[ He's waiting for her there at the corner of the street well before the ten minutes are up, hands tucked behind his back as he rocks back on his heels, watching people go by. When Maelle runs up, he turns to her with a light, crooked smile. There's something expectant about it; it's the way he used to look before giving her a present to open. ]
[Maelle takes in that smile once she's by his side, her own growing. He's got something up his sleeve. What that might be, however, is a complete mystery.]
Ready. [Her eyes narrow, as if trying to read his mind a la Sophie. Not that she needs to focus to do it.] You look very sure I'll like it.
[ He swings into an easy step, trusting that she'll fall into place beside him as he heads along the sidewalk and away from the apartments. ]
Then I guess we'll see if I still know you as well as I think I do.
[ Maelle doesn't miss Lumière the way he does, he knows, but this isn't Lumière... exactly. It's them, the memories they have together, both good and bad. He can't count the number of times they'd met in those gardens; she was so small the first time they went that he'd had to carry her on his back part of the way.
He doesn't let any clue show in his expression, though he's visibly enjoying her curiosity. ]
Maybe it's a new place to train. Would you like that?
[Maelle gives him a look as she walks ar his side. He's playing with her and she loves it.]
It's not, though. You wouldn't ruin your surprise.
[He doesn't get to guess!]
How about an actual hint? Like... is it related to dinner?
[Maelle has very much been enjoying the food here. Maybe he found an interesting restaurant. But, knowing him, he would have led with asking if she'd eaten already. The plot thickens.]
[ It's been a while since he's gotten to tease her like this, and he certainly is enjoying himself. He lifts a hand to point to her in an easy gesture. ]
[ It feels good to make her laugh, to walk with her and tease her just like they're back home and the Expedition never set sail, the Gommage never came. ]
[Maelle laughs at the sight of the stairs, but doesn't hesitate to follow Gustave. The fact that something feels familiar about it keeps her from making a humorless joke about the last time he was on a rooftop.]
Then you'd better get a move on so you can see for yourself.
[ The stairs aren't ideal, but he hadn't asked for ropes or grappling anchors when he'd contacted Aurora for this particular request. But it's not so bad; the climb only gives Maelle more time to wonder over what his surprise might be.
But not for long, probably. As they near the rooftop, the breeze brings a familiar scent as it tugs playfully at Maelle's ponytail, the cloth of his shirt. Flowers; piles of them, fresh and sweet and growing in a riot of color. Gustave glances down to see if Maelle's suspicion has sharpened yet, but keeps leading the way up to where green vines spill over the edge of the rooftop, clambering eagerly along brick and stone. And past that — a familiar wooden walkway alongside a fence plastered with posters and newspaper pages.
Gustave pauses at the top of the fire escape, looking over at her, a thrum of excitement fluttering through him. ]
[If she had any idea where they were going, she'd be running off ahead. But this is Gustave's fun, and so she just rolls her eyes with a smile, purposely crowding his back on the stairs on the climb because hurry up, old man.
Yet she does nearly miss a step when the tug of familiarity becomes a sharp yank. At the top, there's no mistaking it. Her mouth opens. No sound comes out. She looks up at Gustave, and a hundred memories of taking this exact walk with Gustave leaves her stunned.]
... you're joking. How...?
[This place is full of surprises. Gustave is full of surprises. Clearly pleased, Maelle links her arm though one of Gustave's to start pulling him down the walkway, the posters and papers shifting in the slight breeze as they pass.]
It feels like home.
[The Hanging Gardens was one of her favorite places. Gustave had shown her, and then they had spent so many days here together, and she only loved it more. Their conversations weren't always happy ones, but they were honest ones. Meaningful ones.]
[ He's already been up here, made certain it looks just as he remembers before he'd come back down again to find Maelle. Because he's already seen it, his gaze is fixed on her and not on the pathway that leads over the rooftops to the arching glass walls of a greenhouse and the open gardens and windmill beyond. It's well worth it to see the way her eyes widen, how surprise leaves her almost wordless.
He chuckles as she takes his arm and starts walking him along the wooden pathway, the way they'd walked it so many times before. He can catch the scent of the flowers and growing things from here; it twists a pang of homesickness into his chest. ]
I asked Aurora.
[ Not everyone here trusts Aurora — and he's not sure he does, either, exactly — but this world is an eccentric amalgamation of places people remember from home. Why not a place they remember? Why not this place, a place that meant so much to him and to Maelle?
Everything always seemed a little easier to manage, up here. They could talk about anything, everything, no matter how hard. ]
So? Was I right?
[ The look he gives her is amused, but beneath that humor is expectant delight. ]
[It looks just as she remembers, too. For a moment, Maelle leaves Gustave's side to inspect the plants and flowers. To touch them, and see that they're real, and for a moment they're standing together, on the day of the Gommage, and Expedition 33 hasn't departed. Or Maelle is pacing back and forth, figuring out how to tell Gustave she's joining his expedition. Or they're sitting together and Gustave is sharing stories from his childhood, or his day, or simply putting an arm around her after a particularly bad day, or they're laughing about something. They did laugh a lot, here..
Maelle has to blink back the dampness in her eyes, emotion swelling unexpectedly in her chest. When she turns back to Gustave, she's wearing a broad smile, but it's clear she's just a bit choked up. She never thought they could spend time here together again. Now, they can.]
You were right and then some. I love it.
[She darts forward to slip her arms around Gustave's middle in a hug, grateful. How lucky she is to have him. She laughs as she purposely squeezes too tight.]
[ He'd endure a thousand more missions like that fog, a thousand more nights sleeping with rocks poking into his back on the Continent, to see Maelle light up this way. He hugs her back, pretending not to see the way her eyes gleam or to hear the slight wateriness of her words, and ducks his head to press a kiss to the top of her bright hair. ]
Good.
[ All he says: simple, but that one word holds so much in it. He'd asked for something from home and it is for all of them, of course, but... there's no questioning who was top of mind when he made his request. The Hanging Gardens aren't where he used to go with Lune or Sciel, after all.
He squeezes her a moment more, then detaches and puts a hand at the center of her back, coaxing her forward. ]
We'd better go make sure it's all here like it's supposed to be, huh?
[She knows he's been up here before. She knows he's examined every bench and hanging plant, every broken pot and pile of soil, to see if it's as he remembers. Maelle smiles up at him before going right to the very edge, looking back at Gustave to make sure he's following.]
This should be where we meet up. If we get separated, like the fog, or... if you're wondering where I am. I have a feeling I'll be here a lot.
I have a feeling you might find me here already when you come.
[ He doesn't mean to spend all this time here in this memory of Lumière — it's too bittersweet, even with Maelle's delight and his own happiness. Months ago, they'd be walking in these same gardens, talking about what he should pick up on the way home to bring to Emma for dinner. If he tries, he can almost smell the scent of fresh bread rising from the boulangerie. ]
But you're right — it's a good meeting place. Easy to find, easy to access... easier if we can get some grappling anchors installed.
The climb wind you, old man? You know, this would be a good place for a duel without drawing attention...
[Get in shape, Gustave! Maelle laughs, hopping over to bump him with her shoulder rather than brandish her rapier.]
When I think of Lumière, I think of here. And you, and all the time we spent here. I'm... I'm really happy we can come up here again, even if it's different. It's still our spot.
That would depend on the intensity of the duel, I think. But you're right.
[ And he does need to train, now more than ever. As much as Lune had reassured him of the inaccuracies of the things her fog-self had told him, that thing with her face hadn't been all wrong. He is weaker than the others.
He can't import Nevrons here to fight for lumina, but he can at least improve his own techniques and abilities. That'll have to do until he and Lune can find a way to adjust the lumina converter.
He laughs too, playfully letting her check him toward a riot of blooming flowers. ]
It'll always be our spot. I've been missing our trips up here... it always felt like we were getting away from Lumière, just a little. Maybe it can help us here, too.
[ Chuckled as he strolls along the walkway with her, now under the glimmering glass panels of the greenhouse. The sunlight diffuses around them into rainbows, but even they seem pale in comparison with the flowers.
Whatever fears Maelle had about heights when she was younger had fled quickly enough. He can still remember how proud he was, watching her flit from rooftop to rooftop, fearless as a bird. ]
I don't know about that... it was hard, but after a while I was glad you at least felt like you could talk to me about it. And it makes sense that it was here, you know? It could just be us.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2025-11-09 05:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-11-09 05:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-11-09 05:28 pm (UTC)[Is she excited? Yes.]
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Date: 2025-11-11 08:58 pm (UTC)Ready?
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Date: 2025-11-11 09:23 pm (UTC)Ready. [Her eyes narrow, as if trying to read his mind a la Sophie. Not that she needs to focus to do it.] You look very sure I'll like it.
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Date: 2025-11-11 11:41 pm (UTC)Then I guess we'll see if I still know you as well as I think I do.
[ Maelle doesn't miss Lumière the way he does, he knows, but this isn't Lumière... exactly. It's them, the memories they have together, both good and bad. He can't count the number of times they'd met in those gardens; she was so small the first time they went that he'd had to carry her on his back part of the way.
He doesn't let any clue show in his expression, though he's visibly enjoying her curiosity. ]
Maybe it's a new place to train. Would you like that?
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Date: 2025-11-12 12:29 am (UTC)It's not, though. You wouldn't ruin your surprise.
[He doesn't get to guess!]
How about an actual hint? Like... is it related to dinner?
[Maelle has very much been enjoying the food here. Maybe he found an interesting restaurant. But, knowing him, he would have led with asking if she'd eaten already. The plot thickens.]
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Date: 2025-11-12 12:32 am (UTC)[ It's been a while since he's gotten to tease her like this, and he certainly is enjoying himself. He lifts a hand to point to her in an easy gesture. ]
Your hint is that it is not related to dinner.
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Date: 2025-11-12 12:39 am (UTC)It's not training and it's not dinner so I don't know what else there is to life. Wait. Another bridge?
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Date: 2025-11-12 01:12 am (UTC)[ It feels good to make her laugh, to walk with her and tease her just like they're back home and the Expedition never set sail, the Gommage never came. ]
But there is a walkway. And... some pictures.
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Date: 2025-11-12 01:24 am (UTC)[What is this man hiding! Maelle is obsessed.]
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Date: 2025-11-12 01:31 am (UTC)Posters, yes, like the outside of the movie theater.
[ He takes them around another corner, then starts heading to the spindly metal stairs of a fire escape that's clinging to the side of one building. ]
No shops, though.
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Date: 2025-11-12 01:44 am (UTC)[Maelle laughs at the sight of the stairs, but doesn't hesitate to follow Gustave. The fact that something feels familiar about it keeps her from making a humorless joke about the last time he was on a rooftop.]
I'm never going to guess.
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Date: 2025-11-12 02:03 am (UTC)[ The stairs aren't ideal, but he hadn't asked for ropes or grappling anchors when he'd contacted Aurora for this particular request. But it's not so bad; the climb only gives Maelle more time to wonder over what his surprise might be.
But not for long, probably. As they near the rooftop, the breeze brings a familiar scent as it tugs playfully at Maelle's ponytail, the cloth of his shirt. Flowers; piles of them, fresh and sweet and growing in a riot of color. Gustave glances down to see if Maelle's suspicion has sharpened yet, but keeps leading the way up to where green vines spill over the edge of the rooftop, clambering eagerly along brick and stone. And past that — a familiar wooden walkway alongside a fence plastered with posters and newspaper pages.
Gustave pauses at the top of the fire escape, looking over at her, a thrum of excitement fluttering through him. ]
Well?
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Date: 2025-11-12 03:15 am (UTC)Yet she does nearly miss a step when the tug of familiarity becomes a sharp yank. At the top, there's no mistaking it. Her mouth opens. No sound comes out. She looks up at Gustave, and a hundred memories of taking this exact walk with Gustave leaves her stunned.]
... you're joking. How...?
[This place is full of surprises. Gustave is full of surprises. Clearly pleased, Maelle links her arm though one of Gustave's to start pulling him down the walkway, the posters and papers shifting in the slight breeze as they pass.]
It feels like home.
[The Hanging Gardens was one of her favorite places. Gustave had shown her, and then they had spent so many days here together, and she only loved it more. Their conversations weren't always happy ones, but they were honest ones. Meaningful ones.]
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Date: 2025-11-15 02:45 am (UTC)He chuckles as she takes his arm and starts walking him along the wooden pathway, the way they'd walked it so many times before. He can catch the scent of the flowers and growing things from here; it twists a pang of homesickness into his chest. ]
I asked Aurora.
[ Not everyone here trusts Aurora — and he's not sure he does, either, exactly — but this world is an eccentric amalgamation of places people remember from home. Why not a place they remember? Why not this place, a place that meant so much to him and to Maelle?
Everything always seemed a little easier to manage, up here. They could talk about anything, everything, no matter how hard. ]
So? Was I right?
[ The look he gives her is amused, but beneath that humor is expectant delight. ]
Do you like it?
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Date: 2025-11-15 03:38 pm (UTC)Maelle has to blink back the dampness in her eyes, emotion swelling unexpectedly in her chest. When she turns back to Gustave, she's wearing a broad smile, but it's clear she's just a bit choked up. She never thought they could spend time here together again. Now, they can.]
You were right and then some. I love it.
[She darts forward to slip her arms around Gustave's middle in a hug, grateful. How lucky she is to have him. She laughs as she purposely squeezes too tight.]
Thanks, Gustave.
no subject
Date: 2025-11-15 05:26 pm (UTC)Good.
[ All he says: simple, but that one word holds so much in it. He'd asked for something from home and it is for all of them, of course, but... there's no questioning who was top of mind when he made his request. The Hanging Gardens aren't where he used to go with Lune or Sciel, after all.
He squeezes her a moment more, then detaches and puts a hand at the center of her back, coaxing her forward. ]
We'd better go make sure it's all here like it's supposed to be, huh?
no subject
Date: 2025-11-15 08:28 pm (UTC)This should be where we meet up. If we get separated, like the fog, or... if you're wondering where I am. I have a feeling I'll be here a lot.
[Because it's special.]
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Date: 2025-11-16 02:10 am (UTC)[ He doesn't mean to spend all this time here in this memory of Lumière — it's too bittersweet, even with Maelle's delight and his own happiness. Months ago, they'd be walking in these same gardens, talking about what he should pick up on the way home to bring to Emma for dinner. If he tries, he can almost smell the scent of fresh bread rising from the boulangerie. ]
But you're right — it's a good meeting place. Easy to find, easy to access... easier if we can get some grappling anchors installed.
no subject
Date: 2025-11-16 02:16 am (UTC)[Get in shape, Gustave! Maelle laughs, hopping over to bump him with her shoulder rather than brandish her rapier.]
When I think of Lumière, I think of here. And you, and all the time we spent here. I'm... I'm really happy we can come up here again, even if it's different. It's still our spot.
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Date: 2025-11-18 11:26 pm (UTC)[ And he does need to train, now more than ever. As much as Lune had reassured him of the inaccuracies of the things her fog-self had told him, that thing with her face hadn't been all wrong. He is weaker than the others.
He can't import Nevrons here to fight for lumina, but he can at least improve his own techniques and abilities. That'll have to do until he and Lune can find a way to adjust the lumina converter.
He laughs too, playfully letting her check him toward a riot of blooming flowers. ]
It'll always be our spot. I've been missing our trips up here... it always felt like we were getting away from Lumière, just a little. Maybe it can help us here, too.
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Date: 2025-11-18 11:46 pm (UTC)[For now, she's happy to just be here with Gustave. It feels right. This is what home truly feels like, and she's grateful.]
I still remember the first time you brought me up here. I needed your help, and the height scared me. I thought I had vertigo.
[Apparently not.]
But then I was able to do the trip without your help... so I could be here, waiting, until you were done with your work for the day.
[Which was so often the best part of her day.]
In retrospect... sort of cruel of me to tell you I was joining Expedition 33 here, hmm?
no subject
Date: 2025-11-19 12:35 am (UTC)[ Chuckled as he strolls along the walkway with her, now under the glimmering glass panels of the greenhouse. The sunlight diffuses around them into rainbows, but even they seem pale in comparison with the flowers.
Whatever fears Maelle had about heights when she was younger had fled quickly enough. He can still remember how proud he was, watching her flit from rooftop to rooftop, fearless as a bird. ]
I don't know about that... it was hard, but after a while I was glad you at least felt like you could talk to me about it. And it makes sense that it was here, you know? It could just be us.
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Date: 2025-11-19 12:53 am (UTC)[She smiles at him as they meander along, fingertips reaching out to touch the leaves of a plant she recognizes but still doesn't know the name of.]
But... I knew I could talk to you. Then, and now, and we have our spot back. That's pretty great.
[Maelle crouches down to pick up a rock. Even down to the minute details, it feels real. That must mean it is, right? Just in a different space.
She offers it to Gustave.]
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