I'm sorry...I didn't want to make you give up, but I really don't know any way for that to happen... (*´-｀*)
[Meanwhile, coming out to a inebriated-sounding tentacle Yuki in the pond in the middle of the night is...a questionable idea at best, but if Yuki's still awake, then Momo doesn't feel like he should be asleep. Also, he's still kind of worried and he's definitely not going to be able to fall asleep in that case.]
Okay darling~~
[He doesn't end up bothering with the swimsuit - he spares the shirt he's been wearing to bed the experience, but comes out in what's essentially a pair of boxers. The swimsuits here aren't particularly good, so half the time he swims he does it in shorts anyway. In any case, he comes over to the side of the pool, still looking a bit concerned considering what started this conversation.]
Yuki, are you okay...? [If Yuki isn't somewhere immediately obvious, he'll peep over the edge a bit to try and catch sight of him in the water.]
[When Momo comes out, he'll find Yuki's watch on the ground by the pool, and Yuki just a bunch of silver hair floating below the surface of the water. He hears Momo speak, though, and looks up briefly, then surfaces.
The smile he offers Momo is a sad, confused one, like he's resigned to something despite not being wholly convinced.]
Come here.
[He holds a hand out, and the tone of his voice might seem like the sweetest, most alluring thing Momo has ever heard. Siren's song kinda... comes naturally for poor Yuki when he's fully submerged.]
[Yuki doesn't really need any additional magic to ensnare Momo at the best of times, but even if he might've been hesitant to get in the water immediately otherwise, the combination of the voice and the look on Yuki's face has Momo reaching for that offered hand all too easily. He gives himself a moment to adjust to the water once he steps in, but a moment is all it really is, and very quickly he's close enough to give Yuki a gentle, consoling kiss to the back of his hand and then come closer to embrace him reassuringly around the waist. One hand reaches up briefly to nudge Yuki's wet bangs out of his face before returning to that hug.]
What's wrong, darling? [Courtesy of that siren allure, Momo's attention is all for Yuki one way or another, but because of how he came out here it's essentially turned into all the concern he now has for what might be upsetting Yuki. Momo is doting in the first place, but now he looks kind of like he'll be heartbroken if Yuki doesn't let him in on what's on his mind.]
[Yuki's tentacles sway under the water, and he wraps two around Momo's legs in short order so he doesn't have to worry about swimming to stay upright and above water. His human arms go around Momo's shoulders, and he looks into his eyes in the moonlight for a few seconds. They remind him of rubies, he recalls, and hates himself for getting so accustomed to their hue and presence that he doesn't think that every time.
And then he sees the heartache there, knows he's worried Momo over something that's unchangeable and ultimately trivial, and he aches all the more. But the smile he forces would convince anyone who isn't his partner that all is well.]
I couldn't sleep. [True.] I just started thinking and it got to me. All of it. Mm... everything? Sorry. Don't worry too much.
[He strokes one of Momo's cheeks with his thumb before he drags his damp fingers through his partner's hair.]
[Momo goes a little pink for a moment when the tentacles touch his legs, because...well. Yuki is clearly upset about something, but one small part of Momo's brain is unfortunately just rolling over the idea of what someone could do with that many limbs.
At the very least, he's not going to linger on that idea for the moment, because Yuki's preoccupation with their situation here has all the rest of his attention. He leans into the touches to his face and hair, and gives Yuki a bit of a squeeze against him, looking almost apologetic.]
You know that's easier said than done for me. I...sometimes wonder if I'd been a Monster instead of a Witch, if you might have arrived here differently. [Back to the point of Momo feeling like he should've been the Monster out of the two of them, even if he's trying to be somewhat lower key about it this time. He'd thought himself a monster for years of their relationship, so surely he could've dealt with turning into an actual one.]
But I think there are some good things to temper the bad. You look cute when you get embarrassed and change colour, and it's easier for me to see how you're feeling through that cool expression. [He touches at some of Yuki's colour-changing spots with a sweet little smile. As far as he's concerned, Yuki is still Yuki regardless of shape, and he loves him nonetheless.] And you feel like you're stronger when you're like this. Maybe you can finally sweep me off my feet literally instead of just with your words...
[He clasps one of his cheeks with that faux swooning kind of air, though he's extremely here for physically stronger Yuki even if it only seems to be when he's wet enough for tentacles out. Maybe it's an affinity to water thing. In any case, he rebounds back to more sincere a moment later.] And we can be together while we're here. Fully. That counts for something, right?
[Yuki tips his head toward Momo's touches, faintly less upset-looking. None of what Momo is saying makes him feel better, right up until that last statement. And that just causes him to pull them both down in the water a little, as if Yuki is dragging Momo into his moping.]
Being with you is the only good part of this.
[A hand strokes Momo's cheek, then Yuki leans in to kiss his partner just above the surface of the water.]
It feels like things used to be, when we had to work ten times as hard for half as much. ["We" being more Momo than Yuki, Yuki knows. He tacks on, as though he needs to justify his own usefulness in this place:] I've been practicing some merrow water magic and trying to learn how to fight.
[Going silent for a long moment, Yuki contemplates asking something that may, he actually knows for once, be entirely the wrong thing. But he wants to know, even if it hurts one or both of them.]
Is this how you felt when we started as Re:vale? Did you hate it?
[Momo shifts a bit to balance himself when Yuki pulls him down, but he trusts that Yuki isn't planning to dunk him, so it's only enough that he doesn't feel too precarious on Yuki's tentacles. He's more than happy to return the kiss, especially if it might make Yuki feel better, and he flicks his tongue playfully at Yuki's lip as they part.
It's certainly a throwback to their history, being here, and Momo remembers how useless Yuki felt then too - he gives him another gentle squeeze, as if to say he doesn't have to justify himself to Momo. Honestly, Momo is still a little bit upset that Yuki is having to learn to fight at all, but he rolls with the figurative punch and the question that follows with a small smile, shaking his head without hesitation.]
I didn't hate it. I did feel like I wasn't doing enough, and that I was a burden to you, but you know me. When we started, I was always happy if I could be helpful to you. If I could do anything to boost your position, I'd do it with a smile. And whenever you were there waiting for me after I came back from work, or smiled at me while I was trying to improve myself, that made me happy too.
[But they both know that that naivete wore thin after a while, and Momo's fingers clench just a little bit against Yuki's back.] It took a few years for my ego to swell enough for that much attention to not be enough for me, and you know where things went from there.
[So arguably, Momo kind of went in the reverse direction - he started out too innocent and good-natured to be anything but happy with what he was doing, but allowing himself to accept being at Yuki's side had also fed a greedy part of him he hadn't even known he had until that little monster in his heart was already howling for every bit of Yuki's attention and devotion. He doesn't really want to talk about that all that much, though, so he takes the topic he feels might be a decent salve to Yuki's feelings of uselessness.]
Can I see some of your water magic? I learnt a little bit of my own, but I guess I've been using ice too much and neglecting the water part.
[He pats the surface of the pool as if apologising for his rudeness in ignoring water.]
[At least the kiss seems to soothe Yuki just a touch, because his replies grow slightly less strained as things go on. The tentacles holding Momo grip less desperately, and even though it's hard to see in the dim moonlight, his colors shift gradually to something more neutral.]
I've never seen anybody work as hard as you did back then. You were my hero, sort of. This incredible person I was getting to know better, doing all these things for me, while I kept failing and failing... You could've given up on me at any point, and you didn't.
[Even if Yuki knows it was mutual effort in different directions, he still can't help recognizing all the sacrifices and trials Momo endured for him. For them. For this Re:vale. Faintly, he smiles, and he runs his fingers along Momo's cheeks. There's a long, distracted moment of looking into those gorgeous eyes that he swears he'll never look away from for long again, and then Momo's words register.
It diverts the topic, even if Yuki isn't totally soothed, and because he's feeling weak right now he immediately relents.]
It's kind of hard to show when there's not much around, but I'll do what I can.
[He makes sure Momo has his feet under him before sliding away, gliding effortlessly through the water as he makes his way to the side of the pond. Reaching out, he grabs a few small sticks and drops them into the water.]
There's one thing I can just show you, and two I'll need your help with.
[He's far from admitting how comfortable the Bond has come to feel for him. How those subtle shifts between them are normal now, and sensing this and that about Momo is more like a comfortable sweater than any sort of burden or anxiety. Back over to Momo he goes, and he pulls him close again whether Momo likes it or not. There's a funny little pause, like he's thinking too much about being this close, and something vaguely inappropriate shimmers through the Bond before dissipating.]
I can make you breathe underwater, right? I think you told me about that. I figured out how to do it, finally. Do you trust me?
[More like does Momo trust him to know what he's doing.]
[Of course, Momo being Momo, while he doesn't turn away from those complimentary words, his cheeks flush rather more brightly and his gaze shifts a bit to one side as if in embarrassment. There's a little smile on his face, so at least he's obviously glad to hear it, but he's just still not very used to taking compliments so directly and especially not while Yuki is running his hands over his cheeks. It's a bit overwhelming, in a good way.
One hand reaches up to squeeze one of Yuki's, despite his self-consciousness.] I would never have given up on you, Yuki. I just wanted you to have the freedom to bloom.
[Like the plants he loves so much, Yuki had needed time to come back to his peak condition, and Momo had been more than happy to give him that because he believed in Yuki's talent.
And he believes in his new ones, too, because he's more than happy to be pulled along with this demonstration, and to be pulled close with Yuki. That impression of inappropriate thoughts is...something he picks up, and Yuki may get in return the impression of someone trying very hard not to think about things that are a bit further on the inappropriate side.
At least Yuki asking romance movie things like that is an easy distraction, and he draws in even closer.]
Of course I do. [And when is he ever not ready to kiss Yuki, considering he knows the breathing thing requires that.]
[He smiles faintly at Momo, almost gives in to a subtle shimmering urge to laugh, but his mood isn't great tonight. Momo will make it better, Momo will heal him like he always does. They'll be invincible. He wants that more than anything, even if it's impossible, even if things here are always going to be volatile by Yuki's standards.
Even if all he wants is to make music and cook for Momo and tend some cleverly named weird plants, he doesn't have much of a choice. He's got insta-tentacles (just add water) and a host of other odd things. Unlike when he faced the unknown without his old partner, he's letting Momo in with little resistance, even if it took months to get him to admit to the need for some bolstering. Maybe it's emotionally like pulling teeth for Yuki to admit something is wrong and he needs help, but here he is, showing his empty hand.
His actual hand slides away from Momo and down into the water, and he gestures with a look for Momo to observe it and not his face. His palm is open, relaxed, fingers spread.]
Even though I have to be in water to make it happen, I can do this.
[Under the water, his hand emits a faint glow, like moonlight, something invisible in daylight because it's so subtle and mellow. At the tips of his fingers, little eddies appear in the water, obvious even under the surface, before small bubbles form and begin to churn the water into a little whirlpool the width of Yuki's palm.]
[While it's always a hard sell to get Momo to not observe Yuki's face if he has the chance, he looks down when Yuki directs him to, watching closely the way his fingers move. It's another part of Yuki that had always gotten his attention, those delicate fingers more attuned to strumming strings and dancing across keys than Momo's could ever be at this point in his life.
The appearance of the tiny whirlpool makes him clap his hands together excitedly, though, looking like he just saw...well, a magic trick.]
Oh, it's so cute and small! What good control...you'll be sinking ships in no time, I bet!
[That's...a choice of thing to reassure Yuki with, but also, that's what sirens do and the entire merrow thing has struck him as bearing more likeness to that than any other ocean mythical creature he's familiar with.]
[Calling it small and cute does not help Mr. Witch! Yuki's whirlpool falters and dissipates as he closes his hand, and the glow from his hand subsides.]
Anyway, I think... The part I need your help with is I'm pretty sure it can work differently with your magic.
[A subtle, maybe bitter smile.]
I'm relying on you again, but I think I can feel it? It always reminds me of you when I try it. Like the way the Bond feels. I think we should try it out together.
[Look, he can't just not call cute things cute. It's ingrained in his DNA. And since he's used to the idea of big whirlpools and not tiny ones, a tiny one is actually more impressive to him.
But all that aside, Momo reaches forward to hold Yuki's hand in both of his, as if he wants to will his magic back through him with just that method. He's heard that a Bond can help with that sort of thing, but trying to tap into it isn't something he's ever done actively.]
I've never really tried doing this kind of thing through a Bond before, but if you want me to then I'll do my best. How do you want us to do it?
[He's not sure whether Yuki wants him to actively join in or boost him somehow through the Bond, so since it's his idea then he'll let Yuki decide on what he wants him to be doing.]
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If it's impossible, I'll give up. Sure. Why not.
Come outside. Wear a swimsuit if you want.
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[Meanwhile, coming out to a inebriated-sounding tentacle Yuki in the pond in the middle of the night is...a questionable idea at best, but if Yuki's still awake, then Momo doesn't feel like he should be asleep. Also, he's still kind of worried and he's definitely not going to be able to fall asleep in that case.]
Okay darling~~
[He doesn't end up bothering with the swimsuit - he spares the shirt he's been wearing to bed the experience, but comes out in what's essentially a pair of boxers. The swimsuits here aren't particularly good, so half the time he swims he does it in shorts anyway. In any case, he comes over to the side of the pool, still looking a bit concerned considering what started this conversation.]
Yuki, are you okay...? [If Yuki isn't somewhere immediately obvious, he'll peep over the edge a bit to try and catch sight of him in the water.]
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The smile he offers Momo is a sad, confused one, like he's resigned to something despite not being wholly convinced.]
Come here.
[He holds a hand out, and the tone of his voice might seem like the sweetest, most alluring thing Momo has ever heard. Siren's song kinda... comes naturally for poor Yuki when he's fully submerged.]
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What's wrong, darling? [Courtesy of that siren allure, Momo's attention is all for Yuki one way or another, but because of how he came out here it's essentially turned into all the concern he now has for what might be upsetting Yuki. Momo is doting in the first place, but now he looks kind of like he'll be heartbroken if Yuki doesn't let him in on what's on his mind.]
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And then he sees the heartache there, knows he's worried Momo over something that's unchangeable and ultimately trivial, and he aches all the more. But the smile he forces would convince anyone who isn't his partner that all is well.]
I couldn't sleep. [True.] I just started thinking and it got to me. All of it. Mm... everything? Sorry. Don't worry too much.
[He strokes one of Momo's cheeks with his thumb before he drags his damp fingers through his partner's hair.]
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At the very least, he's not going to linger on that idea for the moment, because Yuki's preoccupation with their situation here has all the rest of his attention. He leans into the touches to his face and hair, and gives Yuki a bit of a squeeze against him, looking almost apologetic.]
You know that's easier said than done for me. I...sometimes wonder if I'd been a Monster instead of a Witch, if you might have arrived here differently. [Back to the point of Momo feeling like he should've been the Monster out of the two of them, even if he's trying to be somewhat lower key about it this time. He'd thought himself a monster for years of their relationship, so surely he could've dealt with turning into an actual one.]
But I think there are some good things to temper the bad. You look cute when you get embarrassed and change colour, and it's easier for me to see how you're feeling through that cool expression. [He touches at some of Yuki's colour-changing spots with a sweet little smile. As far as he's concerned, Yuki is still Yuki regardless of shape, and he loves him nonetheless.] And you feel like you're stronger when you're like this. Maybe you can finally sweep me off my feet literally instead of just with your words...
[He clasps one of his cheeks with that faux swooning kind of air, though he's extremely here for physically stronger Yuki even if it only seems to be when he's wet enough for tentacles out. Maybe it's an affinity to water thing. In any case, he rebounds back to more sincere a moment later.] And we can be together while we're here. Fully. That counts for something, right?
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Being with you is the only good part of this.
[A hand strokes Momo's cheek, then Yuki leans in to kiss his partner just above the surface of the water.]
It feels like things used to be, when we had to work ten times as hard for half as much. ["We" being more Momo than Yuki, Yuki knows. He tacks on, as though he needs to justify his own usefulness in this place:] I've been practicing some merrow water magic and trying to learn how to fight.
[Going silent for a long moment, Yuki contemplates asking something that may, he actually knows for once, be entirely the wrong thing. But he wants to know, even if it hurts one or both of them.]
Is this how you felt when we started as Re:vale? Did you hate it?
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It's certainly a throwback to their history, being here, and Momo remembers how useless Yuki felt then too - he gives him another gentle squeeze, as if to say he doesn't have to justify himself to Momo. Honestly, Momo is still a little bit upset that Yuki is having to learn to fight at all, but he rolls with the figurative punch and the question that follows with a small smile, shaking his head without hesitation.]
I didn't hate it. I did feel like I wasn't doing enough, and that I was a burden to you, but you know me. When we started, I was always happy if I could be helpful to you. If I could do anything to boost your position, I'd do it with a smile. And whenever you were there waiting for me after I came back from work, or smiled at me while I was trying to improve myself, that made me happy too.
[But they both know that that naivete wore thin after a while, and Momo's fingers clench just a little bit against Yuki's back.] It took a few years for my ego to swell enough for that much attention to not be enough for me, and you know where things went from there.
[So arguably, Momo kind of went in the reverse direction - he started out too innocent and good-natured to be anything but happy with what he was doing, but allowing himself to accept being at Yuki's side had also fed a greedy part of him he hadn't even known he had until that little monster in his heart was already howling for every bit of Yuki's attention and devotion. He doesn't really want to talk about that all that much, though, so he takes the topic he feels might be a decent salve to Yuki's feelings of uselessness.]
Can I see some of your water magic? I learnt a little bit of my own, but I guess I've been using ice too much and neglecting the water part.
[He pats the surface of the pool as if apologising for his rudeness in ignoring water.]
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I've never seen anybody work as hard as you did back then. You were my hero, sort of. This incredible person I was getting to know better, doing all these things for me, while I kept failing and failing... You could've given up on me at any point, and you didn't.
[Even if Yuki knows it was mutual effort in different directions, he still can't help recognizing all the sacrifices and trials Momo endured for him. For them. For this Re:vale. Faintly, he smiles, and he runs his fingers along Momo's cheeks. There's a long, distracted moment of looking into those gorgeous eyes that he swears he'll never look away from for long again, and then Momo's words register.
It diverts the topic, even if Yuki isn't totally soothed, and because he's feeling weak right now he immediately relents.]
It's kind of hard to show when there's not much around, but I'll do what I can.
[He makes sure Momo has his feet under him before sliding away, gliding effortlessly through the water as he makes his way to the side of the pond. Reaching out, he grabs a few small sticks and drops them into the water.]
There's one thing I can just show you, and two I'll need your help with.
[He's far from admitting how comfortable the Bond has come to feel for him. How those subtle shifts between them are normal now, and sensing this and that about Momo is more like a comfortable sweater than any sort of burden or anxiety. Back over to Momo he goes, and he pulls him close again whether Momo likes it or not. There's a funny little pause, like he's thinking too much about being this close, and something vaguely inappropriate shimmers through the Bond before dissipating.]
I can make you breathe underwater, right? I think you told me about that. I figured out how to do it, finally. Do you trust me?
[More like does Momo trust him to know what he's doing.]
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One hand reaches up to squeeze one of Yuki's, despite his self-consciousness.] I would never have given up on you, Yuki. I just wanted you to have the freedom to bloom.
[Like the plants he loves so much, Yuki had needed time to come back to his peak condition, and Momo had been more than happy to give him that because he believed in Yuki's talent.
And he believes in his new ones, too, because he's more than happy to be pulled along with this demonstration, and to be pulled close with Yuki. That impression of inappropriate thoughts is...something he picks up, and Yuki may get in return the impression of someone trying very hard not to think about things that are a bit further on the inappropriate side.
At least Yuki asking romance movie things like that is an easy distraction, and he draws in even closer.]
Of course I do. [And when is he ever not ready to kiss Yuki, considering he knows the breathing thing requires that.]
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Even if all he wants is to make music and cook for Momo and tend some cleverly named weird plants, he doesn't have much of a choice. He's got insta-tentacles (just add water) and a host of other odd things. Unlike when he faced the unknown without his old partner, he's letting Momo in with little resistance, even if it took months to get him to admit to the need for some bolstering. Maybe it's emotionally like pulling teeth for Yuki to admit something is wrong and he needs help, but here he is, showing his empty hand.
His actual hand slides away from Momo and down into the water, and he gestures with a look for Momo to observe it and not his face. His palm is open, relaxed, fingers spread.]
Even though I have to be in water to make it happen, I can do this.
[Under the water, his hand emits a faint glow, like moonlight, something invisible in daylight because it's so subtle and mellow. At the tips of his fingers, little eddies appear in the water, obvious even under the surface, before small bubbles form and begin to churn the water into a little whirlpool the width of Yuki's palm.]
See?
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The appearance of the tiny whirlpool makes him clap his hands together excitedly, though, looking like he just saw...well, a magic trick.]
Oh, it's so cute and small! What good control...you'll be sinking ships in no time, I bet!
[That's...a choice of thing to reassure Yuki with, but also, that's what sirens do and the entire merrow thing has struck him as bearing more likeness to that than any other ocean mythical creature he's familiar with.]
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[Calling it small and cute does not help Mr. Witch! Yuki's whirlpool falters and dissipates as he closes his hand, and the glow from his hand subsides.]
Anyway, I think... The part I need your help with is I'm pretty sure it can work differently with your magic.
[A subtle, maybe bitter smile.]
I'm relying on you again, but I think I can feel it? It always reminds me of you when I try it. Like the way the Bond feels. I think we should try it out together.
[A little brighter, and his eyes squint closed.]
It's better that way, either way.
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But all that aside, Momo reaches forward to hold Yuki's hand in both of his, as if he wants to will his magic back through him with just that method. He's heard that a Bond can help with that sort of thing, but trying to tap into it isn't something he's ever done actively.]
I've never really tried doing this kind of thing through a Bond before, but if you want me to then I'll do my best. How do you want us to do it?
[He's not sure whether Yuki wants him to actively join in or boost him somehow through the Bond, so since it's his idea then he'll let Yuki decide on what he wants him to be doing.]