can you save a dance for me?

THE FLOOD

// take my heart and make it feel,
take my soul and make it real

They hadn’t wanted to stray too far from the brothel to make their house, but enough that it felt separate in comparison to how he had been living. And with the promise of Hotaru finally shifting over her attention here, to their new region, well… In between helping with the flooding where he could and helping Torchline, well, he needed to get a little bit of light blooming here. So his efforts had been focused entirely on getting the walls up of their home, of putting the roof on, of making sure they had that large spread porch they had talked about.

But he’d all done it in secret. Not telling Hotaru what he’s been up to if she arrived at the brothel and he seemed wearier than normal. It’s precisely for today – because he’s seen just how tired she is from her travels to and from Torchline to Halo and back to his arms, and it’s the least he can do for her.

“I’ve got you, don’t worry.” Sunjata murmurs, ensuring the blindfold is in place as they arrive to the structure, ensuring she couldn’t see a single bit more than what her memory of their dug out plot had been, and he steps behind her to wrap his arms around her middle, bent enough to press his head gently over her shoulder, keeping her tight to him when he hums a “okay you can take it off.”

Beside the empty house sits a tarp covered wagon of items – furnishing and furniture, cans of paint and paintbrushes, of varying colors they had spoken of in passing as ideas. A number of other things sit within, everything they’d need to ensure they could sleep here tonight. Away from everything, all to themselves.

'cause i was bright, yeah I was pale and blue,
starry eyed by every thought of you //

THE VALKYRIE

You bring clarity when I can't see past
All the places where I made my mistakes

Halo's devastation - Torchline's devastation - has kept Hotaru running ragged for days now. Weeks? Time is a blur, and though she knows she's not the only person giving her all, all the flying - faster than skyboats, which might otherwise preserve her energy - is enough to whittle her down to the bone. Coming home to Sunjata is all that keeps her going most days; his love carries her when she's exhausted, and his arms hold her when she needs to hide away from the world. Though her final move is on the horizon, she's grateful for his understanding of why she cannot stay in King's End to help, and even more grateful for the fact that the damage to the region that will soon be hers is minimal.

Work on the house (at least on her behalf) has been sporadic at best since the impact, so she has no idea where he's taking her or why. Not that she's nervous. Excited, perhaps. Blindfolds usually mean positive surprises after all. His murmur in her ear inspires a curl of warmth through her veins, relaxing further in his hold as the inherent nerves of not seeing where you're stepping temporarily fade. As they come to a stop and he envelops her, Ru's heart hammers with anticipation, leaning backward into his chest as she simultaneously reaches up to remove her blindfold.

It hangs limp around her clavicle when her hands immediately freeze midway, stunned and speechless. A maelstrom of emotion starts up within, a whirlwind of positivity and surprise that bleeds over into the bond as her heartrate rabbits and a blinding smile comes to her lips. "Oh my - Sunny," she gushes, words failing her. One hand drops to her heart, convinced it will burst out of her chest or perhaps stop entirely. It's beautiful, like it has jumped straight off the page of their blueprints. Turning in his arms, Ru isn't ashamed of the little diamond tears that cling to her lashes as she looks up at him, free hand coming to his chest. "What - how? When?" Her frame trembles with an overwhelmed laugh, blinking quickly and sending little trails of tears down her cheeks, lips trembling but smile unwavering with the force of her joy.

Your love has turned me into something better
Elevate me with your love forever

THE FLOOD

// take my heart and make it feel,
take my soul and make it real

He’s quiet and patient, awaiting her reaction while she lifts her hands to the blindfold, slipping it off of her face to rest at her neck. The swell of emotions builds in him, too, a soft warm pulse akin to sunshine spreading through it, blurring the overwhelming sense that radiates from her. As the words leave her, he nuzzles his cheek against hers, humming a soft little playful “mm?” Until she spins in his arms and he squeezes her tight against him, spotting those glittery tears on her pale lashes.

“In between helping with the flooding here, I spent my time putting this together while you’ve been busy.” He murmurs softly. His hands lift, reaching up to brush away the tears that fall down her face. He pauses, leaning in to kiss her, pulsating that warm comfort and joy that is rarer and rarer these days, allowing it to be something wholly for them.

He pulls away, arm slipping around her to guide her toward the entrance. “I brought furniture, paint, everything we need. I figured we could decide where it would all go.” He suggests, taking in the whole of the home he’s built for them. “And stay here tonight.” His main goal.

'cause i was bright, yeah I was pale and blue,
starry eyed by every thought of you //

THE VALKYRIE

You bring clarity when I can't see past
All the places where I made my mistakes

His playfulness is languid and self-satisfied, and Hotaru can't fault him for it in the least. He has earned every tumultuous swell of her heart and more for how he has toiled away at their small, shared dream while her back was turned. She turns her face into his hands like a blind kitten, wanting more but torn between each of his palms, heedless of the way he wipes away her tears when her love is overflowing so readily that she simply wants his touch. When she feels him pause her eyes flutter open, only to shut anew when he leans in to kiss her. It is always easy to fall into him and the golden aura that seems to envelop the two of them in these peaceful moments, but his happiness is a cloud that she is happy to pull around herself and linger within.

It's medicine to her tired heart and aching body, and when he pulls away to guide her to the entrance she follows with more eager eyes than she could have managed before. She considers teasing him, asking him to carry her over the threshold, but if any day holds that potential it's one in the future, and it's less of a joking matter once she considers it. Instead, she takes the handle in hand and swings the door open to see the bare quarters just beyond the threshold. Ripe with potential that makes her heart beat faster.

Her grin is positively Cheshire, almost childlike with excitement. "Well then we'd better start if we want to be done by nightfall, right?" She laughs brightly (and certainly does not squeal) and throws her arms around his neck in one great bound, though she scarcely lingers long, dropping down to grab his hand and hurry over to the tarp-covered pile to unravel one end and throw it back. "Should we start with the bedroom first in case we run out of time?" She looks completely unburdened when she looks over her shoulder at him, the horrors of the season forgotten in the beauty of new beginnings.

Your love has turned me into something better
Elevate me with your love forever

THE FLOOD

// take my heart and make it feel,
take my soul and make it real

Her excitement blooms against him in ways that surge through any second guesses or nervousness at showing her this – after all, he’d only had some barebones thoughts to run off of, now seeing it up in person and all the work he’d put into it, it only made sense he’d now be figuring he’d fucked it up somewhere along the way. So far, though, everything is smooth and vibrant and her excitement and love envelopes his happiness with such a sharpness that any lingering second guessing vanishes in the wind.

He guides her, having certainly thought about the same joke but is pleased when it isn’t uttered or thought of as she swings open the door – a door bare of color so far alongside the interior of empty walls, where their voices echo throughout the building. “Sounds like a plan to me.” Sunjata can’t help the grin he shares with her, his twisted and playful in the face of her cheshire grin.

And he follows her, long legs quickening as she reaches the tarp and starts untying it, something he helps with to throw it back and reveal everything he’s brought, the start and the beginning of their home – yet another chance for Sunjata to start actually living his life rather than react to it. Her question over her shoulder captures his attention and he snorts a soft laugh, nodding. “I think we absolutely should.” So saying, he steps over to the side of the wagon, reaching in and using that newfound strength of his to tug out the bedframe – a beautiful wooden thing, carved and stained, large posts for canopy fabric and a giant headboard. Setting them out to the side, he reaches in to retrieve the mattress, setting that down beside the rest without barely breaking a sweat.

“So…” Sunjata starts to say, collecting some of the pieces of the bedframe and the hammer and nails, intending to follow Hotaru in. “I want you to decide where the room is and where this is going to go in it.” Giving her free reign in the house to decide – a space big enough with two levels and a smattering of rooms – plenty to choose between.

'cause i was bright, yeah I was pale and blue,
starry eyed by every thought of you //

THE VALKYRIE

You bring clarity when I can't see past
All the places where I made my mistakes

There is something childlike and lighthearted to their shared excitement; the way they run for the tarp, the careless way they throw it back, their grinning faces. There is no room for embarrassment or some perceived notion of decorum. They have both been robbed of their childhoods, and they deserve this. The moment as well as the promise of what the new house holds for them.

Wrinkling her nose at him in playful envy when he easily hauls out the frame and mattress, any teasing immediately evaporates from her tongue when he gives her the perfect opportunity to run helterskelter through the newly built house. "Deal," she beams, and abandons her perusal to run light-footed back to the front door.

Though she pops her head into every room off of the main threshold, she doesn't linger long, certain that she wants their bedroom further away from the main activity of the home. She runs around like a scampering fox, eager to see everything and get their scent circulating through the home. She picks a room at the back of the house, with the most windows and furthest from the front door. She circles the room a few times just to be certain, her lioness urges close to the surface with den-making so close at hand, and then she turns to Sunjata and puts her hands decisively on her hips. "This one. Definitely." She pauses in case he has any input despite having left it up to her, and eyes the portion of bedframe he'd brought inside. "Do you want to be the builder or the fetcher?" Her smile is playful as she eyes the nails and tools in his hands, content to take up either role herself or to switch out.

Your love has turned me into something better
Elevate me with your love forever

THE FLOOD

// take my heart and make it feel,
take my soul and make it real

Her wrinkled nose earns her a soft little rumbling tsk that playfully leaves him as he loads up his arms, letting her know the idea he’s thought through. The house itself with the smattering of rooms, has more than enough for offices or pleasure, their bedroom, more bedrooms for potential familial additions, and he follows her in through the front door with more chuckles chasing after her as she darts around the house.

It's blissful and relieving, truth be told, to see how excited she is for this – for their future, despite the weight of the world around them seeming like it’ll crash. He’s content to follow her to the ends of the world, he suddenly realizes with a soft tenderness to the corners of his mouth, one that remains when she turns back to him with that decisive hand on her hip look about her. “Seems like you’ve got energy to burn, hm, liefde?” He waggles his brows at her, chuckling again as he steps in and sets everything down, slipping out the hammer from his belt and the nails to get started putting it together.

While she moves back and forth to grab the pieces, Sunjata starts getting the frame together, and before they know it the bed is filling up the space and without breaking a sweat, Sunjata flashes a toothy grin to Hotaru. “So where’re we putting it?”

'cause i was bright, yeah I was pale and blue,
starry eyed by every thought of you //

THE VALKYRIE

You bring clarity when I can't see past
All the places where I made my mistakes

Hotaru has not had a home she felt was truly hers since before she landed in Caido. Shops, businesses, and homes taken over from previous tenants or left by the wayside were all she knew for years. For all Halo had been home, the house itself had never taken on the same feeling, and while the home in Torchline with the three of them had been the closest she ever got, well...it means a lot to her to be building something with intent, a focused attempt to hold fast that feeling for eternity. And maybe that should choke her up, but instead she feels like the sun is sitting in her chest, radiating joy out of every pore.

"I hate to say it likely won't last with all the moving we have to do," she mourns, though she can't stop smiling for long enough to wrestle her tone into the right area. Though she perhaps lets Sunjata do more of the heavy-lifting instead of trying to rise to the challenge as she usually does, wanting to preserve her stamina so as to enjoy their first night in their new home when it finally comes.

As such she is happy to take on the role of foreman, or perhaps interior designer? Regardless, she points when Sunjata prompts her, wanting the headboard to be centered along the window-filled wall. "I'm rethinking the choice to build the bed first," she admits a bit cheekily, all too aware that her soaring mood is the reason behind her desire to tumble into bed with him headfirst. "Next; nightstands, bedding, and then on to the next room. All the fun little things have to come last." Though it doesn't stop her from preemptively envisioning where she'll place those fun little knick-knacks as they head back out the bedroom door.

Your love has turned me into something better
Elevate me with your love forever

THE FLOOD

// take my heart and make it feel,
take my soul and make it real

“Mm, well, let me do the heavy lifting.” He teases, only because she’d certainly done enough as the weeks leading up to today have proven – her numerous flights around and around from Halo to Torchline to here just to be with him. It’s the least he can do. And it helps that he’s good at it, evident with how the bed comes together and Sunjata shares her excitement and warmth as she points wherever she’d prefer the bed to go. It’s nestled neatly between two of the large windows, and Sunjata steps back to admire it momentarily when her cheeky comment reaches him.

A spark flares through his scars and he snorts, turning back toward her with a playful smirk. “Don’t worry, we’ll break it in.” Tipped with a wink, Sunjata drifts toward her to lift her chin slightly, snatching a kiss because he simply can, before stepping back to let her guide what they do next. At the very least, the nightstands are already built, they just need to be moved from the wagon to here, and it’s something they both can snatch up one each of to haul in.

Collecting the nightstands is easy, as is placing them, as is the setting up of the bedding brought – a mixture of nice, fine bedding alongside a smattering of furs that Sunjata knows will settle in his lioness’ heart well. “What’s next, darling?” He asks, realizing that the lamps and additional pieces can come in later – but for now, it actually looks like a bedroom and he’s so incredibly lucky that the work hasn’t taken too much of a toll on him thus far.

'cause i was bright, yeah I was pale and blue,
starry eyed by every thought of you //

THE VALKYRIE

You bring clarity when I can't see past
All the places where I made my mistakes

Encouraging out those sparks of light and color is one of her new favorite games, and she is already grinning before he has a chance to turn around. He one-ups her immediately, the charmer, and the kiss is far too brief for how it makes embers dance in her veins as she leans toward him in a vain attempt to chase after his lips. "You're playing with fire," she threatens, though it comes out bemoaning. She's not quite ready to abandon the rest of the pile outside to christen their new home. Maybe in another hour.

Ru can't help but already begin running her hands over the furs even as they're laid, craving to lay their combined scent within them and make them into a proper nest. She has to fist her hands to resist the craving, though her eyes shine with pleasure when she turns away from the bed. With the addition of pet names, it all feels so very domestic, and she's brimming with the intensity of her euphoria. "Kitchen, of course. We'll need a breakfast of champions to celebrate the end of our first night." Their dinner will be similar, but she suspects far more sedate after all the work to be done.

The kitchen is a vision of emerald green and black, brass fixtures and rust-veined marble. Unpacking here takes the two of them given all the smaller, more delicate items, but it provides the addictive sensation of moving past each other around the island, or exchanging items as they bump hips and shoulders to open drawers and cabinets. During one such moment, she wraps her arms around his waist and presses a kiss to his spine, needing some sort of outlet for the overflowing happiness inside. "Anything left outside for the kitchen?" She murmurs into his back, tilting her head to rest her chin there in an easy, languid roll.

Your love has turned me into something better
Elevate me with your love forever

THE FLOOD

// take my heart and make it feel,
take my soul and make it real

He is a charmer, especially when he answers with a whipcrack of “you like fire.” As if it were all the reasoning he needed as he pulls away, playfully forcing her to chase after the departure of his lips. But it’s all a slow burn, despite their jests and attentions, little strings playfully plucked to keep the low thrum of anticipation burning, especially while they finish up the room and he asks what’s next.

“A valid point.” Sunjata agrees with a low thrum of laughter, following her into the room designed not unlike the trees that line a small boundary outside. Green and blacks with pops of color that are a brilliant mixture between his love of deep blues and coppers. Her excitement over it all is a boon to keep him from getting too distracted with how they work around each other, unpacking and bumping into each other – pausing only when she’s wrapped her pale arms around his waist and presses a kiss to his spine – his shoulders slumping slightly with relief while the bond pulses with appreciation.

He sets the rest of the utensils into the drawer before sliding it shut, leaning back gently into her embrace. “That should do it.” He hums, shifting slightly in her touch to face her, effectively pinning her back against the counter, scarred hands lifting to run gentle strokes along her upper arms. “I’m sure there’re more decorative bits and pieces out there, but the essentials are here.” His gaze slips from her, steel scanning their kitchen before dropping back down toward her, taking in the amount of work they’ve done and the time that have passed. “How are you feeling?” He asks softly, the weight of his gaze entirely focused on her.

'cause i was bright, yeah I was pale and blue,
starry eyed by every thought of you //

THE VALKYRIE

You bring clarity when I can't see past
All the places where I made my mistakes

"I'm a bit biased toward floods actually," pulls out of her on a groan, aware she can't have him just yet and vexed by it, sated only by the house that stands around them as testament to all the other ways she does have him.

While the rest of the house stands unpainted, ready for their haggling and inevitable laughter over paint-flecked clothes and smudged cheeks, the kitchen is a vision straight from her sketchbook. Something to go alongside the blueprints, more visually minded than architectural. Ru is no master artist, but as a seamstress she can deconstruct a three-dimensional model perfectly, and her mind had wandered for hours dreaming up different areas of the house. The kitchen was the only one she'd finished; details done, ink dry. She'd shown it to Sunjata proudly, never once thinking he would make it a reality preemptively. Somehow, this one room being complete in every way feels like a window to the future, when the pristineness of a fresh move fades to errant socks and scattered keys, soup drippings on the oven and toothpaste flecks on the mirrors. She envisions it all as her eyes wander down the length of the kitchen while she holds him, ready for the life they've yet to live. Grateful they have a chance to live it.

His movement pulls her out of her head, and she leans back against the counter, content to be pinned there if it means his hands roam her arms and his warmth envelops her. Looking up at him, the beauty and meaning of the kitchen fades, as the world always does when she stares too long into his eyes. Her heart lies open like a split pomegranate for him to peruse, each seed a pocket of contentment ready to burst between his lips. "Like this can't possibly be real with how happy I am," she whispers, cheeks aching from smiling so continually, hands resting on his waist. Laughing quietly, she tilts her head to one side. "Unless you're checking in on my fatigue - in which case, I'm fine hart koning." So much better than fine.

Your love has turned me into something better
Elevate me with your love forever

THE FLOOD

// take my heart and make it feel,
take my soul and make it real

Her tease, the groan over preferring Floods has him playfully rolling his eyes, moving on to the rest of the tasks at hand because truthfully, there is so much still to do. So in favor for finishing up the kitchen, the one piece of the house he’d actually gotten to painting and setting up exactly how she’d designed, had been partly the reason the house was designed the way it was. It was around the sketch she’d completed, showing it to him, leaving it on the dresser in his room in the House of Midnight.

So he’d taken it and ran with it, and with two rooms done there’s already a comforting lift of tension from his shoulders, replaced with more and more quiet frustration over having to wait to have her all to himself. But right now? In this exact moment, Sunjata’s hands run up and down her upper arms in warmth and appreciation, his steel gaze scanning her dual toned ones to try and gather a read on her fatigue, mostly, given how busy she’s been as of late.

He doesn’t expect to get the answer he does, though, and it bleeds all that sappy warmth from his heart down the bond back toward her in response – healing for the both of them, able to create a space that’s entirely there’s and only theirs, a space that if they’d told themselves so many years ago that this is where they’d be, they’d have laughed at the idea of what the future held.

But it feels good.

His hand lifts to cup her cheek, still pinning her where she is, blocking her in with his body and responding to her comment with a huff of laughter – still true to himself in being able to show his appreciation better by physical touch rather than speaking his thoughts. His thumb strokes along her cheek and he leans in to press his forehead against hers, taking a moment to breathe her scent in, to settle that draconic sensation within him to realize that all of this is his treasure. “I had to check, you’ve been busy lately.” He rumbles in response to the latter half of their conversation, before he pulls away, bumping his nose against hers as he peers at her again through his long lashes.

“We deserve this.” He says it with all the ferocity of a mantra, a way to heal past mistakes not only forced on each other, but everyone else.

'cause i was bright, yeah I was pale and blue,
starry eyed by every thought of you //

THE VALKYRIE

You bring clarity when I can't see past
All the places where I made my mistakes

Hotaru can't help her syrupy, warm laugh when his own sappiness comes pouring in surprised reaction down the bond her way, making it clear she had misunderstood. That's okay - there's no shame on her behalf for having answered with more sentimentality than required. Though he might feel her emotions in the bond the way he hadn't been able to in the past, Hotaru tries to remind herself that it will never be the same as actually saying what she thinks and feels.

That doesn't mean she begrudges Jata being more physical in his communications, tilting her face readily when he cups her cheek and smiling all the while that he leans down and lingers with his nose brushing against hers. "I'm more tired than I've been in years, but it hasn't gone past what I can handle just yet," she reassures. There have been days she arrives home more bedraggled than others, but so far she has only toed the line of her limits instead of crossing them.

Sunjata's ferocity is surprising, but her expression melts seconds after, bowled over by how proud she is of how far he has come since that day on the beach after the war. How far they've both come. "We deserve this and more," she vows in turn, because this is only the beginning of their newest chapter. It takes just a bit of stretch onto her toes to kiss him, lingering there as she languishes in the feeling of all they've worked so hard to regain finally being within their grasp.

Your love has turned me into something better
Elevate me with your love forever