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Colorful little robots, misshapen yet charming knicknacks, various plushies of all sizes, bright balloon animals, kid’s menus from different restaurants across the coffee table, festive banners and confetti, all things you might find in something like a party store were a permanent fixture in what would otherwise be a normal living room. You wouldn't normally walk into a house and see such a kaleidoscope of colors and shapes, but the inhabitants of this space weren't exactly considered "normal" either.
Emu was always full of energy, often doing things others wouldn't or couldn't do, like climbing up a two-story tall Christmas tree without a harness just to decorate it. She viewed the world a little differently than most, and expressed her feelings a little differently too. Rui was much the same as Emu, doing things many people wouldn't or couldn't do, and although he had gotten used to it driving people away it was what had brought him to Emu and the others in the first place. Well, minus Nene. They had known each other far longer.
Balloons squeaked against each other as Rui folded them into cute shapes, a large pile of them already covering half of the floor. It was Emu's birthday, and Rui aimed to create an army of balloon animals to cover their entire living room before she woke up. Although the result would be absolutely worth it, it was a somewhat monotonous task, and his thoughts had gone to reminiscing as he worked. It was just like his mother had told him all those years ago. Even if many people couldn't understand him and his passions, he would one day find someone that did and would love him for it. Although it was true that his passions and ideas had brought him to Wonderlands x Showtime as a whole, it felt even more fitting to say that his and Emu's lack of "normalcy" had brought them together especially. It was always Rui's aim to bring people together with his shows, to make them laugh, seethe, cry, and smile after the curtain fell. To look around at one another and know that they had all seen the same spectacle, felt the same things, and feel that maybe the barriers between us aren't so sturdy after all. It had always been his aim to create the possibility of connection, and at some point, his connection with Emu had become a little more important to him than others.
He loved and respected his entire troupe dearly. He always did his best to make their show ideas come to life, to much success he might add, but he had started to go the extra mile for Emu and her smile. He wasn't sure exactly when, or what started it, but he began to take every single one of her ideas into serious consideration. Regardless of whether or not it was for a show, Rui would dedicate himself to making her ideas happen one way or another. He had gone so far as to tell her that any wish of hers was his command, and he really did mean it. Emu's ideas were always incredible, so 'kira-kira~' and 'wonderhoy!' as she herself would describe them, it felt a downright waste to leave any of them unexplored. Unrealistic? Too demanding? Rui scoffed at the notion. He would pull three all-nighters in a row to bring a glimpse of what she saw in her wonderful mind to life, even if she always gently scolded him for it later. After she had thoroughly enjoyed his creations, that is.
Rui's dedication was not one sided, either. Any direction or idea of his that may have caused others to leave him or Tsukasa and Nene to shy away at first, Emu would jump into without hesitation. She truly loved his ideas, and her trust in him to continue to make the greatest shows was unshakeable. It helped that she was so energetic and fit, too. Use a heavy prop for more than half of the show? Got it! Exit stage left and re-enter on stage right within 5 seconds? No problem! Leap from a tree branch onto a balcony three meters away? Of course! Although Rui wasn't sure when he had started wanting to see Emu's smile more than anyone else's, he knew for sure that the moment he saw Emu perform that particular stunt without a shred of hesitation was when he realized he had started to love her. The show he had created as a child only to be locked away in his heart for many years had finally been brought to life for the first time thanks to his dear friends, and to see the person he considered dearest to himself perfectly perform the very thing that had caused the show to be hidden in the first place... It still warmed his heart to this day, many years later. Their mutual love for shows had been the foundation of their unique bond, and the ways they showed their trust and devotion to each other had served to strengthen it year after year. The fact that both of them could do what others could not for the sake of each other was something Rui treasured, and he considered himself blessed to have never been “normal” if all of his pain had eventually led to this. All of their shared memories, all of their mutual feelings, all of their strange ways of courting each other, all leading the way to Rui sitting on their living room floor making hundreds of balloon animals to give his beloved Emu another reason to smile on her birthday.
He tied off the last balloon, forming it into the shape of a dinosaur before letting it drift to the ground. He surveyed the living room, making sure it was completely covered before nodding in satisfaction. The little toy train that chugged around the ceiling let out six little puffs of air, letting him know that it was now 6 AM. Everything else they had planned together was already in place, so he waded through the sea of balloons to the hallway and made his way to their bedroom. He had gotten up at an ungodly hour to make his surprise since Emu herself often woke up very early, and he would love to get even just a few more minutes of sleep. He would gladly wake up this early every day for the rest of his life, though, if it were for her sake. After making such incredible shows for years and making countless smiles, inspiring many people with his direction, his writing, his acting, feeling truly satisfied with what he had given to the world… Spending an eternity with Emu had slowly become his heartfelt dream. Not that he had any intention of stopping his performances any time soon, though! He came to a stop in front of their room, sighing in exhaustion and stretching his back. Despite his desire to do anything to make her happy… he really did want more sleep. After opening the door, though, it became clear that wish would not be coming true.
"Gooood morning, Ruuuiiiiii~!" Emu immediately leapt out of bed and hugged him, squishing her cheek against his chest and nuzzling him aggressively. "I woke up and you weren't there! I was so sad! I always wanna wake up to your cute sleeping face... Hmph!" Rui wasn't the type of person to get easily flustered, but Emu's fierce nuzzling and calling him cute made him blush. It was probably the combination of loving her so dearly plus knowing she was always completely honest, sometimes to a fault, that made her compliments affect him more. The feeling wasn't unpleasant though, and he let himself bask in it as he gently patted her head.
"Good morning, Emu. I'm sorry to have deprived you of your morning view, but I was working on something for the person I like to wake up to. You do know what day it is, hmm?" Emu immediately stopped nuzzling his chest and looked up at him with an excited smile. Rui swore he could see stars sparkling around her irises, and he laughed fondly. On top of everything else between them, he frankly found Emu to be the cutest and prettiest person he had ever met. She was the dictionary definition of adorable.
”I do know! It’s my birthday!!” Emu let go of his waist only to loop her arms around his neck and hang off him as she beamed happily.
”Correct! Good work, my brilliant Emu!” She somehow smiled even wider at his teasing praise. She let go of his neck and ran over to the door, stopping just before opening it and putting her hands on her hips triumphantly.
”Wahaha! Very well! On this day of my birth, I shall give you the honor of escorting me to the surprises you have prepared!” She stuck her chin up in the air haughtily, and Rui smiled at her acting. She was truly a good actor on the stage, but she couldn’t act the part of a pompous ruler off it without it simply being cute. Or maybe that was her intention all along? He stepped forward, offering his arms to her before she suddenly held a hand out to stop him. “Wait! …I want to carry you, I think!” Before he could even reply, Emu had scooped him into a princess carry and kicked their bedroom door open, laughing triumphantly all the while. Rui blushed and hid his face in her chest as she strutted towards the living room, dazedly thinking that Emu was probably the only person he knew who could pick him up like this and how much he loved that. Yet another perk of her being so inhumanly fit.
An army of balloon animals, an almost burnt homemade breakfast, a parade of little singing robots, a bunch of board games, 30 something songs of karaoke, lunch at a very cute cafe, a sudden guerrilla street performance, sightseeing at a massive flower field, many many rounds of Cookie Racers, and a huge takeout dinner later, Emu found herself surprisingly tired as she snuggled with Rui on the couch. She usually celebrated her birthdays with her family and all of her friends in one huge party, but this year a lot of schedules had conflicted and she decided to spend the day solely with her partner. Not that she hadn’t used a lot of energy this year, too! But she was a little shocked at her tiredness considering it had just been the two of them! She adjusted her position in Rui’s lap and he rested his chin on her head with a contented noise. Even though they had put on Stretcho the Pliable Knight to watch together, she was more focused on enjoying the fuwa fuwa~ feeling of being so close to him. Glancing up at his striking profile made her heart beat really fast, and it had been like this the entire day! Well, it usually happened any time she was able to spend time with him, but they hadn’t been alone together for so long in a while… Oh, maybe thats why she felt a little worn out. She put a hand to her chest and giggled at the doki doki of her heart, and Rui looked down inquisitively.
“Mm? What is it, Emu?” He leaned down to touch his nose against hers and she giggled again at the gesture. She took his arm and pulled it to her chest, holding onto it like it was a stuffed animal.
”Can you feel the doki doki feeling, Rui? Wehehe, I’m just really happy! Today was so…! Wonderhoy!! Really!” She let go of his arm and stood up, twirling in place at the feelings of happiness overwhelming her. She had initially been really sad when most of her friends including Nene and Tsukasa couldn’t be with her on her actual birthday, but today had more than satisfied her, even leaving her more tired than usual! Everything they had done together was just perfect, Rui was the type to think important things out extensively but it was apparent that he had spent a very, very long time planning their day together. Her spinning was stopped by two hands on her waist, and she looked up to see Rui standing behind her with a soft smile. He turned the TV off with the remote and kissed the top of her head lovingly.
”I’m truly glad to hear it, Emu… If you enjoyed it, that’s all I could ask for.” They slowly swayed in place in a comfortable silence before Emu remembered the little thing she had bought the other day. She jumped away with a mischievous expression, and Rui made a sad noise at their separation. “Well, I guess I could ask for a little more… Don’t I deserve to hug you as much as I want after all I’ve done? Sniff, sniff.” He brought his sleeves up to his eyes to mimic a crying motion, and Emu laughed at how cute he was being. Rui was so cool, so handsome and pretty and smart, he always made big shakakams and booms and wooshes and more-! But the cute and flustered Rui was a Rui Emu really, really liked, and she intended to get her fill of it today! Begin the master plan!!
”Actually, Rui…” She trailed off, picking at the hem of her shirt and lowering her eyes. He immediately stopped his little act and kneeled down, taking her hand in his and stroking it with his thumb. She felt a little bad at the look of concern in his eyes, buuuut… “Theres still one thing I really, reaaaally wanted, but I didn’t get it…” Rui’s eyes widened, and Emu knew she had caught him! What was that phrase again…? Hook, line, and sinker!
”Oh dear, I’m so sorry, Emu… I really thought I had taken everything into account… if you tell me what it is, I’ll do everything in my power to make it yours. Your wish is my command, as always!” He ended with a wink, and despite being the one in the teasing mastermind role, Emu’s cheeks flushed. She really, really did love him!! She wouldn’t be carrying out her plan if she didn’t, after all… She turned away from him, sneakily taking a little box out of her pocket and sighing dramatically. She couldn’t see his expression now, but she imagined he probably looked like a little lost lamb. She wished she could see!!
“Well, the thing is, you know…” She ran her hand along the top of the box and blushed deeply at the feeling of the velvet. She really was doing this…! There was no turning back! She had no reservations about doing it, but it was nerve wracking nonetheless… She hoped her shaking wasn’t obvious, she wanted to take her act to the end of the show! “The thing I really, really wanted… was you, Rui…”
”…Huh? E-Emu, you already have me, don’t you…?” Wow! Rui never stuttered!! Emu immediately saved the sound of it to her memory banks among the thousands of “Cute Ruis” she had stored. The teasing had definitely been worth it! But even she was finding it hard to keep up the act, the amount of love and sentimentality in her heart was threatening to break through her at any second. So, she let it.
”Rui…!” She turned around, accidentally throwing the little box across the room in her excitement. She launched herself into his arms, knocking the two of them over onto the couch with a huff of surprise from Rui. Emu kneeled above him, watching as her own overwhelmed tears plopped onto his face as she gathered her courage for the final act. “W-Will you marry me?!? Please!!!”
”P… Please…?” Rui’s entire face was completely red, and he looked as though she had just said something he thought he would never hear. He brought his hands up to his face before bursting into laughter, so genuine and happy that Emu felt she had never heard anything so beautiful. “That should be my line, shouldn’t it?” He slowly brought his hands back down, revealing streams of tears coming down his face and the most brilliant smile she had ever seen. “You don’t need to say please, Emu… I’ve been yours this entire time…!” Rui’s expression, his words, the proposal she had just made, all of it became feelings of warmth that overtook her entire being. It didn’t even feel right to call it doki doki, or fuwa fuwa, or even wonderhoy…! It was just… Love!!!
”I love you, Ruuuiiii!! You’re so wonderhoy and beautiful and, and you really understand me and-! And…! Waaahh!” Her head thumped down onto his chest as she cried, and Rui started patting her head distractedly.
”E-Emu, I… you’ve really put me on the spot, haven’t you?” He slowly sat them both up and hugged her to his chest, taking a deep breath in and out before continuing. “I have a bit of a bad habit of decorating my words, but I’m almost speechless right now… If it wasn’t obvious, I’d… love to…” He buried his face into her hair and sniffled, apparently unable to even say the word ‘marry’ without getting too flustered. Emu wished this moment could last forever. But, since they were gonna get married… she could spend their forever making him flustered all over again!
“Mmui! Wuf!” Her words were muffled into his shirt and she pulled back with a giggle, wiping her eyes before gently holding Rui’s very warm and damp cheeks. “Rui!! Can we kiss?!” His eyes immediately darted to the side in embarrassment and he placed his hands over her own in lieu of a verbal answer. She quickly brought her lips to his own, taking no time to give soft pecks and immediately moving her lips along his with fervor. Rui groaned softly at her enthusiasm and pulled away to gasp for air.
”You’re being quite forward today, aren’t you? First you take my heart, then my hand in marriage, now my very own breath…! Is there no limit to your greed~?” Emu giggled at his question, knowing it was a lighthearted tease but feeling her heart race even faster at the thought. She was going to be able to spend the rest of her life together with Rui, making shows, making people smile, making him smile, seeing sides of him reserved just for her… of course she wanted all of it!!
”Nope~! You’re my gift, Rui! Wahaha! I’m gonna have all of you, forever! It’s my birthday, after all!” He glanced to the side again in embarrassment before seeing something out the corner of his eye and laughing.
“Emu? …Was that a ring box you threw across the room?”
“Um… maybe…? Yes…?!”