be

this is your sport

but she's not playing a game

Her heart thunders in her chest and she wonders if he can hear how hard it beats against her neck as she settles back into his lap while he goes through all the possible potential awful answers – as if the Harpy could even fathom such an answer to the beautiful man that holds her and loves her so deeply that she’s the one that thinks she isn’t deserving of it.

So as he echoes, she answers him with a kiss to shut him up, melting into the arms that wrap around her before she pulls away, her hands lifting to brush back his dark hair from his face, scanning his hazel eyes and the freckles that look like constellations on his cheeks. She wants to remain silent and bask in the glow of his laughter, at his near loss of words. “For real, yes.” She whispers before he silences her this time and she presses into him everywhere she can reach.

His skin flushes just as she has always loved to see and her fingers thread over and over again through his dark hair as she remains equally pressed against him, shaking her head as a chime of laughter leaves her. “No, he won’t kill you. He likes you.” She starts to say, before her hands lower to run her thumbs along his hot, freckled cheekbones. “How about… I’ll say nothing and you can ask him, and you can have a redo if you’d like that?” Because if she knows anything about Fox she’s positive this isn’t how he’d thought it would go.

And she’s willing to let him do it however many times it takes until he’s satisfied with it because her answer was always going to be the same. Yes. A thousand times, yes.

do not think you are safe because you love her

do not think she won't stain her mouth red with your blood too

KIADA

I’d be the immediate forgiveness in Eurydice; Imagine being loved by me.

There are a great number of things that Fox can see, hear and feel at present, but all of them blur together into the shape of Kiada's body beneath his hands and the taste of her lips, and anything else becomes unimportant in comparison. He's more than happy to bask in her affection, already warmed inside and out from her presence, and thoughts of shame and guilt and bloodlust grow increasingly distant.

"Thank fuck for that," he blurts, a crooked smile kicking up one side of his mouth. "And I would appreciate that, if you don't mind. I only intend to ever do this once, and only ever with you, so... I'd like to know I did everything I could to get it right." Leaning into the warmth of her touch and closing his eyes for a moment, he lets his calloused fingers walk their way beneath the hem of her shirt, pressing against the soft skin of her lower back.

"I do have a ring to give you, at least," he says, almost bashfully.

Fox Sinclair

this is your sport

but she's not playing a game

In the face of the proposal, Kiada’s forgotten about everything else too except for the warmth of him beneath her, how safe she feels in his arms, how she wants nothing more than to do this for the rest of her life. A happiness so fleeting before, settles into her bones and overflows into the rest of her, leaving her limbs tingly.

Her forehead settles against his as he blurts out his comment, a snicker of a sound leaving her in response, she settles easily into the warmth of his hands as it walks up underneath the hem of her shirt, against her soft skin where the swirls of burn marks await his touch. “I’m so honored.” She whispers softly to his cheek as she leans in to press her own right against it, curving herself into him to touch him everywhere she can. “My lips are sealed until you’re content.” She hums, even if they were not, in fact, sealed with the kiss she presses to his neck as she nuzzles in like a comfortable, purring kitten.

Until he mentions a ring, and she sits up to look at him with wide eyes, grin brightening across her face. “Really?” She nearly squeaks, having not expected any of this with how shaky and emotionally and in the moment he’d just proposed.

do not think you are safe because you love her

do not think she won't stain her mouth red with your blood too

KIADA

I’d be the immediate forgiveness in Eurydice; Imagine being loved by me.

"On the contrary," Fox objects softly, the words spoken through a smile as she fits herself so snugly against his body, "I am the one who is honoured." Silenced once more by her kisses and the heat of her skin against his palms, gods but he almost regrets mentioning the ring if only because it's becoming increasingly difficult to want to part from Kiada at all.

Almost being the key word, of course, because her smile makes it all worth it, and Fox leans in to taste it on her lips. "Really," he murmurs. "It's... well, it was my mother's. It isn't much, but it's one of the only things I have left from her. If you want to see it...?" From humble beginnings, the hunter doesn't have obnoxious gemstones set into a band that can barely hold them. But all he does have, he's more than happy to share with the harpy.

Fox Sinclair

this is your sport

but she's not playing a game

It’s his turn to flush her with his comments, her cheeks and ears darkening further as she presses into him, humming a light little laugh, letting his compliments push through the inner parts of her that scream that she doesn’t deserve it – not with how stained with blood her hands have always been. But he’s accepting her, honored to be there with her, and she would fight for him with everything she has if it ever came down to it.

And when he mentions he has a ring and she sits up to peer at him, meeting him part of the way to press that tender kiss to his lips in turn, hands lifting to thread through his dark hair as she watches him, face twisting into something of nostalgia and pride that he thinks she’d be deserving of it. And she’d wear it with absolute honor. “Fox,” she starts to say, combing her fingers through his hair as her lips twist in something sentimental. “I would love to see it. And I’d happily wear it.” Not even a second thought behind it.

She starts to move slightly, as if attempting to slide off of his lap so he can get it - but also slow enough that he could carry her if he didn't want to lose this closeness.

do not think you are safe because you love her

do not think she won't stain her mouth red with your blood too

KIADA

I’d be the immediate forgiveness in Eurydice; Imagine being loved by me.

Humming something affectionate (and a little needy if he's honest) at the fingers that twine through his hair, though he knows they're about to go and continue this romantic gesture that he's unintentionally thrown out, Fox is Fox, and Kia is Kia. So it's no surprise that as he rises to his feet with her he has to take a second to, er, adjust himself, and it's with a boyish smile that he wraps an arm around her waist to lead her upstairs.

"I never thought I'd even have a reason to take this out and look at it again," he confesses to her, "until I met you." Heading into the bedroom, Fox crouches to open a drawer in his bedside cabinet, moving a few things around before withdrawing a small box. Opening it reveals a simple band of white gold, well taken care of and inset with a small but perfectly formed solitaire diamond.

Turning - and conveniently still on one knee, look at that - he offers it up to Kiada with a soft smile. "Shall we see if it fits?"

Fox Sinclair

this is your sport

but she's not playing a game

He can take all the time he needs, as far as she’s concerned. She fully intends to make it worth his while later when all is said and done. It’s with great reluctance that she parts from him, though it doesn’t last long as he tucks her into his side, wrapping his arm around her to keep her close. Her own wind around his middle in turn, walking along with him with her head pressed against his chest. “You’re going to make me cry.” She confesses in a slightly higher pitched tone, throwing a playful accusation his way, despite how the redness of her face seems to suggest that if he continues to be so sickeningly sweet, she absolutely might burst into tears.

She releases him as he reaches over to the drawer, watching with unbidden excitement, her tail waving eagerly behind her as her brows pinch as if to fight off the feeling as she looks down at him kneeling, popping open the beautifully simple ring (and for Kiada? It’s perfect because she’s quite simple when it comes to accessories as well). “It’s so beautiful, Fox.” She says softly, already reaching down to pluck it from the box, to slip it on her finger with bated breath, hoping desperately that it fits.

And elated to find out that it does. Her grin widens and she drops to her own knees, pulling him in to meet her halfway in a little pile on the floor, all while simultaneously trying to show him the ring on her finger. “I love it.” She pauses, eyes glimmering as she looks up at him, trying to keep herself restrained from going too crazy at this overwhelming sensation blowing up within her. “I love you.”

do not think you are safe because you love her

do not think she won't stain her mouth red with your blood too

KIADA

I’d be the immediate forgiveness in Eurydice; Imagine being loved by me.

"Well I don't want that," Fox says with a soft rumble of laughter, as if he might call this whole thing off to keep a smile on Kiada's face. "Shall I crack a joke? All of mine are terrible, I warn you."

But then of course he's quite literally on one knee, an engagement ring in hand, and gods, perhaps he won't have to do this a second time because it's all starting to feel quite perfect. Hazel eyes watch keenly as Kia takes the ring and slips it onto her finger, and he can't keep the smile from his lips as he realises it fits her as if it was made for her.

"I'm glad you like it," he murmurs, about to rise to his feet when the harpy is descending to meet him, the hunter reaching out to tuck a lock of dark hair behind her ear. "I love you too," he says, leaning in to press a soft, chaste kiss against her lips. "Even if I'll swear I dreamed this for at least a few more days." That he'd proposed - that she'd said yes.

Fox Sinclair