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 Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 8:39 pm
(( Continued from [REG] A Riptide Intervention (Damian, Carter, Poseidon) ~ ))
You look good, man. Before he confessed his feelings, Carter would have covered the remark up with a grin and a wave, writing it off as nothing more than what it was: a compliment. Now? Second verse same as the first: the grin, the waving of it off were both accompanied by a dark flush before Merope turned away. ”Thanks,” he said, setting the flashlight back down on the table. He took a moment to tie his bag to his non-transparent sash, tugging on it to make sure it was steady before picking the flashlight back up.
He couldn't help but jump slightly as Orion touched his shoulder, glancing down. Was Poseidon ready? Yes? Good. The bluenette took a deep breath as he summoned his phone, opening it and closing his eyes. He had to ignore his heartbeat, ignore the hand on his shoulder. One by one, the he managed to quell the intense feelings and focus on the soft melody of his star – there! SEND.
Space travel didn't take that long. The temperature around them changed, the musky stench of alcohol stains disappearing to be replaced by a warm, summer-like heat and... Merope couldn't place it. It wasn't exactly dusty, but the air seemed... crisper. There was a scent in the air that was spicy and sweet, but not overpowering. Instead, it was familiar, but at the same time Merope could swear he never smelled it before.
It wasn't until their boots settled down on the wooden floor that Merope finally opened his eyes to look around. ”This,” he began, ”Is not my ship.”
The room they were in was made entirely out of wood. Wooden floor, wooden walls, and there was a giant hole in the wooden ceiling that let in a pale, blue light. The floor beneath the hole had a mess of broken wood – the remnants of what originally pieced the ceiling together. Looking up revealed that there were were two floors above the ship, but the details as to what exactly was in those rooms was impossible to tell from this angle.
The light that came in through the man-made skylight was enough to light up a majority of the room. What the light failed to reach was lit up by lanterns, however they looked more like lightbulbs than anything else. What they lit up turned out to be the closest thing to a sort of restaurant: a majority of the room was taken up by an assorted collection of tables and benches made out of thick, heavy wood. The far side of the room had what looked to be a bar, complete with a shelf full of various types of bottles.
To accent the room, banners of fabric were once hung in various shades of blue. In direct contrast to these, large stuffed animals lurked along the walls. Deer, bears, and – was that a crocodile head hanging over a door? Someone had decided to hang a lantern in its jaws.
Merope was distracted from all of this, and would have kicked himself if he realized exactly what the shelf of bottles represented. Instead, the bluenette scowled and banged his fist on a table. ”Goddamnit! Is there ANY PLACE where this s**t isn't carved in?! Ruined my boat, now my table...!” He glared at the carving of “A+T” surrounded by a heart.
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Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 9:30 pm
Orion and Poseidon both closed their eyes as they were pulled into the nothingness. Orion was used to the sensation, but Poseidon wasn't. The cat dug his claws into Merope's boots not letting go until they were back on solid ground.
The cat looked around, this place seemed familiar. Stepping away from the two senshi he tried to get a good look around, but that was hard when you were only two feet off the ground. Sometimes was so hard being a ca- wait, they were in space. It took only a moment before he was glowing, the cat quickly being replaced by a 6'6 man. His only clothing was a wrap around his waist, and a translucent sash. Lifting a large hand he ran it through his beard. He had almost forgotten what it was like to only have two legs.
His inspection of the place was cut short at Merope's exclamation. He turned towards the senshi, eyes curious.
When Orion touched down on Merope he glanced around, his immediately drawn to the bottles behind the bar. Really? Carter berated him for drinking too much and then takes him to his bar that seemed a little counter productive.
Tearing his eyes away from the bar he looked around the rest of the bar. Seeing the animal heads he froze. They were big, too big to be normal animals. The heads looked suspiciously like the ones that decorated his castle back on Orion.
He jumped slightly as Merope banged his fist on the table. Going over to him, he looked at the table, examining the carving. A+T...why were those initials familiar? A glance to the stuffed animals heads jogged his memory. A+T, Alorie and Thor. Orion was frozen, no, no way. He was so shocked by his revelation that he didn't notice the human looking Poseidon approaching the table.
Slowly Orion unfroze, lowering himself into a chair, hopefully the wood wasn't rotten. His fingers raked through his hair as he thought hard. What should he do? Should he mention it? Or should he keep it to himself? What if it was just a coincidence? But with the animal heads, and the initials...it seemed like a big coincidence.
"Holy crap"
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Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 10:01 pm
”First it's all over my ship, and not just on the walls – no, whoever put them there did it in places that you wouldn't expect. Ceiling? Check. Desk? Check. On the wall directly at the bottom of the stairs so you'd see it when you'd go down the stairs? Check,” Merope ranted, banging his hand against the table a second time. The table didn't even budge. Nor did it move or creak when Orion sat down on it. Whoever crafted the tables ensured that they would last a long time, and aside from a bit of dust there was very little to no warping. The air was dry; a lack of moisture that prevented most decay.
Feeling annoyed, Merope turned away from the table and nearly ran smack-dab into Poseidon. The senshi scrambled back in surprise, jaw hanging agape. ”What the--! Who are – wait. Po?” He didn't think it was normal for humans to have a shiny star in the middle of their forehead. Not to mention the translucent sash and gold jewelry was familiar.
Though discovering their guardian cat had a beard was enough to distract Merope from the table. He stared at Poseidon, looking up at his ears to his jewelry to his – was that a trident? Merope looked away, and made himself a promise to be very careful around Poseidon's human form, just in case. ”Hey, Orion, check Po ou- you okay?” To Merope, Orion didn't look too good. Was bringing him here a mistake? He couldn't help but to look around the room in an attempt to figure out what was wrong. Was it the bar? The bartender? The anim- wait bartender?
Merope stared at the bar as the man behind it cleaned a mug. He had heard rumors of other senshi seeing their past selves on their home planets. Was this him? Was he a bartender? He shifted through his feelings: he felt that he could trust him. But with his blond hair and purple eyes, Merope didn't think it was him. The figure faded away before he could dwell more on the subject. Quietly, Merope began to walk around the various scattered tables, feeling like he was treading a familiar path through the spilled chairs and benches as he made his way over to the bar.
No ghost waited for him when he made it there. It was second nature to rest one hand on the bar and jump, the transition up and over to the other side a smooth muscle-memory. He landed, stirring up a cloud of dust he ignored as he looked around. “This...” He trailed off, running one hand along the surface. “I owned this. I... I think I knew what all these were.” 'These' happened to be bottles containing alcohol. Merope reached up and picked one up at random, turning it this way and that. He bent down and grabbed one of his sashes and began to gently rub at the dust, trying to clear the label. It was rectangular in shape, unremarkable aside from the fact that the glass was tinted lavender. The liquid inside was dark, possibly red or brown if Merope had to guess.
“Rough day, huh? It happens to all of us.” The soft smile vanished as it disappeared behind the bar, reappearing with a small glass. The lavender bottle was plucked off the shelf – a ghost duplicate of the one Merope held in his hands. “Here – have one on the house. It's not necessarily strong, but the taste of it should get your mind off of things. Wanna tell me about it? Sometimes all it takes is a listen. I won't be going anywhere for awhile, and you look like you need the company.”
The bottle slid from Merope's loose fingers, shattering and breaking on the floor.
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Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 10:28 pm
Poseidon stopped suddenly as Merope almost ran into him. Reaching out he rested a hand on his shoulder to steady him, letting go as he scrambled back. "Yes? This is my human form." Human was a bit of an exaggeration, he still had two ears and a tail after all. Green eyes slid to Orion and he looked a bit worried, the senshi of meteors didn't look so good.
Orion didn't react to Merope's words, still going over the facts in his head. If the animal heads on Merope came from Orion, and the initials A+T really stood for Alorie+Thor, then that meant...Fingers were raked through his hair again unable to wrap his head around it.
It wasn't until he heard the bottle crash against the ground that he snapped out of it, standing up. He went to the bar, brushing past Po on the way there. "Hey, Merope, are you alright, man?" Man... He thought about it again, should he say anything? Maybe not, would it make things weird? But then, he already knew that Carter liked him, could things get weirder?
Poseidon watched the two for a moment before he moved around the room. His interference now wouldn't do any good. He wasn't experience in social interactions, beyond those with other cats which were much different than with humans. So, instead of butting in he began to explore, fingertips running over table tops as he circled the room. There was definitely something familiar about this place, like he'd seen it in a dream or a faded memory.
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Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 10:55 pm
Merope showed no indication of having heard either of them. His eyes were trained on a spot that was vacant, his hand rising to signal wait. This wasn't like the figments he had seen before. As a sailor scout, the most he received were one to two second glimpses of figures and emotions. As a super, he reveled in the sensation of sound. Part of him registered that what he was hearing wasn't English. There was a sort of musical quality to the words, the way it rolled off the speaker's tongue that made him want to hear more and listen.
The figure, however, wasn't keen on speaking any more. Now that he was aware that it wasn't English, the ghostly visage that quaffed the sweet-smelling drink was speaking in the strange language. Merope couldn't understand any of it, but the bartender did. Of course, he realized, it was the native language. The thought was placed on hold as he drank in the ghostly figure, trying to memorize.
It was him. He couldn't deny it. The ship filled him with a warm, glowing pride that nearly made him burst. The carved initials filled him with annoyance. This? There was a pleasant neutral me that he latched onto, staring as he was at his past self. Green eyes, blue hair, tanned skin – he identified those traits easily. His past self even went so far as to wear two earrings in each ear, however there was only one pair of hoops in each ear. The other earrings were long, dangling feathers that were dark green in color. The outfit was something straight out of a pirate movie. The white shirt had poofy sleeves, tan britches, boots that were similar to his own Sailor Merope uniform... Everything fit.
There was one problem, however. Merope was very sure that he wasn't a chick. The fact that the past-him wore a leather vest over her top didn't help. The sash around her waist was green, matching her feathered earrings. He was a chick. He was a chick.
Merope panicked.
The super scout jerked back and shook his head, rubbing his eyes and staring owlishly at where the vision once stood. “This can't be happening,” he began, running both of his hands through his hair. “This... That can't be true. No way. No ******** way. I-” He broke off, unsure.
On one level, he couldn't deny that it was him. If he was a chick, that would explain why he was into Damian. But being homosexual didn't work like that, did it? That would be ridiculous. It wouldn't make sense! Last he checked, he liked members of both genders. Or was that part of the fact that he was once female and now male? Was he supposed to like only girls now despite being a girl before? Or should he be more like his past self? There was something missing here, something that made Merope want to pull at his hair and kick something. Shouldn't it be all about what he wanted?
“I – I just... That was a past vision?” Merope said instead, gesturing to where his attention was focused so sharply. “I... I think I get why you drink. I might join you next time, if that's okay. Or actually,” Merope turned away, hiding his pale face. He ignored the reek of the sweet-scented liquid that he had spilled earlier and began to pull down bottles at random. “This is a bar, right? Something should be alcoholic here because I think I need to forget about what I just saw or at least look pensive while thinking about it I mean that's what you gotta do when you're really confused about something that makes you really think about who you are right?” He was babbling, nerves taking over at this point.
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Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 11:30 pm
Orion stared at Merope as he had his vision. Was that what he looked like when he had visions? He was beginning to worry a little bit, how long did visions last? Really it hadn't been that long but Orion didn't have anything to do but stare at his teammate so it felt like a lifetime.
And then he was out of it, and freaking out. The redhead sunk onto a stool that still stood at the bar. "Merope?" He wasn't sure what was going on, and now he was glad that he didn't mention what he had figured out.
When his teammate started talking about drinking he frowned and slipped off the stool. Instead of jumping the bar like Merope had he just walked around it, approaching him slowly. He pulled the bottle out of his hands before he held onto Merope's to keep him from grabbing more bottles. "Dude, no way. You don't want to end up drinking like I do." It wasn't something he wanted for his best friend.
It took him a moment to realize he was still holding the bluenette's hands in both of his. A blush spread across his cheeks and he looked down at their hands. He still hadn't let go though, and that confused him. He should let go, right? Then why didn't he?
Still staring at their hands he spoke, going against his instincts. "The animal heads on the wall, I'm pretty sure Thor, I mean I, I'm pretty sure I brought them here from Orion." He paused, swallowing hard before he continued. "The woman I was in love with, on Orion, her name was Alorie." He let that hang in the air, would Merope come to the same conclusion he had? Or would he laugh it off? Or maybe he'd just freak out. Orion didn't know.
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Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 12:02 am
“H-Hey!” Merope protested as the bottle was taken from him, but before he could move to grab it Orion had taken hold of him. “C'mon Orion, I brought that down fair and square, and you drink so it's not like...” Not like you can't tell me not to. Not when you drink yourself.
Merope stared at his hands, stared at Orion's hands that held them. He was holding him. His hands felt warm, and while he could still flex he didn't pull away. There was a small margin of safety in having his hands held: it meant that he wasn't alone.
Orion's words brought Merope's gaze up, staring at him in disbelief. “Thor? Orion? But...” His brows furrowed in confusion as he searched. Thor, Thor... Why didn't that bring up any feeling? He dropped his gaze down to the area behind the bar, the shelves that still boasted a collection of various glasses and mugs. One mug in particular stood out.
"The woman I was in love with, on Orion, her name was Alorie."
The mug was heavy. That was one thing she wasn't counting on when she went to go pick it up. She was too prideful to admit that it was too heavy for her, too smug to admit that she needed help. At the same time she should have known better: stone wasn't exactly light, and the size she specifically requested was bigger than average. But she made it. She had managed to drag it back to her tavern all by herself, and nearly took a chunk out of her bar when she swung it up to set it down on top.
She was pleased with the craftsmanship. The heavy tankard was nearly as tall as her arm from elbow to wrist, carved beautifully with an artist's interpretation of the forest. The centerpiece in the art was a bear. It was more of a joke for her to him, but it was going to be his special mug anyway. It would, at the very least, allow the serving wenches to take less time refilling the blasted thing. To top it all of, the bottom, top, handle and places within the engravings had his name: Thor. It was the least she could do given that he had the habit of carving their initials all over the place; hopefully he would stop soon. It was past embarrassing and more of an annoyance, especially when the other patrons caught on and teased her for it. She couldn't wait to see his reaction to i- wait. Who the hell carved 'To Thor from Alorie Bellamy' on it? Tide take the imported laborers!
Alorie. Alorie Bellamy. A. Thor. T. A + T. Alorie and Thor. The puzzle pieces clicked into place. Merope pulled away from Orion and turned away, pacing the length of the bar he had access to before turning around and approaching. “This... This can't be happening.” Merope began, his voice trembling. “I mean, I'm a dude and you're a dude, and if I was a chick then why am I a dude now? Shouldn't I be a chick? I mean, this... This doesn't make sense. It can't be. There's gotta be some mistake, I can't be her. She can't be me. I mean, yeah there's the possibility of me being her once, but I... This...” He leaned against the bar, covering his face with his hands. “I just... This is so ******** awkward right now.”
He dropped his hands, and looked to Orion. A soft laugh came out of him as he shook his head. "This... This is ridiculous. I can't be Alorie. She's... she's..." He trailed off, his gaze drawn towards the tavern. For the first time he took in how desolate the place was. The damage, the ruins. "She's gone. They all are," he finished softly, his voice cracking.
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Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 12:34 am
Orion knew he was being a hypocrite, they had come to Merope to escape the damage he'd caused while drunk after all. But still, it didn't make his worry any less sincere. Nothing good would come out of them both becoming drunks.
He watched the thoughts cross over Merope's face, nerves washing over him. It wasn't long before the bluenette's eyes went blank, sucked into another vision. Orion frowned, could Merope still see him? He didn't know how visions worked, he just knew that he was plagued by them when he was on his own planet.
Orion wasn't expecting his best friend to pull away so suddenly and he was caught off guard when he did, stumbling forwards. His hands flexed, feeling oddly empty now. He watched Merope pace, did this change anything? He didn't know, but...those feelings he had felt on Orion. As much as he didn't believe in love, it was knowing that he'd never feel that way in his current life that had ate at him. Was this the universe giving him a second chance? If it was then why had Alorie came back as a man, why not a girl? He didn't understand.
The bluenette's words pulled him from his own thoughts and he frowned. He didn't know what to tell him. Orion had been a male in the past and was still a male now, swapping genders wasn't something he could wrap his head around. He took a half step towards Merope, trying to think of something to say, but nothing seemed like the right thing.
The redhead bit his lip as the other man laughed, he wasn't sure that there was anything funny about the current situation. He followed his gaze around the tavern, it was rundown the same as his castle was on Orion. Approaching Merope he put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently. "They're gone, but she's not, Thor's not...We are them, just...in different bodies." It was easier for Orion to say it, he was and always had been a man. He closed his eyes for a moment, his mind spinning. It was an overload of information for him, and he couldn't even imagine how Merope was feeling.
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Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 1:09 am
If he closed his eyes and listened, he could hear the gentle voice of his star call out to him. It was a soothing feeling. Granted it wasn't enough to entirely cover up the hurt he felt when he looked over what remained of his tavern, the place he had taken so long to build and put together. Wait. Would it be she that put it together? Merope was confused, unsure of how to identify himself. Herself?
“But... I'm not her,” Merope pointed out, looking over to Orion. “And she's not me. What does that make us, Damian? I...” He looked away, the words choking his throat. “You... You were driven to drink over her. Alorie. I'm sorry. I don't know what I did but I'm sorry. But. What does that make us?” He turned to face him, red lighting up his cheeks. “I... I like you for you Damian. But now... Now knowing this? I don't know. Are you going to be obligated to like me back, just because I was Alorie? I'm not her anymore.”
He reached up with his gloved hand and pulled on his necklace, stressing it. “You see this? It was on the door to my ship. I bet there's another one here. I... I can't deny that I was her. But I'm not her anymore, Damian. I don't want you to like me for being her. I can't... I can't help you. I can't bring back Alorie's feelings for you, not like this. Not...” He threw his hands up, gesturing to himself. “Look at me! I ******** everything up. Alorie ******** everything up. It won't work out. It can't. I'm not her, and you... I don't know. I don't know, Damian. She's gone. She's dead. I... I'm just an imposter.”
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Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 1:42 am
Orion's hand fell away as Merope spoke. He felt a small part of him being crushed, the part that thought that maybe he had found his second chance at being happy. But as Merope went on he realized that it would never have worked the way he was imagining it. But maybe...The redhead paused at his best friend's words "What does that make us?" Us. As if they were a couple. Could they be? Orion still wasn't sure, and now it was being made even more difficult that he had to separate thousand year old emotions with things he was feeling now.
When Merope grabbed his necklace Orion's silver eyes flicked down to it then back up to his face. He said he couldn't help him, but...maybe he still could. Not by being Alorie, but by being him. He frowned shaking his head at Merope's words, he wasn't an imposter. He was his own person.
He approached Merope, searching his face. When he spoke his voice cracked, his nerves showing. "You don't know whether or not it'll work out unless you," He stopped, correcting himself. "Unless we try or at least leave the option open." He was terrified, and he barely knew what he was saying, but he did know that the thought of him never being able to feel the way he had on Orion, for Alorie or even Carter, scared him to death. Yes, Carter was a guy, but he was the one person he cared about the most in his life, and to have even the potential of something more taken away before he had chance to figure out if he wanted it, well the thought of that bothered him immensely.
"I get that you're not Alorie anymore, and...I don't feel obligated to like you back. Hell, I don't even know if I do like you like that yet, but I'd at least like the chance to figure it out. I won't lie, the fact that you used to be Alorie...it doesn't hurt things, but if I do tell you I like you, it'll be because I like you and not Alorie." He licked his lips, nervous. "Just give me a chance, okay?"
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Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 1:57 am
As Orion felt his hopes being crushed, Merope was dealing with his own version. It wouldn't work out between him and Orion. Orion was too attached to the feelings Alorie caused. Merope wasn't Alorie. Carter wasn't Alorie. Aside from their hair, eyes, and skin the only thing shared between them was the power of Merope. He didn't think that would be enough, not with the type of love he thought Damian was seeking. Carter couldn't do it. He wasn't enough, he couldn't compare himself to who Alorie was and what she did. Carter had lost before he had even begun.
He dragged his eyes up to look at Orion as he spoke, looking hurt and hopeful at the same time. Merope was ready to cut his losses and accept the fact that he had lost for good. What did he have to an old flame? He didn't know what Alorie did, who she was or how close she was to Thor. All Merope had to go off of were feelings of pride and annoyance for the most part. Merope didn't know if that would be enough.
The bluenette looked away and drew a slow, shaky breath. He was scared. To think that his confession would turn out like this, to feel defeated soon after Damian knew! More than anything else Merope wanted to go and hide, to shout curses at who he used to be. There was no time for that now, not with Orion's gray eyes watching him. “A chance...” He trailed off, running a hand through his hair nervously. “I just... I don't know, Orion. I'm... I'm scared and intimidated and I just... I just don't know what to think right now.” He closed his eyes; it was hard to think with Orion so close, offering him the chance he always wished for but now was unsure if he could take it. “I... I'll try.”
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Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 2:18 am
Orion knew that if there was ever going to be anything between them that he'd have to somehow differentiate the feelings he had for Alorie from his present day feelings. That was a hard thing to do, especially when they had felt so real when he was on Orion.
Staring into Merope's face he felt a tightness in his chest. That look in his eyes was killing him. He began to reach out to him, but his hand stopped hovering in the air for a moment before falling away. He didn't know what he was going to do, hug him? Hold him? He wasn't sure what the right reaction would be.
After his request for a chance, for more time Orion bit his lip nervous that Merope would say no, that he had already give up on him. He exhaled slowly at his words, taking another half step towards him. "I'm scared too," He was more than scared, but not of Merope. Orion was scared that he was going to do something wrong and ******** everything up.
This time when he lifted his hand he didn't pull it back, but he didn't quite touch Merope either. Instead his hand hovered above his cheek almost as if he wanted to cup it, but didn't have the courage to actually touch him. "Thank you, for trying. I just need time, I gotta wrap my mind around all of this. It's not everyday you find out your best friend likes you." There was a crooked smile on his lips as he said that, that was the least of their problems.
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Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 2:34 am
The road ahead was going to be treacherous and difficult; Merope could feel it. He was going to be competing against Alorie. A woman he never met, a woman he knew very little about. It wouldn't surprise him if Orion knew more about her than he did -- and given how heavily he had been drinking, it was most likely true. The problem didn't stop there, though. Merope wasn't sure if he could let Alorie go, if he could ignore her and the affect she had on Damian to even give Damian a chance with him.
It didn't help that Merope was painfully aware of what Alorie was and what he wasn't. Man verses woman. He wasn't sure himself if he could even acknowledge his feelings for Damian completely yet. He was sure he had them, but could he acknowledge them publicly? Where people would watch and judge, and most likely sneer and turn away in disgust? He wanted to be happy. He wanted Damian to be happy. Was it... was it too much to ask for?
"I need time too," Merope said quietly, looking at Orion's hand before meeting his eyes. "I just... It's like..." He struggled, one hand flexing and unflexing as he tried to find the words. "It's... It's not fair." A flush arose in his cheeks as he looked away, continuing. "It sucks to know that, hey, you know that person you're kinda crushing on? Turns out they're in love. With who you used to be. How can I even hope to measure up to that? It... It hurts. I'm just scared that I won't get my chance, you know? If not you, then it'll be me comparing myself to her. It's... It's going to be hard."
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Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 2:56 am
Orion watched his teammate's green eyes look to his hand and he let it drop suddenly, disappointed in himself. He was too scared of doing something wrong that he couldn't bring himself to touch the other man. He needed to stop being such a coward. But it was difficult. This, what he could potentially have with Merope was more nerve wracking than any relationship he'd had before. He had a feeling deep down in his gut, that if he couldn't make this work, if he couldn't get past Carter being a guy, and his feelings for Alorie, that he was going to be passing up his chance on ever feeling that deep, strong, real love that he had felt memories of on Orion. Knowing that didn't make things any easier though, if anything it put more pressure on him.
Orion watched Merope's cheeks change colour, it was an interesting effect. He frowned at his next words though. He wanted to open his mouth and say that he wasn't in love Alorie, that he had just been feeling the things Thor had been feeling. But he wasn't sure, it was hard to pull his feelings away from Thor's.
When Merope had finished talking Orion grabbed the shorter man, pulling him into a hug. They were both confused, and scared, and he figured they could both use a hug. Plus, Orion was trying to force himself past his fear of ******** up. He kept his arms around the bluenette as he spoke. "Well, you're alive, so that is definitely a one up on Alorie. And you're pretty damn awesome, another definite plus." He smiled, looking down at the top of Merope's head. The hugging wasn't so bad, the smaller man was warm, and comfortable.
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Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 3:08 am
His shoulders had moved, shifting to display a notable downward slant as he brooded on his defeat. The chance was so slim, so nearly non-existent that he couldn't even acknowledge it as being there at all. At least until Orion suddenly pulled him close, his face slamming against the taller man's chest and held there as he was embraced. Merope tensed up, unsure of where to go or what to do. Damian was hugging him. His face was pressed into Damian's chest; his scent surrounded him as his crush held him close and warmed him up. It was the place he had wanted to be for awhile. There were times when at night Carter would wake up to Damian's arm around him, holding him close before it suddenly left as the other man realized what was going on and retreated to the other side of the bed. Was it wrong to have taken a guilty pleasure in it? He would fully admit that at first it was weird. He even considered going back to the couch, but that would make Damian ask questions. It was far, far more easier to let it slide. A small secret shared between them, one that wasn't acknowledged at all.
Now? Merope slowly raised his arms and returned the hug, closing his eyes as Orion spoke. “Heh. Alive definitely counts for something,” he replied in a muffled voice. But was that it? He was alive, he was awesome – the compliment sank in. He was awesome. His stomach was twisting into knots, thrilled and nervous and scared all at once. He couldn't tell if the heartbeat he was hearing belonged to him or to Damain.
It was difficult to think where he was. He wanted to tell Damian that he'd do his best and that he'd try. He wanted to reassure him that it would be worth it. He wanted to tell him thank you. But where he was, Merope was content to simply stand there and lean against him. Everything felt like it would be okay.
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