daemonized | RECOLLE IC CONTACT.

he learned that from you and no other. but i shall try, once he sees fit to come back to my side. i'd sleep with him in my arms if only he'd stay. though he makes a poor substitute for you.

will they not let you come back, for one day, at least? i think it'd all be more bearable if i could kiss you just once more, for luck.

Which sounds like me? Stalking about the halls, feeling moody? Or enjoying the attentions of a beautiful woman?

I think that there is a possibility, if we are swift and efficient with the tasks set before us. I could do for a kiss; I could do for many, especially for Valentine's.

i've been holding all the ones you're owed in reserve, to wait for valentine's. be as swift as you're able - they do me no good, sitting here.

All of them? In one day? I'll hardly know what to do with myself. Still, I have plenty of kisses for you in return. And more than just that, but I'll not ruin the surprise just yet.

mentioning a surprise but not even hinting what it is? you tease me. how am i supposed to be patient now?

Only a few days' time. You'll see me soon, and then you won't have to be patient any longer.

Until then, remember that I love you dearly.

and i you. stay safe, my love.

[And then, early on the 14th, another text comes.]

I can't see you today. There's no option to leave this place, not yet.

I'm sorry, Grell. I'll make it up to you, a hundred times over. A thousand times over.

[He feels like a rather terrible husband.]

[she knows this feeling, it's disappointment. heavy and bearable, inconvenient. not his fault, she knows - he can hardly do anything kept somewhere unknown, but it comes through all the same, with how much she was looking forward to it. she takes a hard breath before responding.]

there's no need to make up anything. it's not your fault that the people keeping you there are so heartless and unromantic that they'd keep you locked up for valentine's of all days. as long as you can talk to me and tell me you're all right, that's what i want from you.

we can have our own day to ourselves, when you return, and i will actively fight retrospec if they choose to get involved with that.

[via text, she's calm. in person, she's not, and she's considering fighting Retrospec anyway. how dare they do this to her, to the name of love itself? had they no sense of timing at all?]

Edited 2018-02-14 09:26 (UTC)

It hardly matters if it's my fault or not. This was to be our first Valentine's together, as husband and wife. And I'm going to spend it in some damnably hot place, far from your side, because I had been /invited/ to do so.

I've disappointed you. It's the last thing I ever want to do, especially on a day where I miss you more than I ever have before.

if you must place blame, place it on the one who invited you. they did not tell you that this would be the case.

what matters most to me is that i hear from you. our disappointment may be so, but i shall treat the day you return as valentine's anew. the city will hardly lose its festive decorations so quickly, and i shall proclaim our love on every street corner if i must.

i miss you terribly, i'll admit.

[He will take her words to heart, though it doesn't do anything where the guilt is concerned. Disappointment, running deep. He wanted to see her, and now he can only hope that the wait will not be for much longer.]

You'll continue to hear from me, I promise. And when I return, we may do whatever it is you like, no questions asked. The day will be all yours.

whatever it ends up being, rest assured i will stay very close by the entire time. i'll decide on a plan in your absence.

Be sure to have decided quite firmly. Because the day I return, I expect to start as soon as possible, to make up for our lost time.

Pet our children for me, will you?

of course. i shall kiss them on their heads and tell them their father sends his love.

[attached to this one is a picture - a selfie Grell's taken while still at home, smiling into the camera.]

♥ ♥ ♥

[His heart might literally burst to see that picture, that smile. He looks at it for a long while, wishing that he could see it in person rather than where he was now. Soon, he tells himself, and instead allows a sense of comfort to envelop him at viewing the selfie, staring up at him from his phone's screen. He isn't home yet, but a small piece of it has been sent to him, for Ardyn to cling to.

He sends her more of his love, tells her he misses her again, and that she's looking beautiful, as always.

-------

It is only the next day when she receives another text from Ardyn.]

Are you home? They've let us return to the city for a day.

[He intends to call her, if there's no immediate response to this initial text.]

[when she sees the text, she almost drops what she's holding, and the reply is swift.]

come home

[she'll be there, feeling however long it takes him to get there as an entire day on its own. hurry back to her.]

[It's all he needs to read, and with that, his motions are more hurried than before to return.

It feels like too long, but eventually there's the sound of keys in the door, and it swinging wide open. An announcement soon after:]

Grell?

[Already he notes the sound of jingling, little cat collars on the move.]

[the cats will get there before her, rushing to see him, to wind about his legs and sniff at him, but then she's there as well, and she steps around the cats, reaching up to hold his face in her hands.

home. home and safe and with her, and her heart is flooded with it. she can't stay like this, and she embraces him tightly, burying her face in his shoulder, breathing his scent in and feeling relief wash over her.]

Welcome home.

[it's muffled, in his shirt, but she manages it.]

[The cats hover around them both, tails in the air, some more curious than the rest, but they will have to give berth for this reunion. Ardyn sees her, smiling wide with relief and fondness when she cups his face in her hands. And then an embrace, one that he returns just as tightly.

He tilts his head down, taking in the scent of her hair. Her warmth, closing his eyes and just feeling her presence is something that he had missed so much, and to feel it now would be nigh overwhelming if not for how welcome it is.]

It's good to be back home.

[Even if it's only for a day, it's one that he won't take for granted. His smile grows, and he actually laughs a little into her hair, then embraces her close enough to pick her up in their hug and twirl her around once or twice.

At least the cats have moved away at this point.]

[she laughs in joy, feeling herself lifted, and when her feet touch the ground she manages to pull back enough so she can look at him. she's so happy to have him home, and she looks it.]

Like some grand force heard our longing, and moved events so that we might be able to see each other that much sooner.

Good. [He leans in and kisses her, letting it linger, not caring how wide his smile is when he presses against her. And then he finishes his thought.]

It was already a sin to make us miss Valentine's, even if only by one day. And so we've much to make up for in our limited time together. Though I did say I would let you dictate today's events if you wanted. Any preferences, my dearest one?

Only that in whatever you choose, let me stay close to you. Let me see you, or feel you near. If our time together will be so short, I don't want to waste it not at your side.

[and she kisses him again, slow to pull away, glad to simply be.]

So tell me what you thought, and I'll either approve or reject it.

[The kiss is something he could get lost in; he thinks for a second that maybe they'll just spend their day like this, but -- no. Might as well lay the suggestion before her.]

Oh, no need to concern yourself with that. I'll not be leaving your side for as long as I'm able.

[His smile, while still fond, becomes tinged with amusement.]

I thought that we might harken back to our very first date, just a little more than a year ago. You remember it, don't you? What we did that day?

Of course I remember.

[oh, she's delighted by the very thought of it. when they had been playing so casual, hiding their real affection under everything else.]

The ice skating. And how you laughed at me as we both tried so hard.

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