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even miracles take a little time

──● fairy godmother
CINDERELLA

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Kasumi couldn't breathe. Her throat felt clogged almost immediately, and in no time at all she booked it towards the painting, dropping to her knees where it had fallen.

It was absolutely drenched.

So much so that it splashed up against her dress, and bright mixes of color smeared across her legs as she frantically shook her head, pushing piles of half-dried paint off of the board, in search of her masterpiece. Her baby.

Her lungs cried for air as her vision blurred, chest tightening until she felt like she wouldn't have been able to draw in oxygen if she tried. Even as her breathing grew shallow and thin, her hands trembled with something deeper than any simple emotion words could describe. It hurt. Everything hurt.

This could not be happening.

She'd already failed once. Had failed her teacher. Her fans. Her supporters. Her family. Her father. Her siblings. Herself. And now, now she would fail Rhys.

Rhys.

A sick, dreading feeling swooped low into her stomach, and she dropped back onto her knees against the painting, knowing deep in her heart it was worthless. There was no bringing it back. An aching sort of sound tore through her thoat, ripping into the walls of silence that had surrounded her for too long.

Kasumi closed her eyes, dropping her head as her palms found the base of the canvas, and that trembling, buried sound that had stayed there for so long. Deep in her heart, where no one could ever find it, tore loose.

She sobbed.

It was soft. Like a whisper of nothing, but it felt so loud. Felt like something hammering into her head, but she couldn't stop it. Couldn't choke back another cry as it ripped through her again, shaking her chest and forcing her hands to clutch the dried remnants of whatever was left of their painting beneath her. It echoed across the walls of her thoughts, running up and down them in vibrations.

She'd failed to stay silent too.

Kasumi was just - failing at everything, wasn't she?

She wanted to scream. She wanted to somehow, someway, get that pain inside of her out. She needed to do something to unleash this dark, horrid feeling that now resided within her. This sense of complete failure. She needed to get out of her own thoughts, she wanted her sunshine. Wanted to be able to breathe again. It was so dark here. So angry, and viscious, and laced with venomous memories that seemed to latch onto her, and never let go.

Failure.

The word sang to her like a battle cry, distant at first, but she could feel it rapidly approaching. Armed with the tenacious memories she'd spent years working out with her therapist. It had taken her years to heal, to become better, but there were still cracks in her walls. Fissures of abyss and emptiness, waiting to be eroded into a river of eternal dread.

The memories locked into her throat, suffocating her slowly. Kasumi clawed at the dark, desperate for light again, desperate for the feeling of sunshine and hope. Desperate of the feeling she hadn't known she'd finally gained. 

Desperate for Rhys.

A hand, against her back. Splayed out, and warm to the touch. It send her reeling from her thoughts as warmth bled into her back, reassuring and kind. It was so soft. So gentle. Far too nice of a touch for her to deserve it.

It was so nice, that it forced another sob to echo from her dry throat, into the open air for everyone to hear.

It didn't really matter anyway, because she turned immediately, and again found Rhys' warm embrace. Kasumi's arms latched around his neck, and she dropped her head into his chest as that summery warmth consumed her. Rhys had knelt beside her, but waited until her arms had gone around him before sliding his own to her waist, hugging her tightly. 

Tears ran down her face, unbashadly trailing tracks of silvery raindrops down her cheeks as cry after cry rattled her chest. She could hear Rhys reminding her to breathe, in and out. She could feel his hand running slow, gentle circles on her back. Soothing, like it grounded her in a sense so she wouldn't have gone floating away into the darkness of her thoughts. Warmth enveloped her, seeping into her skin through every place they touched. His voice remained soft, speaking into her hair as he held her like something precious. Like something to protect. 

Kasumi liked feeling protected.

She liked a lot of things about Rhys Armstrong. She liked how patient he was. How gentle he was with her. She liked that he defended her when he needed too, because she hated doing it herself. She liked how encouraging he was when she wanted to try something, to do something new. Liked how sweet he was with his sister, Sailor. Liked that he didn't think she was weird for not speaking. Liked that he talked to her like she was a normal person, like a person who would talk back directly if she could manage it. Liked that he loved art and history, and wanted to travel the world to see it all. 

Kasumi just liked Rhys.

But she especially liked how he was holding her right now. Liked the way he pulled back from her, just barely, to smooth a thumb over chapped cheeks, and burnt trails of tears. It was sweet, and soft, and something right out of one of Yume's romance novels. Rhys' spoke with a kindness to her that not many people had, hands holding her face gently.

"We can fix it, Kassy. We'll fix it."

She didn't have to say a single word to him, not so much as a mutter, as she blinked away uncried tears. Rhys was already answering her.

"I'll fix it, I'll find out who did it, okay?"

Again, she stared at him, even as that sick, horrible feeling was replaced with something a little softer. Comfort, and the vague feeling of going home after being homesick for so long. The air felt heavy with the scent of sentiment and sincerity. Kasumi leaned her hand into his touch, closing her eyes as her head lolled into his palm. His fingers were callused, but his hands were warm and soft. She felt the warmth bite down on her throat, clogging it once again with a different kind of tears

"Don't cry, Kas.." Rhys sounded worried, and his thumb skittered across her cheek once again, but paused after a moment, and he seemed to backtrack. "Well- of course, cry if you feel like, don't keep your emotions in, obviously, but- I just mean- you know." He sighed as Kasumi opened her eyes, still leaning into his reassuring presence. "I, I hate to see you cry Kassy." He brushed her cheek again, despite there not being any sign of continuing tears. She felt dehydrated, all cried out frankly. 

Kasumi was silent again, sitting across from Rhys, leaning into his touch as he was kneeling in front of her. He didn't say anything for a moment, that soft, easy motion of his thumb running over her face felt like enough. So she stayed there for a little bit, and so did Rhys, letting the silence settle between them in a kind of bittersweet sensation.

Kasumi decided, she'd like to hug him more.

-----

Rhys was silent beside her. He'd gone completely still once Talia Clemens, their professor, had turned on the recently installed security cameras. Apparently, there had been more than one paintings ruined by an unknown asaliant, and a couple weeks ago, Miss Clemens had presented the option to put security cameras in place.

Kasumi wasn't surprised, frankly, to see who it was. Although she was a little confused at how exactly Blair Cook knew where her painting was, and knew that it had been hers in the first place. Blair seemed exactly like the kind of person to do such a thing.

Miss Clemens and Rhys, however, seemed somewhat in shock.

Miss Clemens spoke first, shell-shocked evidently. "I, I had no idea. She's usually such a good student, she's one of the students who is in the art building almost constantly, not to mention, she has a key to the gallery because she takes inventory." She stared at the screen again in disbelief. "I can't believe she would do such a thing." Without skipping a beat, the professor turned to them, "I'll be giving you a grade on your project before the disaster. It was fortunate enough that I got to see it. I'm deeply sorry." She hesitated. "Rhys, Kasumi, I'm really very, very sorry that this happened." Her eyes seemed hallowed out, gutted from the light that shone in this room, the invisible spotlight that followed Blair as she tipped nearby buckets on her painting, fury painted on her face. Her smile was scheming, unknowing of the camera watching her every move.

Kasumi couldn't help but feel a little beat of satisfaction, knowing that she'd been caught red-handed after being so obnoxious.

It was easy to think of those things, she guessed. It's much harder to say them. Although that was true for most things in life, especially when considering feelings or emotions of any sort. The same was true for actions - which spoke louder than both of those. Thinking is one thing. Saying is another, but taking action is a different game entirely.

Not speaking another word, Miss Clemens left, spinning on a heel and dialing a number of some kind. Her voice fell distant as she stepped out and into the hall, the echoes of her shoes reverberating against empty hallways.

Rhys still, had said nothing.

Kasumi slowly turned to him, watching for a moment. He was pale, staring at the camera. She thought he might be shaking for a moment, and not a single sound fell from his mouth. There was nothing but silence. She realized then that he was shaking, but trying to hide it, shoving his hands in his pockets without a word. He was so quiet. Uncharacteristically so. She found it worrying.

She reached for his arm.

The moment her fingers came in contact with it, he tensed, looking to her, and immediately the words were spewing from his lips. "I'm sorry." He didn't wait for her to ask whatever for, already beginning to speak. "It- It was my fault Kasumi. I'm so, so sorry."

Oh.

Oh.

Hearing her full name from Rhys felt odd, to say the least, and that sickening feeling at being right that her painting had been ruined by someone who was upset because she couldn't call people stupid and get away with it, was quickly replaced with worry. He was standing all wrong, he looked ashamed, and pale, and sad, and not at all like her Rhys. Kasumi took a step towards him, and thanked the heavens above when he didn't step away. Fingers found his chest, light and feathery. She could feel his pulse beating, lungs rising unevenly.

"I'm so sorry- I didn't even realize that she would do such a thing. I didn't think she would. I mean - who the fuck - what kind of person does that??" His breathing was erratic now, but he didn't sound angry at all. No. This was a much different kind of feeling. One that Kasumi knew well.

Panic.

Shame.

Underneath her palm, she could feel the pulse of his heart. Rhys ran a shaky hand through his hair, his voice coming out breathy. "I-It was stupid. I didn't mean- I just was bragging about you, I guess, to Blair because she made some stupid fucking comment that I know was meant to be provoking about her art piece being on time and still being better, and I just- I had to say something."

He was speaking too fast. Not too fast that Kas couldn't understand him, but too fast in the sense that he couldn't get enough air in his lungs. Her fingers tightened slightly on his shirt, twitching against the cool black fabric that hugged his chest. 

"I had to say something, and it was so stupid- dammit- I should have just kept my mouth shut. I told her- I showed her the painting, but- I didn't think she'd do anything to It. I swear Kas. If I had known, I wouldn't have."

His chest heaved, and Kasumi knew then that he wasn't breathing enough. Was beginning to panic and drown in mindless agony like she had when she first saw the wretched thing that Blair had done. Stop. The word burned on her tounge. Stop, Rhys. Breathe.

This time, he didn't seem to notice, wasn't even able to look at her. Her other hand found his chest as he continued to speak. "I wasn't thinking - I never think, fucking hell, Kasumi this is all my fault, I should have just shut up. I just wanted to tell her- I wanted to show her that we were doing great, and I, I got carried away-"

Rhys.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry." His voice trembled that time, and for a moment, Kas was worried he was going to step away from her, but he didn't. He stayed right there, shaking his head. "She was being such a brat to you, and I-I couldn't let her speak to you that way, but then I made her mad and-"

Rhys.

He didn't stop. Voice cracking, right down the middle. Her heart mirrored the expression. "I just really wanted to show how great we were doing. That we could do it. Because that was our painting, and you worked so hard on it, and i'm so, so sorry Kasumi. I'm so sorry-"

"Rhys."

He stopped at the sound of his name.

Kasumi's hands had found his face instead, repeating that soft, gentle motion that he'd been doing for her earlier. She figured he was better at it, but seeing that it had worked, his name burning into her mouth, she found herself wanting to say it again. 

So she did.

"Rhys." her fingertip flicked across his cheek, staring up at him. Kasumi watched him for a moment, and she smiled. Gently. "Breathe." She moved one hand from his face, back to his chest, looking at him expectantly. He stared at her for a moment, dead silent for a beat in time. Then he spoke, voice softer then she'd ever heard it, and horse from hiding his tears.

"That's my name." He let out a slow, even breath, and below her hand, she could feel it soothe the ache. "You said my name." Kasumi nodded slowly, still stroking his cheek with her other hand. Rhys' face shifted, features softening, and he smiled back. "You said my name." This time, Kasumi rolled her eyes at him, and then she heard his laugh.

Correction, she felt his laugh.

It stuck through the empty room, vibrating up his chest, underneath her palm where it still rested. It was a bright sound. Light and sunshiny as he scooped her up into her arms, as if she weighed nothing at all, and hugged her. "You said my name." He repeated the words, but still, he spoke them as if it was the most magical thing in the world. He pulled back from her, setting her back on her feet, hands staying planted at her waist, as he tilted his head at her. "..say it again?"

Kasumi smiled, and spoke again, soft as she'd ever been. "Only if you say mine."

"Kassy."

"Rhys."

✦

✦ OPHELIA ✦

- i love when people are
like - rhys is my favorite li
when he is only the 
SECOND one, we still have
plenty of other li to see !

- okay but i actually did make
them so cute, and for what 
reason fr fr <33 anygay
love you all so muchhh

your character's opinions on rhysumi [kas + rhys] ?

──● answers