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[superniceone]

(open / overflow)

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[superniceone]

Gustave groans quietly when he wakes, swatting at Verso's foot like he might a mosquito in the middle of the night. "I had the second watch," he grumbles a little hoarsely, blaming the fractured sleep for his sluggish inertia. He wipes at his mouth with the back of his hand and makes a face, before actually squinting up at Verso. "How'd you sleep?"

Is he stalling so he can stay horizontal just another minute? Maybe.

[recreatable]

Verso crouches beside him and doesn't mention that Gustave still has a little bit of drool in the corner of his mouth. It's charming. Dorky.

"Knowing you were watching over the camp? Like a baby." He has insomnia, actually, and should probably take more watch so that the others can sleep, but whatever.

[superniceone]

"Merde," Gustave mutters, "you're such an ass. There's got to be something wrong with me." And why does Verso's hair look so good this early in the morning, too? It's patently unfair; the extra humidity from sleeping so near the sea has turned his into a fluffy bird's nest.

He sits up, everything about his expression reluctant.

[recreatable]

Verso feels the ridiculous urge to fix Gustave's stray strands of hair for him, which he does not do. Surely Maelle will notice it and bully him into fixing it himself.

"You're just now realizing?" he says, mouth turning up despite himself. There's been something wrong with Gustave this whole time, honestly.

[superniceone]

Gustave doesn't have the same self-restraint: sleepily, he reaches up to tuck back a piece of Verso's carefully arranged hair that he'd missed after Sciel had ruffled him up a bit.

"Think I've always known, deep down," he says.

This isn't a bad way to wake up. He won't say that out loud.

[recreatable]

He tries not to read into it. Or, more accurately, he reads into it and then tells himself not to feel any type of way about it so that his stupid little feelings don't ruin a good time.

"Well," he says, standing, "if you don't get moving, it'll be Sciel over here next, and she won't be so gentle."

He places his hands on his hips, glancing over at Maelle, who's currently being woken with a tap on the shoulder by Lune. "The Sacred River's nice. Atmospheric." Just putting that out there.

[superniceone]

Gustave is pushing himself to his feet with an exaggerated stretch, moving to start to collecting his things. "Mmh. Looking forward to seeing it," he says, seeming almost distracted, before he adds a little more softly: "I'll bring a blanket this time. Go pack up, quit distracting me."

It's a dismissal, yes, but in the same sort of teasing tone he uses for Maelle.

[recreatable]

Very rude. Verso grins regardless.

"I'll go distract Monoco instead," he says, shrugging. He could use the support. Effectively dismissed, that's what he goes to do, placing a friendly hand on Monoco's shoulder to check in on him while the others, Maelle included, get ready for the day.

[superniceone]

It's not as if Gustave had ever felt an overabundance of affection for Noco, but it had felt especially cruel that he was the one real casualty they'd faced since landing. A strange little gestral, but no less worthy of life for it. He's glad for the chance to bring him back, and the Sacred River is as beautiful as Golgra is terrifying.

And he does come back, but— different. Gustave doesn't give himself the space to think about why, but it makes something in his chest burn. All of the pieces of a particularly unpleasant puzzle are laid out in front of him, and he resists instead of putting it together.

He catches Verso's shoulder during a quiet moment when everyone has mostly settled to wind down. "Hey," he murmurs, "if you need to stay with Monoco..."

[recreatable]

"It's always... difficult," he says, not dismissive of Monoco's pain but used to it in a fatigued sort of way. After a while, it begins to feel there isn't any new experience left under the sun. Sometimes he wishes he were a gestral, and that he could be washed clean in the Sacred River, too. It would break Monoco's heart, though, so he doesn't entertain the impossible idea for long. "They never come back the same."

But that's a heavy thing to dwell on, so he rolls his shoulders back, physically and mentally shaking it off. "He'll be all right. We'll visit Noco when we can." That'll be difficult, too, but it has to be done. "Then Monoco will cry, and I'll challenge him to a duel and lose on purpose to cheer him up."

He's got this all figured out. Perks of repeating the same shit over and over again.

"—But I get it. Not exactly a turn-on." The vibe is just kind of weird and bittersweet.

[superniceone]

Is it any different than what Maelle had done to them? After so long, could there be any guarantee that the people they'd lost could be reconstituted into who they were before? Except— no. No, if there is a time to think about this kind of thing, it isn't right now.

"Mm," Gustave says, shuttering the unease he can feel in his own face. "Come on, then. You deserve a bit of cheering up, too." He desperately does not want to be left alone with his thoughts.

[recreatable]

Gustave's the one who looks like he could use some cheering up; there's a tense edge to that mm before he seems to push the feeling down. Pretty foolish to do in front of Verso, the reigning champion of pushing down uncomfortable feelings for the sake of keeping everyone else happy.

He wouldn't want someone to mention it to him, so he doesn't say anything to Gustave about it, either, although there's a small shift in his demeanor, a tilt of his head and a slight lean in. Activating people pleaser mode, so to speak.

"Are you going to challenge me to a duel?"

[superniceone]

Gustave can sense there's a subtle change, though he wouldn't be able to describe it if asked. It's as if Verso is suddenly more attentive somehow, though he's never felt particularly inattentive.

"Would that cheer you up?" he asks, his eyebrows going up. "I could probably be persuaded. It has been a quiet few days, after all."

[recreatable]

It's full of himself, but Verso's confident he could beat Gustave's ass in an actual duel. He just has such a limited skill tree.

"You had all day to think and haven't come up with a better excuse," Verso laughs. "So, yes, Gustave, I would like very much to duel you."

[superniceone]

He's probably unlocked some other things by now!! Gustave, meanwhile, believes they're likely not on entirely unequal footing. They've got a similar taste in weaponry, at least.

Gustave makes an annoyed little sound under his breath, but he's starting deeper into the trees. "I don't recall an opportunity to bring up any of the excuses I may or may not have come up with," he protests. "I'm being criticized without cause here."

[recreatable]

Verso's careful, this time, not to get whacked in the face with a branch like the first time they went off alone. He can hardly believe Gustave still stayed after that; maybe there really is something seriously wrong with him. He glances sidelong at Gustave, skeptical, although he's smiling under the dim glow.

"I'm listening, whenever you're ready to share."

[superniceone]

Gustave isn't actually a complicated man: he'd been drunk and he'd thought it was cute. Verso seemed so pointedly and carefully composed most of the time — getting assaulted by a branch just made him seem a little more relatable.

"Thought I might help you organize your Pictos," he says with a straight face. "Sciel tells me your management system is horrifying."

[recreatable]

Verso smiles, although the reminder is more embarrassing than anything else. He had been selfish and caught up in his own feelings, and he hadn't spared any thought about how it might make Gustave feel to be unceremoniously cut off in the morning and watch Verso try to replace him that night. Even if there hadn't been any deep feeling there, it still hurts to feel replaceable.

"That was... not my brightest moment," he admits. It's something like an apology. "But, in my defense, I'd have preferred your organizational skills."

[superniceone]

"You do understand that I'm teasing you, right? We had more important things to worry about." And they still do. Regardless, he's stopping when they reach a small clearing, stepping round to lightly try to grab Verso by the hips. "Should've just had you wear your swimsuit," he muses then, like he's insisting the topic stay light.

[recreatable]

It had felt important enough for him to feel bad about it all this time, but he can pick up on what Gustave's going for here, and he lightens up instantly so as not to disappoint. "I thought you liked these vintage Expedition uniforms." Naturally, he's been internally cringing ever since Gustave described his clothing as 'vintage'.

[superniceone]

Gustave won't apologize for his phrasing there. Any remnant of an Expedition Zero uniform that Verso might still have on his person is the literal prototype. Very hot to an archival nerd like him.

He hesitates, kissing him almost carefully, before he releases his hips and steps back. Gustave has one hand out to the side, like he's halfway to summoning his weapon. "Are we going to fight? You never actually gave me a clear answer."

[recreatable]

Verso laughs again, shaking his head in disbelief. He certainly hadn't meant a duel in any traditional sense of the word, but— "We could," he says with a shrug. "It would be fairer without weapons, though. Only I can reattach my limbs."

It's an entirely selfless offer, and has nothing to do with the fact that he'd rather be pinning Gustave down than swiping a sword at him like a Nevron.

[superniceone]

Gustave glances at his arm, then lowers it. "Not technically true," he says, but he's grinning a bit when he says it. It feels a little easier to breathe out here, and it's a relief he'd been desperate for. He's not obtuse; he knows that it's just a moment of respite in the form of sheer escapism, but he'll take what he can get.

He clears his throat and, a little awkwardly, swings his pack around to his front, retrieving a thin camping blanket from within. "You were right, you know," Gustave tells him, crouching down to spread it out. "This place is atmospheric."

[recreatable]

That Gustave thought to bring a blanket at all is irritatingly charming. Verso feels warm at the thought of Gustave thinking of this while he packed for the day, of him carrying that little blanket around with him all day for this express purpose. He smiles to himself, a private pleasure, as he settles down on it; it's thin enough that he can still feel the unevenness of the ground and the texture of grass beneath him, but it'll at least act as a barrier between them and the dirt.

He makes a noise of agreement before leaning back on his hands, appraising. "You look handsome in this light." Everything is cast in a faint, soft glow here; atmospheric indeed. "Obnoxiously so, some might say."

[superniceone]

Gustave doesn't have any particular issues with the way he looks. When he does appraise himself — which, admittedly, is not often — he figures he's mostly pretty average. All of that is to say: when he laughs at Verso's remark, it's not because he's being particularly hard on himself. It's just comically high praise from one of the most magnetic people he's ever met, and he lowers himself down next to Verso.

"You don't have to lay it on so thick, you know," he says, but there's still a laugh in his voice. "I'm already sold on you."