Okay but Oswald does get a proper birthday present— Jack having custom made some cufflinks but also he took the time to personally embroider a handkerchief-! It took a lot of pricked fingers and several tries— but he did manage to make something fitting!
his gaze lingers on the cloth longer than it does on the silver.
jack mentions the pricked fingers with the kind of careless pride he usually reserves for grander accomplishments, so oswald reaches for his hand, quietly, as though examining the claim, turning jack’s palm just enough to see the faint marks along the fingertips; small wounds, nothing serious, but still...
oswald lifts jack’s hand and presses a kiss to the first fingertip, then the next, slow and deliberate. the gesture is uncharacteristically gentle, reverent in a way that contradicts the composed severity he usually carries. his thumb brushes lightly over one of the small pricks before he releases jack’s hand again. only to fold the handkerchief carefully, once, twice, ensuring the embroidery rests outward. instead of placing it in an outer pocket where it might be used carelessly, he slips it inside his coat, into the inner pocket resting over his chest, close and protected.
he fastens the cufflinks afterward, adjusting them so they sit perfectly against the fabric of his sleeves.
“ these, ” he says after a moment, glancing briefly at the silver, “ will be worn on occasions that warrant them. ”
important days, days where appearance matters, where meaning hides inside small details.
his hand settles briefly over the inner pocket of his coat, fingertips brushing the faint outline of the folded cloth beneath the fabric.
“ and this, ” he adds more quietly, “ will remain where it belongs. ”
near his heart.
he does not say thank you the way most people would. instead, he leans forward and presses a final kiss to jack’s mouth —— brief, certain, and unmistakably sincere.
