Because I was in the mood for some fluffy goodness, let’s have Valentines day fun with Samiel and Jay. 😉
Title: Then kiss me once again
Warnings: None
Summary: It’s been thirty years since the Songbird Pact
Notes: Title taken from ‘It’s been a long, long time’ (Harry James)
The thirtieth anniversary of the Songbird Pact is not a grand affair.
When Daimion had floated the idea of having the celebrations on Elysium, Jay hadn’t really had the heart to say no. The compromise had been: no media, no diplomats, and friends and family only. It was working surprisingly well so far.
“He’s loving this,” Samiel murmurs in Jay’s ear.
Slowly, Jay leans back into the warm, familiar heat behind him. “I know.”
Because Daimion really is loving it all.
His curls – silver now, instead of gold – are thoroughly visible against the warm stonework of the hall. He’s sitting comfortably, bright-eyed as he talks amiably to Hird and Venndred. One of the neighbour’s children is tugging on his hand, demanding attention, much to the stifled horror of her father.
“I wish –” Samiel adds, then stops to clear his throat.
Jay settles more comfortably against him. “I know,” he repeats. Because he does.
However much Samiel may want otherwise for his father, Daimion is never going to have a gentle retirement; a slow, peaceful decline into rest. He’ll never settle on Elysium; never leave his own lasting impression on neighbours, or live close to them in Kathikas. He’s still far too active, and far too reluctant, to leave Lenia in the hands of someone else yet.
But it feels like time is slipping away from them because of it. Samiel doesn’t see him as much as he wants to, and Daimion fights desperately for every scrap of time he can carve out for his son, sometimes to the detriment of his own wellbeing. It’s an uneasy balance, and not an entirely satisfactory one.
Pyrrhine Medala is being surprisingly patient about it all, though. Especially given that she’s probably serving the longest apprenticeship in history, at this point. Even Jay has to admit that she’s been helpful; quietly taking up more of the strenuous burdens of ruling where she can.
Samiel hooks his chin over Jay’s shoulder, startling him from his thoughts. He wraps his arms around Jay’s waist and hums, contented. They both sway a little, moving with the slow, gorgeous tempo Jay can feel winding through their bond, as Samiel rocks them from side to side.
This feeling never gets old, Jay thinks. The giddying privilege of being here, with this man, in this time, wound so tightly together that they share a heartbeat most days.
Thirty years, and sometimes he still has to blink awake in the morning, scrub the sleep from his eyes and realise that yes. Yes, that is Samiel Athannus staring back at him: a perfect composition of silver-threaded curls, laughter lines and the kind of smile that Jay is never going to be able to stop from breaking his heart, just a little.
“I love you,” he says quietly, as Samiel digs the point of his chin in harder. “But all of this. It’s been so long. Did you ever think we’d make it this far?” He means thirty years, and he means together, and he means as everything.
“Yes,” Samiel says, and Jay feels the utter conviction of it ring through them both. “And we’ve got a way to go yet, mio ades.”
“Says you.” Jay slides a hand down; wraps it around Samiel’s forearm and squeezes. “What if I’ve had enough of you causing me trouble after thirty years?”
“Then you’d better be prepared for the worst,” Samiel says. He drops a kiss, small and a little wicked, to the corner of Jay’s jaw. “Because we’ve all seen what I’m capable of, if you decide to leave me. I’m not sure the galaxy could stand it again.”
“Once every three decades is enough then?”
“Once every lifetime,” Samiel says firmly. “Because my knees may sometimes ache, but it doesn’t mean I’m still not perfectly capable of slinging you over my shoulder, carrying you off to the nearest abandoned outpost and keeping you there, if you get any foolish ideas about running away now.”
“Ah well,” Jay murmurs, and feels Samiel grin against his shoulder. “I suppose if I’ve put up with you for this long…”
The tip of Samiel’s nose nudges against Jay’s cheek. “Then you can keep going. Because you’re stuck with me forever. And be nice: it’s our anniversary.”
It’s not actually their anniversary – not the day they were married, anyway. But… it really sort of is, Jay admits to himself, as Samiel drops another kiss to his cheek.
Thirty years to the day, since he’d been standing there, free-falling and terrified, and Samiel had held out a hand and said, Will you run away with me?
There hasn’t been a moment since, not one, where Jay has regretted saying yes.
“Papa said he got us a present,” Samiel adds. “He wouldn’t tell me what it was though.”
Jay closes his eyes. “Ah.”
“‘Ah’? What do you mean, ‘Ah’?”
“Well, I may already have it.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“It’s…”
Complicated. Difficult to explain.
“…vitrios,” Jay finishes, opening his eyes.
Against him, Samiel stills.
“Vitrios,” he repeats.
And there – there – is the sudden upswelling in his soul that Jay was expecting. It catches under his ribs; winds tight around his heart with a triumph so sweetly painful, that it makes his breath stutter in his throat. Samiel is a burning rush of light, roaring in the atoms between them, as the bands of his arms clutch Jay tighter.
“He’s letting you do this?” he demands hoarsely.
“It’s already been done,” Jay admits.
And it has been. He’d handed the block of vitrios to Venndred this morning, with strict instructions to place it in the Naos next to Samiel’s.
Vitrios is unbending; unbreakable. So when the time comes – when he and Samiel are spread stardust-thin across the galaxy and this is all that is left of them – Jay’s threnodia will sit, carved aeons-deep, with the only words that have ever truly mattered; with the only thing he has ever wanted the universe to know.
“Humans don’t –” Samiel rasps. “I mean, no one’s ever –”
“Your father made an exception.”
“You’ve already written it,” Samiel realises. “What does it –” His hands are frantic, as he spins Jay roughly around. This close he’s bewildered; triumphant. The pounding of Jay’s heartbeat is not his own, but Samiel doesn’t seem to care about the way he’s bleeding desperate, greedy delight between them. “What does it say?”
“Well.” Carefully, Jay reaches out; tucks one silver-threaded curl behind Samiel’s ear. “Not much.”
“Jason.”
Jay laughs at the growl; leans closers and presses their foreheads together. “I didn’t have long stretches of wisdom,” he admits. “And I couldn’t think of anything profound that I wanted to pass on, that might help others. I certainly didn’t have an endless narrative of triumphant deeds.”
“So?” Samiel demands, impatient.
“So,” Jay says. He clears his throat hoping, absurdly, that he’s done the right thing here. “So it actually only says one thing. The only thing, in fact.”
“Which is?”
Jay tells him.
**********
In the depths of the Naos, there are two blocks of vitrios.
One contains a careful, exacting narrative of the life of Samiel Athannus, written in High Maa-Tarekian. No detail is spared; no moment left undescribed. Covered, the vitrios stands as a testament to all that happened, in a time when there was change at the heart of the universe.
The other block is simpler.
Small. Neat. There is only one sentence written on it, in exacting Interior Circle Standard.
Because Jason Lane hadn’t needed to say anything more about his life than this. He hadn’t needed to write history, or pass down wisdom.
Three words were enough.
I loved him.
Nothing else had really mattered, compared to that.
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Fuck it, tumblr exclusive Dpcu headcannons (sleep edition!)
Samiel has the most intensive sleep routine that has even more steps than his moring routine.
Samiel also sleeps in the fanciest and extragent robe ever.
SB sleeps only in his boxers.
Samiel and Sb are so fucking codependent on one another now they have a very hard time falling asleep without the other (Sb just has trouble sleeping alone in general ever since the war I heaven)
Ilyian is almost completely silent when he sleeps (a habit he built up over the last thousand years)
Micheal will fall asleep at like 8 pm. The earliest he's ever gone to bed was 6. (He is not a night person)
The custodian occasionally has nightmares themself (normally revolving arius), and they just stay up after them.
Samiel mumbles in his sleep, and it is the cutest thing ever (semi cannon! Atlest when he's drunk, lol)
Sb runs extremely warm and kicks blankets off of him while he sleeps so he doesn't overheat
Micheal is the biggest cuddlebug. If he falls asleep next to someone, they will be grabbed and can not leave until he wakes up.
Samiel runs cold and requires all the heat he can get while sleeping (he doesn't mind being cold while he's awake. He's used to it)
The custodian will kick someone if they try and touch them while they are asleep (they have zero recollection of it afterwards.)
Sb is so used to wearing their glasses that when he wakes up, he is incredibly confused about why the world looks so blurry until someone points out he isn't wearing his glasses
Ilyian (who has very long hair that's normally up in a bun) will either let his hair down to sleep or braid it.
Ilyian is a very light sleeper!
Et fin!:) (No zazzy this time)
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