#soft..............

“this fox is ur real twin i think. the fluffiness is just almost compareable”

“not so impressive now is he???? bet we dont even hve 2 fight him 2 steal his bridge”

“YEAH  and if we’re lucky the ghost mightve offended the theater ghosts by invading their teritory  ghost wars :)))) we’ll need a night camera and peanuts”

“💀💀💀💀💀 im blockign ur numbr”

he was fast.  the texts were popping up quicker than they’d expected, and by the time fox had lockpicked his way into finding the tiny shopping cart, wren was beginning to grow nervous.   the apple cider was only halfway done.  thankfully, the final clue had been so confusingly hidden on purpose, allowing them enough breathing room in case they failed to brew the drinks on time. 

of course, they could simply instruct him to wait a moment longer if need be, but where was the extravagance in that?

against all odds, the recipe was done by the time the birthday boy entered the room.  their gifts were piled in his arms and he wore the strangest, dumbest magic christmas sweater they’d ever seen (likely the outcome of a lost bet), but it was the sight of his beaming face that spread their smile and scattered their thoughts.

you’re wonderful.   laughter escaped them, warm and sparkling.

“that’s okay, grandpa,” they said, pushing themself off the table.  humor lined the corners of their mouth.  “you still did a fantastic job.  thought the coupon would take you a lot longer to find, actually.”  phone placed down and hot mugs in hand, wren approached the other, their excitement to finally see his reaction shining through every line of them.  

@faithgunned​ said: "here," rex sticks out his hand, and from it hangs a necklace of sorts - a small metal owl on a thin leather string. "found this while i was planetside. thought you might like it."

bo  had  never  been  good  at  receiving  gifts.  she  could  think  back  and  remember  the  very  few  moments  that  she’d  ever  been  gifted  anything.  maybe  from  satine,  when  they  were  both  children.  maybe  when  she  was  in  death  watch,  being  gifted  an  extra  portion  of  food,  or  anything  to  do  with  a  battle.  she’d  never  been  one  to  crave  material  possessions  or  anything  of  the  sort,  but  something  about  the  offer  from  rex  in  front  of  her  had  tossed  all  of  those  thoughts  out  of  the  window.  a  gift.  a  necklace.  “     --------      you  got  this  for  me? ”  she  asked,  her  voice  a  bit  soft  as  she  looked  at  him  before  her  gaze  moved  down  to  the  necklace  in  his  hands.  taking  it  from  him,  her  hand  gently  brushed  against  his  before  she  took  it  into  her  hands,  fingers  turning  over  the  charm  in  her  hands.  an  owl.

HIS  voice sends a prickle up her arms, raising the hairs & dotting the skin not kept warm beneath the covers. in her drowsed morning wake, she can’t place it— deep, & warm, & familiar. it catches her off-guard at first, but not in a frightening way. if anything, she feels cold away from it. if she were to follow it, perhaps go back under her covers & draw closer, she’d feel warm. at least, that’s what she thinks. kiyoko turns her head a bit, & when her hair spills softly over the pillow it makes the same sound as a light rain. the only sound in the room.

no words. no movement. she stills herself, but her eyes widen & scatter over his face in a silent search for what purpose she can’t even justify ... other than CURIOSITY. & in taking their time, they gradually fall soft once more. [ she had nearly forgotten he was here with her. their first night, & she had slept so soundly she almost LOST it ... only looking at him again reminds her. ]. 

[ tanaka ... no. ryūnosuke ... ] the sound of her sheets shuffling seems to swarm in her ears when she turns to face him. she can call him that now. in her head, it sounds warm, too, & she wonders when she’ll say it out loud to him. 

she blinks again, considering her words. [ to wake up next to someone for the first time ... & be so lost by it, it doesn’t seem very much like her. ]. normally, kiyoko would know. she could answer right away, even if she hadn’t dreamed at all : short, and flat, and concise, like always. but she had fallen asleep so quickly & so soundly beside him, that when she tries to go back & recall her dreams she can’t. SHE SLEPT WELL. that’s all she knows. & somehow, even managing the simple words to explain that she doesn’t remember come slowly.

she draws them out carefully, punctuating them with slow blinks. it’s almost like she’s not sure of her own answer. [ should she have dreamt ? or was it ok to have fallen asleep so soundly beside him that nothing ever came to mind besides that ? ]  ‘  ... i don’t remember ... do you ?  ’

Starters for Quiet Muses. [ peek ]: for your muse to teasingly sneak up on mine and put their hands over mine’s eyes. still accepting.