[PRP] Petals and friendships both fall (Venticello + Hikaru)

[Revolutionary Roniel]

The flowers were in bloom. After a winter that seemed to last forever, Hikaru was ready for them. She had grown up hearing about the cherry blossoms of her homeland. She wondered if that was why she had always felt such a kinship with the cloud-like pink blooms. They made her feel safe, and part of something larger than herself. They made her feel home. That was why she had decided to invite Venticello out here today. That was why she had chosen this time to tell him.

She wondered if he could tell how anxious she was. With the way her heart was drumming she felt certain it would be obvious to anyone who looked. She tried to smile and laugh like she usually did but each laugh sounded a little strained to her ears, each smile a little stiff.

"Wow, look at those two," she said, glancing across the grove to what looked like a mother and son out in the trees. "They're so... gray. Maybe the flowers will add some color to their coats."  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

Somehow, for some reason, Venticello had a bad feeling about this meeting. Hikaru hadn't been herself lately. They'd known each other long enough for him to realize when something was off, and something was definitely off. He tried his best not to speculate about it. He really did. He didn't ask because in many respects, he didn't really want to know.

He had an idea of what was brewing and knew that it could vastly change their friendship. So, he dodged the issue.

At this very moment he was trying his best to focus on the blossoms. They were in peak bloom, looking like pink tinted clouds that had decided to temporarily hang about the ground rather than the sky. Ordinarily he would have loved walking out among such beauty. Now was not an ordinary time.

"Ah, yes?" He followed her gaze to see two soquili about that were indeed a bit on the gray side. He thought that making jokes about their complexion was just a tad bit tacky. Hikaru had to be nervous indeed if she was reduced to those sorts of observations.

"I think that spending time with nature's greatest sights like this can improve anyone," he said, hoping to guide their conversation to greener pastures.  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

Hikaru heard the mild rebuke in those words and almost cringed. Awkward. Of course she would go and say something awkward at a time like this. "Ahhh, yeah!" She tried to be bright and normal. Again, she didn't feel like she succeeded.

"I guess that's why so many people come out here." And that was just pure babble. She was babbling now. That wasn't a good sign.

Was this really the right time to do this?  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

"I'm actually surprised there aren't more soquili out here." Venticello scanned the area. He could see maybe a dozen scattered soquili, a few more obviously spirit-touched animals. "I'd think that soquili would come from miles around to see a cherry blossom grove this extensive.  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

"I love you."

It fell from her mouth like a fledgling plummeting unready from the nest, feathers not ready to fly.

She rehearsed so many different ways to slowly work around to the admission. She'd made plans and back-up plans in case the situation turned in unexpected ways. After all that, she spat it out after they had barely been there five minutes.

Her heart was in free fall. She wondered what would happen when it reached the ground.  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

Venticello sucked in a mouthful of air, feeling himself immediately dizzied by the overabundance of oxygen in his veins. Even though he'd somewhat expected this, he still wasn't prepared for the suddenness. He scrambled for a response, anything. What came to his tongue was just as embarrassingly abrupt.

"I have a lifemate, Hikaru!" His dear Candy Floss, how could she expect him to forget about her?  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

"I...." Falling still. Maybe she had been falling ever since she met him. Maybe this was just the first time she noticed the motion.

"I know, but I..." She saw the look on his face and stalled out. He wasn't happy. "But I love you!" She repeated the same words, helpless and anguished.  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

Venticello felt the reality of the situation closing in around him. Of course he'd known that she loved him. How could he not when she looked at him with those starstruck eyes? He'd known it for some time, but had pretended otherwise for the "sake" of their friendship. He'd been trying so hard to protect what he thought they had that he hadn't realized it was already lost.

"Just calm down, Hikaru. Please... I care about you, but... You know I can't leave Candy." He looked at her imploringly, internally begging for the confrontation to end.  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

"But we're friends! Best friends!" The words were spilling out. The feelings were too. She wondered, how had she been able to keep this tide from spilling over until this point? How had she spent so much time with him without telling him that she loved him over and over?

"No one gets along better than we do and you know it!" She tried not to think of Candy Floss, and what she would say if she could hear this...  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

"That's different," Venticello said weakly. His mind raced. He was ordinarily so eloquent. Why were his words failing him now just when he needed them most? In his distress, his eyes slid back to the other soquili, the dull-colored pair that were across the blossom grove. What he wouldn't give to switch lives with them right now. Were they listening? Would this devastating confrontation just be a passing detail of the day for them?

"Please understand." He tried again. "I love you, but like a friend. You really are my best friend, but I can't leave Candy for you. I won't."  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

"She'll be fine!" babbled Hikaru, not even pausing to think about whether she spoke the truth or not. She would say anything if it meant that Venticello would be hers.

"You're my friend too, but more than that too. I just want us to be together. Why can't we?"