I could never look away

flora

Flora winds her way up the lighthouse’s spiral staircase with Kaisel close beside her, one hand skimming the warm stone wall whenever the curve tightens enough to make the hem of her dress brush against his legs. She’s nearly vibrating by the time they reach the top, though she’s been trying very hard to contain herself for the sake of dignity, reverence, and not ruining the surprise before they’ve even asked for it. None of those efforts are especially successful. Champagne-fizz excitement bubbles brightly through the bond between them, effervescent and impossible to disguise, rising with every step until she can almost feel it sparkling beneath her skin.

Entering the shrine, Flora moves immediately towards the candles. She coaxes one flame to life and uses it to light the next, working her way along the nearest cluster until their soft glow catches in her curls and warms the mother-of-pearl offering cradled carefully in her other hand. Only then does she glance over her shoulder at Kai, her smile girlish and joy-filled, aqua eyes bright with the sheer delight of what they’re about to ask. This is for their grand wedding entrance, after all. Their wedding might already have happened, and the engagement announcement might have followed it rather than preceded it, but Flora sees no reason their delayed celebration should arrive with anything less than spectacle.

Turning back to the shrine, she sets down the ornate hair comb she’s brought for Safrin. Mother-of-pearl curves through its delicate shape, inset with sparkling stones that catch the candlelight and scatter it across the altar in tiny points. Flora adjusts it by the smallest amount until it sits exactly as she wants it, then waits for Kai to place his own offering beside hers. Once he has, her fingers find his. She threads them through his hand and gives it a warm, excited squeeze, grounding herself in the familiar shape of him even as anticipation swells through her chest.

"Safrin?" Flora calls, lifting her gaze towards the shrine. "I know you’ve helped with our actual wedding and the engagement announcement, so hopefully you’re still on board with the whole theme of doing things backwards, because we were hoping you might be able to help with our wedding entrance?"

stay here honey I don't wanna share

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

I'm not giving up, kicking off the rust

The more she attempts to tuck it away, the more it leaks through the bond, and Kaisel finds himself internally wading through foam as it bubbles out of her with every step. He's had a similar experience when he's been too generous with his soap while washing, and as then, he now feels each little bubble where it pops against him, ticklish in the same way mint can be. He adores every moment of it.

It should not still be exciting, or so he thought, based on how most marriages seem to unfold into something mundane and even marginally aggravating. Maybe it wouldn't be, once they did it properly, the spike in his pulse perhaps able to be attributed to the secrecy of it all, the reveal, the celebration. Yet, this moment remains private, and still, the giddiness of loving her, especially out loud, is enough to make his cheeks hurt from the smile. He can't help but steal a glance at her as they wrap and rise up the stairs, a pair of shooting stars in reverse, which is good practice.

He picks up one of the candles to feed it from her initial flame, igniting those opposite of where Flora focuses. Setting down his final candle and wiping away the wax from his fingers, he reaches into his pocket for her offering. Gently, he sets down the silver charm bracelet. It jingles faintly with the motion, each charm a star-shaped opal of a different hue, creating a gemstone galaxy for Safrin's wrist.

He steps back beside Flora, shoulder brushing in against hers as he removes the most distance he can in this moment. His hand sinks into hers, fingers tight at first where they fold around her and keep her, wiggling at the wrist with a little burst of excitement as she begins to pray. "Your touch is just what we need to celebrate with everyone," he adds on. "So we'd love to have some of the stars spell out our names, and then shoot down and become us." It's absurd in the best way, and he grins around the ask, too thrilled at the potential of her approval.

Kaisel

I keep acting tough but maybe I'm not good enough