hums, expression tightening for a moment as he has to hide his cringe when Gregory's action makes the iron chain jingle, and it worsens the effect it had on him. "I'll be fine," he reassures with a smile. "Some
rest is all I need, I should be good to get home by myself," he answers.
nods, letting go of the chain. If he hadn't been watching the other so closely, he wouldn't have noticed the reaction. Now though, he had something he could use against the man.
"How about I call you a taxi?"
Francis
is
slightly relieved when Gregory finally stops fiddling with the chain, and he nods to the offer. "A taxi would be great, merci," he answers. "I'll go gather my things," he continues, using the excuse
to pull away from Gregory. Oh god.. please don't let that necklace become a staple of the man's wardrobe. It didn't even look good!
Gregory calls the Taxi when Francis moves off, watching the man carefully. Perhaps Francis really was a neck... or perhaps he was just going crazy. He would continue wearing something iron for the time being=
however.
He approaches Francis when the call is finished, holding out his jacket. "It should be here in five minutes."
had gathered his things by then, dull pain rising when Gregory stepped nearer again. "Ah, thanks very much," he answers, taking the jacket and slipping it on. "I'll see you on Thursday then, have a good
one~" With that he makes his way outside to wait, preferring the chill in the air to the vibrations of the iron, and relieved once he's finally home and away from it all.
Francis
is
more than a little reluctant by the time Thursday rolls around, having gone back and forth so many times on if Gregory knew or not that it was driving him slightly mad. He thought perhaps he could feel a little
stronger in his magic lately, but then he wondered if perhaps he was just imagining things. He couldn't help but mentally keep remembering every instance that he may have made a mistake... why had he made so
many around Gregory? What was it about this man that had made him drop his guard so many times? He had used to be very good at this, and now here he was, fretting about being found out. Did he really like
his current life that much?
sighs to himself, pulling off his coat and leaving it in the front closet of the office as he made his way in. He gave his usual greeting to the secretary, making his way to the meeting room Gregory had
specified. Somehow the man had snagged the room with the glass walls in it, he realized, and somehow that thought made him more nervous than if they had been left alone. He's all smiles once he steps in
though, greeting Gregory with his usual amount of gusto.
Gregory greets him with a grin, snacks and coffee already laid out for them. "Thank you for coming all the way to the office." He gestures for Francis to sit before taking a seat himself, "Did you have any time
to think about the next story?" He reaches for his own cup, the metal of his ring softly clinking against the ceramic.
makes his way over to Gregory, choosing the seat one over from him and helping himself to coffee first of all. "No problem, it's nice to change locations from time to time," he hums. He starts to pull out the
story sketches he had made, spreading them out on the table. The clink of iron against the cup sends a chill down his spine- the smaller amount didn't have as profound of an effect from this distance as
the necklace had, but the second piece of iron jewelry Gregory was wearing after not noticing him wearing any before made Francis's blood run cold. There was no way this could be an accident. "I did! I came up
with a few different things, whatever we don't do next can always be reworked next time," he offers, sliding a few of the papers to him.
Picks up the papers, looking over the various stories. "Perhaps this one? We could release it in spring?" He reaches over to hand him the paper. "Are you feeling better after last time?"
sips at his coffee as Gregory reads, trying not to show his suspicion on his face. "Yes, much better. Just needed some rest after all," he answers. With a hum he looks up to see which Greg had picked out,
gingerly taking the paper to avoid brushing hands. "Ah, this one's pretty cute, a good story for a Spring release, too," he agrees. The story was about two young fae born from tulips, who were too
competitive with each other for their own good. ((Turkey and Netherlands))
nods, leaning over to look at the script. "Perhaps you can end it with them having to work together. So that there's a moral to the story?" For Gregory's part he's acting entirely professional.
He wasn't going to reveal that he knew anything that easily.
hums, doing his best not to lean away on instinct now. "What, you don't like the idea of it ending in mutual destruction?" he teases with a bit of a grin.
rolls his eyes, "It's for young children, Francis." He himself hums, trying to find a compromise. "How about they both hurt themselves, you could even give them scars, before they decide to team up?"
laughs at that, shaking his head. "I'll make it work for children, I promise," he answers with a smirks on his face. He was amused that Gregory would give him permission like that.
laughs, "Well as long as you promise, I'm sure nothing will go wrong." He settles back into his seat, looking over the other two proposals. "This one is a little bit too dark... don't you think?"
arches a row, glancing over. "You don't like it?" he muses, daring to get a little closer to check which one. "Mermaids are not kind creatures, you know."
nods, "I know." There is a stagnant pause before he continues. "I think you'll have to argue over that with Disney though."
pauses too, the awkward silence it brought making him wonder if maybe he shouldn't say things like that anymore. He chuckles though with the second half of Gregory's answer, shaking his head. "Disney can
kiss my rear, they've twisted the fables so far around that it's boring," he hums with a smile, relaxing somewhat.
laughs at that response, "And yet they seem to sell so well..." He settles back into his seat, "Parents like boring. Boring isn't offensive." He hums, "Although your books with a bit of an edge to them are_
selling well to millenial parents."
shrugs to that. "Just because they sell well doesn't make it interesting. It just means they're good at marketing and pandering to a wide variety of people." He smiles though. "The millenials seems
to know what they like well. They know the stories they grew up with could be far more interesting."
hums, a smile tugging at his lips, "Or they're just a little messed up." He sighs, putting aside the mermaid story for now. "How about you tell me more about this one?" He shifts in his seat, eyebrows furrowed_
as he looks down at the rough outline.
hums at Gregorys reply.. he disagrees of course but better to leave it. He allows them to move on, glancing over the tulip sketches again, happy to tell the tale. He spins the story about two fae born in the
blooms of tulips, who each felt like they were destined to grow the best tulips in the world. But since their gardens were right near each other, after a while they stopped focusing solely on growing their
own, and started trying to sabotage each other's efforts instead.
smiles, "I think I prefer these guys to mermaids..." He runs his fingers over the characters, "They're rather similar in some respects... the characters, that is." He looks them over, "Maybe you could change_
their character design a bit. So it's more obvious to kids who is who."
Francis
has
to hold back a snicker at the revision, unable to help but imagine what the pair would've said if they'd been here to hear that. "Ah, that's fair... their colouring will also make it obvious, but I will
rework it a bit."
nods, "I can tell they're different, but for wee'ins you want them to be able to tell at first glance." He relaxes despite the revision however. Francis was always the least work, when it came to getting the_
initial project up off the ground. "How long would you like, this time?"
hums to himself, looking over the story again before outlining a deadline schedule that could work with it for him.
Gregory nods, gradually drifting off before he notices that Francis has stopped talking. "Hmmm, let's make some room for mistakes and changes then. Give you a little extras time."
_He waits for a moment before veering off the topic. there was a reason he had picked the glass room afterall. "Why did you try to kill me?"
nods in agreement with the add on, he'd always be glad for the extra time even if his original estimates did include some padding. Just meant he could relax a little. Throughout the meeting he's started to
relax a bit, having forgotten his earlier suspicions and regretting that very suddenly as Gregory takes advantage of the lull in conversation. His heart feels like it stops and he freezes mid writing
down in his calendar, before quickly trying to act normal. "What?" he asks, doing his best to appear unaware of what Gregory meant, with a small, hopefully not nervous sounding laugh.
smiles as he leans in closer, if only because they're in a glass room, and reaches out for Francis' wrist. "I said, "Why did you try to kill me? Don't make me repeat myself again, Mr. Bonnefoy." He closes his_
fingers around Francis' wrist, still all grins and smiles to everyone outside of the room.
doesn't let the lean intimidate him, but he feels the iron before it's even against his skin.He tenses up as Gregory's ring starts to sear him, able to hold back any sounds but the longer Gregory holds him, the
more he starts to tremble. "O-oh, you mean before..?" he's still smiling too, knowing now the glass room was a trap of social conventions. "I told you, that was an accident! I was hardly trying to kill
you." He's trying to keep his cool, to resist the urge to tear his wrist out of his grasp and leave as fast ass he could... Gregory was as much trapped by this public stunt as he was. Francis now knew without a
doubt Gregory knew his secret, even if the other pretended to believe his lie, that much was obvious.
Gregory can hear the sizzle, watching as the other trembles and putting the two together. He slowly lets go of his wrist, still smiling as he says, "Let's stop the charade, huh?"
Shifts to pour Francis more coffee. "Unless you want a fuss?' By now the halls are crowded with people, apparently there was a meeting of some sort about to start.
can't help but hiss in pain as Gregory finally pulls his hand back, and he brings his hands to his lap to discreetly hold the spot on his wrist to try and subdue the pain of it. "What is it you really want to
know, then?" he asks with a frown, able to hear the commotion outside the meeting room without even turning to look. It felt like eyes were on him, even though probably no one was even
paying two seconds of attention to them at the moment.
Sits back finally, looking rather pleased with himself. "Why don't you answer my initial question first. Why did you try to kill me?" He sips on his coffee, watching him over the rim.
stares at him, seemingly irritated by the question. Had Gregory not actually figured out what he was, then? Was the man acting on a lucky guess? With a blink, his eyes darken and turn completely black,
similar to a fish's eyes. He doesn't notice himself until he blinks again and his vision clears, though he hides the surprise from his expression. "You let me lure you into the water. You made it exceptionally
easy and tempting," he answers curtly. The pleased grin on the other's face didn't make him feel very inclined to inform him that until now, no on else had survived similar encounters.
Feels a chill run down his spine as Francis' eyes change, knuckles turning white as he grips onto his cup. "So I was just convenient."
He glances outside to see if anyone had noticed the change, shifting in his seat. "Killing your editor is pretty reckless."
frowns at him, finally feeling the burn recede enough to relax and lean forward, resting his chin upon his other hand. "That's why you're not currently dead," he points out, blinking again and his eyes return
to human. "You seem offended that there wasn't a special reason."
Gregory looks incredulous, "Most people are offended when someone tries to kill them. All the more so when there is no reason."
He seems to settle after a few more moments, still feeling as though he had the upper hand in this situation. "I could tell the police."
merely laughs in response to Gregory's reaction. There had never been anything specific about the people he drowned, though he had favoured men more than women and children, contrary to what was more
usual amongst his kind. He tenses at the threat though, trying not to let it show that that was a legitimate worry of his. If the police got involved he would definitely have to leave and start over again,
right as he had gotten comfortable in this life. "You have no evidence," he points out. "Just your word against mine."
flinches as Francis' laughs, face contorting into a pained look. Perhaps humans were just toys to Francis. "I'm pretty sure they'd find something if they drained the lake, aren't you?"
pauses. Ah right, humans left behind bones that the fish didn't eat. Of course Gregory would know to report more than just his incident. His brow furrows a bit as he studies Gregory's pained look for a
moment. "What are you looking to get out of threatening me like this?" he asks evenly.
Shakes his head. Francis really didn't seem to care about what he'd done to possibly dozens of people. "I want it to stop, one way or another."
That didn't mean he wanted to condemn Francis to a lifetime of testing however.
frowns somewhat at that answer. This was a bother for certain... was Gregory planning to watch him forever then? "You're asking an awful lot of me," he answers, clearly displeased.
raises an eyebrow, "I'm just asking you to not to kill people. It's not like you're surrounded by lakes here, in the city."
hums. "Unfortunately all too true," he answers, feeling the need to disappear from the city again rising with every second longer he was trapped here. "You humans have really messed up this place," he frowns.
smiles, lips curved up in a sign of amusement. "Maybe you're just drowning all the people who want to save the planet?" he offers, letting out a soft sigh. Is this what sociopaths are like?
.gives him an odd look, shaking his head. "I drown those foolish enough to follow strange nude people into unknown water."
furrows his brow, "I thought you had a power over people in that respect?"
blinks at him, grin tugging at his lips again and teeth somewhat sharper than they should be. "Trying to excuse your own mistake?" he asks. Gregory was
right, but his powers had certainly been too weak to force anyone to follow him... up until now. Maybe he could again.
Gregory stills, watching Francis carefully. "You weren't exactly a stranger at the time..." Yet he can't say he hadn't felt drawn to him, beyond what common sense would allow. "Why did you let me live?"
tenses again. He had dreaded Gregory asking this question, because he wasn't entirely sure what the reason was himself. By all logic he should've just continued after he had started, if he was most concerned
with not getting found out. He moves to start packing up his work instead, feeling his fight or flight gut reaction kicking in and knowing he can't fight here. "Why did you follow me in?" he asks instead,
stubbornly refusing to come up with an answer.
_ Gregory stands up, as though he was seeing Francis out. He was willing to let him run away for now. "Because I didn't think you wanted to kill me."
He puts his hands in his pockets, "Why didn't you kill me?" He moves to position himself between Francis and the door, a smile tugging at his lips for those who might be watching.
gets his stuff together fairly quickly compared to normal, seeing he is so close to the door... and then Gregory's stupid smiling face blocks him. He puts on a poorly faked smile, irritated by the
move. "Fair point, he answers wryly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have other things I need to get done today."
takes a step towards Francis, amusement painted over his face. "Answer my question and you're free to go, Mr. Bonnefoy. Why didn't you kill me?"
His hand hovers over Francis' waist as his thumb toys with the ring.
tenses as he can feel Gregory's ring nearing him again, corner of his fake smile twitching with the threat. "Are you going to molest me right here in the office?"He teases, slyly shifting his teeth to more of a
sharky grin to unsettle the other (and pleased that he actually could now). "Perhaps I decided to save you for another time," he answers, trying to be threatening despite the upper hand Gregory seemed to have.
flinches when the grin changes into something more sinister, taking a step back involuntarily. "And risk me running off to the police?" he asks, finally taking a step to the side.
keeps the grin, pleased by its effectiveness. He shrugs as he steps past Gregory with the allowed space, hand on the doorhandle at last. "Got me a nice fuck out of it, didn't I?" he winks, before finally
yanking the door open and stepping outside, returning his grin to normal.
winces at the memory. It was anything but nice... He follows Francis out of the room, shutting the door behind them. "I'll be sure to visit your house, to see how you're getting on with the manuscript."
hums at that, not slowing his walking. "Give me some time to actually get something done first," he replies dismissively. He was in no rush to see Gregory in a private setting
now, that was for sure. He was going to have to figure out what to do next.
laughs, the sound coming out brittle and forced. He watches the other leave before heading back into the room to clean up. Having a fairy to deal with, ontop of everything else seemed like just his luck.
Gregory, after several of weeks of interacting with Francis through envelopes left on the man's doorstep, stands in front of Francis door and begins to knock.
He knocks continuously, every so often pausing only long enough to lead the other to believe that he might have left before knocking again. He shouts the man's name every so often,
loud enough that it would carry to neighbouring houses.
Gregory had all day, had made enough time in his schedule to solve this problem. He doubted Francis could last that long.
Francis had immediately left after that day to spend almost a good several days in a smaller, cramped lake a bit further out of town than before, trying to regain himself and experimenting with what sort of
his powers had returned to him. He was disappointed that it wasn't much; he was stronger, could dive deeper for longer, but he could only shift himself in small portions at a time, like he had at the
office. He had returned home mostly to care for his bird, and had noticed that even long after leaving the water, the bottom hem of his pants edge seemed to stay damp. He had forgotten that little downside
before.
did his best efforts to avoid dealing with Gregory- he kept his doors locked and he refused to talk to him in any form. He was getting his work done and thankfully Gregory had picked up on the envelope
method instead of pushing it... until today. Francis sat at his desk, scowling worse every time the knocking would start up again. Just when he'd think the man had left, he stated anew, and he was starting
to fret over the neighbours hearing, let alone his own annoyance.
Finally he can't take it, and he yanks the door open with a scowl mid-knock. "Shut it! I'm trying to work!" he scolds, revealing himself to be
Finally he can't take it, and he yanks the door open with a scowl mid-knock. "Shut it! I'm trying to work!" he scolds, revealing himself to be
working shirtless- he didn't want to risk his pages getting ruined if his shirt started doing the same as his pants. He immediately tries to shut the door on Gregory, before the other could reply.
Gregory pushes his weight onto the door the minute Francis opens it, forcing himself into the foyer. He doesn't quite notice the semi nakedness yet, concentrating more on wrestling his way into the house.
"What the hell has gotten into you Francis?" He scowls, grabbing The other's wrist before he can run off. He had left the jewellery at home today, although he
Wasn't entirely sure as to why.
gasps when there's a heavy weight pressing back, doing his best to resist but losing to letting the redhead in. He jerks his wrist back in reflex when he's grabbed though, relieved to feel no searing of iron
this time but still not willing to be trapped. There was still a scar from where Gregory had held him the last time they'd met. "You can't just barge into other people's houses!" he scowls.
Gregory reaches for his other wrist, tightening his grip as he lifts it. "You can't just ignore me either. It's affecting your work." He steps closer, edging Francis towards the wall.
blinks as his other wrist is caught anyways, and takes hesitant steps backwards until his back hits the wall. He's still scowling though, confused as to why he was letting Gregory corner him again. "I've been
getting my work done!" he protests, using his free hand to push against Gregory's chest and keep him at a distance. "It's been so much more peaceful without having to deal with you."
Lets himself be pushed back a fraction, not wanting to ease the pressure. "And how are we meant to talk about edits? Unless you're secretly psychic too?" He leans in, eyes scrutinising Francis' every breath.
"Why do you insist on distance now... When I have so much to hold against you?"
frowns at him, keeping the man at arm's length. "They've invented this thing called emails, I'm not sure if you're aware or not..." His breath hitches as Gregory gets closer, though he keeps the same
expression. It had grown harder for him to not admit to himself why he had let Gregory live, and now that the man was in front of him again, after having cornered him last time... it was hard for it not to be
on his mind. "You're simply lucky I love this job so much, else you wouldn't have ever seen me again."
Gregory watches, getting nothing from the annoyed expression. "If you love it so much then do it properly, or find another editor to almost kill." He reaches up to brush hair from Francis' face,
sighing. "Why are you the one that's angry?"
starts to reply, brows furrowing further, but he's caught off guard by the gentle touch instead. His cheeks start turning red involuntarily, and he looks away in embarrassment when he notices, trying to hide it
with a huffy expression. "You threaten me, and then expect me to be friendly towards you?" he complains.
Gregory watches, eyes widening at the red cheeks. He steps forward, in hopes that Francis has let his guard down and will allow him closer. "Actually... I expected you to up and leave."
He tucks the hair behind Francis' exposed ear, fingers running across the shell. "Or to try and manipulate me." But for Francis to be this angry... It wasn't fair.
can feel Gregory step closer, unwittingly letting him do so as he's more focused on the delicate hand at his ear- and suppressing a shiver because of it. Talk about not fair. "D-don't touch me!" He finally
retaliates, slipping away down and to the side, yanking his wrist free as he stumbles back a few steps. "Talk about manipulative, what the hell are you doing? Trying to get yourself killed?" He's shifted his
features back to the more menacing black eyes and fangs, scowling at the redhead. Somehow though, there's an edge of vulnerability to his expression that he'd be disgusted to see if he knew.
Gregory finds it hard to look beyond the menacing features, having to force himself to stand his ground. "You look like you're more likely to run away."
furrows his brow, straightening up a bit. "I'm not going anywhere, this is my house."
Crosses his arms, "Well I'm not going anywhere either." He steps further into the house to emphasise this, starting to take off his coat.
hesitates, frowning still. "...you're not welcome here." He answers, stepping forward to shove Gregory towards the door while he's distracted trying to take off the coat.
Gregory almost trips, pressing up against a wall to stay upright. "Then finish the job!" he challenges, cheeks red with anger.
Gregory squares up against Francis, hiding the fact that he was scared over what might happen to him.
flinches initially at the challenge, though when Gregory squares up to him his upset takes over and he shoves him back against the wall, hands going to his neck on instinct. "Do you have a death
wish??" Francis asks, expression angry but voice shaky as he tightens his fingers around Gregory's throat, his skin a bit rougher than human and eyes too dark. "Why would you challenge me like that? I can do it
you know!! You're supposed to value your life more than that!" His voice falters slightly, perhaps revealing the conflict he felt within himself in this moment.
Gregory groans as his back hits the wall, hands coming up to grasp Francis' wrists and try to ease the pressure. His breath comes in quicker as his lungs struggle for air.
__
_There is a basic fear that settles in the bottom of his stomach as he stares into Francis' eyes and feels the oddly abrasive skin against his. "Then why aren't you?" he wrasps out, chest heaving by this point.
_The hesitation on Francis' part urges him on, despite everything else screaming at him to cower in fear. Something is telling him he won't die, at least not today. His grasp on Francis' wrists tighten before_
his grip goes limp. He feels light headed.
tries to tighten his grip in response to Gregory's question, heart pounding in his own chest, emotions overwhelming him for the first time in a very, very long time. Gregory can probably feel how shaky his
hands are against his neck, as Francis falters worse the more frightened that Gregory looks. "I-I," he attempts, coming up with no answer as his eyes flick from Gregory's face, to his hands as the protests
stop. The anger starts to drain from his expression, looking more uncertain. "I-I don't...." he tries again, again not finding any answer he wanted to say out loud. He releases Gregory and steps back
shakily until his back hits the opposite side of the hallway, breathing hard himself. "W-what have you done to me??" he asks, staring at Gregory with a frightful expression of his own, angry bravado
gone as he realizes he doesn't want to watch the life drain from him. "Why can't I kill you?" he asks in a frustrated almost-whisper.
A small sound escapes Gregory's throat as Francis tightens his grip again, eyes widening in fear. The shaking makes it even more difficult for him to breath, his adam apple bobbing_
as his body tries to deal with the obstruction.
When Francis lets go, he slides down the wall to slump down on the floor. His breaths are ragged as he looks up, a hand coming up to massage the red irritated skin of his neck.
"I haven't done anything to you,' he rasps, pushing himself to stand up. He is watching the other carefully, as he cautiously suggests. "Maybe you just like me."
looks away from Gregory's pained face, instead leaning against the wall and looking at his own hands, as if they would explain why he had felt the need to let him go. "N-no.... no. I am a creature
of death," he frowns, though this time more incredulous and confused than angry. "Love is for those of the light. I will never be of the light...." His appearance slowly shifts back to human as he speaks,
and there's a pained look in his eyes as he remembers the old poems written about his kind. His lack of empathy and love had never bothered him until he had had to hide as a human, and then he had
learned how to fake it ever since. Not that he hadn't, over the years, yearned to be able to feel what had sounded like a lovely thing... but that couldn't be what this pain in his heart was, right? "I've
easily drowned the people I've found amusing before," he says after a quiet moment, putting his face in his hands and peeking out from his fingers at the figure on the opposite wall. "You must have a blessing
upon you, or something."
Gregory sits up, eyebrows furrowing at the words spilling from Francis lips. "That's a bunch of bullshit. Who decides who love is for?" He sits up straighter, finally letting his hand fall to his lap.
He laughs, the sound hoarse and halting. "I don't recall ever being blessed."
scowls at him from behind his hands. "You're too young to know anything," he complains, letting his hands drop from his face in favour of crossing his arms, looking away from Gregory with an upset pout. The
laugh pains him, and he seems to tense a bit more, both because of the harshness of being laughed at, and knowing he caused Gregory's voice to falter like that. "Creatures like me
aren't allowed divine things. We can only bring pain instead," he explains hesitantly, looking more like he was ready to just leave again. He didn't like thinking about himself.
Gregory looks closer to angry than hurt now, taking in Francis' words like a bitter pill. "Who said that? Where is it written down?" He stands up, moving closer. "How come you bring children so much joy then?"
_Gregory wasn't much for supporting such a flimsy excuse as - I'm not allowed to be happy. "Aren't you just denying yourself the opportunity to be happy?"
| It's Francis's turn to laugh bitterly, shaking his head. "Is that.. do you think I write this stuff to bring happiness? That it's just fluff to please children?" he asks, trying to stop his trembling hands as
his façade cracks a little more as he thinks about his friends. "Those stories are all real things, have you not figured that much out yet? I'm trying to make them believe in us again!" His heart was already
overflowing with love for them, he just didn't recognize it as such. Before he can say more though, he's distracted by the fact Gregory is getting closer again, and he tries to straighten up, to seem less
broken. "I d-don't..." he swallows. "What does a thing like me need that for anyways," he huffs, trying to convince himself.
Gregory's looks surprised, eyes widening. It hadn't occurred to him. But it explained why they seemed so real... as though they might jump from the page.
He reaches out to wrap his arms around Francis, preparing himself to be pushed back. "You love them... the people you write about."
brings his arms up in defence as Gregory wraps around him, ready to push him away but hesitating as the other presses closer. "Let go of me," he protests, though with much less vehemence than
earlier. He felt a bit overwhelmed- he wasn't used to so many emotions at once, and Gregory's arms wrapping around him wasn't helping that problem. It was confusing to him that Gregory would try to comfort
him after almost dying as he did, and the man's revelation causes him to furrow his brows. "W-what?" he replies, voice quiet and cracking slightly. "No... I just want them to stay strong..."
((... sorry i sent that first one while asleep and i didnt like it.))
((Okay!))
tightens his hold on the other, despite the protests. He felt as though if he let go, they might never be able to fix this. "Then why do you want them to stay strong?" he asks, stubbornly_
holding onto the idea that Francis could love.
Francis
has
mostly frozen within Gregory's embrace, not able to find the strength to push him away, but not quite giving in to the warmth of it either. "They are the ones who deserve to live in the light," he reasons,
voice still quiet. He could feel his heart beating faster than it should and it made him very uncomfortable.