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Where the hell were his keys? He sighed before managing to find them and fish them out of his inner coat pocket. Really, he was starting to go senile early. Unlocking the door, he juggled the things in his hands and nudged the door open with his shoe.
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"Hey, I'm sorry.. I know, I took forever. I did something stupid and you're gonna make fun of me but... Hazel?" There was a vacancy at the couch and, admittedly, he felt his heart take a leap. It was dumb to fret so much, he knew that Hazel hated the way he acted like he was delicate. Well, it was because he was delicate, even if Hugo was pretty good about smoothing it out to seem like a personal flaw. He could handle Hazel thinking he was just a worry-wart, not so much that he thought Hazel was weak. It wasn't that, but it was hard not to look at Hazel as anything else... especially when he was so frail.
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Not to mention the added history of having sickness in his own family, and losing to it. Maybe he was overly careful to the extent of being overbearing, but he meant well.
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He rushed to find Hazel in the kitchen. "Haze, what are you? Oh... let me help. I'm sorry." It took him a moment to notice the blood and he could feel himself tense up, "Shit are you okay?" He rushed to wet a hand towel and went to observe his face. "What did you do to yourself?" It was an attempt to be humorous, but the worry laced so heavily that he knew it'd be impossible for the other not to notice. "I uhh... got you your budew cure."

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The first few years together had been a learning curve, to say the least. Their natures were similar, not always in the right way, but they cared enough about one another to know there were limits about certain things. Of course, Hazel's health would always be the primal point of discontent or concern.
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Hugo never wanted the other to feel like the problem in their relationship because of it, but it was never the health that was the issue, in Hugo's opinion. Rather, it was the neglect the other had for it, especially without realizing why Hugo was so concerned. That was the point that he could no longer remain level-headed. Yet, luckily, they so rarely strayed into that realm. Sure, maybe they were just glossing over a fracture in their natures, but it didn't make sense digging up disagreement just for the sake of it.
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Just because something wasn't perfect, didn't mean it needed to be. That was the point. Hugo also had his own imperfections to deal with that Hazel tolerated. As doting as he tried to be, he could very easily become overbearing and controlling, it was in his nature and he tried his best to prevent that. Luckily, Hazel was a force of nature he couldn't seal away in a bottle even if he tried, or even if he wanted to (which he did not).
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Hugo smiled at that, "Well then, I guess that we'll just have to test your patience then, huh? Sounds like a fun game to me." He could be wicked still, when he wanted to be. Even then, he still gave the other an innocent pinch on the ass before leading him out of the dance floor.

[attr="class","ooc"] @albrecht

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Hugo had never imagined meeting anyone like Hazel in his lifetime. He had never planned to feel anything more than surface-level affection. It was easier not to get attached and sometimes the idea felt exhausting to him. Though, Hazel changed something in him that he'd never anticipated. He supposed that was the point, right? To love? It did things beyond the realm of understanding, but Hugo never anticipated it happening to him. It was the truth though, Hazel made him soft and stupidly sappy. "Love you too, I'll be right back."
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It wasn't intended to be a lie, after all he wasn't lying. He'd intended on being right back, a quick one-two to the pharmacy and back, but okay so he got to thinking about the stupid legend that Hazel talked about. Part of him thought that maybe Hazel would get a kick out of it and he needed every opportunity to laugh mercilessly at his husband soo... okay yeah, slight detour.
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Or at least, it would have been slight, but it didn't turn out that way. Fucking Budew were assholes to deal with, though eventually he got them. Let's just say though, he didn't make any new friends in the process. They didn't give him it freely. That was the part of Hugo that had never deviated, he did things and it wasn't a matter of whether or not he was proud of it. Maybe his family would have looked at him differently knowing what he did on a day to day, robbing people of their pokemon companions for some extra change. It was even surprising that Hazel didn't get more irked about how carelessly he went through valuable artifacts (not that he over-shared those details with his better half).
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Hugo didn't realize how long it took until he was nearly on the doorstep. God, what an idiotic thing. It was no longer a 'haha how funny, what a dumb husband you are' situation, or at least it didn't feel like that.
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He was certain that Hazel wouldn't find it amusing anymore. "Hugo, you're an idiot."

"Ouch, pretty bad then, huh?" He laughed at that, despite the fact that Hazel might not much appreciate him laughing at his expense. He couldn't help himself, imagining little baby Hazel trying to ride a bike was just too much for him. It was an awful cute thought. It was, of course, often a sensitive topic for the other (the past). The world hadn't always been kind to his husband and Hugo tried his best to change that for him. "I had to teach all of my siblings and a lot of instances ended up quite like that." He was lucky to have such a big family even if they irritated him to no end.
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"Oh how romantic, you're always welcome on my bike, baby." He grinned at that, feeling stupid. Not that he was exactly prodigal when it came to bike riding, or even that it was a common affair but they say you never forget how to ride a bike.
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Of course, any sweet moments were entirely wiped away and then they were colliding down to the ground. Thankfully, he was quick enough to pillow Hazel's fall, still he gave the brat that dared to interrupt them a look. It probably didn't mean much, in hindsight, though he was fully prepared to break a kid's legs over such an affront. Maybe that said more about him, but he'd never claimed to be a good person. Especially not when Hazel was wrongly affected.
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He hated the way that Hazel braced, as if expecting it again. "Relax a little, being tense will only make it harder." He planted a kiss on the other's forehead. "Ready?" He decided it was probably best to ride on the inside and let Hazel grip the wall for stability, that way he could kill trip anyone that got too close.
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"What do you wanna do after this? You've humored me, but it's for your birthday, after all."


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[attr="class","ooc"] @albrecht | m: festive flirts [break]

Okay, so they were really doing this. He was really doing this. What kind of strange animal magnetism had driven them together? Frankly, he didn't understand it and he didn't care to evaluate his choices thus far. This was admittedly, kind of nice. No, really nice. Daring. Not that he'd never done anything like this, he'd been a bit of a dog in college, but things had calmed down since then. He wasn't quite the same idiot anymore. He prayed this wasn't yet another idiotic mistake, but he couldn't imagine a world where it was.
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Hazel was beautiful and anyone that said otherwise was blind or fooling themselves. For a moment, he smiled, leaning against the wall of the elevator as the other slipped in and then... Oh... right. He laughed at himself before taking that step forward. His hand slipped past the other's waist to tap the button 34 on the elevator key. His other hand slipped to the other man's jaw.
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"I'm a little out of practice, is it obvious?" Why was he out of practice? Age, maybe? He hadn't really seen the purpose in a lot of effort. His dates weren't really dates, but distractions. He put so much time into his endeavors and career that he'd left very little room for this, but even this didn't qualify for usual with him.
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The lightness in his chest was either the by-product of this man or the motion of the elevator as they slid downwards. Then the door pinged open on the indicated level and he held out his hand to let the other depart first. "Room 3404."

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[attr="class","ooc"] @albrecht | m: sleepless in slateport | outfit[break]

Despite the frequency of their dancing, this still felt like a rarity for him. Even if he took every opportunity to engage in some kind of dance with his husband, be it in actuality or a game or something more. It never felt old to him, he never got over this.
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Hugo laughed at that, "You tell me no all the time, dearest." Usually in jest, but still... the other was quite opinionated and no amount of claims otherwise would change that opinion. Granted, that usually came in regards to the other's health, which was usually a delicate topic between the two of them. Both of them suffered from varying pasts, be it years spent in frequency at the doctors or a sick baby sister, both had their issues in regard to it. Hugo didn't like testing fate, but he also respected his husband's decision more than that.
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For the most part, they often found themselves in agreeance, even if Hugo had to reword things to be more palatable to the other. After all, Hugo had barely been sick a day in his life, he could accept weakness in other instances and readily did so, so that his husband didn't feel like an exception.
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He liked the closeness of their movements, the intimacy there. To hell with the rest of the masquerade. "True... I'm not very good at these games." Hazel murmured into his ear and he let his lips trace the curve of a pale neck. "That's alright, I'm a patient man."

[attr="class","ooc"] @albrecht

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It was unnerving how much Hazel seemed to change when he was sick. The reminder that the other could be so delicate was always a gut punch, considering he was usually so stubborn and opinionated. Hugo never would have imagined seeing him look overwhelmed and beaten. He sighed at that, knowing that despite claiming not to be a romantic, Hazel was a powerful foe. "Don't make me sappy. It's too early for that."
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That tone sounded far more like normal, every-day Hazel. Hugo couldn't help himself, his eyes rolled but the laugh still slipped free. The other won, in the end. Hell, Hazel always won, in the end. Hugo hadn't a chance in hell.
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Regardless of whether or not the other meant it, he fully intended to carry him kicking and screaming to the hospital if he had to. Hugo didn't play around with that after Lia, there would be no repeats of the past. Even if the other hated the place, he'd just have to do it. There would be time to hate his husband after the fact. Hugo would never apologize for doing what needed to be done. He'd done far too much evil shit to start regretting the good acts.
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"Ok ok, I suppose I can get those." He laughed, looking down as his wrist was snagged. That look on Hazel's face made him feel soft and sappy, damn him. "I'm sure you can make it up to me. Some time." He snickered, with a little wink. Then, left the other behind to go get more medication, however, along the way, his mind got to thinking. It wasn't like him to think fancifully. Hugo believed in medicine and didn't put a lot of thought to fairy tale or to Hazel's ramblings on legend... but he knew of a place he could acquire some Budew, willing or not.

Hugo could tell that Hazel was reaching the end of his rope, so to speak. It often amused him that he knew his husband's limits better than he knew his own, better than Hazel knew his own. Not that he'd draw a lot of attention to it.

It wasn't that he didn't think Hazel capable of handling it, but he understood the weight of perceived imperfection. No matter how much he tried to make Hazel realize that he was perfect, there was always a flaw that the other could pick out. Everyone was guilty of that though, so he never faulted him for it.

"I think it's time for this old man to go home. There are other things we can get up to there if you're so willing." He said with a teasing little smile and a wink as he took his husband's arm.

He leaned down and offered him a kiss, "Thank you for humoring me tonight though, it was fun."

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- wearing tailored suit & mask
- Leaving the masquerade prompt
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They moved through the museum at a leisurely pace. The movement of two wayward lovers, arms entwined. "I hope you've enjoyed the evening?" It wasn't in @albrecht 's nature to enjoy things of extravagance and Hugo thought it had a somewhat gaudy flair to it, but not to the event's detriment. In reality, he was simply happy that could just take his husband out for a night to somewhere semi-fancy and dance and drink champagne with local snobs.

The last leg of their walk was through the insectarium, though Hugo was not overly impressed by a bunch of bugs. Even then, he was still somewhat captivated by the colors of the butterfly gardens. His type of pokemon was thoroughly unique and he was terribly picky about what pokemon he collected, but there was still something primly delicate about the little things.

"Any other needs or interests for the night? We should probably grab something to eat before you get hangry, no?" He asked his husband

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- open to interaction 
- wearing tailored suit & mask
- Explore the Insectarium's butterfly gardens. 
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Maybe it was a little petty of him to throw the 'I told you so' out there. Hugo usually refrained from doing so knowing that Hazel would only take it personally or respond with stubbornness. Sometimes, Hugo knew he could be a better husband. Sometimes, even his patience could be short, especially when the other's health was at risk. The point was he had told Hazel it was a bad idea, and Hazel had a tendency to disregard his concerns out of a need to prove himself. It wasn't necessary.
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And, in the end, Hazel was sick again from it, but he couldn't let his pettiness get the better of him. That wouldn't help anything, except land him on the couch after successfully pissing Hazel off. Still, he smiled at that. "A little bit, yeah but... I'm glad you don't." He sighed at that, relenting a little in his irritation. His fingers slipped through the other's bangs, plastered to his forehead.
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"Hazel," He said, a touch of exasperation clinging to his tone then. It didn't matter, in the end, if he wanted to. If things got worse, Hugo was carry his sorry ass to the hospital. Hell, he'd drag him if he really had to.
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The other slipped down onto the couch and Hugo felt his heart tug a little. It was annoying. Of course, it was just a cold, but it still scared him regardless. Right then, Hazel looked so small, so delicate. Even though he knew that Hazel could handle himself regardless. It didn't matter, he couldn't change how he felt.
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"Want to me to go fetch you some magic leaf juice, sleeping beauty?" He laughed at that, but strangely... it got him thinking. Like, what if? Okay, maybe a little stupid, but... "Alright, I'll go get you something. Want anything else from the store?" He leaned over to plant a kiss on his forehead before standing straight again.