[He's feeling a bit lazy so he just calls Caelus instead with a video chat as he rolls onto his side and props his phone up on the pillow next to him. He's cleaned up a bit since the last video he's sent, tugged his underwear back on. His cheek against the pillow, he looks at the phone blearily.
Like this, he seems almost less threatening, the brightness of his eyes dimmed with how satiated he is, like a cat that's got the cream.]
Feels good. Just what I needed after an annoying day.
[ When Caelus answers, the camera is a little too close to his face at first. His hand moves to adjust his phone; he takes a screenshot before anything else. Just wants to keep the image of Aventurine like this, spent and sleepy with his lashes lowered and his eyes narrowed into catlike slits. Caelus wants to kiss him.
Pictures, videos, screenshots, gifts. He really can't get enough of Aventurine. Is there such a thing as being your own boyfriend's devoted stalker? Vaguely, Caelus wonders if he's insane or if this is just a normal part of being in love.
After a pause, he adjusts his phone and sets it back on its little tripod so that he can look at Aventurine on his side, too. ]
You had an annoying day?
[ To be fair, maybe Aventurine has a lot of annoying days. But. ]
[It's cute, the way Caelus fumbles around his phone. Aventurine can't help but to smile a bit as he watches him set it up and rest down. Like this, it's almost like they're really next to one another - like if he reaches his hand over, he'll find warm skin instead of just the blankets.]
Same as usual... justifying my vision of the future to a bunch of small-minded executives who can't see past the profit margin for next quarter.
[He shrugs.]
Sometimes you have to lose in order to better position yourself to win. The IPC doesn't understand that - Preservation is about maintaining the status quo, not making drastic plays. So our visions don't often align.
[ He's sobered up a little bit by the time he steps out of his room again. His hands are cold because he's just washed them and his face is cool because he did a little eye mask to deal with his swollen eyelids after crying. Little girlish things he's picked up from March because she'll scold him if she knows that he was silly and he didn't take care of himself after a big stupid cry again. Curious, Caelus touches his cheek as he shuffles out to the galley, as Dan Heng suggested; his skin springs back against his fingers, bouncy and clean.
He kind of likes their rest periods. They trailblaze as much as they possibly can, but even the Nameless need breaks, and when everyone is on the Express with very little to do, that's when it feels the most like a home. Himeko is still actually working — apparently she has something to research regarding their next destination — but Welt has been locked in his room, probably sleeping, for about two days now, and March has been going through her photographs or something, but Caelus hasn't done much of anything at all. He's wearing a white shirt and sweatpants that he uses as pajamas and he's got a bit of bedhead and none of them have to look good or be presentable right now so it's fine.
Dan Heng had to go out, but Dan Heng has brought back pink cake, so all is right in the world.
Caelus still feels a bit swollen from crying, but his lips curl in a faint smile as he looks at Dan Heng in the kitchen. He's not about to say it out loud, but he can't help but think that the guardsman looks kind of cute in Caelus's clothes. Maybe the pants are a little too short for him, but the socks make up for it. Caelus only buys things that are comfortable to wear.
Caelus has to fight off a sudden and vicious urge to rest his head on Dan Heng's shoulder and whine at him for a hug. Instead, looking somewhat like a lost and forlorn younger brother, he slowly picks up a tuskpir wrap from the table and peels it out of its thin paper bag, like he's not quite sure what to do with it. ]
...How was your meeting?
[ Dan Heng had a meeting, apparently, with Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan. Caelus wasn't privy to the details. ]
...Sometimes I don't think the IPC really understands what Preservation is.
[ A funny look passes across Caelus's face when he says that, but he closes his eyes after he's said it, as if the thought of it stresses him out too much for him to properly articulate it. It's almost blasphemous to say this; after all, everything the IPC does is theoretically under Qlipoth's name, and indeed, one of Qlipoth's Emanators purportedly leads the corporation.
And yet — when Caelus thinks about the feeling that seized him when he pulled Alisa Rand's spear from the cosmos — he just feels that it's not right. That the money, the all-consuming greed — that's not Preservation. But then, it's true that Preservation doesn't have a heart or a conscience. So Caelus wonders.
His lips quirk into a small smile after a moment. ]
But... I guess it doesn't surprise me to hear that you're a bit of a gambler when it comes to business, too.
[It's an interesting thought, and one that makes his eyes flick up, more awake than he had been before, like it brings something up in the back of my mind... but he doesn't know if he has it in him to share it.
Instead, he thinks about something else, about his other colleagues, the other ways that the IPC has said one thing and done another - preservation, profit margins, ruthless capitalism for the good of all mankind. He plays by their rules, gets things done on their orders, but that doesn't mean he agrees with it.
Just the opposite, really. It's all a means to an end for him.]
The IPC has saved - oh, a dozen billion lives through uplifting backwater planets sentenced to environmental death, among other things. We have a counter in the main office, actually. [He smiles, flashing teeth.] It's tacky.
Still, I wonder if the Nameless hold such a record. I wonder still, how many lives have been lost to IPC intervention.
[The smile doesn't fade, but it does grow sharper, faker.]
[ Caelus's voice is low, soft. When Aventurine's smile is sharp like that, it's not like he's any happier. He knows that, but it's hard to respond to it besides growing smaller, quieter. ]
If we're talking numbers... the Nameless probably don't even compare. But it's not really about saving people... so much as making connections.
[ He shakes his head, looking directly into the camera. ]
We're not necessarily supposed to save lives, even though we usually do. We're just trying to make sure that they're lives worth living.
[ A slight flattening of the lips. ]
I guess that's the difference.
I guess the IPC can't put a number on that kind of thing.
[But he doesn't say anything else. Not right now, not when there's still so much to do and Caelus is still in a position to intervene in his plans. Aventurine sighs and lets his eyes droop, less serious now than he had been a moment ago.]
I heard about what you did on Jarilo-VI - or rather, I read Topaz's report. If you cared about giving those people the best chance of survival, you'd have convinced them to agree to her terms. Instead, you prioritized their freedom.
[He shrugs, flopping onto to his back and stretching, rotating his shoulder, getting comfortable. The camera bounces a bit with the mattress and catches his side profile as he looks up toward the ceiling.]
You've proven your principles to me already, is what I'm saying. I don't think the Express is hypocritical, and I can respect that.
[ he still wants to argue that maybe it didn't actually happen... he feels like he'd remember if it happened... but then, he can't deny that there's a good chance that it did happen, and it's not like he can't say he's not promiscuous...
whatever. if it happened, it happened. he can't change the past. ]
[ This is a serious conversation. He should really be paying attention. He doesn't want to be the kind of lover who can be accused of not really listening to his partner or only caring about his partner's looks.
He takes another screenshot of Aventurine anyway, because the man knows he's hot but probably doesn't know how hot he looks right now, and, anyway, Caelus swears he's still listening. It's just. Well. Look. He's stupid.
He tries to pass off his movements as a slight adjustment of his own camera as he continues: ]
...Glad we've got your approval.
[ He is curious, though, about one thing: ]
Do you think we were foolish? For choosing freedom over survival.
[He doesn't protest. His legs part when Caelus drags his hands down against pale skin, allowing Caelus to look at him, to press his fingers against him, to do whatever he wants. His body is still sensitive, he still shifts a little and gasps when Caelus first breeches him, but he's not exactly a blushing virgin. Still, it feels different like this, in bed with someone who is as earnest and genuine as the other man, and Aventurine tips his head back to look at him, watch him as he works.]
I don't think you can hurt me. Don't worry.
[He means it in the many ways that Caelus does - a little fingering, even shoving a cock inside of him a bit too quick... well, it would be uncomfortable, but part of him enjoys the stretch. But the rest of it? Aventurine is made of stone, his heart solid and unbeating. He loves Caelus as much as he's able to, but he feels inside of him, a great void that spans beyond the depths of the universe. Nothing can cross it, nothing can break it, nothing could possibly get through far enough to hurt him.
Aventurine smiles though, reaching a hand out toward his arm, tracing his fingertips up his shoulder, drawing him forward.]
You have me.
[He reassures quietly, in a tone that he's used a dozen times before to reassure a dozen other people - though none quite as cute as him, none quite as well-meaning or sweet. Aventurine leans up just a little, tipping his chin up, watching as Caelus works his fingers.]
Well. March hasn't been out to take any new photographs for days now. ( he knows because she usually shows off her best shots via text. ) I don't know how the rest are feeling. But why have you been spending your nights drinking? ( he assumes intoxication must be the culprit if someone can't remember what happened last night. )
Caelus would swear that he's not that drunk. But he is drunk enough to be sending his regular hookup sloppy texts about how much he likes him and messes him, so he's a little unsteady on his feet as he shuffles towards the door to his room on the Express. He's got the remnants of some canned alcoholic drink in his hand (it's like a lemonade, mind you, but the alcohol content is decently high and he's a bit sloshed) and he's fiddling with the tab as he pulls the door open, and — ]
Why are your —
[ He stops short. Blinks at the sight of Sampo in his doorway, holding... ]
[His hands are full because he's decided not to turn up to this not-actually-a-booty call with gifts. Caelus clearly has a lot of Big Feelings going on and he's a little drunk, so part of the gift is obvious-- he needs snacks, especially those chips that they sell on the Luofu that are kind of a weird flavor, but Caelus likes them. Some sodas and other non-alcoholic drinks, too, because he'll need to drink something that won't give him a hangover the next morning. An assortment of movies and a projector to watch them with, in case Caelus doesn't have one of his own. All the things needed to have a nice night in.]
[A bouquet of roses tucked up in the crook of his arm, in that signature Sampo Koski bright crimson that he prefers.]
[(That isn't something necessary for a nice night in, but it's a little something that he can leave with Caelus as a reminder of why it's a good thing to be good friends with Sampo Koski. If he feels better when Sampo's around, maybe he'll feel better with a little gift from him around, too. And, anyway, who doesn't feel better after getting a bunch of flowers?)]
Because I'm holding things, of course! [Why else would he say that his hands are full?] Can I come in?
[ Does it matter? Does it matter if Aventurine can't feel anything? If Caelus feels so much that he thinks he might be able to breach the canyon of Aventurine's self-disconnect with the depth of his love alone? Maybe it does, and maybe it doesn't; maybe he's stupid enough to convince himself that he can make a difference, or maybe he's just another mark caught in Aventurine's snare. Maybe, at the end of this adventure, he'll be left cold and alone on the Express again, surrounded by his friends and family, who will never understand how the man they once called Aventurine made him feel.
In the moment, at least, he's not thinking about this. He's watching Aventurine for every possible reaction, anxious and attentive in the same measure, moving his fingers with frantic yet careful need. He wants more of them, those sweet, sensitive reactions; he wants to find out exactly what will make Aventurine feel good, wants to know what will make the man come, wants to watch him come more than he wants to come himself. (And Caelus wants to come desperately.) He's trying so hard, but in a way, Aventurine having more experience than he does makes his all somewhat worse; the blond's reactions are all so subtle that he's not sure he's doing anything to please him at all.
How fortunate, then, that Aventurine dangles the promise of a kiss in front of him to distract him instead. Caelus seizes upon it almost apologetically, kissing sweetly and gently, practically nibbling at his bottom lip, entwining their tongues together in slow and sloppy bliss.
Caelus feels like he's sinking into paradise.
Then he decides — with truly herculean resolve — that he's not going to feel this pathetic anymore.
Aventurine feels about ready enough, and maybe Caelus's fingers just aren't enough to please him. Taking a shuddering breath, the Trailblazer extracts his fingers from Aventurine's warm, pliant hole; he takes a little bit of a moment to line himself up properly, wrapping his arms around the man's thighs, pushing slowly in — ]
Tell me if I need to stop...
[ He doesn't actually stop, though. Not unless Aventurine tells him to. His hips push deeper and deeper and deeper until he's hilted all the way in, breath shaking, mind swimming with the dizzying understanding that the beautiful creature beneath him is his to claim, to fuck, to ruin. His, his, all his —
But Caelus doesn't want to ruin him. Caelus wants to see him swimming in ecstasy.
He's shaking from head to toe at this point with how badly he's trying not to come, but even so, Caelus kisses Aventurine one more time, moving his hips experimentally, trying to figure out what the man likes best — ]
Tell me... how you like it. [ So good, so good, so fucking good, hot and wet and tight and — he can't think — ] Hard and fast? Or... slow and gentle?
( he probably should have been there. if only to stop a certain someone from taking advantage of an inebriated trailblazer! )
I should let you know... I haven't informed the rest just yet, but I won't be accompanying you on the next mission. I'll have to stay behind in Luofu temporarily. ( he still has some unfinished business related to the scalegorge waterscape and imbibitor lunae stuff... what a hassle. )
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