chatime | ✧ — peach iced tea.

[ if he starts yapping how he is now, thorns may change his mind about the wedding and want elysium admitted.

so it's safer to just keep to himself… he sits up and inclines his head very slightly to nod. he drinks his water? he's behaving. ]

[ he watches all of this, and goes back to writing his report. this is mostly to show elysium that thorns is completely calm and collected at the moment. ]

You had me worried.

[ he uses past tense even though it is definitely still present tense. he is actively worried. ]

[ he closes his eyes, head hitting the back of the baseboard. he just holds out an open palm, presumably for thorns to put his hand in…?

he isn't sure how any of this is okay considering he had an entire breakdown in front of his former captain, but it doesn't feel like time is on their side at the moment. he impatiently gestures with his hand. ]

[ thorns is like ? because elysium is not using his words.

so he just places his hand on top of elysium's in confusion. ]

[ he writes out 'watched?' on thorns' palm… it can serve as asking thorns if he knows they're being watched, or to check if they're being watched because. well.

unfortunately, he knows how his own squad (past-tense…) operates. ]

[ he nods his head. the answer is yes to both regardless since

yeah.

he leans in to kiss elysium on the cheek. ]

I don't think we can invite her to the wedding.

[ mantra would stand up when they ask if there are any objections. ]

[ everything comes back to him slowly, including the dull ache in his other palm. he releases thorns' hand, lifts his own, and flexes his fingers as he stares at it blankly. the ache flares through his palm like fire, forcing a wince. ]

That bad, huh…

[ it should be pretty safe to say he doesn't remember much. the only thought that drifts through at that is a vague wonder: will they even be capable of holding a wedding at all? ]

Mm. They're likely going to return soon to resume questioning.

[ thorns does not think they are going to attempt elysium again after what just happened, or at least not immediately. if anything they may try to suggest that he goes in for psychological review to check for any trauma... ]

You were hallucinating, I think.

[ something in his breath catches, hands curling lightly into the sheets. this is so nostalgic for all the wrong ways. ]

You aren't going to ask?

Are you going to tell me if I do?

[ because of the way he talks, it can be taken as a jab against elysium's secrecy, but thorns is just genuinely asking. is this something he is willing to talk about or will he refuse? ]

[ he's doomed enough in the ten minutes he's been awake that he's of mind that if he needs to play god again (likely), he'll go back way before this point anyway. there is also the growing curiosity of how thorns would respond.

so it's a yes? but also no. their conversation about collars…

… ]

You could always try me.

[ elysium stop immediately jumping to being god the second anything becomes slightly inconvenient. ]

Okay. [ ... ] Tell me what happened.

[ places the ball in elysium's court. ]

[ he will stop when it stops being convenient. ]

She probed through my memories when I wouldn't talk. I put up quite the fight until I didn't.

[ then, more quietly in iberian: ]

I can't afford for her to go any deeper than she has. You get what I mean, right?

[ well, that's a problem.

thorns doesn't say anything right away, instead reaching over to grab onto the hand that was injured. his fingers gently stroke over where elysium stabbed himself as he responds back in their shared language. ]

We have to tell them something that they'd accept.

[ the problem now is that even if they do just leave, rhodes likely won't be as willing to let them have a peaceful honeymoon as they would have before. this is kind of the sort of breakthrough that can completely change how the world works, and here the two of them are running around trying to fix their relationship problems with it. ]

[ them being stupid is probably what categorises them as lower risk. they aren't inherently bad people—and he knows he's been granted certain privileges here by not being thrown into high security.

talking to thorns now makes him realise he's never really considered it before–what happens to the thorns he leaves behind. how did thorns feel, coming back from his mission expecting elysium to still be there? he'd always assumed he'd mourn, move on, and conquer the seas as he was meant to. maybe he would have mourned elysium for the rest of his life, that was just the type of person he was, but he wasn't the thorns that lived his life in stasis anymore. relationship or not, thorns still felt compelled to seek him out, just as elysium did him. but things don't quite line up; it makes no sense, not when he'd taken care to destroy every last recording.

… well. that hardly matters anymore. what matters now is this: maybe playing god isn't quite as convenient as he once thought. his wrist turns, fingers twining with thorns' as he lifts the back of his hand to his mouth. back to common: ]

What's an ending you'd accept, mi corazón?

[ now that's the question.

because there are many endings that thorns would accept overall. the main consistency between all of them is just that the two of them are both together and alive. it could be at rhodes, or on his ship, or just traveling the world. thorns will be happy as long as elysium's hand is in his.

he realizes that they have likely made quite a few mistakes here that is leading them a bad path. he is aware that this is not healthy, and that they are making choices that are negatively affecting the people around them. but it is difficult to backtrack from this type of trajectory because they have already gotten used to it being the norm. and even if thorns knows this, he doesn't want to try to change anything in the chance it drives a wedge between them.

after all, being together is more important than anything else. ]

I need to be with you.

Without you, I'm nothing.

[ he means this so genuinely. and, as if on cue, another person enters the room. they say mantra is on her way back and that thorns is due for questioning in another room by someone else. but elysium's attention is still on thorns, and only thorns. he gives his hand a squeeze.

without letting go: ]

… Should we head to the end of the world together?

Aren't we already doing that?

[ there's a pause, and then he chuckles, standing up. he does not move any further than that though, his grip on elysium staying firm as he just stands there, waiting for elysium.

they didn't say how far mantra is... ]

[ that gets a laugh out of him, too. kicking his feet over the side of his bed, he finds the floor. his grip is just as firm, and for once—his heart feels light. ]

Do you want to count us down one last time, captain?

[ he waits a second to make sure elysium is fine getting up, but once he confirms that he seems okay he nods.

the other operators are still waiting for a direct response from them. one of them repeats that thorns is supposed to have the meeting alone when elysium also stands. ]

On one. Three. Two. One.

[ they really are just torching all their relationships like this. but, well, it's only fair. thorns had given up a part of himself to make this work when turning down juana; now, it's elysium's turn, going against the very people who'd helped saved his life.

there comes a time when every bird has to spread its wings to fly. and on one, elysium immediately interrupts their communication channels. if nothing else, it'll buy them time. ]

[ well. yolo (or not, in their case)

either way, thorns does not run. he just pulls elysium after him, only pausing long enough for him to grab anything he might need to, and walks quickly. because it's not a run, the operators just squint at them oddly before calling out that they didn't tell thorns which room he's supposed to actually go to. ]

Just keep going.

[ it's muttered as he stares ahead. ]

[ enough operators are distracted by why their communications equipment suddenly isn't working… none of them are suspecting the guy literally walking right past them, and while elysium would be amused by how some of them think shaking it up and down or turning it on and off will fix it, he finds it increasingly hard to take his eyes off of thorns.

of course, it isn't ideal to be completely distracted—he keeps himsrlf trained on his senses, even as his heart flutters wildly in his chest. ]

… We really are eloping.

Mm.

[ a pause, and he curses silently under his breath. ]

Do you think we have time to go to the hotel or no?

[ their fish... but also things like money. thorns is willing to leave it behind if they have to, it's just a little sad considering how happy they were to have their little pet family. their plants that they are also abandoning... ]

[ the optics of them running off into the sunset with a bucket of fish

he takes a moment to think about this. ]

We're on a low enough floor that we could jump through the windows if we have to. [ … he had to leave behind his sword in the lab, but. ] I should probably something about my flag.

[ property damage in this universe is just another day it's fine ]

… Don't forget to throw anything they can use to track us with.

[ case in point: elysium tosses his pager and transceiver in the complete opposite direction

this is also fine ]

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