tfln overflow / open post

[superniceone]

(open / overflow)

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[superniceone]

Sciel gives him a sleepy smile. "Only if you're undressing in my line of sight. But I promise to only peek through my hands." She keeps her voice a soft murmur, doesn't want to risk waking anyone else up — doesn't want to wake herself up much more than she already is, either. She'd spent a little of her time that evening ruminating about Gustave and Verso, curious about the direction of their relationship... and, ultimately, just hoping that it remains pleasant for them both.

"Are you having a good time?" That seems like a question she can ask.

[recreatable]

Sciel is sweet to ask, and Verso feels the urge to blurt out 'no' and receive her comfort. The person he really wants to talk to, he realizes, is Clea. He wants to lay his head down in her lap and have her tell him that he's ridiculous and dramatic. Once a little brother, always a little brother.

But Clea isn't here, and Sciel doesn't owe him comfort. "As good a time I can have when I'm still smarting from your rejection." It's only a tease. The proposition had meant little, and the rejection had meant less. Her company is what matters, not what form it takes.

"Is it time for you to corner me and ask my intentions, or do we still have a bit left before that?"

[superniceone]

Sciel is drowsy, her processing sluggish, which is why it takes a few seconds to figure out why Verso's answer prickles. She's used to his evasive answers for most things, but are you having a good time wasn't a question she'd anticipated him needing or particularly wanting to avoid.

She yawns widely again and sits back up, patting the ground next to her. Come here, you is the only possible meaning. "I thought you made it very clear this morning that your intentions were 'just passing time.' Is that no longer the case?"

[recreatable]

Ah, right. In his half-asleep stupor, he remembers that he had not only said that, but he'd believed it, too. Verso tries very hard to inhabit that person rather than this person, who has so many stupid, sadsack feelings.

"It is," he answers as he settles down beside her, picking idly at blades of grass. "I'd just expected the third degree anyway."

They're all so very protective of each other, after all. Like family.

[superniceone]

"Sure," Sciel agrees, masking one last yawn with her hand. Something had clearly gone sideways. She turns the situation over in her mind, tries to figure out what could have happened to shift Verso's demeanor from what it was last night to where it is now.

She leans her shoulder into his with a little wince. "I bet... Gustave isn't so great at the 'casual' part, huh. And you don't want to hurt him?" A stab only mostly in the dark.

[recreatable]

Verso isn't actually very good at 'casual' with people who aren't forcibly removed from his life by death, as it turns out, but that's a subject not worth getting into, if only because it would lead to plenty of things that would make Sciel hate him if she knew: I killed my last girlfriend is bad enough, and I wanted to let your good friend Gustave die makes it worse, and I'm also just a generally awful person would be the cherry on top.

Besides, it's close enough. Gustave does make everything seem remarkably un-casual, and Verso does fear hurting him in one way or another. "You know, you're very perceptive, Sciel."

[superniceone]

"Well. I do have eyes, you know." It was the way that Gustave kept glancing at Verso the day that had caused Sciel to turn down his offer of a little adventure together, after all. She assumes he's been pining since then.

She reaches over to take his arm and gently give it a little squeeze. "Don't worry. He's a big boy, and he'll forget all about whatever confusing feelings he's having about you the second Sophie is back in the picture. There's nothing to stress about, I promise."

Sciel will be absolutely mortified if she ever realizes that Verso was the one hurting here.

[recreatable]

Part of it is a relief to hear. It'll be easier to have somebody to hand Gustave off to, so that there's no unpleasant feelings, no lingering loneliness. Part of it feels like shit, too, because it's a stark reminder that he's incapable of doing anything besides acting as a stand-in for somebody more valuable. It's a dynamic he understands, though, and one he's good at.

"You're right," he agrees. "Nothing to worry about." He presses a hand to her arm, congenial. "You should get some sleep."

[superniceone]

"Mmhmm. Don't brood too much, Verso. Go give Esquie a cuddle if you need to." Sciel covers his hand with hers, the squeeze meant to be genuinely reassuring despite her teasing tone, and she'll settle into her bedroll to spend the last few hours of the night sleeping like an absolute baby.

And if in the morning to come, Maelle and Sciel both clam up whenever Verso is close enough to overhear their whispering, they're definitely gossiping about something wholly unrelated.

[recreatable]

"Did you say something to Maelle?" is the greeting Gustave will get the next time they have a moment to talk.

It isn't accusatory, but there is a slight undercurrent of anxiety to it. Gustave has repeatedly expressed that they have more important things to be worried about than interpersonal drama, but Verso is capable of stressing himself out about many things at once, particularly when those things have to do with Maelle. She isn't an idiot, of course, and obviously she must have some inkling of what's going on here, but he dislikes the idea of not being able to control her perception of him and the things that he does.

[superniceone]

Gustave pulls a face at the greeting, offering Verso a piece of his lunch — a thick slice of some sort of dried fruit — that he'd been chewing on. "What, when? Last night? Do you mean before or after she told me she was happy we 'made up'?"

btw i initially read this as gustave offering verso a piece of chewed up fruit jerky

[recreatable]

"Did she?"

In truth, he's more surprised that she caught onto the tension at all, although perhaps he shouldn't be. Maelle has always been observant. He wonders if the awkwardness bothered her, or if she only found it amusing.

Verso doesn't strictly need to eat to survive, so he generally tries not to dig into the group's rations overmuch; he takes the slice of fruit only because it would be more impolite not to. He looks at Gustave as he chews, obviously curious to know what else was said but unsure how to ask without sounding probing.

you can't prove he didn't

[superniceone]

Gustave raises both eyebrows at him, before he leans forward and cuts his eyes away. His voice is soft when he continues. "She's happy if we're happy. If that's what you're trying to ask." It's on the tip of his tongue - that Verso should talk to Maelle if he's not planning on returning to the city, that she's really dreaming up a future for them all.

[recreatable]

Is this 'happy'? It's been so long since he felt joy that he doubts he'd be able to recognize it if it were, but this seems a much more familiar feeling than that.

"She's been whispering with Sciel," he says by way of explanation, jerking his head toward Maelle and Sciel. Of course, Gustave has no idea that Verso and Sciel have been gossiping about him—multiple times—and therefore no reason to understand why Verso would be made suspicious by her presence. "Just wanted to make sure you didn't say that I was taking advantage of your innocence."

[superniceone]

Happy, for a given value of the word 'happy.' Gustave is certain neither he nor Verso are prepared to grab Maelle by the shoulders and share their respective emotional crises. "Okay," he says slowly at that explanation, looking at the girls before he glances back at Verso. "Are you worried that—" No, actually, he cuts himself off, raises his voice to call out— "Hey, Maelle, could you come over here for a moment?"

Maelle looks up and smiles a little guiltily when Sciel laughs beside her. "Sure, give me a second," she calls back, moving to finish her lunch quickly.

[recreatable]

What the fuck, Gustave? It's unlike Verso to be so obviously flappable, but he leans in, voice lowered. "What are you doing?"

[superniceone]

"I am doing you a favor. You need to talk to her," Gustave says pointedly as Maelle approaches, and she drops to an easy cross-legged seat in the grass between them.

"And what would the two of you need me for?" she asks, as if she's not extremely pleased to have them on either side of her.

[recreatable]

This feels less like a favor and more like an ambush. It's true that he does need to talk to Maelle—about many things, extending beyond silly, ultimately inconsequential things like this—but he hasn't had the opportunity to ready himself for it, and having it descend on him so suddenly is jarring, to say the least.

"Yes, Gustave," he says, somewhat displeased, "what could we need Maelle for?"

[superniceone]

Gustave just shrugs at him, finishing off what's left of his fruit leather. "Verso wanted to know if we talked yesterday," he starts, and Maelle taps her knee in thought.

"About your appendix on the gestrals? Or— oh, you probably meant the part where you think you're being sneaky about your relationship. I can pretend I haven't noticed if it embarrasses you too much," Maelle offers with a little grin, leaning into Verso's arm, expression mischievous.

[recreatable]

'Relationship' doesn't seem quite the right word, but he's hesitant to correct her when it sounds more flattering than the alternative. At least Sciel hasn't opened her eyes to the casual, no-strings-attached part of their dynamic; immortality or not, he might just die from humiliation if she had.

"I'm not embarrassed," he says, embarrassed. "I just—" He hesitates, glancing Gustave's way. "I'm not convinced this needs to be a three-person conversation."

[superniceone]

"You were the one worried about it," Gustave protests, and— okay, yes, this is stupid, and Verso is probably going to be deeply irritated with him, but it's kind of nice to just have something as pointless as this to care about for a few minutes. (And if Verso hadn't seemed so accusatory when he'd approached, maybe Gustave would have used a gentler hand!!)

Maelle rolls her eyes, but the expression on her face is unmistakably fond. "Sorry, but if it involves the both of you, it's automatically my business. It's cute that you think you can keep any secrets from me. Do you need anything else, or—?"

[recreatable]

"No," he answers before Gustave can. There's more that he should discuss with her, but three is a crowd. Better to speak with her in relative privacy, so that he can let his guard down a little without feeling watched. "Go practice fencing your papa." Hers, not his. "I'll find you later."

Verso waits for Maelle to get out of earshot before he turns to Gustave, frowning. "I was going to talk to her."

[superniceone]

"Yes, but I asked her to talk to you last night," Gustave says, "and obviously she didn't. Sorry." It's weird and complicated and he sort of just wishes they'd managed to keep their business fully private from everyone else, but it's too late for that now. His smile turns a little wry, and he watches Maelle until he's sure she's distracted by something else.

"Look, the second she strolled up to me last night— she called us secret boyfriends. I didn't know what to say. 'You've got it all wrong, Maelle, we're both just deeply flawed men making huge mistakes'?"

[recreatable]

While it's objectively true, hearing it referred to as a 'huge mistake' smarts. It shouldn't; he should be glad that Gustave recognizes the futility of their not-relationship. He should be—and on some level, is—relieved that Gustave sees this as the trainwreck that it is.

"I recall trying several times to warn you away," he says, sidestepping any hurt feelings. "If you're going to mention my deep flaws, you could mention that altruistic action, too."

[superniceone]

Gustave has and will always be an awkward man, but he's usually better with people than this. The offhand way he calls this a mistake is more about their choice of timing and circumstance than their choice of each other. This must objectively be the worst time in human history to actively begin any sort of relationship, besides maybe whilst on a rapidly sinking boat.

"You did," he admits. "I'm an extremely stubborn man, turns out." Gustave hesitates, then bumps his leg against Verso's. "Sorry, honestly. I shouldn't have called her over here. That was petty."