Those kisses lit fires under their skin, warm chills racked their spine and for a moment they teared up from the joy and sheer emotional release they felt from each one. She wanted one for each tear they'd shed for him and she wanted to give one for each that she'd made him cry. Not to undo and forget but to overwhelm it with sheer love until it was but one bad memory among many.

More than anything she wanted to continue to simply hold him. To be the support and be supported and feel that warmth of another body. To hear his breathing, to keep their nose buried in his mane so that she could only smell him. If they let go would he vanish like a ghost? Could the world be so cruel to give them a taste once more of this dream and rip it away? I love you. So much. They curled their head across the back of his neck as his head rested against hers. Their heart racing along as fast as it could in their chest. I have never stopped. I will never stop. This wasn't the road she wanted to take to get to him. It was far too long and had been filled with too much pain but there he was at the end of it, or waiting at the beginning of whatever road they chose to take from here.

... So you're okay with that? Their voice quivered as it laced with anticipation and some lingering worry that meant she had to hear him say it. They had to hear it.

@Nero

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Nero didn't want the moment to end, but maybe that was simply because he knew the inevitable would be asked: and it was. @Nazonal wanted affirmation that he was okay with the proposal, that he was accepting of her potentially taking a third partner. Nero didn't know if there was room in his heart for three for himself, but he'd be a fucking jerk if he told them no. But what was better? To lie and keep a third of them or to be honest and lose them altogether?

"I can only try, Naz. I can't tell you with full confidence that I'll be fine with it if you take another partner because I'm not going to lie to you. The only thing I can do is try and that's.. that's all I can give you right now." Nero frowned, wondering if they'd immediately pull away and hoping with all his might that they wouldn't. "I understand if that's not enough," he said, lifting a paw to gently touch their cheek. "But it's me, and 'me' is the only thing I have to give you. I'm not perfect. I'm jealous, I'm stubborn, I'm not that great of a guy overall.. but it's all I can give you. Just me."

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It's poetic, it's not lost on them that he's basically making the same promise that she made to him when it came to Ghyslaine. Nazonal's stupid promise that had ruined it all when they came clean about what their heart wanted. She couldn't ask for more of him than that. Gently they lift their head and lean over to kiss him between the ears. That's enough for me. Try. When, hell, if that day even comes. It felt unsteady though. The sincerity of his words were not in question but Naz couldn't shake the itch in the back of her brain, the similarity to the answer she'd given him and how it had unraveled everything. It felt too much like they were walking the same path again for them to not feel a little guarded.

They aimed to kiss him once more upon his head and begin to trace the back of his neck with kisses, plenty of them as if trying to make up for lost time and lost opportunities to indulge. I want you Nero, imperfections and all. I don't need perfect. I need you. One kiss turned into a soft nibble on his flesh, her breath quickening and becoming sharper for a second as her body wanted and craved.

Fairly quickly then though did Naz cease her kisses and they leaned their forehead against him instead. I did promise Sparrow she could meet anyone else I wanted before anything serious happens with them... A promise they intended to keep, although not an easy one in the moment.

@Nero

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Nazonal did not immediately push him away and for that, he was grateful. There was part of him that hoped they would; he was a selfish man that couldn't stand the thought of another man touching her and her rejection would have meant things would be.. simpler. If it was no longer Nero's decision to break things off, he would finally be able to heal and move on – maybe. There was no guarantee his feelings would ever fade, but knowing there was a chance always made things harder. It would have been so much simpler if they'd simply told him no and the break had been clean. But Nazonal didn't do those things. They held him closer and asked for him to try, though he couldn't read the message behind it. Who would be left if he tried and failed? Him, for being the infection? Or the other? Only time would tell, he supposed.

The lion melted into them, unable to fully enjoy the moment due to the guilt swelling inside. Ghyslaine was dead, he reminded himself. She would have wanted him to be happy, right? Ghyslaine knew that @Nazonal made him happy. Ghyslaine would have wanted this for him.. or that's what he told himself.

The kisses quickly turned to a firm press of their foreheads and Nero, although a bit taken aback, understood. Meeting Sparrow made him a bit nervous because what were the odds she knew nothing about him? About his tumultuous relationship with Nazonal? Would she dislike him on principle or would she give him a chance to fuck things up properly instead? Nero swallowed, nodding. "I can do that." Vellen, Maua, give him strength.

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They did not expect a second chance like this. Naz was amazed, drunken on the possibility that shouldn't have been given to her. And part of her still felt an ounce of hesitation, the mirror reflecting back on her the promises. I'll try. I'll try. Her voice, his voice, they echoed in a chaotic chorus in their mind all while she took a deep inhale of his scent and filled, clouded, her mind with him. He'd meet Sparrow, it would go ok, and then Naz would have not just her best friend back but more of him than she ever thought she deserved to get back.

Their body fought, wanting to kiss, to touch, hold, love. And to an extent they relinquished again and turned their muzzle to aim a few kisses along his soft cheek and handsome lips. And then you and I, can we go out... call it ..a date? A light nip and tug is aimed for the alabaster tendrils of his mane, rough but playful.

@Nero

ART BY KIM, CODE BY LARS

His blood hummed beneath his skin, pulsing with an electrical current he hadn't felt in quite some time. Everything had always seemed so final and hopeless, but there he was thrust straight back into the possibility of maybe. Maybe everything could work out after all. Maybe Nero could have his cake and eat it too, though naturally he was skeptical and waiting for the other shoe to drop. Although he admitted it was unlikely she would ever come home, part of him also expected Ghyslaine to pop out from the shadows with a pointed ah-ha! as she caught him in the act. The act of what, exactly, he wasn't sure. It wasn't like he had ever stopped loving Nazonal, and if Ghyslaine didn't think he had been attentive enough with his heart split between two the entire time, he wasn't entirely sure they were meant to be in the end. If she knew he had never stopped caring for Naz, was the physical intimacy going to be the deal breaker? Wasn't it bad enough that his heart still belonged, in part, to them? He had never been wholly monogamous with Ghyslaine. He couldn't be.

"Yes, a date. Our first official one," he said with a nod and a nearly sheepish grin. Nero had a few ideas to make the evening special, but he needed to plan. Fortunately, he had some time – and besides, there was always a chance Sparrow rejected him. Would @Nazonal let that be the end of it? He didn't know and he didn't want to think about it.

He was distracted by his thoughts as he felt their lips against his skin and an unintentional growl left his lips as he craned his head into the crook of her neck. "You better behave, you've got a wife back home and you know what you do to me." He could remember all too well how it felt to lose himself in Nazonal for the first time and naturally, he was eager to repeat the experience.

He just also wasn't going to piss off Sparrow before they even met.

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Their first. They supposed, when they stopped to think about it, he was right. It seemed weird, they'd spent plenty of time together just the two of them after all. Why did labeling it a date make her that much more excited and nervous about it? Their smile grew and she let loose a throaty chuckle- then a nod. Their cheeks felt a little flushed, red with warm rosy hue mercifully hidden behind their darker fur. One long over due. They hoped it would be a day that left him happy, that they could give him some time to release the tension and relax. Ignoring problems didn't make them go away but Naz so desperately wanted him happy, to be able to make him happy. Even just for a fraction of what he deserved to feel it would be better than nothing.

Their body trembled in time with his growl, that sheepish grin nervous for their date turning knowing, eyes longing with desire. A flame having grown infinitely, one they'd thought needed to die suddenly allowed more fuel and to rage back to life and consume her. They knew what they did to him, he did the same to her after all. So first date somewhere private? They forced some distance between them, feeling the tug of her body to keep egging him on. Not now, not like this. They did not want this to be on the bed of broken promises, to threaten one relationship for another.

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Frankly, it was a miracle he hadn't already tried to seduce them. Maybe it was the maturing he had gone through after having cubs (and then raising them alone for the majority of their life), but he somehow understood more now than ever that sometimes he didn't come first. Despite how much he wanted to explore and touch Nazonal, he knew it wasn't what they wanted – not without Sparrow's blessing, anyway. He wondered what she knew about him and if she would hold anything against him, maybe turn him away because she'd seen how beaten down Nazonal had been at his hand. It made him nervous to be so close and yet still feel miles between them, a gap he could not even try to close without a third party's permission. Nero sucked in a breath as they finally stepped away, leaving room for the holy spirit – or Sparrow.

"Very private." The most hidden corner of Amaryllis, if he could find it. Nero flexed his toes into the ground, gripping at the loamy soil. "Just us." Free to do whatever they wanted together – even if that meant doing nothing at all.

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They sigh a little as he makes the space between them greater. They know it's for the best, that a bit of patience meant this might work out best. And, perhaps stupidly never once imaging things couldn't work out perfect, she relinquished herself to day dream. Just them. That thought made her happier than she could express. In the last year even when physically it has been just them together were they ever really alone? There had always been thoughts of Ghyslaine, of Sparrow, of children, of prides and politics. More than could be known Nazonal craved an evening where even their mind did not stray far from him and only him. A private night opened that door up, into a space Nazonal had felt truly locked away from for over a year now.

Just me and you. They say with a big and excited grin. Giddy and delirious, repeating back basically what he's just said to hear it once more in her voice this time. Just a little bit more time, a bit more waiting. Where absolutely nothing could happen or change... Nope.... Let me know when you're ready to come meet her ok? They say, hopefully helping to make timelines make sense, and with a gentle poke of their paw into his pale chest.

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Part of him was afraid and he knew, deep down, that he should be. It had been difficult and heartbreaking enough to end things with Nazonal once, but what if it happened again? What if he tried and failed? He would be in the same shoes as Ghyslaine, always knowing there was someone else but pretending it was okay in the end. Nero wondered if he could ever be as strong as his mate to power through that knowledge, knowing that although Nazonal loved others, there was still a special place for him. The image of them alongside another male made his hackles stand on edge, and Nero feared the next heartbreak would be the worst of all. Was it a mistake? To even try? He couldn't be what Nazonal needed - or wanted. Not wholly. The same way Nero couldn't be what Ghyslaine needed or wanted. He sucked in a breath, momentarily lost in his own miserable existence. Trying was all he could do, but the thought made his stomach churn and his heart ache. Nero wasn't the biggest or the strongest or the most handsome. He wasn't really anything worthwhile, if they were being honest, and he knew sooner or later Nazonal would realize that.

He swallowed uncomfortably, blinking back to reality as she poked him. "The day after tomorrow?" he asked quietly, figuring that gave him enough time to go home and tend to the kids before venturing back out to the jungle. It would provide Nazonal time to get Sparrow's thoughts, and they would simply go from there.

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