Faceless onlookers muttered amongst themselves in the dark. Impatience, excitement and curiosity danced with their whispers.

They'd waited so long for something, anything, but the stars still hadn't arrived. Was there no hope? Would this story's ending be an eternal mystery? Some audience members couldn't bother to wait and find out. They'd left their seats before the show could return.

Others still anticipated a revival. Though they were on their last straw, something about these characters' stories held them on the edge of their seats.

Then there were those who couldn't take it anymore. They had better things to do, and twiddling their thumbs wasn't as fun a past time as you might think.

Behind the curtains hiding the stage from the onlookers, Kumo fumbled with his tie. He took deep breaths while squeezing his straw.

"Hey, how do I look?" he asked.

"Do you really have to ask?" Yuu chuckled, draping an arm around his other half. "You look great, because I look great."

"Ass." 

As Kumo huffed, a familiar mass of sand brushed his legs.

A smile broke through his scowl in seconds. "Suna...?"

"It's been awhile." Suna swirled around her partner, dosing him in golden warmth. "I've missed you so much."

The baku tried to compose himself, but he couldn't stop smiling. So he chose to squeeze Suna as hard as he could. Maybe if he held onto her, she wouldn't go away again. "I-I thought you wouldn't make it. How--"

"Anything's possible in this world." She watched him nuzzle his head into her body. "Even miracles, it seems."

Kumo only shook his head. Shivers travelled down his back. He kept his eyes shut tight, and teeth clenched. Yet short cries still managed to escape his mouth.

Suna wasn't having that. She slipped from his hold and solidified in front of him. His mouth kept twitching, as if everything he wanted to say was lodged in his throat.

If only she hadn't... No, there was no use dwelling on the past. Once she composed herself, she sighed. "Kumo, you mustn't cry. This is your big day, remember?"

"And mine. Don't leave me hanging out there, alright?" Yuu poked Kumo's redeemed cheeks, smiling.

Kumo sniffled, then nodded to them both. "I know, I know. I'm just so happy to see Susu again."

With that, they fixed up their attire. Kumo ran his hands down his black tuxedo, fluffed up his frilled shirt, then loosened his tie. They were right. Kumo didn't have time to dawdle. After Suna centered his top hat, the baku walked forward. 

"Wait! Who was supposed to be the host?" Kumo skirted to a stop, twisting his body to face the duo. 

Suna spoke up first. "I imagine no one would enjoy a pile of sand announcing the news. This type of thing requires charisma, and that is a trait I fortunately lack."

"Weren't you the host? That's why you're all dolled up, right?" A smirk then slid on Yuu's face. "Unless, you did this for-"

Suna swiftly shut him up.

"I only did this because I heard this was a formal event," Kumo hissed at Yuu. "But, I have a solution."

Yuu wiped the sand from his mouth, before mumbling something about stage fright and a certain nervous baku. But neither paid him any mind.

Instead, Kumo dug in his pocket and pulled out a golden coin. It had a bottle of ink engraved on one side, and a smile on the other. He then held it in front of them, stating, "We'll do a classic game of heads or tails."

"Where'd you get that from? We don't have coins like that." Yuu spent some time scrutinizing it.

He shrugged. "It was passed over to me by a friend. Minnie, I think? No, Fae... Maybe it was Lor-"

The curtains were parting. Light was finally filling the space. Hurry up, 'little baku.'

Kumo peeked behind him. From what he could see, the crowd was restless. "Fine, fine! Listen up, Yuu. If this lands on heads, I go. If it doesn't... we all go."

He didn't wait for a response before tossing it upwards. 

"You're wrong, Suna. It's not my big day, it's ours," he said, then looked towards the audience. "With more of these coins, maybe you can make the author's day too."

The crowd burst into applause. The show had returned, and at what perfect timing. Those who were tempted to leave settled back into their lukewarm seats. Everyone clapped until their palms stung a little, some expressing their excitement through yells.

"Settle down, everyone. Please," Suna urged, hovering above the boys. "We're back, and have a special announcement."

After a few moments, silence possessed the audience. 

Kumo cleared his throat and grabbed the microphone. "Hello, lovelies. We wanted to personally let you all know that we'll be back in business starting next week-ish. So stay tuned, alright?"

"Also, you may have noticed that yellow box next to the stage―" Yuu pointed to where he meant for emphasis. "We'd love it if you could throw your cash in there. Can go from a nickle to a dollar, anything's good."

Some audience members hastily reached for their bags. Before they could dig inside for their wallets, Yuu tut-tutted them.

He gave a grim shake of his head. "I didn't mean now! Save your dough for Inksgiving, that way you can get a bit of it back."

Yuu leaned towards the crowd with his hand behind his ear. "'What's that,' you ask? It's a uh," he paused to check his hand for notes, "cute event where you slather your favorite authors in ink. Oh, this sounds pretty kin―"

Kumo swiped the mic away. "Don't mind him. Basically it's a time to put all of your saved up coins in that yellow box. The catch is, 'coins' will be renamed 'ink' for... creative purposes, I guess? Dunno. Point is, keep your wallets shut until then."

"Although we won't stop you if you want to tip now, just be aware of this event. It'll be on November er," Yuu glanced at Kumo, who only shrugged. "―11th? I've gotta double-check that."

"That's all for now, folks!" Kumo grinned, then bowed. "Thanks again for coming, and we hope you enjoy the show."

After waving them goodbye, they walked backstage as the curtains closed.