Mogeko March 2023

Wadanohara: Idate x Tatsumiya

CW:

Tatsumiya fidgeted with the large sleeves of her clothing nervously as she walked through the Sea of Stars. Idate was beside her, admiring the scenery. They had spent a lot of time with each other after the Sea of Death had been resealed and she found his presence warm and inviting. Idate was a mystery to her, and that fact wrapped the oarfish in intrigue. 

"How much longer do you think you'll be staying?" she inquired gently, glancing up at the orca. 

He lit up another cigarette, inhaling the smoke. "Probably only another few days, I've stayed much longer than I intended."

"Is that so?" She averted her gaze, looking out to the star filled sand. They were heading pretty deep now, sea trees full of stars caught in the branches glittered and waved with the gentle current of the ocean. 

"Don't look so sad," Idate said gently, exhaling through his nose.

"It's just a shame," Tatsumiya says. "What's so important back home?"

Her amber eyes study him closely, watching as the corners of his lips curve into a small smile. "Just someone I miss playing with."

Tatsumiya nodded, not quite understanding but understanding enough. Idate might be interested in her, but it wouldn't be long term. "Is there anything that could persuade you to stay?"

Idate meets her gaze gently. "Miya," he begins, and Tatsumiya feels her heart flutter at the nickname. "I think you're extremely attractive but I think you need someone a little bit more ready to settle down."

She nods slowly. "I see," she laments.

Idate reaches for her hand with his free one, grasping it warmly. "Would you really be okay with someone as restless as me? You have a life here, responsibilities."

Tatsumiya sighs and pulls her hand away, sitting down on the white sand. She curls her legs up, wrapping her kimono around herself. Idate remains standing, taking puffs casually off his cigarette. "You're very right," she finally says, listening to the soft twinkling of the stars surrounding them. "Will you never come back?" she asks.

"Probably not," he says honestly.

"Fated to our attraction, yet never to intertwine," she frames poetically, a melodious sigh escaping her mouth. 

"I don't know about never," Idate responds thoughtfully, throwing the burnt butt of his cigarette into the sand and stepping on it to put it out. 

The oarfish looks up at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Well, we have now, do we not, Miya?" He sat beside her, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her closely. Her cheeks dusted with red at the gesture ad she leaned into his strong shoulders. 

"I guess so, romance feels foreign to me."

"What do you mean?" he asks her. 

"Since Lord Meikai passed, I've spent all these years raising Wadanohara." She plays with the sand absent mindedly as she adds, "I haven't had the time or energy for romance."

Idate nods sympathetically. "She's all grown now."

"Yes."