{SE} I wanna be adored

NATE

we've been living on a fault line
and for a while you were all mine

It’s Longnight. It’s Longnight and the house is full, the fire is bright, every window is barred tight, and honestly Nate isn’t worried. Despite the freezing dark outside its walls the cabin feels full of life. It’s exhausting, in its own way, but there isn’t a goddamned thing he’d trade it for.

The house is in a lull, everyone dozing into a quiet nap around the same time. Nates tucked into bed between Sunjata and the new crib beside them ready to move at a moment's notice. It’s not a necessity that has him shifting thought but excitement, anticipation. He’s certain his thoughts press through the gauzy curtain of sleep, his dirty little fingers stuck into Sunjata’s dreams.

Sonskyyyn The word is as gentle as the kisses and touches Nate presses along his husband's jaw. I have a gift for you, you just gotta wake up for a little bit.

i've spent a lifetime, giving you my heart
i swear that i'll be yours forever,
'til forever falls apart

SUNJATA

if the tide takes california, i'm so glad i got to hold ya

For the first LongNight since he’d arrived in this godforsaken place, Sunjata can sleep. And fairly soundly, all things considered. Especially given the whole new fathers event that’s happened. The children are young but it fills a part of Sunjata’s mental state that’d been fracturing week by week with Haai’s death, giving him yet another boon to cling to among the few that have been holding him upright thus far.

Luckily, for once, it isn’t a nightmare that Nate’s fingers dig into. No, it’s a strange mix of Korofi and Caido, of a life well lived without his father’s thumb, where he could rule Korofi without traumatic interference with Nate at his side. It’s a good dream for once, and one that as Nate’s voice slips through, has him stirring with the feeling of Nate’s lips at his jaw, the cool fingers pressed nearby the scar there. Hmm? He starts, sleepily, blindly reaching for Nate to tug him closer, to bury his face into his husband’s chest and breathe in his scent.

He comes out of it slowly at first, and then the rest of the way as he moves closer to the demigod. “A gift?” He whispers, sleep and content exhaustion weighing heavily enough in his voice to make it hoarse. It’s a good enough wake up, though, Sunjata’s head tilting up to peer at Nate with shifted steel eyes to see better in the dark.

and if the sky falls from heaven above
oh i know i had the best time falling into love

NATE

we've been living on a fault line
and for a while you were all mine

Nate is happy to be tugged closer, his fingers slipping to thread through sun-kissed, sleep-tangled waves and hold his husband close. He lets the attuned take whatever time he needs to drag himself out of his dream, a soft song humming through his chest while he waits, bobbing along easily to the gentle waves of warmth and contentment lapping through the bond. It seems like so long since they've had this kind of ease. It almost feels like they don't deserve it, but thats a thought Nate forces out of his mind.

"A gift." Nate repeats, just as softly, even if its not as weighed down with exhaustion. "It can wait until morning if you want, I just..." I don't want to wait any longer. He meets the shifted steel eyes, something soft on his face, in the bond. Something without words, no matter how he tries. I love you, sonskyn, you know that right?

i've spent a lifetime, giving you my heart
i swear that i'll be yours forever,
'til forever falls apart

SUNJATA

if the tide takes california, i'm so glad i got to hold ya

It’s the easiest wake up he’s had in what feels like forever. Thoughts of Haai on the backburner for once, no nightmare stirring him awake. Just the content warmth and light that Nate constantly gives to him, something that he leans toward like a sun starved flower. It helps him brighten up, to peer through the dark of their room while the twins sleep soundly in the crib off to the side, Sunjata peering up at his husband in a heap of navy feathers that cover his neck and half of his face, among the slit steel that meets Nate’s soft gaze.

The echo of what Nate had said prior, resonates in Sunjata as he recalls his own gift, brightening up a fraction more as he moves to sit up, to slump against the Ascended’s shoulder. I’ll take the gift now. He hums through the bond, a surprising amount of tired humor racing its way through him before it softens into something gentler. He can’t help the way his brows want to pinch together, the slight twitch of them as he tries to fight it off.

So he readjusts them a little bit, leaning and nosing his head up toward Nate’s neck where he plants a long, drawn out kiss. “I do,” And I love you too. He ends with a bit of a brighter note, lips still pressed to Nate’s neck. I got you a gift too. One he's been hiding by his side of the bed, in a space that he's sure Nate likely hasn't spent much time snooping around if at all.

and if the sky falls from heaven above
oh i know i had the best time falling into love

NATE

we've been living on a fault line
and for a while you were all mine

An entirely reflexive shiver runs up Nate's spine as lips press against his neck, a soft sound purring out of him and into the other mans hair. I'm so lucky to have you. He doesn't mean to share the thought, but he doesn't really make any effort t stop it once he realizes it's drifting between them, Nate's arms only tightening.

Did you? Nate makes no attempt to suppress his immediate curious excitement. It's impossible to tell which is brighter, his grin or the glint in his eyes, but both are outshone by the single holographic arm that crackles into existence, reaching across the room into Pemota's sling and withdrawing a small, rectangular box. The wrapping on it is awkward at best, the twine holding everything in place extra frayed in the places Nate's fingers moved over it again and again, trying to get the knots right.

The box is all but shoved into the attuned's chest, Nate proud of the care put into the gift. You can go first, Sunshine. A sturdy leather cord adorned with the gem he'd gathered in the Climb, cut in the shape of a feather and polished to bring out its oil slick iridescence, purples and blues shimmering in it's facets like a raven's wings. Silver beads flank either side of the gem, wings delicately etched into the pair of them.

i've spent a lifetime, giving you my heart
i swear that i'll be yours forever,
'til forever falls apart

SUNJATA

if the tide takes california, i'm so glad i got to hold ya

A pulse of appreciation is sent back toward Nate, even if the thought hadn’t been intentional. It’s well received and returned with a pulse of gratitude from Sunjata, a pulse of agreement that he too was so very lucky to have Nate. The hold his husband has on him is tight and yet it’s just the right amount of comfort Sunjata craves, withdrawing from the space at Nate’s neck he’d chosen as if he were about to turn to grab his own gift.

He doesn’t get the chance to as the gift is shoved into his chest with a quiet oof of amusement, pulling away from Nate but situating himself so that his shoulder presses in against Nate’s chest, giving his husband the height needed to watch as he opens the gift while still remaining as close as he possibly can. His legs draw up, giving him room to open the gift and inspect the packaging, the echoing feeling of a whistle leaving him through the bond because he certainly doesn’t want to wake the twins up now that they’re finally asleep.

Okay. Fingers tug at the twine connecting it as if the packaging itself is just as special to him as the gift inside, and when he opens it up and spies the glint of light off an iridescent gemstone with silver beads alongside it etched with the feathers, there’s a bright burst of surprise, of adoration, a moment where he doesn’t quite dive in immediately to grab it but instead to run his calloused thumb along the gemstone and the flanking silver beads. Nate, hartlam… He manages, somehow his mental voice sounding just as speechless. His gaze snaps up to meet his husband’s, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he fully wakes up and he surges up to catch Nate’s lips in an eager kiss. He doesn’t have to apologize for being bad at receiving gifts, it’s one of the things Nate knows intimately by now. But he can at least send the sensation of just how much Sunjata appreciates it. This is beautiful. I love it. Thank you. Each second of his voice drips with more and more gratitude.

He pulls away quite reluctantly, his hand tight around his gift to protect it from prying eyes, as it were – the dragon shift within him peeking out with yet another trinket to keep in his trove. But he reaches for the drawer beside his table, pulling out a slightly bigger gift than the one Nate had (and in Sunjata’s opinion, certainly not as grand of a gift), wrapped in ink stained parchment as if he’d tried to replicate in quite the abstract way, the way Nate’s skin glimmers and shines like a plasma ball (when in reality it looks more like small little inked out fireworks).

Inside the wrapping, Nate would find something to be hung, likely above the kitchen window if he had to guess – like a dried popurri mix made up of sweet smelling dried herbs, decorated with vibrant red and orange flowers from Mourn, all tied together with that red dogwood that he’d gathered when he met Noah. Once he hands the gift to his husband, he clutches his own gift to his chest, leaning back to stare with bright eyes at his husband if only to be sure he doesn’t miss the reaction. It’s not as good as your gift, but… I hope you like it anyway. He can’t help the mental chuckle that leaves him, airier and brighter than it had been in months.

and if the sky falls from heaven above
oh i know i had the best time falling into love

NATE

we've been living on a fault line
and for a while you were all mine

There's a momentary shuffle, extra arms coming in handy to keep everything quiet, neat. They crackle away as soon as they're not needed anymore, though all the Demi-god want's to do is keep his husband wrapped up with everything he has, he's worried the minute light they shed will bother the twins, will end this warm, quiet moment they've carved out of the inky darkness. His cheek settles against Sunjata's cheek, a near-silent hum of contentment purring out of Nate as he watches his husband delicately work his gift open.  

Nate's already smiling, but he can't stop the way the edges of it soften and melt as Sunjata takes in his gift. As waves of emotion break over him, Nate shifts his hand to rest on top of the attuned's, keeping it in place a moment longer while steel eyes look up at him, pinning him in place himself. The kiss, despite everything, manages to take him by surprise, a soft sound huffing out of Nate as he readjusts to squeeze the other tighter. I was... worried you wouldn't like it. The admission feels silly now, a laugh cradling it as they part.

Sunjata's movement is stopped for just a moment, Nate holding him in place long enough that he can grab the necklace and slip it around his husband's neck, cool fingers lingering where the stone sits in the hollow of his neck. It looks good, and Nate makes no effort to stop the pulse of smug pride that radiates from him.

Careful fingers follow the crackling ink paths across the paper until they find a seam, a place to slip a nail in and carefully reveal the gift inside. Red jumps out first, Nate's head cocking as he tries to make sense of what he's looking at, and a soft gasp leaving him as realization sinks in. His side of the bond is silent, heavy, a breath sucked in and held for just a moment too long. Did you... talk to Bart or somethin'? There's a roughness in his mental voice, something scrubbed raw that he's tries hard to hide with a breathy laugh. His thumb runs along the length of one of the dogwood branches, watery eyes searching to meet his husbands as a memory is shared; a too-hot kitchen, sun streaming in through the window behind the sink, and above it, a collection of bundled together dried flowers, their sweet scent obvious even around the smell of cooking.

Ever careful of the delicate bundle in his lap, Nate pulls Sunjata in close, tucking him into the hollow under his chin. It's perfect. He assures the attuned, shaking hands tightening around him. You're perfect. I love you.

i've spent a lifetime, giving you my heart
i swear that i'll be yours forever,
'til forever falls apart

SUNJATA

if the tide takes california, i'm so glad i got to hold ya

Why wouldn’t I like it? He hums a soft sound back, as far as he is concerned Nate could give him anything and it would be perfect. This, though, is more than he’d expected, and it makes him somewhat self conscious of his own gift. But despite the kiss and their closeness, he remains perfectly still as the necklace is placed, as he can feel the stone in the hollow of his throat with the movement as he withdraws a fraction to let Nate get a better look.

He’s tempted to ask what he thinks about it, but the smug pride that radiates from his husband is one that answers the question before he has a chance to air it. And as Nate opens the gift, there’s a moment of pause, a quizzical look slipped up to his husband with a raise of his brow. No… Trying to get anything out of Bart felt like pulling teeth. He certainly didn’t talk to his husband's twin about what to get him as a gift of all things. (A part of him likes to think he knows his husband well enough to not need to.) But when the memory filters through, Sunjata pauses.

He’s pulled in close and he wraps his arms around the demigod, nestling in just under Nate’s chin. I didn’t know about that. He rumbles softly, breathlessly, nosing his way up to press a kiss to Nate’s jaw, then the corner of his lips. I saw them around in Korofi in the places we stayed. It felt… Homey, so I thought you’d like one for the kitchen. He explains softly, breathing in his husband’s scent and sagging a bit more into his warm embrace. I love you too. He tacks on with the sensation of an overwhelming adoration, an overwhelming sense of the bright fullness that Nate fills him to the brim with.

and if the sky falls from heaven above
oh i know i had the best time falling into love

NATE

we've been living on a fault line
and for a while you were all mine

Its perfect. Nate tries to breathe just a fraction of his contentment into the silent words. Its like the first little bit of home, sonskyn. Everything in the house at this point was necessary, survival only, but this was the first piece of them. It felt... momentous. Softly glowing arms appear again, gently shuffling the paper and boxes to the side, and delicately shifting the arranged bouquet to the bedside table.

They disappear as quickly as they’ve appeared, and then Nate’s slumping to the side, Sunjata still wrapped in his arms. I think we deserve a little extra sleep, don’t you? The blankets are pulled up around them again, the buzzing excitement from deforestation settled into something calm. They had time, it wasn’t as if the sun was coming up anytime soon.

Done~

i've spent a lifetime, giving you my heart
i swear that i'll be yours forever,
'til forever falls apart