❦ ange ❦

Wait. You turn around, only to see that it was your boyfriend that had been calling you, not August.

"What does that mean?" He was curious. Of course he'd ask.

"Uh.." Your entire face heats up, completely embarrassed at your previous outburst and to safe face, you told him stupidly: "It means 'I love you'….."

"Oh." He smiles, "I thought you were angry."

"No of course not…. I could never be angry with you…" You laugh nervously, "What did you need?"

After that, you thought that he would have forgotten about what you said (frankly because you hoped he would). Unfortunately for you, you were dating the most observant man in the faction of the Cleaners, so there was no way he'd forget something as sacred as a phrase of love in your own native language.

You had been in the common room with Enjin, Gris and the other adults, nursing a beer while a party was going on. You didn't think that Tamsy would join given that he seemed to have been tired from the mission, but to your surprise, he was sat beside you just after an hour since the party started.

"You're here," You say, planting a kiss on his scarred cheek as he settles down beside you. "Gris was just telling us about one of his old-man stories from way-back-when."

Gris rolls his eyes at your comment and Enjin laughs which prompts you to comment, "What are you laughing at, Enjin? You're basically the same age as Gris."

"Hey! I'm two years younger so technically not an old man yet."

"Are you calling me old?"

Tamsy watches amusedly as the two bicker over your comments. He wasn't the type to be bold with his affection in public so he'd never say 'I love you' in front of others, but he was feeling a little lovesick after the entire week that he'd barely been able to see you. So, he leans in close to you and murmurs, "Cállate la jeta."

You nearly spit out your drink upon hearing him say it so sweetly. You turn and whisper, "Que, que?"

He looks at you with a puzzled expression, ".. It means 'I love you' does it not? Did I say it incorrectly..?"

It's then that your mind flashes back to that moment that you told him what it 'meant' to save face. "Oh! Um.. about that.." You snicker, "Don't be mad, okay?"

"What does it mean?"

"..It means 'Shut your mouth'."

And it would have been funny, seeing him deflate in front of you, if it wasn't your fault.

"You're telling me.. I just told you to shut up?" He deadpans.

"Look, I'm sorry! I thought you were August when you called for me and I accidentally told you to shut up, I didn't wanna hurt your feelings so I just.. lied.."

"You're evil." he says with a forlorn expression, taking a fork and eating a piece of cake that sat on the plate in front of you.

"What's wrong with him?" Enjin asks, seemingly done with his mini-argument with Gris.

"Nothing.." You both tell him at the same time.

Enjin shrugs and continues on speaking with the others. And like that, the party continued until the hours of the morning. You ended up quite drunk that night, so Tamsy escorted you to his room that night, thinking it better than leaving you in your room by yourself in such a vulnerable state.

After you'd changed into some of the clothes he'd lent you, you found yourself in bed with him holding you from behind.

You held one of his hands that was around your waist and drew lazy circles over the skin of his hand. "Te amo," you murmured.

"Hm?"

"Te amo," you repeated softly, "It means 'I love you'."

He chuckles, "Does it really?"

A smile, "Yeah. For real."

He hugs you closer to him.

"In that case, Te amo."

˗ˏˋ𖤓⋮ . . . Given that the ground holds a lot of different people from a lot of cultures, Tamsy finds yours interesting since he doesn't get a lot of that on the Sphere, where everyone is pretty much divided and punished for their individuality.

˗ˏˋ𖤓⋮ . . . He admires the inflections in your tone when you speak your native language (he also ragebaits you at times just to hear your native language come out when you cuss him out, it's funny and adorable to him); He will 100% pick up some phrases from being around you so much.

˗ˏˋ𖤓⋮ . . . If you like to sing songs with your native language, he's definitely lurking around just to hear your pretty voice. Despite the fact that he wouldn't understand much, he thinks there's beauty in simply being able to hear your emotions through your voice.

˗ˏˋ𖤓⋮ . . . He's a fan of your baking and cooking. That man is there with you in the kitchen every time you decide to make something; Whether you're making drinks or food to eat, he offers his help and memorizes the recipes of his and your favorites.

˗ˏˋ𖤓⋮ . . . Tamsy isn't much of a dancer, so he'll rarely be up and about if you accompany Semiu and Enjin to the club, but he is mesmerized by your movements when you dance. Whether its kompa, lambada, bachata, punta, etc., he loves watching how intimate and skilled the dances are. If you offer to teach him, he initially declines politely and tells you that he's fine simply watching, but he'll take you up on the offer in the privacy of his/your room :) (he's shy /hj).

˗ˏˋ𖤓⋮ . . . When you tell him something romantic in your native language and refuse to translate it just to see his reaction, he gets annoyed (and then he blushes internally when you translate it later).

˗ˏˋ𖤓⋮ . . . If you have curly hair, he 1000% learns how to take care of your hair and how you like it done (he'll deadass learn to braid for you 'cuz he doesn't play about you at all). He's meticulous about his own hair so he enjoys days where you let him do your hair; it feels oddly domestic and strangely enough, he's into it.

˗ˏˋ𖤓⋮ . . . He admires how passionate you are about preserving your culture on the ground through art, whether it just be language, dance or other art forms, he enjoys how unapologetically yourself you are — it's refreshing to him.