eyes meet hers, and he'll maintain the gaze for long as she is able and his eyes will continue to follow her even when she looks away before they drift upward.]

A few. Had to learn them if I wanted to sail through this world's waters.

...Was a little disconcerting to not find any of the ones I knew from my world.

[starshower]

Yeah. Makes sense. I only know a few.

[Is she trying to distract herself from this weird, nervous feeling in her belly? Maybe... Especially when she can feel his eyes still on her. She does wonder if he can hear the race of her heartbeat, or the catch of her breath.]

There's the horse one... [She searches the sky for it and then points it out to him.] And then the crab.

[flamekthunder]

[He can...but he won't say anything. He thought he would also feel some kind of nervous anticipation, but he feels...strangely calm? It's not that he doesn't feel anything... No, it's the opposite. It's because he feels so happy and at peace with her here that he's able to stay as calm as he is. Excited in a different way.]

Mm...

[A low hum as he confirms them.]

There's one that they call the sea serpent, and another that's a turtle. And the brightest star is the one that leads north.

[starshower]

[She's relieved that he goes along with it, but how long before she can't take it anymore? The urge to look at him is tempting, and she does chance a glance at him through the corner of her eyes, noting how he looks under the white light of the moon...

She swallows and points at the star.]

That one, right? Feel like that's one that exists in all worlds.

[flamekthunder]

There's probably some version of one in every world.

{He turns his head slightly to look at her.]

What kind of constellations did you have in your world?

[starshower]

All kinds, I think... Though, I never really had much of a need to learn them before. Not like here, and even then, I don't really know much about them at all.

[She pauses, pondering a bit, as she stares up at the stars, but every last bit of her focus is turned to him—how he moves, how he breathes, how she can feel him looking at her again.]

There was one that looked like... a bear. A fish. A lion... Sort of like the constellations here. Though... not quite the same.

[flamekthunder]

[A low hum of understanding at that.]

Want to make your own?

[starshower]

My own?

[Her arm slides further around him, holding herself closer, and she finally shifts her gaze to him.]

What do you mean...? Like, draw one out in the stars?

[flamekthunder]

[Another low hum as he smiles softly at her.]

Constellations are made with stars that remain consistent, but you can make out any shape from any of them.

[starshower]

Then...

[Her gaze lingers before she looks up again.]

Help me find a wolf and a rabbit.

[flamekthunder]

[A quiet laugh at that.]

I thought you would ask for that.

[He glances at her and then looks back up.]

Should it be their faces? Or running or standing...

[starshower]

Hmm. Let's go with... running together, if we can find them.

[She smiles, burying her face into his shoulder for a moment for a giggle.]

They're quick, so they might be elusive.

[flamekthunder]

[There's his own huff of laughter to match hers as he scans the skies.]

Hm... What about over there? Looks like that cluster could form the ears.

[starshower]

Hmm?

[She leans in closer to follow his gaze, her cheek nearly pressed to his now.]

Ah, I think I see it.

[Her voice grows quieter. Softer.]

And if you look carefully, just above it, it looks like there could be four legs, if you connect the stars... [She gestures with her finger pointing up to the sky.] Like that.

[flamekthunder]

[With her cheek pressed against his, his attention shifts from the stars to her, and he doesn't even look at the stars she's pointing at. Instead his gaze has shifted to her, and he answers in a quiet voice.]

...What do you think the wolf will do once he catches the rabbit?

[starshower]

[How much longer can she distract herself with the stars when her breath flutters the way that it does as his breath tickles her cheek? She stares up at them for a moment more, pretending like she's drawing out the lines herself, but slowly, she lets her gaze drift away and fall back to him, her hand dropping to his chest.]

I don't know a lot about wolves... but I can make a few guesses.

[Her eyes flick to his lips and then back up to meet his gaze, curiosity gleaming in them, her lashes fluttering slightly before they widen almost expectantly.]

[flamekthunder]

[He says the way her eyes travel, and there's a light smirk before he shifts to lean in closer.]

Let's see if you're right.

[He closes the distance then, lips pressing firmly against hers before his hand threads behind her hair to cup the back of her head and pull her more to him. The kiss is soft and slow at first, but it doesn't take long for it deepen, as if slowly savoring her taste.]

[starshower]

[Just as she thought he might do, she accepts the kiss in full, sighing softly against his lips when he takes hers. Her own touch is tentative, like this is the first time that she is kissing him, only because she doesn't know what to do with these feelings of hers. That violent fluttering in her stomach that makes her hands tremble as she reaches for him, grabbing his shirt in her fists so that she can pull him and hold him closer. That wild beating of her heart that had already been racing long before this.

There is just something about kissing him under the stars, in this quiet and peaceful place, that makes her feel everything she does so much more fully.]

I was right.

[She murmurs as she comes up for air, only to drown herself in him again, her arms going around his shoulders and tugging him so that she can fall to her side and bury them both in the tall wildflowers that surround them.]

[flamekthunder]

[Her movements make him roll to be half over her, and like this he kisses her a little more roughly, a touch feverish as he wants more and more of her taste and the feel of her body against his. Despite the thicker scent of wildflowers around them, it's her own that wraps around him. Tempts him.]

You said you had a few guesses...

[A playful nip at her lips.]

What else are you hoping for?

[starshower]

[She huffs, the sound between a laugh and a pleased sigh at his teeth grazing her lips, and her body arches into his slightly without thought, that need for closeness growing alongside something else that's hot and inexplicable, a feeling that seeps into every nerve and limb.]

I'm a pretty simple girl... I don't expect much.

[Her lashes flutter as she slowly opens her eyes to meet his gaze, her breath catching at the backdrop of stars behind him.]

Yet I somehow am always surprised.

[flamekthunder]

[A low hum, his eyes lingering on hers as he can see the stars reflected in them.]

You are the birthday girl... If you have any special requests I could grant them.