Can you feel the love tonight?

After he got the picnic set up for them and he was able to see all of the miscellaneous pieces he had gathered together as a whole he really began to realize just how much better his mate was at things like this and he wondered how she managed to make such amazing meals. He nearly apologized for how underwhelming of a dinner it was, but before he could he felt Ikigai lean into his side with her head tucked under his chin and when he thanked her for this impromptu date night he couldn't help but smile. He was certain that he had never smiled as much as he did now living his life with Ikigai at his side. "You're welcome, my love," he rumbled, turning and tipping his head down to press tender licks across her dark ears. These smaller gestures and shows of his love like this basic picnic never really felt like they were enough with his tendency to want to give her lavish, grand gestures, but her appreciation reminded him that he didn't always have to go so far to show that he was thinking of her.

Deimos slipped a foreleg around her shoulders, pulling her into him for a moment and giving her a gentle squeeze. He knew she always worked hard and that she deserved some time to relax at the end of the day, but even more than that the loss of their children still felt like it was looming just on the periphery. It never really went away and he knew that if he was still feeling that grief than she most certainly was regardless of how they had managed to continue on with their daily lives. "I love you," he told her quietly as he placed another kiss between her ears. "I know this isn't much, but I hope I can take your mind off of things for a little while." As he lifted his foreleg from around her he and began to pull some of the food closer to divide it among her, he gave her an amused grin, adding, "Congratulations. You've turned this brute of a man into someone who packs picnics. Not great picnics, mind you, but picnics none of the less."

He poured out some of the wine into cups for them before he reached for the platter of food, leaving it within their reach so that they could eat what they wanted from it. With his tail curled around Ikigai's hips, he settled into a comfortable silence with her, occasionally leaving little kisses and affections across her ears and cheek as he went. He did of course have a glass of wine with her, but he was very conservative in how much he drank and after one cup he reached for the water to refill his glass. It was hardly enough to have any effect on him, but that was the point. He hardly trusted himself when he was drunk ever since the night he had mistreated Ikigai and had ended up punished and scarred by Manea's husband. He did not fear Alastor's continued wrath–he only feared hurting Ikigai again.

"Deimos & Ikigai"