[he won't say it aloud, but if it weren't for Ava, Darcy, and Fio, he'd probably not even bother leaving.]

I like knowing you're up here longing for me when I'm away. Besides, you'd get tired of me if I were here all the time.

[he chuckles.] Of course not. [his fingers scrape lightly at the skin behind his ears.] You also yearn. Or pine, if you prefer.

Well then, darling, what do you do in here by yourself, other than think about me?

[this time, his laugh is low and undeniably smug.]

You certainly know how to stroke my ego, don't you?

Is that so? [those are fighting words.] Prove it.

[his own hand trails after the one retreating, catching it in a gentle grip.]

You haven't hurt me yet. [he draws that warm hand back to his jaw.] Let's just start like this, then. I can feel the heat under your skin, the pressure of your fingers against my bones, and that's more than enough for now.

[he tilts into the touch, watching his face for any microscopic change in expression.]

If something in me is changed by the way you touch me, I know it will be for the better. And if you never again feel ready to burn through to my marrow, know I'm already more than satisfied with this alone. I trust you.

[the care and hesitation keeps Skulduggery still in his lap, avoiding physical or metaphorical pressure even as he feels the wild heat behind his hand. if he could close his eyes, he would, but getting to stare at the Captain is a fine alternative.]

It's because I love you. You can't have one without the other.

Mmm... [he'd almost forgotten what the heat felt like, creeping into him through the bone.]

You and me both, my dear. I never thought I'd find someone like you in my life.

You're... you. [he bows his head slightly, embarrassed to have to quantify what he thinks should be a straightforward statement.] There are endless versions of myself, folded into one being but just as easily separated from each other. You could pluck me from a dozen different moments, like apples from a tree. But I would never be able to find anything more than a memory of what you used to be. And I'd never have expected someone so singular to look at me and see anything other than an arrogant, ambulatory anatomy model.

[as he rambles, his hands move back down to the collar of the Captain's shirt, pulling lightly -- nervously -- at the edges.]

[he smooths down the collar under his hands, then laces his fingers behind his neck.]

I am the best version of myself there is. [it's a joke, but the edges are softened by sincerity.] Mostly because I have you.