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[superniceone]

(open / overflow)

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[superniceone]

"I was trying to play it cool," Gustave protests quietly, but the last part gives him pause. "But, uh. Sure." He's not exactly upset by this - it makes sense, actually, because it probably is completely idiotic for them to disappear until the woods to debase each other. Selfish, even.

But it still obliquely like a breakup?? He watches him for a moment, considering, before he adds almost carefully: "I'll be around, though. For a little while, at least. If you change your mind."

[recreatable]

Verso realizes that he was hoping for more of a reaction than uh, sure, which is confirmation that he's doing the right thing by shutting this down. He's so close; the last thing he needs is to get his priorities muddled. He is absolutely doing the right thing, and it doesn't bother him at all that Gustave is probably going to spend his last moment of existence hating him.

"I just think that we should conserve our energy," he says by way of explanation. It's not untrue, but it's not really authentic. Verso was willing to selfishly waste his energy until the exact moment that it made him experience the smallest inkling of doubt. A pause, then a light, "Can't keep picking up your slack forever."

[superniceone]

"It's alright, Verso," Gustave says after a moment, and they really should be getting on their way, but he's stalling. "You don't have to make excuses. I-"

He's struggling to find words, like he occasionally does. "For what it's worth - I'm sorry to have made it weird."

[recreatable]

Verso stares for a second, then actually laughs a little. "—You can't even let me take credit for this," he says, a little disbelieving. He's the one who made it weird, dammit. Gustave was, yes, more affectionate than he really should have been by force of habit, but Verso's the one who actually felt something about it, so it's pretty squarely his responsibility.

He pinches the bridge of his nose. He'd been hoping to keep it light and casual, avoid any uncomfortable conversations. That's what the dismembered hand had been for. "You didn't do anything wrong. It just made me remember someone, that's all."

[superniceone]

"I'm the one who crossed the line," Gustave says, equally a little disbelieving. "I've never - obviously I've never been great at separating sex from-"

He's struggling again, hates that he can feel a little heat of embarrassment in his ears.

"This is such a- even if we don't, I'm glad that we- fucking hell," he swears under his breath, shaking his head. "Look. Let's talk tonight. Or- not, that's fine, too."

[recreatable]

Wow. Gustave just started and didn't finish, like, five sentences.

"All right. Yeah. You're right, we should focus on getting to the next Axon." Gustave didn't say that, exactly, but the meaning feels clear enough. Interpersonal drama is small potatoes compared to what they're dealing with. "This one will be tougher."

[superniceone]

Gustave has always been very good at that.

"You're right," he says, and then laughs - it's humourless, exasperated at himself, and he dips his head and shakes it. "But I do have considerably less incentive to make it through this time. I'll let you have that."

[recreatable]

Verso shakes his head back, crossing his arms. Ridiculous. "Sure you do," he drawls, tone entirely casual even though his stomach flips at the very real possibility that Gustave—or Sciel, or Lune—doesn't make it through. Stupid. He's so stupid. "If you make it through, you'll be one step closer to beating Sixty's record."

[superniceone]

"Something for the history books," he says with a little smile, taking a few steps away from where they were loitering. He's trying to be light-hearted, jostling Verso's arm gently when he passes. "So no more flirting, then? Just to be clear."

Later, it will occur to him that he recognizes this bubble of warmth. Later, he'll be horrified.

[recreatable]

"Well," Verso says, shrugging as he turns to watch Gustave pass. "I can't promise none. I can't help it if I'm irrevocably charming."

It's just who he is!! It's not like he was ever flirting with Gustave with the actual intention to get into his pants; he just has an addictingly fun and flirty personality, obviously.

[superniceone]

"Fair enough point," he says, and does his best to shutter thoughts about anything else for now. (It'll be later, when he wonders if Verso is perhaps interested in spending time with one of the girls, instead, when he recognizes that ugly feeling as a seed of jealousy, that he's going to sink his head into his hands and wonder how he's gotten himself here. But right now, he's just going to make sure Maelle is as prepared as she can be.)

[recreatable]

This is good, he thinks. He got a good grade in ending an end-of-the-world fling, which is both normal to want and possible to achieve. Gustave won't ever admit it, he's sure, but Verso's pretty sure the hand thing helped break the tension.

He watches Gustave walk toward Maelle, and he feels a flash of jealousy, wishing that it were him looking out for her. But he's looking out for her in a much more significant sense, so he stuffs the feeling down and reminds himself what this is all about: family. "I think I hear Monoco calling me," he says, even though he doesn't, because it's still unpleasant to watch someone else fill the role you were created to fill. "Probably got his hair matted again."

He busies himself quickly after that, loath to watch Maelle shower Gustave in sisterly affection.

[superniceone]

Sciel figures she's allowed to be just a little nosy. She loves Gustave and she's fond of Verso, and so she'll approach when it's clear he's idling more than anything else. "You know," she says, genuinely good-natured, "not something I really saw coming."

[recreatable]

Sciel is, against all odds, still incredibly kind to Verso when she has plenty of reasons to be wary of him, so he finds it difficult to brush her off, even when he's pretty sure the conversation won't be quite as interesting as she hopes. There's really nothing to tell, and if there were, he wouldn't know what Gustave would mind him saying, anyway. He keeps it vague and light, asking, "Don't you have tarot cards for predicting the future?"

[superniceone]

His answer is pretty much just as evasive as she expects it to be, and she rolls her eyes. "I'm teasing you, not criticizing. You should've had him fix his hair before he came back last night if you wanted to be subtle about it."

Sciel gives Verso a light nudge, a little apology in it. "It's none of my business, I know. But there's nothing wrong with having a little fun."

[recreatable]

Verso has no idea what Gustave's hair looked like after he came back last night, actually. He was too busy feeling bad for himself.

He doesn't really know what to say to her friendly words. There is nothing wrong with having a little fun, and he firmly believes that; with all of his decades behind him, it's hardly the first time he's had no-strings-attached sex. It had been perhaps a little too fun, though, and then very much not fun at all. Hard to enjoy the good things in life when it's all about to come to a bitter end.

"You could at least pretend to be jealous," he finally says, knocking their shoulders together. "For my ego."

[superniceone]

"Pretend!" Sciel exclaims, shooting him a look and bumping his back. "Who's pretending? I just didn't realize I had competition."

Which, okay, she's saying just to be silly, but she's also not joking.

[recreatable]

Sciel is ridiculously sweet, and her reaction makes him laugh. He spares a glance at Gustave and Maelle, then looks back at Sciel. God, it's really not fair. There's something about her that just makes him blurt out, "No competition, actually. It was a one-time thing." A pause. "Two-time thing." But who's counting?

[superniceone]

Two times! She genuinely hadn't been expecting it from Gustave, of all people. Well - good for him; he was notoriously bad at letting himself indulge in joy for the sake of joy. "Oh, does that mean your dance card is open now?" She wouldn't (probably), but she can't help her own curiosity at his answer.

[recreatable]

Verso is a fuckboy first and somebody who maybe-sort-of has a tiny crush on Gustave second. And, besides, Sciel of all people surely knows how to have proper meaningless sex. It would be a good way to clear his head. So: "I can always make room, for the right dance partner."

[superniceone]

"Tempting," Sciel admits with a sidelong smile at him. If it really was just blowing off steam; if she could be certain it wouldn't phase Gustave. She gives Verso an appraising look from head to toe. "I'll keep that in mind. Been a while since I've had a dance partner."

She'll be doing her best to get a read on the mood between the two boys basically at every opportunity today.

[recreatable]

Verso just grins before heading off to actually check in with Monoco (who still hasn't called him over, and very much doesn't care about the weird things Verso does with other humans with his clothes off).

He's remarkably normal throughout the day, he thinks, like nothing happened at all; he doesn't look at Gustave too much or not enough, and he slings the same sort of irreverent comments his way when Gustave fumbles in a fight. He even helps Gustave up when a Nevron knocks him over, and he doesn't think about the feeling of Gustave's hand in his at all.

"Why are you staring at your hand?" Monoco asks, and Verso flexes his fingers.

"Reattached it earlier. Still feels funny."

[superniceone]

The dynamics of the day are absolutely fascinating to Sciel. Verso is aggressively normal, but Gustave isn't - though she isn't certain she would have been able to pick up on that if she weren't keeping an eye out for it. It's subtle, the way he just seems a little more attentive to Verso. The fact that Gustave is softly snarky at him - it's a demeanor he reserves pretty much exclusively for people he's comfortable in his own skin around.

Aw. Gustave has a crush. It's sweet, but she's really not surprised the two of them began and ended with a little fling.

"Monoco, Verso - get over here, it's getting cold." Sciel calls out to them from the campfire, and she's folding herself into a seat next to Gustave, looping her arm in his and reclining her head against his shoulder. He seems unbothered by it, and refrains from adding any comment as Sciel resumes her attempt to gently cajole Lune into playing some music for them tonight.

[recreatable]

"I'm not cold," Monoco argues, although he does come to sit by the campfire regardless. He would never admit it, but Verso knows he loves human companionship. He was made that way, to be the perfect friend. Verso follows, settling down next to Monoco and across the fire from Sciel and Gustave. Aggressively normal, still.

"You humans are just too hairless," Monoco decides.

"Oh, I've been saying that for years," Verso deadpans.

[superniceone]

"Agreed," Sciel says cheerfully, and she can feel Gustave chuckle more than she can see it. "You are the most distinguished looking member of our little group, Monoco."

She seems to have abandoned the idea of convincing Lune to play, and will instead do her best to spend the next little while cajoling them into light-hearted socializing. Gustave remains quiet unless directly addressed, but he also doesn't shake Sciel off, sitting carefully as long as she seems comfortable.