[Gift] How pretty they are

“Emryyysssss! Look, look!”

Emrys indeed turned to look, a small, amused smile playing on their lips: they could never resist Teenie’s voice or her enthusiasm, and they had no intention to even try.

“What is it, sweetheart?” They asked as Teenie came to a bouncing stop in front of them.

“Guess what I got us for tonight?” Teenie was shifting in a happy sway on her little hooves, looking absolutely adorable doing that, something clearly hidden behind her back.

“Mmm dinner?” Emrys said, even knowing in advance that it was probably nothing so simple.

Predictably, Teenie shook her head.

“Nuh-uh! Think nicer, more festive!”

“Ah, then maybe Moon Mochi for dessert?”

Teenie threw her head back in exaggerated exasperation as she blew a raspberry. “Nooo, come oooon! Not everything is about fooood!”

Emrys couldn't stop their chuckles as they stepped closer, nuzzling Teenie and playfully nosing along the edge of the patch around her eye. They got a nip of sharp little teeth on their cheek for their trouble.

“Stay back, no peeking!” Teenie seemed determined to make them guess, even if a happy rumble had already started building in her chest at the soft affection.

Emrys dutifully took a step back, though, their tuft of hair falling in front of their face as they shook their head and massaged their “wounded” cheek. “Fine, fine… Festive, but not mochi… Oh! Did you get us sparkles?”

Teenie was practically vibrating as she finally whipped around the small packet she’d been hiding behind her back.

“YES!!! I found this super special pack with a bunch of different colours and look how long they are! They promise to last way longer than regular sparkles, I can’t wait to try them out tonight! Or maybe we could shutter the windows and, you know, make our own little dark night in a room, though I guess it’s cooler when the whole sky turns colourful with everyone celebrating… Oh! But you know what I saw earlier? It made me think of you, lemme show you… here…”

And with the attention for the moment successfully diverted towards a video on Teenie’s phone, Emrys set in for some snuggling and for keeping their beloved entertained until night so that they could have the full experience with the sparkles. Not that either “task” would be taxing at all.

Finally, finally it was dark out and Teenie could have her night of sparkles with her love!

She practically dragged them out onto their little balcony, only to curse as she ducked back inside to grab the sparkles she’d been so excited about and had forgotten to bring out anyway.

“Okay, okay, here we are! Oooh there’s so many colours, what should we start with?? Oh! We could light up two different colours and see how they look when we put them close, or even more than two! Ugh, but then they wouldn’t last as long…”

Emrys started kneading her shoulders and nuzzled the base of her ears, causing her excited thoughts to slow down. “Even if you lit them up all together, we can just go out and get more, if you like them.”

Well, that sounded too easy, but also delightful, and Teenie turned her head to kiss Emrys’ cheek in thanks. “Well, then…” She selected one golden and one turquoise sparkle to start with, placing down the others… And groaning as she realized that she’d managed to forget the lighter inside as well.

“Looking for this?” Emrys’ voice was tinged with a barely held back chuckle, but that didn’t matter when they were offering Teenie a lighter, ready and helpful without needing to be told. Teenie could have kissed them. Actually, what was holding her back? Nothing, so she leaned in and pecked Emrys on the lips, before snatching up the lighter with a soft “thank you”.

The sparkles caught fire on the second try, and Teenie let out a happy squeal as she started waving them around.

“Emryyyyssss! Look how pretty they are!!”

“I can see that.”

Emrys’ voice was too soft and sweet and warm, and when Teenie turned around she got the feeling they weren’t just looking at the sparkles. Her cheeks grew hot.

“You hold one!” She said quickly, thrusting the golden sparkle into their hold. Then her breath caught.

Holding the sparkle in front of them like that, all the dots throughout Emrys’ fur and the freckles on their face caught the light that danced through the dark, turning her beloved into a spectacle of twinkling stars.

Truly, Teenie’s mind repeated her words from moments before: How pretty they are.