Viuly Theiss (_hotmess) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2011-01-06 22:26:00 |
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Entry tags: | #flashback, #solo |
She had fire in her soul, it was easy to see
Who: Viuly, Cael (NPC), and other NPCs
Where: Almasy home in Scarlet Oak
When: New Years Eve night 2005
Warning: NSFW
Viuly was completely out of her element. She had gone to parties before, yes. This was not the problem. The problem? She was at the Almasy house, a mansion in comparison to the home she grew up in, and the party was a ritzy occasion in comparison to the train wrecks she attended to. Cael had been an angel since he let her crash at the house and it was fine initially when it was just the two of them. Viuly had her room and he had his. Once she finally found a job, the two saw each other in passing, talking on and off, but that was it. And then Cid came on down the past week for Christmas along with Selphie and Viuly couldn’t help but feel anxious. This wasn’t her family. She didn’t belong here. Though Cael insisted that she was welcomed.
Yet as she listened to the party booming below, she sat in her room, staring at her mirror. She couldn’t remember how many times she changed her outfit, unsure of how to dress for the occasion. Was this some sort of cocktail dress thing? “Oh, for fuck’s sake, I am not wearing a dress,” Viuly grumbled while throwing clothes about with her telekinesis. She had settled for a pair of jeans and changed her top ten times before settling on one, throwing a cardigan over it Even when her look was finished, she merely stared at herself for a while, not fully satisfied. With a sigh, she brought a hand to her face and found herself frowning.
“You don’t belong here... You’re not good enough for this bullshit.”
Why Cael was being so nice was beyond her. After all these years of him arguing with her, talking down about her lifestyle and all, he was the one who took her in. Leon was the one who left and refused to be there for her. I hope the fucker is dead. She was still growing used to the blindness in her left eye, finding herself off balance at all times, even in her heels. Part of her knew she should have opted for flats, but Viuly Theiss didn’t fucking wear no flats to any party. She did it in style and thus she had to swallow that pill down and deal with it.
Eventually she left her room, putting a tiny good luck charm on herself in hopes to ease the anxiety and headed on downstairs. The Almasy family had hired a DJ for the party along with a caterer, food everywhere as music blasted throughout the main area. It was actually rather decent, though everyone wasn’t going crazy like she was used to. People were conversing and being civil. Whatever upperclass people did, she didn’t know. She poked around at a few of the shrimp that were lying around, finding herself not liking it, and then tried scouting one of the barmaids walking around with wine. Really? No vokda? Sighing hard, she snatched one of the glasses and began meandering about the place, watching the people interact. It seemed like everyone knew each other. Not a single face was recognizable to Viuly and while she forced herself to smile at a few of them, no one confronted her. No one seemed to care.
It was then she found herself heading towards the balcony, retreating from the party to find some peace and quiet. She could feel her element highly protesting this, mostly due to the fact it was snowing outside, but Viuly didn’t care that moment. She was always warm and could deal with it. Once outside, she leaned against the railing, staring out into the night and felt her lower lip tremble. Not because of the temperature, but because of her emotions overwhelming her. Don’t cry, bitch. You never cry. Keep your damn chin up and suck it up. Viuly knew she didn’t want to be there. A party, of all the things she loved, and she wasn’t enjoying herself. Closing her watery eyes, she began to bring the wine glass to her lips for her first sip.
“There you are.”
The voice instantly made her look over her shoulder, knowing exactly who it was. Cael stood there, dressed in a rather sharp suit, the top few buttons of his shirt undone. A light smirk was dancing upon his lips as he leaned against the doorway, staring at Viuly with those crystal blue eyes of his. It looked like he didn’t bother shaving his stubble for the occasion and left his short hair a tad messy. Viuly was actually digging the look. She only blinked at him, remaining silent as he gently chuckled, pushing himself off the door frame and walked on over to her.
“Aren’t you suppose to hate the snow?”
“Aren’t you suppose to be entertaining yuppies?” She raised an eyebrow.
“They’re not yuppies, Vi,” he gave her a scolding look as he came by her side, leaning against the railing.
“Then they’re really nicely dressed people with too much money to spend and I don’t know a single damn person in there and it annoys the fuck out of me.” She shot him a sarcastic reply and an irritated look, making sure he knew exactly how uncomfortable she was. Cael seemed to get the picture. He wasn’t stupid.
“I’m sorry that you’re not enjoying yourself tonight.” His voice was calm and serious in comparison to Viuly’s. And to think that he was the younger and more mature one of the two.
“You don’t have to throw a pity party for me, Cael,” she muttered with a roll of her eyes. “I just don’t fit in with your glamorous lifestyle.”
Cael didn’t answer right away, instead glancing to the side to keep an eye on the party, then brought his attention back to Viuly. “I wouldn’t call it glamorous. To be honest, I prefer it better when it’s just you and me in the house.”
To that, Viuly snorted and busted out into laughter, thoroughly amused at the fact that Cael actually said that. Oh, he was on a roll with trying to cheer her up. She even bent over with amusement, though as she stood back up straight, she noticed he had nothing but a serious expression. The curl in her lips faded away as she blinked, realizing he wasn’t joking. “You’re not fucking with me, are you? You actually mean that?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
Viuly raised an eyebrow. “All I do is take up a space in your spare bedroom and act as your maid in the house. That’s all you really get out of me.”
“No it’s not.”
Confusion knotted up in Viuly’s face as she tilted her head to the side, completely at a lose as to where this conversation was going. Initially, she parted her lips to say something, then closed them. Cael didn’t joke around. He was a serious guy and that stare in his eyes was even more evident that he was telling the truth, yet Viuly couldn’t comprehend it. Averting her gaze, she ran her fingers over her wine glass while thinking over his words and tried yet again to take another sip from the glass.
“What are you doing?” Leave it to Cael to be the master of interruption.
“What does it look like I’m doing? Trying to unwind. Fuck off.”
“You shouldn’t be drinking, you know better.” Cael even stepped in and tried to pull the glass away from her, to which Viuly’s eyes widened and tried pushing him away via telekinesis.
“Hey now! It’s New Year’s Fucking Eve night, ok?! I think I’m allowed one goddamn drink!”
She knew she had cut back dramatically on her drinking since she crashed at Cael’s place and that was all thanks to him. He was looking out for her, whether she realized it or not, but right now she needed something to take her mind off of the tension and alcohol was the only answer she could think of.
“You’ll only get worse, Vi. You know that.”
“Then what the fuck do you propose?! Hmm?!”
Cael sighed as the fire elemental gave him a furious glare, actually watching the snow around her melt. It was times like this that she was near impossible to calm down, though as the music in the background began to change, he remained optimistic. Not fearing her rage, he reached to flick out a few remaining snowflakes from her hair and then leaned in to murmur, “Give up the wine for the night and I’ll give you the attention you deserve.”
The concept was what initially drew in Viuly, her inner fire flaring up at the notion of receiving attention. When wasn’t she for that? Though coming from Cael? That was a different story. She didn’t expect this side of him. She figured he would have some bimbo blonde at his side, fawning over every breath he took or something. But paying attention to her? The military reject with a blind eye and reputation for being a lush and slut? Not so much. Though Viuly found herself calming down, tension easing in her face while staring at Cael, not sure what to make of this. Her grip on the wine glass had loosened up, to which Cael reached out to and removed from her fingers. Viuly surprisingly didn’t snatch it back and remained standing there in awe.
“Now then,” Cael chucked the glass over the balcony and proceeded to slip his hand to Viuly’s. It was rather warm, which was saying a lot seeing he wasn’t a fire elemental. Glancing down at the hand for a moment, Viuly shot her eyes back to Cael, only to find a slight smirk on his face, rather reminiscent of his twin. “Shall we dance?”
Viuly nearly choked on her own saliva. “Dance?” This had to be a joke.
“Yes. Why, do you not want to now? Here I thought you were the girl who enjoyed a good time on the dance floor, as well as the tables and-”
“Alcohol was involved, mind you.” The redhead was beginning to squeeze his hand, knowing she could twist and snap it in a second. Though to her surprise, Cael only squeezed back and pulled her in closer, causing a great deal of blush to form on Viuly’s face.
“And now it’s not, so perhaps you can actually remember having someone dance with you.”
Had it been any other day, Viuly would have taken that as an insult from Cael, though his words continued to be calm and rather sweet. It was then that she relaxed her hand in his, staring into his blue eyes for a second, then finally nodded in response. “Fine. One dance.”
And Cael just smiled. “One dance.”
Moving away from the balcony, Viuly stayed close to Cael’s side as they reentered the main dance room, back where it was warm and the music was blaring. The whole dance floor was packed with couples dancing intimately with their chosen partner, leaving only a few stragglers off to the side to gossip amongst their single friends. Viuly would have been amongst them if it wasn’t for Cael. She caught sight of a few people spotting them, their whispers continuing while watching the pair slip onto the dance floor and snake their way to the middle. Viuly simply kept a tight hold onto Cael’s hand, not wanting to get lost in the sea of people.
Upon reaching the center, Cael turned to face Viuly, a gentle smile on his lips while assuming the proper position for a slow dance. It was something Viuly wasn’t used to - the formality of it all. Had it been a club with electronica blaring along with a lightshow, she could do that. A slow dance? Not really. Though despite her awkwardness and blushing, she let Cael rest a hand at her waist while the other kept clutching her warm hand. And with a hand placed upon Cael’s shoulder, Viuly felt them slowly sway into the rhythm of the music.
The two never spoke the whole dance. The earlier part of it, Viuly found herself averting her gaze from Cael’s, though found herself bored quickly as all there was to look at were a sea of people she did not give a crap about. When she brought her eyes back to Cael, he only gave her a smile, eyes admiring her all the while. And as the dance floor grew more and more cramped, Viuly shifted closer into Cael in order to save herself from bumping into someone who was somehow more drunk than her. Though halfway through the song, she was no longer moving in closer to flee from a crash in with another couple. Cael’s hand had shifted from her waist to the small of her back while Viuly hand on his shoulder snaked around the back of his neck. The fire elemental inched in closer with each beat, their bodies barely brushing over each other. She felt their noses bump slightly, his breath beating gently against her lips. By then, Viuly had closed her eyes, taking in the moment for once. Being essentially held, the sound of their hearts racing, the warmth rising in their bodies, all of it.
Once the song faded out into nothing, the people around them had stopped dancing and broke apart to clap and cheer - time for the countdown. Though Viuly didn’t want the moment to end. That part of her that constantly needed attention, that damn part she hated about being a fire elemental, refused to let go of Cael. And surprisingly enough, Cael didn’t back away either. She could hear Cid taking a hold of the microphone and talking to the crowd, readying them for a countdown to the new year, but Viuly ignored it all. She focused on the hands that held her instead.
Then she swallowed hard and flicked her eyes open, meeting instantly with Cael’s blue ones. “Why are you doing this?”
“Doing what?” He whispered back, just like she had.
“...this.” Her hand squeezed into Cael’s to let him know. “I’m not worth it, Cael.”
“Yes you are.”
“Why then, Cael? Why am I worth anything?”
The countdown had started amongst them, though Cael remained unfazed. He took in a deep breath and just said it, “Because you deserve love and I can’t help but find myself falling for you with each passing day.”
Viuly froze, staring at him with wide, green eyes that felt like they were going to shed tears any second. There had been many flings in her history and even a few who said they loved her, but Viuly never wanted that. Hell, she never believed it. But having Cael profess that felt different. The man didn’t lie and the look gleaming in his eyes spoke of nothing but honesty. And then those eyes closer while he eased more into her face, nuzzling into it to bring her chin up slightly. Viuly did just that, closing her eyes as well as she felt his lips skim over hers, barely parted. By the time the whole room grew to the end of the countdown, their lips found each other, locked in a soft, yet deep kiss. Cael held Viuly close to his body, purring into her as they prolonged the moment as long as they could.
Eventually the two of them had to breathe, breaking the kiss and causing Viuly to gulp down a great deal of air while gazing to the side. She was certain her cheeks were as red as her own hair at that point, but Cael just chuckled at her sudden timid nature. “Are you alright?”
“I don’t think alright even touches how I feel right now,” Viuly confessed, rather breathless.
“I’m sorry if I-” Cael was silenced by a single finger placed to his lips along with a wayward look from Viuly.
“Words can’t explain how I feel right now.” That finger of hers slipped down, dragging over his lips and tugged at the lower one lightly. A smile became obvious on Viuly’s pout. Small, yes, but it was there. And Cael just smiled back, too, glad to see that she wasn’t always a raging bitch. There was a more delicate side to Viuly - she just needed to be loved, that was all. Cael was about to say something to sweeten the moment, but that was all ruined rather abruptly.
“CAEL! THERE YOU ARE!”
He wasn’t the type to roll his eyes at anyone, but the prolonged action of closing his eyes was probably due to rolling them. And while Viuly had her back to the screaming voice, she knew exactly who it was. She was ready to squirm away and escape the wrath that was Cael’s father, but it seemed like Cid got there first and placed an arm firmly on both of their shoulders. This was perhaps one of the rare times in Viuly’s life where she actually feared a fire elemental.
“And Vi! You’re here, too! Oh, this is just splendid!” The grin on his face read nothing but crazy and the smell of booze floating about Cid wasn’t winning him any brownie points either. “How are you enjoying yourself, boy? Keeping yourself out of trouble?”
“Something like that.” Cael just smiled and nodded. It was a godsend that one of the twins was an earth elemental and thus tolerant of his erratic father.
“And you!” He turned to Viuly, who made a deer in headlights look calm. “You keeping out of trouble?”
Why the hell do you even care, old man? “Well, I guess-”
“You GUESS?!” Wrong answer. Cid suddenly pulled her away from Cael and into his own arms, giving her playful shake before going on. “Oooooh, I know you’re a troublemaker! You don’t have to lie to me, chicky! I bet you AAAAALLLLL of the guys are wanting a piece of this! I wouldn’t blame them either!”
“Dad...”
“What?! You don’t agree?!”
Cael looked like he was about to facepalm at this point. “Dad, you’re drunk.”
“I KNOOOOOOOW!”
“Can you at least let go of-”
“Whaaaaat? Now you want her?! Oh, you can never make up your mind on girls anyways.”
Viuly never expected Cael to be the angry type, but in that moment, she saw a flash of sheer rage burn in his eyes and she feared what would happen next. Cid had obviously snapped at least a million nerves to get that reaction out of Cael. She watched him walk closer to his father, forcing him away from Viuly and spoke lowly to him, “Just leave her be, dad.”
As much as Viuly wanted to spend the rest of the night by Cael’s side, she felt the need to flee from that degree of fucked up. Perhaps this was the good luck spell of hers finally backfiring on her. It was always bound to happen. She could feel the scars of her curse burning lightly, something that always made her want to throw up on the spot. Instead, Viuly moved past the people around her and left the dance floor and the party altogether to flee to her room. It was there she braced herself against her nightstand, staring into the mirror before her as she saw tears forming once more in her eyes.
Don’t cry. You never fucking cry.
With a sniffle, Viuly actually accepted that single tear to roll down her face, biting her lower lip all the while. She prayed that Cael would come up to her room eventually, knock on the door, and come in to hold her. That was all she wanted. But then an hour went by. And another. And another. Nothing. She heard the party down below slowly die off, people leaving to return to their homes or crash at the Almasy house. Even at some point she heard Cid pass out in the hallway, only to have Selphie drag him to his bed. Cael never came by and that only brought more tears to Viuly’s eyes.
He confessed he cared about her far more than she ever imagined. The very idea of that made her panic. It was Cael, the twin she never got along with, but he was also the twin who rescued her and wanted to see her rise from the ashes where she burned herself and see her becoming better than ever. Leon didn’t. As much as she wished it was Leon who had kissed her that night, it would never be him. He ran away from her and everything, only proving to be the real coward when she needed him the most. If only she actually told him how she felt about him, then maybe he wouldn’t have slept with her brat sister or run away or anything. And as she continued to dwell on such memories, she ended up crying herself to sleep.