Ori winced slightly, reaching forward and pulling Fen up against his side, as far from Xachia as she's allow. The way she looked at him was uncomfortable to say the least. It only made him more uncomfortable with what was happening. "Alright. I suppose we'll all be helping set up the ambush then, won't we?"
"Bingo. As for our decoy, he'll be playing concubine with the other unfortunate souls that end up in his den that night. With luck, he won't end up alone with the bastard because that could spell disaster."
"I have some questions about that, actually." Ori took a step forward. "How are you going to ensure that Fen comes out of this okay? I know you're a professional hunter and all, but I feel we should have some fall backs in place. Just in case things go sour."
"I'll have some of my guild on standby in case something goes wrong. A professional never goes in without a backup plan." Xachia waved Ori off, once again looking Fen over.
Ori let himself be dismissed once he was assured of Fen's safety, taking Archer's hand as he fell back. "Excited to hunt some demons, darling?"
"Couldn't be happier! Well, that's a lie. I'd be happier if it didn't put Fen's life at risk but if he wants to go through with it then I can't really stop him." Archer shrugged as he squeezed Ori's hand.
Ori gave his hand a soft squeeze in return, leaning over to kiss Archer on the cheek. "That's true, I just wish they'd tell us a little more about what's happening. I hate being in the dark like this, it really stresses me out."
"I know, I'm stressed too. But we don't have much of a choice. We'll know when they want us to know, which isn't as soon as we wish it was."
Ori huffed, pressing a little closer to his boyfriend. "It's stupid that they don't tell us what we need to know. You'd think they'd be a little more considerate, at the very least."
"Ori, even if something goes wrong, Fen will be fine. You don't know him like I do. He'll be alright. Have a little faith, okay?" Archer smiled softly before looking ahead.
Ori winced slightly, leaning into Archer a little more than he had before. "I know logically that he's okay, I just… I don't like putting him in danger. It feels really wrong."
"I know, I feel the same way. But all we can do is grin and bear it. Right now, it's all we can do until the mission actually starts."
Ori didn't like it, but he knew nothing they did would change what was happening. "Alright. Let's go help Xachia then, may as well get as much of this over with as we can."
"And besides, doesn't playing dress up with Fen sound like fun? I know he'll be for someone else's ideals but we can at least try to find a little bit of positivity in it, right?" Archer laughed, squeezing Ori's hand.
Ori squeezed his hand back, offering a small smile in return. "At the very least, it'll be fun to watch him put on something fancy. I think he's been wearing those sam beat up trousers for as long as I've known you guys."
"I'm excited to see him out of that cape. He rarely ever takes it off. You should see him in blue. He looks absolutely gorgeous." Archer sighed dreamily, remembering the last time he and Fen had to dress up fancy for something.
Ori couldn't help but smile at the mental image, though it was hard to picture Fen dressed in anything but the same clothes he always wore. "Oh I bet. I wanna see them brush his hair out, he never styles it."
"He never has the time to. Maybe finally he'll get a proper shower and they can style and fix him up into the true flower he is. If only that flower was staying with us for the night."
"Yeah." Ori glanced ahead at Fen, biting the inside of his cheek. "Who knows, maybe they'll let him slip away so we can get a good look at him."
"Ooo, what I wouldn't give to have that. That prince is about to be a lucky guy by getting our Fen. Although not as lucky as us because we get to keep him."
Ori wrinkled up his news. "I'm not in the mood to be charitable, he's gonna kill Fen right after if he gets the chance."
"Maybe so but you've gotta think positive. If you keep believing that Fen is gonna die, he will. And then what will we do? So stop it." Archer poked Ori's cheek with a pout.
Ori batted his fingers away playfully, a small smile on his face. "I know, I know, I just can't help it. I don't know how you keep from worrying all the time, it's incredible."
"I do worry, Ori. I'm always worrying about you two. But I know that if I spend all my time worrying, I'll never have the time to have fun while you're still here."
"Well it's not like we're going to stop existing at the drop of a hat." He gave Archer's hand a soft squeeze. "You're allowed to fuss over us a little bit. God knows we need it more often than not."
"I know, I know but for a lot of people my little bit is their too much. I never want my personality to cause people stress." Archer frowned, his shoulders slumping in guilt and sadness.
"That's bullshit, sweetheart." He pulled Alex a little closer to his side, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. "You're wonderful, I don't think I'll ever get enough of you. There's no such thing as too much with you, it's always just right."
"Well I'm glad someone thinks so." Archer brightened a little at that, smiling to himself as he straightened back up.
Ori laughed. "I'm sure Fen thinks so too, I don't think there'll ever be a time when he's not disgustingly in love with you."
"You say that like you aren't." Archer elbowed Ori with a wink. "Who wouldn't want to fall in love with the beautiful singer with the golden voice that is me?"