Love is Generous

[Kender Bard]

Locket carefully carried the saucer with the teacup brimming with tea and eyed the little pastry that rested against the cup. No, Locket, don't eat it. That's for Crawford.

~Crawwwfooord~ Locket sang out mentally. ~I have something for you. Where are you?~

[Darastrix]

Despite the fact that both Delilah and Ciel had made it through his son's birth, Crawford had been tense and on edge since, though he did his level best to push the feeling aside when he was with his wife. He didn't want her to worry needlessly. He knew he was probably more worried than he needed to be, but after he'd been so afraid of losing them in a situation where there was literally nothing he could do, it wasn't something he could just shake off.

~I'm in my study,~ he sent, looking up from his desk when Locket called. He'd been trying (and failing) to unwind a little, so the distraction was for once not unwelcome.

[Kender Bard]

Locket made her way to his study, nudging the door open with her foot and carefully walking over to his desk to set the cup down. "For you!" she announced cheerfully. "Annnnnnd..." She dug into a pocket, rummaging around the random things she'd picked up and stuck in there for the day. Ew sticky. She removed her hand a moment, shook it, and then dove back in. "Ha, there you are."

She plucked out small piece of paper that had been rolled into a tiny scroll and tied with a bright blue ribbon and put it down on the desk as well. "You can read that now or later, it's just a little something I put together the other day while thinking of you and Ciel and Delilah." She clasped her hands behind her back and smiled at him. "So what are you doooiiing?" She peered at the papers on his desk. Her primary path could only be smothered for so long.

[Darastrix]

Forces, tea. He needed that. At Locket's question, he raised slid one hand under his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Very little, I'm afraid," he said, sliding the papers--which dealt primarily with reports of demon sightings or supposed sightings--to one side.

He gave a curious glance to the little scroll that she put on his desk, but decided that whatever it was, he'd likely rather look at it in private. Besides, he could really use that tea. He took the cup and sipped before finally focusing on Locket. "Thank you," he said, repressing a small wince as he shifted in his chair. He'd been hunched over his desk too long, it seemed. "Now, since this is the wrong season for Grey Day, what brings you here?"

[Kender Bard]

"Do I need a reason?" Locket asked, picking up on his wince. She moved around to the back of the chair and put her hands to his back, frowning as she focused on rubbing his back. It'd been a while since she'd tested the skill out but practicing on Nagi periodically made her much better at it than when she'd first learned the skill from Dusk. "Haven't you learned by now that I like pampering you? Maybe the first couple times it just amused me because if anyone needed to relax for once on Grey Day it would be you. But I like being with you too." She smirked. "Usually."

[Darastrix]

Crawford blinked, momentarily surprised into silence at the touch on his back. He didn't mind it as much as he thought he might had she taken the time to ask and let him consider it. At least she wasn't an actual healer like Filly or even someone who knew his body the way Schuldig did. He imagined that Locket wouldn't be able to pick up on just how tight his back was or how many knots there were.

"I am not wholly averse to your presence myself." Ah, there was his tongue. "Or your pampering." Too much tongue. He must have been more tired than he thought. He decided to occupy his mouth with more tea.

[Kender Bard]

Locket laughed and leaned forward, suddenly looping her arms around him in an enthusiastic hug. "Aw, Crawford, you do like me, don't you? I always knew it." She bit her lower lip to keep from laughing out, smothering it down to a giggle. "Even if it's only because I treat you so well. Well pampering there shall be. Come on, now, tell me what you'd like most right now."

[Darastrix]

Crawford was grateful that Locket was behind him at the moment. Forces only knew what his expression looked like. "What you were doing before is...fine," he replied, the pause the result of conscious effort to use a word other than 'acceptable.' He didn't need to be quite that stiff and formal with her, and he hadn't been since coming back from Grandisle, really.

He chalked the renewed instinct up to the past few days and the strangeness of his current position. He knew he'd have no trouble telling Filly or Schuldig what he'd like most at the moment. He hadn't exactly gotten into that habit with Locket.

[Kender Bard]

"All right," Locket remarked, a brief flicker of a frown crossing her expression and creeping into her tone. She didn't feel like she was doing enough. But that was a feeling she was used to when dealing with him on Grey Day so she shouldn't be surprised. She went back to administering her backrub. "Trinket has been asking after you, Delilah, and Ciel. She wanted to go see the baby but of course I said not yet."

[Darastrix]

"Good," he murmured. "I doubt Trinket would hurt anything, but I want Delilah to have more time to recover before we let the triplets in." Because sure as anything, if they let Trinket in, her brothers would hear about it and demand to get to see, too. And he didn't quite trust them to stay calm and quiet if they were allowed.

He shifted, leaning forward a bit to shrug off his light waistcoat. He'd caught her tone before, and thought that maybe she'd feel a little better about it if he shed one of his layers.

[Kender Bard]

Locket paused to allow him, then smiled and set to work again. Perhaps he really was enjoying himself. "That's what I thought." Proudly, she added, "She won't stop asking me questions. Such a good girl. She'll make an excellent Curious someday."

Speaking of curiosity... She smirked and asked in a sly tone, her voice dropping lower conspiratorially, "Do you still have that toy I gave you? I think it'd look adorable in Ciel's crib. Of course I'd have to get another one just for you..."

[Darastrix]

"Wouldn't it just be simpler to get one for Ciel?" Crawford asked, his tone coloured with mild confusion. Privately, he disliked the suggestion on the basis that the first one had been just for him. He'd had it...Forces, ten years this Efilive, and since he'd grown to like and care for Locket, it had acquired a good bit of sentimental value.

He bit lightly on the tip of his tongue when Locket's fingers managed to hit a particularly good spot, then changed his mind about not reacting and let his breath out in a quiet sigh instead. Maybe the novelty would get her to change tracks. Besides, without his coat on, it did feel good.

[Kender Bard]

Locket's hand paused, just a moment, before she focused a little more closely on the sweet spot. "I don't think you've ever been this openly relaxed around me," she remarked, trying to sound amused but only making her tone light. It was strange. Not a bad thing, but it'd caught her by surprise. More than not bad it's... Nice.

She smiled suddenly, her head popping up next to his and she kissed his cheek, giving him another quick hug. "At the risk of spoiling that, I just want to say that... I'm really glad everything turned out. Not just for the obvious reasons--those are obvious--but because I don't know what I would do if something tragic happened to you. You're everyone's calm and steady support. If anyone deserves a happy ending to an ordeal..." She trailed off, smiling.

[Darastrix]

And the resident Soahcians continue to be a constant source of surprise. As reluctant as he could be to ask for it (even from Filly and Schuldig, who'd seen him at his lowest), he sometimes forgot the support for him was there as well. Even from those he still had trouble thinking of as adults.

"Thank you," he said, quietly. To give himself something to focus on, he broke off a piece of the pastry to nibble. After a pause, he added, "I'd rather not dwell more on the 'ordeal' and its potential tragedy at the moment. That's why I both want and...need to relax. Find another topic of conversation, and we can consider things unspoiled."

[Kender Bard]

"All right," Locket replied lightly. She pointed over her shoulder at the pastry. "Then may I suggest that the next time you need to do something, we might go out together to the bakery I got that from? Or anywhere really. I know a lot of little places to go for some entertaining diversion or tasty treat. Malagard tries to hide them but you can't hide anything from me. When was the last time you got out of this place, hmm?"