Chapter Text
“I don’t get it…” A young man lamented the loss of a heap of metal plates, gears, bolts and other parts: an invention made unrecognizable by the way it had been relentlessly torn asunder, scorch marks draping it in a color not dissimilar to charcoal. The late device was still smoldering a bit even. Gloved hands gently brushed against the debris.
“Oh, Taube, my dear Taube… You of all people should know that you couldn’t hope to set the sky alight with a trinket such as that one.” Taube looked up at his goddess, a woman called Raiko, though her form was not revealed to him; it never was. Only her booming voice could be heard, clapping like thunder. “It’s not an easy job, captivating hearts… You don’t even possess the Blood of the Tinkerer.”
Flashes of lightning coursed across the sky, resembling veins, giving the impression that the world was a living, breathing entity, with a heart of clockwork. It was the same sight that Taube had often mused about, in his younger years, yet right now, the starry-eyed shine in his eyes had glazed over; it had made place for a bitter frown reflecting a lack of understanding and yet…
“Very well. I understand.” He didn’t understand. He had never understood. Through approaching an intimate familiarity with the mechanisms of the world, he abjectly stumbled upon a mystery that not even he knew the answer to. Not a matter of machinery…
A matter of emotion.
And so, tirelessly, Taube began work on another contraption anew, while his goddess watched from above, amused.
Claudine of course knew Taube and Raiko weren’t real; they were merely figments of the stage. She was sitting in the audience of this play, watching the young blood of her theatre troupe perform their hearts out. She had taken Futaba with her to see the new girls put on their first completely independent production. Claudine knew this, but she was swept away by the emotion in each word, each gesture. She couldn’t help but forget about the fourth wall momentarily.
She felt terrible. The acting senior had hoped to observe the play with a critical eye, in order to give the actresses constructive feedback. Although maybe this intense resonance of emotions was indication enough that Claudine had nothing left to teach and that the future of her troupe was in good hands, should she ever think of quitting.
“Who does that wench think she is?! Make a fool out of me, Claude?!” Another young man, wearing overalls covered in oil and soot, burst onto the stage, in the middle of an impassioned tirade. Suddenly his eyes fell on Taube, collapsed by the side of the road, on his way to pick up supplies from town. “Oh my! Excuse me, sir? Are you alright?” No response, not even as Claude shook him by the shoulder. “Oh dear... I must find you a doctor as soon as possible…”
And so the doctor came and went, or rather, they were implied to have come, as the lights were dimmed and silhouettes frantically replaced the decor, wheeling backgrounds, bringing in props on carts. The lead actresses then positioned themselves appropriately for the start of the next scene, as the lights came back on. Taube was laying in bed, eyes closed and Claude was worriedly looking over his guest from his bedside.
Taube’s eyes opened. “Wh-where am I?” They were the first words he had spoken since losing consciousness.
They were met by a response spoken in a comforting tone: “There is no need to be alarmed. You are safe at my place. My name is Claude. I found you on the side of the road. You had collapsed and the doctor diagnosed your condition with extreme exhaustion. Pray tell, what did you-”
“What’s that?” Taube had heaved himself upright and his finger was pointing at a device on the other side of the room.
Claude stammered, clearly not having anticipated such a response. “That is my magnification device. It allows one to see remote objects as if they were closeby-”
“And you made that?” A look of curiosity made place for a look of wonder.
A tinge of red was the only response Claude could muster.
“And that machine over there! What does it do?”
“You should lay down. You are in no position to be exerting yourself this much. If you’re going to be gawking, at least let me support you.” With a sharp frown and pursed lips, Claude tugged at a lever, causing the head of the bed to rise slowly, mechanically, before clicking into place. Now Taube could see all around himself while not having to forsake the support of the mattress. His amazement did not relent at the display of this bed contraption.
Neither did Claudine’s. Not only was the acting sublime, providing very convincing theatre, the props had been crafted with the utmost care and the integration of their working in the play made for a true spectacle to behold.
Enthused, Claudine turned her head to look at her date, though she had no eyes for Claudine. In fact, it looked like she had no eyes for anything other than the notebook she was scribbling in. “Futaba, are you…?” Claudine whispered, “Loosen up a bit, won’t you? I didn’t invite you so that you could study.”
“But there’s so much to learn! It’d be a waste if I didn’t take at least a few notes”, Futaba spoke in equally hushed tones. A smirk appeared on her face. “Besides, you’re telling me to loosen up?”
“ Mon dieu … you’re making me sound like a drill sergeant.” Claudine turned her head to face the play again, her face neatly folded in a neutral expression. She was hoping to focus on the play again, but the banter between the two always made her head spin and her heart throb.
A whim of the heart lashed out at Futaba, as Claudine’s hand latched onto hers, wordlessly and without warning, though it was followed shortly by a glance in Futaba’s direction. She had cast aside her notebook and was looking at Claudine, beaming her widest, most disarming smile, the kind that only she could produce. Frankly, there were a lot of expressions only she could make: looks of unbridled admiration, intense focus and a smile like this one were only a few of the many examples.
“So you’re an inventor too?” Claude’s voice tried drawing Claudine’s attention back to the play. He was holding a contraption in his hand and-
“Hey, uhm… I was only joking, alright? I don’t actually think you’re a drill sergeant.” Apparently Futaba was oblivious to the fact that she could never wound Claudine with words like that. She never had, never would; Claudine wouldn’t exchange it for anything in the world. “Sorry if I was being rude…”
“ Mais enfin , Futaba, I assure you, I took no offense. I’m used to worse from you anyway.” Claudine donned a slight smirk and threw a side-eyed glance at Futaba.
She was pouting now. “Heyyy… What’s that supposed to mean”, she replied while softly giggling. To punctuate her words, she softly pressed her head against Claudine’s shoulder.
Hesitantly, Futaba took a breath in, foretelling the words she was about to speak. “I’m… really grateful for your support.”
“You want me to teach you the art of inventing? What makes you think I am qualified?”
“Just… look at how amazing your creations are! Please! I may not have the Blood of the Tinkerer, but… I want to learn!”
Futaba brushed her thumb against the back of Claudine’s hand. The girl continued: “I couldn’t have made it this far without you and your guidance.”
“...Fine, I will teach you everything I know, but temper your expectations. It will not be an easy journey.”
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
Futaba’s whispers grew in volume, though remained hushed: “But I’m not done yet, I’ve got a lot of growing still left to do, so…”
“I want to learn how to fly!”
“Heh… You wouldn’t be the first, though I wonder what drives you to seek out the skies.”
“I’ve… just always been fascinated by it, is all.”
Claudine could feel Futaba’s head turning in her direction, away from the play again. “I’m counting on you, ‘kay?”
Claudine squeezed in Futaba’s hand reassuringly. That gesture alone was enough to elicit a chuckle and a grin from the girl, before she nestled her head back into the crook of Claudine’s neck.
And with that, any semblance of hope of paying attention to the play unfolding in front of her had been stricken down as markedly as Taube’s contraptions. Claudine could only still think about Futaba, how pleasant it was to room together with her, how far she’d come since their time together at Seishou, how different she seemed while performing in the New National First Theatre Troupe… She even recently got a supporting role in a blockbuster action movie, her first big step in the world of cinema.
Memories were dancing and swirling around in Claudine’s mind, as if her thoughts were having a revue of their own. Images of waking up side by side, dancing hand in hand, the increasing ease with which Futaba carried herself in endeavors of acting. She imagined Futaba calling out her name, great admiration in her voice, even over the silliest things like mere stretches.
When that girl was on Claudine’s mind, there was very little that could pull her feet back down to earth.
“Under my wing, you will learn how to take to the skies, so listen closely…”
No, not even the impressive show of acting in front of her could ground her. Claudine had her head in the clouds already.
…
Yet the applause of people around her, after an indefinite amount of time certainly did the trick. Claudine snapped out of her warm and fluffy musings and began clapping alongside the rest of the audience, including her girlfriend. The performance had been so breathtaking, it deserved a standing ovation even, the audience decided. Claudine couldn’t help but agree… for what little she had consciously witnessed anyway.
She’d come up with something to say to her theatre troupe backstage later…
“Donc… Claudine… Qu’est-ce que tu penses?”
“C’était trop, non?”
“Oui! On a charmé tout le monde-”
“Mais taisez-vous! Laissez Claudine parler!”
Dozens of eyes were fixated on Claudine as they were standing in the dressing room. Actors and stage hands alike were dying to know what Claudine thought. She couldn’t help but leave them in suspense a little longer as they continued to quietly mutter amongst themselves.
“C’était…” Pause for effect… “Magnifique! Très bien, je me sentais vraiment émue…” The youngsters started dancing around, jumping into each other’s arms and singing their cheers. Claudine was unsure whether anyone else could have made her juniors quite this happy.
“ Calmez-vous! Il y a quelques choses que- ” Suddenly, she felt briskly aware of the fact that Futaba was in the room with her. Despite having lived together for over a year at this point, she still only had a very basic understanding of the French language. She cleared her throat “That is to say… You did great, but I still have some criticisms here and there.” The lively atmosphere died down again and though the looks on their faces weren’t quite dejected, they had definitely become more analytical and serious.
“Aw come on! What good’s that talk gonna do right now? Save it for later! Right now we should celebrate!” Futaba wrapped her arms around the shoulders of some of the actresses and the morale was rising again.
Everyone looked at Claudine with expectant eyes. She liked to think that Futaba was saving her from embarrassment, given how little criticism Claudine actually had to offer, but knowing her, she was just being cheeky again… With a sigh, she conceded: “Fine… On va fêter!”
With another round of cheers, everyone headed for the cafeteria, where drinks would be served, non-alcoholic Claudine hoped, otherwise the troupe would become too difficult to control. Although… she felt a glass of wine at least was in order.
Claudine extended her hand and held Futaba back by hers, pulling her in closer by the waist. Claudine rested her chin on Futaba’s shoulder and began talking: “So what is your plan exactly? I thought you were going to rehearse at home after the play? Isn’t your audition in a few days?”
Futaba chuckled as she began walking ahead. Claudine followed closely behind, not breaking their embrace. “Relax! I’m still fresh and the night is still young. I’ll get some practice in before bed.”
Claudine hummed her wonders, but ultimately chose not to engage.
“You know…” Claudine perked up, letting her waist go and locking her arm around Futaba’s instead; that way she could listen to her better. “We make a pretty good team!”
“What do you mean?” Claudine inquired.
“With the kids I mean. You can keep them in tow and I can play with them. We’re like a duo! Good cop, bad cop, but with moms!”
Claudine’s face was suddenly engulfed in a blazing red. She herself even was unsure whether the thought of being a mom embarrassed her, or the remark about being the “bad cop” infuriated her. “Tu es une imbécile." With her fists clenched and arms extended next to her body, she stomped off in pursuit of the rest of her troupe.
“H-hey, I’m only joking! I didn’t mean it like that!” Futaba ran after Claudine, audibly stifling a giggle at the reaction. “Besides, I’m getting us home, remember?” No response. “Okay, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I take it back!”
In reality, as Claudine continued to give her girlfriend the cold shoulder, she was imagining what it would be like and she admittedly didn’t hate the idea. Just…
Were they really fit to be mothers?