chatime | ✧ — peach iced tea.

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. ]

It doesn't seem like it. If there's any, it would likely be where they keep any money, so we'd just have to stay away from there.

[ this ship seems on the older side and doesn't appear as well kept as it could be, so it might just be that they don't want to spend the extra money when they could just have people on guard duty.

but it's easier to avoid people than it is cameras, so they luck out there. ]

... They could take better care of this thing.

[ criticizes their ship care. ]

Oh. That's convenient. We only want a sandwich or two, anyway…

[ they're humble thieves.

except. he contemplates something… ]

Should we throw in a little work as payment for transport and the meal?

[ this is so funny when elysium just stole the hat earlier. his morals pop up in funny ways. ]

What do you suggest?

[ he is not against the idea. ]

[ the sense of urgency had been higher back then. and now they have time to kill… it's different. if elysium has the luxury to do something nice for the other guy he would've done that too. ]

You were just mentioning how they don't take good care of this thing. Is there any small thing you think we can do with what we have?

Well, it'll have to be something that doesn't make noise...

[ the last thing they need is to alert others.

but he will suggest something "what" i do not know enough about ships to confidently suggest a quiet activity to make one better, so you will have to trust me that thorns gives an answer that makes sense. ]

[ me lobbing the hot potato back to you because i don't know shit either.

but with their act of good done: ]

Now we don't have to feel bad if end up eating more than bread.

[ their good and honest work ]

Most people should be asleep, so if we're going to make our move, we should make it now.

Mm.

[ he starts tugging him along. they probably took notice of where they went when they snuck on in the first place, so can just follow the path until they reach the kitchen. no one is here... but they have no idea what the crew's sleep habits are, so they can just hurry. ]

Have you done this before?

On missions…

[ whack how someone so loud is put on covert missions.

he will occasionally put a hand on thorns' shoulder and tug him back when he hears a sound. most often, it's a false positive. it doesn't hurt to be careful. ]

I'm usually a law-abiding citizen. You believe me, don't you?

No.

[ he answers so fucking quickly. ]

... But that's fine. Sometimes you can't be.

[ they are still better than so many rhodes operators. ]

[ he's about to smack thorns' head before he adds the next part, hand suspended mid-air before he drops it down. ]

… Yeah. And sometimes you have to prioritise what's important to you. But that's why you have to make up for it where you can.

[ when the opportunity arises, he'll talk about how great this logistics company is (to stow away on)

but they make it!! to the kitchen!! no one's currently in it so it's completely dark. ]

Think you can make us a light? Turning them on might draw too much attention.

Mmhm.

[ he will do so.

they can search... boats are risky in that thorns is confident that they could overpower the people on the ship if they get caught, but at the end of the day they would still be stuck on the boat. at least with rivers, swimming to shore won't be nearly as difficult than if they were out at sea, but elysium is right that a lot of the belongings they brought with them would get destroyed in the process...

he finds some bread. they should also probably find some non-perishables that are easy to carry. they really are like mice. ]

[ elysium's squaring away bottles of water, mostly. food isn't as much of a concern when yan's land is as abundant as it is, but he will squint and look for things that are higher and denser in calorie count. ]

Mm. I almost forgot, but we should get our story straight before we dock. [ spoken as he quietly rummages through more cupboards. ] If we tell people we're runaway lovers from Iberia, I don't think anyone will ask anything beyond that.

[ iberia being the way it is doesn't make them being armed and adept that much of a surprise, either…

but then he pauses, falls silent, and goes completely still before he moves on and pretend it'd never happened. ]

… Going forward, we'll have to keep in mind that my options for employment are a lot more limited. I might really have to become an author, huh.

[ well, him freezing up is odd, but considering they are currently trying to be very quiet thorns won't think that deeply on it.

but hmmm. ]

I guess it depends on how we expect our travel to go. Are we going to quickly move from place to place, or do we plan to stay somewhere for a couple of weeks or months before moving on?

[ if it's the latter, it'll be easier to pick up an easier job like bartending or working in a shop versus just doing more labor intensive jobs. ]

And that would depend on how many resources Rhodes decides to expend finding us. My guess is not a whole lot.

[ they are just two guys, after all, and it's not like the other group has a specific vendetta against them.

unless…? ]

I've filled my bag. You?

[ realistically, once it has become clear that they are no longer in the area, they won't chase after them. rhodes might decide to keep an eye out for them as they travel, but thorns also doubts that there would be an active search. ]

... For now, let's just keep moving until we find a place we can lay low at for a while.

[ so they can stock up, and then move on. more than anything, it's actually probably more important to try to get far away in case they were being followed by the other group. ]

I'm also good. Let's head back.

[ he nods and follows along, but not before trying to feed thorns and apple slice. everything else he's carrying is less perishable by nature, but they might as well treat themselves this one last time they can. ]

Still okay energy-wise? I can keep watch while you take a quick nap. [ … ] You've been up a lot longer than me.

[ he's counting the time he spent knocked out as rest. don't worry about it ]

[ he takes a second to try to figure out how can that possibly be true before he realizes what elysium is counting as sleep. ]

You didn't nap. You got knocked out.

[ don't be annoying. ]

[ okay but what the said is still not wrong ]

Better one of us performs at his peak than the both of us hobbling along.

[ they presumably get to where they need to be, and elysium just takes a seat on the floor, patting his lap. ]

Here. Your pillow.

[ he does not agree with this...

but he will accept his pillow anyway, because he can admit taking turns sleeping is a good idea. his complaint is that he doesn't trust elysium to wake him up. ]

Don't let me sleep for too long.

[ he pokes thorns' nose. as much as he'd like to remain stubborn about this, they share the same sentiment. ]

You have to define 'too long'. If I had my way, I'd want you to get seven hours.

That's too long. Wake me up in two hours.

[ he knows elysium will make him go over two hours, but thorns can live with that as long as it's not too much over.

he turns so that he can bury his face against elysium. ]

I love you.

[ they can compromise on three.

but he bends down close enough to kiss thorns' cheek. ]

I love you, too. Here's to our new beginning.

[ new beginning which is just them obsessed with each other. okay ]

[ their new beginning where they finally managed to cut every other person out of their lives and abandoned all of their responsibilities that were still keeping them grounded to reality. it's fine.

but thorns will eventually fall asleep, holding onto elysium like he is making sure he can't move.

they are so healthy. ]

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