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[ There's a visible relaxing of Susato's shoulders. She may have let out a sigh out of relief, though she never really doubted him as far as those three words went. She scoots a little closer to him, idly (and gently) flicking the lily's petals with her fingers as she snuggled, eventually resting her head on his lap. ]

. . . Me either. [ No more regrets, no more half-measures. ] Though I do wonder what happens with us now.

[ She'll continue being loyal and faithful and all. She is his and he is hers; but she has never been what you would call a "girlfriend" before... ]

[As if Kazuma knows either.] Well...we can just take our time and figure things out. [He waits and watches her get comfortable resting her head on his lap. A hand resting on her head.]

To start, I suppose I should take this as an invitation for me to stay over more often. [He already had that invitation, but details.] Although...you can also come visit and stay with me. It's not as crowded and we'd be alone. [Too...explore this.]

[ Kazuma knows everything, obviously, even when he doesn't.

She is still for a moment, but then her head nuzzles against his hand, as the only indication that she even heard him. Her fingers slow to a stop. Enough playing with the lily, she decides, and she quietly turns so that she's staring up at him against the sky, backlit by the soaring petals that look like shooting stars. ]

I would like that. [ She reaches up to push some hair that had fallen onto his face, and her hand might have lingered there. ] You already had that invitation. Twice over, in fact. But... it is nice that it goes both ways.

[ As if she didn't have that invitation, too. ]

Yes, well... I have my reasons. ["His room" is still technically a guest room, isn't it? In reality, he just prefers having the privacy of his own home. He's sure she understands, however difficult he may be at times.

His fingers gently brushes over what tears lingered near her eyes. The sound of flowerworks going off starts to become less frequent as the night continues.]

Would you like to stay at my place tonight then...? [He has been staying over at the Mikotoba's the last two festival days.]

[ He is a grown-ass man. He doesn't need much more reason than that, surely. Susato had respected that, back home, and... eventually, she came to respect that in Songerein, even if it felt like it took a while.

Kazuma probably feels the warmth coming from her face. It feels like a given, but if there is any doubt, she gives him a nod. ]

Y, Yes. I would love the... the change of scenery. [ Among other things. ] I will tell father that I won't be—

[ home.

Oh, gods. Yujin. Just... file that under 'The Many Things Susato Stopped Thinking About Three Days Ago.' How does she even begin to broach the topic with her father? ]

[Ah. Right, that's a thing they need to be thinking about.] . . .I'm sure he will not mind. The both of you had invited me into your home after all. [Nevermind that it's just the two of them.]

Or would it better I stay over again and we talk to him in the morning?

Edited 2022-05-11 04:35 (UTC)

[ Susato is suddenly shaking her head. ]

No, I can... I can stay. I meant— I was more thinking about the...

[ ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE HER DEMONSTRATE ]

..... [Oh. Oh. He chuckles, almost sheepishly that she couldn't outright say it. Is he also blushing a little?]

Couldn't telling him that we kissed wait for another time? [SURELY FATHER WILL NOT MIND WAITING A NIGHT.]

[ Definitely blushing. She might have considered burying her face into his shirt just then. Sure sounded like a good idea anyway, but somehow despite (or maybe because of?) his chuckling, she manages to smile. She can't seem to stop looking at him, though she's apparently trying. ]

I don't like secrets, but you make a compelling argument.

[ Her hand trails along his face and passes his lips before she'll allow it to fall back down to her side. For all that's been decided, she won't make the effort to contact Yujin until later. Sorry, papa. ]

[He grabs a hold her hand before it fully slips back to her side. He lifts it back to his lips to feel the warmth of her skin. He then proceeds to kiss the back of her hand.]

...It's not a secret if you plan to tell them eventually. [Does he speak from experience? Probably.

The night sky stops lighting up as the last of the flowerworks go off. There's the shuffling of footsteps as a few start to leave to enjoy what's left of the festival. He hums quietly as he continues to hold her hand.] Is there anything you still like to do, or shall we be on our way as well? [Or they can just stay here too. He's not in a rush.]

[ She could so easily call him out here. Is that really what he tells himself? Would he really have come clean about his time in the Index, and about Hyde, if she hadn't figured it out first? "Eventually"?

She doesn't think so... but as much as she hates that, it's something that she's begrudgingly come to accept.

She stares at him knowingly, but decides to leave it at that. It's especially hard to hold such things against him while he is kissing her hand, so she continues to melt, enjoying the tingling sensation his lips create against her skin. ]

Let's... [ A hum of indecision, but also of pleasure. ] Let everyone else leave first. That's alright, isn't it?

[Well, it was information he didn't feel was needed to be discussed. And he did end up telling her once she worked it out. There's a difference! Upon hearing her suggestion, he nods.]

All right then. [They end up laying together to stargaze for a bit before the area fully clears out. While holding hands, they make their way out of the festival grounds and back towards his home. The Harvest had been kept closed during the festival. No point keeping it open when everyone wants to see what the festival had to offer. So they'll be greeted by the quiet, saved for Fang, sleeping on the porch of his home.

Upon reaching the steps, without saying a word, Kazuma will grab Susato and scoop her up bridal style and carry her up the stairs. A sly grin forms on his face.] I hope you don't mind.

[ Susato is admiring the sleeping Fang, the best guard dragon ever, but only for a less than a minute before she is suddenly catching air. There is a sharp gasp and a squeal may have escaped her lips before she's able to clamp them shut, not wanting to disturb Fang.

For some seconds more, she leaves her hand there over her mouth, with the other still carrying their things, wrapped in the blanket once again; but just like before, she finds her arms snaking over his shoulders and around his neck for balance and comfort. ]

. . . [ Just going to give him a nice stare in response to that grin of his, smile tugging at her lips despite the fluster. He definitely did that on purpose. ] Being treated as a princess for just a little longer? No... of course I don't.

[ A pause, and she adds, ]

Keep doing it and I may forget how to walk completely.

[Fang's ears twitch at the slight squeak. Inevitable, she'll wake up anyway from the approaching footsteps. Upon seeing who it is though, she continues to snooze away.]

Ah, I suppose we can't have that. [He will set her back down once they're on the porch.] We didn't have a chance to share a dance at the festival, now that I think about it...

[ She will, of course, straighten out her dress with care upon being set down, because girl is nothing if not proper. It almost feels like Kazuma is thinking out loud, like maybe she wasn't meant to respond, but she'll look at him anyway. ]

I... [ Perhaps she never realized he wanted to. She uses his own words: ] We still can?

[ ????? She doesn't know how to dance, actually. With anyone else, it was fun to just wing it, but she feels the overwhelming need to get it Right with Kazuma. Send help. ]

[Truthfully he wasn't entirely on board until...well, all that happened in the fields. Now he feels it should close things out between them. He raises a hand to take the blanket from her.]

Right now...? [In the silent of the night? Well, some music is still playing distantly from the festival.]

. . . [ She automatically hands him the blanket. Not looking too confident, but she does close her eyes, as if trying to listen to the distant music. There's a quiet shrug of her shoulders that follows, and a smile. ]

I can still hear it. We can call it practice, if we must. [ For what? Who knows, but it would probably make her feel better. ]

If... you really want.

[As he goes to carefully set down the blanket on the seat, his other hand will hold onto hers.]

It's practice. [He hasn't really learned how to dance much himself. There was really no need for it, but with Susato, he'll learn with her, for her. His other hand slides almost naturally around her waist. In a quiet voice.] We'll take it slow...it's just the two of us after all. [Well, them and a sleeping Fang.]

[ After gathering the courage to kiss him directly on the lips, she refuses to be more flustered now than she was then. Refuses. She takes a tentative step forward, and she may have shivered just a bit as his hand slips around her waist. Apparently she's just a little bit ticklish, or at the very least sensitive there, but she will aggressively ignore it in order to return the favor in kind.

She reaches up with the hand that's not holding onto his, resting it on his shoulder as they start to move with the rhythm of the distant music. ]

Right... Slow.

[ Us. She's concentrating on it so much that she barely says anything, but after a while, she seems less tense, and the music responds with a gradual swell. Before long, the air is filled with the sound of a clear jazzy, romantic tune, not unlike the ones Alastor has been testing the town's new speakers with on his show. ] ...?

[He's making little notes to himself of her reactions. Just to tuck that information away for another time.

They move into to a slow waltz of sorts. The shuffling of feet a bit awkward, but still trying to follow a beat. A beat becoming more obvious as a jazzy tune starts to fill the air. Even Fang perks up her ears, so they aren't the only ones hearing this. Glancing around, he sees no one but them. Huh, he simply smiles while dancing along to the melody.] This is rather convenient. [There's no explanation for it, but what does it matter.]

[ It's perfectly timed so that Susato perks up right alongside Fang, which is probably an amusing sight to behold. She doesn't allow the dance to be interrupted though, and if anything, her movements become more fluid along with the clarity of the music. She takes the chance to spin herself into a twirl without questioning it too much.

Just dream world things. ]

Oh? You mean this wasn't your doing? [ Her faux-disappointment is not terribly convincing. ] Should we expect to find a mysterious dream gramophone hidden away somewhere in the coming days?

[Her making the choice to twirl seems natural to him. For he doesn't lose his hold from the sudden movement and lets her do her thing. They spin and move more around the space of the porch as they ease into the motion.]

Mine? Or perhaps both our doing? [Hope she's ready for this, because he's going to stop and dip her down.] Perhaps we'll wake to the dulcet tones of the gramophone tomorrow.

[ All the books in the world about dance couldn't prepare her for this. She might be a little tense yet again, but it's the next natural step. Gravity takes hold and she holds her breath as she falls into the dip, though she still feels as light as feathers.

Then she pauses there once she is caught, lingering on the feeling of being supported by him. ]

Whether we do or not, we would be fools not to enjoy it while it lasts.

The night is still young. [It's actually getting a little late, but who cares about time while you're infatuated by love. Their dance seems to go on forever until it's clear their heads became heavy with sleep. Even then, they did an awkward shuffle inside while clinging onto the other, and into the nearest bedroom. Hard to say if they'll remember what happened between the porch and getting to bed.

Did they ever get a change of clothes or slept in whatever? Eitherway, Kazuma will have a most peaceful rest with Susato in his arms.]

[ The night is still young if Kazuma says it is. It does seem to take a while though before they realize that the music just continues to play on a loop with no signs of stopping. It's not until she notices her vision start to blur and her head become foggy that the music starts to follow suit, and it's then that she finds herself clinging to him for balance as they shuffle inside.

Which room was this? She's only vaguely aware that it's not the same room she stayed in last time. Maybe it's Kazuma's.

Perhaps he took some pity on her also, because she found herself clinging to his back, chin resting against his shoulder as her head struggled to stay on straight. She was completely off the ground, but not for long.

She settles in for a nightmare-free sleep in whatever bed he chose with no energy to fuss one way or the other, knowing that she'd be safe. ]

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