So this one rests on my theory that Thjazi can only observe and interact with the world when Julien has a distinct shadow but I liked this idea and kinda sorta ran with it!
It starts out with Thjazi as oblivious as Julien. Occtis is important to the cause, Julien's doing something right for once. But it doesn't take too much longer after the "Why do you need me? Why do you care?" incident for Thjazi to start suspecting Julien had a big fat crush on Occtis that he wouldn't admit to having nor for Thjazi to decide to tease Julien about it.
Once Thjazi had all but confirmed the two were not only compatible but equally timid in their ever growing affection for the other, Thjazi's game of teasing Julien turned into earnest encouragement of the pair. To Thjazi, Occtis is clearly either gay or clueless or both given all the interactions with Amry and what Thjazi would've seen at balls when he was still alive, and Julien has always been a little bit disenchanted with the idea of marrying for duty even if he was a dutiful soldier and would do it because it was expected, so Thjazi would have to take it on himself to lead the two to a confession, and preferably before Maya Davinos could push Julien into a political marriage with that Ingrid Einfasen, as acceptable a match that she was. Maya would just have to deal with her son actually being happy instead of marrying to produce an heir. They can go the Gus route and name Alba's kids as Julien's heirs. Once they're head over heels for each other, someone will think of it, so Thjazi keeps at the nudges, adjusting with the pair's progress.
He starts subtle. Whenever Julien is next to Occtis, their shadows nearly touching, Julien's ungauntleted hand swinging beside Occtis's as they walked down a narrow path or hall, all Thjazi has to do is nudge, and Julien's face will light up red as he unconsciously reaches for Occtis's hand. Only whenever they were close enough that Occtis would brush it off as an accident, but Julien would feel the muscles reach. Thjazi would have to fight back giggles as Julien looked down at his hand as if it had betrayed him, yet never looking to the trickster he knew rested in his shadow. When Julien himself started touching Occtis more and more casually, Thjazi pushed the opposite way. Julien surely wouldn't have any internal crisis about how hard it was to stop touching Occtis once he had his hands on the younger man, would he?
It was somewhere along the way after that, maybe after a particularly pointed cough and subject change, that Thjazi realized he might begin to push Occtis's boundaries, but instead, upon turning more of his attention to gauging Occtis's comfort, he was delighted to find the Tachonis nearly doe eyed and pleading for the touches to return as soon as they left. Not that the equally stubborn and anxious necromancer would verbally plead for anything from Julien Davinos. Yet.
Once they get to the remnants of the Golden Orchard, Thjazi is very excited. The veil is thin and he's got even more freedom than at Obrimus for hijinks because no one's in imminent danger this time. Julien's getting more comfortable and Occtis is confidently initiating touch back. Little tokens are still being shared even within the confines of the orchard now that it's commonplace, they didn't just stay as travel souvenirs. They're snarky, but sweet to each other at the same time. And even more than that, Julien very pointedly tells his mother about King Augustus Valian, who is setting the precedent in Timmony that heirs should be of proven matrilineal descent rather than patrilineal, and that Gus's heir is his young nephew, and Timmony is offering aid to the fair folk and refugees like the Royce, and many of the lords there are looking for strong marriages that can be offered by the daughters of the Royce vassal houses to avoid some conflict like happened there in the War of Axe and Vine, all perfectly worded like Julien is priming his mother for the exact argument Thjazi's making in his own head, and Thjazi thinks 'it's now or never' and gets to work.
Favourite and most effective on the road nudge techniques of Thjazi's are including but not limited to:
-Forcing Julien's line of sight to linger over the flowers that Thimble once told Julien were Occtis's favourite until he finally plucks one and gives it to the younger man.
-Ensuring that Occtis catches Julien staring at Julien's own favourite flowers until Occtis returns the favour
-Dragging Julien's hands away from his face to stop him from hiding his blushing from Occtis.
-Slowing Julien's pace if Occtis begins to fall behind the group for one reason or another.
-Doing the direction lingering thing with pocketable souvenirs at the various stalls in the port cities they'd been passing through in (and Thjazi especially silently cheered when many of the trinkets had somehow been added to Julien's affects in the moments that Thjazi hadn't been able to bear witness to, signaling that some exchanges had been reserved for moments without Thjazi's influence as well).
All the classics happen. Tripping into each other. Making Occtis spill his wine that he's only holding for appearances on Julien, prompting Occtis to pat down Julien's chest very carefully and slowly because Occtis knows dab don't smear. Uh oh, is that the lights getting dimmer/the sunsetting while they're alone? Better start up that sexy faerie music box to go with it. Is the room suddenly cold (with the presence of a spirit) when Julien's coat is still all wet from falling into one of the fountains and needing help getting back out? Occtis is a gentleman who doesn't feel cold anymore, he'll offer his.
Plan Z: Shove them in a closet and lock it from the outside.
But none of it works. No moves made. Not even a kiss on the back of the hand. So Thjazi busts out the big guns. The last resort.
However he did it, Thjazi managed to rig a door so that it would lock as soon as it shut, and pushed them both in with little struggle. He wasn't expecting to be able to see how they fared until they were let out by some passers-by. It would be dark and private in there and Thjazi's view into the world of Aramán would disappear, but it was only a matter of seconds before Occtis had cast light into the palm of his hand to illuminate their impromptu prison.
"So... I guess you and Thjazi haven't smoothed things over yet?" Occtis asked eventually, already sounding incredibly disappointed.
Julien sighed. "No, not yet. My apologies."
"Can you at least tell what he wants?" Occtis almost whined.
"I think he's a dirty pervert that wants to watch."
If Thjazi still could, he would've choked on his own spit at that. That was not what he wanted, thank you very much.
"I said what I said. When we know exactly what he can observe, maybe things will be different."
"Julien." Occtis huffed, giving Julien a look that Thjazi had come to know Julien very much understood to mean 'please take this seriously'.
Thjazi sighed to himself. That was fair. They'd probably figured some of Thjazi's mischief out, and not knowing whether Thjazi could see them in private moments would naturally cause some delays.
"It's been weeks of this, Julien." Occtis complained, shocking Thjazi.
"I know. Like I said, when my shadow is my own again. Then I will show you everything you've been waiting for."
Neither of them had said anything about Thjazi's nudging before. It had been two weeks at best that he thought Occtis had noticed anything unusual at all, let alone anything that he would've attributed to Thjazi himself before the quite overt fountain incident two days prior. But even Julien responded as if they had been talking about it constantly.
Thjazi's eyebrows, incorporeal though they were, shot up at the groan that promise elicited from the younger. "How come you get to say stuff like that but we can't do any of it?"
"I hope he at least feels bad. I already died a virgin, I don't want to be one forever." Occtis grumbled.
"Because saying is not doing." Julien responded with the barest hint of a smirk at the annoyance in Occtis's voice.
"Patience." Julien whispered, tucking a lock of Occtis's hair behind his ear. "It's funny, one would think I was the one with all the time in the world."
"One would only think that because they don't realize perception of time is relative, and so for me it's like I'll barely get any time with you."
"I know. Soon. We will be able to study it soon."
So Thjazi hijacks Julien via shadow and picks the lock for them and lets them out of the closet and in doing so remembers he and Julien both know Theives cant sign language and explains himself. And Occtis and Julien pretty immediately go find either a very bright or very dark room to go get nasty and finally relieve all the tension in.
And this is how Thjazi learns that in the some quiet moment where Julien didn't have a shadow, they sealed the deal ages ago. Thjazi's been a cockblock the entire time and instead of being encouraging he's lowkey been driving them insane because they wouldn't do shit thinking Thjazi maybe could be forced to be watching and was trying to be like 'yeah, I'm stuck here, but live your life' with all of Thjazi's hijinks and realizes that they literally just need answers.
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