RP log ~ Thomas
In which Cecile abandons her festival booth for a short time to fold paper boats with Thomas for wish-making.
Thomas shuffled in his sandals, glancing around for signs of Cecile. He had promised he would take her out and enjoy the festival, but of course he would first have to find her. He felt slightly uncomfortable in the kimono and hoped his self-consciousness didn't show too much. Finally he rounded a corner and saw a booth up ahead advertising hugs. He smiled, and headed for it.
With her back facing him, Cecile was fussing over a large green bow around Koroku's neck. Although the fabric of her mother's old orange robes was light and frayed in a few spots, it was comfortable and complimented her modest figure. "Please sit still, Koroku! No one will want to hug a squirming dog, you know!"
"Excuse me." Thomas approached the booth, feeling strangely timid. "How much for a hug, please?" He fidgeted, tugging on the sleeves of his blue kimono.
"Oh!! Of course," Cecile responded, still fussing over Koroku. "Did you want a hug from Koroku first, or-Thomas!!" She bowed out of habit and made an apologetic flurry of hand gestures. "I'm sorry, I was..."
"It's okay," he assured her, smiling. "I was ahm... I was actually hoping I could hug you instead... if that's okay."
She turned a faint shade of pink. "Yes, well, you're special, so you do not have to pay a cent. But look at you! I've never seen you all dressed up like that!!"
He grinned sheepishly, also turning slightly pink. "This? Oh, I just... I wanted to look nice," he said modestly. "You really like it?"
"Of course!! I...think you look very handsome."
"Oh..." He grinned even more sheepishly. "You look very beautiful, too," he told her.
Cecile looked down at herself, flustered. "I've never worn them before. I'm so used to heavy armor, it feels almost too light."
"It's a very nice change," he said quietly. "Not that I don't like how you look in armor," he added hastily, "I just... it will be easier to hug you this way." He was starting to sweat a little from nerves. He didn't know why he was so nervous but he hoped he would stop flustering.
For the moment, it appeared Cecile was more calm than Thomas. She looked back up and smiled, as if ready to say something, but Koroku jumped off the bench and skittered away through the crowd.
Thomas jumped a little seeing Koroku flee the scene, but once he got over his surprise he felt a little sad. Cecile would probably want to go after Koroku, and he would end up letting her to make her happy. "I guess you should go after him," he said. "You need him for your booth, right?"
"Oh...well...if Koroku is going to be stubborn, then perhaps he needs some time by himself to think about his behavior," Cecile said, looking over her makeshift booth.
"Oh." Well, that made him a little happier. "Ah... well, then, how about we walk around a little while you wait for him to cool off?" he suggested. It sounded like a good excuse to spend time with Cecile.
"That'd be wonderful!" Cecile answered and shuffled over to his side. "Where would you like to go?"
"Well..." He glanced around thoughtfully at all the different booths set up for the festival. "Is there anything in particular you've wanted to do at the festival?"
Her face lit up and she grabbed his hand, weaving through the crowd. "Oh!!!! I know just what we can do!!!!"
He allowed her to drag him along, smiling endearingly. "Is it a surprise, or will you tell me where we're going?"
"Actually, I just need to get some supplies," Cecile responded, casting a sheepish backwards glance at him before stopping at a busy booth and swapped a few coins for a small satchel. "Would you mind if we went to the lake?"
"I wouldn't mind at all," he assured her, a little surprised that she wanted to take him to the lake of all places. He was sure she had a good reason, though.
"Do you remember what I told you about the old festivals we held here when I was younger, Thomas?"
It took Thomas a moment to bring that conversation back to his memory. "Oh, yes, of course! Putting a candle out in the water and making a wish. I did say I would do that with you." Of course now he remembered the other part of that conversation, the part where he promised to keep count of how many times Cecile kissed him. He would somehow have to bring that bit up while they were at the lake.
She nodded, and stopped by the shore of the lake. "The candles they had were not very sturdy, but the paper has a nice green print on it. I can teach you to fold the boat if you'd like."
"All right," he said, holding onto her hand for a little while longer. He hadn't done anything like this when he lived with his mother, and he was happy to share the moment with Cecile.
Cecile unfolded the cloth and took out a candle and sheet of paper, placing them in Thomas's hand. "It is a good thing it's not too dark yet, or else we'd have to light the candles now."
He took the items, holding the paper as carefully as he could in his shaking hands. He was still nervous, for some reason. "Yes, it is a good thing," he agreed. "So, Miss Cecile, I'm ready to learn."
"Very well then," she intoned. "Just be careful not to give yourself a papercut!" It took a few tries before she could successfully remember how to fold paper boats herself, but after remembering, it was easy to guide Thomas through the steps, and he was a fast learner.
Of course, he was paying very close attention to his teacher, so he was bound to learn the lesson. He soon had a boat like hers cradled in his hands so the wind wouldn't blow it away. "What do we do now?" he asked.
"Now is the best part! You place it in the water like so," she began, placing her own boat gently on the water. "Then you light your candle and place it in the crevice you folded in the bottom of the boat."
"Oh, okay." He thought to light his candle first, thinking it might take him a while and didn't want his boat to sink. He was being unusually clumsy with the matches, but he got it right in the end.
Cecile watched him fondly, but hoped he would not burn himself. "See? You did wonderful! All that's left to do is give your boat a nudge and watch it sail away after making a wish."
He smiled awkwardly, glancing over at her for a moment. He could think of only one thing to wish for. He thought the wish with all of his might and nudged the boat forward as Cecile instructed.
Taking care not to make her robes messy, Cecile kneeled in the grass by the lake shore and gave her own boat a small nudge, careful not to push it in the path of Thomas's. Then she sat back and watched. "When they're far enough away, all you can see is the candlelight. It's very pretty."
Thomas scooted over so he could sit beside Cecile. "It does look very pretty," he agreed. "It must look like the stars if there are enough candles on the water."
She nodded and found herself smiling without knowing why. "Everyone would gather and set them out one by one when I was smaller, so it did look like that. Of course, not all the boats made it."
"Oh?" He tilted his head in interest. "So, if the boat doesn't make it, does that mean the wish won't come true?"
"I don't think that's the case. I think it still does, but in a different way. ...Does that make sense?"
"I..." He tried to sort out the logic, and felt a little lost. "I suppose so," he said finally. "All the same, I hope my boat makes it."
Cecile pointed out to the water. "There are still two lights there, so it's going to be fine. Your wish will come true, I'm sure of it!! But father said you have to work to make them true."
Thomas smiled, scooting just a little bit closer to her. "I'm sure yours will come true as well, Cecile," he said quietly. There was no doubt he'd work hard to make his wish come true.
She flushed, hoping the cover of dusk would hide it. "It will take a while to see if it comes true....that's okay, I suppose."
He gave a soft "mhm" of agreement, sneaking his arm around her waist to pull her close to him. He grinned to himself watching the two points of light drift over the lake.
She made a faint noise in surprise; all the while Cecile had been talking, she hadn't noticed how close Thomas had moved.
The noise did not exactly encourage him. He shifted uncomfortably, wondering if he should back off. "Is this okay?" he asked.
"N-no, it's fine! I was...I didn't expect it, and...and it was nice," she trailed off in embarrassment.
"Oh, okay," said Thomas, laughing a little in relief. "I just... um, I wouldn't ever do anything that would make you unhappy or uncomfortable."
Cecile leaned against his shoulder, secretly relieved he hadn't moved away yet. "You're always so careful," she murmured, then added quietly, "...But I wouldn't...I wouldn't mind if you hugged me like I was not made of glass every now and then."
Thomas shifted uncomfortably at that. "If you want," he said. He just wanted to hold her for now, but if she didn't mind it he would definitely hug her differently in the future.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean that...that you were at fault," she fiddled with the hem of her sleeves.
"It's okay," he assured her. "I shouldn't be so worried I'll break you, I know... I'm sorry. I just get so worried that I'll hurt you somehow."
Cecile shook her head. "I know you'd never hurt me. I trust you more than myself sometimes, and certainly more than anyone else here. I am not ashamed to say that at all."
"Thanks." He leaned close, pressing his lips gently to her cheek. "That really means a lot to me."
Cecile sighed lightly. "It's true. ...This is the best festival we've had in such a long time. Everything has worked out for the best."
"That's very good to know," Thomas said, keeping his head tilted where it was so he could have an excuse to nuzzle Cecile's hair if the mood struck him. "So many things have happened... I'm glad we can finally celebrate."
"Are you happy?" she asked suddenly. "I mean, things were so unhappy earlier. I want you to forget your responsibilities for a little while."
"Of course I'm happy!" he said, surprised she would even need to ask. "I'm with you, after all. How can I be anything but happy?"
Cecile smiled faintly. "I wanted to be sure. And I wanted to tell Sir Jess that you weren't thinking about work; I know he'd be proud."
Thomas took this moment to bury his face in her hair to try hiding the huge grin on his face. "I'm definitely not thinking about work," he assured her.
"You had better not," Cecile responded. Her heart fluttered, and she was afraid if she moved even the slightest bit he'd change his mind and think about work, or at least lose interest in her hair.
"I won't," he promised. She smelled like oranges again, and he wondered if she always smelled like that or if she did that just for him. "Cecile...," he began, shifting away just a little. "You always smell so nice," he said, feeling silly.
"I'm glad you think so. That is something that I would not want to hear from anyone else," Cecile shyly averted her eyes back out to the lake.
"I would hope not," he said, mostly to himself. "Ah.... Cecile, you know before, when we talked about the boats? Uhm... you remember what else we talked about?" Thomas knew it was probably okay to just kiss her, but he wanted to be sure.
Her face rapidly turned a dark hue of red and her voice grew quiet. "...I remember."
"Well... I kept count like I promised." He watched her warily. "I thought to count the kiss I gave you, so... that's three."
How easy it had been to think about these things while Thomas had been far away from Budehuc in North Cavern! Now she found it impossible to put anything in words. "I'm sorry...if I haven't been keeping good count myself."
"You don't have to keep count at all," he said, now feeling foolish again. "I would rather you kiss me because you wanted to, not because you felt you had to."
"I've been wanting to give you a kiss ever since the festival started!" Cecile blurted out, then self-consciously fingered the fraying hem of the sleeves of her robes.
"Well..." He blinked sheepishly, lowering his eyes to watch her play with her sleeves. "I'd like it if you did," he confessed.
"B-but it would be terribly indecent and forward to simply do so without warning. I...I had thought about it a lot while you were gone."
"Cecile... I think... we both need to get more courage," Thomas told her. It was best to follow one's own example, so he put his arms around her and hugged her tightly.
She hugged back as if it were her last chance, and buried her face in his robes. "It's easier to be brave in the face of the enemy, so...so I don't understand why with things like this..."
Thomas nodded, letting his fingers comb through her hair. "It's because I love you," he whispered. "I love you, and if anything ever happened to take you away from me..." He didn't want to entertain that idea. "And that's why it's so scary."
His words made her face glow, and she looked up, her expression clear. It had been a long while since she felt so happy. "I love you too, so I will protect you with more fervor than I've ever protected Budehuc. Not because it's my duty, but because I want to."
"Okay..." He turned red, feeling humbled that she would say such things to him, and very pleased at the same time. There was really nothing he could think to say, so he did the only thing he could think of, and kissed her.
She closed her eyes, forgetting she was a girl who wore oversized armor and inexpensive second-handed robes, and kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck and lacing his hair through her fingers.
It was nice, sometimes, to forget about the outside world temporarily and enjoy time with Cecile. Right then, it seemed very possible that his wish could come true, after all.
"I can't see the boats anymore," she whispered after a moment, casting an eye over the lake. "They must have sailed far."
Thomas had stopped paying attention to the boats and could only nod. He lifted his hands and placed them on her arms to discourage her from slipping away from him.
Thinking his actions were done in efforts to say something, she paused. "What is it?"
"Nothing, I just... I like being close to you," he said, smiling a little, "and I don't want you to move away just yet."
"I wasn't planning on it, not just yet," Cecile said and snuggled against his side. "I do not get chances like this often."
No, they had both been busy with various things, not to mention him being in a cave and her being kidnapped. With all that in mind Thomas was glad just to have moments to hold her. They would have to go back to their respective duties eventually, but he was happier not thinking about that, and just enjoying the present.
"Did you know that you were the first person to visit Koroku and I at the booth?" she asked after a moment.
"Really? I'm surprised: I would think a lot of people would want to hug you," he said, smiling at her.
"Well, most people went to listen to Lady Nei's performance when I first set up, so that is probably why. Besides, you will never have to pay at all, festival or not."
"Hm, well, maybe people will come later," Thomas suggested. "Your hugs do have a wonderful way of cheering people up."
Cecile smiled secretively. "We'll see..." In truth, she doubted any hug she could give would be as wonderful as the ones she had received, especially her most recent one.
Silence fell, but it was the comfortable sort, and any time with Cecile was a nice time in Thomas's mind. He nuzzled her hair and could think of no words to say. "I guess I should let you go back," he said at last. "I don't want to be selfish and have all your hugs to myself."
She stood up reluctantly, brushing a few stray pieces of grass off. "I suppose you're right. But...what are you going to do now?"
He too stood up, once again fidgeting with his outfit. "I'll be enjoying the festival. I could stop by your booth and bring you things if you want."
"I do not think I'll need anything. Koroku has enough as it is-ah! He must have cooled off by now, right?"
"Yes, he probably has," Thomas agreed. "I'll come by your booth, anyway. At the very least I want to be sure you get some business."
She beamed, taking his hands in hers in a gesture of enthusiasm. "We'll have enough money to repair the roof and windows, I'm sure!!"
"Sure," he said, trying to match her enthusiasm. It was hard to do so when he had her warm hands clasped around his.
Cecile paused, wondering what else she should say, then leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Have fun for the rest of the festival, okay?"
"I... I will," he promised, blushing happily at the kiss. "Ahm... good luck with your booth. I'll come by very soon."
"I'll wait for you!" Cecile smiled, then broke away with a wave. After a few moments, she had disappeared into the festival crowd to search for Koroku.
Thomas shuffled in his sandals, glancing around for signs of Cecile. He had promised he would take her out and enjoy the festival, but of course he would first have to find her. He felt slightly uncomfortable in the kimono and hoped his self-consciousness didn't show too much. Finally he rounded a corner and saw a booth up ahead advertising hugs. He smiled, and headed for it.
With her back facing him, Cecile was fussing over a large green bow around Koroku's neck. Although the fabric of her mother's old orange robes was light and frayed in a few spots, it was comfortable and complimented her modest figure. "Please sit still, Koroku! No one will want to hug a squirming dog, you know!"
"Excuse me." Thomas approached the booth, feeling strangely timid. "How much for a hug, please?" He fidgeted, tugging on the sleeves of his blue kimono.
"Oh!! Of course," Cecile responded, still fussing over Koroku. "Did you want a hug from Koroku first, or-Thomas!!" She bowed out of habit and made an apologetic flurry of hand gestures. "I'm sorry, I was..."
"It's okay," he assured her, smiling. "I was ahm... I was actually hoping I could hug you instead... if that's okay."
She turned a faint shade of pink. "Yes, well, you're special, so you do not have to pay a cent. But look at you! I've never seen you all dressed up like that!!"
He grinned sheepishly, also turning slightly pink. "This? Oh, I just... I wanted to look nice," he said modestly. "You really like it?"
"Of course!! I...think you look very handsome."
"Oh..." He grinned even more sheepishly. "You look very beautiful, too," he told her.
Cecile looked down at herself, flustered. "I've never worn them before. I'm so used to heavy armor, it feels almost too light."
"It's a very nice change," he said quietly. "Not that I don't like how you look in armor," he added hastily, "I just... it will be easier to hug you this way." He was starting to sweat a little from nerves. He didn't know why he was so nervous but he hoped he would stop flustering.
For the moment, it appeared Cecile was more calm than Thomas. She looked back up and smiled, as if ready to say something, but Koroku jumped off the bench and skittered away through the crowd.
Thomas jumped a little seeing Koroku flee the scene, but once he got over his surprise he felt a little sad. Cecile would probably want to go after Koroku, and he would end up letting her to make her happy. "I guess you should go after him," he said. "You need him for your booth, right?"
"Oh...well...if Koroku is going to be stubborn, then perhaps he needs some time by himself to think about his behavior," Cecile said, looking over her makeshift booth.
"Oh." Well, that made him a little happier. "Ah... well, then, how about we walk around a little while you wait for him to cool off?" he suggested. It sounded like a good excuse to spend time with Cecile.
"That'd be wonderful!" Cecile answered and shuffled over to his side. "Where would you like to go?"
"Well..." He glanced around thoughtfully at all the different booths set up for the festival. "Is there anything in particular you've wanted to do at the festival?"
Her face lit up and she grabbed his hand, weaving through the crowd. "Oh!!!! I know just what we can do!!!!"
He allowed her to drag him along, smiling endearingly. "Is it a surprise, or will you tell me where we're going?"
"Actually, I just need to get some supplies," Cecile responded, casting a sheepish backwards glance at him before stopping at a busy booth and swapped a few coins for a small satchel. "Would you mind if we went to the lake?"
"I wouldn't mind at all," he assured her, a little surprised that she wanted to take him to the lake of all places. He was sure she had a good reason, though.
"Do you remember what I told you about the old festivals we held here when I was younger, Thomas?"
It took Thomas a moment to bring that conversation back to his memory. "Oh, yes, of course! Putting a candle out in the water and making a wish. I did say I would do that with you." Of course now he remembered the other part of that conversation, the part where he promised to keep count of how many times Cecile kissed him. He would somehow have to bring that bit up while they were at the lake.
She nodded, and stopped by the shore of the lake. "The candles they had were not very sturdy, but the paper has a nice green print on it. I can teach you to fold the boat if you'd like."
"All right," he said, holding onto her hand for a little while longer. He hadn't done anything like this when he lived with his mother, and he was happy to share the moment with Cecile.
Cecile unfolded the cloth and took out a candle and sheet of paper, placing them in Thomas's hand. "It is a good thing it's not too dark yet, or else we'd have to light the candles now."
He took the items, holding the paper as carefully as he could in his shaking hands. He was still nervous, for some reason. "Yes, it is a good thing," he agreed. "So, Miss Cecile, I'm ready to learn."
"Very well then," she intoned. "Just be careful not to give yourself a papercut!" It took a few tries before she could successfully remember how to fold paper boats herself, but after remembering, it was easy to guide Thomas through the steps, and he was a fast learner.
Of course, he was paying very close attention to his teacher, so he was bound to learn the lesson. He soon had a boat like hers cradled in his hands so the wind wouldn't blow it away. "What do we do now?" he asked.
"Now is the best part! You place it in the water like so," she began, placing her own boat gently on the water. "Then you light your candle and place it in the crevice you folded in the bottom of the boat."
"Oh, okay." He thought to light his candle first, thinking it might take him a while and didn't want his boat to sink. He was being unusually clumsy with the matches, but he got it right in the end.
Cecile watched him fondly, but hoped he would not burn himself. "See? You did wonderful! All that's left to do is give your boat a nudge and watch it sail away after making a wish."
He smiled awkwardly, glancing over at her for a moment. He could think of only one thing to wish for. He thought the wish with all of his might and nudged the boat forward as Cecile instructed.
Taking care not to make her robes messy, Cecile kneeled in the grass by the lake shore and gave her own boat a small nudge, careful not to push it in the path of Thomas's. Then she sat back and watched. "When they're far enough away, all you can see is the candlelight. It's very pretty."
Thomas scooted over so he could sit beside Cecile. "It does look very pretty," he agreed. "It must look like the stars if there are enough candles on the water."
She nodded and found herself smiling without knowing why. "Everyone would gather and set them out one by one when I was smaller, so it did look like that. Of course, not all the boats made it."
"Oh?" He tilted his head in interest. "So, if the boat doesn't make it, does that mean the wish won't come true?"
"I don't think that's the case. I think it still does, but in a different way. ...Does that make sense?"
"I..." He tried to sort out the logic, and felt a little lost. "I suppose so," he said finally. "All the same, I hope my boat makes it."
Cecile pointed out to the water. "There are still two lights there, so it's going to be fine. Your wish will come true, I'm sure of it!! But father said you have to work to make them true."
Thomas smiled, scooting just a little bit closer to her. "I'm sure yours will come true as well, Cecile," he said quietly. There was no doubt he'd work hard to make his wish come true.
She flushed, hoping the cover of dusk would hide it. "It will take a while to see if it comes true....that's okay, I suppose."
He gave a soft "mhm" of agreement, sneaking his arm around her waist to pull her close to him. He grinned to himself watching the two points of light drift over the lake.
She made a faint noise in surprise; all the while Cecile had been talking, she hadn't noticed how close Thomas had moved.
The noise did not exactly encourage him. He shifted uncomfortably, wondering if he should back off. "Is this okay?" he asked.
"N-no, it's fine! I was...I didn't expect it, and...and it was nice," she trailed off in embarrassment.
"Oh, okay," said Thomas, laughing a little in relief. "I just... um, I wouldn't ever do anything that would make you unhappy or uncomfortable."
Cecile leaned against his shoulder, secretly relieved he hadn't moved away yet. "You're always so careful," she murmured, then added quietly, "...But I wouldn't...I wouldn't mind if you hugged me like I was not made of glass every now and then."
Thomas shifted uncomfortably at that. "If you want," he said. He just wanted to hold her for now, but if she didn't mind it he would definitely hug her differently in the future.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean that...that you were at fault," she fiddled with the hem of her sleeves.
"It's okay," he assured her. "I shouldn't be so worried I'll break you, I know... I'm sorry. I just get so worried that I'll hurt you somehow."
Cecile shook her head. "I know you'd never hurt me. I trust you more than myself sometimes, and certainly more than anyone else here. I am not ashamed to say that at all."
"Thanks." He leaned close, pressing his lips gently to her cheek. "That really means a lot to me."
Cecile sighed lightly. "It's true. ...This is the best festival we've had in such a long time. Everything has worked out for the best."
"That's very good to know," Thomas said, keeping his head tilted where it was so he could have an excuse to nuzzle Cecile's hair if the mood struck him. "So many things have happened... I'm glad we can finally celebrate."
"Are you happy?" she asked suddenly. "I mean, things were so unhappy earlier. I want you to forget your responsibilities for a little while."
"Of course I'm happy!" he said, surprised she would even need to ask. "I'm with you, after all. How can I be anything but happy?"
Cecile smiled faintly. "I wanted to be sure. And I wanted to tell Sir Jess that you weren't thinking about work; I know he'd be proud."
Thomas took this moment to bury his face in her hair to try hiding the huge grin on his face. "I'm definitely not thinking about work," he assured her.
"You had better not," Cecile responded. Her heart fluttered, and she was afraid if she moved even the slightest bit he'd change his mind and think about work, or at least lose interest in her hair.
"I won't," he promised. She smelled like oranges again, and he wondered if she always smelled like that or if she did that just for him. "Cecile...," he began, shifting away just a little. "You always smell so nice," he said, feeling silly.
"I'm glad you think so. That is something that I would not want to hear from anyone else," Cecile shyly averted her eyes back out to the lake.
"I would hope not," he said, mostly to himself. "Ah.... Cecile, you know before, when we talked about the boats? Uhm... you remember what else we talked about?" Thomas knew it was probably okay to just kiss her, but he wanted to be sure.
Her face rapidly turned a dark hue of red and her voice grew quiet. "...I remember."
"Well... I kept count like I promised." He watched her warily. "I thought to count the kiss I gave you, so... that's three."
How easy it had been to think about these things while Thomas had been far away from Budehuc in North Cavern! Now she found it impossible to put anything in words. "I'm sorry...if I haven't been keeping good count myself."
"You don't have to keep count at all," he said, now feeling foolish again. "I would rather you kiss me because you wanted to, not because you felt you had to."
"I've been wanting to give you a kiss ever since the festival started!" Cecile blurted out, then self-consciously fingered the fraying hem of the sleeves of her robes.
"Well..." He blinked sheepishly, lowering his eyes to watch her play with her sleeves. "I'd like it if you did," he confessed.
"B-but it would be terribly indecent and forward to simply do so without warning. I...I had thought about it a lot while you were gone."
"Cecile... I think... we both need to get more courage," Thomas told her. It was best to follow one's own example, so he put his arms around her and hugged her tightly.
She hugged back as if it were her last chance, and buried her face in his robes. "It's easier to be brave in the face of the enemy, so...so I don't understand why with things like this..."
Thomas nodded, letting his fingers comb through her hair. "It's because I love you," he whispered. "I love you, and if anything ever happened to take you away from me..." He didn't want to entertain that idea. "And that's why it's so scary."
His words made her face glow, and she looked up, her expression clear. It had been a long while since she felt so happy. "I love you too, so I will protect you with more fervor than I've ever protected Budehuc. Not because it's my duty, but because I want to."
"Okay..." He turned red, feeling humbled that she would say such things to him, and very pleased at the same time. There was really nothing he could think to say, so he did the only thing he could think of, and kissed her.
She closed her eyes, forgetting she was a girl who wore oversized armor and inexpensive second-handed robes, and kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck and lacing his hair through her fingers.
It was nice, sometimes, to forget about the outside world temporarily and enjoy time with Cecile. Right then, it seemed very possible that his wish could come true, after all.
"I can't see the boats anymore," she whispered after a moment, casting an eye over the lake. "They must have sailed far."
Thomas had stopped paying attention to the boats and could only nod. He lifted his hands and placed them on her arms to discourage her from slipping away from him.
Thinking his actions were done in efforts to say something, she paused. "What is it?"
"Nothing, I just... I like being close to you," he said, smiling a little, "and I don't want you to move away just yet."
"I wasn't planning on it, not just yet," Cecile said and snuggled against his side. "I do not get chances like this often."
No, they had both been busy with various things, not to mention him being in a cave and her being kidnapped. With all that in mind Thomas was glad just to have moments to hold her. They would have to go back to their respective duties eventually, but he was happier not thinking about that, and just enjoying the present.
"Did you know that you were the first person to visit Koroku and I at the booth?" she asked after a moment.
"Really? I'm surprised: I would think a lot of people would want to hug you," he said, smiling at her.
"Well, most people went to listen to Lady Nei's performance when I first set up, so that is probably why. Besides, you will never have to pay at all, festival or not."
"Hm, well, maybe people will come later," Thomas suggested. "Your hugs do have a wonderful way of cheering people up."
Cecile smiled secretively. "We'll see..." In truth, she doubted any hug she could give would be as wonderful as the ones she had received, especially her most recent one.
Silence fell, but it was the comfortable sort, and any time with Cecile was a nice time in Thomas's mind. He nuzzled her hair and could think of no words to say. "I guess I should let you go back," he said at last. "I don't want to be selfish and have all your hugs to myself."
She stood up reluctantly, brushing a few stray pieces of grass off. "I suppose you're right. But...what are you going to do now?"
He too stood up, once again fidgeting with his outfit. "I'll be enjoying the festival. I could stop by your booth and bring you things if you want."
"I do not think I'll need anything. Koroku has enough as it is-ah! He must have cooled off by now, right?"
"Yes, he probably has," Thomas agreed. "I'll come by your booth, anyway. At the very least I want to be sure you get some business."
She beamed, taking his hands in hers in a gesture of enthusiasm. "We'll have enough money to repair the roof and windows, I'm sure!!"
"Sure," he said, trying to match her enthusiasm. It was hard to do so when he had her warm hands clasped around his.
Cecile paused, wondering what else she should say, then leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Have fun for the rest of the festival, okay?"
"I... I will," he promised, blushing happily at the kiss. "Ahm... good luck with your booth. I'll come by very soon."
"I'll wait for you!" Cecile smiled, then broke away with a wave. After a few moments, she had disappeared into the festival crowd to search for Koroku.