Asher is very kissable. He has had a lot of practice.

Tazalkyran has not! He has... mostly not kissed people. Done some other things, sometimes. Every time he remembers one he blanks out a little and flinches and cries harder. It does not add up to being a very good kissing partner, really.

The first time he does that Asher pulls away and rests his forehead on Tazalkyran's.

He leans into him. Maybe clings a little. Everything is very difficult and upsetting but Asher is good and warm.

Asher makes a habit of not kissing people who respond to it by flinching and crying but they can cuddle as long as Tazalkyran wants.

It turns out that cuddles are possibly the best thing in the whole entire world. Although it may be hard to tell he thinks so, because of all the crying.

"You really need a hug."

He sniffles, and makes a sort of laugh/sob noise, and nods.

"We have got to find some girl with a taste for mysterious bad boys."

Tiny sad giggle.

"Do - do girls like it when you cry on them? I've never tried."

"Some girls have a thing for fixing guys who are sad and broken!"

He sniffles and laughs and leans on him some more. "Before the curse I would've hated that, I think. Being—something broken to be fixed. But it's true, now. And I can't hate things."

"I don't think you're broken."

"Aren't I?"

"My mom spent a bunch of time as a frog and that didn't make her broken."

"Being a frog doesn't make you—yourself with half the pieces missing."

"I like the half I see and we're gonna get you the other half back."

He smiles sadly and sniffles a little and leans into him some more. "Thanks. Just so you know, I probably don't deserve it. But thanks."

"Did I tell you about the Isle of the Lost?"

"What's that?"

"Auradon has some-- bad people in it. People who committed genocide, who tried to get hundreds of thousands of people tortured for eternity, this one lady skinned people alive and wore their skins as clothes--"

...he makes a soft, amused noise, but doesn't attempt to comment.

"Ben's dad decided to put them all on an island and send them barges full of Auradon's garbage and leave them to create their own horrible rapey hellsociety. Ben is trying to figure out how to close the island and reintegrate as many people as possible into society and give the rest the best lives we can without letting them wear people's skin as clothing. We're going to get you your personality back and I think I am going to still like you."

"Yeah, that's fair," he says, with a much less hopeless smile.

"Even if it is very important to you that you be allowed to wear people's skin as clothing I'm afraid I'm not going to allow that. --I guess maybe if they said it was okay before they died of natural causes."