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 Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2021 6:58 pm
Backdated to late September. Takes place directly after The Chosen.
At home, they barely made it through the door before they were all over one another. Practically glued together, they stumbled their way up to bed, the path littered with discarded clothing.
Later, before sleep could claim either one of them, Lovely stared at Ilian through the dim lamplight, studying all the well-known features of his face.
The hour was late, the house dark, the neighborhood quiet but for the rustle of leaves and the creaking of branches in the breeze. As it was still too early in the season to put the heat on, there was a chill in the bedroom, raising goosebumps along Lovely’s bare skin. The tangled bedding did little to keep him warm.
“What are you thinking?” Lovely asked.
It seemed like such an inane question, would have been if they’d had the chance to discuss any of it before now.
The Queen. The throne room. The mission.
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Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 9:19 am
Ilian was still trying to wrap his mind around everything. Aliens from another planet were on Earth. The Queen had thought the thirteen she’d called to her were the most qualified for the task she had for them — to know about these aliens, and to gather energy to prepare for whatever it was they might face.
He was also still thinking about Lovely, and how being with him always left him wanting for more.
Laid out on his back, Ilian had one arm tucked under his head; his other hand, already closest to Lovely, was stretched out and resting against Lovely’s hip, fingers gently drawing unknown shapes against his skin.
“I think there has to be something more going on than just… blindly preparing and observing,” he frowned, lightly scratching his nails against Lovely’s skin, before going back to drawing shapes. “I think the Queen knows more than she’s letting on. I also can’t believe that she actually trusts everyone there. There has to be a catch, or… maybe she’s using it as a way to fish out a mole. Maybe there aren’t aliens, but she wants to see who’s going to blab first.”
He shrugged, because he was just speculating. He had no idea what was going to happen, or who was actually loyal and who wasn’t.
“What are you thinking?” he asked in turn, because it was only fair.
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Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 9:19 am
“Same as you, more or less,” Lovely said.
He propped himself up on his elbow to get a better look at Ilian’s face. Most of the frustration that characterized Ilian’s mood as they left the throne room was gone, but some tension still lingered around his eyes. Lovely reached out to him, and mirrored the movement of Ilian’s fingers on his hip with the tips of his own against Ilian’s chest.
The bed was in disarray, their pillows scattered, the duvet half beneath them. Every shift along the mattress, every adjustment of their bodies sent the topsheet sliding further off the side.
Lovely inched closer, sharing Ilian’s body heat.
“Are we really the best they’ve got?” he continued, speaking the thoughts he’d had in the throne room into existence. “Me. General sleeps-through-meetings. Dickhead who can’t differentiate between a Squire and a Knight. Ben. Some guy who looks like a serial killer. The twelve-year-old Rift monster. You. That b***h corrupt Senshi. Jafar. Some guy with purple hair; who even was that arrogant p***k? Rift starseed guy. Lollipops. And the traitor.”
He tapped a finger against Ilian’s chest for each name recited, all thirteen of them. Thirteen out of the entire organization. Surely if this was truly such an important mission to the Queen and to the Negaverse as a whole, agents from out of town would have been brought in to assist if they were better suited for it.
“The only one who had any business being there was you,” Lovely concluded.
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Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 9:23 am
He was silent as he listened to Lovely’s recounting of the thirteen best, but it didn’t sit well with him. For multiple reasons -- “That’s a little racist,” was one muttered comment, even as he held back an amused grin at everything else.
As for the rest of why it didn’t sit well with him-- There were some agents who had been around for forever, and some that were newer and maybe rose quickly through the ranks. But the more Ilian thought about it, the more he wondered if Lovely was right.
What had the others actually done? Benitoite had been basically called out by the Queen for the stunt he pulled during Operation Firepit. Rakovinite ended up getting a bunch of people killed in the Rift when he pulled out a starseed after being told not to bring any with them. Sylvite had a Senshi Corrupted, who later turned traitor and purified. Wolframite had turned traitor and purified, only to come crawling back with his literal tail between his legs. Arsenopyrite was an apparent narcoleptic. Ashanite was a textbook narcissist. Faustite, he swore, tried to sabotage himself. Kamacite looked like he would blow over with a strong wind. The others he didn’t know enough about to have an opinion on, which was probably worse because he just never realized they were actually around.
“Be careful. Whatever we end up doing. I don’t trust the others not to stab us in the back at this point.” Not all of them, but most he wouldn’t put it past them, especially if it meant they didn’t have someone calling them out for their bullshit.
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Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 9:26 am
Lovely took the hasty reprimand in stride. He’d done worse in his life than refer to someone as a Disney villain.
Anyway, there were more important matters to discuss.
“No one knows me well enough to want to stab me in the back.” Unlike Ilian, who tended to take the lead more often. “If anything, you’re the one with the target on your back. Bunch of useless ******** don’t like getting tattled on. If any of them get close enough to try it, I’ll slit their ******** throats.”
By Lovely’s steely-eyed expression, Ilian would know he was serious. The rest of the Negaverse, its goals and its missions, its people — those were only important to Lovely because they were important to Ilian. He’d sacrifice all of them if that was what it took to ensure Ilian’s survival. At this point, there wasn’t much he wouldn’t do. Slitting a few throats might even be exhilarating, so long as they were the right throats, traitors and backstabbers most of all.
The smile that crawled across Lovely’s face was completely at odds with the threat. In the lamplight, his expression grew soft. He leaned over Ilian to look into his eyes, bringing his hand up to Ilian’s face.
“Who do you think’s next in line?” he whispered, despite the fact that they were alone. “If Lepidolite dropped dead tomorrow, who’d replace him? Do you think they’d bring someone in from out of town again, or promote one of us? I would’ve thought Ben, maybe, since he’s been around so long, but then the Queen stared right at him and brought up his homicidal tendencies.”
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Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 9:31 am
He wasn’t really sure what to think about Lovely’s admittance to how he would kill anyone who tried to attack him.
“Jeez, Love,” he breathed, but he could feel heat pool into his cheeks as Lovely stared at him.
Of course Ilian knew he was serious. Lovely had always been serious when it came to him. He broke into his apartment to try and make sure he was okay, and then went to find him when it was clear he’d been missing. No one else had thought to do that for him.
But the smile that found its way onto Lovely’s face had his cheeks flush darker. He wasn’t sure how Lovely always seemed to have a way of disarming him, but the question caught him off guard.
“Next in line?” he repeated, as though he needed to have it processed in his head for a moment. He smoothed his hand against Lovely’s side, but with how he’d rolled closer, Ilian pulled it away so he could slide it under Lovely instead, fingers drawing invisible notes across his back.
“He’s so outdated with how he wants things done,” Ilian sighed in response to Lovely’s comment about Benitoite. “He thinks we’re some evil organization out to murder the innocent. I talked to Axinite about it. People who’ve been around for so long, or who had others teaching them outdated practices — like I’m pretty sure is the case with Faustite — they’ve lost sight of our objective. I know, I know I don’t need to convince you of anything,” he frowned, because it was something Lovely often said when he got a bit passionate about things.
“We’ve got actual ******** aliens on Earth, in Destiny City, not just Senshi… And Benitoite talks about hunting like he’s out to murder anyone who crosses his path. If they needed to, they’d have to bring in someone new.”
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Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 9:34 am
Lovely drew the tips of his fingers over the side of Ilian’s face, down to his jaw, playing through the stubble he sometimes grew. The hair came and went depending on Ilian’s mood. It was a look Lovely needed time to get used to once the attractiveness of it actually dawned on him, but he found he didn’t dislike it.
When Ilian finished his spiel, Lovely leaned down and pressed a soft kiss against his lips.
“There were other choices,” he observed, staring into Ilian’s eyes again. “Thirteen to pick from. Well, twelve. No one in their right mind would make me a General King.”
How he’d proven himself trustworthy enough for the mission in the first place, Lovely had no idea. More than likely, he benefited from his partnership with Ilian. His successes were Ilian’s successes, and Ilian’s successes cast a positive light on him in return. Beyond that, he kept his head down, followed orders, did his work without drawing too much unnecessary attention to himself, and disposed of their enemies whether or not he cared much for the world they were supposed to be protecting.
Lovely was no leader, but he could follow with the right person guiding the way.
“Half the time we were in the throne room, I kept thinking something wasn’t right, the thirteen of us couldn’t possibly be the best. I thought it must have been a test, or we were being used for the mission because we were expendable, and maybe that would be true about anyone else in there, but I don’t think it’s true about you.
“The things we do…” Lovely continued, hand drifting higher, pushing dark curls off of Ilian’s forehead, “There isn’t much space for heroism. Most agents don’t even try. They use the power and the opportunities they’ve been given as an excuse for cruelty against people who aren’t even our enemies. Even I would, if given the chance, if someone gave me the right reason. But you…”
Lovely paused to steal another kiss. When he drew away this time, he lowered himself over Ilian, dropping his head onto Ilian’s shoulder.
“Out of all of us, not just the thirteen in the throne room, but everyone... You’re the only one I could ever see as heroic, at least as far as what you’re fighting for, what you’re willing to sacrifice.”
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Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 9:38 am
As Lovely settled against him, Ilian coiled his arm around his waist, pulling him closer. He tilted his head just enough so he could rest his cheek against Lovely’s head. But Lovely’s comment made him laugh softly.
“I think you have a pretty biased opinion of me,” he couldn’t help but smile, even if he thought Lovely wasn’t giving some of the others enough credit. Not that he could think of many others who had ever been heroic.
“I’m sure most people in the Negaverse don’t think heroism is what we should aspire to,” he pointed out. “It feels like a free-for-all sometimes. You’re right, most don’t try. They just do what they want, when they feel like it, because they feel like it. I don’t think that’s why Sorin was a part of this. I can’t imagine my brother wanting to be part of an organization that preyed on the defenseless when he and I were the defenseless.”
It wasn’t often that he spoke of his brother, but Lovely had at least met him on a few occasions, especially when Sorin would go to Ilian’s piano recitals.
“But do you think that’s really what the Negaverse wants? Heroism? I know the Queen told Benitoite to cool his head, but what if that’s the kind of attitude that Metallia wants? If it would help the Negaverse survive,” he wondered, frowning as he did so, but he turned his head enough to be able to kiss the top of Lovely’s hair.
“Thank you for always supporting me. I think you would be a fine General King, by the way.”
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Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 9:40 am
Lovely snorted. If either of them had a biased opinion of the other, it was Ilian. Lovely’s redeeming qualities were few. He made no effort to endear himself to people, and rarely cared when that led others to assume a negative view of him.
How Ilian even put up with him, Lovely would never know.
“Honestly? I think Metallia wants different things from different people, otherwise half these ******** wouldn’t even be alive right now. It’s either that, or she doesn’t actually pay as much attention as the higher ups want us to think.”
If Metallia and the Negaverse actually prided themselves on the strength, skill, and intellect of their forces, some of their fellow agents wouldn’t have been recruited in the first place.
Lovely knew why it happened: opportunism. Officers corrupted without regard for anything but bolstering their numbers. They brought in idiot after idiot simply to have more warm bodies. The lucky ones died before the wonder and adrenaline wore off, before they realized they were nothing more than pawns. The rest drowned in bitterness or turned traitor to escape. Few of them actually cared about the Negaverse’s objective, and the ones who did were weak to their baser urges; they craved slaughter and discord more than they craved victory.
Ilian was different. He joined for revenge and, in the absence of that, pushed himself to become the best he could at the one thing he had left of his brother, in an effort to make the Negaverse worthy of that loss.
“When it comes to who our leaders should be,” Lovely continued, nuzzling into Ilian’s neck, placing slow, lazy kisses against warm skin, “what you have to offer would go further than all the arrogant posturing some of those ******** do. They use their power and become worse people than they would have been without it. You become better. If we want the people of Earth to take our cause seriously and see the White Moon as the enemy, we have to be better.”
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Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 9:44 am
Ilian heard everything Lovely was saying, but the meaning behind the words was a bit muddled. It was really, really distracting for Lovely to be kissing his neck while talking to him. Ilian was vaguely aware that Lovely was suggesting he might become more with more power.
He had to pull back a little bit so he could see Lovely’s face, his own brows furrowed as he tried to decipher the words between the pleasing sparks each kiss sent through him.
“You really think I have enough to offer?” he asked, and stared at Lovely. But obviously he’d heard what Lovely said, and he frowned. Because that was a lot to digest, and even if he thought maybe, maybe Lovely had a point, there were still others who were better qualified. Right? There had to be.
“I do want the people of Earth to take us seriously, but you know how I am. I don’t always think before I jump, I rush into trouble and you have to come save me. You had to rescue me after I was kidnapped, Love. And I’m sure the other Generals aren’t happy that I keep reporting the problems I see.”
Axinite said he saw them more as concerns than as complaints, but Ilian doubted other agents would think of it that way.
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Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 9:54 am
Lovely glanced up at Ilian to meet his bewildered stare. His own gaze was direct and purposeful, earnest, almost burning with ambition.
After becoming a Captain, Lovely stopped caring about ascending to great heights; all the zeal he once had to acquire power and use that power to acquire more power was tempered by the realization that the Negaverse wasn’t as illustrious and proficient as they claimed to be. Ilian had to argue the merits of becoming more, had to convince him to accept a promotion to General. Whatever Ilian said to the contrary, Lovely was not suited for leadership.
But he would do everything in his power to see Ilian have what he desired. If that was power, Lovely would help him gain it. If that was revenge, Lovely would help him achieve it. If that was peace, Lovely would put down his sword and give him peace.
“Maybe if some of the other Generals weren’t worse than s**t, you wouldn’t have to keep reporting their s**t to Axinite,” he said. “If they’ve got a problem with it, they can step up and do better, or they can shut the ******** up and consider themselves fortunate their starseeds aren’t being harvested as tribute.”
He paused to stretch, and in doing so plastered the entire length of his body against Ilian. Even mid conversation, it hadn’t escaped his notice that Ilian got distracted.
Lovely rolled himself half on top of him, straddling a thigh, folding his arms over Ilian’s chest to bear some of his weight. His lips twitched into a smirk.
“None of them deserve you.”
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