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Going to the Dreamjoy Memoir premiere was a snap decision by Robin. She originally wasn’t planning on going, instead staying at home and reflecting on the eventful past few days. With worries about her brother’s whereabouts still fresh in her mind and constantly eating away at her thoughts, she thought it would be a good change of pace to go to the premiere of Stelle’s new series, which also doubled as the re-opening of the cinema at Clock Studios Theme Park. In disguise of course; Robin didn’t want to draw too much attention to herself. She opted to tie her hair in a bun and wear a semi-casual suit, complete with a large coat. Robin figured that the crowd wouldn’t notice her if she kept her head down.
The series itself was very good, an interesting retelling of the story of Clockie and Dreamville. The crowd around her seemed to share her sentiments, there being a standing ovation once the final episode had finished. Robin decided to stay at the afterparty for a little while, hoping that the lively atmosphere would provide a welcome distraction from her inner thoughts. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Robin found the afterparty extremely suffocating, the bustling crowd causing her to feel out of breath very quickly. The general chatter of the filmgoers blended together into a sort of buzzing noise. One that Robin found very hard to deal with.
Deciding to retreat to somewhere a little less packed, she ducked and weaved through groups of people slowly losing themselves to the wonderful sensation of drinking SoulGlad. After what felt like a few minutes, when in actuality it was only about ten seconds, Robin settled in an isolated corner of the cinema. The singer leaned back against the wall, appreciating the moment to catch her breath and calm herself down. The coolness of the wall definitely helped anchor her.
Breath by breath, she reduced her heart rate close to a resting level and started to collect her thoughts. The roaring crowd from before was now quiet background noise; the buzzing sound from before had all but faded.
Unfortunately for Robin, she wasn’t the only person here.
“Are you alright my dear Robin, you seem really out of it?” The voice called out to her. Robin recognised the voice, belonging to the Masked Fool Sparkle. Considering the Fool’s expertise with disguises, it wasn’t a surprise that she saw through Robin’s.
Prior to the party, she only had one encounter with Sparkle, when she was last with her brother. She found Sparkle to be an interesting individual, not backing down whenever Sunday challenged her and generally just getting under his skin; with the whole ‘chicken wing boy’ nickname. Yet, the same Sparkle conceded immediately when Robin herself asked her to stop just after.
“I thought you were leaving Penacony?” Robin responded. Her tone wasn’t annoyed, just curious as to why Sparkle was here in the first place.
The Fool’s voice took on a more teasing tone, “Oh, are you in such a rush to get rid of me?” Sparkle’s expression had a tint of smugness to it.
“N-no, I’m not…” Robin wasn’t too sure how to respond, she certainly wasn’t in the mood for the Fool pulling a prank on her. As the Halovian was stewing her thoughts, Sparkle hummed quietly. She waited for about half a minute, before turning to walk away. As she did, Robin realised that there was something that she wanted to tell her.
“Wait!” Robin shouted. The rest of the crowd’s noise did drown her out a little, but it was still enough for Sparkle to hear. When the shorter woman turned back around, Robin continued, “I want to thank you. For standing in for me when I was in Dreamflux Reef. I know the Iris Family asked you to do it but I’m guessing that you’ve not received any thanks off them?”
Sparkle’s reaction was not what the Halovian was expecting. Instead of a joke or some kind of crude remark, the Fool’s eyes had widened. Robin could swear that she could see a slight blush on her face. She could also feel her own heartbeat start to pick up again. Not that she would share that information with Sparkle.
“O-oh…” the Fool managed to say. Sparkle’s gaze lingered on the floor for a moment, before she looked back up at Robin. “Um, you’re welcome…” Robin didn’t realise, but certain other thoughts began to plant themselves in her mind. Sparkle’s sakura-patterned eyes, the way her hair ties swayed with every slight movement. Robin also found her gaze lingering on Sparkle’s bare legs for a little longer than they should have. For the first time since she woke up, she felt like she could actually think about something else, or rather someone else, instead of that fateful day at the Grand Theatre. For a brief moment, her thoughts were fully occupied by the Masked Fool.
A genuine smile appeared on Robin’s face. “Heh, I’m guessing that you don’t get caught off guard that often do you.” Robin narrowed her gaze. “You look really cute, Miss Sparkle!”
The Fool let out a cough. “J-Just Sparkle is fine…” she mumbled. Robin could practically see the gears in Sparkle’s head turning. The shorter woman shook her head after a few seconds, before donning her usual grin and shooting the Halovian a wink. “And I’ll take that as a compliment, considering that it’s coming from someone as beautiful as you Robin!”
‘Ah’
Robin could feel her face heat up on hearing Sparkle’s complement. Instinctively, her wings moved to cover her face. Though, Robin’s efforts to hide her blush did not go unnoticed by the Fool.
“Say Robin…” Sparkle took a few steps closer. “Do you like, wanna get out of here? You look like you could do with going somewhere quieter.”
“Am I that easy to read?” Robin averted her gaze, avoiding looking directly into the Fool’s enchanting eyes. She knew that Sparkle was able to get a good read on others, but she didn’t realise how easy it was for her. Even if she could hide her inner turmoil from the general public, someone as perceptive as Sparkle would be able to see right through the mask that she donned. The Halovian entertained the idea of telling her about her troubles, there weren’t exactly many people on Penacony that she could confide in. As Robin stewed on her thoughts, the Fool spoke up again.
“You’ve been thinking about your brother, haven’t you? Where he’s disappeared off to…” Robin briefly locked eyes, before giving a quick nod. Sparkle interlaced her fingers with the taller woman and pulled her hand upwards, gently caressing it with her thumb. “Well, if you do want to vent, I’m happy to listen. You’ll find that I can be a surprisingly good listener.” The shorter woman pondered for a moment, before continuing. “Though, this probably isn’t the best place for it…” Given that this was coming from Sparkle, Robin thought she should be worried. However, the Fool’s tone was a lot quieter and dare she say, more genuine, than that of the prankster she saw before.
“And, if I do see dear ol’ chicken wing boy in the future, I’ll make sure to give him a lot of grief for making you worry this much!” Sparkle beamed up at Robin, causing her face to flush red again. The sound of her heart beating completely took over Robin’s sense of hearing. A few tears started to form in Robin’s eyes, shortly followed by laughter. She couldn’t stop herself from laughing. In between all of the spiel she heard from the Family and the conflicting stories she heard about what happened to Sunday, Sparkle’s bluntness was exactly what she needed to hear. The Fool joined in, the pair giggling away like they were the only people in the world.
After a minute of laughing together, Robin turned her gaze back to Sparkle. She leaned down and cupped the shorter woman’s cheek. “Thank you, Sparkle.” Robin pushed forward and pressed a kiss onto Sparkle’s forehead. When the Halovian pulled back, she drank in the view before her. The seemingly unshakable Masked Fool, able to toy with Memokeepers and Emanators alike, left speechless with cheeks as red as the dress that she was wearing. Before Sparkle could react, Robin turned to leave. “C’mon, let’s get out of here!”
“W-wait… Really?”
Robin paused, turning back towards the Fool with a look of confusion on her face. “Why do you look so surprised?”
“Oh, it’s just umm…” Sparkle averted her gaze again, not being able to look at Robin directly. She wrapped her arms around the Halovian’s waist and squeezed, earning a slight squeak of surprise from the singer. As Robin returned the gesture, Sparkle continued speaking, her voice was a lot more subdued. “People don’t usually accept my proposals that quickly. Or at all…”
Robin let out a chuckle, before retorting, “That’s their mistake! I for one would love to get to know the mysterious and adorable Masked Fool who’s been stirring up all kinds of trouble here!” Sparkle stayed in place for a moment, before detaching from Robin. When Sparkle looked back up at her, her blush was still there but this time, her expression had a rare tint of softness. Robin had to fight the urge to kiss her again.
“Hehe alright, let’s go!” The shorter woman took Robin’s hand and placed a quick kiss on the back. Robin didn’t have much time to react before she felt herself being pulled towards the exit. As Sparkle led the way, she also added, “I know of a nice place we can go, courtesy of our Gray-haired friend and her Stellaron Hunter crush!”
Robin initially thought that coming to the Dreamjoy Memoir premiere was a bad idea. The suffocating atmosphere did nothing to help ease her worries and distract her mind. Now, for the first time in a few days, Robin felt free of her internal demons. Although tomorrow, she would resume her search for her brother. Today, she would enjoy living in the moment with the Fool who reached out to her.
Fleeting moments like this are sometimes the most memorable. Just like fireworks.