bottom of the deep blue sea

you should know, that i'm a ticking time bomb

and you're getting close

He exhales another short breath at her reasoning, as she quiets and shuts down and reignites to start the flame and fire of the arguments again and again. But fine, if she wants to play it that way, fine. He steps away, to the window sill, taking another short breath as she questions him how she wouldn’t be happy with it, how she’d get all she wanted out of it provided the once concession is met.

And he’s left with nothing of what he’s asked, giving everything to her once again.

“We’ll see when it’s not sunshine and rainbows.” He leans onto the windowsill briefly, steel gaze dark as his frustration continues to spurn within him. “But fine, I accept your terms.” It’s almost a hiss, and he breaks his gaze from looking outside the window to turn his head away and cough, that deep crackling rasp to a sound within his lungs that Nate has diagnosed, kept under wraps the best he can until now — until this.

When he finally manages to attain some breath back, he remains pressed by the window sill before he looks over to her. “Pick a date.” He tells her simply, while he figures out where to go to get rings made — while he curses himself for his stubbornness.

so better watch your step, because i'm about to blow

and where the pieces land i guess we'll never know

SuNJATA

Phoebe

I've been very hopeful so far
Now for the first time I think we're going wrong
Hurry up and tell me this is all a dream
Or could we start again, please?

He could be resentful that once again he has given her all she asked for, without any of his terms in place. It had been as she said: you didn’t get terms when you offered whatever someone else wanted. Perhaps this would teach him to be so careless with his words. And as he accepts the agreement, she realized she should be happy. Overjoyed. She was getting married finally, just as she had wanted. But all that consumes her is dread, as though she hammered in the nails to her own coffin.

”Pick a date.” Simple enough.

”Three days from now.” she said softly, eyes moving to stare into the fireplace.

you should know, that i'm a ticking time bomb

and you're getting close

Simple enough indeed, until she complicates it and gives him three days. Three days to back out, before being chained to her under her terms, giving her everything and him getting nothing in return? He hisses under his breath and shakes his head, turning to face her again. “That’s barely enough time to get the rings? And who’s going to officiate it?” His frustration is evident, tips of his fingers curling into dark claws as he balls his hands.

“Whatever. Fine.” Another raspy hiss as he runs those clawed hands through his hair. “I’ll figure it out.”

so better watch your step, because i'm about to blow

and where the pieces land i guess we'll never know

SuNJATA

Phoebe I know I am good at something, I just haven't found it yet Phoebe simply shrugged as he began to protest. Clearly she was unperturbed by it. Quick. Simple. That was all they needed – just enough to get the job done. Sure, she had extensive plans of a big, beautiful, romantic wedding; the sort of wedding she had dreamed about since she was a little girl. But those dreams were as dead as the love between her and her betrothed. But he gave in as quickly as he protested and that was the end of that. ”I can take care of most of the plans. Just get rings and show up.” she said softly. Certainly that would have to help, if she took on the burden of the majority of the planning, given she had made the timeline.

you should know, that i'm a ticking time bomb

and you're getting close

Of course he protests, of course he’s frustrated by the way the events have turned. But he’s stubborn, sick, unfortunately sober as can be — and he has to figure out how to get everything else done within the timeline she sets. Fine. Fine indeed. Exhaling his short breath he looks to her — feeling nothing but frustration and anger roiling within him.

“Fine.” He finally says after a moment, voice hoarse as he shakes his head and moves to approach her, to get in her space as he places one arm on the desk and his body before her — he leans down enough to try and capture her gaze, those clawed fingers rising to run gently against her jawline to lift her head to look at him. “Do not for one second, tell me I’ve never done anything for you.”

so better watch your step, because i'm about to blow

and where the pieces land i guess we'll never know

SuNJATA

Phoebe I know I am good at something, I just haven't found it yet His movements were predatory, threatening dangerous – truly dangerous because what could she do to act against him? Nothing. Truly nothing. And yet his actions failed to rouse anything in her. Honeyed eyes looked up at him, wide but empty. No fear. No remorse. No sorrow. Nothing. As devilish as he was with horns and claws, she could not muster a single proper emotion to suit the situation. ”I will put it in my vows.” she said, a bit dryly, unmoving as his claws scratched at the skin beneath her jaw. But in the three days leading up to the wedding? In the time when he still had a chance to back out and run? Well…she wouldn’t say anything about what she would or wouldn’t accuse him of in that time.

you should know, that i'm a ticking time bomb

and you're getting close

It gets no reaction, though he supposed he shouldn’t have expected one. Not as his gaze lingers along her honey brown eyes, hollow and dark like his own. His fingers curl beneath her jaw, edges of claws lightly scratching against the soft part of skin between. “Good.” He rumbles, withdrawing after a moment to glance at the light filtering through the window. “I’ll get started then.” He huffs, moving away from her and the room to go and get the rings, leaving with little more than how he arrived.

—-

A few hours later he ends up returning, a box in his hand, frustrating relevant on his face and in his bones. His own boxes, the wedding ring and his own remain in his pocket, but the engagement ring is placed in the box in his hand that he tosses onto the surface of the desk she’d been working at. It’s gold, with vibrant pink flower petals laced within, but nothing overdone and nothing special. Just something in the means of Frey not coming down to smite him.

“There. Should fit.” And if it didn’t? Well, Deimos had made it. He’s sure the man could shrink it down or make it bigger if it didn’t.

so better watch your step, because i'm about to blow

and where the pieces land i guess we'll never know

SuNJATA

Phoebe I know I am good at something, I just haven't found it yet When Jata returned, Phoebe was surprisingly no longer at her worktable. It had been thoroughly cleaned, and the prepped medicines carefully packaged. Instead, the clinic smelled sweet and fresh, a clear sign that she had been baking of all things. As depressed as Phoebe was, she still recognized the sacrifice Jata was begrudgingly making. That he was going through the effort to even get rings gave her motivation to do something kind (albeit small) in return. As the ring box slid to a stop on the table she appeared with a plate of lemon bars – his favorite, which she remembered clearly. ”These are for you.” she said softly, before picking up the box to examine the ring. ”It’s pretty.” she said, after a moment, placing it on her finger. Fortunately it did fit so they didn’t need to fuss with that.

you should know, that i'm a ticking time bomb

and you're getting close

She’s not there at the work table, but he honestly doesn’t care where she is. She can find it later, try it on, come find him if it doesn’t work. But she rounds the corner from the kitchen with a plate in her hands and sets it along the work table, and a part of him continues to roil as he looks to them. “I guess since we’re getting married, now’s probably a good time to mention that lemon bars aren’t my favorite.” He rumbles, not inching closer, instead he folds his muscles arms along his chest, horned head following her as she tries the ring on.

He almost sighs of relief when it fits fine, and he nods something curt and short. “I have the other and mine, so don’t bother with those. Figure the rest of it out.” He tells her, jaw clenching slightly as he tries to figure out how the hell he’d gotten into this mess, how he’s stuck here moving forward, how Lusea is probably laughing somewhere about how much he deserves it. His own father too, more than likely.

so better watch your step, because i'm about to blow

and where the pieces land i guess we'll never know

SuNJATA

Phoebe I know I am good at something, I just haven't found it yet Her head tilted slightly at him, eyes raising from the glittering pink stone in her ring, which felt odd on her hand. ”Then…what is your favorite?” she asked. Why had he told her they were when they weren’t? She would have made him something he would have liked if she had known – and she still would more than likely if he told her what it was he preferred. Despite her coldness with him, she didn’t hate him. She didn’t really want him to suffer. But to suffer alone was painstaking, to suffer together was bearable. At least, to her it was. Phoebe’s eyes fell back to the ring on her hand. ”I will.” she said, knowing already that the rest of the plans would fall to her. ”I…didn’t expect you to get something so nice.” she admitted quietly.

you should know, that i'm a ticking time bomb

and you're getting close

She asks him what his favorite is, and he takes a moment to let a slight curve of a smirk cross his face. “You’ll have to find out, but it’s seasonal.” Perhaps it’s his own way of being a dick, about how much they know about one another. He picks a fleck of dust from his arm before his gaze finds her again. “Grows around my birthday.” He offers. Lemon bars were good, but they weren’t his favorite. Perhaps she’d learn.

The mention of not expecting it to be nice has a rough laugh leaving him, enough that it crackles his lungs and he takes a second to recover before charging on. “Yeah well, I’m not exactly Frey’s favorite now am I? Not after Safrin attuned me.” He rumbles, sure that Frey would have enjoyed it. But he had enjoyed it very much from his own goddess, and with it he chooses to keep out of the limelight of Frey. “Better to be on the safe side.” He shrugs.

so better watch your step, because i'm about to blow

and where the pieces land i guess we'll never know

SuNJATA

Phoebe I know I am good at something, I just haven't found it yet Her brows knit together. A guessing game then, huh? Well, he was talking to someone with extensive knowledge of herbs, used to foraging around for them. It couldn’t be too hard to guess what he liked to eat based on his clue. Something that grew in Leafchange…”Pumpkin? Apple?” she said, guessing the most obvious ones off the bat. Though his reasoning not being Frey’s favorite finally elicited a real reaction. A short, mirthless laugh escaped her lips. ”I doubt Frey cares about that. If anything they will like you more for being attuned at all.” she said, shrugging a bit. But something did make her healer’s mind pause a moment. ”Why is your breathing crackly?” she asked. Did he just need to clear his throat or was something else going on?

you should know, that i'm a ticking time bomb

and you're getting close

Shaking his head to her at her guesses, he lets his gaze flicker along her face before he looks back to the cleaned work table. “Not either of those.” He manages to say, waiting for a brief moment to see if she continues guessing — wondering how long it would take for her to guess it right. But the conversation shifts and his gaze lifts to her again when she laughs, some deep part of him recoiling at the sound.

“I’d rather not press my luck.” He answers honestly, thinking of a hundred reasons as to why before her question cuts him off. Of course she’d notice it, she’d notice it more after the wedding, she’s sure. “Prolonged issues from Fiat Lux.” He waves a hand offhandedly; that they had it covered, that her own healer had it covered. “It’s fine.” He huffs a crackling sigh. And even if it isn’t? Well she could be a widow then, instead of a mournful girlfriend in the end.

so better watch your step, because i'm about to blow

and where the pieces land i guess we'll never know

SuNJATA

Phoebe I know I am good at something, I just haven't found it yet Hm. Alright then apparently his tastes were more obscure. ”Blueberry? Blackberry?” she said, going down a different flavor path in hopes she was right. But of course, there were more pressing things at hand. Prolonged issues from Fiat Lux? Now she scowled, the first expression she had made throughout this conversation. ”Like what exactly?” she asked wracking her brain for what could possibly cause that crackly voice in his breath. Discussing his health seemed to bring some spark out of her – it touched on a purpose and calling that forced her to focus. She couldn’t despair when the health of others was on the line.