waiting for your return

I thought you said forever over and over

In the end, it was simple: Maea loved her house, and Liam loved Maea, and the where mattered substantially less to him than the who. So he smiled down at her, chuckling softly, and there was no hesitation in his reply. "I want to be where you are," he told her simply. But then, because he knew she would want more than that, he added: "This cottage was a good place to live, for a time - but it will always be the place I ran away to in search of solitude. Your treehouse has history, and you've made it more of a home than this will ever be to me. So... yes, I would live there with you. Unless you wanted to build something new?" He quirked a brow at her, turning the question back onto her. If she wanted something new, they could build it together. But if her treehouse was home... well, certainly they could make it into something to share.

The thought of living with Maea warmed him more than the bath ever could. It wasn't that it would be so very different from the life they lived now (rarely separated as they were), but to be officially a part of her space felt so much more permanent, just one more step in building a life together that they could love and appreciate. Running his thumb across her knuckles, he raised their intertwined hands to press a kiss to hers. "I don't know," he mused. "I think... it's less about what's in the house - although a giant tub is now a requirement - and more about the feeling of the house? Ideally, it would be a mixture of both of us. Our things, but also our... vibes, I guess." Not, perhaps, the answer that she wanted, but it was the only one he had to offer. "It would be easier to show you." An invitation, perhaps, or simply a statement - but either way, something he hoped to do sooner or later.

A sleepless night becomes bitter oblivion

Liam

Sing to me, I am not doing well
Getting tired of my own words

Tracing patterns of soap and water across his knee while she listened, Maea nodded occasionally but didn't interrupt. Liam's voice rumbled pleasantly close to the shell of her ear, and she enjoyed hearing his thoughts put into words. It happened rarely enough to feel special, compelling her to pay attention. What she heard drew a soundless breath across her lips, of giddy anticipation. Together. Every time they reaffirmed the miracle of their togetherness, the more real it felt. Irrevocable, impossible to back out of even if she had wanted to. Perhaps she was a bit odd for enjoying the notion of being shackled to this man so much, but she did. It was a trap she'd walked into of her own accord, honey-sweet and sumptuous - too good to be true, yet too real to be illusion or dream. If she ever lost Liam... no, she couldn't even imagine it.

"Then show me," she murmured softly, angling her head back until she could brush her lips across the stubble upon his jaw. "The spare key lies in the hollow of the tree beneath the stairs... My home is yours; make with it what you will, at your own pace." If that meant moving in tomorrow or spending the next five years shifting items over mattered little. "Building something new... might be interesting, some day. But right now, I just want something that's easy, steady and uncomplicated." Something with roots deep enough to stay standing, that could show her how to settle her traveling feet and stop running. The Treehouse embodied all that, just like Liam did. To have both - gods, was she really allowed to have both?

Sing to me, cause I can't hear myself
through the loudness of my own hurts

base inspired by Odd <3

I thought you said forever over and over

Then show me, Maea murmured, brushing a kiss against Liam's jaw and raising goosebumps on his skin. But before he could ask what she meant, or if she was certain, she was continuing on, and his grip on her hand tightened almost imperceptibly as her meaning began to sink in. Moving in together had been something that he'd considered, of course, as a someday kind of thing, the sort of irreversible decision that he would never pressure her to consider. And yet, here she was, offering it willingly, just as she'd offered herself and her love.

His voice, when he spoke, was rough with sudden emotion. "We can start tomorrow," he declared, brushing his lips against her temple. It didn't need to be a huge thing - he didn't need that much to live, after all, so arranging a moving day seemed like overkill. Instead, he could move over this and that, a little at a time, until Maea's space became their space. And until that time, he'd at least be sleeping in her bed every night and waking up to her each morning. And that was more than enough for him. But for tonight, plans for the future could wait. He could think of several other activities he would rather be doing - and besides that, they probably both needed some rest.

A sleepless night becomes bitter oblivion

Liam

Sing to me, I am not doing well
Getting tired of my own words

"Tomorrow it is." Shoving down the dregs of anxiety that inevitably reared its ugly head whenever she made these kinds of life altering decisions, Maea closed her eyes, trying instead to picture it; Liam moving about the Treehouse with the ease of one who belonged, as intrinsically as the facade or a shingle of the roof. It wasn't hard to do; if he'd ever been awkward in her space it hadn't shown, and as far as she was concerned, he'd ceased being a stranger a long time ago. If she was nervous now, it was only because she'd gained another treasure that needed defending. Something else she could lose, a strength and a weakness wrapped neatly into the shape of a golden-haired man who, for some inexplicable reason, had chosen her above all the beautiful women of this world.

Drunk on a joy that banished all else,  she twisted around in Liam's arms and slid milky white arms around his neck, and kissed him slowly, savoring the soft warmth of his lips. If the bath was doing wonders to relax her body, then he was soothing her frazzled mind, steadying her and reaffirming that she had indeed, finally, definitely returned home. After too many close calls, too many brash and thoughtless actions, and a brush with near death as a result, it was a much needed return to safety - one she had no intention of squandering again.
"To think it's already been a year..." Letting out a quiet breath, Maea nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck. "I don't think I want to go anywhere else this Deepfrost. I'll just stay here.."

Sing to me, cause I can't hear myself
through the loudness of my own hurts

base inspired by Odd <3

I thought you said forever over and over

As Maea shifted in his arms, Liam relaxed his grip to make it easier for her to twist around, rewarded by the slow, sweet kiss she offered. He hummed a happy sigh against her lips, wrapping his arms around her waist once more to keep her close. For not the first time, he wondered how he had gotten so fortunate as to have been offered another chance at happiness - but a sudden bout of anxiety had his chest tightening uncomfortably. He'd made promise after promise to Maea: to stay, to live, to be hers... and while he'd meant them all, hadn't he very nearly lost her? His infection might have become a problem had the Family not left or had Maea not cured him. Any number of things could have gone so slightly differently to yield an entirely different result than this shared bath.

And while he could compartmentalize those feelings - for now - he knew they would return sooner or later. He only hoped he was ready when they did.

But for now - he was moving in, and their happiness seemed assured. Liam traced idle designs upon Maea's bare back, his fingertips leaving damp trails in their wake. "You can, you know," he murmured in response. "Well, maybe not here, here. I happen to think that a nice, warm bed might make a better resting spot than the tub." He chuckled, then sobered. "But to stay close to home... it might be nice, after everything that's happened."

A sleepless night becomes bitter oblivion

Liam

Sing to me, I am not doing well
Getting tired of my own words

Her own worries had dissolved under the might of soap, hot water and her lover's arms and left Maea languishing in a state of much needed peace. A soft giggle slipped from her in response to his wit, and she smiled against his neck, not entirely opposed to fusing with him and the tub both. "Very tempting...  but yes, the bed is probably better in the long run. It's decided then; let's just hibernate all winter. I honestly can't remember when I stayed in one place that long..."

Sinking into her own thoughts, it was a long time before she stirred again. Only when the water began to cool and soapy suds began to make her scalp itch did she reluctantly peel away from Liam to rinse off. Pouring clean water over her head, the dribbling liquid that splashed back into the tub carried the sound of comfortable, familiar things, erasing any flashes of a Torchline fountain or blood or desperate blue eyes still harboring a rage she didn't know how to quell. Again, and again she poured water over herself, an ablution and penance and purification that left her clean, and whole, and utterly exhausted by the time she was satisfied. Wordlessly she climbed out of the tub, reached for the towels and offered one to Liam before snuggling into the other; stifling a yawn forceful enough to make her jaw creak.

Sing to me, cause I can't hear myself
through the loudness of my own hurts

base inspired by Odd <3

I thought you said forever over and over

Despite the unease that lingered in the back of his mind, Liam allowed himself to sink into the contentedness that permeated the scant space between them. He hummed his agreement with Maea's sentiments - staying home through the coming winter seemed like a prudent course of action - but fell otherwise silent until the Ancient stirred. He tried to stay out of her way as she rinsed herself again and again, as though she could scour any traces of what had transpired in recent weeks from her skin.

When she finally climbed from the water, droplets beading on her naked body and dripping onto the rug beside the tub, Liam watched her with clear admiration. It always amazed him that someone so beautiful could have chosen him, and he might have taken the opportunity to show Maea just how grateful he was had she not stifled a yawn. Remembering that she must be exhausted, he stood, accepted the towel, and started to dry off. In truth, he, too, could use some rest: he hadn't been sleeping well without his lover by his side, and the events of the day had taken their toll.

Once he was mostly dry, he wrapped the towel around his waist, then took Maea's hand. "I brought an extra shirt for you," he told her, gesturing to the counter, where a simple t-shirt waited. "It'll be huge on you, but it's something until we can get you home tomorrow." Or perhaps he should have said until they went home tomorrow, since he had agreed to move in. That was going to take some getting used to.

In the end, it took very little time or effort to get them both into Liam's bed, where he curled up with Maea in his arms. Despite his exhaustion, he waited until Maea's breathing had shifted to the steady rhythm of sleep before drifting off himself, if only to reassure himself once more that she was here, alive, and whole.

fin

A sleepless night becomes bitter oblivion

Liam