Here is some "Kissing Cousins" snippets.
The prismatic array of colors laid upon black velvet as if someone had shattered and scattered a rainbow upon the decedent fabric. Fingers itched to touch and inspect each shard lying there. Blue sapphires, garnets the color of fine wine, citrine in vibrant golds, amethysts in every shade of violet and purple imaginable, rubies looking like stray drips of crystalline blood, and tourmalines in every color known to man and a few that were not laid on display just to name a few. Their price was high, but their perfection was well worth it.
"Oh, would you look at this, Rin?" Luvia's lightly accented voice said as one white gloved finger pointed at a deep blue stone that showed color change of paler blues and a slight green undertone when the light hit it.
Rin blinked as she looked at the stone. She preferred rubies, garnets, or the red spinel that she always wore under her shirt after the 5th War. She peered at it and said, "It's blue."
"Yes, very observant of you," Luvia said with a chuckle before flicking Rin's nose with that same finger.
The sensitive organ scrunched at the onslaught and Rin had to look away to keep from sneezing. "Do that again, Edefelt and you're going to pay," Rin said, her voice distorted by her rubbing her sore nose.
"I'd pay to see that," Luvia said with a smile.
Rin lowered her hand and replied, "Oh, you'd pay dearly. You know I prefer reds unless it's something truly specialized."
"It is an Indicolite," Luvia said as she pointed at it again, the tip of her white glove not quite brushing against the gem. It was cut in a perfect square, Princess Cut if Rin remembered correctly. "With a fancy cut to boot. You know how pure it would have to be to warrant such a cut?"
"Eyeclean at the very least," Rin said in a soft voice as she pulled out her glasses and put them on. Luvia smiled at the sight and Rin returned the smile. She looked forward, reinforcing her eyes and the glasses to get a better look. It would have been the equivalent of looking through a jewelers loupe at 10x magnification. Normally tourmalines had inclusions like feathering or smears inside of the stone, but the stone was just a deep, endless blue with flashes of deep teal when the light hit it right when Rin turned her head.
Rin looked up, nodded, and said, "It is eyeclean. Here, you want to take a look Luvia?" She dropped the reinforcement and began to take off her glasses.
Luvia shook her head, honey color curls bouncing, and she said, "Oh no, I will take your word for it, Rin." She then bit her lip as she stared at the jewel thoughtfully.
Rin moved closer and asked, "You wouldn't use that for magecraft, would you?"
"No, that would go into the collection or perhaps made into a bit of jewelry. It would make a nice pendent, don't you think?" Luvia asked, plum eyes gleaming.
Rin looked up to see the clerk watching them with interest. Luvia often drew quite a bit of attention whenever they had to make a venture out to make the investment of buying more supplies. Then again she had money, was tall, built like a Valkyrie, and dressed like the Aristocrat she was. Rin made attempts to look nice, but she was still a tiny Asian girl with out of place eyes. Luvia had shown Rin a photo of one of her cousins and Rin had been surprised to see eyes like hers looking at her from the photograph, another indicator of their distant relation to each other.
Rin knew she was pretty, but she also knew she lacked Luvia's commanding presence. When Luvia spoke people paid attention. Rin had to act to get the same amount of attention bestowed upon her. The days of being a lazy high school student were over. She was studying at the Clock Tower and was the Wizard Marshal Zeltrech's apprentice. His true apprentice, not the mockery of the few students he chose to pull her collective ass out of the fire after Heaven's Feel. He already confessed to her that his plan was to work those poor fools to insanity, and they would be grateful for it.
Then he said he had plans for Rin, what sort of plans, she wasn't sure of, but there were plans.
Being Zeltrech's apprentice meant lots of sleepless nights and working herself to near death. Luckily, Luvia had been there. First their animosity had helped keep Rin going. Then that animosity had turned into a kiss. A kiss into so much more.
Rumors and speculation about the pair of jewel magi spread like wild fire amongst the Clock Tower. One bold Scotsman even asked if he could watch and video tape the events. He found himself suplexed by Luvia and Rin had firmly planted her foot in his face. Strangely enough, as he laid on the ground, he had laughed two words, "Worth it," before passing out.
Rin shook herself into the present and said, "It would."
"Maybe you should pick something out as well, so you have a match to wear," Luvia said with a smile and a nod.
Heat filled Rin's cheeks before she reached into her blouse and pulled out her spinel pendent, the Tohsaka family heirloom. It was not the one that Emiya Shirou's soul had been found in when Ilya placed it there, it had been the one that Archer had given her after she saved Shirou that fateful night. Luvia's eyes widened and she said, "It is lovely, why do you not wear it where others can see it?"
Her gloved fingers gently cradled the gem as she continued, "It is a spinel. How utterly rare. You know they are rarer now than the rubies they once were substituted as?" Her plum eyes were bright with excitement as she smiled at Rin and the pendent. "Is this setting platinum? The cross design etched in the bale is most unusual."
Rin said, "Someone special held on to this for a long time just to give it back to me. It would feel wrong to have other people see it."
"Oh," Luvia said as her cheeks flushed and she tucked the gem back into Rin's blouse before smoothing the dark red fabric over to erase any wrinkles. "I did not know."
Rin took her hand, squeezed it, and said, "He would have been fine with you seeing it." She let their hands fall, but did not let Luvia's go as they continued to look.
"Is this the man your sister is with?" Luvia asked, her eyes meeting Rin's.
Rin smiled and answered, "Yes and no. It's a long story."
"Well, I would like to hear it," Luvia said as her eyes met Rin's. "And I think, now, you are ready to tell it."
Rin blinked, leaned forward and kissed the blond's cheek. She said, "You know, I think you're right, and I think it would have made Archer happy."
"Archer?" Luvia asked.
Rin nodded and answered, "Yes, my Archer."
"So, if this Archer appeared, would you leave me?" Luvia asked with a slight smile.
"No, I'd take you both as mine," Rin said with a smirk of her own, "I'm greedy."
Luvia smiled and said, "Not a good quality in someone who is as much of a spendthrift as you."
"I know, but you stay with me all the same."
“Iron Maiden? Nightwish? Judas Priest?”
Rin blinked as she saw Luvia’s massive CD collection, reading through the names and seeing covers usually involving knights in armor fighting massive dragons or demons that even the Burial Agency would be afraid to face. Plum colored eyes met hers and a tiny smile graced Luvia’s exquisite face. Rin pushed a lock of her hair back and asked, “Why do have of these bands have names involving the words ‘Night’, ‘Black’, ‘Iron’, or some artsy musical words? I mean, isn’t this the stuff that you can play backwards and hear demons or something?”
Luvia blinked twice before reaching forward. The box in Rin’s hands was snatched away and the blond began to thumb thoughtfully through its contents. Those plum eyes narrowed at Rin as the Finish magus said, “Again, you are quite wrong about this, Rin. However I will teach you what proper heavy metal sounds like.”
“Wow, touchy about your metal then?” Rin asked with a grin as one white hand pushed a button on a device that utterly terrified the Japanese magus.
Luvia haughtily tilted her head and said, “I am from Finland. We take our heavy metal very seriously, and you would not know decent music unless it was shoved directly into your face.”
“So, what does your dad think about your taste in music?” Rin asked with a slight smile. Luvia scowled as she inserted the gleaming disk into a tray, pushed a button that inserted the tray back into the terrifying device, and then stared at a black screen with glowing green numbers while thoughtfully hitting other buttons. Rin stretched out as the green glow harmonized with Luvia’s eyes, making them appear more like amethysts.
Luvia frowned and said, “My father is ignorant of my taste in music.”
“I thought so,” Rin said before reaching out and stroking amber curls.
Luvia relaxed and her long, ivory fingers left the keypad for a moment before she leaned back into Rin’s touch. “There is quite a bit my father does not approve of or understand.”
“He’d probably hate me,” Rin said as she leaned forward, resting her chin on the larger girl’s shoulder. The smell of violets filled her nostrils as she inhaled Luvia’s very familiar perfume. Automatically she
rubbed her face against the graceful column of Luvia’s throat, drawing a shuddering sigh from the other girl.
Luvia whispered, “Your family did steal from mine.”
“We’ll call this ‘history repeating itself’ then,” Rin said before kissing a silken cheek.
Luvia smiled, her eyes sparkling, and said, “Well, apparently your great grandmother was happy with your great grandfather.”
“Well, as happy as a couple of uptight magi could be together,” Rin said with a chuckle. Luvia chuckled as well before narrowing her eyes at the screen and hitting a button. Within moments, rousing and melodic music accompanied rich vocals filled the room.
Luvia’s fingers picked at Rin’s sleeves and she said, “My father would not approve of my choice. I am to marry a nobleman to preserve the Edelfelt name and to make it thrive. There is already a long list of magi from prospective families wanting my hand.”
Rin took Luvia’s hand and held it tightly. She knew the hold Luvia’s father had on her, Archer had explained it in great detail when she finally got him to open up. After hearing the sordid tale, she had made Archer a promise.
“I will make sure that Luvia has a better life this time than in yours.”
It was a promise she was going to intend to keep. She chuckled as she listened to the song Luvia had so tactfully chosen about an “Emerald Sword”. Once the song was over, Luvia pressed a button leaving them in silence. She looked at Rin with one graceful eyebrow and asked, “Well, what did you think?”
“. . . I liked it,” Rin said with a grin, “And I think I’d like to listen to more of it.”
Originally Posted by Kotonoha
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