lover, be good to me

Content enough to have Kiada nuzzle back against his side now that she isn’t actively trying to make him combust, Fox absently lets a hand stray up to tuck a lock of her dark hair behind her ear. Relaxing into his seat and quite enjoying the soft murmur of other patrons around them, it’s a rarity, it feels, to just sit and be able to do this together. No upcoming hunt, no eating on the go while they’re in pursuit of some monster - and that’s when Kiada isn’t hunkered down in the Inner Quarter with her own work.

”I will have the rest of my life to work on handling you at that level,” he says with a sly smile, taking a sip of his ale as it arrives and considering something, for a second, before raising his eyebrows down at her. ”I’d like to take you to Torchline at Longheat, for our honeymoon,” he tells her. ”I’ll even suffer the skyship for it. The only caveat is that we’re not allowed to hunt anything that isn’t for fun, or think about work. Deal?”

welcome to the desecration, baby

we built you up and we'll tear you right down

KIADA

burn it into my collar, hollowed onto your wrist

Leaning into the hand that tucks the hair behind her ear, Kiada settles easily while they wait in the din of the dining area, listening to the low hum of chatter around them and the dulled rumble of thunder in the distance, finding for a brief moment in the quiet that if she’d told her younger version of herself that this was bliss, she’d likely think she’d gone insane. But here she is, the happiest she thinks she has been in some time after Fox had taken the news of Chuy better than she’d explained it.

His voice draws her attention, while she reaches for her sparky sunrise, taking a sip and finding that it’s some mixture of orange and raspberry with an additional citrus mix – likely lime – to try and pull it all together. Either way, it’s delicious after the events of the day. “Yeah, you will.” She hums confidently, even if the sentiment sits in her stomach like a warm array of electricity as it radiates through all of her extremities.

She isn’t expecting the next statement, though, and it’s evident in the way her iceberg gaze widens a fraction and her smile grows that much brighter. “Really?” She asks, mostly about suffering the skyship for it. “You can try those things I got you.” She tacks on before the idea really settles and her tail weaves a little behind her in the excitement and she straightens up a bit, still pressed into his side. “Deal, Fox.” She agrees almost immediately once it’s had a moment to settle. “That sounds amazing. I think one of the inns even has a honeymoon suite we could probably snag.” Maybe she could send a letter and reach out, seeing what all was available, given that it was coming up quite soon.

Just another though that sends those electric butterflies through her.

heaven knows i don't follow, but i believe in this

Already grinning, if for no other reason than because he’d known his suggestion would have this sort of a reaction, Fox nods. ”Yeah, really,” he confirms, laughing under his breath and leaning in to kiss her cheek as if he might steal the smile from her lips that way. ”I’ll take whatever you want me to try, but even if I just have to grin and bear it, we’re going.” And it’s decided, now - a deal, officially - and he lifts his mug of ale to clink it against her glass in a toast.

As for the plans when they get there, Fox takes another sip of his drink and sets it down before releasing Kiada at last, as if realising he’s in real danger of drawing her directly into his lap. ”Well, you leave it all to me,” he tells her, raising his eyebrows as if in challenge, since he knows how much Kia enjoys and is used to being in control. ”You’ve planned pretty much the entire wedding, so I’ll take care of this. All you need to do is show up.”

welcome to the desecration, baby

we built you up and we'll tear you right down

KIADA

burn it into my collar, hollowed onto your wrist

It’s a valiant attempt to steal her smile from her lips, but it’s completely unlucky as it only seems to broaden with his vow to take whatever even if they don’t work, just so they can take the trek. She’s practically beaming toward the end of it, her head nodding, the sparky sunrise clinking against his ale for the agreement.

“I think I can do that.” She hums, her tail curling around his leg with a light squeeze. All plans to reach out to the inns are dashed in favor for letting him manage this portion, imagining that if she doesn’t combust from the wedding itself that whatever he has planned would certainly fill her past the brim of feeling loved.

Leaning against him, their food arrives relatively quickly, and Kiada snags the fork to immediately dive in as if it were the first meal in months that she’s indulged in, uncaring for the way it steams and would burn anyone else. Humming a note of content, she tilts her head toward him. “Wanna try a bite?” She asks when she’s swallowed down at least two bites.

heaven knows i don't follow, but i believe in this

"Good," Fox says - and he'll worry about the intricacies of actually having to arrange it later. For now, it's enough to take something off Kiada's plate (even if it's something he'd introduced initially) and to ensure that, after all of the wedding planning, she'll have some rest and relaxation to look forward to in Longheat. Settling beside her and seeming content to keep her tail coiled around his leg, the hunter glances up as their food arrives, and it looks and smells twice as good as he'd expected.

Pausing with a forkful on the way to his mouth at Kia's suggestion, Fox can't help but bark out a laugh. "Kia," he says, his voice dropping low as if they are about to share a secret, "we ordered the same thing."

It doesn't stop him from trying hers, though.

And two ningo pot pies, a few ales and several cocktails later, Fox is more than happy to concede his enjoyment of the Sparkbird's Nest, allowing himself to be ferried up to their room for whatever his wife-to-be has planned next.

~FIN

welcome to the desecration, baby

we built you up and we'll tear you right down