Coffee shop epiphanies

[Thistle]

There was still a small part of him that felt embarressed of what he'd done. Jumping Kyle in the shower being the most recent such event. All those feelings were overwhelmed by the joy, relief, and truth his relationship with Kyle had given him. The new physical sensations made Aaron almost as insatiable as Kyle. The latest exurstion had calmed him a little
He'd finished cleaning off in the shower and having dried off afterward, Aaron was going around the apartment picking up clothes. He was still missing one sock, his underwear, and most buttons from his shirt. Having a perfect memory didn't help when you didn't see where things landed in the first place because you weren't paying attention. He'd put on the pants while he kept looking, putting the rest in a pile in the corner.
He'd started another sweep of the bedroom when he glanced at Kyle with a smile. That faded when he saw Kyle was back to normal. His head was human again. It was the strangest thing but it looked unnatural.
"Your," Aaron indicated Kyle's head. "You look normal." He sounded very disappointed
He set the clothes down on the bed and went over to the man. He put a hand on the man's cheek, feeling the skin, seeing his hand run along a human cheeknone, around the ear and in wet hair, just like he had done the before when he first saw Kyle's true visage. It wasn't in diliberately provative way, more for analysis. He scrutinized for any hint of illusion but he just couldn't see through it. Not even his spell for knowing prime based phantasms helped, so he dismissed the spell.
"How did you let me see through it before? If I know that, maybe I can mimic it so you don't have to keep casting whatever spell it was," He wanted to see Kyle as he really was.

[Kyle Franesco]

Kyle apparently has other magical powers. He seems to be able to slip in and out of clothes with no apparent effort whatsoever.

Belted jeans and a tee shirt? Woosh. Nothing at all only a second later! Woosh, woosh. Now he's all dressed up in a suit. It's a good one too, looks like it was made for him.

"Nope, I look pleased. There's a difference. I also won't stop traffic looking like this." He takes Aaron's hand and tries distracting him with another kiss. When he pulls back he can tell that it didn't distract him. "Okay wow, I don't know if I told you this last night but you are a fast learner. But it's not a spell, it's a Contract. It's one of the ways I can do things. It's also the least tiring way to show off, and people either forget that I looked different or think I was in a costume. I'm a little surprised that that didn't happen to you. It must be a wizard thing." He ruffles his hair expertly. "It doesn't show up in pictures or on video either, so it's the safest way to go about it." He looks at himself in the mirror and must like what he sees because he smiles.

He moves over to the closet "I have a shirt here somewhere that should fit you. Your a bit broader in the shoulders than me, but it shouldn't be that much of a problem." He wasn't sorry about ruining the button up shirt he was wearing though. Then the reason he's started talking about clothes becomes obvious. He's nervous about something."There might be something I can do about the Mask though. I need to know why you want to be able to see through it first."

[Thistle]

Aaron took the shirt Kyle offered him. It was a dark maroon. He gave Kyle a little acusatory look before putting it on.
"It's who you are," he explained buttoning up the shirt "I want to see that. It's actually a little weird seeing you otherwise. It's like seeing a Lie."
It was tigher than he was used to but not too uncomfortable.
"I guess I just want to see you." He hoped Kyle understood.

[Kyle Franesco]

Kyle takes Aaron's hands and sits him down on the edge of the bed. "There is one thing I can do, but it's... really big. Like until you die big. There are some things that I cannot tell you Aaron, for reasons that I cannot tell you. What I can tell you is that beyond Contracts, I can make Pledges." His voice is deadly serious.

"These are serious promises and if you break them really bad things will happen. Extremely bad shit. I trust you, but if I did something like what I'm planning, it is going to have to be a Pledge that lasts until you die and it's going to have to include a vow of silence. And not a short term thing like for a year and a day or even a decade. Because if I do this you are going to find out a lot of things that you didn't know about before and if you let people know about them..." Kyle couldn't tell him about the Jack Ketch or about all the paranoid Changelings that could do all kinds of bad things to someone that they thought was going to bring the Gentry, or even a curious wizard down on their heads. "Nothing good will happen, most likely ever again for the both of us."

[Thistle]

Aaron thought for a long time. He understood the angle Kyle was coming from. Theo lived in a culture of mystery and paranoia after all. The right information in the wrong hands could be very dangerous. He understood that. At the same time, Aaron wanted to be worthy of the things Kyle was offering.
It was more a question of whether he could keep Kyle's secrets. It sounded like a geas. It was similar enough it would likely leave a mark on Aaron's aura. A mark other Mages could notice if he was scrutinized. He could fanshion a spell to hide it, though. It would require him to be vigilant in it's up keep, more so than even keeping up his sight and shield. It would merit a ritual to make sure it was as powerful as possible, but Aaron was willing to do that. He normally didn't talk about his personal life, even to his Cabal, so he wasn't too concerned about questions coming from that direction. If it did, he had no problems concealing things to keep Kyle safe. His biggest concern was Mind magic. It was something he had very little defense against. If he was going to keep the promise he would have to learn that Arcana. He was willing to do that too, though.
"If that's what is needed, I'll do my very best to be worthy of your trust."

[Kyle Franesco]

The more he thought about this the worse it sounded. If Spring has still been in control he would certainly be able to convince Rodriguez that he had taken all the steps he could, he could have certainly talked Glen around if it had been Winter, and even though Hobbs didn't like him personally he wasn't unnecessarily antagonistic and bringing him a wizard to talk to would clear up any reservations the Autumn King might have. That Hall woman just was a bitch though. But she was the Summer Queen and Kyle did not doubt for one second that she would do her damnedest to cause problems for the both of them.

"It's not that, I want to. But..." How can he word this to skirt the Freehold Pledge? "Speaking theoretically, if I was in the employ of a law firm, I could not hire an assistant, no matter how much he impressed me, without the permission of my employers. If I did I would have to explain myself. While I could manage that if they were all here, the only one that is in town does not like me at all." That at last part wasn't a secret at least. "She would fire me and would do her best to blackball you. Do you understand me?"

[Thistle]

It sounded like "You have a Pledge that requires permission from the person in charge before a Pledge that allows the ability to see through the Mask can be offered. And it also has a vow of silence like you mentioned before, so you can't tell me if that's correct," he stated. Aaron looked down and placed his other hand on Kyle's and gave a sigh.
"In theory, when would your other employers return and if they did would you still be in danger of being fired?" continueing the metaphor. If it could potentially get Kyle in trouble it would be better to see if he could develop a spell.

[Kyle Franesco]

Kyle could not be any more quiet if he was not there.

[Thistle]

"Vow of silence then." Aaron sighed.
"Ok, well I don't want to put you at risk. I'll see if I can't research a spell." He looked back into Kyle's eyes.
"And I'll keep still do my best to be worthy of what you've told me so far."
Aaron kissed him even though it felt strange knowing his senses were being fooled. At least he could still feel the effects of whatever mantle Kyle exuded. Or maybe that was his own thoughts.
Theo's watch beeped the hour and he checked the time.
"I should get going I have a tour in an hour."

[Kyle Franesco]

Kyle kissed back and comes out smiling. "I can do what I did last night when were alone though, if you really want me to. But I need to get to work too. Need a ride? Or did you want to bike across the city?"