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It was routine to be up at five but that didn't mean that Colin always wanted to get up that early; at the very least he didn't grump about it or whine unless he was really exhausted for some reason. Some days he woke before the Swede and others it was Björn that rose first; this was one of those mornings.

Björn's hand in his curls paired with the low, quiet question and lure of cocoa brought a sleepy smile to Colin's lips; he cracked one eye open blearily. "Hmmn...? Oh...G' Mornin'." He stretched and slowly sat up, reaching out to accept the cocoa gratefully. "Thanks." Colin smiled at his boyfriend over the rim of his cocoa cup; the question of him being awake wasn't really necessary - he was up. "How did you sleep?"

He would enjoy his hot drink while waking more fully, then set it aside in favor of getting ready for the day. Björn would be getting on a train later and Colin planned on going with him at least that far. A nice send-off, since he couldn't go with this time.

He was waking more and more, the hot cocoa doing a great deal towards his improved wakefulness. He cocked his head at the other blond, one eyebrow raised in surprise at Björn's answer. "You didn't sleep?" Colin frowned at him; that was extremely unusual...Björn rarely succumbed to insomnia though he sometimes needed help falling asleep (that was one of the nicest things about sharing a bed with a giant teddy-bear! It totally helped him sleep better).

"Are you nervous about your competition? Is that why you didn't sleep?" He didn't have to wait long to find out why Björn hadn't slept. He'd bumped into another Senshi and an alligator-like youma. "Oh..." As much as he could have asked a million questions about the Pepper-powered Senshi and the Youmalligator, he kept his mouth shut because the Swede looked like he had more to say. At least Björn wasn't sitting across from him or something, that would have sent off a lot of little alarm-bells - people always delivered bad news when they sat you down like that.

More? If any remnants of sleep had remained in the dancer, it left as his boyfriend admitted not only lying but to having been attacked by someone. That he later talked to. Apparently more than once and at length.

"I don't... I mean-- I can't believe you lied to me." He turned the now-empty cocoa cup round and round in his hands, looking down at it and trying to process everything - including the emotions the confession brought up. Björn had lied about being attacked to not worry him...which meant that the person doing the attacking was very likely from the Negaverse. It didn't sit well with the blond; his stomach rolled and he crunched the cup down before tossing it into the small trashcan next to the door. Lies he didn't like, but...Björn had done it to not worry him, which was really sort of sweet.

He sighed and ran one hand through his hair, "So...um...what did you and this guy talk about?" He was trying to not focus on being upset though his expression and slumped shoulders would clearly show it; trying to move on because it seemed these talks had something to do with why his boyfriend hadn't slept...and he really had needed his sleep last night.

Colin's shoulder's narrowed when told the Negaversian's name. General Obsidian? A general...well, he'd beaten that Lieutenant...so apparently they worked within a military-esque mean, so...that meant this Obsidian fellow was pretty high up in his faction. But he didn't say anything just yet, preferring to allow Björn to continue with his train of thought. A notebook - well worn and quite familiar to him by this point - came out; clearly that was where Björn had put all his information...everything that General Obsidian and Sailor Pomona had told him. Was Björn right to be worried that Obsidian might follow him to Colin...to Aegir? Yes, probably, but that didn't mean Colin was willing to let him go - unless the Swede really wanted, he wasn't about to give up. No one in the Negaverse was going to chase him away from his boyfriend, dammit!

"It's...amazing how their stories match up..." He sighed a little and rubbed at the back of his neck, "Castor told me almost nothing when I went to him...I mean, he told me about Princess Serenity and that we fought the Negaverse in her name, for the Earth...but that was about it before he disappeared. I can't believe they tried to get Castor - maybe they hurt him and that's why he's not answering. Either way...it doesn't change anything...I really did mean to talk to you more about that meeting...but there was so little to tell."

"Later, I met a girl, Sailor Navi of the Dark Mirror...she told me what Pomona and Obsidian told you, basically. But she and her comrades follow someone called Princess Ares and use mirrors or something to get around. She...also said I was an invader and shouldn't be here."

At that the blond sort of withdrew into himself a little bit, because he was still trying to get his brain wrapped around the whole...past life thing and what it meant for him and for Björn. "I didn't want to tell you...I still don't know how I feel about being an alien." Basically that was what he was. A reincarnated alien. How could he look at his mom or sister knowing that? How could he ask Björn to stay with him in a relationship knowing that he didn't really belong here on Earth?

"I'll call her then. You're right, the information is very important." He frowned and pushed at his eyes a little to keep himself from going all wobbly-eyed like a baby. "If what Sailor Navi said is right, then they're trying to protect the Earth...that's all I want to do." Colin looked up at Björn and smiled sadly, "Protect you and Mom and Miri...even my stupid cousin. If Pomona can tell me more, help me do that...then I have to talk to her." Oh s**t - wait. That last little bit: her planet was long ruined and without people? Did that mean that all of them were, or just hers? And why couldn't he remember anything? Was it because he'd never tried to, or something more sinister? Had he been brainwashed or something into losing them or something similar by the Negaverse or...by the Senshi? He didn't know, couldn't know without trying harder and doing some research into it.

"Would you come with me? To meet her, I mean...you don't have to, but I'd like it." And what about their relationship? Did Björn want to continue it or end it, knowing now that Colin was a space alien?

In the past, Colin hadn't shared much of his 'Senshi' business (beyond some of the battles he had during patrol or where/when he might be running around as Aegir) with his boyfriend. This wasn't due to his lacking faith in Björn's understanding but due to his wanting to keep the Swede as safe as possible via ignorance. Björn knew this because Colin had said as much on more than two occasions...at least, Colin had hoped that being kept in the dark would help keep him safe.

Apparently that was not the case. If anything, doing so had been detrimental to Björn and perhaps to their relationship too. "Yeah. I guess you're right." He tilted his head a little bit, "Mom even has a video to prove I was born here." Something he loathed walking in on her watching - who wanted to see their bald, baby-version squeezing out of your mother's lady-bits?

"Agreed. We definitely need to talk to her...if she knows of any Mauvian guardians we can talk to, that'd be good too. Otherwise I'll try to contact Derpraline and see who we can talk to there." Stories of corruption didn't sit well within Colin's chest...even if he'd never experienced it (or had he, long ago?) and didn't consciously know a lot about it...just the thought made his guts twist and his throat go dry. "It'd be good if she could tell me more about this reincarnation thing too...if I've got some sort of memories rattling around in here somewhere," the blond tapped his temple lightly, "Then I should try getting 'em back. Maybe it would help me figure out this Senshi business better."

Obsidian said Senshi would lay traps to remove enemies!? Bullshit! The Negaverse did that, not Senshi! Colin's first knee-jerk reaction to that statement was quite strong, but immediately he started thinking 'what-if'?. Did he really know? Maybe Obsidian was correct and some Senshi stooped to using the same nasty tricks that the Negaversian soldiers used.

"Yeah, dammit. I wish you weren't a target, but I kind of get it too." He reached over to touch Björn's muscular arm; sure the Negaverse would want a soldier that could break doors in half with his bare hands! An a**-kicking from Björn wasn't something you'd soon forget - hell, the Senshi should be so lucky to have him on their side too. "You're just so strong. Obsidian probably took one look at you and decided you'd be a great recruit. On either side, really."

With a slight-grumbling sound, Colin stretched again, trying to limber up his body for the day that was coming; he should probably get dressed, but...he didn't really want to move from his place next to his boyfriend. "Hell, you're already such a help to me...and you helped Sailor Pomona with the youma...you're only missing the outfit." Hearing the bigger blond saying that he wanted to learn more, to hear more so that he could help support him made Colin's sinking mood start an about-face. "Have I told you today that you're wonderful? Because you are. You find out I'm some sort of weird reincarnated alien and you still want to be with me. I wouldn't blame you if you didn't, but..."

Not for the first time Colin thought to himself that for a guy that liked to say he wasn't very smart (or that had grades like his), Björn could be really damned smart when it came to some things. Certainly he understood the various parts of their lives - from school to dating to this strange "War" between the Senshi and the Negaverse - far better than many in his situation might have; perhaps he understood it more than he himself did, in some aspects.

Colin took the paper when it was offered; the warmth of Björn's big paw transmitted through flesh and the stiff, thin paper, but didn't say anything until they were head-to-head and he was smiling gently at his boyfriend. "You...wonderful, crazy Swede--" What he felt after hearing all the other youth had to say was a tumultuous mix of gratitude, relief, happiness and that really cuddly-warm-fluffy feeling that made him want to blurt out sappy, lovey-dovey things. Luckily (or not, depending) the Swede finished his declaration with a forceful kiss that kept Colin from spewing "love-flavored verbal vomit" all over him, because as Björn was showing him: the rest really was easy.

Björn's mouth was hard against his, tasting of hot cocoa and that underlying something that was uniquely his; it was so easy to just melt into the kiss, to put his arms around his boyfriend's neck and angle his head so their noses didn't mash together and so they could breathe without breaking the kiss. So easy to let the paper with Pomona's number flutter from his fingers, momentarily forgotten, so he could wind his fingers into Björn's hair, blunt nails scraping his scalp lightly.

"I love you." Words slipped out, low tones carried to the intended recipient's ears on roughened breaths. Words accompanied by another kiss, just because it seemed the thing to do and Colin really enjoyed the feel of being crushed and kissed all at once.