til he was livin' lavish

flora

Flora rolls her eyes with exaggerated affection, the movement broad and dramatic, her smile never once leaving her face. There is something so openly joyful about the way they fit together now, about the ease of it, that it makes her chest feel warm and light all at once, especially when she remembers how much sharper their edges used to be, how stilted their affections for one another. Seeing them like this, settled and glowing, feels like a small miracle she gets to witness from the front row.

At the unanimous agreement on karaoke, her delight turns incandescent. She claps her hands together, sharp and gleeful, before leaning back with a laugh that rings out across the terrace. "Perrrf." Danta’s suggestion has her laughing again, softer this time, her grin tipping sideways as she shakes her head. "I meeeaaan, you’ve definitely heard me sing," she says lightly, unabashed and amused. "Kai, though?" A playful hum escapes her as she considers it. "Kai sings very enthusiastically," Flora adds, warmth threaded through the words, fond and fondly exasperated all at once. "He’s excellent at sing-alongs or like, the talking parts." A pause, her smile sharpening just a touch; probably she would just do the singing, with Kai doing the introduction.

The laughter eases into something gentler as she exhales, content, her gaze lifting back to them both. "Soooo," Flora asks, tone curious and easy, "when are you two planning on heading back?"

The rumors are terrible and cruel
But honey, most of them are true

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

// nothing is as simple, I worship, you're my temple //

The obviously that Danta tacks on makes it absolutely necessary, a mental note made and kept for the butcher to add to the festivities when they do decide to settle in and make plans. That doesn’t mean that the butcher won’t do some research and take some inspiration he can throw at Danta later, but for now, at least having one thing to add is a win in his book as his fingers tap lightly against his lover’s side, leaning a little more into his touch as he watches the happiness spread on Flora’s face like it could one day become a contagious disease.

He waits for the answer of whether or not Kaisel can sing – not having much to add given that everyone in this little circle here knows the butcher can serenade the best of them, but his lips quirk in silent amusement of having yet something else he could tease the accepted about (wondering if perhaps Flora’s talk with him had been reaming enough that Asta doesn’t need to ask him about the conversation he and Danta had had weeks ago). Though, perhaps he’d ask him anyway just to see what his explanation is.

As for when they’re heading back, the butcher’s head tits slightly as he grins his shark-tooth smile over at her. “In a few hours. We have a cockatrice to slay.” He bounces his brows playfully before the dramaticism gets to him and he sighs softly. “Thank you for indulging us for our annual vacation, darling. It is absolutely one to remember.” He seems softer somehow in the sunlight, the truth underlaying the dramatics with an ease only offered to the two people standing here.

Astaroth

// and heaven, hold your gates open, all the hell we've been through //

// but i'm weak, and what's wrong with that? //

With Flora there to witness their unabashed happiness - arguably the first real witness to it, from secretive admissions all the way up to the ring sparkling on Danta's finger - he finds himself smiling at her; a real smile, soft and unguarded, open to celebration and joy in a way he'd never been growing up. "Kai does everything enthusiastically," he points out through a chuckle, though he agrees that it likely doesn't say much for the other man's actual singing skills.

"Either way, I look forward to your duet, however it comes out." For his part, he plans on being very merry at the bare minimum by that point anyway, and even a riot of hels calling would likely sound sonorous to his ears.

Leaning further into Asta's side, the Maverick glances up at him as he explains their plans for the day (and their subsequent departure from Torchline). "Probably our most memorable, if I had to rank them," he agrees. "Don't miss us too much, though. We'll be back before you know it, and you know you're always welcome to visit."

And in the meantime, they aren't leaving for a few hours yet. Plenty of time for gossip and brunch and a even a mimosa or five, if they play their cards right.

Danta certainly plans to.

~FIN

Dantalion

// boy oh boy I love it when I fall for that //