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

[starshower]

Um...

[She can feel her nerves crackling under that sly gaze of his, and she dares to look up at him to catch that gleam in his eyes.]

About a year? N-not that it matters or anything! They're just books.

[flamekthunder]

[Just a sharp rise of his brow.]

So since as long as you've had feelings for me.

[Yeah. He knows. He's caught you, Tifa!!!]

Have any questions?

[starshower]

[More squirming under him, though it's doing nothing to help ease that ache that grows all over again.]

I, uh... well...

[Okay, there was one thing, and they've already sort of? Addressed it?]

What happens when... you know... "It". [Why is she having so much trouble forming proper sentences right now!?] Never mind!

[flamekthunder]

[There's a light snort as he watches her, guessing fairly easily what she means since he referenced it himself precisely because of these books.]

Do you want an answer or not? Or wait until an actual demonstration...?

[starshower]

[She huffs out with a shaky exhale, her hips moving against his gently.]

Think I can wait for a bit. I'll be sure to read the book before then.

[flamekthunder]

[A quiet laugh at that before he presses down against her, lips very close to hers.]

Book only gives a basic understanding, but... I will warn you that it will be very long night.

[starshower]

[That earns another soft purr from her, and she lifts herself to try and catch his lips as her hands drop the book so that they can slide down his back.]

I don't mind long nights... Especially if they're with you.

[A pause.]

And what about this one?

[flamekthunder]

Depends. Do you want it to be?

[starshower]

[Her fingers dig into his muscles just so, enough that he'll feel it on his back as she tries to hold onto that last thread of restraint. As if she wants to hold onto it...

There's the slightest pause, and she knows that he is going to find a way to make her say it, so she just does.]

I might. We don't know when a night like this will come again.

[flamekthunder]

[A low hum as his hands slowly slide down her side and slip beneath the hem of her shirt.]

Well... It's not yet dawn so it's technically still your birthday. So if that's what the birthday girl wants...

[And he'll suddenly roll them over so that she's on top of him instead, smirking up at her.]

She's going to have to unwrap that "gift" herself this time.

[starshower]

[She looks down at him in surprise when he flips them over, her hair spreading across his face in a mess that she has to shake away from them, and her own fingers toy with the hem of his shirt.]

But I already unwrapped it earlier. Do I get to do it again?

[flamekthunder]

Without my help this time.

[starshower]

Might be a little difficult for me, but... I'll try.

[Her hands slip beneath his shirt and up, and she presses her palms to his chest before she's leaning down further to press her lips gently to his.]

Thank you for everything, by the way. All of this...

[She kisses him again.]

[flamekthunder]

[The playful smile turns warmer as a hand threads through her hair, keeping her close.]

Happy Birthday, Tifa.

[It's her day, but... He also feels happy. A happiness that can be felt through the kiss he gives her. Happy to know that he could bring someone he cares—loves—so much. To find something else to treasure and want and protect—her smile, her joy. A wish to give her what neither of them were able to find in their own worlds, but were able to here in this new one.]

❤️💛 fin.

[starshower]

[With no further words needed, she kisses him. Again and again and again, parting only for a breath. Hardly. He is the only thing that she needs right now, and the way that she kisses him conveys that, and more than that, she hopes that he can understand it. She hopes that through them, he can feel her appreciation and gratitude, the love that she feels for him, the happiness that he has given her tonight and every other time that they have spent together. It's been a long time since she's been as happy as she feels right now, her heart both weighing heavy with emotions and so very light at the same time, beating wildly in her chest for him.

It is still surreal to think that they could have found what they have now in a world like this. Of all the places and of all the people, she never once imagined that she would fall for someone like him in a universe that is worlds and worlds away from their own, and then how far does it span in between them? It's not something that she wants to think about. Not tonight. Tonight, she only wishes to focus on him. On them and the stars above.

How long they stay up together she has no idea, but sleep is the last thing on her mind as she spends the night "unwrapping" that "gift" again, and exploring every inch of him that she can, memorizing him as if this will be their first and last time. And honestly, it very well could be. The thought crosses her mind once and only once before she treats it like it is. Savours every moment, every touch, every kiss until they are each imprinted into her memory.

Because this love, this joy... there is something truly special about it, and would she ever find it again? Whether she does or doesn't, she never wants to forget this feeling. This love. Never wants to forget him or the joy that he brings her now, and every other day.

At least for now, she is confident that she will wake up and he will be there. That fear will always linger, but tonight, she's sure that she heard the stars promise her that much.

Happy birthday to her, indeed.]