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 Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2023 12:09 pm
Several months ago, when they were first starting to clean up their Wonders, Michael insisted on making sure they had new beds brought with them, in case they got tired. At first, Ephesus wasn’t sure how they were going to get beds to the Moon, but as it turned out, Michael purchased some heavy duty foam-like mattresses and frames that were vacuum sealed into much smaller boxes than one would think possible.
The intention was for them to both have their own twin sized bed at their Wonders, in case they wanted to take a nap, but the boxes for Amarynthos still hadn’t been opened. The other had been set up in one of the rooms of Ephesus. It took some time to get the old, dust filled and falling apart mattress out of the room, and everything cleaned up, but now it was a nice little set up with some battery powered fairy lights strung up around the walls, and pretty floral and honeycomb sheets covering the bed.
There was a light drizzle outside, which Ephesus didn’t mind. The plants needed the rain, and it was never so much that he was worried about anything getting washed away. It gave them a chance to clean up a little more inside.
“What do you think these are?” Ephesus asked as he held a box with seven glass orbs that were filled with what looked like water. They reminded him a bit of Amarynthos’ staff, so he couldn’t help but wonder if maybe they were meant to be for Amarynthos instead. The orbs were small and could easily fit in his palm, and they looked like they could be hooked onto a chain maybe.
Inside the manor at Ephesus, the hallways went along the perimeter of the building, which meant while walking along the halls one could get a view of the gardens and orchards, but inside any of the rooms had an interior window that overlooked the courtyard.
Ephesus had found the wooden box inside a desk drawer, and easily fit on his lap as he sat on the bed, his cape hung over the back of one of the chairs.
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Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2023 2:03 pm
Amarynthos had to tear himself away from the window. He was a hard worker and gave everything his all, but there was something particularly magical about rain on the moon. It might have been a trick of the eye, but every now and then the rain seemed to catch a light and it looked like colored beads were falling from the sky.
He’d been moving boxes and scrubbing earlier, and though the window had distracted him briefly he was glad for an excuse to take a real break.
Moving to sit next to Ephesus on the bed, he tilted his head. Their knees bumped together–intentionally, of course. Mary liked any opportunity to be close to Ephesus, and he knew his boyfriend didn’t mind, either.
Oh, but just in case, he kissed his cheek, too.
“I have no idea. They’re really pretty, though. Can I hold one for a minute?”
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Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2023 3:05 pm
“Of course,” Ephesus said gladly, smiling at the kiss. He made sure the box with the line of orbs didn’t tip over as he rested it over his thighs. Carefully he lifted one of them out.
The light blue lining underneath was something like silk maybe, but he couldn’t be sure. It seemed to shimmer when he picked it up, the liquid moving somewhat slower than water. It was cool to the touch and he gently passed it over to Amarynthos to hold.
“They’re pretty. Maybe too big for a necklace. Maybe I can hang them up so the light catches them like prisms,” he said thoughtfully. But no, there seemed to be something more that they were meant for.
“I could ask the Code,” he hummed, but that seemed like it was cheating to always ask the Code every time they had a question. Did other Knights get to ask the Code anything they wanted? He was pretty sure Michael figured out a lot on his own. He wanted to be self-sufficient as well, so he sighed, and tipped his head to rest on Amarynthos’ shoulder.
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Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2023 3:14 pm
Amarynthos rolled the ball around curiously in his hand before he held it up to the light and watched as the liquid lowly shifted inside. It wasn’t water but it didn’t seem like it had the thick consistency of glue, either. He didn’t know what it was–thinned down honey? That would have been fitting, but he wasn’t going to break it open to find out.
“They would be pretty decorations,” he agreed, but when in doubt, they could absolutely go to the Code. “Do you think it’s tired of us yet?”
A smile twitched onto his face, but he gently nudged Ephesus so he’d know he was teasing. The Code had been kind and supportive and every time they’d gone with questions, they’d gotten answers–one way or another.
“I mean, someone thought to put them away and keep them somewhere safe, so I bet they were important to someone, for something. I don’t think I’ve seen anything like that since we’ve been here? Not on Amarynthos, either.”
Their Wonders were so close to each other that he often found overlapping styles or similar structure.
“If anyone knows these are or why they were put away, it’s definitely the Code. But we could ask my bear, too! I don’t think he’d know, but he might like the attention.”
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Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2023 3:23 pm
Ephesus knew Amarynthos was just teasing. He wouldn’t say anything to intentionally try to upset him, he knew that. Which was why Effie couldn’t help but smile again.
“Maybe it’ll have some answers for us. You’re right,” he hummed. Carefully, he took the box and closed it. He was okay with Amarynthos holding the one he had, but the rest he carefully moved to the side and set the box on the bed.
And once he had it off his lap, he leaned backwards so he could flop onto his back. He placed his hand against Mary’s back, admiring the fine detail of the stitching of his clothing. It reminded him a lot like Devyn’s stitching. Elegant. Mature. But still fun.
He also liked to look at how pretty Amarythos’ hair was.
“I would like to ask your bear! Do you think he’ll fit in the room?” He was teasing, but he knew Amarynthos knew that as well.
“Maybe they’re used to attract bees to different places. Well. I haven’t seen any bees, but with all the flowers that have been growing, I think we should see some soon.” He was hopeful.
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Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2023 4:34 pm
When Ephesus laid down, Amarynthos tilted his head over his shoulder so he could look down at him. He’d always been a happy kid, but the type of happiness was just so different with Effie there. It was like he’d discovered a new way to be friends, a new way to love.
Maybe it was silly to be enamored by how pretty Ephesus was, with his hair spilled around him, and a smile on his face.
Amarynthos wondered if he’d ever thought anyone was pretty before he met Effie. He couldn’t remember anyone that stood out, not like how he did.
Rolling the little orb in his hand, he was careful not to shake up the liquid inside or drop it.
“He might fit in the room if you scoot over some. I don’t think he understands boundaries. He might just lay on top of you.” Amarynthos could hardly keep the mirth out of his voice as he flopped next to Effie. He scooted closer afterwards so he could press against him and rest his temple against Ephesus’.
“I hope you get bees soon. And all sorts of other things. I mean, we’ve already got all these flowers. I hope we can bring back all sorts of life to the Moon.” Ideally things that weren’t already ghosts but he was still trying to figure out how all of this worked.
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Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2023 4:44 pm
“Oh, that doesn’t sound too horrible. He might be heavy though. I bet you wouldn’t be too heavy if you lied on top of me,” Ephesus laughed softly at first, and then realized he might have said something weird and laughed a little harder as his cheeks flushed.
“You know. In case it was cold. Or if you wanted to. Or if there wasn’t room,” he quickly tried to explain himself, but decided that he probably was only making it worse.
He didn’t want Amarynthos to move away from him. He liked when he was pressed against him, temples touching like they were. It was calming. But he also really, really liked Mary and didn’t want to make things weird by saying weird things.
So he let out a quiet, embarrassed huff, although he was still smiling, and shifted so he could push himself up a little. He then proceeded to carefully, but mock dramatically, drape himself over Mary’s chest so he could wrap his arms loosely in a halo around his head, and pressed his forehead to Mary’s cheek as he rested his cheek on Mary’s shoulder. He was careful! He made sure he didn’t jostle the orb from Mary’s hand!
“I think I need to bring a set of paints here for days like this. Or, well, any day is nice here.” Oh yes, a change of subject was a good idea.
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Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2023 6:52 pm
Amarynthos thought he was pretty good at telling when Ephesus was making himself nervous but a smile twitched onto his face long before Ephesus moved. He placed the orb on the bed next to him before he wrapped his arms behind Ephesus' back. In only a second, he’d laced his fingers together so he could pull him closer.
“You’re comfortable. Like a nice, weighted blanket.”
There was plenty of room on the bed. They could have laid close together.
Mary liked this more than he liked him next to him–which was saying something, because he loved that, too.
“If you roll over, you can tell me how heavy I am. But you’re nice here, too. I think bringing paints here is a good idea. Would you paint things to hang on the walls? Or paint the walls?”
He tilted his head just slightly so he could look around the room but he was mindful not to move too much; he liked Ephesus right where he was.
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Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2023 8:24 pm
Ephesus didn’t move, especially not when Amarynthos wrapped his arms around him. His stomach felt fluttery and his heart was racing, but it was a good feeling. He liked being around Amarynthos, who always made him feel safe and important and loved.
Yes, his dads (and Elliot’s dads) made him feel that way too. His friends did. But this was different. No one else gave him butterflies or made him blush when he giggled or made his heart feel like it was in overdrive.
He was trying not to be too obvious with his grinning from ear to ear, but he did shift just a little so he could look around the room.
“I’ve never painted a mural before. Maybe I should try to do something like that,” he hummed thoughtfully. He liked painting on canvas and paper and making jewelry, but if he had the chance to paint something big, well… what better place to start than the white walls of Ephesus?
“I’ll have to make sure anything I do matches the rest of the Wonder. I don’t want it to look out of place,” he hummed, moving his arms down just a bit so he could card his fingers through Amarynthos’ hair.
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Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2023 8:57 pm
Amarynthos let out a pleasant sigh when Ephesus started playing with his hair, and he was unwilling to release him from his hug so he brushed his thumbs across his back to try and return the favor.
“I think you should paint whatever you want. You shouldn’t have to worry about if it matches or not. You’re allowed to leave your mark on this place, I think. It’s not like you’d be graffiti-ing or something. It’s art. Devyn says art is an expression of yourself, and Ephesus chose you to protect it.”
Or the Code did, but it was really all the same, wasn’t it?
“So it’s gotta like you, and everything that makes you special. And if you don’t like how the mural is coming out, you can always paint over it until you’re happy with it. Besides, ‘out of place’? Ephesus is beautiful, and so’s you’re art. It’ll fit in perfectly.”
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2023 5:27 pm
Ephesus was quiet for a few moments, listening to everything Amarynthos said and taking it to heart. Like with most things that touched his heart, he could feel his eyes get hot, but he quickly blinked the wetness away and held his breath so he wouldn’t make it too obvious that he was getting emotional. Again.
Amarynthos was just so sweet and kind and made him feel like he was worth something. And he said his art was beautiful, even though Ephesus knew that he had a long way to go before he could be considered actually good by other artists.
He didn’t want to move much from where he was against Amarynthos’ chest, so when he tilted his head, it was just enough so he could press a kiss against his neck, then pressed his face against it, which would hopefully stop the tears.
“You’re wonderful,” he sighed, and sniffled a little-- oops. “Would you like to help me?” he continued after a moment when he knew his voice wouldn’t break with emotion. “You don’t have to, but I thought… maybe it would be fun. Oh, but if you would rather take that time to work on your place, then that’s okay!”
He wasn’t trying to only think about himself. He was distracted by the idea of doing everything with Amarynthos. That probably made him a little too codependent… but he couldn’t help but want to be near him.
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2023 5:49 pm
Amarynthos didn’t immediately feel the wetness of Ephesus’ tears, but he drew him closer anyway. The sniffle gave it away, and the silence that followed was just as telling. He wished there was a blanket in reach so he could throw it over him and tuck him close against him.
“Of course I’d like to help you. I’m not an artist like you, though, so maybe I can work on fixing something up in here, or cleaning. I like spending time with you. We can have days on Ephesus and days on Amarynthos. Two pairs of hands will get twice the work done, so a day here and a day there breaks even.” He was simultaneously twice as productive with Ephesus, and twice as distracted, so that evened out, too.
“If I help you paint anything, you’ll have to fix all the parts I mess up. Or give me the easy stuff to paint, like filling in where you’ve already done the lines. I’ll try anything, but I don’t want to ruin your vision! But. I know that no matter what I could mess up, you could fix it. You could turn it into something beautiful.”
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2023 6:01 pm
“I don’t think anything you could do would mess anything up,” he promised, and eventually gave in and lifted a hand to rub at his eyes. It was embarrassing getting emotional over nice things, but he was glad that Amarynthos didn’t seem to mind. Even encouraged it. Devyn did as well. He wasn’t sure what he did to have such amazing people around him, but he was grateful.
“But okay, we can do that. I would like to have you help me paint, though. I’d like to look at where we worked together and know it’s just a little of what we could accomplish together,” he said as he held onto Mary a while longer.
“You’re good with details. And you’re part of my vision so… it would be perfect no matter what.”
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2023 6:14 pm
As Ephesus rubbed at his eyes, Amarynthos rubbed at his back to soothe him.
“You have so much faith in me. It’s sweet. I don’t think I’m a good enough artist to make something to be passed down from one Knight to the next, but I really like your vision. Very romantic, too. You’ve got a way with words. I can tell you’ve been spending time with Devyn,” he teased.
Although, he liked it. Sometimes, when Atticus said something so bold, it gave him butterflies in his stomach. He didn’t want to sound silly saying it, though, so he just kissed atop his head.
“I think I’d like that, then. Maybe I’ll get better if you help me practice. I’ll do my best, if you help me figure out what we’re doing.” He laughed, softly. Fondly. “I like that–the ’to look at where we worked together’ part. We’re going to accomplish so much, Effie. Together.”
He didn’t feel like he had to do anything alone–and he didn’t want Effie to, either.
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2023 6:55 pm
He would have been perfectly content next to Amarynthos for a good while longer, and he smiled and tried not to let himself blush too much at everything he was saying. He happened to like spending time with Devyn! So it was kind of a compliment because everything Devyn said always sounded so poetic and romantic.
Ephesus had opened his mouth to say something else, but his thoughts were immediately pushed away when he saw something shining on the wall. A reflection of light from somewhere outside the hall. The bedroom door was open so there was a breeze that could come through, but beyond the door and the hall were the windows that overlooked the fields. And where Amarynthos was.
“Look,” he invited curiously, reluctantly pushing himself up so he could carefully climb off of where he’d laid on top of Amarynthos. After some less than graceful maneuvers to get back to his feet, he reached for Mary’s hand to help him up.
It didn’t take long for Amarynthos to see what caught Ephesus’ attention. And he might have known already because on one of the white walls of the bedroom was a shimmering pastel rainbow. And out of the window, sparkling in the lingering droplets of rain, a large arch of pastel colors reached over both Ephesus and Amarynthos’ fields of flowers.
“Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?” he gasped softly, his hand still holding tightly to Mary’s.
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