daemonized | RECOLLE IC CONTACT.

Be sure to have decided quite firmly. Because the day I return, I expect to start as soon as possible, to make up for our lost time.

Pet our children for me, will you?

of course. i shall kiss them on their heads and tell them their father sends his love.

[attached to this one is a picture - a selfie Grell's taken while still at home, smiling into the camera.]

♥ ♥ ♥

[His heart might literally burst to see that picture, that smile. He looks at it for a long while, wishing that he could see it in person rather than where he was now. Soon, he tells himself, and instead allows a sense of comfort to envelop him at viewing the selfie, staring up at him from his phone's screen. He isn't home yet, but a small piece of it has been sent to him, for Ardyn to cling to.

He sends her more of his love, tells her he misses her again, and that she's looking beautiful, as always.

-------

It is only the next day when she receives another text from Ardyn.]

Are you home? They've let us return to the city for a day.

[He intends to call her, if there's no immediate response to this initial text.]

[when she sees the text, she almost drops what she's holding, and the reply is swift.]

come home

[she'll be there, feeling however long it takes him to get there as an entire day on its own. hurry back to her.]

[It's all he needs to read, and with that, his motions are more hurried than before to return.

It feels like too long, but eventually there's the sound of keys in the door, and it swinging wide open. An announcement soon after:]

Grell?

[Already he notes the sound of jingling, little cat collars on the move.]

[the cats will get there before her, rushing to see him, to wind about his legs and sniff at him, but then she's there as well, and she steps around the cats, reaching up to hold his face in her hands.

home. home and safe and with her, and her heart is flooded with it. she can't stay like this, and she embraces him tightly, burying her face in his shoulder, breathing his scent in and feeling relief wash over her.]

Welcome home.

[it's muffled, in his shirt, but she manages it.]

[The cats hover around them both, tails in the air, some more curious than the rest, but they will have to give berth for this reunion. Ardyn sees her, smiling wide with relief and fondness when she cups his face in her hands. And then an embrace, one that he returns just as tightly.

He tilts his head down, taking in the scent of her hair. Her warmth, closing his eyes and just feeling her presence is something that he had missed so much, and to feel it now would be nigh overwhelming if not for how welcome it is.]

It's good to be back home.

[Even if it's only for a day, it's one that he won't take for granted. His smile grows, and he actually laughs a little into her hair, then embraces her close enough to pick her up in their hug and twirl her around once or twice.

At least the cats have moved away at this point.]

[she laughs in joy, feeling herself lifted, and when her feet touch the ground she manages to pull back enough so she can look at him. she's so happy to have him home, and she looks it.]

Like some grand force heard our longing, and moved events so that we might be able to see each other that much sooner.

Good. [He leans in and kisses her, letting it linger, not caring how wide his smile is when he presses against her. And then he finishes his thought.]

It was already a sin to make us miss Valentine's, even if only by one day. And so we've much to make up for in our limited time together. Though I did say I would let you dictate today's events if you wanted. Any preferences, my dearest one?

Only that in whatever you choose, let me stay close to you. Let me see you, or feel you near. If our time together will be so short, I don't want to waste it not at your side.

[and she kisses him again, slow to pull away, glad to simply be.]

So tell me what you thought, and I'll either approve or reject it.

[The kiss is something he could get lost in; he thinks for a second that maybe they'll just spend their day like this, but -- no. Might as well lay the suggestion before her.]

Oh, no need to concern yourself with that. I'll not be leaving your side for as long as I'm able.

[His smile, while still fond, becomes tinged with amusement.]

I thought that we might harken back to our very first date, just a little more than a year ago. You remember it, don't you? What we did that day?

Of course I remember.

[oh, she's delighted by the very thought of it. when they had been playing so casual, hiding their real affection under everything else.]

The ice skating. And how you laughed at me as we both tried so hard.

[And what fools they were back then. Perhaps they still are fools now, only far more honest about their love and affections than ever before.]

Something I'll never forget, a memory held close to my heart. But why don't we make a few more? I thought we might repeat the experience, and see if we're any less graceless than we were last year.

I'd love to.

[her smile widens, and she takes his hand. hearkening back to when she first let a touch of her feelings out, when it had been so simple to agree to another date, considering it just a touch of carefree entertainment to enjoy.

how blind she had been.]

Though if I fall, I expect you to laugh all over again, for man was not meant to balance on thin edges on the ice.

I may laugh, if only to offer to help you to your feet again. What sort of husband would I be, otherwise?

[It doesn't take them very long to reach the same place they visited last year -- the weather is comparable but the crowd is a slightly less so, given that they are a day late from Valentine's. But it hardly matters. This is a day spent with Grell, and that's all that Ardyn truly desires at this moment in time.

Though there is one stark difference compared to the last time they were here. Ardyn finds that it is not quite so difficult to balance himself on the ice, and it doesn't take too much effort to exert himself along it at a decent pace. It's a far cry from the almost-stumbling about from before, in which he had to focus quite hard to not fall over. Sticking close to the edges, to further aid him in that.

And Grell? She seems to be doing even better than him. There's a grace and elegance to her that he wishes he could possess.]

I thought you were supposed to fall over so I could catch you!

[whatever changes in her that make it easy to glide on the ice, she likes them. she feels like a spirit of the ice, awoken and delighted in the dancing of blades on ice. maybe she should have been a skater so she could feel like this always. to think that now...

Ardyn's words cut across her daydreaming, and she laughs, skating over to him and deliberately lets herself fall back, trusting that he'd catch her.]

Of course, my love, of course. How could I have forgotten?

[He laughs as she draws closer, with such an ease that he's nearly jealous of it -- and when she leans back, he reaches out to catch her without much effort.]

I think perhaps you were too caught up in how easy you find this, as compared to a year ago. I suppose not all changes done to us have been all that bad.

[Since she's leaning most of her weight against him, it's easy enough to twist his momentum around into a little spin.]

Though I thought I'd never say such a thing.

[a spin with him actually works, if she stays relaxed, and she finds herself smiling contentedly, ready to catch her balance if she has to.]

There are a few changes that aren't terrible. This, my hair, figuring out things like swords...I'd gladly take more like that. But if you hold onto my hands, maybe it'll be easier for you too.

[she'll guide him around the ice, and the world can consist of him and her alone for now - other people are only obstacles to carefully avoid. compared to the last time they did this, she feels more free to get shamelessly wrapped up in him, to watch his golden eyes and soak up all the time she has with him until he has to go back. part of her thinks it's foolish to be so affected by such a short time apart, but then again, true love runs deep. as long as he's fine with her clinging on, she'll never cease.]

[It's easy enough advice to take. When will Ardyn pass up a chance to hold hands with Grell? Practically never, and he enjoys the feeling of her warmth in contrast to the chill of the skating rink, as he's guided around the ice.

Maybe it is shameless, and an inordinate display of public affection. But Ardyn doesn't care; let her cling as much as she wants, let her drape herself across him. He only wishes to be close, he wants to enjoy this evening to the fullest, his limited time all the more precious because of it.

At some point, she gets a kiss pressed against the corner of her lips, followed by a murmur:]

A year ago, did you ever think that we would be like this?

[she's happy, she knows, like this. with the familiar touch of his hands, the buzz of the world around as background noise, the way she can still feel the touch of his lips on her skin even when he pulls away. happy, truly happy, and she holds onto it, more precious that the stars.]

No. I thought for certain we'd have our fun for the day and then go back to the same way we were - that you'd see it as another way to tease. That you'd never look at me and I'd never get to look at you. Even after you coaxed a second date out of me.

[He holds onto her hand as they continue to glide on the ice, and even as he pulls away his focus is only on Grell.]

I admit, I did tease you often, didn't I? But it was easier that way -- to play it off as some grand joke if you ended up showing no interest. I was almost sure that you wouldn't.

[So much that he was certain he was setting himself up for disappointment of the most poignant sort, even when she accepted the second date.]

When did you realize, then, that it was more than mere teasing on my part?

When I realized you had begun to look at me for just a little too long when we met. I could feel your eyes on me, and it wasn't something purely friendly.

[he looked because he wanted to, not because he had to, and it made all the difference.]

When was it clear to you?

Was I that obvious?

[-he asks, amusement clear in his tone. Though perhaps it's true enough; even now, he gaze upon her face often lingers for one second too long. But that was merely a sign of his fondness, admiration, and love in its permanence.]

For me, I think it might have been that day on the beach. Do you remember it? When a wave crept up on you when you weren't looking.

[That felt like a lifetime ago. Things were... simpler then, especially where memories were concerned, but he would not trade what they have now for anything in the world.]

The way you smiled at me. I thought to myself, 'surely that can't be the look of a woman who is only interested in remaining friends.' And even after that day, you were more generous with affectionate touch with me than you ever had been before.

You came to my aid, like a gentleman. Showing such concern for my soaked state. I remember.

[and she had already thought that perhaps, if they kept seeing each other like that, it would have been enough to live on for a while. that slowly, she could let herself show what she might feel.]

I couldn't help it - you don't know how much I had to restrain myself before that day. Stop my hands from touching yours, or keep some distance when I didn't want to. It would have been so obvious, otherwise, the way you made me have a crush like some schoolgirl.

[He laughs, delighted at the very idea. When they had initially found out how long they were actually attracted to each other, it had been a moment of wishing he had acted differently in the past. But it didn’t matter now. Now, he was thoroughly in love with her, married to her, and he could ask for nothing else.]

Like a schoolgirl? Oh, if only I had known. The things we could’ve done, in that first year of my knowing you.

[But it was no real regret, not really.]

But it’s all a moot point now, isn’t it? You’re mine, and I’m yours. And I can’t imagine spending a slightly-belated Valentine’s with anyone else.

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erythristic - 2018-03-13 07:48 (UTC) - Expand

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daemonized - 2018-03-13 13:38 (UTC) - Expand