WHO: Tulio del Bosque & Mayumi Gacillos WHAT: Tulio... and Cinderella. WHEN: WAY backdated to the impulse plot in like, November, because Lisa and I do what we want WHERE: Around Woodsbridge! WARNINGS: Cuteness etc
Cinderella had been no stranger to loneliness, but she had rarely ever been alone.
Even when surrounded by people, the feeling of being an outsider had been ever-present. Cooking meals that she would taste only as scraps, in a kitchen illuminated by the warmth of a dying fire. Her grandfather’s harsh words as he argued with her mother on the other side of a closed door.
Laughing children. Pointing fingers. Cinderella’s father, and his sad, distant gaze. Mayumi’s mother, shaking her by the shoulders, her fingers digging into tender skin. Will you, please, quit repeating that nonsense?
She sat in silence, watching her computer with a mix of apprehension and bittersweet relief. For the first time, she had refused her grandmother’s wishes. For the first time, she would not be spending Thanksgiving with her family.
She was no stranger to loneliness, but it was frightening to be alone.
Her grandparents’ kindness had been a blessing, but-- yes, they would do fine without her there. She would not condemn herself for holding on to hope for so long, but, perhaps, sometimes it was alright to let go.
Once she’d finished wiping away the tears, she stood from the couch. She smoothed her dress, the best one she’d found in her closet. If only she had prettier shoes… The glass slippers, perhaps? They certainly went with everything. Would that be too much, she wondered?
But in the end, she had chosen practicality, for hurrying in those shoes had, after all, proved a precarious experience. She ran a couple, terrible minutes late, and so hurry she did, hardly noticing the time before she stood before the Talewind’s building. An easy smile tugged at her lips, wider and wider. Every person she passed seemed to return her curious glance.
Their conversation over the network, and having come all the way here— she felt unapologetically brazen, and almost laughed at herself, patting her cheeks with her free hand until her smile shrunk to a more tolerable level. There he was, waiting, waiting-- for her.
Beaming, she slowed down to a measured pace, her hands going, almost coyly, behind her back. “Hi,” she mouthed.
Hi, he mouthed back, and his smile lit up his face as he continued the phone call, “—ah, she’s here. Can I call you back later?” A couple of pleasantries passed, and Tulio slid the phone back in his pocket and put his full attention on her.
Did she look — different somehow? He couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was something, and something familiar. It didn’t occur to him to connect that difference to her power, subtle yet apparent as it was, but still it was noticed. “Did you do something new — with your hair?” he guessed, uncertain. “It looks nice.”
But he was forgetting himself, and the fact that she had come all the way to his workplace to bring him lunch, after a conversation that had felt somehow personal in a way he didn’t quite understand. “Thank you,” he added immediately, “for coming. It’s great to see you here.”
With an ease that almost seemed practiced, Mayumi found Tulio’s hand, her fingers softly interlacing with his. She wanted to be closer. Wrap herself around him like she hadn’t seen him in years, kiss the curve of his jaw. They were at his workplace, however, and that would have been— most inappropriate, she thought, with an emotion that was, if anything, the opposite of remorse. As he had done many times before, usually in court, she contented herself with grinning at him.
“Thank you for having me,” she said. The prospect of waiting the entire to week to see him had felt like agony. How on earth had she managed to hold up so far? “You look very nice today, too.” He always did, but there was no harm in mentioning it again. She certainly didn’t mind to hear it.
Caught by surprise, he replied almost automatically with another “thank you,” before realizing that he was turning their conversation into a bit of a broken record and just smiled at her sheepishly. “I — well.”
The openness in the way she held herself, the boldness in her touch: it didn’t go unnoticed. With the way they had danced around each other for months, the endless unsaid words and careful steps until they finally came together, it was enough to throw Tulio a little off balance, though he did his best to hide it. In the end he was much better with routine than change, but this change wasn’t exactly unpleasant. He squeezed her hand back, and just went along with it.
“It’s gotten a little chilly lately. Why don’t you come inside for a bit? I owe you that tour, anyway,” he said.
“I’d love that.” She leaned a bit closer to him, so their arms were touching. His hand felt big and warm on hers, and she had to resist the impulse of pulling it up to her lips. “And I want to hear about how you started working here, too.” There were some things he’d already told her, but many she hadn’t been brave enough to ask, not yet. “Want to know everything,” and though she was grinning, her tone almost a little teasing- she was quite serious.
Tulio laughed, softly. “Just don’t let me talk your ear off, alright?”
The Talewind was a bit of a family, if a dysfunctional one, with all the time they spent in each other’s company, and so the whoops and applause that greeted the couple as they entered the offices together was not entirely out of place.
But by the time they reached Tulio’s own office, the only private one in the place, his ears were a little red at the top.
“They’ve been waiting to meet you,” he explained, in a tone that suggested they tease me about you all the time. Not that he really minded when it came down to it.
“People at the hospital ask me about you, too,” she replied with a small laugh. Such attention might have made her feel nervous before (-before, she wondered?), pressured under the expectations for them to do well, to come together. Now, though, it spoke only of support: of the love they had for him.
Her lunch bag, which had a pink elephant stitched on it, courtesy of herself, looked out of place in the professional neatness of Tulio’s office. “Is it alright if I leave this here?” She asked. “You can have it, and then…,” a hopeful smile, “tell me what you think?”
“You brought me food in the middle of your day,” he told her, honestly. “Whatever it is, Mayu, it’s already worlds better than, well, what I normally do.”
He would have preferred, of course, to share it with her, but there was never enough time. That was the reality: they were both busy people, working people with extra responsibilities, who just took every free moment they could spare to see one another, if briefly, like now. But maybe it was better that way — that their time was more cherished.
They were still holding hands, and Tulio reached out to take her other one with his. “Did you bring the same thing for yourself?”
“Of course.” She gave his hands a squeeze. Though she could hear his colleagues bustling about outside, standing like this, the moment felt sweet, quietly intimate. “I thought it would be fun to share the same meal, even if we don’t it eat it together.” They would not see each other later tonight, perhaps not even tomorrow— it took every ounce of strength she had not to let go of his hands in favor of wrapping hers around his waist. Once she hugged him, it would be hard to let go.
“And I also brought something.. else,” she smiled, deliberately mysterious.
The question marks were practically visible floating over him, with the way his head tilted to the side and his eyebrows came together.
“A dessert, or something?” he asked, barely able to keep himself from asking outright what it was, but too polite to open the lunchbox before she left.
“Mm.” Her eyebrows rose, and she swung their hands gently, playfully, before letting go of one. With a tone that failed to sound too innocent- “Would you close your eyes? It’s a surprise.”
For a moment he considered to stare at her questioningly, but inevitably he obliged, wordlessly, and his eyes slid closed.
She kissed him, of course. Even if that had not been her original plan, it was likely that she would have ended up doing so anyway, the temptation too strong to resist. Standing on the tip of her toes (she was a little more compact now, she hadn’t had to do that before), she cradled one side of his face and kissed him, soft and warm, yet different, somehow, from the hesitant kisses they had shared before: more certain, more reminiscent of times long past. His small oh! of understanding was swallowed, and — there, with his eyes closed — he was struck by an odd, but not unwelcome, deja vu.
It was a few seconds before she pulled away, her heart aflutter, voice a murmur. “Surprise.”
Though he wasn’t normally big on surprises, hence the immediate questions and wondering, Tulio had nothing to complain about this one. He pressed his lips together, an instinct to hide a smile that would otherwise widen. “You… should come by again, soon.”
“I haven’t even left yet,” she protested, half laughing. Much as she would have liked to stay, her shift at the hospital would be starting soon, and getting there late –or interrupting Tulio’s workday– would not do. In a way, she looked forward to seeing her patients, too. Softly, her cheeks flushed with joy, she added, “Next time, I’ll bring dessert for real.”
TO: Tulio. FROM: Mayu. SENT: 10:08PM
[1] :) [2] Good evening! Still awake?
TO: Mayu. FROM: Tulio SENT: 10:10PM
[1] :) [2] Of course, just reading now.
TO: Tulio. FROM: Mayu. SENT: 10:11PM
[1] What are you reading? [2] Do you have to wake up really early tomorrow?
TO: Mayu. FROM: Tulio SENT: 10:13PM
[1] Rereading, actually. [2] (attached picture: a warm mug on the table next to a well-loved paperback) [3] Not any more than usual. What are you doing?
TO: Tulio. FROM: Mayu. SENT: 10:18PM
[1] I stopped by Belle’s Garden on my way out of work~ [2] I’ve tried to take a picture, too, but am afraid it’s far too dark to come out properly. [..] [3] Can you see the moon from your cottage?
TO: Mayu. FROM: Tulio SENT: 10:21PM
[1] Yes. That’s the great thing about living on the border of the Woods. No bothersome town lights. :) [2] Why?
TO: Tulio. FROM: Mayu. SENT: 10:23PM
[1] It makes me happy to know that you’re close, looking at the same sky, is all! [2] And I had hoped, too, that it would help me dismiss you from my mind, at least for a little time. [3] See- right now, I’m just barely holding the urge to ask you to come join me. [4] :)
TO: Mayu. FROM: Tulio SENT: 10:26PM
[x] Oh! I [x] I should really [x] Well, I suppose I could [1] [...] That’s a tempting thought, Mayu.
TO: Tulio. FROM: Mayu. SENT: 10:28PM
[1] It’s late, I know [2] I’m tired. I bet you’re tired [3] But we’re awake and we’re alive and that’s enough [4] C’mon <3 I’ll wait for you.
TO: Mayu. FROM: Tulio SENT: 10:30PM [1] Let me just grab my coat. [2] You won’t have to wait too long. :)
---
The park was dimly lit, long dark shadows stretched across the floor. Cold wind blew, and, above her, trees rustled with it. Minutes had passed slowly, bringing with them a feeling of doubt… Was this truly alright, meeting this way, when they both ought to be sleeping, warm at home? Could it have been best to wait for a more reasonable time, later on? – But, then again, who knew when they would next have a moment alone? And, with that, her excitement grew, her anticipation mounted…
When the sound of steps warned her of an approaching presence, she knew it was him even before Tulio walked into the light. His eyes lit up when he saw her, but his smile was a little sheepish, a little uncertain. “Ah-!” Was the only thing she could say, her mouth curving unhelpfully into a grin as she, too, came closer— and closer, until she could wrap her arms around him, until she felt his carefully encircle her in turn. Her head burrowed into his chest for a moment before she pulled away, just enough to look at him. “You’re here,” she said quietly, happily, the words laden with meaning, the shadows now welcoming, the stars bright in the sky.