[video]

[pinkmin]

The last several jolts of Vianca's consciousness had not been what anyone could call pleasant. The last thing she had remembered about Havenwell was the warmth of morning sunshine. Then that sunshine had lost its warmth, its departure bringing weak stutters of breath and the crumbled remains of a place that had once been her whole world. The sunlight was still there, filtering in through the broken ceilings and crushed walls. Oh, she had thought as she laid there, a dream. A very nice one. It was a shame she couldn't hold on to it in the end.

Then there was nothing.

So when she opened her eyes in a sunlit temple a second time, she was not sure what to do. She stayed right there for a very long time, until one of the kind priests helped her to her feet so she could find her way. It... had been cold, the last time she had been outside? She thought so anyway, but the more she thought about it, the more she wasn't sure. Maybe it had been warm the whole time?

She had only gotten so far through the temple before she had to crouch down in a corner, because things were a little too overwhelming. Thinking about what the season meant was too much. Starting over was too much. What if it was just her all over again? That, more than anything, was far too much.

It took a very long time, but eventually Vianca slowly picked up the tablet that had been handed to her. Whether it was the same one she'd had or a new one, she didn't have the courage to check. The focus was simply on opening the network and keeping her breath steady.

---


[It was a little bit dark there in the corner of Ohma's temple, but it was still possible to see the pink little girl on the screen. Her mouth was pressed in a thin, worried line, and for a moment it might have seemed like the video frame was actually frozen.

Then she took a breath, and spoke in a spectacularly tiny voice into the screen.]


... Hello?

Comments

[21kingpuddings]

[The important part is not being hurt, even if that means... anymore.]

Okay, I'm gonna be there in just a... [Wait, hang on. For a moment, he stops himself and thinks about something pretty hard, before taking a quick tangent detour,] Are you hungry at all?

[Even if she doesn't know that she's been gone for a while, that's still a totally reasonable concern to have.]

[pinkmin]

[That is an unexpected question that required a little bit of hard thinking on her part as well.]

...

I don't know.

[21kingpuddings]

[That isn't a bad answer, and he nods as Vianca settles on it.]

Okay. [He looks up from his tablet's camera for a moment, the background of the feed beginning to move behind him as he hurries his way through his house.] Sit tight, I won't be long. Or, uh, well, if you do move somewhere else, just let me know.

[pinkmin]

[So many people in a hurry, goodness. She nodded.]

I should be here. [She hoped.] But I will let you know. Um. There is no rush.

[... Probably.]

--> [Action]

[21kingpuddings]

[Everyone's excited to see you, Vianca! She may insist on there not being any rush, but Tamaki doesn't want to leave her waiting on her own for very long. After a quick,] See you soon! [he reluctantly ends the feed on his end so that he can gather up a few things before rushing over to Ohma's temple.

Once he arrives, it's with a bag held carefully against himself - no need to jostle the contents too much while he's running! Because he sure did run all the way here! But he also seems to have learned his lesson from startling her earlier, and doesn't actually yell out for her nice and loudly once he arrives. Surely that would just rattle her again. No, when he gets there, he simply looks around, calling out in a very much indoor-voice,]

Vicchan?

[pinkmin]

[Surprise, that was just loud enough to get her attention. She'd moved a little bit, drawn away from her corner by a cat beckoning to her for some pets. Who was she to deny a god cat their pets. It meant she was a little closer to the entrance though, so it did not take her long to patter towards the sound of his voice.]

Here I am, Tamaki.

[21kingpuddings]

[There she is...! Tamaki, even through the need to catch his breath a bit, exhales a large amount of tension. Seeing her on the network, hearing her voice, all of that raised his hopes nice and high, but seeing her in person was an enormous relief.

Reuniting with someone he was unsure that he'd ever see again isn't a new feeling, but it ceases to be an incredible one.]

It really is you... [Who else? could it have been? But, no, here he comes, right over to her at a reserved sort of haste - no need to overwhelm her right away, but he only stops a little ways away from her, kneeling down to get more on her level.] You're really back.

[pinkmin]

[She nodded.]

I am back.

[Vianca paused there though, briefly looking down at her hands. Even if she said that, there was still a lot to be hesitant about here.]

… I hope I am back. I don’t know how it works here.

[21kingpuddings]

[What is there to be unsure about? She sure doesn't look like a mirage or anything, and the worry that this might be a temporary thing doesn't even cross his mind. The video on the network was enough to fully convince him that she's here to stay, for however long that may be this time.]

Here, lemme check. [He holds his hands out to her, angling them toward hers so that she may put them right in his. Make sure she's not a (?!)ghost(!?) or something.]

[pinkmin]

[Well, it was very important to periodically check your plants for ghosts. Everyone knows that.

Vianca looked at his hands for a moment, and then gently placed hers just so without question. Here you go, Tamaki. Inspect away.]

[21kingpuddings]

[How awful would it be if they thought she was back, and it turned out she was only a ghost?

Luckily, the only things that come from Vianca putting her hands in Tamaki's is that now he can warm her hands with his. How lovely.]

There we go. [He offers her hands a gentle squeeze, a fond smile crossing his face as he does.] It sure feels like you're back. So... welcome back, Vicchan.

[pinkmin]

[How many times did one have to come back from the dead before they were considered a ghost. Let's count.

She was still looking very intently at their hands as the line of her mouth wibbled a bit, but here was a squeeze back.]

Mm.... mhmm.

[21kingpuddings]

[Just so long as she's coming back in a corporeal way, then she should be fine. There's probably some degree of haunting needed, too, but would Ohma's temple really be the place she'd pick for that? Who can say for sure.

What he can say for sure is,] I'm really, really, really glad to see you again. I know a lot of other people are gonna be, too.

[pinkmin]

[At least everyone could be rest assured that she would be a quiet and polite ghost.

She didn't really know what to say to the concept that lots of people would be glad to see her again. She'd concede to a few, but she... also really didn't want to hang on to that thought. Warm hands and a bright smile were easier to sway her with when she was feeling really, really glad too. Even if it meant her lip was wibbling even more.]

I'm also... I'm really, really glad I got to see you again, Tamaki.

[21kingpuddings]

[Those wibbles... Goodness. His smile softens, though he doesn't want to quite let go of her hands just yet.]

I brought some things with me, [he glances back to the bag he'd set aside before turning his full attention back to Vianca,] wanna see?

[pinkmin]

[She was also glancing at this mystery bag. What a mystery! Looking back at Tamaki looking back at her, she gave him a curious nod.]

Yes.

[Here, you could have one (1) of your hands back, Tamaki. For bag rifling.]

[21kingpuddings]

[One hand is all he needs, anyway. The other can remain firmly holding on to Vianca's, lest she slip away into nothingness without some sort of anchor. Which would be extremely silly in the first place, considering that she's absolutely not a ghost. Still, still.

The bag gets tugged a bit closer first, just to make rifling a tad easier, but the first thing he pulls out from it is a garland, not unlike the kind he'd made and tossed up around Petals & Pages over the winter. Unlike the sharper, more poinsettia-like flowers of those decorations, however, these flowers are rounder, cut from pinks, whites, and purples to make them possibly a little more Valentine-like, but mostly more Vianca-like. As the garland is extracted from the bag, one end of it is draped around Vianca's shoulders so that the rest of it can be more easily pulled out.]

Wanted to put these up on your birthday. [Which, ah, would have been incredibly depressing to do without the birthday girl in question.] We can go and decorate the place a little later, if you'd like.

[pinkmin]

[Really, she had no idea what to expect from this mystery bag. It was most certainly nothing like this though. At the first sign of soft pastels, Vianca's eyes went a bit round, and she stood stone still as Tamaki draped them around her. The colors weren't lost on her at all-- while it was purple now, her own flower had been each of those colors once. There were just so many of them.

And they were... for her birthday? Her birthday. Again with the birthdays and again she didn't know what to do with how wet her eyes were feeling without her permission.

She knew she really ought to say something, but for a moment all she could do was squeeze his hand and look down at the flowers in wonder.]

[21kingpuddings]

[A quiet reception for the decorations, huh? That's fine, that's fine.

Those misty eyes are a bit troubling, but it doesn't strike him as a negative reaction, per se, given the way she seems to be admiring the flowers. Tamaki might not know the hidden meanings she can uncover from those colors, the flower in her hair has only been purple as long as he's known her, but if she likes it, then that's a big success.

Her hand is given a gentle squeeze in return, the garland getting looped around her shoulders carefully as it's fully fished out of the bag.]

It'll be up to you. [They can go to Petals & Pages, or maybe somewhere else, or they can stay here, but the decision doesn't need to be made right away.] Whatever you want.

[pinkmin]

[Even if he didn't actually know, the flowers still matched the tiny blossoms she had left behind in the shop. Even if he didn't know, they were still going to make her cry. Misty had progressed to a tiny brim of tears she tried to blink away, but that just sent them down her cheeks. Again. Oh no. Vianca sniffed and fervently nodded her head.]

They're... they're very pretty.

Thank you.

[21kingpuddings]

[Oh gosh, oh goodness! Easy now, Tamaki leans in a little bit, lifting his free hand to carefully wipe those tears off of her cheeks.]

I'm really, really glad you like them. [Enough for there to be tears, even. But, they are good tears, so they can be appreciated even if they twist at his heart a bit.] And I'm really happy I finally got to give them to you, too.

[pinkmin]

[Vianca shut her eyes with a sniffle as he wiped some of her tears away, the hand holding his holding on tight.]

I like them very much. I'm... I'm really happy you thought of me.

[21kingpuddings]

Even if you're not here, I'm still gonna think about you. [It's... hard to think that the people he likes and cares about could just disappear on him, and Vianca definitely wouldn't be the first to do so. It's even harder to think about just forgetting them, though, even if those memories become bittersweet.] And while you are here, I don't wanna ignore important days like birthdays, you know?

[Even if... it's late. Whoops. But, with that in mind, he pulls his free hand back to dig into the bag once more.] I've got one more thing in here for you.

[pinkmin]

[What. No. Who does that besides everyone in this post. Tamaki! She was already sniffling, don't destroy her more. And it wasn't his fault the gift was late, she was the one vanishing. Let's not focus on that though, when fresh dangers awaited.]

... There's... more?

[21kingpuddings]

[Everyone wants to spoil this child. But he doesn't want to actually, like destroy her or anything, so don't worry,] Just a little more. [A proper birthday celebration wouldn't be complete without a particular staple...

Out of the bag comes one box, which he places between the two of them in order to carefully pry open the top, revealing, ta-da! A couple of decadent looking cupcakes, thanks to a particular upgrade made for his tiniest roommate.]

You can pick which one you think looks best.