PainterPrince

Lights turn on around you as you speed-walk through a long hallway, greeting various people with rushed waves and "hi"s as you make your way to your set goal: your dressing room. Various stage crew members and your manager walk behind you, informing you of how the stage is ready to go, all it needs is its main star. That being you, of course!

Though, you are feeling a little overwhelmed being crowded. It's not like it hasn't happened before, but sometimes pre-show nerves get the better of you..

A friendly hand rests on your shoulder, a figure creating distance between you and the little crowd. You smile a bit, feeling a little more relaxed.

Blue is here to save the day like always, gently ushering you away to your room.

"It's Great To Hear Things Are In Order! But Right Now They Need To Go Get Changed If They're Gonna Perform Tonight, So Let's Give Them Some Space, Okay? Doing Great, Guys!" He smiles, listening to various murmurs of agreement as the group disperses, heading back to where they need to be.

"Thanks, Blue." You whisper to him, earning a wink in reply. You can't help but smile at that, perking up when you spot your assigned door with a pretty sparkling star over it. "Okay..time to get ready."

"I'll Be Out Here If You Need Me, Alright?"

You nod, heading inside and rushing over to grab your costume for today's performance. Carefully changing, you give yourself a few once-overs in the mirror to make sure you aren't missing anything. Thank goodness you have Blue here..

When Blue had arrived to take over the bodyguard position, you were admittedly a little surprised by him. He's such a friendly guy on the surface, how could he stand against the chaos of a crowd? You don't think you've ever seen him fail to get along with somebody, diffusing tense situations backstage before they can shift into chaos. But despite that, Blue is incredibly strong. So much so that he's been able to effortlessly carry stage equipment, calmly hoisting it over his shoulders and saving crew members some time. Always helpful.. He hasn't run into too much trouble before, but you're confident that he could handle things now.

Fully changed, you change your focus to fixing your hair and applying any makeup you might need.

"You can come in now, Blue-" You call out for him, hearing the door open and click shut soon after. He leans against it, crossing his arms and watching you with a smile- losing the tense demeanor he takes on around others. His bodyguard outfit suits him, his black jacket slightly tight around his arms to show off his muscles that you definitely haven't stared at a little too much.

"They're A Bit Excitable Today." He huffs, shaking his head.

"I know- lots of pre-show jitters." You brush out your hair. "I know things need to be perfect and all, but I also need to breathe before the show!" You huff.

"I'm Surprised They Didn't Get A Makeup Crew In Here The Moment You Were Done Changing!" He chuckles.

"I know, right? They practically breathe down my neck about that. But things are fiiine-" You adjust your hair a little more. "I have it handled. It's gonna be a great show, and we're all gonna have fun."

"That's The Spirit! And I'll Take Care Of Things Offstage." He grins, his bright blue eyelights lightly twinkling when one of the various lights in your room hits them.

You smile at him through your mirror, doing a few minor touch-ups before turning around.

"You're wonderful, thanks so much." You press your hands together.

"I'm Happy To Help." He relaxes his posture a bit more, and you notice his tie's a little uneven.. how odd, usually he's a bit more punctual about it.

"Do I look okay?" You do a 360, before stopping to face him again.

"You Look Perfect, Don't Worry! They're Gonna Love This One." He gives you two thumbs up.

"Let's hope so, haha- ..Your- tie is uneven." You walk over to him. He seems a bit surprised at this as well, maybe he was in a rush to get here? You could see him hurrying throughout his home to make sure he arrived on time.

"Oh- It Must Have Slipped My Mind, How Silly Of Me.."

"Here, I can help." You gingerly take his tie, beginning to fix it for him.

"You Really Don't Have To, I Mean I Appreciate It Of Course! But-"

"I want to." You smile up at him, finding his slightly awkward demeanor cute. "It's no trouble at all."

A hint of blue magic gently reaches his cheekbones, and he chuckles while he watches you.

"Were you in a rush?"

"I Did Have To Hurry, Haha- I Got A Little Too Caught Up In A Conversation With My Brother And Lost Track Of Time. But I Made It, That's What Matters!" He grins.

"Ohh, I get that. I was a bit distracted myself..looks like we've both been rushing." You huff, making sure his tie is right before looking up at him again.

He stares down at you, his gaze a bit unreadable. You wonder just what he's thinking when he looks at you, eyelights lightly warbling within the voids of his eyesockets. Your cheeks warm the longer you stare at him, unable to break your gaze. A part of you wishes time could stop just like this, so you could look at him a little longer. So the show could wait, and you could spend a little more time with him.

..But the show must go on, so you let go and take a step back.

"Well.. time to go, I suppose-" You're cut off by the sound of your fans cheering in the distance, perking up a little with a mixture of excitement and anxiety. Blue steps aside to let you through first, following right behind you as you make your way to your assigned stage entrance. You step onto a lowered platform, adjusting the mic on your head and making sure everything's running properly. Blue clears his throat so you look at him, and you're quick to turn.

"Knock 'Em Dead." He gives you a thumbs up.

You grin at that, waiting for a sound cue before getting into a rehearsed pose.

"Are you ready?"

The crowd roars with excitement as your voice echoes throughout the arena, bringing a bigger smile to your face as the music starts. The platform raises in time with the music, bringing you up to the stage. Finally, it's time for one of your favorite parts of your job: the shows!

Standing among your various background dancers, you feel yourself get lost in a mixture of passionate song and over-rehearsed dance moves. Keeping a smile on your face all the while, you devote yourself to ensuring things go well, and performing with everything you've got. Your first song seamlessly transitions into the second as you change your routine, having small friendly exchanges with your fellow dancers as both genuine fun and a part of the show.

Standing on the sidelines is Blue, making sure fans don't get too close to the stage or try anything funny alongside a few other guards who are a tad more strict than him. A usual song and dance for him, it's his job, after all. But sometimes he wishes he could just sit back and watch you in your element, bright smile on your face as you sing for all to hear.

His job doesn't stop him from stealing glances at you, however. Despite how few he can get, he's never unsatisfied. After all, he gets the best view out of anyone there, near you. Right where he's meant to be.

Looking over at him, your gaze meets his own. You can't help but shoot him a wink when you get a brief instrumental pause, before spinning around to walk up a small set of stairs. The sight of it is enough to make him feel as though he were directly shot with Cupid's arrow, making him smile like an idiot before quickly snapping back into "character". He's bodyguarding right now. He has to be serious- Don't let it show.

And yet, you did that just for him..Focus!!

Holding up your arms, you wait for a prop crescent moon to dangle down from above. A scripted part of the performance, to give you a break from dancing so you can focus on singing. Once it's been lowered, you walk over and carefully sit down, shooting a stagehand a thumbs up before it's raised back up into the air. Kicking your legs back and forth you begin another song, leaning against the back of the moon. So far so good..

Holding a note, you hold out an arm to the crowd-

Your surroundings go dark. The sound of the crowd faintly muffles below you as a black void begins to form, and you can feel your SOUL rapidly beating in response.

Someone has initiated an Encounter.

Your eyes widen as you struggle to keep your smile, before stopping your note altogether to look around. What's going on?

Blue looks up in alarm as the audience begins to murmur in confusion, before he quickly diverts his attention to the crowd. Who's close enough to pull this off? And why?

That's when he spots it: a set of white magical bullets being hoisted above the crowd by a hooded figure, before they're abruptly thrown forwards- heading straight for you.

Your eyes widen in alarm as you move to dodge them, causing the moon you're sitting on to rapidly rock back and forth as you struggle to hold onto it. Blue quickly grabs onto the end of the stage as various backup dancers disperse in panic. He then snaps his fingers to get the attention of the other guards, a serious expression on his face.

"Go, Row 15! Tall Hooded Guy, He's Moving Out Of Turn, Go, Now!" He motions for them to run and they quickly follow suit, pushing through the crowd to try and reach the attacker. The crowd screams and panics, splitting up so the guards can make their way over and ducking to avoid any stray bullets.

"Guys, I want down! I want down NOW, please!!-" You shout towards your stage crew who's equally panicked, arguing amongst themselves and struggling to get the mechanism hoisting you up to lower you back down. Why would someone do this? Why did they want to hurt you??

A stray bullet passes by the guards, headed right for your head. You duck back as an evasive maneuver, unfortunately losing your grip as you lean. The crowd screams louder as you fall, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes as you scream with them, hoping silently that you don't hit the ground too hard.

Familiar arms are what you meet instead, sturdy and carefully holding your form as if you were the most fragile thing in the world. You can feel yourself being carried as if you were nobility, treated with utmost care. Surprised that you aren't dead, you crack open your eyes.

Blue looks down at you with a worried expression, his breathing shaky as he looks over your state. His arms hold you steadily in place as he moves to carry you offstage, shouting something at the others with a much more stern look than you're used to seeing on him. His words are muffled to you, seeing as the only thing you can focus on right now is how utterly handsome he looks in this lighting..not to mention heroic. Your initial panic takes a little backseat.

"-Hurt?"

"...Huh?" You snap back to attention.

"Are You Hurt, Were You Hit?" He reaches the backstage area, shaking his head at anyone who tries to approach you. You glance over his shoulder just enough to spot the other guards apprehending the attacker, pinning him to the ground. You quickly return your focus back to Blue.

"Oh- um, no." You can feel warmth rise to your cheeks. "I'm..I'm fine, thanks to you."

He carries you all the way back to your dressing room, before sitting you down on your couch and making absolutely sure you don't have a single scratch on you.

"How Crazy Do You Have To Be To Attack A Singer At A Concert? Why Would You Even Do That?" He furrows his brows in frustration, gently turning your arms to check them before turning your head from side to side.

"Blue-"

"He Could've Killed You, If I Hadn't Caught You-"

"Blue!"

"Why Didn't They Have The Safety Nets Up?!"

You put your hands on his shoulders, cutting off his rambling. You can feel him slightly..trembling. Blue magic makes its way to his cheekbones, making them faintly glow as he stares at you.

He looks around a moment, before abruptly pulling you into a hug. You fall limp against him, before resting your hands against his back.

"I- Blue?"

"Sorry, I Just..I Know I'm Supposed To Be Ready For Things Like This. It's My Job, Emergencies Are Bound To Happen- But..But The Idea Of You Getting Hurt Is Just..I Hate It. I Don't Think I Could Stand To See You Hurt, Or Worse." His grip tightens a little. "Especially If I Couldn't.."

You..haven't seen him like this before. He's usually so upbeat, so openly positive- You had no idea he worried so much for you. Your grip on him tightens a little, and you rest your head against his shoulder.

"I'm okay, Blue. I promise. I'm alright. And it's all thanks to you.." You pull back so you can face him, resting a hand on one of his cheeks. He leans into it, closing his eyes for a moment. Your cheeks warm in response, and you stammer for a second. Okay, you didn't expect him to do that. Cute.

"You're my hero, Blue. I know you've always got my back..and I really appreciate it. Knowing you're around makes me feel safe." You smile.

"..Really?" He opens his eyes again.

"Yeah." You lean forwards, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Really."

You both freeze. Okay, that was on impulse. Shit. Maybe you shouldn't have-

His skull is abruptly covered with color, his bright blue glow illuminating the surrounding area due to how strong it is.

"I- sorry, that was an impulse, I just-- I don't know what came over me? And-"

He puts his hands on your shoulders.

"Can I Kiss You?" He asks, bluntly. You can see determination in his gaze.

OH. OH, OKAY.

"Would..Would That Be Okay? Or Is It Too-"

"Yes." You blink up at him, starry eyed. "Please."

Smiling warmly at you, Blue doesn't hesitate any further, being the first to make contact. You lean into him, closing your eyes as quickly as he does, melting into the feeling. Your soul is pounding in your chest with giddy excitement, happy that you were finally able to do this. He rests his hands on your back, pulling you into him- wanting to be as close to you as he can. Though, sadly, you do have to pull away for air.

You can practically feel your eyes turn into spirals once you break apart, taking a few breaths.

"Stars, I've Wanted To Do That For Ages-"

"Really?" You gape at him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, I Wasn't Sure If You Felt The Same, And I Wasn't..Really Ready To Ask? Seems We're Both Acting On Our Feelings Today- Which Is Kinda Crazy Considering What Just Happened-"

You put your hand over his, cutting him off.

"..You..wanna get out of here and go get coffee? I think we have a lot to talk about." You grin.

"I- ...Yeah-- Of Course." He gives you a smile in return.