deercountry | i am just a picture frame

[Kaworu hates the idea of Paul being alone because he's been so alone his entire life. This world has been a change, something new and exciting and where he can carve out his own little space to just be.

But he'd never considered how different it had been for Paul to be here. That he had to try to recreate everything he'd lost and accept that some things were lost as long as he was here. But he remembers the lonely tent on the black sand beach and how he'd been drawn there, hoping to make their commander pay him a little bit of mind.

He knows what Paul is doing is important. House Atreides means so much to him though he still doesn't quite understand all the mechanisms that go into it. It's very full of human ritual and they come up with the strangest things.]

So does that mean we're family now? Can we still kiss? Or-[He gives Paul a look that's somehow playful and innocent at the same time.] Are we married now?

Edited 2022-06-13 01:51 (UTC)

[ The first time an Atreides put his hand on Gideon's shoulder, it made her feel nearly nauseated. It was a confusing gesture, one based on a lie. She didn't deserve it; she was only pretending to be a member of their household.

Paul's hand feels like the exact opposite -- grounding, comforting, steady, warm. There's no uncertainty in the pit of Gideon' stomach, now.

Gideon smiles, and her smile breaks into a laugh at Kaworu's question. She's not laughing at him -- far from it. It's a sound of joy. These are her brothers, and hopefully, Paul knows Gideon's answer without her even having to say it. ]

Yeah, you guys can still kiss, but only with tongue.

[ it's the law!! ]

But sure, yeah. Duh. I'd be in your House even if you didn't have birthday candles.

[Paul's laughter mingles with Gideon's as he loops his arms around both of their shoulders and tugs them in close, their foreheads nearly touching in a tricolor patchwork of dark, red, and silver.]

You two are going to be the end of me.

[He couldn't say it more gladly, a wellspring of warmth tapped and overflowing.]

We can still kiss. With tongue, apparently. But no, we're not married, you brat. [Much quieter, between only the three of them here, he adds:] And you already are.

[His family, in the way that he understands how they are built, of those you trust more completely than anyone else. It still weaves a dazzled thread of gratitude into his voice, one that matches the steady beat of his heart.

In immediate violation of their accord, Paul presses a closed mouth kiss to Kaworu's brow. Then he turns, bumping his head softly against Gideon's, before he releases them both and holds out his ringless right hand, palm up.]

Give me your right hands, and repeat after me.

Open mouth kissing is good but... is that why you won't marry me?

[Kaworu wears a convincing pout until it starts to crack when Paul pulls their heads together. Then at the kiss, it crumbles into laugh and he leans into Paul just for a second before Paul releases them.

Then, he eagerly gives Paul his slender, pale right hand and slides his left into Gideon's, ensuring they're also connected to each other and not just to Paul.]

[ The three of them laughing might be the best sound Gideon has ever heard, and that's including the sound of sausages frying or the videos she likes to watch on her Omni. It's so unlike the Ninth, or even Canaan House, those holy, quiet and lonely places.

Gideon takes Paul and Kaworu's hands, and out of sympathy for Kaworu's difficult, unmarried life, gives him a slow and dramatic wink. ]

Well, it's not because he's afraid of commitment, that's for sure.

[ With that, Gideon goes quiet for an unusual moment, so that Paul can actually say what they're supposed to repeat. For all her jokes, Gideon does take vows somewhat seriously. They just don't need to be too many words. ]

[Paul could look at their smiles forever, and never grow tired. He's sure of it.]

You're lucky I already committed to this.

[He grouses, not meaning a word of it, fingers curling supportively under theirs before he covers their joined hands with his own bearing his signet ring, polished and heavy. He takes a breath, like one of many, but few have ever had this heady weight, and when he speaks, it's strong and level.]

I swear by the hands joined to mine, and all that they have held for me, that I will be bound to you, as we are bound to each other. I swear that I will defend you from harm, and shelter you from sorrow, and be true to you in all things. I swear that I will stand by your side, in flood and fire and fury, from this day forth.

[It's an oath without ornament, but far from lacking in feeling. He lets all that he feels pour from him like water: the glow of pride, the warmth of belonging, the steel alloy of determination and love in their mutual fierceness, all those things which coalesce, again and at long last, to one end:]

There is no call we do not answer. There is no faith that we betray. We are House Atreides.

Edited 2022-06-28 06:21 (UTC)

We are... House Atreides.

[Kaworu follows, in a voice soft without any humor or playfulness. It's raw and touched, basking in the flow of warmth from Paul's words and his feelings pulled in through that current.

His eyes hurt. He blinks a few times. Then he realizes there are tears there. He doesn't understand. Why are there tears at a time of joy?]

I'll never leave you. Either of you.

We are House Atreides.

[ Gideon's voice rises and falls with her brothers', and there's a softness to it, a level of care that isn't usually there. She wants to get this right. There's a feeling in Gideon's chest that she doesn't have the words for, that doesn't appear in any dirty magazine or Ninth House prayer. It feels like her heart is full to bursting, or a weight lifted off her shoulders, or a warm blanket. It's none of those things. It's more. ]

Me neither. Not even if you wanted me to.

[ Gideon smiles again, that warm, lopsided grin. It's funny because, for the first time she's known this about anyone, she knows they'd never actually want that. ]

[Paul presses their hands between his with a light in his eyes that has nothing to do with the future or the past, no silver or blue, only the soft and complex green of the present.]

That's right.

[He releases them so he can kneel next to Shinji-kun, reaching underneath his crossed front legs to pull out a blessedly well-made box that's kept the damp out.]

There's no getting away from me now.

[He opens the box, still down on one bent knee, and shows them the two pairs of silver wing pins that match his own inside before he stands up. He doesn't fix them to their loose collars. He throws his arms around them both and draws them in close, instead, kissing the top of Kaworu's head before he turns, rising lightly on his toes to brush a glancing echo of it against Gideon's temple.]

Atreides.

[He shapes the word like love, like home, because that's what it's always meant to him. It's theirs, now, too.]

i am just a picture frame | june catch-all

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject