#graceofaeons

“Mi! You have to come see this!”

She can hear him shout this plea from the other room, and she narrows her eyes and furrows her eyebrows skeptically.

“See what exactly?” Mimi asks, unsure of whether she should actually do as told or stay put where she’s safe. “You didn’t volunteer to stay with me today to pull a prank on me, did you? Like standing there naked or something?”

“As if you don’t want to see that,” he replies smugly, and she doesn’t even need to face him to know that he’s wearing that lopsided smirk of his, probably with his arms folded across his puffed up chest, because she knows him too well for that.

“Gross,” she mutters under her breath.

He’s headed towards her and is now standing in the door entrance. He’s waving his arms as though to usher her to whatever he wants her witness. “Mi, come on. I’m serious.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll come,” she finally caves. She closes her magazine and put it down on the table and tries to get up from her chair, but Taichi catches the way she winces when she tries to stand. 

He clears his throat before extending his hand to her.

“Give me your hand, Princess.”

She gives him an unamused look. “I told you years ago to not call me that,” she says, but accepts his offer anyways.

He pulls her up with much ease, laying her arm across his shoulders, and when she’s about to hop forward on her one ankle, he surprises her when he slides his one hand down to her mid-back and the other under her knees to lift her up in one fell swoop.

She can’t help but laugh. “Taichi, what are you doing?”

“We need to hurry,” he answers matter-of-factly. “Plus your ankle clearly still hurts, so it’s best if you don’t put too much pressure on it.”

“How thoughtful of you, Sir Knight of the Courageous Poofheads.”

He blinks and then chuckles incredulously yet entertained at the strange—and rather random—nickname because he knows she’s trying to get back at him for the Princess title, while he carries her towards the big window in the living room of the ski lodge they all rented.

Mimi notices how close her face suddenly is to his, and her eyes instinctively trace the strand of brown hair that’s partly covering his ear to the curve of his jawline down to his collarbone, and she can’t help but stare at how smooth his skin looks and...

She slightly shakes her head, as though she’s clearing herself from this sudden flood of troubling thoughts marching through her brain. She’s very much relieved when her attention drifts towards to what he urged her to come see, and a gasp escapes her lips. 

“It’s snowing!”

Taichi smiles, pleased at the fact that the scenery delights her just as he figured it would and he places her down at the window seat before scooting next to her.

“It’s such a beautiful sight,” she says, her eyes lighting up at each snowflake that passes her in a spiral.

“Not as beautiful as the sight of me being naked, though.”

She groans. “Why ruin this moment by planting that visual in my head? Why are you always so–?”

He cuts her off. “Hey, I’m just repeating what you said earlier.”

“You are so annoying,” she finishes. 

His smirk only widens. “The word you meant is endearing,” he utters, and she rolls her eyes pointedly at that.

She turns her focus back on the flurry of snowflakes, letting it calm her mind, and she supposes he has followed her action as silence has descended upon them. She finds herself rather enjoying the fact that they’re both peacefully reveling in the view of this winter landscape. 

“Thank you,” she whispers after a very short while.

“You’re welcome,” he responds, matching her muted volume.

“I love how many snowflakes are falling.”

Taichi nods in agreement at first, but then grins. “Yet they don’t measure up to how much I like you.”

She turns away from him, as an attempt to conceal the blush that’s creeping up on her cheeks, even though she’s fully aware at how cheesy his “compliment” was—really, self?—and then steels herself before meeting his gaze and readying herself to laugh off him being so ridiculous again but stops herself when she sees something shift in his eyes.

He leans forward, and she again notices how close her face suddenly is to his, and she swallows, hard, determinedly ignoring the spike in her heartbeat. 

“I mean it.”

She did not expect that.

And then Taichi’s hand curls around hers, giving it a small squeeze as though to reassure his that he’s truly, honestly being sincere.

She definitely did not expect that.

It’s quiet again, not a soothing quiet like before, it’s a startling quiet instead, like there’s something looming. Something she knows has always been there, but something she knows she doesn’t dare to define yet.

Her mouth opens to reply, despite her not even knowing how to, but closes it just as quickly as she hears the door open along with the ruckus that their friends bring back from skiing.

“Will you stay with me again tomorrow?” she finally manages to edge out, softly.

A brisk smile illuminates his features. “As you wish, Princess.”