week three | mingle

[showhost]

So, uh.

Welcome to Week Three! We’ve officially passed the halfway point, and after a super, duper successful Match Ceremony, I’m sure the teens are feeling all hyped up and raring to go.

Right?

Regardless, there are a few changes this Monday morning to greet the teens:

• First off, there is a new bathroom! Oooh, aaaahhhh. Three whole bathrooms in the house for the teens now. Enjoy.
  
• There is also a set of video games in the living room to connect to the TV. They are pretty much all multiplayer party games like M*rio C*rt. Don’t kill each other.
  
• There are a few packs of dorayaki now scattered around the house.
  
• There is also a piano now in the living room!
  
• On the counter in the kitchen, there is also some paper and writing implements, like basic ballpoint pens. Wait, doesn’t that break the rules?

Tsukasa’s extremely loud and obnoxious voice is not here to greet you guys this morning, which means it seems there isn’t a Task for the week–

But something else seems to be going on.

Embrace Space | Property Damage, etc | Dates | Mini-Event
Truth Booth Voting | Match Ceremony Submissions

Comments

[willandaway]

[. . . ah. . . ah??]

Anna--

[stopping in their slow walk to face her, instinctively lifting a finger to brush at the moisture on her cheek]

You're. . . crying?

[makeine]

Mm. Guess so.

[ sorry, unspoken but in her helpless smile. ]

I just... I've never had someone talk with me about the future like this, one they... wanted with me.

[ because

childhood doesn't count, she knows. clover rings and promises of those at four or five don't count. but this... this is something, and it moves her. this is a choice. ]

Or, at least, one they wanted me to be in. I promise, they're happy tears.

[willandaway]

[oh thank god. for a moment there, he was worried. he breathes out a sigh of relief. . . but his thumb stays pressed against her cheek, a gentle swipe that cuts through the tear tracts quite handily]

. . . and I've never thought about what I wanted the future beyond my mission to look like.

[it still feels. . . strange, looking beyond his duties to the Prince. he has never, ever contemplated what lies beyond before]

But someone encouraged me to try. [a lopsided smile] I know you said not to make any promises. But where we are now. . .

. . . that's what I want.

[and he wants it as wholeheartedly as he has found that he wants her]

[makeine]

[ that's what he wants.

anna's face flushes and she turns her head down, suddenly shy of him seeing her expression, and kicks his leg lightly. ]

Stupid. We can talk about that after you fix your Prince real nice, okay? You can't give a girl so much hope just 'cause you're caught up in the moment...

[ please. she's really trying her best to brush off her embarrassment. ]

[willandaway]

[a tiny huff, amused and endeared, at the kick to his leg. playfully, he hooks his ankle around hers, not to trip her or anything, but. . . to bring them closer, with him standing practically flush against her as he frames her features with his hands]

I can wait.

[she should know by now that he has no problems with waiting at all. the ballad. . . well. it hadn't all been perfectly fictional, had it?]

However long it takes. I'll always wait. . . for you.

[makeine]

[ her heart lurches in her chest and she covers his hands with hers, leaning into the touch, trying to get more as she nuzzles into his palm. ]

I love you, Will-kun. I really, really do. I won't keep you waiting forever -- I know what that's like, and I... don't want to miss my chance ever again.

[ because

maybe, like sosuke, he'll find his eye drawn another way. maybe that prince of his will wake and their close relationship will open up in a different way. but anna does trust will at his word, at his shows of dedication again, and again, and again, and... thinks that she really won't have to worry about him in that way.

just more worried about the dangers of his campaign and the position he needs to hold, even temporarily. ]

Besides. We'll be talking every day, won't we? I'll send you all kinds of pictures of the places I like to go, and the food I like to eat, and... the things I write for Lit Club too, of course. You won't have time to miss me.

[willandaway]

Of course.

[they will talk every day they're apart. he'll make sure of it! and with that promise spoken. . . he presses a kiss against her temple before reaching for her hand so they can continue walking. the truth booth shed is just up ahead, after all]

I have a friend who is a wonderful artist. He likes to make drawings of all the things we see on our travels. I'll send those to you, too-- and tell you about the things I learn while I'm here.

[and he'll update her on how the race is going, and on whether he has been able to break the prince's curse, and-- and about new recipes he learned, and the books he has read, and the quests and bounties he has undertaken, and. . .!]

[it'll be like. . . she's right there with him. standing at his side as he continues his journey, her support encouraging him with every step he takes]

[. . .]

[. . . it'd be nice if she could come with him for the rest of it, wouldn't it. . .]

[makeine]

[ the warmth on her temple might last her all night, just like the hand in hers as they start again, slow and savoring.

it does sound so fun. he's gotten a peek at what her world is like -- tall buildings, so many lights scattering across the skyline and ground, malls and... whatever else he's seen with others -- but. there's nothing that comes close to his, she's sure. ]

I'd love that.

[ ... it'd be nice to see them in person though, with him...

anna squeezes his hand, turning it over in her mind, before she pipes up again. ]

So, as long as the Lit Club doesn't have any activities over my school breaks... maybe... if there's a wish or a way, I could... spend some time seeing them myself. [ a small shrug, even as her heart beats hard in her chest. ] It's not like I'd be in any danger with you around anyway.

[ or his other friends of course but. him, him. ]