#x. kingdom of smiles (waywardsword)

[roseuscrystallum]

@wayward-sword​ asked: It was always within these lazy, uneventful moments that they seemed to spring their sudden compulsions upon one another, regardless of anything that either of them were engaged in to pass the time in mostly idle flights of fancy. Whether Sora herself realized it or not, concentration deep within reading whatever volume seemed to strike her fancy, Zech had, once again, found his attention utterly transfixed by her, staring while he let his drift. Vague thoughts running through the canvas of his mind, uncertain recollections attempting to be summoned of their own accord to the forefront, ephemeral flashes of struggles long past and bonds crumbling away to dust by the ravages of time. Unpleasant experiences all, and yet, somehow, in defiance of what that damnable, ethereal thread called "fate" seemed to portend for the direction of his otherwise directionless life, all roads had somehow, miraculously, led straight to her: The woman now sitting before him. The woman who provided him with things he long lost hope of ever being able to have in his life – a home, a person who could sincerely and unashamedly love and embrace him for who he was without compunction, and blessed children, evidence of a tangible legacy he could leave behind should there ever come a time when he would finally be shuffled off the mortal coil – as unlikely as that had seemed by this point in his experiences.

Once more, Zechariah found himself in awe and truly, truly humbled by the one who proved the greatest of blessings in disguise sat in front of him, so casually engrossed in the most mundane of tasks despite how absolutely reverent she was in significance to him. Once more, he found himself doubting over whether he adequately assured what she truly meant to him, how he cherished her, how she had become his entire world and, as he was occasionally wont to refer to her by in her own, foreign tongue, his salvation. No. Not enough. It could and would never be enough. He could scream his exaltation of hers until his lungs gave out, prostrate himself until his back broke from the effort, and even bring her the moon and stars and it would never be enough. But, he supposed, it didn't need to be.

For now, all he needed to do was settle for one simple act – one in which he graced her with often enough, but had she truly any idea of its intent and meaning? Irrelevant, for he knew his own heart and his intent in so doing. And it was with this exact sense of sheer adoration and affection for his Rosabell Yagami that he abruptly lurched towards her and wrapped his arms around her frame, holding her close in an embrace. No need for words. This was, in and of itself, more than enough.

     Pages were quietly flipped through as her eyes drank in the words printed across the surface, unaware of a certain pair of eyes locked onto her. It was another one of those days where she and her husband could sit there and just enjoy each other’s company without the need to say a word or do anything big. It was the small things that always seemed to have this effect, keeping everything so serene. How could anyone want anything else? A love so secure that they could just sit in silence and be content with just that much was something she knew others could surely be envious of and she counted herself among the luckiest, if not THE luckiest person in the world.

   Hand reached up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. It was her turn to get distracted from reading now. Though her eyes remained locked on the pages, her mind was drifting, head now filled with thoughts of Zech. When she had been just a little girl, she thought about being a princess once or twice, but never really thought about getting married when she grew up like her parents. As she got older and became more aware of everything else going on around her, she had thought falling in love would be a nice experience, but after that night, she could never see someone ever being the one for her. She was meant to be alone, that was how she saw it, and continued to see it from then on... at least, until they met. Whatever it was that brought them together, even if it was by the hand of Krustallos herself (regardless if it had been an accident or not), she couldn’t deny how grateful she was. Even if the goddess herself had said he was never meant to coexist with her, he was here now, and they had built this future they were living in together. And with him, she had let go of her fear of having children of her own. They were healthy and thriving, not a single thing wrong with their health. She couldn’t ask for more.

   Eyes found themselves closing for a moment. She’d already forgotten where she was in her novel, far too distracted to continue any longer. If he could read her mind right now, would they both be dying from embarrassment? Perhaps, perhaps not. But it wouldn’t be hated. In fact, the sentiment would surely be shared. Just as she was thinking that, she felt Zech shift beside her, prompting her to turn her head toward his direction just in time to see him lean forward and trap her within his arms.

   By no means would she ever utter a word of complaint whenever affections were shared, quite happy each time it took place, but she was still going to be surprised whenever it seemingly came out of nowhere. It stunned her, brief as it may have lasted on her part, when he pulled her into that sudden embrace, prompting her to drop the book she had been reading into her lap. Perhaps she was too accustomed to being the one to initiate these displays of love? Which was never a problem she thought, it was simply how things were between them. She knew perfectly well how Zech felt and there wasn’t a need for him to push himself to be any different from his normal self. But despite all of that, it was still as heartwarming as ever to be on the receiving end every now and then. With that initial bewilderment gone, Sora soon allowed the corners of her lips to curve upwards into a smile that was intended only for him and her arms managed to come up and wrap themselves around his frame in return. Head leaned forward to rest comfortably against him and her eyes closed once more. He may not say the most, but his actions certainly spoke the loudest to her and that was more than enough.

[roseuscrystallum]

@wayward-sword​​

     “You know, I was doing some thinking... I’ve changed since we met, but it’s kind of stopped now. Physically, I mean. But you haven’t really changed much. We both have looked young for a long time now, haven’t we?”

[roseuscrystallum]

@wayward-sword​ said: "So... I might've convinced the kids to go with Malakai for the day and they took ZZ with them, too. It's just the two of us, at least until this evening. Anything special you wanna do together in the meantime, birthday girl?"

     “That was sneaky of you, yvolevw~” She loved their children dearly of course, and celebrating with everyone would bring her great joy, but every once in a while she just wanted to be alone with her husband. They were going to be back later anyhow, so it was alright, wasn’t it? With a big smile on her face, she came close to Zech and wrapped her arms around him, giving a small squeeze. “I don’t know about special. I’m perfectly happy just relaxing together today. You didn’t happen to have something in mind, though, did you? Because I’m all ears.”

[roseuscrystallum]

@wayward-sword​ said: "Rose, will you marry me?" (Already married tho, lol.)

     “Yes! Of course I will~!”

[roseuscrystallum]

@wayward-sword​ asked: "Try sinkin' your teeth into this." One sudden morning, Zech decides to surprise his wife with a plate containing a rather thick cut piece of toasted bread, topped with a fried over-easy egg that had been sprinkled with bit of melted cheese and pepper, accompanied on the side by two strips of well-cooked bacon. "I may not be a gifted chef like you are, but I'd like to think I can still cook up a halfway decent meal when I have to. It wasn't all burgers and pizza before you came along, y'know."

     Oh, what’s this? If her dear husband was aiming to surprise her, consider it a success. Not to say he never surprised her, but she had grown so accustomed to preparing their meals that it threw her off to have her routine broken. As eyes stared down at the plate offered to her, her stomach must have had a mind of its own as it soon let out a low growl. Her cheeks quickly flushed as she seized the plate and hung her head, pulling it closer to her body as she desperately wished that hadn’t just happened.

   “It looks really good, yvolevw... and it smells good, too.” Wanting to regain her composure, she looked back up at him with a smile, albeit an embarrassed one. “And I’m sure it tastes good.” Before taking a bite, however, she leaned over to press a quick kiss to his lips, then proceeded to pick the bread up, staring at it once more for a moment and then taking a bite. The taste of the yolk breaking over the bread in her mouth mixed well with the cheese and pepper, and her face was now glowing. As soon as she swallowed the bite, she looked back up at Zech and grinned. “I like it. Thank you, yvolevw~”

[roseuscrystallum]

@wayward-sword​ said: Someone said it was boob day? Zech is just going to loudly declare "MY WIFE HAS THE BEST BOOBS IN THE UNIVERSE!" and then give her the cheekiest stare.

     There’s a moment of pure shock that washes over the woman instantly, words lost to the flow of time as she stared at her husband with mouth hung agape and eyes wide, struggling to find her voice as he stared at her, so clearly waiting for a reaction of any kind from her. It took one, two, three seconds of complete silence for her emotions to finally spring forth, color erupting all at once to fill her features with a thousand shades of scarlet as she frantically reached out grabbed her husband’s face with both her hands, effectively squishing his cheeks as she cried out,

   “Yvolevw, what are you saying?!”

[roseuscrystallum]

@wayward-sword​

     Having her wrist suddenly grabbed to be led away stopped Sora's thoughts and replaced her emotions with confusion. Where were they going? What was he doing? Oh, no. Did she get carried away? Before any of her thoughts could be sorted, lips came crashing together and before she knew it, Zech already had her pinned to the wall. It came as a surprise, but within moments she straightened out her mind and leaned forward to eagerly return the affection.

[roseuscrystallum]

After putting the kids to bed this Christmas Eve, husband is going to pop into the den with two, warm glasses of mulled wine in each hand, handing one of them over to his wife and then holding his own out for a quick little toast. "We have time to take it easy, at least for a few hours, until we've gotta get the presents under the tree. Wanna watch one of those corny, old, black and white holiday classics while we get comfy?"

     There was a soft smile as she took the offered glass from her husband and held it close immediately after softly clinking their glasses together for the toast, waiting for him to sit down beside her. “If we get too comfortable, we’ll fall asleep before we get the presents out, you know. I still like the plan, though. So long as you stay close of course~”

@wayward-sword

[roseuscrystallum]

Sora might just peek into the den one evening to catch the kids and Zech all cuddled up together, the TV playing some sort of animated Christmas classic, and everyone snoozing away through it.

     The sight of her family just snuggled up together looking so warm and content as they snoozed away warmed her heart. The wife leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed as she continued to watch them, the TV’s sounds just background noise to her. After a few minutes, she finally moved toward them and lifted the blanket off one end of the couch, spreading it wide to carefully place upon them. It would be awful if they all became chilled and fell ill, but it would also be a shame to wake them from such pleasant slumber. Kisses were pressed upon each of their foreheads, still careful as to not wake any of them.

   Honestly, it was unfair how forunate she was to have such a peaceful life now. Every time she looked at them like this, Sora felt herself to be the luckiest woman in the world to be blessed with a wonderful husband and have such wonderful children with him. Sometimes it still felt like a dream and luckily, this was reality.

@wayward-sword

[roseuscrystallum]

@wayward-sword​ | SNUGGLE TIME

     She always was going to laugh at this scene before finally waving a hand at ZZ. “Come now, ZZ. You’re hurting daddy, To the side and you can hug him from there~” After a stare and the start of an argument, the wolf scooted over and laid at Zech’s side, curling up against him. This was much was okay, right? “Better, yvolevw~?”

[roseuscrystallum]

Pats the wife's head.

     “Did I do something without realizing it, yvolevw?”

@wayward-sword

[roseuscrystallum]

He doesn't give an answer. Simply more headpats.

     Then she will continue to let herself be spoiled by the headpats.

@wayward-sword

[roseuscrystallum]

"I don't think I'm missing anything... More that I've settled into this new life – the new future our family has given me. I could never save the world, Rose. Much as I tortured myself over it in my lifetime, I could never save everyone. All of that... That was nothing but ego, as wounded as it became. You're not the first person to have told me not to lose hope in the world, to continue extending my hand even as it's bitten, but... With us? I've found something I can't give up. Not ever again."

     Though his words still tugged at her heart, she wouldn't argue. It was an understandable feeling and it wasn't as if he no longer cared for anything at all. Sometimes, having just the one thing to care about was enough for a person. Fortunately for her, that something was their family.

     Her arms found themselves wrapped around his torso as she buried her face against his shoulder and leaned forward ever so slightly. "You're my world, yvolevw. You and our family, I could never give them up for anyone, anything. If this is enough for you, then I can be happy as long as this is what you want, as long as this is enough to make you happy. Maybe we can't save this planet as it is, but we can keep protecting our family together instead, right? I can be happy with this."

[roseuscrystallum]

wayward-sword replied to your post “"How much longer is it gonna take for these flowers to start growin'?...”

She laid her arms flat across the table and dipped her head a bit lower, her pout deepening. "But I wanna be the first thing they see when they finally start growin'! If I'm not lookin' at 'em, how will they know who grew 'em when they sprout?"

     “Well...” She leaned over Aurora’s eye level to stare at the pot as well and laughed softly before turning her head toward her. “They’ll know it was you when they see you. You knew I was your mother, didn’t you? As soon as they see you, they’ll know you grew them. But until then, don’t stare so much or they’ll keep hiding! We want them to grow up big and strong like you, right~?”

[roseuscrystallum]

"Rose... Can I admit something that's been on my mind to you? Sometimes, I feel like the only things I care about anymore are you and our family. Not so long ago, I still had an open heart for the concerns of the rest of the world as well, but slowly, surely, and before I even realized it, you all *became* my world. Everything else could honestly wither and disappear, and I'm not so sure anymore if I would mind it as long as I had all of us, together. It... Almost scares me to realize this."

     It was almost alarming. Almost. It was closer to SADDENING than anything else to hear her beloved speak such words about his feelings toward the world. Was this what it felt like to others as they became desensitized to the world around them as the same tragedies occurred repeatedly throughout the years, no matter where one went?

   Not all was lost though, seeing as how he still had attachment to something, that something being their family. It reminded her of feelings she experienced back when she had been wandering after Ruby’s death: numb yet suffocating simultaneously, drowning in a sea. The hand that suddenly appeared and she had grabbed belonged to none other than him. Now, her world became their family as well. Perhaps, they both needed to take the time to discuss this more? The difference, the most important difference, was how she could still care about the world outside of them to some extent. But he was drifting about at the sea she had been drowning in.

   Quietly, her hands came up to gently hold his face in them, to keep his gaze on her. “I love you, yvolevw, but don’t give up on everything and everyone else around us. I’ll always be here with, and so will our children, but there is still beauty out there to see in everything. I am happy how important we are to you because you’re just as important to me, but… why don’t we take a vacation and travel for a bit? Maybe that will help us find something that you’re missing?” A soft smile as her hands fell away in order to take his hands into hers, giving them a squeeze. “I’ll fight that fear with you.”

@wayward-sword

[roseuscrystallum]

Sora checks on the kids one day only to spot a bit of playtime between little Aurora and ZZ in which the girl stamps her feet down on the floor in front of the wolf, prompting ZZ to suddenly jump, then go low and watch the child with attentiveness, this cycle of actions continuing to repeat, occasionally accentuated by a low bark from ZZ and giggling from Aurora.

     Now that was a sight. She was wondering what had been going on when she heard the soft noises from the kids’ room, prompting her to come over and peek inside. Seeing ZZ and Aurora playing together this little game she had made made all worries disappear. Sora held back laughter, not wanting to interrupt by announcing her presence, just wanting to watch them for a while longer. She searched the room a bit more and spotted Leo just sitting there watching his sister and their companion with a big smile on his face. Ah… how did she give birth to such wonderful children? This filled her heart with such joy to see.

@wayward-sword