Chapter Text
Shuyin and Lenne were able to sneak away from the practice. Lenne told her siblings that she was going on a stroll through Zanarkand. Which was true (she just left Shuyin’s name out of it). The couple walked through the streets of Zanarkand, the city that never sleeps, wearing extra clothes to better hide their identity. Lenne wore sunglasses and more baggy clothing than she typically wears. Shuyin wore a hoodie to hide his Zanarkand Abes uniform and kept his hood up to better veil his face. Lenne was quite famous in the city for being a former singer and an upcoming summoner. Lenne knew this would likely become worse as she continues to work on her next album and going on her final pilgrimage. Shuyin was often hounded by adoring fans. So, the two of them being seen together would likely cause a media frenzy. The paparazzi of Zanarkand were known for being pests.
The two did some window shopping and went into antique stores to look at unique collections. Lenne seemed to be more fascinated by old timey objects. Shuyin did not care as much but stuck around so that Lenne could look around. He admired her while she shopped. She studied each object with interest, gently touching the items as if not wanting to disrespect the past. Lenne was very thoughtful like that. She was very respectful of the past.
As they explored the city, they discussed their life stories with each other. Shuyin asked more about Lenne’s decision to become a summoner. She further discussed how her mother was a summoner, and how she found it admirable for her mother to risk her life to protect others.
“But you saw that she…” Shuyin started. “Well, she passed away. And that must have been hard on you guys.”
Lenne nodded in agreement. She kept her eyes to the floor. “And that’s why I don’t want to ever be in a relationship.”
“Really? Never?” Shuyin exclaimed.
A small smile appeared on Lenne’s face. She explained how she saw how much the death of her mother affected her father, brother, sister, and herself. She knows what she wants to do in life is extremely dangerous, and the likelihood of her own death is much greater than the average citizen. “I don’t want to hurt anyone like that.”
At this point, Shuyin and Lenne had made their way to the shores of Zanarkand, on the outskirts of the city. “So, you’ll never be in a relationship? Get married? All of that girly shit?”
Lenne snorted in response to Shuyin. He certainly had a way with words. “I doubt it.”
“Well, that’s a waste…” Shuyin picked up a stone and began to skip it across the water. Lenne’s face began to blush in response to Shuyin’s statement. “If you ever do hook up with someone, they would be incredibly lucky.” Shuyin brightly smiled at her. Lenne continued to blush and averted her eyes out to the sea to admire the beauty of Zanarkand’s scenery.
Lenne whispered, “It’s very pretty…”
“Yeah, it is.” Shuyin sat down in the sand and gazed out into the ocean as well. “I love to come here to think. Especially on that cliff there.” Shuyin pointed to higher ground which looked over the ocean and city.
“Let’s climb up there!” Lenne exclaimed and grabbed Shuyin by the wrists, dragging him towards the path that leads to the cliff. Shuyin laughed as she led him in the direction of the path. He loved the feeling of her hands guiding him. When they reached the top, the two of them sat down and watched the water. They also had a clear view of the city.
“I love to come up here when I want to center myself. I’ll come here before the sun rises. The city lights go out, one by one, the stars fade, then the horizon glows, almost like it’s on fire. It's kinda rose-colored, right? First the sea, then it spreads to the sky, then to the whole city. It gets brighter and brighter till everything…glows. It’s really pretty.”
“Wow!” Lenne gasped and imagined it. “I really want to see that.”
“Well maybe we can tomorrow.”
Lenne flashed him a bright smile. “Yeah, I would love that.”
Shuyin smiled in return, looking deeply into her eyes. He didn’t want to admit it, but he felt like he was genuinely falling for her. Lenne returned his look, seemingly lost in his eyes as well. She felt her heart skip a beat. She cleared her throat and broke their eye contact, essentially breaking their ‘moment’. She knew this kind of moment. It was the one couples will have before they decide to kiss. It was the kind of moment that preceded the realization that there was desire between two people. Shuyin sighed as he realized Lenne had become uncomfortable.
“I’m sorry Lenne…it seems I made you uncomfortable.”
“No, no. I’m enjoying myself.” She said truthfully. “Just…”
Shuyin waited for Lenne to finish her sentence. It seemed like her pause lasted for minutes, even if it was only lasting a couple of seconds in actuality.
“Please don’t fall in love with me.” Lenne said quietly.
Shuyin was stunned. He was completely taken aback by Lenne’s straightforwardness. He also was taken by surprise, not expecting Lenne to say something like that. What does he say to that? ‘Sure thing, I won’t fall for you’?
‘How could anyone prevent themselves from falling in love, anyway? I guess if I do fall for her, I don’t have to tell her…’
Shuyin responded to her, “Ummm…okay. I’ll try not to.” He laughed and said the second half jokingly to reduce the tensions in the air. “And you better not fall for me. I know that’ll be hard for you to do.” Shuyin continued with a mock sense of smugness. The pair laughed at his antics.
Lenne gave a light smile and returned her eyes to the sea. The silence between the two was deafening.
After a few minutes, the silence was broken by Lenne’s phone ringing. Lenne sighed and picked up the phone to answer the call.
“Oh, hey Bahamut.” Lenne held her knees together as she sat in the grass and held the phone up to her ear. “Yeah, I’ll be home in a few. Okay, bye!”
“You going to head home?” Shuyin asked.
“Yeah, I probably should. Bahamut wants to go out to eat.” Lenne responded. Lenne shifted herself to get up on her feet. Shuyin followed suit. Shuyin swung out his arms into a big stretch. “Ummm…” Lenne started.
“Hmm?” responded as he was still stretching.
Lenne continued, “Would you want to come with us?” she asked while tilting her head ever so slightly. Shuyin smiled and nodded in agreement. The two of them made their way down the cliff and walked to Lenne’s house.
Soon after, Shuyin, Vajiru, Bahamut and Lenne went out to dinner in a nice restaurant. They were able to get private seats in the back, away from the crowd. Lenne and Shuyin continued to wear their disguises, while Vajiru followed Shuyin’s suggestion of wearing a hoodie and a hat to help hide his identity. Bahamut wore his typical purple hoodie and black pants. June had a hot date which kept her occupied elsewhere.
Shuyin enjoyed his time spent with them. Vajiru shared stories of the Abe’s many victories due to the dedication of himself, June, and Shuyin. They joked about pranks they have played on their teammates, such as Kenji.
“Yo Shu, remember the time we dumped ice cold water on Kenj?”
Shuyin gave a belly laugh as he recalled how angry Kenji got at them. “Yeah, and we told him it was for a charity, and he believed us?”
Vajiru pointed to Shuyin, “YES!! I forgot about that part. Oh!! And then he did it to the coach and she fucking FLIPPED.”
Bahamut gasped with his mouth wide open.
“Hey, watch your language in front of the kid.” Shuyin joked and messed with Bahamut’s hair.
“Seriously? He’s my brother. Don’t scold me, you jerk” Vajiru responded.
The group laughed together. Lenne shook her head, “you two are horrible.”
“Yeah, but you love us.” Shuyin joked with a wink. Lenne rolled her eyes, catching on to all the warnings June and Vajiru gave her.
The group continued their meal and spent the night enjoying each other’s company. Shuyin and Lenne took turns stealing glances at one another. Vajiru took notice and shook his head. He knew Lenne liked Shuyin, and he could tell Shuyin liked Lenne in return. He just hoped they wouldn’t end up hurting one another.
Later in the evening, Lenne and Shuyin were able to sneak off again. This time, they returned to the cliff by the sea and camped out overnight. They continued to discuss their lives while they watched the stars. There wasn’t too much to see because of the lights of the city, but there were enough stars in the sky to enjoy. The summer night breeze brought the temperature down to a comfortable level. The two lay down in the grass next to each other. Shuyin pointed up to a constellation to show Lenne that one was his particular favorite. Lenne admitted she didn’t really have a favorite constellation but listened to Shuyin as he continued to share his knowledge of the stars. During the conversation, Shuyin began to hear soft snores coming from Lenne’s direction.
“Well damn, I didn’t realize I was so boring.” Shuyin joked to himself. He smiled as he watched Lenne sleep. If there was anyone observing him, they would likely think he was being a creeper. But his intentions were pure, for the first time in his life. He was simply admiring Lenne’s beauty.
He allowed Lenne time to sleep before sunrise. He decided he would wake her up then. In the meantime, he hummed a tune that had been playing in his mind. He pulled out some sheet music paper and began to write down the song that he was composing in his mind. Shuyin figured this would be his project for the night until Lenne woke up. He couldn’t help but feel inspired by her.
A few hours later, Shuyin noticed the sun was about to rise. He gently woke Lenne from her sleep. She was embarrassed that she had fallen asleep. Shuyin chuckled at Lenne’s over-apologizing behavior. “It’s fine.” He laughed. He then pointed to the skyline.
“Wow!!” Lenne exclaimed.
She watched as the city lights began to go out one by one, just like Shuyin had described. The stars began to fade with them. And the sun rose on the horizon, above the skyscrapers.
“It’s so pretty!”
“Told you”. Shuyin smiled in response to Lenne’s reaction.
Lenne’s heart skipped a beat when she saw Shuyin’s bright smile. Lenne chided herself internally. If she wasn’t careful enough, she felt as though she could fall for him. And she didn’t want that to happen. For his sake, and so that she would not have any temptations to abandon her duty.
“Thank you for this, Shu,” Lenne stated, “but I probably should be heading home now. I know my siblings are wondering where I am.”
“Yeah, wouldn’t want them to be worried. We’ve been out all night.” Shuyin replied.
Lenne got up and smiled at Shuyin. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“It’s already tomorrow.”
Lenne giggled. “Well, see you later then?”
Shuyin nodded. “I look forward to it.”
Corresponding song: Heart Attack by Demi Lovato:
🎵 Putting my defenses up. Cause I don't wanna fall in love. If I ever did that, I think I'd have a heart attack 🎵