It'd been another late night of doing the very hard work consisting of things he liked to do anyway, but with extras. But the concept of it being a kind of work, a kind of, putting effort into anything besides himself, was a little exhausting.

He deserved a few days off.

In the sun.

With books.

And snacks.

So when he strolled up to one of his favorite park spots for quietly lounging attractively in the shade of a tree with a book, and saw that someone had already settled nearby, he experienced a very brief moment of irritation. Of course it evaporated fairly quickly when he saw that they were young, tall, attractive, and of all things, drawing.

Because Mal also felt he deserved: someone pretty to flirt with.

Placing his picnic basket under the tree, Malory arranged himself for both comfort and impact and then...

Just stared at the other, waiting patiently to be noticed, like a particularly intent cat.

x[Mistress Morbid]