“ Good, I really hate beatin' around th' bush. ” Even if flirting could be a dance just the same, Eros wasn't interested in running in those circles. She preferred being straight forward when it came to her intentions. Her wants. And given how much time they'd spent together, she wanted nothing more than continue this dance with the other. Courtship – it felt like forever since she'd earnestly been in such a position. Forever since someone had shown genuine interest in her and she had shown it in turn. Nobody quite caught her interest the way that Casimir had. And no one had treated her quite as sweetly as he did. How lucky she is to be in this position, she thinks.

     Her gaze follows him as he lifts her hand to press a kiss to the back of it. There's a fluster that spreads across her cheeks, words lost for the moment. He certainly knows how to make a girl swoon… what a gentleman. Yet, there returns that now familiar pout as he speaks of not spoiling a surprise. Of course he'd keep her in the dark. Really, she should start expecting this from him.

" goodness, such little faith in me ? i could never, my dear. after all, i want you there with me for a reason -- not flock over to someone new and potentially let someone else steal you away from me. " casimir shakes his head, feigning a brief look of distraught at the mere idea of eros being left unattended. ( no doubt there will be many eyes drawn onto them both; eros especially. ) like a beautiful diamond, she is. there will be vultures who'll want to get a taste, the desire to linger in the presence that looked like sweetness itself, and hear her voice like enraptured sailors. -- if casimir doesn't drown them first.

gloved fingers give her hand a squeeze as his face scrunches playfully. " you will turn many heads, my dear. hm ... i fear it's me that should worry about someone taking you from me. " he chuckles under his breath, eyes narrowing. " ... fortunately, that won't happen. " there was a playful air to his assurance, yet a heavy, underlying tone that almost sounded like he'd be sure to stop it with his own hands. " will this be your first time at a charity event, my dear ? rest assured, despite the context of the gathering, it's really no different from your typical social gathering. " a bit of an understatement; typical social gatherings weren't so opulent as the ones casimir was used to.

" what ? -- no, no. " almost immediately, adrian's brows furrow as eyes widen with concern upon hearing such a ridiculous assumption. where did he assume that from ? " that's not what i mean by being a germaphobe, ah -- " he sighs, raking his hair back. he looked like he just kicked the poor thing; it doesn't help when at this point noname's puppy dog eyes have a harder effect on him than he'd like to admit. he tries to cut this misunderstanding by its roots before noname potentially makes himself feel bet; reaching out with his gloved hand to grab him by the wrist. " stop ... don't look like that. " he grumbles out. " i don't think you're dirty, not in the slightest ... okay ? it's too complicated for me to explain it properly .... "

→     𝐈 .    GENERAL

❛   hush .   raise  a  finger  in  a  gesture  to  silence  my  muse . ❛   sit .   gesture  for  my  muse  to  sit  down . ❛   door .   hold  a  door  open  for  my  muse . ❛   tap .   tap  my  muse  on  the  shoulder  to  garner  their  attention . ❛   hunger .   give  my  muse  something  to  eat  /  drink . ❛   cook .   present  my  muse  with  home - cooked  food . ❛   brush .   work  a  brush  /  comb  through  my  muse’s  hair . ❛   read .   silently  read  a  book  alongside  my  muse . ❛   hand .   hold  out  a  hand  for  my  muse  to  take . ❛   dressed .   help  my  muse  put  on  an  article  of  clothing . ❛   note .   give  my  muse  a  note  saying :   [ content ] . ❛   amplify .   turn  up  the  music  in  the  car .

→     𝐈𝐈 .    ANGST

❛   patch .   help  my  muse  patch  up  a  wound . ❛   night terrors .   hold  my  muse  after  they  wake  up  from  a  nightmare . ❛   company .   silently  sit  with  my  muse  to  comfort  them. ❛   hospital .   my  muse  is  told  that  yours  is  in  the  hospital . ❛   revelation .   show  my  muse  evidence  of  a  lie  they  told . ❛   indulge .   find  my  muse  drinking  to  cope . ❛   downfall .   find  my  muse  collapsed  on  the  ground . ❛   console .   comfort  my  muse  as  they  cry . ❛   nurse .   give  my  muse  company  in  the  hospital .

→     𝐈𝐈𝐈 .    AFFECTIONATE

❛   wink .   wink  at  my  muse .  ❛   wrap .   wrap  an  arm  around  my  muse’s  [ shoulders  /  waist ] . ❛   caress .   gently  caress  my  muse’s  face . ❛   tousle .   mess  playfully  with  my  muse’s  hair . ❛   chest .   place  your  head  on  my  muse’s  chest .    ❛   comb .   comb  fingers  through  my  muse’s  hair . ❛   grasp .   run  to  my  muse  &  jump  into  their  arms . ❛   lean .   lean  on  my  muse’s  shoulder . ❛   tender .   kiss  my  muse  on  the  [ forehead  /  cheek  /  nose ] . ❛   abrupt .   kiss  my  muse  out  of  the  blue . ❛   chaste .   chastely  kiss  my  muse . ❛   good morning .   kiss  my  muse  the  morning  after . ❛   volumes .   gaze  at  my  muse  in  a  way  that  silently  says  ‘i love you’ .

→     𝐈𝐕  .    VIOLENT

❛   strike .   [ slap / punch ]  my muse in the face . ❛   gun .   wield  a  gun  at  my  muse . ❛   twist .   twist  my  muse’s  arm  behind  their  back . ❛   throttle .   aggressively  wrap  your  hands  around  my  muse’s  throat . ❛   parch .   burn  my  muse  with  a  hot  object . ❛   take down .   forcefully  bring  my  muse  to  the  ground . ❛   gouge .   wield  a  sharp  object  at  my  muse . ❛  shunt .   shove  my  muse  backwards . ❛  stickup .   yell  at  my  muse  to  put  their  hands  in  the  air. ❛  shoot .   [ fatally  /  non-fatally ]   shoot  my  muse . ❛  stab .   stab  my  muse with a  [ knife / other object ].

→     𝐕 .    NSFW

"An interesting point you make about the stories, Taiyou," she admits with a slight smile, leaning back against the soft cushions of her chair. A cup of tea remains in her hand, white porcelain with golden edges. Elegant and pristine, with a richness of flavor reflecting in the dark liquid. Maybe that hot drink melts the frigid insides of hers or maybe his response got her to feel the tickle.

"I think the expected third option continues to be the best: it must be in balance. We cannot force children to immediately face with the harshness of reality without erasing their childhood, as an example," the images of Azalea and Hikari appear in her mind and she takes a sip of her tea to give herelf a second, "but we also cannot keep them away from the truth forever. Tricky, always is."

Zarina thinks to herself for a moment: Are stories not to teach people how to slowly come to realization that reality is different? Illusions and tales, verbal exchanges, music and storytelling sessions. So many races, existences, and beings were connected by stories in attempt to relate to each other or understand each other. A lie can be a relatability, a switch of people or a switch of the situation enough to make it comprehensible.

" ... children are expected to leave their nest. " taiyou mutters, the cup of his own tea lingering just a few inches beyond his lips as his expression morphs into one of thought. for so long, taiyou has served as that nest himself. providing security, warmth, and an assurance that his family will never have to endure any of the hardships thrown their way without him at their side. hikari and shou especially; strongminded as their resilient heart. ( but what happens when the world beyond their nest was far more dangerous than the sanctuary of home ? ) what kind of guardian or parent wants to thrust their little ones out into a world riddled with pain and suffering ? quietly, gaze sharpens with a look of quiet disdain at such a thought. a small sip of his tea follows, allowing the warmth and subtle sweetness from the now melted sugar cubes inside the cup to alleviate some of the tension ....

he's quiet for a moment, allowing zarina to make her points as he settles in the machinations of his own thoughts. .... true; it'd be naive to simply state that one was ultimately the best course of action without considering the cons. the truth was bitter and cold; lies were sickeningly sweet. a debate that was rooted since the beginning of time. " to be frank, the weight of lies always depends on how much a person is willing to believe in it. in that case, that's none of my concern. " a blunter response that he probably intended, but it simply speaks to how indifferent he ultimately is when it came to the perceptions of others.

" people are ultimately in charge of how much they want to believe, and how far they're willing to stretch those lies. besides .... there's still the case that those lies could one day just turn into the truth. "

     he thinks he’s actually won for once, when the bed doesn’t feel as heavy as it had prior——     good, he must be getting up to leave     &͟.     soon he can return back to his dreams of being back home, of the groenendael named tiramisu that his father had forced him to leave behind after he’d been wed off. ( only one personal belonging, his father had told him, but not the dog. )

     pancakes? touché. he peeks out from his shield of blankets, with the same gracefulness     &͟.     quickness of a cat. okay, he’s got him good. when anything sweet is involved he’s consistently at the scene of the crime. he supposes he’ll cooperate with his … husband, if it means getting to start the morning with something that isn’t as nausea inducing as eggs. ( quite frankly, he hates them. ) he pretends to, or tries at least, to not look as eager as he is when he finally sits upright, at the very edge of the bed, rubbing away the sleep from his eyes, arms thrown o’er his head whilst he stretches.     ❝     can i go like this at least? do i have to change? what if i don’t want to? are you going to make me? i’ll bite you and never let go.     ❞   

hm, guess that worked after all. admittedly, an easier tactic to implement than he realized; it's the same one he often used on shou when he was too stubborn to get out of bed for his morning lessons. ( he silently notes in the back of his mind that pancakes play as one of his weaknesses. ) he doesn't make a comment on it, knowing it'd only fuel n all the more with defiance and make him fall back into bed and curl back under the sheets out of pure spite. he's seen it happen before .... so he simply glances at him every now and then, watching him finally sit up and actually greet the waking world with his presence. good. they're getting somewhere.

small victories, but they count. taiyou's already organized n's attire for the day, but due to his indicated desire to dress otherwise ... well, it'd feel silly to fight on him about it. ( he's not so controlling to force his own spouse what to wear, especially when they share the same roof. ) " wear whatever you'd like ... shou does the same thing sometimes. " expected of the youngest prince, the little rascal prince was his common title. " and really, there's no need to bite me. again. " he mutters that last part under his breath ... registering the first time the two of them shared a bed together, and one morning he woke up to n biting him so harshly, it jolted him awake in pain. the reason ? ... he rolled too close over to his side.

he bends down to pick something up off from the ground; a pair of slippers that n usually war. taiyou makes his way over to n, and he kneels down before him ... settled on one knee as his hand gently cups around the back of his ankle to tuck each of his foot into his slippers. " wear these at least ... the weather is quite cold outside, so the floors will be cold too. ... do whatever else you want to do to get ready. i'll be waiting outside your door for you. "

     her mouth dropped open at the surprise in his voice. it made her flinch in pain like she had been struck by an arrow. there was a tiny hope that perhaps he could have felt something for her as well but that tiny hope dissolved into nothingness. eyes go from his expression to his grip upon her wrist. her entire face felt hot from the simple comforting touch. swallowing down her disappointment , she steeled her nerves &. she pulled away from him taking a step back. her fan opened , as she fanned herself , ❛     it's so silly , you've only ever been a professional. by the surprise on your face , i guess my suspicions have been confirmed that you do not feel the same !    ❜ a laugh came forth. why had she let her feelings grow , inviting her to eden clouds , always being attentive of her needs , it was what a good bodyguard would do. nothing more. oh tingyun , why do you always have to be right ?

     breathing out a sigh , she smiled. a sad but genuine one. all nervousness dissipated leaving behind dread. she knew this outcome was coming &. that is why she had been anxious. she had been anxious to face the inevitable. ❛     i'll be greedy &. steal one kiss , forgive me.    ❜ rising up on her tiptoes , she softly kissed his stubbled cheek. it was bittersweet , his skin felt warm &. the smell of his cologne filled her senses. the twist in her stomach ached for more.

     ❛     do not worry about your job , i'll be sure to give you magnificent review. all things have to end &. i believe this is the perfect place to end our contract.    ❜ she brushed his hair out of his face , lingering to memorize his features before falling back on her flats of her shoes. hands smoothed over her new dress. why had she entertained these fake thoughts. ❛     it has been an unforgettable time , mr. ryouta.    ❜  the formality felt like a knife , ❛     i ... i must leave.    ❜  then she began to walk away from him ... hoping he would not try to smooth over &. make her feel like more of a fool.

ryouta's eyes widen, brows lifting in surprise by her sudden declaration before he could even feel his words allow themselves to spill out. not feel the same ? wait ... she was moving too fast, she was barely allowing him any time tospeak -- " tingyun, wait " he tries to halt the pace of her words by raising his hand, but she keeps going, almost as if she was too afraid to register the sound of his voice else the first thing she'll hear is blatant rejection. her entire posture's now riddled with a body language centered in awkwardness, almost as if she were panicking. his mind was coursing with a million different thoughts at once, surprise still apparent in hazel eyes. she really had feelings for him ? ... when did they begin ? where did it all start ?

" tingyun -- " again, he tries to call her name, and again, she speaks over him. ( the kiss to his cheek makes his eyes widen even more and feel like his entire senses have burned aflame. ) following after, his heart can't help but drop a little when all of a sudden she brings up the end of their contract. what ... ? brows furrow with uncertainty as he frowns deeply. this was too sudden, too fast to the point she wasn't even willing to hear from him ... that wasn't like her.

without warning, he finally takes initiative to reach out and grab her by the wrist to stop her from leaving him, gently tugging her back into his direction. " tingyun. stop. " his voice was firm and strict, hoping it was enough to deter her out of her uncertainty and finally make her look at him properly. " .... if you're done, may i have a turn to speak now ? "