#emisetsu

We only talk about the fluff here

#bless ah yes my not-so-guilty pleasure crack ship

First I’d like to thank God and also Jesus for this opportunity and okay let’s get this show on the road-

Who would throw the other in the pool: Emina, though rarely. She’d grab Caetuna and jump in with her.Who is the better carer when the other is sick: I imagine Caetuna has a vast amount of knowledge, some useful and some not-so-useful. But she does know many remedies from books.Who would force the other to do extreme sports with them: N/A. If anything, they’d watch on TV.Who would cook the better romantic dinner: Caetuna, an avid reader of Chef Scientia’s A New Recipe series.Who would build the blanket fort in the living room: In the pursuit of knowledge of some sort, Caetuna makes several drafts with precise measurements before building an architectural feat of a blanket fort. Which Emina takes several pictures of before taking a nap in it.Who would have the best holiday ideas: Emina comes up with the holiday ideas; Caetuna doesn’t quite understand “the season” but she enjoys the aesthetic and customs whilst learning what all of this is about.Who would need to clean out the other’s stuff to make room for their own: Probably neither tbh. If anything, Caetuna might have to get rid of some books that she’s already read through plenty of times.

• when or if I started shipping it: Early November last year. It started off as just coming up with laughable crack scenarios, then some crack smut…and then suddenly I found myself actually shipping it.• my thoughts: I think what appeals to me is that they both are alone in a sense, with respective curses that they can’t escape (on different scales, of course). Even though Emina is adored by so many, she’s a lonely character and only really has two friends to our knowledge. She’s a spy even though she doesn’t want to be, and no matter how much she’d like to, she can’t escape from that. Caetuna was essentially isolated from humanity, her only company being the Crystal and other l’Cie, though from what we’ve seen she doesn’t even interact with them much. When she still had the capacity to wish, she’d wished to be free of her l’Cie curse. Even after five hundred years, the one thing she was still able to feel was guilt. They have some (sad) common ground and I like to imagine that in an AU they’d be able to help each other cope a little better. I think they’d be supportive of each other and do all they could because they’re just good people. I know we aren’t told much about how Caetuna was as a human but I’ve drawn my own conclusions,one of which being that she had a very loving heart.• What makes me happy about them: They’re aesthetic af. Gorgeous. Look at them. And ignoring canon gives me infinite headcanon opportunities~~~ so many fluffy headcanons, I cri.• What makes me sad about them: Their canon stories which are fucking tragic ;A;• things done in art/fic that annoys me: I commissioned the art and I wrote all the fic. lmaO• things I look for in art/fic: see above• Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: I guuuesss I’d be comfortable with Caetuna ending up with Zhuyu even though I prefer them as brotp? Emina/Izana is a thing in the alternate ending which I’m kinda *shrug* at. Like I guess. Definitely can’t see her with Kazusa (for obvious reasons) or Kurasame (I like them as friends and she did refer to herself as his older sister figure) tho.• My happily ever after for them: New world AU. Best AU. Caetuna gets her emotions back and struggles with ptsd and adjusting to being a member of society again but she’s a sweetheart and Emina gives her cuddles all the time and they take couple selfies and take walks and boop noses and arE PURE AND GOOD AND HAPPY• what is their favorite non-sexual activity? Waking up on weekends and cuddling with big smiles on their faces for hours before getting out of bed

i’m garbage for them

Customs had changed greatly since Caetuna’s youth. Or perhaps they hadn’t. She couldn’t remember either way. But she’d been studying celebrations and had honed her skills in order to ensure that Emina had a delightful birthday.

“One final touch,” Caetuna thought aloud as she stared at the three-tier cake she’d baked all by herself. She inhaled and held her breath a moment, then exhaled slowly, lighting the candles atop the cake with magic. “It is finished.”

Without another a word, Caetuna vanished from Akademeia’s kitchen, and the chefs took a collective breath. To arrive for a normal day of work only to see a Vermilion Bird l'Cie baking a cake was a surprise to say the least. And for what reason? For them, it truly was a mystery.

Unlike Akademeia’s chefs, Caetuna went about her business in a composed manner, with no confusion distracting her from her task. “Emina.” A few moments passed, and Emina pulled the blanket at her waist up to her shoulders.

“Emina,” Caetuna repeated. Emina groaned, refusing to open her eyes. “I wasn’t expecting you to come back before night. What’s the occasion?” Regardless of whether the question was rhetorical, Caetuna had an answer. “It is the anniversary of your birth. Is it not?”

Only then did Emina open her eyes. “…I don’t remember telling you my birthday.” “I wander the peristylium at times,” Caetuna said. “The cadets have been speaking of this day. So, I researched customs and prepared this for you. ”

Emina looked over her shoulder. “Huh?- Caetuna!” She sat up, her sleepiness washed away by her surprise. “Why did…that’s a huge cake.” “I apologize,” Caetuna said with a blank expression. “Would you like me to prepare another-” “It’s fine,” Emina sighed. Her lips formed a smile. “Ha. Wow, you really went and made me a cake.”

Caetuna took a few steps toward Emina’s bed and took a seat. She carefully placed the dish holding the cake in Emina’s lap. “Make a wish. That is the tradition, yes?” “Yeah,” Emina murmured. She closed her eyes and sat in silence. There were many things she could wish for: not to be a spy in the land she loved, to never have been branded and to be free of her metaphorical shackles, to have a class of her own, for students and officials alike to stop ogling her, for Caetuna to feel the same kind of love that she did, for this whole war to just be over…“Alright.” Emina took a breath, then blew out all the candles in one go.

“Hmmm…” Emina stared at the cake. “Is something wrong?” Caetuna asked. “This really is a big cake,” Emina reiterated. “…I guess I’ll have to give everyone a huge piece. Kazusa and Kurasame, and Tonberry loves sweets. And of course, you have to eat some.” She winked.

A Loss for Words

Like any other weekend morning, Emina awoke with one hand interlocked with Caetuna's. This particular morning, Caetuna was still asleep, cheek snuggled against the soft warm flesh that she preferred over pillows any day. Emina sighed, smiling as her eyes swept over the love of her life before closing once more.

Emina quickly began to fall back into slumber, only to be stirred awake by a gentle pressure on her hand. Caetuna gave a light squeeze, slowly opening her eyes to steal just a glance before closing them and cuddling closer. “Good morning.” Emina exhaled through her nose in amusement as their legs entangled. “Morning to you too.”

Caetuna released Emina's hand, preferring to instead rest it within the brunette mane less than an arm’s length away.  “I love…” She murmured before being interrupted by a yawn. Emina placed a lazy kiss on her forehead. “Yeah. Me too.”

They'd been living together in this new world for three years, in addition to the time they'd known each other for in Orience. Without a doubt, their current setting was much more preferable. No more war, no more lies, no more forgetting. Just peace and happiness. Truly the dream, Emina thought. Though she'd actually had full-on dreams about certain possibilities. One thing in particular she couldn't get off her mind after noticing one of several new books on Caetuna's shelf.

“...Hey, Caet?” Caetuna hummed as acknowledgement. Emina could feel her heart speed up a bit. There was no helping it. These kinds of things had that effect. “I saw you were reading about marriage-” “Aaah?!” Caetuna gave a small jump, her pupils dilating. “I...well, it was more so indulging in my fantasies...I mean! I wasn't sure you'd like to marry someone like me...so...I...I seem to have lost my words.”

Emina frowned. “Are you an idiot? Who wouldn't want to marry you?” The slight offendedness on her face turned into concern. “Sorry. I know there's a lot you're still afraid of. Things you'll probably always be afraid of.” She gave a soft smile. “But I'll be beside you all the way.”

Caetuna squeezed her eyes shut, heat rapidly rising to her cheeks. “...You caught me off guard with that...I am...I…” “Don't hurt yourself,” Emina joked. “Hmm, marriage. Yeah, that sounds good. That sounds excellent. Guess we'll have to pick out some rings soon...and let everyone know we're engaged- Caetuna? What's wrong, allergies?”

Emina had noticed it the very first time they’d walked this route, but hadn’t mentioned it as of yet. Caetuna’s eyes always lit up when they strolled by the park. If they decided to get some ice cream and sit down, she watched the children play with a smile on her face. Sure, Caetuna smiled plenty these days, but the look she had while they were at the park was especially unique and seeing it filled Emina with an equally unique warmth.

“I didn’t take you as the type to want kids,” Emina teased. Caetuna sharply turned her head to look at Emina with pink cheeks. “N-no, that is not the situation. Well, I haven’t given much thought to it.” She looked toward the children on the playground again. “I…hmm.” There wasn’t any non-embarrassing way to phrase it, so she simply hoped that Emina wouldn’t poke fun at her. At this point, it was a silly thing to worry about. Emina knew when to fool around and when not to, but certain fears still gnawed at the back of Caetuna’s mind at times. She didn’t have much control over them. “…I wish that I could be like them.”

Emina raised her brow. “Like them? I assume you don’t mean tiny and unsanitary, but…you’d like to be a kid again?” Caetuna bit her lip. “Yes…I do not recall what childhood is like. So, I would like to enjoy that feeling for a while. A few minutes or an hour, perhaps. Something to satisfy my wish to know.” In the following silence, she looked at her feet instead of Emina or the park. Did her wish make sense? Should she have kept it to herself?

Emina tightened her grip on Caetuna’s hand to still its trembling. “Relax. I get it.” Caetuna took a deep breath. “Forgive me. I had a…moment.” A smile instantly came to her face when Emina kissed her cheek. “Moment, decade, lifetime, I’m right here,” Emina promised. “Now, how about we get some ice cream? It’s hot out here.”

The rest of the day had gone well, Caetuna thought. She’d enjoyed ice cream with her girlfriend, they’d cooked a meal together and played some board games, they’d talked about work, visiting friends, and even gossiped a little. After a bath and a couple of hours of cuddling, Caetuna found herself in blissful sleep. That was interrupted, however, when Emina shook her awake.

“Hey, babe, wake up.” Caetuna instinctively pulled Emina toward her, asking, “Did you have a nightmare? Are you alright?” It was after the utterance of those words that she realized that Emina’s voice had been completely calm. “I’m fine,” Emina said. She smiled, easing Caetuna’s concern. “Now, come on.” Despite her confusion, Caetuna allowed Emina to guide her out of bed and into the night wearing nothing but pajamas and shoes. “What time is it?” she asked, gazing up at the stars in the sky as Emina led her along a familiar path.

“It’s a bit past two,” Emina said, sounding way too awake for this hour. Caetuna would have complained then and there, but she didn’t want to ruin Emina’s joy – that, and she had a hunch where they were going. “Is our destination the park?” “It sure is,” Emina replied. Said park came into view when the pair reached the peak of a small hill. Without pausing, Emina took Caetuna to the nearest swing. “Alright, sit down.” Caetuna stared at Emina for a moment. “…What?”

“Have a seat, and I’ll push you. It just screams childhood, doesn’t it?” Emina held back a laugh at Caetuna’s shocked expression. “You predicted we were coming here. Why are you so surprised now?” Without answering, Caetuna carefully sat in the seat of the swing. She gripped the chains on either side of her and let out a sigh. “Emina, you truly are a wonder.” Emina gave a gentle first push. “Not any more than you are.”

Moonlight, Daylight

Emina stared into Caetuna’s half-lidded eyes with hazy vision, being pulled closer and closer to sleep with each tiny stroke of soft fingers against the back of her neck. “Tired?” she asked. It was really the dumbest question she could've let exit her mouth, but nothing else came to mind. Everything was foggy, but it still felt so amazing. “Of course,” Caetuna murmured. “You are as well.” “Mhmm,” Emina hummed. She was completely and utterly exhausted. Her body was all but paralyzed, ready for sweet, sweet sleep. The only thing more appealing than the realm of dreams right now was the sight before her: Caetuna, eyes shining, hair messy, pale skin glimmering in the moonlight, just as tired as she was.

“Sleep.” The request reached Emina’s ears, and as if she’d been affected by a spell, her eyes fell shut. A smile came to Caetuna’s face as Emina rapidly dozed off. “I love you.” The words were nearly silent, but they needn’t be heard. Utterly content, Caetuna joined her girlfriend in sweet slumber.

Caetuna awoke with her legs entwined with Emina’s, holding her close and feeling soothed by the slow, rhythmic heartbeat of the still sleeping woman. Or, in other words, how she usually awoke. After a few moments of being completely still, she placed a lazy kiss on the nearest area of skin – in this case, the side of Emina’s neck. The fingers of her right hand brushed against Emina’s hip, drawing small circles as she whispered, “Emina.” A kiss on the collarbone stirred Emina from her sleep. The brunette sleepily traced her hand from the small of Caetuna’s back up to her left shoulder blade. “Hmm, morning already?” She yawned and then opened her eyes.

Emina sat on the edge of her bed, watching Caetuna sleep with a firm grip on her stuffed sheep. She’d only been home for an hour, but she was out cold. Not that Emina could blame her; today had been a long day. Complications at work had soured Caetuna’s mood, so Emina had promptly prepared a quick but nice dinner and sent her to bed. She deserved the rest.

A smile came to Emina’s face as Caetuna began to mumble in her sleep. The incomprehensible sounds stopped after a few seconds, but Emina could help but wonder what she was dreaming about. Probably one of the multiple novels she’d sped through during the last week. As busy as she was, she always found time to read.