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 Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2022 12:25 am
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The day had been going great. It was one of those days where Aelius’s spirit was buoyant and happy. Perhaps it was just one of those days where everything looked up or the small things just felt on point, but Aelius was enjoying it. So when he saw a text message from Faustite after ballet class, Aelius’s mood immediately plummeted into an anxious, tense energy.
The text had been simple and short telling him not to be anxious when he got back to the apartment. Ha! Perfect. That damn boy. What the hell was that supposed to mean?
So, not sure what he was going to return to, Aelius had hurried back, ignoring any future plans he had to cozying up in the coffee shop on his way home that had that perfect, spicy, apple chai tea added to their menu. So changing out of his dance attire wasn’t even considered.
Hair tied back, a black tank that casually revealed new, pale scars on his back, grey sweats pulled up and over black dance shorts, and sneakers with a duffle bag over his shoulder was how he returned to his apartment. He wasn’t at all surprised to find his lights on but what he hadn’t expected was the fully enflamed General lounging against a very transformed eternal corrupt on his couch.
Anxiety tipped over to frustration with a touch of alarm. At least the text warned him enough so he hadn’t felt the need to power up to match the two. After all, walking in and finding two of your superiors waiting for you practically fully armed felt threatening in an unknown situation.
“You know, that damn text didn’t help.” He remarked as he walked into the small living area, passing the couple so comfortable in his apartment to go and deposit the bag in his room with an audible thump. “I had no idea what the hell I was coming home to.” He said from the small hallway before appearing back in the room.
He eyed the two, unsure what this whole unexpected meeting was about. “You could have at least gave me a bit more warning.”
He walked passed them again and into the kitchen, opening the fridge he reached in and grabbed a bottle of water, closing the appliance with more force than necessary. “Maybe not being powered up in my apartment in the middle of the city would help to.” Frustration and anxiety spurred him. In an effort to calm himself he took a deep, steadying breath. “Sorry. But, this feels like a bit much unless I did something I shouldn’t have?” Memory told him he hadn’t, but it was best not to assume in this situation.
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2022 4:40 am
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Faustite woke to yelling and a hand gently squeezing his shoulder. He sat up off Albite’s lap, hardly capable of more than a squint, and let Aelius snark on in anger while he concentrated on becoming Eion. It was a difficult task on so little sleep, and at one point, he rolled his eyes at himself before he was finally able to don the false skin over claws and a cinched grate. He knew that Albite would follow suit, now that the entire purpose behind being powered up was defunct.
The couch was a shitty place to sleep. Eion frowned while he rolled his shoulders and twisted in his seat. Only a half hour, and he felt stiff in places that he wouldn’t even have suffered if he had slept on his metal sheet again. An unpleasant start to a difficult conversation, then —
A conversation made more difficult by Aelius’s bitching. Eion’s frown deepened. Youma were so much easier — they would’ve heeded a command as a command and stopped being so stressed out about an impending encounter with him. Why Aelius decided to do the exact ******** opposite was beyond him; it didn’t make any sense, and there was little point in asking about it: Aelius would likely get even more pissed off that Eion hadn’t instantly understood why the text was so terrible, and snapped at him twice over for it. It would instead be a question for Waru — later.
“Nothing I did would be good enough,” he observed as he swung his legs off the couch and onto the floor. “Because you don’t want to see me.”
Albite had the bottle in his subspace, of course. The boy was, of late, quite interested in finding out exactly how much stuff and exactly which kinds would go into his subspace dimension, and exactly how it would come out of there.
Eion wiped exhaustion from his eyes with the heel of his hand. “Sleep during the day. Took the half hour I could find. Had Waru stay Albite to watch for auras. Plan was to wake me up and glamour if he felt anyone.” Luckily, the neighborhood had been quiet in the middle of the day. Seemed like all were in school, at work, or doing whatever adults did during the day.
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2022 9:08 am
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Look at these two, they love each other!
The panes of Waru's rose colored glasses were thick as his thighs, well polished enough by now that they reflected a majority of his own desires right back at him, a warped, fuzzy mirror full it. Full of Them. He wanted them to love each other. To get along in whatever way was right. He wanted...
To snatch Faustites warmth back and flick him into becoming a blazing fire, instead of sleepy smolder full of sharp points aimed inwards. He'd unshed Eion's soft skin, burn a few things; watch the look on Aelius's face morph into actual anger instead of middle-ground they'd landed themselves between. Spin that look on it's head by inviting him to touch - cause it was actually possible to do so without getting burned -- auras n enemies be damned. N he'd always wanted the kind of affair that necessitated the attendance of the fire department in full...
Maybe some other time? In that moment, Albite was more interested in running through their words like a car through a stop walk full of pedestrians, heedless n quick as if the tension didn't exist at all. Their words could get outta his way screaming...
It'd all be fine.
"You were right, yanno, Aelius. This couch isn't made for napping, bed's really the best option in this place," non-sequitur, watchful auburn eyes trailing the pace of Aelius stride, noting the display of scars with something like pride. They looked better now than before, maybe an easier thing to sleep on? He jotted a mental note to ask him after, to see if he could snag him for a second just to see..."Oh, since you're up? If you could bring us some glasses? Promise it's good stuff," asked just the right side of pleading while he produced a bottle from subspace chilled enough that condensation dripped freely off the rounded sides; if there also existed a bag of spilled ice n water beyond the void of his hand? Who would've known. It'd come out as a puddle later with any other soggy items he'd shoved home; inspiring an all new cleaning spree that was overdue by days if not weeks.
At the moment though, all Albite cared for was presenting the wine sturdily atop the central coffee table. Giftwrapped in a bright bow, label-less and oddly dark with bits of drifting matter that settled quickly to the bottom. Reminiscent of vinegars with hints of mother. It could've been derivatives of cherry or plum as easily as it could've been a spice.
"Might even help you forgive us for being -- uh -- yanno," a sheepish gesture to himself as the Eternal dropped back into personhood, settling back into the couch with his arms splayed over the back as if it was fair game to steal space on it, hopeful that Aelius would fall in line of trying, "if you try some? Cause what Eion means to say, s'that his glamour's a precious commodity, n he wanted to save it for you. I on the other hand probly woulda forgotten even if he hadn't asked me to stay winged up. It's ah, it's kinduv a bad habit at this point." how many times had Aelius asked him already to leave his powers at the door, in the stairwell, on the roof. How many times had anyone -- he was a walking security breach and slowly beginning to believe he'd need something closer to a shock collar to train himself outta his bad habit of just powering up n abusing the hell outta it for fun.
He'd ask Jada later. She was good at working those kinda solutions out. Always had ideas that made a more human kinda sense, n there was something about her gaze just that just shut his mouth all the way up -- every damn time.
"I'll work on it. How was your day before being interrupted by our lackuva warning?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2022 7:06 pm
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Haughtiness deflated some, as Helio shifted uncomfortably. “That’s not true. It’s not that I don’t want to see you.” He remarked quietly, eyes focused on the now normal looking boy shifting himself from the comfort of his husband’s body. “I’ve just needed some time.” There had been a lot of think about since the last spat between him and Faustite. Aelius had thought the space between them would do them both good, and Faustite hadn’t bothered to make remark on it until now. Aelius couldn’t help but think that maybe Waru had played a hand in this, but the dynamic between the couple was not something he remotely knew or understood.
“Ah, yea.” He remarked. “I didn’t really buy it out of comfort so much that it was the quickest th ing I could get delivered here. I did warn you though.” A small smile turned questioning at the request. Curious he turned, leaving the water-bottle sitting on the counter and reached up into the cupboard. He produced three basic ball glasses.
Turning to walked around the counter and deposited the glasses on the coffee table. He eyes the wet bottle. “I don’t have wine glasses, so these will have to do.” He doubted the pair would mind. Neither seemed picky in the design of their drinking vessel, especially if alcohol was involved. At least that’s what he assumed was inside the bottle. There was little reason else that Waru would look so pleased with his acquisition from subspace.
“I just don’t particularly want to have to worry that someone notices a pattern of energies here.” Was he perhaps overly cautious? Sure. But he didn’t want to have to worry that his little refuge was compromised in anyway. It was his home. His first real home here in DC since his corruption and if he was a bit over protective of it, then who could fault him? “What you did is fine.”
His eyes shifted back to Faustite…Eion, when Waru claimed the need to reserve precious glamour time. Brows furrowed. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen your glamour.“ It was truth. Likely th elast time he’d seen that old familiar face of Eion was before he’d left so long ago. It was just as he remembered. Not a single thing had changed. His heart constricted.
Feeling awkward standing there with both of them sitting, Aelius settled himself on the floor opposite to them. He took a moment to free his hair of the tie in it, running a hand through it to fluff the locks a bit and break up any memory from the tie-back. He reached back, depositing the tie on the TV Console behind him before returning attention back to his guests. “Congrats again on your marriage.” He said, as he settled in, leaning back onto his arms, legs tucked under his table criss-crossed. “I am happy for the two of you.” He smiled. Genuinely glad they were where they wanted to be despite his own personal emotional confusion. He had a hard time understanding how he could be both pleased for them but also terribly jealous and upset.
Not wanting anything to settle into awkwardness, he looked to Eion. “So, why the visit? And with presumed alcohol? Bribery? Trying to get me drunk for some reason?” A playful smile spread.
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2022 7:15 am
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"Waru's idea." He patted the boy on the shoulder. Eion wasn't sure where he procured such a dirty-looking bottle of wine — or he assumed that was an amount of unfiltered wood, or grapes, or whatever the hell else they used to make it. But Eion seldom questioned the alcohol Waru liked to bring along; it was well enough that he brought anything. Eventually, Eion didn't mind the taste. Usually once his lips were numb.
He considered adding more to that, but the admissions were lodged at the back of his throat, unwilling to be dislodged with words or breath. He swallowed.
His gaze dropped to the table at the mention of his glamour. He nodded, then brought his attention up to Aelius afterward. He set his jaw, then motioned for Waru to crack open the bottle and get them started. Even if Aelius had not a single clean glass in his entire apartment, Eion would not have objected to passing the bottle between the three of them. So long as there was enough alcohol to loosen the conversation — especially for him.
The other two — they seemed more at ease around each other. As he listened to Waru talk about the couch, and Aelius respond in kind with his own banter and smile, Eion recognized the conversational suaveness between the two. They could have conversations hours long, he imagined, with neither of them feeling terribly awkward for it. But with Eion? The conversation stumbled when it was in his hands. Shifting to sit up straighter, Eion felt like he was squirming under the weight of his own interpersonal ineptitude.
This wasn't the Rift. He wasn't giving orders, or communicating with youma, or even existing as he naturally was anymore. Eion picked at the edges of his jacket before wrapping them about himself and hunching over.
Why the visit? That was a question he struggled with, having woken up so soon. He supposed that was Waru's idea, too; he knew better about how to establish good relations with others, even here, when Aelius and Eion had known each other for years longer than Waru had known either of them. Either of their history. Why was he there? Aellius needed someone like Waru, who was human, who could go out with him wherever he wanted to be and help him settle back into the city. What use did he have for someone who barely knew how to give orders?
So he swallowed again, and hoped Waru could answer better than he would. Nodded to the congratulations, as if accepting those would ever get easier. "Wanted to see you were okay." Was that enough?
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2022 8:22 am
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The congratulations got a nod, warmth in the smile that touched the way Waru's eyes crinkled for hearing it; Aelius had attended the impromptu event without complaint, had supported them then, anything more then that? Extra dollops of goodness on top of what was already a very sweet moment in his life. He'd take it though, honestly, without brushing it off as more than he felt he deserved for having caused such odd little spikes of turmoil having done it.
N enjoy alongside it the view of two people who'd not seen each other for a long time -- like watching the world on the other side of a fogged window. Eion n Aelius were intriguing enough that he always wanted more. To tell the indigo haired man to get the hell up off the floor and join them; he'd have made room. Eion fit well enough in his lap. It was Aelius's house, and if the couch was so terrible they could shove the coffee table aside n sprawl out like a trio of girls at a slumber party sharing the juiciest of gossip.
But there were tiny apologies n softening's, n Ei' was saying in his own way the best words. So Waru kept his mouth shut n at Eion's behest peeled hastily crimped foil off a cork that didn't seem to have too stubborn a hold, it had all the aromatics of a young wine.
"Exactly that. Seein' how you are, almost like we care, or sumthing crazy like that," and there was an ebbing of tease to the flow with which he poured their drinks into the proffered glasses. As if their getting drunk needed reasons beyond the simple fact that their lives 'were' exactly as tumultuous n fragile as they seemed to be when the powers were off n they were peopling around, "n of course getting drunk with you'd be all sorts of bonus to spending time together, yeah?" Waru could think of all sorts of ways to add to that, to show Aelius that even if it'd been a long time, there were snippets of Eion that were 'new', beneath all the layered coats n thick leggings; miles of tattoo's n smatterings of stars, an undercut hidden away beneath lengthy curls that demanded touching.
If he could prove that he could share his boy easily as he could share a drink --- With friends of discerning taste. With love. That his version of marriage was a circle to sit in, not a shackle, n whatever bonds existed were silk-soft as they were steel-strong.
It was a small hope.
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2022 2:19 pm
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2022 9:47 pm
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"I don't want you to get up.." and what he'd meant to say was far closer to: 'The ice can wait, it'll sit cold a little longer'. He was sure in fact that he'd had more words in his mouth than not, between pouring glasses far fuller than he should've, and not because he wouldn't've drunken it over ice, but because he didn't want Aelius to move. Needed him in easy reach and to get a start on consuming the libations. If either of them really needed ice? It'd be as good a reason as any to scoop Faustite into the boys lap with little ceremony, n leave him there to get warm.
Maybe if he could encourage the table between them to evaporate....
Whatever. Waru left it, nudged the glasses towards their respective owners, made a face between sweet n sour for a sip on his own. The aftertaste of a swallow left something to be desired, he was glad the frontnotes were at least tolerable, maybe a little too much sugar in it still that needed a lengthier fermentation process.
"S'always cold to you Ei', not that I'm complaining. Tend to like it warm, honestly..Sept when it's been hoursa too hot n swaddled up with the windows closed. Course sometimes I think Ei' just wants me 'more' naked than I can physically be." a softer segue as he lounged, if Eion was going to expound on 'bad' -- If Aelius was going to ask him to define it at length? Well, he wasn't about to get in the way of it. His boy deserved the chance to have words of his own.
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2022 7:29 pm
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Eion’s response, was a bit surprising, and not because it went right to the point but because it was so truthful. Aelius was still very much used to Eion who kept himself, his problems, thoughts, and everything in between bottled up tight inside of him. The expectation was a ‘fine’ or ‘alright’. ‘Bad’ opened up the conversation for more. Aelius chewed on that as glasses were moved across the table.
At Waru’s prompt, Helio stayed put and instead lifted the glass to his nose to sniff the fragrant wine. It smelled of sweet grapes with the hint of something spicy on the back end. Very interesting. He took a sip and his taste buds were sent on a bit of a ride. Tart and sweet with those spices adding an odd note. The after taste wasn’t much to be desired, but Aelius had little doubt it would take them long to not even notice.
Eion’s new position on the floor made the young man look even smaller and fragile. Especially wrapped up in that blanket, Aelius’s fingers practically twitched with he need to tuck the boy tighter into the blanket and haul him against his chest. Waru was right. Eion had been dealing with being too cold when glamoured for as long as Aelius could remember.
Vaguely he wondered if Eion had the issues of being cold when he was Elex? Maybe back then it hadn't been so much of an issue? Aelius couldn't remember any specific things that pointed one way or the other though.
He took another sip of the wine, face grimacing a bit against the taste. “So, what’s been going on that’s so bad?” He questioned bluntly, eyes settled on Eion. “I thought you’d be in a honeymoon phase right now having just gotten married.” Eyes shifted to Waru in question as well.
He shifted a leg under the table, stretching it in front of him until foot touched the soft fleece blanket that enshrouded Eion.
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2022 7:42 pm
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About ******** time that Waru stopped ******** around and tossed a glass in his direction. Eion shot him a look between pleading and baleful as he fit his fingers around it. As he lifted it, his hand shook, and his brows furrowed, and he set the glass back down onto the back of his free hand, then on the coffee table itself. He considered it for a moment, then found it more comfortable to lift the glass by its rim.
Whatever. He could sip it that way. Didn't much matter as long as he was getting drunk. Could have Waru teach him to butt chug it if he couldn't hold a ******** glass anymore.
He didn't want Aelius asking about it, but there the boy was — once again cozying up into his business like he somehow needed to be involved. As much as Eion wanted to tell him to piss off and mind his business, he heard something very different to that when he opened his mouth. It was enough for him to flush red with embarrassment and rage.
"Got back into starseeds. No reason to honeymoon if I eat half the population." He chased it with wine, if only to shut himself up.
Eion leveled a studious glance at Waru. Something was terribly wrong. Had they encountered more magical chicanery? Was this some aftereffect from those strange gargoyle creatures, or the globular ones in the garden?
"Don't flatter yourself," he shot back to Waru, feeling frustrated and pink in the cheeks. "Don't need to peel your skin off."
He wirled the wine around a couple times before he took a strong pull of it. He couldn't tell wine apart from other wine, except to say that it was different. This red wine tasted different from the other red wines he had, though he couldn't say how or why. Didn't care to ask, either. He knew he felt less cold with its warmth blooming in his gut, and that was the extent of his care.
"Wanted to return this," he added with his wine glass still in his left hand. His right studiously burrowed into his jacket pocket, felt around for a time, then pulled out a silver pocket watch that was then offered back to Aelius. "Told him about the picture. Thought you might want it for sentiment. Thought it might —" But he bit off the end of that sentence, swallowed it down, and simply looked to Aelius with no further words to offer him — only a hand full of pocket watch.
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2022 8:21 pm
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"Is it 'half the population' levels of bad yet?" incredulity tinted with worried. What to do with that, what solution existed? This wasn't like rubbing a dogs nose in it's mess n hoping it'd learn. The problem lay buried skyscraper levels deep-- to intervene beyond his knowledge felt like forcing a lion to eat only greens, or a cow to graze on beef. It was madness n starvation. Seemed to Waru like it should've all been handled by someone with actual experience.
So while hearing it spoken aloud widened Waru's eyes by half-a-measure, on the subject as a whole? He stayed concerningly quiet. Sipped his drink like it tasted far better than it should've n set his eyes purposefully in Aelius direction.
So long as the half a population he actually cared about remained part of that uneaten portion? So long as he didn't know what to do, or who to go to, or -- and why did all the Youma experts have to be jumped up quacks, or only good at making more of them without having the kind of resources necessary to manage the aftermath!!
He'd never really asked how Faustite must have beaten this before. Knew he could do it again. After all, Waru prided himself on being sat there and remaining thoroughly uneaten thus far, except in all the best ways. All his other small fears ended up gently sidelined in favor of better topics.
"Because you like me best with it on," mock whispered, because he liked the color on Eions face even when he tucked himself into a bundle of gray, because he could admire the tinge of red n ignore the hint of unsteadiness in Ei's hands for it, "if I ever really want it off? I've got a Pendant for that. Look just as good without it on, by the way."
Because he could damn well flatter himself all he liked! Cheekiness that nearly bled into him choking on his precious glass of wine when he saw the pocket watch produced with such ease, realizing with a start Faustite was giving it back and -- "You're giving it back! Okay, but are we keeping Aelius in exchange for it?"
It was theirs, their history, their love, a good memory! He should've shut the ******** up -- but he liked the memory encapsulated in all that silver. A tiny little glimpse at the past to be cherished.
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2022 10:34 pm
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Talk about tossing a bomb into a conversation. Not to mention that Eion just threw it out there almost nonchalantly? What was going on? Since when had he ever been so forthcoming? That wasn’t the most important thing here though because for all he knew, the main intent was for Eion to come straight?
Though by the look on Waru’s face and his question it posed that even the husband didn’t know anything about this. “I’ve not seen any new reports about any large scale deaths so if the media hasn’t caught on yet it can’t be too bad?
“What can we do to help? Eating all of those star seeds can’t be good for you?” Aelius knew that too much starseed consumption was dangerous for the normal senshi or agent but a half-youma? That was territory he didn’t know much about.
Boy did Eion look adorable with his face growing red with a blush, though. Aelius shifted a bit uncomfortably.
He opened his mouth to say something when Eion pulled out a relic from the past that Aelius had never thought he’d see again. The silver pocket watch was obviously still well maintained by it’s still shining case. Certainly well loved by the tiny minor scratches that came from daily use. AS if in a daze, Aelius took the watch from Eion and held it as if it were a delicate, fragile item. “You kept it?” He said quietly, not even realizing the words came out of his mouth.
He turned it over in his hand before popping it open. He had expected to see it ticking away but what was most surprising was the picture. A picture of Elex and Rowan.
He swallowed hard, fingers curling around the watch as he closed it back up. “I don’t want it back.” He said truthfully. “This was a gift for you and you’re the one I want to see keep it.” He held it back out for Eion to take back, a small almost sad smile on Aelius’s face. “Whether you’re Elex, Eion, or Faustite, you’re all the same. Each persona shaped who you are today.” God, why was he saying all of this right now? There were more important things to focus on.
“Rowan wanted Elex to have it and that means every other rendition that followed Elex.
“It means a lot that you kept it. I… I hadn’t expected that. I thought you had moved on completely.”
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2022 1:27 am
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"Mind your ******** business," he chided Waru. "Both of you." His attention shifted to Aelius afterward. Turned redder for it, all that rage, mainly directed at himself. Directed at his lack of understanding for why his tongue decided to wag his thoughts away. It wasn't their business. He was the one with the problem, so it was on him to fix it. To drag it to others' doorsteps like this — all this ******** sharing was what collected a smiling Schörl on his doorstep, ready to make him squirm with a few choice ******** stop," he warned Waru, knowing he wouldn't listen. Who would? "Something's wrong."
Mood continuing to sour, Eion teethed the rim of the glass as an alternative to bursting into flames and barbecuing his husband again. It was the best way to peel his skin off, given his stupid ******** antics and his terrible jokes and his utter lack of discourse where there should've been and —
Eion's gaze grew lidded and wary. "This is your fault," he observed, though he didn't know how.
Waru was never this quiet. He had to be involved in all these slips of words, even if Eion couldn't prove it, even if he didn't know what Waru did to cause it. Was it a magical effect he mastered over his time of senshihood? His sphere was retribution, which was oft constrictive, but — did Waru have a reason to take revenge on him? It wasn't Waru's starseed he almost ate in the anteroom before the Hall.
Didn't matter, he decided. Rolling his eyes at Waru's continued antics, he focused on polishing off the rest of the wine. Once he set the glass down, he licked the droplets of wine off his fingers from holding the glass in such a heathen way.
"Don't know," he answered Aelius's question at last. He didn't — there wasn't anyone else to turn to the first time. He managed it on his own, but the circumstances weren't the same. The stressors weren't the same. How was he supposed to explain to anyone that losing his life and becoming a youma wasn't something he was ready for, but the one thing he had to do to prevent that wasn't something he could do either? To his knowledge, Waru had never been addicted to anything. Neither and Aelius. Or Rowan. They wouldn't understand.
Eion took back the pocket watch wordlessly. If nothing else, having it back gave him something to fidget with beneath the blankets. He felt both overheated and cold, though only one of them felt true to his temperature. He couldn't untangle the mess in his head or the one in his heart; every attempt to do so was met with a need to shut it down, lest he start crying in front of both of them. Because that was what he needed.
It surprised him that Aelius would be so forthright about that, or that he would talk about Rowan as if they were separate people. As if Rowan was dead, and Elex was dead, and they were just ghosts trading time in the same warm corpse. The pocket watch held the only image of Elex he had left, the one that he carefully guarded against any prying eyes that could possibly guess the connection. If Rowan didn't want it, then was he finished with mooning over the past? Or was he over Elex, now that he knew what had become of him? It must've been the latter: Elex became a monster, end of story. Find someone else to love.
Instead they were sitting here, having wine like fools, talking about everything he didn't want to say. Not talking about the things that needed to be said. Saying I'm addicted to starseeds instead of sorry for setting you on fire.
"Never had help before. Don't know what to do with it now."
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2022 7:54 am
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Their exchange was beautiful, Waru could’ve cried for the soft swell of emotion over it. How watches could be so like rings. Better even, as to Warus knowledge it was the only picture Ei’ had of his past that he regularly kept on him. He must’ve cherished it so. Must’ve cherished their time together before, no matter what had split them after.
N there Aelius was, being the man with the right asks, being someone who cared enough to give pieces of himself up so easily…
“I can’t believe you two were ever apart, s’not ******** fair...” hushed bit if sour to which he could only drink more, while his gaze danced over the rim n landed on Faustites burning face. The plea got a raised brow, as if to ask a clear ‘what’ of his boy; there were so many things to stop after all, stop drinking, stop talking, stop trying to fix things? There was no answer to be given for that kind of ask that wouldn’t’ve started fights — silence was the better part of valor — and then? The gentle throttling of the wine bottles lovely slick neck because Eion still looked thirsty as Waru felt, the aftertaste could’ve been acid based, he still wasn’t drunk enough yet for any of this, “Probably,” the pour didn’t need to be nearly as pretty as his boys glass needed to remain full, “but I’m always the last person to figure out the things I’ve done wrong. S’ah terrible habit of mine. Failing to clean up messes, n stepping in business I shouldn’t — however accidentally. Maybe this is a step away from that?”
Away from failing and leaving his messes lie, n letting Lysi leave, and not being there enough for his subordinates because his free a** spirit didn’t want to smother them. It felt like a start. He hoped it was like that, where his meddling mended something instead of closed more doors in his face.
That Eion asked for help — wine sloshed the rim and caught the soft wood in droplets, Waru saved the over pour by reflex alone, didn’t care that his fingers were wet n sticky over the resounding surprise that must’ve sat over his own features, the way it morphed into joy, there was no hiding it.
“Oh, I’ve got an actual answer to this one! You’re going to take it, Eion. Even if you’re afraid to - s’far too ******** often I’ve encouraged you to take the burden for our sakes. With your sister, with the team, supporting them when they were going through it all,” Eions glass was slid back towards the edge of the table, invitingly ruddy and chilled, Waru didn’t particularly care if his boy used his hands or lapped it up like a dog, so long as the drink stayed accessible to him, “Asked you to be the bigger person every time n you did it at your own expense, because I couldn’t find my own a**,” he snorted for that, found purple drops to suck messily from a thumb and forefinger, mannerless as any wild thing. He didn’t care, he had a right to be mad about his own missteps and their cost, had just as equal a right to be excited now that he had the weight of power to manage a few things more successfully, and better yet? People he trusted with clout that he could now beg help from when he stalled for answers.
“S’not the case now though, is it? So, have we A. tried Amazonite, B. asked a Soverign, or C. Called Kama…whether he wants anything to do with me or not he’d give his whole — everything — even if it was just to scrounge up some info for you. I don’t have to mention our team, do I?”
Shouldn’t have had to, though maybe he did? Needed to point out the most loyal n capable of their people who if not willing to die for their General, were more than willing to give their all for exactly the right sort of incentive. Waru liked to believe himself great at incentivizing things! One of his few talents.
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