escordvi | closed 🪶⚡ all i really, really ever want is under the mistletoe

[The way that he says her name right then makes all of the trouble worth it. All of the time spent searching, all of the sneaking around behind his back to get her hands on those bags, and then the designing of the mug. She is no artist, to be sure, and the writing and the hammer are far from perfect, but she knows that it will mean much more to him that it isn't. She knows that it doesn't have to be "perfect", if only because it was created by her hand. Though, to be fair, she is quite proud of what she did manage.

So when he leans in to kiss her, she is all smiles, and between the happiness and the wine warming her blood, she tries and fails to stifle a little giggle against his lips.]

You ought to make me some of your coffee in the morning, yes?

Oh I will.

[He chuckles as he pats one of the new bags of coffee.]

Even picked one out already.

Mm, good. I look forward to trying it.

[Another soft, sweet kiss that lingers before she's eyeing the gifts laid out again.]

Why don't you pick one for me this time?

Hmm, all right.

[He muses for a moment before he ha da her the small velvet pouch.]

You are sure it is okay for me to open this one?

[Before she takes it, she gives him a playfully dubious look.

And she'll start to tug it open...]

[He just laughs at that.]

Aye, you can.

[And when she opens it, she'll find tightly wrapped in some gift tissue paper to hide the sound is a small chain of rings that look like any other piece of fine jewelery, however...]

These have a little trick to 'em that I am sure you'd quite like.

[She drops the wrapped tissue paper into the palm of her hand, and by the time she starts to delicately unwrap it, she can hear the metal starting to move against each other, and she glances up at him before peeling it all away fully. Only to find a set of rings, all of them chained together. It is an interesting piece of jewelry, and certainly not what she expected, but they are beautiful nonetheless. She lifts them up to the light in awe, and at his words, she gives a small, curious cant of her head.]

A trick?

[Carefully, she slips one onto her finger with a smile, and it fits perfectly.]

Is it not enough that they are simply pretty? What sort of trick?

[He grins and points to a candle about the height of his hand on the coffee table.]

Hold it up against the candle there.

Oh...?

[With a curious arch of her brow, she slides the rest of the rings on and lifts her hand to the candle...

With her fingers hovering near it, she waits for something to happen, but when nothing does...]

Am I supposed to do something to activate this trick?

[He chuckles and taps against the candle.]

Touch it with the ring.

[Well, that just piques her curiosity more. There is a bit of tentativeness, her ringed fingers reaching out for the candle but stopping just short of touching it. She glances at him again to be sure before she lets her fingers graze the wax, and she gets as far as brushing her fingertip against it before it suddenly jerks and then...]

What—!?

[She pulls back, visibly startled, when it vanishes and she casts a quick look around.]

Where did it go?

[He laughs at her reaction and nods to the table.]

Tap the ring anywhere on the table.

[And when she does, the candle will tumble out as if from thin air.]

[Narrowing her eyes at him, Benedikta does just that. She picks a spot on the table away from where the candle had been, at the other end, and gives the rings a most cautious tap against the edge. One second it wasn't there and in the next, it tumbles out of nowhere in particular and rolls across the table, and she catches it before it can get too far.

She has to blink once, twice, a few more times to make sure that she isn't hallucinating because of the wine, but no, the candle is here and real and it was gone just a few seconds ago.]

How did...? What sort of magic is this? The rings simply took it.

[He has such a smug grin at that.]

That's exactly that. I heard these were on the market and thought these might prove more useful than trying to hide everything in your dress.

[A light smirk.]

It does have limits. One item per ring at a time and can only be about a foot tall.

Only about a foot tall?

[She scoffs an amused laugh at that and tests it out again with one of his bags of coffee, tapping it with the ring once and then twice, and then marvelling at how it disappears and reappears right where she wants it to. She is far too amused about this, giggling with red in her cheeks, and she'll do it again just for good measure.]

Is this because I was making you carry all of those things out of that party the other week?

Perhaps.

[A wry but amused grin as he watches her.]

[This time, she snorts under her breath and lifts her fingers to him, just barely touching his nose.]

A good thing that it has a size limit.

[And she boops him before she pulls her hand back to look at the rings on herself again, admiring the craftsmanship as well.]

So it is like... a magical pocket?

[He just rolls his eyes before he sits in closer to her.]

Something like that. They called it a "dimensional pocket," but don't ask me how it works.

How did you know my next question...

[Slowly, she slides the rings off before she accidentally "pockets" anything else and sets them aside.]

They will certainly come in handy should we ever have another job like that again. Or... handy in general.

[As expected by now, she leans forward and kisses him again in gratitude. Despite its softness, there is a hint of mischief in her eyes, the gears turning in her head on all sorts of things she could use this for.]

They are just what I needed. Thank you.

[Oh he can see those pretty little gears turning, but he knew they would and he just chuckles.]

I hope I don't come home to a new "nest" of treasures or I'll hhave to start calling you my little "crow."

[She hums thoughtfully before she shakes her head.]

Mm, does not have quite the same ring to it. Though, crows are quite clever. Besides...

[There's a brush of her nose against his.]

Would you really say no to a nest full of treasures?

[It's going to happen. Just you wait.]

Well I am looking forward to some kind of nest.

[A playful smirk as he looks into her eyes. He couldn't help himself to make the little "nesting" joke here.]

[She smacks him on the arm.]

Enough of that.

[It's embarrassing, and doubly so when she is three (or was it four???) glasses of wine into the night, and she will shove his next gift—the box—into his arms.]

[He just laughs at that and takes the box.]

Who knows, maybe this time next year I'll need to buy for more—

[She breaks those words off with another firm but playful kiss, her cheeks flushing deeper and her heart fluttering at the thought of that.]

Or you can continue to spoil me.

[But she motions to the box one more time.]

Now open it.

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