[se] worth the wait

When Vik said blue suited her, Shaelyn scrunched her nose. She wasn’t too sure about that. She was about to open her mouth when he shook his head, pulling another squeak from her as the pink dust fell down on her, adding a light layer of pink over her head.

Now she looked like candy floss. Her poor white hair would be blue and pink for days to come.

Pulling a hand through a loose lock of hair before looking at it, Shaelyn furrowed her brow at the dust that fell with the movement. Shaking her head again, the colour fell over her clothing and shoulders, leaving some on the ground. It looked like there had been some strange magical girl awakening on the floor.

“We could—” she started to reply, before another cloud of red flew between them, causing Shaelyn to blink as a layer of red covered her upper chest, neck, and part of her chin. A man waved happily at them as he continued to throw dust around, and Shaelyn couldn’t help but laugh again.

Gods.

“We should probably not go back to the same guy,” she chuckled. While she was certain they’d both paid enough to make it worth it, it wasn’t exactly good manners to run away with that much colouring.

With that, she turned towards a different stall, curiously eyeing the yellow powder they had, before looking at Vik with a grin, her hand reaching for one of the smaller bags of colouring.

By now, Shaelyn knew they both looked like hell. She looked up in surprise when Vik started coughing after laughing at her misery of being engulfed in red, feeling a bit worried until he managed to drink some water.

While he composed himself, Shaelyn paid for a small bag of yellow powder, pouring some into her hand before turning back to him. Walking up to Vik, she placed her hand against his cheek with the most innocent smile she could muster.

“Are you okay?” she asked, a little pout on her face despite the corners of her lips curling upwards. She dropped her hand, watching the yellow mark it left.

See, that was better.

It seemed like Vik was determined to tempt fate this festival, and Shaelyn couldn't help but feel a little bad for him. Usually, she was the one at risk of choking when they were together, but today luck wasn't on his side—though she had to admit, she was responsible for at least half his mishaps.

Pulling her hand back, she grinned at the handprint she’d left on his face. Her heart leapt with an unexpected possessiveness, thrilled to see him marked by her in public, even in such a playful way.

“That’s as good a reason as any not to smoke today,” she winked. While she had no real issue with his smoking, she still wished he didn’t. Anything that risked his health was something she’d rather see gone.

Just as she was about to suggest they move on, Vik suddenly ducked, causing her to frown in surprise.

“Wh—” was all she managed before she yelped, hoisted into the air and diving straight into a cloud of green powder.

She miraculously managed to close her mouth just in time to avoid choking on the colourful dust.

“You—” she gasped, her eyes stinging from the added green hue, which certainly didn’t enhance her appearance. She gave him a playful smack on the back with her yellow-stained hand, laughing. “Let me go! That was unfair!” she exclaimed, her tone devoid of any real complaint—how could she be upset? Being hoisted over her strong man’s shoulder was—

Focus.