Work Text:
"Tadaa~!" Emu chirped happily, leaping up from where she was previously squatting with a wave of her hands. "All done!"
Rui took a step back to look at the stage, absentmindedly nodding. "It looks great," he turned his gaze back to her, smile growing ever so sweetly as his eyes met hers, "Thank you for your help, Emu-kun."
The two of them had just finished rehearsing with the other troupe members, and when Rui elected to stay behind to put the props away, Emu naturally decided to tag along. Obviously, she had done so to spend more time with her boyfriend, even if all they were doing was working. Although she hadn't actually admitted as such out loud, it didn't take long for Rui to figure out her ulterior motive on his own, yellow eyes watching with a gleam of amusement as Emu turned her head this way and that, clearly looking for something. "Is there anything else to do while we're here?" she asked, fingers idly tapping against her leg.
She had already asked the same question ten minutes ago. For someone to be so eager to do random chores just to spend more time in his company left his heart stuttering in his chest in a way he wasn't sure he would ever get used to. (Even if they had been dating for a little bit, now.) "It doesn't appear so, unfortunately," he answered in earnest, a twinge of guilt prodding at the back of his mind.
As he watched the light of her smile dim as it fell into a pout, a part of him wished he were genius enough to come up with something else to do to stall, even if it only meant a few moments more with her. "Aww…" Emu's shoulders slouched in defeat. "I was having so much fun with you, too…"
Almost as soon as his heart had resumed its normal rhythm did it start stuttering again. "As was I," he hummed in agreement.
"Yeah, but I want to spend time with you now…" With her head hung down, Emu dragged her foot against the ground.
The way the words she so casually spoke gripped his heart almost felt as if she were doing it to him on purpose, just to get a rise out of him. (He'd be lying if he said he minded.) "I do too," he admitted, voice soft and dripping with fondness. "But we also have tomorrow to hang out," he slowly approached her, "and then the day after that," now directly in front of her, he brushed a strand of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear, "And then, all of the other days that follow. So for now, let's get home before it gets dark."
Emu's head shot up at that last comment. "Oh, wow!" she gasped, pink eyes staring up at the sky. "I didn't realize it was already this late!" She whipped her head back to look at Rui, flashing him her pearly whites. "I had so so much fun cleaning up with you! I can't wait to see you again tomorrow!" She bounced to the tips of her toes, stretching herself as tall as she could to give him a swift peck to his chin before hopping backward. "I'm gonna hurry on home now!"
Rui smiled, fingers gently pressing against the spot where she imprinted her love upon him, feeling for the remnants of warmth that lingered against his skin. "Get home safely, darling—"
The words had just barely left his mouth in their entirety before he fell silent. His mouth remained slightly agape as he sucked in a sharp inhale. Although he froze up almost instantly, Emu watched it happen in real time. At first, his entire body from his shoulders to his toes tensed up. Then, his eyes widened. Next, his hand inched from his cheek to his mouth as if it were magnetized, obscuring his (still) open mouth from view.
When the director came to a standstill, so did everything else around him. The bustle of rides and park guests were suddenly very distant, the sun itself appeared as if it had halted in its descent; even Emu followed suit, holding still upon seeing the way his demeanor had so suddenly shifted. Unlike him, she wasn't suddenly frozen in place, hints of curiosity and concern peeking through in the way she tilted her head to the side and hummed in confusion.
In that moment, when the entire world slowed to a stop, the two of them sat in a heavy silence, unable to do anything else but stare at one another. Although Rui was looking at her, it seemed as if he wasn't fully there, lost somewhere in his own mind. Emu decided to venture into her own as well, replaying the last few seconds of their conversation to figure out how they ended up here.
Although Rui was definitely ruminating in his mind what he had just said out loud, he wasn't too out of it to render him unaware of his surroundings. In fact, he saw the exact moment the realization struck her.
The realization, much like his own, occurred in snapshots. The start of it all was a gasp, soft and faint, yet still audible over the din of silence. The next change he noticed was her smile, and the gradual change from a slight quirk of the corners of her lips all the way into a full-fledged grin, complete with a blush with a hue that deepened in perfect sync with her lips.
The sight was too much for him to bear. Although he tried to maintain eye contact, he only lasted for a few seconds before giving in. With a quivering lip, he averted his gaze; and when turning only his eyes wasn't enough to shield him, his head followed suit.
His efforts to hide himself were too little, too late. "Rui-kun…" In the silence of their own little bubble, he could hear just about everything, from the sound of the steps she took toward him to the way her barely contained excitement made her voice quiver.
Rui didn't budge in the slightest, the sudden onslaught of bashfulness rendering him unable to do anything except play the role of the deer in her eyes, with a shine that rivaled the brightest of headlights.
Unfortunately for him, Emu wasn't planning on budging either. Her hand rested on his shoulder, slowly gliding down his arm. He felt his composure crumple as her fingers slowly crawled toward his hand. When her fingers curled around his wrist, he found himself unable to deny the allure of his hands in hers, letting her pull his hand away from his face without a shred of resistance. "Rui-kun," she repeated, this time far more gentle. Emu waited for the brief eternity it took for him to properly look her in the eyes before she continued, giving his hands a reassuring squeeze. "Did you just call me darling?"
There was a hopeful twinge in her voice, one that made his breath hitch in his throat. "Ah, did I?" he asked. If her voice was trembling, then his might as well have been placed in the midst of an earthquake. "I, um," he swallowed, voice trailing off into awkward laughter.
"You just called me darling," she repeated, with a laughter of her own woven into her words. Unlike his, hers was far lighter and more airy. "You just called me darling!" Her voice upped an octave as if prepping for lift off. It sounded like she'd start squealing in approximately two seconds. "Oh my god." She let go of his hands in favor to cup her blushing cheeks. "Oh my god." She took a step back. Any second now. "That was so… Wonderhoy!!!"
Her squeal, akin to the whistle of a kettle, served to indicate that the excitement slowly bubbling inside of her ever since the words initially left his mouth had finally boiled over. In the blink of eye, she was running around in circles, waving her fist around in victory as she whooped and hollered. He could pick out an occasional "My boyfriend just called me darling!" and an "Rui-kun is the cutest and bestest boyfriend ever!" amidst her cheering and maniacal cackling.
The longer he watched her run around and gush about him, the more at ease he felt. Any of the initial embarrassment he felt toward his blunder suddenly seemed insignificant in the face of Emu's unbridled elation. The joy that radiated from her laughter tugged at his heartstrings, and suddenly, he found himself to be a dog on a leash, ready to follow her just for a chance to hear that laughter for the rest of his life.
During one of her many spins, Emu caught a glimpse of Rui just standing there, prompting her to skid to a halt. "Ah!" she yelped, promptly turning to face her boyfriend. "Rui-kun!" Her eyes widened. "I'm so sorry! I just got so excited that I couldn't contain it!"
It was one of the many things he loved about her, the way she was always so vocal and open about her feelings. "You don't have to ever apologize for what I consider to be one of your best qualities," he assured her, finding amusement in the way her cheeks lit up at his comment. "If anything, I actually like it. I mean, to see you so happy about the pet-name…" He let himself come to a natural pause, briefly glancing downward as he took a moment to inhale. When he was ready, his yellow eyes met eager pink ones patiently awaiting. "…Makes me want to try using them more."
"Really?!" Emu gasped, her hands awkwardly flailing around ecstatically.
"Ah," his expression fell slightly. "Please, don't get your hopes up yet. It might take me some time for me to get used to it before I do it consistently. But, until then," he tilted his head, offering her a timid smile, "I do hope you'll be patient with me until I'm ready."
"Of course I will!" Emu's assurance came without an ounce of hesitation. She stopped her flapping in favor of shooting Rui a thumbs up. "I'll wait however long you need, baby!"
Getting used to using pet names was one thing, but getting used to pet names being used on him was proving much more difficult than he had initially anticipated, even despite all the time that had passed since she first started. "Th-thank you, Emu-kun," he mumbled, "Truly…"
He wasn't sure there were any words he could say to truly convey how grateful he was to her. It was because of her, because of the way she loved him so unabashedly and so openly, that he was able to take this step forward. His heart swelled with adoration as he stared at her. She said something to him, but admittedly, his brain was too preoccupied with carrying all of his love for her to pick up what it was. What he did notice, however, was an expectant look in her gaze. "Hm?" he hummed. "What is it, Emu-kun?"
"Can I mention this to other people?" she asked.
Rui tensed up. "Ah, um…"
Ever the perceptive one, Emu already knew his answer just from the way he hesitated. "That's okay! I really meant it when I said I'm willing to wait for you! So for now, it can be our little secret, okay?" She leaned forward slightly, extending her arm and holding out her pinky. "Pinky promise!"
"I like the sound of that." Rui reached his hand out as well, curling his pinky against hers. Her tiny finger could just barely wrap itself around his own. "Then allow me to make you a promise as well: I promise that I will let you know as soon as I'm ready, and when I am, you can tell whoever you want about it."
And with that, the deal was sealed.