When it comes to proposals, however, Tyson would likely be much more subdued. It would naturally depend on the person he was proposing to, but - with the most likely candidates having been Kim and Sebastian - it would be a safe bet to say that Tyson’s propose would be low key.
It certainly wouldn’t be going out to dinner, his anxiety is bad enough as it is, and definitely not a - completely - surprise proposal; talk of getting engaged in the future would have needed to be on the table first.
He would absolutely already have a ring on hand for this proposal, in his bag or pocket for months before he figured out exactly how to do it. With someone like Kim, who put a high value on craft and personal effort, Tyson would favour using one of his own metal gift boxes. With someone like Sebastian, who does care about skilled craftsmanship but puts a higher value on tradition, Tyson would use a normal ring box.
By the time he was ready to propose, Tyson would have a speech maybe thirty per cent written out and a general framework for a further twenty. Regardless of how much Tyson had figured out to say beforehand, it would all go out of the window once he started actually talking.
With Kimiko, Tyson would have likely opened by walking in, saying ‘catch’, and tossing the box over to her. Then after gauging the response, and likely getting a hopeful ‘yeah?’ and coy smile from Kim, Tyson would go down onto one knee and offer his proposal properly; and probably only get a few sentences in before she got impatient and just tackled him into a hug.
With Sebastian, Tyson would make more of an effort towards doing things more traditionally. He would take him out stargazing somewhere, having Sebastian sit on a rock whilst Tyson sat on the ground leant against his legs like he normally would. Then he could easily turn around to be knelt on one knee, and balance the box on Sebastian’s knee.
Though Tyson doesn’t believe it to be necessarily romantic in nature, or that it is limited to one per person, Tyson does believe in the idea of soulmates.
That two or more people can compliment each other so perfectly as to be considered part of a bigger whole; no lesser when apart, yet in perfect harmony when together. In his mind, the best example of that would be the Moriarty Mirrors.
However, he has seen plenty of other people who compliment each other in that way: inseparable siblings who seem like one being in two bodies, soldiers who fought together as though they had been born to do it, and partners who could have told Tyson that they had been lovers since the earth was formed and Tyson would have believed them.
As for who Tyson would say his soul mates are?
If he asked, Tyson would politely yet firmly refuse to answer. Because to Tyson, the truth is that the two people he’s met who complete his best are now standing on opposite sides of the battlefield from him and from each other: Captain John Watson & Colonel Sebastian Moran.
He’ll freely describe himself and John as simpatico, brothers by all but blood, and yet whilst their temporary peace continues, eventually Tyson knows they will be forced to stand in opposition in the Moriarty Mirrors’ game against Holmes.
The reasons for Sebastian Moran are all to plain to see, as are the reasons it hurts to admit.
He doesn’t extend his trust easily, but Tyson cares deeply about his friends and - though he may not get along with friends of his friends and may not even remotely trust them - he will do anything for them; even if it means throwing his life on the line for their friends.
If any of his friends request that Tyson watches over or protects someone, he will do so in a heartbeat. He’ll push for answers about why and who they are, always a scholar in his heart of hearts and endlessly curious, but even if he was refuses answers, Tyson would still be willing to risk personal harm to protect his charges.
There is a fundamental difference between ‘I could love you, but I don’t’ and ‘I don’t love you, but I could’. That is the crux of the difference between Tyson’s thoughts about John Watson and Sherlock Holmes. The type of love differs, but the point remains.
Tyson absolutely does love John. They are simpatico, brothers-in-arms, brothers by all but blood. Romantically? Oh, Tyson knows that he could have fallen for John, easily, but he doesn’t love him romantically. And that’s fine. Whatever alternative path they could have taken, Tyson is happy where he stands with John.
Sherlock, on the other hand, is a more complicated feeling for Tyson. He does not like Holmes, but Tyson knows that he has a paper thin defence against caring for him; and that defence is avoiding him like the plague. He purposefully keeps a distance from the detective, because he does not need the Moriarty Mirrors game to become any more complicated by fallnig for another genius determinded to burn themselves up.
“Hmm, that depends, would y-you expect us to get married if I proposed, Sebastian? Or would you be content to be officially tied down, whilst continuing to be out of wedlock s-sinners as fiancés?” Tyson teased back, though curious. He would proudly be engaged to Sebastian. To show the world their love and commitment to one another.
Tyson wasn’t going to marry, however. ‘Study until perfection, then try harder. Be better than you are. Take your rightful place at the university. Marry the girl; love be damned, find someone ‘acceptable’ amongst the social elite and have an heir children. Uphold the family legacy, no matter the personal cost.’
Somewhere along the line, Tyson’s view of the actual marriage part had been soured by expectations that he’d spent a lifetime running from; though he’d usually pretend that he simply didn’t see the need in a modern society.
He likes the idea of an ‘official’ relationship status beyond dating, a way of showing long-term commitment, but years of expectations from his family and its legacy has caused Tyson to resent the idea of marriage.
Another factor in this is that Tyson is polyamorous, and there is no law against being engaged to multiple people whereas there is one against being married to multiple people. Even though he doesn’t think that all of his relationships should be treated the same way, Tyson wouldn’t want a show of commitment that he couldn’t also offer in other relationships.
Tyson’s most obvious heartbreaks are from Kim and Sebastian.
However, they are far from the only ones to break his heart. For all his plethora of trust issues, Tyson hands over his heart far too easily.
There was also Peter Campbell, one of the people Tyson’s father paid to pretend to be Tyson’s friend; Lee, the French student in Tyson’s military history class who still makes his heart flutter to think of; Geoffrey, one of his fellow strategists in the army who got engaged in the time it took him to find his confidence; and too many others to count.
Tyson doesn’t so much offer his heart out, as throw it as hard as he can at an impassible wall, then somehow seems surprised when he gets hurt.
That said, Tyson handles heartbreak far too well. He is content to pine - to hurt and hurt - so long as the other person is happy, wherever they are.
“If it helps place the memory, I believe that, at the time, you chose to outwardly accept the answer of parkouring around London to show off for a pretty face at its face value, to avoid outing me - in several definitions of the phrase - in front of the nurse.”
“In truth,” Tyson sighed and rubbed at the side of his face, as though that would scrub away the memory of his impact with the pavement. “Well, I did actually take a tumble on a rain-slick rooftop and injure the arm in my emergency landing, that wasn’t a lie, but I was running away from a mutual acquaintance rather than trying to show off for him.” A beat and then, “Alright, mostly running. It’s always a little about trying to show off when he’s around, even at peril of life and limb. I’m fairly certain you’ve told me off for doing that as well, John.” [x]
“Alright, I’ll tell you what, I’ll promise that I’ll stop risking myself for… well, blanket term, let’s say ‘the dangerous people that I’m stupid enough to fall in love with,’ if….” [x]
He may, in fact, be completely incapable of stopping himself from showing off for a pretty face. Around Sebastian Moran, this applies twice over. He can’t help that competitive instinct around Moran or the Moriarty Mirrors, but even around people that Tyson is simply crushing on, he feels like he has to prove himself.
If he isn’t doing an unnecessary backflip when running away from The Colonel, Tyson is doing upside-down crunches from a tree branch to show off for Kim. If he isn’t working himself to the bone to please the Moriarty Mirrors, Tyson is tripping over himself to impress the latest person to catch his eye; even as he tries to distance himself from them to protect himself, and them.
If it will get him a second of the sun’s attention, our little Icarus will hurl himself off of cliffs - or, more accurately, rooftops - over and over again.
He makes personalised gift boxes for general gift giving, so it’s hardly surprising that when it comes to romantic gestures, Tyson will pull out all the stops.
More generally, when Tyson is in romantic relationships, he likes to be playful. He struggles to accept the happiness of being close to someone, and happiness in general, but he is loyal to a fault and he will do anything to make the people he cares about happy.
Though not an issue within Tyson’s main universe, he doesn’t get upset by the idea of Moran and Moriarty being together. He encourages it.
There are several reasons for this. Tyson is poly and openly admits to loving both Sebastian and Jim, he isn’t someone who gets jealous, and he is overjoyed by the idea of having someone else around to encourage them to actually take care of themselves.
As stubborn as Tyson can be, he can only dig in his heels so much when it comes to Moran and Moriarty. He wants them to be the best that they can be, the happiest and healthiest. If being together made Moran and Moriarty happy, Tyson would do anything in his power to keep them together.
Yes, Tyson would be overjoyed to be a part of that relationship, but equally, Tyson would be content on the sidelines and know that the people he loves are happy together.
‘Fruit’ is the description Tyson typically falls back on when denying his homosexuality.
The logic being this is typically Tyson. Plausible deniability in case anyone calls him out on his attraction to men.
Fruit typically refers to a male homosexual, which technically isn’t Tyson’s orientation as he is romantically bi. He isn’t any more inclined to admit that to anyone, but that does mean that when he says “I’m not a fruit” he isn’t lying.
If there is anyone that Tyson can lie to, it’s himself.
As mentioned in this thread, Tyson’s attraction outside of physicality is… poor.
“If you think that’s bad, you should see my taste in women,” was the flippant reply offered. Given his history with The Colonel and Moriarty, that shouldn’t have been as true as it actually was. Though, it still wasn’t an entirely fair assessment. Fewer women had actually hurt him, but a broader range of attraction to men meant more were decent people; the law of averages more than a conscientious effort on Tyson’s part.
He is a moth to a flame and cannot leave a mystery well enough alone. Tyson knows that he is generally attracted to men and women that could break him, but he isn’t particularly inclined to do anything about that. He embraces that part of him. A calculated risk, balancing how happy those people make him versus the danger.
A good to way to visualise how Tyson handles rivalry is the dual-meanings of the slang, “Come on, snake. Let’s rattle!”
He is competitive with Sebastian in a rival like way, during the times when he isn’t cowering from The Colonel. He pushes Sebastian to be the best possible version of himself; Tyson will drag Moran, kicking and screaming, if he has to.
The difference between working together and against each other is the difference between a single step in the dance, and back again.
Rivalry to Tyson takes the form of a rival from the Pokémon series. Not an adversary or antagonist, but a challenger; someone competing with another to push them to try harder and be better - competing with, rather than against - towards a common goal.
This is most obvious with his Love/Hate relationship with Sebastian Moran, but also applies to his relationship with the Moriarty Mirrors. It’s give and take. Maybe that means dancing over rooftops with Sebastian to bamboozle the police, or matching him blow for blow in an alleyway brawl.
Maybe that means joining the Moriarty Mirrors in whatever convoluted tango they have gotten caught up in, or maybe it means fighting tooth and claw to make them understand - and accept - a different solution when their gaze is already set on a shiny prize.
He doesn’t want to cage Sebastian or deny the Moriarty Mirrors their prize, but Tyson will never allow any of them to rest on their laurels or stray too far from the path. When he agrees with the goal, Tyson will match them step for step. When he disagrees, Tyson won’t dig his heels in and refuse to help. He will fight for a better solution, or for a justification for their decision, that satisfies everyone.
Tyson caught The Colonel’s interest and keeps the Moriarty Mirrors’ interests as their loyal Pup - not by being a ‘yes man’, but - by challenging them. He doesn’t disagree for the sake of disagreeing, of being disobedient and stomping his feet to maintain independence. Tyson fights to make sure everyone stays sharp and becomes the best version of themselves.
He doesn’t wait for an opening, a ‘does anyone disagree?’ or ‘are there any objections?’ Tyson will speak up whenever he needs to. He will bring the challenge to table himself: Come on, snake. Let’s rattle!
Kimiko was fun and free. Wild. Fireflies in the night, always just out of reach, dancing around him and tempting him in, like a silk ribbon slipping through his fingers. The playful burst of a sparkler, its smoke disappearing with the wind. Always a game with Kim. Fun and free. Never to last. Never to keep.
And Tyson doesn’t regret a single second of it.
He will always be glad that he took the time to trade in compound chores with other soliders for out of compound time with Kim, and Tyson will always be grateful to Hal for trading chores to help get that time with her; and for providing him with a clean shirt when he returned with lipstick stains on his collar.
Or boxers when Tyson had to go commando to convince Kim to wear one item of clothing for a little while. Though, sometimes, having Kimiko dancing around her kitchen in his boxers was more distracting than watching her skipping around naked. Once their relationship ended, Tyson ended up keeping her green jacket.
She always smelt of coconut shampoo and citrus shower gel, but Kim could never fully wash away the scent of sawdust and grass stains. Those scents always remind Tyson of her. Especially sawdust.
He treasures every little cut in his hands from learning to whittle with Kim and, even though it was months after their first kiss, Tyson’s lips will still tingle so vividly with the memory of Kim kissing him, voice singing with pride and praise in a language he didn’t understand, the first time he carved something vaguely recognisable.
She cared deeply, but Kimiko could be a little stuck up and elitist when people weren’t quite as carefree and unreserved as she was. Kim’s way of life was free and flowing, always on the move, but she was stubbornly set in her ways of that being the best way to live. The only way to truly live.
Kim was too laid back to stress about things that she really needed to stress about, like late bills or her tests coming up that she hasn’t studied for. She failed her drivers test twice for her car, but passed her motorbike test the first time with flying colours.
She hated vodka with a passion, but would always do shots regardless of what was in them. Kim would say that she loved fruity wine, and she did like it, but secretly she liked a glass of whiskey best whilst sitting on her porch to whittle; working on a personal project after a long day of carpentry for other people.
Kim told Tyson that she thought it tasted better because it was traditional, but she bucked tradition at practically every turn. The only exception was family. Kim would do anything for her family. She always wanted to be a mom. Two kids, a boy and a girl. A little cottage made by her own hands. That was her dream.
Though Kimiko was Vietnamese, her first name is Japanese after her great-grandmother on her father’s side of the family. Kim knew Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, and English. She was also conversational in Chinese, but struggled when writing it.
She referred to Tyson with the Vietnamese pronoun of em, but having grown up with a Japanese speaking extended family in the house, Kimiko tended to merge it with the Japanese honorifics system: calling him Ty-Em.
She always preferred to go by Kim rather than Kimiko or Kimi, but whenever she called him Ty-Em, Tyson would reply by calling her Kimi-san, which would always get a giggle out of her.
Kim had an impossibly sweet tooth. From pouring far too much honey on her morning toast to being able to pinpoint any stall selling sticky-sweet treats at the market, Kimiko loved sugar.
It was fun. It was all just a game, and Tyson knew it would hurt like hell when it ended, but he treasures every precious moment with Kim.
