Work Text:
The audience erupted into applause. Their special show back at the Wonder Stage after so long had finally come to a close. Although Nene was panting hard, with beads of sweat rolling down her face, shimmering under the stage lights, she stood up straight in front of the audience, and took her troupemates’ hands— Tsukasa’s in her right, Emu’s in her left— to take a final bow.
The audience's cheering grew into a roar. Some screams for them mixed into the sound too. With the clear night sky blanketing them from above, the same little stars cheering them on, their unwavering old stage under their feet, and Rui’s fake snow fluttering around them— it was truly a perfect show.
— — — — — —
“Ahh…. That was so good! I’m soo happy to be back~” Emu said, walking out of the changing room in a fluffy sweater, stretching her back. Nene followed behind her.
“Mhm. I’m happy it went well. I never thought I’d perform Smiling Christmas again. Even though there was no real snow this time, Rui was able to make some fake snow. The audience seemed to love it,” Nene continued.
Rui let out a chuckle of approval. “I’m glad to hear that,” he added, looking at his childhood friend. “This is quite nostalgic indeed.”
Tsukasa stepped up. “Okay, do you guys wanna go anywhere to celebrate our magnificent show coming to a close? As our leader, I propose getting a snack!”
“We’ve already had dinner, and I’m kind of tired…” Nene yawned. It was pretty late. Due to some scheduling issues with the other performance groups, they had become the main attraction for the night section. “I think I’ll go home for today.”
“Me too. Perhaps we could treat ourselves to something after school tomorrow. I’ll take Nene home,” Rui added.
Surprisingly, Emu didn’t look disappointed with their answer. An opportunistic glint lit up in her eyes. “I’m up for some celebration food! I’ll ask my chef to prepare something for the two of us, Tsukasa! Come home with me! Bye, Nene! Bye, Rui!”
She took Tsukasa’s hand in a hard grip, and started skipping in the direction of her mansion with long strides. His face erupted into a pink mess at her sudden touch.
“Wait, Emu, what are you-”
“Let’s gooo!” She looked back at him, with a cheeky, goofy grin.
In just a moment, they were gone with the wind. When it was just the two of them, the environment immediately grew quieter around Rui and Nene. Although the air seemed to grow colder, the comfort they found in each other’s presence kept them warm. Just being together felt like home.
“Chaotic as ever…” Nene sighed, fondly.
“Definitely,” Rui replied. “I expected Emu to beg us to come eat with them, but she didn’t.” He chuckled. “I guess she wants Tsukasa all to herself today.”
“They just got together, so I guess that’s expected. I don’t really mind us being alone for today though. I need some time to recharge.”
“Nene approves of spending time alone with me? My, my, what a blessing!” Rui’s signature smirk appeared on his face.
“God, you’re so corny… It’s not like we don’t see each other every day. Anyway, we should get going. It’s cold out here.”
“Yep. Wouldn’t want to get home too late. It’s already nine-thirty.”
Nene yawned again, resting her head on Rui’s upper arm. She wrapped her arm around his, and they slowly walked out of Phoenix Wonderland, with only the gentle glow of the park’s amber lights, and the soft buzz of the exiting visitors accompanying them.
— — — — — —
“I’ll shower first.” Nene awaited Rui’s reply, standing over him with a small pile of clothes in hand.
“Sure,” Rui responded. He had already occupied one of the bean bags on her floor, and gotten comfortable.
“Alright then.” She hesitated a bit before giving his head a light pat, tinting both of their faces pink. Some of his hair got ruffled, and Rui didn't care to smooth out the evidence of her touch. She walked towards the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
They chose to crash at Nene's house because, firstly, it was way more comfortable compared to Rui's, which was permanently in a haphazard state. Nene didn't want to risk sitting on a random bolt or screw lying around.
Secondly, seeing the circles under his eyes darkening as the month went on, Nene forbade him from working on more projects that night. “Just take your mind off work for once,” she'd always tell him. Without his work bench and tools, there wasn't much he could do.
Rui looked around her room. The green curtains, her bedsheets, the plushy beanbag he was sitting on, and the short white table in front of the TV were all the same as when they first met. There was just the addition of a few more consoles and games to her library, and some extra theatre posters. Her old desk chair was also swapped for a taller, spinning office chair. Rui couldn't remember when this happened though.
This place was a constant in their lives. He glanced at that beam on her wall, where the purple and green markings recorded their heights over the years. Their earliest lines near the bottom were at a similar height, but the most recent ones had quite a distance between them. Nene couldn't press her lips onto Rui's if she wasn't on her tiptoes. Despite the distance, the most important thing to him was that the markings came back in the first place. Especially when there was a large stretch in the middle with no markings at all.
Something warm stirred up within him. No matter how much they'd grown, or changed, or gotten hurt, this place had, and would always be here. A time capsule, and a place of solace, where they could stay safe in each other’s embrace even if the storms outside battered the house's walls.
He relished in the room's comfort, with the dim light shining above him. The room smelled like Nene, a clean, pleasant scent. For an unknown amount of time, he zoned out, resting his back on the beanbag and staring up at the off-white ceiling, until the bathroom door clicked open.
Light and some warm, humid steam spilled out through the door frame, with Nene standing in the entrance, hair in a towel, clothed in a lavender pajama set. A few stray pieces of her bangs hung out from the front.
“Your turn,” she told him.
The hot air tickled Rui's face as he got up. “It's like a sauna in there… Don't sear your pretty skin off, Nene,” he teased.
She rolled her eyes affectionately. “I really don't get how you shower with cold water in the summer… And you know how chilly my hands get, Rui.”
He met her halfway across the room, taking one of her hands in his. “Well, to your credit, I guess it works.” His thumb rubbed her palm at a steady pace, no longer cold. With his other hand, he flipped up the stray hair pieces on her forehead, and planted a kiss there. Nene flushed. She was just irresistibly cute at that moment.
“I'll get going then.” Rui grabbed his pile of clothes off the floor, and headed into the bathroom.
— — — — — —
He was greeted with the dimmer ambience of the bedroom, as he stepped out with a hairdryer in hand. Nene was sitting, cross-legged on her bed as she poked at something on her phone. The door’s soft click prompted her to look up, a smile forming on her lips. She shifted towards the head of the bed.
After plugging the hairdryer into the wall, he sat down on the other side of the bed, throwing his towel down next to him. He softly undid her towel wrap, allowing her hair to untwist itself and cascade down on her shoulders, gracefully like a waterfall. Picking up the hairdryer in his left hand, and a few clumps of her sage-green hair in his right, he said, “Allow me.”
She nodded, and shifted to face the wall at the bed's head. After she leaned sideways to grab a hairbrush, and set it down beside her, Rui started the hairdryer.
Warm wind blasted out in a gust, and its whirring filled the room as they sat there in a loud, comfortable silence.
Taking a piece of her long hair in his hand, he aimed the hairdryer to slowly slide along its length. He picked up another chunk, and repeated the motion, gliding his hand through his hair as the damp strands flowed through his fingers. Gradually, her hair lost its wet clumpiness, and returned to its regular thick, fluffy state.
He flapped his left hand, looking at the fully dry hair resting on her back. A few fallen strands hung on his fingers still.
“You really have a lot of hair, Nene,” he chuckled. “My hand hurts now.”
She giggled softly. “At least you have two dominant hands to work with. What's the word for it again?”
“Ambidextrous,” he replied.
“Right.” She turned around to face him, bangs still wet and sticking to her forehead.
Aimed towards her forehead, he turned on the hairdryer, but a strong gust of wind blasted Nene right in the face.
“Ah-” She immediately clenched her eyes closed, flinching backwards. “Rui! Turn the wind setting down!” she pouted.
“Sorry, I forgot,” he laughed, switching it back off and adjusting the power. The laughter that escaped his lips carried a lightness that seemed to only come out around her. His usual composure found no place in the presence of his confidant, his canary, his everything.
This time, a softer wind came out of the hairdryer’s mouth, and her bangs were dry in no time. He ruffled her hair once more, and she was momentarily lost in the touch, nuzzling into it. After soothing out the remaining tangles with her hairbrush, he was done, giving her silky hair a final swish.
“Your turn.” Nene looked at his head, which was still half wet.
“I don't want to.” With a yawn, he moved to lay down on the bed, clumpy short hair splaying on the sheets.
“Rui…” she glared at him. “You're going to wake up with a headache, and I'll be pulling you out of bed again. Get up, you big baby. I'll do it for you.” Sometimes, she really felt like his mom. She wasn't like Mrs. Kamishiro at all though. Her ability to explain any biology phenomena thrown at her, and her confident, easy demeanor… Rui definitely took after her.
After a few seconds, he relented and got up, leaving behind a few splotches of moisture where his head just was.
Facing his back, she picked up the hairdryer and reached up to run her hands through his hair, just like he had for her.
— — — — — —
“That only took 3 minutes. I don't know what you were fussing about,” Nene sighed.
Rui went to turn the main light off, and switched on their nightlight near the bed. It had a soft amber glow, just enough to let them see each other clearly. “Sometimes, things just can't be done at certain times. It's a real thing, Nene.” He took his place at the outer half of the bed.
“What? Man, I really don't get you…” She did the same and lied down next to him, settling into the nook of their shared blanket.
They both turned on their sides to face each other, centimeters apart now. Holding the other in their gaze for longer than they'd ever admit, appreciating every detail and flaw in their face.
In the faint amber light, Nene could see Rui’s short, purple-tinted eyelashes. She watched them flutter slightly as he blinked.
She could see the structure of his nose. With his middle piece of hair out of the way, falling down to partially cover his left eye, she could appreciate its shape. The nose that would brush against hers when they stole kisses from each other.
She could see his slightly lopsided, slightly chapped lips. The asymmetry that created his signature smirk, wide and teasing. The lips that had given her her first kiss, many more after, and they'd hopefully give her her last as well. His on hers, hers on his, forever and ever. The lips where sweet nothings and words of reassurance and stability would slip out, guide her when she was drowning in tunnels of anxiety that seemed to see no end.
She zoomed out to look at him in full again. His amber, far-away yet caring eyes. The dark circles under them. His slightly downturned eyebrows. The way his medium-length hair fell around his face. His Adam’s apple poking out of his neck, bobbing as he spoke.
Nene would never admit it, but Rui was quite good-looking. The thought of that made her heart flutter. She could stare at him for days on end and still melt at the sight of him like it was her first.
At the same time, even in the faint darkness, Rui could see the beauty and imperfections of her skin. It was pale and soft like the moonlight, but with some slightly reddish bits dotted between her eyebrows and on her nose. The evidence of her youth. Her cheeks were rosy and squishy, and he would've definitely reached out to touch them if he wasn't so engrossed in the moment. The way they would explode into redness so easily when she got embarrassed, or the soft pink tint they would take on when she was filled with glee — they both made Rui go insane.
He could see her small, heart-shaped lips. They were naturally tinted a shade of pink. Although they were normally slightly downturned, they would curve into a soft smile when she was content.
He could see her round, yet slightly upturned eyes. With these features, he could pull off both cute and cool roles with ease, perfect for their troupe's songstress. Rui loved how her eyes would zone out when she thought no one was looking. It was horribly cute. He loved their calm, lavender color. They even matched his hair.
He thought she was the prettiest girl in the world. Unlike Nene though, he would definitely admit it. Once they'd gotten comfortable in their relationship, he'd never missed an opportunity to shower her with praise and affection. Knowing how she'd struggle with her self-esteem, he wanted her to feel like the most beautiful and worthy person on earth around him. To be in love with herself like he was in love with her.
Since the nightlight was on Nene's side, not much of the light could reach her face. But even in the darkness, Rui could make out her features. It was like a painting, a puzzle he'd memorized the ins and outs of, from years of looking at it and thinking of it.
Nene reached out to touch his face. Slowly sliding her fingers down its bumps and dips, her fingertips picking up its smooth, yet not silky texture. She was absorbed in his face for a long few seconds, heart beating in a steady, comfortable rhythm. The type of rhythm that came out when you had nothing to be scared of, no more need to be on guard.
“It's still kind of cold…” She wiggled under the covers to snuggle up against him. He turned to lay on his back, allowing Nene to essentially place herself on top of him, positioned sideways, with her head nuzzled in the nook of his shoulder.
Their arms found each other's torsos, slinking around them, with Rui laying a protective hand on her lower back, stroking it as they cuddled. The touch seemed to make all of their worries melt away into dust, leaving goofy, sweet grins on their faces.
With her body pressed up against his, he could feel the slight bumps of her chest and her stomach. The soft skin of her face brushed up against his neck, her long hair giving it a small tickle. It gained a slightly yellow tint under the nightlight. His face burned slightly, even in the cold.
If heaven was any different to this, they didn't want it. Their heartbeats in sync, stable yet fluttery, sharing in each other’s warmth— they’d formed a fortress for themselves in the bitter cold, their blanket the brick walls, their intimacy the bonfire.
Although Rui’s house was technically next door, who was to tell him this wasn’t his home too? It was somewhere he could retreat to, someone he could retreat to at any time, and it would always welcome him with an open door—or rather, open arms. No matter how badly he’d been trapped, whipped and battered by life’s storms, Nene would always help him get back on his feet, bandage up his pains and worries with hot tea, hugs and kisses, even if he brushed them off. She knew him well enough to recognize where he was hurting, even if it wasn’t visible on the surface.
He glanced down at the girl lying on his chest. “What did I do to deserve you…” he smiled to himself.
Nene stirred again, and gave his collarbone a small peck. Untangling herself from him, she got up to kiss him on the lips once more. They both closed their eyes, and relished in the moment for one last time before properly falling asleep, the amber glow falling around them.
She laid back down on the bed, and opted to cuddle his arm instead. (She’d definitely wake up with horrible back pain if she fell asleep on top of him.) Burying her face in his arm, letting the soft fabric of his pajama sweater envelope her as she dozed off.
“Good night,” she mumbled. “…Love you…”
Nene could sense Rui’s heart picking up. Indeed, his face had blossomed into an even deeper pink. The smile that overtook his face involuntarily pushed his eyes closed, like that of a happy manta ray.
“Love you too, Nene. Good night."