Essek is of much the same mind. He tilts his head to meet his husband in a full kiss, pouring all of his tenderness into it so Percival will remember it later, when he is being anything but. Essek has been cold and sharp for so long that it feels like who he is, uncompromising and untouchable. And though it is disturbingly easy to slip back into those old habits, that isn't him. Not anymore. There is so much in his life now worthy of tenderness. His friends, his loving husband, the potential for their future together he now carries within his own body.

But it truly seems as though Percival will find something satisfying and cathartic in the treatment this cruel, aloof version of Essek will give him. And if that is the case, Essek will gladly play the role he'd spent a century perfecting.

"Then come," he says, drawing away with a flicker of a smirk. "We'll begin when we reach the tower. Is there anything more you would like to request or make me aware of before then?"