sweethymns | ғaтe/alт.dιѕтorтιon ii

[Her face flushes, not out of embarrassment, but out of happiness. Those words from the strangers around them weren't bad, but hearing it from Diarmuid made Ai really believe it.]

Thank you! [She does, however, brush her hair back shyly (and to hide that bare part of her back)]

Caster is frighteningly prepared isn't she? I... Um.

Oh, yes that's right! [She looks at Cu and points in the direction where Lien last left.]

Lien's trying to hide. I don't think she means to, but she definitely panicked a bit.

I had my doubts, but I'm willing to overlook them for now. You look lovely.

[ Sincere and truthful as always, he offers Ai a hand should she want to take it. ]

—But, Miss Lien? Hiding?

[She takes his hand happily before replying.]

Well, maybe you'll see her later! She doesn't look bad by any means, but I think she got insecure all of a sudden.

Is her dress similar to yours? She shouldn't be too self-conscious, if that were the case.

[ Even the open back doesn't seem to bother Diarmuid too much, but he does stand half a step behind her to shield her from gazes from others. ]

Though I haven't seen many dresses like these, admittedly.

The familiars dressed her rather differently from me actually. She isn't used to having so many people look at her.

[Of course, as expected nearby women who see Diarmuid are immediately entranced and while there were some people who looked upon Ai with interest, them staying together makes an effective deterrent from being approached.

That or Diarmuid is too brilliant, that might explain it too.]

Ah, but I'm not used to it either...

Edited 2015-09-29 17:43 (UTC)

Do you dislike it? I think it bears reiterating that you look beautiful.

[ Again, spoken without an ounce of flattery: for him, it's just a fact, and one that he's not afraid nor feels particularly shy about stating. ]

If you'd like to go somewhere less crowded, I think the back of the ship would be a good place to start.

[SHAMELESS!! But it's not like she can reprimand him for words that make her feel elated so she nods and hooks her arm around his as they head to the back of the ship.]

It's... Extravagant? I don't dislike it though. Ah, but being like this while I'm with you is dreamlike...

[And it really is for her. Ai's dressed like a princess with a knight by her side. It's the stuff of fairy tales that she and Lien read together when they were younger, but here they are now.]

Edited 2015-09-30 05:46 (UTC)

Fortunately or no, this isn't a dream.

[ He leads her to a quieter section in the back, where they can spot the pinprick of lights that comprise Fuyuki in the distance. From here, it's almost impossible to imagine that such a quiet city and such a peaceful landscape could be fraught with so much mystery— in a way, Diarmuid appreciates the fact that Ai used that word. This is all like walking on clouds.

He positions himself so that he's in the way of the breeze, shielding Ai from the cold sea wind while he brushes his knuckles gently against the side of her face. ]

Whatever time we have left, I intend to enjoy it. [ A beat. ] Not very knightlike of me.

[Her eyes soften as she feels his hand against her face and so she tilts her cheek slightly into it, hair falling across her shoulder.]

If you're not very knightlike, than I'm not much of a princess either, much less a Master.

[She closes her eyes and lets out an airy sigh.]

... Diarmuid? I think I'm able to sort out some of my words.

—Right. I remember that you were interrupted.

[ He hasn't forgotten, and he pulls his hand away to let her have her space, to let her sufficiently prepare for whatever she wanted to say before all of this other confusion happened. He won't rush her; he knows this is important. ]

Please speak freely, Master. I'm here to listen.

I...

[All of this was like a dream. A world that had suddenly built itself around them and one that Ai Thao found herself reluctant to let go of even though weeks before she had even warned herself of this sweet folly.

(And then she remembers the nightmare, how he was hurt, how the rage darkened, him, how it made him suffer, how it made him curse and now the world around them could so easily crumble...)

She reaches up to play with strands of her hair, twirling it around her fingers.]

You've been protecting me and listening to my troubles all this time. This War and you... Everything is very new and very strange.

[Ai glances to the side because him looking at her was too good to be true.]

I think for the longest time, I wanted to find something or someone important. That in itself seemed very selfish so I never could find a way to grasp it, not without faltering anyway. But then I met you.

[She reaches out to touch his chest, the place where his heart should be. ~~Blooditspillsfromhisheart~~]

I don't want to falter when it comes to you.

Um. But.

[All of a sudden, Ai feels her cheeks flare up because, wow, trying to be this serious is kind of embarrassing and she's touching his chest still. But it's important so she continues determinedly in spite of her red cheeks.]

Please allow me to be clear! I definitely didn't want to fall for you or anything! Because then I thought, you'd just go, "Oh, no!" And, um, that would be uncomfortable right??

[The words spill out and she moves closer so she can lean her forehead against his chest so she isn't looking at him.]

But then I started to like other things about you the more we spent time together and fought by each others side! Like how you're good at taking care of small tasks around you, always being attentive and serious. It's hard not to like those things!

[ Admittedly, this is all an exorbitant amount to take in. His speechlessless isn't a result of the information being particularly difficult to digest— it isn't, which surprises him more than anything else, how it seeps into the space where his heart would be and settles comfortably— but because it's something he didn't set out to accomplish, this confession. He never intended for things to go this way, because love is always...complicated, it's ended in quagmires and tragedy more times than he's cared to count in his life.

He can't say that he'd wanted to avoid it, even if he had, to some extent. It wasn't a priority, or a choice, at the very least.

So that should tell you something about his current state of affairs. ]

[ He didn't ask for any of this. Didn't need it, because he'd had his fill of affections in his living days, a love that destroyed him but one he doesn't regret.

And then there's this, something that's blindsided him. Something that started with uncertainty and disarray, an obligation-turned-something-else.

When he feels Ai's weight push against him, her hands in his clothes, he can't help but laugh. ]

Then I feel better in my confession that I didn't intend for this to happen, either.

But if I can be someone important to you, then that wish is something I've become more than willing to grant.

[ He leans in, his arms around her shoulders, his chin against her hair. ]

If you like my attentiveness, then let me be attentive for you. If my seriousness doesn't put you off, then I'll remain as steadfast as you need me to be.

[ Another laugh, low but soft. ]

If you falter around me, then let me be selfish enough to catch you. Is that unreasonable?

Unreasonable?

[She feels as if she was supposed to have made her words simple when it came to this. But nothing had prepared Ai for how relieved she felt when he gave her his answer despite her saying to much. Her face is aglow with indescribable happiness and she reaches up to cup his face with her hands, beaming up at him. The combination of the distant lights of the city, the white of her dress, and the luminous moonlight makes for what could be called an unforgettable image.]

Of course it isn't! I already spent a lot of time coming to terms with it.

And so...

[Her hands move to his shoulders, content to just leave them there.]

I'll be there for you too. I'm neither strong nor amazing, but... knowing I can feel this way for you? I can do anything.

[And for Ai Thao Kha, that's how she knows that it was real. It couldn't be anything else. The desire she felt from the enchantment had been there, true enough. But in the end, she didn't want that kind of all encompassing sensation that would seize her heart and her senses. It was something else entirely and she hopes that in the past, Gráinne perhaps felt the same way about her knight in the end. Because to Ai, he deserved nothing less.]

Edited 2015-10-02 03:15 (UTC)

[ She keeps her hands on his shoulders, but one of Diarmuid's moves up to take her chin gently, to run a thumb under the outline of her lower lip. That in itself is a silent question, a 'may I?', one that he emphasizes with a lean forward that brushes his bangs against her cheek. ]

No.

[ This is the first time he's outright contradicting her, but he feels it's for a good purpose. His face is millimeters away from hers, and his voice is low, quiet. ]

You're both strong and amazing.

[What remains of the dark doubts and the years of apprehension towards a life she had barely lived, gently fades away as he traces her lower lip. The things that were supposed to occupy her mind foremost disappear as Ai feels her heart soar as she looks into his eyes, scarcely believing that any of this was actually real.

Whether this was dream or not, Ai Thao would remember this forever. If anyone tried to wretch this memory away from her in the future, she would fight tooth and nail for this precious treasure of a moment.

Her answer to his silent question? She closes the distance between them, pressing her lips against his with all the gentleness she possesses.]

[ It floors him that she's the one that leans in first, but he reciprocates her bravery with a brand of his own, the brand that allows him to step outside of the boundaries of his duties to do this. He tilts Ai's chin up, puts one hand at her waist and dips her backwards so he can bend forward to take the strain off of her neck.

When he pulls back, he's all smiles; at peace, which is something he covets despite his knighthood. ]

You really can do anything.

[Oh. OH. The backwards dip catches her completely off guard so when he pulls back, she stands there, dazed until he speaks up.]

That... That was.

[Her hands move up to cover her cheeks because she can't help, but be truthful about it.]

That was a first.

[ Her confession is... well. If she expected Diarmuid to be anything but completely and embarrassingly earnest about it, she would be wrong. So wrong...

He puts a hand over his heart, the hand he was using to tip her chin up. ]

If so, it's my honor to be your first.

[ Diarmuid!!! ]

...And, hopefully, your second. If you'd allow it of me later.

[ DIARMUID!!! ]

No.

[Oh, that's not doing her blushing any favors and she looks at him indignantly.]

No, unless there's a third... fourth... And maybe more after that!!

[WELL. It's the start of something new and regardless of the odd path they had taken to get there, it was something good and Ai wouldn't have had it any other way.]

... I mean, I don't mind getting dressed up. I really don't.

[On another, perhaps even more quiet part of the ship, Lien has her arms draped across a railing staring out into the ocean, her back turned away from the noise, crowd, and festivities. And weirdly enough, she has company in the form of a dark eyed familiar of Caster's who stands next to the young Master, hands clasped together and staring unblinkingly out into the ocean as well. It doesn't reply to Lien's assertions so the latter just uses this as the opportunity to confide in what is essentially a brick wall right now.]

... I'm not used to it. There were so many people looking at me and I just don't want the attention from people I don't know... Ugh, I'm just being childish, I know, I know!

[ Sadly, the Master-Servant bond makes it impossible for Lien to hide out for too long. Like a moth drawn to a flame, Cu is also drawn to his Master's presence, and he meanders through the boat deck and the crowd of people to find Lien talking to one of Caster's Servants.

Lien, in...

...not her usual clothes??? Oh god.

He stifles a laugh, and then actually makes the effort of hopping a few feet up to get a good vantage point from the top of the balcony above where Lien is standing, and once he gets there... well.

He yells: ] Nice outfit change, little lady!

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