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 Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2023 1:00 pm
There was no way Ephesus was going to be going anywhere without Amarynthos if there was a ghost around. He didn’t think it would want to hurt them, but maybe it was territorial.
They took a little bit of time to dump out the wheelbarrow of weeds before making their way down the cleared path that connected Amarynthos to Ephesus. They were both filled with flowers, but Ephesus thought the white honeycomb building with its domed towers was a little intimidating, even if there wasn’t anything that felt unwelcoming about it. And they were close enough that it didn’t take very long to walk from one to the other.
He liked all the plants and the fountains. And the mosaics and the statues that were inside the courtyard. As they passed by one of the tiger statues -- white stone with gold inlay -- Ephesus reached out to gently pat its cool, smooth head.
“Aren’t they pretty?” he asked Amarynthos with a smile, gesturing to not one, but apparently six tigers that were in various poses around the center courtyard. “They were covered in vines and hidden behind all the overgrown plants,” he explained, taking a step over what seemed to be a purposeful divide in the floor, like channels that were once meant for water to pool, but it was dry now.
Dry, but clean. Ephesus took time to sweep out all the channels so they were free of dirt, and made sure to clean up the fountain where he’d placed the Code piece on top.
“I found the top of the fountain as well,” he chirped, more relaxed now that they hadn’t seen any ghosts following them into his Wonder. “It’s a pretty golden flower, kind of like the one you’re wearing,” he gestured to the one on Amarynthos’ chest. This way, once they got the fountain working, he wouldn’t have to worry about the Code getting wet. It had a nice seat above where the water would flow out.
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2023 1:11 pm
The whole time they walked from Amarynthos to Ephesus, Mary sang praise for their Wonders and pointed out all the new or changed things he could see. It was much better to focus on things like that instead of ‘was that a ghost’ or ‘is something watching us’.
Their Wonders always felt warm and inviting, so it was unusual to feel something off here, and while he did immediately assume that something was wrong, the Code hadn’t seemed alarmed at his Wonder–and hadn’t called them to where they’d first awakened to talk to them. So he shouldn’t be worried, right?
He ran his thumb over his ring while they walked, and swung Ephesus’ hand in his own.
When Ephesus took a step over the empty channel, Amarynthos did the same. .
“Everything here is pretty. Especially you. You really did all this without me? I’ve been slacking.” He was teasing, but spoke with earnest praise. “It looks really good, Effie. If we keep up at this pace, our Wonders will be spotless in no time.”
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2023 5:47 pm
Effie felt his cheeks flush, and he tried to hide the smile that forced its way onto his face. How could he not smile when Mary was being so sweet and kind and encouraging?
“That’s not true at all,” he insisted. “You’re doing a lot more heavy lifting than I am. You’ve been pushing that wheelbarrow around and helping me get rid of all the dead plants. I’ve just been sweeping and dusting.”
He’d tried to use the wheelbarrow himself a few times, but each time he struggled with it so much that Mary took mercy on him and took over. Especially after he’d tipped it over onto its side and got himself stuck under the handle. If Mary hadn’t been there to help him with all of the heavier things, like moving large pots so he could sweep, then he wouldn’t have gotten nearly as much done. And he’d mostly been focusing on the courtyard and path to Amarynthos anyway.
“Hello,” he greeted the Code piece at the top of the fountain, the smile from Mary’s compliments and praises still on his face. “I hope you’re doing well, and if you’re not then I can try to make things better! I was also wondering if it would be okay to have a ring like Mary, please?”
Was that rude of him to just ask for one? Oh… he hoped not.
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2023 6:03 pm
Amarynthos was still beaming from Ephesus’ praise, and he was happy enough to say that they were a great team. So he could do heavy lifting, whatever. He had to take it easy while he healed so he wasn’t even working at full capacity right now.
He squeezed Ephesus’ hand encouragingly as they stood before the Code piece. “Hi, again,” he greeted, and waved to the Code even if they’d just been visiting the one at his Wonder a few moments ago.
“You look even brighter over here! But then, Effie’s always glowing, so maybe you’re just reflecting off of each other.”
And–he wasn’t entirely unserious either! The Code piece did look brighter than he was used to. He just wasn’t sure if it was because Ephesus was doing such a good job cleaning things up or if it was because it was hiding something inside of its brightness like his Code piece had been.
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2023 7:31 pm
Ephesus giggled softly, charmed by how sweet Amarynthos was. How sweet he always was. He always knew what to say to make him smile and make him feel better about himself.
Hoping he didn’t offend the Code by doing so, Effie turned so he could press a kiss to Mary’s lips. He gave his hand one more squeeze as well, before letting go so he could turn to climb up onto the edge of the dry fountain, holding out his hand to the Code and withdrawing a ring as well.
It was white and shimmered, inlaid with gold.
Not wanting to fall, he waited until he had Amarynthos’ hand again so he could get some help getting down, and slid the ring on.
“Thank you,” he said with a smile up at the Code. He only knew what to look for because Amarynthos had retrieved his already, and he was happy they hadn’t been wrong about getting a ring for the both of them.
“And thank you,” he said to Mary, reaching up to wrap his arms around his boyfriend’s neck to hold him in a tight hug for a few moments. “Thank you for believing in me. I believe in you too, you know.”
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2023 7:39 pm
The Code had definitely seen them kiss a few times, and it had never spoken up or seemed offended. Naturally, Amarynthos smiled into the kiss and would have given him a much longer one if the Code didn’t seem to be so keen on giving gifts today.
He held one arm out, just behind Ephesus’ back. If he slipped, Amarynthos would have been able to catch him before he fell. Thankfully, he didn’t. He had such a cute smile and he looked so good basked in all that light.
He could have stared at Effie for hours.
The hug was just as good as the kiss because he could feel how much Effie loved him, but this time he had the chance to squeeze him back. “I know you do. You’ve always believed in me. When I’m around you, I feel invincible.”
Well, he could think of a few bruises that would argue otherwise, but it didn’t change how good Effie made him feel. “Try your ring on, how does it fit? It’s really pretty. Very fitting.”
Briefly, he glanced up at the Code. “You have impeccable taste, by the way.” His attention was quickly returned to Ephesus, though; he didn’t want to let him go. Maybe they should have done a bit more clean up first–and they probably would–but he was already thinking about how they were going to show this off to Michael.
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2023 7:47 pm
“Oh!” He hadn’t even thought about trying on the ring, but he also didn’t want to move out of Mary’s arms, so when he pulled back he did so in a way that he hoped made it obvious that he wasn’t ready for Mary to release him just yet.
Carefully, he slid the ring onto his finger and held it up so that the light from the Code caught it, making it shimmer with moonlight.
But it wasn’t nearly as pretty to look at as Amarynthos’ smile. And even as he was pretending to look at the ring, he kept peeking over to see Mary’s expression.
“Don’t feel too invincible. I can only heal so much.” But it was clear in his voice that he was just teasing. A little. He didn’t want Amarynthos getting hurt, but he was clearly impressed by how strong he’d already proven he was.
“Where’s yours…?” he hummed, turning a little so he could reach for Amarynthos’ hand and held it in his own, lifting them both up to see the rings together.
Oh… oh but that made him think of other rings they could be wearing. His face flushed a bit, and he leaned close to press another kiss to Mary’s cheek.
“We’ll be together for as long as possible, right?”
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2023 8:20 pm
“Forever,” Amarynthos confirmed, offering his hand so Ephesus could properly examine his ring. It fit perfectly, like it was made for him–and, maybe it was.
“So I’ll be careful, I want to last that long. You make me feel invincible but I know I’m not. Well, he glanced at the Code for a moment. “Unless you have some magic invincibility powers you could grant us?”
The Code didn’t seem to respond, so he continued. “No? That’s okay, I figured as much.”
He bounced on his tiptoes a bit as he faced Ephesus again. “Your ring really suits you. You know–you really do seem like you glow when we’re on the Moon. I mean, you always kind of do, even when we’re not Moon Knights. The sun catches your hair really nicely, too. Have I told you that already? I’ll say it again. I like the way your eyes sparkle, too.”
And no one else was around–no parents, no ghosts. (Probably). The Code wasn’t going to judge them. (Also probably).
He felt like he could tell Ephesus the silly little things he wanted to say on Earth here because it was just them.
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2023 8:29 pm
Amarynthos absolutely knew how to cham him. Effie’s face continued to flush, but he smiled all the same. Maybe a bit bashfully from all of the compliments he was being showered with.
Oh… and his eyes felt a little hot too, but he was doing his best to blink away any tears that wanted to start to collect in them, because he absolutely didn’t want to upset Mary by getting weepy over every nice thing he said.
“I think yours suits you too. You look very noble in your new clothes, too. Very handsome. Very knightly. But not like a typical knight. I think this suits you more than a bunch of armor,” he smiled, very much liking how Mary bounced a bit when he was excited or happy about something.
He waited until he wasn’t bouncing to kiss him again.
“I would like to be able to protect you better. Not just heal you when you get hurt,” he admitted, and this time he also glanced up at the Code. He didn’t know what there was that could give them any extra power, and certainly nothing that would make them invincible, but if that meant they just had to train harder then they would.
“I love you,” he whispered, holding tightly to Mary’s hand as he stared up into his eyes. “You make me feel safe and special. I like your smile and how it is so contagious. And your hair is so pretty and dark. It still shines in the moonlight. And I like how you always have my back and know what to say to encourage me. Thank you.”
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2023 8:55 pm
Amarynthos had the benefit of a little extra height and he was more glad for it now than he had been before. Ephesus looked so charming right now. He didn’t let the watery eyes bother him–he was used to them, and Effie was smiling. Not in the way he did when he was trying to smile through the pain, but in the way he did when he just had a lot of feelings. Good feelings.
“Well, you are special. And I love you, too. And I get butterflies in my stomach when I think about you sometimes, and I look at you and I’m just so happy you’re here with me. Your smile is contagious too, you know. I think we both look really good. Very fashionable. Even by Devyn’s standards, I bet.”
He rocked on his heels again, too excited and happy to stay still. He didn’t release Ephesus; he wanted to hold him forever. “You look like a prince out of a fairy tale, just saying. Prettier, even. And I know you’re always going to have my back, too. We’ll get stronger. Even if you can heal me. I know we have a lot of room to grow. And I’m really glad I get to do that with you. This would suck to do alone, you make everything better.”
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2023 9:00 pm
“Me too,” Effie said, a bit breathlessly as he smiled up at Mary. “Sometimes I think they’re really trying to escape!”
He couldn’t help but laugh. He felt light and happy and like he was the luckiest person in the world. He was if Amarynthos loved him.
“You make everything better too. You look like a prince out of a fairy tale too. Or a very important scholar. I really like all the flowers,” he added with a smile, blinking the tears away because they were happy tears and he didn’t want Mary to confuse them with anything bad.
He let out a shuddery breath, and laughed again because he knew he was being silly for getting emotional.
“We’ll get stronger,” he agreed with a nod and leaned close so he could rest his head on Mary’s shoulder for a little bit. Just long enough for him to admire their rings a bit longer. “And we’ll be together forever.”
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