"What is it?" Kand-Lei was a touch less intense than before, swayed by the flustered look on Darcy's face.
Darcy hesitated, his eyes darting around the room, clearly avoiding whatever he wanted to say. His fingers fiddled with Kand-Lei's hand, tracing intricate patterns and gently massaging. "Can I... be the.. um.. big spoon?" His eyes flicked up to Kand-Lei's face several times. "I like... holding you."
Kand-Lei bit back a laugh, managed to hold it for a few seconds by biting his lower lip, then a strangled noised escaped him and he burst out laughing. As he laughed he watched in fascination as Darcy's face slowly turned deeper and deeper shades of red.
Once he had gained control of his merriment, he reached out a hand to slowly tuck a stray strand of hair behind Darcy's ear. "Of course you can." He flushed a little, "I like the way you hold me. It makes me feel all... cozy. And safe."
If possible, the blush on Darcy's face deepened, he made a strange noise and buried his face in his hands. "Kelpieeeeee! You're going to destroy my heart."
Kand-Lei chuckled, messing with the part in Darcy's hair. It wasn't currently braided, falling in a curtain around his face, so it moved relatively easily when Kand-Lei rearranged it.
Zigzag part, side part on either side, no part, then Darcy's hand gently grabbed his wrist. "If you dont stop then I won't be able to keep talking."
Kand-Lei smoothed his hair into a side part on right side. "Ok, I'm stopped. See?"
They spent a moment or two in a silent stare-down, both studying the other and contemplating various things.
It was Kand-Lei who spoke first.
"How long have your parents been arranging marriages for you?" He asked quietly, in a tone that demanded no answer, merely expressed genuine curiosity.
"Quite a while." He looked up, confirming that Kand-Lei really wanted the full story. "Let's see. There was one brief engagement when I was twelve, arranged between me and this girl before she presented as an alpha. That broke off because they thought I was a beta."
Kand-Lei placed a hand over Darcy's, watching the subtle shifts in his expression as he continued.
"Then when I presented as an omega at sixteen, a bit of a late bloomer I know, my parents got even more insistent that I marry someone respectable." He rubbed a hand over the side of his throat. "I was sort of... well, absolutely against the idea. I did everything I could to make myself an undesirable choice. I smoked, got piercings, dressed and acted like a delinquent basically. I was one good step away from joining a gang before my sister had a really long talk with me." A brief smile flickered across his face as he remembered, "She really chewed me out when she found out what I'd been up to." He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly through puffed cheeks. "I stopped behaving so badly after that, quit smoking and all, but the reputation stayed with me." He smiled faintly. "I guess it did it's job well enough. Still, people seeking connections with my family kept pursuing me. I started just running away from those proposals."
Kand-Lei lowered his head, rubbing his hand over Darcy's, quietly sharing the burden. "You're very brave, to go against your family like that."
"I don't think brave is the word, but thank you."
A brief silence reigned, in which the only movement was that of the occasional squeezing of the other's hand.
"It was hard, presenting as an omega." Darcy drew in a shuddering breath. "Basically my whole family are alphas, and I was already the baby brother. I had to work so much harder just to get everyone to take me seriously, and when I found out... well, for a while, everyone treated me like glass. They didn't know how to act or what to say to me anymore. Overnight I became precious and fragile. Even though I was still the same person." He rubbed a hand over his red eyes, Kand-Lei tactfully ignored the way Darcy's eyes seemed to shimmer brighter in the light.
"I deliberately did everything the opposite of what I thought an omega was supposed to be. I spoke brashly and cursed as much as I could, I put on a confident look every time I faced anyone. I wore all sorts of clothes that I thought made me look dangerous and never touched anything like makeup or perfume." He ran a hand over his forearm, "I started working out and even tried to make my voice sound deeper. It was... a strange time to say the least."
Kand-Lei nodded, leaving a pause before he murmured, "I kind of get it. I never had any problems with my gender... but society's expectations I can definitely relate to. I was expected to marry for the family, bring favorable business opportunities while my elder sibling took over the family business." He smiled faintly, eyes lowering unconsciously, "I really tried to prove that my intellect was enough to be more advantageous by remaining unmarried and in the working world... I missed out on spending time with friends, dating in high school, enjoying my childhood, all so I could enrol in this prominent university. And then... one day I come home to find everything I've worked for, rendered completely useless."
"I guess we've both been fucked around by society and family huh?"
Kand-Lei looked up, "Yeah, but last week, I made this resolution: never let anything control my life again."
Darcy blinked. "That's a good resolution." He laughed, "That's a really good resolution. I'm stealing that. You can't have it back."
The both giggled until they were breathless, leaning together for support. Kand-Lei smiled as he suddenly flopped down on Darcy's lap, seemingly instantly comfortable.
"So, let's make sure that we remain equal, always." He winked, "I'll cook on odd days, you cook on even days."
"Already planning on living together?"
"Weren't you?"
"Yeah. I couldn't take the itchiness if we were apart."
"But you wouldn't miss me?" He sighed dramatically, splaying a hand over his eyes. "The woes of the one who loves more."
Darcy's hand slipped casually from it's resting place, "Oh? You're already claiming to be more in love?" The wayward hand began mercilessly tickling Kand-Lei's side.
"AAAAH! DARCY, STOP IT!!! EHEHEHHE" Kand-Lei wriggled with uncontrollable laughter, launching a clumsy counterattack.
After laughing themselves silly they curled together on the couch, catching their breaths.
Kand-Lei poked Darcy's chest a bit tentatively. "There was one thing we didn't talk about."
Darcy looked into his opalescent eyes. "Was there?"
"Mm..."
"It was..?" Darcy prompted and Kand-Lei blushed, hiding his face with his hands, letting only one, sparkling eye peek out.
"We didn't talk about... that... um," his voice suddenly dropped to the faintest whisper, "...kiss."