[Aefenglom IC Inbox]

[judgementor]

"Leave a message. If it's important, I'll get back to you."

*beep*

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[judgementor]

[This isn't them, this isn't how they are, but Steak had pressed it and insisted and now he could reap the rewards of that insistence. Red Wine grips the edge of the bed while he narrows his attention down onto Steak's face, onto what he can feel from him, waiting for him to trip up and say something stupid enough that he can call this entire thing off and draw a line beneath it.

Because isn't it easier to simply go on as they were? He could kick himself for every time he'd let Steak get that close. For kissing him.

But Steak has been there for him from the very beginning of all this. From the first changes that were pressed upon them and through every attempt of Red Wine's to push him away. And he had tried, even after they had linked themselves together in a way that made it impossible.

He hears exactly what he wants to hear, only realising it's what he needs to hear when the words leave Steak's mouth. He looks down at his hands, twisting pale fingers together before one hand holds the other own to stop the fidgeting. His eyes half-lid, a wry smile coming to his lips.]

You wouldn't, would you. [That is something he will grudgingly concede.] And you know--... I wouldn't have stayed for so long just because of a promise.

[Not if he really hated him. Not if he really couldn't stand to be around him.]

... I am glad you're here, Steak. I want you to know that.

[battlebound]

[ It has always been easier like that, when they had nothing else to worry about but whatever work they were doing. They could create their own problems and arguments and never worry about what it meant for who they were together.

They liked fighting, whether it was evil or each other. But now, here in Aefenglom, Steak watches Red Wine turn into the one thing Steak had always assured him would be impossible, watches him splinter and fracture as each month something new and terrible befalls him.

Their fights, nowadays, come with venom and broken spirits, and even Steak is forced to look within at what all of it means.

And, perhaps, it means the same thing his Master Attendant's anger did when Madame tried to offer herself as bait to a murderer.

He scowls as Red Wine replies, not because he hates those words but because they're new. Raw. Unfamiliar. They're nothing he's accustomed to hearing from the bastard, and his face doesn't know what to do.

(But, if he's honest with himself, his heart lightens, just a touch.) ]

Come here.

[ He unwinds his hands from his tentacles and lifts his head from where it had steadfastly been glowering at his lap, reaching out to wrap an arm around Red Wine's shoulder and yank him flush against his side.

It isn't gentle, but then, they are still themselves, after all. ]

[judgementor]

[Steak wouldn't let him keep pushing him away, so Red Wine had found other ways to do it. Other ways to keep him out. Other ways to make sure that he never really knew what was going on. He would always rail against not being permitted his secrets - at least some - despite how much Steak hates to allow him any at all.

It's awkward, and he expects it to end right there. Steak getting up and leaving would not have been entirely unanticipated, even after everything that had been said. But instead...]

... Fine.

[Something lightens, just a touch, and he doesn't complain too much about the rough way he's handled. It's how they are, after all. He leans against Steak's side and shoots a brief look up at him, something small and puzzled crossing his face for a moment before it's gone just as quickly as it appeared.]

So... what now.

[battlebound]

[ He blinks, and if Red Wine ever needed more proof that Steak doesn't think things out that far, here it is. Because he really didn't think out what else there was to do, or where they're even meant to go from here.

Then again, he didn't even think out where things would go after he'd resolved to try kissing Red Wine. So. Maybe he isn't the brightest. ]

... I don't know.

[ So maybe he'll just admit that much. He has no idea what now, but it feels right to have Red Wine pressed against him like this.

Once upon a time, he would have said it was just the bond.

Today, he isn't so sure. ]