[ The note attached to her Satinalia gift said come see me, so he's at her door—a little late, but not as late as this tag—with the note in hand, to hold demonstratively at eye height when she opens the door.
In silence.
But his face is as pleasant as it gets, not annoyed, so it means hello instead of what is the meaning of this. ]
[ As far as greetings go, it's a good one. It makes her laugh, pleased as much with his arrival as with the note itself. ]
Did you like the wine? [ is what she asks first, easy welcome in her voice as she steps back, door opening wider in unspoken invitation. The other things felt like more of a gamble, with less certainty about what Kostos might like. ]
You're welcome, [ comes easily, though Derrica hadn't expected it and wouldn't have held the absence of gratitude against him. ] I hoped they'd suit you.
[ There are things she could tack onto that. I made it myself or The carpenter in Ghislain tried to sell me an owl instead A moment passes, her head tipping to consider him. ]
Do you want to come to bed with me?
[ A flicker of humor ebbing into her expression as she speaks. ]
[ Acknowledgement that skirts around what she knows he means to avoid with that approach. She recognizes it. ]
I like going to bed with you, [ she says, eyes on his face. A smile tugs at her mouth, softens as she presses on. ] And I like our friendship. I like that you don't want anything at all from me beyond that.
[ In which the last point carries the most weight. There's a safety in that knowledge. It's why she can ask this of him at all. ]
[ From someone else he might not trust it because it's such a correct response—because all but one of the entanglements he's regretted have started with a promise they wouldn't be entanglements at all—but he thinks he believes her.
That or he's being lulled into complacent trust by her whole thing.
Either way, he finds himself nodding a little, closer to agreement than before, and saying— ]
Do you know Benevenuta Thevenet? [ Whether she does or not: ] We were—something, we were teenagers. I told her I didn't love her and she threw a Mortalitasi skull at me. A possessed one. And some other things. Fire.
[ No, Derrica hasn’t met Benevenuta, but that’s not really the point of the story, she thinks. She’s quiet for a moment, weighing up the shared memory before— ]
I had to leave a good crew once, because the man who wanted us to be something thought he could convince me to be his wife, even though we were hardly something at all. I didn’t want it. I’d said it would never like that between us, but...
[ A brief, rueful pause, trailing into a shrug. Kostos can guess at the rebuttal she’d received. Instead, softened by a smile, she offers: ]
I’ve never thrown any fire. And I don’t own any skulls.
[ In her pause, his usual frown deepens, for her sake. The beginning of a thought about what a ship filled mostly with men might be like for a woman. But it doesn’t have time to fully form before she moves on, and he moves on with her, and very nearly smiles. ]
And if I ever try to marry anyone, it is blood magic and I need rescue.
So.
[ So he thinks about it for one more second, and then holds out his hand. ]
The extension of his hand delights her. Derrica is obvious about it, smile brightening her face at the acquiescence. Rather than take a step forward, she laces her fingers into his and gives a little tug, the curve of her smile saying: Come here. ]
I'll promise to rescue you, if you promise the same for me.
[ Surely this is the kind of pact all successful friendships must be based on. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
belatedly,
In silence.
But his face is as pleasant as it gets, not annoyed, so it means hello instead of what is the meaning of this. ]
noice
Did you like the wine? [ is what she asks first, easy welcome in her voice as she steps back, door opening wider in unspoken invitation. The other things felt like more of a gamble, with less certainty about what Kostos might like. ]
no subject
[ He's not wearing it. But he will be, some other time, when it's not so cold and his arms are less thoroughly sleeved.
There's a little pause, long enough for a rarely-used gear to unstick, then: ]
Thank you.
no subject
[ There are things she could tack onto that. I made it myself or The carpenter in Ghislain tried to sell me an owl instead A moment passes, her head tipping to consider him. ]
Do you want to come to bed with me?
[ A flicker of humor ebbing into her expression as she speaks. ]
no subject
I—
[ and this is his best attempt at being kind about it, really, and also not quite no ]
—try not to form habits.
no subject
[ Acknowledgement that skirts around what she knows he means to avoid with that approach. She recognizes it. ]
I like going to bed with you, [ she says, eyes on his face. A smile tugs at her mouth, softens as she presses on. ] And I like our friendship. I like that you don't want anything at all from me beyond that.
[ In which the last point carries the most weight. There's a safety in that knowledge. It's why she can ask this of him at all. ]
https://www.artnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/1-icfdr5fclvvyzdnc8pwepw.jpeg
That or he's being lulled into complacent trust by her whole thing.
Either way, he finds himself nodding a little, closer to agreement than before, and saying— ]
Do you know Benevenuta Thevenet? [ Whether she does or not: ] We were—something, we were teenagers. I told her I didn't love her and she threw a Mortalitasi skull at me. A possessed one. And some other things. Fire.
no subject
I had to leave a good crew once, because the man who wanted us to be something thought he could convince me to be his wife, even though we were hardly something at all. I didn’t want it. I’d said it would never like that between us, but...
[ A brief, rueful pause, trailing into a shrug. Kostos can guess at the rebuttal she’d received. Instead, softened by a smile, she offers: ]
I’ve never thrown any fire. And I don’t own any skulls.
no subject
And if I ever try to marry anyone, it is blood magic and I need rescue.
So.
[ So he thinks about it for one more second, and then holds out his hand. ]
pls to put a bow on this
The extension of his hand delights her. Derrica is obvious about it, smile brightening her face at the acquiescence. Rather than take a step forward, she laces her fingers into his and gives a little tug, the curve of her smile saying: Come here. ]
I'll promise to rescue you, if you promise the same for me.
[ Surely this is the kind of pact all successful friendships must be based on. ]
🎀
[ comes after a pause, because an earnest promise over held hands would be a little much for him.
It's what he means, though. Yes.
And he steps forward. ]