Day 3: Love Languages
Souma sits cross-legged on the floor of Kendappa's personal chamber, sharpening her Twin Moon Leaves. It's a soothing job with Kendappa playing in the open air where her room meets the balcony. The sun is setting. Soon Souma will need to light a candle to see the edges on her blades, but she doesn't want to just yet. The way the red evening light falls on her lady, reflecting golden on the deep black of her hair, is a sight that never fails to take her breath away. She won't do anything to ruin that.
It's maybe not the best time to sharpen her blades, of course, but Souma's hands haven't slipped yet. She lets them go still as she looks up at Kendappa's fingers on her harp strings.
This evening's piece is beautiful, sad and complex. It tugs at Souma in a way she can't quite place. When Kendappa stops she can't bear the silence.
"I haven't heard that before," she says, and Kendappa's eyes open. Souma hadn't even realized they were closed. "What is it?"
"It's called 'New Moon'," Kendappa replies softly.
"It's beautiful."
"I wrote it for you," Kendappa admits, and Souma's stomach does a happy twist.
"For me?" She can't have heard right. No one has ever done something like that for her before.
"Yes." The corners of Kendappa's mouth twitch into a smile, but she looks anxious in a way she hadn't before. "Do you like it?"
"I do." Souma crosses the floor to lay her hand on Kendappa's knee. "It's the most incredible thing anyone's ever done for me. Will you play it again?"
Kendappa's smile is real now, surer than it was a moment ago. "For you, anything. Sit beside me?"
Souma does, leaning her head softly against Kendappa's shoulder. It's getting too dark to do anything more with her sickles anyway. She should put them up off the floor before someone steps on them, but Kendappa is playing again and it can wait.
A/N: Important note about the best typo i ever made: when i started work on this particular story, i accidentally typed that Souma "looks up at Kendappa's fingers on her heartstrings." It's honestly beautiful and it was so hard to change it back to "harp strings" for the sake of the story.