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 Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2023 3:21 pm
[Mid-September, 2023]
September always seemed to be eventful, for one reason or another. Last year being the culmination of bottled feelings spilling over, now this year being drafted in to a magical war that, although he said he would help Amaranth in whatever way he could, Domcallion did not anticipate actually becoming a knight himself to do so.
Still, for all that changed, some things still stayed the same. Like work, their hikes, and their picnics by the creek, later of which being where they found themselves now. A quilt spread across the shaded mossy creek side, the sounds of gently flowing water and birds in the background, Dom laid peacefully on his back, head cradled in the lap of his young beloved who caressed his long dark hair.
It was a peace he had merely fantasized about just a year earlier - picnics before then had been strictly, painstakingly, platonic. Or maybe they were just pretending all that time that it was... Did it matter when this was the end result?
Dom opened his eyes to look at the beautiful opalescent-lavender ones looking down at him with such vibrant warmth and life. He reached for her, touching her cheek, heart skipping a beat even now when Amaranth, his Mary, leaned in to his palm and beamed.
"The first day of Autumn - the lady Persephone makes her return to Hades."
A throwaway line, references one of his favorite myths. Amaranth was his Persephone, his flower maiden, but unlike Hades, he had her all year around. Still though, he could empathize with the king of the underworld's joy and anticipation at the return of his queen, for every time Amaranth left to do her magical girl duties he felt as if half a year or more had passed, even if he tried not to show how much it worried him.
And that was well before he'd become more informed. Of course Amaranth had always told him everything she knew about it, but now he was learning first hand. Dom was the more serious of the two, and while he never doubted that Amaranth was aware of the serious danger of the situation, she had that optimistic outlook, that rosy view, that worried him so. He'd do everything he could to protect that -- it weighed on him.
He would protect her. Cybele may be the princess of the world on which his wonder stood, but Amaranth was his queen, worth all the wonders in all the worlds to him. If for no other reason, than for that he would fight, and gain strength and power. There was no question of which side was right and which side was wrong, no thought given to the nuance of one side over the other. Dom knew all their side cared about would be that he fight against the other. His own reasons could be as selfish as he wanted, so long as it aligned with the end goal. That was fine. It would all be fine.
Because here they were, together, along the creek shore, on their picnic quilt, on this first day of the fall.
[Wordcount: 520 - Domcllion.]
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Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2023 4:06 pm
This spot along the creek shore was theirs, sacred and beautiful, in her eyes. The other side of the creek looked out into a gorgeous open meadow framed by birches and willows, and behind them a grassy hill sloped up steeply, blocking them from view - of course the trees also provided ample privacy, as well as shade. Not that she would have minded the whole world to see their happiness, but laws kind of had some things to say about that.
For all the happiness and exuberance she showed to the world, it wasn't like she hadn't endured her own sorrows and rough spots in life - she just didn't let it darken her light. Now, however, there was nothing to dim the shining sun that was her joy and love, which beamed down on Dom when he placed his hand upon her cheek. Her arms draped over the man's shoulders as he laid on her lap, and crossed over on to his chest in the closest thing to a hug as they could in that position. He was everything she never knew she wanted or needed in her life. She knew he felt the same.
"The return of fall - of course, the first thing that comes to my mind are the events of last fall~" Amaranth replied with a giggle in her voice.
Her thoughts and pondering may not have had the depth or the weight of Dom's, but Amaranth was not so shallow as to not hold the memory of this same time last year at the forefront of her heart. They had been forbidden - she was with another man, and was Dom's employee, as well as being so much younger than him. To the eyes of the general public, there was a gross power imbalance, and it would be inappropriate. For two years Dom had held back his feelings for her with this very thought in mind, as well as holding his own beliefs that she deserved better - and he'd reigned in every desire for anything more than their friendship. Amaranth had been, not quite oblivious to what was going on between them, but certainly hadn't realized how much she had come to want to be with him, and tried to respect their places in life, mostly by chasing people and things that hadn't been good for her - things she had tried to convince herself were what she wanted.
But then last year the bottle broke - Amaranth couldn't recall just what the catalyst was, but she did recall them on a picnic just like this, laying on their quilt side by side, talking as they often did. The topic of conversation was lost to her memory, but there was teasing - flirting - and smiles and soft laughter.
Then lips.
Hunger.
Roaming hands and roaming lips.
And she soaked it in, knowing morally it was wrong because she was with someone else, but wanting this more.
And she was ready to let him have as much of her as he wanted - hoped he would take it all - but like the storm of passion that swirled around them a very real storm was also kicking up. Wind rustled the trees violently at times, and although not a drop of rain was falling there was thunder in the distance, rumbling low, and at first Amaranth had thought that maybe it was Dom, forgetting for the moment that he was incapable of such sounds. She was far more focused on other aspects of him and his actions. Caution had been thrown to the whipping winds and anticipation scorched through her, only to be ended in an instant with the loudest crack of sharp thunder that seemed to shock the man back to his senses.
She remembered him apologizing profusely, and thinking the only thing he had to apologize for was not continuing. The man may have been virgin and his anatomy knowledge clinical, but the man was leaving her thirsty as hell. But, ever the responsible one, Dom quickly gathered their things and they headed back to the cottage. It was awkward, of course it was, and when they were home, Dom retreated to his room and she to hers. She knew immediately then what she needed to do. Okay, so she knew what she needed to do after a little self care. BUT that aside, of course, it wasn't so easy - her boyfriend situation at the time was a mess. It wasn't until mid-November that Amaranth would be free from that, and they would really talk about what had happened. Well, talking was maybe being a bit generous thinking back on it, but the result was the same either way.
In the year since then, everything fell in to place, like a perfect puzzle. A new piece was thrown in to the mix now though - Dom was Hierapolis, a Knight, well, page right now. And his wonder was on the homeworld of her good friend and mentor, Cybele! It couldn't have been more perfect as far as Amaranth was concerned, even if it was unexpected. Of course, she knew this added responsibility was the last thing her already busy boyfriend needed, but it meant she got to have him partake in this other magical part of her life! She was excited.
September was a month of catalysts - if the last one had brought her and Dom together finally, and this one revealed him to be a Knight, then she couldn't wait for the next. Maybe a proposal or marriage? She knew Dom mentioned he found calling them boyfriend and girlfriend was weird, that he would rather introduce her as his wife, and it made her giggle.
She might not have had any real concrete goals or path for her future in mind, but the possibilities fueled her imagination and dreams. She knew her future was safe with Dom by her side, so she could enjoy the here and now. She hoped that she could help him to live in the moment, too.
[Wordcount: 1005 - Amaranth]
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Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2023 6:44 pm
He smiled, a soft chuckle accompanying it along with the light warmth to his cheeks. The openness with which Amaranth spoke of certain things often caught him off guard, but he was learning better how to roll with it.
"Your recollection is better than mine," he replied in his warm but hoarse voice.
If his memory was clearer of that day, he was wrapped up in primal passion and not exactly entirely there cognitively after all, he may have offered to recreate it. However, that would also have required him to be more forward than he was. He was getting better at it! Still, beneath all that he'd built for himself - the professional persona, the demure and polite mortician - he was still that shy, quiet, sweet, emo-boy from back in school who would keep to himself, his music, and his books to try and avoid human interaction and the potential awkwardness derived from under-developed social skills.
True enough, he was much more socially adept now, and could even be described as socially charismatic - which was as far as any sort of charisma went if you asked his opinion - but it was only due to pure concerted effort. There was a reason he had chosen to work with the dead. He just hadn't bargained for to living-people facing part of it, but in the end it all worked out for the better. He'd grown from it.
Even his brothers and grandparents back in Belgium had noticed it the last time they had visited. That had been years ago now. They were due for another visit. Since he currently had no student-interns residing at the cottage, he'd offered to host them for the coming Christmas holiday. Amaranth was eager to meet them, and he was eager to show her off to them. They'd talked about going over there to visit, and Dom had greatly enjoyed seeing Amaranth light up at the idea, but logistically it was difficult - his job kept him busy and he would need to find someone to cover for him, as would she, but while flower arrangement services could be put on pause, leaving just the need for someone to tend to the work in the greenhouse, he would need to find someone he trusted in the mortuary community to sub in for him.
Dom was very protective of the business he'd built. There was a lot of pride there. He had done much to build it up and gain a glowing reputation, offering his services at reasonable prices, even cutting breaks for those most in need when he could, while also pursuing innovative new things. This meant having made a lot of business deals, such as the student intern program, offering to be a teaching location to aspiring embalmers who needed the work-learning time. His business got money from that, and even more if they boarded at his residence. He had dealings with the city coroner, too - Destiny City had a lot of unclaimed dead, and they needed to be cremated, and their cremains returned to the city where they held them for a time. Then there was the floral business, which was starting to turn its own profit. His little empire was built from the misfortunes of others, sure, but in turn he also offered integrity and compassion.
Not just anyone could be trusted to watch over that for him.
[Wordcount: 558 - Domcallion]
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Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2023 7:48 pm
"It really is a shame it's such a blur for you~ But! I just have to make sure the rest of our time is even more memorable," Amaranth replied in her cheerful way after a feigned little pout of disappointment.
She would have jumped at the opportunity to recreate last September; but, since that wasn't an option, she would make do with the time they had today.
"So, are we technically counting the first day of fall as our anniversary, ooooooor~ cause I really didn't plan or get you anything, cause I didn't really think about it. Not that I don't think today isn't special, cause it's like, the greatest thing ever to have happened between us, but it's just, you know~ I wasn't even sure if we were gonna do the whole anniversary thing."
Sometimes Amaranth just didn't stop once she started talking. There was just so much to say, and no concise way to say it! Luckily the enthusiasm and pep with which she spoke cut down the time it took to get all those word out.
Honestly, her past exes hadn't been the sentimental type. Of course, those guys were also self-centered and seen her more as their 'cool goth-looking girlfriend with the NCIS-Abbey energy' accessory, so she really shouldn't hold them as any sort of measuring stick with which to go by either.
But also, what really could they do to make their time together more special than they already did? There was nothing they could go out and do that either of them really wanted to do that they didn't already do, and time spent at home would follow the same formula that they were content to enjoy - cooking or baking in the kitchen with a cozy synchronicity, canoodling on the couch discussing any number of things, or watching something - likely based off a book series that Dom would then explain in detail all of the changes and tell her just how it happened in the book, or even just doing their own separate tasks together. And sure, that might seem like it went against the whole 'make every moment memorable' thing, when it was the same thing all the time, but it was a different same!
Special gifts? Well, they already regularly did - peppering one another with little things here and there, even if it was just bringing back a coffee or tea when they were out. As for big gifts, well, Dom was definitely more of a giver, and a very awkward gift receiver. Amaranth had learned by now that there were things he'd much more gladly receive than some big thought out thing.
They were happy and content with one another and the way things were.
Some might have expected someone as exuberant as she was to always be looking to go out on adventures and do new things, but ever since really delving in to the Senshi thing, she got her fix from that. She wished she could go explore her homeworld more, and she wished she could go see Dom's wonder, but there were limits to their powers and abilities.
[Wordcount: 520 - Amaranth]
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Posted: Sat Oct 14, 2023 2:52 pm
Dom sat up as he let out a sound that, for him, probably qualified as a chuckle and turned to face Amaranth.
"Well, it is the easier date to remember," he hadn't given much thought to it. he had several dates earmarked for them - they day they first met for her interview, her birthday, random days of significance that maybe seemed menial to others, the list went on.
When it came to this, well, "I'm happy to spoil you on both. Realistically though, things do get pretty busy after Halloween. Time gets lost in the holiday blur. Especially with work. It's perhaps not the most romantic of me to say that for the sake of convenience, I would like to say today."
Look, people had this habit of dying more often during the holidays, which was honestly really tragic and all, and he was glad that Amaranth understood that his work would keep him busier than she may have liked - finding time to go look at Christmas lights, going out for a holiday dinner, shopping for decorations, putting up said decorations... As much as he'd have loved to be able to do it all, it was exhausting. The business came first. Throwing knight things on top of that now, and..... Well, he was thankful that Amaranth had no problem doing her own thing while he was occupied. He always tried to make up for it when and where he could.
Dom then reached out and drew his little pixie into his lap, kissing the top of her head, "You know I need nothing but your company. I did get you something, however."
With that, he reached over into their picnic basket and brought out a ceramic hinged box, the shape and size of a pomegranate. he held it before her and with the flick of his thumb opened it to reveal three partially tumbled garnets, which shimmered a deep red. They were somewhat small and vaguely seed shaped.
"One for every year we've know one another," he explained, "And each year here on will add another, and another."
It was perhaps a weird gift, but it was sentimental, and very him. Amaranth would know the significance of it. Garnets were the closest thing to looking like pomegranate seeds, and now the necklace he'd given her on valentines day may have made more sense, as it too bore little garnets, dangling and decorating her pale neck. It hadn't been anything too fancy, and he was always happy to see her wear it with some regularity, so he knew Amaranth had meant it when she had said she liked it.
The current gift, although less useful - if one could call a necklace useful? - was again built more on the sentimentality of it. He could have gone on and on about how Hades was a god of the earth's riches - metals and precious gemstones, and the garnets a stand in for pomegranate seeds, emphasized by the ceramic box itself being shaped to look like an ornate pomegranate. It was geeky, it was dorky, it was sweet, it was him. And he knew for that alone Amaranth would love it.
[Wordcount: 527 - Domcallion]
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Posted: Sat Oct 14, 2023 7:20 pm
That little mirthful sound which made Amaranth smile, was accompanied by a crooked smile that made her heart flutter. She had always likened Dom's voice to her old Bryan Adams albums, albeit more quiet, strained, with occasional breaks, and something that she originally thought may have been a faint lisp, but now knew was an accent.
Dom spoke four languages! English, Dutch, French, and German! Amaranth could hardly wrap her mind around her high school Spanish class! However, she did ask him to at least teach her a little Dutch - if only so she wasn't entirely lost when they one day visited his home country! And maybe show off a little when his family visited.
Dom spoke happily of his family - he had two younger brothers, and they had all been raised by his grandparents, as his parents had died in an accident shortly after his youngest brother was born. They had started their family when they were quite young - both his grandparents and his parents. It was joked that Dom and his brothers broke the generational tradition of being parents in their late teens. Then they had discussed the possibility of kids in the future - apparently it wasn't something Dom had ever even considered, and given that, he didn't really seem to have an opinion. Amaranth herself had said she knew she wasn't ready to be a parent, so such things would be touched again later on.
Amaranth nodded at Dom's explanation, "That's fine by me, yeah, I totally get it. Anything I can do to make the busy time easier!"
When he reached to pull her into his lap, Amaranth acquiesced happily, settling in with no small measure of contentment. Sure, Dom wasn't the softest seat - he was tall, lanky, all skin, bone, and lean muscle - but he was comforting and she felt safe, protected, and adored.
"Oh?" She hadn't expected a gift. She never did, but he did have a habit of spoiling her, indulging her, and surprising her. Large lavender eyes watched curiously as he reached in to the picnic basket and withdrew it, a shiny red object now in his large spidery hand - it was a shame he wasn't a pianist.
He held it in front of her, and she cocked her head in almost puppy-like fashion, then with a smooth flick of his thumb the hinged lid flipped open to reveal three shiny little stones.
Dom explained, and she felt her heart swell - yes, it was dorky, and it was sweet, but it was also really really meaningful, and unique, and absolutely a Dom thing to do.
Amaranth picked up one of the little seed-like garnets and looked at its deep yet vibrant red hue. Sure, in it's semi-tumbled rough state, it looked like a pomegranate seed, but she had also noted that it was Dom's birthstone as well - something that perhaps even the man hadn't considered, but she did, which to her made it even more a part of him that he was giving her.
She gently placed it back in the box and turned to smile back up at Dom, "Then I hope to make this pomegranate overflow with little garnet seeds. it's a wonderful gift - I love you, Dom."
[Wordcount; 542 - Amaranth]
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