can you save a dance for me?

THE FLOOD

// take my heart and make it feel,
take my soul and make it real

It has always been a difficult thing for the Flood – to express himself through words. Too used to butchering them or being misconstrued, misunderstood in what he truly means that the only thing that seems to be his saving grace is action. Body language, the sensations through the Attuned bond, things of those nature that allow for him to be able to express his intent without fucking up.

His thumb strokes along her cheek, nose brushing her own as she speaks, taking her reassurance to heart. He trusts that if it became too much that she would tell him, that they would make a game plan of figuring out just how to go about accomplishing everything without leaving her strung out in exhaustion. And it helps meld into the feeling of the home they’re putting together, adding their little touches here and there, and his quiet admission that they deserve this, a fact he does not often say.

He can feel the pride blooming from her as his words are understood and Sunjata can’t help the soft smile that graces his face as she reiterates the vow. And he remains still and in exactly the same position as she kisses him, his hand slipping around to the back of her head, threading through blonde tresses to press back into the kiss. He pulls away after a short time, humming a soft rumble of a laugh, drawing up a bit taller as he peers down at her. “We should finish up before we get too distracted we can’t finish it.”

'cause i was bright, yeah I was pale and blue,
starry eyed by every thought of you //

THE VALKYRIE

You bring clarity when I can't see past
All the places where I made my mistakes

If it becomes too much he will be the first to know, but it's hard not to feel like the world is in her palms when she's with him. Every night she's granted enough reprieve to return home to him is restful enough that she can't envision not giving her all once more with the rise of the sun. Even now with his nose brushing hers and his thumb tracing the curve of her cheek, any fatigue lingering in her bones dwindles until it feels so very far away.

Of course it's because of that - and the unfairness of the way he threads his fingers into her hair and cups the back of her head while they kiss - that it's easy to become distracted. As he straightens, Ru groans slightly and drops her head back to stare at the ceiling, regaining her composure. "I wouldn't have been distracted if you hadn't kissed me like that," she argues playfully, as if she wouldn't have been led astray by even the most chaste kiss. Straightening as well, Ru glances past him (which is admittedly difficult, he's more of a door than a window) and considers what else remains to be done. They had agreed the necessities were in place, but that doesn't mean they have the evening itself wrapped up. "Do you want to make a fire and have some dinner, or unpack some of the smaller items?"

Your love has turned me into something better
Elevate me with your love forever

THE FLOOD

// take my heart and make it feel,
take my soul and make it real

It isn’t that he wants his affection to wipe away her exhaustion to make her feel as though she’s fine – it’s true concern that lingers in the bond between them as he focuses on her, seeking out every bit and piece of herself that she reveals to him – and it strikes him suddenly with how much of her he can see. This wasn’t like when they’d been in Torchline for Flora’s opening of the Hanged Man and Sunjata had poured out his heart and soul for her, not expecting anything from it but needing to get it out if only to heal himself, watching her with that carefully crafted mask to prevent him from hurting her again.

And now, he holds her so tenderly, so carefully with a life ahead of them that is theirs to make, both of their walls crumbled down enough to see each other over it. Of course, there are parts they haven’t reached into yet, but the fact remains. He sees her. She sees him. And even as she playfully argues with him and he returns the favor and recovers from his stunning realization, flashing her a wink and one of his traditionally roguish smirks. “Don’t worry, there’s plenty more just like it.” Whether to intentionally distract or not.

Either way, he looks back toward the rest of the things around them and listens to her suggestions, tongue dipping out to wet his lips as he thinks. “I think so long as we get the boxes in, just in case it rains, we should eat and deal with the rest tomorrow.” He decides, out of the two options she’s given, and with it leaning in toward her to give that very chaste kiss to her lips and playful tug to her hair before he steps out to grab a few pieces of wood from the awning of the porch, bringing them in to start the fire in their actual kitchen, and flits back and forth to draw the rest of the boxes in with Hotaru’s help.

By that time, the fire is ready, and Sunjata brings in a pheasant, already plucked and primed to cook, before he looks at her with a soft little huff of a laugh. “Do we want to make a stew or roast it?” He asks, running through the list of… Two entire items he actually knows how to cook to survive, and gives her a small sheepish grin.

'cause i was bright, yeah I was pale and blue,
starry eyed by every thought of you //

THE VALKYRIE

You bring clarity when I can't see past
All the places where I made my mistakes

She can sense the change in him as he watches her, and though it makes her stand a little straighter, head tilting just a little in curiosity, she doesn't shy away from his piercing eyes. Unaware that's precisely what he's seeing - the bareness of her heart and soul, the vulnerability that has become more comforting and natural than terrifying. She starts to figure it out when the wonder in his expression becomes clear, and her own melts from playful petulance into something painfully lovesick and soft. "I'm glad," she murmurs, envisioning years ahead of them wherein he could kiss her exactly that way and finding that the humor falls away in light of something so tender and hopeful.

Still, she goes into their final tasks with a grin as he kisses her quickly and tugs on her hair, heart light. It's crazy to think they've made it here after everything; sorting cutlery and hand towels, taking back every bit of peace the world ever stole from them. In another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you.

Laughing and shaking her head at his sheepish offer, Hotaru crosses over to him and hip-checks him closer to the stove with bird still in hand. "Let's do stew, but how about you're in charge of the chopping?" Her grin is unrepentant, always happy to take the chance to tease him over his lackluster cooking skills.

Your love has turned me into something better
Elevate me with your love forever

THE FLOOD

// take my heart and make it feel,
take my soul and make it real

It’s true, he has next to no idea how to cook despite having tried to learn. It was nothing compared to what Nate had made – and the little cookbook he’d hoarded since the demigod’s death had gone to Melita, imagining that she would get far more use out of it than he did. After all, it had never been a skill he’d needed growing up, always having food provided to him one way or another, so much that post the war, he’d wholly relied on his attuned shifts to survive.

But this wasn’t then, and while he could manage to throw something together, it wasn’t much more than two things he knows decently how to make. The rest of it might take some work and time, but they’re lucky in the fact that they have that now.

She hip checks him and he flashes her a playful grin, stepping aside to grab a knife, ensuring the counter top is clear and ready to start chopping, collecting a few other pieces they’ll need – potatoes and carrots and other options. “Probably for the best.” He agrees, snorting as he starts to chop for the meal.

“So… What do you think?” He asks idly, meaning what she thinks about the home now that they’ve got their hands on it, catering it to exactly what they’d imagined it to be - or, pretty close to it.

'cause i was bright, yeah I was pale and blue,
starry eyed by every thought of you //

THE VALKYRIE

You bring clarity when I can't see past
All the places where I made my mistakes

Hotaru trusts his knife skills if not his cooking skills, so it's a perfect setup truthfully. Ru doesn't mind being the main cook either; she still mourns the quick growth of the twins, and how few family meals she'd gotten even in the years she'd been granted.

The rhythmic chopping behind her as she bustles around behind him filling the pot with water, stock, and seasoning is soothing. Knowing he's so close and being able to smell their mingled scents beneath the ingredients is similarly comforting to the more primordial parts of her. Enough that she is startled from what is almost a trance by his venturing question.

Pausing, Ru sets the pot to start simmering and turns around, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind and setting her cheek against his spine. "It's everything I dreamed of, and yet so much more. Drawings could never have captured how I would feel seeing it in real life." Renderings never could have prepared her for the feeling of standing in their new home. And Sunjata had given that to her; unprompted, in secret - all to surprise her. "I hope doing the building yourself didn't ruin that charm for you...?" He can surely peer through the bond to feel what she's feeling, but it wouldn't be the same as feeling it himself.

Your love has turned me into something better
Elevate me with your love forever

THE FLOOD

// take my heart and make it feel,
take my soul and make it real

Oh there’s plenty of time for Hotaru to get to cook and be whatever kind of homemaker she wanted to be. Sunjata isn’t versed in it much himself – taking a bit more pride in decorating, given that he’d grown up with nothing more than grey walls and white bedding and next to no touch of a personalization to his sterile bedroom growing up. It’s why he’d gone so hard at the VlamVloed as he did, why the Kraai and Slagveld and House of Midnight had been done so over the top. He’s making up for lost time.

His homes weren’t any different either, each one with Nate harboring touches from the both of them, bits and pieces strewn about that one could look at and say that they knew who this house belonged to. He intends this one with Hotaru to be the same – the mixture of furs and broody colors decorating the walls, the lights that warm up the space, the large and comfortable couch in the living room they can curl up on to read (or Hotaru can settle on with a view from the large window to see him practicing out by the river).

For the moment, though, he chops the ingredients with the dexterity of someone intimately familiar with how knives worked, continuing it fluidly as Hotaru steps up behind him and wraps her arms around his waist and he can feel the warmth of her cheek against his spine. It sparks a small and soft smile, even if she can’t see it, surely she can feel it through the attuned bond all the same. “Good.” He murmurs gently, meaning every second of it – proud of himself for being able to get her dream from paper to reality.

As for himself, though, the knife hesitates before he sets it down and his arms drop around her own to squeeze lightly, amusement bubbling through the bond at the question. “I prefer to build it, honestly. Just means I can claim all the blood and sweat that went into it.” No tears, though, because this was a beautiful, happy beginning to the next stage of their lives. And it isn't like he hasn't somewhat gotten used to smashing a finger with a hammer after all of these years.

'cause i was bright, yeah I was pale and blue,
starry eyed by every thought of you //

THE VALKYRIE

You bring clarity when I can't see past
All the places where I made my mistakes

After years of flourishing touches, garment creation, makeup, painting…decorating and aesthetics don’t bring her the same comfort and control that it does for Sunjata, and it’s a perfect trade-off for the homemaking and caretaking to fall to her hands. It’s empowering, and displays a level of trust that emphasizes the importance of their new beginnings.

As his arms fall down across hers to squeeze back, Hotaru laughs into his back, the shaking of her shoulders vibrating through the both of them. “You can claim it entirely. Flaunt it, even. You’re entirely deserving of the praise.” She would certainly be bragging to anyone lucky enough to visit. Sneaking a hand out from under his, she snags a piece of carrot from the board and cranes around his side to pop it into her mouth (with a little magical help). It grants her the opportunity to peer up at him, smiling. “It’ll take quite a lot of dinners to balance out this level of surprise gift,” she teases, though the softness of her eyes makes it clear she knows he doesn’t expect her to pay him back. Not for something that is shared between them - something entirely theirs.

Your love has turned me into something better
Elevate me with your love forever

THE FLOOD

// take my heart and make it feel,
take my soul and make it real

A snort leaves him, settling now that the nerves have passed that perhaps he’d gotten a little too over the top. It’s clear he hasn’t, and it’s clear that it’s a space they can make into their own with relative ease. A space that they can invite people to, to where Hotaru can brag about it if she wants to. “Maybe I will.” Sunjata hums thoughtfully, though there’s amusement in the bond between them, a flicker of it burning brighter as he watches her snag a piece of the carrot.

He follows it, half turning toward her as she smiles up at him and Sunjata reaches up with a hand slightly sweet from the carrots to caress her cheek, something reflecting soft in his gaze despite the sudden mischievousness in the bond. “Oh, at least a week's worth.” He teases her, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead, before he withdraws to collect everything he’d chopped into a bowl, ready to be added to the stew the second Hotaru deemed it ready for them.

'cause i was bright, yeah I was pale and blue,
starry eyed by every thought of you //

THE VALKYRIE

You bring clarity when I can't see past
All the places where I made my mistakes

The ember of his amusement only deepens the crinkle in the corners of her mouth as she smiles. It’s a perfect day already, and she wants to capture this memory forever. She scarcely dares to blink lest she miss something.

His skin smells of carrot juice, but she tilts her cheek into his hand readily. Skin can be washed, moments like these are worth far more. The warmth of her breath as she laughs quietly brushes against his forearm, eyes slipping shut as he kisses her forehead. Her arms squeeze slightly around his waist.

“I suppose that’s a fair trade,” she sighs as if compromising, opening her eyes to smirk up at him. Rising onto her toes, she kisses him chastely. “Keep chopping, handsome. Don’t let me stop you.” Her grin makes it clear she won’t stop clinging to his back until all the ingredients are diced and the pot is boiling. Though, realistically, Ru knows she won’t be leaving his side for the remainder of the night; it’s the only suitable end to an equally perfect day.

- Fin <333

Your love has turned me into something better
Elevate me with your love forever