Going on a Living Spree

- NATE -

I don’t want a world
Without pain or loss

Nothing had changed, not really. Nate didn't feel any different, didn't feel any pain. The blackness on one side was still a struggle, his quick reflexes and other enhanced senses were helping to pick up the slack. But he'd walked himself back home, after the night in the Slagveld, still wandered around the house, when it was dark and late. Still laid in bed, in Sunjata's arms, aching to sleep, just for a little bit.

Everything had changed, so much. Every day was going through the motions, repeating the actions to some dance he had lined out in his head, a play at normalcy. He'd stopped trying to fiddle with things, objects slipping from between his fingers far more often than they ever had before. He had to stop trying to cook, both for the little nicks that marred his fingers, and the panic he'd had the first time he'd missed the pan, gotten too close to the heat.

There was still the hint of the sun on the horizon, over the ocean, a sliver of gold that Nate stared into from where he sat, in the corner of the porch, hidden from view by the branches of wisteria, the few leaves and flowers still clinging on despite the deepfrost chill. Haai sits at his side, a near constant presence, while Pemota lingers around his head, a circling crown of starlight and static. She kept some of the darkness away, but not the buzzing in his head, a kind of vacant distance, as his fingers crept up along his cheek, pressing at the edges of the bandage that still covered most of his face. That was another little mar, the spot healing, quickly, for the first few days, but then not at all, an ugly, jagged crevasse over his features.

He wonders absently what Sunjata was doing, where in the house he was lingering. If maybe, he should have said something, considering it's the first time he's ventured outside since they returned home. Wonders if maybe he should head back inside, back where he doesn't get paranoid prickles down the back of his neck, where his head doesn't shift at the sounds he can't quite place right away.

I just want them
To mean something

SUNJATA

the flood

i can still see your face looking back through the flames
and i search it, was it worth it?

He had worried at first, with how protective Haai had become of Nate, that something might happen, some ensuing panic if the griffin let the smoke leave her maw, the small cinders that often slipped her lips as she panted in her excitement. So far, however, the griffin had done well to keep herself contained, no smoke to be seen aside from the scent of it within her dark fur and iridescent feathers. It was one small relief – the other being the shift to their life, something he wouldn’t ever dare to complain about, but it had been an adjustment to get used to.

He was working on it, at the very least. And as he slips from the stairs from the cellar within the house, he holds a wrapped gift, once he’d gotten after the mix-up between him and Zeph in the Port. A trinket of sorts, one that had caught his eye that he knew he had to get. Only, he’d kept a secret, unsure how to go about giving it to his lover, unsure where to even start when Nate had only ever spent the day within the confines of the house, a guardian griffin and starwhale perched both by air and earth.

But today feels like the time, clutching the small box and the wrapping, emerging into the kitchen only to find that Nate’s not there – pausing momentarily to regain his thoughts as his panic begins to settle in. He tries not to give them any more thought than the burning in his gut as he glances to the living room, then draws silent to listen for any footsteps upstairs… And comes up short. His hand closes tightly around the box, before Haai sends him the image of Nate on the porch that allows him the moment to breathe, relaxing as much as he could.

He slips from the front door onto the porch, eyes immediately toward Nate – unable to leave him, surprised he’s ventured outside but somewhere within him pleased to see this small amount of progress. Perhaps today is the day to give this gift. So he approaches lightly, coming from the side where Nate would be able to tell that it’s him, slipping into the Ascended’s view with a soft smile on his face. “Hey, I got you something.” He says, kneeling along the wooden deck floor of the porch and sitting on his heels, lifting his hand with the wrapped box and a slightly wider smile crossing his face.

“Open it.” He rumbles softly, waiting with some gleaming excitement in his gaze. Inside, should Nate open it, he’d find a velvet box. Within the box, a silver chain of a necklace, complete with a pendant settled in the center. A star, the northern star to be exact. And from where Sunjata sits knelt before Nate, the compass tattoos point directly at it.

no i don't mind the smoke, but your tears make me choke
are you okay? should i go away?

- NATE -

I don’t want a world
Without pain or loss

Of course he hears the door open, feels a clench in his chest, despite the fact that Nate knows it's the front door, knows it's Sunjata. And even if he didn't neither Pemota nor Haai react, save for an ear flicking back, a trill of greeting. He makes a point of not moving, not until the attuned is beside him, and he can offer a ghost of the smile back, keeping his face carefully angled as the other man moves around, settles in front of him. An automatic defence mechanism, that he can play off as making up for his new field of vision, instead of hiding away.

"You got me something?" There's a dozen questions wrapped up in the one, when, why, among the most prevalent. But questions don't stop Nate reaching out, don't stop hands wrapping around the box almost reverently. Just the gesture is enough to have something warm rising up in his chest, to have a tremble in his fingers, to make him hesitate a moment longer after the permission comes. There's a kind of nervous precision to the way he peels away the wrapping, sets it to the side, the way he runs his fingers over the box like he can feel it before he opens it.

A single blue eye rises from the necklace, from the pendant, to Sunjata, the thin smile on Nate's filling out into something a little brighter. "You... didn't need to do this." He offers slowly, even as he lifts the necklace from the box, holds it up to really look at it, the inked lines on the other mans chest visible in the negative spaces. Even as he fumbles with the clasp, struggling to get it open. Frustration builds, shows in the set of his jaw, the way its clear he's literally biting his tongue to not snap. Show in the boneless, silent huff as he slips out of the chair, leans in close to Sunjata and holds the gift out. "Help?"

Not too long ago, Nate would have struggled, would have fought and struggled until the clasp opened, but this was a moment he didn't want to ruin, and he'd learned to swallow his pride, to trust Sunjata wholly with bigger things. This should be easy.

I just want them
To mean something

SUNJATA

the flood

i can still see your face looking back through the flames
and i search it, was it worth it?

A nod is the only response Nate receives as confirmation of the gift, the smile remaining as Nate pulls the box out of his hands and begins to unwrap it. The wrapping is easily set aside, though where is another story as Sunjata can’t pull his gaze away from the Ascended. He watches the way Nate’s fingers run over the box, and subconsciously holds his breath when the lid of it flips open. His steel gaze meets Nate’s one blue eye with a slight edge to his smile, a half flush crossing along his face. “I wanted to.” He offers softly, meaning every second of it.

The smile only falters a small amount as Nate’s frustration grows evident, but Sunjata makes no move to help unless asked to – instead, spending a bit of the time to grab the wrapping and wad it up to toss out later. But then Nate’s question hits him, and he’s looking up to spot the frustration building in his jaw, in the way he slips out of the chair and leans in close. “Of course.” He hums softly, reaching up to grab the necklace and the ends with the clasp in his hands, lifting his hands with it to set it at a decent height around Nate’s neck, fiddling with it as he tries to clasp it as well.

Some fucking how it takes a while to do it, and his gaze shoots apologetically to Nate. “The clasp kind of sucks, huh?” He huffs a small laugh, before it eventually latches on and his hands are withdrawing, running down the edges of the chain to the starry pendant and placing it in the center of Nate’s chest. “It looks perfect, though.” He muses softly, gaze flicking up to catch Nate’s electric blue eye, before leaning in to press a gentle kiss to his jaw.

no i don't mind the smoke, but your tears make me choke
are you okay? should i go away?

- NATE -

I don’t want a world
Without pain or loss

The way Sunjata seems to just know when he needs space, when he needs to work something out is something Nate cannot appreciate enough. Even in this moment, when he does eventually have to give up, ask for help. At least it's not just him. "The rest of it makes up for it." There's still a huff of frustration in his own voice, a growl that doesn't quite make it out of him, but he's trying to keep it under wraps, to hold it back. A task that grows easier as hands run along the length of it, down his chest, as steely eyes rise to meet his one bright one, as a kiss is pressed against his jaw. His own hand rises to press against the pendant, closing around it tightly. "It is perfect."

His face shifts, an attempt at a well worn expression, unable to fully manifest with what's happened, though it seems to be good, if the way he surges in suddenly to wrap his arms around the attuned is any indication. It was one of the few things he moved quickly for, nowadays. "Thank you." Not just for the necklace, but for everything, though Nate makes no attempt to clarify. Instead, his gaze moves out over the sea again, the sliver of sun finally giving way to night. He's comfortable in the arms of his own sun, could stay there forever, really, but he's seized by some urge to speak, to do, maybe the same one that had driven him outside in the first place.

A short breath leaves Nate as he pulls back, settling into a spot on the ground before Sunjata instead of making his way back into the chair. His hand rises to the pendant, thumb stroking along the back of it as he tried to press a grin across his face. "I was thinking... I might," A pause to lick his lips, the suggestion he's about to make feeling big, but necessary, "I think I might go back to my clinic soon. Get... something working again." Though there's a shudder in his hands when he suggests it, and his eye drifts away, his own body betraying his true feelings.

I just want them
To mean something

SUNJATA

the flood

i can still see your face looking back through the flames
and i search it, was it worth it?

A soft smile crosses Sunjata’s face as Nate clutches the pendant, a light kiss pressed to the Ascended’s jaw before he’s retreating a small amount, watching for any sign that it might not have been a good idea to get such a thing. But he’s glad he did, as Nate attempts to make a face that falls back into how things were, before the other man is surging toward him and wrapping his arms around him. Sunjata’s arms wrap around Nate too as he presses his face into the crook of Nate’s neck gently, humming softly to the thank you. “You’re welcome.”

But then he’s moving and Sunjata watches him, half calculating and wondering what’s going on in that bright mind of his, but not saying or prodding until the other man is ready for it. It’s the least he can do, after all, and he settles with Nate on the ground — shifting just so he can cross his legs before they fall asleep supporting his weight. The sunset casts Nate’s face in a purple glow, a chilled wind whipping through and ruffling Sunjata’s hair as the words leave the other man’s lips.

And when Nate responds with what he wants to do, Sunjata’s soft smile remains, even as he notices the shuddering of Nate’s hands — then the way he looks away. So Sunjata reaches out, slowly, trying to run calloused hands along Nate’s side. “Whatever you want to do, I support you.” He begins, pausing to look over at Haai as she whines. “Would you… Like it if I or Haai accompanied you while you worked?” He asks, not outwardly saying for some form of protection, but implying that added comfort all the same.

no i don't mind the smoke, but your tears make me choke
are you okay? should i go away?

- NATE -

I don’t want a world
Without pain or loss

The hands on his side don’t draw his gaze back, but Nate does lean into it, does settle into the comfort of the touch. There’s something in him that’s looking for a fight of some kind, something to rail against, something he won’t find with Sunjata. Every bit of hardship he’s overcome has been through spite, and to have the complete support from anyone leaves him at a little bit of a loss. He doesn’t want to, doesn't want to do anything, really, even as his limbs are gripped by an electric need, his mind unused to stillness but unwilling to risk pain again, when it had been so bright and so overwhelming.

”I know you will.” His hand moves to spread through Haai’s fur, pulling her a little closer as finally, he looks back up at Sunjata. ”Haai... maybe, but, I can’t ask that of you. I won’t.” More than anything, Nate doesn’t want to be a burden. Already feels bad enough with his self imposed exile from the public, that he’s dragged the attuned into with him. ”I just want things to feel,” his free hand clenches tightly, then loosens, dropping into his lap, ”normal.” Nate sighs, then shrugs, a concession that there isn’t really a chance of that anymore.

I just want them
To mean something

SUNJATA

the flood

i can still see your face looking back through the flames
and i search it, was it worth it?

Nate doesn’t have to try too hard to try Haai closer, the griffin easily flopping into Nate’s side and spreading a wing out, tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth as she focuses on Sunjata from this position. Sunjata, meanwhile, focuses on Nate’s answer to the poised question — understanding it and yet still disliking it all the same. So he lets his hand remain on Nate’s side, offering what little comfort he could, letting his gaze drop to the griffin.

“Alright.” Sunjata agrees, because what else could he do? He doesn’t want to argue the point, not while Nate’s still healing, still hurting too. “Can I at least walk with you there and back home? Like we used to?” He asks, reaching out with his own free hand to try and clasp Nate’s freehand with his own.

And then after a moment of consideration, he chews the inside of his cheek as he lets his gaze wash over Nate’s face. “How does it look today?” It’s quieter, softer, wondering how much it’d scarred and healed while his Ascended body worked overtime to heal and fix him.

no i don't mind the smoke, but your tears make me choke
are you okay? should i go away?

- NATE -

I don’t want a world
Without pain or loss

It really doesn't feel to Nate like he's explaining himself properly. It feels like he's doing nothing but disappointing the other man, some key part not quite lining up. Before this, they had fit together so comfortably, but now, there's a part of Nate that feels off balance. He wonders if maybe, it's just him, if it's all in his head, but that's a much worse thought than both of them being just a little affected. If he doesn't try though, that discomfort never goes away.

He squeezes Sunjata's offered hand tightly, takes a short breath, and tries.

"I'm not trying to..." Nate lets out a soft sigh, then shifts, trying to get a little closer without disturbing Haai too much from his side. "If you want to walk with me, or spend the day with me, I'm not saying no. I'd... I'd really like it, actually." Here's where the but came in though, where he had to pause to make sure he didn't stumble over his next few words. "I can... take care of myself. I'm not going to be a burden, and I'm not going to ask you to change what you're doing for me." There's another moment of pause, where Nate just squeezes Sunjata's hand hard, when he really wants to pull away completely. He puts the urge into words, into a whisper though, one last niggling discomfort. "You're doing too much already."

Apparently, Nate was going to get no reprieve though, no chance to withdraw and lick at irritated scrapes. It was exhausting, bouncing back and forth from a tangled mess of numbness and a bright, sharp anger, but he had no idea how to stop himself. Again, there's a flicker of something in his single uncovered eye, a twitch in his brow before he pulls his hands back to take the bandage off. It's a question easier answered by showing. After all, just saying not good leaves a lot up in the air.

The edges of the wound are silvery, pulled tight by skin and scars trying to bridge the gash, and failing, but it's the only part that looks dry, really, the only part that looks likes it's healing. At the deepest points of the wound, where there had been the stark white of bone, there's now a sticky looking growth, almost scab like, but not quite. Worst of all is the eye. The pupil that had once been a bright blue is dulled, flooded with fluid, and healed back together lopsided, the two halves not quite meeting nicely. It still moves, when Nate's gaze finally lifts to meet steel, his jaw clenched so tightly it looks like it might pop.

I just want them
To mean something

SUNJATA

the flood

i can still see your face looking back through the flames
and i search it, was it worth it?

Sunjata is missing something with this conversation, and it’s not entirely because of what Nate says – but because of how the Korofian were raised. A little bit too much swinging as a pendulum in either way, very rarely meeting in the middle where simple requests like that didn’t mean that Sunjata couldn’t be there – perhaps the man’s just too used to his father doing a similar suggestion with him to take it in such a way that Sunjata feels like he needs to try and plead to get his request seen.

That was usually his mother’s job, anyway. Some blame shifter, an advocate for him when he was trying. At least now he’s found his voice – unafraid to use it with Nate. But it is the other end of the pendulum, where the strong Korofi flood is more of a trickling stream, careful with his words to try and make sure Nate doesn’t shrink away from him. So it’s some relief as Nate squeezes his hand and Sunjata’s steel gaze meets the man’s face, moving closer as much as Nate moves forward so Haai doesn’t have to grumble her distaste. “Okay.” Sunjata agrees quietly, pausing before Nate mentions he doesn’t want to be a burden. “You’re not a burden.” He manages softly, tenderly almost.

In all reality, Sunjata’s being incredibly overprotective – taking some of the blame for not saving Nate before the incident happened, despite the fact the rational part of his brain tells him that it doesn’t make sense. That he couldn’t know what was going to happen.

“I want to.” He retorts to the idea that he’s doing too much. “Besides, staying here with you keeps me out of trouble too.” He attempts to joke, but it feels flat coming out of his throat – almost awkwardly instead of the easy teasing and jesting he’s used to.

But then when he asks how it looks today, he can almost feel the reluctance to show, before Nate’s unwrapping the bandage that covers his scar and his eye. Sunjata doesn’t cringe from it, doesn’t flinch away, a calculating scan over the area and reflecting it to where he recalled it when it still singed and sparked with the smoldering flame before. Tentatively, Sunjata moves a bit closer, his hand reaching up to cup Nate’s jaw, a soft breath leaving his lips before his eyes meet Nate’s. At the very least the ruined eye still moves, rather than remaining dead in place.

His thumb moves to stroke Nate’s jaw gently, trying to relieve the tension there. “It’s better than it was.” A small offering, before his head is tilting somewhat avian-like. “I did some research, you know… As it turns out Rexanna was impaled and blinded last LongNight. The Voice gave her new eyes… Ones that held abilities in a sense.” His lips purse slightly. “Rumor has it she has x-ray and infrared eyes. Though they did change color, I remember they used to be blue and now they’re green.” He rambles a small amount, letting his gaze drift around Nate’s face as he considers it, before finally settling back on the good blue eye. “I’ll still go with you… When you're ready.”

no i don't mind the smoke, but your tears make me choke
are you okay? should i go away?

- NATE -

I don’t want a world
Without pain or loss

A lifetime swimming in darker waters than most has left Nate jaded, made him mistrustful of mere words, no matter where they come from. He feels like a burden, feels like he hasn't been able to do anything useful, anything productive since he'd been attacked, and it eats away at him. There was so much he had to get back to, so much he had to start, and yet this was the first time he'd managed to force himself out of the house. It could be said a dozen times over, and he'd still feel like he wasn't doing enough yet.

He didn't even feel it anymore, so he should be able to pick things back up, should be able to step back into the role he'd gotten used to like it was nothing, and yet, no matter how he tried, he couldn't bring himself to. He wasn't even sure if he'd go back to his clinic yet, or if it had just been something to say, some goal to make it sound like he'd progressed in something.

No matter how he flinches at the immediate rebuttal, it soothes something in Nate to know he's not forcing anything, to know there's no quiet resentment building up, ready to explode when he least expects it. It brings a little quirk to his lips that could charitably be called a smile. "It does, doesn't it?" Despite the way the joke trips coming out of Sunjata's mouth, Nate appreciates the attempt. "Can't have both of us out of commission, can we?" He manages to joke back, a little more successfully, though that really isn't saying too much. It's an attempt, and if both of them work at it, it has to be worth something, right?

There's a disconnect, when Nate takes the bandage off. The face he has is not the one he knows, and it functions as well as any mask, any wall he could put up intentionally. Even where the singular blue gaze meets the attuned, there's a cautious distance, instead of the intense depth Nate usually fixed the other man with. The hand on his jaw has Nate going very still, as if the avian current in Sunjata runs deeper, as if a movement will send him fleeing.

"The healings slowed down. I don't... I don't know how much better than this it will get." It's clearly not an admission Nate wants to make, as he presses in against the hand on his jaw, as he leans into the heavy furry body at his side. He sighs, focusing instead on what Sunjata shares, the mention of research lifting a brow, the wrong brow, tugging at barely healed and already irritated skin. "I remember that." He murmurs softly, despite the fact that all he really remembered was the state Sam had come back in, messy and panicked and guilty. "Maybe I'll ask to match Ru." This joke comes far more naturally, a little snort accompanying it as he drifted past the mention of abilities.

Pemota seemed to approve of Sunjata's offer, the young starwhal moving from her perch above them to circle the attuned's shoulders. Going to speak to the Voice was an inevitability at this point, though something about it felt cheap, felt wrong. As much as he wanted things to go back to normal, that wasn't the way to do it, wasn't the way to heal from this. Closing it up only let all the worst things fester. But Nate shifts again, not worried about Haai this time as he moves to sit beside Sunjata, an arm coming to wrap around him. "I'm not ready yet. I don't... want new abilities, or anything like that."

I just want them
To mean something

SUNJATA

the flood

i can still see your face looking back through the flames
and i search it, was it worth it?

Even with Nate not being able to feel pain, Sunjata understands the psychological bits that make up trying to be ‘normal’. Perhaps it was harder for him, to know it’s broken, that his face is forever changed, that he had only wanted to help and been attacked for what Sunjata could only imagine was without cause. But the attuned would never blame the Ascended for how long it took — it took him months to go through the trauma of his trial. He’d be a hypocrite if he raged about Nate not going out and doing things. And perhaps that’s part of it too, the reason why he’s so gentle with Nate, so encouraging. He understands. He gets it to an extent.

And it helps as he sees the small spark of a smile form on the Ascended’s face. And the joke that leaves him is far easier than Sunjata’s stumbling, managing to spark an easier smile along his face. “Nope. We can’t.” He agrees, half torn between mentioning that it was payback for the times Sunjata had come home, bloodied and beat up, for Nate to nurse him back to health. In reality, he doesn’t mind, is happy to. He’s just not sure how, and never has been.

So he remains silent as Nate disconnects a small amount, giving the other man the time to come around again. A small nod is granted to the slowing down — having noticed that. “Does it… Need time to breathe? Without the bandage?” He asks, unsure how Ascended healing went, but it made sense to him at the least. But he draws silent once more as his lover considers the information laid out, managing to spark a small smile on the korofian’s face with the comment of Hotaru.

“Would you get a green one or a grey one?” He jests back, briefly, until he can feel the star whale flicker around and hover around his shoulders, absently taking his free hand to run along the smooth blubber of the whale. Nate moves and wraps an arm around him and the attuned leans into it, his other arm coming around to settle on Nate’s shoulders, leaning back slightly and shifting how he sits so he can rest with his back partially against the porch rails. His head tilts to rest along Nate’s pulling him in tightly. “When you’re ready, then.” He murmurs, pressing a kiss to the top of Nate’s crown. “For the record, I think it makes you look spectacularly roguish.” He hums, trying for a compliment, that Nate’s not ruined in his eyes.

no i don't mind the smoke, but your tears make me choke
are you okay? should i go away?

- NATE -

I don’t want a world
Without pain or loss

There's a part of Nate that wants to make the same joke in response to Sunjata's words, wants to mention payback and karma like an ouroboros, except it ruins his internal narrative a little bit. Whenever the attuned comes home hurt, there's nothing Nate wants to do more than protect him, than keep him wrapped up and safe. Sure, he'd complained, he'd berated, but it had all come from a place of love, of worry. And Sunjata had never felt like a burden. Though, he had been injured in ways that made sense, even if they were stupid. This didn't make sense. He'd wanted to help, and he'd been punished for it, and it didn't make sense.

There were a lot of parts of this he tried to not think about, that he made a deliberate attempt to keep at arms length, but none of them more than the attack itself, the randomness, the ferocity.

It's so easy to exist behind that disconnect, to lean into the mask and let something purely clinical come out. It's a disconnect he needs more than anything, without the chance to sleep, to ever really turn off his mind. "No. Not for very long, at least. The wound site should be kept moist, to promote faster regrowth." An entire article comes back to him, clear as day, though he'd found it boring at the time, the effort of moist wound healing seeming time consuming, not at all what he'd wanted to be learning about. Funny how priorities shifted, how he had somehow managed to receive the one wound where knowledge he had never thought he'd use had come back. "I don't scab really, and it can't get infected, so keeping it moist is the best way to try and get it to heal nicely." He should put the bandage back on right away, or rather, should get a fresh one, but he's in no rush to move back inside, to wrap himself up again. A few moments won't hurt it.

"Hmmm." Nate's free hand comes up to pull at his cheek as he considers, the joke becoming a little more serious. It was actually a possibility, after all. "I think grey might look a little better." An ever vain musing, before he turns (and turns and turns, to actually get Sunjata back into view) and cocks his head. "Which would you like better?" It still comes out in the same light, joking tone, but somehow the words have a weight, an expectation riding on them, the attuneds opinion mattering more than it has before in this junction.

It's easy to pull him in closer though, Nate's hand falling away from his own face so it can wrap around the other man as well, a proper, if a little awkward, hug. Pemota lets out a soft crooning, her light washing over the pair of them, easing something in Nate whether he wants it or not, and pulling a soft sigh from him. He doesn't know when he'll be ready. Doesn't know when he'll be done processing it, done dealing with it, at least enough to go and prod at it again. It's nice to know, to be reassured, that he has someone at his side, someone on his side. "Well I know you didn't fall in love with me for just my looks." It's meant to be a light quip back, though his tongue sharpens it, angles the words into something that could be an accusation. And Nate teeters, caught between keeping quiet, so he doesn't fuck up more, and trying again to explain himself, say the wrong thing, in the wrong tone.

I just want them
To mean something

SUNJATA

the flood

i can still see your face looking back through the flames
and i search it, was it worth it?

“Hmm, I see.” Sunjata replies easily, even if he… Really didn’t. But he was never a healer, never a doctor or anything. He doesn’t know what makes more sense in the end – if only a few times of air to let it breathe does the same. But Nate knows better than any of them, certainly him, so he nods and pretends as though it makes sense regardless. “That makes sense.” He offers after Nate elaborates – the inability to scab, something so familiar to Sunjata that it almost seems strange to realize Nate can’t.

But he draws silent again as the joke is uttered, as Nate contemplates what color to get for his eye, and he can’t help the quirk of his lips in a slight smile despite the way Nate seems to pin him with a look that doesn’t seem like much, but Sunjata knows it matters how he answers. So he leans forward a small amount, encroaching on Nate’s space with that same soft smile. “I think grey is a very nice choice.” He agrees, his tone taking on a bit more of a chipper tone before it settles in a bit more of a conspiratory way. “Be a bit closer to me that way.” He offers, letting his steel gaze wash over Nate before he winks with some amusement.

The feeling of him pulling Nate in and the Ascended willingly doing so has Sunjata relieved a small amount – that and with Pemota’s gentle starry addition – helps the attuned relax a bit more as his attempt at joking seems to flip sideways, as he’s unsure if Nate’s taken it the right way. The sentence itself could be a joke, but it could also be serious, and Sunjata’s not sure which side to take, what to say that would make it better.

So the man chooses his honesty.

He leans back a bit more against the porch rail, keeping Nate close as his hand runs along the Ascended’s shoulder before his head tilts toward him. “There’s a ton of reasons, should I list them off for you?” He asks, lips quirking again in that small half smile. “That is one of them. If anything it makes us more of a pair, your scar versus the billion of mine.” He muses aloud, tilting his head so the scar that runs along the side of his neck is in full view.

no i don't mind the smoke, but your tears make me choke
are you okay? should i go away?