lucetilogs | You and I left our troubles far behind

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You and I left our troubles far behind

Who: Luke (

fourteen)
What: Celebrating their one year anniversary - a month late, but who's counting?
When: Today (March 16th), early afternoon
Where: Different places!
Summary: Xion brings up that they should finally celebrate their year long relationship together, which is exactly what Luke's been waiting for.
Rating: C for Cavities

A lot of things happened that brought Luke down. Axel and Sora left, leaving Xion in a state of depression that he couldn't pull her out of easily. He himself was told that he was going to die, something he's only told three people, out of all his friends. All because of his stupid weak body, and because of such extreme circumstances...

But now Guy's here. And though his appearance caused many unhappy reactions from people due to his loss of memory, it made Luke very happy. It showed in his day to day interactions, how he'd smile more, joke around more, even give light shoves or a friendly arm around the shoulder. It was all enough to almost make him forget about his progressive illness - almost. Still, if something was bothering him, there was no chance he'd show it right now, with him so happy.

And he wanted to share that happiness with someone. Someone important to him. It was just a little thing, a little offer that she didn't have to take. But it was one he hoped she would take, one that makes him smile as he writes to her.

"Do you want to meet up at the bakery? We can have some ice cream together!"

Sure, it wasn't summer. Sure, it was kind of cold. But he knew that Xion didn't really care about the weather when it came to ice cream, so he'd be the only one complaining about it.

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If dissolving into immediate giggles is any indication, then yes, she is happy. There is something more important about it to her than just ice cream - it's a symbol. A connection to her closest friends, one of whom isn't here any more - one of whom is dead. And Luke, who is just so important and so special to her ... well, she'd like him to have it, too. Ice cream is, in a way, a very special link to the people she loves the most, and she wants him in on it, too.

So she takes a few more bites of her own ice cream and beams at him.

"Yeah! Hehe, thanks, Luke. I know you feel weird about it. If you want to get strawberry instead, I don't mind!"

If he takes her up on that, once he gets back, she'll finally show him what's in the bag.

He just looks at her, as if to consider that offer, all while slowly licking and nibbling at the ice cream. After that, though, he slides out of the chair; looks like he's taking her up on that after all.

"Yeah, I think I'll do that. I'll be back, okay?"

With that, he takes a big bite of the sea salt ice cream and reaches out to ruffle her hair, then gives it a light, teasing push as he heads to the front of the store. He'll just finish this one ice cream he has before getting strawberry, part to make her happy, part because he doesn't want to waste it after he just got it. And maybe part because it is kind of good. Not that he'll admit to that, as it's a sort of game between the two of them.

"H-Hey!" She protests weakly, not really minding, and giggling at the hair ruffle. "Okay." Xion watches him go with a great deal of fondness, unable to help the fuzzy feelings he always gives her.

She finishes her ice cream in the short time he's gone, silently contemplating things. Things specifically between them. It hasn't all been roses and sunshine since his return from his kidnapping, and she knows that better than anyone - after all, she's been the one avoiding him. But this, right now, is about something different. She may not be 100% sure how she feels right now about his secret, but if there is something she knows, it's that she loves him with her whole heart and soul.

So, once her ice cream is done, she pulls the bag onto her lap, peeking inside, taking a deep breath before closing it up again. When Luke returns, he'll find her blushing and very shy, though she's willing to meet his eyes. Determined, in fact. After all ... she has something she needs to make up to him.

Once he does return, the sea salt ice cream is gone from his hands, having been replace with strawberry. With rainbow sprinkles that he asked for. It's only around Xion where he can indulge in this little fondness of his, it's embarrassing with anyone else.

He notices that look on her face before he even sits down, though, and it makes him pause in his steps before he thinks to complete his journey to the chair. He can't help but raise an eyebrow curiously, though the smile on his face seems more teasing.

"What? Thinking about something?" There's a particular something in his mind, but he's a little too shy about the subject to bring it up. So, it is a mere "something".

"I guess you could say that." Her gaze lowers, now, for a different reason, and her smile turns a little sad. "... I know I missed our one year anniversary. I feel so bad. I mean ... I know it's not like I could help it, considering," she murmurs, with a weak laugh. "But ... I still wanted to do something for it. That is, if you wanted to."

With a breath, she lifts the bag onto the table, the hard object inside making a soft clik-clak as it settles onto surface of the table.

"Way back in the beginning of February I started working on this gift for you. I guess maybe the only good thing about how long it took is that I had time to make it perfect."

Xion pauses there, taking another breath to look at him, her eyes searching his face. "Do ... you want to see it?"

When she looks at him, she'll find his eyes wide, and a blush covering his own face. She... made that for him? For their anniversary? And she wants to celebrate it now?

But his own surprises haven't even been made yet! Sort of! A couple of them don't have to be made, but... still!

So, while most of him feels soaringly happy and somewhat flustered, another small part of him feels a tad panicked. Oooh no, he could've used a warning! But... heh. He can't help the smile coming up, and now he's the one who looks a little shy.

"Y-Yeah... Of course I do."

Edited 2012-03-24 21:39 (UTC)

One last time, Xion takes a deep breath ... then reaches into the bag, and takes the object inside and places it on the table.

The object -- her gift -- is a beautiful wooden music box, unlacquered, carved with a floral scroll across the lid that creeps onto the sides. If Luke opens it up, he'll find the inside is very plain, with just a small mirror embedded into the lid, above the actual workings and gears of the music box itself. On it, of course, is the song that she wrote for him - for them.

Xion nudges it towards him with a shy smile still on her face.

"Originally I was just going to write you a song... but I asked the village for help, and everyone helped me come up with the idea to make it into a real music box. I ... I hope you like it."

At first, Luke thought it was just a box. Music boxes can be a little misleading like that. Still, were those selenias that were carved into the box? It's just as he's examining that that she brings up what it actually is, what she planned to do, and what she did do.

He slowly looks up from the box, and he seems like something between touched and awed. That she did this back in February, and he didn't even know about it... And she had this made, something that she knows has a particular meaning for him. That she wrote a song...

One hand moves up to wipe at his nose despite him not needing to, and then it moves down to his mouth, before he reaches out to take the music box and pull it towards him. He runs his fingers over the top of it, that floral scroll, then slowly moves both hands to open it up and look inside.

Sure, it's plain, though he doesn't bother looking at the mirror; he already knows how he looks. What he focuses on is the tune that plays once he opens it. Music has such a large impact with Luke, and Xion's been with him long enough to know this. He shuts his eyes and takes in a deep breath as he listens; the tune is both simple and complex at once, and behind it lies a certain sort of fondness and warmth. Once it loops, he lets out a breath of a laugh, helpless and joyful, and he leans over to rest his chin on his arm and let his other hand tuck into his bangs. Then he finally opens his eyes, looking at the young woman he loves so much, and he looks so deeply touched and, still, a little shy.

"You're..." Heh. He lets out another small laugh and shakes his head. It's similar to when he gave her the book he wrote for her - for them, and she started to cry. Except he can't stop grinning and letting out small, quiet laughs of joy. He's not even sure what to say.

Edited 2012-03-24 23:02 (UTC)

His reaction is really just remarkable. And Xion finds herself slowly starting to blush brighter, until there's an obvious, deep pink flush across her cheeks, even reaching up to touch her ears, and her smile is just so helpless and so happy. It's stupidly, wonderfully clear how much he loves it, and how much he's touched by it, and the swell of joy and pride in her chest is practically making her giddy.

He really likes it ... this thing she poured her whole heart into making.

And so, beaming, struggling to get her words out right around the elated bubble in her chest, Xion says simply, quietly, "Happy anniversary, Luke."

Luke runs his hand through his hair, still trying but failing to get any words out as he looks from the music box to her. Finally, he shuts his eyes and lets out a long, content sigh, as his hand settles in his bangs again.

"Happy anniversary." He opens his eyes again and straightens up, his own smile so big and helpless and so happy. It's hard to touch her with a table sitting between them, but he still reaches across the table until he can hold both of her hands in his own. "You - You're really amazing, Xion."

"I love you." It's all she can think to say, all that is true, pressing against her lips and the front of her skull and bursting from her heart. She just loves him so, so much.

"... and your ice cream is melting." Teasing, with a laugh. She can't help it! It's hard not to tease when she's this happy.

"... Huh?"

And sure enough, when he thinks to look over at his ice cream, many of the sprinkles have become lost in the melting slide of ice cream. He lets go of her hands in surprise, only to smile sheepishly as he brings the ice cream closer.

"I, uh... I didn't even notice." He was too busy with all of... this, after all. Speaking of which, he only takes one bite of that ice cream before he sets it aside again to grin. He looks excited about something, that's for sure, even if there's a blush on his cheeks.

"I've got a few things for you, too." His heart's thudding in his chest as he speaks, and there's a large wad or nervousness building up. He's sure she'll like the things he has planned, but... they're still things that make him feel a little vulnerable, even now, before he's had the chance to actually go through with them. "But they're not here. We can go... get them after you're done with your ice cream."

Get them, ha... It's more like "going to them", even though he doesn't have it ready. Aaahaha.

"You do?" She can't keep the excitement out of her voice, or off her face. She lights up, eyes practically shining, sitting ramrod straight. "I mean, I'm done! We can go, you know, whenever." And she laughs. She knows how eager she seems, but this is the happiest she's felt in ... in a while. It's nice to feel so genuinely excited about something.

"You are? Then... let's go now!"

Sure, the poor ice cream only had one bite taken out of it. But he's in too excited of a mood to actually finish the whole thing. He takes her hand as he scoots out of his chair again, music box carefully held in his other arm, and he leads her away...

... And leaves the ice cream on the table. At times like these, he forgets that maids won't conveniently come by and clean up after him.

They don't have to go too far, just to Seventh Heaven across the path. He holds her hand the whole way there, his grip tightening just a little once they get inside the restaurant. He's pretty sure Van isn't working today, but that doesn't stop his nerves from shooting up these days when he steps into the place. It's a little sad, but that's far from his mind right now.

He leads her to a table near the piano, and though he sets his music box down and gestures for her to sit, he remains standing, now holding both of her hands.

"You know... I've been waiting for this. When we could celebrate this." He blushes, and it's tempting to duck his head to avoid her eyes, but he's determined to keep looking into them. "The stuff I have planned kind of... need some work. Do you mind waiting here?"

"Luke! You can't just--"

But they're already gone by the time she realizes what's happened, and she sighs, with a laugh. She'll go back later and apologize or something. Hopefully it won't be too big a deal. Sorry to whoever has to clean that up!

Of course, they're both pretty excited, and Xion keeps her now-empty bag tucked under her other arm so she can squeeze his hand right back once they get in. She knows about his fear, but just like him, she doesn't want it to bring her down - not today. She's a little surprised, though, when he gestures for her to sit and keeps standing. She'd sort of assumed he just wanted to take her out to dinner (and she knows her dad would approve) - but is he up to something more?

"... of course not." She grins up at him and his adorable blush. "Take your time, okay? I've got ... well, I've got the whole day free to spend with you, if we want." That brings on a tiny blush of her own, but only a tiny one.

"Yeah... okay then!" He says with a grin and a small blush of his own on his face. He'd love that... if he could spend the whole day with her, maybe even the night, too. He leans down to kiss her forehead, then lets go of her hands to head back to, of all places, the kitchen.

Of course, doing what he wants to do isn't as easy as he hoped. There's a lot of persuasion to be done, a lot of watching, a lot of reassurances. But after that, he's started to prepare a couple of dishes, one for him and one for her. The cooking lessons he's had with Sanji have really been paying off, as he actually gives the right amount of ingredients rather than guessing and disagreeing with the recipe. It doesn't take too long to get the ingredients together and simmering, and for the pasta to be dumped into boiling water. Now, all that's left to do is to wait until it's finished.

Luke sets the dishes at a low cooking temperature, so that he won't have to worry about them too much while he waits. There's something else he wants to do right now.

He heads out to the dining area, a grin coming up once he sees Xion still sitting there. He's quiet as he heads over to the piano, not wanting her to see him until he's there. And once he's there, he'll play a few notes on the piano, just a few practicing notes, before he looks up at her with a smile, nervous but so excited at the same time.

Xion is more than a little surprised to see Luke head back to the kitchen, of all places. Is he going to talk to Sanji about something? He ... couldn't be cooking, could he? She doesn't know about his lessons, which is just as well, since she'll be pretty surprised when it comes to light he's cooking a meal for them. She knew before he wasn't ... really so great, ahem, at cooking, so she watches the kitchen door with some curiosity for a while.

Her attention has only just begun to wander when he reemerges, thankfully for his little plan. She starts, too, when she begins to hear music, her head whipping around, and a huge smile crosses her face when she sees him there, fingers on the keyboard. Xion rises from her seat, moving over to him and resting her elbows on the instrument, just above the keyboard itself.

"Luke! What is all this? Did you plan out a whole dinner date?" She's obviously pretty pleased with the idea, if her laugh and the blush on her face is any indication.

"Something like that!" He grins in response to her reaction; it really was going the way he was hoping it would. He surprised her, and now she's laughing and blushing and smiling. Seeing her like that, and knowing he's the one who made it happen... it's a wonderful thing, especially with all that's happened lately.

Thanks to those thoughts, the look in his eyes turns fond, and then he turns back to the piano. He's been practicing this one for a while, just for this occasion. Just for her, because he's not sure if he can do this for anyone else.

Luke takes in a deep, slow breath, then lets it out as he plays this song, and for once, he doesn't have to start out slow. After the first part of the song, he gives her a quick glance before he takes in another breath, then - sings. There's no words, just like most of the songs they share, so he sings with "aahs" instead. But he knows that she loves his singing voice, though he doesn't use it often. And he's putting his heart into this one.

The beauty of the song, right from the start, makes her press the back of her hand over her mouth. Her eyes might even be wet. She just doesn't know what to say. He went to all this trouble... did he already know this piece? Or did he learn it just for this? Just for her?

And then, of course, he starts to sing. Xion gasps, honestly gasps aloud, and then begins to laugh, the sound of it watery and a little delighted. Just the sound of his voice stirs such a powerful feeling in her chest she can hardly stand it. She knows he doesn't like to sing. But not only is he doing it without protest, but in public, to boot.

"Luke..." She tries to speak, and fails, laughing again, pressing both her hands to her face this time. Visibly flattered, flushed and pleased and so obviously, hopelessly in love, Xion just leans against the piano and after a moment shuts her eyes, just listening to the beautiful music.

He glances at her again when she says his name, and the smile on his face grows a little in response. His cheeks are flushed, of course; the fact that everyone can hear him, everyone who's eating here, at least. But he still plays, still sings, because this is all for her. And he's willing to do anything for her, even do something he doesn't quite like.

On those last few notes, he shuts his eyes, even as he lifts his hands away. Afterwards, he looks up at her, and he reaches out to brush his fingers across her forehead, to push a few strands of hair away. She looks beautiful like that, her eyes shut, listening to the music...

"Did you like it?" A bit of a rhetorical question there.

A bit? A bit! Xion opens her eyes at his touch, having gotten so carried away in the music she hardly noticed when it ended. When she looks at him, her eyes are overbright, glittering as if she might cry - she's so overcome with emotion she still can barely say a word.

Caring little, so little, for what anyone else in this restaurant will think, she takes a step closer and presses a sweet, warm, chaste kiss to his lips. It's brief, and very innocent, but it pours out all her heart.

"I loved it." The tone of her voice makes it clear, though, that what she's really saying is I love you.

He doesn't care about whoever else might be watching, too, or what they'll think. It's a far cry from what he was like a year ago, when he'd be so shy about affection and touches, especially in public. But here he is, shutting his eyes briefly to return the kiss, fingertips gently touching her cheek.

When they pull away and she says that, the smile he gives is fond and gentle, as if he understood the meaning behind her words. And as if he finally realized that they're in public, he answers with a low, quiet tone as he presses a hand to the back of her head to move her forward again, to touch their foreheads together.

"I love you."

Though he really ought to get up soon, seeing how his dinner might overcook otherwise...

What can she do but love him? There really has never been another choice, from the moment they met. Everything about him, everything he does, and says, each little word and thought and deed, just reminds her, makes her feel even more, that she loves him. Another laugh escapes her when he brings her head down to touch their foreheads together, and she presses a kiss to the tip of his nose.

"I love you, too."

But after that she finally straightens up, wondering just a little what the other patrons must think of their little display. But she's watching him curiously, as if wondering if that was the surprise he had planned for her. If so, though simple, it really was more than she could have asked for.

Luke watches her curiously for a few seconds as well... Before his eyes widen in realization. Ah, that's right, he left food cooking...!

He stands up, holding up a hand as if asking her to wait a moment, at the same time saying reassuringly, "I-I'll be back in just a second, okay? There's still something I've got to do!"

And with that, he walks back to the kitchen at a quick pace. Once he checks the food he realizes that... ah. They weren't burned or anything... Good. There've been one too many times where he'd end up doing something else, only to be alerted by the smell of burning food...

After another minute, the pasta he made is ready. Now to just get them on the plate, extra sauce and cheese on the side in case they want more, and head out to the dining area again.

Xion can't help but break out into laughter as he realizes what he forgot. She'd wondered! While he's gone, she retakes her seat at the table, trying and failing not to look just incredibly happy.

When he returns, she's waiting for him, neck craned to watch the kitchen door, and her face lights up when she sees what he's carrying. He really did make food! ... it looks good. Is it good? Did he suddenly learn how to cook?

Either way, he obviously worked hard on a meal for the both of them. Even if it was terrible ... well. She's used to Sanji's cooking, it would be hard to ignore terrible food. But she'd still (try to) love it, and (of course) him, anyway.

"You really cooked! I can't believe it. Are there any more surprises in store for tonight?" With a hint of humor, but she's curious, too. He's already done so much! But she can't help but wonder.

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