He had thinking to do, especially since this work wasn’t that hard. He adjusted the spray and started the outline, tracing over the marker lines, his mind going to the mermaid that he was... shockingly, dating. He was a taken boil now. He was--oh jack, NOT SINGLE anymore. What the hell was he supposed to do? He would have to tell Mitzi and Circe and--jack, everyone. But he couldn’t tell Danny, cuz Danny wasn’t home. And he couldn’t tell anyone ELSE cuz Danny didn’t know yet, and Danny should be the first to know, right?
Why had she decided on him?
He shoved that thought out of his mind, working through the lines quickly. He’d gotten some glow in the dark spray paint for the lettering, which he pulled out next, starting on the first word with a skill that showed he’d done this sort of thing several times before. This Battle of the Bands was going to have a punk feel to it, and anyone that disliked it could jackin’ well run the next one, Roch decided as he worked.
But... Okay, he needed to tell the ghouls he flirted with that he couldn’t flirt with them anymore. He needed to go find a candle shop and get her some ocean scented candles, he needed to--
Why had she decided on him? The question wouldn’t go away. He knew why he’d been willing to let her choose--everyone deserved to make their own choices in life. And he couldn’t even blame her for being attracted to other guys--hell, he’d been attracted to other ghouls before. And he got that she didn’t know much about romance, neither did he. But with all of that--he cursed, running a hand over his face and sighing loudly--he didn’t know what he was doing whatsoever.
Yeah, that was the problem, he decided. What he’d been doing so far? Cuddling, sneaking kisses, hiding away in his room and hoping that nobody questioned why she came over so often--this wasn’t dating, this was like... an affair. It went right back to the pool boil sensation he’d had earlier, except now he was--
No, stop, back up. She didn’t want Thana. If she wanted Thana she would have chosen him. If she found a guy that she wanted more than him, now, all she’d have to do is tell him and he’d let her go. He... probably should tell her that fact, he thought as he pulled out the second bright color and went to work with that. It just--he didn’t want to think about letting go right now. Right now he wanted to panic over stupid s**t, like if there was a difference between sea scented and ocean scented, and how he’d go about telling everyone that he--Roch Scythe, bachelor--had gotten hooked up.
How in the hell would he tell his dad and gramps? Would they compliment him or burst into laughter? She hadn’t even met his dad yet--and his gramps’ take on her had been--hell, who was he kidding, it’d been a perfect description. Head full of sunshine, bubbles, and not much else. Yeah, that was his Amphi, Roch thought with amusement. But the thought of introducing her to his dad--he went still, his finger falling from the nozzle of the can, trying to imagine how Austin would deal with Amphi.
Austin had hated Hel. But Hel and Amphi were so completely different, his mind whispered. It was like comparing a vicious snarling badger to a glassetta, he thought with amusement. His pretty little mermaid was a healer, not a warrior, and she would never imagine kicking him in the balls... unless he seriously deserved it, Roch thought. Austin would probably find her amusing. Roch could almost picture the little grin on his dad’s face as he took another drag of his smoke, then looked at Roch pointedly, as if saying “So... this her?” with that underlying hint of “I still don’t get your taste in ghouls, boil, but oh well.”
And he’d already gone through the hell of meeting her sister. Course, he had a very good idea that they wouldn’t see eye to eye the next time they met, either. But what about the other sisters? What were they like? He started painting again, now picturing some seven or eight super hotties all in a row--jackdamn, those family reunions would be dangerous for a redblooded boil. Wait, why was he inviting himself to family reunions? No, he was going to ignore both of those thoughts now and move on.
He’d promised that horseman a trip to his old neighborhood. He needed to do that, too, but the idea of leaving her here now, when nobody knew she was taken, and when their relationship was still so new that it was... it was really pretty fragile, it made him feel jittery. Once they were solid--once everyone knew, and they’d developed a decent... bond, or somethin, then he’d be better with the idea of leaving. He was seriously lucky that Nox’s first job for him was pretty massive--and required no traveling whatsoever. Or at least, nothing that couldn’t be done easily and without being gone all day. And even when he was out here, working, she could come and check on him whenever she wanted. Even if the gnomes had a bad habit of wolf-whistling.
This was... it was the strangest feeling he’d ever had. With Xiu, he had wanted her with him all the time, wanted to play for her, wanted to become what she might want him to be--and that was the problem, he thought. He’d felt disgusted with himself more often than not, as if what he was doing was wrong. And the idea of changing himself just for a ghoul made him sick to his stomach now. Because, seriously, if you ain’t the guy, you ain’t the guy, he told himself. Trying to become someone you aren’t just wound up hurting you in the end.
There’d been others. One or two. Things he really didn’t want to think about, really, jacked up situations where he’d tried to convince himself he like--liked someone, but knew he didn’t, not like they deserved to be liked. What he’d been looking for, when it came down to it, was something he’d been pretty sure he’d never find.
He finished up the painting, moving it to the side to try, and went to the next board, starting to line it with a marker.
Had he found what he was looking for in Amphi? He... hell if he knew, he admitted finally. But he definitely didn’t feel the same was as he had when he was chasing Xiu. He didn’t feel disgusted with himself in the least. In fact, every time he saw those big blue eyes he felt... stupid happy. Like where he felt he was being deprived when he couldn’t greet her in public with a kiss--when he couldn’t walk with her tugged up against his side, his arm around her shoulders, hers around his waist, like--
He was SERIOUSLY stupid with that happy, he thought with self disgust. He finished with the first color, moving on to the next. But she was so open to physical affection, he thought. She jackin’ LOVED being kissed and hugged and all those things, and was blatant about it. He didn’t have to worry about if he was doin’ it wrong or if he was pushing his boundaries, or if he needed to do this first or that first--he knew where he stood. It was something Roch valued more than silver seeds, that. All of that. The ease with which she accepted his affection, the honesty that came with it, he counted himself the most jackin’ lucky guy in the world for those things.
He... okay, yeah, he was gone. He was so far gone. He had a sexy little mermaid that happily kissed him back and was blatantly honest about everything--now if only she had a butt in her natural form, he thought with a snort. Then she’d be jackin’ perfect.
It’s a good thing there weren’t mind readers in the area.
Nyxtsuki Moon
Because I figure you'd want to read this<33
