What happened in Second to Mine was
fae!Cor makes an offer that fae!Nyx accepts
Nyx looks for the catch (because FAE) and so IMMEDIATELY pushes boundaries
Cor accepts and then affirms this pushing of boundaries
Nyx internally: shocked pikachu face
“Well,” Ulric responded, the amusement in his tone much more familiar than the weight of a dying star it had been, “That’s not what I expected to happen today, Husband.”
That word he spoke, his magick settled into it, sulfur and ozone and petrichor the kind after rainfall.
Cor breathed it in, letting the taste of it settle on his tongue.
Closed his eyes to savour it, savour the feeling of the other’s magic settling into his skin, the deal tucking against his heart.
“You may call me whatever you wish,” he gave to the other
If cor had responded to nyx with "Dont call me that" it would have been a firm rejection, a scold which would have shown Nyx where the boundary line was. It also would have been an order and would immediately tell Nyx how Cor was going to treat their deal and in further how Cor would treat Nyx as the one in the lower position in the deal
"Second to mine" afterall
what Nyx was hoping Cor would say would have been anything along the lines of "i would prefer you to call me Cor," or "Most call me by the name Cor"
As a test of boundaries it makes sense because it likely wouldnt have gone immediately horribly for nyx even if cor had reacted badly
anyways "i would prefer you to call me Cor" /"Most call me cor" leans back into the idea of choice, instead or ordering Nyx to just call him Cor, it would have been a gentle suggestion Nyx could technically ignore with no repercussion which would have been a good reaction
It would still be a light rejection to what Nyx was saying but it wouldnt have been an order
Then Cor did the one thing Nyx DIDNT expect him to
which was to go "Husband? yeah sure I guess we're husbands if you want to put it that way"
(NOT THAT NYX IS COMPLAINING LMAO)
and he STILL is offering Nyx a choice in it! "You may call me whatever you'd like" in response to Nyx testing him with "Husband"
its good its a positive response but its also,, like very sweetly careful?
I need to do a small followup fic which is just cor lightly freaking out about the inherent power dynamic
tho he tried to give Nyx as much as he could! "only second to mine"
that's a huge offer really especially when Nyx was so badly off
Anyways fae politics and rules, i love em what can i say
