chatime | ✧ — peach iced tea.

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. ]

[ they are very much still grounded to reality, what do you mean!! the moment things quieted down, they started thinking about how to fund their lifestyle, running numbers in their head, and figuring out how to make this all work.

unfortunately for them, elysium finds it both unbearably cute and reassuring that even subconsciously, thorns clings to him. he mutters something gently about never going anywhere, threading his fingers through thorns' hair to soothe him further. this is so, so healthy.

three hours elapse. he leans in again to blow into thorns' ear. ]

[ sooo grounded.

it takes a few seconds, but thorns does wake up. the problem is, he wakes up with a very sudden start and sits up

he just knocks right into elysium. ouch. ]

[

this is how he accidentally bites his tongue and inflicts further damage onto himself. ow. to his credit he just hisses quietly and cups a hand to his jaw… not the brightest idea to wake someone up when they're in the middle of a potentially precarious situation, but thorns' face was so cute… it was worth them almost dying… ]

Morning…

[ he now has the slightest lisp. help ]

[ noooo his baby

thorns immediately just starts to press kisses to the side of elysium's face to repent. ]

Sorry...

[ tries to heal elysium with love... ]

Are you okay?

[ also rubs thorns' head with love. his chin. it's pointy… ]

Yeah.

[ he rubs at the spot he was hit, but he's had worse injuries. ]

Anything happen?

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