They find Strife by the river, laying in the grass and looking up at the sky. His face is pensive, much too serious and sad in a way. they feel like something is wrong with their lover but he's much too proud to admit it.
They walk over to sit by him, watching his expression. He seems too lost in thought to notice Their presence until his eyes flick over to them and he whispers their name just to say he knows that they're there. He knows they don't like feeling like no one notices them. He knows they like it when he acknowledges them, however half-hearted. It's nice to be cared about.
The two of them sit in silence for some time.
"Hey… Having a cunt doesn't make me less of a man, right?" He asks out of the blue. His tone is serious and they can detect nervous tremor. They know immediately that he is allowing them to see the vulnerable side of him that no one else can see and they're proud that he trusts them enough to come out to them about this.
"No. You're you." They answer truthfully. "I mean, I don't know how you nephilim deal with this sort of thing but to me you're always a man and are handsome no matter what you have."
They watch him turn this over in his head, his gaze returning to the heavens and his lips pursing. He sighs, a sound that sounds wrong coming from him. They don't like that sad, almost defeated sigh. They want to make sure he never makes that sound.
"But I don't feel like it's enough. It feels like a trainwreck. It feels disgusting. I feel disgusting." He whispers softly.
They don't like hearing him sound so weak, a sharp change from their quick-witted, sharp-tongued horseman who never gave up. They aim to rectify this best they can.
He is surprised when they move and straddle his waist. Strife looks at them with a questioning stare as he props himself up on his elbows. He looks confused when they cup his face in their hands, his left hand coming up to cover theirs.
They simply stare into his eyes for a little while before gently kissing his forehead. They are not really sure they understand what he is going through nor do they know how long this has been going on but they want him to know they'll be by his side through it all.
"Let's go home. I'm not sure how to help, but we'll get through this one." They tell him. "No matter how bad it is, I know we'll pull through. Do you want to fill me in so we can figure out what to do?"
He looks blank for a moment before smiling a tiny bit at their words, noting the use of 'we' and how it implies he won't be alone. They find themself pressed to his chest in an embrace, noticing how his breath shudders and his grip is tighter than usual. They pat his back, unsure how they can help but knowing they would do anything they could to help. After all, even long-lived beings feared by creation need to be supported too sometimes.