Rapunzel
The lanterns dress us with a sparkly, golden dome-like shelter, creating a protective shield in between us and the sky out of nothing but pure light. I rest my head on the boat's frame, a slight shiver running down my spine when the temperature changes.
I don't know what could make this moment anymore perfect...
A somewhat audible cough behind me sounds as though it was to get my attention, I lift my head slowly and remember where I am, along with who's still behind me.
As I turn around, I spot Cass, two lanterns resting on both her palms, her smile slanted but sweet, her eyes relaxed, her face lit up by the lanterns glow...
Actually... Scratch that... I do know who could make this moment even more perfect.
My cheeks pull tighter at the corner of my lips, pulling them to meet my eyes as I take my seat again, shifting into a comfortable position.
"I saw these last minute... I guess I thought that we could-"
"Send... Send them up together?" I finish for her, my words flowing right after hers, like I already knew what she was going to say without having to think.
"Yeah... Yeah... Together."
She goes to hand me my lantern, but a strange shape in my pocket makes me move it to the side.
"Actually..." I take a minute to pause, to take in a deep breath, thinking carefully about what I'm about to do, but I didn't need long to convince myself it's the right thing to do. "I... I have something for you too." She puts aside the lanterns and watches me with curiosity, I reach my hand into my pocket and retrieve her dagger from between the layers of fabric.
She's shocked, understandably, when I hand it over.
"I think this belongs to you?" I struggle to keep my innocent smile, "I'm sorry, I should've given it to you earlier but- but I guess I got a little carried away and you- and I think I was just... a little scared? But I... I'm not-" I stumble over my words, verbally trying to explain myself the best I could, but nothing comes out how I want it to.
I hear her laugh, then she lightly pushes down on my hands, moving them and the dagger out of view.
"Hey, it's ok. It doesn't matter anymore." Her left hand then stretches out towards me, her hand slipping strands of my hair behind my ear before resting on my cheek.
"I've found someone way better than any dagger..."
Her skin against my cheek somehow causes them to burn up, and the fluttery feeling in my stomach makes me want to jump and spin around, screaming excitedly like a little child, but I keep that to myself and instead lean into her touch, placing my hand on top of hers, and breathing slowly.
... I made the right decision...
"Now here, let's send up these lanterns, hm?" I nod my head, and she retrieves the two golden cubes, passing one over to me and keeping the other close to her.
"3... 2... 1!"
We then lift up our hands, and in doing so we gave the lanterns the boost they needed to start floating up to its friends. They stuck side my side, spun around each other, and then eventually got lost in the sea of yellow.
I make sure to keep my eyes on the two up until I can't make them out any longer.
Then I look back down to Cass.
Cassandra
Rapunzel watches in awe as our lanterns dance up towards the sky together, drifting slightly to the side with its friends and she watches until she'd lost them in the crowd of lights.
The entire time I was looking over at her...
I could see the reflection of the lights in her eyes, making them look as if they contained golden glitter along with their usual green dye.
I continue to admire the way she absolutely adores every single small detail in regards to the moment even after she'd started looking back at me.
Our eyes lock on each other's, but it didn't feel like the other times it had happened...
This time, I felt comfortable. I embraced the warmth in my cheeks as a good thing and let myself settle down, I let myself smile and sit comfortably, and something tells me she felt just as calm, just as relaxed and content.
"You really do look really cute with your hair up like that." She compliments again, her hand running up and playing with the ends of my ponytail.
"Well, thanks, but don't get too used to it. I won't be making it a habit to give in to you." I tilt my head slightly, my smile shifting into a more playful smirk. She giggles, once again sounding like some mystic, heveanly melody.
"You know you'll continue to do so anyway, you can't seem to tear yourself from me, let alone say no to something I ask." She laughs gently, her eyes careful closed, her hands covering her mouth. The small ribbons of yellow and gold that have now started gracefully circling her, shining their faint light onto her skin and clothes, cause me to lean in closer, and the closer I get, the warmer I feel.
"How am I suppose to tear myself apart from someone so..."
The words fell from my lips louder than I'd wanted them to be, and the minute she heard me, I lost the rest of my sentence.
Her hands slowly left her mouth, her eyes opened up again and her lips couldn't close all the way, leaving the smallest gap between them. A silence fell over us as we studied the one opposite us.
"Someone so... What, Cass?"
I swallow hard, feeling a small nerve appear in the back of my mind.
Fortunately, though, it wasn't enough to make me retreat.
She rested her hands in her lap and let her body lean the slightest bit closer to me, making the gap between our faces even smaller.
"Someone so... Dream-like, someone so perfect in every way it's difficult to tell if said person is actually real..." I finish in a slow, quiet voice, one that I could barely hear myself. Due to the silence, I could hear her breathing catch.
Her eyes seemed to search mine, digging around for something. I immediately assume whatever she says next is going to be bad, that she didn't appreciate my honesty for whatever reason...
... But I was so... So wrong...
"I'm definitely real... But I can- prove it.. If you want?"
Yeah no that's not what I was expecting her to say, at all.
What in the world is happening right now-?
"O- ok..."
One of her hands slides up to my chin, brushing my skin while making it's way to the smaller, stray strands of hair that couldn't stay up in the pony tail, she pushes them aside and then holds the side of my face in her palm.
My lips part from each other, and the minute my brain registers the situation, it sends a message that makes my heart beat 10 times faster than usual.
Once we're close enough, our foreheads rest against each other's and our breathing, that are both quicker than they need to be, mixes together.
I go to purse my lips, but have to soon pull them apart again when she brings hers closer...
In time, her lips had connected with mine, pressing gently against each other. She rests her arms on my shoulders, her hands locking behind my neck, and once I've realised what was happening, that I in fact was not dreaming, I hold her cheeks again, making kissing her back quite a bit easier.
And after one, blissful minute of gentle kissing, we both pull our lips apart, and open our eyes to meet the others shocked face...
YOU ARE READING
crossing the line AU
Fanfiction"I'm starting to question if we met... On purpose. Through Fate... Or whatever." Crossing the line - A story about two girls who were almost swapped at birth, you could say... Cassandra grew up in a castle, money and power galore. She was raised by...
