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ruddygore · 2 years

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What we all saw coming

Ruddy throws Pent (@sssardonian-ssserpent) in this one.

The news that Pent had come down with a case of the morbs was concerning enough, though understandable. It was easy to assume the man had been locked up in his lair ever since the incident with Wally, avoiding Vox's prying eyes by laying low. Which meant he'd likely been alone. Ruddy knew exactly how miserable that could be, which made him doubly determined to be the best host and friend he could be to his alternate, now that he'd made the first step (slither?) and reached out.

He'd abandoned his workshop for the day, zipping through his airship as quickly as his coils could carry him, leather apron and coarse work shirt shucked off and thrown across the cozy chair in the corner of his bedroom so he could throw himself into the shower and scrub all the oil and gunk off himself. He couldn't have company while he was filthy, he had to look presentable! Well dressed!! A crisp blue and grey suit was hastily thrown on, cologne dabbed onto his neck and wrists before he raced to try and clean up his.. Oh, the place was already spotless, right. Well, there was a dirty cup in the sink from his afternoon tea, he could at least wash that up before he made coffee for two. Pent would likely get dropped in across the hall in the drawing room anyway, he wouldn't be able to miss the sound of Ruddy moving around.

Pentious himself lets out a soft, tiny sigh as he finds his way onto Ruddy’s ship proper, and though he had just spent the last week all but isolated inside his bunker, he couldn’t deny that the change in atmosphere and size of the ship itself already seemed to be lifting some of the exhausting weight off his back already, making him feel a bit less tired, a bit less high strung, waiting for something to happen. He looks around for a moment, unable to find Ruddy anywhere in sight, and as his tongue flicks into the air to smell him out, he catches a taste of the cologne that the man always wears, sharp and tingling on his tastebuds in a way that makes his spine softly shiver, and begins to follow that trail, tongue flicking out over and over to make sure he doesn’t lose the trail. He stays quiet as he does so, not saying a word.

Pent can pick up the sound of porcelain clinking on stone as he follows the scent of Ruddy's cologne, eventually finding the larger snake standing in the kitchen. His back is turned to Pent as he washes his hands, two empty mugs sitting next to him on the counter with a plate of tea biscuits and biscotti, evidently the source of the noise. The coffee machine he'd built is already blurbling away, the scent of fresh coffee starting to waft into the air.

He glances back, eyebrows shooting up at the sight of Pent. A moment while he hastily dries his hands, and he turns to open his arms to his alternate. "Oh! Hello my good man, you got here quickly. The coffee isn't ready yet, I'm afraid, but it's lovely to see you again. How have you been holding up?"

The sight of Ruddy opening his arms like that, obviously thrown off by his arrival but yet happy to see him all the same, has Pent start to smile softly, and he moves to slither in closer, raising his own arms in return. “Ah, it’s been…quite a week, dear Ruddy. Quite a week, indeed. Apologiessss if my sudden arrival interrupted anything important, or gave you pausssse in a project or anything, I just…Well, let’sss just say I grew tired of sssstaring at the same walls day in and day out for a whole week in a row. Felt myssself growing a bit restless. Ssstir-crazy perhaps.”

Ruddy leans down to scoop Pent up, lifting him off the floor and up into a hug with the little side to side swishing of a proper embrace. A kiss is pressed to the top of Pent's head, or whatever part Ruddy can actually reach. "Interrupted? Not at all. My idle tinkerings are secondary to ensuring my friend isn't losing his sanity trapped in a box alone somewhere underground. No no, if you're to lose your sanity, it might as well be in a box that's floating in the sky, with company!"

The embrace is warm, tender, and the feeling of being lifted off the ground is enough to have Pent unable to resist but let out a chuckle, moving to wrap his own arms around Ruddy’s neck (as best as he can reach, anyway), his coils moving to slowly wrap around the man’s waist, just so they’re just limply dragging across the ground and hanging in the air. “Heheh. If there’s anywhere I’d love to lose my sanity, it probably would be here with you. Asss corny as that soundsss.” He chuckles again, idly resting his cheek against Ruddy’s chest, careful to not rest against his eye, glancing up toward him. “How have thingsss been over here? Valentino giving you any trouble at all?”

"It sounds cornier than a corn snake, but we'll just call it a side effect of your prolonged isolation." He snickers, moving a hand to start rubbing up and down his alternate's back. He did feel a bit bad, not bothering to check in and see how Pent had been. But he could make up for it now at least, starting with as much physical touch as Pent wanted, and some friendly banter. "No trouble from Valentino. He's still powerful, but nearly so much as he was when his boyfriend was in control of the media. With how things are now, he knows I could blacklist his productions and throttle his business. Aside from that one outburst? He's behaved fairly well."

“Ah yes, the cabbage incident.” He chuckles a bit harder at that, relaxing into the embrace, into the feeling of that hand sliding up and down his spine so softly. “Did you ever give him back his glassssesss? Or do you still have them?” He raises a brow, smirking as he tilts his head up to meet the man’s eyes.

Ruddy looks back at Pent, face twisting into a smug little smirk in turn as he flicks his tongue out just shy of touching Pent's scales. Blelele. "Oh, I've still got them. But they're not prescription, so they're no use to me outside of ridiculous pictures. I look terrible in them, before you ask. The pink glass blends right in with the red of my eyes."

The sight of that tongue flicking out in front of his snout, just barely stopping short, was enough to have Pent’s hood twitch open slightly, eyes going slightly wide, before his eyes narrow right back, and his own smirk begins to grow across his lips. His own tongue moves to slither out to teasingly flick just a scant inch away from Ruddy’s own snout. Blelelele. “Ssssomehow I doubt that. But I’ll trusssst your judgement.” He chuckles again, tail flicking back and forth in an almost lazy fashion.

"You'd better, I can't have anyone trying to accuse me of lying about my fashion choices. My attire is one of the more notable things about me, after all! Not a being in Hell has seen me anything less than starched and pressed to perfection!" Oh, he'd been holding Pent up for probably too long now, hadn't he? He hastily bends back down, unintentionally dipping Pent like they'd just completed a dance. How do you release a snake that's wrapped around you?

“Ah-!” The sudden and unintended dipping brings a flustered squeak to Pent’s lips, his hood flaring all the way open as a flush rises to his face, eyes meeting Ruddy’s own as he stares into them for a couple moments, coils unintentionally tightening around Ruddy’s waist as he does so. He blinks after a couple moments of silence, still faintly flushing. “…Ah…Is this a cue that you want me to let go, dear Ssssir?”

"…." Ruddy squints, the cogs of his mind creaking as he tries to figure out the most graceful solution to his accidental problem. "I.. Hm. I thought I'd been holding you up for too long and that you might want to be freed? Perhaps I was mistaken, judging by your death grip." He rights himself again, tightening one arm around Pent's waist as the other moves up to start combing through his hair. "Ignore me, I'm just an old fool. Instead tell me, has Vox been giving you trouble in your Hell? Any news from Wally?"

Pent blinks again as he finds himself being righted once more, slightly dazed both by the sudden dip as well as the just as sudden retraction of said dip, mouth hanging slightly open as he tries to figure out if it would be appropriate to state that he hadn’t been hoping to be set down at all, or at least wasn’t expecting to be dropped so quickly. But after a moment, as he feels Ruddy’s arm wrap around him more firmly, and as he feels his claws start to comb through his hair, his grip on his waist loosens a touch. He is silent for a couple more seconds, before he finally shakes his head to dismiss his shock. “Ah, well…From what I hear, he’s been all over the city. Sssearching for me, I assume. Thankfully he doesn’t think to check the outskirtsss of the city, so he hasn’t gotten anywhere close yet. And Wally jusssst sent his first letter in yesterday.” He moves to pull an envelope free of his coat pocket. “I had an egg go out to retrieve it with my hat to sssupervise it and keep it safe should anything find it. I read it already but I figured if you wanted to, I should bring it along.”

Pent is given a few more gentle strokes from Ruddy's claws, and then the hand not actively supporting the smaller snake's weight is moved to take the coffee pot off the machine, pouring two steaming cups into the mugs. Best not to let it get burnt and cold while he was standing around holding his alternate. "I'm glad to hear that he's only looking, eventually he'll have no choice but to dial it back to his normal paranoid surveillance. It costs quite the pretty penny to hunt for one man." He hums, picking up a biscotti to wiggle in front of Pent's snout. A little snackrifice, for the snoot. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to read it, but is there anything of particular interest?"

“Indeed. Certainly can’t wait for that..” He lets out a sigh as he places the envelope back into his coat pocket, eyes sliding down in order to tuck it back in properly, though as the biscotti is wiggled in front of his nose, his tongue flickers out on instinct, flickering over the cookie before his eyes go slightly cross eyes to look at it. He lets out a small snort of amusement before promptly moving to accept the treat by taking it between his teeth, all but snapping it up the second Ruddy moves to let go of it, chewing contently before swallowing. “Mm…Well, there is the fact that Vox is still going to be using Wally’ssss trade routes to get his influence down into the lower rings, he just won’t be able to get his claws on any of my tech sssince we stole back my ship. From what the letter said, these routes will be given extra sssecurity should I show up in my ship to attack them or anything of that sort, which no doubt means Vox would be on my tail fassster than you could blink.”

Ruddy scoffs. "Predictable. But that does give a nearly guaranteed way to lure him out, when you feel ready to take him down properly. Positives! I'm going to move us to the drawing room, so.. Hang on." Pent is still hanging off him, he probably didn't actually need to say anything. But it's only polite to give a little warning before you let go of someone. Now with both hands free, it's easy for him to mix up two coffees to taste and put them on a tray with the snacks. Just like that, he can carry the food, and his rather light guest, out to the drawing room where he can recline back on a couch with Pent in tow. Ah, convenience.

“Heheh. Hanging on asss we speak, my good man.” Just as he says, he clenches his coils down onto Ruddy’s hips a little bit harder just as the man moves to properly let go of him, hanging on rather sturdily to the larger snake’s waist with the same ease as a boa coiling itself around an impressively large tree. He is fairly quiet as Ruddy moves to slither on out of the kitchen and into the drawing room, and only when the man moves to lie back on the couch does Pent’s own coils begin to loosen their grip, tilting his head a touch. “If..If you want, I can get off of your lap now.” His cheeks start to blush a touch and he flashes a small smile. “Wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

"Do as you please, you're the guest after all." His hat hops off his head, settling on the back of the couch above Ruddy's head and seemingly dozing off. "You've been stuck alone in your base for a week, my good man. If you want to cling like a little limpet, I wont judge you for it. But do drink your coffee, I made that cup to your tastes."

“..Very well then.” And those coils tighten right back up again. “If you sssay so.” He then moves to pick up his cup from the nearby tray, along with a biscotti, taking a slow, careful sip of the coffee before his hood puffs up a touch, his eyes going slightly wide as the taste registers, and he licks his lips, a smile brightening on his face. “Wow, this tassstes wonderful.” He moves to dip the biscotti into the coffee, dunking it once, twice, before popping the pastry into his mouth, his mood already seemed to have brightened significantly thanks to the presence of food.

"Why thank you. I haven't quite perfected it yet, but I'm learning. There are an abundance of instructional videos out there, and if I'm going to have coffee drinkers visiting me, I want to ensure I can offer the best." He flicks his tongue again, slow and lazy, and finally reaches to take his own coffee for a quick sip. "What did you do while you were alone in your bunker, Pent? It sounds dreadfully lonely, aside from your hat."

“Ah..” He pauses a bit as he reaches for another biscotti, eyes going slightly wide before they narrow a touch, trying to remember of what exactly he had done when alone for that week. “…I think I mossstly spent my time repairing my ship. That and…trying to keep an eye on what I could in the city.” He moves to take another slow sip of his coffee, leaning back a touch against Ruddy’s chest. “I didn’t dare rissssk sending my scout ships to patrol the ssskies with Vox as high strung as he is, so for now, I’ve been concentrating on keeping an eye on all the locations that I have my computer monitor.” He moves to begin dunking his biscotti before popping it into his mouth. “Which has left a lot of the city completely in the dark of any radar I could use.”

He hums, putting the coffee down in favor of loosely wrapping his arms around Pent's torso. "That sounds.. Well. Uneventful, and stressful, and a few other negative things. Is that really what you spent all this time doing? You poor thing, no wonder you've got the morbs. And you're going to go back to that tomorrow, aren't you?"

“I…Yess, I suppose so. I wouldn’t want to overssstay my welcome.” His hood wilts a little bit, glancing toward Ruddy to look him in the eyes. “Not that I think you wouldn’t want me here. It’sss just that I don’t want to get in the way of anything in what you’re doing. You seemed to be busy before I showed up now, after all.” He moves to sip at his coffee, draining it at least halfway now.

Well now, that wont do. His grip tightens, lips turning down into a faint frown as his head shakes. "You aren't getting in the way of anything, Pent. I have no major projects I'm working on, just fiddling around with little diversions that can certainly be put on the backburner for a few days if you'd like a break from your own reality. Really, you're welcome to stay as long as you like. Though I don't have much clothing for you, or a toothbrush, so you'd have to bring that as well."

“…Are you certain?” He tilts his head a touch, frowning right back. “Even if it’s as long as a week? Or more? I’m not quite certain how long Vox may be prowling around the Pentagram for. I could be here longer than you may think.”

"I said what I said, didn't I? You can stay here as long as you want. You are always welcome. If you live here a year just waiting for Vox to stop prowling, so be it. This ship is huge, you aren't going to be a bother making yourself at home. You can have your pick of rooms, there's plenty of food, there's no reason at all that I can think of to object to your presence."

“…I see.” He nods a touch, after a small amount of silence, then he starts to smile, a soft, grateful smile that grows over his lips. “Thank you, Ruddy. That means a lot to me. And, Hell forbid the day comesss at all, if you ever need my asssistance, you can come to my home anytime as well. I know I don’t really need them, but, well, I may have built a ssssurplus of rooms for guesssts. Just in case.”

Ruddy nods, satisfied, and moves his hands to cradle Pent's face in his palms. "I'm glad to hear it. Because whenever you do wind up going back to your Hell, I fully intend to accompany you for at least a day or two, to make sure you're alright."

That gets Pent to blink, a little bit shocked, both at the feeling of hands on his face, and at the fact that Ruddy would be willing to stay with him on the trip back home. It wasn’t something he had expected him to do at all and yet Ruddy was willing to do it, completely for his own well being. It made his cheeks start to flush, made his heart swell in his chest, and for a moment, he could only stare. Then, he moves to slowly rest a hand on the back of Ruddy’s own, and his smile grows even wider, heavier, almost like it was uncontrollable in it’s scope. “..Thank you, my dear Sssir. I don’t think I can sssay how much that means to me.” He could. But he just wasn’t sure if it would be taken well.

"You'd do the same for me, I know you would." He smiles back at Pent, rubbing his thumbs across his alternate's cheeks. "I know what isolation does to the mind. I was alone for years, building my ships in secret and hiding from the public eye. It was miserable, and I wasn't even being hunted, I still got to go outside to find my resources. If I let you go, by yourself, back into what amounts to solitary confinement? I'd be sick with worry. One way or another, I'll stick with you through this."

“…Heh. I know you will. You’ve sssstuck with me thusss far, haven’t you?” He can’t help it. He has to do something. He has to do something before his heart bursts inside his chest. He feels those thumbs running across his cheeks and he has to stop himself from outright nuzzling into his hands, coils clenching down on his waist to keep his tail uncurling to start wagging, and finally, after a small silence, he leans in, their faces drifting closer, closer, closer still, until Pent leans in and presses a soft, small, tender kiss right on the tip of Ruddy’s nose. It’s not the lips, but it’s the closet he could get, and it felt wonderful.

There's a moment of silence as the kiss registers in Ruddy's mind, a quiet exhale filling the space between their faces. And then he chuckles, angling his face up to press his lips against the tip of Pent's snout in return as his hands slide back to gently card claws through his alternate's hair. "Of course, and I haven't regretted a second of it. I'll do everything I can to make sure you're okay, Pent. Even if it means going out there and taking Vox down myself to make sure he can't hurt you again."

For a moment, a single heart stopping moment, Pentious wondered if it would be possible if Ruddy would somehow take the kiss badly. If it would be taken as inappropriate or violating his personal space, some invisible line that he has yet to perceive that he would somehow cross and ruin this wonderful moment. But then, he feels Ruddy quietly let out a breath as he draws his lips away, feels those hands against his cheeks slowly tilt his head just a little bit further upwards, and he feels Ruddy’s own lips, soft, carrying a hint of those sharp fangs, press against his snout. A kiss back, meager and quiet as it was, but a kiss back all the same. He barely has time to handle how his heart all but pounds in his chest, how his spine tingles with elation, with that same light feeling that makes his scales feel as if they weigh nothing on his bones, and as Ruddy’s deep voice rumbles through his frame, promising him safety, no matter the cost, be it at the hands of Vox or anything else, with his very body all on the verge of burning up with anticipation, with excitement, with the need to dosomething to stem the tide of euphoria he feels in this very moment, he can only think of one thing to do.

He just barely has enough restraint to set his cup of coffee off to the side before he reaches out with both hands to cup Ruddy’s cheeks. He barely has enough restraint in him to tilt his head so his snout wouldn’t risk crashing into Ruddy’s nose. But at the feeling of their lips touching in a kiss, soft and slow and just as delicate as the kiss to his nose had been just seconds before, Pent can’t help but feel that mounting eruption of desire finally explode into what felt simply like a monsoon of bliss. Bliss, and peace. Like everything in the universe had fit perfectly into place.

This was not at all what Ruddy had been expecting when he invited Pent to come over. He realizes what's about to happen just before their lips touch, mind somehow both racing and paralyzed as his body lays pliant on the couch. And then their lips meet, barely even a kiss, practically feather light.

He hums thoughtfully as his lips quirk up into a little smile, a completely out of place response for the situation. And worse, his hands keep idly trailing through Pent's hair, as if the entire relationship dynamic hadn't just undertaken a massive shift. As if this hadn't left him completely taken aback and scrabbling for composure. No, he's sitting there just humming and smiling like it's not a huge revelation. His body's autopilot was the dumbest ever.

He can feel Ruddy’s lips against his own. He can feel the man humming against him, humming into the kiss, soft and deep and making his bones shiver deeper than ever thanks to the feeling of their connecting skin. He can feel Ruddy’s lips drawing into a soft, relaxed smile, feel his claws sliding through his hair in a soft petting motion that leaves his shoulders slumping and his spine all but going limp against his chest. He can’t remember the last time he felt this content, this at peace with anything in his life before. He can’t remember if he ever felt this at peace at all. He idly slides his thumbs against Ruddy’s cheeks, stroking them softly, his own eyes kept calmly closed, and while he has yet to move his lips to deepen the kiss at all, their fangs resting against each other, he can’t help but find it sublime all the same, and he slowly begins to draw his lips back, after a couple moments of simply sitting there, taking in the bliss. Their lips pull away with a soft smacking sound, one that rings in his ears with an echoing clarity that makes him want to hear that single sound forever in the back of his mind, and he slowly pulls himself away from Ruddy’s face, eyes sliding open silently, a soft smile forming on his tingling lips.

The second his eyes open, the second his mind takes in the sight of Ruddy’s expression, he feels all the euphoria and bliss drain away from his mind in an instant, and is replaced with a sickening, gut wrenching horror that makes him feel as if his insides were being torn apart by fishing hooks. Alarm skewers itself through his mind, panic makes his heart leap in his chest as if it wanted to burst out of his ribcage, and his hood SNAPS upward harder than it ever has before, blood running so cold it was a wonder he hadn’t turned to ice. He opens his mouth to scream, to beg for forgiveness, for something, but as he moves to leap out of Ruddy’s lap with all his strength, he forgets that his coils are still wrapped around the man’s waist, so he ends up toppling backwards instead. “OH MY GOD I-AHHH-!”

He crashes right down onto his skull before his back quickly follows suit, and he feels the rest of his coils flop onto the floor with a hard crashing thud, but even that pain doesn’t stop him from scrambling upright once again, backing up as quickly and hastily as his body can allow him, eyes staring directly toward Ruddy, his mind running a mile a minute, his tongue feeling like rubber, useless in his mouth, his lungs starting to overwork as he began to pant to himself, to gasp for breath, cold and hot flashes sliding down his neck in a way that made him feel dizzy. “I-I SSSWEAR I-..I DIDN’T-! I MEAN I-! TH-THAT WASSSN’T-!“ His heart hammered, his mind shrieked with panic, he had to say something, had to apologize for what he did, for this line he crossed, for the path he never should’ve gone down at all to begin with, had to fix this before this was ruined forever and it would be all his fault! Fix this! Fix this! Fix it fix it fix it fix it fix it-!

“INEEDTOGO!” He turns and runs. As fast as he can possibly go. He doesn’t even know if he’s going toward the direction of where he could go home or deeper into the ship entirely, if he even wanted to go home at all. He just needed to get away. Get away, get away, get away right now, before he had to deal with the fact that he just ruined it all. He could already feel the tears starting to pour down his cheeks. He didn’t care. He just needed to get the hell away.

It happens so quickly that Ruddy hardly gets a breath in before Pent is fleeing the scene, mouth open dumbly as the tip of his alternate's tail vanished around a corner. Should he chase him? No, probably not, he'd been terrified, Ruddy shouldn't add to it.

So he sits, and thinks, and cleans up the mess that had been made in Pent's hasty retreat, his hat on his head once more. What else was he supposed to do?

Pent runs until he’s gasping for breath. He runs until he thinks he’s far away enough that Ruddy wouldn’t be able to find him, at least, not immediately. He has no idea where he is in the ship, but as he finally collapses down into his own coils on the floor, burying his face in his arms as the tears pour down his face, he finds himself not caring. His heart had been so full of joy and bliss, and now it’s all but torn itself open from despair and horror and was now in the process of bleeding itself out. How could he have been so stupid? So reckless? What the hell did he think would happen, kissing him like that out of nowhere?! He knew that Ruddy didn’t want romance, he knew that the man only saw him as a friend, and yet he violated that all for the sake of his own obsession with him! What kind of a friend was he? A horrible friend, that’s what he was. A horrible friend, one that could never keep anyone in his life because he’s just doomed to drive them away. That’s what he was.

His claws clench into heavy fists, he coils around himself tighter, and the shaking, barely there sobs that were threatening to break through his lips were causing his shoulders to shake, his body to tremble and tremor. He had ruined it, he knows he had. He had ruined everything, and now, he could never take it back.

The sound of tiny shoes approaches, an eggboi rounding the corner with Michi in it's arms. Ever dutiful, the Faberge egg doesn't say a word, depositing the sleepy feline next to Pent's head before turning and toddling away to go find Ruddy.

Michi was somewhat familiar with Pent, sniffing him curiously before laying down next to his head, purring quietly as she licks his hair.

Pent, barely even noticing the egg, or even caring about it’s presence, merely curls up tighter in the ball of his own coils that he was currently curling himself up in, head sliding deeper into his arms, his sobbing and shaking growing just that little bit harder, tears streaming down his cheeks so hard that they were dripping down his chin. At the sound of quiet purring, and at the feeling of a tiny tongue licking at the tips of his hood, it reflectively twitches, and he slowly lifts his face from his arms ever so slightly to see Michi laying next to him, still shaking and sniffling from trying to hold back a sob. After a moment, he slowly extends a hand to start gently petting over the kitten, before burying his face back into his remaining arm, still crying, but just a little bit less than before.

Michi stays loafed next to him, purring away and offering him occasional licks to help comfort the sobbing man.

After a few minutes, the sound of those tiny shoes returns, the egg dragging over a blanket it had dragged out of Ruddy's laundry hamper to start draping over Pent's body. The eggs weren't allowed in the linen closet anymore, but what was warmer than a big old comforter? It was perfect!

Plus. Ruddy was also there, following after the egg and staying silent for the moment as he looked down at the miserable pile of snake on his floor.

Pent’s head was still buried in his own scales, in his own arms, his shoulders shaking and his entire body all but wrapped up in on itself, like a python that was doing it’s damndest to keep itself warm, except the sound of heavy, silent sobbing could be heard, muffled underneath his arms. His hair was limp, what little could be seen of his face was obviously wet with tears, his whole body trembling softly; if there was any sign that he knew Ruddy was there, he wasn’t showing it, remaining completely silent.

Ruddy hesitates for a moment, and then crouches down next to Pent, letting his body curve around the smaller snake in a wide C before a hand comes to rest on his alternate's shoulder. There really was no graceful way to do this, or at least not one that he could think of. So he'd just have to do his best. "Sorry about the egg. I told them to offer you something warm if they found you, but I didn't specify a drink. I'm lucky they didn't start carrying around hot coals."

There was nothing but the sound of soft, muffled sobbing for a moment, even as Pent feels Ruddy’s coils slowly start to slide around his frame. His bleeding, torn heart ached so hard that he almost thought it was about to shrivel up into dust under his claws, and he doesn’t even have the strength in him to look up and see the emotions in Ruddy’s face, to see what he had done and the consequences that would no doubt follow. He didn’t want to face the ruins he left with that single kiss. Not yet. But he knew he had to say something all the while. He was the one who had broken things forever, so it meant he had to at least try and sweep up the pieces. He sniffles, once, then twice, shuddering to himself, not yet lifting his head from his arms. “I…I’m ssssorry…I..I’m s-..sssso sorry..”

"Oh, you're sorry are you? I'm not." Both of his hands are on Pent's body now, dragging the smaller man's torso out of his coils to crush him against Ruddy's chest. Not getting away THIS time you little shit. It's also a hug, but there's definitely the fear of Pent trying to bolt again. "You're acting like you spit on my mother's grave, Pent. It was just a kiss, there's absolutely no need for these theatrics."

The feeling of being pried up from his little ball of sorrow and fear with Ruddy’s words ringing through his head has him briefly flinching with panic, and for a moment, his coils start to wiggle, start to thrash, until he feels Ruddy’s arm all but crush his back up against his chest, and he quickly goes limp again, realizing that there was no way he could properly squirm his way out of the stronger man’s grip. He still looks away, still looks down, refusing to meet Ruddy’s eyes, tears still dripping down his face, and his hood quivers, rattles, raising a hand to wipe at his cheeks, his voice thick with strangled emotion but thankfully not stuttering. “No, it wasssn’t jussst a kiss! I crosssssed a bloody boundary is what I did! You made a line in the sssand and I just ssstepped over it like an idiot! That perfectly calls for plenty of theatrics!”

"I heartily disagree, you foolish little buttered noodle of a man. You absolute silly string. Now you listen to me, because I'm the one you kissed without warning, and then ran away from on top of it! Do you know how that feels? Being kissed for the first time in over a hundred years only to watch that person, your friend, flee the scene like you just stabbed them?" He huffs, scowling down at his alternate. But this wasn't the time for it. Focus, stay on track.

A deep breath, and he continues. "I'm not mad at you. But no more running, you hear me? If I let you go and you book it, I'm going to start laying out glue traps. We are going to have an adult conversation about this."

He stays quiet as he listens to Ruddy talk, as he listens to the man’s words, stern, heavy with weight, with frustration, and his shriveled heart can’t help but throb with pain, unable to hold back a wince at his own carelessness. Of course Ruddy would be hurt by him running away like that after kissing him. Of course he would be, what kind of person wouldn’t? He was even more of a fool than he even thought. An idiot. An absolute idiot for not stopping to think once about how Ruddy might feel.

There was a small pause of silence, and he nods. “..I’m sorry.” His voice cracks a touch, but he doesn’t care. “I..I was panicking and I didn’t want to make the sssituation worse and the only thing I could think to do wassss remove myssself from the room…Ssso I ran. But that wasss wrong of me. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to make you feel hurt, I jussst…I was horrified at myself.”

"Why were you horrified at yourself? For kissing me? You realize I could manhandle you in a heartbeat, right? I could have thrown you across the room with one hand, stopping a kiss or pushing you off would have been effortless." He snorts, but his grip tightens. He hadn't really had much time to process things, he wasn't entirely sure how he'd felt about what happened. But he did know he wasn't upset, didn't want Pent gone. He could at least reassure him of that, right? "Pentious. I don't.. Know, exactly, what to make of this? But what I said before still holds true no matter the outcome. You are welcome here, you're my friend, and I care about you. I'm not turning you away like that."

He’s silent for a moment, still looking away, but after a moment, he slowly moves to press himself back against Ruddy’s frame, letting out a shaky, shuddering sigh as he lets his eyes close, briefly, his cheek pressed against Ruddy’s chest. “…Yess, I was horrified for kisssing you. You said how you never wanted casual relationshipsss, and you also sssstated how you’ve never once had a lover ever since you fell down here, and haven’t been interested in one either. I wanted to ressspect that, I really did, as someone I care about and as my friend, but..” The torn up remains of his heart bleed again, gush with pain in his chest, and his eyes clench shut a little harder as tears start to slide down his cheeks once more. “…But the truth is, at that party, ever sssince then, I’ve only ever ssseen you in the light of…ssssomeone I wanted to love. Not jussst as a friend. And I was horrified that, if such a thing ever were to get out, I would dessstroy our relationship for good, and you wouldn’t want anything to do with me.”

Oh. Yes, he could see why Pent would be afraid to confess, but this still seemed like an overreaction, all the crying and slithering away and whatnot. "Really? But that was the first time we even met in person. I flubbed spectacularly the first time we exchanged spoken words! I scolded you. And you still came away from that thinking to yourself that you fancied me?" Wait, no, rewind, he needed to actually try to reassure the poor man at least a little. "Pent. Kissing me is not going to result in me throwing you off my ship and out of my life. Regardless of anything else, you are my friend and I don't abandon friends that easily. You're not ruining our friendship with your feelings."

That gets him to open his eyes ever so slightly, lifting a hand to begin wiping away his tears once more, this time with his sleeve. Some of the pain in his chest seemed to fade with such a reassurance, but another part of his torn up heart only throbbed even harder, and he slowly moves to tilt his head up to look Ruddy in the eye, frowning softly. “…Are we sssstill friends?” It was a loaded question, one that held many implications.

"We…" Well, they are, aren't they? They're friends. Just because Pent fancied him didn't mean they weren't. It didn't erase the bonds they'd built, or undo the time they'd spent together. But he felt like that wasn't what Pent was actually asking. He frowns, putting his hands on Pent's shoulders to give him a gentle shake. "We're friends, first and foremost. If we're to be anything else, that's something to discuss when you aren't weeping on the floor. But we will remain friends no matter what the outcome of those hypothetical talks are."

The gentle shake is enough to have his eyes go a slight bit wide, his hood to flare up a touch, but after a moment, he nods, moving to rub his eyes a little harder. “Ah, right, right. Forgive me, I, Ah…Getting ahead of myssself.” He sniffs a touch, and a small, slightly sardonic grin begins to grow on his face. “And yess, I was such a doe-eyed damsssel that I fell in love at the party even when you misssstook me for a woman and ssscolded me for bad mouthing Penny’sss child. The fact that you had taken the time to pull me aside to talk things over and make sure I was alright definitely helped. And..That whole thing with gutting sssomeone open with a knife right in front of me. That too.”

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Ruddy snorts. "Of course that's what you're into. A soft touch with one hand, a knife in the other." It seemed like the major crisis was over, that was good at least. Time to plant a kiss on his fool alternate's head. "You've got… SOME manner of taste, though I couldn't tell you if it's good or not. Are you ready to get off the floor and go back to something actually made for sitting on? A couch, perhaps? a chair?"

“..Yes, yes, I’m ready. I..apologize again, for my…ssssilly behavior..” He sniffs again, ducking his head away again as the kiss comes down on his hair, starting to look vaguely sheepish, cheeks beginning to flush softly. “I..I think my mind ssssort of…panicked a bit there and I couldn’t think of anything else to do. I’ve been…very withdrawn for a long time.”

"I understand. But the worst you feared isn't going to happen, alright? You're safe. I still want you here." Was that reassuring enough? He kisses Pent's head again, wrapping him into another embrace, more gently this time. "Do you want me to carry you again, or slither on your own?"

The feeling of Ruddy’s arms wrapping around him to pull him close once more, calmly, reassuringly, is a feeling that leaves Pent letting out a soft sigh before he leans back into the embrace, pressing his side up against the man’s chest, his cheek smushed against his scales, and he nods softly. “..Thank you, Ruddy.” His coils begin to relax, start to unwind from their tense pose that they had taken up earlier, and he flashes a small grin that looks on the shy, if not embarrassed, side. “..Would being carried again be too much to asssk?”

"Not at all, I wouldn't offer it if I didn't mean it." Up they go then, once again Ruddy carries Pent to the drawing room, where not too long ago they'd been enjoying snacks and drinks together. All that had been put away now, but he lounges back on the couch like before as if nothing had changed. Except for the new addition of the comforter draped over the two of them. He hadn't wanted to leave that in the hallway, and it might actually get to live up to its name now. "Do you want to talk now, or should we wait until later?"

“..Talking now might help easssse some of the, uh, worriesss, I suppose. Resssolve things for good and all.” He shifts a touch in Ruddy’s lap to tug the blanket over himself a little more, staring up toward him. “…If I my asssk? How did you, ah…feel? During the kisss.”

Ruddy's hands find their way up to Pent's hair again, fingers running through the strange, but familiar strands as he considers the question. "I think I was mostly just shocked? I didn't even have time to react before you were already fleeing the scene like you were on fire with the devil on your.. Well. Tail, I suppose. I didn't dislike it, there was no urge to shove you off, if that's what you were worried about. I think it was just so unexpected I was disarmed."

“..Right. Right.” His tail curls in on itself a little, a small sign of his uncertainly, but he shakes it off after a moment. “..And, ah…I know you sssaid you didn’t want a relationship before, but…” He pauses, as if trying to think of how to phrase the question. “…Are you open to at leassst considering one? With me, I mean.”

Now there was the million dollar question. His answer? "Yes." Of course he was open to considering it. Granted, he wasn't exactly sexually attracted to his alternate, but that wasn't what Pent had asked. That, and for all he knew that would change. That demo… demi? Demi, that was the one. That demi thing. He had already gotten comfortable enough to not be repulsed by the idea of romantic inclinations, which was better than what most people had ever managed. "I'm not at the point of wanting to bed you or anything, but I'm open to tactile affections. Kisses, cuddles, things of that nature. If you can accept that my libido is not a cup that exactly runneth over, I'd be willing to try a relationship."

How quickly that response came was something that threw Pent off, to say the least. So much so that he couldn’t help but find the stark bluntness of the response to be rather shocking. He finds himself blinking, staring at Ruddy as if he had just decided to start clucking like a chicken then and there, and he sat there silently as the man continued to elaborate in his position, in his feelings, and he couldn’t help but start to crack a bit of a grin, small, but there just the same. “I…not to be rude, but is it really that eassssy for you to decide? To jusssst…Ssstart a relationship as if you were writing out paperwork?” He raises a hand, shaking it along with his words to reassure him. “I’m totally fine with everything you just ssssaid, I have no issue, I wasn’t planning on..on jumping your bonesss or anything the second you agreed to one, I’m just a bit chuffed is all.”

"Not to sound like a skipping record, my good man, but yes. It is that easy. In life, I was raised to view relationships not as a thing of love necessarily, but as business. Alliance, if you're lucky. The fact that my wife and I genuinely cared for each other was good fortune. You and I are already friends, have already formed our own agreements.. A relationship seems perfectly reasonable as a next step, though certainly not one I expected to take." He pauses, then leans in to press a kiss to Pent's nose. "That sounds a bit cold. I do genuinely care for you, as you know. I am simply open to the idea of seeing if anything further develops, because I trust you as a friend as potential partner."

The kiss to his nose was something that caused Pent to flush, softly, but caused the soft smile on his face to grow just a little more, and he moves to slowly wrap his arms around Ruddy’s neck, letting out a soft chuckle. “Well, I never doubted that. No man goesss about tearing a bastard’s head off for me and doessn’t care about me. At least, none that I’ve heard.” He goes quiet for a moment, and he tilts his head. “Sssso, if we have no problemsss…does that mean we’re dating now?”

"Hey, for all you know I just really hate Vox! Maybe it's, what's the term, on sight with him?" A snort, and then he nods. "Yes, I suppose we are? I've never dated before, so I'm afraid the etiquette is rather lost on me. In life I got engaged, and then spent the following year courting my future wife so we could have a family. We, us two, are doing none of those things, so… What do you do when you simply date a person with no end goal?"

“Ahh…” He tilts his head for a moment, brow furrowing as he considers the question, his tail idly flickering back and forth. “Well, I would ideally want ssssomeone to aid me in my end goal, of coursssse…Ssstick by my side, keep me from getting too ssstresssed, give me advice, help me with sssstrategies and fightsss and sssecuring my rule..” He tilts his head to the opposite side this time. “Sssomeone to sssimply be there I suppose. A partner, both in work and in romance. Who sssaysss the end goal has to be getting married? It can ssssimply be what our goalsss have both been.”

Someone to simply be there, provide support and assistance. That did sound nice. He and Pent had basically already been doing that, come to think of it. "I think I can manage that. Alright. Then consider this me accepting your…. We'll call them terms."

“..Well. Glad to hear it.” He started to grin again, almost bashfully. “..Ssso…I guess that meansss we’re partners now? Loversss? I don’t want to use the term hussband and boyfriend just sssounds…childish.”

"Partners, I think. It's vague enough to be maddening for the nosy busybodies, but entirely accurate to all aspects of our relationship." He snickers, pulling up a lock of Pent's hair to give it a playful peck. "Though if you'd rather scream it on the dashboard for all to hear, go right ahead. I just take a certain pleasure in tormenting people who can't mind their own business."

“Heheheh. If you sssay so. Perhaps I may ssssimply make a post that says I am officially taken and watch everyone lose their mindssss trying to figure out who. Really sssstir the pot, get sssome gossip going.” He chuckles a bit harder, before leaning up to press a more confident kiss to Ruddy’s nose, chaste, but still a warm kiss nonetheless.

"I think that's a fine idea." There now, see? No theatrics needed, just a normal adult conversation. "I forget, we'd just been discussing you staying over for a while. Did you pack enough for a few days at minimum, or will we need to go out and buy you some clothing while you're here?"

“Ah..” That gets his grin to drop, and he glances off to the side, eyes narrowing to think. “..I do have enough to at leassst stay for 2 days, but perhaps a bit of clothesss shopping could do me some good.” The grin comes back a bit. “I doubt cashiers will notice interdimensional currency at all.”

"What, you think I'd make you pay for your own clothing as my guest? Perish the thought. I will be purchasing a wardrobe for you, and sewing you anything we can't find at a reasonable price and decent quality." He harrumphs, squishing his smaller alternate down against his chest. These are punishment squishes, derive no joy from them little man. And this is a punishment kiss on the head.

“Mph-!” He lets out a soft squeak at the feeling of those arms squishing around him, but the kiss on his head causes him to let out a chuckle, tilting his head up to stare Ruddy in the face. “Going to make your new partner look like hissss besssst, are you?” He raises a brow, smirking widely, toothily, his hood spreading open and playfully rattling.

"Of course I am." Blelele, here comes his tongue, tickling Pent's snout. "We'll go tomorrow, bright and early. Or whatever counts as bright and early for us. Though I'm definitely going to have to make you your own leather apron, none of the ones I see on the market are ever half as sturdy as they need to be to survive my workshop."

“Heheh. My own apron? I certainly do feel honored.” He moves to poke Ruddy’s own nose back with a claw. “At thissss point I might as well just move in. Heheheh. I kid, I kid.” He leans back a touch in Ruddy’s grip, staring into his eyes for a moment. “…Do you mind if I, ah…kisss you again? The first time was wonderful, but it was sssort of ruined by my whole…outburssst..” He starts to flush, tail lashing slightly from embarrassment.

Ruddy's eyes follow Pent's fingers, crossing dramatically as his nose scrunches. Oh, boop him will you? The nerve. He'd get him back for this. Later. Priorities and all that, he didn't want to ruin things for Pent just when he'd finally gotten some bravery scraped up. "Go right ahead, my dear. Remember though, if you bolt I'm setting out the glue traps."

“I-I’m not going to bolt.” He flushes a bit harder and his hood rattles a little harder as his eyes narrow, letting out a huff, but after a moment, he moves to wrap his arms more securely around Ruddy’s neck before he raises himself up enough to reach the man’s mouth, pressing their lips together just as quickly, and just as gently as he had before, their fangs clicking together for a brief moment, but after a slight adjustment of his head, they slide off of each other’s range.

The clacking of their fangs is a bit unpleasant, but it's a momentary discomfort, barely a twitch before they slide apart, and he can actually focus on the feeling of his first proper kiss in a hundred years. It was a bit awkward, with Pent being so much smaller than him, and their two sets of fangs, and his sheer lack of experience making his lips a bit clumsy as he moved to return the gesture. But it was enjoyable all the same. When he pulls away, it's with a hand cradling the back of Pent's head, and a smirk already spreading across his lips. "Oh, I'm terrible at this. Why are you so tiny? I feel like I could put your entire head in my mouth."

The kiss felt warm, soft, just as sublime as it had been the first time their lips had touched, and it was enough to have all the tension all but drain out of his mind, out of his bones, until he felt completely relaxed against Ruddy’s chest. They barely moved within the kiss itself, aside from a few moments of their lips flexing and sliding against each other, but it still felt wonderful, felt wonderful all the same. He doesn’t quite know how long it’s held for, all he knows is that when they pull away, he catches sight of Ruddy’s smirking face, and the feeling of the hand against the back of his skull has him briefly shiver, only for the man’s words to send a snort of laughter through his lips, and he hunches his shoulders as he starts to lightly wheeze. “God, what a fucking image right there…Ssssatan’s balls, Ruddy, I’m not that small! Do I look like an imp to you?”

"An imp? Those horrid little creatures? Certainly not! If I had feet I'd worry about stepping on them. You're small, not microscopic." He snickers, then leans in again to press a kiss between Pent's eyes. "Don't worry dear, I'll be sure not to try and gnaw on you in my sleep. Though come to think of it, I can't believe you still want to be in my company when you've heard me snore."

“Heheh. That’sss because your ssssnoring put me to sssleep, my dear Ruddy.” He chuckles a touch, but accepts the soft kiss between his eyes, narrowing them playfully. “Besssides, I think I can take a bite or two from you. It’ll feel like being bit by a flea.” His hood rattles softly, faintly.

Ruddy gasps in mock offense, gently swatting at Pent's hood. "A flea? I'd love to see a flea with fangs as long as your fingers, you sassy little stringbean! See if I ever let you near my mouth again."

“Hehehe. I think we both know you’re lying at that lassst part, my dear.” He chuckles, his hood playfully snapping open top rattle and flare, before they snap shut just as quickly. “You can barely stop kissssing me all over my face as it is, and that wasss before today.”

"I resent that! I'm simply an affectionate person, but if you prefer I withhold my affections…" He sniffs haughtily, turning his face away from Pent in a dramatic show of rejection. "Then I shall! I hope you enjoy your kissless unlife, you fiend!"

“Oh come now, now youre the one being all huffy. Should I sssstart calling you Fussssy Fangs or something now?” He narrows his eyes playfully, moving to give Ruddy a soft poke in the cheek with his claw. It was right there after all, might as well take the opportunity to poke. “Adorable.”

Ruddy's rather hollow cheeks lacked a lot of the typical squish that more round headed Pentiouses had, so Pent winds up feeling the suggestion of teeth through even a gentle poke of his claw. Which makes Ruddy twitch, head moving back slightly at the unpleasant sensation. "Easy with the claws, you menace, my face isn't half as squishy as yours. But Fussy Fangs? That sounds like an advice column you write in to for relationship advice!"

“Heheh, I don’t know, it was the first thing that came to mind.” He chuckles a touch, but lowers his his claw, opting instead to settle back against Ruddy’s chest, slightly nuzzling his own cheek into the man’s scales that he could feel under his clothes (his cheeks had plenty of squish). His tail idly moves to curl around Ruddy’s own, squeezing softly. “In all seriousnessss, since we have plenty of time to ssspend with each other over the next few days, is there anything you’d particularly want to do? Besssides getting clothes for me, I mean.”

Much better. Ruddy smiles down at his alternate, laying his hand over Pent's head to start stroking him like some spoiled cat as their tails twine further. "I don't know, I hadn't really made any plans yet. I suppose we could go out? See a show? Get dinner? What do you usually do when you aren't working? The only other activity of yours I've seen you mention is finding one night stands, so…"

“Ah..” He flushes a touch at the mention of that, but doesn’t seem to fluster much further, tilting his head as he tries to think. “Well…I ssssuppose I usually try and do sssome light reading to relax. I don’t exactly have a television anywhere in my home sssince, well, Vox could peer into it, obvioussssly, so I don’t really do any of that..” He hums to himself, eyes narrowing as the options seem rather slim. “..Cook, I suppose, in the rare times I’ve found myself eager to actually do it..” He finally deflates a touch with a slightly bitter chuckle. “I, ah…I’m a bit of a workaholic, I’m afraid.”

"Well. You're welcome to work with me in my workshop, of course, but I try to avoid succumbing to my workaholic tendencies. Breaks, schedules, all that. So you may find it a bit disorienting. That and I look completely unpresentable in workwear." He sighs, digging his fingers into Pent's hair. "As for me? I read, I sew, I have a few theaters I visit regularly, and I do enjoy some of the television on offer here, since Vox no longer controls the media. I also visit my grandchild at least once a week, so you'll either have to accompany me and behave, which I'm sure you'd hate, or find ways to entertain yourself while I'm absent."

“I can behave.” He offers a slight huff. “I may not like Penny at all in the sssslightest but I can certainly keep the peace when he’s around!” His tail uncurls from Ruddy’s own to lash slightly, but his huffing and pouting doesn’t last very long, and he soon settles his coils back down. “..Asss for the breaks and all, I’m sure I’ll get usssed to it, eventually. And you in workwear is only going to be as bad as me in workwear so I think I’ll be able to look at you without my eyes being lit on fire.” A slight grin, an attempt at a joke.

He raises an eyebrow at Pent's huffing, pulling his hand away to gently tap the pad of a finger to his snout. "I more meant that I'd be spending my time with a baby. A baby you've already expressed dislike for, if I may add. A visit dedicated to playing with the baby as she makes various baby noises, and does baby things, like pulling on my hood and trying to stack blocks on me. Penny being present is secondary, some days he isn't even present." A pause, and he follows the boop with a kiss to the snoot. "Don't try and charm me, mister. You've only ever seen me looking as presentable as possible. We'll see how you feel when I'm coated in engine grease."

“Hmm..” He pouts a bit harder at the tap to his nose, but the kiss is enough to have said pout fade, and he lets out a soft, slight sigh, and he briefly nods. “I know, I know. And I underssstand the concern. I’ll admit, I’ve never dealt with infantsss before, I’m not used to them, but my agitation toward Penny’s baby at the party was more…angled out of sssspite toward Penny than anything. Easy target, and all. I’m not going to be needlesssly mean to the little thing, and ignoring sssomeone that you already care so much for is jussst rude of me, essspecially if I’m going to be your new partner and all. Ssso, I’m willing to compromissse.”

"Infants can be a lot, if you aren't used to them. I don't mean to sound like I'm scolding you. I just don't want to put you in a difficult situation without an easy out. Dealing with Penny and a giggly baby, it could be overwhelming, you know? Of course I'd tell him to mind his manners, but.. Well. You know what we're like." He sighs, pulling Pent up his chest a bit to peck his lips. "We'll take it one day at a time. For now we'll focus on our time. Clothes, dinner, normal, uh, dating things. We'll watch more horror movies."

Pent can’t help but smile a touch at the soft peck, his cheeks unable to resist flushing and his heart giving a little flutter at the fact that such a small act of affection had so much more meaning now, and he nods a touch. “Yesss, Yess, of course, you’re right. One day at a time, exactly.” He can’t help but offer up a soft chuckle. “And I would be delighted to watch more moviesss with you. I’ve also heard word that apparently horror podcassssts are becoming all the rage at the moment too, and it sssseems rather interesting.”

"Horror podcasts? I suppose we could listen to those while we work…" He interrupts himself with a jaw cracking yawn, a hand covering his mouth as his eyes tear up. "Urgh, I'm too old for all the drama of today. You get a few hours of sleep less and ONE little panic and you're worn out. Disgusting, isn't it?"

“Mmm. Having trouble ssssleeping again?” He tilts his head a touch, starting to softly frown in concern, giving the tip of his tail a soft squeeze. “Would you want to ressst? Take a nap, perhapsss?”

"Oh, uh." Whoops. He hadn't exactly thought that one through. He pats at Pent's cheek, trying to offer a reassuring smile as his free hand wipes at his eyes. "I'll be fine with some coffee, it's alright. No sense interrupting the day for an old man problem."

“Are you sure?” He still looks a touch concerned, even with the soft pat, moving to bring his own hand up to Ruddy’s cheek, stroking over the skin there with his thumb. “If you’re feeling that tired, getting rid of it with coffee can’t be that healthy.”

He stifles another yawn, nuzzling into Pent's hand before trying to dismiss his concerns. "I'm sure laying down like this is making it far worse than it otherwise would be, my dear. If I were upright and active I'd be much less sleepy." That sounded plausible, right? He was too relaxed, so he was feeling the urge to sleep that he could otherwise ignore until bedtime? That seemed likely.

“…When did you go to sssleep last night, Ruddy?” Another soft stroke with his thumb, a bit more of a deeper, almost pained frown growing over his face. “And I don’t mean when you went to bed. I mean when you really fell asssleep.”

When HAD he fallen asleep? There weren't really windows in his bedroom, so he hadn't been watching for lights. Had it been one hour of restlessness, or five? Was he supposed to count the false starts? "The first time, or the last time?"

“..Both.” His coils were starting to curl around Ruddy’s own a bit more decisively, like he wasn’t planning on letting the man get up already but still wanted to give his words a fighting chance.

"Not sure. I don't usually watch the clock when I try to sleep, it just makes things more stressful." His hand twitches towards his chest again, where Pent is laying over his eye. "It wasn't particularly good sleep, though enough to get me through the day. I just hadn't expected your visit to turn out this way."

Pent’s eyes flick toward Ruddy’s hand as it twitches toward his chest, as it reflexively wanders in the direction of the scarred eye that was dead in it’s socket, and he feels his heart twist a little, knowing damn well what that meant. “…It’s alright if you want to ssssleep, Ruddy. I’ll be right here.” He moves to softly press a kiss over the cloth that covered the damaged eye, letting his hand slide away from the man’s cheek to more properly around his neck in a soft hug.

"No, no. There's only so many hours left until my bedtime anyway, I can stay up. You came here to escape your isolation, I'm hardly going to leave you just to go take a nap, get up for an hour, and then have to sleep again for the night." He pats at Pent's back, trying for reassuring and landing closer to petting an animal. "Really. I'm fine. This is hardly the first time I didn't sleep well, and it wont be the last. We should spend time together."

“..Hmm…If you sssay so.” He lets out a soft sigh, but after a moment, he moves to lift a claw to give Ruddy’s nose a poke. “But when it comes time for ussss both to go to bed, I will be going to ssssleep with you. It worked the lassst time, who says it won’t work again?”

"Oh, jumping straight into my bed, are you? Saucy, very saucy." He snickers playfully, grabbing Pent's hand to press a kiss to his knuckles. "I jest. You're welcome to stay in my room if you'd like, you forward little creature."

“I-You-!” There was a heavy huff from Pent’s now flustered cheeks, his hood flaring up as he lets out quite the indignant scoff, but the grin growing on his lips betrays the mock outrage at Ruddy’s naughty words. “You and I both know that I would never unlesss you gave the go ahead. Teasssssing git, absolutely horrible.” He huffs again, but as the kiss to his knuckles is given, the facade drops and he lets out a chuckle himself. “Ssso…Anything you want to try and do right now? To passs the time?”

Ruddy slowly sits up, sliding Pent to rest in his lap. Pass the time, eh? There were a few options that didn't involve sitting somewhere and letting himself drift off, come to think of it.. "Well, I could start on dinner, or we could take a walk. I'll leave that choice up to you, my dear, as the guest today."

“Hmmm..” His eyes narrow a touch, tail flicking a bit as it slowly unwinds from around Ruddy’s own coils. “..I am rather hungry..”

"Perfect, dinner it is. And you won't even have to eat it out of Tupperware this time, what a change of pace!" Up they go, then, Pent lifted up with one hand and placed upright on the floor by his new beau before Ruddy turns to lead the way to the kitchen. "Come along then, I've already got most of the meal prep done! It's only a matter of cooking and eating."

Pent can’t help but have his hood flare up a touch at the feeling of being lifted up and set down on the floor, not quite used to the feeling yet of being handled and lifted around so easily by someone so much larger, but as he’s set back down on the ground, his hood is settled back down again. He turns to follow Ruddy as he begins to slither out of the room, following suit. “Oh? What are we having then, exactly? You never quite told me how much you pre-plan your mealsss. Do you have a ssset schedule for them or sssomething?”

Ruddy's hand comes to rest on Pent's shoulder, absently rubbing the fabric as he glances down at his alternate. "Not so much a schedule, no. Each week I make a trip to the shop with a few meals that share ingredients in mind, and see what I can get. A stew calls for almost all the same ingredients as a good roast, for example, so if I get a generous amount that's already two meals in the bag. Then I just take my goods home and divide them up into the various meals and put them on ice until I feel like making it. So my freezer has a lot of meals that just need to be thrown into a pot or pan and prepared fresh."

“Hmm. That’s actually quite efficient.” He tilts his head a touch at the thought, idly leaning into the warm frame of Ruddy’s hand on his shoulder. “I usually just cook whatever I’m in the mood for cooking, I suppose. Buy groceries on mass once every month or so and keep the goods handy if I ever feel like making a beef stew or something more along the lines of spaghetti.”

"Spaghetti is hardly a meal on its own, I hope you make some sort of side to go with it." He probably doesn't, but a man can hope. "That said, what are you in the mood for, my dear? Something meaty? Savory? I've got a few different flavor profiles I can draw from."

“Ah..” His eyes narrow a little bit, as if trying to decide. “I think sssssavory at the moment, if that’s alright with you?”

Something savory… Ruddy hums in thought, slithering to the freezer and opening the doors to examine the labeled tupperwares all lined up for his perusal. "A roast and vegetables, then? And some garlic bread… Mushroom soup perhaps, unless you prefer a different soup?"

“Mmm..” His lips turn into a soft pout of contemplation. “Not the biggesssst fan of mushroomssss, I’m afraid. Everything else sounds more than lovely, however. How about ssssomething like…” He slithers just a bit closer to look everything over. “…A bit of chicken soup, if that’s alright?”

"Oh, no mushrooms? Interesting.. You'll have to give me a list of things you don't like. I can hardly feed you if you don't like half of the food." How could someone not like mushrooms of all things? But so be it. He withdraws a tub of chicken soup alongside the necessary pre-chopped veggies for the roast. "The meat is in the fridge on the right side, grab it would you? I prefer not to freeze the meat unless I don't use it within the week of purchase. Easier to follow my whims that way."

He flicks his tail a touch as he moves to pull open the fridge, scanning over the shelves inside. “It’ssss mostly the texture that I don’t tend to like mushrooms too much. It feelsss…soggy. Wet, almost. And there’s no real crunch either. It feels almost like you’re biting into some weird ssssoggy lump of…nothingness.” His snout crinkles in disgust at the thought of it, even as he moves to pull it free of the fridge to set it down properly. “I will admit, I am quite picky when it comes to texturesss like that. If I don’t like the way the food tassstes in my mouth, or even how it feels, it quite literally is a struggle to swallow it.”

Ruddy pulls a pot from the cabinet to drop the frozen soup into, then grabs the aluminum foil to start noisily lining the baking pan. Always his least favorite part of the process, but nothing else compared. Once the crunch and crackle was over, then he slithered over to pick Pent up and give him a little wiggle. "My dear, I used to be picky like that too. But raise twelve children who all have unique aversions and dislikes, and you very quickly learn to eat absolutely anything you can get your hands on so you don't have to cook again. Get me that list of dislikes, and I will do my best to work around them." Mmmmmwah. A kiss for Pent's forehead, and then he's placed back down so Ruddy can return to meal prep.

He wasn’t quite expecting to be picked up, but when he was, he found himself letting out a squeak as his hood flared out and his tail reflexively curled in on itself, finding himself blinking as he stared toward Ruddy’s face, listening quietly as he spoke before the sensation of that kiss is enough to have him blink again as he was set back down. His cheeks flushed for a moment, but after a couple seconds, he lets out a soft, faint chuckle. “I will, ah…certainly try. It may be a bit on the long side, I will admit, but I should note that anything I may be picky about all really depends on the preparation. Normally I wouldn’t eat sssomething like carrots raw, but if they happen to be carrots inside of a stew or blended into something like a chicken salad, then I wouldn’t mind a bit. I usually need to have something that goes with it to block out the texture, if that makes sense.”

Ruddy turns up the temperature on the soup, listening to Pent's explanation with his hood slightly flared to show his alertness. Nothing he hadn't been expecting, texture aversions were rarely simple after all. "I can work with that. So anything on the picky but not flat out no list is something that can be worked with. Be it just a specific preparation or disguised in other foods."

“Exactly, exactly.” He offers a soft grin and a nod, followed by a slight chuckle as he moves to lean against a nearby counter. “You ssssaid you used to be picky yourself? Anything that you won’t eat at all?”

He frowns in thought, hesitating a moment as he prepares the roast and veggies to drop into the oven. "Not really, not anymore. Unless you offer me something wildly out of the norm for an old European man I suppose, like insects. I'm not inclined to go nibbling on crickets. Or rats, that's another thing I've been asked about before. I know it isn't actually that different from rabbit, but ew."

“Guh.” His own face twists into a grimace of disgust at the thought, and he shakes his head to dismiss the notion. “Never undersssstood why so many people think that jussst because I’m a snake I want to eat rats. Or mice. Never wanted to eat either one of them. Blegh.” He sticks his tongue out in visible disgust before he slides it back in between his teeth. “I for one wassss quite happy to get away from British cooking, and I’m not just talking about the cooked cod and cabbage that I usssed to eat when I was a kid.” His tail flicks a touch. “Never found cooking back home to be very good. It was all very…bland. Not much in termsss of taste.”

"That's why I said European instead of British. The English took far too much pride in boiling everything down to an unrecognizable paste to ever consider that fine cuisine." A soft snort of amusement. "Besides, as far as rats go I'm fairly certain at least one of the Pentiouses out there has eaten rat at one point or another, if it's such a prevalent theory about us."

“Yesss, I certainly would not be surprised.” He shakes his head at the thought, but unable to resist starting to grin himself at the mere idea. “If I ever decide to get rat cravingssss, do me a favor and sssmack me upssside the head, will you? Knock some sense into my skull.”

Ruddy makes a grand show of considering Pent's request, humming loudly and resting his chin on his knuckles as his head rocks back and forth. "Hmm.. No, I don't think I will. I'll let you eat rats. I was married to a woman who was pregnant repeatedly because of my actions, you think I'd get between someone and their cravings? I choose to keep my head attached to my neck."

The response is enough to have Pent let out a little huff of a laugh, his lips quirking up in amusement. “That ssso? Even if my cravingssss are beyond anything of what you yoursssself would stomach? I won’t say they’re as strange as a woman who’s pregnant, but I have a feeling you’d be aghasssst if I told you.”

"Of course, my dear. I just wont kiss you until you brush your teeth! Simple as that." The roast was in, the soup was starting to melt and warm up. That meant Ruddy could slither himself over to the little breakfast nook to wait, beckoning Pent over with a wiggle of his hand. "Why, are you prone to craving strange things? Should I be stocking up on something vile for you now?"

“Hehe. No, no, it’s nothing truly vile or anything. That was more of me trying to make a witty comment. A joke and all.” He moves to slither after him, chuckling softly, grinning softly. “Though I will admit, I tend to Ah..” His grin starts to turn a touch sheepish. “…ssssometimes get cravings for certain things. Like fassst food. Or things like instant ramen and the like. Things that I can make easily and quickly so I don’t have an empty stomach. Not uncontrollable cravingsss, or anything, but well…I guesss you could say they’re comfort foods? At least, they’re easy. Sssometimes they would be the only things I would eat, when I would take long enough breaks to eat at all.”

He can understand the idea of comfort foods, which is pretty much the only reason Ruddy doesn't look horrified at the idea of his partner eating ramen and fast food under his roof. Instead he nods, sighs, and gives Pent a gentle pat on the shoulder like he always does. "If the occasional fast food or cheap noodle is what makes you happy, my dear, so be it. I wouldn't deny you such simple pleasures out of some culinary elitism. Now, we've got time to kill before dinner, what say you we find something on voxtube to distract ourselves with? I've got a playlist of restoration videos saved for sleepless nights, I'd be happy to crack into those."

He chuckles a touch at the pat to his shoulder, reaching up with a hand to offer a soft pat to Ruddy’s hand right back. “Heh…Thank you for undersssstanding. Though I don’t quite know what ressstoration is meant to mean here.” He tilts his head at that, brow furrowing a touch. “Is that like ASMR or ssssomething?”

"Oh, are you not familiar with mechanical restoration channels?" Ruddy blinks in surprise, fumbling for his phone to pull up an example to show Pent. "It's kind of ASMR, I suppose, but I never really considered it that way. I just like seeing people take beat up old neglected items and polishing them back up good as new. Especially old tools, those are my favorite."

“Oh. No, not entirely, actually.” He leans in a little bit to watch, frowning softly, but looking intrigued, if not a bit puzzled. “I’ve seen a few occasional videossss of people scrubbing at dirty old computers and cleaning them free of grime, but not anything like what you’re describing. Usually I tend to lissssten to either podcasts or watch video esssays if I’m feeling essspecially bored or need background noise to go to sleep.”

Ruddy waits a few moments, then closes the video and puts his phone back into his breast pocket. "Would you prefer that, then? I'm not opposed to video essays, but I'm not much of a podcast person, to be honest. I prefer a visual element, call me old fashioned. I'm grew up popping down to see an operetta at the theater when I wanted to be entertained."

He frowns a touch harder, this time out of a slight bit of concern, lifting a hand up to idly wave it as he does so. “Well, no no, I don’t want to ssssimply come in here and insssist that we do whatever I want to do and nothing else. I’m willing to compromisssse on what you’d want to watch. Don’t let me tread on your tail and all.”

"No, no. You're still my guest, I'm invested in ensuring you have an enjoyable stay here, regardless of our relationship dynamic taking a sudden shift." He all but scoffs, tapping a claw against the table he was leaning on. "It's mindless time wasting, I'm happy to do something different if you enjoy it. I'm not the one that's been isolated for a week and had a panic today."

“…Are you sure?” He raises a brow, still looking a slight bit hesitant, then sighs and shakes his head, nodding after a moment. “No, no, you’re right. I’m the guessst. Ugh. Pardon me if I’m being a bit…fusssy, dear Ruddy, I just…I don’t exactly like the idea of brushing your wantsss aside in exchange for mine. It feelsss…rude of me, even if it doesn’t for you. Politenesss rules, I suppose.”

"It's understandable. The curse of being a guest is you don't want to be a bother, but the curse of hosting is you want to make sure your guest has a nice time." He snorts, pushing himself up from the breakfast table and gesturing towards the door. "Shall we go watch something on the television, then, my dear? Much more interesting than sitting here with a newspaper like I would on my own, I'm sure."

“That…ssssounds quite a bit better, actually.” He straightens up a touch, his hood giving a mild twitch as he does so. “I can’t quite think of the lassst time I actually got a chance to sit down in front of a television to actually watch sssomething. I’ve mossstly been trying to avoid them as much as I can. Don’t have any in my home, I avoid streetsss that have open screensss in their windows, sit in corners in taverns at angles where it blocks me from their sight, thingsss like that.”

"Sounds miserable!" He's far too cheery about that, but he's quite pleased that he can offer a nice break from having to be wary of every electronic screen, at least for a little while. "Lucky you, that isn't necessary here. We can watch anything you want. News, movies, some garbage soap opera… The options are limitless." He's already ushering Pent out of the kitchen and towards the sitting room, humming a little tune as they make their way towards the promise of brainless time wasting.

“Heh…Yesss, I suppose I can.” That gets a bit more of a cheery grin back on his face at the thought, enough that his tail actually begins to flick back and forth as he follows Ruddy’s lead. “Any particular show that you yourssself have been interested in? Or have been following? I wouldn’t really know about anything that’sss currently all the buzz or anything like that.”

He slithers into the sitting room, flicking his tongue out for a moment as he considers the question. A slow, thoughtful blelele. "Oh, hmmm… Not especially, I know there are a few historical dramas that Penny watches that he's recommended I try. Are you more of a romance drama or crime drama sort of fellow, Pent?"

“Hmmm..” His own tongue flickers out, just as slowly, just as thoughtful, lifting a hand to his chin. Blelelele. “..Crime drama, I think. I find myssself a bit more engaged if there’s anything that involves a myssstery.”

"Crime drama, then. I've heard good things about ah… What was it.." Give him a moment while he squints, then snaps his fingers. "Peaky Blinders? That's the one. The gang from Birmingham, if you remember them. They made a show with the same name, turns out. I don't recall if there's any true thread connecting the two, or purely an 'inspired by' story."

“Oh, did they?” He perks up at that, blinking a touch, but starting to grin as he nods a touch. “Yes, yes, I’ve heard of them. I think they were around after my time, but I’ve heard word about them after I died here and there. I’m open to trying out the show if you are?”

"I don't see why not! Perhaps we'll see something familiar in all the chaos, eh?" A light nudge of his elbow to Pent's side, and Ruddy slithers over to start making himself comfy on one of the couches. Time for the two to enjoy an episode or two of this crime drama before dinner.

“Hehe. Yess, perhaps we will.” Pentious, smiling a bit wider, moves to join him, taking his place on a different couch so as to let Ruddy have proper room for his coils. The couches were certainly more meant for Ruddy’s size, and it took at least a second try for him to actually hoist himself up onto the cushions proper, hood faintly twitching open as he does so.

Ruddy glances over to watch Pent's struggle, frowning slightly at the sight. "Ah.. Hm. I'm sorry dear, I hadn't thought about how inconvenient my Airship's living quarters would be for you, with everything scaled to my size the way it is. I'll have to make some smaller pieces if you're going to be a regular visitor." Which he would be, considering the relationship, but still. Baby steps. Baby slithers? Whatever. He'll pull up the show once Pent is good and comfortable, give him time to adjust to the comically oversized couch cushions and whatnot.

“Oh, no no, it’s fine. Completely fine, dear Ruddy.” He huffs a touch as finally flops back onto the couch cushions proper, letting out a soft chuckle as he does so at his own shortcomings. “Frankly, I need the exercise. I don’t want you breaking your back making me entirely different ssssets of furniture that you yourself wouldn’t be able to use. If need be, I can just rear up on my coilsss. Make myssself taller.”

"You say that, but look at how much effort it took for you to get up there." The frown deepens, but he knows to drop it now before they forget to watch the show at all. So with one last look at Pent, he clicks play on the first episode and settles back to watch.

Pent could see the deep frown on Ruddy’s face, and that look was enough to have a pang of guilt ring in his chest. Here he was being a rude, prideful git when Ruddy was just being concerned for him. How awful. It was enough to make his tail curl in on itself, his hair start to wilt a touch, but before he can move to say anything, to apologize, the first episode starts to play, and the silent request to move on from the subject is noted. After a moment, he too moves to watch the episode, trying to ignore the knowledge burning in the back of his mind that perhaps it would be better to discuss things in fuller detail in dinner. Try and work out the kinks. That was what people in relationships did, right? Talk things out? Yes. Yes, that would be best.

The episode passes with a few little hums of recognition from Ruddy, and by the time he rises from the couch to go check on the food, the frown has slipped off his face in favor of amused neutrality. "Fascinating to see how much some areas change, and yet stay entirely the same. I could have sworn parts of Liverpool still had the same sidewalk cracks I'd tripped over back in the day." A little snort, and he slithers away to the kitchens. The roast should be ready now, and surely the chicken soup had cooked into something deliciously simmered.

“Heheh. Fassscinating indeed, I suppose. Certainly were a few parts of the scenery that almost reminded me of my home town. All cruddy, covered in muck and smog and that ssssort of thing.” Pentious slowly slides off the couch to follow him into the kitchen, still smiling himself, but having that small uncertainty creeping into the back of his mind. He leans against a counter as they both enter the kitchen, tail curled up so as to not accidentally get in the way of the man’s far more massive size. “Rather entertaining, sssso far.”

The food is removed from the stove and set aside to cool, Ruddy turning his primary attention back to his partner. "Is that so? I rarely spent time in those areas, I was too much of a dutiful son when I was young, and once I was successful I had a home to return to. Never the adventurous sort in life! And now in death? A hermit with a cat." He snorts, smiling despite his self critique. "Yes, so far I've enjoyed it. We'll see how the rest goes, when we have a few hours to kill."

“Heh. I wouldn’t call you a hermit, but I ssssuppose you have gotten a bit more outgoing than before, if what you’ve told me about your life before you died isss any indication.” He grins up toward Ruddy after a moment, teasing slightly, but then that grin drops, and he goes quiet for a moment. “..Perhaps, dear Ruddy, over dinner, it would be best to…discusssss things. About our…sssituation. If you think that would be apt.” His tail flicks back and forth a touch, and for a moment he looks away, and then looks back. “I…realize that me brushing off your attemptssss to make me feel more comfortable within your home wass…rather rude of me, which I apologize for, and I think it would be bessst if we discussss things thoroughly. Not just about the issue of scaled down furniture but also…” His face pinches up, like he was trying to find the right words and struggling. “…What certain gessstures mean to us, I suppose I’m trying to put it. What gets our pride all prickled and puffed up in offense and what doessn’t. What getsss us worried or hesitant too. Basically, how we can discuss thingsss to avoid…miscommunication, I suppose.”

Oh, it's time to be serious now. The mirth drops as Pent speaks, face twisting in mild confusion. "My dear, I do agree that a discussion should be had, but I wasn't offended or puffed up about you not wanting me to make smaller furniture. Was it rude? I don't know. It just sounded like you were upset over me seemingly questioning your abilities, so I left it."

“Well, I..No, not ssso much upset. Not entirely.” He scratches at the back of his neck for a moment. “Admittedly a small part of me was a bit offended at the notion that I needed smaller furniture, but I wasss more…concerned. For you. And I’m worried that concern, being disssguised as me insisting that I’m fine and brushing off the topic, would be missstaken as some sort of…offenssse.” He lets out a sigh, arms dropping at his sides at that. “…To be honessst, I’m concerned that I’m…not neccesssarily taking advantage, but more that I’m afraid that you’ll do too much for me. Or that I’ll asssk for too much or that by letting you do ssso many things for me, I’m essssentially jusssst…being selfish and doing nothing in return. I don’t want you to overwork yourssself trying to make me feel more happy if you don’t need to, I suppose is the lesss lengthy way I could put it. I don’t want you to put sssstresss on yourself. And I don’t want to jussst…sit there like a hog and let you do everything for me while I can barely do anything in return.”

"I see…" Well, he thinks he sees. Really he should pause and turn this concept over in his mind a few times, but it sounds like Pent had likely spent the entire episode with this on his mind, and Ruddy wanted to get it settled as quickly as possible before it could sink any deeper into his brain. "Pent, my dear. You know who I am, yes? Overlord, inventor, chronic grouch, AND enough of a health conscious snob that I wrestle my own workaholic tendencies into submission on a daily basis? If I didn't want to do something, even you would be damnably hard pressed to make me do it, partner or not. I'm a stubborn old bastard and nothing is going to change that after this long. Good luck taking advantage of me. If I do something for you, it's because I want to."

“…Right. Right.” He nods after a moment, his troubled look starting to fade already, becoming more along the lines of sheerly contemplative, eyes sliding away from Ruddy before they slide right back toward him again. “…So making furniture for me to help me feel more comfortable is something you’d want to do for me? Nothing out of…obligation or anything of that sort?” He raises a brow ever so slightly. “Jussst double checking. I know sssuch caution may ssseem odd, I just want to make sure that we…underssstand each other better. Sssince our relationship has changed to partners, rather than friends.”

"Yes, dear. I rarely do things just out of obligation. You're still capable of getting onto my furniture, I could easily ignore your struggle and I doubt you'd say anything. But believe it or not, I care about your comfort enough to build some little ramps." He smirks, reaching over to pinch Pent's cheek. "Imagine that."

The sudden pinching to his cheek is enough to have Pent’s hood flare up a touch, with a faint snapping sound, like an umbrella that opened up just a bit too quick, blinking in surprise as his scales within his cheeks begin to start to flush a soft pink, and he makes a soft sputtering noise before he playfully moves a hand up to grip at his wrist, eyes narrowing toward Ruddy with an amused, if not faux offended look, his lips unable to resist turning up in a smile. “Lisssten, I’ve never actually had a romance with anyone before, I’m quite new to thissss, so I’m going to be a little ssskittish about trying to not going over my partner’s boundaries. I’m the type to fret and fussss a lot when I get nervous. Ssssue me.”

"I don't think there are laws written for interdimensional disputes quite yet, my good man." Ruddy lets his hand go limp in Pent's grasp, cocking his head to one side as he watches his alternate. "If you cross my boundaries, I will tell you. You're not a mind reader, I'm not going to get angry at you for innocent mistakes. If you repeat them, that's when the problem arises. Alright?"

“…Alright. I trussst you.” He lets a thumb stroke over Ruddy’s wrist for a moment, before moving to turn his head to the side to press a soft kiss to his palm.

A soft snort, and Ruddy leans down to return the kiss with a peck to the top of Pent's head. "You'd better. But I know you'll worry again, so know it's okay to ask for reassurance. Now…" They'd come here to get dinner, not let the food go cold on the counter. "How about we eat something, hm? You must be starving by now, slithering all over a ship made for a man twice your size takes a lot of energy."

“Heh..I will admit that I am rather hungry, yes.” He chuckles a touch at the feeling of lips pressing to the top of his hood, and he nods, giving his wrist another soft squeeze before moving to let it drop as he slithers over to examine the roast and soup, tongue flickering outward to smell it. “Ooh. It sssmellsss delicious already.”

Ruddy puffs up, pulling on his oven mitts with a dramatic flourish. "Of course it smells delicious! I spend far too much money getting quality goods, I'm not going to waste ingredients making sub-par food. Now scoot your serpentine self to the dining room, we're eating this at once." And off he goes, the entire roast's pan in one mitted hand, and the soup in the other. Certainly not his fanciest meal, but soup and a roast would do after such a long day.

“Heheh. Yesss, dear.” A slightly mocking tone to his voice as he moves to slither aside to let Ruddy take the lead with the food, but he carries a smirk on his lips to let the man know it was all in jest, having to admit to himself that he certainly did feel quite famished. “I’m quite curiousss. Was that food that was at the dinner party you threw food you made yourself? Or did you hire chefs to make those?”

He puts the food on the table, glancing back at his partner as he starts moving to take a seat. "Hmm? Oh, I cooked it all myself of course. It's the only way to ensure the food came out the way I wanted. Plus minimize any risk of poisoning. My events are meant to be neutral, I can't have that changed by someone else's agenda!"

“Goodness, no wonder everything there tasted so good.” He can’t help but lick his lips at the thought of the food that had been there at the party. Obviously, his and Penny’s little spat had been enough to sour his appetite a touch, but before that, he had never tasted anything that was as delicious as that. He too moves to take a seat, taking a moment or two to pull himself up into the chair proper before settling down. “I ssswear, I didn’t eat for an entire day after that.”

"Well I can't say I'm that surprised, but I appreciate the compliment." Pent is served up a thick slice of roast and a warm bowl of soup, along with a pat on his head from Ruddy. "You always seem to be starved when I see you eating something, my dear. Are you always prone to packing away meals, or do you not eat unless you're all but forced to most days?"

“Ah..It’sss not so much that I don’t eat until I’m forced to, more ssso I tend to just…forget to eat.” His grin turns a bit sheepish, almost embarrassed, but he turns his attention to the food quite quickly, starting to pick up a fork and knife to begin carefully cutting up the roast. “A habit of working so hard I suppose. One moment I’m busy trying to make a new collection of coding to update my firewalls for my computer system back home and then next thing I know, I’m on the floor, having passed out without any warning because it was 3 AM and I had failed to eat anything but a light bowl of chips that afternoon.”

Ruddy shoves the entire slice of roast he'd cut for himself into his mouth to muffle the noise he made, hood flaring slightly as he forces himself to pour a bowl of soup instead of staring at the smaller snake. A few seconds as he chews and serves himself a new slice to properly eat, and he points his fork at Pent. "This is why I have to feed you every day. You HAVE been eating what I send you, right?"

The sight of Ruddy shoving an entire slab of meat into his mouth is something that gets Pent staring a little, partly out of shock, partly out of awe from how large that slice of roast was, but at Ruddy pointing a fork his way, his own hood flares up a touch, and he nods emphatically, raising a hand in a sign of placation. “Yes, of course I have! It would be rude of me to just waste food that you’re giving me every day, especially when you aren’t asking me to pay you or using it as leverage or as a favor or anything. I mean, not that I think you would start to do that now, but I mean, I have been eating everything you’ve been sending me from the start. I wouldn’t dream of wasting anything.”

The fork wiggles in Ruddy's grip, an approximation of a dismissive handwave. "I believe you, dear, don't worry. I just wanted to check." Satisfied, Ruddy offers Pent a comforting smile before turning his attention to his food. Even if Pent had said the food was being chucked straight in the bin, Ruddy would have still sent it. But it was good to hear it was appreciated and enjoyed.

“Ah..Of course.” He flashes a grin right back that was a bit on the sheepish side, but he moves his attention to his own plate soon enough, popping his first bite of the roast into his mouth. It was nice and warm, savory even against his tongue, the roast itself still thick with juices and not the least bit dry or overcooked. It was enough to have Pent’s hood perk up ever so slightly, his pupils dilate a touch, and he wastes no time starting to properly dig into the meal, his tail idly starting to audibly thump against the floor ever so slightly.

Now there's a sound he'd started recognizing. The telltale, rhythmic thumping of his partner's tail hitting the ground. Ruddy's smile grew, glancing over to watch the rather adorable display of the man so enraptured with a proper meal. "I'm glad you like it, my dear. I haven't had a reaction like yours to my cooking in years."

He was just about to bring another morsel of the roast to his mouth before he heard Ruddy spoke up, and there’s a moment where his eyes dart between the fork and the other man’s smile before he too flashes a grin back, letting out a soft chuckle as he lowers the fork back to his plate. “I’ve..grown to adore your cooking immenssssely, I will admit. You’re quite the master at it. And as someone who learned to appreciate good flavor thanksss to a childhood of choking down what you could so you wouldn’t starve, your sssskills at the culinary arts is something I can say I quite adore.”

"Flatterer." Ruddy half lifts himself from his chair, leaning over to nuzzle his massive face against Pent's squishy cheek. "Help yourself to as much as you like. Once we're done I vote we lay down and get some rest, it's been an eventful day for the both of us. There's a television in the bedroom, so we can watch some content to help us wind down for the night."

The nuzzling is something that Pentious isn’t quite expecting, but something that he doesn’t move away from, taking a moment to blink before letting out a slightly harder chuckle as he moves to push his cheek back against Ruddy’s own scales, nuzzling back softly. “I’ll certainly take you up on that offer. I can eat quite a lot, I’ll have you know.” A flash of a cheeky smirk, and he moves to pop another mouthful of roast into his mouth.

There's a soft rumble of contentment from the larger snake as he settles back down, tucking into his dinner and looking quite pleased with himself. He was out of practice with giving affection, he could feel it, but it was like riding a bike, you never really forgot. The remainder of the dinner is spent quietly eating as he tries to figure out the mechanics of casually holding the hand of someone who barely reaches his ribcage on a good day.

Pentious, meanwhile, heartily eats at least two more plates of both the roast and the soup before he finally seems to relax in his pace, letting out a content and calm sigh after he swallows down the last bit of roast that was left on the dish, wiping at his mouth with a napkin as he does so. “Mmm. Bloody hell, if I were any other type of ssssnake I’d probably be fit to pop like a swollen tick at this rate. Heheh.”

"Dear, you're clearly the most snakelike of us all, packing away those huge meals into your skinny little body! Next time I'll just hand you the roast and let you swallow it whole." Ruddy teases, voice affectionate as he rises from the table. "Don't worry about cleaning up, the Faberge eggs will handle the rest of this themselves. Are you ready to go have a lay down?"

“Like I would let anyone sssee me unhinge my jaw like that. Do you have any idea how messssy it would look, trying to eat an entire roast whole without chewing? Abssssolutely horrid table manners, that much I can assure you.” He pretends to turn his snout up toward him in mock offense, but grins back just as soon as he does, moving to also rise up from his chair. “All kidding aside, I wouldn’t be surprissssed if I lapse into a food coma at this rate so a lay down does ssssound rather nice..”

"Oh, sleepy are you?" He snorts, bending down to scoop up his beau. "I'll carry your poor little stuffed self to bed, then, can't have you rolling down the hall if you pass out."

“Oh!” He’s unable to resist letting out a slight squeak of surprise at being lifted up like so, but after a moment, Pent lets out a chuckle, moving to lean against Ruddy’s chest as he does so. “I wouldn’t say I’m ssssleepy just yet but I certainly know that might change, given enough time, what with you loving to cuddle me sssso much.”

He snorts as he starts slithering out of the room, turning in the hall to start heading for his bedroom with Pent in a bridal carry. "I do enjoy physical contact, but you're the one who keeps enabling me. So there!"

“Yes, truly I am the most dastardly of fiends. Rendering you completely helplessss to my whims of comfort so I may commit the wicked act of helping you fall asleep easier. So horridly dreadful of me.” He offers a fake, mocking swoon in Ruddy’s arms, complete with a hand draped over his forehead. “Truly I desssserve to be burned at the stake.”

"We're in Hell, darling. We both deserve to get burned at the stake for our crimes." Michi skitters past the two, darting into the bedroom through the catdoor that had been carved in. Ruddy uses his tail to open the door for the two snakes, snickering at the sight of the cat already making herself at home on his pillow. "I assume you brought pajamas?"

“Indeed, I have. Fitted onesss, so you don’t need to worry about me wearing one of your robesss like a dress again. Heheh.” His tail flickers idly through the air, and he can’t help but start to yawn ever so slightly, moving to cover up the sight of his teeth with a hand. “Mm. Goodness, all this talk of sleep is quite contagious.”

"Oh, is that so..? In that case my dear…" Ruddy glances down at Pent, smirking mischievously before he suddenly underhand tosses the smaller snake onto the bed. "Go on and get comfortable!"

“What are you-OH LORD-!” He lets out a loud shriek of surprise at the sudden feeling of being tossed through the air as if he was little more than a sock puppet, barely having any time to process the fact that he was in the air before feeling the sensation of the bed covers connect with his back, a brief moment of impact shooting through him before his vision suddenly tilts, and he’s collapsing, not onto the soft bed, but the cold hard floor, with a solid THUD. There was a brief moment of silence as Pent lays there in slight disbelief, blinking, before he moves to sit up, idly rubbing his back with a hand. It was throbbing a touch; he must’ve landed on it. “…Ow.”

Ruddy's already escaped to the bathroom, the click of the lock turning and shower activating the only reply to Pent's tumble.

Pent has a moment of sitting there, blinking at the sight of the closed shower door, slightly in shock, both from how fast Ruddy had rushed into the bathroom and the fact that he hadn’t poked his head out to see if he was alright. But after a moment, he lets out a quiet huff of a laugh as the shock fades, replaced with amusement, and he slowly moves to roll himself back over onto his coils, still idly rubbing at his spine as the heat from the blow travels up his scales. He spots his travel bag he had brought with him in the corner, something the eggs must’ve brought to his room, and moves to pull it open to search for his nightgown.

It only takes about five minutes before Ruddy emerges from the bathroom, dressed in his nightgown and with a hot, damp towel rolled up in one hand, a bottle of painkillers in the other. "Well well, my assassination plot failed, I see. Damn shame, I suppose I'm stuck with you. That's the best I had." He slithers closer, bending down to press a kiss to Pent's cheek. "I jest. I brought you a hot towel and some painkillers for your back."

The kiss is something that has Pent chuckling, having dressed himself in his own personal nightgown and laid himself down properly in Ruddy’s bed, the gown itself being a soft piece of light purple fabric that had a low V cut around the chest to allow for his eye to peek through, trimmed with lace like frills around the edge of the collar and the sleeves, a thin belt of purple trying a knot around the waist to keep it shut. He had been absently petting Michi, but as Ruddy approached with the towel and painkillers, he can’t help but blink with slight surprise. “Oh…Thank you, dear Ruddy. I doubt it’s necessary, it was only a minor fall, but thank you nonetheless.” He moves to take the bottle of painkillers, looking it over for a moment before moving to open the lid. “Do you have a glass of water I could use? I hate sssswallowing pills dry. Read something about how swallowing them dry just gets them stuck in your throat and then they burn holes in your esssophagus lining.”

"I have a minifridge in here, it's in Rupert's wardrobe." He moves to open the wardrobe his hat sleeps in, one side a little nest of blankets and throw pillows, the other taken up by a small fridge with a microwave sitting on top of it. "I got these after I was horribly ill, to the point of near immobility. Relying on the eggs every time I got thirsty for a cold glass of water was a nightmare, so I keep water bottles and soft drinks stocked." One of the water bottles is plucked out of the fridge and carried over to Pent, the hat sneakily hopping over to settle into it's nest before Ruddy goes to close the wardrobe back up.

“You were ill, once?” He raises a brow as he watches the man reveal his little stash inside the mini fridge, and he moves to take the bottle as it’s offered. “How on Earth did you get ssssick? What were you sick with?” He idly fishes two pills out of the medicine bottle before setting aside, moving to take them into his mouth before following up with the swigs of his water. There was a brief moment where his eyes pinch in concentration, and then he swallows, slightly forcefully, to which he’s quick to clear his throat and take another soft swig of his drink.

"I'm pretty sure I got poisoned?" He squints, frowning in thought as he casts his mind back. "Honestly, it's pretty blurry. Apparently I'd told the eggs that whoever I'd last visited had to go down, so they took five airships and leveled the entire district. It never happened again after that, I can tell you that much." A shrug, and he stretches himself out onto the bed, a hand idly toying with the ruffles on Pent's neck before he moves on to start scratching Michi's cheeks.

“Goodness. Heh, well, I’m sure whoever decided to poison you, they heartily regretted that decision.” He chuckles a touch more before moving to take a more steady swig of his water, finally fastening the cap back on it to place it down on the nearby bedside table. He winces a touch as he moves to roll onto his stomach, but moves to grab the hot towel Ruddy had provided, idly hiking up his nightgown with his other hand. Ruddy had just enough time to glimpse the presence of a scar that lines the base of his spine before it’s covered up as he lays the towel on top of his scales, letting out a soft groan as he does so. “Mmgh…God, thissss is certainly a feeling I don’t misss..”

Ruddy notices the scar, head cocking slightly.. And then moves his attention back to Michi. That wasn't any of his business, and certainly not this early on in the relationship. "Pain, dear? I could fetch you another towel if you'd like."

“No no, one is fine for now. Thank you though, dear Ruddy.” He flashes a soft, yet grateful grin his way.

He nods, reaching over to toy with a lock of Pent's hair. "Of course, Pent. I don't want you overexerting yourself when you're in pain. If you need anything, just let me know. Don't be a stubborn fool like I am." Another moment to give Pent's scalp a little scratch, then rolls away to pick up the remote and turn the television on. A little background noise as they settled in.

“Heh. I wouldn’t dare dream of it.” He chuckles a touch at that, before moving to slowly stretches coils out across the bed, stretching himself a little bit with a soft groan. “Jussst warn me the next time you’re about to tosss me like I’m a sack of potatoes, hm?” He flashes him a slightly teasing grin at that.

Ruddy pretends to consider his request with a dramatic furrow of his brow. "Hrm… Maybe. What do I get if I do, eh?"

“A kiss on the cheek, perhapssss. Haven’t quite made up my mind yet. I have decided that if you don’t give me a warning, though, I might jussst try giving you a quick nip on the arse just to teach you a lesson.” His grin grows a bit more heavy at that, more openly cheeky.

"Fool, I have no buttocks to nip at. You're out of luck, my man!" He snickers, leaning in to flick his tongue at Pent. "But yes, dear. I'll warn you before I go lobbing you anywhere next time, my apologies for earlier."

“Heheh. It’sss no worries, dear Ruddy. Just bounced off the edge and landed on my back is all. I’ll be fine in the morning, right as rain.” He reaches out to cup Ruddy’s cheek with a hand, offering it a tender rub with a thumb.

Ruddy all but purrs, leaning into Pent's hand with a pleased little hum as his eyelids droop. "You'd better be, or I'll be inconsolable." A nuzzle of his nose to Pent's palm, and the larger snake withdraws to tuck himself under the blankets, head resting next to Michi on his pillow. "There's a heating element in this mattress, in case you've forgotten since your last visit. Would you like me to turn it on?"

“Mmm. Yesss please.” He chuckles a touch, moving to also pull the blanket up overtop his coils. “How on earth did you make the mattress with a built in heater anywaysss? How did you get the fabric to not catch alight?”

He leans over to turn on the heating element, the bed starting to warm up in a few moments. Which he spends fussing over the blankets on Pent's side, smoothing them out and tucking him in. "Oh, that? It wasn't terribly difficult. Layers of conductive gel, and making sure the heating element isn't actually touching anything else. The tricky part was making sure it didn't get too hot."

“Ah, I ssssee..” He lets out a bit of a huff of a laugh at that. “All my timesss of figuring out the secret to geothermal energy to power my home, and yet I never consssidered the idea of heated beds.” The heat begins to slowly grow more and more notable as the seconds pass by, and Pent lets out a soft, content sigh, idly nuzzling his chin into one of the nearby pillows. “Mmm. I ssswear this ship could almossst be considered a luxury cruise-liner at this rate.”

"The most heavily armed luxury cruise liner to ever sail through the skies, my dear." He stretches out with a pleased groan, then reaches over to fumble for one of Pent's hands. "If I wake you up with any of my nonsense, feel free to prod me and I should settle down."

“Heheheh. You already treated me like a teddy bear once, Ruddy. I doubt I’ll mind it the sssecond time. Or any time after that.” He playfully flicks the tip of his tail, reaching out with his own hand to give Ruddy’s a squeeze.

"Hmm, careful with what you say, my dear. That sounds borderline romantic." A soft snort, and he settles back against his pillow with Michi at his temple, eyes sliding closed as he relaxes into the warmth of his mattress and his partner's touch.

-------- A Night Passes.

The following morning, Ruddy woke up the same way he had for years. One second, unconscious, the next, alert. Another moment, and he realizes that he's got his alternate practically crushed to his chest like some kind of teddy bear. Odd, had he had a nightmare again? He didn't remember one..

A yawn, and he slowly releases his alternate from his grip, trying to slither free from the bed without disturbing him.

There was little more than a soft groan from Pentious as the bed briefly dips and bends as Ruddy moves to rise from his place on the mattress, and for a moment, it looked as if he was merely descending back into a deep slumber, his tail giving a soft flick and his snout briefly nuzzling back into the blankets. But then, his eyelids slowly open, a brief translucent film being seen over his eyes before they, too, slowly peel back, and he blinks once, then twice, becoming more aware with each one. “…Morning..” His jaw cracks open as he starts to yawn, mouth stretching open as he begins to slowly bend his coils in a cat stretch.

"Ah.. I'd hoped I wouldn't wake you up, my apologies Pent." Ruddy frowns apologetically, slipping his dressing robe on and tying it shut over his nightgown, complete with a little snap fastener over his chest to ensure nothing peeked out. " It's quite early, if you'd like to get some more sleep you've got a few hours before the day properly begins."

“Mm…No apologiessss necessary… I’ve always been a bit of a light sleeper. Easy to snap me awake.” He lifts his head a touch to rub at an eye, tongue flickering out lazily. “What time issss it precisely?”

"I haven't checked a clock yet, but I usually wake up around six thirty this time of year, so.." He slithers back to the bed, picking his phone up to check the time before turning it towards his bedmate. Six thirty one. "I'm not going to do anything exciting. Get dressed, likely do a little light sewing, make breakfast. You won't miss out if you want to rest more."

“Mm…” He seems to contemplate the pros and cons of getting up at this hour are, eyes narrowed in a slightly sleepy but still concentrated haze, tongue flickering out once more, but after a moment, he moves to slowly let his head nestle back down onto the pillows. His lips turn upwards in a soft smirk. “Thesssse heated sheets are going to be the death of me, dear Ruddy. They’re too comfortable for me to want to essssscape their insidioussss grasp.”

"I've developed the perfect trap for any cold blooded nemesis. You're the unfortunate victim of my schemes." Ruddy snorts, patting Pent on the head before heading for his closet to find his outfit for the day. "Rest as long as you'd like, I'll come fetch you in a few hours once breakfast is on the table."

“Sssounds wonderful to me. Thank you.” His eyes slowly slide closed again, and his coils briefly move to stretch out along the bed, before slowly swishing across the sheets, falling still with only his tail twitching softly back and forth.

Ruddy waits a moment in silence to let Pent drift off, then takes his outfit and a few extra shirts before leaving the room as quietly as he can. He can get changed somewhere else.

Three hours pass before a now properly dressed gentleman comes to bother Pent, Ruddy's first act of violence being to turn the lights on in the bedroom.

Understandably, the first thing Pent does is let out a low, irritated groan, and he stubbornly (and sleepily) tries to bury his snout further into the sheets to block out the light from his eyes, hood already snapping up a touch to start rattling. “Mmmph…”

Ruddy approaches the bed, watching the way Pent tries to escape the light.. and takes a picture with his phone, snickering loudly. "Oh, trying to dig with your snout are you? I knew you were a hognose, and now I've got evidence."

“Mmmph..” The grunting grows a little louder, a bit more forceful, and his hood rattling grows a bit louder. Then comes a muddled reply from the sheets. “I’m not a bloody hognosssse. How can it be time to get up already? I bloody sssslept for what felt like 5 minutes.”

"It's been three hours, my dear. Sounds like you're far too comfortable in that bed to wake up." Ruddy flicks off the heating element, then withdraws back to the doorway. "Breakfast is on the table, Pent. Once you're done trying to hibernate, it'll be waiting for you. I'll come back in a few minutes to see if you've fallen asleep again."

“Mmmm…” He makes one last little groaning noise, but then his hood goes limp, and his tail gives one last little flick. “…Alright, alright, I’m getting up..” He slowly moves to sit up in the bed, coils stretching outwards as he begins to stretch his back, a few cracks and pops being heard as he does so. “Mmmph..”

"My goodness, maybe I should take you to see a Chiropractor instead of a tailor!" He snorts, then retreats down the hallway to go start washing the pans he'd used to cook the copious breakfast foods he'd prepared for the two of them.

“If you did, then we’d be there for the resssst of eternity!” He calls out after Ruddy as he slithers off, a mild grin finally starting to grow on his lips as he moves to rise from the bed proper and start to get dressed.

Ruddy used his free time to tidy up the kitchen, then sat himself at the table to start reading a newspaper, Michi curled up into a little circle in his lap. Part of him was tempted to tease his alternate whenever Pent finally arrived, but no, too soon for that. Next time, perhaps, he'd tell Pent that he worked out in the mornings. Maybe.

It wasn’t long before the serpent himself moved to slither into the kitchen, dressed in a rather fine looking red fabric chestless corset with a white frilled shirt underneath, still idly rubbing the sleep out of his eyes but generally seeming to look much less tired and grumpy than before. “Mm. Good morning, dear Ruddy. Apologies for the little bout of inane sleepy grumbling back in your bed, I tend to be far less agreeable in the mornings before I’ve had my morning coffee.” He moves to pick up a cup of said coffee that was sitting on the counter top alongside a prepared plate of food, and moves over to sit at the table next to him. “Anything interesssting in the paper?”

Ruddy raises an eyebrow at Pent's outfit of choice, but keeps any questions to himself in favor of curling the tip of his tail around Pent's, in a loose approximation of holding his hand. "Not a problem at all, my dear. I'm all too familiar with early morning grumbles, nobody in my family was a morning person in life, myself included." The paper is laid out on the table, a few articles earning a dismissive wave. "Nothing that I wasn't already aware of, really, but it's good to get secondary sources. Valentino has been more active recently, Velvet is… Well. Unhinged, frankly, and the Princess' hotel continues to be mocked when it gets any attention at all. Though at least miss Vagatha seems to have been spotted in public with Charlotte again, she'd been gone from the public eye for over a year."

“Mmm. The hotel is a thing in your universe too?” He raises a brow as he moves to take a slow sip from his coffee, leaning forward a touch to look everything over for a moment, eyes sliding over the articles to give them a quick glance. “Never really went anywhere as far as I can tell in mine. Course, I did end up blowing it’s front door off so perhaps I had something to do with that.” He moves to idly shovel a forkful of scrambled eggs into his mouth, chewing for a moment, idly squeezing the tip of Ruddy’s tail back.

"It is, yes. It's been Charlotte's pet project for… What, a year and a half? Two years? As far as I'm aware, they haven't received more than a couple of guests, and certainly no successful rehabilitations." He also attacked the hotel in his universe when it opened, but he's not going to mention that. "A shame, that such a bright young lady has fixated on such nonsense as rehabilitating sinners. But at least it keeps her out of worse trouble. This Valentino business however.. He's been very active lately, I wonder what he's up to.."

“Does the newspaper say anything specifically?” He raises a brow at that, moving to sip at his coffee again before biting into a piece of bacon. “Mob hits, drug deals, anything like that? Could be trying to plan something.”

"He likely is, knowing him. He's a manipulator more than anything else, plotting is what he does best." Ruddy frowns, tapping a claw against the paper, and through it, the table. "All that this says is that he's been spotted in several old haunts. Bars, red light district hotspots, visiting old flames. If I had to guess, he's cashing in favors to rebuild himself as best he can. Though I wouldn't put money on it."

“Hmmm..” His eyes narrow and his hood begins to rattle a little. “I’d be on your guard. I know it isn’t likely he’d be able to do much to you, but the rissssk of him being able to do anything is enough to make me worry.” His hood rattles a touch harder. “The man is a cheating bastard, I know that much. He’d sooner gut you with a angelic pocket knife if it meant getting a chance to kill you off for good.”

He nods, folding up the newspaper to hand off to one of the attending eggbois. "Indeed. I'll be keeping an eye out. But that's a problem I'll deal with later." A sigh, and he leans in to press a kiss to his alternate's forehead, smiling cheerily as he changes the subject. "For now, my focus is on you, and getting you some clothes. Is that what you're planning on wearing out?"

The kiss is something that has his hood almost cease it’s rattling immediately, and for a moment, he blinks, before a smile moves to slide over his face, and he can’t help but let out a brief chuckle around another mouthful of eggs, before swallowing. “Not entirely. I will be putting on my overcoat and everything else. Thisss is just what I tend to wear underneath it in the mornings before I properly dress.”

"You're the only person I know in this day and age who'd consider a corset to be something to just be tossed on in the mornings before you get dressed for the day, my dear." A chuckle, and a hand finds its way over to run careful fingers through Pent's hair. "Should we be shopping for women's attire, then? I'm not very familiar with those shops, but I can escort you at least."

“Heheh. In my defense, it’s not the kind that you have to tie up with threads and ribbons first.” He moves to idly twist around to show off how the back of the corset was simply a plain old zipper. “And I wouldn’t mind taking a look at sssssome of the clothes they have for women around, definitely not. I already have a fine collection of dresses, so why not add a couple more to the closet?” He sips at his coffee, draining it halfway. “As well with the suits. I can never have enough. I’m pretty much ressstricted to only wearing the tops of clothing so might as well get creative with their appearances after all.”

"You'll certainly never catch me in a dress, but I'm glad you've got that kind of variety to bring you pleasure." Ruddy takes a dainty sip from his tea cup, staring into the middle distance as he tries to remember where to buy dresses in the garment district. It couldn't be that hard to find them, women's shops advertised themselves very openly. They'd have to start with suits, he at least knew where those were.

“They’re rather comfortable, actually. Much more than what many may assssume.” He moves to drain the rest of his coffee before moving to turn to his breakfast. “Sssort of feels like wearing a skirt and a shirt all in one, if that makes any sense.” He glances toward Ruddy, looking him up and down before smirking. “I’d ssssay you actually would look rather nice in one.” He pops in a forkful of his eggs into his mouth, still smirking.

Ruddy scoffs, shaking his head. "Not a chance, Pent. The only people capable of getting me into a dress were my daughters and granddaughters, and they were more interested in getting me in heels. I didn't mind those." He gestures towards his lower half, eyebrows raised. " Unfortunately, I can't wear them anymore, so you're out of luck."

“Heheh. I’m only teasing, Ruddy, sssimply teasing.” He chuckles and playfully gives the tip of his tail a squeeze. “I won’t try and pressure you into wearing any dresses should you not want to, you have my word.” A slight pause. “Though I definitely wouldn’t mind at leasssst giving you a bit of a makeover with some eyeliner.”

"I already wear eyeliner, in fact. You just can't see it because my scales are already black. Plus my spectacles, of course, block people's view as well." Ruddy taps his cheekbone, his eyeglasses chain swaying slightly. "I don't wear it every day, but for events I'll put it on. Like the party where we met. I'll often highlight as well, to make my features stand out more."

“Oh, really? I never noticed.” He chuckles a touch, moving to point to his left eye with a claw. “I wouldn’t say I wear it every day, but I certainly wear it more often than you’d think. Usually if I’m feeling like going out onto the streetssss or in public. Wouldn’t do to have on eyeliner when elbow deep in the guts of some machinery, now would it?”

"Certainly not! Why be presentable if you're going to be covered in oil and grease in a matter of minutes anyway?" He pauses, looking Pent over, then shakes his head. "Once you're ready, we'll go."

“Hm? Oh, of courssse.” He moves to finish off the rest of his plate before moving to grab it and his cup, moving to carry it over to the sink to begin washing it. “Jusssst let me finish this and then go and get dressed, and we can head right off. Any idea of where we’re going?”

Ruddy blinks, lifting up from the table to watch Pent tidy up after himself. "My dear, you're a guest, you don't have to do the dishes! But ah, yes. I sew much of my own clothes, but I've still got a few shops I frequent in the garment district for speciality items." He pats his own hip, smiling crookedly. "One in particular is run by another serpent sinner, she's especially good at finding ways to dress up the lower body with all sorts of flattering cuts and accessories. It was never something I partook in, but it should be up your alley."

“I know, I know, but as your new partner, I’m certainly not about to ssstep back and let you do all the cleanup work, especially when these are my dishes. Tit for tat, 50 50 split and all that.” He turns his head a touch to flick his tail at him in an almost playful manner. “And that serpentine tailor soundsss absolutely lovely. I would love to check out her particular wares first.” He moves to begin drying off his plate and wiping the inside of his mug, seeming intent on cleaning them completely rather than just leaving them to dry in a rack.

Ruddy glances down at the tip of Pent's tail, waiting a moment before sliding his own tail to flop heavily on top of his alternate's. Trapped. "If you must, my dear, I'm hardly going to stop you from washing a dish. I think you'll like her, she's a fine young lady, if a bit excitable. But nobody does a better job when it comes to padding an outfit just the right way to ensure a weapon evades detection. For an extra fee she'll even source a weapon to tuck away. Very efficient."

“Oh?” His hood flickers upward a bit at that, obviously with interest. “I have been wondering how to efficiently sssstore away a gun within some of the dresssses I tend to wear. The ones from our time are quite easy to stuff away a dagger or a pistol, what with all the thick fluffy fabric, but the onesssss in fashion now are much more…ssssslim. Difficult to stuff a gun in there without it leaving an obvious lump. So I’m curious to see how she may do such a thing.” Pent’s tail cares not for being trapped so effectively. It squirms for a moment before moving to wrap around Ruddy’s own tail and squeeze in a faux, playful death grip. Take that, foul fiend.

Oh, how the tables turn! Tails entwined in mock battle, Ruddy moves what's left of him over to lean against Pent's back. "If you ask her very nicely, she'll show you her secrets. Though she's shown me a few times and I still don't have it perfectly."

“Heheh. I’ll gladly do so.” He moves to tilt his head back to look Ruddy in the face, smirking ever so slightly. “Though if we keep going and tangling each other’s tails like this, we may never make it out the ship.”

"What, are you complaining? I finally show you affection, and you're complaining?" It's a rhetorical question, Ruddy's tongue flicking out to tickle Pent's cheek as he smirks. "But yes, you're correct. Are you done with your dishes?"

“Heheh. Jussst about.” He moves to set them down onto the countertop, clean and dried off, then finally moves to slip his tail free and out from under where Ruddy had it trapped. “Jussst give me a moment to go get my suit on properly and then we’ll go.”

He watches Pent go, humming in acknowledgement before turning his attention to getting out a can of wet food to set up for Michi while they were out. As far as he was aware, she was still asleep in his bed, but she'd likely get up and eat soon now that everyone was getting dressed and moving around.

#chat log #ooc #sssardonian ssserpent #rp log #this is REALLY. REALLY. REALLY. LONG.

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sssardonian-ssserpent · 2 years

Text

Dress Shopping

Ruddy ( @ruddygore ) taking Pent out shopping for new clothes as previously promised. Lots of cutesy banter in this one. And a little bit of murder.

“So this is the place? Looks quite professional. Rather impresssive, given the circumstances of that whole turf war fiassssco you mentioned.” Pentious takes a moment to look up toward the sign that was presented over the glass door entrance to the shop, a brightly colored collection of cursive letters that read in a bold font: Oriana’s Tailoring. Garters and Ribbons For Any Occasion! There was an arrange of smaller windows next to the entrance that displayed several mannequins covered in fine looking clothing, ranging from dresses and blouses and skirts to even more form fitting suits, vests, even a handful of obvious lingerie, and it was enough to have the serpent’s hood twitch a little as he looks the displays over, a hand sliding up to his chin. “Quite the sssskilled craftsmanship already. Ssssmall compact stitching, which is always nice to see..”

"Oh, her original shop was burnt down during the great turf war. But Oriana has many clients who are fond of her work, and we all chipped in to rebuild her shop for her deathday. Perhaps if you ask nicely, she'll tell you the story." Ruddy pats Pent's shoulder, then slithers ahead to enter the shop, the little bell ringing cheerily as he peered around for the owner of the establishment.

Moments later, a brown and gold blur darts from the back, a slender naga all but materializing behind the counter and then immediately vaulting over it to slither over to Ruddy's side. Once she was still, it was easier to get a look at her. Her curly gold hair was, at one point, in an bun, though at this point it had mostly escaped, her face surrounded by loose wisps as she animatedly gestured at Ruddy, chattering away in what may be Italian. Her clothing was simple, a cream poet blouse with an emerald green waistcoat done up with gold buttons.

Pentious, after observing the clothing for just a little bit longer, also moves to enter in through the shop’s front doors, eyes going slightly wide at the sight of the bright-eyed snake woman talking so animatedly and so quickly, at a pace that even Pentious wasn’t sure he could’ve kept up with even if he did speak Italian (which he most assuredly didn’t.) He idly slithers his coils in past the door so they could properly close, not making any moves to move closer or to interrupt their conversation, hands crossed behind his back.

Pent enters to the ringing of the little door bell, and once Oriana has finished whatever sentence she was in the middle of, her head all but whips around to take in the new customer. Who was... Sir Pentious? A different Pentious. Was he another snake wearing a costume? Was this the "cause play" she'd heard about? How darling. She darts closer to Pent, looking him up and down as she offers a hand in greeting. Ruddy's snickering is barely muffled behind his hand. He knows what's coming.

"Oh hello! You're new! A pleasure to meet you sweetie, I'm Oriana, this is my shop! Are you here for a suit? A dress? Oooor maybe something a little saucier? With that shape of yours, I could certainly make some suggestions!" She giggles, covering her mouth with her free hand before she continues. "Ah, but did Sir Pentious bring you? He always brings me the legless sinners, nobody does a better job dressing them than I do."

Pentious, to his credit, has his hood only twitch up a little bit at the sight of Oriana’s head snapping toward him so suddenly, and he manages to keep himself still and not reflexively lean back when the woman moves to slither closer, moving to accept her offer of a hand shake after only a moment of slight hesitation. His cheeks were already beginning to flush a bit, even more at her comment about his figure, and this time he couldn’t quite keep his hood from fluttering open just enough to expose the eyes underneath. “Ahh…Good to meet you too, Misss Oriana. I’m actually hear to take a look at your sssselections of dresses at the moment, though I certainly won’t abject at the idea of looking at your suitsss either.” He moves to let go of her hand after giving it a good shake or two, moving to cross his arms behind him again. “And yess, R-..Sssir Pentious did indeed tell me about this place. Recommended it as the first place we visit, actually.”

Oriana's eyebrows raise, and she turns towards Ruddy with her hands smooshed into her cheeks as she coos. "Awwww Finny, for me? You shouldn't have!" No time for Ruddy to respond before her attention is back on Pent, who she's already nudging towards the back of the shop. "Dresses, you said? This way, I've got plenty of racks you can pick through, I've got sections for each era for my more historical clients!"

Ruddy gives Pent a look that says good luck, and slithers over to a little waiting area, turning on the electric kettle to start making himself a complimentary cup of tea. Oriana barely seems to notice, still chattering on. "With your coloration, you should be able to pull off just about anything, but I recommend jewel tones! They always show up so nicely against dark scales, especially if you're lucky enough to reflect iridescent! What are you thinking? Silk? Satin? I've got cottons as well if you prefer something breathable!"

For a moment, Pentious glances toward Ruddy with a slightly raised brow, as if asking as to why Oriana called him by that strangely peculiar nickname, but soon glances back toward her as she feels him all but start to push him further into the shop, hood flicking up a bit more before falling flat, moving to accommodate her nudging by following her lead and slowly slithering further toward the back of the shop. “A-Ah, well, I do tend to prefer ssssilk when it comes to fabrics. Satin and cotton don’t tend to really feel that comfortable against my scales, in my opinion, so ssssilk would be the most preferable. Though I would be happy in taking a look at any dress you’d want to recommend in termssss of coloration. I do actually reflect iridescent, though it’s not something I tend to..have an opportunity to show off very much.”

"Silks it is! Comfort is my priority, no sense looking good if you don't FEEL good while you do it!" She leads Pent to one of the racks, plucking two dresses up to display. One, a purple bustle dress that was very clearly an 1880s pattern, the other a slinky red evening gown that looked like it had been stolen straight from Jessica Rabbit's wardrobe. "So, to start! What are you looking for? Historical? Antique? Looking to match up with old Pentious over there, or look more Hollywood glam?" A third dress is offered up, hung on her tail. A simple white sundress with a silky blue waistband. "Or something casual and everyday? I offer specialized cuts, leaves a nice train over your lower half without the front being so long that you catch it while you slither forward."

“Ahh…” He moves to raise a hand to his chin, squinting a touch as he looks over the dresses with a scrutinizing eye. “Maybe not ssssomething with that much glamour…” He extends a claw to point toward the red dress she was holding. “I’m open to more modern sssstyles, but I tend to prefer dresses that are longer than that. Longer, a little bit more covering around the legs? Ssssomething that still covers everything but yet still gives the appearance of being…alluring, shall we say.” He moves to point toward the purple dress. “That I think isss a little bit too much for me. Too much going on in terms of the rolling fabrics and the shape and the decorum. I tend to prefer dressessss that are slimmer, sssstill have some decoration but not so much that it looks like something out of Verssssailles, you know?”

She turns, putting the dresses back up as she ponders his specifications. Long and covering, but alluring, was it? "How do you feel about bare shoulders...?" A pause, and she blinks. "Oh dear, I never got your name now did I? Apologies, dearie, I'm afraid I get overly enthusiastic sometimes! What should I call you?"

“Ahh…P…Percival..” He squints a touch at the random, albeit fitting name that had slipped from his lips at the drop of a hat, having stopped himself from dropping his nickname without thinking, and then nods as the lie becomes a bit more resolute in his mind. “Percival, yesss. And bare shoulderssss sounds absolutely doable, more than fine in my booksss when it comes to dresses.”

"Alright then, Percival!" She titters, slithering off and returning with an armful of dresses. "I've got a few for you to look at, your specifications were both quite precise and incredibly vague! We'll rapid fire this to hone in on what you like." First dress, a floor length mermaid cut, made from two colors to give the illusion of a curvier shape.

“Hmmm…” He moves to lean in a touch closer to give it a closer look, but after a moment, moves to nod. “A bit lesss color than what I would normally like, but definitely not a bad ssstart already.” His tail swishes a touch along the ground, and he begins to grin a touch. “And I do like the color contrassst between the black and white.”

"Sometimes less color means a more striking silhouette, love!" She nods knowingly, hooking the approved dress over her tail to keep handy. "Now.. Something a bit different, to test. The color is something we can change, this is a tailor shop after all." She offers up a cream colored dress, with off the shoulder sleeves and a bodice top, and a leg slit that would reach mid thigh, on someone with thighs to reveal.

“Hmmm..” He tilts his head, smile growing a little bit more as he eyes the dress up and down. “I love the dessssign, but perhaps the color could be a touch different. What do you think would look good with my sssscales, color wise?” He lifts the tip of his tail to give it a flick as an example.

Oriana hums, tapping a dainty claw to her chin as she looks Pent up and down. "Honestly, darling, you could pull off just about anything with that striking color combination of yours. But in my opinion, you'd look stunning in cool tones. Maybe a nice sapphire, or navy blue? They would contrast with the yellow of your underbelly and the red of your eyes very nicely. A purple would work as well."

“Mmm….” He glances over the dress again, then smirks. “Make this dress a purple color, perhaps royal purple, and you got yoursssself a deal.”

"Purple it is." Another dress hooked on her tail, and she gestures from the racks to Pent. "I should ask, how many dresses are you looking to purchase today? I don't want to keep flinging them at you if you're only looking for the one, after all!"

“Ahh…” He pauses at that, his hood twitching up slightly, before starting to wilt as the pause keeps going. Already came up the creeping feeling of unease that perhaps he would end up buying too much, or somehow end up draining Ruddy’s own spending money if he got too reckless. His tail twitches a touch, and he slowly brings a claw to his chin, biting his lip a bit, trying to figure out just how expensive these dresses would be in total and how many would be enough for him to get without going too far. “Perhapsss…Three?”

She frowns, slithering in to press a gentle hand against Pent's shoulder. "Oh, no, don't fret honey. Nothing you get here today is going to cost you a thing. Finny is one of my best customers, I owe him more than all the money in Hell. You could take every dress in this place and neither I nor Fin would be hurting for it. Alright? The only limit is closet space." A soft pat, and she tilts her head, offering her best comforting smile.

The hand to his shoulder is enough to have him blink, snapping out of his thoughts to stare for a moment, before nodding. “Well…If you insist..” He glances over at the racks again, before his eyes narrow. “Perhapsss..an even five dresses would work.”

"We can do five, no problem." The hand is withdrawn after one last pat, and without missing a beat Oriana is back to offering up dresses, energy spiked back up to the max. "What about this one? It's fairly full coverage with these sleeves, but the neckline should give your eye some room. And it's such a nice blue."

“Ohh..” His hood perks up slightly at that, enough to even hear the faint rattling that causes the tips of his hair to shake and quiver, and he moves to grip at one of the sleeves of the dress, idly feeling the fabric between his finger and thumb. “Quite soft. Lovely color. I do like the decorum of the gold with the blue…Yes, yes, very nice. This will do nicely.”

"I'm glad you agree, darling!" She smirks, wiggling the dress to show the way it moved before it joined the others on her tail. "Do you want want less fancy dresses for lounging around in, or are you strictly looking to impress with your appearance, before I offer any other recommendations?"

“Hmmm…Perhaps both. Usually when I wear dresses, I tend to want to impress, but I suppose having ssssome that are more casual would be nice to wear on lazier dayss.” He shrugs a touch but grins nonetheless. “I’m sure you already have a few in mind for either occasion.”

"Well of course I do! As if I'd let down a customer!" She snorts, turning to flick through the rack again. "I think the ones we have now are plenty for dressing up in, so you need something casual.. Something you can wear on it's own.." A thoughtful hum, and she pulls out a dress with buttons all down the front, the waist cinched in to form a pseudo corset.

“Hmmm…” He tilts his head ever so slightly, glancing over the look of the dress up and down, reaching out to grip at the sleeve where the fabric was slim and tugging at it to test how elastic it was, if it was loose or would snap back into place like a rubber band. He finds it to be looser than expected, hums again, and nods. “If you could get me thisss one in a darker color, perhaps a dark green or a maroon red, but keep the white buttons, thisss will be more than acceptable.”

Oriana pinches the fabric of the dress between two fingers, snorting softly as she makes note of Pent's specifications. "My dear, I could sew you this dress in every fabric and color in Hell if you wanted. It's a simple enough pattern that it should only take me a few hours to modify for your figure. We'll try a green, it should help it come off as a cozy piece." How many was that, now? Four? Yes, that seemed correct. One more, then.. "Hm. Tell me, my dear. How do you feel about pinafore dresses? Suspender skirts?"

“Pinafore dresses?” He raises a brow at that, bringing a hand to his chin. “Hmmm…Can’t ssay I’ve ever worn thossse before..”

"No? That's surprising, they're one of the most easily styled dresses out there, in my experience." She slithers a bit ahead, reaching for a different rack to hold up a simple pinafore dress. "I think they pair well with all sorts of sweaters or long sleeved shirts, easy to dress up or down. Care to try one?"

“I don’t tend to wear much either under or over my dresssesss all that much when I wear them. Aside from perhaps a light coat overtop or maybe a simple corssset underneath. But if it’s something you’re recommending….” He moves to take the hangar of said dress, looking it over with a hum. “..Do you have any fitting rooms I could use?”

"Of course, darling. Right by the waiting area, that way Finny can admire you when you come out!" She titters again, handing the remaining dresses over to Pent and gently shooing him in the right direction. "If anything seems incorrect, call me."

“Oh. Ah…Alright.” Even with the secret fact that they were already dating, Pentious still found himself flushing a touch at the sheer idea of Ruddy seeing him in all these dresses, his hood flaring up and twitching a little as he does so, before he moves to more properly hook the other dresses around his arms, starting to slither off in that direction. Hopefully the changing area would be large enough for him that he could properly fit inside, a problem he definitely encountered in the past sometimes. Luckily for him, this was a tailor's shop built specifically for the more serpentine sinners, and with Ruddy in mind at that. The changing room he entered was large, with mirrors on opposite walls so he could see himself from the back and front at the same time.

“Oh my…Well, at least she knowssss her top clientele.” He moves to begin changing, hanging up his coat and vest on a nearby hook, leaving his corset on underneath, before beginning to grab the first dress, the black and white one, and moving to slip it over his head.

Through the door, there's the muffled clink of Ruddy's cup being set down, and then an exchange of murmurs between Oriana and the larger snake, voices low and indistinct. A soft snort, and the tea kettle is clicked on again as Oriana slithers away to go rustle around in the clothing again as the smell of pastries starts wafting through the shop. Seems she'd delivered something to the waiting area for her customers.

Pent couldn’t help but pause a touch as he listens to the sounds of the murmuring, of the distant chattering that he couldn’t quite make out the words of, and at the sound of a snort, his hood twitches a touch, before he slowly moves to slip the dress on fully, sliding his arms through the holes and moving to sip the back all the way up. He takes a moment to look himself over in the mirror, his hood flaring open at full length just to see how it looked contrasted to the cloth before it fell back down again, and he hums to himself, softly. “Not bad…” He glances back toward the door, before moving to undo the locks that kept it shut, moving to slither outwards, making small adjustments to his dress as he does so. Might as well get his opinion on if the dresses look good on him, even if the man isn’t that well versed in terms of wearing them. “What do you think of thisssss first one? Not quite used to the idea of my eye being covered up, but I ssssuppose I can leave it as it is. Doesn’t cover up that much of my vision.”

Ruddy looks up as Pent speaks, a buttered scone halfway to his mouth but quickly abandoned as he rises up to slither closer to his beau. Certainly not the silhouette he'd expected, but... "It certainly emphasizes your hips, but if you'd like a cutout I'm sure Oriana could be convinced to modify the dress for you." He leans down, first to press a kiss to Pent's cheek, then to grab a corner of the skirt to swish around. "I like the fabric, it has good... swoosh? To it?"

There was a moment of Pent humming softly as a kiss is pressed to his cheek, a happy little rumble in the back of his throat, before he can’t help but softly snort as he watches Ruddy mess with the fabric of the dress, hood twitching upwards ever so slightly in amusement. “A good swoosh is certainly a way to put it, yesss. It definitely feels nice, as far as dresses go on my scales.” He moves to pick at the dress himself, idly sliding the cloth between a finger and a thumb.

"That's good. Nothing will ruin an outfit faster than a texture that grates on your nerves as much as your scales." He nods, more to himself than anything, and skims his hands up Pent's sides to cradle his face and press a kiss to the tip of his snout. "You look lovely, dear. Marvelous, splendid, eye catching indeed. Fits you like a glove."

The sudden sensation of those hands sliding up his sides to cup his cheeks was certainly enough to get him to let out a soft squeak of surprise, and his hood flares up a touch more as he feels the kiss on his snout, but after a moment, a giant grin can’t help but stretch up his lips, and he lets out a hearty little chuckle, hands coming up to hook around Ruddy’s wrists. “Heheh. Goodnessssss, already lovestruck and this is just the first dress I picked. I can only imagine how you may react to the other ones.”

Ruddy raises an eyebrow, but plants another, gentler kiss on Pent's nose before withdrawing with a dramatic huff, hands still holding his alternate's face even as he complains. "Well fine, if you want to call me out, I wont comment anymore! Away with you, foul beast, get your compliments elsewhere!"

“Ohh, come on now, don’t be like that.” Another chuckle as he gives one of Ruddy’s hands a pat with his own. “You know I’m ssssimply teasing is all. I actually look forward to how you may react to one of them in particular.” A narrowing of Pent’s eyes and a grin that turns more cheeky and mischievous than anything.

That gets a suspicious squint from Ruddy, an impressively large number of eyes all narrowing as he looks Pent up and down. Not that there would be any clues, but just in case. "Watch yourself, dear. If I have a heart attack on Oriana's shop floor, she's going to be very put out with the both of us, and I've never met a woman with a sterner scowl."

“Hehehe. I can try, but there certainly won’t be any promises. Hard to keep beauty like thisssss contained to any ssssafe levels sometimessss.” A flash of a smug smirk as his hood flares up to it’s full extent, placing a hand under his chin to preen, before he moves to press a soft kiss to Ruddy’s palm and pulls away. “I’m sure you’ll love it.”

Ruddy makes a show of rolling his eyes and scowling at Pent's ego, but his face softens into a smile at the kiss, fingers curling over his palm as he settles back down in his chair. "Yes yes, I'm sure I will. Go on then, you've got other dresses to show off to your captive audience, you peacock."

“Hmm. Isss that your new nickname for me now? Finally going to sssstop referring to me as a hognose?” He pretends to huff, turning up his nose as he turns around with a flourish to begin slithering back toward the dressing room.

His question is met with a bark of a laugh. "Not a chance! You're a hognose forever, little man! I see that nose in the air!"

He immediately ducks his head back down and lets out a louder more genuine huff of indignation, even as he moves to slip back behind the door to start changing again. “Maybe I ought to start calling you a bloody titanaboa! See how you like that! You old fossil!”

Another laugh, louder than the first, and the larger snake thumps his tail on the floor as he pours himself a new cup of tea. "Oh? You think calling me the king of snakes would discourage me? After the way I've seen you eyeing my chest? Pish posh."

“I-You-I have no idea what you mean! You’re ssssspeaking nonssssense! Completely sssselling me a dog, you are!” Another huff, this time accompanied by Pent’s cheeks flushing as he moves to slide the first dress off before moving to hang it back up on it’s hangar. He fights back a grin that wants to rise to his lips as he begins to slip the second dress over his head.

Ruddy settles down into his chair with a last smug little chuckle, eating his abandoned scone and delicately sipping at his tea while Pent changes. It was nice to have a little banter here and there, kept things fresh.

Finally, after a couple moments of silence and a second or two to adjust his dress, he moves to slither free of the dressing room once again, smirking ever so slightly as he gives a little spin in place to let Ruddy take in the sight of his bare shoulders and the view of his chest and shoulder blades, his hips slipping in and out of view thanks to the slits in the sides of the dress. “Well? What do you think of thissss one?”

Ruddy takes longer this time, letting his eyes wander over Pent's form. He doesn't get up this time, just smirks. "You look like the heroine of some bodice ripper romance novel, love. In a good way, mind you. It's a deceptively innocent look, but suggestive nonetheless."

“Hehehe. That’sss the intent, dearesssst of mine. Can’t show too much, but also there’ssss no harm in showing just enough to get the people turning their heads. It’sss all about hitting that ssssweet spot.” He flashes a smug smirk Ruddy’s way, filled with teeth as his hood flares up and rattles with pride. “If I wanted to be out in public and admired as little as possible, I would’ve worn the robesss of a nun.”

"Of course, of course." He rolls his eyes, waving a hand at Pent. "How does it feel? Good? Soft enough? This is something you'd likely be wearing somewhat regularly, it had better be comfortable."

“Heheh.” He chuckles a bit harder but drops the smugness for now, moving to idly rub at the sleeve of the dress with a hand. “The bagginess around the arms admittedly does feel a touch odd but not so much that I can’t get used to it. Other than that, the cloth feels good, and the stitchings don’t have any prickly bitssss that poke or chafe on my skin. So this feels rather nice to me.”

"At the very least, it should keep you comfortable during the hotter portions of the year, especially if we jailbreak." A chuckle, and he reaches out to snag the edge of Pent's dress, tugging him closer to grab one of his hands. Just to give it a squeeze, and then release him again.

“Heheh. Yessss, it should do it’s job quite nicely.” He moves to giggle a touch as he’s puled closer, squeezing back as that hand moves to squeeze down on his own, and he soon moves to lifts himself up a little higher on his coils to reach Ruddy’s face, pressing a quick peck to the nose before he pulls away and lowers himself back down. “Wait till you see this next one then.”

"Well now, watch out! I might interpret that as a threat." A raspy little chuckle, and he puts his hands up in mock surrender. "Go on then, you vile serpent. Hit me with your best shot, if you dare."

“Heheh. I do dare, my good man. I do dare indeed.” A playful flick of the tongue as Pentious slithers back, making eye contact all the while before he finally turns to begin slithering back behind the door of the changing room. He’s quick to undo the zipper on this one, unable to hold back the grin that slides onto his face as he slowly works the second dress off and moves to pick up the blue dress off of it’s handle. He’s slow to change into this one, wanting to build proper suspense, to make the man wait.

The delay is noticed, the larger snake growing more suspicious with each passing seconds. Not of ill intent, he trusts Pent entirely, but this was Oriana's shop. He wouldn't put it past her to try and fling something unreasonably saucy in to get a rise out of him. "Not to rush you, darling, but it is a dress you're wearing, no? If she's gone and handed you lingerie, I'm going to use that tailor of mine as a pool noodle."

“Heheh! Yesss, yes, it is indeed a dress. I wouldn’t go and sssslap on ssssomething so licentious as lingerie so soon, and in a place as public as thiss. Perish the very thought, my dear.” He chuckles, but soon moves to slowly finish zipping the dress up, and begins to open the door upwards. He moves to slowly slide into full view of Ruddy this time, smirking all the while, once more giving a precise and languid twirl of his frame as he does so, hood flaring up to show himself off, to display more of the frame of the dress and how it clings to his scales. Once Ruddy has a full view of Pent’s back from the opening of the dress, the slitted sides letting his hips slide and peek through the gaps, he spots the sight of that scar that he had seen a glimpse of the night before, still there along the base of his spine, still just as thick, just as contrasting against the rest of his black, seamless scales as it had been the first time.

Ruddy keeps his mouth tightly shut as Pent shows off, carefully lifting his cup of tea to his lips as he takes in the display. Not to drink, just as a barrier between the two of them as he considers his words. He'd already heaped on praises, this needed to be distinct. But as he mulls over some choice words, his train of thought is derailed as his eyes catch on the scar again, more visible than ever in the bright light of the store.

He shakes his head. The scar, despite how visible it is, continues to be none of his business. A soft chuckle, and he beckons Pent closer. "I.. Ah, you look lovely, dear. The fit is very flattering. Can you move comfortably with how tight it is?"

“Of coursssse I can.” Pentious, chuckling a touch, moves to let his hood finally fall flat as he moves to slither closer to where Ruddy sat, still grinning, not even seeming to be aware of the fact that his scar was showing at all. “I know it may look a bit sssskin tight and all, but it’s not anywhere close enough to bother me. It’s just when I have layer on top of layer of sssskin tight clothing that I feel the need to start clawing my scalesss off to get all the compression off of me.” He pauses to look down to idly tug at a sleeve to show off that, despite how it clings to his skin, it’s easily pulled up and away from his arm. “That, and the fabric isn’t prickly or itchy or covered in small sharp bits that poke and prod at me when I move, so I’m hardly bothered by it at all.” He glances back up toward Ruddy again, smile turning a bit more sheepish. “Admittedly thissss one was a suggestion from Missss Oriana but I liked the color blend and the open back too much to resist.”

"She certainly has an eye for the more provocative outfits, I'll give her that much. You'd never guess it from that sweet little face she has." He sniffs in mock disgust, curling a hand around Pent's arm to feel the fabric for himself. "I can't tell you the number of times she's tried to get me into some kind of strappy little number to model. But this seems nice. Soft."

“Oh?” He raises a brow at that, smirking up toward him with a teasing glint in his eye, even as he lets Ruddy take ahold of his arm. “She tried to get you to model for her? Goodness, she must be quite the persistent one if she’s asked you multiple times over already. Did it ever work?”

There's a few seconds of silence, Ruddy's face blanking into a careful mask of neutrality before slowly, slowly sliding into a knowing smirk. "There's no evidence that exists to prove it, if I ever did. As far as any court of law can say, I've never so much as considered the idea of wearing one of her pieces, let alone actually let her wrestle me into any."

“…Now you’re making me think you actually did at some point.” A smirk that grows across Pent’s face right back, his eyes narrowing as his hood playfully rattles. “Though I suppose you’d never admit to that, would you?”

An eyebrow lift, a slight tilt of his head, and the larger snake makes a lilting little hum, noncommittal and quite self satisfied. "Of course not. That would be ridiculous." He wouldn't clarify if he meant doing it would be ridiculous, or admitting to it. Both, perhaps. "Go change, love, I don't want to ruin up a dress we haven't even purchased yet if I try and poke at you with my claws."

“…You teassssing git.” He keeps his grin despite his words, letting out a huff of a laugh as he moves to pull back from where Ruddy was, arms crossed almost petulantly over his shoulders. “I hope you realize this means war, my dear. Bloody, brutally terrible war.”

"War, my love? Why, whatever could you mean?" He wiggles the tip of his tail, snickering. "What are you going to do, try to dress me while I'm unconscious? Pout until I wear something unflattering? I can't imagine what you'd want as some token of victory."

“And it’s going to stay that way until I figure out what that token is. If you can be sssssuch an anonymoussss tease, then it’s only fair that I be sssssuspiciously vague right back, hm?” He turns around with an almost haughty swish of his own tail right back, huffing in faux irritation, but the grin that was still on his face was show enough of his jest. “I wouldn’t be so crass as to dress you in your sleep though. Honestly, what sort of fiend do you take me for?”

Ruddy pushes himself up from his chair, leaning over to rest his chin on top of Pent's head as his arms loop around his diminutive alternate. Cooing softly, he combs his fingers through Pent's hair. "Aw, are you an....... upsetti spaghetti?”

Pent, naturally, all but leans into Ruddy’s touch the second he feels those arms wrap around his frame, as he feels those claws start to slowly slide through his hair, his eyes briefly sliding closed as he takes in the warmth of Ruddy’s embrace. But then the man’s words cut through the initial warmth and comfort of the hug, and his eyes pop back open, already starting to feel a wheeze rise up in his chest that threatens to spill past his lips. He lets out a loud, strangled snort, and his shoulders hunch as they shake, desperately trying to fight back his guffawing, tilting his head up to look at Ruddy with incredulous whimsy. “U..Upssssetti spaghetti? Wh…What are you, five yearsss old now? That…That’s..” Another suppressed snort.

Pent's eyes meet Ruddy's, and of course, somehow, he looks even more pleased with himself as he smirks down at his poor victim. "Don't be fooled by appearances, darling. I'm still willing to act foolish to get a laugh out of someone." He softens, nuzzling his nose against Pent's. "And I like your laugh best."

“Oh…Pisss off!” He barely gets the words out through his laughter as they get harder to hold back, even as Ruddy moves to nuzzle his nose together, Pent moving to lean upwards so their foreheads press together as he finally starts to properly laugh, heartily, heavily, mirthful tears already beginning to prick at the corners of his eyes. “How…How is my laugh any…any damn different from yours?”

"What kind of question is that, you silly goose?" He snickers, pressing a clumsy kiss to Pent's lips before resting their foreheads back together. "How is my voice any different from yours? How are my lips any different? My arms? We're different people, dear. Similar, but different."

“Clearly. I can sssay I’d never let anyone hear me say half the ridiculous things that you say on the regular, for certain.” Another heavy chortling of a laugh that has him wheezing softly, idly lifting a hand to wipe at his eyes. “You’re lucky I find it so hilarioussss. And endearing.”

"Oh please, if people are going to underestimate me because I act a bit goofy at times, they're going to find me hilarious when my bullets tear through their organs." His tongue flicks out, tickling the tip of his alternate's snout. "And you'd better find me hilarious. You're the one who fell all over yourself confessing your feelings, no?"

The tickling tongue to his snout was enough to get Pent to huff, a playful puffing and rattling of his hood as his grin turns into a heavy smirk. “Pardon me for panicking when I kissed the man who I thought I never had a chance with and who would never want a relationship with me in the first place, darling.” He moves a hand up to give his snout a poke as he pulls his face back. “You would panic and fall over yourself too if you had kissed me first.”

"If I had kissed you first. And that's a heavy if, at that." A shrug of those massive shoulders, Ruddy's nose scrunching playfully under Pent's touch. "I dismissed romance as something that I wasn't going to bother with, you know. Left to my own devices, and with no indication from you that you wished to pursue a relationship, it'd have taken years for me to even think of asking if you wanted to enter any kind of relationship, and I'd have been insufferably formal about weighing the pros and cons so I could present them for your consideration." He rolls his eyes. "I'm entirely hopeless, dear."

“Perhapsssss, but you labeling romance as a dismissive thing you didn’t need certainly didn’t stop you from accepting my offer of a romance when it came. After I calmed down and we talked it over and everything, granted.” The hand on his snout moves to more softly cup his cheek. “Not that I’m saying you avoiding romance all this time is a bad thing. But from the way you talked about it around me, you can undersssstand why I would be a bit upset at the idea that I had kissed you out of the blue that way.”

Ruddy wiggles his eyebrows, gently poking at Pent's side. "Oh certainly. When you kiss a man with a head big enough to bite yours off... One would be a fool not to be a little nervous, no?" That was terrible. He's back to being pleased with himself, the monster. "But in all seriousness, yes dear. Of course I understand. But it was still hilarious in retrospect."

“Pfft-!” Another instance of heavy chortling from Pentious’s frame, head ducking down as he wheezes out a laugh, shaking his head at the poke in his side. “Alright, alright, I’ll admit, me toppling arssse backwards off your lap and running out of the room in a full tilt sprint is very funny, yes.”

"At least you weren't wearing this little number while you did it, it'd be a shame to rumple such a nice dress." One last poke, and Ruddy pulls back to give Pent some space. "Alright, go change, the dress is lovely and you look great, we've both gotten a good eyeful here."

“Heheh. Very well, very well. Sssstill have a few more dresses to go through anyways.” He moves to chuckle, but properly slinks back to start slithering toward the dressing room once more, still grinning. “Dont think I won’t be finding opportunities to wear this one, however! A dress this good shan’t be wasted!”

••••

With that agreement, a few more displays, and an paper bag full of extra pastries, the two of them leave Oriana's shop. Ruddy is all too happy to pop another scone into his mouth as they slither out the door, offering the bag to Pent so he can see the selection. "Pastry, my dear? We can get some coffee nearby from one of those chain establishments, if you want something to drink as well."

“Ooh.” He moves to reach a hand into the bag to pull out a scone himself to also pop into his mouth, taking in the sweet flavor with an appreciative, if not slight, rattling of his hood. “Mmm. Goodness, Oriana really knows how to bake. Assuming she bakes these herself, I mean.” He swallows the scone to properly speak, nodding a touch. “I wouldn’t mind that at all. Perhaps not coffee, but certainly something cold: it is a touch on the hotter side today.”

"She did, yes. She and I use the same scone recipe, actually. Developed it together a few years ago, but she's a better baker than I am, so I almost never make them myself." He hands over the bag, using both arms to carry Pent's dresses more securely. "Is it? I'd hardly noticed." He frowns, flicking his tongue a few times as he really takes in the heat of the day. Then, with a sigh, he shakes his head. "I've always been on the cooler side."

... Snrk.

A fellow “snrk” from Pentious as he holds back a laugh, shaking his head as he does so. “Goodness, you’re quick with the quips today, aren’t you? Is this because you keep on wanting to hear me laugh or ssssomething, dear?”

A flick of his hood, and the clown of the hour slowly nods, almost embarrassed. "Well, yes, partially that. I also always enjoy having a chance to go out and about and visit with my friends, so my mood is quite lifted. I rarely leave my ship outside of pure necessity, so this is exciting even if it's technically mundane. Apologies, I can tone it down if it bothers you."

“No, no, keep going.” A soft hand on his arm that offers a soft, reassuring pat, Pentious flashing him a warm smile as the amusement begins to fade into proper kindness. “It’s nice to see you so high spirited.” He withdraws his hand and flashes a slightly more teasing smirk. “Besssides, it’s nice to know I’m not the only hermit in thisss relationship.”

Nothing about a man as large as Ruddy could ever truly pass as subtle, but the tightness that leaves his shoulders is as close as it gets. He nods, exhaling quietly as a hand slowly comes to rest on Pent's upper back. "We're both hermits, my dear. I'm just a hermit that has hobbies. Now, the coffee place should be just around the corner. It's rather popular, if we run into any of my friends I'll be sure to introduce you, if you'd like."

“That would be lovely, dear Ruddy. Thank you.” Another soft flash of a smile before Pentious moves to dig into the pastry bag to pull out another scone, popping that into his mouth. “The name I ussssed with Oriana is Percival, by the by, if you want to use that. Unless these are the friends who are aware of..you know.” He idly points between the both of their hoods with a subtle wave of the hand.

"Oh, no, the only person here aware of that other than myself is Alastor. It seems a bit much to just casually tell people about, you know?" He shakes his head, then raises an eyebrow. "Percival? Is that what your name was when you were alive?"

“Oh, no, no no no.” He can’t help but chuckle a bit through his wording, lifting a hand up to wave it as he shakes his head. “It’sss ah…something entirely different from Percival. It’s just…the first name that came to mind is all.” He offers a slight shrug. “I can tell you my real name later, if you want. When we’re not out in public and all.”

"Ah, good. Percival is such a stuffy name." He sighs, patting Pent's shoulder as they approach their destination, the jingle of the bell above the door announcing someone's departure. "If you'd like, but really there's no.."

He trails off mid sentence, eyes snapping ahead to lock with those of Valentino, the moth frozen in place with some pink drink clutched in one of his hands. Neither speaks, both waiting for the other to make the first move.

Pentious notices his sudden stop in his words, and as he glances forward to see none other than Valentino in their path, he feels his heart jolt in his chest. His hood snaps up with a loud sound that resembles an umbrella being torn upwards in a vicious gale, his eyes go wide, and he feels himself all but frozen in place, unable to move. He too says nothing, just keeps staring toward Valentino in complete shock. He looked practically identical to the one in his universe in almost every way. The long fluffy coat, the golden tooth, the wide brimmed hat. The only thing that Valentino didn’t have was the glasses, those were long gone from his face. He had been expecting an Overlord that had been torn down from power like he had to have been a little more…downplayed in his appearance. Ditched the opulence for something more mundane. Either way, the shock was enough to make him freeze in place.

Valentino twitches, glancing down at Pent as his hood snaps open. Another moment, and his face twists into a sneer as he inspects the smaller snake, voice heavy with a mocking sympathy. "The fuck? Pentious, you hiring bargain bin lookalikes now? What corner did you get this one from? Aint one of mine, I can say that much, I've got plenty of better looking whores if you need something that actually looks like you."

Ruddy groans in exasperation at the obvious needling, hastily dumping Pent's dresses into the void of his hat to free his hands as Valentino postures. Two overlords squabbling on the street, just lovely. "I'm not hiring anyone, Valentino, and certainly not one of your employees. My friend and I are enjoying a day out, there's no need for a scene."

It was Valentino’s voice, just as crass as ever, that knocked Pent out of his stupor of shock, his eyes starting to narrow as his scales began to prickle with irritation, with anger, his hood, still flaring upright, starting to visibly bristle, rattling lowly as the tips of his hair shake. This man, this vulgar, wretched pimp, call him a whore? His lips curl into a scowl, showing his fangs, his eyes narrow into a glare, but he holds his tongue, seeing that Ruddy doesn’t quite want a fight. He would keep quiet, for now.

"No need for a scene? Fuck you!" The moth all but snarls, voice dropping from mocking to enraged in the span of a heartbeat. "Are you fucking kidding me? A scene??? You killed my boyfriend and bombed my studio, and NOW you want to play at civil?? That's rich. Sit on it and spin, asshole." He closes the distance with stomping steps, gold tooth flashing in the light as he jabs a finger into the remains of Ruddy's chest eye, hidden under cloth as it was. "Naw, bitch. The only reason you aint twice dead on the ground??"

He hurls his drink into Ruddy's face, his lower arms plunging into the pockets of his luxurious coat, grabbing for guns as he screeches over the startled sputtering of Ruddy trying to get the thick, cold liquid off his face. "Is a lack of OPPORTUNITY."

Pent’s hissing and hood rattling only got more intense the closer Val was getting to them, the more irate he was becoming, and by the time the man’s claw had pressed right into the place where Pent knew that Ruddy’s dead eye was, he was tense, ready to move into action. He saw the shift of motion as one hand tossed the drink, recognizes it instantly as three of the once-Overlord’s hands began to move toward the inside of his regal coat, and on reflex, Pent’s own hand moves to plunge into his, grabbing and yanking out the pistol he always kept on hand, just in case.

Such a fool like Val needed no warning.

Three shots are fired. Two bullets sink right into Val’s stomach, the blood already flying into the air, already pooling, staining the garb, the last shot striking the demon right in the chest. It wasn’t enough to kill him, not immediately, but it would be enough to leave him choking on his own blood, just as he deserved.

The faded overlord falls screaming, his blood and sumptuous coat pooling around his feet as he crumples to the ground in front of the snakes. A sight that Ruddy, unfortunately, mostly overlooks in favor of trying to dig out one of his handkerchiefs to wipe his face clean. Only then does he bother reacting, throwing the dirtied cloth onto the ruined chest of his attacker. "Fuck you, Valentino! Throwing drinks? Trying to shoot me in front of a COFFEE SHOP?!? What are you, twelve? Sod off! I hope someone pisses in your mouth while you're regenerating!"

He bends over, snatching the guns from Valentino's slack hands. "I'm taking these, maybe they can cover my dry cleaning bill you inconsiderate twat. This shirt cost more than your stupid coat!"

“Reaching for his bloody gunssss like he was going to try and kill you and he didn’t even think sssomeone would try and shoot him back. No wonder he hid behind Vox like he was a guard dog all thosssss years, his shooting skillsss are just as piss poor as his love life.” Pent himself casually, almost disdainfully moves to flick open the chamber of his pistol with a wave of a hand, digging into his pocket to pull out three more bullets to reload into his weapon proper. He clicks the gun closed, but keeps it handy as he moves to slither closer to the man’s gasping, gurgling frame, digging a hand into his pocket to pull out Valentino’s wallet, tucking that into his coat for safe keeping.

“Good luck coughing up those bullets out of your north and ssssouth, you tosser.” With that, he promptly raises the gun again and shoots Valentino once more in the stomach before turning away with a disdainful flick of the tail, already reaching into his coat again to replace the one bullet he fired.

Ruddy snorts, glancing down at Valentino as the light begins fading from his eyes. "We're being nice, Valentino. He could have shot you in the dick. And if I still had legs, I'd kick your nuts straight up your throat for being such a git." A shake of his head, and he claps a hand onto Pent's shoulder. "Well, anyway. Still want that drink, my good man? I suppose Valentino is paying, now."

“Indeed I do. Drink, and a lunch, in fact. Might as well ssssplurge since he has quite the heavy amount of cash on him. That wallet felt quite heavy.” He finally cracks a grin up toward Ruddy as he moves to to tuck his pistol back into his coat properly. “The bullets were normal ones, however, so perhaps we ought to take them to go. Who knows how long it may take for him to actually spit those back up, and I’d rather not wasssste any more on his pathetic attempts at squabbling.”

"Mmm. Yes, as much of a pain as he is, I don't really want to off him permanently. I don't want the responsibility of trying to manage the porn empire he rules over." His face scrunches at the very thought, tongue flicking before he shakes it off and goes to hold the door open for his alternate, the dead eyed baristas behind the bar seemingly unaware of the scuffle that had just happened outside their establishment. "Well, come on then, my dear, we might as well take advantage of the man's generosity while we can!"

“Indeed! Might as well see how fast we can empty the sod’s wallet!” He can’t help but let out a chuckle as he moves to slither in through the door, his hood puffing up proudly as he does so.

#sir pentious #ruddygore #chat log #rp chat log #rp log

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