Palace Game 6/3

[fujimaru]

The Dreamer In The Grand Temple
Humanity Foundation Value: ????

What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.

Comments

[cultfavorite]

That—isn't the point. No! Anyway. We ought to get this part over with. Even if you did want to show me around a little, we couldn't do it carrying this around. . . . You protected it well, Ritsuka. It's time to put it where it belongs.

[fujimaru]

...It's been a while since I've seen it like this.

[ But she's smiling, gently, as she places the globe in its place. When she steps back, the thing expands in size, slow but still faster than one might expect, until it fits properly in the space. ]

You know it doesn't exist anymore? Or it's buried. We can't get to the real thing.

[cultfavorite]

It's here in your heart, though. I'm glad I got to see it.

[He puts his arm around her. This is like a very weird couple viewing the romantic sunset together moment.]

[fujimaru]

[ A very blue literal-magic sunset. Globeset? Ritsuka is clearly surprised at the gesture, but after a moment, she leans a little into him, an agreeable small soft presence. ]

[cultfavorite]

[Look, it's a happy ending, hopefully, and that's what matters. His tails also loop loosely around her back to hold her.]

Shall we try to leave? Or maybe go back to your room? Ha. There was so much in there I didn't snoop into. I tried to be polite.

[fujimaru]

My r--

[ ...oh shit, ]

--that place has to be a mess! Why would you wanna go back there?!

[cultfavorite]

[HE LAUGHS,]

We can wake up, then. I was only mentioning it.

[fujimaru]

No, no, wait, back up, what did you see in my room??

[cultfavorite]

That's where I got this, for one thing.

[SAFE ANSWER: he holds up his hand with the ring still on it!]

[fujimaru]

...?!

[ Well. She does clearly recognize the ring, from the way her eyes go wide, and she reaches to touch it. ]

That was in my room?

[cultfavorite]

[He slips it off his finger and offers it to her.]

It was the only way forward. Though perhaps the other paths had their own ways. I don't know. It was being protected by a—creature. But I was able to take it, and when I put it on, the door appeared for me.

[fujimaru]

[ She hesitates for a second, then takes it, folding her hands around it and giving him a watery little smile. ]

I don't think I'm supposed to actually have this, but... thanks. It's got some sentimental value, but I think you could tell.

[cultfavorite]

If it's in here, it's yours. You should keep it. There's nothing in here that doesn't belong to you in some sense, for better and for worse.

[He wraps his arms around her, pulling her in for a hug.]

[fujimaru]

[ She makes a startled little noise as he pulls her in, but she leans into it willingly enough, leaning her head on his shoulder. ]

...

Thanks. For coming to find me.

[cultfavorite]

Any time. I couldn't bear it if you faded away. What would I do then . . . ? No. Anything I might have gone through would have been worth it to find you. Even stairs.

[as if the stairs were the worst thing about this experience but shhhh]

[fujimaru]

[ She doesn't quite laugh, but there is a fond little huff as she tilts her head to look up at him. ]

I dunno. There's always more to be done, even if you lose someone along the way.

[cultfavorite]

. . . I know you've had to bear that. I'm sorry. But this time, I was able. And so I did. You weren't lost.

[He leans their foreheads together, arms around her. Hello.]

[fujimaru]

[ She blinks, going still, wide-eyed as she looks up at him. ?????? ]

...I wasn't. I'm right here.

[cultfavorite]

[Fellas is it normal to lean in and kiss your girlfriend in the metaphysical embodiment of her own consciousness?]

[fujimaru]

[ I think we can argue that "normal" got left behind right around the time "I had to use an app to enter my girl's metaphorical heart" happened. Ritsuka startles, making a little surprised noise, but she doesn't pull back, wide-eyed as she looks at him at the first touch. ]

[cultfavorite]

[That is fair, and that is a good reason to sweep her into a deep, affectionate kiss right now. It isn't demanding, but it isn't quick or chaste either. Just a good old-fashioned romantic kiss for his girlfriend who did not fade away forever (unless the plot ends while they're doing this and both of them are forever trapped inside her subconscious).]

[fujimaru]

...!

[ Wow that's a really weird bad end, good thing that is NOT what is happening,

She makes a surprised little noise in her throat when he deepens the kiss, again confused but not rejecting the gesture. It still feels like a practically brand-new gesture to her; this may possibly the first kiss like this since they arrived at the inner prison, and she is not vaguely accustomed to it the way she has grown used to his other, more chaste gestures. ]

[cultfavorite]

[He doesn't jerk back or anything, but he does break it slowly, breathing steadily, to give her a moment at the very least.]

Was that all right?

[fujimaru]

[ It takes her a couple of seconds to blink her eyes open, her face flushed as she stares at him, and it takes her longer before she manages a small nod, raking her teeth briefly over her lower lip. ]

[cultfavorite]

[Oh don't do that. Don't do that! This Palace was almost over, and now to hell with that, another kiss is happening instead, a little more shameless this time!]