chatime | ✧ — peach iced tea.

Who said anything about a floor? I have the next best thing to a bed right beside me. Don't tell me you've already forgot your promise about staying with me for the rest of your life? You can't.

[ he stretches his limbs like he's the picture of comfort. he is. ]

Besides, we have to get you your lab equipment, chemicals, and supplies. [ he ticks each item off on his fingers. ] If we don't keep you busy, you'll start experimenting on yourself again. Then me.

I thought you liked when I experiment on you.

[ like is a strong word.

thorns kisses him on the cheek before settling again, thinking of a to do list. a full change of clothes, hair dye, maybe thorns should go bald??? even if rhodes leaves them alone, thorns is more paranoid about the less friendly group that they keep running into.

and now they lost their backup. {

I like it when you pay attention to me. [ he twirls thorns' hair around his finger. thorns isn't the only one thinking of extremes. beyond dyeing his hair, he's also thought about plucking all his feathers—where and how they grow can be an identifier in their own right. ] … and I like it more when you're enjoying yourself. Did you say that just to hear me say this?

[ … it's probably too optimistic to think that just by staying out of their business now, they'll stay out of theirs. he sighs, tugging on that same strand. ]

Whatever comes our way, we'll figure it out.

[ the way elysium is playing with his hair when thorns is considering being bald. it's like he can tell.

at least, the boat is moving. they will probably have to wait til it's dark to attempt to roam the boat for anything like food if they're unable to find anything in the cargo room they're in, but they have a decent chance at finding some things they can probably take. ]

This was supposed to be an easy mission.

[ if he grows out his hair he can match with his fellow band member homoblade

compared to watching thorns die horrific deaths, elysium would argue that anything feels easy. maybe it's wrong to feel hopeful more than ever, considering how uncertain their future is and how much more precarious their lives have become as a result of it, but— ]

We're alive and together. … That's already more than I can say for the alternatives.

[ why is keeping thorns alive hard mode

and while they haven't explicitly addressed the elephant in the room, they're more aligned than ever, even if aligned in this case means unhealthily attached. who's to define what that means other than themselves? ]

[ HOMOBLADE IS NOT HERE

can they have sex in the cargo area of a ship they are hiding in? hopefully they won't find out. for now, thorns just kisses him. ]

Your ex-boss is going to kill you the next time she sees you though.

[ homoblade is in hyv's new auto chess game for some reason? you don't know that.

but this makes their conversation about the corazonix being economical so much worse now. they can be broke and saving and still have a colourful s*x life wahoo. ]

She can't kill me—just like how you can't. But she might actually try to lock me up, and if that happens, you'll have to duel her for real.

[ why does he sound so excited about this. which like

considering they are the two closest people to him probably says a lot. he kisses thorns back. ]

I think you want that duel more than I do.

[ well.

thorns just thinks it's cute, actually, because his idea of what is endearing or not is very warped. ]

I'll just beat her. And in the small chance I can't, I'll get locked up with you.

[ "small"

but also mantra would 100% keep them separated but thorns ignores that because it is not a possibility to him. ]

If a duel has to happen, it should be the one that I want to see the most.

[ … sometimes a guy wants to be fought over!!!

but just so his allegiance is clear: ]

You're the coolest, mi luz. Whether you win or lose.

Thank you. But I shall win.

[ he really won't.

there's a pause, and he reaches over to where elysium set his sword down. ]

Let me see.

[ he won't and the reality is elysium will spiral just by being separated from him by a wall. ]

You're going to be pretty disappointed…

[ he slides it the rest of the way over. it is so bare bones, even his treatment of it is awful. ]

[ he almost wants to go back so he can criticize the operator who had this. the hell are you doing??

he stares at the sword for a good two minutes. ]

... I can see what I can do.

It's sharp. It's good enough for its intended purpose…

[ in the end, elysium's no sword maniac like thorns. aside from it's decorative hilt, it wasn't like it had half as many bells and whistles as thorns'.

so, he wrenches the sword back out of thorns' hand and puts it back where it was before. if anything, it's angled even more away from thorns. out of sight out of mind…? ]

Don't waste money.

It's not a waste if it's for our protection.

[ at least let him upgrade it? once thorns gets his hands on some chemicals he can make it better.

they should probably go over their stock actually. while they did drop by their room first to grab items, it's not like they had time to take everything with them. depending on what they have, they need to figure out how to make it all last until they're able to go shopping. ]

[ the mention of protection has him thinking. hmm. ]

… That's an option. Doing contract work in Siracusa. If we really need the money, that'd be it. I just won't let you take any of the jobs on alone.

[ on the safer end, thorns' skillset outside of combat is rather marketable while elysium's skews more niche. he'd stick out like hell. ]

Did you want to try bunkering down in Yan…?

I think we should pick a spot and stay there for just a few weeks and save up, and then from there we can figure out what our actual next move is.

[ the other option is to keep traveling from place to place, but at the moment that will likely just burn up their savings much faster. and thorns does want a cushion for when they may need to get treatment for elysium eventually... ]

[ thorns is so funny. well, it's not like elysium wouldn't be infinitely more pressed if the situation were the other way around. his sense of urgency for himself is so low. ]

… And the first thing you thought of was a farm, huh. You don't actually make a lot from those since most of your pay tends to come in the form of board and food. We'll probably end up having to see what's available in the city.

I still think you're underestimating my capabilities as a writer.

[ … captain valourchin may not sell as well without the actual folk hero existing to back it up. much to think about. ]

[ admittedly the farm is simply nostalgia but he isn't going to admit to that.

he pokes elysium annoyingly though. ]

Write about someone not me.

[ the tales of........ lumen. ]

I can't.

[ solemnly. ]

How can I write about anyone other than my muse? Maybe the plot should be about your tumultuous life into your dream retirement in the countryside.

[ this is so embarrassing. thorns should throw him overboard. ]

No one is going to read that.

[ his life is so boring... this is objectively untrue but it's what he is going to believe.

thorns stands up, stretching. he may as well try to get an idea of what time it is. ]

People like having someone to cheer for. I wouldn't write it unless I thought I'd read it.

[ his life now might not be as dramatic as it was when he was a pirate, but thorns by himself is an inspirational enough of a figure. he brings his knees to his chest and rests his cheek on top, thinking about all the ways thorns has made him want to try harder, be better. because there was someone else doing just the same in parallel. ]

Where are you going?

[ a hand just grips thorns' pants leg. don't trigger his separation anxiety. ]

Just to the door.

[ he needs to sneakily take readings... it sounds like there's been less foot traffic in this area, so people may be going to sleep. they can use that opportunity to explore the cargo hold more. ]

You can come with me.

[ it's like ten feet away but they can go there together. ]

I'm coming with you even if you don't give me permission.

[ ten feet away puts thorns out of reach and that's just not right. by approximation, it is a shorter passage, so if they're going to make out like thieves in the night, this is one of their few opportunities.

still— ]

… Let's try not to draw too much attention to ourselves. The last thing we need is our faces plastered across wanted posters.

At least we can both swim.

[ but okay. thorns reaches over to take elysium's hand before carefully treading out. it's a little odd, being on a ship that isn't his. the sounds are familiar but also not, and if he closes his eyes it can almost feel like he's back on it.

at the very least, he doesn't plan to be away from their hiding spot for long. he can use the corazonix to get readings and then they can go and try to peek at some cargo. the main problem is that if there is absolutely no food down here, they're going to have to go to the kitchen and there's only a specific time frame where that will work as cooks tend to wake up earlier. ]

We'll really be starting from zero if we have to abandon ship and swim.

[ he smacks thorns' head. don't give him an ulcer.

the bright side to well-travelled trade routes and not being out at open sea, there is the benefit of there not being as many defense mechanisms for them to worry about. there are a sprinkling of employees, but they're mostly doing rounds to make sure everything is operating as intended.

not having to worry about other pirates and countries in peacetime hit different… ]

There aren't any cameras, are there?

[ as tempting as it is to peek over thorns' shoulder, he doubts he'll be able to glean much if anything at all. ]

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