Sapphy was... the first words that came to mind were an experience but that wasn't quite right. She was so different from him in some ways, and the way they thought was totally different, and yet so often they came to the same conclusion on their own. Cy had said, on one of those rare nights when Sapphy went up to bed ahead of him instead of with him, that marriage was changing Sapph, but Torram wasn't so sure. It was less that she was changing and more that she was showing who she really was, in his eyes at least. And gods did he like who she was. She was smart, feisty, and strong - and beautiful - but it wasn't just that. It was her teasing Cy about her crush while she gave her makeup tips in her usual no-nonsense fashion. It was her putting Alder in his place when he was being an idiot. It was those little glimmers of affection towards Effie, towards the baby she carried, towards him.

When she grinned at him, when she held him, he felt like he'd earned it - and now he understood why. How was she supposed to show softness, show affection, when she'd been raised like that? It still burned in his guts, the way her family had treated her. As if she wasn't good enough, when she was a thousand times better than them. Where would they both be if the baby hadn't happened? He'd be lonely, holed up in his shop and playing the big brother - not that he minded that, of course, but for so long he'd felt like a secondary character in this story, and with her, he was front and center. And her? Would she have gone home, back to... those people? What would life have brought her?

Still thinking of that, his expression was a bit taunt, but he came fully back into the present at her touch. By the time she settled in his lap he was focused on one thing: her. His expression lightened accordingly, grey eyes soft - that "gooey" like she rolled her eyes about.

He wrapped one arm around her as she spoke, slightly distracted by her nearness and the spark in her eyes. He smiled delightedly at her words, this... realness she was asking for. He'd never be able to shake his politeness, just like she'd never go completely mushy, but they were married, and he damn well wanted to stay that way.

"Kay," he said, echoing her earlier reply. Then he leaned forward and kissed her nose. He sighed, hugging her and adding. "Your family's never babysitting our baby. Especially not your sister. Is she always such a bitch?"

He kept his head on her shoulder, not daring to look up. She'd asked for a bit of roughness, but she was Sapphy. She took loyalty damn seriously, and insulting her sister might backfire on him. But by the same token, that was his family now too. She was his family.



my father told me when I was just a child
these are the nights that never die