Tradition's End (A Touhou Project Fanfiction)

Where We Go From Here

A creature of habit prefers the familiar. An alteration to their routine is not a simple change to make. Even faced with a significant event, it is far easier for one to fall back on established patterns.

...

And just like that, Alice found herself nestled into the same corner of the couch that she'd occupied just a short time before.

The rhythmic clicking of her knitting needles filled the room once more as she redoubled her efforts to finish her project, a bit of extra gusto behind her movements.

Two teacups rested upon the dark wood of her self-made coffee table, their contents having been drained over the course of an awkward yet meaningful conversation.

Despite the flurry of emotion she'd experienced earlier, the tranquility of this moment, as she focused on her work, helped to keep herself grounded.

The familiar, repetitive motions allowed for her to become lost in thought, something she very much needed at present.

Indeed, there was much to think about.

Today had been eventful, far more than she could have reasonably expected.

Oh, Eric...

Perhaps unsurprisingly, her ponderance mainly concerned the nature of the bond between Eric and herself.

...

How quickly things had come to this point. Though, in hindsight, she supposed that his confession, and her reciprocation, should have come as less of a revelation and more of an inevitability.

There was a distinct nature to their relationship, one that had begun to take shape even before she was made privy to the Red String of Fate.

From the beginning, she had treated him far differently than anybody else.

How had he managed to find his way in? To seep through the cracks in her facade so quickly?

With him, gone was the desire to put up a front. There was no need to be impassive or calculating or snarky or anything like that.

She couldn't quite explain why, but something about his presence put her more at ease; to the point that she could relinquish such a defense mechanism.

It made her feel as though, around him, she could be Alice. Just Alice. The same Alice that only really came out when it was just her and her dolls.

His regular visits were viewed not as a nuisance, but as something to anticipate. This was in stark contrast to her only other regular visitor.

As grateful as she was (though she would never admit it) for Marisa's repeated 'friendly intrusions', it certainly didn't take long for her unique disposition to become abrasive.

With Eric, it... it had never gotten to that point.

He was always respectful of her and her home. He didn't openly antagonize in order to get a rise out of her. He didn't tease her often, and when he did tease her, he always did so lightly.

She certainly never had to worry about him borrowing anything, either.

He seemingly endeavored to make every interaction as pleasant as he could and listened actively, even when the topic was something he knew nothing about.

He had a penchant for not forcing unnecessary conversation, instead knowing when to let a quiet moment linger.

...

That was a quality currently exemplified by the fact that her new boyfriend was perfectly content to rest on the opposite end of her couch while she tried to finish her knitting...