Aydanci shakes his head.

"I'm surprised the Enemy did not just wipe him of the information that the Enemy may be able to read minds."

"Did a couple times," Kib comments.

"...it didn't stick?"

"Dreamed it," Kib says.

"...they put themselves in chronological order," Aydanci murmurs.

"So the Enemy wouldn't, actually, have been able to run him through very convincing hallucinations - couldn't  erase the obvious giveaways, not lastingly, he'd have one shot each time and a patient who remembered everything, including the ways he tends to err." By the end of that he sounds almost optimistic. "That means it might not take as long for him to observe that this isn't a hallucination and he's in fact out of Angband."

"If he can do that without thinking," Aydanci chokes.

"Yeah. Or if he can conclude without thinking that a little bit of thinking'd be worth it. Somehow.

I'm sorry."

Aydanci clutches at Kib and says nothing.

Kib snuggles up.

"Let me know if you need anything. Love you, Kib."

"Love you," sighs Kib.

"I will," agrees Aydanci quietly.

He relays the conversation that evening, and holds Findekano quite tightly for it.

Do you really think any of the things you suggested will work?

No.

Then -

I do think he'll recover a bit eventually. He's - too impatient, he can't have turned it off entirely -

Do we have a plan to have the Enemy die.

Not a more specific one than we had yesterday.

Should I go cuddle him.

Probably sometimes, yeah.

Tonight?

Stay with me tonight.

Is this 'at this point I want the hallucination to end, I will be relieved when I look up at your face and it's Sauron's -'

Yep.

Aydanci gets an un-instructioned scribe chassis and puppets it from a few feet away so he can get work done without letting go of his husband. Lots of work. It's not as dire as when the Enemy still had Kib but - the Enemy does sort of still have Kib -

When Kib sleeps the screams are bloodcurdling and well past forming intelligible words. Aydanci can't sleep through it. Can he... get some enchanted earplugs or something.

Yeah.

Kib's boyfriends will also take shifts on cuddling if Aydanci occasionally would benefit from getting out of bed.

Occasionally, yes, probably a good idea, he can talk himself into it.

Kib will snuggle right up to Findekáno.

And he is ever so good at holding still for Maitimo.

"You don't need to," he says once. "I got over that. Had a lot of time."

Well, apparently Kib cannot evaluate this claim without thinking.

Of course. He could prove the point by kissing him or something but he'd never do that if this were real, so he does not do it. He sings, quietly.

'Can I send emotions or should I not."

Insofar as Kib reacts to things he seems to like singing. No opinion on sending emotions, apparently.

Then he might try it. Once. "This is me feeling happy. Do you want me to do that again."

"This is me wishing there were a way for Elves to stop existing, do you want me to do that again."

Small unhappy noise.

"Okay. I won't do that." And he goes back to singing.

Sigh.