[FweepFwopFwoop]

"And I love you." Astien slowly fell asleep in the bath, resting against his husband's chest.

[Eskal]

Marius rubbed Astien's back for a little while longer before carrying him to their bed.

[FweepFwopFwoop]

Astien stirred softly, but didn't awake.

[Eskal]

Marius braided Astien's hair while the man slept.

[FweepFwopFwoop]

Astien slept straight through to the morning.

[Eskal]

"Want to head to the market today?" Marius asked.

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"Yes, let's! We can get some fish for breakfast. If I remember correctly, though, Merfolk markets run on a barter system. Surface money is no good to them. We'll have to bring some things to offer as collateral."

[Eskal]

"Like what?"

[FweepFwopFwoop]

Astien shrugged. "We must have some junk among the things we've packed. If I could get my hands on a decent piece of wood, I might be able to carve a staff."

[Eskal]

"I didn't pack anything that would be considered 'junk', though."

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"Even the most mundane things for us can be considered exotic to them. Let's get a few things from the gift shop, and see what that does for us."

[Eskal]

"We need to get a box for the beads anyway," Marius chuckled. "I was hoping to get it yesterday, but somebody took a long nap."

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"Hey, I've got a very large baby in me!" Astien huffed. "Can you blame me for being tired?"

[Eskal]

"I just thought I've been wearing you out," Marius teased.

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"I think Aiden's winning the race in that regard." Astien chuckled. "Come on, let's see what the gift shop has."

[Eskal]

Marius nodded and went with Astien to the gift shop. "We should get something for Cormac and Delas."

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"We should indeed. Let's see.... cups, shirts, doo-dads.... This should work."

[Eskal]

Marius smiled and browsed.

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"Have you found anything good?"

[Eskal]

"Not really," Marius said. "I'm sure there's more shops around here."