Kiss!

"... I'm really glad you learned about - about everything in time to be at the auction house," she says, more seriously.

"Yeah. Me too."

"Sorry. Didn't mean to assassinate the cuteness, just." Shiver. "Yep, that would have sucked. Even knowing you would have come looking for me."

He scoops her closer and kisses the top of her head. "I would have. And I'd have found you."

"I figured. Emperor, and all. Able to find me even if my stalker put me in a tiny underground box. It's honestly pretty comforting."

Snuggle. "And you're mine and I'm not letting anyone take you away from me."

The word 'mine' elicits an entirely different kind of shiver.

"Possessive, aren't you?"

"Yes I am."

She snorts, amused.

"I should probably be more uncomfortable with this than I am. Except the sentence I'm thinking is, 'Well, as long as you take good care of me.'"

"I intend to!" Kiss.

"Good, good. Having me is a lot of responsibility. You have to feed me regularly, keep my water bowl full, brush me weekly, clean my litter box, maybe take me on walks if I start to gain too much weight..."

Giggle.

"The cat metaphor is surprisingly accurate, I even brought you a dead thing."

"That is pretty much the exact opposite of what happened," he says. "I brought you a live thing."

Giggle.

"But my phrasing is so much funnier! Would you have brought me a live thing if I hadn't cried about him on you?"

He pets her. "Might have. Would've taken me longer to decide to, though."

"See? I brought a dead thing to your attention by making a bit of a mess. I metaphorically brought you a dead thing."

"No, I don't think so. Too much of a stretch."

"Bah. You're no fun. I would make a great cat."

He pets her some more. "If you were a cat I would not want to fuck you," he points out.

... Giggle.

"Okay, yes, but this is not about if I'd prefer to be a cat, it's about if I'd make a good one! Obviously I prefer being human, opposable thumbs are great."

Snuggle.

Snuggle.

"I acknowledge that I should get out of bed, but the cuddles are too compelling. And the bed is too big. How do I escape."

Snuggle. "Who says you have to get out of bed?"

"I do! I refuse to still be here by the time you go to pick up my brother. And I'd like to meddle in your empire, and can't do that from bed, unfortunately."