love-love party!

[ai_no_tenbatsu]

Aino Minako, the Goddess of Love, is here to bring you...

THE LOVE-LOVE PARTY

Your character turns around, blinks, wakes up, what have you, but finds themselves suddenly in an unfamiliar place. It appears to be a large ballroom, decorated with glitter and sparkles and hearts everywhere, and in the center of the room is a very large marble

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[winged_moon]

It had been so long.

That was the first thing Yue thought when he saw that fountain again; he'd managed to avoid one of these ridiculous little "parties" for so long and yet... here he was. Again. And surrounded by glitter and garbed in some bizarre outfit, as per what seemed to be the norm for these things.

It could have been a lot worse, he knew, but he still didn't have to be pleased about it. And so he wasn't, and found a nice out of the way corner in which to stand, arms folded across his chest as he stared forbiddingly out upon the mass of hearts and glitter, waiting for it to all be over. Even that place with the extra wings was better than this.

I REGRET NOTHING

[not_rly_fai]

From a dark and dreary institution of grays and yellow smiley faces, it was something of a treat to return to the bright colors, festive moods, and silliness that were part of the fish-fountain parties. The ballgown he wore did make it difficult to move around in. But if he was in a dress, surely there would be others...

But unfortunately, the first familiar face he found was wearing a strange costume, but it was no silver ballgown. Tragic, certainly, in that Yue would look so much better in the silver and shimmering jewels, hair all done up with flowers and trinkets. Yuuhi jingled as he picked up his skirts to greet the other, on the premise of just following a few bubbles from the fountain, popping them and giving chase until one led him to the guardian. He smiled broadly, lifting the skirts enough to curtsy.

"I'll never understand how Sakura- any of the girls for that matter, manage to move around in costumes like these," he shrugs helplessly.

at least it isn't the loli dress....

[winged_moon]

The room seemed to be getting warmer and warmer the longer Yue stood there -- or was it his imagination? He shifted restlessly, wings flexing and re-folding and picking up stray bits of glitter and fluff from his surroundings without him being entirely aware of it. And even if he had been, he probably wouldn't have minded, because for some reason the decor seemed to be growing on him. Perhaps he just had to get accustomed to it.

Before he'd had time to consider that thought for long, though, he was approached by someone in a rather fluffy ballgown, and he blinked in surprise at the sight before quickly pushing his usual forbidding frown back into place. "Why are you wearing that?" he asked, one brow quirking slightly as he looked the magician over. It really did look rather encumbering and more than a little awkward to wear. Even if Fai didn't look ba-- wait, what?

hey he totally rocks the loli dress. :<

[not_rly_fai]

It was worth it, Yuuhi decided, if only for the look on Yue's face. Seeing the guardian wearing anything but that thin line at his mouth was an improvement, and the look for surprise? Even if it just lasted a second or two, it was enough to make him laugh.

"All the silly things here, and you're worried over a dress," he smirked, taking a few steps closer before trying to untangle one of the dangling earrings from his hair.

"I didn't ask you why you're wearing enough black to make Kuro-pii jealous," he shook his head and gave up on the earring after a few moments.

"But I'll be happy to trade if you'd rather wear it."

which is why he flips the skirt up?

[winged_moon]

"It is an unusual outfit for you." Yue's frown was for both Fai and himself at this point, for why was he thinking such odd things? It was strange, but... probably nothing important. Why should he worry about it? After all, he was at a party.

Somehow that seemed odd to him as well, but when he tried to think of why it slid away from him like a dream on awakening. Instead, the guardian simply stepped forward, unfolding his arms and reaching up to gently untangle the earring for Fai without bothering to ask first. "Mine was not of my choosing, either. But I suspect I'd be less happy in your... costume."

:| of course.

[not_rly_fai]

"Is it? Haha, maybe you're right." Unusual? Perhaps. They traveled to so many different places, it was hard to mind it much. Aside from being a little cumbersome to move around in, was it that strange?

"Troublesome, aren't they?" he added as Yue helped him with the earring. It'd been a while since they'd had an easygoing conversation like this and he wasn't about to waste it. "I should probably take them out, I don't usually wear pierces."

He couldn't help a soft laugh though, at Yue's last comment. "I suppose I can endure then. Less happy means you've got to be at least a little happy right now and I'd hate to ruin that!"

[winged_moon]

For half a second Yue thought he could feel a smile turning up the corners of his mouth, but he quickly forced himself to hide it. It really was too warm in here; it was making it difficult to think properly, making him tired. He disliked that feeling immensely, and without thinking he automatically started to cool the air immediately surrounding himself.

"Probably more trouble than they're worth," he observed, as he managed to free the bit of jewelry, then frowned a little and just removed it entirely and held it out to Fai instead. It would almost certainly just catch in his hair again, given the impractical design and the magician's admitted unfamiliarity with that sort of earring.

His answering glare was rather lacking in force, though, as he continued, "I never said I was happy."

[not_rly_fai]

"How'd you get so good at that? Do yours tangle much?" Was that-? No, it couldn't be a smile beginning to form on Yue's lips. It had to be a trick of the light. Anything that might explain it away. He focused instead on removing the other earring and waiting as Yue dropped the first in his hand.

He held back a teasing retort when Yue glared back at him. The guardian was being fairly nice, all things considered. And having been on the other end of several glares, this was certainly... one of his nicer ones.

"You didn't say you were unhappy either, right?" he tried, turning his attention on a stray bubble before reaching out to pop it.

[winged_moon]

"I don't wear dangling earrings." The cuff he customarily wore wasn't exactly prone to tangling in his hair, after all; Yue lifted a hand to his bare ear as he was reminded about it, then realized what he was doing and lowered it again. "I used to know--"

He cut himself off on the verge of that explanation with an uncomfortable-looking frown, wings flexing and shedding bits of the glitter they'd picked up just from being in the room. Something was clearly wrong with him, and yet even cooling himself off wasn't helping. But even that brief flash of alarm faded quickly, and he found himself distracted by the bubbles floating past without the ability to recall what he'd just been thinking about. It couldn't have been important, if he'd forgotten it already. Could it?

The guardian shook his head once, blinked, and tried to focus on what Fai was saying. "I suppose... I didn't." Had he? Did it really matter? It was so nice here. Those bubbles were rather pretty.

[not_rly_fai]

It was more than he expected Yue to say, though it was amusing to see him so defensive. When Yue trails off, Yuuhi gives him a curious look. Was there a reason he'd stopped?

"Must be a popular style," he tried, leaving it at that. Another moment passed and he found himself searching the dress for pockets, or anywhere to keep the earrings. Even if they weren't of value to him, surely they were to someone. It was an extravagant costume no matter how he looked at it.

It was a little odd to see the guardian so distracted, but after all he'd been through, Yue could use a bit of relaxing, whether it was forced upon him or not. There was a chill in the air - Yue's magic? - though he couldn't say it bothered him. His home was cold on the best of days. This was... a nice breeze more than anything else.

"Seems hard to be unhappy when there's a party this nice," he added, smile slipping into something a bit more genuine. "I think I was beginning to miss them."

[winged_moon]

"I wasn't." The last thing he'd wanted was to be here, though now Yue wasn't quite certain why he'd objected so strongly. It was a break from an unpleasant situation, after all, in a comfortable setting and someone to talk to, even if Fai was wearing a dress larger than he was. He only wished Touya and Sakura could be there as well, but even his constant worry for them seemed oddly muted and distant at the moment.

Yue blinked again, the set of his shoulders and wings alike softening a bit as he added, "But I think... I've changed my mind." He lifted a hand and held it palm-up, trapping a small collection of drifting bubbles with a wisp of air and swirling them about. A faint hint of a smile returned to his expression as he watched the light play in rainbows over them as they danced. "It's nice here."

[not_rly_fai]

There was definitely something intoxicating and magical about the atmosphere, but how to stop it or even what exactly it was, he wasn't sure. It was hard to see it as a bad thing though, given that Yue looked content for probably the first time ever (that Yuuhi had seen at least). It was no trick of the light this time. Faint as it might be, Yue was actually smiling and when Yuuhi caught himself staring, he had to look down and focus on smoothing out his skirts to hide the blush coming in at the corners of his cheeks.

"Hyuuu..." he sighed. The swirl of bubbles caught his eye and he couldn't help a tiny pang of jealousy; to be able to use magic for fun, he could still remember what that was like. He found himself reaching out toward the swirl of bubbles, brushing Yue's palm as watched the bubbles twist about.

"Oh- sorry, it's pretty! Where did you learn that?" he withdrew his hand in order to clap his together.

[winged_moon]

The touch was unexpected and, startled, Yue drew back slightly as his feathers ruffled. At Fai's immediate apology and withdrawl he relaxed again, releasing the trapped bubbles and letting them drift free. "Air is my element," he replied, as though it should have been completely obvious. "I just.. do it."

And to illustrate, he called up a cool breeze that swirled around the magician, playfully tugging at his hair and dress. It was nice to have such control back again, after the Institute left him without his connection to the elements, and Yue couldn't help but enjoy reveling in it. It was like he was younger again, when he could tease Cerberus by tugging at the lion-like guardian's tail when he wasn't looking. Fai would have to stand in for his absent brother, though, for the moment.

[not_rly_fai]

Too much. Right. It was easy to forget. Got him in trouble more often than it ought to. He wrung his hands behind his back instead, forcing a slow step back and doing his best to make it appear natural.

"It's that easy?" he replied, tone interested and maybe a bit curious. It was the same for him usually. The magic came when he needed it. Spells helped control it and keep it from going too wild, but...

He watched with interest as the air seemed to push and pull around him, ruffling the dress' skirts and stirring his hair. It was silly, yes, but hard to keep from twirling a few times and swishing the skirts about as the wind picked up. So even Yue could be playful, hm? Or would it all vanish with the next party... the thought struck him much deeper than it had any right to. It would be nice, he admitted, if Yue could have a happy memory to hold on to, even just once in a while.

[winged_moon]

It was that easy, really -- air and water were part of him, like an extension of his self, and manipulating them was no more difficult than spreading his wings or lifting a hand. He forgot about it at times, caught up in other worries until he forgot about such a simple and pleasant thing until he flew and could feel the breeze through his feathers. Perhaps it was just that simple delight, perhaps the odd sense of happiness that had been slowly overwhelming all other thought since Yue had arrived in this place, or more likely a combination of both, but as he watched Fai twirl playfully with the swirling breeze it startled something like a rusty laugh out of him

[not_rly_fai]

Now that really was strange. Had Yue just... laughed? The world was coming to an end now, he was sure of it. The reaction drew an unexpected pink tinge to his cheeks. Usually when he acted silly he got chased, cursed at (all in a well-meaning and very Kurogane-esque way of course), or just a good old fashioned roll of the eyes, but laughter? And from Yue no less...

Maybe he'd misjudged the guardian. Maybe it was simply the awful setting and terrible things that happened to them all back in the institution that made him so cold and distant.

"Hyuuuu," he sighed, a smile on his lips that fell naturally, rather than from force of habit, "how lucky! To get to see Yue make that face."

He ran a nervous hand through his short blonde hair and turned toward the fountain, "water too? Can you show me?"