icarusalsoflew | 003. and in every raindrop... // open post.

[Excuse him for not immediately noticing, because his head's still spinning and his heart's still heavy from the conversation he just had with your parents.

"You love him. Both of us can see that."

Still: this is you, and it's been long established that he can't help but be attuned to everything that you are to a perhaps inordinate degree. As such, he does obey, and does turn in your direction.]

Mm?

[ And he's fitting his mouth snugly over yours, arms coming around you as to draw you up against him. You've been distracted since you came back in from your talk with his folks and he's been watching your movements carefully.

That's a hand cupping your cheek as well, fingers tracing the curve of it before ghosting along the line of your jaw. ] Where are you? I feel like you're so far away.

[What you're getting for that is this one relaxing, giving in to what you're offering him (solidity, comfort, a bit of peace). He smiles, though, in the aftermath. Ducks his gaze, tries not to look too sad. It works, to a point.]

Still back there at that table, I guess.

[ That's Josh's brows furrowing in concern.

What the hell had they spoken about? ]

Maybe I should have made them back off.

[ He means his parents. ]

No, they meant well.

[They had been so nice about things, it had hurt.

...Yeah, he's just going to lean against you now. His talk with Angela and Aaron Brennan had not been a rude reminder, not in the slightest, but you know what they say about acceptance. It's a process.]

[ And he's folding you into his arms and keeping you there for a good long while before he speaks again. ]

You okay?

[ You don't look like you are, but the asking is becoming his way of saying that he'd prefer to hear things straight from you, whatever the answer is. ]

I'm going to be. Does that make sense?

[There's a helpless edge to that smile, and a dark look in those eyes, even if he's trying to smile at you.]

We should probably find a better place to talk.

[ He's lifting a hand to your cheek and pressing a kiss to your brow at that.

It's a rare thing when you're the one who brings up the phrase "we need to talk." ]

Where do you want to go? I'm okay with wherever you want to be.

Well, if you don't mind shortcuts... the Dragon's Pool is always a quiet place.

['Shortcuts'. A graceful way of saying porting, flying, blood walking... yep.]

[ He's reaching up to brush the hair out of your eyes at that. ]

I'm okay with wherever you want to be.

[ He means it. It's also a Tell: he'll go wherever you want, just please, talk to him about whatever's on your mind. ]

[He picks up on that, of course, and he'll show his gratefulness by giving you a short, gentle kiss right on your mouth. Then he takes your hand, threads your fingers between his --

-- and you're now both standing right at the shore of the Dragon's Pool. Not a lot of people are around: most everyone who could be there is in the Leviathan facility on the other side of the Pool.

Now to get his cigarettes as he's settling down on the grass. He needs one.]

[ He's joining you shortly after you've settled down.

He's also going to offer you a light.

No talking yet. He'll wait until you're ready. ]

[He murmurs a thanks at that, and takes a few leisurely drags in order to collect his thoughts. His gaze is distant, fixed on something well past the tree line on the other side of the Pool.]

They reminded me of the fact that we only have so much time together. They asked me if I was sure. If I was all right with it.

[ He wishes he could say he's surprised -- but he's not. Not entirely. ]

And are you?

[ That's his hand reaching for your free one and tangling your fingers together, holding fast. ]

[And he doesn't pull away. He turns to smile at you, and looks, all at once, helpless and young.]

Acceptance is a process, right? And practice always makes perfect.

[ You turn that smile his way and he's remembering Ireland and the way you had felt in his arms: first, when he'd apologized for being so damn stupid, and later when he'd reassured you that he was staying for good.

His other hand reaches over then to catch you by the nape, drawing you in and pressing your foreheads together. ] Yeah. Yeah, it is.

[ There is still a part of him that quietly wishes that you both could have more time, but it's only human to want things, right? Because wanting is a thing that is part of being alive.

But now, more than ever, he understands what his Dad meant, when he'd called to express his worry over you as you'd been curled at his side in your bedroom at the Wolf'd Ward of Seigi. How it's what you make of the time that you have that matters, and he intends to take that piece of advice to heart.

Afterall, his parents are two of the most solid people he knows, who've made their love work in spite of all the shit that had actually snatched away so many years that could have been spent together. ]

Wanna make like silly teenagers and cuddle all night?

Maybe after you tell me how your talk went.

[Because that would be an excellent diversion and a good way for him to recenter himself and move past this. That, and he also wants to make sure that his strange extended family of friends, lovers and family didn't end up scarring you for life.]

[ That's making him laugh. ]

It was... enlightening.

[ That's putting it lightly. It was humbling really, to have Aidan Clayce, Riley Falner, Alistair Mordechai, Kasumi Aoi, Tohru and Asami Fukuzawa thank him for doing for you what they said they could not. What could he say to that, really? These people have known you for much longer than he has.

He's leaning his shoulder against yours after that pause. ] It was also very humbling.

[And he's putting his head against yours as he looks off towards the Pool.]

Were you expecting them to string you up over a slow fire?

[Because... they kind of do that. Metaphorically, of course, but the feeling's about the same.]

[ That's him turning his head and pressing his nose against the side of yours. ]

I think that there was a point where they were starting on that, and then they changed directions and opened fire on Alistair.

[Chuckling now, because he can see that happening. It feels oddly like 2012, but in a very good way.]

They might have felt sorry for you.

[Or maybe Alistair just made such a delicious target...]

[ He's pretty sure it was because the Seer had facepalmed so much and it was hard to let that go. ]

You think? [ He's grinning at you now, in that way that shows that he's so good with this. Besides. It's always so good to see you smiling. He'd do anything to make sure that you do that a lot more if he could.

He's looking back towards the Dragon's Pool now though. ]

I didn't expect the thank you. [ That's said softly. It really had been unexpected. As far as he's concerned: he loves you, he wants to do everything in his power to make you happy while you two have the time that you have together. He doesn't need to be thanked for it. But he gets what they all meant. ]

Edited 2014-06-05 12:26 (UTC)

Well, they do worry about me way too much.

[He can say that with confidence now, and without a single hint of sarcasm or irritation. He's good: he's better than he's ever been. And things are only looking up from here, at least on the personal front.]

[ That is a great opening--

--should he...? Yeah, okay. ]

You're kind of worth worrying over.

[ A beat, then: ] The best people usually are.

[ And just to make sure you don't take it the wrong way he's also leaning in to steal a kiss... and then lingering a little because kissing you is always nice.

( Ambiance? Check. You smiling? Check. Perfect angle of the moon? Check. ) ]

[...Okay yeah he is fine with this. The way he kisses back will probably tell you as much, together with how that last bit of tension is finally bleeding away from his shoulders and the rest of his body.]

Does that mean that I get to worry about a kid like you more often?

[Because you're always and ever going to be younger than him, LaRue.]

Edited 2014-06-05 13:43 (UTC)

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