#himewelt

bronya/seele: this is THE yuri. if you don't ship it, even a little, I don't trust you.

serval/natasha: serval already had her toxic yuri situationship with cocolia but I think natasha could heal her both physically and mentally.

gepard/sampo: I have not seen them meet in canon but my friend has assured me they do. also it would be so fucking funny.

himeko/mr yang: mom and dad of the astral express. I barely know anything about them but their dynamic is so cute to me.

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The birds whistling in the trees, their melodies carried through the wind, was the only solace Himeko could find as she paced back and forth in the room.

The engineer sighed which did nothing to alleviate her nerves. Why was she here again??

"What?? An elegant and wonderful woman like you is still single??? Unacceptable!" Himeko grimaced at the memory, of a conversation she had with Miss March 7th a few days ago. Working from a young age, Himeko was quickly recognized as a talent in her field. Being high in demand meant she traveled to many regions, only staying up to a few months at a time before she was called to somewhere else.

Just a few days prior, Himeko had the pleasantry of having a long-awaited tea time with March, a long-time friend she met from one of her travels. The pink-haired maiden was quite chatty but Himeko didn't mind. It was always nice to collect more intel. One topic led to another, and soon March was going off about the various love lives of the people in town, lamenting the lack of her own. "If I were as beautiful as you, I'm absolutely sure I still won't be single today..."

Himeko took a sip of her team and casually hummed in response. "But I've always been single."

"W H A T ? ? ?"

As birds fled the scene and tea split across the tablecloth, Himeko smiled, painfully, full of regret. Wasting no time at all, March packed her things, yelling. "STAY IN TOWN FOR ANOTHER WEEK!! I'LL SEND A PAINTER OVER AND GIVE YOU THE DETAILS LATER. DON'T WORRY I'LL PAAAAAAAAY!!"

Click click.

Her heels stopped as Himeko's reminiscing stopped short as realization dawned on her. She has given no thought to her courting life whatsoever. Thinking back.... yes.... most of the people she knew have married, maybe had one or two children already... The last doctor she visited, she was talking about her upcoming marriage with her childhood friend as well.

Maybe it was just her–

Maybe it was just her who neglected love.

Himeko sighed into her hands. Dropping back into a lounge chair, she pondered whether if this was the right decision. Any moment now, the person who would come paint her portrait would be here. That portrait will then have copies made of it to be distributed to potential suitors. There would be no more backing out of this... Was this what she really wante–

Knock knock knock.

Himeko dashed to the door.

Right before getting the door handle, Himeko brushed a stray hair from her face, hoping she fixed it properly. When she finally swung the door open, she smiled. "Greetings!"

"......."

Himeko blinked. The man in front of her, carrying all sorts of equipment by himself, had his vision blocked by a large empty canvas. "Greetings, miss." Came a somewhat muffled but gentle voice. "I-I must sincerely apologize for keeping you waiting. I'll begin setting up immediately."

"Oh– You are quite alright–" Himeko's smile began to morph into an amused grin. "In fact, here." She reached out and grabbed the canvas from the man so it would no longer obstruct his view and cause an accident. Catching her faint reflection all of a sudden in a pair of glasses, her heart skipped a beat.

Hidden behind the canvas was the warmest smile Himeko had ever seen.

"You're too kind, miss. I'll take the canvas from your hands shortly."

Himeko nodded, afraid that if she spoke her words would stumble.

The brown-haired painter introduced himself as Welt Yang, an acquaintance of March's. Anyone could tell that his gestures and wording were all carefully chosen to make people comfortable around him, a fact that Himeko noticed when she started to feel strangely relaxed around this complete stranger.

As Himeko observed Welt's kit, she felt compelled to ask what each tool did to satiate this newfound curiosity. Ten minutes had passed since she was asked to sit down in a relaxed pose to start the initial sketch. Silence passed between them but Himeko could only concentrate on sitting as still as possible.

"Is there something you'd like to ask, Miss Himeko?"

"Oh, I wouldn't want to interrupt your work!"

Welt chuckled as he put another stroke on the canvas then poked his head out from the side to face her. "Nonsense. Getting to interact with you will help me better capture your essence. You can still move slightly."

Fighting back a blush rising to her cheeks, Himeko quietly cleared her throat. "I was just curious about the tools you brought. The ones in the corner of the box. They look like knives?"

"Ah, yes! Those are scrapers, also known as knives." Himeko slightly tilted her head. Welt had suddenly become... much more animated. "There are a variety of uses for them. I mainly use the paint knives to mix or apply a large amount of paint."

Himeko nodded. "I see...! I was wondering if you were also a part-time chef perhaps."

Another series of chuckles came from behind the canvas. "We mustn't waste an ounce of utility. Are you a cook, Miss Himeko?"

"I'm an engineer, mostly,,,"

"Mostly?"

Himeko cleared her throat once more. Why was she getting all shy for? "I say mostly because... I like to dabble in inventing here and there."

The scratching on the canvas stopped and Welt turned to fully face the red-haired woman. Himeko could have sworn his eyes were sparkling. "Inventing, you say? How wonderful! Please, do tell me more. Talk my ear off."

The giggle she had tried to suppress before escaped. Himeko had a few minutes to explain one of her latest experiments before they had to close the session due to the decreasing sunlight. Promising that she would divulge more details tomorrow, Welt said his goodbyes.

The next day was about the same. Coming in a bit earlier to take advantage of the natural daylight, or so Himeko believed to be Welt's reasoning, the friendly banter they had every day to pass the time put a genuine joy in Himeko's heart. Even people who had worked with her had never been as attentive a listener as the painter. As many questions she asked him, he would ask just as many in return. There were even times Himeko had talked will her mouth went dry, something that didn't go unnoticed by Welt who would pour them both a cup of tea.

"I'm much more of a coffee person, I just never said anything."

"Wh– I– Miss Himeko! You should have told me..."

She giggled but placed the empty tea cup on the table next to her. It was the last day and the painting was almost finished. All they had to do was finish up some of the last details before the painting would be sent out to be copied. It was too bad... She was just starting to get used to this but it wasn't like she was going to be staying for long anyway.

"Ah. If you could please stay still for this. The light is hitting your eyes just right and I want to adjust the painting a bit." Welt had a look of serious concentration on his face as he matched the colors as best as he could to the real-life beauty. Doing as the painter requested, Himeko relaxed her shoulders and stayed in place.

Just then, a piece of hair fell in front of her face.

"Oh– I'm sorry–"

With a reassuring smile, Welt waved at her. "It's not a problem. If you'll allow me, I'll move it for you."

Himeko really froze this time. "O-Of course."

As his steps neared, the pounding inside her chest grew louder. Ducking down to carefully adjust the stray lock, Welt lightly used his pinky and ring finger to lift it away from Himeko's face, making sure it would not fall again and hide her eyes from the light of the midday sun streaming through the glass window panes. "......."

"Um– Mister Welt?"

"Hm? Ah! Yes! I-It's all fine now. Is it comfortable?"

"......." Himeko pondered for a moment, looking at the painter from below. His amber gaze was as warm as ever. "I think... it needs to be brushed back a little more."

"Understood."

He runs the same two fingers atop her ear on the side of her head, making sure to rid Himeko of any discomfort, before straightening up again. "I hope that's better."

"Yes, thank you." Himeko smiled. For some reason, Welt's steps back to his seat were a bit stiffer than before. A few more minutes passed and the painter put down his brush. Yet, he stayed still.

Himeko, who was sure he was done, got up from her chair with a look of concern. "Is everything alright?" There was a mumble, but she couldn't pick up much more than that so she walked over to his side. "I didn't quite catch that– My apologies, what were you saying?"

There was a pained look on his face that would have been hard to detect if she had not walked over. "Miss Himeko, you'd find me ridiculous for saying this but..." He looked up to peer into her eyes. "A part of me does not want to send the painting."

Just like on the first day, Himeko's heart skipped a beat.

"A-Actually, I don't want to at all. But please forgive me for being so presumptuous, Miss Himeko– I know you must have this painting sent out to–"

Himeko shook her head, making Welt's eyes widen in surprise. "You don't... have to..."

The woman's heart was no longer racing alone now.

"In fact, you can keep it..." What was she saying??? But Himeko could not regret any of her words. Not when he was smiling like that again.

"Say, Miss Himeko. Where were you going next?"

"Hmm? Me? I was planning to go to Xianzhou."

Welt stood up and looking a bit bashful, cleared his throat before he made a request. "Let's do another painting there."

So... he wanted to come along with her.

Himeko grinned as she went in for a hug, giggling when she heard him gasp in surprise.