✧ — peach iced tea.

[boba]

this post is so clean

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[oversea]

[ HELLO?

thorns deserves this. he sits right back up after and then just pulls on elysium's tuft in retaliation.


elysium also can't decide to go bald because then how else can thorns do this?? ]

[transmit]

[ no he was going to dye his entire head black so the red tuft won't be a red tuft anymore

he hates thorns' hand away!! he does not appreciate this when thorns started the friendly fire first!!! ]

When's it going to be my turn to sleep…?

[ pulls out his trump card ]

[oversea]

[ ...

unfortunately, this works. thorns is aware that elysium is playing him, but he cannot argue at all against the fact that he wants his bbbb to have some rest. ]

I'll remember this.

[ he moves over and then pats his lap. ]

[transmit]

[ they know each other too well; elysium isn't even pretending to be subtle about playing him. ]

That's what you always say.

[ thorns' consolation prize is a kiss on the mouth and the most exaggerated doe eyes elysium can muster. ]

Te amo. This part of you is the cutest.

[ the part of him that lets elysium get away with everything 🥺 but now it's his turn to get comfortable, and he does the same thing, winding his arms snugly around thorns' midsection. ]

[oversea]

[ thorns does not agree he does not think this is the cutest!!!!

but thorns just idly runs his fingers through elysium's hair. if he tries to concentrate, he can hear the sound of the water hitting against the ship. he can even pretend it's his boat... before he snaps out of it and reminds himself it's not his anymore.

there's only one thing that matters that belongs to him, and he's in his lap. ]

[transmit]

[ there are no wild dreams anymore, only the comfort of knowing he holds the entire world in his arms, and he'll stop at nothing to keep it there. the position isn't exactly comfortable, his body twisted into something smaller just to fit behind the cargo they're using to hide themselves, but that doesn’t matter.

somehow, he sleeps better than he has in weeks, certain that nothing can come between them now. not the cuna de nene, not rhodes, not anyone. thorns is his, and he is thorns'. ]

[oversea]

[ this is so delusional, their luck is below the ground.

there is a point where someone actually enters the cargo hold. thorns freezes, and he tries to make sure that elysium is out of view. thankfully, the crew members are not aware that there are people stowed away on the ship, so they aren't really looking around and just go straight for what they came in here for.

thorns judges them for being so noisy... it is still not daylight... people are trying to sleep, assholes... ]

[transmit]

[ the heaviness in the air stirs him awake ahead of schedule. he blinks awake, but doesn't move, just taps thorns' thigh in morse… everything okay?

he is not going back to sleep like this…… ]

[oversea]

[ he nods his head.

the crew members spend about five more minutes here before they finally leave. thorns sighs, and turns his attention back to elysium. ]

Go back to sleep.

[transmit]

[ he could let himself drift back to sleep… but instead, he lifts his hand, fingers brushing along thorns' jaw before settling to cup his cheek. ]

Mm. Don't wanna. I realised something just now.

[oversea]

[ okay this is going against their contract?

thorns frowns as he peers down at him. ]

What?

[transmit]

[ he stares at thorns and frowns when he doesn't get it. ]

It'll be harder to flirt when we're on the move.

[ an hour is enough rest…… ]

[oversea]

[ an hour is not enough rest. he'll kill you. the expression on his face shares this sentiment. ]

This is cheating.

[ thorns got to nap for three hours... ]

[transmit]

Am I wrong?

[ he cheated before he can cheat again. his fingers curl into back of thorns' head, pulling him down into a kiss. thorns can always knock him out again? there's that option. ]

[oversea]

I'm starting to think I spoil you too much.

[ is this a problem? has thorns been letting elysium get away with things for too long?

the answer is yes, of course. even when thorns complains about elysium's actions, he still just lets him get away with it now. the most they may do is just smack each other but isn't that often followed by kisses to make it better...? this is fucked up. ]

[transmit]

Isn't it fine because I spoil you, too?

[ it feels almost like their roles have flipped. elysium used to overthink every little thing, always worrying about how their relationship might unravel and how it'll come between the many other things they had in their lives. it had seemed easier to stay friends: one less burden for thorns, one less risk for him. it's possible there's a timeline out there where they didn't have to rush headlong into their feelings, where things simply fell into place on their own, but that ship has long sailed.

in this timeline, the only question that mattered was: once he had thorns again, could he ever let go?

the answer is no. whatever he wants to indulge in, whatever thorns craves in return—they've agreed to gracelessly fall together. ]

Kiss me back.

[ he is so openly demanding… he kisses thorns again, adding a bite to it this time. ]

[oversea]

See? Now you know how I felt.

[ when elysium didn't kiss him back before... rude.

but thorns very easily does give in, even though he just commented on how easily he's been doing this. it really doesn't matter if he wonders if they spoil each other too much or not. neither of them are going to change anything about that at this point, so there's no point in thinking about it. ]

You really are pampered.

[transmit]

To be fair, you never said to say it back.

[ there is nothing remotely fair about this. between them, some things are simply meant to be reciprocated, and when they aren't, the silence and inaction cuts deeper than any physical wound ever would. asking outright only peels back another layer of defenses, exposing you further to rejection.

this is where thorns is kinder than him, unfortunately. this is deeply ill. ]

Who made it so I couldn't live without him, huh?

[ he very gently coaxes thorns' mouth open. they are so beyond being vanilla. ]

[oversea]

You're the one who seduced me.

[ imagine how different things may be if elysium never lost his mind that one day when he walked into thorns' lab. especially when you consider that the two of them were actively avoiding each other around that time...

but he easily follows along, shifting so that the two of them can sit more comfortably as this happens. is this the time or place for this? absolutely not. but as always, the threat of getting caught just makes it better. ]

[transmit]

[ i keep getting pinged whenever i get to this tread the world knows it's cursed ]

You could've accepted the señora's offer any time.

[ it wasn't really the lab incident itself or even the series of events leading up to it, more that they, or elysium specifically, was bound to fail the longer thorns spent in his proximity. he'd burned through so much of his sanity and spent the last of his restraint in the previous timeline, it's no wonder he couldn't quite bounce back from teetering on death, having to reconcile with thorns' resigning from his position to become his caretaker, and having to do the most grotesque jump yet from there.

so, they're just wringing every drop out of the time they have. they nearly went twenty-four hours without flirting (delusional); who knows when the next chance will come? at least, they won't be going that far… they really aren't equipped to deal with any messes, and won't be, for some time. this is about to kill them both. ]

[oversea]

[ it's fine... they can makeout.

it is true though, they really can't do much more unless they insanely decide to strip all the way down, which is not something they'd be against but stupidly risky in terms of where they are. imagine getting caught and having to escape naked. ]

How could I, when you're here?

[transmit]

[ imagine if they had to upend their life a second time because they had to escape naked i would simply vanish and never appear again

but yes they can make out, pretend they're chaste, and exchange more intimacy until the sun starts peeking through the clouds and the stir of life picks up from outside the haul. he parts reluctantly, though his arms will keep thorns close.

there are new hickeys. ]

… We should get ready for our moment to disembark, I think.

[ sad ]

[oversea]

I suppose.

[ sad!!!

... sorry, he is going to start kissing elysium again for at least another two minutes before he finally pulls away for real. ]

Let's get our stuff. Put the jacket back on, we can try to blend in with the crew.

[ the good thing about these types of ships is that it's normal for crew to come and go so people may not realize immediately they're not supposed to be here if they're spotted outside of here. the hard part is making it out after the realization does hit. ]

[transmit]

[ elysium is fine with this. if there are consequences for their poor decision-making they can deal—because they have been sooooo good about doing just that. ]

Right ahead of you. We can make it look like we're helping unload cargo?

[ they follow the chain of command and then

nyoom ]

[oversea]

[ once they've gathered their belongings, thorns will go and make sure that there's no one in the passageway immediately in front of their door so they don't get busted ten seconds in. once he's sure to coast if clear, he gestures for elysium to follow...

it sounds like most of the crew is above deck, likely getting everything squared away for docking. there's an odd feeling in his chest watching it. it's funny, since he think he and elysium really could have been happy out at sea together, but the major gap in their ranks was really killing them. ]