Church of the Whiterose Complex

[ShadowLord_Lith he/him]

He thought. "I gave a class in half an hour. Until then, we could go for a run? Or spar?"

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

Quote

Sorry, my laptop died.

"Or maybe just sit and talk?" Dan asked, somewhat hopefully.

@ShadowLord_Lith

[ShadowLord_Lith he/him]

He blinked, then smiled. "Sure, I'd like that." He smiled, walking over to a bench and sitting, smiling at Dan. "What would you like to talk about?" 

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

"I was thinking maybe a more, uh, private place," Dan suggested. He looked around and spotted Shae's shirt, then walked over and picked it up, walking back to Shae.

@ShadowLord_Lith

[ShadowLord_Lith he/him]

Shae nodded, standing and hesitating when he saw his shirt. He blushed, taking it and pulling it on as he began biting his lip in embarrassment. "Sure. Your nest?" He smiled.

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

"Yeah, that'd work," Dan said, feeling maybe just a little disappointed that Shae had put his shirt back on. He picked Shae up, slowly since he was tired, then beat his wings hard enough that he managed to get aloft and fly over to the roof. He set Shae down and sat down his nest.

@ShadowLord_Lith

[ShadowLord_Lith he/him]

Shae smiled, looking at him. "Thanks... I know you must be exhausted. What would you like to talk about?" He felt himself wanting to add to the sentence, but not knowing what or how- so he let it be.

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

"Just kinda…" Dan trailed off, finding himself in the unusual situation of being uncomfortable about talking about something. "Well... do you, like, think that we should have plans to make the thing we have work for a while?"

@ShadowLord_Lith

[ShadowLord_Lith he/him]

He looked at him, curious and confused. "What do you mean? I want us to be an 'us' for as long as possible, but... I don't know what you mean. What kind of plans?" He smiled, not understanding.

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

"Like, if I screw something up and get mad at you for no reason, then break up with you and later come up with nonsensical reasons to tell people about why I broke up with you," Dan muttered quickly. "Just... this is kinda weird to say already, but I love you," his heart seemed to start beating faster as he said that, "and I really want us to be us for, as you said, as long as possible."

@ShadowLord_Lith

[ShadowLord_Lith he/him]

He blinked, blushing deeply. "Oh... Okay..." He bit his lip, looking down. "Um... w-well... one thing could be that... we don't tell anyone we've broken up for a week after it happens? Give us a chance to cool down and change our minds if we want that?" 

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

"I regret pretty much every decision I make the moment after I make it," Dan said, then quickly added, "except for saying yes to you. I don't regret that. Also, could you come sit over here? It's a little weird talking to someone who's standing up."

@ShadowLord_Lith

[ShadowLord_Lith he/him]

He nodded, walking over and sitting down. He'd noticed Dan seemed a little less happy earlier, after he put his shirt on. He hadn't thought about it at the time, but... he blushed again. "Sorry... but I think it's a good idea anyways... What else should we plan on?"

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

"Maybe if this is heading in a..." he trailed off again, looking down at his feet and blushing. "This is entirely hypothetical, but do you want us to get married, I mean, after a long time and stuff?"

@ShadowLord_Lith

[ShadowLord_Lith he/him]

He froze, his blush turning a much darker color. "I-I... Uh..." He had no idea what to say. He panicked, rushing to think about it. Did he want to marry Dan? He was the first guy he'd ever dated, but... he seemed pretty amazing... so, maybe? His thoughts were all over the place... "Maybe? I... I don't know... I haven't really thought about it..." He was so out of it as he tried to think that he didn't even stutter from embarrassment.

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

Dan glared at one of his down feathers that was on his nest. I'm such an idiot. 'Hi, I met you a month ago, want to get married in the future?' ARGH. "One of the guys I knew from Valnore always drilled it into me to think about that, you know, so that we can determine what we want out of it. Apparently he messed his relationship up pretty bad because he proposed to a girl who didn't want to get married. That would just be really, awkward, y'know."

@ShadowLord_Lith

[ShadowLord_Lith he/him]

He nodded, relaxing and leaning against him. That hadn't been a proposal, and he hadn't just turned Dan down. The amount of relief he felt had he almost laughing from the sheer, sudden lack of fear. "Okay... that's fine... I just... Okay..." He chuckled, eyes closing as he sighed. "So... um... y-yeah... maybe. I don't know yet.. but I'll think about it. What about... boundaries? Like... things that we cannot do without ruining things for both sides?" He straightened, though remained relaxed, looking up at him and smiling.

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

"For me," Dan said, relaxing when Shae leaned on him, and remaining mostly relaxed when he sat back a little, "you absolutely cannot interrupt my schedule for any reason less than an emergency, and yes, the schedule has been changed to have plenty of time for you. Also, don't give me any presents unless it's a real occasion."

@ShadowLord_Lith

[ShadowLord_Lith he/him]

He nodded, thinking about that. "Okay... so... when I showed you those pictures... you had free time?"

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

"Yeah, I wasn't doing anything that day." Dan really didn't like having a lot of free time, but apparently nobody's roof or floors needed fixing that day, and nobody had needed help out in the farms surrounding the Complex. "So... what about you?"

@ShadowLord_Lith

[ShadowLord_Lith he/him]

He thought about it. "Well... mostly, just don't interrupt me when I'm painting. I'll notice you after a minute or two, but if you surprise me, I might ruin the painting. And... well... I suppose just ask if you want to do something we haven't done before with me. I will probably say yes, but... I'd like to know what's going on. I'm not a huge fan of surprises, unless I know that I'll like them... Which is stupid, but I guess I'm just... a little quirky." He chuckled, looking down and humming. "And... never act like you're kidnapping me. Even as a joke or as a way to do something romantic. I... Just... Please don't..." He hummed, hugging himself as he got lost in his thoughts.

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

Dan licked the side of Shae's face when he saw that Shae was distressed. I really am a dog, aren't I. And... has someone kidnapped him before? Why would they ever do that, and I wonder if he'd tell me if he knows where they are so I can ki-- or maybe just get them arrested. "I'm cool with all of that," Dan said, then paused. "If you want to tell me what's bothering you, I swear I won't judge you or pity you or whatever."

@ShadowLord_Lith

[ShadowLord_Lith he/him]

He blushed, looking at him,. It didn't even cross his mind to wipe his face- he was too used to it. "I..." He hesitated. Dan had the right to know, especially now... He looked away. "I was kidnapped when I was a kid. Some worldhopper was running from some other ones, and I was the closest convenient child to warn them off with. One of the others didn't get the memo, and he threw something right before he teleported us away. All I remember is fire and pain and... the sound of shattering glass..." He stared at the ground again, lost in the memory. it was just like the last time he'd but stuck in this memory, and he couldn't get out of it on his own. He'd be stuck like this for hours if he was left alone.

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

Dan got strangely mad at basically the whole world except Shae for it doing that to Shae. "The time I brought up what the scariest thing that had ever happened to you, this is what you were thinking about," he said, then noticed that Shae looked like the island's TV that one time it had started raining and they had left the TV outside. "You okay?" he asked, then remembered what had worked last time and hugged Shae tightly. "You're alright, I'm here."

@ShadowLord_Lith

[ShadowLord_Lith he/him]

He stayed frozen for another minute, then went limp as he collapsed against Dan, trembling. "S-s-sorry... I-I... I got away after I woke up, and then I started begging to survive. I made a few paintings, got some breaths, then I accidentally wound up here. I have no idea how, but... I got here." He was still crying, but it was mostly done- he just had a little bit left in him. Dan helped- he helped a surprisingly large amount.