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Rui stepped through the bathroom door with eyes closed peacefully, shutting it behind him and drying off the last bits of wet hair that rested against his temple. The cold rain outside hammered against the balcony windows of Emu’s bedroom, but the gentle lights and soft, fresh-out-of-the-dryer pajamas hugged him, making him feel warm and content.
“Ooooh! Rui, Rui! Your hair looks so awesome~!”
The purple-headed boy in question turned in response, running his hand through the stray locks hanging loose from the small bun at the back of his head. He smiled as Emu ran circles around him, observing his hair at every possible angle. “You think so? It really isn’t much…”
“Oh, she’s right! That’s a good look!” Another voice piped up from across the room, and Ena put down whatever activity the two were doing on Emu’s low table. Coloring, Rui guessed? They looked to be pretty expensive markers, though. His cheeks simply colored at the compliments, as Emu dragged him back to where they were sitting. Their pajamas matched his purple set, too; light pink and brown nightgowns with poofy, ruffled sleeves–his own shirt had poet sleeves, which he was very happy to see upon searching for matching sets. Delicately embroidered white flowers covered all of them, and paired with warm socks and fluffy slippers, they were all set to have the coziest slumber party known to man, as Emu had put it. They already had the hot chocolate and sugary snacks, too.
“Oh, my… It's simply what’s most convenient, but if it's gotten this kind of reaction–” he said sheepishly as Emu pushed him down onto one of her many seat cushions. “Perhaps I’ll need to wear it more.”
Emu leaned over the table, moving her body back and forth in a little excited dance. “Mm! And your hair is so wavy and pretty like this, too! Hey, hey, Rui–do you think you could do that to my hair, too?!”
“But of course, dear! Let me think…” A hand moved to his chin, and Rui hummed in thought. They’d done all kinds of things to each others’ hair for their shows, or just spending time together and the like, but… “Ah, I have an idea! Something I know you’ll love. Come on, now,” he said with a smile, gesturing for her to come over to his lap. Emu shuffled over the fluffy rug on her knees, happily plopping herself down in front of him with a giggle. After locating some hair ties and such in Emu’s bedside drawer, Rui got to work on combing her hair, still soft from her earlier bath.
Ena smiled at them from across the table, leaning her chin on her palm as she watched the two. “Hehe, you two are so sweet,” she sighed quietly. It was barely audible to either of them, however Rui seemed to pick it up; his ever-present smile only widened, eyes lighting up upon hearing the comment. She felt her face flush at being caught–not like it was anything to be “caught” doing, per se–and returned to coloring in the… Rui looked harder now. They were doing My Little Pony coloring books with ten thousand yen markers.
The comb slowly brushed through Emu’s pink hair, fingers gliding in such a gentle way with it that Emu felt a laugh bubble up in her throat at Rui playing with her hair; she tried her best not to squirm in delight, but it was difficult with those delicate fingers tickling her neck like that.
Lightly teasing with the comb, messing with her by poking at her cheeks or kissing the shell of her ear whenever she seemed a little off-guard, making every bit of it as fluffy as he possibly could; all of this, until Rui finally tied one bun, and then two, atop her head, almost like cute little animal ears. Except…
“Hmm,” he thought aloud, turning her around to observe his art. Something was missing, he knew it. But… Well, it wasn’t exactly like fashion was his forte, that much even he was willing to admit. “There has to be something more I can do before you see it…”
Ena had scooched around the table to view with him, trying to take a look at what exactly he was stuck on. Surely she could help in some way, and God knew that he of all people needed it sometimes. She tapped the capped-end of her marker against her lip, as Emu simply blinked back at them in innocent confusion. They could practically hear the “hueh?” in her head right then.
But then it hit her. “Oh, I got it!” Ena exclaimed, slamming her marker down onto the table with a loud clack, and quickly running up to rummage through her belongings she’d packed.
She quickly returned with a small pair of balloon hair clips, one bright blue and one bright yellow. They shimmered under the light, the texture almost making it look like it was covered in glitter, in a way.
Rui smiled at them, nodding along as Ena showed them off to him. “Fufu, I think these would suit her quite well, Ena. Excellent choice.”
“I’d like to believe I’m an expert at this kind of thing, after all!” she giggled in response, before carefully leaning over Emu to push her bangs to the side, and clipping them in place with the pins.
Perfect.
Ena pretended to dust off her hands, knowing it was a job well done on both of their parts; hands rested on her hips proudly as Rui nodded to Emu, giving her the go-ahead to check out their work in her Phoeni-kun mirror.
And Emu positively squealed.
Her feet kicked excitedly on the floor, almost visibly vibrating. “I look so… soooo–wonderhoi!” she yelled out, shaking her fists in the air and doing that oh-so familiar wiggle-dance she liked to do so much. “You guys are so amazing, how do you do it?! I’m so cute!”
“Fufu, that you are, dear,” Rui nodded, smiling wide at seeing her so happy and satisfied. “I suppose I simply got in some good practice due to working with costumes for so long…? I wonder.”
“And I just love making princesses even cuter than they already are,” Ena said along with him. Emu’s cheeks filled with red at their barrage of sweet-talk, and with a high-pitched uuuuu!, she leapt towards them to bring them both into a spine-crushing hug; though, they were the ones enveloping her, with how much taller they both–(mostly Rui)–were.
“I love you both soooo, super-ultra-much!” Emu laughed.
Ah.
Right. Yeah.
That nearly knocked the wind out of her.
It wasn’t like Ena didn’t know that her feelings were there for either of them. It… was an interesting thing to discover about herself, after getting to know such an oddball duo–she wasn’t even sure how it happened, truthfully; if Ena’s self from over a year ago was told about it, she probably would’ve scoffed in their face, unwilling to believe such a sick joke that not one, but two people would care about her in such a way. Let alone…
Her own heart returning that care.
Hearing Emu say it so openly only made her heart thump in her chest, and suddenly that playful side to Ena was long gone. And it was incredibly difficult not to look away when she looked up to see Rui smiling knowingly down at her, his own face dusted with pink.
Agh, it really was unfair how much they could both see through her.
“We… I-I love you too, Emu…” Ena mumbled, and Rui’s expression softened in unbridled delight. He didn’t say a word, and frankly, he didn’t need to. Her throat cleared, but then she let out a quiet laugh. “To be honest, I’m kinda jealous now, though!” she joked, and Emu’s head turned up in question. “You’re both matching your hair without me.”
With a shrill gasp, Emu detached herself from the two of them, stars twinkling almost visibly in her eyes at the idea of all of them getting to do matchies. She hadn’t even considered that! And she absolutely couldn’t leave out their third, that was simply unacceptable! “Waah, you’re so right, Ena!”
“Oh, now that just won’t do,” Rui added, and Ena’s eyes widened– she should’ve known they would take this as seriously as humanly possible. It wasn’t even that big of a deal–
“Eh? Y-You guys… don’t actually have to, aha…”
Suddenly in a flurry, Emu ran past them into her ensuite, and Ena was left standing there in her confusion; however the pink-headed girl returned just as quickly as she’d disappeared, with the object of her desire in-hand: a large tweed basket of variously colored nailpolishes, from sparkly to matte. She ran by once more to scuttle her way to her table, swiping off all of their other tools to make room.
They supposed this was where the night was going, now. But it was fine; this was Emu’s world, and Ena and Rui were very happily living in it.
“You guys made me look pretty, so now I wanna do it for you! ‘N this way, me and Rui can do it together!”
“It’s only fair,” Rui said as he sat beside Emu, looking up to Ena in a way that could only be read as an invitation. He patted the spot in front of him with an almost feline smile. “After all, we’re very good at making princesses even cuter than they already are.”
“Y-You…You really make it hard, y’know?”
Rui just chuckled softly as Ena (with an exasperated huff) found a comfy spot between the other two, sitting criss-cross. Emu had offered her a number of different nailpolish colors to choose from, but the one she settled on was a pretty matte peach color. It was so neutral and soft… Ena could only wonder where Emu had even gotten it, because it certainly didn’t look like something the excitable, vibrant girl would choose. Maybe they were hand-me-downs? She did remember she had an older sister. How cute.
“I’ll do my most bestest job yet,” Emu’s smaller hands took Ena’s own, and she fell into a focused silence as she brought her fingers closer to begin her careful painting, slow and steady with furrowed brows and all. “Just you wait…”
“Fufu,” Rui laughed softly behind her, his hands already beginning to card through her hair. “Your hair has gotten quite long, my dear. It’s awfully beautiful like this.”
Ena couldn’t help her blush. “...Y-You think so?”
“Mm. It makes me think about how long we’ve known each other, truthfully…”
Fingers unraveled her familiar side-braid, easily pulling each lock loose, one-by-one.
The comb slowly pulled and brushed through a sea of deep brown, and Ena felt a shiver run down her spine at the feeling. Those elegant hands were so tender and gentle, knowing exactly how to put someone at ease; it wasn’t like she wanted to beg either of them to pamper her like this, but… Ah, she could feel herself practically melting at the attention. It was probably so selfish, but in the moment–she just loved being cared for like this. And Emu and Rui both seemed more than happy to.
Had it really been that long already…?
The moment was etched into her mind, at least. Ena remembered when Emu had one day, during one of their silly art lessons, asked if she would be willing to make art for one of their upcoming troupe shows. It had taken Ena by surprise, but… Well, why not? It would be nice to do for them, and on top of being compensated monetarily (which, she said she would’ve done for free just because Emu was her friend; but Emu had insisted, and she couldn’t possibly refuse), it was simply a cool opportunity for herself as an artist. She didn’t really have anything to lose, technically…
Ena just didn’t expect her fellow troupemates to be… Like that.
It was no question how Emu felt about Ena’s art, sure– she’d went on and on about how incredible and sparkle-sparkly and heart-pounding it was, and even though it took everything in Ena to truly understand what any of that meant, she at least knew it was a positive thing. That was all that mattered, really. It came from the heart, and that was something she treasured about the pink-headed bundle of sunlight.
Tsukasa exploded in a flurry of compliments that made her want to hide, but then he began a sappy speech about how it reminded him so much of his little darling sister, and how hard she works, so… Really, she could deal with the embarrassment; he seemed like a really sweet person, with the way he went on about his family.
Nene was arguably the most tame of the four, smiling brightly when she saw herself in poster-form. Was it some kind of dream she had, to see herself in the style of old-timey circus paintings?
But, it was Rui that struck her as odd. He was virtually silent nearly the entire time, until Ena took it upon herself to ask his opinion on her piece; slipping into the background as the other three conversed or yelled as they normally did, and standing next to the odd purple-headed one. He towered over her with his height, and his presence had a certain grace to it that was hard to ignore.
“What did you think about the poster?” Ena had asked, trying to push down the two battling urges she felt, to both turn her head away in a desperate attempt to hide, just in case he hated it; or look up into his strikingly yellow eyes, trying to show pride in her own abilities, when really she probably appeared disgustingly desperate to hear his approval. Both were true. That grace, she thought, made him near impossible to read. Always poised, always smiling.
Rui was quiet for a beat. And then he opened his mouth, turning his head to Ena, and those urges she felt before were silenced as she was forced to face him head-on. “Do you always illustrate so beautifully? It’s quite incredible to see ourselves like this. I can see how much care you put into each brushstroke…”–he took a softened breath–“The style, the posing… Even our expressions say so much. It’s like you took our hopes and dreams and gave them life.”
Ena’s eyes widened.
“I really couldn’t thank you enough for this.” Rui’s eyes squinted closed in a bright smile, and it almost felt like the air was sucked out of her lungs at that moment.
Just a few words, and she was stunned. She didn’t understand him, and how well he seemed to understand the world around him. Emu was no different, really–they carried themselves differently, but at their core, they were both so much alike. Their hearts held a maturity and love for life that took Ena by surprise when they became exposed the way they did.
She had to respond somehow, though, even though she had a feeling that Rui thought otherwise. He was still observing her poster, letting the silence settle between them like it meant nothing. Maybe he was used to it–not needing words.
All he needed was to know that the other person was being heard, and that they heard him.
“I’m glad you think so, I tried to capture it as much as I possibly could. T-Thank you!”
It wasn’t much. But it was enough for Rui.
But it was at a gallery for local Shibuya artists, that she noticed her heart beating one, two, three beats faster for the two, though; much, much time after she came to fully know both of them together.
She’d greeted her friends, the ones she’d extended the invites to, the usual faces–the rest of Nightcord, Akito and his friends that wanted to tag along, everyone that had heard about it one way or another.
Two bright heads of vibrant hair was not what she was expecting that night. Fingers pointing excitedly at her painting of full, blooming and sparkling hydrangeas. Eyes refusing to blink as they stared up at the canvas. Paused walks, taking in as much as they could.
Emu sighed softly, whispering an oh, it’s so beautiful! under her breath.
Rui simply looked at Ena standing next to her painting, expression glowing with so much warmth within those eyes that she swore she could feel it, deep in her belly. It fluttered through her, into her throat, across her chest. And then he turned away, that expression melting into the painting, cheeks pink like roses.
It wasn’t much. But it was enough for Ena.
“I guess I don’t think about it very much, huh? But, you’re right… It has been long,” Ena finally said, and she couldn’t help the smile creeping up her cheeks, nor that familiar fluttering in her stomach. “...I’m really glad.”
Careful fingers brushed across her neck, and Ena’s spine tingled warmly. Soft, small hands held her’s with a comforting grip as they painted cool polish across each well-groomed nail.
Ena knew that she was lucky to be seated there, between two bodies that wanted to care for her in such a way. All they ever did was show how much they loved her, since before they even really knew her; like they could see into her, and see everything she was and everything she strived to be. Emu and Rui were, at their core, in love with the world.
A lock of brown hair was moved away, and gentle lips came down to press against Ena’s shoulder. She would never say it aloud, but her entire soul just about turned to pudding. Was she even allowed to receive so much? Surely, if she closed her eyes now, it was going to fall right through her hands… It always seemed to, in the end. Was it really okay to ask for more?
“...You needn’t say anything,” Rui’s honeyed voice whispered, “I am just grateful for all that both you and Emu have given me.”
“And… Done! I’m aaaall finished, Ena!” Emu beamed out, capping off the paint and doing what she had once described as ‘sparkly-hands’ towards her handiwork.
Had she been daydreaming for long enough that Emu had enough time to do a clear-coat? The light gleamed off of each finger, and she moved her hands for a better look, gasping softly at the glistening peach. “Oh, Emu… They’re so gorgeous! Thank you so much!”
A sweet giggle erupted from Emu as she bounced. “I’m so glad~! I’m mostmostmost happiest when you are, too!”
“Mm. And it appears that…” Rui began, trailing off as his hands tied something she couldn’t quite see around her hair. Or, wait…
There was another, on the opposite side. When did he do the other one?
A hand ran through her hair one last time, bringing a piece around Ena’s shoulder to curl around her collar bone. “I am finished here, as well.”
“Ah, wait! Lemme get Phoeni-kun again!” Emu bolted up, almost skipping on her heels to get the mirror from earlier. “Rui did suuuuch a good job! I wanna do matchies all the time if it means he can play with my hair, hehe!”
Rui just chuckled at that. “Fufu… You know I can do it if only you ask me, dear. Ena, as well… I’d be more than happy to.”
“U-Uhm… I-It would be nice, I think… Maybe.”
Emu returned with the mirror in hand, and sat beside Rui to observe the three’s reflection with them.
Sat just behind Ena’s ears were two small, round buns, tied off delicately with white, satiny ribbons. She… She looked beautiful, in a way that she didn’t think she’d ever be able to see if she were without them.
Ena looked into the mirror, and three smiles bloomed across the glass, looking back at her with such warmth, that her heart squeezed in her chest. But the beauty she saw wasn’t just her, though.
Emu and Rui, too, were both just as breathtaking, in Ena’s eyes.
Emu’s ears perked up at the sound of gentle snoring beside her, and she looked over to see Ena’s eyes peacefully shut, her body now completely slumped against Rui’s shoulder. They’d had so much fun just where they were, they hadn’t even bothered to move after giving Ena so much care and attention. There was something about the three being so close that they couldn’t quite explain.
“Hehe…” she giggled into the pear-colored crayon in her hand, trying to stay hushed. “She looks so cute, Rui! Do you think we should go tuck her in?”
Rui’s eyes turned down to the girl breathing softly against him, and a smile spread across his lips. “...Perhaps we can let her rest here for just a bit longer.”