Morennil sipped at his tea, parked at the foot of the fire. Warmth was nice, but it would have been nicer if he didn’t have to deal with the behemoth brother sat too close to him.
“First things first,” Naut started. “I do not return any romantic or sexual feelings, though I’m certain you knew that. I do care for you. I am a bit morbidly curious about the extent of your desire, but not curious enough to press you.” If what happened at the fire last night told him anything, it was that Mor did not understand what he felt as well as he understood Mor. He could never have predicted this outcome, but he liked to think he had a semi-solid grasp on Morennese. Now, he needed to find a way to teach... Nemoan.
Morennil still kept sipping, even long after he was sure Naut finished saying his piece. “I don’t have any ‘sexual feelings’,” he finally said with a huff, once all the liquid in his cup was gone. “I hate this. I hate looking at your stupid, strong perfect arms and wishing--” He groaned. “Wishing they wouldn’t pull me away if I tried to dip my head in the fire.”
Naut shot a curious look from Mor to the fire pit, but let this rant continue.
“But of course!” Morennil exclaimed, arms waved up in the air in brief mock surrender. “I can’t do that stupid love thing right like you can. I’m just supposed to want to protect you. Not... not have my heart beat a thousand times a minute just because we touched. I hate this. I hate being this close to you. You-- you want to know the ‘extent of my desire’? I want to throw up. I want to die. I want to tear your eyes out and make you a necklace out of them so you’ll stop looking at me like that!” Wild eyes pointed up toward a pair that showed no small amount of concern-- perhaps Naut ought to have suppressed it, but he found that a bit difficult in the moment.
“No!” Mor interrupted. “Stop... Stop reminding me why...! Stop caring!” His next tirade skidded to a halt once he felt the warmth of another hand on top of his.
Naut sighed and took the hand between his own. “I can’t do that.”
Morennil’s heart pounded in his throat. The air in his lungs felt lighter, his head felt like it flew through the clouds... “Let go already,” he muttered, and the hands that clasped his disappeared.
“I just have one request,” Naut added on. “Please. Never call me Mr. Perfect again.”
“Yeah, that’s... that’s fair.” Morennil scooted further away from the fire, but stopped once he noticed his conversation partner get up and walk toward the cart instead.