One word and he freezes midrise, waiting for- well. Whatever would come next. He doesn't know the rules here, aside from 'don't get attached' and 'fire and sun are bad'. Everything else is nebulous enough to be a muddled grey area and whatever they are-

Whatever they might be? He wants to sort out without fucking it up like usual, by acting first and thinking later. He swallows as his face is turned back to Locus, for the first time looking a little wary. A bite is different from a kiss.

One's...bonding. Hot, but. Bonding. One's- human and affectionate and intimate and he's still and silent and tense under Locus' hands, tipping into the kiss all the same because it's been so long. So very, very long and he's missed it.