Guess he had to do this on his own.
“Your soul survived, Emerie. They did not know if it would, but it means I can bring you back.”
Once more, he looked up at Weldir to twist his head at him. That was correct, right?
He received no answer.
“Y-you can?” she asked, her voice breaking an octave.
“Yes.” He completely gave up on Weldir’s assistance and just focused on the ghostly female before him. “Your soul is mine to revive, little butterfly.”
“I know why me,” Emerie rasped, averting her gaze to the side as she bit at her bottom lip. “But there are other humans, Ingram. Ones that aren’t scarred, or a little broken inside… or missing pieces. This seems like a lot of effort just for me.”
“I don’t want another human,” he warmly argued. “You are perfect, just as you are. You are colourful and patient with me, and your kindness touches me here.” He pointed to his chest, just where she once told him that someone special would touch him. “And you are so brave, even when you smell of fear. No other human could compare to you.”
Like she wanted to make humour of the situation to deflect her own emotions, or the fact his compliments had made her squirm like they often did, she grumbled something that had him chuckling.
“You just like how I make your dick feel.” She pouted.
“That too.” Spirit of the void help him – although he was being very unhelpful right now – he absolutely liked the way she made his dick feel. Having more, an eternity worth of pleasure, was hard to give up.
But he would give it up if it was not shared with her.
“Emerie,” he started, about to tell her the depth of his adoration for her, and how he realised it even before the blast that had stolen her from him happened.
She cut him off.
“I need to tell you something,” she whispered, gripping at her elbow. “I-I made some choices, ones I regret but can’t take back. It means I can’t give you what Mayumi has for Faunus. I can’t give–”
Her expression morphed into one that stung behind his sternum. One of regret, of pain and tears, of loss and grief.
“I’m really sorry,” she said as she covered her face so she could sob into her hands. “If I knew… If I knew I would meet you one day, I wouldn’t have done it. I wouldn’t have let them take this away from me. I can’t be your bride if you want children, Ingram. I-I can’t do that to you, or me. So, p-please, if that is something you want, go back.”
Ingram now understood why the Witch Owl had been so adamant in explaining this to him.
If he’d tried to convince Emerie otherwise, or say that he was sure they could find a way to change it, he would have irrevocably hurt her in this moment.
He would have lost her, forever.
“I know,” Ingram stated softly, wishing he could lower her hands to see her.
“P-pardon?” she rasped.
“I already know, Emerie. And I do not care.” She slid her hands down just enough to peek at him over her fingertips. He sat back slightly to give her room and let her fully see him. “The idea of having younglings… yes, I wanted them, but only with you. If you cannot have them, then I don’t want them at all.”
“Ingram,” she whined, as if his honesty had been painful to hear.
“I don’t want another human, Emerie. I cannot picture a future in that world without you. Now that I know this about you, I do not see younglings and desire them. I only want you and your warmth, your scent, and your presence. You are all that I need.”
“W-what about Aleron?” Emerie asked, glancing over her shoulder at him.
“I need him as well, but it is different. He is here, and he cannot come with me. But you can, and that is all I crave right now.”
She turned back to him, and her expression no longer appeared distraught, but rather… shy. His sight turned bright pink as he looked upon her, and it ignited heat within his chest. Ingram hoped his next words made her smile.
“I am sorry I did not realise it before you tried to take yourself away from me, but I love you, Emerie. We are connected, but I would like to make us one. I would like for you to be my bride, so I can show you that love in all the forms I can.”
Her bottom lip trembled as both twitched and curled upwards at the edges.
“I-I really wish I could hug you right now,” she said with her voice shaking. “But I love you too, Ingram. I’ve known that for a while.”
She did? He gave an annoyed huff. “Then why did you not tell me?”
Even though he asked this, a thrill shot through him at her saying she loved him in return. His tail tip curled so tightly in delight it coiled halfway up its length, and his spikes tremored. The pink in his vision brightened around the edges until all he could see was her.
“I didn’t know if you really understood it or felt that way towards me.” She lowered her gaze to avoid his. “Your orbs never turned pink for me.”
“They are pink now,” he assured, looking at her ghostly form with tendrils of pink in it from his own vision.
“They are?” She reached up around the side of his empty eye sockets like she wanted to touch them. “I want to see them. You’re just… purple.”
“They are. So, my little butterfly, will you let me revive you so I can make you my bride?”
“I would like that more than anything.” However, she looked over her shoulder once more. “But… can we stay here for a little longer? I want to be with Gideon while I can.”
Ingram looked down at his purple, spectral claws, then his arms and legs that were entirely transparent. He faced his beak towards Weldir.
“You have time,” he answered. “I will let you all speak privately. Just have Aleron call for me when you are ready.” Then, right before he left, he stated, “Also, make sure to have Aleron touch them within an hour, otherwise they’ll slip back into their memories and forget.”
Yellow lifted into his orbs, and he let his gaze land on the male staring at Emerie with wide and concerned eyes.
I would like to meet the person who is special to her, just as she met mine.
With her body facing Gideon, Emerie shyly glanced over his shoulder towards Ingram, who looked like a purple Ghost version of himself, and his twin, Aleron.
Actually… she tried not to look at Aleron and his wings – they creeped her the fuck out.
They were massive, obviously spanning metres, and black with hints of dark blue shining through them. He had a long train of feathers for a tail, and walked on his hands and three-toed bird feet.
It looked like Ingram had eaten the head of a raven, and Aleron had eaten its body.
She wondered if the short fur that sprouted sporadically all over Ingram belonged to a fruit bat, since Aleron had the skull head of one. Aleron also seemed to have a small amount of lizard scales on the softer parts of his body, like his stomach, inner elbows, and the backs of his knees and hands.
The rest of him, however, was very fluffy with long fur.
They’ve shared everything they have ever eaten. She could tell just by looking at them, while picturing what she remembered of Ingram in his non-ghostly form.
The twins were talking to each other, and she thought it was sweet that Aleron’s orbs were pink. Or were they always that colour?