[Where is that poor Dr. Sex Jr. In the corner, probably. Facing a wall. Palamedes is handling it deftly. He also drops his omni onto the couch to give Rio her many deserved pets, officially more interested in Rio and this House thing than he is in the memes.]
Skillful! It was a disaster. [his shame is eternal!!]
And— you are. It's just... [He too looks down at Rio while he thinks about how to phrase this, so congratulations Rio on all the extra attention.] Well, you know; every time more things from the Nine Houses show up here, I like the Nine Houses a little bit less.
[He shrugs, because it could very easily be no more than a little affectionate something, and here he goes making it into a Thing.]
It might be something as small as a House title, but I don't want to subject you to the Empire any more than I already have, even by association. Does that make sense?
It was delightful. You made many people very happy at a severe cost to yourself. [viktor replies, intensely fond like the gay he is, watching rio's tail thump on the floor and mostly ignoring jr because well. he's blair witching in the corner and that's a thing. it's fine. necromancers.
but pal is talking, and there's a lot about what he's saying that warms viktor. specifically the slow crawl of realizing how fucked the empire is. maybe not slow, he has a feeling pal realizes just fine, but accepting your entire system you were raised with is fucked? is a lot.]
It does. In truth I do not think you should have to be 'God's Reason.' I do not think you should be anything of his at all. [a touch heated there, at the end, before he reaches over to steal pal's free hand, letting his own omni thump on the couch.] Though I am well aware the Sixth is more than what he wanted of it.
Can you believe that, [he says, to Rio,] he's delighted by my suffering.
[Ha ha. That much is easy, in the exact way that this other thing isn't, for patently silly reasons - or at least, reasons Palamedes automatically has slotted into "silly," and might now be reconfiguring all that. The Sixth was home for a long time, and it's familiar, but - not for the first time, he wonders if nostalgia is enough to paper over the rest. The grim parts.
He squeezes Viktor's hand, grateful for the sentiment. Distancing himself from all that has been fairly simple to do just by keeping busy here, but it's novel to hear someone else say out loud that, huh! He doesn't have to follow the role written for the Sixth!]
Thank you. I'm not sure... well, thank you. [It feels messy, still; he'll work on something neater, a clean break. Until then: thanks.] Whether or not I belong in the Empire any longer, I know I belong with you. We could make our own House.
[rio trills. viktor leans in to kiss his jaw.] What can I say, I like to see you squirm. [clam down.
but this is some important stuff, reevaluation stuff, blessedly being done without the trench forcing it down anyone's throats. another kiss, this time to the inside of pal's wrist as he lifts his hand up, humming against the skin and saying,] You're welcome. [simple as that.
but please, talk about slamming him in the chest with 'I belong with you.' viktor has to rest his head against pal's head a moment, ears pink with a helpless chuckle. gods.]
We could. I've never even had a family name before, let alone something like that. [he answers, finally glancing to him, a crooked smile.] And I would like to, if it is with you.
Oh, I know you do. Not in public, next time. [gosh, relax.
Ah, but he's glad, though, a gentle warmth that blooms in his chest and on his skin where Viktor's lips connect, something soft and secure that he leans into eagerly. This other idea here, one he's circled back to and slipped away from again for months now - reframing the Empire, like he should have done even sooner - is too heavy and tangled up in itself to work out in an evening, but-
Viktor, and belonging with him, and his adorable blush and his precious smile - those things are much more palatable, alongside being so much easier to handle. Palamedes stops petting Rio (for like, a few seconds, do not give him the eyes) to cup Viktor's cheek and tilt him into a kiss, languid and fond. Hmm.]
Good; my turn to give you something you've missed. I'm glad it gets to be me. [it's like he's in love or something, dang] What do we call it?
rio makes a grumpy huff but allows it, and viktor smiles into the kiss. when it ends he keeps pal close for just a moment, forehead resting against his, eyes closed.
eventually he pulls back, chest tight in a pleasant way. if he's being honest with himself, and maybe he is more and more recently, even as they joked about it in the chat he felt it was true. none of the old nerves of rejection, just a vague and simple understanding that pal would welcome him without question to even a joking house of group chats. a slowly different world from worrying about 'i love yous,' building up piece by piece.]
I love you. [he offers, settling back to immediately ruin it by being a shithead.] You know hex has a six in meaning. Like hexagon.
[he is kidding i swear he does not want to call them hex house, he just can't help himself.]
Hmm. [He won't, Palamedes can tell. It doesn't matter, everyone in this house gets rewarded for behaving badly, including fussy Rio, who will get another pet in just a second, good gracious.
And,] You're worse than updog. Quit putting 'hex' in front of everything.
[Much as it does amuse him to have it specifically used for 'six' in this context, he must remain stalwart against all "just put 'hex' on it" naming styles. Guy literally named Sextus because there's a six word in it objects to just putting 'hex' on something to make it six, news at 11...
Still, isn't that kind of funny, that 'hex' wouldn't be inappropriate to name something for both of them after— no, he mustn't. He wiggles his hand free of Viktor's to run it through Viktor's hair instead, with at least one affectionate tug for hex house. Very scolding.]
I love you too, so I'll desperately beg you for a second suggestion.
I cannot believe you would put me in league with updog. [viktor says solemnly, though he is quickly grinning at,] You considered it for a moment, didn't you? Palamedes, really?
[he loves this man. the lure of six is too strong.
he closes his eyes for a moment, just smirking all the more at the tug, smug. fine, a real name.] Usually houses in my world are just the family name. So it would be Sextus, in this case.
You can't prove I've considered anything, [he says, which is the truth so he's not lying. Show him the receipts where he thought about it, ahem.] And, correction: I've put you leagues above updog, but not for a good reason.
[Still a place of honor? Probably. Now then, the family name - the phrase itself makes his lips quirk up, a touch bemused; 'family names' are themselves not a Sixth tradition, he is not the only Sextus to ever be named as such in the House but his parents certainly didn't carry the same name, either. And so it's... a new feeling that bubbles up to think about sharing the name with Viktor, a warmth almost tentative for how novel it is.
Sextus House. Well, ignoring the obvious 'Sex House' bit, it's nice! He turns to kiss Viktor's temple, lingering there to consider it an extra moment before he leans back. For a split second he wonders if they should be doing something like this with more ceremony, and then he says instead:]
I know in my heart you did. Delightful, you continue to surpass my expectations. [incredibly amused, thanks. he'll just take being leagues above updog as a compliment.
there is a moment now viktor needs to consider a few things. this is no longer a joke, though the vague guise of it got him this far, and he is... not unaffected. this is not exactly accepting pal's last name (which is an entire other matter. does his world have the same traditions of marriage as piltover? is this not similar regardless of that, a bond of house and family?) but it is close enough. being part of a house is close enough, the years of dealing with inconveniences because he refused to make a last name and theoretical house just to appease piltover.
pal kisses his temple and he closes his eyes. if he's honest it's just a simple understanding of he wants this. ignoring all the baggage he feels like he is gaining something rather than giving up a piece of his old identity. in a way it's freeing, not piltover and not zaun, just... their terms. them.]
I like it too. [he lifts himself enough to look down at pal, a small but quite sincere smile.] Palamedes, this is... I am unsure what it means in your world to do such a thing but in most it is a very serious matter. Just so you are aware of that.
And I do like it very much, as a serious matter. [he manages without wavering.]
[A very serious matter, huh; well, Palamedes can fill in those blanks without needing to be intimately familiar with the cultures of every other world. The Nine Houses are, hm, again an outlier, something he's sure means something but he's equally sure he doesn't care about. That leaves this, the serious matter, but without any ceremony; without regulations, or fuss.]
I know, [he says, and reaching up to run his fingers along Viktor's jaw, adds,] You're sweet, though, to tell me anyway.
[That's nice; more than enough people still treat his life on the Sixth as a node of entertainment, oh-are-you-an-astronaut-woooow!, that it still sticks out when Sixth traditions or lack thereof are just - acknowledged. So, Viktor is sweet, on top of all the other ways this particular moment is drowning in the saccharine.
He doesn't really need to think about it, he finds; like every other proclamation before it, this is for the two of them. It feels right, to come together like this, to lean into this serious matter. To put a flag in the ground and declare it something untouched by Empire, yes, but more than that— more importantly than that, to put into words that being with Viktor feels like coming home. It is.
So, worry not, he's very aware of the serious matter.]
It's like I said: I'm glad it gets to be me. If a House is really the people you choose, I'll wake up every day and keep choosing you. We can skip the trappings, the ornamental skull, et cetera— we've got the name and each other, and that's all I need. [A beat.] If you wanted an ornamental skull, on the other hand...
It is the bare minimum. [viktor assures, tilting into the touch a little. being on equal ground is all he is interested in when it comes to pal, to all of this. just the same as when he asked about sixth courting and dating, just the same as any understanding reached between them.
but pal is aware this is serious, and that puts the entire conversation in further context. it's odd not to feel nervous, he's so used to such intimate matters coming with a twinge of fear but something about this, the idle air, rio's trills, the old worn couch and a stupid group chat pinging away in the background- it's home. it's already here, just putting it to words, acknowledging it.
so when pal says that viktor leans in to kiss him, slowly and softly, long enough he almost forgets the words by the time he pulls back.] We'll just use Jr's, in a pinch.
[his hand goes to pal's jaw, thumb running over his cheek.] 'I'll wake up every day and keep choosing you,' you are going to ruin me one of these days. Saying such things so plainly. [a pause and his lips quirk again.] Viktor of Sextus House. Or Viktor Sextus- it has a decent sound to it, I think.
[Ah, the ornamental skull currently staring blindly into a corner, yeah, that's a great House symbol. Palamedes laughs lightly, covering Viktor's hand with his own.]
I'd say 'truth over solace,' but they're not always mutually exclusive. [Only in this circumstance, without the 'lies' part tacked onto the end, because, well. True: he loves Viktor and he will wake up every day and think, yes, this is still where he wants to be. And solace: that they are here; that they've managed to find each other in this otherwise grim set of circumstances, and found in each other the foundations of a home.
So: truth and solace, just this once. Hearth and home in the slant of Viktor's smile and the warmth of his hands, and the- ah, the very fascinating new concept of Viktor Sextus, mm. Mmm, and like that, Palamedes understands why so many cultures adopt names like this. He lifts up into another kiss, swift and affirming; yes, that's excellent, that's fantastic. More like that.]
What do you think sounds better, 'Sextus House' or 'House Sextus'? [This is an actual question, for sure, but he's immediately interrupting with another kiss, more lingering than the last.] I'd love to get your opinion on these crucial matters, Viktor Sextus.
[just put a wrench through his head and a pen in his teeth. that's fine. normal.]
Hm- [the kiss interrupts his answer, making him laugh into it before returning it with a content hum at the end. rio's gone to sleep at their feet, bored of the gay it seems, and this is everything viktor's wanted without ever knowing it. a place to belong without the hoops held over his head to jump through, challenge and comfort.] House Sextus. Less likely to immediately be turned to Sex House as we know it will, sooner or later.
[he gives a helpless chuckle at 'viktor sextus,' ducking his head before raising it again to press another kiss to pal, though this time an adoring one to his forehead.] Ah, Palamedes. You have no idea how happy you make me, I think. [and wow, he doesn't even tease himself for being saccharine, which frankly is a huge step for him. imagine, being sweet without prefacing it with some level of protective irony. incredible.]
Less likely, but not immune. Promise me you won't call me 'Sex Pal,' no matter how many times Gideon hints that it would be very funny. [has she already, also. He lives in low grade dread that he'll be called Sex Pal again at any time, especially in front of literal children who'll never let it go.
Anyway, House Sextus it is. With Rio asleep, Palamedes is free at last to snake both arms around Viktor's waist, locking his fingers together over his hip and melting wholesale into the forehead kiss. Viktor Sextus...!]
I could make an educated guess, given how happy you make me.
[Maybe there's a formula, ha ha. No. Like, maybe? But no, they don't need to play in that space. Palamedes is far too content to stay wrapped up and adoring like this, without doing a bit.]
Gods, you really are friends with teenagers. [viktor snorts, amused despite himself. he gets another kiss to his temple.] I will refrain somehow, for your sake. A united front of our house.
[and he's still getting a stupid little thrill out of that. absolutely, alarmingly saccharine. disgustingly so. he runs his fingers over pal's jaw like he's memorizing it, quiet between them as he says,] You'll have to let go if you still want me to make your mug cake. Celebratory, as it turns out.
Speak for yourself, but thank you, I appreciate the effort. I know it's tempting. [If it were him who could call someone a funny name, he just might... Regardless, thanks, and thanks again for the double whammy of 'united front' and 'celebratory' mug cake. Celebrating themselves is a fine idea; letting go of Viktor, less appealing. He shifts his grip to find the hem of Viktor's shirt and slide his fingers up under it, not going anywhere, but greedy for the warmth of bare skin.
Anyway, what's a mug cake, forget about those. Who needs mug cake.]
It will still be there later. I'm told all you have to do is stir and cook; stay here with me a while longer.
[On this couch, in this bunker, in this town. Ahem. All of the above.]
Oh extremely. I expect constant bribes to keep my mouth shut. [in truth he probably has less patience for teenage shenanigans than pal even, so he'll be quiet. lucky man.
he shifts his legs over pal's lap, happy to tangle them together, mug cakes or not. he tries not to have an absolutely ridiculous thought about it being like a wedding cake and nearly laughs at himself for being so... like this. happy, he guesses. maybe they should do a formula, bit or not.]
We should take tomorrow off, stay in. [he offers after a beat. shocking, not working for a whole day? who is this guy.] It's been a while, and it's been a busy month. It is good for our corruption levels to take breaks.
I'll find some way to make it worth your while. [Mouth shut optional? He's already workshopping it.
Mm, but this is a pleasant upswing to a mood that was already good, so - no one would blame either of them for getting cozy instead of learning the art of the mug cake. Who knew that all it took to make Viktor relax enough to take off work for a day was housing development. Ha.
Palamedes laughs, anyway - oh, is taking breaks what they'll be doing, fascinating - and makes an exaggerated face like he really has to think about it.]
I don't know; we might fall behind schedule. I'm kidding, obviously, I'd love to take the day off just for our sake. Frankly, we're owed this.
[Remina, personally, owes them this. He wiggles his fingers where they rest under Viktor's shirt, leaning in to press a kiss wherever he happens to land, and then another, and lo: another one after that. What's a mug cake, he's never heard of it...]
Viktor, you... [Hm, what hasn't he said a handful of times just today already, that properly conveys his feelings? For a moment he simply looks at him like this, admiration and adoration spilling over into an unadulterated contentedness, so, ah- there's that, to cover his bases.] Well, you know how I feel. You're amazing, for starters, and I'll save the rest for tomorrow.
["i will pepper in the fact that i am madly in love" - palamedes sextus, romantic genius]
[yes taking "breaks" while staying inside, what could that possibly mean. funnily enough it's less horny and more he knows going out under the sun is never going to be pal's favorite thing, so nice inside time? the plan.
viktor scoffs, so fond when he kisses the exaggerated face pal makes.] We are. Besides, Remina put us ahead of schedule if you remember. Far too ahead of schedule.
[dry. that loop is less problematic than others but still annoying.
ah couch married life though, if their day off is just this he would be incredibly content. he presses into pal's hand, mug cake easily forgotten for now, sorry mug cake. good thing for the sticky note reminder later.
he'd rather soak up the affection, less and less like a starving man these days, more and more secure in some level of understanding that this is not a passing dream. he'd rather offer it back in turn, softer around the edges than before, deeply content in everything pal is and offers him. painfully, ridiculously happy, as he said before. just one quiet moment untouched by what ifs and harsh realities.]
And what will we do in the meantime, I wonder. [he says fondly, and answers that with a languid kiss. he'd be happy to lose the evening to just this, grasping one of pal's hands to intertwine their fingers, the other free to tilt his head, rest over his heart, skirt under his old man pajamas.]
[Palamedes hums, half content and half, eh, not pleased with Remina by any means, but not so angry about that particular loop.]
I'm not thanking her; god no. If she wanted us to take a day off, she could have asked.
[Could she have still asked via oozing blood and menacing stare? Likely. Palamedes wouldn't have thought much of such a choice, but it is what it is. Regardless, he's more than willing to put her out of mind for the time being, to respond to Viktor in kind. This is the evening they've been owed, not even a joke; after everything, they should have more evenings like this, where the biggest concerns are legs falling asleep from how haphazardly they arrange themselves in a quest to get ever closer. There will be more evenings like this, he decides, and presses the determination that wells up in him into another kiss; so many more evenings like this until they're commonplace, without ghosts or illness or dread.
It's a good goal. It has its own list at the back of his mind, and it's the only thing on there. Still, in the here and now, after he's done horrible, irreversible stretches to Viktor's t-shirt and his old man pajamas are sufficiently rucked up and rumpled, does he pull back a moment to speak, pleasantly flushed and not quite out of breath. Ah-]
I've tried to think of a clever opening for this and come up empty, so you'll just have to bear with me: I have a request. [pause for effect just kidding he does not pause in the slightest, ahem,] Get up from here, skip the mugs and take a shower with me.
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Skillful! It was a disaster. [his shame is eternal!!]
And— you are. It's just... [He too looks down at Rio while he thinks about how to phrase this, so congratulations Rio on all the extra attention.] Well, you know; every time more things from the Nine Houses show up here, I like the Nine Houses a little bit less.
[He shrugs, because it could very easily be no more than a little affectionate something, and here he goes making it into a Thing.]
It might be something as small as a House title, but I don't want to subject you to the Empire any more than I already have, even by association. Does that make sense?
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but pal is talking, and there's a lot about what he's saying that warms viktor. specifically the slow crawl of realizing how fucked the empire is. maybe not slow, he has a feeling pal realizes just fine, but accepting your entire system you were raised with is fucked? is a lot.]
It does. In truth I do not think you should have to be 'God's Reason.' I do not think you should be anything of his at all. [a touch heated there, at the end, before he reaches over to steal pal's free hand, letting his own omni thump on the couch.] Though I am well aware the Sixth is more than what he wanted of it.
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[Ha ha. That much is easy, in the exact way that this other thing isn't, for patently silly reasons - or at least, reasons Palamedes automatically has slotted into "silly," and might now be reconfiguring all that. The Sixth was home for a long time, and it's familiar, but - not for the first time, he wonders if nostalgia is enough to paper over the rest. The grim parts.
He squeezes Viktor's hand, grateful for the sentiment. Distancing himself from all that has been fairly simple to do just by keeping busy here, but it's novel to hear someone else say out loud that, huh! He doesn't have to follow the role written for the Sixth!]
Thank you. I'm not sure... well, thank you. [It feels messy, still; he'll work on something neater, a clean break. Until then: thanks.] Whether or not I belong in the Empire any longer, I know I belong with you. We could make our own House.
[haha, unless......?]
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but this is some important stuff, reevaluation stuff, blessedly being done without the trench forcing it down anyone's throats. another kiss, this time to the inside of pal's wrist as he lifts his hand up, humming against the skin and saying,] You're welcome. [simple as that.
but please, talk about slamming him in the chest with 'I belong with you.' viktor has to rest his head against pal's head a moment, ears pink with a helpless chuckle. gods.]
We could. I've never even had a family name before, let alone something like that. [he answers, finally glancing to him, a crooked smile.] And I would like to, if it is with you.
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Ah, but he's glad, though, a gentle warmth that blooms in his chest and on his skin where Viktor's lips connect, something soft and secure that he leans into eagerly. This other idea here, one he's circled back to and slipped away from again for months now - reframing the Empire, like he should have done even sooner - is too heavy and tangled up in itself to work out in an evening, but-
Viktor, and belonging with him, and his adorable blush and his precious smile - those things are much more palatable, alongside being so much easier to handle. Palamedes stops petting Rio (for like, a few seconds, do not give him the eyes) to cup Viktor's cheek and tilt him into a kiss, languid and fond. Hmm.]
Good; my turn to give you something you've missed. I'm glad it gets to be me. [it's like he's in love or something, dang] What do we call it?
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rio makes a grumpy huff but allows it, and viktor smiles into the kiss. when it ends he keeps pal close for just a moment, forehead resting against his, eyes closed.
eventually he pulls back, chest tight in a pleasant way. if he's being honest with himself, and maybe he is more and more recently, even as they joked about it in the chat he felt it was true. none of the old nerves of rejection, just a vague and simple understanding that pal would welcome him without question to even a joking house of group chats. a slowly different world from worrying about 'i love yous,' building up piece by piece.]
I love you. [he offers, settling back to immediately ruin it by being a shithead.] You know hex has a six in meaning. Like hexagon.
[he is kidding i swear he does not want to call them hex house, he just can't help himself.]
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And,] You're worse than updog. Quit putting 'hex' in front of everything.
[Much as it does amuse him to have it specifically used for 'six' in this context, he must remain stalwart against all "just put 'hex' on it" naming styles. Guy literally named Sextus because there's a six word in it objects to just putting 'hex' on something to make it six, news at 11...
Still, isn't that kind of funny, that 'hex' wouldn't be inappropriate to name something for both of them after— no, he mustn't. He wiggles his hand free of Viktor's to run it through Viktor's hair instead, with at least one affectionate tug for hex house. Very scolding.]
I love you too, so I'll desperately beg you for a second suggestion.
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[he loves this man. the lure of six is too strong.
he closes his eyes for a moment, just smirking all the more at the tug, smug. fine, a real name.] Usually houses in my world are just the family name. So it would be Sextus, in this case.
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[Still a place of honor? Probably. Now then, the family name - the phrase itself makes his lips quirk up, a touch bemused; 'family names' are themselves not a Sixth tradition, he is not the only Sextus to ever be named as such in the House but his parents certainly didn't carry the same name, either. And so it's... a new feeling that bubbles up to think about sharing the name with Viktor, a warmth almost tentative for how novel it is.
Sextus House. Well, ignoring the obvious 'Sex House' bit, it's nice! He turns to kiss Viktor's temple, lingering there to consider it an extra moment before he leans back. For a split second he wonders if they should be doing something like this with more ceremony, and then he says instead:]
I like it. Do you?
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there is a moment now viktor needs to consider a few things. this is no longer a joke, though the vague guise of it got him this far, and he is... not unaffected. this is not exactly accepting pal's last name (which is an entire other matter. does his world have the same traditions of marriage as piltover? is this not similar regardless of that, a bond of house and family?) but it is close enough. being part of a house is close enough, the years of dealing with inconveniences because he refused to make a last name and theoretical house just to appease piltover.
pal kisses his temple and he closes his eyes. if he's honest it's just a simple understanding of he wants this. ignoring all the baggage he feels like he is gaining something rather than giving up a piece of his old identity. in a way it's freeing, not piltover and not zaun, just... their terms. them.]
I like it too. [he lifts himself enough to look down at pal, a small but quite sincere smile.] Palamedes, this is... I am unsure what it means in your world to do such a thing but in most it is a very serious matter. Just so you are aware of that.
And I do like it very much, as a serious matter. [he manages without wavering.]
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I know, [he says, and reaching up to run his fingers along Viktor's jaw, adds,] You're sweet, though, to tell me anyway.
[That's nice; more than enough people still treat his life on the Sixth as a node of entertainment, oh-are-you-an-astronaut-woooow!, that it still sticks out when Sixth traditions or lack thereof are just - acknowledged. So, Viktor is sweet, on top of all the other ways this particular moment is drowning in the saccharine.
He doesn't really need to think about it, he finds; like every other proclamation before it, this is for the two of them. It feels right, to come together like this, to lean into this serious matter. To put a flag in the ground and declare it something untouched by Empire, yes, but more than that— more importantly than that, to put into words that being with Viktor feels like coming home. It is.
So, worry not, he's very aware of the serious matter.]
It's like I said: I'm glad it gets to be me. If a House is really the people you choose, I'll wake up every day and keep choosing you. We can skip the trappings, the ornamental skull, et cetera— we've got the name and each other, and that's all I need. [A beat.] If you wanted an ornamental skull, on the other hand...
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but pal is aware this is serious, and that puts the entire conversation in further context. it's odd not to feel nervous, he's so used to such intimate matters coming with a twinge of fear but something about this, the idle air, rio's trills, the old worn couch and a stupid group chat pinging away in the background- it's home. it's already here, just putting it to words, acknowledging it.
so when pal says that viktor leans in to kiss him, slowly and softly, long enough he almost forgets the words by the time he pulls back.] We'll just use Jr's, in a pinch.
[his hand goes to pal's jaw, thumb running over his cheek.] 'I'll wake up every day and keep choosing you,' you are going to ruin me one of these days. Saying such things so plainly. [a pause and his lips quirk again.] Viktor of Sextus House. Or Viktor Sextus- it has a decent sound to it, I think.
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I'd say 'truth over solace,' but they're not always mutually exclusive. [Only in this circumstance, without the 'lies' part tacked onto the end, because, well. True: he loves Viktor and he will wake up every day and think, yes, this is still where he wants to be. And solace: that they are here; that they've managed to find each other in this otherwise grim set of circumstances, and found in each other the foundations of a home.
So: truth and solace, just this once. Hearth and home in the slant of Viktor's smile and the warmth of his hands, and the- ah, the very fascinating new concept of Viktor Sextus, mm. Mmm, and like that, Palamedes understands why so many cultures adopt names like this. He lifts up into another kiss, swift and affirming; yes, that's excellent, that's fantastic. More like that.]
What do you think sounds better, 'Sextus House' or 'House Sextus'? [This is an actual question, for sure, but he's immediately interrupting with another kiss, more lingering than the last.] I'd love to get your opinion on these crucial matters, Viktor Sextus.
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Hm- [the kiss interrupts his answer, making him laugh into it before returning it with a content hum at the end. rio's gone to sleep at their feet, bored of the gay it seems, and this is everything viktor's wanted without ever knowing it. a place to belong without the hoops held over his head to jump through, challenge and comfort.] House Sextus. Less likely to immediately be turned to Sex House as we know it will, sooner or later.
[he gives a helpless chuckle at 'viktor sextus,' ducking his head before raising it again to press another kiss to pal, though this time an adoring one to his forehead.] Ah, Palamedes. You have no idea how happy you make me, I think. [and wow, he doesn't even tease himself for being saccharine, which frankly is a huge step for him. imagine, being sweet without prefacing it with some level of protective irony. incredible.]
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Less likely, but not immune. Promise me you won't call me 'Sex Pal,' no matter how many times Gideon hints that it would be very funny. [has she already, also. He lives in low grade dread that he'll be called Sex Pal again at any time, especially in front of literal children who'll never let it go.
Anyway, House Sextus it is. With Rio asleep, Palamedes is free at last to snake both arms around Viktor's waist, locking his fingers together over his hip and melting wholesale into the forehead kiss. Viktor Sextus...!]
I could make an educated guess, given how happy you make me.
[Maybe there's a formula, ha ha. No. Like, maybe? But no, they don't need to play in that space. Palamedes is far too content to stay wrapped up and adoring like this, without doing a bit.]
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[and he's still getting a stupid little thrill out of that. absolutely, alarmingly saccharine. disgustingly so. he runs his fingers over pal's jaw like he's memorizing it, quiet between them as he says,] You'll have to let go if you still want me to make your mug cake. Celebratory, as it turns out.
[hm... he huddles closer.] But maybe not yet.
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Anyway, what's a mug cake, forget about those. Who needs mug cake.]
It will still be there later. I'm told all you have to do is stir and cook; stay here with me a while longer.
[On this couch, in this bunker, in this town. Ahem. All of the above.]
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he shifts his legs over pal's lap, happy to tangle them together, mug cakes or not. he tries not to have an absolutely ridiculous thought about it being like a wedding cake and nearly laughs at himself for being so... like this. happy, he guesses. maybe they should do a formula, bit or not.]
We should take tomorrow off, stay in. [he offers after a beat. shocking, not working for a whole day? who is this guy.] It's been a while, and it's been a busy month. It is good for our corruption levels to take breaks.
[uh huh.]
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Mm, but this is a pleasant upswing to a mood that was already good, so - no one would blame either of them for getting cozy instead of learning the art of the mug cake. Who knew that all it took to make Viktor relax enough to take off work for a day was housing development. Ha.
Palamedes laughs, anyway - oh, is taking breaks what they'll be doing, fascinating - and makes an exaggerated face like he really has to think about it.]
I don't know; we might fall behind schedule. I'm kidding, obviously, I'd love to take the day off just for our sake. Frankly, we're owed this.
[Remina, personally, owes them this. He wiggles his fingers where they rest under Viktor's shirt, leaning in to press a kiss wherever he happens to land, and then another, and lo: another one after that. What's a mug cake, he's never heard of it...]
Viktor, you... [Hm, what hasn't he said a handful of times just today already, that properly conveys his feelings? For a moment he simply looks at him like this, admiration and adoration spilling over into an unadulterated contentedness, so, ah- there's that, to cover his bases.] Well, you know how I feel. You're amazing, for starters, and I'll save the rest for tomorrow.
["i will pepper in the fact that i am madly in love" - palamedes sextus, romantic genius]
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viktor scoffs, so fond when he kisses the exaggerated face pal makes.] We are. Besides, Remina put us ahead of schedule if you remember. Far too ahead of schedule.
[dry. that loop is less problematic than others but still annoying.
ah couch married life though, if their day off is just this he would be incredibly content. he presses into pal's hand, mug cake easily forgotten for now, sorry mug cake. good thing for the sticky note reminder later.
he'd rather soak up the affection, less and less like a starving man these days, more and more secure in some level of understanding that this is not a passing dream. he'd rather offer it back in turn, softer around the edges than before, deeply content in everything pal is and offers him. painfully, ridiculously happy, as he said before. just one quiet moment untouched by what ifs and harsh realities.]
And what will we do in the meantime, I wonder. [he says fondly, and answers that with a languid kiss. he'd be happy to lose the evening to just this, grasping one of pal's hands to intertwine their fingers, the other free to tilt his head, rest over his heart, skirt under his old man pajamas.]
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I'm not thanking her; god no. If she wanted us to take a day off, she could have asked.
[Could she have still asked via oozing blood and menacing stare? Likely. Palamedes wouldn't have thought much of such a choice, but it is what it is. Regardless, he's more than willing to put her out of mind for the time being, to respond to Viktor in kind. This is the evening they've been owed, not even a joke; after everything, they should have more evenings like this, where the biggest concerns are legs falling asleep from how haphazardly they arrange themselves in a quest to get ever closer. There will be more evenings like this, he decides, and presses the determination that wells up in him into another kiss; so many more evenings like this until they're commonplace, without ghosts or illness or dread.
It's a good goal. It has its own list at the back of his mind, and it's the only thing on there. Still, in the here and now, after he's done horrible, irreversible stretches to Viktor's t-shirt and his old man pajamas are sufficiently rucked up and rumpled, does he pull back a moment to speak, pleasantly flushed and not quite out of breath. Ah-]
I've tried to think of a clever opening for this and come up empty, so you'll just have to bear with me: I have a request. [pause for effect just kidding he does not pause in the slightest, ahem,] Get up from here, skip the mugs and take a shower with me.