[Oh. Oh, geez, he's blushing again. You'd think it might be silly to get embarrassed over your boyfriend knowing you like to read this kind of stuff when your boyfriend also knows what you like to get off to, but hey, go figure.]
Uh-- Wow.
[He checks the blurb on the back cover. These monster romance novels... He may have peeked into one or two back home, before the day he found out monsters were very real. Now they kind of... feel different, huh? Now he gets to put himself in the monster's shoes.
He realises that maybe he's been quiet for just a little too long, so he takes his eyes off the book and smiles at Fiddleford.]
It's lovely. Thanks. I'll, ah... I'll let you know how it goes. If... that's something you might be interested in.
[That blush is a good sign, he thinks. It means things aren't too odd between them even after the events of the previous couple of weeks, which is good. They're resilient. It's one of their best qualities, always has been.]
Oh, sure, I'd like that.
[Romance novels aren't exactly his genre but they're a thing he could share with Marco, certainly. Couples ought to have things like that, he thinks. It's nice. Normal.]
Here, c'mon, sit down. [He pats his tail with one hand in what he hopes is an inviting sort of way.] Sorry, I don't mean to be takin' up the whole couch but y'know it's hard not to.
[He's not even kidding. Marco sits down, and he can't help thinking back to that one conversation they had - the one about making the best out of Monster Things, and owning them, and all that. That was a nice talk. One he's been struggling to keep in mind in the face of some recent events, but still nice.]
I'm sorry. [He leans against Fiddleford's torso.] I've had a lot on my mind lately.
[In his defense, there's always so much going on. He knows how hard it is for Marco to relax, to really and truly put his worries aside. He knows that when Marco says that, despite how often he says it, he really does mean it every time.
He wraps an arm around Marco's shoulders, leaning his cheek comfortably against Marco's hair. It's a little different hugging up on him with the wings and all to deal with but he manages well enough. He wouldn't let a change in form stop him from holding Marco Evangelisti.]
Don't be sorry, hon. I understand. It's been... there's been a lot goin' on. Feels like there's always a lot goin' on. I just wish that didn't make it so difficult to finagle havin' a little while to ourselves more than once in a blue moon.
[Marco takes a deep breath. It's true that relaxing doesn't come easy to him, but Fiddleford helps. His presence, his touch, his whole... Fiddlefordness.
If there's one particular distressing thought Marco has gotten good at blocking for his own sake, it's "what if the Fog God takes him away one day?"]
It would be nice if it all stopped. If we just... finally achieved something. Something more than an obelisk that just got people mad at us anyway.
Aw, now. That was still achievin' somethin', wasn't it? Don't you sell yourself short, Marco. We did good with that. Folks are always goin' to be mad about somethin'.
[He kisses Marco's temple softly. His tongue flicks against the skin there as he pulls back, an affectionate-if-snaky gesture. The way Marco smells now is especially nice. Marco's always tasted good to him but now, as a nephilim, he's even more attractive to the part of Fiddleford that parses everything by how it smells.]
It's why one of us has to remember things like this, right? To balance it out.
[He doesn't mind it being him. He knows that out of the two of them he's the less scatterbrained, which is a new situation for him in all honesty.]
[Marco hums at the kiss, closing his eyes for a brief moment of peace. As it fades, though, his face takes on a somber look.]
It didn't really do much good in the long run. I suppose the thought was-- It was a good thought, but it didn't work out. She's still doing her thing, her things.
But it was a sign. It was showin' we weren't goin' to take it lyin' down, that we would fight back if we could. That's still important.
[He regrets a lot about what happened wit the Obelisk. He regrets that it didn't make a bigger dent, that it set those spirits loose on people who didn't deserve it, that Gregory 2 wasn't salvageable. But he still considers it a net gain because he has to. He needs it.]
And it got us these, didn't it?
[He holds up his left hand, where the circuit ring marking glows bright against his skin.]
That's true. [He smiles fondly; it's hard to argue with that. Of course, this isn't about priesthood - as helpful as its boons can be - but about a symbol of their bond. It's kind of cute, every time he thinks about it: the image of Elias putting on a little pretend wedding for them...
He isn't quite bold enough to suggest it right now, but sometimes he finds himself hoping they get themselves a real pair of rings - and not just because they would look very pretty.]
[Fiddleford would be lying if he said he hadn't thought about the very same thing. Moving in with Marco, in his mind, was as good as a declaration of intent to marry the man eventually. They just... well, they just need to find the right time, and it's so hard to find the right time for anything in Ryslig.]
Me too. Honestly just havin' you here with me still is enough of a present. You don't have to worry about one.
[Wouldn't that be grand? The Ryslig Peninsula, saved. Everyone, freed. Himself, redeemed. He couldn't say he did it for Fiddleford, sure, but he could say he couldn't have done it without him, because it's true.
Happiness and freedom are so close. So close.
He gives Fiddleford an affectionate kiss on the cheek.]
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Uh-- Wow.
[He checks the blurb on the back cover. These monster romance novels... He may have peeked into one or two back home, before the day he found out monsters were very real. Now they kind of... feel different, huh? Now he gets to put himself in the monster's shoes.
He realises that maybe he's been quiet for just a little too long, so he takes his eyes off the book and smiles at Fiddleford.]
It's lovely. Thanks. I'll, ah... I'll let you know how it goes. If... that's something you might be interested in.
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Oh, sure, I'd like that.
[Romance novels aren't exactly his genre but they're a thing he could share with Marco, certainly. Couples ought to have things like that, he thinks. It's nice. Normal.]
Here, c'mon, sit down. [He pats his tail with one hand in what he hopes is an inviting sort of way.] Sorry, I don't mean to be takin' up the whole couch but y'know it's hard not to.
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[He's not even kidding. Marco sits down, and he can't help thinking back to that one conversation they had - the one about making the best out of Monster Things, and owning them, and all that. That was a nice talk. One he's been struggling to keep in mind in the face of some recent events, but still nice.]
I'm sorry. [He leans against Fiddleford's torso.] I've had a lot on my mind lately.
[... It feels like he says that every time.]
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He wraps an arm around Marco's shoulders, leaning his cheek comfortably against Marco's hair. It's a little different hugging up on him with the wings and all to deal with but he manages well enough. He wouldn't let a change in form stop him from holding Marco Evangelisti.]
Don't be sorry, hon. I understand. It's been... there's been a lot goin' on. Feels like there's always a lot goin' on. I just wish that didn't make it so difficult to finagle havin' a little while to ourselves more than once in a blue moon.
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If there's one particular distressing thought Marco has gotten good at blocking for his own sake, it's "what if the Fog God takes him away one day?"]
It would be nice if it all stopped. If we just... finally achieved something. Something more than an obelisk that just got people mad at us anyway.
no subject
[He kisses Marco's temple softly. His tongue flicks against the skin there as he pulls back, an affectionate-if-snaky gesture. The way Marco smells now is especially nice. Marco's always tasted good to him but now, as a nephilim, he's even more attractive to the part of Fiddleford that parses everything by how it smells.]
It's why one of us has to remember things like this, right? To balance it out.
[He doesn't mind it being him. He knows that out of the two of them he's the less scatterbrained, which is a new situation for him in all honesty.]
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It didn't really do much good in the long run. I suppose the thought was-- It was a good thought, but it didn't work out. She's still doing her thing, her things.
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[He regrets a lot about what happened wit the Obelisk. He regrets that it didn't make a bigger dent, that it set those spirits loose on people who didn't deserve it, that Gregory 2 wasn't salvageable. But he still considers it a net gain because he has to. He needs it.]
And it got us these, didn't it?
[He holds up his left hand, where the circuit ring marking glows bright against his skin.]
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He isn't quite bold enough to suggest it right now, but sometimes he finds himself hoping they get themselves a real pair of rings - and not just because they would look very pretty.]
... I'm glad we're doing this together.
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Me too. Honestly just havin' you here with me still is enough of a present. You don't have to worry about one.
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[Wouldn't that be grand? The Ryslig Peninsula, saved. Everyone, freed.
Himself, redeemed.He couldn't say he did it for Fiddleford, sure, but he could say he couldn't have done it without him, because it's true.Happiness and freedom are so close. So close.
He gives Fiddleford an affectionate kiss on the cheek.]
Thanks, honey.