tfln overflow / open post

[superniceone]

(open / overflow)

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[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."

[recreatable]

"It was," he agrees. Then: "But it's all right."

He did need to talk to Maelle, even if he didn't want to do it under those circumstances. Not with Gustave inserted into their relationship like that. He's already such a prominent figure in Maelle's life.

"...I'll explain it to her." In family-friendly terms. "I don't want her to think— it'll confuse her otherwise."

[superniceone]

The way Gustave rubs at his own shoulder is a genuinely unconscious action. "I think— just let her think what she wants for now," he says, finally. "Neither of us are the kind to let it get in the way of our jobs." She's got enough to worry about, he thinks, without involving their ridiculous situationship.

[recreatable]

She's going to think that Verso has done something wrong when it ends, but it wouldn't hurt to spend a little more time trying to figure out how to avoid that outcome, so he acquiesces, shrugging. Dryly, he starts, "I guess 'secret boyfriend' is preferable to—" 'Huge mistake'. He stops himself. "Well, it's a flattering descriptor. Sounds suave."

[superniceone]

It sounds ridiculous, considering Maelle's father is the only human in this whole canvas who doesn't know they're hooking up — but Gustave won't point that part out. "Suave suits you," he agrees. It looks like the rest of the camp is starting to pack up, and he stalls for a second, cutting his eyes to Verso. "Thanks again. For yesterday, I mean. I, uh— I really needed that."

[recreatable]

Only Gustave would say 'thanks for the sex' multiple times. Verso's mouth twitches in amusement.

"You make it sound as if I was doing you a favor." Like it's community service. He had thought that Gustave needed it, and that had been a significant factor in providing it, but it wasn't a selfless act that he got nothing out of. Certainly not deserving of any sort of gratitude. "I'm flattered you think I'm so altruistic, but I'm not that charitable."

[superniceone]

Verso had only agreed to resume their private endeavors like a day before, and it had been... strangely intense. Part of Gustave also just wants to acknowledge it as a pleasant little shared memory, and has no idea how to do that, so. Thanking it is.

"Cut me some slack," he says, chuckling down at his own hands. "The apology was just a vehicle for me to say I really enjoyed myself. And I'm looking forward to our next, ah, secret date." It's impossible to know when time will allow, but his point stands.

[recreatable]

The compliment is so incredibly dorky that Verso can feel his shriveled heart grow three sizes in real-time. Very fucking dangerous. He can't help but smile fully then, laughing and shaking his head. "I'll be sure to light candles next time."

For days after, the promise of another rendezvous does feature prominently in his thoughts. It wouldn't be right to say he's looking forward to it; that's too unequivocally positive of a description. It would, however, be right to say he ponders it to the point of perhaps obsession — he thinks of the prospect with mixed feelings, but he thinks of it often.

Time doesn't allow, though, until after they've felled another one of his family members. It's hypocritical, but he feels perhaps the lowest he's ever felt with Alicia gone forever without so much as as word exchanged between them. A not-insignificant part of him wishes that he were with her out in the ether. Once they've made camp and Verso has argued with Maelle and ruminated in depressing silence for most of the night, he seeks out Gustave and pulls him into the trees under the guise of a private conversation.

"I would very much like for you to take your clothes off." Sue him. He can't always be charming.

[superniceone]

Gustave never allows himself to become a priority. Whatever is going on between him and Verso is relegated to the quiet hours, downtime between working toward Expedition 33's goals. He does occasionally flirt a little at camp in an awkward, playful way, whenever the group spirits are especially high, but it's never more than a brief touch or nudge.

Then they approach The Reacher, and things go to absolute shit. Gustave checks on Maelle when she and Verso finish their private conversation, and as much as he wants to check in on Verso— he gets it. He prefers to process his grief alone, too.

He honestly isn't sure what direction the interaction is going to take when Verso leads him out to the trees, but he's not expecting a request to strip.

"Uh," Gustave says. He half shrugs his jacket off as if to indicate that he's not dismissing the request, but his face is creased with concern. "Are you sure that's what you want right now?"