Moriko’s breath trembled, her heart racing. Her thoughts were ablaze with his words, without knowing, her feelings echoed his, swept up in the moment, surprised and confused by the strength of them. “Be still, Ryuu-san,” she pleaded, “stay here in this moment.”

He heard her words, he listened to them. He remained leaning against her, his body adjusted, finally meeting her brow with his. He shut his eyes, and breathed in deeply, drinking in the scent of the candle, the fungal forest, her perfume, everything.

He did not say a word, but his hand moved, and reached for hers. Taking it, giving a squeeze.

Another moment, and he seized it. Staying there, focusing on just their touch.

"I have not left, I am not leaving."

Moriko squeezed his hand, it was a familiar gesture, one she had shared with her twin since before they born. Below them a toilet flushed, a radio was turned off, someone turned on a device that blared an advertisement for the Starcade far too loudly and was hurriedly turned down, a conversation reached them only as an indistinct murmur. In their stalls, otori shuffled, seeming to converse in soft cries, further away a screamer lived up to its name. A small motorbike grumbled along the road, the sound rising and falling as it passed by.

The young Phoenix breathed slow and deep, stretching the moment out until it felt like it would snap. Heat suffused her and she knew she had to break away. Reluctantly, Moriko straightened, opened her eyes, squeezing Ryuu’s hand once more. There was a throaty quality to her voice when she found it, “it’s getting warm again,” the breeze had died down, and in its absence the heat and humidity had returned full force, despite the fall of night. “Come inside, into the air conditioning.”

He nodded, unable to find words. Or rather, afraid of saying the words that would rob the moment, or for him to blunder into something boorish. He would slowly rise with her.

"Allow me... to help clean up, as well." He whispered, his eyes focused on hers.

“Thank you,” Moriko agreed, her fingers trailing against his as she unwillingly let go of his hand. The clean up was relatively easy, the candle and the sake bottle both fit inside the picnic set, and Moriko would indicate that the tatami could be left in place, meaning that the picnic set and the container of curry were the only things in need of carrying. On the balcony below, Ten noticed the movement and danced impatiently.

He was dutiful, helping tidy the area up, making sure things were perfecy in line and in their place, before taking the picnic kit. "We could... watch the movie on my densai, if you like. I bought it with me." A smile. "With Ten as our chaperone, of course."

Smiling, “that sounds wonderful, and Ten-kun will be happy for the attention. The way he acts, you’d think we’d been up here all week.” The pup had not whined or barked or paced while waiting, but now he couldn’t hold still, wagging his tail as hard as he could.

"He obviously very dearly cares for you and never wants to be apart." He grinned, an odd, creepy thing, "A feeling that is very easy to understand." Ryuu would follow her down to her apartment, trying to keep his heart from pounding out of his chest.

Moriko blushed, ducking her head and brushing her hair back behind an ear. Ten’s claws made tapping sounds as he danced about the pair’s feet. She put the curry away in the fridge, and their bowls in the sink to be washed. She didn’t have speakers for the densai, but she did still have two sets of headphones attached to a splitter, from when she shared a room with Hoshiko. There wasn’t a lot of furniture, and so Moriko led Ryuu to the bed, Ten jumping up on the mattress, turning around and wagging. In a corner was a wicker cage with a cover over it. The young Phoenix dropped down on the bed, scooting back to lean against the wall, and Ten expectantly lay down at her side.

There was a moment of hesitation as he watched her climb into bed. His face turned red, then he chuckled. Removing his boots, he set them to the side of her door, before following her onto her bed. Bringing out his densai, he set it to the channel, as he sat on the other side of Ten, leaning his back against the wall.

"This is nice."

Moriko sometimes forgot that things that might be appropriate between sisters might be unseemly with anyone else, but Ryuu’s blush clued her in, and she giggled, hiding her blushing face behind draped sleeves until he was settled alongside Ten. In the small apartment, the bed was enclosed on three sides, and the effect was cosy. Placing one hand on Ten’s shoulder, she offered Ryuu the assorted pastries again.

The Spider took another one, savoring the sweet. The splitter was a njce touch, letting them both listen, and tune out the outside world. Taking advantage of having Ten there, he also scratched the dog's back... which allowed his fingers to glance along hers.

She appreciated that they had the same thought, and Moriko wrapped her pinky finger around his, secretly linking them, hidden in Ten’s golden fur. Inside the wicker cage, something shifted, the shiba inu’s ears flicking in response. Apart from that they were alone in their little world. The air conditioning struggled against the heat, but at least there was air conditioning; it was shame it was so warm, though, all that was missing was blanket fort.

Feeling her pinky against his, he leaned in, head on her shoulder,nad they watched the... not so great streaming quality on the densai. But there was something special about the moment.

Feeling content, all of Moriko’s thoughts about the miai and Shinri and whether the Spider were really as bad as people liked to suggest floated away, and she let herself become embroiled in the movie. It wasn’t even that good, but she still wouldn’t have traded the moment for anything.


/fade to watching the movie?

/fade to cinema! Thank you!