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 Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2022 5:07 pm
The adrenaline had almost all but worn off by the time Aquamarine was helping him to a private room in the infirmary. Especially with the newly increased power, Jet felt shaky and exhausted. It was all so surreal still. He’d hoped for a pat on the back, maybe a pleased smile, but this?
He looked down at the dagger he still held in his hand, his own fingers wrapping around the hilt where his brother would have held it. But he knew there would be time for that later, so he dismissed it to his subspace and looked up at Aquamarine instead.
With his good eye. His other was still haphazardly wrapped, thanks to the vicious attack from Ganymede.
“I love you,” Jet said now that they were alone. He thought it would be okay, since Aquamarine had said it to him before they parted ways, and they hadn’t had much of a chance to talk until then. “Are you okay? Were you injured?”
As long as Aquamarine wasn’t too injured, Jet knew he would be able to rest easier.
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2022 5:26 pm
“Shut up.”
Aquamarine was running out of patience, or sanity, or both. He couldn’t afford emotions in the midst of battle, not when there was a Princess to capture. He couldn’t afford them in the throne room either, in front of the Queen and their comrades. He had to be calm and stoic, and calculating, to make up for Jet’s handicaps.
Jet, who was injured. Jet, who was tired. Jet, who was weak from days spent in captivity.
Jet, who was a General King.
Indeed, Aquamarine bypassed the large, open area that made up the main medical bay and brought Jet to a private room, where Jet could heal and rest comfortably without the nuisance of other people staring or gawking or moaning in pain.
Because he was a ******** General King.
“Get on the ******** bed,” Aquamarine said, and helped him onto it.
He ignored Jet’s questions. His own injuries, minimal as they were, were unimportant. Instead, Aquamarine went and found one of the medics, demanding that Jet receive all the necessary treatment.
Jet, who could have died.
Aquamarine stood to the side while the medic worked. He curled his fingers into his palms to stop his hands from shaking.
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2022 8:09 am
Even if Jet wanted to argue, he didn't think he had the energy to. Nor did he want to stress Aquamarine out more than he obviously already was. That didn't stop him from frowning sadly when he was told to shut up.
He let Aquamarine help him up onto the bed, which was… actually a very nice bed. Much nicer than the barebones, rotting room he'd been kept in. There were no icicles hanging from the metal grates either.
The medic was having trouble getting around all of Jet's new layers of uniform, so he did the easiest thing he could think of and powered down.
And in doing so, he felt as though a wave of energy left him, too. He felt suddenly heavy and lethargic and -- oh right, he'd been wearing a nice, deep teal knitted pullover that Lovely got for him at some point. Probably for Christmas, even though they never made a big deal about gifts.
Ilian struggled a little to get it over his head, but once it was off it was at least easier for the medic to get his shirt sleeve rolled up and an IV for fluids into his arm.
He still wanted to make sure Aquamarine was okay. He wanted to make sure the others were okay. But for now, all he could focus on was Aqua, and he continued to frown sadly at him when the medic left to get more blankets or something.
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Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2022 5:36 pm
Aquamarine waited, neatly trimmed nails digging into his palms, pressing progressively harder, until he couldn’t ignore the pain anymore and had to ease up. He watched the medic, made sure he wasn’t some fool med student without any sense in his head. Maybe they should have gone to the hospital instead. Maybe he should have demanded that Bloodstone treat ******** Bloodstone’s injuries, honestly. Jet was more important.
Some stitches, some bandages, an IV — Aquamarine held onto the last threads of his patience while Jet was taken care of. Ilian, because he powered down. It’d been so long since Aquamarine last saw him out of uniform that he forgot what Ilian was wearing, forgot what he looked like, almost, except that the bloody image of him always haunted his dreams.
The door shut behind the medic. Aquamarine jumped when it thumped closed. He inhaled sharply and pressed his nails into his palms again.
It didn’t help much. Not the pain, or any of the anger and annoyance he held onto in order to mask the fear he’d kept buried as far down as possible.
Aquamarine managed to keep it together for another twenty seconds or so, then dissolved into uncharacteristic tears.Guine Hit preview on this and was like "ugh what's wrong with this it doesn't look like Aquamarine at all" and then realized I'd accidentally put it in Ganymede's color.
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Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2022 7:23 pm
The tears were alarming, if only because Aquamarine was not someone who showed emotions so easily.
“Aqua,” he said softly, pushing himself up from the bed as much as he could without injuring himself more-- except he stopped and lowered himself back down after the pain in his chest made it too difficult to sit up.
“Hey, come here,” he tried to coax him by holding out his hand, trying to get him to move closer. In fact, Ilian shifted just a little bit so he could make more room on the bed. On the side without the IV.
“I’m sorry. I won’t do something like that again,” he promised, feeling guilty and wishing he knew what to say to help Aquamarine calm down and not upset him further.
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2022 11:32 am
Endless days of stress and fear and misery burst out of him with his tears. The release left Aquamarine breathless. He dragged air into his lungs, but it didn’t seem to be enough, so Aquamarine exhaled and tried again.
“You’ve could’ve—”
Died. Aquamarine couldn’t say it. He’d thought it often over the last several days, hurled the possibility at Ilian before the mission even began, but it never felt so real as it did now, with Ilian injured, and bleeding, and weak, just a man on a bed in the aftermath.
Aquamarine inhaled, exhaled, inhaled again. His efforts were too erratic to do much good.
He wiped a trail of hot tears off of his face, but they were quickly replaced. He pulled at the collar of his jacket, tugged it loose at his neck, did what he could to lessen the phantom grip suffocating him. Buttons loosen under shaking hands; thin chains snapped in his haste to remove them. Aquamarine pulled his jacket off and let it fall where he stood. Beneath the tight black shirt he wore beneath, his chest rose and fell rapidly.
Somehow, he managed to stumble his way to the bed. He saw nothing through the blur of tears, heard nothing beneath his own labored breathing, beneath the voiceless screaming in his head, the fury and the paranoia and whatever the ******** it was that made his heart ache so much.
His head found Ilian’s shoulder. His tears dampened Ilian’s neck.
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2022 6:52 pm
Aquamarine didn’t need to finish his sentence. Ilian knew. He felt the weight of Aqua’s panic and fear, just by listening to the way he breathed. Or tried to breathe. He wasn’t doing it very well.
Ilian couldn’t get up to comfort him. He had to wait until Aqua finally managed to make his way over to the bed. Ilian put his arm around him, pulling him closer and keeping him from rolling off the edge. He would scoot over a little more if he could manage it without disturbing Aqua.
He petted Aqua’s hair, he rubbed at his back. There were so many things that Ilian wanted to do to try and comfort him, but he was frustrated by how limited he was.
“I love you,” he said again, his voice barely a whisper. “I’m sorry. But I’m not going anywhere,” he promised. Thanks to Aquamarine and the others, they were successful in their mission.
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Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2022 7:32 am
The bed was narrow, with just enough room for one person. In the medical bay, even in this private room, there was no place for luxury. Officers came here for treatment, not for the comforts of home.
Aquamarine filled what little extra space there was for him, wedging himself between Ilian and the raised guard rail — hardly the most comfortable spot to have what probably amounted to a panic attack, but Ilian was there, which meant there was no other place Aquamarine wanted to be.
“Love you,” he wheezed, because Ilian said it again, and there was no one around to hear Aquamarine say it back. He was too overwhelmed for his usual disgust and reluctance to interfere. “I love you.”
He scrubbed at his face again, tugged at the collar of his black undershirt like loosening it might help the flow of air into his lungs. Nothing made a difference, not Ilian’s voice in his ear or Ilian’s fingers in his hair, not Ilian’s hand against his back. Aquamarine had no choice but to wait for the release of emotion to come to an end.
It took several minutes for his breathing to ease, then several more for the flow of tears to slow. By then, his head hurt and his chest ached and his nose was stuffed full of snot. Splotches of red stained his face where hot tears irritated the skin, where his hands kept rubbing, over and over like he could force it all away.
“You’re so stupid,” he said, but it wasn’t even half-hearted, just something to say to fill the silence and soothe the awkward feelings that always lingered in the aftermath, in the rare event that he cried.
Aquamarine sucked in another wet breath and pressed his face into Ilian’s neck.
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Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2022 9:01 am
Ilian was tired. He was still in a lot of pain. He just wanted to close his eyes and maybe sleep, now that he wasn’t freezing with festering wounds in a shitty little room and on a moldy, rotting mattress on an equally rusted and decaying bed frame.
But Aquamarine had always been incredibly important to him, and he was worried about him. He felt guilty for putting him through so much heartache, so much fear and uncertainty. Most of the time, he would say Aquamarine was more important to him than the Negaverse itself, but that was also why he wanted the Negaverse to thrive and grow and be something they could both be proud to serve.
He did things for the Negaverse that Aquamarine didn’t want him to do, but in doing so, they were able to keep the White Moon from hurting them further. For the moment.
“I know,” he agreed, still rubbing his back. He shifted a little so he could -- nope, he wasn’t going to try and rest on his side. That was a bad idea. So he reached over to place his hand against Aquamarine’s waist. It was easier to use his arm that Aqua wasn’t laying on.
He rubbed up and down his side in what he hoped was a comforting manner, and if he happened to lower his hand a little further… well, if he could be light and teasing about things, it meant he was going to be okay, right? So Aqua should be happy. Maybe. Or he would fuss at him for copping a feel.
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Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2022 10:14 am
Some other time, Aquamarine might have hit him for it — smacked his chest, or flicked a finger at Ilian’s nose, or punched him in the gut. Even if he didn’t mind it. Even if he secretly liked the attention. Ilian wouldn’t get that confession from him; he probably didn’t need it anyway.
With Ilian injured, there wasn’t much Aquamarine could do except lift his head and glare.
But that brought the bandaging over Ilian’s eye into sharp focus.
Aquamarine sniffled. His menacing frown eased away before it fully formed. He wiped a few more tears off of his face, then powered down so the rest of his uniform disappeared, leaving him in the jeans and hoodie he wore the last time he existed as himself — days ago, maybe more than a week; he’d lost count. Gentle fingers rose to Ilian’s jaw, up his cheek, edging close to the bandages, though he avoided touching them.
“That b***h ******** up your face,” Lovely said, voice low and thick through a tight throat.
Ilian looked terrible — bloodied and bruised and unshaven, tired and unsteady. He shouldn’t have fought at all, should’ve left everything to Lovely, to Aquamarine, who would’ve caught the Princess himself if he had to.
He would do anything Ilian asked of him, even if he hated every second of it.
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Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2022 10:38 am
Without any real retaliation, Ilian should clearly take advantage of Aquamarine’s -- no, Lovely’s generosity. But instead he just watched as the uniform faded away.
He held still as Lovely inspected him, as he let his fingers touch Ilian’s jaw and cheek. Ilian wasn’t happy about what happened to his face. He still didn’t know for sure if he would still have his eye, or if Ganymede managed to damage it enough that he wouldn’t be able to use it.
There were others in the Negaverse, and even in the White Moon, that didn’t have their eyes thanks to the war, but Ilian was disappointed if he ended up joining that group. If only because he didn’t want one more thing to worry about. One more thing for Lovely to worry about.
“We cut off her wings,” Ilian reminded him. Not because it was any great comparison, but if he could distract Lovely, that would be good enough. “You were pretty amazing tonight. You know you could have brought her in, yourself,” he told him. From the Queen’s words and actions, Ilian was fairly certain that she would have done the exact same thing no matter who was holding Ganymede at the time of their return.
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Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2022 11:27 am
There would be no distracting Lovely. His fingers traced patterns over Ilian’s face, skirting around the bandages. He followed the path of Ilian’s nose, thumbed at the stubble along Ilian’s jaw, swept the matted curls off of Ilian’s forehead.
“I wouldn’t have brought her in,” Lovely confessed, fixing Ilian with a significant stare. “I would have killed her there.”
He’d thought about it, for a split second. When the jagged edge of Ganymede’s glass shoe dragged down Jet’s face, Aquamarine nearly plunged his dagger into her neck instead of her shoulder. Perhaps there was little that would repair the damage she’d done, but the warm spray of her blood might have been satisfactory retribution all the same. To see the light fade from her eyes, her broken body enveloped by a pool of her own blood, her loved ones weeping...
Lovely pressed a kiss to Ilian’s mouth, then his nose, then his forehead, supporting as much of his own weight as he could, wary of aggravating Ilian’s wounds.
“This was your mission. Ganymede was your prize. And—” A pause, to place another kiss on Ilian’s mouth. Lovely held it longer than he intended and lost his train of thought. When he spoke again, their lips brushed with each word. “You’re a General King.”
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Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2022 6:00 pm
Ilian let his eye close for the moments when Lovely traced over his face, his other already covered from the bandages. A smile tugged at his lips when he felt the kisses, but it was Lovely’s words that had him opening his good eye again. He tried to search Lovely’s face, tried to decipher his expression, before he leaned up as best he could to kiss him back.
“I wouldn’t have made it out without you,” he admitted. He couldn’t have done it without the others keeping everyone else distracted either, but Lovely was there now. Lovely was always there for him. He’d never left his side since rescuing him the first time the White Moon took him prisoner.
Ganymede hadn’t been so much of a prize as she had been a gift to the Queen. Even though the Queen told him his modesty was unnecessary, he still felt the pull of not wanting to take credit for something that was a joint effort. He had to be the one to be captured. It wouldn’t have worked any other way. He had the earring Lovely lent him, given to him by Axinite. He had Arles, who without they wouldn’t have been able to properly search for their device.
But Lovely was right. He was a General King and… he wasn’t sure how to feel about it yet. Honored, certainly. He felt as though with this power he could do more than just grit his teeth and watch things happen.
“Thank you for believing in me, all these years.” Even if this was something they’d never imagined… Well, he had trouble imagining it, but Lovely had suggested it before…
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2022 9:33 am
Lovely pulled back to study Ilian’s face.
Promoting Jet was one of the few good things the Queen had ever done. Months ago, when they stood in the throne room among her most trusted, two of thirteen out of the entirety of the Negaverse, Aquamarine almost thought it a farce, a joke of cosmic proportions. Jet’s presence was the only thing that made sense; if there was ever to be another General Sovereign, who better than him? There was no one as loyal as Jet, no one as dedicated as Jet, no one as willing to sacrifice themselves to save this s**t organization and every whiney a** b***h in it, except perhaps the Queen.
If he was less tired, if he was more stable emotionally, if Ilian wasn’t sick and injured, Lovely might have reveled in the fact that he was right. Jet was a General King. That was worthy of celebration.
Instead, Lovely fought the relieved smile that twitched onto his face and said, with poorly disguised fondness, “Don’t be so disgusting. I still think you’re an idiot.”
He stole one more kiss, then tucked himself close, resting his head on the pillow beside Ilian. Lovely sucked in a deep breath of air and released it in a heavy sigh into Ilian’s neck.
The bed was too cramped to offer much comfort. Even so, Lovely had no intention of moving.
“Never ask me to do that again,” he said.
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Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2022 1:45 pm
Ilian forced a sigh as Lovely tucked himself against him, relishing in the kiss he was given before doing so. The insults Ilian knew weren't meant that way.
He'd been with Lovely for so long that he wasn't offended by rude comments being thrown around. If Lovely wasn't insulting him, then maybe he would be concerned.
"I won't," he said quietly as he let himself close his good eye. It would take some time for him to heal completely, and he had no idea what would be in store for them, but they would find out soon he suspected.
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