✧ — peach iced tea.

[boba]

this post is so clean

Comments

[oversea]

We should at least travel a little bit...

[ he does not want to stay in the same place two nights since in the small chance they are getting followed it would be bad to let others catch up...

he does lean on elysium though. ]

[transmit]

[ he leans back, ready to settle into basking under the sun… then jolts upright, remembering that he literally just said he'd be productive. ahem, ahem. after tidying up the campsite with some effort, he crouches down and offers his back to thorns. he'll have to hold onto his bag and the flag, but that presumably beats walking. ]

Get on?

[ realistically, they aren't getting that far this way but any bit counts. ]

[oversea]

[ it's fine. as long as they are at a different spot thorns will consider it a win.

granted he might go insane and claim he feels fine now and start walking later, but it's too early for him to feel that useless yet. for now, he climbs into his back. koala time. ]

[transmit]

[ and so continues their travel montage along yan's countryside…

eventually, elysium steers them closer to the roads again now that it's forked off from the main road, wanting a better sense of the people travelling the same direction they're headed. he might carry a map in his head and a catalogue of quick, rough facts, but it still feels better to see it with his own eyes. the foliage keeps them mostly hidden while elysium steals the occasional glance through the gaps. ]

What do you think about hitching another ride? ——Consensually, this time. From what I've seen, all the cars that have passed us by are agricultural.

[oversea]

[ he considers it... then nods. at least in yan people aren't as uptight about aegir and the obvious signs of elysium's oripathy are covered, and those would be the main reasons people might tell them no aside from not wanting to help out a stranger. ]

I think that works. We can see who'll stop for us.

[transmit]

[ tears up in his oripathy and how that makes their honeymoon tour so much harder

but woooo… time to reemerge into civilisation after their quick dip into hermitism. elysium leads them onto a narrow walkway running alongside the road. as he pads along, another thought surfaces. ]

I probably shouldn't call you Thorns or Isidro. [ … ] Should we come up with something new for each other?

[ piece by piece, they really are shedding their old lives. ]

[oversea]

[ they are eventually going to reach a point where elysium will need treatment and unfortunately all of their best connections for that will always be rhodes. but they will cross that bridge when they get to it.

... but he supposes they will need fake names, especially consider operators travel so much. it is not impossible for them to end up at the same place as one or someone who has encountered them. ]

Pick a name for me.

[transmit]

[ i had to think about this for so long. i have absolutely no naming sense so let's just never use them in writing. ]

How about… Helio? As a tribute to my sun.

[oversea]

[ the way i was just thinking of how i just made you suffer with that tag

thorns thinks about it... although he really isn't thinking too hard because he would have accepted any name elysium would have given him unless it was something incredibly stupid. ]

I like it.

[transmit]

[ yeah i should've just taken a page out of ak's book and gone with wheat stalk but unfortunately elysium would put a little more thought into it than that ]

You have to give me one too.

[ makes you suffer right back ]

[oversea]

Rio.

[ funny, that the thing elysium likes to look at the most is the sky and for thorns it's the water. it feels a little symbolic to pass these things off to each other.

but we will never refer to these names in text again unless there is a third person in this thread. ]

[transmit]

[ people who survive in amnesia games with their self-chosen names are the strongest soldiers

and when you're in a competition to match things and your opponent is elythorns it's truly just a lesson in futility. disgusting. he can't help the way his smile widens, letting out a quiet, amused laugh for it. ]

I gotta say. Now it feels like we've put an end to one chapter for real.

[oversea]

It does.

[ ...

he reaches out to cup elysium's cheek with his hand. ]

And you are okay with it?

[ he knows the answer is yes, but he still feels like he needs to ask to be sure. elysium would have never done any of that if it wasn't for thorns. ]

[transmit]

You're not supposed to know where life takes you. And yet, I don't believe anything better could've happened to me—or will. Mi sol. You're everything, my guiding star.

[ he pauses in his steps, leaning his face into thorns' palm. ]

Wherever you go, I'll follow. Of course I am.

[ this level of devotion should truly be alarming but thorns can hear these words whenever he wants, as many times as he wants. his feelings will never fade. ]

[oversea]

[ well.

instead of seeing this as a red flag, he just thinks it is incredibly romantic because his brain is becoming more and more warped every day. while there is a part of thorns that still wants elysium to have his own interests and do his own things, he wants him to be doing those things next to thorns.

parallel play... ]

I keep wondering how I could love you more than I do, and I get surprised every day.

[transmit]

[ it's true. what would've been the point of them doing this if they aren't always together? everything kept getting in their way: work, timing, other people's expectations. they're here now because they want to make each other their lives.

the way if thorns ever decides he wants space he'll spiral wondering if he's tired of him. this is so ill. ]

Instead of wondering, you could just keep loving me more. More, and more, and more. Until there's nothing left to question. I'd be fine with that.

[ says this like he's talking about the weather. genuinely, what's wrong with this if they're both perfectly happy? nothing. ]

[oversea]

[ he opens his mouth to reply, but the sound of another vehicle approaching makes him pause. a potential ride? thorns is going to let elysium handle this because he might piss them off some how, why is he so bad at dealing with people to get them to do stuff.

if he had replied, it would have only been to agree, because as long as elysium remains okay then thorns will find no issues with their current way of living. and everything has been going okay so far. but that's ignoring the fact that all the other times, things were going okay until they very much weren't. ]

[transmit]

[ he's going to violently explode without treatment and highlight the futility of their struggle, clearly. with that, no amount of going back in time will fix anything—unless they, or thorns, decides to be even more unhinged and take things further and nth time.

anyway, seeing people out and about is probably a strange sight, especially with thorns draped across his back. when the passerby slows to check what's wrong, elysium smoothly takes over the talking. it makes thorns look shy, so elysium spins a story: they're elopees from iberia, travelling the world and hoping to settle in yan after hearing about its idyllic countryside life.

he explains with a smile that his husband is exhausted from the long journey, which earns them a laugh, and adds that they're both looking for work. the man isn't sure if they have anything available, but remarks that two able-bodied men shouldn't have trouble finding plenty in their village.

soon enough, they're climbing onto the back of his tractor. elysium grins as he eases thorns down carefully, then leans his weight against him as he plops beside him. he did so well? he did so well! he brims with pleased energy. ]

[oversea]

[ thorns is really being painted as the frail uke here...

well, he cannot argue, so he just nods his head when it's appropriate to and gives one word answers when someone asks him something specifically. he does give the impression of a shy maiden this way... once they're both settled, he groans, pressing his face against elysium's shoulder. ]

Should I call you dear? Honey? Hubby?

[ he means in front of other people... ]

[transmit]

[ sometimes you are shorter and are instantly classified as uke and no one bats an eye. it's a rough world out there.

elysium reaches over to ruffle thorns' hair. ]

What feels the most natural? Being convincing's the most important part.

[oversea]

[ this is decrimination.

the nicknames in iberian are, but they are not understandable to people who don't speak the language, and they are trying to pass off as people who are normal and married. ]

Love.

[ sorry. he just likes to say that word. ]

[transmit]

Love. I like that one, too. How about I just keep changing yours, see if I can keep you on your toes?

[ not that it means much when he likes anything thorns gives him simply because it's from thorns. but it's still endearing that of all choices, that's the one he's settled on. elysium tips his head back onto thorns' shoulder in overblown dramatics, kicking his feet out and almost cooing in contentment.

the driver remarks on what lovebirds they are, and to that, elysium only laughs. ]

It sounds like it's time to pick up Yanese while we're at it. [ over his shoulder: ] Hey! What do the people in Yan call their spouses?

[ please put elysium down he is sooo en route to becoming the local wifeguy ]

[oversea]

[ he elbows elysium, kind of chastising but not really since he truly lets him get away with anything.

but it really is amazing how they can seem just like any other regular couple if they ignore literally everything they brought them to this moment. ]

Stop bothering them.

[ the farmer just thinks it's funny... what a cute pair... ]

[transmit]

[ thinks about how thorns will also have to come up with a convincing excuse for why his arm is fucked up tears up there is so much that can go wrong. ]

What? Conversation keeps things lively.

[ the farmer agrees, remarking that the village could use more young people to brighten the atmosphere. life in the city is simply more glamourous and offers more job opportunities, but when you've come from iberia, nearly anything feels elevated by comparison. elysium doesn't say that aloud; instead, he notes that the countryside has its own charm—and very quickly he's winning this guy over.

the farmer mentions having books for elysium if he's serious about learning, to which elysium says—of course he is, nudging thorns for emphasis. ]

It'll be fun to learn something together. Who do you think will master it first? Me or you?

[oversea]

Me.

[ he answers so quickly and confidently that it makes the farmer laugh. it sounds like a joke but thorns is so serious about it...

but he then adds on, ]

You'll be a very close second place.

[ there is only two of them. ]