The Feeling Is Familiar. Comforting, In A Way.

The feeling is familiar. Comforting, in a way.

He is far from perfect. ━ The way he holds the flute in of itself shows a muscle-memory touting his knowledge of how to use it, the particular way the fingers were trained to hold an instrument engrained into him, and awkward still, how one does when it has been a long enough time to know how to place the fingers but not how exactly to move them; practiced and timed and only slightly clumsy, the fingers still move, and his breathing still narrowed and trained to make the flute sing. ━ sing, sing, for a concert of one.

( maybe he'd deny it if the others caught on that he had been playing for her, and her alone. he hasn't decided yet, what to do when the group came back. )

He fumbles the notes by the end, the way someone does when they forget how it goes and must improvise; then Dandie speaks, and he ━ as though remembering himself in the same strokes of gladness that at least, in some way, it had helped enough to offer words ━ pulls the instrument from his chin.

" You doth not know a great deal about myself, Lady 'Lion. " Rouxls answers, soft in the remark like a gentle reminder as he picks something off the end of the flute with his nail. It's made of a silvery metal and dark red wood, maybe the same kind as all those passed trees in the forest. ━ It looks old. Well loved.

" But as for mine r'corder, it hath beenth a longe time last I'd played, " he admits, almost embarrassed for a moment " I am quite rusty, t'is impressive even to myself how much I recollected of the tune... "

After a moment, Rouxls' head turns, body still stern & straight like a coat-tailed tower 'gainst the dark and endless sky, and offers a smile that tries to be kind, almost uncharacteristic if not for the hesitance plaguing beneath it. Uncertain, as if unfamiliar, or more unknowing what he himself wants to do. Why he's done this at all. ━ to repay her kindness, however brief, however simple. a part of him wonders, as he looks at her, if this is how all Darkners feel when looking 'pon Lightners. The impulse, itching like instinct, to help, to soothe, to do something to make it good again, make it happy.

Rouxls does not try to make this this happy. Rouxls only tries to let it be better, let the sitting with worry of which he can feel in the darkness that makes him be a little more bearable, a little less lonely.

" Pence for thy thoughts should you wish to share, mayhaps? " he inquires, before adding as though feeling he must offer reason, " You seem troubled. "

@quillheel planted : Rouxls has noticed the absence of such a jovial attitude, and after a while of silently sitting by her, has taken to playing a tune on his flute for her. It has been a long time since he'd practiced, but- well... if Dandelion had brought such life and music to his world, he ought to try to return the favor, no? if only to prove her inspiration did not go to waste.

𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐲. the tune stops her heavy thoughts in their tracks, if only for a moment. how would they get home? would the kids be safe? would they all be stuck there, forever? concepts that settle, some, when music is offered. soft and lilting, she can't help but glance over, as though she didn't quite expect the duke to have a prowess for woodwinds.

a smile comes, then - genuine, even if her worries persist.

" ...i didn't know you could play. "

This is Robin :)

" Would you look at that, I didn't realize we had such an artiste here. You really captured my likeness, better than the CCTV cameras could ever home to dream. "

Sorry but Kim and Jean's possibly implied dynamic is so so funny to me. Jean admires him as a paragon of upstanding police work ("We'd be honored to have you") while, if I'm reading into it right, Kim shows him violent disdain in return by calling him Mr. Vicquemare. If he calls Harry "Detective" or "Lieutenant" when he's pleased and "Officer" when he's mad, and feels disrespected that Harry keeps calling him by his first name instead of Lieutenant, refusing to call Jean by his title feels like very subtle but harsh disrespect.

And it's for insulting Harry's karaoke.

Jean wants a mutually respectful relationship with the most professional thing to ever happen to C-Wing but has failed to understand that Harry is Kim's little meow meow now

⚡🐍❄️

“I am aware that this request is fundamentally selfish. I can offer no justification for it, no argument in its favor. It is simply the outcome I desire to see the most.”

DIFFERENT KINDS OF KISSES *  send 'reverse' for the reversal of the prompt, nsfw implied

[ soothe ] sender kisses receiver to stop them from shaking

[ forehead ] sender tenderly kisses receiver's forehead

[ brief ] sender sneaks a kiss to receiver's cheek as they walk by

[ brow ] sender kisses the bridge of receiver's eyebrow

[ impossible ] sender kisses receiver as a final gesture, knowing they can't be together

[ hiding ] sender checks the area around them before kissing receiver, trying not to get caught

[ handful ] sender peppers the receiver's cheek with multiple, playful kisses

[ line ] sender draws a trail of kisses down the length of receiver's shoulderblade and up their neck

[ almost ] sender and receiver are centimeters apart, about to kiss, but something interrupts them

[ side ] sender places a kiss on the side of receiver's nose

[ tip ] sender kisses the tip of receiver's nose

[ underside ] sender leans in and places a suggestive kiss just under receiver's jawline

[ giggle ] sender starts tickling and kissing the receiver all over in order to make them laugh

[ knuckle ] sender lifts receiver's hand to their lips and places a polite kiss there

[ last ditch ] right before receiver leaves for battle, sender rushes into their arms and kisses them desperately

[ the middle ] in the midst of a battle, sender steals a second alone with receiver and kisses them to reassure them

[ dreamy ] sender and receiver indulge in a handful of slow, romantic kisses

[ darkness ] sender and receiver makeout in a completely dark room

[ ear ] sender nuzzles and kisses receiver's ear

[ recline ] sender climbs ontop of receiver and steals a kiss

[ lazy ] sender kisses receiver to wake them up from a comfortable sleep

[ dramatics ] as sender and receiver argue back and forth, sender launches forward and kisses receiver to stop the fight

[ distance ] across a large space, sender blows receiver a kiss

[ hold ] sender and receiver are hugging, and sender kisses receiver on the cheek in a tender display

[ regret ] sender and receiver start to kiss, but sender backs away in the middle of it, knowing it's a bad idea

[ reunion ] thinking they'd never see each other again, sender and receiver are reunited and run into each other's arms, sharing a kiss

[ inner ] in a heated moment, sender trails kisses along receiver's inner thigh

[ lovebite ] in the midst of kissing receiver's neck, sender changes tactics and gives them a tender little bite

[ greeting ] sender and receiver greet each other with kisses to both cheeks in quick succession

[ bunny ] sender gives receiver a bunny kiss by rubbing their noses together back and forth

[ supportive ] sender kisses the top of receiver's head

[ fingertips ] sender places light kisses to each of reciever's fingertips

[ tongue ] sender and receiver indulge in a heavy makeout that involves tongue

[ first time ] sender leans in and kisses receiver for the first time

[ final ] sender and receiver share a kiss for the very last time, and they know it's their last

[ storm ] caught in the midst of a torrential downpour, sender can't help but close the distance and kiss receiver in the rain

[ scar ] sender sees one of receiver's scars for the first time and gently kisses it

[ desperate ] the situation is dire, and sender can't stop themselves from rushing forward and crushing receiver into an aggressive, frantic kiss

[ tend ] while tending to receiver's wounds, sender gives receiver a reassuring kiss

[ stolen ] sender and receiver cross paths and can't resist ducking into a safe place to makeout before they carry on with their day

[ irresistable ] sender taunts receiver by easing closer, promising a kiss, and then backing away, making receiver chase their lips

[ lipstick ] sender is wearing lipstick, and uses that fact to mark receiver with a few lipstick stains

[ chest ] sender removes receiver's shirt and immediately rushes forward to kiss their chest

[ shivering ] sender places small kisses all over receiver's stomach

[ fake ] sender and receiver pretend to be a couple and are forced to kiss each other to blend in

[ maybe ] sender and receiver are best friends and experiment with a kiss to see where it goes