"There is," he says to the demon, "a way to travel between worlds without being summoned. I will trade you the knowledge of how to make it for three of them and some help identifying a habitable planet in our new dimension."
Taliar has held perfectly still for an amazing variety of tortures, and he can hold perfectly still for this.
...with some difficulty.
...he loves his husband so much.
And his husband loves him too, so much he's giving another one to a version of him who doesn't even want one. Yet.
Speaking of which, guess who finally noticed his alt is awake? He has no idea what's going on that put that look on Dawn-shining's face, but whatever it is, he wholeheartedly approves.
Well then he wholeheartedly approves of Maitimo. Not that he didn't already. Trust songs are amazing.
Sex on trust songs is amazing. Post-coital cuddling on trust songs is amazing. Idly teasing his husband during same is amazing.
Sun-dark cuddles Maitimo contentedly and watches his alt be pleasantly tormented.
The song fades.
"Well, that was even more incredible than I expected," he says. "And apparently Dawn-shining agrees!"
"Pleased to be surpassing your expectations. You sure you don't just want to take the easy road and stay?"
He looks up at Maitimo with fond exasperation, and then kisses him.
When in my life have I ever taken the easy road? he asks, holding the memory of the emotion cascade in his mind until his pulse races with suppressed terror.
He giggles delightedly, which interferes with both the kissing and the deliberate cultivation of fear, but that's all right.
...wow, Sun-dark can immediately see the appeal of watching oneself with Maitimo, no wonder Dawn-shining was having such a good time with that.
Dawn-shining Taliar loves his husband sooooo much. His husband is the best.
And then it is time for cuddles again. The Taliars snuggle up happily.
Still a few things I need to tell him, muses Dawn-shining, trying to decide the best way... do you want to explain what you used to get out of not caring about consent, or would it be better if I sent the memory of what you said?
All right.
He reaches over and ruffles his alt's hair. Prepare to be enlightened, he says, and then sends the memory, with approximate context of when it was being said and what they'd been talking about beforehand. He stops short of including what he did after Maitimo finished speaking.
His breath catches.
"Oh," he says quietly.
It's - it makes perfect sense - and if the Maitimo of the past was in front of him right now, Sun-dark would want to kiss him - would want to put his soul in his hand and drown in loving him - and that Maitimo is not here, and the Maitimo that Sun-dark is going to seduce doesn't even want his undying devotion - but the war is over and there's another entire Taliar to go around being Dawn-shining at things, and Sun-dark can afford to go hand his soul to Maitimo's sad alt and love him undeterrably.
Well, yeah. If I didn't think I'd do him any good, I wouldn't even be considering it. He reflects on this assertion for a moment, and then adds, Well, not seriously, anyway. There's definitely a part of me that just wants to find out how badly he can fuck me up, but that is not the part that gets to call the shots.
In context, and in that tone of voice -
I thought you said it was going to be less bad than I wasn't imagining!