Fireflies
Disclaimer: I do not own Umineko in any way.
It was a cold, empty night.
Beato and Battler had nothing to do but stare at the blank walls of the Meta world out of complete boredom. Both of them had grown tired of the game of chess they engaged just a few moments ago, and they could not think of anything else to do. But, due to the boredom at hand, Beatrice could no longer think of pranks to play on Battler; it's like a deadly case of writers' block in the middle of the climax of an epic story for her. Battler on the contrary, didn't want to do anything, yet doing nothing made him feel a bit sleepy… and he did not want to sleep at all.
Beato had Ronove bake some cookies for them earlier, though she lost her appetite right after she saw them (though it was not like it didn't look delicious but…) It was almost unusual for her, since every time she saw even remnants of Ronove's cookies on a plate, she would gobble them up in one go. (But she did eat them shortly after…)
Battler simply had his mind concentrated on the mystery at hand, his mind trying to process the best theories possible while striving to be careful and accurate. He didn't even glance at Ronove's cookies before him. He only took a sip of his tea, and then the serious, "Thinking Man" pose appeared again. Beato giggled mentally, for most of the theories he will brew up she will deny in one sentence of red text.
"Hey, Battler~…" Beato groaned, slicing up the thick wall of silence between them.
"What?" Battler replied flatly.
"It's pretty warm out." The witch remarked about the temperature of the night. It was unusually humid tonight, even though it was the autumn season in Japan.
"And…?"
"There should be fireflies out by this time…" Beato muttered to herself, whipping up a plan to ease her growing boredom. I got it! She snapped in her head.
In a matter of time, an assembly of miniature golden butterflies grouped up to form her pipe. The witch breathed in, and blew out the smoke, which engulfed them both in grey smog. Battler did not have any time to panic, since he could no longer escape the grasp of the vapor, which wrapped around his ankles and wrists. Beato had him cornered. The smoke soon dissolved into a flurry of golden butterflies, which carried them to a location Beato could remember very well.
"W-where are we!?" Battler trembled on the ground when they finally reached the destination Beato wanted to go to. Due to the lack of lighting, he could not see things from a completely clear view.
"A meadow in the Rokkenjima forest." Beatrice answered with a smile, not even bother to help Battler to stand up from the damp grass.
"Aren't you going to light up this place with your golden butterflies or something?" Battler complained loudly, trying not to trip over anything as he stands and walks his way to Beato.
"We'll wait for the fireflies." She replied, turning around, looking for any signs of glowing bugs around.
"Fireflies? At this time of night?" Battler muttered softly, hoping Beato did not hear him.
"Well? Is there a problem?" Beato turned to Battler, forgetting about her firefly lookout.
"Don't fireflies usually come out at around seven or eight-thirty in the evening?" Battler reasoned out. It was too late to see fireflies now… since it was fifteen minutes until' midnight.
"Yeah… but I thought they'd be out by this time because it was so humid…" Beato uttered under her breath, her lower lip sticking out conveniently.
Battler hated looking at that frown on her face. It would always make him frown—just a little bit—too. And that cute pout of hers made his face flush a very light tint of pink. Everything about her, everything that she did to him… it affects him. Whether she's crying or smiling, he would always be there by her side… sharing the same emotions, too, though most of the time, not physically. It was almost like they friends…no…lovers.
Oh crap.
That thought made him shiver like it was winter solstice, even though it was the middle of fall and the night was very humid. But it didn't feel like disgust… rather… it felt like—wait. Was his face flushing? …If Beato sees this, he'll taunt him like there's no tomorrow. God! Wipe off the entire red tint on your face Battler Ushiromiya or Beato will—
"Battler…?" Oh crud. Don't tell me she took a good glimpse at my face earlier— "Kihihi~! Are you blushing?" Beato cackled mercilessly. There would be no more tomorrow for Battler anymore from this time on.
"I can't believe that you're blushing in front of me~! Maybe it's because you…—!" Battler did not want her to carry on with her endless bullying, so he ran over to a nearby tree, the biggest one in sight. Beato stopped her shrill cackles when she saw Battler walk past her toward the tree.
"What are you doing?" she asked, curiosity at its limit.
Battler soon found symbols of lightning bugs around the tree he approached earlier, and told Beato, "you wanted to see fireflies, right?"
Beato nodded once, determined and her face obviously eager to see the fireflies burst out all around her.
The redhead gave the enormous tree a hard kick, sending the fireflies out of their homes. They shot out in all directions, decorating the night with beautiful lights that coordinated well with the shining stars above.
Beato's eyes widened in awe, jumping to catch one of them and place it in her palm. Those insects were so beautiful, just like the golden butterflies she would always appear in. And even when she closed her palm, it still glowed.
…Just like Battler. Even when he is buried in complete though, angry with her, or solving mysteries… he would always shine. Exactly like the firefly in her palm right now. She released it soon after… keeping her eyes on the gorgeous, velvet sky showered in glitters of fireflies and stars.
She set her eyes on the man who made her happy tonight; she smiled at him, a smile gentler than the night. She took the redhead by his hands. She led his hand to her slim waist and laid her arms to his broad shoulders, and they both waltzed with no music being played, their only rhythm was the sound of the fireflies. The feeling of fireflies surrounding them was sensational, it's as if it was their own private heaven, a place wherein they could never be disturbed, a place where they could be happy together.
But when they stopped dancing, the only warmth they felt was the warmth of their cheeks; the heat of their flushing faces. They were both embarrassed at what they did earlier. They danced to their hearts content, with only the fireflies watching their every move.
When they stopped dancing, they did not move from their current position, as their eyes locked… and they felt the tension between them rise. Beato leaned in, until' their lips were a few inches away from each other. This made Battler a bit conscious, until he reluctantly closed his eyelids and waited for it… and waited for it.
"Hyahahahaha~! Did you actually believe that I would kiss you, Battler~?" she cackled evilly, causing Battler's face to turn crimson red in embarrassment.
"YOU LITTLE—!"
They chased each other around the magnificent meadow, but then, Battler clumsily tripped over his feet…
…Therefore falling on top of Beato as he grabbed her shoulders for support.
Beato gasped, startled at the sudden lurch Battler committed before her. Their faces were so close to each other, they had their eyes locked.
"B-B-Battler… this isn't funny," the blonde witch stammered, not bothering to move from that position though.
"Nor was your joke earlier." the redhead countered with a smirk, locking Beato in his embrace, as they both lay on the grass silently. They both waited for someone to make a first move.
Oh crap. What the hell am I doing? Battler thought in disarray. His face was smothered red as he looked straight into Beato's cobalt eyes.
"If you're going to kiss me, just hurry up and do it." Beato muttered in his face shamelessly. This statement startled Battler; does she really want him to kiss her? Or will she make fun of him after he kisses her?
Ah, useless. It's all useless. He shrugged mentally. He placed a firm, but quick peck on her lips. She'll probably tell me how much of a coward I am by now…
She grinned at the redhead, as she stole his first kiss from him. (or so she thought?)
"Hihihi. Race you back to the mansion, Battler~!" She giggled as she pushed him away, stood up and disappeared into a flock of butterflies.
"Hey! THAT'S NOT FAIR!" Battler protested to the air in vain.
Then he looked up at the glittering butterflies above him. He had to thank them for all this enjoyable night sometime. But this time, the only needed to find that unfair witch and start the race all over again.
fin.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed this~! :D I surely enjoyed writing this… and to think I wrote this all in one night. xD If this is OOC in any way, I apologize.
R & R appreciated~.