bakerstreet | arranged marriage AU to scratch the itch.

arranged marriage AU to scratch the itch.

Arranged Marriage Turned More

To have and to hold, you said, till death do us part, all while the sharp, swinging pendulum of obligation hung overhead. But how could you have truly meant those words? This union has been tainted from the start, forever bearing the chains of an arranged marriage. It would be understandable if you couldn't bear to look at your new life partner, eternal reminder of your stolen future that they are, much less like them.
Much less love them...

Still, things can change.

You could realize that they are in the same boat as you or, that when compared to others around you,
they are the lesser of evils. Perhaps you even open up to the idea of a friendship; at the very least,
an alliance may be in order to become a power couple in a perilous world. From that innocent decision or sense of self-preservation, a new feelings sparks. Something like affection.

Something, you realize in the wake of speeding heartbeats, like love.

Will you acknowledge this? Can the two of you have a happily ever after - happier than if you'd met in another fashion - or will you hold firm in your distaste?

how to play.

- Everybody loves "couples forged by less-than-ideal circumstances" tropes!
- Comment with your character, prefs, all that good stuff.
- Reply to others.
- IDEC where you set your threads, it's wide open. Fantasy world with hairy hobbits, old-timey lands, future AUs, do a space marriage for all I care. I'm sure they're still getting married in Star Wars or whatever.

POSSIBLE REASONS FOR MARRIAGE:
① Station → You come from a royal, noble, or otherwise distinguished family who has chosen a suitable spouse for you.
② Feud → You are being married to put an end to the bitter enmity between your two families.
③ Economics → Your economic state and/or your station will improve through the union, though one of you may be marrying down.
④ Empire → You and your spouse are merging your businesses and/or property to create something more influential or profitable.
⑤ Tribute → You have been offered as a gift or appeasement, alternately you're the spoils of war.
⑥ Bloodline → Carrying on your distinguished family name has fallen to you and the equally well-bred spouse of your family's selection.
⑦ Disapproval → Your marriage has been arranged to keep you away from the person with whom you truly wish to be.

POSSIBLE SCENARIOS:
① First meeting → This is the very first time you're meeting your future spouse.
② Courtship → To get to know each other and encourage affection, your family has approved of you going on dates.
③ Engagement party → Be it a huge, formal affair or a small, intimate get together, you're celebrating (or pretending).
④ Wedding day → The big day!
⑤ Reception → The big party!
⑥ Wedding night → Every meme needs a smut prompt, right?
⑦ Honeymoon → Where will you go with your new spouse and what will you do there?

[ Since the other marriage meme disappeared, I guess it's okay to post this one? ]

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Please.

[ He remains in the water for a while, enough that the water would have gone cold if he didn't release fire aether into it. Enough that the skin of his fingers starts to wrinkle in a way that he finds very unpleasant, if better than the experience of never entering the water at all. There's no breaking down, really, no tears or struggling or grinding of teeth. Just a long period of being very still and quiet in warm water. Breath steady. Heartbeat slow.

Eventually, he can think clearly again. He doesn't want to scream or dig his short, carefully trimmed claws into his skin. He's tired. But only tired. ]

This is. Better. than it would have been. [ It's a difficult admission. That he would have been anything less than perfectly well, had he been left to himself. He reaches out of the tub, bringing a damp, wrinkled hand into Luneth's hair. ] Thank you.

[ So he stays... Luneth doesn't engage in conversation - unless Raha himself does. So he doesn't ask questions or anything like that either. Nothing invasive. Nothing prodding. Not going to be anything but a soothing and comforting presence. After a time, Luneth starts to hum. It's an old tune, one that had been sung by the trees on the mildest of days. Where even the sounds of the jungle stop so that all can listen.

Thus he remains this way. Sitting against the tub, humming a tune with his eyes closed. An offering to allow the prince to break down if he needs. To take care of himself and his own emotional wellbeing as much as he can.

Then he feels the hand on his head. In his hair. It is a little damp, but he'll survive it. ]

Hmm. You no longer need bear your burdens alone.

I am glad for it.

[ It takes him a moment to figure out how the plumbing works. A sterilisation node wouldn't just leave water lying around when it was done. But eventually he manages to drain the tub. Stand unsteadily and climb out of it. Look around for something to dry himself with.

He hasn't actually washed himself properly. Just sat in hot water for a long time. But he'll deal with the cleanliness side of it all later. This was- this was comfort. And it is acceptable for him to seek comfort. ]

I think perhaps- perhaps I ought to rest a while. If you wish to join me, I think-

[ And his tone lightens. Not entirely, but enough to suggest that he's at least attempting a joke. ]

-I think I would touch you. A little.

[ Once the drain starts, Luneth rises. He hasn't forgotten about himself, mind. His ears are a little too sensitive and lighting can easily set him off. Yet he wanders over to where he has kept the towels for himself and brings it over to the prince. It's Luneth that begins the process of drying the other off. It isn't pampering him.

This is all comfort. Everything right now is about that. ]

I am... Not at my best, this I will readily admit. Rest is likely what we will both require.

[ Since he still doesn't know if he can bring up the ret. What he had seen. It doesn't particularly bother him, that his likeness had been used. Rather what seems to bother the Viera is that it had been purposefully done. There is no other way around it. No other explanation.

At the attempt at a joke, he chuckles. ]

"A little" may also be permissible, Little Raha.

[ He fusses over his own tail as Luneth dries him off, forcing wind aether into the fur to dry it. It mostly works, even if it leaves it a little puffy. It's hardly as if anyone will ever see it.

Except Luneth, now.

He leaves his robes where they were removed. And once he's done, takes Luneth by the hand and leads him out of the washroom. To the bed. They've shared it since this began, and this is no different than that, really. He's somewhat less clothed than he has been before. He has permission to touch (a little). But really it's the same as always. Probably. Mostly.

His own side of the bed smells like Luneth. He'd missed the more obvious signs of it in his exhaustion, but- it's good. It should smell like him. He climbs in, reaching out his hands for Luneth. ]

[ For a moment he considers asking Raha if he'd like to change into sleeping attire. Luneth hasn't actually been out of his own for a while. Yet there is a thought that if he asks, then whatever is happening here might stop. The prince might put up some walls again. So he says nothing. The Viera follows as Raha leads him back to the bed.

Though they keep saying "a little" it will likely be however far Raha wants to go and how much Luneth will permit.

As soon as the prince is in the bed and reaching out for Luneth, the Viera takes the offered hands. He sinks into the bed right next to Raha, ignoring things like their imagined barriers. Luneth just falls with a sigh, his own exhaustion just bleeding out. ]

[ As Luneth sinks into the bed, he pulls himself close to him. It's different, in every possible way, from the void. Warm. Safe. Comfortable. He might not be able to hear Luneth's breath and heartbeat as readily as the viera can hear his own, but he can feel them.

He shifts a little in the bed, trying to find a comfortable place for the arm that isn't settled over the Viera's side, toying with the fabric of his nightshirt as if he isn't quite sure whether to place his hand over it or under it, against the skin of his hip. In the end, he tucks the arm between them, hand pressed against Luneth's chest. ]

Just a little. Enough to last the night.

[ It isn't night, as best he knows. It was daylight when he emerged into the throne room. But time doesn't really matter in the tower. He's exhausted. Both of them are. That's what night can mean, now. ]

[ Of course there's no resistance from Luneth either. Rather he allows the Miqo'te to move the both of them around as needed. As the other would like.

He's rather patient, waiting for Raha's indecisiveness to settle. Apparently the Viera doesn't mind where the other's hands go at all. As if to demonstrate, his own has seems to move over the expanse of Raha's side, counting ribs before settling on the small of Raha's back. The prince is under the blankets with essentially nothing else on. Any skin that Luneth would touch would be bare.

Then his free hand seems to settle on pillowing a cheek. Innocent contact, really. Only offering the things that Raha is seeking in these moments. ]

This suits my needs just fine. My head and body have ached since yesterday and had not made any plans for this day.

[ Below the nightshirt. Over a tiny scar, invisible but just about there beneath his fingertips. He doesn't know where from, and- it doesn't need to matter where, really. It's something the clone never would have had.

And it is innocent, despite the desperation of it. Despite his own nakedness and the way his hand has burrowed beneath Luneth's clothes. He doesn't know if he'll want more later. If it'll sicken him to touch Luneth like this, once he's in his right mind again, knowing how he used touch to calm a sacrifice with his face and lead it to its death. How he'll do it again, no doubt.

When Luneth mentions his aches, his attention is on that immediately. It wouldn't have been, earlier. But he's recovered enough to care. ]

Since yesterday. Ah, the tower's power being used? I'd heard your kind were sensitive to aether.

[ 'The opening of the portal', is what he means. ]

[ Whether he wants more or not later is entirely up to Raha. Luneth will follow that lead. Perhaps it is a mistake to allow this level of closeness. It's not really the physical that is creating a bond, despite the fact they are touching. The physical is just the vehicle of it.

For now, the Viera pushes his forehead against Raha. His eyes close, just focusing on the sound of the prince's voice. His heartbeat. ]

We are, yes. 'Tis how I knew that this Emet-Selch of yours is different. The aether around him is not... Right.

[ It's not something he knows how to describe. ]

However, it was not the Tower that was the cause.

[ He knows what it was, of course. And he knows, a little, how it must have been. The clone had been pained, afraid. So desperately in need of comfort that it had followed him into the source of its distress when offered even a little.

Of course it would have been as bad for Luneth himself, here, alone. ]

I apologise. I didn't have notice myself, this time. But I will try to warn you before it happens again.

[ Which is to say that he knows full well what the cause is. ]

[ Does he though? Does Raha truly realize what the cause of Luneth's present state is? Has he been able to truly figure out what the ring is meant for on the Viera's side of things? Is he concerned about how the prince will take to knowing that Luneth saw everything in vain? ]

You are not at fault. Therefore an apology is not necessary. There is nothing that you could have done differently. Now rest. Mental exhaustion can take a toll just as the physical one can. Additionally, I believe I might have used up my energies for the day.

[ That, he doesn't know. So far as he's aware, the ache is only from the aether being sucked out of the air around them. He knows that the way to the void was opened, and that he's keeping that much from Luneth. That there is a way to force echo visions upon the viera is, so far, something he's unaware of. ]

Very well, husband mine.

[ He says it as another joke, but it comes out a little too soft for that. Not quite tender enough to sound truthful, but too tender by far to sound facetious. Like he's testing the phrase, seeing how it fits.

For the first time since Luneth arrived, he purrs in his sleep. ]

[ It will be an unavoidable topic, eventually, especially if it continues every time the void is opened and a sacrifice is needed. Luneth sighs, one ear twitching at the words. Perhaps it is a joke, but it isn't taken as such. That tone is not one that really leads the Viera to believe it, though he understands that it is said in a way that he could try to dismiss it thus; if Luneth should make a fuss of it, he imagines.

Yet he doesn't. His head feels too heavy and body too hollow to even try to puzzle out his own feelings on it. Instead he shimmies down a bit in the bed. Tucks his nose and forehead into Raha's neck. He'll take the warmth and the sound of the other's pulse over the numbness. ]

Sleep well, Little Raha.

[ And then the rest of the day comes and goes, with not much more than a stirring here and there. Perhaps to just shift position or to tend to certain needs. Over all, Luneth returns to the embrace and to hold this prince as well.

It's not until the next day that the Viera finally feels well enough once more. Waking finds himself tangled up in Raha and he pauses. At this point he's not sure where he stops and the other begins. All Luneth really knows right now is that he is rather hungry and he's now lost a day intended to work. He's restless and now attempting to gently remove himself from the other - as to not disturb him. ]

[ In a purely practical sense, this ought to be significantly less comfortable than sleeping alone. The bed is soft and does not want for warmth. The bed does not have elbows. The bed does not stir or decide to shift about and the fur of its ears does not tickle his nose and

He has not slept so comfortably in his life. Certainly not in the tower.

As it turns out, he needed the sleep. He barely even stirs through their long slumber, only moving in his sleep to see that Luneth's head is tucked neatly beneath his chin again whenever he shifts. Even when Luneth wakes and tries to untangle their bodies, he's still half-asleep when he responds, mumbling something incoherent and stroking up and down his side before slowly blinking awake. ]

Ah- hello. [ One ear flicks, like he's trying to remove sleepiness from it like a droplet of water. ] Have your aches subsided?

[ Luneth is used to sleeping in the trees, high up where none can see. Either it is perched on a thick branch, a half-sleep that he can be pulled from in an instant, or a hammock that is strewn between two branches. A bed has not been afforded to him since his childhood or for when he has come to the females' villages during the times in which they meet for a spell.

Yet he has rested comfortably. Deeply. Luneth cannot recall the last time he has truly slept and felt as though he is full of life and energy once more.

He only pauses in his "escape" when he feels the hand at his side. When warm breath fans over his hair, his ears. Causes them to shudder just a bit. Or maybe that's just him. ]

They may well have, yes. [ Then, after a moment: ] Have yours?

[ The aches in his soul, his heart. ]

Enough that work will do more for them than rest.

[ He sits up slowly, carefully untangling himself from Luneth. Bows his head to kiss the top of Luneth's. His tail is coiled loosely around the viera's leg. ]

I should perhaps not go to Lord Amon's laboratories today. [ He would very much prefer not to be subjected to more other-Luneths in progress. ] But there are tasks I can attend to from here.

[ Ah... Does the prince realize that he has, in fact, kissed him? Not in seeking comfort or anything of the sort. Just. Well Luneth doesn't know. He won't ask since it feels as though if he does, then Raha will curl back into himself again. The Viera does not want that and he doesn't actually find the gesture anything but. Warm. Yes, warm.

Which means that he might as well catch that tail in his hand before it moves away entirely. Feel the fur between his fingers as it glides through them. ]

A wise decision, I would think.

[ There's no need for Raha to subjugate himself to any of that nonsense or that man. Not right now. ]

That would mean that I should make myself presentable and attempt to put together that loom today.

Will you require aid?

[ He does know, truthfully. It's very much a deliberate kiss, if only because he wants to make the most of their closeness before it ends. Because it is ending, little by little, as he draws his tail back through Luneth's fingers, slowly untangles his limbs from the viera.

It's only once he lets go that he feels the need to cover himself. Wraps one of the blankets around himself as he gathers clothes as if he has not been bare before Luneth for about the last day. ]

From the looks of it, it didn't seem to be too daunting a task to assemble. But I will be here, if you do.

[ It doesn't necessarily have to end... The moment, perhaps, but truthfully the moment had long passed before. Who knows... Perhaps Raha will be surprised when they take to the bed again in the night - or whatever constitutes as night in this place.

Luneth finally sits up and stretches. He raises arms over his head and reaches as far as he can. Sucking in a breath, a couple of joints pop before he releases said breath and relaxes once more. Will he need aid? Perhaps not particularly but - ]

Another set of hands will not be refused if they are provided.

[ He isn't... Opposed to a bit more closeness? ]

Then they will be.

[ He leaves his hair loose about his shoulders, after dressing himself. He can't pin his ears back into it if it isn't tied tightly enough to hold them, but he's unlikely to need to today. ]

I'll prepare my request that you be permitted to leave the tower, once that is done. And seek out more information on the summoners, or at least seek out any suggestion of where it might be found, and-

[ And look at the tower's records, to be as certain as he ever can be that there isn't another performance in the near future. ]

-and thank you.

[ The Viera finally slides off of the bed. To be fair, he isn't going to don the entirety of his own clothing - he doesn't see a purpose in it if there isn't to be any journeying beyond the immediate vicinity. Thus he simply changes out pants and moves to retie the feathers into his hair. His ear is turned in the direction of the prince, listening to the rambling while also paying attention to what is said.

Then he hears that "thank you." There's a pause in his grooming. Only one feather has been placed as he makes his way back over to Raha. Said prince will likely be met with a softer expression, but just as unreadable as always as hands cup those cheeks once more. ]

Little Raha... Though you need not thank me, you are most welcome. This is not what you nor I would have wanted for ourselves, no. We are both prisoners. However I have given you my vow and therefore you have my loyalty all the same.

[ And there... There is another moment right now. Luneth presses his lips in the middle of Raha's forehead. Almost like sealing a promise. Immediately after his hands fall away and he returns to attempting to tie that other feather into his hair. ]

[ Luneth is so much kinder than he deserves. The kiss surprises him, because he was under the impression that this was done for now, that the need had passed and the closeness with it. Slowly, he raises his hand up to touch his cheek where Luneth's hands had been. It takes him a moment to find his words. ]

And you mine.

[ There's the nervousness again. He hasn't retreated into himself, and he isn't upset - the opposite, he's smiling softly, even if he finds himself unable to look up. But the ability to be close without becoming nervous about it seems to be limited to strictly defined times. ]

[ His ear twitches again at the admission. Luneth turns slightly... And for the first time actually offers something of a smile. Slight, but still there. ]

You have already proven that, in part.

[ Looks like he is struggling just a little. His fingers aren't quite coordinated enough to get that last feather in. ]

[ Looking down as he is, he almost misses that fraction of a smile. Almost. He catches it before it fades, and the one he gives in response is less subtle, accompanied by his ears flicking up, because even if he sometimes seems like he's on a mission to mute every other inconvenient emotion to nothing he seems almost incapable of being subtle about expressing genuine joy.

He touches his fingertips against Luneth's hand, when he notices that he's struggling with the precise movements. As he commits that difficulty to memory making note to watch to see that it's something that will need to be addressed in the coming days. The contact is breath-light. ]

May I?

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