sweetdevil | 65th ♫ | by the look of the sky, i wonder if the raindrops will turn into snow

[ Ah. Now her smile turns a little rueful. It's the sort of smile you wear when it's complicated. ]

Mm. For the most part. Obviously, now we're both in high school, things aren't quite the same as when we were younger. We definitely still butt heads just as much – maybe even more, now we actually have important things to argue about.

[ She pulls another jigsaw off the shelf, pointedly looking down at it instead of meeting Akira's gaze. ]

... He ended up piloting a Sentinel as well, you see.

Oh...sorry.

[He didn't mean to kill the mood, and while he can sympathize...he reaches out to muss her hair a little, giving her a fond pat on the head. Now's not the time for that.]

Well, don't worry. I'm sure he's doing just fine. It's impossible to lose if you're too stubborn to give up, and if he's anything like his big sister then he's doing great.

[He has to be, because it's bad enough that one of them's already lost someone like family to them to a giant robot, of all things.]

Hey, maybe you should think about getting him a souvenir too. From the distant past of 2010. If he's still into sentai, I bet mint condition vintage stuff would be nice.

[ Her hair absolutely doesn't need any help to get mussed up and while she'd usually protest, this time her expression warms a little and she lifts her hand to playfully push his away. Right. Of all the times to get gloomy, Christmas shopping really isn't. ]

Mm. He'll be fine. If nothing else, because he knows just how much trouble he'll be in if he isn't. [ big 'if you die i'll kill you' vibes. it's an older sibling thing, he knows how it is. ] So maybe he does deserve a souvenier.

[ She deposits the second jigsaw puzzle into the basket and starts making her way down the aisle. She doesn't really know much about the shows he'd liked as a whole, but she knows Ei's tastes well enough to guess what he'll like. ]

Maybe something like this could be fun for the others, too. Instead of... robots.

Haha! It might be nice to see 'em getting along like a sentai team does. Though I'm pretty sure everyone would be fighting over who gets to be red. I mean obviously I'm red but, you know...

[Not even a pause as he immediately gets right into the silly little discourse he's accusing his own siblings of, folding his hands behind his head as he moves to follow her. It's reached the point where he absolutely does not need to be sharing her scarf anymore, but he's not saying anything about it if she isn't.]

I guess that'd make you blue. We've got that sort of dynamic, I think. The heroic leader and his no-nonsense partner...well, I guess you're up for some nonsense every once in a while.

[And thank goodness for that, because he doubts they'd get along as well as they do if she wasn't.]

The kids can fight out the rest of the colors by themselves.

[ Dryly: ] You're lucky you said 'partner' and not something like 'sidekick' otherwise I might've had to consider unionizing.

[ Ah, action figures. She stoops down a little so she can peer at the shelf and get an idea of what their options are. She doesn't really remember being much into toys even when she was small, so she'll probably have to defer to Akira's experience here. ]

Which ones do you think they'd all like best? It'd be good if we could get them something from the same show or the same line, so there's no squabbling over that.

C'mon, I can't put Taroimo out of a job like that. He's so good at it.

[That's his emotional support turtle robot sidekick.]

Besides, the way I see it, I can trust you with just about anything. So partner's the only word that makes sense.

[Though now that he thinks about it, maybe that's a little heavy to drop on her so casually...well, he's already said it, so it can't be helped. Instead, he just follows her lead, kneeling to get a look at the action figures, placed lower on the shelves to attract attention from kids.]

Oh, I recognize these guys from TV. Yuki was going on about how Misawa could beat the entire team blindfolded.

[He points to a set of five figures, sealed up tightly in a plastic case.]

And I dunno about that, because I think Red here uses a sword. Then again, Masaru really held his own against all kinds of monsters even though he was just a musclebrained meathead...

[He's now considering the logistics of fistfighting a guy with a sword.]

[ Finishing up all the shopping takes longer than Ryoko had expected - mostly because she's never had so many people to shop for before. Generally she just picks something for Ei and during middle school, she'd gotten something for Gouto out of obligation more than anything else (a notebook that looked exactly like the one he was already using because she didn't care to overthink it). This had been different and with so many people and their individual preferences to juggle for both her and Akira, it's been a little chaotic. That's not to say it's been a chore, exactly - it's been surprisingly fun, picking things out, mulling over who might like this and who might prefer that. And it's felt good to know that there's something like this she can give them to repay all the kindness they've shown her.

That being said. Boy is she glad they're done. It'd been enough of a task that it'd gotten dark by the time they were done and if Ryoko never has to hear cheery Christmas music on the tinny store speakers again, it'll be too soon. ]

That's everyone, I think... [ She's nosing through the bags as they head out of the store, looking almost comically thoughtful about this whole thing. The kids WILL have a good Christmas, so help her. ] I can't think of anything we've missed, can you?

Nah, I think we're all good. Man, this might be the best Christmas the kids have ever had.

[Lord knows they need it, after this rollercoaster of a year.]

Once we drop these off at home, Taeko can get a headstart on wrapping 'em while we see the lights. You're still up for it, right?

[It did take a while to finish up the shopping, after all, so he figures he'd better make sure she's not feeling dizzy or headachey.

He is trying not to sound too excited about this, but he's not completely able to stop all of it from leaking out into his tone of voice.]

[ He's looking forward to this, isn't he... it's a little cute to hear. She gives him a smile and a nod. ]

I am. It seems like we're at the perfect time to go see them, too.

[ It's just late enough that it's started getting dark but it shouldn't be too much colder out by the time they've dropped off their mountains of shopping and headed off on their way. ]

Is Taroimo invited, too? Or is it just the two of us?

[ come on, ryoko, teasing him like that's just mean. ]

Taroimo?

[Akira looks completely thrown for a second, but seems to quickly realize he's being bullied. Not that it does him much good.]

H...He's busy! He's got, y'know, turtle shit to do.

[Whatever that means. It's not like he'd mind having him along in any other circumstance, but needing to keep an eye on him on a date isn't exactly an appealing thought...

After a quick swing by the orphanage to drop everything off and another quick exit before Taeko can really ask where they're going again (begrudgingly bringing a jacket, just in case), Akira takes Ryoko to the center of the city, the sky getting just dark enough that the stars are peeking out from behind the clouds, accompanied by the twinkling of artificial lights below.]

...It always seems a little brighter than last year, every time.

[Then again, he isn't usually the type to notice. This is the first time he's thought to bring someone out to look at them.]

They built some fancy tower recently, too...that's all lit up, you can see it from here.

[He points toward its familiar silhouette—it's pretty close, and even for a recently finished structure it's dazzling.]

[ It occurs to Ryoko only as they're setting out from the orphanage that she's never actually seen a full-fledged display of lights before, at least not in person. She's seen photos on cards and social media and twinkling decorations in windows around their neighbourhood – but it was never something her family did and she'd never bothered to go by herself because... well, why would she? It's not like she's ever cared that much about the holidays.

So she's completely floored when they make their way there – or rather, she's dazzled. As they'd headed into the city center and the lights had gradually increased in number, she'd repeatedly assumed she'd seen the peak of their brilliance but now under the starry night sky with nothing to drown them out, it's all so bright that it makes her eyes blur a little to look at it straight on – but she can't make herself look away. ]

I really don't know what I was expecting, but... [ Her breath comes out in a silvery cloud. ] It really is beautiful.

[ She even sounds a little awed, completely caught off guard. ]

And– it really is like this every year?

[Truthfully, Akira's so used to it that it barely registers after the first few days or so, but taking another look after seeing Ryoko's reaction and hearing the tone of her voice...

...Damn. She's right. It is beautiful.]

Yeah. It's like this every year.

[It's another thing he's just sort of taken for granted that no longer seems to exist in her time he can add to the increasingly long list. And maybe there's not anything he can do about the arrival of the kaiju, or anything else, but...what he can do is make sure she remembers this sight fondly.]

There's a couple trees too, a little further in. The buildings only get lights, but the trees usually get these shiny glass balls too.

[He thinks he's gauged the mood correctly when he offers her a hand, and he is trying very hard to come off like he's not desperately hoping he's wrong. Trying not to read her mind is, as always, a struggle for someone who does it instinctively, but it's worth it if it means she can trust him.]

[ It feels a little childish to be so easily dazzled, but she really never has seen anything quite like this. Really, there are a lot of things back in Akira's time like this – things that make her realize that for as hard as she'd been fighting to keep the world safe, she'd seen comparatively little of it before it was all destroyed. The more time she spends here with everyone, the wider and more full her own tiny little world gets.

That's why, when Akira extends his hand to her, Ryoko only hesitates for a second before she reaches out in return and takes it. Again comes that uneasy knot in her stomach, a prickling on the back of her neck trying to tell her that she needs to be more cautious – but for the first time in a good while, she's able to not just ignore it but outright dismiss it. Everything's fine. ]

Mm. Lead the way, then.

[ Even though Ryoko's the one dressed for the weather and Akira's... less so, his hand feels warm around her comparatively frigid fingers and she's glad that the cold evening air gives her a pre-made excuse for the colour rising to her face. She's never thought of herself as a girl who blushes easily but... it's not unpleasant. ]

I'm expecting your best running commentary, too.

65th ♫ | by the look of the sky, i wonder if the raindrops will turn into snow

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