The lightheartedness is needed to keep the moment less serious. Seeing Magne smile so freely next to him makes César's heart swell. He already knew he loved her, and he wants to keep bringing that smile to her face.
César is reluctant to break away from her, yet eager enough to let her enjoy her bath, and he moves away from the door so she can leave. "I'll check in on you to see how you're doing in nine hours, then."
When she leaves, he switches off the vanity lights, leaves the bedroom door open to hear her easier, and goes to settle on his bed with a couple of books. Magne doesn't need to know one's a farmer's almanac that he's rereading to better understand the local climate, but it isn't long before he takes up his second book, a book of children's stories. Sometimes, that's the best way to understand a culture: to see the stories they teach their children.
César's eyes drift off the page when he hears a noise from the bathroom. A... groan? Why—? Oh. Oh.
For a moment, he's embarrassed to be overhear her, but then his heart lifts. It's almost painful, too, knowing how rare moments like this have been for her. But that's changing from here forward. She'll be able to use his bath whenever she wishes.
He switches back to the almanac, because it feels a little wrong to read children's stories right now. ... also because he needs something exceedingly dry to have any chance of not needing to care for himself. Yup. Definitely flipping through with a bit of desperation to find the driest section he can, here....
cw: listening to the implied but not explicit sexual activity
César is reluctant to break away from her, yet eager enough to let her enjoy her bath, and he moves away from the door so she can leave. "I'll check in on you to see how you're doing in nine hours, then."
When she leaves, he switches off the vanity lights, leaves the bedroom door open to hear her easier, and goes to settle on his bed with a couple of books. Magne doesn't need to know one's a farmer's almanac that he's rereading to better understand the local climate, but it isn't long before he takes up his second book, a book of children's stories. Sometimes, that's the best way to understand a culture: to see the stories they teach their children.
César's eyes drift off the page when he hears a noise from the bathroom. A... groan? Why—? Oh. Oh.
For a moment, he's embarrassed to be overhear her, but then his heart lifts. It's almost painful, too, knowing how rare moments like this have been for her. But that's changing from here forward. She'll be able to use his bath whenever she wishes.
He switches back to the almanac, because it feels a little wrong to read children's stories right now. ... also because he needs something exceedingly dry to have any chance of not needing to care for himself. Yup. Definitely flipping through with a bit of desperation to find the driest section he can, here....