Chapter Text
“Thanks Caelus! I love you!”
“I love you too, Firefly”
“Is that a blush I see on you, Caelus?” Firefly says smugly, a smirk growing on her face.
“You’re imagining things, ‘Fly.” Caelus says, a droplet of sweat dropping from his forehead, but without a hint of red on his face.
The afternoon light shone in through the windows of the Stellar Diner, bringing in the usual warmth found after the sun had reached its peak earlier in the day. Inside the building, Caelus and Firefly are enjoying the warmth of spring as they usually do, enjoying a parfait from their favorite diner, and—to the exasperation of all the poor souls bearing witness to their shenanigans—by playing the Love Game.
“They’re at it again huh?” Blade, the cook of the Stellar Diner, says in a tone that speaks of fondness, yet with the unmistakable hint of tiredness of someone who has dealt with this situation too many times.
“Let them be, Bladie, you know how those 2 are” Kafka, owner of the Stellar Diner, says with mirth, smiling at the shenanigans that have become routine for the not-lovebirds and the diner.
“It’s been what, 6… 7 years? Since they started this game” Silverwolf, the clerk at the diner, says while playing on her handheld console, exasperated at watching the diabetes-inducing not-couple play their ‘stupid love game’.
“I don’t think it’s been that long, I know it was when they were in middle school…” Blade says, trying to remember when this routine of theirs started.
“Well! I think it’s gone on too long!” Silver Wolf says, frustrated, and thus bringing her focus back to her console.
While the staff of the Stellar Diner discuss their shared ‘problem’, the two ‘not-lovebirds’ continue on with their ‘stupid love game’.
“Stop being so stubborn Cae! Just admit defeat” Firefly says, a pout forming on her face.
“Nuh-uh! Can’t admit to what ain’t true” Caelus says a smirk growing on his increasingly smug face.
‘Hmmm, I’ll wipe that smirk right off your dumb face!’ Firefly thinks to herself before unleashing her attack.
“Geez, you’re so stubborn Cae”
“You’re one to talk”
‘Now!’ “Still… You looked pretty cool when you said ‘I love you’ just now, hehe” Firefly says, an adorning her face with an innocent smile as she brings her hand up to her cheek and rests her elbow on the table, effectively amping her cuteness to her rival in the love game.
‘Urk!’ Caelus thought, unfortunately falling for his childhood friend’s attack on his heart, which does not escape the notice of said childhood friend.
“Aha! Got you! You definitely blushed didn’t you! You guys saw that right, he blushed!” Firefly says energetically. Hyped up by her supposed victory against her friend.
“Hmmm, I see a bit of red there dear, I believe Firefly wins this game” Kafka replies, softly giggling at Caelus’ apparent loss.
“Huh?! No way, I didn’t blush at all! Besides, only I know if whatever you did has any effect on me” Caelus says, being the one to pout this time.
“Really? This act again Caelus? Just admit that you lost” Firefly deadpanned. “Oh well, I guess it’s a tie again today”
“And here it is, another tie, and another day this stupid game isn’t resolved” Silverwolf says with a sigh as she continues her own game on her console.
“You know how they are Wolf, too stubborn to admit their own feelings so they use this game to express it” Blade says, understanding his daughter’s plight.
“Oh well, at the very least it provides us a lot of entertainment hmm? With how the two squirm around each other, too proud to let this game go.” Kafka says to her husband and daughter with a giggle.
A bit of time has passed as the two childhood friends continue to have their sweet, cold dessert in the slowly passing spring afternoon.
“Ahhh, that parfait was really good.” Caelus says, patting his stomach after finishing his food.
“Right! I see why Uncle is called the Stellar Cook” Firefly says with a smile, causing said Uncle to groan at the title, with a giggle as soft as cotton from his wife, and a laugh as soft as a concrete wall from his daughter.
“Oh, would you look at the time! I gotta get back home!” Firefly says, checking the diner’s wall clock and seeing that it’s a quarter past five.
“Really? Already? There’s still a good amount of sun left you know”
Firefly pauses and thinks to herself, and after her brief pause, a smirk grows on her face.
“You know, Cae, tomorrow’s our high school entrance ceremony…”
“Mhm, and?” Caelus says, nodding along.
“I really hope we’d be in the same class. It would be really nice wouldn’t it…” Firefly says, shyly pointing her two fingers together, with a bashful expression on her face, the shy maiden act hitting Caelus as softly as a two-handed hammer to the face. This time, an undeniable blush creeps on Caelus’ face, but Firefly doesn’t point it out and instead keeps going.
“We were in the same class last year, so I really hope it’ll be the same this year you know” Firefly says, tilting her head with a smile, not letting up on her advantage.
“W-Well! It doesn’t bug me whether we’re in the same class or not” Caelus says, stuttering at first, trying to regain his composure.
“Awww, really?” Firefly says, a small frown appearing on her face at her friend’s reply.
“Yeah, I mean, nothing will change between us, right? We’ll still be good friends, won’t we” Caelus says with certainty in his voice, a cool, seemingly nonchalant expression on his face despite the intense attack on his heart just a second ago.
‘Ack! There he goes again with that cool act!’
“Hmph!” Firefly says with a pout for a second, before she smiles brightly again.
“Alright, well, I’ll be off now. Bye Uncle Blade, bye Aunt Kafka, bye Wolfie! And see you tomorrow Cae!” Firefly says while waving. She then runs off to her home, still smiling and waving.
“So… Stellar Cook, huh?” Silver Wolf says, smirking at her dad.
“Shut it, or I’ll dock your pay”
“I don’t get paid enough already!”
“Well don’t make it any less-“
“ACK!” Caelus says, smacking his hand on the table in frustration, following it up by banging his head on the same table.
“And there he goes again…” Silver Wolf says in response to the similarly frequent upcoming rant.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT DOESN’T BUG YOU IF YOU’RE NOT IN THE SAME CLASS AS HER?! WHEN SHE’S SO CUTE, WITH THE WAY SHE SPEAKS, AND THAT EXPRESSION WHEN SHE WANTED TO BE IN THE SAME CLASS AS YOU! ACK!” Caelus begins to bang his head on the table again.
“Oi, stop banging your head on the table, I don’t want to explain to your parents if you get a bruise on your forehead” Blade tells Caelus in a deadpan tone.
“AHHH! SHE’S JUST TOO CUTE!” Caelus repeats, about to bang his head on the table again until a hand is placed on said table, stopping him in the last moment.
“Now now dear, your true colors are showing you know.” Kafka says, looking at him with a smile.
“Yeah, but you are right though, my cousin keeps getting cuter by the day. She was really popular during your middle school years thanks to being so cheerful all the time. I wouldn’t be surprised if the reason she’s leaving early is cause she’s got a guy to meet.” Silver Wolf says, causing Caelus to internally recoil at the last statement.
“She’s right, dear. Sooner or later you might end up losing this game between you two, you know” Kafka says in that ever-mirthful tone of hers when talking to her niece and her childhood friend.
“Ugh, how did it come to this…” Caelus says, the tiredness in his voice apparent as he reminisces on the start of the Love Game.
It was in sixth grade wasn’t it, four years ago… It was at my family’s place, when I invited her over to try out Aetherium Wars…
“Hey Cae!”
“Yeah?”
“I love you!” She told me, the first instance of our Love Game. A game where we say ‘I love you!’ to each other, and the first to get flustered loses.
“…” I remember looking at her deadpanned after saying that.
“So… did your heart skip a beat?” She asked me. Back then, it really didn’t affect me.
“Nuh uh! Not for a gremlin like you!” I told her. Oh how fourth grade me would laugh at me right now.
“W-What do you mean?! Let me try again!”
“Do ya really think doing it again would help me?!” I told her, and from then on we did it again and again and again. Telling each other ‘I love you’ every day. I didn’t really get tired of the game, after all, she would always get frustrated when she failed to get a reaction out of me, and I really liked that. I used to lose to her a lot in the games we played, so finally winning at something she started felt really good to me. Until one fateful day in our second year of middle school…
“I love you… Caelus” She whispered in my ear, and for the first time, I reacted. I flinched at her words and blushed profusely.
“Aha! Just now… Your heart skipped a beat didn’t it?!” Firefly said to me with a smile of triumph on her face, and for the first time, I truly became aware of my childhood friend as a girl…
Her voice, as sweet as honey to my ears when it was once as tasteful as tap water…
Her hair, her silver-blonde hair that shone in daylight with teal tips as beautiful as gemstones.
Her figure, I won’t lie to myself about not finding her attractive physically, but I would simply say that she grew far more beautiful than I imagined.
And… her eyes, her eyes that contained a mix of deep ocean blue, and sunset pink, as if she held the beach’s horizon them, and sometimes I would find myself staring at them, getting lost in them, and she would snap me out of my reverie and she would ask what’s wrong and I’d tell her it was nothing, or give a quip about her appearance just to tease her.
At some point since that fateful day, I realized it. I slowly, and maybe, inevitably…
Ever since then, our little game that helped us pass time had changed…
Throughout the years, I watched my childhood friend grow, and she grew splendidly. The once shy and immature girl that was my childhood friend, had grown into someone graceful, adorable, and undoubtedly radiant. She slowly began to have people gather around her, drawn in by her cheerful and friendly attitude, and among them were many guys who wanted more than just her attention…
And me? I stayed the same, the same blunt yet somehow pointed attitude, the same gray hair, the same plain style, and yet, thanks to this game, we stuck together. For four years since then, this game has kept us together, and more than once, I thought to myself, what if this game never happened…
Despite that thought it still frustrates me, this game has gone on for four years! FOUR WHOLE YEARS!
“AHHH!” Caelus said, this time palming his face with respect for Kafka’s hand on the table.
“I’ve been played, this cunning girl. I feel like at any moment I might actually tell her ‘I love you’ for real…” Caelus said, frustration in his voice as he reflected over the Love Game.
“Well, you don’t have to worry about your big fat crush being a secret at least, I think even the regulars here know about your game.” Silver Wolf joked.
“Ugh, I’ve been calling her gremlin for years… If she were to find out about my feelings for her now…” Caelus said, his imagination running wild on how his childhood friend would never let him live down how he lost the love game.
“Eh? You’ve been talking like that to me this whole time, but you actually found me super pretty? Hehe, you are a man after all. How cute…”
“Ack! I’d die of embarrassment! I can’t lose this game against her!” Caelus says, another palm on his face to cover the ever-growing blush on his face.
“Ugh, it isn’t easy though. Firefly’s grown so much since sixth grade… I’m trying to catch up, improving my image, working out a bit, getting a new style, I’ve even grown a bit more since we graduated.” Caelus says, listing down all the improvements he’s done for his childhood friend.
“By the way, thanks for the recommendation, Aunt Kafka, you really know your stuff.” Caelus says, remembering how Kafka had recommended to him a stylist friend who managed to help Caelus improve his image.
“You’re welcome, dear”
“Still, I’ve got a long way to go haven’t I?” Caelus said, exasperated, thinking of how much more he has to do to become someone he considers worthy of his childhood friend.
“That’s for sure” Silver Wolf said offhandedly, still focused on her console.
“Caelus, as her Uncle, I will admit, you’ve grown a lot since then” Blade says, heading back to the kitchen as patrons enter the diner, getting ready for the upcoming rush hour.
“If you ask me, dear, getting those words out of Bladie shows you’ve done great work, so don’t worry too much about it. Still, my dear niece is one tough cookie isn’t she” Kafka says assuring the boy.
“Thanks Aunt Kafka, and besides, I’ve got a plan for tomorrow.” Caelus says confidently.
“Well, plans aside lover boy, rush hour’s about to start, and it’s about to get dark out, so you better scram” Silver Wolf says, finally turning off her console and now standing in front of Caelus’ table.
“Alright alright, I’ll leave” Caelus says, raising his hands in a surrendering manner. And thanks, for helping me out and listening. “And thanks, for listening” Caelus says, rubbing his hand on his neck.
“Yeah yeah, now go! And don’t forget to say hi to Stelle for me!”
“Bye dear! And good luck tomorrow!”
“Bye Aunt Kafka, bye Wolfie, don’t worry I’ll tell Stelle, and tell Uncle Blade I also said thanks to him!” Caelus said smiling brightly and waving as he left the establishment…
‘I swear, I will win this love game!’
“Hey, grandma, I’ll be starting high school tomorrow.” Firefly says, sitting in front of the altar of her grandmother, a picture of the woman’s face smiling brightly at her granddaughter.
“I hope I’ll be classmates with Caelus again this year.” Firefly says, laughing to herself as she realizes something.
“I just realized, you’ve listened to me talk about Caelus so much huh, hehe… I can’t help it I guess, ever since we started this game, I feel like I’ve just fallen in love with him more.” Firefly says, a sigh of content escaping her lips.
“Thanks to this game, I’ve seen so many sides of him, I’ve seen how cool he becomes when he tries to get me flustered, and dang it, it works.” Firefly laughs, remembering all the times her heart fluttered at Caelus’ advances on her during the Love Game.
“I’ve seen his cute flustered side, whenever I get him in our game.” She giggles again, remembering the red, flustered face of Caelus whenever she got the upper hand in the game.
“I think, the more I play this game with him, the more I fall for him, grandma. If only he knew… That ever since I started this game back then, I had already lost.” She lets out a breath of acceptance, her shoulders shaking a bit as she laughs to herself.
“Well, I’ve got a plan tomorrow, grandma, one that will definitely get his heart to flutter this time!” Firefly says, clenching her fist at the declaration of her plan, and somewhere in the afterlife, her grandmother chuckles to herself as her dear granddaughter tells her those words she’s heard countless times in the past.