In a mid-June afternoon, sunlight poured through Skwisgaar's windows. Blue skies with wispy white clouds were at aesthetic odds with the grim mountain range Mordhaus situated upon, but only two members of the band were even awake at this hour to notice it. While Murderface, Pickles, and Nathan secluded themselves in darkness, Toki and Skwisgaar let all of it in.

The light hitting what skin of Skwisgaar's was visible from Toki's vantage point glowed practically white and obscured any blemishes that might exist along his back. When a cloud moved briefly in front of the sun, Toki saw the four red lines his short fingernails had left near his lover's spine. Soft hair brushed his face, the mingled scent of sweat and sex clogged his senses, and just when the room grew bright again, long fingers turned Toki's chin. He caught bare sight of dilated pupils and glazed eyes before swollen lips against his caused Toki's eyelids to flutter. Although he tried to stay quiet, he couldn't help but groan as Skwisgaar bucked his hips up with an intentional motion, pressing deeper and more rhythmically. Even without a mimicking hand, Toki was certain his head would be swimming in a rush of hormones just waiting to be released.

Skwisgaar's room turned orange, afterward; sunlight flickered like a fire through Toki's eyelids as clouds continued their route across the sky. He breathed deeply with his nose buried in Skwisgaar's hair, heart hammering as result. His fingers couldn't grip such slippery skin, but that was all right. He resorted to mildly finger combing what knots he'd created in Skwisgaar's hair, while his free hand gently grazed a pale arm. A bird sang outside, on the ledge.

"Odin," Skwisgaar mumbled. His breath hit Toki's equally glistening skin in spurts, cooling the body he pinned to the mattress. It became intentional, shortly; Skwisgaar moved some of Toki's hair aside and blew on his neck.

Toki hummed in appreciation. "Best ways to wake up in the morning, I swears."

A deep chuckle came as agreement. "I don'ts t'ink we hads anyt'ing planned today, so. . ."

"We'ves been staying in bed too much lately, just to fucks the day away. We needs to do something else, once in a whiles."

"What ams de point? We haves everyt'ing we needs here. Someones to brings us food when we ams hungry. . ."

"I means like go outside, or something."

"I coulds go for some outside fuckings."

"That's because it's not you that has a root stickings in his back, or who gets grass stains all over."

"You could rides me dis time, if you like."

"You're just relentless." This soon after getting off, Toki couldn't think about the next time it might occur. Some days Skwisgaar was insatiable, and that seemed to get only worse when the longing in his gazes intensified. Skwisgaar was weird in how he expressed his affections, preferring sex over basic touches (mere foreplay, in his vocabulary) and rather than just come out and say he loved Toki, he—well, Toki could see it again in how he was being regarded. That stupid, unguarded smile could only mean one thing. "You're nots going to ask again, are you?"

"Oh comes ons, dat amn'ts even fair." Skwisgaar pulled all his hair over one shoulder. "Why you needs to keep saying no?"

"Because I thinks you either aren't serious, or you haves no idea what you're really askings for."

"I'ms asking for dis, every day. I wants to be happy, and I wants to make you happy. I does, right?"

"Well, ja, but. . ." Toki rolled his bottom lip through his teeth. "Gettings married. . .that's a bigs commitment."

"Ja."

"I thinks you needs to thinks about it more. We haves a good thing going, and I don'ts want to wreck it by jumping into something we're maybes not ready for."

"How amn'ts we ready?"

"Marriage is mores than sex, Skwis. It means that you're with me for a longs, longs, time."

Skwisgaar drew small circles on Toki's chest, smiling in that lazy, happy way that came exclusively post-orgasm. "Mhm."

"I thinks maybe that your mind get cloudeds by how oftens we do this. I admits, is sometimes hard to tells the difference between endorphins and love."

"Amn'ts it one in de same?" Skwisgaar raised an eyebrow.

"Well ja, but. . .ares they mutually exclusive here, or is one the results of the other?"

"I don't see anythings wrong with havings an orgasm because you love somebodies."

"The others way around, though. . .does I loves you, or vice versa, just because we haves orgasms together?"

"I seems to recall you tellings me multiple times dat you felts dis way befores we had sex."

Toki stilled his tongue; so he'd heard from Skwisgaar, as well. "I don'ts know. . .what ifs we weren'ts fucking?"

"You always finds a way to makes me happy, anyways."

"What ifs I said I didn'ts want to marry you?"

"You'ves been saying dat all dis time by hesitatings, and it hasn't puts me off, has it?"

"I drives you crazy, Skwis. We fights almost everyday."

"We gets past it, and ams better for it."

"One day, you're goings to get tired of me."

"The only thing I ams tired of ams hearings no."

"Why, though?" Toki brushed some stray hairs off Skwisgaar's broad forehead. "Why ares you so adamant about this? You nevers came off as somebody that might wants to get married. Why is this so importants to you? Do you thinks that if I'ms your husband, I can'ts leave you so easily?"

The ripple effect gravity exerted upon Skwisgaar's carefree expression sunk Toki's heart. Despite awareness that Skwisgaar didn't have the greatest luck with not feeling abandoned (let alone actually being tossed or dropped), it took time for that factor to be drug into the conversation.

Hoping he hadn't just pushed Skwisgaar away, Toki leaned up to kiss him. "That can't have anything to do with if I saids yes. I can't stipulates that you be confidents or secure, since God knows I'm nots any better about those kinds of things. I just don't want that to be the reason, you knows?"

"It amn'ts," Skwisgaar assured him. "But it ams a good point. Marrieds or not though, I just hopes all around dat you won't somedays go away."

"So let's say for argument sake that I's not goings anywhere. What's the big rush on gettings me to marry you?"

"Duh, can'ts call you my husband when we amn'ts married, cans I?"

"You really wants to?"

"Mhm."

"Well. . ."

"What does you say?"

All considered, despite how flattered Toki was to be hounded so constantly, how touched that Skwisgaar could ever imagine such a life for them, he smiled apologetically. "You're goings to haves to wait a littles bit longer, Skwis. Sorry."

"Dat ams okay." Skwisgaar shrugged. "If dis am goings to last as long as you say it will, den I guess dere amn'ts really any rush."

"I likes it when you ask, though."

"Just so you cans keep tellings me no?"

"Because ifs you don't give up, means you'll probablies be worth it, in the end."

"Only probablies, huh?"

"Ja, sometimes you can be such a pest."

"It sound to me likes you like dat."

"Mores than I could ever tells you."