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[superniceone]

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[superniceone]

"Why would Lumière have any idea who you are if you don't tell it?" Gustave doesn't make the flat joke he wants to: that they all owe their existence to him, so gratitude should be the baseline at least. "If Maelle really has the power to do what she thinks, it's going to be— pandemonium. Who's to say you're not a favored uncle of mine from childhood?"

And, honestly: Gustave was probably the biggest history nerd in the city, and he hadn't immediately clocked Verso and Renoir as family on the Expedition together. "No offense, but you might just be overestimating how much attention the city would pay to your existence."

[recreatable]

"You really know how to make a man feel special," he drones. It isn't quite as easy as Gustave acts; there are plenty of people who Maelle might bring back who know him, sometimes as an antagonistic figure. Is he supposed to ask Maelle to paint over them, remove their memories of him? That feels particularly dark.

It would probably be better for everyone if he hid himself away in some rarely visited corner of the continent, never to be seen again. That isn't Gustave's problem, though, so he just shrugs before cracking an amused grin.

"...Uncle Verso?" As if their relation wasn't weird enough already. Gustave's a real freak!!

[superniceone]

He's not thinking about that, the other people Verso might have crossed. It'll occur to him later, but for now he's just cringing at Verso's remark.

"...I heard it as soon as I said it," Gustave says with an embarrassed grimace. "I was hoping you'd be nice enough to just let that one slide."

[recreatable]

"Oh, I'm not." Who would be??? But he's smiling, clearly not offended by Gustave's blunder. "After all, you've just succeeded in making me even more of a dirty old man." And it was already pretty bad before.

[superniceone]

"Please," he groans, "if you're the dirty old man, what does that make me? You're the one who's been showing restraint." And Gustave has been pursuing like Pepe le Pew.

[recreatable]

"You're young," he says with a cant of his head. Not by Gustave's standards, as he's one of the oldest people alive at the moment, but certainly by Verso's. "You're supposed to make bad decisions."

And Verso is definitely a bad decision. It feels less like restraint and more like waiting for Gustave to wake up and realize how venomous his existence is. It's only strange that it's taking so long.

"And as your uncle," he continues with a teasing tinge, "I'm supposed to discourage you." It's a family trait. The Dessendres are incapable of respecting anyone else's agency. He knows what's best for Gustave!

Still, he adds, "...But you'll have to start showing some restraint eventually. I'm not made of steel."

[superniceone]

Gustave watches him in silence at that, clearly inspecting. Even knowing everything he does, Verso is an impossible puzzle to tease out. He always seems so eager to please; it would be easy to assume that much of what he'd said to Gustave had been lip service, rooted in flattery. That he hadn't wanted to make any more waves in an already turbulent sea.

So he's not sure how he's meant to that that, can't figure out if it's just further teasing or something more than that.

"It's crueler to pretend there's a chance when there isn't than to just deny it outright, you know." It's quiet, gentle. "Not saying that's what you're doing. But just in case."

[recreatable]

Verso wants to be offended, but he isn't. It's fair that Gustave suspects that. After all, it's essentially what he did every time he pushed off their not-quite-a-relationship to 'after the Paintress'.

"Yeah. I should definitely say that there isn't a chance." Which is not, in fact, the same thing as actually saying that there isn't a chance.

[superniceone]

"I'm doing my best to think back on what it is I could have done to deserve being treated this way by you, and I'm honestly coming up blank." It's harmless grousing, and he's turning his attention back to the fire. "Just to say, if you had any idea how— infrequently it was I made passes like that, you'd be extremely flattered."

[recreatable]

There were extenuating circumstances. Gustave was not only drunk, but also at the end of the world. And Verso's sure he looked especially handsome in the dim light, which probably didn't help. All the same: "I was flattered." He still is.

"I'm trying to be self-sacrificing, Gustave." Which, admittedly, manifests as jerking him around and playing with his feelings. "Some might say it's admirable."

[superniceone]

"Who asked you to be self-sacrificing?" Okay, there's a little frustration that slips through there, though it's not genuinely aimed at Verso. "I don't need to be protected from myself. I know that I'm not— we aren't going to—" He groans, drags his fingers through his hair. "This isn't the start of some grand love story. But it's nice to pretend for a few minutes, isn't it?" Wasn't that what they'd all done in Lumière, anyway, knowing that most of their cohort would be dead in their early thirties?

Gustave has felt unmoored since the moment they'd been brought back and had the truth of the world explained to them. The fact that the rest of the group seemed fine to just accept it still has him thrown off kilter. Later, he'll apologize for implying outright that he wants to use Verso for selfish reasons; for now, he's just glad it's out there.

[recreatable]

It's what he wanted to hear—that Gustave isn't emotionally invested in this, so Verso couldn't possibly let him down—but he can't say it makes him feel particularly good about himself. Then again, very little does, so at least it feels familiar.

"All right," he says with a half-hearted shrug, trying not to sound like he just got his feelings hurt. "If you're going to be so reasonable about it." He shakes off any residual disappointment, then adds, glibly, "But I can't say I feel very seduced right now."

[superniceone]

Gustave would be mystified by that interpretation of his words. He knows that there's no future for them, not in a world where Verso seems reluctant to even go back to Lumière; that doesn't mean there's no emotional investment.

He doesn't want to pretend Verso is someone else; he just wants to pretend they both have a kinder existence.

"I'll kiss you right here," Gustave says flatly, half offer and half threat.

[recreatable]

Gustave has turned red like a tomato every time there's been the slightest acknowledgement from the others of— whatever this is. So, no, Verso doesn't quite believe that Gustave has any intention of actually kissing him in public, although his embarrassment doesn't offend.

He knows better than to say that, though, so he just laughs. "I see. You just want to make Sciel jealous after she turned down that proposition of yours." Fake-ass proposition.

[superniceone]

It's been a few days since Gustave has discovered that everything is made up and the points don't matter; it's made the idea of being Known less mortifying and overwhelming. There are so many other things to keep him up at night now that this seems like small potatoes.

"You are the only person on this beach I've ever wanted to make jealous," he says matter-of-factly, and he gets up only long enough to sit back down right at Verso's side. He hesitates for a moment, then settles his hand lightly on his thigh.

[recreatable]

Verso's not sure he's ready to contend with how charming he finds this. Gustave could have just made an actual move at literally any time, and he would have crumbled. Unconsciously, he leans in, although he says, "You'll traumatize Maelle."

[superniceone]

"She didn't seem that upset when she caught us by the caves," Gustave admits, and he takes that lean in as permission to kiss him. It's slow, sweet, and he pulls away after a moment to murmur: "Maybe she was a little bothered by the age gap."

[recreatable]

He doesn't really expect Gustave to have the guts to do it, and for the first couple of seconds, he's too surprised to even kiss back. The surprise passes, though, and he's eager despite himself, even knowing that he should temper his expectations for something that isn't even something, and that would be doomed even if it was. When Gustave pulls away, he's a little disappointed.

"Well, that was before she knew—" That she was related to both of them, he's thinking, as he glances over to make sure she wasn't looking. A moment later, though, the rest of Gustave's comment hits him, and his gaze snaps back to his. "What did she say about my age?" This is fully the most upset he's been all conversation. Just because he's old doesn't mean Maelle's allowed to think it, much less say it.

[superniceone]

It's the first time he's kissed Verso and not felt a strange undercurrent of guilt in it. It makes more sense now, why it might have been hard to be affectionate with someone knowing you'll all be abruptly Gommaged sooner rather than later; still, it's nice to be kissed back without tension in it.

Gustave squeezes his leg when Verso pulls away, and then again when he starts to protest Maelle's remark, grinning in a way that's been pretty rare lately all things considered. "I believe her words were 'He's like a hundred,'" he says, remaining close enough that it's clear he's deliberating on going in for a second one. (He is pointedly not looking in the direction of any of the others. It's true that he's nihilistic enough right now not to care if they see, but that doesn't mean seeing their reactions sounds necessarily pleasant.)

[recreatable]

No, he doesn't feel guilty. If this is all just pretending to Gustave, if he doesn't actually think that it's going anywhere or maybe even expect to see Verso ever again once they've dealt with his not-quite-father, then he supposes there's nothing to feel guilty about. Irrationally disappointed, maybe, because Verso is a sensitive musician with sensitive musician feelings, but not guilty.

"And you said?" Tread so carefully.

[superniceone]

It's probably going to be rough on them both when Gustave realizes that he's been lying to himself about lying to himself, but that's a later problem. For now, he's just going to try to grab this strange and unsteady thing between them before it crumbles again.

"I don't remember what I said," he admits. "Mostly I remember how disappointed she was when I told her you weren't my secret boyfriend."

[recreatable]

Pepperidge Farms remembers what Gustave said. He said Verso looked 95.

But Gustave has said the right thing — not only because he avoided calling Verso old, but because he implied that Maelle liked Verso enough to want him to be the person she loves most in the world's 'secret boyfriend'. It clearly makes him happy to think that she had some sort of affection for him even when she didn't know who he was, although— Verso shrugs and tries not to sound like too much of a sadsack when he says, "Well, she's probably changed her mind on that now." If Maelle had a secret boyfriend who was anything like Verso, he'd put an end to it immediately.

[superniceone]

He said ninety-five maximum, thank you very much.

Gustave fixes him with a funny look. "Maelle doesn't care who I'm with as long as I'm happy," he says, perhaps more confident about his mutual adoration for her than he is anything else. "But why would she change her mind? You're her brother— her actual brother. I'm the one who should be worried about the audition here."

[recreatable]

It's obvious the topic sours his mood. "Well. 'Actual' is a relative term." Her actual brother is dead. Lucky bastard. He's never been more jealous of anyone than he is of Verso's charred corpse.

But that's not a conversation they need to have now or probably ever. He's already spent enough of his time crying about his life being a lie. "You're right, though. You should probably start begging for her blessing now."

[superniceone]

Sensitive subject. He'll keep that in mind. Gustave's hand moves from Verso's leg to the small of his back, pressing gently there in silent apology, but he doesn't let that in his voice.

"I'll take any tips you've got," he says, voice low and mock-serious. "Can't have her running me out of camp."