literally. when lina bounds up to him for a hug, eren could only extend his arms open at the last minute to squeeze her into a bear-like embrace. with his arms!!! you will never be free. ]
Happy birthday. [ he says with warmth, close to the crook of her neck, and once he pulls away to click the little button of his car keys— the passenger seat door opens up like a wing pulling upwards (it is a butterfly door), and gesturing for her to slip into her spot. ]
[this is. so much fancier than she's used to. it's like she's out with Vera, except it's not scandalous for Eren to be seen with her and in fact it's actually probably part of the idea for the city to see her happy like this. she lingers in the hug for maybe a second too long, touch-starved as she is, and then makes short work of slipping into her seat.]
Oh my gosh, Eren. You didn't have to go through all of this for me.
[she's looking around at the inside of literally the fanciest car she's ever been inside, and though she has the good sense not to say anything about it, she's still got sparkles in her eyes.]
this is sort of his car (not sort of this is his car). he sees all the sparkles and he has one more surprise planned for the end of the night, but for now, he shifts into his own seat and puts the i8 in gear. the car is aggressive, the sound of its motor rumbling and snarling as they begin to drive out to . . .
[the remote. how fancy. she's. thrilled by all of this, really. she's blown away, and the first thing she can think of is just. looking through some of the stuff that the other Lina liked, which has also sort of become the stuff she likes. she switches to one song in particular from an album she's taken a liking to, and even though it's her birthday and the song itself isn't particular happy, it's extremely chill and also in Japanese so she doesn't really notice.]
Eren. I can't believe this. Where are you even taking me?
[she's smiling in disbelief the entire time. g-d, she feels like a kid again.]
[ eren can’t stop his own grinning— her reactions are great. the music doesn’t bother him either, a good beat to it, and he doesn’t have to worry about lyrics because he doesn’t understand them either; the bass hums and could make their hearts vibrate with how crisp the sound is. good shit. we’re in the good shit.
but!! telling her exactly where they were going wasn’t on the list yet! yet. he has to distract her, so. he gestures with his head. ]
Can you grab something for me? Behind the seat.
[ it’s somewhere back there, a box. a wrapped gift, with indigo paper and a shine to it. inside, she’ll find one dumb little gunpla he made, but it’s hand built! and blue, with little wings. that’s the silly gift, but the one he could actually make. the other, though! the other is a box. in it . . . is a necklace with matching earrings. real sapphire, gold and silver. ]
[she can take the hint and won't push about where they're going again—especially not now that she's distracted by. by. holy...]
Eren...
[her eyes are wide open and almost start sparkling with tears, though she's able to hold them back long enough to process what she's seeing, at least. the gunpla means just as much to her as the jewelry because it's something she can tell he made and she knows it's something that he loves, and that he's willing to share this with her means the world, but everything here just. her free hand goes to her mouth.]
Oh my gosh, Eren. I don't... [and her hand drops and she's smiling with such real surprise and joy on her face that it's hard to even put into words, and it takes her a second to turn her head and let him see it full-on but she feels like her heart's going to melt.]
[ just in time for eren to pull over into a parking lot. luckily, it still doesn’t give away much, they’re some ways away from their destination, but her parks, shuts the engine off and turns to face her.
[she still hasn't even processed that they're not moving anymore because all of this makes her feel like her entire life is barely even real. she... should she even be putting it on? she almost feels like she—well, yeah, she feels like she doesn't deserve it, but, well, here she is. if nothing else, she can clasp the necklace around her neck, though the earrings will have to wait.]
I guess I have an excuse to get my ears re-pierced now. [she smiles at her dear, beloved brother and only just then seems to realize that they've stopped, and she unbuckles herself.] You are... so, so nice to me, Eren. Thank you.
I’m not nice to you. [ he unbuckles as well, reaching over to give her a hug as they’re there, seated in their seats and turning where necessary to make it work, hand behind her head. ] I love you.
[ — and he messes up her locks from the back of her head as he pulls away, and only doesn’t mess up all of her hair or else that’s be mean.. ]
[she can't cry. she can't let herself do that right now or she's going to ruin her makeup and get all snotty and gross and just overall be a complete mess. but Eren is getting her there, and she stays in the hug maybe just a little longer than her brother might want to. when they pull away, her eyes are still shimmering and she carefully wipes at one of them with the pad of her thumb.]
I love you, Eren. [despite herself, there's a tiny sniffle, but it looks like she has it under control.] You're the best brother a girl could ask for. And I still don't even know where you're taking me.
[ he knows the right time to pull away!! but, right, she’s going to get all ruined and that’s what he tried to not do in the first place!! with a grin, he gets ready to raise the car’s doors to get out.
and points out the window. ]
Look over there.
[ there is a sign that says “DANIEL”, a restaurant owned by chef daniel boulud. he’s never had French food, but the critically acclaimed restaurant changes menus every day. glamorous decor, brilliantly constructed food pairings and thoughtful extra touches. this is probably like
[it even takes Lina a second to realize that this is actually where he's taking her, that he's not just, like, showing it off? that he's not pointing to something nearby? and once that realization hits her, she feels a shock of excitement and surprise run through her system as her hands go to her mouth.]
Eren. Eren, how did you even get reservations? [and her head whips back around at him and the shock has faded to absolute unbridled delight, her smile so big that her face is definitely going to start hurting soon, her eyes about overfull with tears that she's somehow managing to keep at bay.] Chef Boulud is... he's such a wonderful philanthropist, he's such a good person, he's one of... oh my gosh, Eren?
[words are hard. she still hasn't even figured out how to get her legs to listen to her so she can walk.]
[ that and cash. he holds his arm out in a manner that makes it easier for her to hook around his. if anything, he is being a grinning, delighted gentleman himself.
there’s nothing better than spoiling his loved ones. ]
We can talk about him inside. Okay?
[ she’s going to have the time of her life and eren can’t help but just. melt inside. ]
[she's going to die. no, she won't, but she's going to be extremely emotional this entire time. she feels underdressed. she's not! she's fine. but she's. she feels it. she feels like this is a place that she'd always wanted to at least go to but she'd never actually be able to set foot inside until literally right now with Eren, with her dear beloved brother, with him helping her out and uplifting her every step of the way.]
[while all those thoughts buzz through her head inside, on the surface it goes by in an instant and her legs actually start working to get her out of the car and actually ready to. do this. to do this. the fear and trepidation is melting away in favor of excitement, and she just. her first inclination is to walk around and be at Eren's side, so she actually listens to her and does exactly that.]
I'll let you lead the way. You're the one who looks like a professional adult. [she giggles, though. blue hair is modern. and it matches her eyes, and also the rest of her outfit. she'll be fine.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
literally. when lina bounds up to him for a hug, eren could only extend his arms open at the last minute to squeeze her into a bear-like embrace. with his arms!!! you will never be free. ]
Happy birthday. [ he says with warmth, close to the crook of her neck, and once he pulls away to click the little button of his car keys— the passenger seat door opens up like a wing pulling upwards (it is a butterfly door), and gesturing for her to slip into her spot. ]
no subject
Oh my gosh, Eren. You didn't have to go through all of this for me.
[she's looking around at the inside of literally the fanciest car she's ever been inside, and though she has the good sense not to say anything about it, she's still got sparkles in her eyes.]
no subject
[ in other words, lina
this is sort of his car (not sort of this is his car). he sees all the sparkles and he has one more surprise planned for the end of the night, but for now, he shifts into his own seat and puts the i8 in gear. the car is aggressive, the sound of its motor rumbling and snarling as they begin to drive out to . . .
that’s a surprise, too. ]
Music?
[ the remote for the music system is all. hers. ]
no subject
Eren. I can't believe this. Where are you even taking me?
[she's smiling in disbelief the entire time. g-d, she feels like a kid again.]
no subject
but!! telling her exactly where they were going wasn’t on the list yet! yet. he has to distract her, so. he gestures with his head. ]
Can you grab something for me? Behind the seat.
[ it’s somewhere back there, a box. a wrapped gift, with indigo paper and a shine to it. inside, she’ll find one dumb little gunpla he made, but it’s hand built! and blue, with little wings. that’s the silly gift, but the one he could actually make. the other, though! the other is a box. in it . . . is a necklace with matching earrings. real sapphire, gold and silver. ]
no subject
Eren...
[her eyes are wide open and almost start sparkling with tears, though she's able to hold them back long enough to process what she's seeing, at least. the gunpla means just as much to her as the jewelry because it's something she can tell he made and she knows it's something that he loves, and that he's willing to share this with her means the world, but everything here just. her free hand goes to her mouth.]
Oh my gosh, Eren. I don't... [and her hand drops and she's smiling with such real surprise and joy on her face that it's hard to even put into words, and it takes her a second to turn her head and let him see it full-on but she feels like her heart's going to melt.]
Thank you? Oh my gosh. Eren.
no subject
he laughs a little. ]
You deserve it. Even if you don’t think so.
no subject
I guess I have an excuse to get my ears re-pierced now. [she smiles at her dear, beloved brother and only just then seems to realize that they've stopped, and she unbuckles herself.] You are... so, so nice to me, Eren. Thank you.
no subject
[ — and he messes up her locks from the back of her head as he pulls away, and only doesn’t mess up all of her hair or else that’s be mean.. ]
no subject
I love you, Eren. [despite herself, there's a tiny sniffle, but it looks like she has it under control.] You're the best brother a girl could ask for. And I still don't even know where you're taking me.
no subject
and points out the window. ]
Look over there.
[ there is a sign that says “DANIEL”, a restaurant owned by chef daniel boulud. he’s never had French food, but the critically acclaimed restaurant changes menus every day. glamorous decor, brilliantly constructed food pairings and thoughtful extra touches. this is probably like
six flags for culinary students ]
no subject
Eren. Eren, how did you even get reservations? [and her head whips back around at him and the shock has faded to absolute unbridled delight, her smile so big that her face is definitely going to start hurting soon, her eyes about overfull with tears that she's somehow managing to keep at bay.] Chef Boulud is... he's such a wonderful philanthropist, he's such a good person, he's one of... oh my gosh, Eren?
[words are hard. she still hasn't even figured out how to get her legs to listen to her so she can walk.]
no subject
[ that and cash. he holds his arm out in a manner that makes it easier for her to hook around his. if anything, he is being a grinning, delighted gentleman himself.
there’s nothing better than spoiling his loved ones. ]
We can talk about him inside. Okay?
[ she’s going to have the time of her life and eren can’t help but just. melt inside. ]
no subject
[while all those thoughts buzz through her head inside, on the surface it goes by in an instant and her legs actually start working to get her out of the car and actually ready to. do this. to do this. the fear and trepidation is melting away in favor of excitement, and she just. her first inclination is to walk around and be at Eren's side, so she actually listens to her and does exactly that.]
I'll let you lead the way. You're the one who looks like a professional adult. [she giggles, though. blue hair is modern. and it matches her eyes, and also the rest of her outfit. she'll be fine.]