[Lup slithers back another few inches, dancing just out of Barry’s reach, her smile, all sharp fangs, gleaming against the light of the fire.]
Run away with me.
[For the briefest of moments, the woman’s teasing expression shifts in surprise, like she can’t quite believe the words falling from her mouth. She’d meant for another tease, another flirty reply about just how much she enjoyed tasting him. But the surprise on her face is gone just as quickly as it arrived, resolve settling there against Lup’s unnaturally sharp features instead.
Ten years they’ve been dragging this out, an entire decade behind them of longing, continually waiting until they could meet again. The time never meant much to Lup, outside of feeling like torture, ten years to her kind’s extended lifespans wasn’t very long. But to Barry…
Every year that they meet up again, he’s just a little older, the lines in his face more pronounced, his hair thinning on top and peppering with distinguished gray. His soft belly a little fatter. If they continue down this path, keep meeting for a handful of days out of each year, how much time they have spent together by the time his human life comes to an end? Less than a year? Less than half of that?
She’d meant to run from him, to make Barry chase him until they ended up on the ground near the fire, curled up in each other’s arms and making up for lost time. But instead, Lup sits up and slips closer, giving the man a look that says she’s never been more sure of anything in her life.]
[Barry's breath catches in his throat. He doesn't say anything for a while then, doesn't dare exhaling too hard into the freezing air between them, fearing that if he does, he'll break the spell.
He'd never thought she'd suggest it. Never thought she'd even entertain the thought. While Barry doesn't know much about her kind, he knows that family is everything. They rely on each other, migrate together, forage and hunt, protecting their young, their sick, their elderly fiercely from outside - read: human - threats, protecting their way of life with their very lives. And he knows there's more in her tribe for her than just a community, just a people. She has family there. A brother. Talks about him all the time. Barry knew in his heart of hearts that, no matter how much she'd grow to care for him during their annual meetings, she wouldn't ever consider leaving them for him. And he couldn't come be with them. This is what he's resigned himself to. Meeting her like this, in secret, once a year for the rest of his life.
He scarcely dared to fantasize about running away with her. But his subconscious is seemingly entirely dominated by thoughts of her, of them, together, not just in the flesh, but for life. Sharing a life together. Sharing his limited years. He dreams about her every night, every day, whenever his thoughts start to wander. There's nothing he wants more than to be with her until his dying day. But he knew it wasn't meant to be.
Or, he thought he knew. Because here she is, looking him dead in the eye, resolve and excitement and something indescribably tender written all over her beautiful face. Barry draws a slow, shaky breath, shivering not with cold, his eyes stinging a little.]
Do... D-Do you mean that? You want that? [He reaches for her, fumbling a little without his glasses until he finds her hand, taking it in his. He needs to touch her right now, needs to squeeze her hand, feel her close.]
[By now, the naga should be regretting her outburst, should be thinking of the family she'd be leaving behind, the others who've come to depend so greatly on her. But each passing second just solidifies how right this decision suddenly feels, like choosing a human man over her entire tribe just makes sense.
And to Lup, it does. Barry's always been more than just a human, more than what he saw in himself. He's brilliant and funny and so much more courageous than he ever gives himself credit for. And he loves her, fully and without fail, willing to patiently wait out each year for her return, never once complaining about their time apart. He's never asked Lup to give up the tribe for him, never even put the thought into her head. But now that the seed's been planted, Lup refuses to let this drop. It's what makes the most sense. If Barry can't come join them, then she should go join him, somewhere out in the world, away from both humans and naga, a place for just the two of them.
Their home.
Barry looks shocked into silence, quiet for too long before he's reaching for her, careful hope lighting up his expression like he's frightened to ask, like Lup will reconsider her words if given the chance. But Lup just slips forward past his arms and pushes right up against his chest, her arms snaking around his neck, holding him close and making sure he sees the joy dancing in her eyes. She wants him to know how real this is.]
I do. I want it more than anything, Barry. We could be together every single day, doesn't that sound amazing? [Her tail coils carefully around his feet, tongue peeking out from between her lips while she speaks, excitement rising by the second.]
I'll have to tell Taako. Natch. [Because unlike the rest of their family, her brother would let her go, would give her this singular chance to chase after her happiness. And if she couldn't convince him to leave the tribe with her, than he'd just have to sneak out to visit her whenever their family was passing through, to take a few days with the happy couple before leaving again. It would be difficult to say goodbye to him, but they'd have all the time in the world to be together later on. Lup's time with her brother feels infinite, but her time with Barry is so unfairly limited.]
Does it matter? I don't care where we are as long as I have you, nerd. We could go anywhere. [Her fingertips slip through his thinning hair, playfully affectionate.] Somewhere warm. Get away from this snow.
[Barry sniffles a little, already feeling the tears pressing at his eyes, searing hot in the cold winter air. That does sound amazing. Spending every single day with her, not worrying about migration, about what her people would think, what his people would think. They could live somewhere far away, far removed from others. She could teach him to hunt, and he could teach her gardening, making a life outside civilization completely sustainable. He's too old for kids - doesn't know if having a family with her is even possible - but maybe they could raise animals together. Build a home. A life. Together.]
Yeah, s-somewhere warm. That-- That sounds nice.
[Heedless of the tears slipping down his cheeks, Barry grins, pressing into her body, his hands finding her waist, thumbing the scattered scales dotting her skin like glistening freckles. It's a good thing she's so playful about it, confident and resolute, or Barry might have been bawling by now.]
I wanna go swimmin' with you. [He assumes she swims, anyway. With a tail like that, she's probably an excellent swimmer.] I-- I wanna sunbathe with you a-and watch the sunset together. I wanna read you to sleep.
[He takes a deep, shuddering breath, pulling her body close, delighting in her tail curling around his feet - tender instead of teasing.] I wanna spend th'rest of my life with you, Lup.
[They wouldn't need to rely on anyone else but themselves. Find some empty farmland far outside of any human settlements, just off the path of the naga's migration trail, and settle in for however long they were able to get with one another. It wouldn't be easy, not when they'd spent more time dreaming of each other than actually being together, but Lup knew the love they've cultivated the last decade was strong enough to withstand anything. Whatever happened, whatever difficulties they were met with, their love would sustain them.
Even without him bawling, she can tell the man is close, one of her hands slipping free from around his neck to press her cold palm to his cheek. Watching Barry's eyes go wet, she can start to feel her own prickle of tears, but Lup blinks them away with ease, smiling wide enough to show off her sharpened fangs.] That sounds like a proposal, Bluejeans.
[Her fingertips dance across his cheek at her tease. Even if there'd been no proper ritual, Lup already knows the two of them are bonded for life, the same as any naga or human couple might be. She doesn't need a ceremony to tell her that Barry's hers.
This decision is huge, easily the biggest and most important decision of her entire life, but Lup's resolve is already set. This is what she wants. He is what she wants. Everything else just will fall into place. She lets him draw her close, lets his hands fall against her body while he trembles, but now that she's made up her mind, she just wants to go. She wants to throw things into motion immediately.] Where do we even start? Are there folks on your end you need to meet up with first?
[Maybe it was. There isn't a ritual or a ceremony, there won't ever be, but now that Barry has said it out loud, he finds that he really means it. He wants to spend the rest of his life with her. He wants to grow old with her and die with Lup at his side. He wants to know the rest of his years will be spent with someone who loves him for who he is, despite what he is maybe not being right or appropriate for someone like her.
There's not much he has to offer her. Certainly not a lifetime's worth. But if she's willing to accept what little he has, Barry knows they're going to be alright.]
N-No, there's no one. No one but you.
[He should feel sad saying that, but he honestly doesn't. Any friend he's ever made has been fleeting and temporary, in the periphery of his mind. And the only person he's ever loved aside from Lup has been dead for decades. Probably for the best. If Marlena knew who her son had fallen for, she might have looked at him with disapproval for the first time in her life.
But the thought of disapproval isn't important. No one who matters is around to disapprove. There's only Lup. There's only the life they're about to start together.]
I-- I only have a couple things I need t'bring f-from home, and then... then we can go. [He kisses her, teary and warm.] We can go.
[To their home, wherever they decide it's going to be. They have options now, choices to make, something they haven't had many of before.
Barry kisses her, her palms pressing against his tear-stained cheeks, eyes slipping closed beneath the beautiful feel of his mouth moving against hers, sweet and meaningful and full of more love than Lup's ever known before meeting him. But that's just Barry, isn't it? Since the very moment they met, she just knew there was something weird about him compared to other humans. Turned out it was that ridiculously big heart of his, accepting enough to fall for a woman the rest of his kind saw as a monster. But he'd seen through their differences with so little fuss and look how far they've come since?
It takes all that she has, but finally Lup pulls her mouth away from Barry's to break their kiss, her hands slipping back to rest her arms loosely around his neck.]
I need to talk to Taako an' grab some stuff back with the tribe, but... [But leaving to do that means leaving Barry, a feat that seems impossible now that they've agreed to spend the rest of the time they're given together.]
Y-Yeah, that's... that's a good idea. Y'should do that.
[Barry's hands settle on her waist, narrow and soft and speckled with scales. He runs his thumbs over them, feeling the shift in texture, how her scales are so slippery compared to her skin, dry and soft under his touch.
He gets to wake up every morning for the rest of his life touching these scales. Not just dreaming it, not just pining for that one night out of the year they spend together. Every morning, he'll be able to reach out and lay his hand on her waist and touch her, feel her there. Right there. He can feel himself choking up again, throat closing up as they hold each other.]
... Maybe y'can just... go in th'mornin'. [He seeks her gaze. His eyes are puffy and red, glassy from crying, but through the veil of tears is so much love. Love and adoration for the woman who never leaves his mind.]
Just... We can just st-stay here for a while longer. [Barry pulls her closer, her body flush to his.] I missed ya...
[Barry barely gets out the suggestion of her staying until morning before the naga is already nodding along, smile going wide, showing off sharp, predatory teeth. But the look in her eyes is all too full of love to look like anything else. The only thing Lup is hungry for is him, to have him in her life, to wake up every single day together, to settle down and start this new life together.]
Tomorrow. [The woman repeats fondly, letting herself be pulled in close, her thick tail curling loosely around Barry's feet. What she needs right now is just to be wrapped up in him, to feel the full length of his gorgeous body against hers. After another year spent apart, Lup just needs to let her hands travel along his sides, to rediscover every piece of him all over again.
Her head tips coyly to the side, just as the very tip of her tail coils up near his knee.]
Mm, maybe you should show me just how much?
[Tomorrow will be the start of a brand new life together, equally exciting and scary, getting what affairs they have in order so that togetherness can begin. But tonight is all about them, here in the same spot they met a decade earlier, a single night spent under the stars to celebrate the love that's cultivated between them for just as long.]
[She agrees - thank the gods, she's not leaving right away - and Barry beams at her through his tears as they hold each other. There's something about the feeling of her whole body embracing him. All of her. That powerful tail wrapping him all up, holding him securely while they sleep in each other's arms, slowly shifting and moving... He never feels safer than when he's with her.
His fingers tighten a little at her waist as she tips her head to the side, smiling at him, the exact smile he keeps seeing her wear in his dreams. The ones he wakes up from all flushed and sweaty, clenching the sheets in his trembling hands, his underwear wet and sticky.
He mirrors that smile. He shouldn't let another second go to waste without showing her how much he's missed her.]
Mmm, maybe I should... [One of his hands slips around her body, pulling her tighter against him, while the other reaches up to cup her cheek, thumb stroking the high, sharp line of her cheekbone. Then he pulls her in, sealing his lips to hers in a searing kiss.]
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no subject
Run away with me.
[For the briefest of moments, the woman’s teasing expression shifts in surprise, like she can’t quite believe the words falling from her mouth. She’d meant for another tease, another flirty reply about just how much she enjoyed tasting him. But the surprise on her face is gone just as quickly as it arrived, resolve settling there against Lup’s unnaturally sharp features instead.
Ten years they’ve been dragging this out, an entire decade behind them of longing, continually waiting until they could meet again. The time never meant much to Lup, outside of feeling like torture, ten years to her kind’s extended lifespans wasn’t very long. But to Barry…
Every year that they meet up again, he’s just a little older, the lines in his face more pronounced, his hair thinning on top and peppering with distinguished gray. His soft belly a little fatter. If they continue down this path, keep meeting for a handful of days out of each year, how much time they have spent together by the time his human life comes to an end? Less than a year? Less than half of that?
She’d meant to run from him, to make Barry chase him until they ended up on the ground near the fire, curled up in each other’s arms and making up for lost time. But instead, Lup sits up and slips closer, giving the man a look that says she’s never been more sure of anything in her life.]
We should.
no subject
He'd never thought she'd suggest it. Never thought she'd even entertain the thought. While Barry doesn't know much about her kind, he knows that family is everything. They rely on each other, migrate together, forage and hunt, protecting their young, their sick, their elderly fiercely from outside - read: human - threats, protecting their way of life with their very lives. And he knows there's more in her tribe for her than just a community, just a people. She has family there. A brother. Talks about him all the time. Barry knew in his heart of hearts that, no matter how much she'd grow to care for him during their annual meetings, she wouldn't ever consider leaving them for him. And he couldn't come be with them. This is what he's resigned himself to. Meeting her like this, in secret, once a year for the rest of his life.
He scarcely dared to fantasize about running away with her. But his subconscious is seemingly entirely dominated by thoughts of her, of them, together, not just in the flesh, but for life. Sharing a life together. Sharing his limited years. He dreams about her every night, every day, whenever his thoughts start to wander. There's nothing he wants more than to be with her until his dying day. But he knew it wasn't meant to be.
Or, he thought he knew. Because here she is, looking him dead in the eye, resolve and excitement and something indescribably tender written all over her beautiful face. Barry draws a slow, shaky breath, shivering not with cold, his eyes stinging a little.]
Do... D-Do you mean that? You want that? [He reaches for her, fumbling a little without his glasses until he finds her hand, taking it in his. He needs to touch her right now, needs to squeeze her hand, feel her close.]
Wh-Where would we go?
no subject
And to Lup, it does. Barry's always been more than just a human, more than what he saw in himself. He's brilliant and funny and so much more courageous than he ever gives himself credit for. And he loves her, fully and without fail, willing to patiently wait out each year for her return, never once complaining about their time apart. He's never asked Lup to give up the tribe for him, never even put the thought into her head. But now that the seed's been planted, Lup refuses to let this drop. It's what makes the most sense. If Barry can't come join them, then she should go join him, somewhere out in the world, away from both humans and naga, a place for just the two of them.
Their home.
Barry looks shocked into silence, quiet for too long before he's reaching for her, careful hope lighting up his expression like he's frightened to ask, like Lup will reconsider her words if given the chance. But Lup just slips forward past his arms and pushes right up against his chest, her arms snaking around his neck, holding him close and making sure he sees the joy dancing in her eyes. She wants him to know how real this is.]
I do. I want it more than anything, Barry. We could be together every single day, doesn't that sound amazing? [Her tail coils carefully around his feet, tongue peeking out from between her lips while she speaks, excitement rising by the second.]
I'll have to tell Taako. Natch. [Because unlike the rest of their family, her brother would let her go, would give her this singular chance to chase after her happiness. And if she couldn't convince him to leave the tribe with her, than he'd just have to sneak out to visit her whenever their family was passing through, to take a few days with the happy couple before leaving again. It would be difficult to say goodbye to him, but they'd have all the time in the world to be together later on. Lup's time with her brother feels infinite, but her time with Barry is so unfairly limited.]
Does it matter? I don't care where we are as long as I have you, nerd. We could go anywhere. [Her fingertips slip through his thinning hair, playfully affectionate.] Somewhere warm. Get away from this snow.
no subject
[Barry sniffles a little, already feeling the tears pressing at his eyes, searing hot in the cold winter air. That does sound amazing. Spending every single day with her, not worrying about migration, about what her people would think, what his people would think. They could live somewhere far away, far removed from others. She could teach him to hunt, and he could teach her gardening, making a life outside civilization completely sustainable. He's too old for kids - doesn't know if having a family with her is even possible - but maybe they could raise animals together. Build a home. A life. Together.]
Yeah, s-somewhere warm. That-- That sounds nice.
[Heedless of the tears slipping down his cheeks, Barry grins, pressing into her body, his hands finding her waist, thumbing the scattered scales dotting her skin like glistening freckles. It's a good thing she's so playful about it, confident and resolute, or Barry might have been bawling by now.]
I wanna go swimmin' with you. [He assumes she swims, anyway. With a tail like that, she's probably an excellent swimmer.] I-- I wanna sunbathe with you a-and watch the sunset together. I wanna read you to sleep.
[He takes a deep, shuddering breath, pulling her body close, delighting in her tail curling around his feet - tender instead of teasing.] I wanna spend th'rest of my life with you, Lup.
no subject
Even without him bawling, she can tell the man is close, one of her hands slipping free from around his neck to press her cold palm to his cheek. Watching Barry's eyes go wet, she can start to feel her own prickle of tears, but Lup blinks them away with ease, smiling wide enough to show off her sharpened fangs.] That sounds like a proposal, Bluejeans.
[Her fingertips dance across his cheek at her tease. Even if there'd been no proper ritual, Lup already knows the two of them are bonded for life, the same as any naga or human couple might be. She doesn't need a ceremony to tell her that Barry's hers.
This decision is huge, easily the biggest and most important decision of her entire life, but Lup's resolve is already set. This is what she wants. He is what she wants. Everything else just will fall into place. She lets him draw her close, lets his hands fall against her body while he trembles, but now that she's made up her mind, she just wants to go. She wants to throw things into motion immediately.] Where do we even start? Are there folks on your end you need to meet up with first?
no subject
[Maybe it was. There isn't a ritual or a ceremony, there won't ever be, but now that Barry has said it out loud, he finds that he really means it. He wants to spend the rest of his life with her. He wants to grow old with her and die with Lup at his side. He wants to know the rest of his years will be spent with someone who loves him for who he is, despite what he is maybe not being right or appropriate for someone like her.
There's not much he has to offer her. Certainly not a lifetime's worth. But if she's willing to accept what little he has, Barry knows they're going to be alright.]
N-No, there's no one. No one but you.
[He should feel sad saying that, but he honestly doesn't. Any friend he's ever made has been fleeting and temporary, in the periphery of his mind. And the only person he's ever loved aside from Lup has been dead for decades. Probably for the best. If Marlena knew who her son had fallen for, she might have looked at him with disapproval for the first time in her life.
But the thought of disapproval isn't important. No one who matters is around to disapprove. There's only Lup. There's only the life they're about to start together.]
I-- I only have a couple things I need t'bring f-from home, and then... then we can go. [He kisses her, teary and warm.] We can go.
no subject
[To their home, wherever they decide it's going to be. They have options now, choices to make, something they haven't had many of before.
Barry kisses her, her palms pressing against his tear-stained cheeks, eyes slipping closed beneath the beautiful feel of his mouth moving against hers, sweet and meaningful and full of more love than Lup's ever known before meeting him. But that's just Barry, isn't it? Since the very moment they met, she just knew there was something weird about him compared to other humans. Turned out it was that ridiculously big heart of his, accepting enough to fall for a woman the rest of his kind saw as a monster. But he'd seen through their differences with so little fuss and look how far they've come since?
It takes all that she has, but finally Lup pulls her mouth away from Barry's to break their kiss, her hands slipping back to rest her arms loosely around his neck.]
I need to talk to Taako an' grab some stuff back with the tribe, but... [But leaving to do that means leaving Barry, a feat that seems impossible now that they've agreed to spend the rest of the time they're given together.]
no subject
[Barry's hands settle on her waist, narrow and soft and speckled with scales. He runs his thumbs over them, feeling the shift in texture, how her scales are so slippery compared to her skin, dry and soft under his touch.
He gets to wake up every morning for the rest of his life touching these scales. Not just dreaming it, not just pining for that one night out of the year they spend together. Every morning, he'll be able to reach out and lay his hand on her waist and touch her, feel her there. Right there. He can feel himself choking up again, throat closing up as they hold each other.]
... Maybe y'can just... go in th'mornin'. [He seeks her gaze. His eyes are puffy and red, glassy from crying, but through the veil of tears is so much love. Love and adoration for the woman who never leaves his mind.]
Just... We can just st-stay here for a while longer. [Barry pulls her closer, her body flush to his.] I missed ya...
no subject
Tomorrow. [The woman repeats fondly, letting herself be pulled in close, her thick tail curling loosely around Barry's feet. What she needs right now is just to be wrapped up in him, to feel the full length of his gorgeous body against hers. After another year spent apart, Lup just needs to let her hands travel along his sides, to rediscover every piece of him all over again.
Her head tips coyly to the side, just as the very tip of her tail coils up near his knee.]
Mm, maybe you should show me just how much?
[Tomorrow will be the start of a brand new life together, equally exciting and scary, getting what affairs they have in order so that togetherness can begin. But tonight is all about them, here in the same spot they met a decade earlier, a single night spent under the stars to celebrate the love that's cultivated between them for just as long.]
no subject
His fingers tighten a little at her waist as she tips her head to the side, smiling at him, the exact smile he keeps seeing her wear in his dreams. The ones he wakes up from all flushed and sweaty, clenching the sheets in his trembling hands, his underwear wet and sticky.
He mirrors that smile. He shouldn't let another second go to waste without showing her how much he's missed her.]
Mmm, maybe I should... [One of his hands slips around her body, pulling her tighter against him, while the other reaches up to cup her cheek, thumb stroking the high, sharp line of her cheekbone. Then he pulls her in, sealing his lips to hers in a searing kiss.]