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The warm sunlight shining through the window.
The gentle chirping of birds as they awoke to a new day.
The sweet sighs of a lover as they rise from the soft bed on which you lay, comfortable and warm, and safe.
All of these options are perfectly wonderful ways to be awoken in the morning. Ways of awakening that really make you excited to see what the day has in store for you. You might even say that such a gentle rousing from rest makes the whole day a good one.
You do not get such a wake-up call today.
“GUYS! GUYS! YOU NEED TO WAKE UP RIGHT NOW!”
“What the- ?” You jolt upright in bed at the commotion. Quickly scanning the room for the source of the shouting, your eyes fall upon your boyfriend, Dr. Romani Archaman. The 30-something-year-old is sprinting around the house in his pajamas, an old Chaldea t-shirt and some ratty long pants, looking to the world like a man on a mission to save the world. His strawberry blonde hair is down and even fluffier than usual and his spring green eyes are open wide, adding to his sense of mania.
“Romani? What’s wrong?” You ask, concerned.
Struggling to catch his breath after his circuit through the house, he holds out his phone to your face with shaking hands.
You have to squint, hard, to see the small text on the screen that reads:
“Reminder: MAGI*MARI CONCERT TODAY!!!!HSJAFGJGDSHFSGKJH- 8PM”
“THE CONCERT IS TODAY!!! We need to get ready there’s only-,” he breaks off to check the time on the phone, “-12-ish more hours! That’s only, like, half a day before we are in the presence of the greatest idol of all time for her one-night-only live show! We need to prepare ourselves.”
You give the fluffy-haired dork in front of you a mildly bewildered look before you lie back down, putting an arm over your eyes.
“Honey, it’s way too early for this.”
“Nonsense! I’ve been compiling my favorite Magi*Mari clips for the past month so that you and da Vinci will both be up to date with all her lore for the concert. Wouldn’t want you to be out of the loop on all the Mari-lore.”
You groan. His enthusiasm is soooo endearing, but soooo exhausting (at least, it is right now).
“I know!” He exclaims, marching out of the room in his Magi*Mari fluffy socks, “You two need breakfast! That’ll put you in a more magical mood.”
Hearing his steps recede towards the kitchen area, you turn to your other partner, perhaps the most beautiful woman you have ever laid eyes on: Leonardo da Vinci. Undisturbed by the yelling (or at least, pretending to be), she dozes peacefully, the sunlight from the nearby window casting a divine glow upon her gentle features and painting her hair an even brighter shade of brown. Resting on her side facing you, it’s easy to see the beauty that has captivated millions of people all around the world. But this is no mere work of art. This beautiful genius is real, you remind yourself, gently brushing a strand of dark brown hair from her face. She is real, and here, and alive. As if in response to this thought, she exhales, finally reacting to your gentle touch.
“Roman’s quite excited this morning, isn’t he?” She states, a teasing lilt to her voice.
“It’s Magi*Mari, what did you expect? And to be fair to him, I am pretty excited about our date, too.”
Her eyes open, and suddenly you are sucked into the most mesmerizing blue you have ever seen. She drowsily smiles, a much sleepier, fonder, and sweeter smile than any artist, herself excluded, of course, could ever hope to capture.
“Yes, quite the exciting day ahead. It’s nice to finally get some time to ourselves, not that having Mash around hasn’t been nice.”
Yes, having your adoptive daughter Mash around was a real treat. Lately, she had taken to traveling the world, taking pictures of every landmark and radiant skyscape she could see. Accompanied by her loving partner, Ritsuka Fujimaru, you knew your girl was in safe hands and living her best life.
Just having the three of you in the house made things somewhat quieter, but no less interesting. At least once a month the three of you dropped everything to go on a date. Last month, da Vinci took you and Romani to an impromptu art gallery that was held in the area near your favorite café. As you pass the photo you took together from that date in the hall, you smile, straightening out the frame.
Romani, a man of his word, whipped up some pancakes with chopped strawberries on top (one of his favorites), and you kissed him on the cheek as you grabbed the plate. Glancing again at the man, you notice that in his haste, he had forgotten to tie up his hair before getting started.
“Hey, hon?”
“Hmm?”
“You forgot to tie up your hair. Mind if I…”
“Sure, go right ahead.”
You snatch a nearby hair tie off the kitchen counter. Gently, you card your fingers through Romani’s orange hair. He hums happily in response, leaning into the touch slightly as you gather the strands into his usual ponytail. As you finish with the hair, he turns and presses a light kiss to your cheek.
“Thank you! Now, go eat those pancakes. As I told you, there’s much to do to prepare for the concert tonight.”
After many hours of fan edits, music videos, and Romani’s lecturing on Magi*Mari lore, the three of you finally make the trek to the concert venue. Before you left, Romani begged da Vinci to add some “Magi*Mari pink” eyeshadow and nail polish to complete his look. It was quite the sight to see da Vinci, her eyes focused and lovely, cupping Roman’s cheek so gently, applying the shiny pink makeup to his lightly closed eyelids. She looked at him with the attentiveness of an artist with their most precious work of art. She even managed to paint a tiny Magi*Mari logo onto his nails. The looks on their faces- Romani’s look of pure delight and amazement, and da Vinci’s look of overwhelming pride at her work- cause a smile to bloom across your face.
At the venue, the crowds were already beginning to congregate around all manner of merch stalls. It took both you and da Vinci holding Roman’s hands to keep from losing each other- either from the pushing of the crowd, or from Roman’s own exuberance.
“Look! It’s the Limited Edition Magi*Mari Martian Mission figure! I didn’t think they sold those anymore on account of the potentially hazardous red dust!”
You turn to da Vinci, confused. “I’m sorry, did I miss part of the lore dump? How did she end up on Mars?”
“You got me. Even with my unsurpassable intellect, I cannot fathom the intricacies of this idol’s lore.” She shrugs, serene smile on her face.
A few more rare finds later, and the doors open. You get your tickets taken, and process into the arena. Soon the lights go out, and a charming, strangely familiar voice yells, “Is everybody ready? Make some noise, Magi*Mari fans!”
Suddenly, the entire room erupts in cheers as the idol herself appears on stage. You see your boyfriend light up even brighter than before as he frantically waves the pink glowsticks clutched in each hand. He yells something, but you cannot hear him over the din of the crowd. In the midst of all this, da Vinci seems to be noting the various mechanical devices around and on the stage.
“Huh. That’s interesting.”
You manage to hear her, and ask: “What is it, da Vinci? What do your beautiful genius eyes tell you?”
She smirks at the compliment, pointing out a set of devices along the edges. “I think I saw a couple of projectors, along with some altered glass.” At your slightly puzzled glance, she continues, “I’m starting to wonder how “live” this live performance is.”
“Wait. Do you really think that she’s just a-?”
“A hologram, yep.”
You watch as the idol, or at least, the image of her, prances around the stage, waving to the army of adoring fans shaking glowsticks like their lives depended on it. Your boyfriend is, of course, among their number, completely oblivious to the conversation.
“But she looks so real!”
“I’m not entirely sure, but I think those projectors have some magical enhancements.”
You do a double take at this. Then you take a closer look at the idol’s face and realize why you felt that wave of familiarity. That floral floozy! Did he seriously lie about the show being live so that he could make more money from the ticket sales!?
“Da Vinci. I think Magi*Mari might be Merlin.”
“…”
“What?”
“…You didn’t know?”
You stare back at your beautiful partner, slack jawed. You just realized a truth that would be earth-shattering (at least, for Romani, who stares, still completely enraptured with the hologram on stage not listening to either of you), and she already knew!?
“I mean, I only just figured it out, but I guess I shouldn’t have underestimated you.”
She raises an eyebrow at this, replying, “Exactly! A universal genius, like myself, should never be underestimated.”
“Wait, how long have you known?”
“Ever since Romani got me to watch a fan edit he made of one of her streams.”
“Wow.”
She grins at the look of amazement in your eyes, clearly proud of herself. The look suits her immensely, and you can barely hold back from giving her a big ‘ol smooch. You settle for a quick kiss on the cheek.
“So…should we tell him?” You ask, with one arm around her shoulder, gazing back at your boyfriend, who is in the process of attempting a complicated (and heavily practiced, you remembered the hours he spent getting the moves right) glowstick dance.
“No. Let him have this.”
The rest of the evening was spent enjoying the company of the two people you love most, and when the concert was over, the joyous, exhausted expression on Romani’s face was better than any music you had ever heard.