...

Ofcourse, he gives her a gentle kiss, ears flicking the tiniest bit.

He missed her dearly as well.

"You must lay more emphasis on the words /were/. I was simply stating words, perhaps not entirely to be taken literally."

"Neither. What a pleasant view you have of me."

"Far too cautious, for a boy who has the brightest future out of any of the ward." He murmurs just loud enough for her to hear.

"Tempering is a risk to anyone, no matter whether you have been tempered before or not. There are no words to explain the terror of it, but 'tis unavoidable."

"Ridiculous? Perhaps, but more in the sense that you worry too much for someone who still has the world in front of him. You are free. Do not stumble over the roots of the past." He squints ever so slightly.

"Away. Into the forbidden sewers, if you will."

"I keep people on their toes with what I might say next."

"No more smart rat."

"I would love nothing more." He whispered in response.

How the man made it so easy to disarm him, and make any semblance of stress float from his being, was beyond him.

"Why would he be concerned about such things?" He wasn't going to question her pause. Not this time, at least.

".. I have been well."

"Are you sure you are alright?" He'd become rather good at reading Adelphel. A tension in his shoulders, a slightly quicker exhale than normal..

"I think he simply has a more.. Idealized view. Perhaps the tempering caused him to forget the atrocities we committed."

"Either way, even during the ward days, him and Janlenoux were practically joined at the hip. I am not surprised such a bond did not fray."

"Although visiting Adelphel is something I'm not opposed to, I think his views on the others are too rose-tinted."

"I.. Fear I must disagree on bringing everyone back together. The other ward members have wounds that cannot heal, or simply wish to abandon their past and disappear."

A slow furrow of his brow.

Charibert's eyes cast away for a moment. "As much of a family as it can be, when most of them have disappeared. There were no warm family meals, or something similar."

"Adelphel.. His spirit had not been dragged through hell and back just yet. He is not as jaded as the rest of us."

Her beaming was met with a near staggering, sudden indifference.

" 'Tis good you found that."

Ofcourse he was happy for her. Though part of him admitted he had no ideas about such luxuries.

"Such things are good to value indeed."

He swallowed his comment on how she survived living with Lord Emmanellain's endless whining, but he wasn't going to stir any pots today.

//jail for emma jail for a thousand years

"Ah, Ser Adelphel. How have you been faring?"

"Mhm. I would not put it past Lord Fortemps to have more children outside of wedlock, although your story sounds believable enough."

Many would disagree on such, actually.

You are. Burn them if they disagree.

His eyes dart to the ears on her head, then back down.

"Apologies for assuming, though you do not seem to have come about from Lady Fortemps' womb."

A deep sigh, while he shifted the weight of his head into Aymeric's palm.

"Thank you, my love." The words rolled from his lips without much thought. Not as if he were going to acknowledge it in the first place..

"Good one. Positively laughing."

A small scoff, trying to strike back by pressing up close against him, loosely looping his arms around his neck.

"You are the worst." He pecks his lips firmly. "The absolute worst."

The smirk is mirrored, perhaps a little more devilish.

"Perhaps, or you have gained this curse too by marrying into the family."

"I... Lovers?" Ofcourse, they'd been sharing far more intimate moments than Charibert would normally do, but he didn't expect the Lord Speaker to call them /lovers/.

The tips of his ears go a little red.

"You-, I.. You relish, in being a tease."

That got a solid laugh out of him. An /actual/ laugh. "Giving a Fortemps something spicy is akin to leading a dragon into church; it shan't end well, and something will be on fire."

"Then, practice makes perfect. Though I fear it's spicy reputation may not be for the sensitive stomachs of Ishgard."

Subtly, his shoulders seemed far less wound up and tense. He lowered them a bit.