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[superniceone]

(open / overflow)

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[superniceone]

Gustave does blink his eyes back open at that, his own expression slightly puzzled. He realises then that maybe this is the sort of conversation that merits sitting up a little bit, and shifts back to push himself up onto his elbow.

"The Expeditions are over. Lumière needs Emma now, not me." And it won't need either of them if it's burnt to ashes by the Dessendre family. He hesitates, then adds: "Not sure how I'm meant to help you out from here, anyway."

[recreatable]

"Figured you'd just use that big brain of yours to tell me what to do," Verso admits, a little sheepish, because maybe it was a silly thought. He just hadn't expected that Gustave would ever want to be anywhere but here, the place he's spent his whole life trying to protect. Casually: "How long are you planning for this field study to take?"

[superniceone]

Gustave wrinkles his nose at that, because research-by-proxy like that sounds - well. Either 'less than ideal' or just 'straight up miserable,' depending on how candid he feels like being. "Not really something I'll have an idea of until the work starts."

He's being extremely careful not to use words like we here; he's made the assumption that Verso is looking forward to a life of quiet privacy again, doesn't want to spook him into fleeing early.

[recreatable]

Verso picks up on that, actually! It's a little confusing, the way Gustave only refers to himself when he's certainly not the only person who's going to be on the Continent. He would have thought that, if Gustave were planning on leaving Lumière, this whole thing they're doing might unwisely continue. Would have hoped that, if he's being completely honest. Judging by the way he's talking, though, one has to wonder if Gustave has other ideas.

"Oh," he says again, stalling for time until he can think of what to say. "You should, uh, wear one of those little explorer outfits."

Like this.

[superniceone]

"Only if you do the same." Gustave hesitates slightly then, because— well, he might be dense, but not so much that he's missed the slightly awkward shift in tone. "Sorry, I'd thought we were on the same page about all of this."

[recreatable]

"No," he says quickly, loath for Gustave to think he's somehow overstepped or done something wrong here. Maybe it's been obvious this whole time that Gustave planned on making an excursion to the Continent, and Verso was just blind, or perhaps distracted by the impending orgasm. "You're fine."

A moment of consideration, and then he flops onto his back, sigh-laughing in embarrassment. "It's just that I've spent the last two weeks agonizing over wanting you to come to the Continent, and then you just— decided to come on your own."

[superniceone]

God, they suck at communication. Gustave relaxes when he hears the laughter in Verso's voice anyway, embarrassed in his own right as he is. "Agonizing over it? I told you I was thinking about it before we even left the Continent." Of course, that was just when he'd been trying to run away, not when he had an actual goal to work toward.

He watches him for a moment, then pushes up from the way he's leaning on his arm to sit up properly, shifting back to rest against the headboard. "Honestly, I thought you might just need some space after, uh—" Weeks of Gustave glued to his side. "Lumière."

[recreatable]

That had been Gustave's idle fantasy of not having to face reality, not an authentic desire to be there on the Continent. It wouldn't have mattered where he was, as long as he wasn't in Lumière. He'd been sure that once Gustave spent a little time back in Lumière, his opinion would change; then again, he'd also been relatively confident that he'd get dumped the moment Gustave got to see his ex-girlfriend again, too, and that hasn't yet happened.

"I've had 67 years of space," he points out, turning his head to peer up at Gustave from his pillow. It's been an incredibly lonely several decades, and although he'd resigned himself to several more incredibly lonely decades henceforth, it isn't as if he'd been excited about it. It had just felt like the sort of self-harm he deserved to engage in. "...And this may come as a surprise to you, but I'm sort of fond of you."

[superniceone]

Gustave glances down at him, reaching over on impulse to take and squeeze his hand. "I'm sort of fond of you, too," he echoes, softly wry, and thinks it's sort of a marvel that they'd made it this far. He grins a little then, posture more relaxed as he continues: "You'll make much better company than the gestrals, I imagine. Maybe on par with the grandis."

[recreatable]

"Ooh, high praise," he snarks, not admitting that he actually prefers the gestrals; that opinion might be the thing that finally turns Gustave off for good. A brief pause, and then— "I guess I'm going to have to patch up the holes in the roof." You know, of his hut. It's one thing to be rained on himself, but it's another for it to happen to Gustave.

[superniceone]

It's more of a relief than he'd realized it would be when it becomes clear that Verso doesn't resent the idea of Gustave accompanying him for a while. Research is, genuinely, the primary reason — and it's a comfort, knowing they both prioritize Maelle above all else — but drawing out their dwindling time together is a nice idea, too. Makes it a little more palatable.

"That means you're going to let me crash with you sometimes, then?" He reaches over, just to gently nudge his shoulder. "I'm flattered."

[recreatable]

Obviously. He's sick of being alone. After a while, it's less 'noble solitude' and more 'pathetic and sad'. And, as he'd said, he's fond of Gustave; despite everything—the complicated circumstances of their meeting, the way he's positive that he has a net negative impact on Gustave's life, the vague resentment and jealousy Verso can't quite shake—he prefers being with Gustave to being without him.

He's still learning how to navigate this whole relationship thing again, though, and he'd hate to sound weird and clingy by being too earnest. So, he says, "I figured it would be the most efficient set-up, if I'm going to be dragging Nev corpses back for you to study."

[superniceone]

"Don't do that. Don't give them a cutesy nickname. Nevs." Gustave makes a face, like that's the most unattractive thing he's ever encountered about Verso, and he glances up at the door, idly wondering if Monoco is on the other side waiting for Verso to wake.

Sciel will get it, he thinks. Lune will, when he explains the academic bent to it. He's going to be absolutely fucked when it comes to explaining this to his sisters, but he's decided already not to back down — he's going to find a way to help if it kills him.

He blinks. "—and hey, I don't need you to kill nevrons for me."

[recreatable]

"All right, killer," he laughs. Although he's certainly more of a scientist than a soldier, Verso has never questioned Gustave's competence in killing Nevrons; sure, he thinks Gustave is less competent at it than he is, but he thinks that of everyone. "I just thought you might be busy doing research, and I figured I should make myself useful before I get kicked off the study."

[superniceone]

"Sure," Gustave says, idly picking at a strand of Verso's hair. He knows he's not exactly anyone's ideal of a warrior, but he's never felt particularly incompetent. "Don't think you've got much to worry about, anyway. Eye candy is important for morale."

[recreatable]

"Right," he drawls, leaning toward Gustave's fingers the way a flower turns toward the sun. "I'll just laze around attractively while you do all the real work." A pause, before his mood dulls slightly. It's visible on his face, expression turning dour. "Maelle won't be happy with you leaving."

She won't be happy with Verso leaving, either, but he has half a mind—maybe more than that—never to tell her, to pretend he plans to stay until the very last moment. It would lessen the amount of time she'd spend dreading his departure, he tells himself, and has nothing to do with the fact that he dreads having that conversation. Gustave doesn't have it in him to deceive like that, though; he'll tell her instantly, and she'll panic, and it'll all go to hell.

[superniceone]

Verso isn't wrong. Gustave is able to vividly recall the heated conversations they'd had in the lead-up to Expedition 33, when he'd be unwilling to brook discussion on her accompanying them and she'd worn him down like a rock in a riverbed. He'd capitulated because of course he did — because he almost always did when she was involved.

"I imagine she's going to be more upset about you," Gustave says, droll, and he sweeps Verso's hair back against his temple. "You don't have much practice being the stern older brother, do you?"

[recreatable]

No, he doesn't. He'd preferred being the fun older brother. Unlike Gustave, he never had to be father-and-brother in one; there was always someone else to take on the responsibility of authority. Still: "I can be stern," is a little defensive. "You don't think I'm stern?"

[superniceone]

The defensiveness makes him laugh, if only because stern isn't usually a complimentary thing. As much as Emma sometimes felt like she had a few years of maturity on him, Gustave had done his best to step up early, to be what his family and what his city needed him to be.

"No, uh. I don't think you've ever been particularly stern." He's grinning slightly down at him, fond. "Or maybe you're just extra gentle with me."

[recreatable]

It's difficult to feel as if he's been in any way gentle when the circumstances of their meeting involved Verso's willingness to let Gustave die horribly. Still, it's true that he's struggled to put his foot down with Gustave when he should have; maybe, though, that's because deep down he never really wanted to put his foot down, just felt as if he had to.

"I can be ungentle upon request," he teases, even though Gustave verbally asking for it rough is so vanishingly unlikely as to be impossible. He sobers after that, though, adding, "I was thinking about not telling her, actually." Mm. He scrunches up his nose. "...It sounds bad when I say it out loud."

[superniceone]

"I'm pretty sure I remember telling you I'm not made of glass," Gustave teases back, and it probably says a lot about how comfortable he is currently that he doesn't even blush at that.

He doesn't even flinch at the next part, either, because he's not even a little surprised that Verso has been considering a "cut and run" approach. "And I'm afraid we're going to be telling her the truth, mon chéri. I can't protect either of you from it, as much as I'd like to."

[recreatable]

It says something, probably, that Gustave doesn't look surprised or even particularly disappointed. Verso frowns, although it's more petulant than scornful; he can't rightly be upset that Gustave has unilaterally decided that we are going to tell Maelle the truth when he's just glad that there's a we to tell something at all.

Regardless, he very much doesn't look forward to the truth-telling. Why would he, when deceit always smooths things over so much more nicely? "Very stern of you," he notes.

[superniceone]

It's not a conscious acknowledgement of Verso's nature, at least; mostly Gustave has just been able to read the discomfort in Verso, both with the city and with his sister. And truth be told, he'd thought about doing the same during the Expedition, though that dream had more to do with parking Maelle somewhere safe whilst he rode out to his inevitable doom.

He presses his thumb gently at Verso's forehead, as if he might smooth the frown away. "Guess so. Where does that land on the nerdy to sexy scale?"

[recreatable]

When it comes to Gustave, 'nerdy' and 'sexy' are on the same side of the scale. That is to say, Gustave is at his sexiest when he's at his nerdiest. There is something very charming about a complete and utter dork.

Verso takes the hand smoothing down his frown line by the wrist, pressing a kiss against the palm. Smiling despite himself: "Très sexy."

[superniceone]

"Good. Exactly what I was aiming for, obviously." Gustave allows himself to tip back onto his side, considering for a moment, and the shift in conversation that follows is as much because he's hoping to keep hold of the warmth of the morning as long as he can before reality chases it away.

"Would you like things to be ungentle?" There's an unflinching, almost scientific curiosity behind it.