las vegas lights // oxo // closed

[i am shaking them; it's about time they figured their feelings out after 13 months of rping alskdfj]

The back of his head feels warm where Damian had put his hand. "No me importa," he replies quietly, he sticks a fork into the chicken to ensure it won't be pink. The last thing he wants is to give Damian salmonella after a mutual confession. God. Life doesn't feel real, like the rose colored glasses his older sister always warned him of. "A ellos parecían gustarme."

Felix sighs and moves the chicken breasts to a new cutting board beside his chopped vegetables. "No quiero interponerme en el camino, ¿sabes?" He makes quick work of slicing the chicken before setting the knife down. He turns to Damian, a question he's wanted to ask for a long time now on his mind. He isn't even sure if he should ask it, especially with the circumstances that led to this moment. Felix can only pray that this won't end in flames. "Lo siento si esto parece… contundente, pero ¿cuánto tiempo ha pasado desde que falleció su esposa?"

"Sí, claroque sí." From what he heard, everything seemed to be going well between the twins and Felix. Usually Adonis is shy then tries to hide in his dad's arms. Mina preferred going off, exploring around the house. The fact that the two liked Felix gave Damian a sense of relief. For so long, it's just been him and them. Things like dating or having another person in the twins' lives was something out of the question for him. It made him worried about everything.

He turned at an angle so he was able look at either the twins or Felix. His gaze lingered on the little monsters while he bit the inside of his cheek. So if Mina and Adonis are four, and their birthday is coming up in August…."Casi cinco años. Cinco años desde Areum…" Damian stopped talking. While deeply sighing, his hand grabbed the side of the counter and leaned against it. Luckily he was fine, aside from everything that remained from before.

"Si quieres hablar de ello, hagámoslo con vino. Primero voy a acostar a los mellizos. Puedo mostrarte fotos de ella, si quieres," Damian offered. Then he motioned over to Mina and Adonis. The two were still in their own world. Somehow, they switched chef hats. "Ellos toman después de Areum de muchas maneras."

Five years. Gaging the twins' ages, they would have to have been infants, newborns maybe. Perhaps Damian's wife died in childbirth, or maybe health complications shortly after, or maybe something else entirely. Felix takes a long breath and begins the quick quesadilla making process. They should be eating in only a few minutes now that everything is prepared. He makes a little bit of everything, a variety so everyone can choose what they'd like.

"Esperaremos hasta que los gemelos estén en la cama," Felix suggests. Who is he to turn down some free wine? The circumstances might be less than desirable, but isn't this what Felix wants? To finally get off that stupid armor the detective wears everywhere he goes. He should feel like he won some grand victory, but… It doesn't. Felix isn't sure what this feels like. "Entonces podemos hablar de Areum o cualquier otra cosa que tengas en mente."

"Estoy seguro de que lo hacen," Felix says as he flips the last few quesadillas with his hands. He briefly looks back at the twins, trying to guess what Areum could have possibly looked like. "Podrías traerme algunos platos?"

Damian wasn't sure what he was saying. Opening up like this was never something he had imagined doing ever again nor was he ever good at it. At least he has wine somewhere in this kitchen. While he may not have the ability to handle his alcohol well, it will lower the difficulty to talk. On the other hand, he has realized that it hasn't been difficult to talk to Felix. Sure he had always rolled his eyes or would end up sighing a thousand times, but these last few times, he found himself not doing either of those things. He is pretty sure his face was tingling with some sense of giddiness these last few times Felix would look at him.

In a blink, he returned from deep thinking. The ringing in his ears ceased. "Aaah. Esperar, por favor." Stepping to the left, he opened up a cabinet with stacks of plates. Most of them were plain ceramic white, yet there were plain paper plates along with a rainbow of others. Still bring sleepy, he picked up two paper plates along with two silicon plates. The second he picked up the one pink silicon plate, Adonis teleported then proceeded to yank it from his dad's grasp. The little one squealed with glee while running around the table.

Mina had also teleported; next to Felix somehow. Damian had not notice until hearing her soft sweet voice. She tapped the side of Felix's leg. "Is dinner almost ready? It smells good, and I'm hungry."

Felix goes to take the plates, but stops when the child suddenly snatches the pink one up and dashes away with it. He shrugs. Felix probably did similar things as a child. He takes the remaining three plates and looks down at the second twin. He noticed her coming in. She may be small, but she can't escape Felix's peripheral vision. "It's almost done," he responds, his words slightly accented from switching languages.

True to his word, Felix finishes up the food and transports them to the available plates. He turns off the griddle and leaves Adonis's, perhaps the child will return with the plate. If not, Damian will probably just hand Felix a new one.

Returning to the chips and salsa, Felix takes another few scoops and carries the quesadillas over to the table. He puts the kids' plates where he saw them last sitting and finds he and Damian sitting next to each other. Of course, he can't forget the chips and salsa and sets them in the center of the table. God, how long has it been since he's had a dinner like this? Thirteen years? That is, if he doesn't count his friends, but they're hardly domestic enough to sit down and actually eat for half an hour.

Leaning against the counter, he watched as the kid sped around the table whike wearing the plate as a hat. Usually he waits for the kid to tire himself out but this current tangent had been going on for a few minutes. So Damian stepped into the little monster's path then swooped him into his arms. "Geez, you can power all of Europe for fifty years, you know that?" He muttered. Adonis giggled. While carrying the wiggling Adonis, he handed Felix the pink plate.

He let the crazy kid go, watching as he immediately ran to his seat. There really is no way the kid will crash; somehow he has an abundant amount of energy. Mina smiled at Felix. She whispered a thanks then took the chair next to her brother. Standing on the seat, she reached over for two chips then handed one over to Adonis. They sat together while swinging their feet and eating chips.

"Anything you want to drink?" He asked. Damian strolled over to the fridge. Both the kids shouted, "Apple juice!" While he poured out the juice into two sippy cups, he turned so his feet would be pointing in Felix's direction. "Anything for the handsome gentleman?" He wandered over to give the kids their cups; Mina took the black while Adonis took the purple. Looking over his shoulder at Felix, he beamed, "There's more apple juice if the gentleman would like some."

Adonis is an amusing kid, to say the least–somewhat reminding Felix of his younger sister. Ana couldn't sit still for the life of her, and she couldn't keep her mouth shut either. Felix couldn't stop laughing when she called him shortly after he got kicked out of the house with news of being expelled from Catholic school.

After ensuring that he won't have to get back up again to grab anything he forgot, Felix takes his seat. A large smile spreads onto his face at the compliment, one that he doesn't even bother to hide. "And anything to drink will be fine." He turns away and eats another chip. "Except milk. I'm mildly lactose intolerant." His intolerance does not stop him from shoveling spoonfuls of ice cream into his mouth while watching telenovelas. Nor does it stop him from eating quesadillas.

Damian smiled back. He made note of what Felix said then walked back over to the fridge. His hip leaned against the fridge door while he stared at all the possible drink options. Since they are having wine later, he took two plain glasses and filled them with water. He placed one in front of Felix then the other in his spot. Although he technically was ready and everything was prepared, he loaded YouTube onto the tv so the four of them can have Animal Crossing music playing in the background. He knew if he forgot, one of the twins would ask him to put it on.

"Well," He sighed while making his way over. Damian sat down in his seat with his back against the seat. The twins looked at him at the same time. He stared at them then gazed over at Felix, "Is it good?" Adonis nodded. He had already began eating his quesadilla. Damian doesn't blame the little one; it's been a long day after all. Mina smiled as she reached for another hand. "I like this thing," She said while pointing at the salsa.

He reached over for a chip himself then scooped some salsa onto it. "It's called salsa, jagi," He explained. "Thanks to you three, it's really good."

The gambler watches the detective for a few moments, briefly studying the way he would lean on the fridge before pouring the water. Felix thanks Damian and takes a sip. The Animal Crossing music is a fun touch, one that Felix has to wonder if it's the twins' or Damian's doing. It's likely the twins, but Felix has a ball imagining Damian hunched over a Nintendo Switch on a fictional island of his own crafting.

Felix nods, digging into his own plate. "It's very good," he states. "And the salsa recipe is my sister's. I'm going to have to thank her for giving it to me." The chances of Felix actually doing that are slim. If he sends Santana a message in the middle of the night, she's going to assume he's dying and reserve his grave right next to their deceased grandparents. Maybe he'll casually bring it up in conversation when he sees her again at some undisclosed point in the future.

"So–" Felix starts as he swallows his bite. He nods to the twins. He's curious to pick their brains. It's rare Felix gets a chance to be around children. "Do you two have any idea what you want to be when you grow up?"

The twins sat in silence. Damian smiled while eating his food. Seeing the two entities of chaos thinking about such a question like their lives depend on it is so adorable. He had to sneak a few pictures in before returning to his food. God only knows how much storage Damian has in his phone.

Mina's face lit up. Whether it be due to the question or her possible answer, it is anyone's guess. She reached over for a napkin then wiped it on her face. "I am going to be….a vampire hunter!" She exclaimed. "I am going to be the best and get all the bad guys!"

Her little brother sat on the edge of his seat. He was too focused on swinging his little feet while happily eating his dinner. Their father leaned forward, "And what about you, Adonis? What do you want to be when you grow up?"

The energetic boy held the quesadilla in one hand. His other swayed around as he talked. "I am going to be an ice skater and a prince and I am going to help Mina fight the bad guys," He beamed. Adonis looked over at Felix, "What do you want to be when you grow up, Felix? Will you help us fight the vampires?"

(400!!)

Felix nods sagely as the twins express their enormous aspirations for their bright futures. "Vampire hunter is a lofty goal," Felix notes as he takes a sip of his water. "I have a friend who used to hunt vampires. He owns a plant shop now." Abel's history in knife throwing competitions counts as vampire hunting, right? Well, it does now. If the twins desire to see it, Felix will simply force his friend to cooperate and call it payback for earlier in the day.

At the returned question, Felix takes a moment to think. "I'll be a magician." As soon as he says it, he materializes a metal spoon. It's no real magic, just a pickpocketing skill he picked up while living on the streets. Pickpocket is magician adjacent. They both rely on diversion and escaping someone's attention. "And I'd be happy to help you fight vampires. However, if your dad gets turned into one, I don't think I could fight him. He sticks his bottom lip out in a mock pout. "He's too handsome to fight."

(whoop whoop!)

All three Maes were quiet. It was the little two who reacted first with their oohs and ahhs. "That's fun!" Adonis beamed, "Mina, are you going to do that too?" His sister was preoccupied with her sippy cup. Once she the down the cup, she shrugged. "I think I will just stick to hunting vampires…," She yawned while reaching over for a chip, "Maybe the mafia too…mafia vampires!"

Meanwhile their dad spent the last minute or so trying to figure out who Felix was mentioning. So much had happened within the last few hours that his memory became murky. But eventually, with the power of context clues, he figured that it was Abel. He isn't sure why Felix called his friend a vampire hunter, yet he assumed it had to do with knives. It made the twins ecstatic and that's all that matters to him. Although, it wouldn't be the end of the little beasties' excitment.

The moment they both saw that metal spoon appear, it was like they saw a real life unicorn. The little ones had wide eyes as they both shrieked in amazement. Mina tried looking at Felix's hand and arm, wondering how he got that spoon to magically appear. Adonis was impressed and gave a thumbs up.

Damian used his minimal acting skills to pretend like he was also shocked by magic trick. Making his jaw drop always made the little monsters giggle, but he stopped pretending. He froze just as his cheeks began to blush. Of course being "too handsome" was probably just a joke. He rolled his eyes then played off the blushing by laughing. "Give me a break. You're just saying things."

The children completely in awe of Felix's parlor tricks delivers an odd boost to his ego (not that he needed one, but the boost is still nice). With a showman smile, he sets the spoon down and takes another sip of his water.

"I am not just saying things, and you know it," Felix says with a note of finality as he takes another few chips and dunks them in the salsa. "I could never hurt you, even if you were actively trying to drain all of the blood from my cardiovascular system." He laughs into his quesadilla. Even thought the entire scenario is an entire joke, Felix's words ring true. He hasn't known Damian long–and even at first all he wanted to do was see the man crack. But something happened and Felix isn't exactly sure what, but it all lead to here: eating dinner in a startlingly domestic scenario.

Batting his eyelashes, Felix looks over to Damian. "You wouldn't hunt me if I were a vampire, would you?"

Damian wondered where all this "handsome" stuff was coming from. To be honest, he has no idea how they went from him being glad Felix leaving to them having dinner with his kids. It is a very confusing pipeline he will be looking into. And yet, the kids are having a good time while eating food that Felix made for them. Not to mention the fact that he is trying to not look like a flustered mess in front of them. Those two may be four years old, but they are really good at reading people, especially their dad.

Crossing his arms, he gently reclined back into the chair. He tapped his fingers against the side of his arm while softly humming in thought. "No, I don't think I would. I like vampires and I like you. It's the best of both worlds." Damian smiled before mimicking Felix's pout. "You're too handsome to fight anyways."

The kids giggled while finishing their food. Damian looked over at them then gave a wink. "Let's not forget the two vampire hunters in training."

"We can't fight Felix, silly! We're four!" Mina laughed. "Maybe he would be a good vampire, right Daddy?"

Damian gave a shrug then glimpsed over at Felix. "Yeah, I don't see why not. Good vampire…bad vampire…still a handsome one I wouldn't fight."

Felix laughs and shakes his head, finishing the last bit of his food. He has always been a fast eater, never sitting around the table for long before disappearing to his own devices. "Doll, I don't think you'd be able to fight me. I'd simply run away." Since the ripe age of twelve, Felix has been evading various law enforcers. He's rarely caught but he always manages to get away with a good lawyer and a better alibi.

He grabs his plate and stands, heading to the kitchen to dispose of it in the sink. He'll wash them when everybody's done. He takes the brief moment to check his phone. Ana texted, asking for some assistance on her criminology homework. You're a criminal. Help me. She had said after being emitted into the University of Texas's criminal psychology program. Felix snorts and responds, telling her that he'll be available later. Maybe. Depends on how much wine he drinks after the twins are in bed.

(Would it be alright if I did a timeskip to after the twins are in bed and it's just Damian and Felix?)

(alfhjsks yeah that's fine!)

(askzgzkfla dope, thanks!)

Getting the twins to bed is a long and complicated process. It has taken Damian five years, yet he still hasn't mastered it. Adonis was easy to put to bed thanks to him finally crashing after being on his energy high for God knows how long. It was Mina that Damian had always struggled with. The little one might as well be a vampire. Either that or she was possessed by a lawyer. Regardless, it took him twenty minutes to get the mini vampire hunter lawyer to rest. Thank fucking God.

He pulled the door shut. After letting go of the door knob, he tip-toed away into the kitchen. Only after he got behind the counter did he let his shoulders relax. Damian didn't waste any time looking for the wine. Yes, it is a known fact that he isn't the best at handling alcohol, but a glass of wine shouldn't hurt. And after everything the both of them have gone through today, it's worth getting a bottle out. It's least he can do to say thanks to Felix.

Damian held the bottle in his left hand while holding two glasses in the right. "Come on, this way," He whispered while making his way out of the kitchen. "Could you open the door for me?" There is a little backyard behind the house. It has a nice porch where he usually spends his evenings. Something about the cool evening Las Vegas breeze made things better.

While Damian takes care of the kids, Felix busies himself with cleaning up the kitchen and dining room. He collects all the dishes first and sets them beside the sink to rinse and place in the dishwasher. With any leftovers, he packages them in plastic tupperwares before setting inside the refrigerator. Cleaning has never been anything that Felix has ever minded. His own kitchen back home, though fairly bare, is always well-cleaned. He's just finishing up when Damian comes around the corner for the wine.

Felix smiles, wiping his hands on a cloth before following the detective outside. From the glimpse of the label Felix caught, it's nothing too fancy but still a few steps above boxed wine. The gestured door creaks as Felix pushes it open, leading to a quaint porch on the back of the house. The evening outside is still warm, but not hot. The sun is setting, the bugs are chittering, and a cool breeze is beginning to come through.

With a satisfied hum, Felix takes his seat in the farthest chair, sliding into the warm wood of the deck chair. "This is nice," he says, an observation rather than a compliment. There's not much to look at outside, just a greenish backyard with a few children's toys scattered through the lawn. "I bet you spend all your time brooding back here."

He hummed in response. It is nice, sitting back here after a long day. Damian spends a lot time on this little porch either reading a book or just enjoying the silence. Sometimes he'd go back here just to have a glass or two of wine while enjoying the evening. It's the least he can do after spending his days running around.

Shaking his head, he sighed. "Brooding, pondering, and all other things," He chuckled while pulling the cork out. Damian sat one glass on the chair arm in order to pour the wine into it. "A lot of contemplating too. What better way than doing so over a drink?" Damian handed the glass over to Felix then poured one of his own. Letting it stay on the chair arm, he slouched back into the seat.

The sleeves of his pullover were slowly sliding down. Without looking, he yanked them back up. He knew that he was doing all of this to talk, but he couldn't think of anything to say. Damian just stared ahead at the sky.

Felix smiles softly, thanking Damian for the wine and taking a small sip. He holds it for a moment before swallowing. The wine isn't fine, but at least it's a step above boxed wine. Felix wouldn't mind getting drunk off of this moment–a family home with children asleep in bed and sharing a drink on the porch with a man he found himself unbelievably attracted to.

He looks out to the setting sky. It's a beautiful shade of lavender, with only a few clouds lingering near the horizon. Over the wooden fence, there's another backyard and over that fence is a road. The pattern repeats and repeats and only reminds Felix of his domestic environment. There's no golden bells and whistles, no fake flashy smiles and a hand of cards, no smell of smoke and tobacco, no addiction eating away at Felix's insides. (His friends at least called it an addiction. Felix never considered it one. He kept winning, after all. Is it really an addiction if he's that good at what he does?)

"So," Felix starts, taking another sip. "Should we start at the beginning?" Another sip. "How did you meet her?"

"Sure. Just give me a moment…" It took him a while to speak though. He lightly rubbed his chest because it started to get tight. While he knew exactly what to say, he didn't know at the same time. To be honest, Damian was also preoccupied with watching the wine as he lightly moved the glass in a circular motion.

His memory is not the best when it comes to what he ate for breakfast yesterday or what conversations he had with colleagues last week. Sometimes he'll forget what he's doing or some life-altering event too. When it comes to Areum or their kids, he remembers almost everything. It's been eighteen years, and he still remembers October 13, 2005 at 4:15 pm: the moment he met Areum.

"Well, I always say that she met me first before I met her," He sighed. His eyes still watched the wine in the glass. "I was in this cover band with some friends. They needed a drummer for a school event since their last one bailed. I only knew how to play because I watched others in high school. We played all different kinds of songs from the 70s, 80s, 90s…" Damian yawned while waving his right hand.

"Anyways, the following week, I worked at our university's library. Areum came to pick up a book and her face lit up the moment she saw the 'cool, cute, awesome Korean drummer' whom she wondered about. She talked a lot whenever she got excited so the moment she realized why I was so familiar, we ended up talking till my shift ended. And we talked on the way to the dining hall, while eating dinner, and before we went to our dorms. I don't why I ended up talking to her for nearly three hours about things like David Bowie or our lives…She was a huge David Bowie fan. My friends and I preformed Let's Dance at that event. It was one of her favorites."

"Take your time. I'm not going anywhere," Felix responds, almost gently. He looks down to his wine, then to the sunset, then to Damian right at his left. How long has it been since Damian's been able to talk about this? Granted it took so much effort to break open his armor, Felix has to assume it's been forever–or never. Felix could suggest therapy, but he's no hypocrite and it would hardly send the right message.

Quiet for once in his life, Felix curls his legs up to his chest as he listens. At some point, he draws his bottom lip between his teeth. If the situation wasn't so… somber, Felix could have laughed at the thought of Damian as a drummer in a cover band. Hell, Felix's roommate is a drummer and he knows how aggressive she gets in the midst of a set. He also tries to imagine a Damian, much younger, working at a library and meeting a talkative young woman who took a swift interest in him. Damian without the eye bags and the tired stare and the slightly slumped posture and sense of unease about him.

He can't help his smile at the mention of Bowie–how Damian and his friends all got together to play one song, just for her. "I see she was a woman of good taste." In music. In men. "That's an adorable meet-cute you had there." Felix stares at his wine, swirls it around, takes a sip. "What happened afterwards? If you're still comfortable talking about it, of course."

The more he thought about it, the more surreal it was. One minute he was sitting in a library wondering what his life would end up being and the next he is sitting on a porch with a glass of wine, talking to Felix. On another note, he's raising two kids alone. Two crazy energetic little humans whom he hoped are fast asleep. He took a glimpse around them. How the hell did he end up here?

"It's fine. I just need to think." Damian gets asked to talk about Areum a lot. The twins always ask him to tell them more about their mom. Sometimes bedtime stories are one about Areum or the three of them will go through pictures and videos Damian had saved over the years. He would show Felix, but he didn't want to hold him up. He doesn't want to bombard him about his late wife.

"We remained friends for a while, but we started dating when I got back from Spain. For the record, she asked me out first. She also insisted that I would join her in visiting her brothers back in Korea while they were on break from their military service. Areum's American, but both her brothers decided to go back when they were eighteen. Uhh…We started living together junior year…Then we eloped a week after graduation. She was never into any big gestures. Areum was just happy no matter what. I knew she was going to try to propose to me, so I beat her to it. I did ask her brothers a year before; I had a gut feeling to ask then. And when we got back, I asked her aunt and uncle since they're her adopted parents. I took Areum to her favorite bookstore and hid the ring box in the horror section because it's her favorite genre. The light in her eyes…The excitment…Mina and Adone have it too…" Damian sighed while lowering his head. "I don't know. I can go on forever about her….There's so much." He shrugged before taking a sip.

He listens. God damnit Felix listens to every single word that Damian says. He tacks mental notes to his mental corkboard to revisit later–going to Spain, visiting Korea, living together, their favorite bookstore–all of it. He connects it with a red string, detective style. Felix wants to know everything.

Felix mirrors Damian, taking another sip of his wine. It'll take a whole lot of this stuff to get Felix even buzzed–maybe even the whole bottle and then some. That's what a slight drinking problem will get him, he supposes. Felix sighs, then takes another sip, a longer one. "That's suffocatingly sweet," Felix responds, a bittersweet smile pulling at his lips. The math he does mentally is quick–Areum didn't live long after the twins were born. The question of how she died begs to be asked, but Felix represses it. For once in his damn life, he knows that his provoking questions are better left unsaid.

"I'm here for as long as you'll have me," Felix says. A somber smile. Another drink. "I'd listen to you talk about her all night if that's what you want."

Setting the wine glass beside him, he crossed his arms. He isn't good at this: talking about things that he has tried to come to terms with for a while. It's a Herculean task everytime anyone asks, including his kids. On the other hand, it is true, he could talk about Areum forever. And while it may sound cheesy, she was everything to him. He married her fifteen years ago thinking that they would spend eons together. They moved out to Vegas to start a new life together and have kids to add to their family. Now here he is, living in the remnants of their plans. It's been five years and he doesn't know if he has moved on.

He tried giving Felixa a faint grin. "I am not good at talking about these things. Work or how to make the twins' favorite foods, that I can do," Damian dryly chuckled. He shook his head at himself. "How about this…" Damian turned in the chair to face Felix. "Do you have any questions about her or me? You can anything or if you just want to sit here…I am fine with either or."

Felix returns the smile. "Yeah, I'm not good at talking about this kind of stuff either." It's been months since he the last genuine relationship he was in ended, and his friends still don't even know the details. It's been years since he was kicked out to the streets and he still hasn't entirely cleared the air of what happened with his sisters.

He sets his own glass down as he readjusts his position, watching the sunset for a few moments. If he wasn't a master at hiding his nervous ticks, Felix would be gnawing on his bottom lip, perhaps picking at the skin around his nails too–but he's still. Relaxed-ish, swimming in his own thoughts, and trying to be responsive. Yikes, Felix is going to need more wine.

"If you don't… well, mind me asking," Felix says, keeping his voice soft. He turns, facing Damian. "What happened? How did Areum…" He trails off purposefully, unsure if he can bring himself to say it or force Damian to hear it.

He sat there for a while, staring while trying to pick up on the context clues. "Ahhh…ah…" Damian attempted to give an assured smile. "It's okay. I know what you're trying to say. It's okay." He knew that the topic would come up eventually. Everyone always asks him.

The twins ask the same question all the time. It used to be at random moments throughout the day, but now it's only whenever they talk about their mom. Damian finds it difficult to explain it in terms for the twins to understand, but they seem to understand well enough for only being four. They are comfortable with the topic and with themselves, and that's all that matters to him.

"Areum died about an hour or so after Adonis was born. It was amniotic fluid embolism…a birth complication." Damian's face tried to cover the wheel of emotions he felt. The inner corners of his eyebrows perked up. He rubbed his bottom lip while looking off to the side. There was an urge to pick up the glass and down the whole thing, yet he remained still. He wanted to apologize for everything, for talking and keeping Felix here longer than he probably should of. And yet, he stayed still.

Felix nods, immediately understanding what had happened–practically an allergic reaction to birth. He remembered feeling am incomprehensible sliver of dread when his brother-in-law called to inform that Felix's sister barely managed to pull through three consecutive births. It's a small world. A small, terrifying, mortal world.

Yet Felix knows that there's always something good about it. Felix transfers his glass to his right hand and reaches over to grab Damian's hand in his own. "I'm sorry," he says quietly, offering his half-smile. He can see the emotion struggling to break free–every quirk of his face and every dip of his voice. "She sounded like an amazing woman."

Sighing, Felix turns again to the sunset, which is practically below the horizon by now. "I know you have hoards of pictures of her," he notes, a light tone ebbing into his voice as he smiles. "I'd be happy to see them if you'd be willing to show me."

Damian was never really good at receiving a lot of things: compliments, apologies, condolences…you name it. In the following weeks after Areum passed, he would just hum then nod his head. So he did the same to Felix, but he found himself to grin a little. "She was," He murmured. "I hope those two end up more like her than me. They already have her smile…It's beautiful."

Felix holding his hand evoked an emotion that left Damian confused. He's sitting here with a man whom he is attracted to, talking about Aurem; his late wife that he isn't sure if he is anywhere near done grieving over. He doesn't even know where he is grieving wise. While he loved to show pictures of Areum to others, it feels strange to now.

"Do you really want to see some? My whole phone gallery is just her and the twins. I'm surprised I still have storage on this. I even scanned photos from when we were in college." He rambled on before suddenly stopping. Damian lowered his eyes. "I can show you some still. There's always next time too."