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 Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2024 2:18 pm
Present day connection: Grove of Remembrance
It would probably help if he stopped crying.
Percy had, in the last few minutes, shoved all the books and papers he’d been pouring over away from him in a very subdued fit of frustration. Just enough for him to cross his arms over the surface of the desk and bury his face against them.
Devyn was still on Alastor. He was always on Alastor, but it was a little reminder that things would be okay. They just had to figure things out, and Devyn would start seeing the changes he wanted, and people would stop giving him a hard time about something that wasn’t even his fault, but they didn’t know that.
A lot of people, it seemed, were okay with Devyn falling in line with the trend of previous Senshi of Alastor. Violent. Inflexible. Unreasonable. Except that wasn’t Devyn at all, and Percy knew it broke Devyn down to his core to know people thought of him as a monster. Expected that of him. Saying ah, about time.
He knew he needed to get up and find some more books. Maybe if he read enough, he could help come up with a better solution. There had to be similar political situations over the course of the history of everything right? It was just a matter of finding the right book.
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2024 2:27 pm
Marius didn’t knock on the door. He was used to coming and going at his own pace, and being the ‘son’ of Sessrumnir meant he had practically free reign to go wherever he pleased. Very few people turned him away, even when they probably should. He would not say he delighted in seeing what he could get away with, but he did like to know.
A little coughing, a little swooning.
It was an act. He looked the part; less frail than before, but still skinny. Less like a corpse, but still pale. Less gaunt, but he always seemed to have shadows under his eyes. That was his fault for not sleeping, but he had a lot of work to do–and why sleep when he had an unlimited supply of caffeine to give him energy instead?
He felt healthier now than ever, although he was desperately out of his element and regularly homesick. Even if Alastor was just a step away, Villefort wasn’t. And, being on Sessrumnir meant there was a whole slew of new information he needed to know. He was very conscientious about fitting in and being respectful.
He didn’t want to make Percy look bad.
It didn’t take a genius to know he was in hiding because he was overworked and underloved. Marius was supposed to be in classes for another few hours, but he’d had a very uncomfortable tugging in the back of his mind all morning. Percy just looked too sad. He wasn’t sleeping. Probably not even eating. Definitely not taking care of himself.
Marius had better places to be than listening to a teacher drone on about something he could read twice as fast, so during one of the breaks, he’d slipped away and gone to get some food. A few treats, but mostly healthy snacks that could sit lightly in an upset stomach.
He slipped through the halls with a tray in hand and made his way to this library, because even if he’d pretended not to see Percy slip away into it several times before, he knew. It wasn’t a public library but neither was it locked. Percy might have been the only person to use it; he’d only ever seen one other person come in. Marius had taken a liking to it; it had a comfortable couch that he’d fallen asleep on more times than he wanted to admit. If he wasn’t supposed to be in here, no one had ever told him to leave. And Percy had tucked him in a few times, too.
The door shut silently behind him, and he moved just as quietly across the room.
There was Percy at a desk, books and papers shoved away and now precariously close to falling to the floor.
He stood for a few seconds before he cleared his throat.
“I brought you lunch. And tea. And some gum.”
The food was from Sessrumnir’s kitchen, but the tea he’d made himself, and the gum was given to him by Atrius to keep him calm and focused. “...And a handkerchief.”
He didn’t need to see Percy’s face to know he’d probably been crying. He definitely wasn’t sleeping.
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2024 2:41 pm
Percy hadn’t even heard the door open, but as soon as he heard Marius’s voice, he aggressively scrubbed at his face. Even if a handkerchief was being offered.
He was supposed to be the adult! He was supposed to be taking care of Marius! He’d planned on taking a break around dinner to catch up with him! To make sure his day was okay and listen to any interesting things he’d learned and to help him with studying or research if he wanted the company!
“Marius,” he choked a little on the emotion in his voice, and --
Quickly reached out to try and catch the pile of books that started tipping over the edge of the desk. He winced as a few of the heavier volumes were not saved by his delayed reaction, and he clumsily knocked the chair out from behind him as he jumped up.
He knew his reaction time would probably have been better with more rest, but… how could he sleep when there was so much work to be done? If Devyn wasn’t sleeping, then he wouldn’t either.
“Thank you,” he gasped, his voice edging on distress as he attempted to give his attention to Marius while also trying to pick up after himself. “That’s really sweet of you, you didn’t have to--”
The weight of everything not going right seemed a bit too heavy for Percy, and while he tried not to start crying again, especially in front of Marius, it was hard for him not to sniffle and stare miserably and indecisively on what to try to pick up first.
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2024 4:14 pm
Marius kicked out his foot instinctively, as if to block some of the books from hitting the floor. He spared a few the extra few inches of falling but he probably only succeeded in bruising himself. The noise was loud but they were still books.
“Stop it, you’re going to hurt your face,” Marius protested, with the exasperation of someone who knew his words weren’t going to change anything anyway. “Can you put the chair back up? Sit down again, I’ll get the rest. I’m already over here.”
He wasn’t willing to put the tray down until he knew Percy was sitting still.
“Anyway, you helped make some space for me to put things down.”
He couldn’t really read the titles or pages from here, but he tilted his head to the side to peer down at them anyway. “What are you working on?”
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2024 5:39 pm
“Sorry,” he whimpered but stopped rubbing at his face for the moment. Thank goodness he had Marius to direct him, and quickly turned to get the chair. Once it was upright again, he slumped into it and-- almost rubbed at his face, but refrained. For the moment at least.
He reached across the desk to move a few more things. He stacked up loose papers and put the books in a neat pile. He usually was very neat, if not a bit cluttered with his things, but he knew he would organize everything later, so he didn’t worry too much about the order of everything. Right now he just wanted to make more space for Marius to set things down.
“Oh,” he glanced over at the titles and frowned sadly. He didn’t want to make Marius feel guilty. He’d already come so far! And Percy was so proud of him! And he knew Marius felt bad for getting him and Devyn into the situation they were in -- more Devyn than Percy, but he was his husband, so it might as well be both of them.
“I’m looking up different political situations and their resolutions. Trying to help Devyn with things,” he answered honestly. There was no point in insulting Marius’s intelligence. He was a good boy, and he got justice for a lot of people. It was just a horrible situation that it ended up getting Devyn involved against his will.
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Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2024 12:05 pm
Marius sighed heavily, not really in disappointment but just because Percy was still doing too much.
He set the tray down in front of him and extracted a handkerchief from his pocket. “Let me wipe your face,” he insisted, because if he handed this over to Percy he knew he’d just scrub too hard anyway. What a waste of silk.
Marius did not anticipate a rejection; he was ready to start with his own waterworks because he knew Percy would cave, but for now he didn’t try to hide that he was just a tired, ornery young man.
“I’m going to guess you haven’t found any magic solutions. Have you found anything useful at all?”
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Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2024 12:35 pm
There was no rejection, Marius was right about that. Percy sat patient and still to let Marius fuss over him. He knew he could probably do well with a brush through his long hair, and a bath would probably be good, too. But he knew Devyn was scheduled to be traveling, so he had to take advantage of the time he had without him worrying.
Or rather… he had to figure out the best way to distract himself when all he wanted to do was curl up in his husband’s arms.
Absently, while Marius was patting at his face, Percy reached up to play with the necklace he wore. An orb with gold swirling inside. A gentle pulse of reassurance and motivation to keep going.
This was all for Devyn, after all. The sooner they could resolve this, the sooner they could be together for more than just a night or two.
“Thank you, Marius. You’re very sweet. I’m sorry to make you worry. Ah, no… I haven’t found much. I was hoping for something I could mesh together to make things work but…”
Devyn -- and Alastor -- seemed to be unique in this situation. The best Percy could figure was for Devyn to just do his best and restore what once was of his reputation. But Percy knew it would be a long road, and he hated seeing Devyn worn down from it.
“Your classes. They’re going well? Are you on break?” he asked, glancing around to check a clock on the wall, glad that he hadn’t actually fallen asleep in a puddle of his tears like he’s done before and woken up in the middle of the night.
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Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2024 1:04 pm
Marius was going to ask Atrius to borrow those earrings of his, he couldn’t stand to see Percy like this.
“I skipped out. They’re going over the chapter on hydrophobicity as it relates to crystallization of waxes. But I already know about superhydrophobicity so it’s irrelevant to me. I used to make a gel out of some of Villefort’s plants and paint it on the roofs to stop water from collecting. And there’s this one girl who keeps asking questions that she’d know the answer to if she just read the chapter, but I think she’s got a crush on the teacher. It’s really annoying, he keeps stopping to answer her. I wanted to learn about lichens but he won’t get to them until next week at this rate, and I’ll already be done with the textbook and onto something else.” Did Percy really care about all of that? No. But Marius wanted to stress that he wasn’t losing out on a valuable education by being here.
“I wanted to pick up a few more books while I was here.” He lay the handkerchief down next to the tray and began to collect the rest of the books and papers that had fallen. Percy was sparing no effort. A few pages appeared to be Percy’s own handwritten notes, but they looked like they were getting sloppy.
He might have been falling asleep while he was writing them.
“...Is there anything I can help you with, Percy?” he glanced over the top of the paper. “I mean, I’ve got some free time. And this is kind of my fault.”
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Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2024 4:15 pm
Percy absolutely cared about everything Marius had to say. He was very invested in helping Villefort, especially after everything they’d already gone through. After everything Marius had gone through.
“It’s not your fault, Marius,” Percy insisted, even if his voice was sad and tired. “Will you stay and have lunch with me if you’re playing hooky?” he requested, inching his chair over to make room for another.
“Were you thinking of cultivating lichen to grow and provide a more stable environment for algae to develop in the bog? I know Dr. Eld was working on an algae that would absorb toxins but wasn’t having any luck with getting it to stabilize,” he hummed thoughtfully, trying to recall everything that was being worked on for Villefort.
“If you come up with some good ideas, I can probably convince the Council to set up a research group.”
He did care about Villefort and Marius and Alastor. But he also knew that Marius was worrying about him. He could distract him, maybe. He hoped. Percy could see the way Marius was glancing over the papers, and part of him wished he took more time to hide them better.
“Don’t tell Devyn you caught me crying. Please?” he said quietly after a few moments, his shoulders slumped a bit as he tugged on the necklace and anxiously twisted his ring around his finger.
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Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2024 4:23 pm
“Percy, stop worrying,” he huffed, and gave him a look like he might have intended to let the subject die there. He jumped back to something he said earlier, mostly just to give Percy another moment to collect himself. “Dr. Eld’s problem is that he keeps working with healthy algae that is spoiled and grown in perfect conditions, and not stubborn algae that is used to fighting to live. His gives up too easily. But yes, I was looking into lichen.”
He saw a chair in the distance and carried his stack of books and papers over to it. He stacked them carefully in the seat, and then pulled the chair next to Percy.
“I’ve got some ideas. I left my bag in your office, it was getting too heavy to carry around.”
Heavy, like the books and papers in the seat.
Marius lifted them again and sank down into it now, wriggling back until he was comfortable. He kept them in his lap and began to look over them.
“I won’t tell Devyn you’ve been crying if you have some tea and snack a little.” He didn’t look up from the page as he spoke. “And you have to nap for at least an hour. That’s the only way I’ll keep your secret. I thought you were working on your Sessrumnir backlog, this is all stuff for Alastor. Are you caught up with everything else?”
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Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2024 8:06 pm
Percy could feel his face flush as he stared at the stack of papers and books Marius had in his lap. Marius was absolutely blackmailing him into taking care of himself, and while he appreciated the care and concern, he felt like he had failed somehow.
He’d certainly failed in keeping on top of things for Sessrumnir.
“I was going to work on some more in a little while. I had a thought I wanted to follow through with, but--”
But that hadn’t gone anywhere, if the books and papers and scribbles said anything. Heat pricked the corners of his eyes, but he quickly busied himself with collecting the cup of tea to sip.
He wasn’t purposefully neglecting his Wonder. And it wasn’t as though his Council didn’t know what was going on. But every day away from Devyn was harder and harder. If Percy didn’t attempt to sleep, it meant he didn’t have to cry until he did drift off. He knew he needed to be stronger. He knew Devyn was out there doing his best and trying to clean up everything he could. And while Percy would never tell him that he absolutely needed him there with him--...
“That’s pretty bold of you to suggest when you’re skipping out on your classes,” he frowned, straightening up a bit in his chair. “I believe the condition of you staying here is that you take full advantage of the classes you’ve signed up for.”
He didn’t want to try to sleep… there would be no point to it.
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Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2024 4:41 pm
Marius lowered the page he was skimming. “What are you going to do, kick me out and deny me higher learning? Me, a poor, disadvantaged young man from a town with no teachers? An orphan, fatigued and sickly.” He faked a cough, effortlessly and spoke quietly and with a deliberate rasp to his voice. “My doctor would be so upset if he thought I was being discriminated against because I wasn’t healthy enough to make it through class today.”
He moved to the next page to skim over that, and returned to the same lively tone he’d had just a moment ago. “I’m taking full advantage of the classes I signed up for, anyway. I got a hundred and twenty four points on my last test with him. You can quiz me on hydrophobic plants if you want. Or schedule a parent-teacher conference. But I’m thinking it’s just going to be a waste of time either way. I’m a good student. And you’re the best teacher here. So teach me how to help you. Atrius lets me help him, sometimes. And Dr. Eld does, too. Even Devyn’s Council lets me hang around.”
And, he was respectful to them. He was trying to make a good impression. He did genuinely want to help.
It was the same thing, now.
“Let me be your assistant. I can do some of the boring stuff that you need to get caught up on, and you can review and clean it up and fix it. I’m all caught up on my homework and studying. And I don’t have any community service until next week.”
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Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2024 6:54 pm
Of course Percy wasn’t going to get Marius kicked out. But he’d hoped that his bluff would have lasted a bit longer. Naturally, Marius was going to see through it. And Percy knew he was a good student. He was very talented, intelligent, and curious about learning.
The idea of having an assistant was… tempting. He felt guilty immediately because it was supposed to be his work. And there was just so much of it that sometimes he needed a break so he could figure out a way to spend more time with his husband.
Devyn told him he had a boring trip planned. One that required a lot of walking and would not be fun at all, but perfectly routine. Which meant that it was likely very dangerous and Devyn could very well be risking his life at that very moment.
As if to check, Percy tugged on his necklace again. The pulse hadn’t changed, but he was also pretty sure Devyn had learned how to calm his heart rate for the very purpose of hiding how stressed he was from Percy.
“That’s really sweet of you, Marius,” he sighed, and then eyed him a slight note of exasperation. “I’m surprised the theater department hasn’t recruited you yet. You’re a very good actor. Well, thank you. If you really want to help, I can put some things together. But this is going to be your lowest priority, okay?”
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Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2024 8:40 pm
Marius’ eyes dropped to the necklace, and maybe he was thinking the same thing. Devyn was sneakier now than he had been before. He hadn’t known the ‘before’, but he’d heard about it. He didn’t stare at the necklace, he didn’t want Percy to get suspicious.
“I’m not interested in theater. Atrius says a good politician doesn’t let anyone see your cards, so they shouldn’t know when you’re playing them. I’d rather people underestimate me. Besides, if you and Devyn ever need a break, I can just have a health scare that requires your attention.” He shrugged; Marius was prideful, but he saw the value in vulnerability. Especially when it could be used to benefit Percy and Devyn, and he owed them more than he could say.
“I really appreciate you letting me help, though. We can call it my lowest priority if that’s what you want.” They could call it whatever Percy decided but it was already at the top of his list of things to do. “I’ve been getting a little stressed,” he admitted. “Sometimes Sessrumnir is a little overwhelming. And I don’t exactly fit in. I’m trying. Mostly I just focus on my classes, but sometimes it’s just a lot at once. A lot of movement, a lot of noise, a lot of people. I needed a break from it all. And I’ll feel better about skipping class if I know I can do something useful.”
He caught Percy’s eye. “Especially for someone I care about.”
Devyn might not be here right now but Marius knew he’d want someone to be looking out for Percy, and it only felt right that it should be Marius since Devyn was out cleaning up his mess.
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Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2024 8:46 pm
It was difficult for Percy to keep his lip from trembling with emotion, even as he pressed them together. Marius was a good kid and had been through a lot. Well, he supposed it could be argued that Marius deserved a lot worse for the things that he did, but it was a very complicated situation, and Percy was convinced that there would be more benefit to allowing Marius to grow and learn than locking him behind bars for the rest of his life.
Of course, he couldn’t help but set his tea down so he could stand and reach across to put his arms around the younger man. Not quite a boy, but not an adult. It was that strange transitioning period in one’s life when self discovery happened.
Percy pressed a kiss atop Marius’s head and ruffled his hair a little, and then hugged him a bit tighter before having to stop because it was a weird angle for him to do so.
“I know this probably isn’t very helpful, but you’re not the only one,” Percy said sympathetically, but made a face when he realized he sounded like he was dismissing Marius' concerns, which he wasn’t!
“It’s just that I understand. About not fitting in, I mean. It was really hard when I first got here. They took forever to get me clothes that actually fit, so I was walking around in oversized tunics! Oh, but I don’t blame them for that. They just lost their previous Knight so were in mourning and… I guess it is pretty strange to have someone else show up right after. Oh, but I mean… there’s a lot of students here from different places. You might be surprised to find others who feel as out of place as you. But… I understand. Especially getting used to the storms. Oh, and all of the people. Yeah, that's still kind of stressful.”
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