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 Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2023 6:59 pm
Backdated to the same evening as this RP. They wrapped up their work for the evening, then teleported to Earth, powered down in the shadows, and grabbed dinner at one of their favorite lowkey restaurants. Lovely celebrated with a few drinks. Not that he wouldn’t have ordered some anyway, but three was more than he usually got over dinner, so that classified it as a celebration in his mind. Afterwards, they walked home hand in hand; Lovely leaned into Ilian a bit more than he would have if he hadn’t been drinking.
It wasn’t until they were safely behind closed doors that they could talk freely. Lovely plopped down on the end of their bed and tugged off his shoes, tossing them to the side without really caring where they landed.
“Does she say it to everyone?” he asked without bothering to explain who she was. “That she’s come to expect great things from them? I don’t think I could bear it if I’m the only one getting praise like that now that you and Faustite are… you know… grand and glorious or ******** knew he should be happy that his proposal had been implemented, and he was, but he found himself more contemplative than smug at the moment. Maybe the drinks had mellowed him out.
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Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2023 7:30 pm
Ilian snorted quietly in amusement at Lovely’s question and comments. He was in a good mood. Proud of everything Lovely had accomplished. Not just because the Queen recognized his efforts, but because Lovely decided to reach out and do something that he felt needed to be done.
How different would their lives have been had they been getting extra compensation when they first started out? Maybe they wouldn’t have had to work so hard at keeping themselves fed. Maybe they could have afforded a better place sooner. Maybe they could have skipped working full time and instead gone to school.
It didn’t matter what could have been, only what was possible now.
“Of course she says that to everyone,” he grinned, although maybe he was teasing a little. “That would be pretty shitty for her to say she didn’t expect great things from someone. Like, wow, way to not motivate someone.”
Ilian had already kicked off his shoes as they entered the room. Unlike Lovely, he nudged both his and Lovely’s shoes to the side so they weren’t tripping over them later. His shirt was the next to come off, except he actually wore a button down instead of a teeshirt.
Something about being a General King made him feel like he should maybe present himself a little better. Just in case. He certainly didn’t want to end up in some weird dimensional rift in his pajamas. Again.
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Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2023 7:52 pm
“Ha ha,” Lovely said, unamused. His petulant frown was interrupted by a yawn. “You know what I mean,” he added halfway through, leaving the comment a bit garbled. “Should I be worried that I’ve drawn attention to myself by giving a s**t for once? I don’t want another ******** promotion.”
He was only half serious. Lovely thought there must be other candidates for the honor, assuming it ever happened again. With the rate the White Moon had been getting more of their own royals recently, he wouldn’t be surprised if Metallia decided beefing up their own ranks was in order.
Then there was the pretentious part of him, hateful and judging, that looked at the rabble among them and thought, After Jet and Faustite, I am the best they’ve got.
It was sobering to think. Lovely would have relished the knowledge as a teenage Lieutenant, would have basked in the Queen’s praise and let it feed his ego. Now it felt heavy, almost inevitable, and it made Lovely queasy.
Maybe that was the drinks, too.
Lovely watch with tired eyes as Ilian began to undress. It was cute, how hard Ilian tried, how seriously he took his position. Lovely certainly didn’t bother to dress nice just to transform and teleport to the Dark Kingdom. Ripped jeans and faded t-shirts were more than enough. The hoodie he’d worn against the creeping cold was Ilian’s.
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Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2023 8:07 pm
“Oh, very worried,” he teased, but he was obviously in a good mood as he untucked the shirt as he worked his way down the buttons. He already had his pajamas set aside from that morning that he could change into, but he didn’t seem like he was quite ready to get clothes back on so quickly.
“Everyone’s going to be keeping an eye on you now. They’ll know not to mess with you, of course. But I think it’s a good thing. Maybe it’ll motivate others to take initiative. That’s what I hope. We can’t build anything with just a few people. It has to be a community effort.”
And really, that was what Ilian looked forward to most in the Negaverse. It was what his high expectations were for it and everyone in it. Saving the Earth from the aliens was just one part of it. But without the Negaverse to help support him, or give him a second chance at things… where would he be? Probably on the streets, or worse.
Ilian hadn’t bothered sliding his arms from the sleeves as he approached the bed, nudging Lovely’s knee a little to allow him closer to the bed. To allow him close enough to rest his hands on Lovely’s shoulders. Gently on his neck. So he could play with his hair as he grinned down at him as Lovely sat on the bed.
“I’ve got a lot of expectations for you too, you know.”
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Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2023 6:57 am
“You’re making fun of me,” Lovely said, managing a flat stare. He shoved at Ilian, but the gesture lacked strength and barely jostled him. “Here I am trying to have a serious ******** conversation and you’re joking around like you weren’t the one who harassed me into accepting the promotion to General.”
He wasn’t angry, or even all that annoyed. Ilian knew him well enough to be able to distinguish the subtle changes of his voice that would indicate a poor mood. At the moment, Lovely was merely apprehensive, but even that was muted, restrained, tucked away beneath a purposefully expressionless facade.
The Negaverse had already changed so much of his life — sometimes for the better, he could admit, though the positive changes had always seemed more indirect. Lovely was wary of it changing more. His involvement had given him Ilian, which may not have happened without danger and tragedy to bond over, but it could just as easily take Ilian away from him. It almost had, on multiple occasions.
Lovely’s hands betrayed his unimpressed stare and feigned annoyance. They ducked beneath the open halves of Ilian’s shirt and trailed over Ilian’s back, arms held loosely around him.
“I’m the reason you’re finally getting paid for this s**t,” Lovely said with the merest traces of humor. “Maybe I should take it back, tell the Queen I’ve changed my mind and we should all keep risking our lives for nothing. You can go back to being my malewife, except you can’t cook worth a damn and you spend more time on your hobbies and the Negaverse than you do on housework.”
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Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2023 11:17 am
“Can’t I be proud of my joint tax return filer?” he hummed as he massaged the back of Lovely’s neck and twirled some of his hair around his fingers. There was still a hint of teasing, but it was clearly filled with fondness and affection.
He knew how reluctant Lovely was to accept the promotion. He knew how much he’d been through. What he’d had to do. Mostly because of Ilian, too.
“Would you prefer if I learned how to cook? You don’t like my butter macaroni?”
Oh right, Lovely was trying to have a serious ******** conversation. He couldn’t help it. Even with Lovely’s rough edges, he adored him. There was so much Lovely had sacrificed for him and for the Negaverse. So much that Ilian had sacrificed as well. And that wasn’t even counting everything that had been sacrificed for them.
Sometimes he wondered if his brother would be proud of him. He hoped so.
“I think the Queen is right to have a lot of faith in you,” Ilian said after a few more moments of massaging Lovely’s neck. “You’re a realist, and you’re loyal. You can weigh things for others’ benefits and not just for yourself. I think that’s a great trait to have, Love.”
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Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2023 11:45 am
Lovely scoffed, but he didn’t pull away.
“I’m only loyal to you,” he reminded Ilian. “I’m loyal to the rest by extension, but I’d stab them in the back without any second thoughts if it was what you wanted. Even if it wasn’t what you wanted, if it was what could save you…” Lovely brought his hands around and slid them up over Ilian’s chest, feeling the beat of Ilian’s heart against his palm. “I’d sacrifice all of them, even the Queen.”
He’d kill whoever Ilian wanted, capture whoever caught his fancy, follow whatever order Ilian thought was best, tolerate whom he must and assist those Ilian thought worthy of his help, but Lovely didn’t care for any of them. Abandoning them wouldn’t be a difficult decision, if the war ever came down to it. The Negaverse was only the place for him so long as Ilian was in it.
Maybe Lovely had no need to remind him. He’d told Ilian before. It wasn’t a secret. He hadn’t made it one, though he’d never spoken about it with anyone else. Lovely suspected Metallia knew regardless. She knew all, didn’t she? The Queen had never given any indication that she knew, but Lovely assumed she did, too. The Queen wasn’t shortsighted.
With a sigh, Lovely flopped backward, laying on the bed with his legs hanging over the edge. He took hold of Ilian’s shirt and tugged Ilian closer, parting his denim covered thighs for Ilian to step between them.
“So if you think I did this out of the goodness of my ******** heart, you’re wrong,” Lovely said. “I did it for us, and because it gives the Negaverse more power over the rest. The Negaverse giveth, and the Negaverse taketh away, or whatever.”
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Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2023 12:29 pm
“I think you did it knowing that it would make my job easier,” he amended, and moved without hesitation to lean over the bed and Lovely as he was pulled forward. He propped himself on his elbows but didn’t concern himself too much with his weight.
Maybe Ilian was a bit of an idealist when it came to the Negaverse, but other than Lovely, it was all he had. And he believed in their goals. He’d seen how horrible life could be, had seen evil and chaos in the world, even without Metallia’s influence.
But he also knew Lovely’s loyalty belonged to him and him alone. He knew there was nothing Lovely wouldn’t do for him, as long as it didn’t risk Ilian’s life. It was a little startling, in that regard. Knowing how they’d started their relationship, and where they were now.
“Don’t worry, I know,” he promised as he leaned closer to n** at Lovely’s ear, his hand fumbling to get under the fabric of his shirt to brush his hand over Lovely’s warm skin. “If I asked, would you burn the world down with me?”
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Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2023 12:45 pm
Lovely sighed. He tried to make it sound long-suffering, as if he thought Ilian’s questions were an annoyance not worthy of his time, but the breath was too light, too relaxed, near enough to content that Ilian probably wouldn’t mistake it for anything else. Lovely shoved Ilian’s shirt off before Ilian got too comfortable, then wrapped his arms around him and pulled more of Ilian’s weight down.
“You don’t even have to ask,” Lovely told him, turning his face into Ilian’s hair. “What the ******** do I care about the world?”
So long as there was a place left for the two of them, that was all that mattered.
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