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[superniceone]

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[superniceone]

Oh. Well. It hadn't occurred to him that the impulsive little gesture of affection might actually dredge up bad memories. Verso had reassured him that it was understandable if he was nervous, thinking about seeing Sophie again; projection, maybe, about Julie.

Ah.

"Hey, I'm sure Maelle will find a way to bring her back. You know she wants all of us to be happy."

[recreatable]

"Oooh," Esquie says, removing his hand from poor Gustave's head to clap lightly. "Then we can all be friends." He's genuinely excited about the prospect of bringing everyone he's lost back. Losing the Expeditioners has been hard on him, too. Luckily, he never has to be alone, because he has such a good friend and neighbor in Francois. "I was so sad when Julie had to go away."

"Mon ami," Verso calls from the other side of camp, holding up a pebble between his thumb and forefinger. "I have a gift for you."

"A baby rock," Esquie coos.

[superniceone]

"You'd best go meet your new friend," Gustave says, and he awkwardly waves an arm in brief gratitude Verso's way as soon as Esquie's back is turned. He has no idea if this was an intentional ploy to distract their mutual massive marshmallow friend, or if Verso was just genuinely excited to give him a pebble — both felt equally likely — but he's glad to have a little space now all the same.

When he pulls out his journal, it's more to distract himself, to keep himself from catching up with Verso and trying to start another conversation.

Even from her own relative distance, Lune could not roll her eyes harder if she tried, and she pledges to continue keeping out of it.

[recreatable]

Luckily for Gustave—and for Verso—Esquie is easily distracted by the present, and he spends the next fifteen minutes debating with Verso about what he should name the little thing. "You have to hold onto this one," Verso warns. "I might not be able to find it again if you lose it." Esquie nods, but Verso knows he's going to lose the pebble anyway.

In the morning, Esquie still has the pebble, so at least there's that. He's currently questioning Sciel on what she thinks it should be named, which is... perfect, actually. Sciel is just whimsical enough to keep Esquie happy.

As for Verso, he perches by Gustave during breakfast, a polite distance between them only in case Gustave had a sudden flash of common sense that changed his heart overnight. "I was thinking we might go to the Gestral Village today. Check on Noco."

[superniceone]

It's true that Gustave had spent a portion of his Nightly Ruminating on Verso when the world had gone quiet and everything seemed less immediately dire. There had been no such flash of common sense, fortunately or unfortunately, but he couldn't help but think about Julie, whoever she'd been. Verso had just assumed that she wouldn't want to be with him, that he'd done something unforgivable — but Verso had lied to them, too, and Gustave can't help but wonder if she'd care as much as Verso seems to think she would.

Well, at least he knows it's a possibility. It means he can make a plan to follow in case it does.

"Good idea," Gustave says, smiling at him as he sits near. He's eating some of the bland porridge they have for so many of their breakfasts, clearly not Enthused by it, but hey - it's calories. "Maybe I'll get my hair touched up." Yeah, right.

[recreatable]

Verso laughs, although— hey, he wouldn't be opposed to watching Gustave suffer through an appointment at the gestral salon. He makes a mental note to offhandedly mention it to Maelle and make her think it was her idea all along.

"Well, if you still feel up to showing your face after," he says, voice infinitely casual, "I thought you might fancy a hike through the Ancient Sanctuary."

It's not a date. But it's also not not a date.

"Promise I won't let the Sakapatates bash you."

[superniceone]

Gustave's mind does a couple of quick, stuttering calculations. It would be easy to assume that was a euphemism, but that doesn't quite feel right. He quirks his head at Verso, curious but interested, already distracted from the bowl of bland mush in his hands.

"Yeah," he agrees quietly, voice dropping in that unconscious way it does when he's trying to keep things private, just between the two of them. "I'd enjoy that. Can't promise I won't sic a Sakapatate on you if my hair comes out a nightmare."

[recreatable]

It could be a euphemism if Gustave wanted, but it isn't strictly one as such. He'd said that he enjoyed being alone together, so here Verso is, offering alone time. He shouldn't be trying to do this when he still has one foot out of this relationship (for good reason, in his opinion), but Esquie had gotten one thing right: he does like Gustave, a frankly unwise amount. He likes his mop of hair and ridiculously thick eyebrows and his voice when he can't help but say something impossibly dorky.

And he's selfish, so he's trying to put off the realism until his month in Lumière is up.

"That sounds like misdirected anger," he scolds, because it's not his fault if the gestrals mess up!! "But I'll make sure they don't shave you bald."

Not because he's had that experience, or anything.

[superniceone]

Gustave isn't sure he'd be able to put into words why, exactly, it is that he's so— well, besotted, honestly, with Verso. There are a lot of reasons that should point to the opposite. He's a complicated man, and those complications have caused pain for Gustave and the people he cares about.

Complications, sure, but never any malice, at least as far as he's aware. Ridiculous, considering the fact their first little tryst was because he didn't have a complex history to get in the way of things. But he's not sure he'd be about to put into words what he loved most about Sophie, either. He just had, and that was the beginning and the end of the story.

"Okay," he says, leaning forward to hold his hand out for a pinky promise, like Verso had once done to him. "If you swear."

[recreatable]

Dorky. But considering it's plagiarism of Verso, maybe that makes him dorky, too. Verso's swears mean next-to-nothing, of course, but he curls his pinky around Gustave's anyway, squeezing lightly.

He does end up having to persuade the gestrals to put the razor down, because honestly, he doesn't want to have to look at Gustave with a mohawk. Sciel watches the whole thing through her fingers, horrified. The gestral currently being trusted with the scissors suggests dyeing it. "Oh, good idea," Verso lies. "But maybe next time."

His finest work yet, the gestral 'barber'—if one can truly call him that—claims before they step out into the vilage again. It's all right. Neater, but Verso sort of liked the mad scientist fluff. At least nothing went horribly wrong.

"Less furry now," he says, elbowing Gustave.

[superniceone]

In truth, Gustave is just about as apathetic about his own hair as it's possible to be. There's not a chance in the world that he would have let a gestral come anywhere near it with scissors if he had any particularly strong feelings about it, but it's also true that he's relieved when he's released from the chair and it somehow actually looks totally fine.

He swats at Verso's elbow and reaches up to touch his new 'do, considering. "It'll probably dry faster now," he says, approving, and that really seems to be the extent of his opinion on the matter. "Were you still up for a hike?"

Gustave sometimes thinks it's a little mad how quickly their group has acclimated to their new normal, that gestrals have gone so quickly from mythical to mostly well-meaning but often kind of annoying. He really hopes the rest of Lumière is able to accept these things, too.

[recreatable]

Maybe the group acclimated so fast because gestrals were fully not mythical 67 years ago!!!!!!! Just a thought though.

"Sure, if you think you can keep up with me," Verso says with a lopsided grin, because again, Gustave has scrawny little engineer legs. He's remarkably capable despite that, though, and there's no actual worry that Gustave won't be able to keep up, particularly because Verso intends on this being a leisurely hike. "Let me tell Maelle where we're going, in case we end up stuck under a Sakapatate and need rescue."

When he returns, it's with a slightly pink face, as if Maelle has made an embarrassing comment. He doesn't elaborate on their conversation, though, and instead nudges Gustave with a short-lived hand on his shoulder. "Come on. The Sanctuary's beautiful this time of year, actually."

[superniceone]

Gustave notices the pink face, giving Verso an openly curious look, but he doesn't say anything about it. It's the same with the brief hand on his shoulder — he thinks that maybe Verso is just doing what he does, that stupid little habit of finding excuses to touch him. Or maybe he's just extra sensitive to it now and reading way too hard into it.

He shakes the thought away and just starts walking.

"Feels like it must be beautiful all the time, honestly," Gustave says like it's a confession. Admittedly, Gustave has traditionally been more focused on the traces of past Expeditions than the landscaping, but it doesn't mean he hasn't let himself appreciate it at all. "It's a lot more nature than we're accustomed to."

[recreatable]

They still have to make their way through the village to get to the Sanctuary, and Verso sidesteps two gestral children 'dueling' in the street. It looks a lot more like two puppies playfighting than it does a proper duel, but that's gestrals for you.

"Oh, yeah. I guess you probably never went on any nature walks." A whole world out here, and the citizens of Lumière have yet to see any of it. He wonders if, now that Maelle has come into her painting abilities, she might one day create her own places for the people to safely visit. "Go on, then. What do you make of it?"

[superniceone]

"I like it." His voice is easy, honest. "I mean, civilization has its perks, too, don't get me wrong— I've already told you how much I miss coffee. But the scenery out here does have me waking up feeling like I'm in a painting sometimes."

The words leave Gustave's mouth before he seems to parse what he's saying; it staggers him for a second, before he lets out an odd bark of laughter. Whatever he's about to follow that up with is interrupted by Karatom, who seems to materialize from thin air to grab Gustave's metal arm and give it a tug. They squabble for a few minutes over it, Gustave finally banishing him with a promise of more mushrooms, before he shoots Verso a flustered look. "We have to get out this place before more gestrals talk to me," he says, beleaguered.

[recreatable]

A painting, merde. Gustave really knows how to put his foot in his mouth. Verso lets the blunder pass without comment, if only because it seems impossible to discuss the fact of the Canvas without ruining the mood of an outing that hasn't even begun.

He watches the squabble with a raised eyebrow, a little fond. The gestrals are troublesome, yes, but he likes them. Of course he does — they aren't his creations, but they're Verso's, so by Esquie's reasoning, that sort of makes them a cousin once removed.

"Don't be too harsh. Annoying you is how they show they like you." Verso and the gestrals have a bit in common, actually.

[superniceone]

"Yes, but I'm growing increasingly worried I'm going to get clocked on the head and wake up with my arm missing," Gustave says, voice petulant, but the look he shoots Verso will belie the irritation as performative.

He's going to be extremely careful about his phrasing for the rest of the trip out of the gestral village (though he will manage to embarrass himself one more time by reflexively mom-arming Verso when a slap fight breaks out near them).

"I can't believe Sciel was just going to move in," Gustave mutters on their way out of the gate.

[recreatable]

"It's not so bad," Verso says as he steps out into the red foliage of the Ancient Sanctuary. He keeps his eyes peeled for any wandering Sakapatates; getting crushed by one would ruin the mood, too. "And being a gestral prize fighter is one way to spend the end of the world."

Sciel would have been good at it, too. The gestrals would go crazy for her.

"What would you have done?"

[superniceone]

Gustave isn't crowding him, exactly, but it's true that he's allowing himself to drift a little closer than he might usually when they're with the group as a whole. He's equally alert for the sounds of lumbering gestral monstrosity, but it does feel like it might be easier to avoid them when hiking through the trees as a party of two.

"Mm," he says, and it does seem to take a little thought. "If we'd failed, and I was trapped here— I think I'd keep hunting for Expedition journals, honestly. Try to aggregate them— make them easier for the next team." It's not even meant to be a for those who come after thing; it's just one of the only practical ways he can think to spend his time.

[recreatable]

"Sounds sensible. Selfless." He throws Gustave a sidelong glance. "It would be more fun to be a gestral prize fighter, though."

[superniceone]

Gustave gives him a slightly offended look. "Maybe for you. Sounds like hell to me."

[recreatable]

Damn, Gustave is such a hater! Verso puts his hands on his hips, laughing and shaking his head. "Does this mean I shouldn't be taking you to my hut outside the village?" If he's so against living among the gestrals! "Are you going to be judgmental about it?"

[superniceone]

He is! They're fine in moderation, but the village wears him out like little else in the world does. "Is it filled with gestrals? Because if not, you're probably in the clear."

He still can't believe Golgra punked him with that fake password!!!!!

[recreatable]

Quite frankly, it's Gustave's fault for being so gullible. #GolgraDidNothingWrong.

"Ooh," Verso says, inhaling sharply through his teeth. "So I should cancel the gestral house party, then."

[superniceone]

Gustave gives Verso a skeptical look, playfully pushing at his shoulder. Juvenile, maybe, but he's just matching the vibes!! "Hut party, don't you mean."