[ credence smiles softly and even this small thing is like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. there's nothing short of adoration in his eyes, the way he looks down at him as though he's the whole world. his fingertips trace the lines of graves' face, his jaw, his cheekbones, down the side of his neck. unerringly affectionate, somehow in this bleak place credence has blossomed into his own even if he's still young and frightened.
he's always so happy to return every kiss that graves will grant him, pouring his emotions into all of them. ] It sounds wonderful. Too good to be real. [ but don't most things? someone like graves had seemed too good to be real too. credence recognizes that look in his lover's eyes with the request and he clicks his tongue once, shifting to settle properly on his lap. ] Kiss me, he says, as though an innocent lamb asking for affection. [ teasing - something he never would have done all that time ago. now, he happily leans down to kiss graves again, hands smoothing over his chest and eyes lidding shut. it's a deeper kiss, open-mouthed, his tongue flicking out against graves' lower lip coaxingly.
he's hunched over graves, seated directly in his lap, and he's still in that position when the door clicks open without so much as a knock. there doesn't need to be: credence hears the latch and it's as though an entire basin of freezing water has been poured over him - he tenses, hunches forward more, squeezes his eyes shut. maybe it's his sisters. he hasn't prayed in so long but he does now.
the voice that speaks is unmistakably mary lou, devoid of any of the false friendliness that had been present in her before. ]
no subject
he's always so happy to return every kiss that graves will grant him, pouring his emotions into all of them. ] It sounds wonderful. Too good to be real. [ but don't most things? someone like graves had seemed too good to be real too. credence recognizes that look in his lover's eyes with the request and he clicks his tongue once, shifting to settle properly on his lap. ] Kiss me, he says, as though an innocent lamb asking for affection. [ teasing - something he never would have done all that time ago. now, he happily leans down to kiss graves again, hands smoothing over his chest and eyes lidding shut. it's a deeper kiss, open-mouthed, his tongue flicking out against graves' lower lip coaxingly.
he's hunched over graves, seated directly in his lap, and he's still in that position when the door clicks open without so much as a knock. there doesn't need to be: credence hears the latch and it's as though an entire basin of freezing water has been poured over him - he tenses, hunches forward more, squeezes his eyes shut. maybe it's his sisters. he hasn't prayed in so long but he does now.
the voice that speaks is unmistakably mary lou, devoid of any of the false friendliness that had been present in her before. ]
Credence.
[ credence is trembling, afraid to look up. ]