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8:07 PM
“I originally planned on showing up earlier to reveal some truths to you. But I encountered more roadblocks than expected. Eleven times, I’ve tried, but ended in failure. Before I knew it, this world and I became too intertwined and it became too difficult to escape the constraints of the ‘script’.”
…Elio is right. In this Land of the Dreams, you and I will reap unforgettable gains.
I don’t know people’s hearts as well as he and Kafka do, nor do I have a specialty like Silver Wolf and Blade. Most of the things that I’m good at only apply to villains who need no mercy. So, there is only one method that I use.
This is to show you… all that I am.”
8:09 PM
“...Firefly?” he gasped.
When Caelus had woken up just minutes ago, he hadn’t expected to be in this… Otherly Dream Realm, which seemed far stranger than anything he’d experienced in Penacony so far. Nor had he expected to wake up in front of the Stelleron Hunter he’d fought just hours ago. Or to watch him burst into flames after going on and on about their annoying “script” again.
Flames from which she appeared, blinking into existence like her namesake, with strange lines slowly dissipating from her face. His mind was frazzled, trying to make sense of who he was looking at. How could she be here?
He watched her die.
Emotions he wasn’t smart enough to name raced through his head. His heart ached inside his chest, begging him to do something, but all he could do right now was stare at her face.
And it was her face. Of that, Caelus was sure.
Their stolen moments together were precious to him. From Penacony’s Golden Hour all the way to the Dream’s Edge, Firefly and he had gotten up to all sorts of mischief together, and he could never forget— even if Kafka tried to wipe his memories again. The mark Firefly had left on his heart could only be rivaled by the hole she left behind when she’d died in his arms.
“Why do people choose to sleep? I think… it’s because they’re afraid to wake up from the dream.” She had said that to him before, at the terrace where she’d poured her heart out. Or so Caelus had thought.
He’d known right from the start that Firefly had been hiding something. But he was willing to wait, to trust. Because from the moment he laid eyes on her it felt as though he already knew everything he’d need to know about her. How could he not? After looking at those eyes of hers, which were mirror images of the gorgeous sunset they watched together at the Dream’s Edge. But he’d never thought it’d be something like this .
Some of it made sense now. They must’ve known each other, before. Before his memories were erased. To what extent, Caelus couldn’t say. But it was enough to make his heart ache at the very sight of her. The good kind, and the bad.
8:10 PM
“Hello, Caelus. It’s… good to see you again.” Her words jolted him out of his thoughts, but only made him frown. The monotone voice with which she said his name grated at his ears. That wasn’t her.
She stood a ways away from him, her face set in a frown, all serious-like. But her posture was all wrong, the way she had her arms glued to her sides, as if she was standing at attention.
It wasn’t like her at all!
The steely-eyed expression she wore on her face didn't suit her. None of it did. She might as well still be wearing that suit of armor. Why wouldn’t she meet his eyes? What were hers hiding? Which persona was an act? Firefly, or Sam?
“Right um, we need to talk— “
Good! Maybe now they were getting somewhere,
“—about the Watchmaker’s Legacy.”
‘No! Ah, to hell with this.’ he thought to himself. Caelus’s eyes narrowed as he clicked his tongue in annoyance. So he started walking towards her.
Which seemed to have finally released her from her sullen mood, as her eyes widened in surprise, and fear as she started backpeddling away from him. “W-wait Caelus please, I don’t want to fight! I-I know you must be furious but if you’d just let me explain— “
Firefly could back-peddle all she wanted, Caelus’s quick pace and longer legs made sure he was able to catch up to her with ease. And when he did, he did exactly what his heart had been screaming at him ever since she revealed herself, her words cutting off into a squeak as he did so.
Caelus reached out with arms extended and pulled her into a hug. He pulled Firefly firmly against his own body, the space between them shrunk down to nothing as her arms came up straight against his chest as if to push him away, but she did nothing. So he just held her. Yet she was still so tense, Caelus opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t find the words. He was assaulted all at once with a myriad of sensations: the warmth of her body and the feeling of her hair in his fingers. The smell of her favorite Oak Cake Rolls wafted into his nose even here, and they’d all left him speechless.
Ironic, given the gusto with which he marched over here. But he had to say something now, or it'd’ all be for nothing.
Caelus pulled her in snugly against his chest while stroking her hair, trying to calm her down. “Obviously,” he gulped before continuing to whisper, “we’ve got a lot to talk about. But… can it wait for a minute? Just— Can you let me hold you like this, for one more minute?”
The next few seconds passed by incredibly slowly and with every one that passed, he feared that she’d push him away.
Instead, she let out a shaky breath and about melted against him. The tension in her back instantly dissipated, as her arms slowly lowered and wrapped around his torso. Caelus could feel her nod into his chest.
‘So cute.’
All he’d wanted to accomplish was to get her out of whatever funk she was in. To get her back to being the Firefly he knew. If he could stop one heart from breaking, he wanted it to be hers.
So how was it that in trying to comfort her, here and now, wrapped in her arms, Caelus felt like he could fly?
He leaned in and closed his eyes, oblivious to the strange realm around them. Somehow she had taken away all the pain that had been lodged inside him in an instant. Caelus could feel her heart beat steadily with his own and his breath was taken away, not from the squeeze of her arms, but from realizing that her arms were really, truly, around him.
This moment was precious.
8:11 PM
With the heaviest of sighs, Caelus slowly started to retract his arms. As much as he wanted to stay in this moment forever, they did have a lot to talk about. However, before he could make any significant progress, he was interrupted by the arms around him squeezing ever so tighter.
Still holding onto him firmly, Firefly who was completely red in the face at this point, raised her head to look at him with tears in her eyes, and said to him ever so softly, “...One more minute?”
He simply smiled and as he gently kissed her forehead, said “One more minute.”