the thought of high windows—

feel free to edit or elaborate as you please .   ( add  ‘ reverse ‘  to your message if you’d like to see how my muse would perform the action ) . otherwise , send in one of these for my muse’s reaction to   …

[ lit ]  your muse lighting a cigarette , spliff , etc. for mine . 

[ order ]  your muse ordering for mine at a restaurant or bar .

[ guide ]  your muse putting a hand on mine’s back to lead them .

[ pay ]  your muse paying for mine at a store , bar , restaurant , etc . ( you can specify where or for what . )

[ open ]  your muse opening a door for mine .

[ dry ]  your muse drying mine off with a towel after a shower , bath , swimming , etc . 

[ instruct ]  your muse giving mine instructions / telling them what to do . 

[ groom ]  your muse adjusting mine’s appearance , such as straightening a tie , fixing their hair , or buttoning their shirt for them , etc . 

[ direct ]  your muse taking mine by the chin and telling them to look yours in the eye .

[ disagree ]  your muse sternly telling mine  ‘ no ‘ .

[ rest ]  your muse resting their arm over mine’s shoulder / s .

[ clean ]  your muse cleaning a smudge of something off mine’s cheek , forehead , etc .   feel free to specify what and how . 

[ answer ]  your muse answering a question meant for mine . 

[ coat ]   your muse holds mine’s coat out for them while they put it on .

[ pilot ]  your muse taking mine by the arm , hand , shoulder , etc . to lead them . 

[ stare ]  your muse staring mine down . 

[ placement ]  your muse telling mine to sit down .

[ teach ]  your muse taking control of mine’s hand , arm , hips , etc . to make sure they do something correctly .  

[ patience ]  your muse telling mine to be patient .

[ tears ]  your muse wiping away mine’s tears .

[ swat ]  your muse swatting mine’s hand away from something they’re not supposed to touch .  

[ jewelry  ]  your muse clasping a piece of jewelry for mine , such as a necklace , or earrings . 

[ enough ]  your muse commanding mine to stop talking . 

[ retrieve ]  your muse requesting or ordering mine to retrieve them something .

[ invite ]  your muse inviting mine to sit on their lap .

[ lean ]  your muse inviting mine to lean into their side while they’re sitting or laying together . 

[ calm ]   your muse telling mine to  ‘ just breathe ‘ .

[ scold ]  your muse scolding mine for something .

[ comfort ]  your muse pulling mine into a reassuring hug .

[ approval ]  your muse complimenting mine on a choice they’ve made .

[ beckon ]  your muse beckoning mine to them without speaking . 

[ laces ]  your muse lacing , tying , or zipping something for mine , such as shoes , a dress , or a jacket , etc .

[ stay ]  your muse telling mine to stay in the car . 

[ defend ]  your muse defending mine’s reputation , dignity , or safety for them . 

[ feed ]  your muse feeding mine something , feel free to specify what .

[ volume ]  your muse demanding mine speak louder .

[ read ]  your muse reading something to mine .

[ refill ]  your muse refilling mine’s glass for them . 

he touches lee’s upper arm. his palm is hot even through the layers of lee’s clothes. there's a light pressure to it, as though he were preparing to shake lee awake. then it falls away.

they’re in a field of coarse, withered grass, grooves of mud cut across it. the air is cold and saturated, though there's no snow, not even on the peaks of the distant mountains that border the field. above them, the sun has slid lower in the sky, pulling long shadows from underneath their feet.

Crowley grasps Lee's arm. Sultry. Lee shivers—abscission-y. Touch itself, from another, is a tropical topical of the present; pleasurable and potent and humiliating (as salacious as soliciting someone to sunscreen between your shoulder blades). Lee never asks; starvestruck, he basks. Lee exists here—now—profoundly. Wherever 'here' is.

That is new.

Knowing, definitively, 'when' he is but not 'where'.

Wide, grassy plains repeat and repeat exactly how (and why) noise, here, does not. The clap never returns. Echoless. As if the land ascribes to the same monkly vow of now.

"You have—" it is objectively pleasanter in this field (just so) and that disrupts Lee's oversized and in effect ill-fitting grouchiness he wears because he thinks he should; still, his eyes flick to Crowley's, their hazel hue shimmering like wish-tossed pennies oxidized-green. But Lee cannot outperform the elements: even marooned to snowless lands, his cold, grave stare is not so cold nor dark: his eyebags (sunken maroon dunes) are far darker. He huffs and abandons the charade. In this present state, remembering the time he was counting down to until Kaye's birth lags, foggily delayed (like the weather-late bus); his brow riffle-shuffle-bends. Then. Politer, eyebrows raised rather than his voice: "You have until seven forty-nine."

he raises his eyebrows. ❛ oh yes, ❜ slow, grave with sarcasm. ❛ you're really going nowhere fast. must be important. ❜

the narrow patch of dry concrete beneath the awning is empty but for them. when lee glances away, crowley sidles a few steps closer, into arms reach. oppressive, almost, in his proximity, reducing lee’s range of vision.

he withdraws one of his hands from his coat to gesture dismissively at the air. ❛ come on, what’s the rush? you’ve seen one baby, you’ve seen them all. ❜ lee’s even seen this baby in particular. he can smell it. anticipation without desperation. desire denuded, scraped of all its edges until it is smooth and featureless as stone.

Candid: “I enjoy your sense of humor, Crowley.” And he means it. Without ulterior purpose. He isn't appraising for purity. This is pure praise.