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White, as far as they were concerned, had a secure relationship.
Most things in their life were secure, naturally. They don’t like to invest in things that they don’t think have much of a future- and given the way that they have had to fight for Green in the past, they’ve definitely made an investment and a half. But more to the point, Green always seemed so happy to be around them, taking any chance they could get to come over and spend some time with them. They were pretty sure that things were going well from that perspective.
Which was why a change in scenery came as something of a surprise. When Green had suddenly started being around less, all with the same excuse every time:
“Sorry! I’m busy!”
White wasn’t used to change, primarily because it never happened around them. Whenever something changed, they were always oblivious to it, like changing the stage behind closed curtains. Even when they should have been more aware of it, like with issues that they directly caused, the corrections were always concealed from view, and shown to White once more when everything was done.
They knew change was something that happened– they weren’t completely oblivious to the things that went on behind the scenes. But they didn’t know that change was something that affected them, when it had always been so out of their hands. And yet now, they felt like Green was slipping away from their touch, even if gradually and unintentionally.
Busy. That was a vague response, they had thought to themselves. But they tried not to worry about it at first. That was the answer Green gave when they were, truly, just busy. When they had a lot of things to work on at once, and didn’t have the time to verbally offload any of them to their partner. The last time they had been that distant, it had been when they were planning them a birthday party, and they could hold onto the hope in part that maybe they were preparing another act of kindness like that.
But there were other reasons. Other reasons that were a lot more troubling. Like– what if Green had been keeping something from them intentionally? What if something was going on in their life again, and they were purposely holding themselves back from saying anything about it?
Their partner wasn’t particularly great with communication. To be fair, neither was White, but the difference there was that Green usually did recognise the emotions they were feeling, but they didn’t feel like they were able to articulate them. But the longer that they kept something to themselves, the more harmful that it could become for everyone.
That had been what inevitably pushed White into talking about it. For a couple of days, they had just let it fester, seeming to expect that this would be something that would resolve naturally. But they began to quickly learn that it wasn’t, and that part of being in committed romantic relationships was taking initiative when something needed to be done. Why did they not recognise that?
“Are you upset with me?” They asked over their phone that evening, a time where they were sure that Green should not have been busy.
“What?” Green sounded alarmed, “Why would I be upset?”
“Because you’ve barely been talking to me.” White asserted, “I don’t have to be suspicious of you, do I?”
“Suspicious?” Green echoed, “Why?”
“Because that’s what people usually do when they’re hiding something from their partners.” White asserted, as Green made a horrified sound, “I can’t take the thought of you keeping things from me.”
“No, no! I’m not hiding anything!” Green exclaimed, “Did you have a bad dream again? You know those aren’t real!”
“I’m being serious this time.” As if they didn’t treat their dreams where something happened to Green like they were equally as serious. They hadn’t had dreams like that since Green showed up, okay? They didn’t know what was going on, “Are you?”
“I am too! We’re both serious!” Green squeaked, then took a long breath out, “I’ve just been really busy with work on the farm, I haven’t been able to do much else.”
“I’m sorry.” They added softly, “I didn’t mean to worry you. Can you forgive me?”
Augh. How could they not when they said it like that? Green had such a startling influence over them.
“Dang.” White grumbled, “Now I feel like I was being irrational.”
“No, No! It’s my fault,” Green insisted, “All of the people I care about are usually in one place. If something’s going on with me, I can just shout and everyone will hear it. But you– I forgot about you. And that’s bad.”
“You’re not helping my mood.” White whinged, “Why are you so good to me?”
“Uhm.” Green contemplated, “Because I love you?”
“I love you too,” White sighed, “But why are you working so much? Can’t you just stop for the evening and pick the work up tomorrow?”
“I can, but it would take longer.” Green considered, “We need to get all our supplies to the right place at the right time, or else we could miss the deadline. I mean– I think that’s a pretty normal thing for business practices, right? But our money’s really tight to begin with, so we have to work extra hard to make more.”
“Don’t you have other workers?” White inquired, “People who could do the job for you?”
“Only in the shop.” Green answered, “Farm work is family only. I don’t mind– it’s just really tiring.”
“So that’s why you haven’t wanted to talk?”
“Yeah, pretty much. My brain’s just shut off as soon as I got home.”
“Right, right.” White mused, committing that to their memory. “It makes more sense that way.”
“...but I’ve missed you a lot.” Green mentioned quietly, “I was thinking about you.”
“Awh, Greenie.” White crooned happily, “Well, at least that makes me feel a little better.”
“Maybe– when I’m done with all the big work, I can come over?” Their partner had suggested, slightly rushed as if overcompensating, “But I don’t know how good company I’d be.”
“Your little traits are entertaining enough.” White teased, “I like having you around.”
“O-oh?” Green perked up. God– finally. That oblivious bean was picking up on their compliments.
“Yep,” White hummed, curling one of their hair strands around their fingers, “I’ll be waiting. Don’t keep me too long, okay?”
“Okay!” Green chirped.
They had waited for a couple of days, until the weekend had rolled around. They saw for the first time when they opened the door to their partner what they meant by feeling tired.
They were still themselves, but they were also not. They had clearly taken care of their appearance- tidied their hair up, put on some cleaner clothes, but their expression betrayed the way that they were feeling, unable to keep the exhaustion out of it. Their eyes were duller than usual and they were starting to develop some eye bags.
The way that they smiled at their partner was familiar, comfortable, but also a little pitiful. They looked at them like someone would look at their bed after a long work day- with relief to finally see them. It had been a little bit of time since they’d last been face to face with each other— and boy, Green was clingy.
“If I knew things were this bad, I would have booked a spa appointment.” White said, allowing their partner inside. Green trudged towards their shoe holder and toed their shoes off, where they placed them in the specific space that White had started leaving for them, “I’m sure it’s not too late to book one now, if you want. But the wait might be a couple hours.”
“A spa appointment?” Green blinked at them as if the concept was utterly obscene.
“Yeah?” White answered, almost mimicking their expression, “You’d probably benefit from a facial– it would help to reduce those eye bags you’re getting.”
“You can see those?” Green raised their hands to rub where their eyebags are, “Ohhh…”
“Uhm.” White swallowed awkwardly, “They don’t look that bad. Nothing a little self care couldn’t fix. I may have some things at home that can help you with that.”
Green followed behind White like a tired puppy, “I just– didn’t realise you had spa appointments.”
“I have them like– every other week.” White mentioned, “If you’ve got a little extra money laying around, then why not invest it in looking out for yourself?”
“... huh.” Green marvelled, “I guess I’ve just never had the extra money laying around.”
“Trust the process, Greenie.” White brought Green into their bedroom, where they approached the vanity stand and opened up one of the drawers, “You’ll get there eventually. Besides, I’m always happy to put in a little extra money for you. It’s water off a duck’s back.”
White pulled out a small, sparkly bag from their drawer. Inside was a couple pieces of equipment that they would need.
“You know, I think you’re the one that’s good to me.” Green commented, eyeing the bag as White placed it on the vanity, “You don’t need to do all this..”
“Ababababababa.” White approached once more and placed their finger over their partner's mouth, holding it there until they stopped talking and pressed their lips together. White then lowered their finger, “No need to praise me, even if it is always welcome. Just a thank you will do.”
“Thank you.” Green complied, beginning to smile subtly. But noticeably enough for their partner to pick up on it and nod contently once.
“Good. Now go sit on the bed.” White instructed, gesturing to the side of the bed that Green typically occupied. They crawled up into that space, as White retrieved the bag and took it to the bedside table.
“What’s all that, anyway?” Green asked, glancing from the corner of their eye.
“Just a few things. I know what I’m doing… augh, this isn’t going to work.” White retrieved a small bottle of cleanser from their bag and stopped, noticing there isn’t a particularly convenient way for them to apply this onto their face, “Oh!”
So, for whatever reason, White clambered up on top of Green’s lap.
“This works for you, right, darling?” White asked. Green stammered a little, their hands extending outwards, before they carefully closed around White’s subtly dainty hips. There was a lot more of a pronounced curvature of White’s hips than Green’s, shaping out an almost perfect holster for Green’s hands. Like that was where they were meant to be.
“Yep! Everything’s a-okay with me!” Green insisted, but their vain attempt to not sound utterly embarrassed didn’t work in their favour. White snickered a little as they began to apply some cleanser onto their partner’s face.
“Cute.” They commented, massaging lightly along the contours of their partner’s skin.
“Me?” Green asked, their eyes glimmering like little stars.
“Yes, you. Keep your eyes closed.” White harumphed, as Green screwed their eyes back shut, “This’ll burn if it gets in your eyes.”
“Oh, I won’t complain. I just like feeling your hands on me.” Green sighed dreamily, as White momentarily paused, “I came here in the first place just ‘cause I wanted to be with you. Whenever I’m around you, I always somehow manage to feel better. I didn’t realise you’d end up doing this but– wow. This is way better. I feel really loved right now.”
“You’re loved everywhere you go.” White stated, starting back up the rubbing motions along their partner’s cheeks. Their family, their easy to make friends– them. There wasn’t possibly a place that Green wouldn’t be loved.
“It’s different when it’s you, though.” Green wagered, tipping their head, “It’s a little more special.”
“I guess that’s what it means to be exclusive.” White thought.
Once White had thoroughly cleansed Green’s face, they wiped the cleanser off with some disposable wipes. Green kept opening their eyes and peering at their partner, which White reprimanded.
“Are you doing this on purpose? You brat.” They snarked, tapping their partner’s head in a way that was meant to vaguely approximate a smack. Green whined but shut their eyes, allowing White to continue wiping their face until it was off, “And I thought you were a people pleaser.”
“Well… teasing you pleases me.” Green considered, smirking.
“I don’t feel very pleased.” White asserted, as they placed their last wipe down on the table.
“You’ll have to wait your turn.” Green commented cheekily.
“Ugh. Why?” White whinged dramatically. Waiting was not exactly in their vocabulary.
“It’ll be worth it.” Green wrapped their arms around White’s neck, pulling them slightly off balance, “Arms out!”
The couple fell down sideways onto the bed, laying beside one another. White, who did not put their arms out, yelped, and flopped like a limp mass onto their side. But Green had been able to keep them steady, leaning in to nuzzle their face and pepper kisses along it.
“Greenie!” White squirmed, tipping their head away. Green didn’t let them go easily, “Stop it! Stopp– okay no keep going.”
Green compliantly pressed small kisses along White’s jawline, then along down their neck. White reached up and tangled their hands in their partners hair, humming contentedly.
It’s tickly, with Green’s lips on them like that, and yet White wasn’t scratching to get it off of them. In fact, they latched tighter onto their partner’s head almost needily, like they were the one pulling the strings of the marionette doll. They were very content to be spoiled like that.
“Woah.” White purred when Green pulled away from them, lowering their hand to cup the back of their partner’s head, “I didn’t know you were so bold. Are you sure you’re not an alien who replaced my shy, bumbling partner?”
Green just… stared at them.
“...I didn’t mean that literally.” White backpedalled, pressing their forehead against their partners, “I like it.”
“Ab– I do, too.” Green pressed back. Some things never change, apparently.
“Hey. I’m pretty sure we were doing something.” White sat up, pushing Green down by their chest. Green did not even slightly protest, even as White clambered back up onto them, “I suppose it’s alright. What else do I expect from you?”
White retrieved a buffer from their bag, as Green watched against their pillow, “Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?” They asked.
“Maybe it’s a bit of both.” White shrugged.
White gently circled the buffer along their partner’s face, pulling lightly on the taut skin. Their partner sat there quietly that time, but the sight of them there was almost like a pretty painting. Their hair was splayed out along their pillow case, uncovering their full face which their bangs and front strands usually covered.
From their soft edges to their round eyes, Green was a very beautiful individual. They were a different kind of beautiful to what many interpret beautiful to be, and yet the precious way that they looked up at them wasn’t any less dear to them.
Were they afraid? Of course not. That was just another thing that Green had helped them to learn– that difference stood beside one another, rather than competed with it.
“I think you’re a lot more attractive than you realise.” White spoke, as Green’s expression changed, looking sheepish, “Have you ever thought of tying your hair up? You know, showing your face off a bit more?”
“Oh! Maybe?” White could see a subtle blush on their partner’s face, “To be honest, I’m not really any good with hair. I can tie my sibling’s hair, but my hands get all tangled when I try doing it on my own head.”
“I just think you’d look good if you tied these parts back.” They tugged lightly on the front strands of Green’s hair, “That’s all.”
“You always say the sweetest things…” Green breathed, “it reminds me of my mom.”
“Ah!” White squawked, scandalised, “Don’t compare your partner to your mother! Though I will admit they are a very lovely person and I take that as a compliment.”
“Sorry!” Green squeaked.
“Oh, I can’t be mad at you.” White relented, smiling lovingly.
“See, that just sounds like something my mom would say.” Green squinted thoughtfully.
“Greenie.”
“Alright, alright!”
Once they’d exfoliated their partners face, White had retrieved a face mask and placed it over their features.
“You’ll need to wear that for about ten minutes.” They said, settling in the space beside their partner.
“I feel like I’m in a movie.” Green commented, rigid against the bed frame, “I’m almost scared to move, in case it falls off.”
“I’ll get you another one if it does.” White responded, “I have plenty. With different fragrances, too, if you don’t like that one.”
“It’s not that. I’ve just never been this cared for before.” Green mentioned, fiddling with their sleeve, “I mean, I love taking long baths and stuff like that, but I don’t get to do done proper things like this.”
“You don’t know proper yet, let me tell you.” White waved a hand, “...Some other time, maybe. But it’s what you deserve. I can’t imagine how tiring your work must be for you.”
“I’m fine! My eyes hurt a bit… and my back’s sore… but it’s okay, really!” Green laughed, waving their hands.
“Awh. Alright. fine. Come here.” White reaches their hands up as Green shuffled a little closer towards them on the bed, “More than that.”
They moved closer, until White is able to press their hands down onto Green’s back, scratching their nails down along their spine. Even through their clothes, they felt the way that Green absolutely melted into their touch, leaning a little back into them as if using their body to subtly ask for more. White hadn’t thought about it.
“You remind me of a cat.” White commented, as they felt Green’s back straighten up, “Which is weird, because I think you’re more like a dog.”
“Maybe I’m a dog that likes to be scratched?” Green considered, tipping their head back to make eye contact with their partner.
“Sure.” White hummed.
It made them happy to see the way that Green was gradually becoming more energetic. Their attempt at rejuvenation was, unsurprisingly, rejuvenating, and it vicariously rubbed off on White. The way that their exhaustion seemed to be slipping off their shoulders, and they were able to sit up a little higher, smile a little more with the reduced strain.
They were proud. That’s why they felt so good.
“Your nails feel nice.” Green commented absently.
“Thanks. I always make sure my nails are precisely pointy when I get them done at the salon.” White gloated, releasing one hand to peer at their nails, “Do you want your nails done?”
“Uh, I dunno.” Green murmured, “That sounds expensive, and I don’t want to break them.”
“No pressure.” White relented, continuing on with their scratching motion. They found it was quite easy for them to get carried away on their trains of thought. Sometimes Green would tell them, but other times they needed to figure it out for themselves. And when it came to making Green feel better, this and that which White liked were on their mind. They just needed to remember it was Green they were looking out for.
Green seemed happy, themselves. That was what White was picking up from them, at least, their back arched and playing into the whole ‘cat’ thing. They wriggled around like a worm when White’s nails brushed down on certain spots along their back, humming in approval and maybe something of desperation. They’re so delightfully themselves, in the hands of a person who made it so they were able to be in the first place.
White’s nails were part of the way that they expressed themselves. And they were easing down Green’s back, making themselves apparent to them. Small reminders of affection as a pleasant feeling ran down their back– the feeling of what it meant to belong somewhere, and help someone to feel like they belong in turn.
Mutuality, in an obscure way. But Green had always been there to help White, so the least that they were able to do was repay them in some way or another.
Once ten minutes had elapsed, White removed their hands from Green’s back. Green, who seemed to be particularly enjoying the spot that White had been scratching on, whined and almost followed them with their body.
“Oh- oh– awh.” Green frowned, their posture slouching.
“It’s time to take the mask off.” White commented. Green still did not seem particularly happy with the new arrangement, “I’ll scratch your back again later. Does that work for you?”
“Hmph. Okay.” Green puffed. White removed the mask from their face, disposing it with the rest of the used materials, “Ooh. My face feels so soft.”
“It’ll do that.” White laughed, soon moving to retrieve their face roller from their bag, “Use this. It’ll rub in the rest of the serum.”
“Right.” Green held the roller up to their face and rolled it testingly a couple of times, before they got the hang of what they were doing and grew to be more confident.
“You feel any better?” White inquired. They were sure they already knew the answer, but they thought they would enjoy hearing it from Green themselves.
“Yeah… but I think I’m just happy to be with you.” Green commented, leaning against their partner’s side.
“Charming as that may be, I was kinda wondering if there was anything else you needed.”
“Maybee–”
“--other than the back scratches.”
“Awh.” Green whined, “I guess something to eat, maybe? If that’s okay? I’ve kinda… only been eating snack foods the past couple days.”
“That doesn’t sound very healthy.” White commented, if maybe slightly hypocritically.
“I know! But I haven’t had the appetite in me to make anything up. I just know I should.”
“That’s alright. I have a personal chef for reasons like this, anyway.” White swung their feet over the side of the bed, “I’ll go have them make something up for you. What do you want?”
Green looked awkward, “I don’t know what I want… I’m not used to having this many choices.”
“I wouldn’t say you really have a ‘choice’ at all.” White answered, “You don’t have to decide between anything. There aren’t any options— it’s just whatever.”
“Ahhh… that doesn’t make it any better.” Green complained, “What do you want?”
White gazed at them, “I wasn’t the one asking for food.”
“White!!” Green whinged.
“Alright! I’ll pick something, if I must!” White pushed themselves up off the bed.
White left Green there in their bedroom, leaving down to the kitchen with a purpose. Their chef was always in the proximity of that area, for the times where White would randomly ask for snacks to be made up in the middle of the day. It was actually quite a hands on job, despite only feeding one person most of the time.
They gave them a food order once they acknowledged their employer’s presence, standing in position to greet them. And they accepted it quickly, going off to begin preparing the food based on the ingredients that they had in their pantry at the time. White watched them for a couple of moments as if performing an impromptu performance review, until they decided that they had seen enough, and glanced over in the direction of their dining table.
That table was another one of the disproportionate things inside their household. Despite the fact that it was usually only one or two people occupying it, their table was long enough that it looked like a whole party of people could occupy it. White looked tiny in comparison, like an ant in a vast field of money. Far more than they ever knew what to do with, other than splurging on supersized furniture.
…It actually had been a while since someone occupied that table. Despite the fact they had a considerable amount of friends they never really had anyone over unless it was Green. It was a bit lonely sometimes, but other times they could look at it and see another space that they made together. Cramped as it may be– you’d think they’d sit on opposite sides, but Green actually sat right beside them near the head of the table. Close, and wanting to be held close.
Hm.
“See where the decorations are.” White had called out down the hall.
An hour later, White brought Green down into the dining room once the food had been prepared. Green wondered aloud what had been prepared, since White had evaded telling them since they returned to the bedroom, but they were quickly stopped by the sight that they saw before them.
A deep red cloth was draped in front of two opposite chairs. In front of each of them was a large tongued bowl with spaghetti inside, with long candles lit in the middle. Fresh roses were laid out along the perimeter, and as the two of them stepped closer, soft music began to play from the speakers in the corner.
“Whah..” Green glanced at the table, then at White, almost panting as if the whole thing had taken their breath away, “Is this for me?”
“Well, it’s not just anyone I get the candles out for.” White responded, taking a seat as Green scrambled to take the other one, “I thought, if I’m trying to pamper you, might as well look the part.”
“Mhm…” Green reached over to the middle of the table, lightly taking out one of the flowers from the pile, “Lean in. I wanna do something.”
“Oh, if you want to kiss, we can just do that later.” White dismissed, sitting back if anything, “Wouldn’t want to knock the candles over. Boy, those things are flammable. You know, I did that one time, and it was–”
“--I didn’t mean that!” Green intercepted before they could finish their story, “Please?”
“Okay.” White leaned in, closing the space between them and their partner. Green reached up and placed the step of the flower behind their partners ear, the bulb decorating the side of their face, “Hm?”
“I just thought you’d want a hair accessory.” Green grinned proudly, “They suit you a lot.”
So then, Green was the one giving their affectionate advice. It made White feel giddy on the inside.
“Really? I just think they’ll mess up my hair.” For good measure, White swept some of their hair behind their ear, “But if you insist.”
“I do. I do insist.” Green hummed smugly, “Oh–”
White held out a flower to Green in turn. They blinked at it, before taking it and holding it up to their chest.
“Golly… thanks, White!” Green chirped, customarily sniffing the flower, “I’ll put this in a vase as soon as I get home!”
“Oh, no need.” White leaned their head back, and yelled, “Vase!”
And before Green knew it, a spare vase was being placed in front of them. They stared at it as if they were a child witnessing a magic trick, despite watching the entire process themselves.
“Oh! Well, there you go.” Green plopped the flower into the vase, then carefully moved the vase beside them, “Are you sure you can eat this? Is that cheese on here?”
“No need to worry about me.” White answered idly, “I can tolerate certain cheeses. More specifically aged cheeses, and hard cheeses.”
“So… the expensive ones?” Green tilted their head.
“When you say it like that, it sounds like I have a lifestyle intolerance.” White commented, “I found it hard to keep myself away from cheese specifically. What are you supposed to do without cheese and crackers? So I asked my attendant to go until they could find me some cheese that my body would be able to digest. Here we are now.”
“Ahhh.” Green nodded, picking up their fork to spin around some of the spaghetti noodles, “How long did that take?”
“I don’t remember, but it didn’t really matter. All’s well that ends well.” White mimicked the action themselves, “I know you have a taste for things with cheese and tomato sauce on them.”
“I do!” Green exclaimed, as though this hadn’t been an obvious thing about them from the get go, “You’re so smart.”
“Thank you, thank you. Now eat your food.”
The pair of them ate with quiet chatter between their bites. Green seemed to become a lot more focussed on the things that they enjoyed, encapsulating the entirety of their attention. Their pupils were dilated, reflecting the scene in front of them as though their mind was subconsciously projecting their thoughts. That was what they wanted, how they wanted things to be.
And that was with their partner, as odd as that sounded. But White wanted to be with them, too.
“We should do it like this more often.” Green spoke up when they were mostly done with their food, “Every time we go out to eat, something always goes wrong. But this is a lot less stress.”
“You’re right. …almost. Come here.” White glanced up, to which they spotted a substantial amount of sauce smeared on their cheek. They took one of their cloths, extending it towards Green to swipe it off. Green blinked confusedly, then made a little ‘oh’ sound in realisation, turning their head to help their partner out.
White wasn’t too fussed. To be honest, as soon as they had put the order in with their chef, they had thought about something like this happening, and were quite open to the way that they had to respond. It had just so happened that they knew their partner too well even if implicitly, and everything had gone the way that they expected it to.They rested their head on their arm as they lowered the cloth from their partner. Sweet.
If this was the way that things got to go, then maybe White wasn’t opposed to the idea.
Their dinner had concluded with White resting along the sofa, as Green followed around the chef as if there was something more that they were meant to do. White had tried to insist to them that there was nothing, that they could leave the paid worker to clean up after them, but that idea was so foreign for someone from a communal family like theirs that they hadn’t quite grasped it at first.
Until a shadow loomed over White, and they glanced over to see their partner standing over them expectantly.
“Hm?” Was all they had to ask.
“Alright.” White replied, opening their arms up. Green crawled in, laying down on top of them, and squeezing White tightly in their arms. White clawed their hands down Green’s back, as Green pressed their body into them and nuzzled their head into their shoulder.
White placed a kiss down on the top of their partner’s head, “What am I supposed to do with you?”
Green hummed happily.
Maybe it wasn’t doing, it was a matter of being. Letting things be in their haven of relaxation, rubbing off on one another dotingly.
Though White may have some choicer words for Green if they kept pushing themselves so much.