Jasper Rocks i will not ask, dear, and neither should you

Proposal accepted. Rook really couldn't have asked for more; Veho would stay, their relationship would persevere, and all would be well... The Leader hummed as the medic nuzzled his side. Had he been much younger than he was now, he might have given a jolt, ticklish and very much embarrassed. He sat down in what seemed like slow motion, turning his head so that he could see the side of his companion's face. He would choose this very moment in time if he could pick a few moments to revisit at the end of his life. What he wanted to remember was the warmth in his side that was Veho's temple and maw, how his worries had momentarily been cast aside, and the way the relief just rolled over him like a sheet of passing rain... If his mind went like Borden's was currently going, he desperately hoped that he would forever remember this very memory. Perhaps, years from now, it would be Veho's name he would be calling for when he needed someone.

His muzzle dipped downward and for a while he was still, pondering on the question that he had accidentally overlooked in his inquietude. "Wherever you'd like," he answered quietly after several moments. His gaze focused on the water's surface as his nose twitched. "I... I couldn't tell you." He shook his head before gazing back at Veho.

"In Renegades Reach, where I was born, my father always told us: cor ad cor. I don't know what tongue it is, but it means heart to heart. When the family lived here, it was cor aut mors. Heart or death. I understand why my parents thought to revise it, but what I mean to say is that you decide for yourself." A coy smile managed to inch its way up onto his muzzle, "Put it in your work, the pack, your friends, and all that you're passionate about... I'm very selfish, Merlin, you ought to know." A soft chuckle bubbled up in his vocal chords, followed by a somewhat toothy grin. "I'd keep it all for myself if I could." Though, I couldn't hope to be worthy of it, being a heathen cast out from God's love and all. This little admission was true, but if it wasn't already apparent that he had had enough of this tangent of the conversation, he changed the subject.

"And... And, what of your present? The fish? Would- Would you share it with me?"

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

Finally, the male's sigh was one more of satisfaction than fear or aggravation. Whatever was going to happen in the world around them would happen whether he worried about it or not. Wasting what little time he had with Rook with foolish what-ifs and maybes was more selfish than demanding the man's attention in the first place – he'd already sealed his fate with a promise and a kiss. With a soft noise, he inclined his head. "As you wish," he intoned softly, hoping it was heavily implied that said heart would be placed in the alpha's care. The topic was shed quickly, and the medic was eager to move on, much more interested in the history of the Lyalls and Grizzly Hollow than he might have been otherwise.

"Heart to heart. Heart or death. I like both these things," he decided, committing the exotic phrases to memory, something twinkling in his moonlit haze. "As I like you, as you are," Veho made evident, clearly not put off by the self-confessed 'selfishness'. Truly, he thought the younger male only being modest, but he'd not make the argument. It would only seem self-serving now, and things were still so new and fragile. To be the frost across a crocus's first springtime bloom did not suit the medic's will at all, and he was content to allow his attention to be shifted back down to the fist.

It seemed like he'd caught his prizes ages ago, not an hour or so – when had he become so lachrymose that the first threat of misfortune made it hard to breath as hot tears stung at his eyes? The loss of Rook could have been the end of his world…but he was reflecting again, and hadn't Veho just told himself he wouldn't do that? That he'd at least wait until their time together was spent, and use solitude to process what had unfolded.

"Ah, yes," he hummed, giving a small nod. "The fish! Someone needs to make sure you'll eat. Might as well be me," Veho hummed, his smile soft as he leaned down to take a delicate bite. It was for Rook, after all – but how could he ever resist sharing a meal with the king?

Fade.

Seemed like a natural ending point to me? Feel free to archive or post Rook's fade -- or tell me to change that, if you had another idea.

Works for me!

"Ah, yes," Veho's voice came over him. "The fish! Someone needs to make sure you'll eat. Might as well be me." Rook bashfully shied away, still smiling, still letting his heart and affections get the best of him. Fascinated eyes watched as the medic leaned down to 'open' the fish up, revealing the soft pink meat within it. The scales even seemed to glimmer at the water's edge as he also craned his head down to sample it. It was soft against his tongue, not really cold nor warm, but it was definitely not deer or rabbit. Maybe savory at best, at least, in it's own slimy way.

Perch wasn't bad, he decided, after a little bit of chewing as though he had peanut butter glued to the roof of his mouth. If anything, it was... fishy... and after some time, when he had finished perhaps only a third of Veho's catch and prompted the medic to lay with him at the water's edge, it lent him a moment where his nose had become speckled with misshapen, iridescent scales. That aside, though, with its endearing situation and perhaps many an unnecessary 'kiss' or sweep of tongues over one another's face to clear away the hair-like bones and any stray fin spike, everything about this memory would be bliss. Nothing more, nothing less. Their understanding of one another had been set and the circumstances had, at best, been clarified enough to draw away the veil that had enshrouded Tomen and Quil for so long.

Perhaps in time, Veho could learn to love them, too? Rook shook his head as he nestled his face into Veho's side again, content to remain there as if it were the only sanctuary that could keep him safe. After a while, he tucked his limbs closer to his body and closed his eyes with a soft exhale through his nose. The skyward position of the ear not pressed to his partner being the only sign that he was still awake. He had promised to keep him and the Leader had offered him this chance to simply do so.

(Fade.)

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.