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Caelus was playing around with the cat cakes in the Party Car as he joyfully lifted up the cat cake creation Lambda’s Friend after he played with it when he felt some eyes on him. He then turned his head to see a pair of cobalt eyes attached to brown hair looking at him before retreating. Caelus raised an eyebrow in confusion before sighing.
‘She’s been looking at me all week. What does she want?’
He thought to himself before he decided enough was enough and marched to where he knew a certain someone was spying on him.
He did not notice how Lambda’s Friend ran up to Trash Cake and started to aggressively cuddle with it as Trash Cat exclaimed, “Leave me alone! I am still full of the snacks you shared!”
As he rounded the corner, he saw Ruan Mei standing there crocheting something in her hand. He sighed to announce his presence and teased, “How can I help you, Genius Society Member #81, Ruan Mei?”
She seemed to intensify her crocheting and he raised an eyebrow. He then approached her and put a hand on her shoulder.
She flinched and quickly turned around to face Caelus. She knew it could only be him. She only wanted it to be him. Her face was flushed and red.
She then said cooly, “Oh, it’s you.”
Caelus, perplexed by the rather . . . odd juxtaposition. She clearly was spying on him. She was clearly flustered. He couldn’t figure out why she was acting so coy about it.
He replied bluntly, “Uh, yeah it’s me . . . who else?”
She visibly tensed before she looked up at him before looking away from him quickly.
He was now getting worried, “Are you okay Ruan Mei?”
She then turned quickly toward him, hiding her face, but shoving a piece of paper into his hands.
She then said, “I am sorry for the suddenness . . . I was invited to the Genius’s Ball and I . . . was looking for a date.”
Caelus could tell that it took Ruan Mei extraordinary effort to ask him this. He was aware of her . . . personality quirks.
Ruan Mei was extremely intelligent, but she wasn’t the most social person. As a researcher who is a member of the Genius Society, she had a list of great many admirers, but if you ask him, she seemed to really have only a few friends and seemed rather lonely. Sure, she was polite and even had a great temperament, but a part of him suspected that it was more of a part she was playing, considering her love for theatre. He knew this because his first interaction with her was rather . . . unforgettable. Apparently in her reclusion she forgot that simply asking for someone’s help is more socially appropriate than drugging them and using them to get rid of your problems.
Caelus frowned to himself, remembering the time she used him to discard Skaracabaz, a resurrected emanator of the Propagation. They already had a lengthy discussion after it turned out her drugs did in fact NOT erase his memories and he was rather upset at the whole ordeal. They both got Himeko and Herta involved to mediate the situation. For her part, she did try to present her argument that regardless of his noble intentions, he was still an unknown variable with the Stellaron coursing through his body and since her research was about researching Aeons and every aspect of it, even disposal, required controlled variables. Both Herta and Himeko understood where she was coming from but when weighed against what she did and who it involved, they ultimately believed that for the sake of continuing their partnership, that Ruan Mei should apologize to Caelus and if she needed help that she should simply ask him next time. Caelus was content with the resolution. While a part of him still wished there was more punishment for using someone like how she used him, he also understood that Ruan Mei is a crucial ally in the Astral Express’s mission to traveling the Silver Rail.
Since that mediation Ruan Mei regularly visited the Astral Express, bearing gifts of desserts (non-drugged variants only). Caelus initially was rather cold to her during her visits, opting to only greet her in a professional, straight to the point matter and leaving as soon as she started trying to start a conversation (only started leaving after only taking a snack after her second visit). After this went on for a while, he started to notice the look of remorse and sadness in her eyes every time he responded coldly to her. However, he started warming up when he heard her talk about the cat cakes with March. He warmed up a little bit because it seemed she took his advice to visit her creations more often seriously. After learning that he would entertain her visits with a little more of his typical warmth and enthusiasm. From there Caelus and Ruan Mei would end up talking each other longer than the rest of the Express Crew and got to the point that Caelus looked forward to Ruan Mei’s visits (and not just for the snacks). He also ended up learning more about her personal life, before she was researcher. As she talked about her past, He got the impression that she appeared to have missed the queue on what “love” is. However, He supposed that if had grown up in her situation, her thoughts about love and relationships would easily get warped. So he did his best to talk to Ruan Mei about it and he would present what he thought about her thoughts. Over the next few months, their conversations would be quite engaging for both as they both had a plethora of experience to compare to. During these conversations, Caelus started to realize one thing . . . he might actually love Ruan Mei.
However, because of the content of their topics, he didn’t think Ruan Mei felt like him. Little did he know she was just affected.
He gazed at the invitation in his hand and a back at Ruan Mei, who had lost her shyness, but her blush still remained strong on her face. There was only one response to such a question.
“Sure, I’ll be your date Ms. Mei,” Caelus responded warmly.
A wide smile grew on Ruan Mei’s face as she then embraced Caelus.
“Thank you.” She said quietly.
Caelus, shocked at the sudden embrace, just smiled and embraced her back.
“You don’t have thank me. I would have been happy to accept.”
He then felt her embrace tighten. Caelus just chuckled but simply returned her embrace.
They then heard some enter the Party Car and they heard a very bubbly voice say, “Ooooo Ruan Mei and Caelus are hugging!”
Caelus, rather perturbed at being interrupted turned to the intruder who was smirking gleefully before a pillow on one of the nearby couches magically found its way smashing into her face.
“Hey! What was that for?!” March exclaimed.
“That was for being annoying.” Caelus remarked rather bluntly.
Ruan Mei let out a small giggle before saying, “Anyway I need to get going. I will send you your outfit for the event. So, I’ll see you then?”
He smiled back saying, “See you then?”
Ruan Mei the left the Party Car and March got up and asked, “What was that about.”
He showed her the invitation. March awed and said, “Oh cool! You got invited to a ball! Well have fun!”
Several days later, Caelus stood in the parlor car staring out into the cosmos. He fidgeted with his get up. Instead of his typical Trailblazing outfit, he was wearing a black suit jacket with a dress shirt with a bow tie with some fancy slacks and dress shoes. He felt constricted in the outfit, but he then breathed heavily and calmed down. He stared at his reflection in the glass of the parlor car. He then began reflecting on how he got here.
Caelus was still fidgeting with his collar and tie when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Himeko standing there and then fixing his tie and collar for him.
She then said, “Relax. You’ll be fine.”
He sighed. He then said, “I know it’s just that . . .”
“. . .that you have feeling for miss Ruan Mei?” Himeko asked with a teasing lit.
Caelus flushed a little and said, “Well . . . maybe . . . Yes. I just have a hard time not thinking about her. Even though the way we first met wasn’t exactly ideal, we’ve come around from that.”
Himeko let out a warm smile and asked, “Well that’s obvious. I remember when you would say “Hello, Ms. Mei.” And turn around to walk back to your room. Still, I wonder, why did she invite you as her date for the ball?”
“I don’t know. I know her . . . quirks. I think she asked me to play a part as her date, and she probably doesn’t want to be pestered by her admirers. I don’t know if my feelings are reciprocated that way.”
Himeko let out small chuckle and said, “Are you that clueless Caelus?”
Caelus, perplexed by Himeko’s behavior asked, “What do you mean? I mean her and I have had lengthy discussions about the topic and I don’t know if she has feelings for me like that.”
Himeko just sighed and said, “Ah if only I could be there to watch it unfold. Anyway, just as bit of friendly advice, just don’t discount that idea.”
Caelus was about to let his mind think about the possibility when they heard the Parlor Car door open and Ruan Mei stepped in. Instead of her typical qipao, she was wearing a qipao that was teal with plum tree motifs, frilly white chest piece and upper arm sleeves, a long teal glove on her left arm and a dress glove with embedded pearls on her right hand. She also had a pearl garter along with white dress shoes. She was already extremely beautiful, but this outfit really accentuated her figure and her elegant demeanor. She smiled as she saw Caelus and said, “Hello there. Are you ready?”
Himeko got out Caelus’s way as he nodded and headed toward her. Himeko than said, “You two have fun! Have him back before midnight!”
They warped to their destination. When Caelus gained his bearings, he could smell the distinctly sterile smell of Herta’s Space Station. Arlan and a few of the Space Station Security were stationed outside the door of the room where the ball is taking place. Ruan Mei then grabbed Caelus’s hand and approached the guards. Caelus was rather surprised at Ruan Mei’s forwardness but was happy to envelope his hand around hers.
“Greetings Arlan. I am her to check in along with my plus one.” Ruan Mei said in her usual cool demeanor.
Arlan looked up and replied, “Hello Ms. Ruan Mei. Okay and your plus one is . . . Oh brother Caelus! That will make it easier for us. You both of you have a good time.”
Caelus said, “Thank you Arlan. Do you want me to sneak you and the other guards some food?”
Arlan shook his head and replied, “No, Lady Asta made sure to set aside some food for us. So, no need to worry. Just have a good time.”
Ruan Mei then said, “Thank you Arlan. Has Herta arrived?”
“Madam Herta and Mr. Screwllum are both inside. Mr. Llyod again came but immediately left after getting a plate of food.”
Ruan Mei simply nodded and led both her and Caelus into the room. Caelus’s jaw dropped at the how the room was clearly transformed from the sterile gray and neon lights to what appeared to be something similar to what he would see in Penacony, marble floors, wooden tables covered in extravagant table cloths, a glass chandelier and what appeared to be a night skybox with actual section to go “outside.”
Ruan Mei hummed as if she approved of the venue. It seemed this ball was invite-only and it seemed to be mainly the Space Station researchers with the Genius’s as guests. Caelus looked around and saw there was a long table at the end of the room that seemed to have four sections. Of the four, only one of the sections had two chairs. He could spot the two other Genius’s already taken a seat in two other sections, Mr. Screwllum was in his traditional get up as it was already quite formal, but he did change his hat to frilled hat with a feather in it. Herta opted to adorn herself in a long dress that looked like a longer version of the dress her puppets wear. She still wore her large witch’s hat, however.
As the pair walked through the ballroom, Caelus started hearing mummering about himself and Ruan Mei. He couldn’t make out exactly what they were saying, but one emotion was consistent between the mutterings: shock . . . and possibly jealousy, but mostly shock.
When the pair made their way to their seats, Herta greeted them, “Ah well well well, you actually did it Mei. You managed to get the Little One over here.”
A smirk grew on her face as she looked at Mei. Ruan Mei replied, “Of course. I simply asked him and he said yes.”
“Really? That’s it? That’s surprisingly normal for you . . . well as normal as . . .”
Ruan Mei the uncharacteristically grew erratically tried to hush Herta who took the hint and changed the topic. She then looked at Caelus and said, “Hello there Little One. So, what do you think of the ballroom? Of course, only my magnificent brilliance could create this overlay for us to enjoy.”
“Honestly, I am impressed. It’s a nice change of pace for the typically sterile space station.” Caelus responded.
“I know! Isn’t it fascinating? Maybe I should do this more often on the space station. Granted I wouldn’t have gotten idea for this if it weren’t for . . .”
Ruan Mei then interjected, “Yes, it is fascinating Herta. By the way I heard Stephen dropped by earlier.”
Caelus could see the teasing glint in Herta’s eyes, but she seemed to drop it quickly and said, “Yes, he stopped by, but you know how he is. Grabbed his plate of macaroni and cheese, grabbed a little bit of chicken, and left.”
Caelus got the impression that Ruan Mei was trying to hide something, but he wasn’t sure exactly what.
They then heard the mechanical whirling and smooth robotic voice of Screwllum interject, “Welcome Ruan Mei and Mr. Caelus. This is quite a pleasant surprise. So, you are here as Ruan Mei’s plus one?”
Caelus rubbed the back of his head and replied, “Hehe yep. I mean how could I resist?”
“Hmm. Observation: Ms. Ruan Mei, why did you not mention your plus one was the Trailblazer?”
Ruan Mei replied cooly, “Perhaps I wanted it to be a surprise.”
Both Herta and Screwllum looked at each other before Screwllum continued, “Continuing: Please enjoy yourselves this evening.”
Caelus and Ruan Mei waved their goodbye to Screwllum who proceeded to return to his seat.
Then an orchestra began to play and many of the guests began dancing. Caelus noticed that she seemed to be fidgeting, so he got up from his seat and, as a show of humor said, “May I have this dance Ruan Mei?”
The Genuis Society member flushed a little before saying gently, “I would love to.”
She gently grabbed his outstretched hand, and they both proceeded to the dance floor. As they reached the floor, Caelus, now realizing he was completely out of his depth, decided to mirror the other guests and grabbed Ruan Mei by the waist and gentle swayed back and forth. He could hear Ruan Mei giggle as Caelus was doing his damnedest to avoid colliding with the other dancers.
“You have no idea what you’re doing, don’t you?” She asked
“Well to be fair on my end, ballroom dancing isn’t exactly on the curriculum on the Astral Express.” He jokingly retorted.
They clumsily continued their dance, but the more they danced, the more Caelus noticed the dance floor was increasingly becoming more open. It was then that he noticed that most other partners had stopped dancing and were watching them clumsily waltz around. As the current song came to a close, Caelus then decided to be dramatic and lead Ruan Mei into a dip where she then wrapped one of her legs around his waist.
The room then roared into an applause and one cry from an over enthusiastic admirer, “It should have been me! Not him!”
The rest of the evening was split between the dance floor, eating fancy meals, and talking with beautiful Genius. Caelus was enjoying every bit of it, but in the back of his mind, he thought this was nothing more simply acting the part as Ruan Mei’s date.
Caelus didn’t know what the urgency was, but he simply nodded as he followed Ruan Mei to the balcony area that led to the “outside.”
Caelus thought to himself that Herta went all out for this projection as it was significantly cooler outside and he could smell what appeared to be distant floral scents in the distance.
Out here, a single moon was acting as the light and Caelus’s breath got caught for a second as Ruan Mei’s form glowed as the moonlight reflected off of her. It was then that Caelus noticed that Ruan Mei seemed to be blushing again and then she turned to face him.
“Caelus I . . . need to tell you something.”
Caelus being understanding and patient replied, “What is it?”
She breathed in heavily before saying, “Do you remember how we first met?”
The Trailblazer, perplexed raised an eyebrow and replied, “Yes . . . I mean you kind of left an unforgettable first impression.”
She flinched a little before collecting herself and said, “I know we already spoke together about it, with Miss Himeko and Herta’s help, but I once again just want to say I am so sorry that I treated you that way.”
Caelus replied confusingly, “I know and I accepted your apology. I mean I think we’ve come a long way since then. Heck I’m playing the role of your date today.”
Ruan Mei sighed at that and gathered herself, “About that . . . you do realize I asked you be my date, not act as my date?”
Caelus, perplexed by phrasing asked, “What do you mean?”
Ruan Mei then turned around quickly to hide her growing blush and said, “Well I mean Caelus, these last few months, after you started indulging in my conversation, have been very enlightening and thoughtful. I was initially hurt by the fact you chose to be cold and distant, but it was only fair. But then you turned around and seeing your smile and your warmth really opened my eyes to see my research differently. But as I thought about those things, I couldn’t stop thinking about you and the more I thought of you, the more I couldn’t stop thinking about what we were talking about and and . . .”
Caelus came up to her side and put a hand on her shoulder as she started stuttering, which was stark contrast the elegant and composed Ruan Mei.
Ruan Mei then turned as she continued, “I think I am love with you Caelus.”
Caelus gasped. She then started getting teary eyed as she started mumbling quickly, “I-I know how we first met wasn’t ideal and that that . . .”
Her mumbling was interrupted as his lips crashed against hers as she felt one of his hands behind her head and one wrapping around her waist. She hummed as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
They then separated to catch their breath.
He smirked and said, “I think I love you too Ruan Mei. Yes, how we met wasn’t ideal, but when I started to get to know you, I think I finally understood you and could see what was so special about you. Honestly, I just didn’t know if you even thought of me like that.”
She started to reply, “Well I . . .”
Then they heard some clapping coming from their side to see Herta there with Screwllum. Herta then butted, “Well about time you two lovebirds confessed. Having to dance around the fact we created this as the perfect first date was kinda getting frustrating.”
“Created?” Caelus asked.
“Well you see Little One, Mei here was so worried about confessing her feelings to she asked me, her dear friend, to create the perfect setting in which she can confess those feelings. You’re lucky Little One. Not everyone gets this much attention from us Geniuses.” Herta replied.
“Affirmation: Correct. Ms. Ruan Mei came to us proposing how she should confess her feeling and this was a collaborative effort of us three.” Screwllum concurred.
“Ah Screwy, stop trying to take the magic out of the moment.” Herta chastised the robot.
Caelus turned to Ruan Mei and raised an eyebrow as to ask a question, but she said, “Yes, I worked with my friends to set this up. You have become someone important to me . . . so I wanted to convey that in whatever way I could.”
She then stuffed her face into Caelus’s chest while moving her hands down from his neck to around his chest.
Caelus just chuckled lightly and lifted her face by grabbing her chin and lifting it with his thump and pointing finger and said, “Well thank you. You are also someone who is important to me.”
He then leaned in and whispered into her ear, “While I appreciate the effort, I think what I like most is seeing this shy, flustered sight of you.”
Ruan Mei gasped as Caelus kissed her cheek. He smiled as she let out a small pout. She then sighed and said, “So . . . do you want to be my boyfriend?”
Caelus smiled and said, “Yes. Do you want to be my girlfriend?”
Ruan Mei blushed a little before saying, “Yes.”
Caelus then cupped her cheek and kissed her again which Ruan Mei quickly reciprocated.
“Ugh get a room you two. Come one Screwy, lets leave the lovebirds to themselves.” Herta said while turning around and returning to the ball with Screwllum in tow.
Caelus and Ruan Mei continued their make out session until neither could breathe.
They then decided to sit on the railing and look at the moon, side by side holding hands with Ruan Mei leaning her head on Caelus’s shoulder.
“Man, the moon sure looks lovely tonight, doesn’t it?” he asked.
“It sure does.” she replied.