[OPEN] 12/14 SOMETHING HAPPY BEFORE WE DESCEND BACK INTO DESPAIR

[flowerclips]

[ It was decided that the wedding would take place at the castle, somewhere that was quaint, small, and personal. Now that the bottom two floors have been restored, it looks nicer than its original run-down state. Added with all the decorations, all pink and yellow with plenty of cute things, it certainly has taken a completely new look, one that's appropriate for a celebration. ]

[ There'll be the actual wedding ceremony itself where everyone can sit in their seats with 52 cats that are wearing matching white knitted sweaters and then there'll be the party afterwards where everyone is allowed to eat and drink as much as they want. There is no particular dress requirement for the wedding except for one: everyone must wear a flower clown as soon as they enter the castle grounds. ]

[ Enjoy! ]

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i.b

[reveilation]

[ Toki is bold wearing a white suit that'll immediately get stained when he inevitably passes out. ]

Tokidoki. Your tie's come undone; come here and let me fix it.

[ Kido's here in a suit and doesn't have a tie at all, which makes it easy mode. ]

[yokeye]

Okay!

[It may never have been done correctly to begin with. He stands in front of Kido to let her mess with it.]

You look really nice, Hana-chan~!

[reveilation]

Thanks. It's a special occasion, so I had to dress up for it, right?

[ Can't promise dresses though. She'll leave those for Toki to wear them if he likes them, but she's going to keep her legs warm.

Also yeah, she's going to completely undo the tie and redo it. At least bows are bows, which makes it easy, and she can actually tie them nicely now, when her six year old self couldn't. ]

...There we go. It's knotted so it won't come done very easily, but let's go see if there's a pin lying around anywhere so it won't accidentally get loose later.

[yokeye]

It is special.

[He says that kind of wistfully. It's hard to believe this is really happening.]

Thank you. I think there was a pin somewhere...

[Where did he leave it? Who knows.]

[reveilation]

[ Everything happened so fast, it's hard for Kido to believe too. But life is short and they're all going to die, so they might as well live their best lives. ]

Do you remember where? If we can't find it, a sewing kit is just as good.

[ If this is pre-wedding at home, she'll go over to her room to find a kit; if it's at the castle already, she'll lead them into the Velvet Room where the music is finally not about fucking up, because nobody needs to hear that anymore. ]

[yokeye]

[They're still in the black cat house, we'll say.]

Maybe it's by the couch.

[Where he's still been sleeping. There's knitting things and half finished sweaters all over the place. It would have been easy to lose a pin there.]

[reveilation]

[ Okay, yeah, she is not sticking her hand in between the couch cushions to get stabbed by a pin, and she doesn't need Toki doing the same on his wedding day, so she gestures for him to follow him to her room— which is I guess is either shared with Rei or Terry depending on dates. I have no idea what dates anything is, but details aren't important because it's a quick in and out to grab the sewing kit and redirect them both to the living room again. ]

We'll look for that pin later. I'm going to stitch directly onto the tie— just a few stitches so we can remove it after. Hold still for a moment.

[yokeye]

[Holding still is a very hard task, especially on this day. Toki shoves his hands in his pockets, so there's no accidental flaily gestures or something while Kido sews.]

[reveilation]

[ Thanks for not flailing, so Kido doesn't accidentally poke out his good eye and blind him prematurely or anything. It's very quick, anyways, done around the knot so the bow can still fluff out but won't pull loose, and she ties the string off and snips it before stepping back and putting the kit aside.

She stands back and scrutinizes him silently, looking for what else she can fix before sending him outside for the ceremony, things like a wrinkled collar or maybe his hair's gotten messed up from all his pacing and fretting earlier. ]

[yokeye]

Do I look okay?

[He's done his best, but he's never really given much thought to his appearance. Despite growing up with a lot of money, he feels very out of place in nice clothes, and he's only combed his hair a handful of times in his entire life.]

[reveilation]

Yeah, you look fine. Don't worry.

[ She says this, but she still reaches up and combs her fingers through Toki's hair and flattens some cowlicks. ]

Suits have the effect of making you look mature. Sometimes I forget you're younger than me.

[yokeye]

Lots of people forget~!

[Or just assume he's older to begin with; it was useful for bar hopping.]

Maybe I should start wearing suits...

[There's a chance he'd be taken more seriously. He does need to buy clothes so he can stop wearing things from Terry's closet.]

[reveilation]

[ Toki using his height for evil... ]

You would look nice in them, but they're expensive, and hard to move in. You definitely wouldn't be able to go to the dungeons in them.

[ He wouldn't be able to fight, and they'd get all bloody and ruined every night. Actually, most clothes don't survive dungeon runs. Everybody needs old sweatshirts and sweatpants or something to fight in, probably. ]

[yokeye]

[Team colors, bought in bulk.]

That's a good point!

[Toki doesn't involve himself in too many dungeon runs, and he's certainly not out there every Lockdown. But even Terry's button-downs are too restrictive for his liking with what little activity he participates in.]

Just for special occasions then~!

[reveilation]

[ The team color is black because they're the Black Cats, which does well to cover up dirt and blood. It could work. ]

Special occasions work. You can take Rei out on fancy dates or something; she would love that.

[ Treat her like the princess she deserves to be, Toki. ]

[yokeye]

Yes! I'll take her everywhere~!

[Everywhere in Hirajiro...]

A rooftop picnic to watch the stars~!

[Even though it's winter, but he hasn't been stargazing in a while. It's not at all a fancy date and requires no dressing up.]

Wait, no... um... a restaurant with candles~! And you and Terry can go too! We'll all get dressed up and order lavish desserts~!

[reveilation]

[ A rooftop picnic would have been nice during the summer, but it'd definitely a stretch to have one during the winter. She's been promising Rei a picnic since summer, though, but that was right before the two of them died together the first time, and then things sort of spiraled downhill and there was no time for picnics.

A candlelit dinner sounds nice— until Toki brings up her and Terry and Kido shakes her head, flustered. ]

N-no, wouldn't you enjoy it more if it were just the two of you? It's supposed to be a date.

[yokeye]

[Toki thinks on that a little, but... no.]

I think... Rei wants everyone to be happy and together and it would more special if you came too. The whole family.

[reveilation]

[ NO. Playing the family card is unfair, and Kido shrinks a little because yeah Rei would think that. ]

Like a family dinner.

[ NOT A DOUBLE DATE. How does Toki know she and Terry are dating?? Nobody is supposed to know, even somebody who's been living with them and has probably seen her and Terry hold hands and kiss or whatever. They sleep in the same bed. God, nobody was supposed to know, how did this happen ]

[yokeye]

[Kido underestimates Toki's shipping radar. He knows all. There's even some romances going on between the cats.]

A family dinner~!

[Which will probably not happen, giving upcoming despair and death.]

[reveilation]

[ fsdlkjh we don't need any more cats, please... also maybe we can squeeze a cute family dinner before despair and death, it's not all going down to hell immediately when the log goes up so people can have a breather. We'll have our fake Christmas at least. ]

A family dinner. That makes you... my brother in law?

[yokeye]

I guess! It will be nice to have a sister again.

[There's a fond smile, instead of tears, when he thinks about her now. It's been a year.]

[reveilation]

...Yeah. I hope I can be a good older sister to you.

[ It's like her family's being built back up again, after having losing them so many times. Seto is here, Rei is her Mary, and... it wouldn't be fair draw the comparison between Kano and anybody, so she stops it at that. Toki is Toki. ]

[yokeye]

You already are.

[And Kido will get a hug. Not one that's clingy, holding like he's afraid she'll leave, but more gentle.]

[reveilation]

[ Kido's surprised enough that she doesn't react right away— it's the gentleness that takes her off guard, she realizes half a second later, when she expected otherwise from Toki who's always high strung and upbeat. It makes her happy to hear it, somewhat sad, and she wraps her arms around Toki and hugs him back, smiling with her face pressed against his shoulder and taking care not to cry on his suit because it'll be real close. ]

...Thanks, Tokidoki. It feels like I've been trying for a long time, to be a good neechan. Somebody who can actually help people and support them.

[ Terry and Rei are very strong individuals, and they didn't necessarily need her. So it was nice getting to sit with Toki and teach him things like sewing and cooking. It made her feel needed, and that's something she craves all the time. ]

Thanks for making it feel like I have a place in your life.