Gaia walked with cool confidence as curious eyes assessed her –the posh newcomer to the Crystarium– walking with the familiar and cherished Ryne. Such gazes crimpled Ryne’s shoulders and she crossed her arms shyly, shrinking herself to hide in Gaia’s overcast of casualty. It would have been easier to use the pile of luxurious luggage behind them if she truly wished to disappear, but her momentary anxiety was swept away as the older girl asked, “So...now what? I don’t know where anything is.”
A slight wince made itself apparent on Ryne’s face as she mentally scolded herself. This was her plan and Gaia was in a new city. Now wasn’t the time to worry about onlookers.
“Well,” Ryne spoke softly, “We are right by the plaza–”
“Clearly,” Gaia sighed as she stared at the aetheryte with a hand on her hip.
“–and the housing is to the right, but first we’ll check the market on the way!”
Gaia smiled for the first time since they had loaded up on the amaro to begin their travels. The grin then was one of humor, believing that Ryne had been playing at a joke when she said they couldn’t take the skyslipper and these “odd beasts” (as Gaia referred to them) were the next best option. The gentle beam she flashed Ryne now finally brought her shoulders at full ease and stirred the excitement of what was to come.
“Good! I need some more necessities.”
A flabbergasted noise escaped a galdjent Crystarium guard that was placing the last duffle bag in the pile. His fellow guards all exchanged surprised glances until Gaia peered over her shoulder and they returned to their more professional stances. Ryne held back an amused snort and quickly said, “For the ingredients!”
“And we have plenty of gil extra to buy other things too,” Gaia retorted, “There is something I need to look for that’s important.”
The seriousness in her tone set motion to several questions in Ryne’s head that begged for answers, but she bit them back and gave only a nod. The plan agreed upon, Ryne thanked the guards and gave the residential address where they were to cart the luggage, along with a small apology for the hassle. With a sudden grab of Gaia's hand, Ryne broke into a dash, dragging the older girl behind her with heels clopping and a flurry of giggles shared between the both of them as they scampered towards the Musica Universalis.
“Thank you again, Vral!” Ryne said cheerfully as she hoisted the shopping bags into her arms and turned on her heels to find where Gaia went. The merchant waved a friendly goodbye as he put away his earnings and shouted, “Good luck with the cookies!” which made the young hume nearly begin to skip with the reminder.
They had everything they needed now –butter, sugar, eggs, flour, flavors abound– and the rest of the ingredients in the cabinets at the apartment waiting for their arrival. Ryne was thankful she spent the extra gil on the aprons nestled in the tops of each bag, cushioning and securing the contents to help avoid a spill as she darted through the marketplace. Despite her carefulness, panic struck when she almost dropped the bag with the eggs; Ryne's heart leapt into her throat, but a rush of relief eased over her when another pair of hands dove in to catch it.
“Damn it! What is in this? It feels like it weighs more than you!” Gaia complained as she strengthened her grip and removed the bag from Ryne’s arms. She peeked at the open top and mumbled, “You bought clothes too?” before gesturing to a sack hanging off her arm that was plump with purchases.
“It’s mostly the things for the cookies, but that’s an apron for you!”
“For...me?” Gaia blinked and examined the black fabric more closely, noting how it was embroidered with small cakes.
Ryne beamed and tilted the top of her bag to show off pastel blue fabric with identical cakes decorating it. “And this one is for me! See! We match!”
There was a pause where Ryne expected the older girl to retort how stupid it was and her face dropped as she anticipated the blow. But instead, Gaia sighed with a blush creeping on her cheeks and mumbled, “I didn’t know I was helping bake, but the aprons are...pretty cute.”
A rush of energy erupted within Ryne and she gushed, “Of course you’re helping! You promised!”
“I did?” Gaia blinked and her head tilted as she searched for the memory. The genuine confusion on her face made Ryne frown.
“Yes! Last week when we started listing what to pack.”
Several more seconds passed before Gaia shrugged her shoulders and then looked down at Ryne with a smirk. “Well, I likely did agree to if you begged with that pout.”
Gaia laughed as Ryne dramatically pouted harder and wiggled back and forth like a child asking for candy. With an amused, “Alright, alright! Baking it is,” and playful roll of Gaia’s eyes, Ryne cheered victoriously and began to trot to the apartments.
“Let’s go then!”
“Why not just buy them already baked? Surely, that has to be good for ‘the community’ or something?”
“We’re supporting plenty having bought what we need to make them ourselves! It’ll be fun, I promise!”
Doubt pulled Gaia’s lips and she groaned under her breath. In opposition, Ryne’s positive radiance beamed all the brighter as she spread the ingredients across the table. It was addicting, Gaia admitted, to see someone so excited to do...well, anything. Ryne excelled at making the most mundane or loathsome tasks sound more thrilling than they were and the thrilling activities more exhilarating. And despite her dreary disposition, Gaia found her hands twitching to grab her apron to join.
“We have everything!” Ryne sang out, “Which do you want to make first? Lemon, chocolate, or strawberry?”
Gaia thought for a moment before replying, “I don’t remember how they taste, so I can’t say I have a favorite. Which do you like?”
Ryne pursed her lips as she considered the question and pulled her apron over her head.
“I like them all! But...I think strawberry has to be it! It’s sweet, matches my favorite tea, and gives the cookie a pretty color!”
Glancing down at the berries, Gaia huffed in amusement earning a quizzical look from the younger girl.
“Like your hair.”
“Huh?”
Walking over with heels clicking on the wood flooring, Gaia joined Ryne’s side and gingerly held a strand of strawberry-blonde hair where Ryne could see. “Your hair,” she repeated, “–it looks like the strawberries there.”
The observation drew out a lavender giggle. “Well, Thancred did always warn that we become what we eat. Perhaps I have had too many cookies!”
The older girl snorted and shook her head before tapping a knuckle on Ryne’s forehead. “If that’s the case, you’ll fully turn into one by morning.”
“It’s a delicious fate I will accept!” Ryne exclaimed and grabbed a lone berry to sneak a bite off with a grin. Tilting her head, Gaia reached for one herself and timidly nibbled on it, half expecting to be revolted by its flavor. To her pleasant surprise, she found it familiar and enjoyable to which she gave Ryne an approving nod.
Excitedly pulling the mixing bowl closer, Ryne asked, “Ready to start?” and practically bounced in place.
That apron was whispering her name now and Gaia couldn’t resist that beaming face any longer. Settling that there were worse things one could be doing, she set aside her original disinterest and pulled her hair back.
“I suppose, though I have no idea what I am doing.”
By the time they were through, one could mistake the apartment for a bakery by the smell alone. Dirty bowls, spoons, and baking sheets were crammed in the sink to be cleaned later while the girls sat far away from their mess with plates piled high with more cookies than either could eat in a single night. And despite the numerous treats that would have served well enough for each to have their own stack, Gaia found herself happily taking half of Ryne’s current cookie without a second thought as the younger girl handed it to her in the midst of telling a giggle-inducing story.
“–and when he went to draw his gunblade, it hung on his coat and pulled it right over his head! Safe to say, he wasn’t having a good day!”
Gaia snorted as she covered her mouth and quickly swallowed before any unsightly crumbs launched from her lips in her laughter. “I cannot imagine he was in a good mood by the time the ordeal was over.”
“Oh, he was furious!” Ryne replied with bouncing shoulders, “But he laughed about it later once we set up camp.”
Catching her breath, Gaia shook her head and said, “I wish I could have seen Thancred having one of those days. He always seemed so serious.”
A silence fell in the room and Ryne let out a forlorn hum that accompanied a tender smile. The change in atmosphere overpowered the taste of lemon in Gaia’s mouth and she swallowed hard trying to remove the bitterness growing, but found it even more present with the reminder that Ryne had lost someone she could never replace.
“I’m sorry I–”
“No,” Ryne interrupted softly and wiped away an unseen tear from her eye, “I wish you could have too. I miss him. Him and Urianger and the rest. I miss them a lot, but I’m glad you’re still here with me.”
The comment brought a small wave of heat to Gaia’s cheeks and she frowned out of reflex, but slowly brought it to a smile as she met Ryne’s eyes, “I’m glad I’m here too. And I’m glad I know something you can do now you couldn’t before when Thancred was here.”
Ryne’s eyebrows shot up and Gaia herself launched up to her feet to retrieve a bag that made Ryne’s eyes light up in realization upon recognizing it. The traces of sadness before were now painted over with Ryne practically bouncing in her seat while holding her breath. Many times Ryne had watched Gaia do her make-up in the mornings and peered with delight at her treasure trove of lipsticks, liners, and eyeshadows. Despite owning so many, Gaia always used the same set of dark shades that compromised her day-to-day look and Ryne had hoped to find her own combination of colors hidden within.
“You’re really going to teach me?” Ryne asked with disbelief as Gaia unclasped the lock and lifted from the top a handful of brushes.
“Of course. And now we don’t have to wait until your seventeenth nameday or whatever ridiculous rule it was.”
Thancred’s watchful eye was always ready to scold her for trying to grow up too fast, and make-up was no exception to that. Gaia had tempted her once with an intricate compact she claimed, “-would suit your eyes.” and she hardly got a glimpse before the gentle thump of Thancred’s boots nearby spooked her away. But now, there was no pending threat of pesky parental guidance and she had done a lot of growing in the couple months alone; perhaps a reward was due.
The golden filigree detailing that particular eyeshadow compact caught her eye from the bag, and she was quick to snatch it with sparkling eyes to ogle the pigments within, much to Gaia’s entertainment.
“That one would suit your eyes. Warm colors. You’ll pull them off better than me.” she commented matter-of-factly and began digging through her copious cosmetics for a specific face powder and eyeliner. Ryne eagerly looked at each container and jar as they were set aside, investigating each with a vicious curiosity.
“What’s this?”
“Hm? Oh, that’s a shimmer powder. You can keep that. I don’t use it.”
“Really?! Thank yo- What’s this?! What a pretty vial!”
“Perfume. If you like the smell, you can take a little and dab it behind your ears. Like this,” Gaia said while gingerly placing a drop of the liquid on her finger, taping it behind her earlobes, and fluffing her hair to help disperse the aroma. Ryne sniffed the air, grinned before mimicking each motion, and cutely scrunched up her shoulders when she noticed Gaia watching.
“Did I do it right?” she asked almost breathlessly.
“If you can smell it,” Gaia paused to lean over and inhale, “-which I do, then yes.”
Gaia stifled a laugh as Ryne squirmed in place and she fought to focus on her task at hand. Thankfully, she found the eyeliner and handed it to Ryne to inspect, though the younger girl found herself distracted immediately by the lipstick tube rolling out of Gaia’s lap.
“Can I put this on too?” Ryne asked with large puppy eyes as she gestured to it.
Crinkling her nose, Gaia shook her head and disappointment washed over Ryne’s face. Quickly, before the younger girl’s sadness could sink in, Gaia said, “Only because it isn’t your color. None of the ones I have are and that’s why I had to spend a little extra today.”
Ryne’s confusion came out as an audible, “Huh?” that made Gaia all the more excited to reveal what she had found at the market. It would be a lie to say she hadn’t intentionally looked for it, after all, she intended to give Ryne a makeover when the first suggestion of a sleepover came up. She was just grateful to find exactly the shade she could see Ryne wearing perfectly.
The older girl carefully maneuvered around the cosmetics scattered around and walked over to her shopping sack, digging through piles of clothes until she raised up a simple lipstick bullet with a pearlescent white color adorning it. Ryne immediately dropped the black tube she had been holding and gasped as Gaia neared and held the gift out to her.
“T-This is mine?”
“Well, it certainly isn’t my color,” Gaia retorted and watched as Ryne’s cheeks bunched into the largest grin she had ever seen the girl make before taking the lipstick. The light in her eyes as she popped off the cap and twisted to see the peach hue set off a pool of warmth in Gaia’s chest she couldn’t recall having felt before. She concluded, however, that it was a very good feeling and maybe she should give surprise presents more often.
“I don’t know what to say! Thank you!” Ryne said while her eyes began to dart around searching for a mirror of some kind.
Sweeping her coat skirt to the side before sitting and retrieving the hand-sized mirror she always kept in the side pocket of her bag for Ryne, Gaia nodded at her to try on the lipstick. And with hands trembling with an overabundance of joy, Ryne did just that and found herself beaming at her own reflection. The color did match her quite nicely and Gaia smugly patted herself on the back for her excellent choice. Then she scooted closer to take the tube from Ryne’s hands and help straighten out her application with skilled hands.
“There you go. I must say, it looks perfectly you,” she said in a sincere voice that she was surprised came from her own lips and glanced back at the rest of the make-up piled around. Suddenly, she grunted and grabbed a jar of loose face powder she had been hunting for. “Ah! There it is. Now it’s time for the rest.”
“And you’re done,” Gaia said with a sigh and clapped her hands together as a crafter would upon completing a new creation.
Ryne grabbed for the mirror and held it at arm’s length to take in the full picture of her –but mostly Gaia’s– work. Her breath caught in her throat as she examined each new detail carefully, her smile widening with each passing glance. “I feel so different!” she exclaimed, “Look at my eyes! They just...just...pop!”
Gaia huffed with a smirk and reached for one of the last strawberry cookies, “They ‘popped’ before, but now they are framed so they ‘pop’ more. Always good to accent your best features.”
Peach lips curled into a small smile while greedy fingers reached out expectantly and were rewarded with half of a cookie. With utmost care, Ryne opened her mouth wide to take a bite and avoided smearing her lipstick at all cost, causing Gaia to chuckle.
“You get used to eating with it on and just touching up,” she stated.
“Yours never gets messed up, I swear it! Always perfect.”
Gaia shrugged and casually slipped her half of the cookie into her mouth. “I just never let you catch me slip up. It’s a skill you too shall master.”
Both girls broke into a fit of giggles that left them leaning on each other as they composed themselves. Taking the opportunity, Ryne held the mirror up once more so a pair of reflections stared back with happy made-up faces.
“I want to thank you again for all of this, Gaia,” Ryne spoke softly as she lowered the mirror and turned to meet her friend eye-to-eye. “I really mean it. For baking and talking and making me feel pretty.”
“You were already pretty, but I understand what you mean,” Gaia replied while leaning back, “And I surprisingly had fun baking. I wouldn’t turn down doing it again sometime.”
“I’d like that a lot,” Ryne agreed and tucked her hair behind her ears. Just then, her face brightened with a new idea and she leapt up to her feet to grab a hairbrush sitting on a nightstand. “May I?”
Gaia shrugged with indifference and shifted to sit on her knees with her back elongated. Her hands flicked her black hair behind her shoulders, allowing it to spill down and give Ryne full choice how to style it. Giddily, Ryne scurried to the waiting locks and began to comb through it, admiring the waves that bounced back with each tug. And despite the many options, the younger girl gathered three bundles and began to do a basic braid.
The movement was familiar and relaxing and Gaia found herself dozing as she listened to Ryne hum. Soon enough, however, the pulls and song stopped and a rope of hair was draped over her shoulder for her to see. Gaia gasped as she realized a red ribbon was laced between the weaves. Looking back, she saw Ryne’s hair ribbonless and found it odd as well as sweet. Repeatedly, she ran her hand over the braid.
“You let me use your make-up, so you can have my ribbon for a while. I don’t mind!”
It was a simple gesture that had no right to impact Gaia as much as it did, but surely the beginnings of mist was forming in her eyes, leaving them burning as she rapidly blinked it away.
“I...thanks. I’ll take care of it,” she spoke as her fingertips played with the ends.
Ryne nodded, “I know you will,” and embraced Gaia with both arms firmly wrapped around her like a blanket. She was stiff at first, but with the calming silence, Gaia melted into the hug and rubbed Ryne’s back like Ryne had done for her in the past. It was comforting and the two sighed contently before slipping from each other’s grasp.
And once the hug was broken, Ryne snorted and asked, “Want to hear another funny story?”
Gaia, reaching for the brush and already grinning preemptively, replied, “Only if you let me braid your hair while you tell me.”