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"I want to love you the way you need to be loved"

Summary:

Post-canon: Siffrin and Isabeau are finally alone together after the time loops ended. They start to cuddle, and kiss, and explore each other, but when things get more heated, Siffrin must face the fact that their intimacy needs are much different than Isabeau's.

archiveofourown org/works/58958008

Get ready ISAT fans for the first of my 50,000 ISAT fic ideas that are plaguing my mind.

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"Hey, Sif, you awake?"

Siffrin feels something gently nudge his shoulder. He grunts and pries his eye open to see a blurred Isabeau standing over him.

"Oh, sorry." He backs away. "Didn't realize you were that tired, I'll let you rest."

"No, it's okay Isa." Siffrin sits up in his bed in the clock tower and quickly wipes the sleep from his eye. Out of habit he wipes at the scarred mess that was once his other eye, too. The sensation makes him wince. "What's up?" he yawns.

"You sure? I can wait, it's fine."

"Tell meeee," Siffrin pouts.

"Sorry." He grabs his shoulder and briefly looks away. "It’s just that the others left for a while and I wanted to—to spend some time with you. Like, just the two of us.” His cheeks darken. “B-but if you want to keep sleeping that’s okay too I know you’ve been through a lot and you probably need to sleep for a year to catch up from—”

“Isa.”

Isabeau jumps. “Y-yeah?”

He smiles. “I’d love that.”

"Really?" He stands up taller. "Yippee!"

Cute.

"But really, if you're too tired we can wait. I don't want to p—"

Siffrin throws his pillow directly into Isabeau's face. He stumbles back with a loud oof.

"Hey!"

"We are hanging out now," they command. "What did you have in mind?”

“Oh, uh. I’m not sure," Isabeau snorts. "The others just left so I didn’t have much time to think about it.”

“Hmm...” Siffrin pinches their lip and wracks their brain.

“It was kinda weird though,” Isabeau continues as he stares out the window. “Odile left a sock on the door handle. I don’t really know what that means, maybe it’s a Ka Bue thing?” He scratches at his stubble. “But! She said they won’t come back until we take it off. So we can do whatever; play some games, talk about something, c-c-cud—I mean you don’t have to talk about anything too heavy if you don’t want to. I know it’s all still pretty raw for you so we can just talk about the stars or wood crafting or something."

Cud...dle?

"Cuddling sounds nice," Siffrin says, softer than a whisper.

"Huh?" Isabeau leans closer.

“I think,” he speaks up just a bit. “I’d like a...a hug.”

Isabeau beams and nods. “Yeah. Yeah! I can do that!”

Siffrin shifts closer to the wall to give Isabeau space to get in.

He climbs in and comes to rest close to Siffrin. Not touching, but closer than he’s ever been while sleeping beside him.

Siffrin feels their heart pounding against their ribs. His cheeks grow warm.

Isabeau doesn’t move.

He just stares and worries his lip with his teeth.

“Isa?”

“Ah—sorry, just a bit overwhelmed about sharing a bed with you.”

Siffrin tilts their head. “We’ve shared beds loads of times.”

“Y-yeah I know, but it feels different now, since, y’know—I confessed my feelings and we’re not going to sleep for the night or anything.”

Siffrin couldn’t hold back a breathy chuckle. He throws the blanket over Isabeau and brushes against his arm as they pull back. Isabeau shudders.

Siffrin pokes him in the ribs.

“H-hey!” he squeaks. “I’m sensitive there!”

“Hurry up and hug me,” Siffrin whines.

“Okay okay fine. If you insiiiiiist.”

They stick their tongues out at each other.

Isabeau reaches out.

He lightly touches Siffrin’s shoulder, then cups his face.

Siffrin shifts forward and allows themself to be wrapped up in Isabeau’s embrace. He pulls them close. They can barely move but manage to wrap their arms around him and squeeze even tighter.

“Wow, Sif, you sure have an iron grip.”

“That’s a bit…ironic since you’re the one with the muscles.”

"Ha! That's a good one."

"Really? I'd say it's pretty...metal-ocre."

"Metal-ocre!? Your puns steel my breath away."

"They do? Well..." Siffrin scrunches their face. "Something something copper I'm all out now."

"Really?" Isabeau tilts his head, then scrunches his face in the same way Siffrin did. "Yeah I've got nothing too."

They both break out into a bout of childish chuckling.

Siffrin sighs and rests his head on Isabeau’s chest.

It feels nice.

Warm.

Safe.

Like home.

Home.

Siffrin realizes now that they’re embracing he can finally try something he’s been wondering about for many many loops.

He shifts himself around and clambers on top of Isabeau.

“Whoawawawawao—” He sputters. “Sif!?”

Siffrin hums and lays down. “You make a nice bed.” He closes his eye. Isabeau's heart is thundering in his chest.

“Haahhsldfla;kdfa;skasf;ffff!!!” Isabeau makes a noise Siffrin didn’t know one was capable of.

Slowly.

He realizes…

The kind of power he wields.

A mischievous smirk grows on his face and he sits up over him. Isabeau’s cheeks grow darker than Siffrin has ever seen. He straddles his hips and pins his arms to the bed.

“Sif?” His voice cracks. He’s wearing a lopsided smile on his face.

“Yes, Mr. Amazing-Wonderful-Funny-Buff Isabeau?”

Isabeau’s mouth falls open and he lets out another inhuman squeal. His brow begins to glisten with sweat.

“Are you okay?”

Isabeau coughs and nods. “Yep! More than okay! I haven’t been this okay in...I don’t know!”

Siffrin leans back and tilts his head. His smile wavers. “That wasn’t sarcasm, was it?”

“No!” Isabeau jolts up. “No! Nonono I truly mean it I’m just...wow this is really happening I don’t know if my heart can take it we’re moving so fast and wow—I mean I’m one hundred percent on board with this!”

Siffrin sticks out his tongue and leans closer.

He looks at the faint glimmer of balm on Isabeau’s lips. He wonders what it tastes like. Is it flavored? Or plain—just for keeping his lips from chapping? For looks? For making Siffrin’s mind race with useless questions?

He leans forward just a bit more.

He looks into Isabeau’s eyes.

“Can I kiss you?” He learned his lesson before. He knows what the answer will be, but he can’t fully push the memory to the wayside.

Isabeau nods furiously. Siffrin almost worries he’s going to hurt himself.

He waits a moment for the fighter to calm himself and leans in.

Their lips almost touch; he can feel Isabeau’s heat radiating out. But he pauses.

Isabeau hums and lifts his arm—still being gripped tightly by Siffrin’s sweaty hands—and slides his fingers into their tangled—and also sweaty—hair.

He pulls them closer. Their noses bump and his lips find their resting place on Isabeau’s.

Siffrin lets out a soft squeak. He pulls back for a moment.

Isabeau looks at him, smiling awkwardly. His gaze is so soft, so welcoming.

Siffrin leans down into another kiss.

He’s not quite sure what to do next. They try to think of what the characters did in the plays they watched. He thinks about Mirabelle’s romance novels.

He sits back up.

“Sif?”

“I don’t know what to do now.”

Isabeau snorts and grins.

“Well we can uh…” His smile fades a bit as a look of mild panic crosses his face. “Uhh…I don’t know either. I didn’t think we’d get this far.”

Siffrin snorts too. He coughs out a chuckle, and then another. Soon, he’s doubled over laughing with Isabeau joining in shortly after. They press their forehead to his chest and let their tears soak into his soft shirt.

They sigh. "Ohhh stars."

"Ohhh stars," Isabeau repeats. He rubs his hand down Siffrin's back.

Siffrin sits up and wipes their face. “You really haven’t done this before?”

“Not really,” Isabeau coughs and looks at the wall with his lip between his teeth, “the furthest I’ve gotten before were always quick hello and goodbye kisses.”

Siffrin chuckles. “Further than I’ve ever gotten.”

“Well,” Isabeau pulls Siffrin close to his face. “Let’s change that.”

“But how though?” He purses his lips.

Isabeau snorts. “O-oh, right. Uhh...” He looks around the room, lost in thought. “Well some people use...tongues.”

“Tongues?”

“Yeah, like, sticking their tongues in each other’s mouths.”

Siffrin grimaces. “That sounds disgusting.”

“Does it? Y-yeah it does. Doesn’t it? It’s nasty, let's not do that.” He tugs at the end of the blanket bunched up under him.

“Well, do you remember what your parents did?”

“What?!”

“You know, like whenever they kissed, what did they do?”

“My parents are the last people I’d like to think about right now Sif!”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” He was not kidding.

Isabeau rubs his legs together and makes a few soft groaning sounds. The bed creaks under their combined weight.

“Egh, enough thinking let’s just kiss each other all over and see what feels good.” He let out a sharp breath as if he had been struggling to get those words out.

"Sounds like a plan," Siffrin smirks.

They stare at each other.

Siffrin swallows the knot in their throat.

Isabeau tentatively places his hand on Siffrin's cheek.

A switch goes off in their mind and before they know it they're on top of Isabeau, kissing everything they can reach. Isabeau flails for a moment before grabbing him behind the neck and back and pinning them against him. He falls back in bed and they both sprawl out as they ravenously go at each other's faces.

Isabeau’s grip on Siffrin’s neck holds him against his lips and they can barely come up for air. He’s not about to complain though. They shift themself a bit under His strong grip, just enough to lift themself up and wedge their leg between his thighs. That elicits a loud grunt from their partner and he freezes for a moment. Encouraged, they press forward a bit and tease another strangled squeal from him.

Cuuute.

Siffrin tries to push themself up but Isabeau tightens his grip and keeps him pinned. They almost want to complain, but the iron grip he has on their lower back causes it to pop audibly and release some hidden tension.

Isabeau gasps. "You okay?" He leans back to look but Siffrin pulls forward and nips at the corner of his jaw.

"Stars, yeah, I needed that." Siffrin works their arms up his neck and through his hair. They tug at it; each yank pulls a muffled moan from his throat. Siffrin sits up a bit to catch their breath and dives back in.

They wrap his hair in their fingers and hold him against the bed. He plants a kiss on the side of his lips and then another, and another—each a little further down his jaw. Isabeau tries to reciprocate but Siffrin holds him in place with a palm on his chest. They don’t use much force, just enough to keep him still so they can go about their business uninterrupted. Though, they know even if they used all their strength there was no way they could keep the fighter down even for a second.

Oh, wait.

They can now.

If there was one good thing about the loops, it's that now Siffrin has the power to protect all their friends from harm.

...And finally win an arm wrestling match against Isabeau.

...or at least Bonnie.

Siffrin pushes the urge to call for a rematch and continues his journey towards Isabeau’s ear. Their lips come to a stop right at the edge.

They take his chin between two fingers and turn his head to the side.

He's shaking. trembling.

Siffrin kisses his ear and takes the edge gently in their mouth.

Isabeau squeals breathlessly as his grip tightens around Siffrin like a massive ravenous snake.

They bite down just a little bit and very lightly scrape their teeth against his skin.

Isabeau makes another inhuman squeal.

Siffrin's lips curl up in a catlike smirk.

"Isaaaa," they mewl right into his ear.

"MmmMmmhHhmmM?"

Siffrin thinks about all the sounds and expressions he can pry out of him. All with a few words and touches.

It will be so easy.

"I'm glad you're 'ear with me now."

Isabeau groans and curls in on himself, nearly throwing Siffrin off the bed. If he wasn’t already clinging to him he would have ended up on the floor.

Cute. Cute. Cuuute.

“Siffriiiiinnnnnnnn.”

Very cute.

“Yes, Mr. Amazing-Wonderful-Funny-Buff Isabeau?”

Isabeau squeals and covers his face. “Noooo! You can’t do that twice in one day! My poor old heart!”

“If you’re old, then what does that make me?” Siffrin fakes offense. “What does that make Odile!?”

"Ancient and decrepit."

"Wow."

"What are you going to do about it? Are you going to punish me?" He looks at Siffrin coyly with a trembling lip.

Siffrin tilts his head and raises an eyebrow. "Huh? Do you want me to spank you or something?"

Isabeau's eyes go wide. "...Maybe."

"What."

"What. Never mind, let's just keep making out."

Siffrin blinks a few times and they resume sloppily kissing and nibbling at each other's faces. It's a hit and miss on what works. Siffrin bites down too hard on Isabeau's ear; Isabeau moves too fast and collides with Siffrin's nose. They don't give up though, and eventually they start to find things that work more often than not.

Isabeau grows a bit bolder; bit by bit moving his hands lower and lower on Siffrin's body. They sigh as his fingers dig into another spot on his back that's been bothering him for a while. Isabeau works on that spot for a while and Siffrin, in turn, starts working on his shoulders.

Isabeau's hands may be large but they're so delicate with Siffrin. They almost want to curl up and fall asleep right on top of him and let him work out every little kink in their muscles.

Not yet though. They have so much to learn. So much to explore.

They blink away the exhaustion and dig their fingers in a tight spot at the base of his head. Isabeau lets out a soft sigh, almost a moan. The sound rouses Siffrin and they keep trying to pull more noises like that from him.

Isabeau slides one hand up Siffrin's body and back into his hair. He tugs and they let out a high whine then slap a hand over their mouth. Isabeau looks at them with a shocked, crooked smile. He laughs.

"We really need—" Isabeau pauses to inhale sharply as Siffrin takes his earring in their teeth. "—to fix your hair up—" Siffrin tugs at it a little, "—when we're done."

Siffrin mumbles an agreement. Isabeau tugs at his hair again and they lose their grip on his earring.

He props them up and pulls Siffrin's head back, exposing his neck.

Isabeau presses a kiss under their jaw.

Siffrin grunts and grabs Isabeau's shoulders for stability.

"You like that?" he breathes.

"Mhm." Siffrin tries to nod but is held fast. His eyes roll back in his head as Isabeau takes the reins.

"Aah." They squeeze tighter as Isabeau begins to kiss and suck at their neck. The hand not tangled in their hair starts to travel around; it slides over his chest and down his stomach. He presses his fingers into a fold in their shirt and begins to tug it upward.

The sudden cool air makes them shudder.

They feel the tips of Isabeau's fingers brush against an old scar.

His hands are impossibly warm.

They’re even warmer against his bare skin.

He didn't realize he could get more relaxed.

But then…

Isabeau starts to slide his hands down.

Down to the hem of Siffrin’s pants.

Wait.

Isabeau pulls back to look at them. He tilts his head in a questioning manner. Siffrin puts on a smile for him. He nods with half-lidded eyes.

He makes himself relax again.

Isa’s not like you.

Isabeau makes an adorably excited noise that eases Siffrin’s nerves a bit. But then he slides his hand along their thigh and around their ass.

He’s going to want more.

Isabeau’s ministrations get closer and closer to the space between their legs. He’s being slow, cautious, gentle.

But still...

Are you going to give it to him?

“Hey, Sif? You okay?” Isabeau's voice jerks them out of their thoughts.

No.

“Yeah.”

Isabeau studies their features for a moment. He looks thoroughly unconvinced.

“Am I moving too fast? I’m sorry I was just so excited to finally be with you like this I just kinda got ahead of myself hahahahhh…”

“It’s fine,” Siffrin smiles.

Just tell him.

“Are you sure? Really, I’m okay with slowing down or waiting.”

Don’t string him along.

“Really, I’m fine with whatever you want to do.”

But he’s been waiting so long to do this, it’s the least you can do for him.

“Promise?”

Just let him do this. You’ll get used to it.

“I…”

Do it. Just do it. You'll blinding get used to it. Don't disappoint him. He wants this, you want this. You WANT this.

“Sif?”

They clutch their chest.

“No!” they finally gasp. “I can’t promise because I don’t want this! I never wanted this!”

Isabeau bolts upright. “Wh-what?" He pulls his hands back from them. "Sif what do you mean?” His voice cracks.

Siffrin hisses under his breath. “I mean I do want this! I want you! I want to be with you and hold you and kiss you and love and touch you but not—" They cross their legs and shift away. "I don't want—” They bite down on their lip hard enough to break skin. Tears begin to stream down their face. "It’s too much."

“You mean like...” His voice quiets. "Not actual s-sex?"

Siffrin nods. They clench their jaw and take a shuddering breath. "But it's not you. I promise it's not you. I just—thinking about it always makes me feel gross." They grip their shoulders and shudder. "And anxious and...eugh."

“Wait,” Isabeau says. He narrows his eyes and loses himself in thought for a brief moment. "You mean like how Mirabelle is?”

Siffrin nods, and repeatedly wipes the tears away. "Sort of, yeah."

Isabeau closes his eyes and lets out a long sigh and a winded chuckle.

He breathes in.

And out.

“Oh, thank the Change God.” He covers his eyes with the back of his forearm.

Siffrin looks up. Isabeau peers over and jolts back a bit.

“Oh—er—I was worried you were...well not...lying but like," he chews on his lip, "I dunno—or that maybe I did something wrong in one of your loops or now maybe it was me just moving too fast when you’re still so—" he grinds his teeth. "or maybe something else happened...to make you...”

A disgusting pathetic mess?

Siffrin shakes their head and wipes their face again. “No, nothing happened.” He pauses and squeezes his eye shut. A sharp pain shoots through the scar over their missing eye. They ignore it. “At least, not that I remember…”

Isabeau reaches out to him but stops a few inches from him. After a moment of hesitation, Siffrin takes his hand in both of theirs. He squeezes it gently but makes no other move.

"Do you want to talk about it?" His voice is gentle, without judgment or expectation, but Siffrin feels obligated nonetheless.

He squeezes Isabeau's hand. Isa puts his free hand on top of theirs.

Siffrin takes a breath. “I think it’s always been like this." He exhales slowly and takes another breath. "I love you, Isa. I love your touch and how gentle you just were and how you held me and kissed me but when I think about actual...sex...with anyone...I just—” They shudder again.

“Oh, Sif.” Isabeau tenderly cups their cheek and wipes the tears from their eye. Siffrin tries to hide their face away but Isabeau holds him just tight enough to make him pause. “It’s okay. We don’t have to do anything that makes you feel like that. Okay?”

Siffrin nods and sniffs. “Okay.” He squeezes his eye shut and shakes his head. “I mean—No, no! You want this! You’ve been wanting this! After all I’ve done to you I should at least try this and get used to it!”

“Not if it’s causing you this much pain!”

Siffrin flinched and turned away, breaking Isabeau's grip.

“Sif, I’m sorry,” Isabeau gasps. He places his palm back on Siffrin's hands. “I just don’t want you to punish yourself like this over the way you feel. Over anything."

Siffrin digs their heels into the mattress. "Not punishment. I just need to get used to it."

"Forcing yourself to do this is only going to hurt you." He squeezes Siffrin's hands.

Siffrin shrinks in on themself.

"It's not good for either of us, Sif."

They bite their lip. They can't bring themself to speak—to argue.

"I'm sorry." They hang their head low and rest their forehead against Isabeau's shoulder.

“It kind of hurts, Sif—that you think I’d be so desperate for sex I would put my wants over your needs like this.” Isabeau looks at Siffrin with a tired frown. "And you're willing to use me to hurt yourself, too."

Stupid. Stupid. Now you’ve upset him, you blinding idiot.

"I'm sorry," they murmur.

A feeling of disgust claws at their chest and they pull back again. They grab at their hair and dig their nails into their scalp.

"I'm sorry!"

They pull at their hair and begin to tear a fistful out.

Tears threaten to fall again. He closes his eye and tries to hold them back.

Isabeau reaches out and gently pulls Siffrin’s hands away from their head.

“Sif, no. I didn't mean to snap at you,” Isabeau sighs. "I'm sorry. I know this isn't about me; I know you're struggling." He untangles their fingers. His hands are still so warm. So gentle. “I’m not mad. I just want you to have more faith in me.”

“Sorry,” they mumble. Is that really all they can say anymore?

“It’s okay. It’ll be okay.” He squeezes their hands. "You know I care about you so so much and I want you to be happy."

Siffrin doesn't reply. He can't.

"It's trueee. And I'll say it as much as I need to. "I care about you Siffrin. I love you. I want you to be happy."

Siffrin presses his forehead against Isabeau's hands. "I want you to be happy, too." Their voice is weak but Isabeau hears it all the same. "I love you and care about you, too."

Isabeau cracks a smile. “Can I hug you?”

Siffrin wipes their eye and nods. Isabeau untangles his hands from Siffrin's and wraps his arms around them.

Warm.

Isabeau runs his fingers through their messy hair.

It’s nice.

Siffrin grimaces as more tears well up in his eye.

Safe.

His chest is heavy, his throat is tight.

They press their face to Isabeau’s chest and break down.

Isabeau holds him close as he cries. He rubs small circles on their back and speaks softly to him. They're wailing too loud to hear what he’s saying but it's comforting all the same.

“Ugh, ugh, ugh!” They yell. His voice is muffled by Isabeau’s shirt. “I keep ruining everything! I said I’d be more honest with you, with all of you and I’m already failing that!”

Isabeau presses his lips to the top of their head. “But you’re trying. That’s what’s important.” He pauses as Siffrin lets out a small whine. “There’s no way any of us would expect you to be perfect at it right off the bat.”

Siffrin whines again.

“It’s true, though.” Isabeau kisses Siffrin’s forehead lightly. "And I promise I'll stay by your side even when you mess up. Because you're more than your mistakes." He presses his face in the crook of Siffrin's neck. "You're so much more," he whispers.

Siffrin is quiet for a long time. Isabeau doesn't push him for a response; he simply keeps stroking their hair.

“I guess...you’re right.”

Isabeau shakes his head. “You know I’m right.”

Siffrin groans then snorts out a single, weak chuckle.

“I want you to say it, Sif. ‘You’re right about that Mr. Amazing-Wonderful-Funny-Buff Isabeau.’”

Siffrin sniffs and lets out another, tired chuckle. “I thought you said you can’t handle that name more than once a day?” He pouts in an exaggerated manner.

“Well I’m prepared now, so hit me!”

“Hit you? Okay.” Siffrin makes a fist and punches forward. He taps it to Isabeau’s chest. "Pow!"

Isabeau grips the impact point and collapses on the bed.

“My ribs!” he coughs. “You broke every rib in my body, Sif!” He goes limp and lets his tongue fall out.

“Eww, you’re going to get the pillow all nasty!” Siffrin grabs Isabeau's cheeks and turns his head up toward them.

"Siiiiffffrinn..." He wheezes. His hand weakly grasps at Siffrin's shirt and pulls them closer. "Say iiittt. My final request to youuuu."

Siffrin rolls their eye. "Shh, don't speak, my love. I—" Their eye widens. Their face grows unbearably hot.

"I want youuu to say that aaagaiiin tooooo," Isabeau cries with his fake wheeze. "Please, Sif before it's too laaaate."

Siffrin covers his face and lets out a long whine. "You're right about that Mr Amazing-Wonderful-Funny-Buff Isabeau. My love. The light of my life. Mi amor in shining armor. The wonderful man who may—possibly perhaps maybe one day be my h-h-husband."

Isabeau freezes. He stares at Siffrin, slack jawed. "I think my heart just stopped." He cycles through many expressions as his whole face is taken over by a blush. Siffrin can almost feel the heat radiating off it. They swallow a giggle and put on a face of pure despair.

"Noooooooooooo!" Siffrin cradles Isabeau in their arms and pulls him closer. "I was too late!" They take his hand and press it to their forehead. He swoons and curses the heavens.

Isabeau cracks one eye open and snorts, then is quickly taken over by a bout of laughter. Siffrin joins in, and soon the two of them are cackling like schoolchildren. His sides begin to ache but they can't stop.

They don't want to stop.

Finally Isabeau lets out a sigh, a cough, and a few more weak chuckles. They lie back on the bed with Siffrin sprawled on top of him and catch their breaths.

He pats Siffrin on the back. “You’re feeling better right?”

Siffrin nods and smiles while wiping his face. His eyes still feel puffy and his nose itches but at least he stopped crying. He doesn't want to let the high of their little bout of nonsense wear off.

“You’re not just switching to joker mode to distract me?”

They shake their head, still smiling. “Hey, that was a genuine side-splitting laugh.” He pokes his ribs and winces with a small oof.

"Good," he hums. "I'm glad. But, Sif?" He looks directly into their eye. "I'm gonna be serious for a second."

"Hmm?" Siffrin can already feel their heart rate increase but Isabeau quells his fears with a soft touch and reassuring smile.

“We don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with. Not now. Not ever.”

Siffrin looks away. "Okay." He pulls at a loose thread in the blanket. "I want to make you happy though."

“You do make me happy! I've been happy all this time knowing you and we've barely even touched before. It's not gonna change now."

Siffrin blushes. Barely was an understatement.

Isabeau kisses Siffrin right below his eye patch. "Look, we can work together to find out what you’re okay with, yeah? It doesn’t have to be today, or tomorrow, or next week. I want to know how to love you the way you need to be loved.”

Siffrin blinks away tears, but one escapes and falls onto Isabeau's shirt. He cups Siffrin's cheek and wipes the trail away.

"What about you though?" Siffrin leans into his touch.

Isabeau cups their other cheek and squeezes. “Hey, I have my nice hands I lovingly Crafted myself. I’ve survived this long without, you know, putting my dick—which I also lovingly crafted myself, by the way—in someone else, or, you know, the other way around. Y’kno?”

“I’kno,” Siffrin smirks. His chest feels a bit lighter.

Isabeau covers his face with his hands. “Aagh, you know what I mean. I mean—” He lets out a groan that slowly turns into a laugh. Siffrin can’t help but join in again.

Siffrin lies back down on Isabeau and wraps their small arms around him. Isabeau throws the blanket over them and pulls them close.

They just lie like that for a while.

Just...

Together.

Comfortably.

With no expectations.

With a soft touch and gentle words here and there.

“Don’t let go.”

“I won’t, I promise.” Isabeau takes Siffrin's hands and squeezes them gently and rhythmically.

“Or I might not be able to handle it.”

“I might have to break that promise.”

“Nooooo.”