Gustave leans in, reaching out to make a single edit by way of smudging the hair up a little more. "Look at that. I'm adorable."
He casts a sidelong glance at him then, doing his best to get an actual read on Verso's mood. (Briefly, too, he thinks that it's unfair that it's still so difficult sometimes.) "You doing alright?"
Wow, that's Verso's art he's editing without permission. But the smudged up hair is very cute, he must admit—just like Gustave's hair in reality—so he'll forgive the faux pas. As for the question, he does take a moment to contemplate how he'd like to respond—
It's weird, right now. A little awkward. He doesn't know how to act, how to feel. Getting to see Maelle this happy, making art with other kids her age, should be the greatest gift in the world, but it's all tempered by the knowledge of what it's doing to her. Even more by the knowledge that he's the reason these other kids her age had to watch their parents disappear into flower petals.
"I'm with my two favorite people," he lands on, pressing a hand to Gustave's arm. "How could I ever be anything but all right?"
Gustave turns more fully toward Verso at that answer; his expression is gently amused, fond, but he tilts his head like an inquisitive dog. The evasive non-answers are occasionally more concerning than anything else could be, and he doesn't bother hiding the fact that he's trying to search Verso's face for more insight into his answer.
"Well, I'm completely out of things to draw," he settles on. It's an unseasonably warm afternoon, less cloudy than Lumiere tends to be. It makes the sight of the kids playing and decorating the plaza extra heartwarming, but Gustave is fairly certain he can feel his face just starting to sunburn. "I'm a much bettere consumer than producer of art, anyway."
"I don't know," Verso offers, "those Sakapatate sketches were pretty good."
Sketching blueprints is a talent! Clearly, Gustave has an eye for detail, if nothing else. Or maybe he's just so delusional that he thinks anything Gustave creates is wonderful for the sole fact that Gustave created it. Either way—
"Stick around here for a bit and supervise for a few minutes, at least. I've got, uh, some things to talk to Maelle about." You know, privately. Family stuff. And: "Things not for the birthday boy's ears."
Gustave shoots Verso an unconvinced look at the phrase birthday boy, but he's never going to deter him from speaking with Maelle. Things might be stressful all around, especially where she and her long-term safety are concerned, but that doesn't mean he isn't hoping that they'll find some sort of mutual peace between them before it comes time to once again leave the city.
"Alright," he says slowly, and he reaches to pull him in for a quick kiss, unabashed. "I'll be here. Just let me know when you've wrapped up, alright?"
Gross!!! The public display of affection makes Verso duck his head, uncharacteristically shy. It isn't that he doesn't like it—the problem is more that he likes it a little too much, and that's embarrassing. He rubs Gustave's shoulder fondly before he stands and absconds to find Maelle.
Their conversation isn't enough to sour Maelle's mood. Some of that might be due to the fact that Verso is yet to be entirely truthful; she's been informed of the fact that he's making his peace with her presence in the Canvas, but not of the fact that he's taking her beloved foster-brother-slash-foster-father away to research how to mitigate the effects. If anything, the conversation goes great. She hugs him and everything, they discuss Gustave's impending birthday, and he does his best not to think about how disappointed she'll be the day after when he announces their departure.
"This is all I ever wanted for us," she tells him. "To be a family."
Maelle finds Gustave again before he does, presumably surrounded by a gaggle of children as he provides his thoughts on their chalk art. There's a swipe of yellow chalk on her nose that Verso purposefully avoided pointing out to her. "Did you even draw anything, Gustave?" she chides. "I've been hard at work while you slacked off."
Gustave will never admit out loud that he was so genuinely concerned about the direction their conversation was going, especially out of his sight, but there's no mistaking the relief that flickers across his face when he sees the two of them arrive in good spirits.
"I'm retired, you know," he complains, gesturing to the sunburn on his face. It is remains extremely mild. "I'm too delicate to be out here like this for so long." The way he gestures for her to approach so he can smudge away that chalk is entirely reflex, every picture of the doting brother-parentified-into-dad.
"Being a critic suits my skill level better, anyway." He tilts his head very slightly, before broaching: "Verso let you know he'll be there tomorrow?"
It's all very cute, this scene between Maelle and Gustave. Verso feels a pang of affection-fondness-jealousy-resentment-guilt-shame. So, he's being normal about it.
"He did," Maelle says, "although I told him he's going to give Emma a conniption by changing the guest list last minute." She doesn't sound particularly concerned about it, though. It's Emma's conniption to have!
"I won't even eat any cake," Verso says, defending himself. "It'll be like I'm not even there."
"You can't come to a birthday party and not eat cake," Gustave scoffs, earnest enough to make it almost seem like he actually believes a meal with the two sisters he cohabitates with and his boyfriend actually makes for a party. What is isn't going to say in front of Maelle is that desserts will once again be fully off the table soon, so he'd best enjoy while he can.
He glances between the two of them, eyebrows up. "But if I'm excused now— Verso, did you still want to see the schematics for the shield dome improvements I made? I need to head to the workshop, anyway."
It might be the smoothest lie he has ever in his life told, and maybe only because he's been sitting here practicing it for the last ten minutes in his head.
"Hm?" Verso asks, tilting his head. Shield dome improvements—? There's a blank look on his face for about half a second before he raises his eyebrows and nods. Wow, that was a really good lie, especially for Gustave. He would be proud, but he's still not entirely certain what the reasoning behind it was, so he chooses to withhold judgment until he knows for sure that it isn't because he's in trouble or something.
"—Yes." Not his best work, lie-wise. Still better than most lies Gustave has probably told in his life, though. "You know how I love to look at schematics."
Maelle gives them both a Look. "You're being weird," she says, but doesn't seem perturbed enough to do anything about it. Turning her gaze on Gustave: "I'll see you back at home, yeah?"
"Yeah, kiddo. I'll see you at home." Gustave gives Maelle's shoulder a little squeeze, and she's mollified for now. It's true that their... thing is still kind of weird, but they're both good men who mean the world to her— so, whatever, as long as they're happy.
And, privately, she wouldn't mind if they started spending more of their time at their house instead of Verso's. Having her whole family in arm's reach again was the ideal.
Gustave nods for Verso to follow him, his pace casual, and he won't elucidate until Maelle is way outside of any possible hearing distance. "I was hoping to get your opinion on how much it'd be practical to bring," he confesses. "I can't pack the whole thing up, as much as I'd like to."
Yeah, that would explain why Gustave didn't want Maelle around. Verso wonders for a moment if it's weighing on Gustave to have to keep this secret from her; for him, it's just another in one long line of secrets, but surely Gustave's relationship with her has been based in more authenticity. He feels guilty, but not guilty enough to come clean to Maelle before the last second.
"And here I thought you were so attracted to my art prowess that you needed to get me alone instantly," he remarks, dryly.
"There's hardly a dearth of load-bearing surfaces at the workshop," Gustave says, his tone equally dry. He casts a quick sidelong glance at him. "And you know nothing gets me going as much as planning logistics."
It's a weird thing, knowing he's down so bad for Verso that he's actually willing to defile his workshop for him if he seemed to suggest in earnest that's what he wanted to do there. Instead of mentioning that, he just leans in to take hold of his hand, casual.
It feels good, but he still has to shake off residual strangeness when Gustave is openly affectionate in this way. There'd been such a long stretch of time in which there hadn't been any affection outside of sex at all, and even once there had been, it had been faltering and awkward and unsure. Then again, the whole relationship had been faltering and awkward and unsure then. How very odd to have any confidence in the fact that Gustave isn't going to wake up and realize what a huge mistake he's making, now.
(That probably says more about Gustave's low standards than about the strength of their relationship, but whatever.)
Feeling very bold, like he's doing something really radical, Verso squeezes Gustave's hand. "Yeah? I can be very detail-oriented."
There is an unavoidable anxiety still that Verso is going to, somehow, reveal that this is another long con. Another you're too distracting, or an after the paintress, though he can't imagine to what end. Realistically, they have to run out of secrets eventually—but Verso had nearly a century to stockpile them.
Walking through Lumière with Verso's hand in his own was easy. Trusting that it was going to last was less so. For years leading up to Expedition 33's departure, he'd reminded himself daily that not trying was the only way to guarantee failure; he finds himself holding onto that mindset now, but with Verso and in the hopes of finding a way to save Maelle's life.
"Oh, I know. It's what drew me to you in the first place," he says. He casts a sidelong glance at him, squeezing his fingers in turn and looking amused. "What did you talk to Maelle about?"
Not at all detail-oriented, he responds, "You know. Stuff."
Part of him feels embarrassed to tell Gustave the truth of their conversation; it had been so avoidant, more interested in keeping the peace—and keeping Maelle happy for just a few more days—than honesty. He hadn't lied. Not outright. But she'd definitely inferred a future for them all that he hadn't dissuaded her of.
"I just told her that I'm... finding ways to make my peace with her staying in the Canvas." He just didn't mention that the ways he's finding involve going far away from her. "She'd seemed happy." And of course he couldn't pop that bubble so soon. Not yet. Not until the last possible second.
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superniceone) wrote2025-06-23 06:53 pm
no subject
He casts a sidelong glance at him then, doing his best to get an actual read on Verso's mood. (Briefly, too, he thinks that it's unfair that it's still so difficult sometimes.) "You doing alright?"
forgive me i died
It's weird, right now. A little awkward. He doesn't know how to act, how to feel. Getting to see Maelle this happy, making art with other kids her age, should be the greatest gift in the world, but it's all tempered by the knowledge of what it's doing to her. Even more by the knowledge that he's the reason these other kids her age had to watch their parents disappear into flower petals.
"I'm with my two favorite people," he lands on, pressing a hand to Gustave's arm. "How could I ever be anything but all right?"
lmao i didn't get a notif for this...
"Well, I'm completely out of things to draw," he settles on. It's an unseasonably warm afternoon, less cloudy than Lumiere tends to be. It makes the sight of the kids playing and decorating the plaza extra heartwarming, but Gustave is fairly certain he can feel his face just starting to sunburn. "I'm a much bettere consumer than producer of art, anyway."
my white man yaoi is being silenced
Sketching blueprints is a talent! Clearly, Gustave has an eye for detail, if nothing else. Or maybe he's just so delusional that he thinks anything Gustave creates is wonderful for the sole fact that Gustave created it. Either way—
"Stick around here for a bit and supervise for a few minutes, at least. I've got, uh, some things to talk to Maelle about." You know, privately. Family stuff. And: "Things not for the birthday boy's ears."
are they the first case of yaoi heads
"Alright," he says slowly, and he reaches to pull him in for a quick kiss, unabashed. "I'll be here. Just let me know when you've wrapped up, alright?"
stop i try to forget about their giant heads
Their conversation isn't enough to sour Maelle's mood. Some of that might be due to the fact that Verso is yet to be entirely truthful; she's been informed of the fact that he's making his peace with her presence in the Canvas, but not of the fact that he's taking her beloved foster-brother-slash-foster-father away to research how to mitigate the effects. If anything, the conversation goes great. She hugs him and everything, they discuss Gustave's impending birthday, and he does his best not to think about how disappointed she'll be the day after when he announces their departure.
"This is all I ever wanted for us," she tells him. "To be a family."
Maelle finds Gustave again before he does, presumably surrounded by a gaggle of children as he provides his thoughts on their chalk art. There's a swipe of yellow chalk on her nose that Verso purposefully avoided pointing out to her. "Did you even draw anything, Gustave?" she chides. "I've been hard at work while you slacked off."
"As have I," Verso pipes up.
no subject
"I'm retired, you know," he complains, gesturing to the sunburn on his face. It is remains extremely mild. "I'm too delicate to be out here like this for so long." The way he gestures for her to approach so he can smudge away that chalk is entirely reflex, every picture of the doting brother-parentified-into-dad.
"Being a critic suits my skill level better, anyway." He tilts his head very slightly, before broaching: "Verso let you know he'll be there tomorrow?"
no subject
"He did," Maelle says, "although I told him he's going to give Emma a conniption by changing the guest list last minute." She doesn't sound particularly concerned about it, though. It's Emma's conniption to have!
"I won't even eat any cake," Verso says, defending himself. "It'll be like I'm not even there."
no subject
He glances between the two of them, eyebrows up. "But if I'm excused now— Verso, did you still want to see the schematics for the shield dome improvements I made? I need to head to the workshop, anyway."
It might be the smoothest lie he has ever in his life told, and maybe only because he's been sitting here practicing it for the last ten minutes in his head.
no subject
"—Yes." Not his best work, lie-wise. Still better than most lies Gustave has probably told in his life, though. "You know how I love to look at schematics."
Maelle gives them both a Look. "You're being weird," she says, but doesn't seem perturbed enough to do anything about it. Turning her gaze on Gustave: "I'll see you back at home, yeah?"
no subject
And, privately, she wouldn't mind if they started spending more of their time at their house instead of Verso's. Having her whole family in arm's reach again was the ideal.
Gustave nods for Verso to follow him, his pace casual, and he won't elucidate until Maelle is way outside of any possible hearing distance. "I was hoping to get your opinion on how much it'd be practical to bring," he confesses. "I can't pack the whole thing up, as much as I'd like to."
no subject
Yeah, that would explain why Gustave didn't want Maelle around. Verso wonders for a moment if it's weighing on Gustave to have to keep this secret from her; for him, it's just another in one long line of secrets, but surely Gustave's relationship with her has been based in more authenticity. He feels guilty, but not guilty enough to come clean to Maelle before the last second.
"And here I thought you were so attracted to my art prowess that you needed to get me alone instantly," he remarks, dryly.
no subject
It's a weird thing, knowing he's down so bad for Verso that he's actually willing to defile his workshop for him if he seemed to suggest in earnest that's what he wanted to do there. Instead of mentioning that, he just leans in to take hold of his hand, casual.
no subject
(That probably says more about Gustave's low standards than about the strength of their relationship, but whatever.)
Feeling very bold, like he's doing something really radical, Verso squeezes Gustave's hand. "Yeah? I can be very detail-oriented."
no subject
Walking through Lumière with Verso's hand in his own was easy. Trusting that it was going to last was less so. For years leading up to Expedition 33's departure, he'd reminded himself daily that not trying was the only way to guarantee failure; he finds himself holding onto that mindset now, but with Verso and in the hopes of finding a way to save Maelle's life.
"Oh, I know. It's what drew me to you in the first place," he says. He casts a sidelong glance at him, squeezing his fingers in turn and looking amused. "What did you talk to Maelle about?"
no subject
Part of him feels embarrassed to tell Gustave the truth of their conversation; it had been so avoidant, more interested in keeping the peace—and keeping Maelle happy for just a few more days—than honesty. He hadn't lied. Not outright. But she'd definitely inferred a future for them all that he hadn't dissuaded her of.
"I just told her that I'm... finding ways to make my peace with her staying in the Canvas." He just didn't mention that the ways he's finding involve going far away from her. "She'd seemed happy." And of course he couldn't pop that bubble so soon. Not yet. Not until the last possible second.