chatime | ✧ — peach iced tea.

[ disgusting...

thorns does not take his hand off. however he does adjust its position just enough so that he can subtle stick the ends of his finger into elysium's mouth.

hell. ]

[ sure. why not. he licks the tip of one of his fingers and kisses it too. he does not break eye contact.

them going quiet out of nowhere is the weirdest thing, it's fine. they're fine. ]

[ the farmer just assumes that the exhaustion from their travels is finally really hitting them so they're settling down... it is such a charitable thought and very wrong.

thorns slides a second finger in, not paying mind to anything but elysium. hi. ]

[ why is this the second time they've done this in the span of a day. but what else is elysium supposed to do when handed an opportunity to worship thorns? not take it? impossible.

so, he presses a kiss into every other fingertip in turn, unhurried and with all the time in the world, before trailing his mouth along the length of thorns' hand. lips lingering at the heel of his palm, his breath fans across his skin, softly sinking into every crease, down to his very pulse beneath the surface. thorns deserves to be cherished like this, again and again, however many times as he'll allow, as this is what elysium is meant for.

hi. ]

[ he wants to kiss him.

he even leans in, ready to move his hand out of the way

and then they hit a giant pothole in the road ]

[ well

let this be a lesson on why you don't make out in the back of a moving vehicle and on roads that aren't well-maintained at that. imagine if they were actually kissing and thorns bit him hard enough to bleed. that would be the saddest way to contact oripathy.

instead, he just ends up bumping against thorns and sprawled across his lap. ow. ]

[ love is pain....?

thorns rubs the spot that got hit. specifically, he is rubbing elysium where he got hit because that's his poor baby!!!! his ouchies.

they are so dramatic and for what. the farmer apologizes and wonders how strong they actually are. ]

You okay?

No.

[ he sniffles, arms circling around thorns' thighs. ]

You have to keep going…

[ the rubbing.

they are losing so much credibility ]

[ he continues to do so for his bbbb... he must protect elysium at all costs. ]

Should I kiss it?

[ the farmer is amazed at the reminder of how people act while in the honeymoon phase. however these two are not in that, they are simply crazy. ]

[ he did not protect elysium at all costs when he was bad touching his feathers. hello. but that was so long ago and there have been so many kisses between now and then he's completely forgotten about thorns' betrayal. ]

Yeah. I think it'll feel better after you give it a couple of tries.

[ in a way, it does sell the illusion that they're two stupidly in love men on the run for love. while it isn't a lie, it isn't the entire truth. oh well. ]

[ okay he had to touch them like that!!! elysium is the one who said they had to also get dyed!!! thorns already yearns for when the color will fade...

he will kiss his boo-boo, and the farmer will warn them of any upcoming holes; they had forgotten that the two newbies are not familiar with this road. eventually, they pull into a small town. the farmer explains that their farm is close by, just a fifteen to twenty minute walk west and the two of them are welcomed to stop by or stay if they can't find somewhere to sleep for the night. while there is an inn, it isn't as busy as the ones you'd find in a larger city so they also operate as a restaurant. they'd probably be delighted to see the two. ]

Let's look around?

[ they're going to have to do it again and elysium will lock himself up in a bathroom like thorns did that one time he had to [redacted]… that was traumatic… ]

Let's check out the inn first, see if they're open to hiring us for food and lodging. After that, we can look around for other ways to actually make money. [ … ] Some stability would be nice, yeah?

[ his gaze follows the direction the farmer had pointed, and the next part slips out under his breath, not meant for thorns in particular. ]

… I wonder if they have any Messengers working here.

[ thorns will try to be normal about this comment because it is elysium expression an interest in something that does not involve thorns.

he mostly just nods his head, like he would had if elysium had suggest any other potential job to try not to put any pressure on the suggestion. ]

Might as well find out. Our best bet is offering skills they don't already have here.

[ so casual... but they can head for the inn for now. they can likely get more info on the town there anyway. ]

[ they're both one bad day away from saying something even more unhinged than what's already slipped out, but with only good days ahead, what's there to worry about? nothing.

or so elysium would like to think, because when he really thinks about their situation, coupled with being among people in a context other as a rhodes operator, the pleasant haze of their elopement fades quick. yan may be one of the kinder places for the infected, but even that kindness has its limits. this level of free movement just wouldn't be accepted.

… he has to be careful.

but the inn is owned by an elderly couple, and they're more than happy to offer lodging as long as the two of them are willing to take on heavy lifting. it takes them so long to move produce from the truck it arrives in to their kitchen these days— they'd be a godsend.

until then? they should say hi to the rest of the residents and promptly shoos them both out. real first day on the farm in stardew and harvest moon vibes. ]

… What a reception. The people here are something else.

[ imagine if they were in iberia… ]

It's probably rare for them to get guests who plan to actually stay for long.

[ this does not really seem like the kind of place that people move to; it's more likely the opposite, where all their younger residents end up moving to a bigger city as soon as they're old enough to, leaving the elders struggling as their age creeps in on them.

... but it is likely best to keep hiding the obvious signs of elysium's oripathy for now. even the kindest of people can turn hideous when it gets involved. ]

[ all it takes is one person to infect an entire population… it's not like elysium doesn't get it. t's tempting to pull his sleeves down despite knowing full well the crystals on his arm are covered. ]

Mm.

[ his hand finds thorns' to hold onto. ]

After we make our rounds, should we catch some more fish to bring back? As thanks. You did promise me you'd show me how it's done, too.

Ah, you remembered.

[ they are both aware elysium knows how to fish.

he squeezes his hand, and starts walking, pulling elysium with him. most people seem to be working at the moment which is understandable since it's the middle of the day. a few people look at them curiously and thorns is already failing at making introductions because he pays them no mind. ]

I got really lucky that first time around. If it weren't for not wanting to disappoint you, [ the power of LOVE!! ] I wouldn't have done half as well.

[ wrong. elysium doesn't know a thing.

and ordinarily, elysium would be much better about saying hello. alas, their honeymoon vibes are just that strong that even elysium's pressing fast forward on the majority of their interactions. that's the charitable way of putting it, when really, he's putting in the bare minimum when it comes to introductions solely because of the insane reality in his mind that he and thorns only need each other. and if they have to be ready to uproot their lives at a moment's notice, it's hard to feel particularly invested in anyone or anything else.

but yes, thorns is cute just by existing, can anyone blame him? they are sooooo excited for this next stage in their life.

they even run into people their age who are friendly enough to ask if they'd like to join them for drinks later, but elysium only tightens his grip on thorns' hand and answers that they need to earn their stay first(!). next time. ]

What else should we do to impress people? Find wild game?

[ them hunting those huge ass birds was so long ago…… everyone like alright maybe they aren't so normal after all ]

[ this is one of the things that makes thorns torn.

he, of course, notices that elysium isn't acting as friendly as he would have normally. and there is a feeling of guilt attached to that, because he was always the more sociable one of the two, and thorns is aware that he isn't anymore because of him.

but elysium hanging around other people means less time for him to be around thorns. it's the constant catch-22 of the situation–wanting elysium to enjoy himself without thorns, but not wanting to be without elysium. ]

I can catch more than you.

[ okay.

but this, at least, is something more normal for them, a little playful competition... that no one else is invited to. ]

[ why does everything have to turn into a competition. this is what i'm thinking while elysium can't help but find it deeply endearing. ]

Can you? I'll give you fishing, [ GIVE? ] but you should at least leave a few things for me to do, too. Don't be greedy.

[ like, are they not taking turns on being tradwife. he has one (1) complaint.

well, at least other people will get to enjoy the fruits of their labour even if everything they do ends up being for each other, in one way or another. that counts for something, doesn't it? they aren't harming anyone but themselves, if that. ]

I have no idea what you mean.

[ he has done nothing? he just thinks elysium would look amazing in an apron and only an apron and needs to build the backstory surrounding that vision.

they will have to approach a local to talk though, and it's just to ask where is land that they'd be allowed to hunt on since the last thing they need is to accidentally trespass on private property and get in trouble day one. the local helpfully points them to some woods and fields close by that isn't owned by anyone specific so they're free to go there.

they also warn that some of the animals are dangerous so they shouldn't wander too far in. thorns just grunts in response. ]

[ the equivalent of thorns making a face claim and telling him not to act ooc… okay… he just narrows his eyes at thorns' back like he can see right through him. does he really think he'll accept this so easily?

yes… but that doesn't mean he has to like it nor does it stop him from making it thorns' problem.

he tugs on thorns' hand and leans in to bite at his cheek. only after getting that small victory out can they go hunt down their wild boar or whatever. he's buying thorns the raunchiest laciest lingerie he can find the moment he can and somehow this is emotionally stabilising. ]

[ elysium with his proud first paycheck like yes i want this that leaves nothing to the imagination please

but off they go. they're really in a rural area right now, so the paths are all dirt roads, with the only properly paved ones being in the town itself. looking at the ground, they can tell where the townspellle normally go when they enter the forest and what places don't typically get traffic. ]

Suggestions?

[ thorns like how much did this cost and elysium just turns his head way he will literally live off the land for this ]

Let's see what we can track first?

[ he's already crouching to look at the ground and looking around them for any signs of larger creatures passing by. if they can't find anything here, there has to be something closer to water sources. hmm. ]

Ideally, we bring back enough to feed at least seven people. [ that is so many mouths. ] Us, the couple at the inn, and the farmer's family. That should secure us goodwill.

[ it's wild that this is what they have to do now. they have to both rebuild their possessions, while also making sure anything they get they would either be okay with potentially abandoning or selling, or easy enough for them to pack up to take with them. even when thorns was traveling on his own while working for thorns, he could always just have items shipped back to the landship if needed.

hmm. ]

We can try to locate prime fishing locations too for later.

[ they are hunting today to show off, but for the day to day it would likely be easier to just fish... ]

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