mistsplitter: (πŸ§‹ 𝘩𝘦𝘺𝘡𝘦𝘒 010)
🌸 α΄›Κœα΄‡ sʜΙͺΚ€α΄€sα΄€Ι’Ιͺ ʜΙͺᴍᴇɒΙͺᴍΙͺ. ([personal profile] mistsplitter) wrote in [community profile] jikan_rpg2022-09-11 09:22 pm

🌸 you'll find me on my tallest tiptoes

βŒ› Who: cloud & ayaka
βŒ› What: cloud's moving!
βŒ› When: early september
βŒ› Where: kyoto
βŒ› Warnings: they're gross

[ It has been a long day today, and Ayaka has all the energy for it. Coming from Tokyo, Cloud arrived very early with all his things so that he can move into a new home in Kyoto, just a couple of blocks away from the Kamisato Estate. Ayaka met him at the station and they headed right to the new home, a bunch of bento wrapped in furoshiki in tow, as well as boxes and bags and such.

It's been hours since their last break, Cloud fixing upstairs while Ayaka decorated what she could of downstairs. Low tables and cushions, rugs, flowersβ€” she even arranged a flower pot just for Cloud! A simple gift to make his home look more beautiful. When everything looks fine? She'll go back upstairs to check on her beau. After all... she's been waiting for this day for months. Not just because of the promise he made her when they were in Nara, but because she made a promise to him, too.

And that promise is the last item she wishes for him to unpack. She has yet to see it herself, but she understands from the shop she bought this item from that it truly works. To make it work however, it will need Cloud's touch.

Seeing as it's almost lunch time, and she's already done downstairs? She decides to prepare their lunches, bringing out the bento, as well as plates to use. Their first official meal in this home! One more "first" to add to their list. ]


Cloud, my loveβ€” [ She peeks at him from the opened door to his room, both hands at the edge of the sliding board. Then she smiles, waving a hand at him at the same time. At the same time, her ponytail, already blonde, sways behind her as the windows are open and a breeze coming in. ] I thought we could have lunch now. It would be a good time for you to rest, too, don't you think? I can serve tea with our lunch, if you like.

[ Anything and everything for him, really. She's so excited and energetic today!! ^_^🌸 ]
sultanofsquat: coeurlwhiskers @ twitter (mild intrigue)

[personal profile] sultanofsquat 2022-09-11 10:37 pm (UTC)(link)
[ "I'll take you there." as he closes his eyes and focuses on the last stretch of this final four-hour train ride, the moment plays over and over, rewinding to various instances that have since become embedded in his heart. From taking plates of watermelon slices with little packets of salt...to scoping the gorgeous open fields that lay before the serene waters of Sarusawa Pond...

"Not that big of a climb."

...to watching her climb her first tree, nerves and excitement all bubbling to the surface as he takes her hand and helps her up to the treehouse where they'd secure their view of the meteor shower. In the same bright light that she shone as for him when peeking around the side of that sliding door. Listening to the sound of her voice in his mind's ears, his own words as he processed what he was going through, what the real Cloud Strife had wanted and dared take a leap for. Shooting stars trailed across the sky, gold and silver tails as they awaited that fabled prismed meteor to chase after the rest. Even the sound of the voice over the intercom of the train stating they were approaching Shinjuku Station hardly registers over the memories that have guided him here.

It all began far sooner than that, but the first big impact was made as he looked to the stars and spoke from his heart, for what felt like the first time in a long time.

Not as the Ex-SOLDIER or Midgar's up and coming mercenary.

"I'm still planning on finding a place in Kyoto."

As a long lost boy from a little town in the mountains called Nibelheim, retrieving an otherwise simple little charm she'd given him for luck as he repeats,

"Easy when I got a good reason to stay..."

A smile graces his lips then, to no one else but him and the memory of her. It'd been hard to say goodbye to Zack, but...it really wasn't that serious. He and the others were just across the tracks. It felt like he was departing from Midgar all over again. So long, Neo Midgar. Cloud will be back. Right now, however, instead of chasing after a man in a black cape, he was chasing another promise to fulfill. Closing his fist around the omamori, he looks up to his final stack of boxes and bags as the train comes to a rolling stop into the station. Looking out the window, even though they'd agreed to this and had done this before, it still surprised him to see Ayaka waiting on the platform. A silent breath taken in as he feels his chest tighten. Exhale, Cloud.

You're almost there. ]


🌠🌸🌠


[ His new home, a two-storey corner house, and the two of them didn't even opt to look at other options. It was within his price budget, and with the down deposit made, his funds were now tighter once more. But the pieces are all falling into place. He was on the brink of launching his business, having shared with her that he retrieved a license. And while his services would be initially reserved locally, he would branch further yet. The two of them had been working for quite a while now, the home itself not fully furnished. The master bedroom, thankfully, was indeed complimentary in its furnishing! Just as they'd hoped for.

He would reorganize one of the three rooms into a proper storage space later. For the time being, he continued to unpack and temporarily set things up as he starts going through a little metal chest he'd been storing some of his most vital pieces. Opening it up, he's greeted to the assortment of Materia that'd been on his person (and a couple that had arrived since his coming here). Just as the blond's eyes fall upon one particular sphere... ]


[ "Cloud, my loveβ€”" ]

Uhβ€”?

[ He doesn't shut the case! But she catches him by surprise as Ayaka would find that there's only one more box left to unpack at the foot of the bed. Turning around, her ponytail is already turning blonde... And just like that, that tiger-striped patterning of gold and soft blue adorns his hair as a sprinkle of mako particles dance from his spikes. He'd never told her yet, how that first time she "shared a secret" with him while peeking from behind her kitchen door, stuck out in his mind. 'Cute' was but one moniker she may go by. And thankfully? It's breaktime, as far as he was concerned. ]

Was thinking the same thing.

[ Closing what little distance is left between them, and abandoning his previous train of thought upon seeing his Materia for now, he can only keep that picture perfect image of her at arm's length for so long before he draws her into him. Just a little embrace, standing in the middle of his master bedroom...only two blocks down...

This really was the start of something new. For however long time would permit, he would make sure that she knew what he felt. How he appreciated her. How he would embrace this new lease of freedom for however much time was left in this world for the two of them. Stealing away a chaste, quick kiss...then a second one, he looses his hold of her waist without stepping back completely as he's ready to take a break with her. ]


How you making out downstairs?
sultanofsquat: coeurlwhiskers @ twitter (i'm listening)

[personal profile] sultanofsquat 2022-09-12 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
No big deal even if you did.

[ It wasn't like she was invading his privacy or anything! Cloud was the one who got lost in his own thoughts. But in this moment, that was neither here or there. Whether it was a bento lunch or taking her anywhere else in his new home, as long as he was with her? It really didn't matter. ]

Hoo boy. [ A surprise? ] Didja try something fancy with it?

[ Like what she sometimes did with her Sakura Mochi? ]

Hmm... Got a point there. Money's gonna be tight for a bit, but...

[ Waifu has his back, offering to place the orders and aid him in furnishing his apartment. Ayaka has her resources! He shouldn't be so surprised, between her pleasant disposition and her brother's position in the Nipponese government. But he still can't help smiling nonetheless, stepping away just enough so that he can take her hand in his. Right. He'll put a mental stamp on the Materia later. Because for him? That along with the spare key to his home was the last order of business before he felt truly settled.

He has no idea of the final thing she wishes him to unpack. In the meantime, tug tug Ayaka. :) Downstairs. ]


You don't mind doing that? [ He trusts her judgment! ]
sultanofsquat: coeurlwhiskers @ twitter (looking on)

[personal profile] sultanofsquat 2022-09-12 07:13 am (UTC)(link)
[ He can't help but sigh, softer as he admits his defeat from the very start. He can't argue with that! ]

Fair enough.

[ It's not so late into the afternoon, Cloud surmises. If she happens to have the catalogue here, they can do that too! Otherwise, he'll gladly take that two block stroll to go back with her...and that's when it hits him yet again. The very thought of stepping outside his own front door, nervous yet independent- knowing that he still wasn't alone, nor was he far away from the one person who claimed every part of his heart. As they head downstairs, he absentmindedly squeezes her hand. Cloud made it...

As they head downstairs, admiring what little is decorated from his personal belongings by the White Heron Princess, it really strikes at his core.

He really made it. He held true to his wish. ]


Sure, tea sounds good, but...

[ These bento... He only lets go of her hand so he can go and take his seat since he knows Ayaka will go and prepare the matcha. But Ayaka's plan works! He's preoccupied by the matching lunches, positively adorable tamago chicks and chicken onigiri... One of the chick's "beak"s fell off, and their eyes didn't stay in place, but that hardly matters to him. It's been months since they both arrived here, and it was a new experience for both of them. Ayaka and her brother hardly cooked before, and Cloud? Well, he was hopeless when he first moved in with Zack on the outskirts of Neo Midgar. Before, there'd be pre-made meals or easier prepped things. But this? ]

Didja make these?

[ Like, from scratch? Because if she did, while he'd be contented with anything she had for them, he only wants to try it more now. ]
sultanofsquat: coeurlwhiskers @ twitter (uh...?)

[personal profile] sultanofsquat 2022-09-12 07:48 am (UTC)(link)
Huh?

[ What's with that reaction? ]

What's wrong?

[ She's suddenly joining him to hastily try and patch things together. The carrot beak. The eyeball that droops a little lower than the other. The second bento has a couple 'lemons' as well. But the moment Ayaka attempts to try and fix her mistakes...if he hadn't known her as well as he had over his stay here, and how even outside her position as the Shirasagi Himegimi, she strived to be the best at anything she did... Ah. Patiently, he waits for her to try, only to bow her head and sit down in shame.

Perhaps it's her standards, but as she apologizes yet again, feeling she had let him down, Cloud's kneejerk reaction is to scoot a little closer in his seat and shake his head. ]


That's not true.

[ He hasn't reached for his chopsticks yet, if only because he mentally keeps the fact Ayaka has to prepare the tea in the back of his mind. He's not about to start without her. Instead, his hand settles over her lap with a attention-seeking squeeze. ]

You did way more than I thought you would. [ Truly. He was expecting a neatly arranged bento! A bed of rice with black sesame seeds sprinkled atop for garnish. Glazed chicken. Little things like that! But to actually create a theme? ] I like it.

[ Ayaka... ]

C'mon. It still looks nice.
sultanofsquat: (just realizing now...)

[personal profile] sultanofsquat 2022-09-12 08:13 am (UTC)(link)
[ There's honestly a lot more that Cloud could say about the presentation of the bento. His answers are to the point and honest. But if he needs to ask her if this was the first time she tried doing this? Or that she was just getting used to it? She can only get better from there, right? A point of contention that can come up once she's returned with the tea. It wasn't Cloud's attempt at being overtly sweet to her. She's truly talented, and...the months have done well in quelling the otherwise aloof and colder heart that he thought was truly his own. He's trying.

Always trying when he's with her. So when Ayaka asks him if he means what he said, she gets a nod of approval. If she wants a reason, he'll give it to her. But for now, as she takes his hand, he makes sure to squeeze it right back once more. ]


Mind if I wait for you? [ It'd be their first meal together in his home, and not whilst visiting his apartment. Regardless of her answer, he'll behave and wait for her in his seat. Ayaka really did a good job down here... As for the swordsman, he was still collectively humming and hawing over where to put what. He's very productive! But only when he had a real plan in motion. That was where Ayaka shined over him, he found. At least a familiar little shrine was set up in the corner... Emptier than the Ayaka's had been before she retrieved her family photo. No incense, no candles or flowers. Right now, what his shrine represents is an empty template, able to become anything.

But...he has only one real wish for it. A wish that he doesn't mind taking a long time to reach. It's a memory. He had what he wanted and needed right here. Waiting to come back with tea so that they can enjoy their chicken bento in the peace and solace they've forged together. ]
sultanofsquat: coeurlwhiskers @ twitter (i heard you)

[personal profile] sultanofsquat 2022-09-12 08:37 am (UTC)(link)
[ The sakura blossoms that flutter about her earns a shake of his shoulders, not quite laughing, but his expression softens seeing her spirits lifted once more. ...you know what? In hindsight? He's glad that she didn't perfect the bento out the gate. She's done nothing but support him every step of the way in coming here. They've hardly had a fight, and even when met with challenges over intimacy as the world was wont to thrust upon them and others, it was precious moments like this that told him that everything? Was going to be alright. Because when he came home, down the street she was. When she returned from her job as a florist or teaching the young kids at her school? There he'd be. At the end of their adventures, new regions abound and mysteries of this world opening up to them as a whole...

He'd be there, hand in hers and encouraging to stand with him the entire way. That's what he understood about his love for her. About the devotion that only grew stronger by the day. Cloud found his path. And no matter how many detours he needed to take, he'd always find his way back on that road if it meant that Kamisato Ayaka would be waiting for him.

Seeing as he moved in with Zack after? He didn't have much for cutlery or cooking material to call his own. But those were also priority on his list as well. He'd need new forks and spoons, knives, bowls, plates...at least chopsticks by the bulk were cheap. But Ayaka, thinking ahead as she has, makes good on supplying sencha in a thermos! He knows that it's still made by her, and as she returns and serves his cup? He greets her with a little nod and little smile, sparkles of soft green light hovering above and away into the ether again. ]


Mm. Right.

[ With chopsticks in hand, he lightly claps his hands together. Perhaps a little more enthusiastically than Cloud was used to showing, but he really didn't care. Not anymore. She can know and see. Her energy feeds into him when he marks their first meal together. ]

γ„γŸγ γγΎγ™.

[ And sorry, little chick...you're the first victim. At least Ayaka won't have to look at the beakless tamago creation for much longer as he opts to take a bite out of that first! It's delicious, melting in his mouth and...slightly sweet? Honestly, if someone served him a slice of this on a little plate? He could enjoy it like a little cake. ]

Do you got that catalogue here? [ A beat. He'll take another bite after this. More specifically, trying his luck at plucking that little carrot beak from the bottom of the bento box. ] Kinda wanna go through it with you.

[ And if she didn't? Guess what. Everything's moved in now. They can return to her place. ]
sultanofsquat: (floating on high)

[personal profile] sultanofsquat 2022-09-13 05:14 am (UTC)(link)
[ Cloud's response? Is one of bliss! ...that is, as blissful as Cloud expresses himself as his eyes broaden subtly; it's his little sign that he likes what he's eating. One doesn't really know how they look when they're eating until someone else points it out or observes. But he likes it! It's leagues above anything he can make still. But that won't be an issue for long! ]

Oh. That works. Lemme know when and we'll go.

[ And he'll wait for her! Even if he spots something while out and about? He'll try and send a message to Ayaka in the process. Ever if the shots were all in sepia. Just...gonna have to describe the color tone after. ]

... whaddya think would look good? Y'know, color and motif.

[ If it were up to Cloud? He'd just have good furniture and a bed to sleep on. That's all he could care about. But he knows Ayaka. So...while he'll put the effort in to think of ideas? He's all ears. He's listening! Monch. ]
sultanofsquat: coeurlwhiskers @ twitter (looks drawn)

[personal profile] sultanofsquat 2022-09-13 06:59 am (UTC)(link)
Yumemiru...?

[ He lets the word play on his tongue for a moment, and the significance of its usage. The cherry blossom was a significant flower in Inazuma, it seemed like. Along with the clan's affinity for the camellia... Cloud's gaze drifts upwards in thought, envisioning the finish andβ€” ]

! Like at your place. [ He likes that! As for something like that finish? He would. But to not match with the furniture in his bedroom already... ] Eh. I can replace it down the line.

[ If it'll match with the rest. ]
sultanofsquat: coeurlwhiskers @ twitter (with a sense of wonder)

[personal profile] sultanofsquat 2022-09-13 07:38 am (UTC)(link)
A present?

[ She really didn't have to do that... But he'd be lying if he wasn't equal parts curious and excitement. What was he going to do now? He couldn't take it back if she already had it for him! Not that he would want to, as he quells that kneejerk reaction of his. Shhh. That's right. It's okay to want things, Cloud. ]

Already got my housewarming gift with you. [ ... Ah- They've said much deeper things. But Cloud just came right out and told her anyway, his cheeks reddening as he shrugs his shoulders with a huff of a laugh. ] Thank you.

[ In the meantime? Yes! He takes a break from the tamago and rice to pluck out the little grape tomato with his chopsticks. ...of which he immediately drops atop his own momma chicken for slipping through his sticks. There goes the eyeball. Oops. Let him just. Grab that tomato again and pop that in his mouth. Just you wait, Miss Kamisato. Because before you go to school to teach the kids one day? You'll have a bento of your own waiting for you. ]
sultanofsquat: (waiting in line)

[personal profile] sultanofsquat 2022-09-13 08:25 am (UTC)(link)
More than okay to me.

[ A truthful answer. He's not a critic, and he's not going to start comparing her meals to some restaurant-quality things they've gone out for. But if she doesn't want to be coddled about it? Well, ]

I know you, though. It's only gonna get better every time.

[ Cloud, she's softened the hell out of you. Even your version of "you can do better" is filled with encouragement. adfskjh ]
sultanofsquat: (you trust me?)

[personal profile] sultanofsquat 2022-09-13 09:57 am (UTC)(link)
Guess that'll be my goal, too. Gotta get to Thoma level.

[ The man worked so hard for the Kamisatos... Judging by the way Ayaka talked about him, he couldn't help but think of Zack. How alike their demeanors seemed. The thought is enough to net a light smile out of Cloud as they continue to eat their meals and enjoy their tea. There's only so much in the thermos, but that's okay. They can have as much tea as they want any time they want! Especially if Cloud was going to walk Ayaka home after all this. ]

Hmph, [ that smile of his only grows at her proclamation. ] "Hm? This? Yeah, Ayaka made it for me."

Like that?

[ Show off the pretend-perfect bento more, beau. ]
Edited 2022-09-13 09:57 (UTC)
sultanofsquat: (u-uwu)

[personal profile] sultanofsquat 2022-09-14 09:02 am (UTC)(link)
[ They may never stop texting or calling one another day by day, but the fact he could actually walk down the street and tell her what he was thinking in person... What a hell of a change of pace. He's hardly been in his home for a day, and he already feels like he's been coming home after a long time. Then she confesses with all her heart, blurting our the next thing to pop into that pretty little head...and to Cloud? It stuns him all over again, like he's hearing it for the first time. He has to mentally pause, and remember that he actually managed to tell her first. Something he never really imagined he could have told anybody...even if those feelings played at the edges of his heart before.

Only for one Kamisato Ayaka to wholly take it for herself. Just as he did hers; heart and soul... It's like she said when they completed the Trial of Love together. He already had all over her before this even began. He knew the promise that he had to keep, the wish he had to fulfill. It felt like their relationship was built upon wishes and hopes from the start. But now that he was here...finally, finally here, they can build upon those wishes, and embrace everything that comes now that they've come true. ]


Ayaka...

[ Closing his eyes with a bow of his head and sigh through his nose, his smile grows warmer, only to open them with a brighter luster in his gaze from the mako. ]

When you say and do things like that... [ He leans in a little to accept the cutlet. It's still something he was getting used to doing, but with just Ayaka here, it's made easier. It tastes spectacular, and the crispy outside only accentuates and adds another layer of complexity to the meat. Savoring it for another short moment before swallowing, he finishes that thought proper. ] I know I'm right where I should be.

[ Setting his chopsticks down for a moment to take his cup of sencha green tea, he smile warmly back at her with another "Mm" before returning, ]

Love you too.
sultanofsquat: coeurlwhiskers @ twitter (what would jimmy buffett do)

[personal profile] sultanofsquat 2022-09-15 09:20 am (UTC)(link)
[ He can see it. How her hair has completely shifted now, the very same color as his own that still keeps a blend of her snowy blue and his golden spikes. But given how many glittering stars he's giving off, reminiscent of speckles of mako energy, he doesn't hold much stake in the color of hair. He knows how he feels; it doesn't matter how much or how little he changes physically. What he knows and follows is what his heart tells him.

The very same heart he gave to her already. ]


Hoo boy. Can't wait for that conversation.

[ Cloud's not oblivious. Even now, Ayato is protective of his sister! If anything, his reaction would be amusing. ]

Before I got stuck in time, and jumped through that door... Never thought I'd be saving up money for a whole house. Just so I could be closer to the girl I fell for.

[ It's the first time he had feelings for somebody and they didn't just bud. They blossomed before their very eyes. ]

But... I wouldn't want it any other way. [ As he lifts his cup of tea to his lips he quietly adds, content without a hint of somberness, ] Guess I better tell Mom.

[ Even if there's nothing to his shrine... ]

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