WHO: Expedition 33 (Gustave, Maelle, Sciel, and Verso) WHEN: post-mingle, pre-mission WHERE: the apartments WHAT: the remaining members of Expedition 33 NOTES\WARNINGS: spoilers for Acts 1&2 of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
"Well, you can always punish me later." He inclines his head slightly to the side, teasing her back with the same mock-serious tone.
Verso feels like he knows where this story is going but he muses over taking the punchline away or not. Although, this is an embarrassing story so perhaps saying punchline is a bit too callous. "And? You're leaving me in suspense."
“I will,” she says. “I was caught, of course. My teacher intercepted it and told me either I could read it aloud to the whole class, or he would. So got up there, thinking I could own it. Pretend I was some famous stage actress or something. My hands were shaking the whole time.”
Verso tilts his chin up as he attempts to twist away just with his head from the pinch. It doesn't hurt but he plays it up for laughs -- even reaching up to rub his face as he gives her a pitiful look.
"Does it have a happy ending? Like you ended up charming who you were writing about?"
She moves with him, as though she might do it again, but it’s much more fun to just gently wrestle.
“No! My classmate was so red I thought his head would catch fire. He got up and ran out of the classroom and he never spoke to me again,” she says, and she feels a little curl of embarrassment now, even if out of sympathy. She smiles. “It took my father days to convince me to go back to school. But I still think it had a happy ending.”
It is a gentle wrestle, but he's careful not to dislodge her from being on top. That would be unfortunate and rude. Although, he does admit quietly to himself that it would also be a little fun.
"His loss." He cups the side of her face, smiling softly. "But oh? What's the happy ending?"
Oh, it’s always fun to wrestle, no matter where she ends up. Right now, at least, she gets to feel triumphant on top.
“Yes, his loss, because I would have married him at recess in a heartbeat,” she agrees, leaning into his hand, just enough that her lips can briefly skim the edge of his palm. Her gaze is locked on his, a smile in her eyes. “But now I don’t think anything could embarrass me like that ever again. Isn’t that perfect?”
"I think that's absolutely perfect." With his free hand, he reaches to take hers. It's so that he can bring it up to kiss the first knuckle of her index finger.
"The most embarrassed that I've ever been involves dismemberment so--" His head tilts the opposite way as he feels like he's bringing a much different energy with his tale. "If I realized this is what I'd be up against, I'd try to get embarrassed in more conventional ways."
She watches the press of his lips against her finger, feels the warmth of him. So sweet. She shifts up, taking the advantage of his tilted head to nuzzle her face in there.
“You’re still young at heart, there’s plenty of time,” she teases. “Go on, tell your story. What happened?”
"Well, it was while I was on the mountain with Monoco," Involuntarily, he tilts his head and eyes drift up to the ceiling. "I ended up being cut in half by a Pèlerin."
If he had both of his hands, he might have made the cutting gesture with them. But that would mean he'd have to stop touching her face and skin, so that is not going to happen.
"The bottom half ended up sliding--" He clicks his tongue, as he points his index finger at the wall and flicks his wrist up. "--down the mountain. While my top half ended up stuck in the snow." With that free hand, he curls his fingers in the air and gestures downward to indicate how stuck he actually was.
“Oh, that’s so much worse,” she says, laughing breathily, eyes closing for a moment in a terrible wince. “Mine felt like hours, but it was only a few minutes… but you had to think about that the whole way down. Or up?”
"Oh, it's not just that, but Monoco had to kill the Pèlerin for me." He flicks his finger toward the ceiling. "So, I got to listen to that as he pulled me out of the snow and start the trek down."
Breathing out a long sigh, he blows upwards so his bangs flutter out of his face. "Unfortunately, my bottom half had a problem with getting a good purchase so it was a very, very long walk with Monoco. And at one time, he threw me at some Nevrons as a surprise tactic."
Another huff. "Because a warrior should learn and know how to fight with both halves."
Is there anything quite as relaxing as listening to a story while nestled together like this, skin to skin, getting to feel his breath through his chest as he huffs?
“Humiliation after humiliation,” she agrees. “How does your ego survive that sort of thing?”
"Well, I ended up beating him in a sparring match few days later." He swirls his finger around in a circle. "It was before he learned to be calm about losses so... seeing him lose his cool about it was quite refreshing and helped regain my pride."
“And you’ve never been a sore winner, have you?” she teases, and then breathes out heavily, content. “It was so beautiful, up in the mountains. I don’t think I could be embarrassed with all those sights to distract me.”
"Oh, never." He chimes in return before smiling wide, telling an obvious lie. "And, Monoco likes you quite a bit, also. So, he wouldn't tease you half as much as he did me."
His voice quiets as he muses over what has become of Monoco. He knows -- his friend was prepared for what was to come, as well, but still, it doesn't make it anymore heart-wrenching to think about.
"He's probably still mourning us. His heart's quite big for the backside of a poorly-constructed owl." An insult that he didn't yet have the chance to throw at his friend. His eyes drift away as he inhales slowly, and shifts his tone to something easier, casual. "But as for what I am going to do, I fear I must rest."
"I must say, I'm a little disappointed in him if he's not making some grand effort to get to the bottom of our disappearance."
Despite the seriousness of the subject, she's light about it; they have plenty to do here to fix it themselves, and Monoco's grief will be temporary. Funny, how much freer things feel when there's no longer a time limit.
Still, she rakes his bangs back out of his face again, letting her fingers smooth his hair back. Oh, ma marmotte.
A little smile comes and goes. He wonders if that will happen but is uncertain. But he supposes that he doesn't need to know; he has faith in what will happen next and that is all that he really needs.
"Unfortunately." His smile returns easily enough as she smooths his hair back. Breathing deeply, he can say he enjoys when doing this that he enjoys how her body feels against him as he does so.
The day's still going and he believes she should go enjoy it if she likes. Both of them are friends; he feels a bit complicated about the word "friends" but that it's own issue. As for their other activities, Sciel's made her stance clear on her feelings; he has his own but no desire to force her to meet them.
“Is this you kicking me out?” she asks, wryly, but there’s no heat there. It’s fine. She has no intention of lounging the day away, and he needs his sulking time, but for a beat she snuggles in even closer, pressing a kiss to the edge of his jaw, and then the swell of his cheek, and then a third to where the scar ends over his eyebrow.
Maybe it’s selfish, to touch him far gentler than she speaks to him, or to hold him in ways she shouldn’t hold any lover, but it feels as good as fucking him, sometimes. Almost makes her forget how lonely life is. Almost.
But he wants his alone time, so she peels herself from him, just enough to sit up. Her hair is a tousled mess from being dragged across the pillows, and she reaches up to undo it entirely and scrape it right back up into a fresh bun. It’s hardly tidier than before, but it’ll do.
"It's me saving you from my snoring." A teasing response back.
Verso honestly doesn't want anyone near him when he's asleep. Back then, he only agreed with Lune since it seemed out of scientific curiosity; she thought it to be a side-effect of being immortal. And he let her keep thinking that is what it was. But, even coming to Etraya, his sleep is no more restful than back on the Continent. Still an oppressive void weighs down on him until he has to wake up.
He leans slightly into her touch, into the kisses that she places upon his face. An easy smile washes over his expression. "You do almost make me want to drag you back to bed."
Another deep sigh before he makes a soft hm. "I don't see why not." It's been enough time that he doesn't think there would be an issue to have dinner all together, at least. Few more meals before they head off to a mission.
“So considerate of you,” she murmurs, and hair successfully dragged out of her face, she runs her hand over his belly affectionately.
Tempting as it is to let him drag her back in, she’s already upright, and now the rest of the day is calling. She’s satisfied just giving him a once-over look, a smile on her face.
“I’ll see you at dinner, then,” she says, and she leans over him like she might kiss him again, but she’s teasing, too. She’ll get it before she goes. Up she gets instead, right to her feet, and there’s no bashful swaddling herself in sheets here; she moves across his room naked, looking around for her shorts. “And maybe you and I will have a nightcap after?”
She said they shouldn’t think about Gustave, but she does, here: will he notice her going up the hall? Probably. She doesn’t love it, but decides her original stance stands. Not his business.
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Verso feels like he knows where this story is going but he muses over taking the punchline away or not. Although, this is an embarrassing story so perhaps saying punchline is a bit too callous. "And? You're leaving me in suspense."
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“I will,” she says. “I was caught, of course. My teacher intercepted it and told me either I could read it aloud to the whole class, or he would. So got up there, thinking I could own it. Pretend I was some famous stage actress or something. My hands were shaking the whole time.”
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"Does it have a happy ending? Like you ended up charming who you were writing about?"
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“No! My classmate was so red I thought his head would catch fire. He got up and ran out of the classroom and he never spoke to me again,” she says, and she feels a little curl of embarrassment now, even if out of sympathy. She smiles. “It took my father days to convince me to go back to school. But I still think it had a happy ending.”
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"His loss." He cups the side of her face, smiling softly. "But oh? What's the happy ending?"
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“Yes, his loss, because I would have married him at recess in a heartbeat,” she agrees, leaning into his hand, just enough that her lips can briefly skim the edge of his palm. Her gaze is locked on his, a smile in her eyes. “But now I don’t think anything could embarrass me like that ever again. Isn’t that perfect?”
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"The most embarrassed that I've ever been involves dismemberment so--" His head tilts the opposite way as he feels like he's bringing a much different energy with his tale. "If I realized this is what I'd be up against, I'd try to get embarrassed in more conventional ways."
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“You’re still young at heart, there’s plenty of time,” she teases. “Go on, tell your story. What happened?”
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If he had both of his hands, he might have made the cutting gesture with them. But that would mean he'd have to stop touching her face and skin, so that is not going to happen.
"The bottom half ended up sliding--" He clicks his tongue, as he points his index finger at the wall and flicks his wrist up. "--down the mountain. While my top half ended up stuck in the snow." With that free hand, he curls his fingers in the air and gestures downward to indicate how stuck he actually was.
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And Monoco wouldn’t let him live it down.
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Breathing out a long sigh, he blows upwards so his bangs flutter out of his face. "Unfortunately, my bottom half had a problem with getting a good purchase so it was a very, very long walk with Monoco. And at one time, he threw me at some Nevrons as a surprise tactic."
Another huff. "Because a warrior should learn and know how to fight with both halves."
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“Humiliation after humiliation,” she agrees. “How does your ego survive that sort of thing?”
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She could nap here, if she didn’t have other things to do today. But at least that thought gives way to something else to chew on.
“What do you think he’s doing right now? Seeing as he wouldn’t have gommaged with the rest of us.”
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His voice quiets as he muses over what has become of Monoco. He knows -- his friend was prepared for what was to come, as well, but still, it doesn't make it anymore heart-wrenching to think about.
"He's probably still mourning us. His heart's quite big for the backside of a poorly-constructed owl." An insult that he didn't yet have the chance to throw at his friend. His eyes drift away as he inhales slowly, and shifts his tone to something easier, casual. "But as for what I am going to do, I fear I must rest."
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Despite the seriousness of the subject, she's light about it; they have plenty to do here to fix it themselves, and Monoco's grief will be temporary. Funny, how much freer things feel when there's no longer a time limit.
Still, she rakes his bangs back out of his face again, letting her fingers smooth his hair back. Oh, ma marmotte.
"Sleepy, are you?"
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A little smile comes and goes. He wonders if that will happen but is uncertain. But he supposes that he doesn't need to know; he has faith in what will happen next and that is all that he really needs.
"Unfortunately." His smile returns easily enough as she smooths his hair back. Breathing deeply, he can say he enjoys when doing this that he enjoys how her body feels against him as he does so.
The day's still going and he believes she should go enjoy it if she likes. Both of them are friends; he feels a bit complicated about the word "friends" but that it's own issue. As for their other activities, Sciel's made her stance clear on her feelings; he has his own but no desire to force her to meet them.
"Shall this be how we part for the day?"
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Maybe it’s selfish, to touch him far gentler than she speaks to him, or to hold him in ways she shouldn’t hold any lover, but it feels as good as fucking him, sometimes. Almost makes her forget how lonely life is. Almost.
But he wants his alone time, so she peels herself from him, just enough to sit up. Her hair is a tousled mess from being dragged across the pillows, and she reaches up to undo it entirely and scrape it right back up into a fresh bun. It’s hardly tidier than before, but it’ll do.
“Join us for dinner later?”
No pressure.
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Verso honestly doesn't want anyone near him when he's asleep. Back then, he only agreed with Lune since it seemed out of scientific curiosity; she thought it to be a side-effect of being immortal. And he let her keep thinking that is what it was. But, even coming to Etraya, his sleep is no more restful than back on the Continent. Still an oppressive void weighs down on him until he has to wake up.
He leans slightly into her touch, into the kisses that she places upon his face. An easy smile washes over his expression. "You do almost make me want to drag you back to bed."
Another deep sigh before he makes a soft hm. "I don't see why not." It's been enough time that he doesn't think there would be an issue to have dinner all together, at least. Few more meals before they head off to a mission.
Sounds nice, actually.
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Tempting as it is to let him drag her back in, she’s already upright, and now the rest of the day is calling. She’s satisfied just giving him a once-over look, a smile on her face.
“I’ll see you at dinner, then,” she says, and she leans over him like she might kiss him again, but she’s teasing, too. She’ll get it before she goes. Up she gets instead, right to her feet, and there’s no bashful swaddling herself in sheets here; she moves across his room naked, looking around for her shorts. “And maybe you and I will have a nightcap after?”
She said they shouldn’t think about Gustave, but she does, here: will he notice her going up the hall? Probably. She doesn’t love it, but decides her original stance stands. Not his business.