let’s hide up here forever [open]

[dedamastai]

Who: Damen (dedamastai), Laurent (crosslaced), and whoever else happens along.
What: It's Laurent's birthday, so a birthday party was necesscary. (Spoiler: it's actually not a birthday party. It's an engagement party.)
When: May 3rd
Where: Islet #1
Warnings: This is going to get Stupidly Sappy. I just want you to know that. (Anything else I trust y'all to warn for as needed.)


If Damen is being perfectly honest, he's not entirely sure what one does for a birthday. It's not that he's never celebrated one - he has. They were just . . . The only birthdays that were celebrated, aside from the days the Gods were born, were when someone reached the age of adulthood. Occasionally his own birthday had been used as an excuse to hold a festival after the harvest, but it's not like Veretian birth customs were something he thought would be necesscary to study. Even knowing Laurent, Damen wouldn't have bothered because it was . . . Well. Laurent was Laurent.

Laurent would probably prefer he didn't bother, but it's come to Damen's attention that people here celebrate birthdays which is convenient because Damen's been trying to figure out how to plan an celebration of their (hopeful) engagement without, uh. Having to scrap it all if Laurent decided to say no because something something marriage is bad or whatever. Damen barely pretends to be able to keep up with half of what Laurent says. He's sure Laurent would have a reason to say no, but he can't fathom what it would be because from his perspective there is no other choice. For as friendly as he is to Prompto, Damen would never - could never - contemplate actually being with anybody but Laurent.

So he mentioned holding a birthday party to the people he knew Laurent was friends with, hoping they would fill in the blanks with . . . whatever people who come from places with witchboxes and other unfathomable things did for birthdays. Because, quite honestly? He just set out some fruits and drinks. That's the extent of his actual planning for this event in regards to it being a party. He put most of his effort into the details of the proposal and then was like "Ignis will probably bring food to the party." Apparently neither of my characters can throw a decent party to save their life.

Comments

[dedamastai]

boy you’re loving me so good [closed to laurent]

[At some point, once people are actually present, Damen seeks out Laurent.]

I have something for you.

[The statement might be slightly bizarre since he already gave Laurent a present, but Damen presents his fifth attempt at making a stupid flower crown. Chuck had eaten part of the fourth and the first three would probably be better off not mentioned at all.

The crown he eventually madde is, perhaps, slightly less polished than he hoped for. There is more greenery in it than the ones Ren taught him to make, because that's how - if everything had gone correctly, Damen would have placed a wreath made of olive leaves on Laurent's head to honor his victory. It was theirs to share, maybe, but Laurent was the only reason they won it at all and he deserved . . . Truthfully, if you asked Damen, Laurent deserved everything. As it was, the least Laurent deserved was to wear the symbol of victory.]

Before you refuse, you should know Ren would be devastated if you didn't wear what she helped me make. Also you need to wear this before I give you your actual gift.

i’ve flat lined tonight, i can’t be revived [ota]

[Damen can be found mainly wherever Laurent is, but occasionally by himself, wherein he will proceed to, uh. Talk about how much he loves Laurent for ten minutes to whoever will listen? It's like canon, but worse now because they're gonna be fucking husbands, you guys. They're gonna get married.

If you happen to actually be eating the provided fruit, you might be greeted by an overly curious horse. Chuck likes fruit - not so much people, but her owner is ignoring her and fruit is usually for her so you'll give her fruit, right? Right?]

[crosslaced]

More?

[Damen’s given him like five presents already, which is extremely thoughtful, and more importantly an oversight on Laurent's part. He should have told Damen a whole string of presents- as was customary for royalty- is unnecessary when you're on a island in the middle of nowhere. Still, his voice is amused rather than irritated, and when he sees what it is he smiles.]

It's... not bad. See, you've learned something.

[Obligingly, he sets it on his head.]

Are you going to be giving me things into the next week?

[dedamastai]

No, but only because I thought it would irritate you.

[He knows Laurent well enough to know that while Laurent is indulgent when it comes to Damen, there is a limit to his patience. Which is also why Damen is never going to tell Laurent he spent three fucking favors on that bed.]

Give me your hand, Laurent.

[crosslaced]

Hm.

[ Yeah it's best not to risk it.

He looks quizzically at Damen for a second, before holding his hand out and closing his eyes.]

[dedamastai]

[Damen sets a ring on Laurent's palm and closes Laurent's fingers around it. He'd put it on Laurent's finger, but then the jig would be up immediately.]

I confess this isn't actually a gift. It's a selfish request.

1/??

[crosslaced]

Jewelry?

[ For anything else he would have gotten it by now, but he still sounds genuinely confused. It's like he has not, at all, considered rings and their contexts in a long time. ]

What-

[crosslaced]

...

......

..................

3/3

[crosslaced]

What?

[dedamastai]

I want to marry you, Laurent. Will you allow it?

[He did say it was a selfish request.]

[crosslaced]

I-
[ RUN AWAY RUN AWAY RUN AWAY ]

Damen- I can't -[go home with you-] Maybe- Shouldn't we wait until we're back?

We're in the middle of nowhere, we can't tell your kyros we got officiated on an island that doesn't exist-

[dedamastai]

. . . Laurent, we've been married for months by the law of Akielos. The kyros probably already assume us to be married there, if not Vere.

[Like, uh. The second he fucked off to the Summer Palace? Nikandros Everyone was like "you can't fucking live with him?? at the palace??? that's basically marriage????" and Damen was like "I know!! isn't it great??"

. . . Anyway, the moral of the story is that while there is, in fact, a whole Ceremony to weddings? In Akielos, a marriage isn't legally binding unless you live with whoever you married so the act of moving in with someone and living with them for an extended period of time makes you married to them. And technically!! Since neither of them even have family and therefore couldn't even do the full Akielon wedding ceremony!!! Living together was all that needed to happen for them to be as good as married.]

I don't mind waiting, but there's - the selfish request I'm making is for our marriage to be legal here.

[You know! In case they never make it home!]

[crosslaced]

[ DON’T SAY THAT DAMEN HAS GOTTA GO HOME OR HE’LL PROBABLY DIE FROM ANXIETY]

You want it- here?

[I had multiple concerns planned and they've all been circumvented in one fell swoop. Well played, Damen. ]

Will you do it again proper in Akielos? I'm not sure I'm the same person as the Laurent waiting for you and I don't want-

[dedamastai]

The two of us getting properly married in Akielos is easy. An actual ceremony is not. [Dead parents make the process a little difficult.] It would have to be in Vere. After your coronation.

[Hence the flower crown. It's a symbolic coronation, but that's fine.]

the tigerlily circus | ota

[crosslaced]

[ He appreciates that Damen arranged a very modest celebration (that's actually due to awful planning skills but hey it worked out) but really, setting out the stuff in public was unnecessary. This small amount of food can easily be consumed inside their house, but okay, Laurent guesses he will have to humour his partner even on the day of his birth.

To make the “party” slightly less sad, because even on the day of your birth you have to do public relations I guess, Laurent has let his Tigerlily loose and is currently playing fetch with it. In his grey sparkly magi outfit, he's conjuring up sparkly toy after sparkly toy and making his Tigerlily perform very feline jumping feats to get them. It's quite exciting to watch.]

[catpiper]

[Ya gurl might've had the wrong day in mind for his birthday, due to a misunderstanding while teaching his soon to be husband the intricacies of flower crown making, but she's here! And unfortunately, she doesn't just lurk. No, she makes herself known to Laurent by throwing her hands in the air, loudly saying his name, and-]

A cat found you?

[crosslaced]

[He was okay teaching her the coin trick but the fact that she keeps looking for him is starting to freak him out. He can’t… he can’t do children. His Tigerlily goes up to him, annoyed that Laurent's stopped playing, and starts prodding him with a paw.]

Uh- yes. He's a little big, be careful.

[catpiper]

[He can't do Children and yet, here she is. Like a monster hiding under his metaphorical bed, she's here to make his life hell.

Ren's scared of many things, but cat shaped animals aren't on that long list. She knows better than to randomly pet a cat that doesn't know her and decides to watch the exchange instead. There's a huge smile on her face, though. She's happy for you Laurent.]

He wants you to play, so you have to.

[crosslaced]

[The Tigerlily is a spoiled brat and looks like he's almost trying to attack Laurent, grunting insistently, and Laurent has to grab his large paws and push him away. ]

No. We have a guest, behave.

[‘No’ is about Tigerlily’s extent of understanding the human language. It means ‘the human is being a tease’. The big cat mrows, unrepentant, and eventually something sparkles in Laurent's hands. When he throws it into the air Tigerlily JUMPS for it.]

[catpiper]

[The massive size of the creature doesn't change the fact it is, at the end of the day, just a cat and Ren knows the difference between an angry cat and one with the case of the afternoon zoomies.

She lets the interaction happen without interruption, smile across her face as she watches Laurent give in and throw something. It's sparkling and-]

You threw a treasure?

[crosslaced]

Ah-

[PANIC BUTTON PANIC BUTTON

The cat makes it worse by catching his toy- a baube of ice- and CRONCHing on it with great satisfaction. ]

… n- …. you could call it that?

[catpiper]

[That does make it worse because now she feels bad? The cat's munching on his special treasure on his birthday.]

What was it?

[crosslaced]

It's a. Ah.

[Why is lying so difficult? Oh, because she's a good kid and lying to her makes him feel like trash. But he's not sure how to explain his magic and not disappoint her with tricks she can't learn.]

It's an ice cube. He thinks it's a treat.

[catpiper]

Do you have more? Can I throw one?

[She lives with two elves who have magical, mystical powers!! It's fine!!]

[crosslaced]

[mmmmaybe magic is one of his blind spots.]

...let me see.

[He turns around, pretending to check his pockets, and when he turns back he holds out a block of ice the size of a rubik’s cube. It's sparkling, because he's a magical prince and that's how mahou shoujo magic works.]

[want_to_belong]

Prompto noticed something was going on over at Laurent's place. It was hard not to considering how close they lived together. He didn't avoid Laurent, but most of the time the other man seemed a little hard to get along with, so he wouldn't usually go out of his way to talk to him. Damen, on the other hand, seemed really friendly.

So, when he got curious he decided to wander over and talk to Damen.

"Hey, what's up over here?"