lucetilogs | Event Log

...don't just worry about us. Think about yourself too.

[He dropped his hand and closed it, as if to preserve the warmth of that touch. Reading Souji was like trying to read ancient Earthling philosophical texts without a translation guide-- misinterprete one subtle phrase and the entire meaning is altered. The smile seemed like a curtain falling in his mind. one that hid everything on stage and only left behind the pretty tapestries and music for the audience to enjoy.

But quiet actions provided enough of an answer for a question that Cliff didn't dare ask. It would have to be enough, for now.

He shook his head, as if trying to shake free from the strange web the two of them were weaving, and was hit by a wave of dizziness with the action. Humming in confusion, he lifted a hand to hold his head.]

...wow. I'm feeling weird all of a sudden.

I've been here for nearly five years, Cliff-san. I don't think they'll ever let me--

[His answer was cut short when he saw the way Cliff looked, the confusion and dizziness evident on his face and in the hand held to his head. Souji reached forward, stopping just short of touching Cliff's arm.]

Are you alright? Do you need to lie down?

[Five years. That was longer than Cliff realized-- but the Malnosso were the Malnosso and Shifts were Shifts. Cliff shook his head again, managing to hold himself upright through the dizzinesss.]

Well-- this is...

[Words trailed as he fought a strange, tickling sensation in his nose as he felt his temperature rise. He took a breath--

And sneezed, in a cloud of glitter.]

Edited 2014-01-09 01:08 (UTC)

[The sudden sneeze and cloud of something-- sparkles, glitter (how ironic) -- sent Souji jumping back. He landed, whipping out a fan from his sleeve to deflect most of the glitter away from his face. His clothes were a lost cause, but at least he wasn't completely covered. The cloud began to settle and Souji coughed, waving the fan to clear the air a bit more.]

Cliff-san?! Are you alright?

[Silence.

The sparkling confetti wafted to the ground with the gentleness of a spring breeze, revealing one (1) half-naked Klausian man standing in a pair of thin New Feather pants, staring in bewilderment at his hands. The discreet and functional set of gym clothes he had just been wearing were folded in a neat pile by his feet, but sat forgotten.

Numbly, Cliff looked up and stared at Souji.]

[Just within a moment, in the middle of a village wide Shift, his own personal little spell had ended with just a simple kiss...]

....

What the hell is this supposed to be, some kinda children's fairy tale???

[Cliff ran both hands through his overgrown blond hair, reminded for the first time in a month of how badly he needed to get that haircut. Of all of ways for the alteration shift to end, he hadn't expected it to be like that.]

[As the glitter began to settle, a form emerged from the cloud - a tall and very familiar one. Souji coughed again, fanning the glitter away and then looked up for the first time since he had come to see his friend.]

...You're...back?

[And apparently still needing a haircut. And also half naked.]

...Wait, do your children's stories often feature tall men turning into women and having to be kissed to turn back?

... [To distract himself from the fact that the woman he just kissed was now a man again, he began to take off his thick wool haori and handed it over to Cliff.]

Your planet is very strange, Cliff-san.

The ones I'm talking about are from your planet.

[Although he knew that they might seem like they were from a different one, given the divide he knew existed between cultures in Souji's era. He shook his head again, tossing glitter specs from his hair, and looked down at Souji in curiosity as he took the haori.]

And it's not guys turning into girls necessarily. It's people being turned into something else in general, and having the spell broken with...

[He cut off, chuckling softly in embarrassment.]

...a lover's kiss.

Edited 2014-01-09 02:18 (UTC)

From my--?

[But he'd never heard of that. He knew that foxes and snakes could take human form and deceive a man into loving them, leading them into deep dark woods, but to have it broken off like this? Not so much.

At least until Cliff's explanation came through - then he was glad that he'd stopped talking because his sheer shock and embarrassment caught his voice in his throat. He couldn't hide the small amount of surprise that flashed across his face as he scrambled for a different explanation than... that. A lover's kiss? They hadn't - weren't that. In fact, Souji was trying very hard not to think of anything like that and-- Despite himself he felt his face flush as he coughed and turned his face away, trying to hide by fanning the glitter away again.]

Maybe the mistletoe helped.

[Cliff also turned away, trying his hardest to hide the embarrassment he knew was visible on his face.]

Uh-- yeah. Maybe.

[But the words were spoken, and there was no taking them back now. As a distraction from the awkwardness that was threatening to settle in, Cliff took the haori in both hands and held it out to examine with curious eyes.]

...Uh. How do you wear this thing? I don't think it's gonna fit.

[Souji allowed himself another second to collect himself and then he snapped the fan shut and slipped it into his kimono. The haori was probably not going to be a great fit, but it would be enough to get Cliff home for now at least. Back to wear he could get real clothes.

Reaching out, but avoiding direct eye contact, Souji took the haori and moved fluidly behind Cliff.]

Arms down and behind please. They wear much like your jackets, although the sleeves will likely be a bit short on you.

Hm...? Aye, aye.

[He nodded in acknowledgement of the orders and quickly obeyed, adjusting his stance so that Souji could work. Short would be workable, and the haori was a more tasteful option than sneaking into the clinic and stealing their bedsheets again. A repeat of last winter wasn't necessary.

While Souji maneuvered, Cliff decided to fill the silence with his own words.]

...Actually, there was something I was meaning to tell you before-- I mean, I probably should have said it before, but I just didn't realize it until recently. It doesn't need to be anything big, but....well.

[Rambling. He hadn't actually planned out how he would broach the topic once he figured it out, but it never seemed like it could have any chance. After their encounter that afternoon, Cliff wasn't certain any longer.]

[He slipped the haori up along Cliff's bare arms, unaccustomed to seeing his friend without his gloves on. Then he stood on his tiptoes as he tried to pull the haori up onto the man's shoulders. He had to sweep Cliff's hair out of the way to do so and, as if on auto-pilot, took out a small hair tie and began gathering the hair up to put into a ponytail. Automatic actions meant he didn't need to think, and he didn't want to think - he just wanted to be as normal as possible and then avoid ever feeling this heartache again. He didn't want to hear what Cliff wanted to say, so he tried to distract him with a silly question.]

Hm? Do you need me to cut your hair? It's getting quite long and I'm used to cutting hair by now.

No. The hair's fine.

[He tried to look over his shoulder despite Souji's work in an attempt to meet the other man's gaze despite the attempted distractions. There were times when ignoring the situation were fine, but ignoring anything in the long term was never a good idea. Despite anyone's best efforts, such acts could lead to far more frustration and heartache than anything else.

It was strange, but Cliff wanted to at least try.]

And, like I said, it doesn't need to be anything big but-- I dunno. I've had a lot of time to think recently. [There wasn't much else that he could do during those weeks he was gone, after all.]

[The hair tie in place, Souji tied a little bow in it and quietly smiled to himself. Cliff would never see it, so there was no harm, no foul.

But now with nothing to do with his hands and nothing to distract him, especially with how Cliff kept trying to look back at him, he dropped back down from his tiptoes and began brushing glitter off the wool haori - starting at the back.]

Yes, everyone was very worried while you were gone. [Souji had panicked at first. Another friend missing, another friend who might go to the Malnosso and never come back... He swiped his hands across the fabric lightly, barely touching it enough to get the glitter off - mostly so he wouldn't be felt touching Cliff underneath it.]

All in all, you were lucky to come back uninjured. I-- We were all worried you'd been hurt.

Uninjured? Uh...yeah. That's right.

[Partial lies. He hadn't told anyone that the Malnosso wanted to test just how durable Klausians were. Suffice to say, the most detail that he would have given anyone who dared ask was just one phrase: 'The whips here hurt too.

Cliff wasn't prepared to tell that to Souji, of all people. After that conversation on the mission, Cliff wasn't certain how he would react.]

I made a mess of their stuff, which might be why they kept me for so long-- but that's not my point.

[Cliff turned around and grasped Souji's smaller hands in his, looking for all intents and purposes like a kid half his age that was getting ready to say something important.]

Souji. I was wondering...

...Do you wanna go to the Springs sometime? It's cold, and it's been a while since I last visited.

[...

That wasn't quite what he had in mind.]

[The pause worried him and his hands stopped working at the glitter. He didn't agree outright which meant the Malnosso hurt him before returning him to the compound. They could do awful things to people, Souji knew that well, and the thought of his friend suffering like that made his fingers freeze and the rage begin to boil in his blood. They were untouchable, but the next time Souji was taken...

He couldn't finish his thoughts again as Cliff turned and grabbed his hands suddenly, looking like he was about to confess some great secret. Souji's heart leapt into his throat and his stomach dropped, frozen on the spot, staring up into Cliff's eyes like a man expecting bad news.

...

Only it didn't come.]

...

T-the hot springs? [He'd seemed so serious and then that? His incredulous expression at the question faded along with the tension he'd been feeling and he laughed, shaking his head.]

You don't have to be so serious about asking me to join you out there. Onsen were quite common in my country and going to them a luxury. I'd be very glad to accompany you if you don't want to go alone.

[...It wasn't 'no'.

Those weren't the words he expected, though he hadn't asked the right question, but the answer wasn't 'no'. Cliff straightened his stance, grinning sheepishly, looked away.]

Oh, is that right? [A short laugh.] The last time I was up there was Valentine's Day, and that's something I've been trying to forget. But it's cold, and I never did have much chance to get used to winters. Those springs seem like one helluva way to beat the freeze to me.

They're really that normal for you?

Edited 2014-01-09 03:26 (UTC)

[Cliff was acting strangely again and for a moment Souji worried that what he had feared was actually a possibility.

But then he explained himself and Souji smiled his usual, patient, understanding smile. Of course Cliff wouldn't be used to the cold. His normal attire was obviously for something warmer and it wasn't until recently that he'd been exposed to such frigid temperatures. And if he was trying to forget an experience on Valentine's then what better way than to go with someone who was just a friend.

...Just a friend, like it was supposed to be. The smile never faltered, but inside Souji felt that familiar ache.]

Oh, yes. People go to them to cure illnesses, some are said to remove scars and improve a person's health exponentially. My people bathe together regularly in public baths, so onsen are just like outdoor versions of them.

Public bathing, huh?

[He didn't know the proper rules or etiquette regarding the springs. Last Valentine's day, both Fayt and himself wore their swimming trunks into the water and played a few rounds of Marco Polo before they pissed off enough people and settled down. Souji's words seemed to imply the complete opposite of a recreational venue in his mind.

Bathing was always something he preferred to do on his own, after all. It was hard to fit multiple people into washrooms on a space vessel, and showers were far more economical in terms of water conservation than any bath.

Suddenly, his off the cuff idea became far more intimate than he realized.]

I didn't know that people used them for bathing.

It seems most people here don't.

[Which made him realize something and he smiled, reaching into his kimono to take his fan out and tap it lightly against Cliff's haori to help dislodge more glitter.]

I also know most people from the future aren't comfortable bathing together, so I don't mind if you change your mind. It must be something unique to my culture that it's fine for strangers to share a bathing area.

[He was getting a distinct feeling that Cliff no longer wanted to go now that he knew how onsen really worked, and Souji didn't want to push. He'd never been because of his health, but it wasn't such a big deal to him. Besides, it was just an idea between friends. Nothing more.]

If that's all you were thinking of during your stay with the Malnosso, maybe you'd feel more comfortable going with Fayt-kun?

No, it's gotta be you.

[Uttered far too quickly, the words belayed the point that Cliff had meant to make in their prior discussion, the one that he had fallen just short of reaching. He watched Souji work with the fan, utilizing every ounce of his patience to hold himself back from just grabbing Souji by the shoulders and telling him everything in the most in-your-face tone imaginable.

Tact was still a thing that he needed to practice in order to cross this strange cultural gap that kept appearing along with everything else. Whatever Souji's era, there were parts to it that simply seemed strange to Cliff.

But, after coming this far, he would just have to persevere.]

Believe me when I say it's gotta be you. I need someone to show me how to do it properly, man.

[Because Vegeta and Rei were his only other options, and he never even thought of them as such.]

Besides... [He added the next words on as almost an after thought.] I was wondering if something happened to you while I was gone. How long's it been since we last met?

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