[castle darkness; nick]

[signed_sabrina]

Sabrina supposes there's a comfort in knowing that at least fashion seems fairly consistent from Dark Lord to Dark Lord. In the end, Lucifer had preferred all that gold in what Aunt Zelda had declared a gauche representation of being the Morning Star.

But she remembers the black lace she'd worn on the night of her almost-baptism, and that's similar to this new dress.

There's certainly drama in this one, at least.

She's doing her best to look imperiously bored as she plays with some bizarre little puzzles that would mean putting a cube together, having chased the latest round of goblin servant-guards away. That doesn't mean, however, that her ears aren't trained for a certain discovered secret passage, and movement within.

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[awickedtime]

Nick tips his head, makes room for her to burrow into the hollow of his throat. He threads his finger into her hair, cradling the back of her head for a moment.

"I'll make sure you don't drift off," he promises. "Just be here with me for a moment."

[signed_sabrina]

It would be lovely, to let herself sleep like this, but she's at least grateful that whatever deep measure of her own will that keeps her on course won't even let her try. "I'm here," she whispers. "I'm with you, and you're with me, and even if we're part of the darkness, I've got your hand."

[awickedtime]

"And I am never letting go of you, Spellman," he says, with all of the weight of a promise. "I will never, ever let go of you, babe."

[signed_sabrina]

"I know," she whispers, and she does. She absolutely knows it.

She smiles against his throat. "I gotta say, this sneaking around in the shadows and in and out of dungeons thing you've going going on is really working for me, too."

[awickedtime]

"Yeah?" says Nick, doing his best to keep his tone light, playing with the ends of her hair. "You always did like me up to no good, babe. You're a very poor influence, you know..."

[signed_sabrina]

"Mm, I'm terrible," she agrees, pressing her face up just enough to kiss the spot under his ear. "But I like you a lot of ways. Up to no good is just particularly... stirring. Up to no good because I asked you, even better."

[awickedtime]

"You know I'd do anything for you," he says, tipping his head to give her more room to move her mouth against her skin. "Especially if it makes causing a little trouble."

[signed_sabrina]

"We're going to get to cause a whole bunch of it soon enough," she says, letting her lips trail down his neck again, soothing herself. "You know, Dark Lords retain the same sense of drama wherever you go. He'll give us an opening, even if I have to agree to some things first."

[awickedtime]

"Just promise me you won't let it go too far, Sabrina," says Nick, though he doesn't pull away from the touch of her mouth. He'll be there if it goes too far, and they both know it. They both know the lengths he'll go to to keep her safe.

[signed_sabrina]

"No plans to marry any Dark Lords, I promise," she agrees. "Or anything else. And you'll be there to pull me back if I start to get all-- white-eyed." She's quiet for a while then, just breathing in the warmth of his skin. "I don't suppose any of this is what you expected it to be like, if we were able to be together again."

[awickedtime]

"I'll be right there," he says. "And my magic's still not...great, but I can boost you, if you need it. I can help." He smiles, bending his head to drop a kiss against her hair. "Are you asking me if I was expecting a quiet life, Spellman? Because I definitely wasn't."

[signed_sabrina]

His words work a little bit like a spell, and she's laughing into his chest, infinitely more relaxed. "I guess that's a good thing, because you're sure not getting one with me," she says. "Though you never know, I may change my mind and become docile and subservient to my men any day, just as I'm supposed to."

She can't manage a straight face while saying it, though.

[awickedtime]

"Bullshit," breathes Nick, and he feels more relaxed than he has for days, close with her like this. For a moment he almost feels like they might all be safe. "That's never going to happen, Spellman. We wouldn't know what to do with you if you did."

[signed_sabrina]

"You'd know I wasn't me, or that something was wrong, for sure," she answers, nipping at his jaw. "And then you'd fix it. I have so much faith in you, Nicholas Scratch."

She smiles into his neck. "If I were into possibly being spied on by goblins, this whole rogue warlock in the shadows thing would definitely be leading us in a direction other than rest."

[awickedtime]

Nick still isn't entirely sure that that faith is deserved, but he knows he'd die trying to prove it to her. He smiles, cradling the back of her head.

"Oh, really?"

[signed_sabrina]

“My boyfriend, a rogue of shadows,” she hums. “Definitely a good look on you. The stuff of fantasies.” It’d be all too easy to fall asleep if they weren’t talking, but just being able to talk to him is restful enough.

[awickedtime]

"I do my best," he says, shifting so that she can settle across his chest and rest for a moment, if she wants to. "Anything to keep you entertained."

[signed_sabrina]

“You have never been anything less than fascinating,” she answers, sliding down to rest her cheek against his chest, feeling a bit like a romance novel heroine. “What’s the plan, after we take care of this?”

[awickedtime]

He threads his fingers through her hair, cradling the back of her head for a moment, keeping her close.

"How far into the future are we looking, Spellman?"

[signed_sabrina]

"A couple months, at least," she answers, and then ducks her face down. "Sorry. Maybe this is a ridiculous... time to talk about it. I mean, this is a ridiculous situation."

[awickedtime]

"No," says Nick. "Wanting to talk about something normal isn't ridiculous." He thinks. "The three of us, I guess. Figuring it out. My apartment has two bedrooms."

[signed_sabrina]

"I have to turn eighteen here, in order to not be living with a guardian," she answers, allowing herself to enjoy the pillow of his chest. "But I've never had a problem when I want to spend a night with Charlie, and I don't think there will be with you. What will you do while I'm at school, which is a place where I certainly have not terrorized any staff?"

[awickedtime]

"I wasn't suggesting you move in. Not yet, anyway," he says. He's got this idea of some day, far in the future, of a little house in the woods with enough room for all of them. "While you're at school? I was talking to Rosie the other day about college courses. I think I might do a degree. Acting, maybe."

[signed_sabrina]

Sabrina huffs out a laugh. "I'm giving you a timeline there. Not that I would need to move in the moment I turned eighteen, either." She listens, finding that talking about what their lives will really be like feels as good as sleep. "Acting," she says, considering. "I do have it on good authority your last starring role was very well received." She peeks up at him. "You'll be wonderful."

[awickedtime]

"Well, you know you'd always be welcome," he says, pressing a kiss against her forehead. "I always really enjoyed being up on stage, so..." He shrugs. "Feels the right thing to do."

It feels good to focus on something beyond what they're fighting through right now.

[signed_sabrina]

"I can't wait to see what you'd do with decent material," Sabrina says, and it does feel almost like the rest of it is falling away. "Charlie's into acting too. Am I into actors? I didn't really think I had a type. Well, not like that."

"I haven't thought about my future in a long time," she adds. "I'm-- a little disappointed there's no place to study magic here."

[awickedtime]

"Rather than Blackwood's wet dream, you mean?" says Nick, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth at the thought of it. It had been ridiculous, no matter how good it had felt to be up on stage with Sabrina like that. "Well. I'm ahead of you, on that. We can study together, if you want."

[signed_sabrina]

"I mean, I remember the play ending with a bang," Sabrina says, her smile pressing into his chest. "And I'd like that. Magnus is teaching me too, but it's not the same magic, so it's more-- theory, I suppose." She's quiet. "For all that I've fought for my freedom, I suppose I don't know what to do with it."

[awickedtime]

"Whatever you want," says Nick, smiling. "Both of us can do whatever we want now. And that's...more than I ever thought was going to happen, Sabrina. It's more than I ever thought I'd have."

[signed_sabrina]

"We're going to keep it that way," she answers, a fierce little nod against his chest. "It's coming any day. It has to come very soon. We have to keep them safe. Not just Charlie and Rosie. Everyone." Slowly, her body grows a bit heavier, as if she's near sleep, but she keeps her eyes open.

[awickedtime]

Nick nods, combing his fingers through her hair, his other arm curled around her to hold them close.

"We'll get them out," he says, promises. "All of them. I'll be right there with you, Spellman."