[ If not for how high his emotions were running at the moment, he would gladly respond with playful remarks of his own. And yet until his present feelings have settled, any moments of playfulness and flirtatiousness will have to wait.
He finds himself nodding with each place that she names. ] I wish to see all of those places and so much more. If it were possible for the two of us to travel the entirety of our star, I would ask for it. Perhaps- Perhaps you will find it strange, even odd, but I wish only to be at your side, to hear you speak about anything and everything you might wish to... What you like and dislike, your hopes and dreams. All of it.
[ He has realized he could spend every day studying her, and there would always be something to surprise him.
When her fingers touch his ear and begin tracing along with it, a long sigh escapes him, seeming to take with it the tension from his frame and finally allowing something like relaxation to replace it. He still is not truly and entirely relaxed, but at least it is a start. When she repeats the motion, that is when the rest of the tension finally leaves him and he is left simply lying there, feeling truly at ease for the first time in so many days.
They still have quite a bit to navigate together, including her own lingering issues from her time on the First, and his unresolved feelings concerning Thordan and his tempering. But he is certain that the two of them shall navigate those together.
That he has finally entered into a state of relaxation has not changed, but neither has the fact that his old wound still has a ways to go before the knots of tangled aether are finally seen to. As she continues to rub at the scar in an attempt to cause his aether to move, a hiss of breath escapes him as a sharp jolt of pain strikes at him. He knows that this is all part of the process, and when she is finished, he will feel much better, and that is what he chooses to focus on.
After all, it has to get worse before it can be better, and he takes this to mean that the knots are indeed beginning to loosen. ]
I only wish for you to be with me, but if you ever feel that you must go, even for a time, no matter the reason... [ He knows he cannot hold onto her so tightly that her freedom to move as she pleases is restricted, no matter how much he wishes to keep her at his side. ] You are free to go where you will.
[ And after only the briefest of pauses, he adds: ] Only, if you do go, I will most certainly follow after you.
[ And then a small smile comes to his face then, because he would follow her across the star if he had to. ] I have never doubted you nor what you might feel for me. [ Well, there have been moments in which he wondered if he was truly the one she wanted to be with, but he has done his best to focus on what he knows to be true and not on the idle speculations of his often worried mind.
But then she says his name, and his gaze returns to meet hers. ]
How many of them? The rather impractical answer is as many as our home can hold and that we can properly care for. Whether they are of our own blood or not, they will still be our children, of that I am sure of.
[ But he muses over the question, because how many children should they have or take in? ]
Perhaps two girls and two boys, so that they might find someone they can talk to should either of us prove to be occupied for one reason or another. Two pairs of siblings, perhaps.
[ Privately, he has resolved to only think of the possibility that she could carry their own children. There is just as much a possibility that she could not, but he has already chosen to be hopeful and believe that it can happen. ]
Just being with you is what makes me happy. [ He has to reach up to touch her, and his reach does not entirely make it, but he wishes to at least touch her and offer her the comfort he believes she needs. She might be trying to hold in her emotions, but he can hear them in her voice all the same. His wife in all but name needs his comfort, and he means to give it to her. ]
no subject
He finds himself nodding with each place that she names. ] I wish to see all of those places and so much more. If it were possible for the two of us to travel the entirety of our star, I would ask for it. Perhaps- Perhaps you will find it strange, even odd, but I wish only to be at your side, to hear you speak about anything and everything you might wish to... What you like and dislike, your hopes and dreams. All of it.
[ He has realized he could spend every day studying her, and there would always be something to surprise him.
When her fingers touch his ear and begin tracing along with it, a long sigh escapes him, seeming to take with it the tension from his frame and finally allowing something like relaxation to replace it. He still is not truly and entirely relaxed, but at least it is a start. When she repeats the motion, that is when the rest of the tension finally leaves him and he is left simply lying there, feeling truly at ease for the first time in so many days.
They still have quite a bit to navigate together, including her own lingering issues from her time on the First, and his unresolved feelings concerning Thordan and his tempering. But he is certain that the two of them shall navigate those together.
That he has finally entered into a state of relaxation has not changed, but neither has the fact that his old wound still has a ways to go before the knots of tangled aether are finally seen to. As she continues to rub at the scar in an attempt to cause his aether to move, a hiss of breath escapes him as a sharp jolt of pain strikes at him. He knows that this is all part of the process, and when she is finished, he will feel much better, and that is what he chooses to focus on.
After all, it has to get worse before it can be better, and he takes this to mean that the knots are indeed beginning to loosen. ]
I only wish for you to be with me, but if you ever feel that you must go, even for a time, no matter the reason... [ He knows he cannot hold onto her so tightly that her freedom to move as she pleases is restricted, no matter how much he wishes to keep her at his side. ] You are free to go where you will.
[ And after only the briefest of pauses, he adds: ] Only, if you do go, I will most certainly follow after you.
[ And then a small smile comes to his face then, because he would follow her across the star if he had to. ] I have never doubted you nor what you might feel for me. [ Well, there have been moments in which he wondered if he was truly the one she wanted to be with, but he has done his best to focus on what he knows to be true and not on the idle speculations of his often worried mind.
But then she says his name, and his gaze returns to meet hers. ]
How many of them? The rather impractical answer is as many as our home can hold and that we can properly care for. Whether they are of our own blood or not, they will still be our children, of that I am sure of.
[ But he muses over the question, because how many children should they have or take in? ]
Perhaps two girls and two boys, so that they might find someone they can talk to should either of us prove to be occupied for one reason or another. Two pairs of siblings, perhaps.
[ Privately, he has resolved to only think of the possibility that she could carry their own children. There is just as much a possibility that she could not, but he has already chosen to be hopeful and believe that it can happen. ]
Just being with you is what makes me happy. [ He has to reach up to touch her, and his reach does not entirely make it, but he wishes to at least touch her and offer her the comfort he believes she needs. She might be trying to hold in her emotions, but he can hear them in her voice all the same. His wife in all but name needs his comfort, and he means to give it to her. ]