Do not pout, [ he scolds, mouth pursing as he studiously ( purposefully ) avoids looking directly at Shanks's dear, dear face. Despite the softness that he holds within him for the man who is his husband, Set remains an irascible sort — a temper simmers below the surface, and even petty annoyances can make him mulish. Between the frustration he feels in trying to prepare a salve that will be healthy and healing for Shanks, and the lingering pain of his insecurity ( of not knowing what has become of him, after his death; if they will survive the game of wolves together, or not at all ), he cannot bring his eyes away from his frantically-working hands.
Stirring his pathetic attempt at Isis's magic around, he finally tips the concentrated mixture into the bathwater — and reaches his hand in to begin agitating it around. The scent of mint rises softly, the cooling properties settling into the water as he stirs it around Shanks's knees. Business first. Hanky-panky after. It's how he's always been: a severe, restrained sort at heart, though he plays chaotic hedonist with aplomb and learned skill.
Eventually, he does reach for the salve he'd prepared as well, gathering some onto his thumb before he daubs it onto Shanks's face. Across the bruises and cautiously around his swollen eye. ]
I am angry with you both, you know. You, because you only just returned to me and this is what becomes of you. Him, because he refuses to defend himself in any way, and instead it falls to others again and again and again.
[ He does like Koby, but that "kindness" has always been a deep, deep point of contention between them. ]
He does nothing for himself, and you are brought to me battered and bloody. It is nearly unforgivable.
( shanks watches and does not pout, his eyes following the movements of set's hands, frustrated and uncertain as they are. only when set's thumb sweeps beneath his swollen eye does he meet set's gaze — soft honey amber staring across from piercing cinnabar red. )
I couldn't let a threat like that slide, Set — and Koby would have died if he tried to challenge Saber on his own. Then, or now. But especially now. ( his voice softens, his hand coming to rest along set's forearm. ) You know this is who I am, ya rouhi. Why I was Anointed. Why I lost my arm.
( though it's strange to think of that time not so long ago at all, when he and set had been bound by more than just vows, when a god turned his eyes to worship a man. emptiness upon emptiness hollows him out now — his haki cut off, out of reach; the connection of their bonding mark severed — and for the first time since they wed in that chapel in the woods, shanks feels leagues away from the god he married. adrift in an endless sea.
turning his mouth to the center of set's palm, he presses a delicate kiss there, his hand reaching out to brush sturdy fingers along the back of set's neck, where the mark of an anchor once was. there is no compulsion to his words anymore, but still shanks insists: )
Don't be angry with Koby. He did try to convince me not to, but I would never see him bear this burden, even if he wanted to.
[ Even though Shanks tries to settle him, the irritation is deeper than reasonable; the edge he teeters on is fixated, like a man gazing at a long drop, knowing it's not that he will fall over the edge, but that he will eventually, inevitably jump. When he's stressed, he grows mean. Stubbornly resistant to even the people, the words he would otherwise trust.
Shanks had just returned to him, and already he was testing himself — against Saber, against the Shepherd's rules and regulations. ]
I am angry with you both, do not ask me not to be. At the very least, if you must stand for him, he should be there with you.
[ His nose wrinkles, lip curling as Shanks tells him: I would never see him bear this burden, and Set thinks of how he was forced to. How he believes that because he had to bear it all, nobody else should get a pass. Nobody else should be protected from a situation. They should at least be made to be part of the solution, rather than EXCUSED. At the very least, he does not tear himself from the touches, allowing Shanks to anchor himself upon the bare skin of his body. ]
And I know he will rarely raise a hand in his own defense. I have already discussed with him his choices not to. He knows what I think of it.
( shanks learned the hard way that not every battle can be won. or should be won. that knowing when to retreat is more valuable than headfirst, reckless abandon. this is one of those times shanks realizes it's better to withdraw than further incite set's ire. he doesn't want to fight, anyway. he's done enough fighting for one day. )
Alright. ( in a tone that seems to say i'll take that under advisement next time. only they both know, realistically, he will not. still, it's with an open-hearted honesty that he admits, ) I'm sorry.
( would he do it again? yes. but he might have told set beforehand, if he could go back. he'd underestimated saber, and now set is paying for it — playing nurse to his stupid, injured husband. who could have died, again, if a piece of rib had pierced his lung. he was foolish. but he always has been, when it comes to the defense of his loved ones.
lightly, his fingers brush through set's hair, drawing several locks to his lips to bestow a lingering kiss. )
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no subject
Stirring his pathetic attempt at Isis's magic around, he finally tips the concentrated mixture into the bathwater — and reaches his hand in to begin agitating it around. The scent of mint rises softly, the cooling properties settling into the water as he stirs it around Shanks's knees. Business first. Hanky-panky after. It's how he's always been: a severe, restrained sort at heart, though he plays chaotic hedonist with aplomb and learned skill.
Eventually, he does reach for the salve he'd prepared as well, gathering some onto his thumb before he daubs it onto Shanks's face. Across the bruises and cautiously around his swollen eye. ]
I am angry with you both, you know. You, because you only just returned to me and this is what becomes of you. Him, because he refuses to defend himself in any way, and instead it falls to others again and again and again.
[ He does like Koby, but that "kindness" has always been a deep, deep point of contention between them. ]
He does nothing for himself, and you are brought to me battered and bloody. It is nearly unforgivable.
no subject
I couldn't let a threat like that slide, Set — and Koby would have died if he tried to challenge Saber on his own. Then, or now. But especially now. ( his voice softens, his hand coming to rest along set's forearm. ) You know this is who I am, ya rouhi. Why I was Anointed. Why I lost my arm.
( though it's strange to think of that time not so long ago at all, when he and set had been bound by more than just vows, when a god turned his eyes to worship a man. emptiness upon emptiness hollows him out now — his haki cut off, out of reach; the connection of their bonding mark severed — and for the first time since they wed in that chapel in the woods, shanks feels leagues away from the god he married. adrift in an endless sea.
turning his mouth to the center of set's palm, he presses a delicate kiss there, his hand reaching out to brush sturdy fingers along the back of set's neck, where the mark of an anchor once was. there is no compulsion to his words anymore, but still shanks insists: )
Don't be angry with Koby. He did try to convince me not to, but I would never see him bear this burden, even if he wanted to.
no subject
[ Even though Shanks tries to settle him, the irritation is deeper than reasonable; the edge he teeters on is fixated, like a man gazing at a long drop, knowing it's not that he will fall over the edge, but that he will eventually, inevitably jump. When he's stressed, he grows mean. Stubbornly resistant to even the people, the words he would otherwise trust.
Shanks had just returned to him, and already he was testing himself — against Saber, against the Shepherd's rules and regulations. ]
I am angry with you both, do not ask me not to be. At the very least, if you must stand for him, he should be there with you.
[ His nose wrinkles, lip curling as Shanks tells him: I would never see him bear this burden, and Set thinks of how he was forced to. How he believes that because he had to bear it all, nobody else should get a pass. Nobody else should be protected from a situation. They should at least be made to be part of the solution, rather than EXCUSED. At the very least, he does not tear himself from the touches, allowing Shanks to anchor himself upon the bare skin of his body. ]
And I know he will rarely raise a hand in his own defense. I have already discussed with him his choices not to. He knows what I think of it.
[ How it is dangerous, to people like Set. ]
no subject
Alright. ( in a tone that seems to say i'll take that under advisement next time. only they both know, realistically, he will not. still, it's with an open-hearted honesty that he admits, ) I'm sorry.
( would he do it again? yes. but he might have told set beforehand, if he could go back. he'd underestimated saber, and now set is paying for it — playing nurse to his stupid, injured husband. who could have died, again, if a piece of rib had pierced his lung. he was foolish. but he always has been, when it comes to the defense of his loved ones.
lightly, his fingers brush through set's hair, drawing several locks to his lips to bestow a lingering kiss. )
What can I do to make it up to you?