@zauns-insane-secret

Tonight was the night. Takumi chortled softly as he poured himself another glass of rice wine, doing likewise with Sky's. In-between them was a small table piled high with tiny dishes of pickled vegetables, marinated meats and rice, several more placed on the floor beside them, accompanied by empty bottles of alcohol. They sat cross legged on cushions, the bamboo floor pleasingly warm as a fireplace crackled in the private room, illuminating the paper windows with a dim orange hue. "So," he continued, taking a sip of his drink. "When I was in the capital I realised that Demacians are really into white, thought to myself whoever's in charge of taking care of those big walls probably doesn't get paid enough." Sky giggled loudly, joined in soon after by himself. Honestly, he wasn't sure why he was laughing, but the warm buzz in his chest, along with the familiar swaying gave him enough signs to point to the fact that he was most likely drunk. Wiping a tear from his eye he looked back to his companion, who was just finishing the last of her glass. "Takumi." she asked, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "Yes, Raion?" She looked around the room, then to the remnants of their dinner between them. "How did you afford all of this? I mean, everything was so delicious and nice, I highly doubt a normal restaurant would be this good." He shrugged, leaning back on his arm, taking good care to conceal the bag laying behind his form. "I had Duchess Karma help me out," he punctuated this with a playful wink. "Helps to have friends in high places, after all." A smile beamed on her features as she leant an elbow on the low table. "Then send my thanks to her for providing this, would you Raijin?" "I'll make sure of it next time we meet." For the first timer hat night, he closed his eyes, drinking in how right the situation felt. The warmth in his chest, his full stomach, and the soothing voice of his partner to ease him. It was nice to say in the least, to be able to sit and let the world go by, opposed to spend his nights alone in an abandoned shack. A comfortable silence lay over the two as Sky looked into the fireplace, humming gently to herself. It wasn't until a knock at the door broke it, making the vagrant open a sole eye. "It's open" he called out, watching Sky with hidden excitement. Her eyes widened as a waiter walked in slowly, a small birthday cake on his tray. It was covered in what she presumed was cream with assorted berries and shards of candied nuts sprinkled on top, apart from that there was also three candles, flickering with a gentle light. She looks frantically at him, her reaction returned with a easy smile. "You got me a cake from Piltover? B-But aren't those expensive in Ionia?" He tutted her, looking over the back of the waiter as he cleared the table. "It wasn't that much, a little under fifty gold pieces." Her eyes trailed to the cake as it placed before them, the waiter leaving as fast as he had entered, leaving the two alone again. "But fifty gold is so much just for a cake, don't you think?" Takumi rolled his eyes, leaning over to play with a strand of her sun kissed hair. "Perhaps. However, fifty gold is perfectly on for the name day of the woman I love." A slight blush reached her cheeks as she smiled softly, picking up a knife left on the platter. "Should I cut it?" "It's your cake," he responded, giving her a grin. "But if the knife comes out dirty, you have to kiss the nearest person~" She scoffed, waving her hand. "Will you ever grow up?" "Most likely not." She twirled the knife expertly in her grip before pushing down on the cake. After fully cutting through she pulled the blade out, revealing it was smudged with crumbs. For a moment she looked up, met with Takumi beckoning to her with a finger. She chuckled softly before leaning across the table, soon met with a light peck from scarred lips. "You planned that, didn't you?" "It's a cake, Sky. I just think your cutting work is a little sloppy." "In my defence, we did have four bottles of sake, did we not?" The man laughed before nodding softly. "Fair enough, darling. Now have a bite, then I can give you your presents." "Presents?" She asked, surprised. "I thought this was the present!" He shook his head, then nodded towards the cake the was before her. She cut off a square from the middle, holding it between her fingers. It was moist and still slightly warm, the smell enticing her to take a bite of the dessert. It was sweet, but not sickly, the cream was luxuriously smooth and the taste of coconut blended gently with the sweetness of strawberries, punctuated by a crunchy nuttiness. Licking her lips she smiled at him. "It's delicious. Thank you, Takumi." "You're welcome, now I also got you a few things. They're small, but I paid good money for them." Finally revealing the leather bag rom behind him he flipped it open, searching its contents. While he was doing so, Sky looked out the window, drawing in a breath of cool night air. It had been a long time since she had properly celebrated her name day, since she had left the temple she knew it was unlikely to form permanent friends due to her sporadic travelling. Well, until she met Takumi, a wanderer himself. For a moment her mind flashed to him as she looked out at the moon. The first time they had met, she had actually tortured him for information. While the thought still made her guilty, considering the situation she was in, it was unfortunate nessesary. After that they met on the road several times, slowly changing into friends, and then into something more. A slight smile caught her lips as she recalled their first kiss, the time they had shared a bed together, and other little moments. "Sky?" He asked curiously, snapping her out of her thoughts. Takumi raised an eyebrow at her, his hand underneath the table. "You okay?" "Yeah," she replied. "Was just thinking about something." With an understanding nod he drew his hand from the underneath the table, handing her a small rectangular box. It looked hand carved, smooth and lacquered with a small golden symbol of a thundering cloud printed onto it. "Did you make this? Or did you just commission it?" "Commissioned," he admitted, tugging at his ripped sleeve. "Unless you think a one armed man can make a box." Rolling her eyes playfully she lifted its cover, eyes widening as she saw its contents. On the far left was four chocolates lined up, they had been wrapped in golden foil and looked expensive, yet it was what was on the left side that made her so shocked. A hairpin lay gently on a small foam pad, it was almost fully silver, shaped into a blooming lotus and encrusted with miniature diomands and large, glimmering sapphires. They looked to real to be copied, and she looked at him almost alarmed. "Is this real?" "Yes, I asked an old friend from my village in Takayam if he could make me a special item for you." Rubbing the back of his neck he chuckled softly to himself. "Honestly I didn't know what you liked outside of lotuses and the colour blue, so I just went with it." She looked down at the hairpin, picking it out of the box, holding its cool metal between two fingers. "I love it." Giving him a sweet smile she placed it in her hair. "Thank you, Raijin." For a moment he watched her, how simply beautiful she was, how her smile was so warm and hopeful, and again and again the same thought burned in his mind. Ask her. Clenching his fist in his lap, Takumi returned the smile with an equal sign of affection. "Now, I have one more gift, but I need you to close your eyes for this." She raised an eyebrow, shrugging as she followed his instructions. With a slight nod he reached around his bag again, grabbing a small dagger wrapped in cloth. It was blue, silver swirling patterns across its length while the hilt and grip resembled a roaring dragon, a single ball of jade held on the pommel of the weapon. Fingers brushed against the tanto's sheath as he looked back up to her. In the Takayam province, where he was born, a tradition amongst his village was that whenever a man was looking for marriage, he would present a custom blade to the woman he wished to propose to. It would have to be crafted himself, and the metal would have to be laced with his own blood to show true devotion. While only having one arm, he had done the same, folded the sheets, let his blood flow and perfected the weapon into both a weapon and a piece of art. And yet, his smile faded as he looked at the dagger, then to her. He loved Sky, there was no doubt. She had given him hope, given him a reason to live aside from kill. She was the lightning strike that guided him across the stormy field. An yet, in his heart, only fear touched him. Would she say no? Was she ready? Was he ready? For a moment his hand moved to lay the weapon on her lap, and yet he hesitated. Marriage was a big choice, something that would take days, months even to decide, and yet he was giving her a few seconds? No. He would wait, another time would come eventually. After all. It was her name day. Slowly placing the dagger back into his pack, he sighed. There would be another time, another time when he could ask properly. He had waited this long, surely a few more days wouldn't end him. "Uhm... So what's the final present, Raijin?" He looked up to her puzzled expression, a thin smile playing on his lips. He stood, walking over to her side of the table, then kneeling beside her. A rough hand touched her cheek, cupping it as he felt heat grow on her skin. She opened her eyes, instantly met with Takumi's as he kissed her deeply, joined willingly by her a few moments after. It felt right. Everything felt right in that moment. Finally breaking away, he panted softly, as she did. She started giggling suddenly, causing him to laugh himself, nuzzling foreheads with the woman he loved. The women he'd marry one day. "That was my present, Raion. I hope you enjoyed it." "Honestly... I think that was my favourite one, Raijin." His hand reached to hold her waist, cradling her gently. "Happy name day, darling." ------------------------------------------------------------------- For @ionian-storm-chaser since its Sky's birthday today.