I think... it should always be more than you expected, still leaving room for more.

[Without Ishtar, he might have been listless, putting to work his creativity for the sake of fear. For her, his craft had changed. Grown. Crystalized.

She was haughty, craved attention, and loathed any implication that she could be regarded as anything but the very concepts her name was synonymous with. No matter how often he enjoyed playing the part of a fool, he could never ignore the promise that, if he were clever and worked hard enough that one of his treats, his balms, his trinkets or his inventions might light up her dazzling eyes with interest. It was a delight only she could offer and, even if there failures that she'd looked down upon, she found some way to acknowledge his efforts.

Humming, he started rubbing his cheek against her the backs of her fingers just so she could feel the tiniest prickle of resistance and contrast her smooth, flawless skin with his overly persistent growth. It was already coming back--]

Would it make you happy to know that even my quiet moments are for you?