#frayeddarkness

“Ishgard?!” He gasps. “Wow, ye mean tha’?!” He looks excited, now. “Ishgard like in th’ stories?! Th’ ones about th’ dragoons an’ stuff?! Wow!” He pauses and shakes his head. “I dunno ‘ow’s I got ‘ere, though. But s’okay, it’s a ‘venture, right?” He bounces excitedly. “A real ‘venture, ‘ow ‘citin’!”

“The one an’ only,” she says, grinning at him.  It’s worrisome that he doesn’t know how he ended up in Coerthas (she’ll need to have words with his mother when they find her), but it could be worse.  He could’ve chosen a far less kid-friendly person to latch onto, someone who wouldn’t be inclined to keep him safe.

He laughs, but the laugh is cut off by him losing his own balance, and he tips forward, the books sliding so that he ends up almost on top of her. “Oops?” He manages, snorting.

He smiles at her, though, raising his eyebrows. “Don’t worry, Stella. I completely forgot it was Valentione’s, too,” he jokes. “I’ve never celebrated before.” A pause, and he blushes at her grin, biting his lip. “Well, uh.”

What did he want? “Yeah, I– I guess I can think of something.” But what, he’s not entirely sure. Something.

Oh.  Oh no, that’s not fair.  How can he be that casually attractive without realising it?   She grabs him by the collar and kisses him deeply; no way does he get to bite his lip all sexily and get away with it, not if she gets any say in the matter.

“Y’did that on purpose,” she says when she pulls away to breathe.  The sweets he brought lay abandoned for the moment, but she’s too busy with Bran to notice.  “Y’blighted tease, d’y’even know how soddin’ hot y’are?”

A soft gasp of surprise escapes her, and she tries to get up so he isn’t leaning awkwardly over the walls of her ‘nest’.  Unfortunately, towers of books don’t make very stable walls.  She quickly loses her balance, and lands in a heap on the floor, her face turning bright red from embarrassment, but otherwise alright.

“S’not too late at all,” she says, after picking herself up and finally accepting the gifts.  “Thank you... Totally forgot what time of year it was; ‘M so sorry, I didn’t...”  Didn’t get him anything.  She wasn’t prepared for anything beyond her annual hiding, but then...

“Not really,” he says with a laugh. “I just…I don’t know, I wanted to spend some time with you, is all.” After all, he was missing for a while. Oops? “So…where d’you wanna go?”