At Their Mercy

Chapter 34: Who I am and where I've been

Oh hi, I'm still alive. I work 3 days a week in a row 12 hour night shifts, so unsurprisingly I've not had time to write too much. I guess that's why this chapter turned out to be 5300 words asdgf.

Anyhow! I'm pretty sure it was Geno's birthday recently, so I've thrown in some stuff for him.The rest? Well...

Enjoy.

Reaper had been eager when he requested a favour from Erratum. The god had been initially surprised by the request, not understanding what he could possibly need with what he asked for.

"You know the garden you've got goin' on? Well, there's something I wanted to ask..."

Reaper was impressed with the work the other had done. A gazebo was a nice touch, a round wooden structure he was currently waiting in. There were vines crawling up the lattice sidings, small blossoms blooming from them every few inches. A few rose bushes lined the area, and a few large stepping stones made a pathway to the stairs of the wooden structure. He had marveled at the rather botanical scene, expressing his thanks to Erratum the moment they had revealed it to him. It was the perfect place to do this.

Speaking of which.

He turned his head to see Geno, beaming at him as his feathers fluffed out a bit. Geno glanced around the area a moment, seeming to admire it as well before climbing the small steps up onto the gazebo. "Well, I'll admit, this is very pretty. Errata made this, I'm guessing?" He smirked as the other gave a small shrug. "Mhmm, so, what is this all about then?"

Reaper only grinned brighter as he grasped one of Geno's hands. "Oh, just wanted to have a pretty place to take my pretty dove."

"I'm leaving."

Reaper laughed as he kept the other from pulling away by tugging him back by the hand. "Okay, okay, I won't tease." He promised him, his demeanor softening a bit. "Actually, there is a reason for all of this." He admitted, seeing how it caught the other's attention. Geno sighed as he turned back to him, obviously waiting for him to continue.

Reaper stood up a bit taller and cleared his throat, which seemed to further intrigue his partner. "It's been a while since I wore you down into giving me a chance, hasn't it?" The roll of the other's eyelight confirmed that, yes, it had been. "It feels like it hasn't been that long, and maybe it hasn't been. Bit under a year maybe? Hard to keep track of time moving through universes like I do." He admitted with a small shrug.

"Are you being sentimental or are you going somewhere with this?"

Reaper gave another soft laugh at this. "Be patient, my dove, I promise I'm not just trying to embarrass you." He insisted. "What I'm saying is we've gone through everything in that time period, haven't we? You still have the stargazer lily I first gave you in a little vase on the coffee table." He gave an endeared look as he said this, watching Geno pull his scarf up a bit with embarrassment with his free hand.

"It's a nice flower..."

"I never said it wasn't, and I'm very touched you kept it." Reaper insisted. "What I'm saying is, after all this time and all of the courting steps, we've made it here." He moved to take Geno's other hand, giving him a gentle smile. "So, after everything, here we are." He was being so genuinely sentimental and Geno felt like hiding from the entire situation. "I love you, Geno." He grinned as the other flushed fiercely at this. "I want to bond my soul with you, to make this permanent.