early in the morning:
so far henri's gifts have been incognito - left on their shared bed, the bathroom counter, and apfel's stall, meaning roy could only guess her reaction (save for the midsummer crown given to her at the full moon). today is not a day for subtlety, though. it's a day for celebration, and from the moment they wake up henri's stuck with roy at her hip for the next 24 hours. after a chaste morning kiss he slides out of bed only to return half a minute later with a plate in hand. he presents henri with a loaf of milk bread, a single candle lit and placed right at the center. he grins and his voice seems to glitch as he speaks:
the first gift (milk loaf aside) comes in a small yet sturdy envelope. crisp, creme colored paper with henri's name written neatly on the front, and on the back she'll find that the envelope has been sealed with a kiss (henri might recognize the lip color as one of her own. if she looks at roy, he'll give a cute shrug and quirked eyebrow). he offers her a letter opener, but whether she chooses the offered tool or her own capable fingers, what's inside remains the same. two tickets to paradise, the destination and time left blank. they're accompanied with a note:
Dear Henri,
If all has gone according to plan, you're reading this as you're seated across from me. This gift is nebulous, I know, a trip without a date or place, but given the current circumstances of your schedule I wanted to leave our vacation time in your hands. That doesn't mean this comes without a few stipulations, naturally. They are as follows: the place must be somewhere that allows us copious amounts of sunshine, both of us must be far away from work, and it must last your standard vacation time of ten days (at least). We can talk about this more later- after all, I'm sitting right next to you.
I love you, Henrietta. I'm proud of you, of everything you've created and what we'll create together. Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, meine Liebling.
All mein Liebe,
Leroy
what every bee mother needs:
leroy hands over three boxes, each one carefully wrapped in honeycomb-printed paper and neatly tied with satin ribbons. he looks at henri before she opens her gifts and insists they aren't for immediate use (unless, of course, she prefers otherwise).
alexander mcqueen 2013 honeycomb booties
molly goddard mid-length nellie mesh dress
gucci sequin lingerie set
think of me:
vintage gold sun pendant locket
the locket contains a picture of henri and roy on the right, and a picture of roy on the left. roy pulls out his own locket- a ring of a matching design, that holds the same picture of henri and roy, but on the left is a picture of henri.
it calls:
roy is hyper aware that his affinity for rings - bulky novelty ones, especially - is his affinity and unique within his social circle. still... sometimes he can't help himself. he's given away more than he's kept, handing over gold gucci letter rings and ruby encrusted one of a kind pieces when he's in need of a tip, or a well-meaning thank you. the rings are a symbol of roy's somewhat warped and often not spoken of relationship with money- rings are an infinite resource, after all. there'll always be another. this one, however, reminds him of the first time he held henri's hand, it evokes the image of her nose ring and chain from the first day they met, he can hear the riff from her latest single and her gentle, breathy voice in his ears.
sterling silver sun and moon ring, signed sergio bustamante
songs about you:
this playlist is perhaps a bit cheesy and absolutely self indulgent, but it's been a long time in the making. it breaks the form of his playlists so far, as the tape is comprised entirely of roy's recordings - it's a mix of demos, poems, insane ramblings, and the occasional cameo from leon, jonas, or noah. it's a mixtape of songs about henri - some of the tunes are familiar, some haven't been heard before, and it's difficult to say exactly what time some of the recordings took place. it should also be noted that the tape is entirely in german. the tape plays as follows:
(side a) 1.pocahontas the first demo
2.pocahontas a lyrical reading roy's voice is clear as he mutters the lyrics to pocahontas to himself, arguing between two lines and comparing sounds - it becomes increasingly clear that he's deciding between names, counting syllables between pocahontas and henrietta. for better or for worse (it's for worse), he chooses the former 3.vocal interlude roy laughs, says: "oh, you knew that one already, didn't you?" 4.jeden morgen a lyrical reading roy reads the lyrics to one of his earliest songs - he sounds younger, not necessarily higher, but younger - more desperate, there's an aching in his voice as he repeats ich würd viel lieber von dir träumen over and over 5.jeden morgen the first demo in this version, leon provides a harmony on the chorus. they decided against it for their debut ep, something roy still regrets 6.vocal interlude roy's voice reads the first iteration of a chorus from spätsommerregen
(side b) 7.vocal interlude a conversation between leon and leroy their voices are distant and heated, occasionally there's a pause and the scratching of pen against paper can be heard. at one point leon can be heard saying very clearly: "du warst seit jahren nicht mehr mit ihr zusammen," 8.another vocal interlude, a chorus three brothers harmonizing: vielleicht, vielleicht - they hold a note, pause, one of them directs the trio to start again. in the distance, noah can be heard fiddling around on the drums 9.vielleicht vielleicht the first demo the vocals in this are frequently interrupted by joyful laughter and an echoing harmony provided by leon 10.marie the first recording (a mere 1:30 long), this is the only song that's dated: roy's voice can be heard saying the date in the first few seconds before the melody begins: "es ist... 17 juli 2015, und ich bin mir nicht sicher, ob dieses lied zum album passt." leon, jonas, and noah agree - marie remains incomplete until 2018 11.vocal interlude roy's voice can be heard: wo bist du? henri, wo bist du... 12.vocal interlude a short interlude, only five seconds long: und wurden wachgeküsst vom spätsommerregen... 13.marie the first demo roy can be heard laughing after the very first line, his vocals on this version are rougher than they've ever been - he cracks on the second chorus
