i don't belong among the angels

stay your pretty eyes on course

"Frey certainly seems like one of the more forgiving deities," Niki says, feeling a strange sort of relief that Sunjata is only living this strange half-life for as long as he (presumably) chooses to. "And I suppose when you have a region to run and a business to take care of, there is never an ideal time for heartbreak." So in some ways maybe it's a blessing that the Heartless can't feel the loss of his engagement so keenly right now. Though that isn't to say it won't all come rushing back in when and if he does decide to breathe life back to the petrified thing in the box.

Sitting up a little and handing the box back as if just realising he's been clasping a hand over it, Niki surrenders it with the same sort of care as he would with any of his own creations, nodding quiet agreement about the particularly harsh Longheat. "I had not noticed until you said," he admits, "but I imagine it will be like walking into a sauna when we leave here."

Niki

I guess I never really faced my fears before

so is there any treason in the tricky little price I pay?

i can't open up to you

“They are.” Sunjata confirms with some relief – because at the very least Frey’s never punished him, let alone for something that wasn’t his fault in the first place. And sometimes, best intentions were only just that. But to hear that Niki acknowledges the weight sitting on his shoulders, puts it so eloquently that Sunjata realizes the way things just had a tendency to pile on even if you weren’t sure you could handle it. “It’s easer right now, honestly.” The way that losing Hotaru in the way he has didn’t hurt as much as losing Nate did – mostly because he can’t feel it.

Which keeps him on track for the region and the House of Midnight, and for that it’s at least a relief.

As the abandoned hands the box back, Sunjata takes it and holds it in his lap – his steel gaze dropping to it as his hand covers the space Niki’s injected the heat from his hand into it, warming it even further with his own placed over it. “Ugh, it will be. I could feel it from the door when I opened it.” His nose wrinkles with the thought, his gaze flitting up to look over at Niki with a boyish smile, lopsided with the scar that cuts through the muscle there. And if it weren’t for the dark bags under his eyes and the spread of a few grey hairs, he’d look ten years younger.

me and my friends are lonely

i always figured i'd be the one to die alone

SUNJATA

stay your pretty eyes on course

"Mm, I bet," Niki says. He's about to say something more - to offer advice even, but he promptly bites the inside of his cheek to stop himself. Not only is he comically inexperienced with anything close to a relationship, it would feel almost silly to think he might tell a demigod something he likely already knows.

Glancing up in time to catch Sunjata's smile, though - boyish and taking years off him if not for the silver in his hair and the circles beneath his eyes - Niki thinks perhaps he's wrong in his assumptions. And so before he can change his mind, he says, "Perhaps just do not let thing feeling easy get in the way of things feeling better." The words are low and quiet and almost hesitant, the necromancer offering a quick smile in return and promptly glancing away again.

"I will be staying in town for a few days," he says, trying for conversational again. "Hopefully the inn where I am has some suitable magic to keep the rooms cool."

Niki

I guess I never really faced my fears before

so is there any treason in the tricky little price I pay?

i can't open up to you

It’s sage advice, honestly, but at the point where Sunjata is at he does prefer the easy road. He won’t feel better about it – not for a long time. It’s been years since Nate passed and he still didn’t feel entirely better about it. The smile remains in spite of it though, taking note of the way Niki flashes that quick smile at him that lightens his face before he’s glancing away again.

He relaxes a bit further into the navy seat, looking away from Niki lest his gaze linger too long on him to watch Petronella now on her back, pretending as much as she can to be liquid. “Oh?” He asks to the information that he’ll be staying in town for a few days, and the mention of the inn with magic to keep the rooms cool. “The inn in New Haven? I think they all have abandoneds on staff to help keep everything cooler.” His nose scrunches slightly as he thinks about it. The town itself was still relatively new, so, it seemed likely they’d have prepared for that.

me and my friends are lonely

i always figured i'd be the one to die alone

SUNJATA

stay your pretty eyes on course

Feeling simultaneously better and worse to have been able to steer the conversation onto a different subject, Niki nods readily and follows Sunjata's gaze across to Petronella melting into the table, her assault on the lamp forgotten for now. "Yes, that one," he confirms of the inn at New Haven. "And that is a relief. Otherwise you may have found me hidden away in one of these rooms to get out of the heat."

Niki laughs before realising what he's said and what it might imply, the necromancer hurriedly clearing his throat and shifting to grab his cane. "Thank you for inviting me up to see the place," he says, slowly getting himself back on his feet. "I should not keep you from your work, though. The ice may be melting and I am sure your staff will be looking for you to save the day, no?"

Niki

I guess I never really faced my fears before

so is there any treason in the tricky little price I pay?

i can't open up to you

He chuckles lightly as he, too, watches Petronella continue to do her best impression of a limp noodle on the table. “Well, if you ever want a reason to get away from the day to day, all you’ve gotta do is ask.” He answers swiftly – thinking little of the reasoning that Niki might think he means it by. That was the best thing about his brothel in his opinion. The rooms could pretty much be used for anything – not necessarily only sex. It was part of the draw of it.

Ah, but then Niki’s moving and Sunjata perks up to look over at him with ease in his shoulders – no tension now that they’ve talked since the previous blunder, and he’s fairly confident he won’t be making that again. “You’re welcome.” He says, waiting until Niki gets to his feet before he stands. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” He admits, rolling his shoulders out and tilting his head to crack his neck with an audible pop! before he’s reaching out to snag the box and Petronella who curls up and around his neck to promptly fall back asleep.

“Thanks for coming by and bringing me the candle holder. It was really good to see you.” This part edges a little too close to honesty, though, and he heads for the door to open it before Niki reaches it so it’s less of walking into a sauna with the brief breezes of warmth. “Maybe I’ll see you in New Haven before you go.” He flashes him an easier smile as he hangs by the door.

me and my friends are lonely

i always figured i'd be the one to die alone

SUNJATA

stay your pretty eyes on course

"I will keep that in mind," Niki says with a small smile; Sunjata has clarified enough times now that he doesn't immediately assume the Heartless means for him to use the House of Midnight as typically intended, but his manners will still prevent him from asking such a thing outright, no matter what he's been told. "No rest for the wicked, eh?" He chuckles as the other man agrees, his expression softening into gratitude when Sunjata heads for the door to open it for him.

"It was good to see you as well. You will have to tell me if it turned out the way you hoped it would," he says of the candleholder still in its wrapping, and though he wrinkles his nose a bit to reach the doorway and the heat rolling out from it, it's less of an assault than if he had simply opened the door and walked into a Longheat wall.

"Maybe so," Niki agrees of New Haven, stepping past Sunjata at last to be on his way. "Until next time, then."

~FIN

Niki

I guess I never really faced my fears before