Sage wrinkled his nose when she claimed he'd melt if Selene looked at him wrong, huffing out a defensive "I would not." Of course, she wasn't too far off, he supposed ...he did want Selene to like him. In fact, he still felt like she wasn't his biggest fan quite yet and he still needed to prove himself to her. He wasn't sure he'd ever not feel that way. It was stupid, he knew...he and Selene got long just fine. Her and Jora had both forgiven him for whay had happened. But even so, he felt like he needed to prove himself to her. To both of them, a little bit. Maybe that was sort of the reason he'd been pushing himself to get so much done now that they were home.

Sage grunted when she mentioned she wouldn't knock him out, and certainly not with a hammer. He supposed that was fair....a hammer would hurt him more than it would just knock him out nicely....but even so, there might be a time where he could be dangerous. He didn't want to hurt any of them, and if she had to knock him out to do that, then he wanted her to do it.

Of course, her comment about liking his brain pulled a chuckle out of him, lips curving upwards again. Well that would make one of them. "Anything else, huh," he mused. "What if it knocks something back into place," he teased gently. He knew that wasn't how it worked....but he could tease. Focus on something more positive than the darker thoughts now threatening to take over.

Sage had moved to lean into her slightly when she brushed her knuckles against his arm, thankful she was able to sense when their banter had hit a nerve. He wasn't upset about it, of course, or at her ....but the silent apology and reminder that she did love him was appreciated. It always was. Sometimes he needed that reminder, for her to tell him she cared in more than just saying I love you or something a long those lines. This was deeper, more intimate, even if it was just a brief, passing touch.

Her mention about Selene not stabbing him caused a corner of his mouth to twitch upwards into a smile. He'd gotten along well with Selene...and most of him knew she'd forgiven him. But there was still that bit that thought she didn't. He didn't know if that would ever fully go away...for her or Jora. But he could work on it. Besides, of Selene ever did decide to stab him, he figured he'd probably deserve it.

He couldn't help but let his eyebrows shoot upwards in surprise when she mentioned eating her boots, shaking his head as he moved to grab another nail. "I wouldn't imagine they would be very edible," he noted with amusement. "Leather isn't very chewable," he added, trying to figure out how she'd even be able to do that. He knew it was just an expression and she wouldn't actually eat her boots, but still. He'd always found a way to do things he said he'd do, even if it was just for a chuckle. Ah, well. He'd work on that. "Oh good," he snorted as she kept talking. "I'll be sure to be a good boy and let you eat leather," he added with an eye roll.

He simply shook his head with a fond grin on his face as she told him to stop distracting her, just settling into an easy rhythm with her. There wasn't much left to do ...but it would feel nice to finish it he supposed. Besides, he just enjoyed being with her. Their silence was always comfortable.

Sage had just snickered as their banter had continued, knowing many of his comments were aoley to bug the girl. She enjoyed it though, he knew that too....if he ever started to actually annoy her, she'd let him know and he'd stop. But that never seemed to happen....she was always patient with him, whether it was something as simple as joking around or something as significant as being attached to her hip like some sort of abused puppy that had finally found a home but was still scared it would be pulled out from under it in the blink of an eye. The description wasn't too far off, he supposed. But either way, Jora was there. A steady presence that never relented or got annoyed by it.

Jora didn’t need to look at him to know he was watching her—she could feel it, that soft little flicker of attention that always settled on her when he thought she wouldn’t notice. It used to make her feel raw, like she was being seen too clearly, but now? Now it just made her chest ache in a good way. Like something heavy and warm had curled up behind her ribs and decided to stay.

She stood slowly, brushing dust off her thighs, hands on her hips as she looked over the floor with a sharp, critical eye. “Not slanted,” she echoed, voice faintly smug. “Miracles do happen, apparently.”

Her gaze flicked to him then, letting herself grin. “You did good, Sage. Seriously.” Her voice had lost its usual dry edge—this was genuine, quiet praise, and it lingered for a second before she bumped her shoulder lightly against his. “Floor’s still standing. That’s gotta count for something.”

She didn’t even bother teasing him about the tug—just went with it, letting her body lean slightly into his side as they walked. His hand was warm in hers, rough in all the same places hers were, and still somehow careful. Like even now, after everything, he wasn’t quite sure he was allowed to hold on this tightly.

She gave his hand a small squeeze, a silent you’re fine, I’m not going anywhere before tilting her head and glancing up at him. “Alright, hungry boy—what do you want to eat?” she asked, tone still light but laced with something softer, something domestic. Something safe.

Sage had just grinned over at her, bobbing his head in a nod as she mentioned the floor not being slanted. "Well its a miracle I haven't gotten myself killed yet so you should've known they were a thing before," he teased, bringing back up her distaste for the adventure that came with risky situations. He was less likely to jump into something risky just for the fun of it now that he had a family here, relying on him ...but even so, he did like the rush of adrenaline that came with doing things.

His face flushed at her compliments, leaning into her as his mind scrambled for a response. Something to say. There was definitely a correct response here ...the only problem was he couldn't for the life of him figure it out. "Well, I couldn't have done it without you," he eventually hummed. On a surface level, yea he meant the floor. But it went deeper than that too. She was the only reason he was still here. Still trying to heal himself. Still willing to fight.

But as she teased him about being hungry, he sort of just hummed in thought, shaking his head. "God, I dunno," he sort of huffed, peering into the fridge and trying to figure out something they could make. "You have a taste for anything? Or something you want me to try?" He knew she liked more food than the few dishes she'd made so far, and he was eager to try them out. To learn that part of her.

Sage had laughed when she claimed how she wasn't sure how he still had both legs, just shrugging. "I do love out of pure spite occasionally," he chirped, probably prouder of that fact than he would have been. But that spite and stubborness was the only reason he wasn't still somebody's bed warmer all these years later. So yeah, he was grateful for the bit of a punk he held close to his heart.

He grunted with a nod when she mentioned the stew, plopping onto a chair when she shooed him in that direction, eyes following her as she cooked. "That would work," he agreed happily, wrinkling hai nose when she asked if he wanted to try his hand, shaking his head with a chuckle.

"I think I'd wind up burning it deapite it being a soup," he admitted with a chuckle. He snorted when she added he'd come back for seconds....she was right, he knew, but it didn't change the fact that he'd argue about it.