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 Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2022 5:28 pm
Faustite hadn't seen Celadonite in some time. While Celadonite never seemed particularly dismayed by his duties, his superiors, or his place in the Negaverse, Faustite's hackles had been raised by the absence. Nembus did the same when she vanished, and Ilse, too, and he could not stand for one of his boys to show up on the other side the way that his girls had.
For weeks, he was stayed by the thought of encountering what he had at Ilse's, getting run through by some egregious Knight, and kidnapped off to a nowhere land in the sky. Each time he considered visiting Lionel, his thoughts wandered back to those terrible moments, and his concentration scattered so much that he couldn't piece together the visual of that picturesque house in his picturesque neighborhood. Sometimes he wondered if that was simply intrusive, and he let that thought dissuade him before he was reminded, again, of Ilse and Lysithea. Other times he simply started to cry, and went to bed shortly thereafter.
That day, after two cups of tea with brandy, he finally made his way to the house. A well-kept one story affair, he liked it for how easy it would be to slip inside if he had to, or escape if he must. Having donned his glamour three houses away, it was Eion who approached the front of the house.
Eion reached the stoop. He considered knocking, but as he reached with a jacketed arm to do so, his hesitance arrested him. Then the youth stepped off the stoop, hugging his tailored jacket close to himself as if a breeze caught him, and circled around to the side yard.
He tried each window he passed, and each was locked. Then, on an errant thought, he tried the side door, and felt it twist willingly in his grasp. Pressing his shoulder against the door, he leveraged his weight against it as he trespassed as softly as the pale youth could muster.
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Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2022 5:29 pm
There were times when Lionel knew he was pushing his luck by avoiding powering up. There were times when he knew all of this fashion design was going to bite him in the a** but…truth be told…
He was running out of time, and the fact that he would have only a few short hours each day to work on his projects or talk with clients meant that he had to get all of his owed work finished and out now…notwithstanding the fact that he didn’t know how becoming a half youma would change him.
If he did end up like Faustite, if he was all flames and heat, unable to touch things without setting them on fire as well…that would mean his design dreams were out the window completely…and it would be worth it, that wasn’t something that bothered him, because it would be worth it to bring peace and comfort to Faustite at times that he thought he wouldn’t have any but. If that ended up being the case, he wouldn’t be able to work.
The silly hamster clothes for Steve had been taking up a surprising amount of time, but he had a whole wardrobe ready to surprise Andy with. Steve deserved to look good, and maybe if he were a dressed, upstanding hamster citizen, Andy wouldn’t be punished for having a pet.
Right now his project was jackets for the rest of the team. Faustite had his, but now Lionel wanted to give everyone something. If they had ties to the team in their everyday lives…maybe it would encourage them to stay. If everyone stayed, then Faustite wouldn’t get so upset again that people had left.
He sighed, leaning back against the couch, his sketchpad in hand as he tried to think of some kind of a design for Lilith. Unlike most of the designers that he knew, designs for girls never came as easily.
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Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2022 5:32 pm
Eion tried not to make a habit of trespassing — it was something he remembered was rude, and he supposed breeching trust with his team would encourage them to leave, or seek a transfer. But here he was, setting foot in a house that wasn't his, to try to track someone that he had no business tracking, all based on the twisting feeling in his stomach that grew with the length of Celadonite's absence.
So he wandered the place. Peeked in a couple rooms, wandered the hall, found a bathroom. Only when he poked his head into a workspace did he spy a head of hair, sagged against a couch.
The room lacked the smell of decay, so Lionel hadn't passed away as reason for his absence. And he still lived in the same house, and Eion recognized that shade of color as belonging to him, so that must have meant that he didn't purify yet. But he still wasn't showing up to meetings, so… Did Eion catch him before it was too late?
Stepping into the room, Eion remembered to make himself known. "Lionel?" He called as he approached.
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Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2022 5:34 pm
Lionel hadn’t been expecting anyone in the house, so when he heard Eion’s voice, he jumped slightly and glanced over, giving an incredulous grin. “Hey stranger. Did I leave the door unlocked? That’s super safe of me.”
The idea of a break…the idea of seeing Eion was such a good one, and he put down his sketchbook on the side table and stood up, moving to hug the male. Surely he wouldn’t mind too much. He had made the effort to come and see him after all. It just made sense that he would be okay with some physical affection.
Eion always seemed to like physical affection.
“Is everything okay? What’s up? Did you just miss me?” There was a teasing note to his voice and he pressed his face into Eion’s hair, sighing happily with the very feel of him. “...It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” How long…had it been since he had seen his General. Oh. This….put a new spin on things. Had he been so invested in getting his things together that he had missed out on information he should have known?
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Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2022 5:35 pm
"Haven't seen you in a ******** age," he murmured as he slipped his arms around his boy. Felt good to be near, to recognize him, to know that Lionel was still happy to see him and didn't act like he'd been getting away with something, or like he'd been hiding out and avoiding the Negaverse. "Started to wonder if you died, or worse."
Eion pulled away only enough to seize the boy's face in his hands, while he stood on his toes enough to kiss him with all the depth of his yearnings. Even if it only lasted a minute, He pressed within it a storm of feelings. Then he could relax back into the hug, if only to assure himself that Lionel was still there, still real, still loyal enough to say hello to his General when his General broke into his house through an unlocked side door unannounced. Which was more than he could have said for Ilse, or Nembus.
"Missed you, Lie." He breathed a sigh against soft cloth.
"Why've you been so absent? What're you doing?"
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Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2022 5:35 pm
The kiss was perfect, as all of Eion’s kisses were, but it was broken far too quickly, and Lionel gave a wistful sigh. “I know, I’ve been so busy with work…I…you’re going to make fun of me, but I made friends with one of the aliens and got him a hamster…and I ended up making the hamster a whole ******** wardrobe. It’s…eaten all of my time. That and I’m working on jackets for the rest of our team. I figured.” He shrugged and drew Eion onto the couch, laying down and drawing the boy on top of him.
“I figured if everyone had sexy jackets, they would think of us, of you all the time. And it would just. Reinforce the fact that they belong here. Might…be the one thing that keeps them if they ever start wavering, you know?”
Lionel threaded his fingers through Eion’s hair and pressed a kiss to his jaw. “I haven’t even realized how much time has passed. But…I’m really glad you came to see me. I’ll give you a key to my place, feel free to visit whenever, yeah? If I get too caught up, please visit me.”
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Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2022 5:37 pm
He was happy to be dragged to the couch, pulled atop it like a throw, and he laid atop his boy with only his arms holding him up. Lionel, for as terribly adorable and irresistible he could be, suffered from the same flaws as everyone else on his team. Those flaws, Eion was left to conclude, were how he drew people to himself.
"Few screws loose, just like the rest," he responded in tease, and stole another kiss from the boy. Something slow, something drawn out as long as it took to spell 'stay with me' across the boy's lips in tongue and fervor. Brave of him to have considered his own solutions to the problem of people vacating his team, and all the more adorable that he showed that same passion for something as preposterous as hamster clothes.
How the ******** did one make clothes for hamsters, anyway? Furry little s**t machines were hardly better than cats.
He settled upon Lionel nicely, his chin atop a brace of latticed hands as they rested on the boy's chest. He smiled, though it was a wistful, fleeting thing. "Give me a key and I'll never leave you be. Ask Albite." As if he needed a key for how that boy so carelessly teleported in and out of his own home. Like no one would put that together.
"Much happened while you made hamster clothes. Was working on an investigation. Got some critical information, but… Involves returning to the Rift. Think you'd rather stay and finish a hamster wedding dress, for as long as it may take."
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Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2022 5:38 pm
“Bold of you to think that you never leaving me be is something that I want. If I give you a key I hope you use it. That’s the whole point.” Lionel chuckled softly and ran his hand up and down Eion’s back, humming thoughtfully. “Ah the RIft. My favorite place in the world.” He fell quiet, thoughtful for a moment. If things went the way they were suppose to…he supposed that it would end up being a place in the world that he liked…it would be…home, wouldn’t it?
Lionel gave a heavy sigh, shaking his head and pulling Eion impossibly closer.
“I need to be stronger to be able to help any of you in the Rift. I don’t want to be a useless lump, but I know I am, Ei.” He sighed and closed his eyes. “Obviously I’m an even worse useless lump now that you had to come and hunt me down. I’m not always going to be a slacker, I swear.”
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Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2022 5:41 pm
"If you want to be stronger, get promoted. Can't put you forward for hamster clothes, though." He reached out at the thought of them, and plucked one up off the table. Dapper things, they were — like doll's clothes, but stocky and wide. He tried to imagine a hamster's furry arm thrust through the jacket sleeve, but became perplexedly sidetracked on how one would dress a hamster in the first place.
"Keep on your quota. Glean extra." Eion set the hamster jacket back on the table. "Keep following orders. Jump in on some simple missions — help Valjean with the conscription deal he gave to a White Moon, if he's open to it. File Database entries. Raise money for operations through your clothing endeavors. Any of these things will put you on track for promotion.
"Then you won't be useless in the Rift."
He smiled a margin devilishly, kicking his sneakers off as he spoke. "Imagine it: you, a Captain, escorting your superior around the Rift. Defending him from hungry youma that want their claws in that fat hole in his chest. Savior, subordinate, and chauffeur, all in one," he finished, touching a finger to Lionel's chest with each point of declaration.
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Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2022 5:46 pm
“You could put me forward for hamster clothes. You’re just afraid to because you think it’ll make you look bad. I know your tricks.” Lionel laughed softly, but had to admit, the picture that he painted sounded lovely.
“I really am glad you were able to bring him in. I know he had such a nice butt. I’m glad it’s finally on the right side of things. But, yeah. I’m good with all of that. I can do the escorting. Someone on this team needs to be able to escort everyone into the rift. Really, Ei, you need more agents and less senshi.”
Not that he was complaining. It made him special. And soon enough…he would be even more special. And Faustite would never be able to forget him.
It wasn’t the only reason he was doing this. Not the only reason he was wanting to go through with his plan but…it helped. A lot.
“I’ll make sure to go out soon to see that my quotas get all filled. I have been keeping up with those at least. Promise.” Grinning suddenly, Liionel reached up and flicked his nose lightly. “Are you here to give me a reward for being so good?”
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Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2022 5:49 pm
"I'd get laughed out of the Dark Kingdom for my lack of business sense," he corrected, which seemed accurate enough. He was fifteen when he youmafied, and his head was always somewhere in the pages of a book, or a show. What would he know about what's valuable and what's not, what's marketable and what's going to sit on a shelf forever? He knew Lionel was jesting, but it felt far too easy to capitalize on his own shortcomings.
And he laughed, openly, when Lionel segued into Valjean's best assets. Lecherously objectifying a teammate was a terrible thing, but Lionel spoke the truth. He did have a nice butt, and while his a** wasn't what earned him a spot on the Negaverse's roster, it was a quality a** to put in a seat on their team.
Eion sighed as he draped over the boy's chest. "Wish I had more agents. Senshi look like ******** snack machines with their starseeds on display like that. Too much temptation…"
But Celadonite didn't have that problem — his starseed was concealed behind cloth, skin, and bone. When he earned a promotion, he would have a real weapon, too — the first on the team to have something of lethal value. For while Faustite was a youma of soot and fire, he lacked having any sort of elegant lethality at his fingertips. He would be no Ashanite, or Bloodstone, or Jet. But Celadonite —
Eion recoiled reflexively when his nose was flicked, and his thoughts for the future scattered. He looked down at an insistent boy, and he returned the grin with far more mischief than generosity. "For doing half your job and ghosting me? ******** no.
"Rewarding myself for checking in on you," he finished, as if there was such a difference between the two, as he leaned in to shut Lionel up for a solid two hours.
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