[ they decide, after a while, that sunshade is a nicer place to live.
the city they'd previously been in - we're gonna go with it being new londinium except the au version where it's more habitable and you can travel around without an air purifier, so like, the blade runner city it's fine - isn't all that great of a place. it's dark, controlled by the ipc for the most part, and the part that jiaoqiu lived in wasn't exactly high class. he has no connection to it, just was given a place to work by the military company that dismissed him after feixiao and moze's death. he doesn't miss it. he misses sushang, sometimes, but mostly? he is glad to be somewhere new.
sunshade is nicer. it's hot here, but it's lively. the people are fascinating, and the colors are bright and vibrant, and the air feels better to breathe. primrose is a wonderful woman and jiaoqiu adores her, and so when it gets to be that therion is itchy to leave, jiaoqiu tells him to go. he can stay here, do some healing work for her. cook, too, if she needs it. it's a lot more difficult for him to void out in this place, and he's been trying really, really hard to keep that streak going.
just come back, he tells therion. i'll wait for you is implied.
he hangs out around sunshade for a while. a couple of weeks on his own is nothing, he's spent most of his life alone now. primrose is good company, and so are the other frequenters of the bar. boothill gets on his nerves, but he doesn't mind him as much when robin is around. she tends to balance out the worst of his rowdiness, and it makes for some very entertaining evenings, especially when rappa comes along with and starts trying to get people to do various ninja handsigns.
his favorite, however, is acheron. a quiet, thoughtful woman who has a similar view on life as he does. there's a melancholy to her that he wishes he could ease, sometimes, but she assures him it isn't fixable, and buys him another drink. they have a couple of very good conversations late into the night, even after primrose has started shutting down the tavern and shooing out the last couple of customers.
the point is - jiaoqiu does okay. he exists just fine from the day to day while therion is away, and his life is busy enough that the void doesn't get to him too badly. but he does miss him, and that's starting to build. one night, boothill coaxes him into having a drink, and that drink turns into another and another, and eventually, he stands up and nearly falls over because what he was drinking turned out to be waaay stronger than him. the thought occurs to him that he wants to go to bed, and he wants to curl up with therion, but... therion isn't here. he mumbles that into his arm, and boothill gives him a raised eyebrow before going, alright, buddy, think it's time for you to head on up to sleep, before you start telling me secrets you don't want no one hearing.
so, up he goes, to the room he was sharing with therion. he crawls into the bed, and he noses at the pillows, and is actually upset when he realizes he can't smell therion in them, anymore.
which is why therion gets a text message at three am: ]
[ it's something that has gone unspoken for some time, and something that was put out in no less plain terms as the ultimate decision to head to sunshade was made - therion does not do well remaining in one place for long periods of time.
part of it is his "job", if you can call it that. a career thief cannot stay in one place for too long, or people start to get suspicious. the old city had so many nooks and crannies he could hide out there for weeks, before the borisin thing happened. (before darius happened.) not that that really bothered him - it didn't feel like a loss of a home - because, well. the only thing he wanted from that city found its way out with him.
it's something therion's gotten - if not used to, it's something that he's settled into, bit by little bit. it started off back in the city, with a cellphone that he actually used, bought solely to communicate with jiaoqiu, and it's come to this, where he knows he has a home base, for now. he knows there's someone to come home to, because that someone is the closest thing he's ever had to a home. and, beyond that, he knows that jiaoqiu's safe, in sunshade. he's with primrose, who saw right through therion the first day he showed up there, who took jiaoqiu into her fold without any question. she was thrilled to have a proper doctor around, and picked up learning tips and tricks from jiaoqiu here and there - with that, and the spicy food occasionally on special now at the tavern, he's a more than welcome addition to the fray.
as for therion, he communicates on and off while he's gone, just like they used to, and the combination of being free and being settled all at once soothes something in his soul. he spends his wandering time stealing, picking pockets and taking treasures, travels out to the tiny town of bolderfall to see one of the only other connections he's ever allowed himself to have.
"You look happier, Mr. Therion." cordelia had said to him, with a smile on her face, when he showed up to see if the ravuses had any work for him - it embarrassed the hell out of him, and he put up all his walls and snapped about it, but cordelia's never been afraid of him, and unfortunately, he's probably softer for her than any other person in this world. except, well.
... needless to say, jiaoqiu is on his mind. he's on a train, heading back in sunshade's relative direction - though he may hit somewhere else before he returns, he hasn't decided, when at three in the morning, his phone buzzes in his pocket. he glances down at it. squints at the screen.
one new text. three am? why is he awake. it's not like the graveyard shift at the pharmacy, anymore... therion's nose wrinkles, and traitorously, he feels a little warmth, and then embarrassment at himself for feeling that way over a typo ridden text message. hello.
there's a couple minutes of nothing. but eventually... ]
there's no response for a little bit, and maybe it's because he fell asleep. but no, it's just him fighting with the phone's system that allows for sending messages with voice. the message that comes through next is clumsy, but at least it sends. success... he is not too drunk for this. clearly. ]
Boot hill is a terrible influence Asdana's is tem makes malt that burns the whole way down
[ fucking what. he squints at this asdana phrase, squints at his phone. laughs, a little, about boothill, because isn't that the truth - that guy sucks, he thinks, in what one might consider to be the asshole's version of affection.
and then he gets to our bed and about dies. it's fine. he curls a little further into his seat on the train. ]
get more blankets, then ?
[ the [...] notification pops up for a minute, as he types. realizing. ]
[ from context clues, he might be able to tell that jiaoqiu meant to say asdana system, but his texting software bungled it so badly. there's another pause between texts. ]
It isn't the same Em nut No
I'm. Yes, that's the word I'm not wasted Tipsy Where are you?
[ help. the 'em nut' typo makes him huff a laugh to himself. ]
really convincing. i'm on a train.
[ there's a beat, and eventually, he snaps a subtle picture - the sill of the train window, the dark planes of the world outside, misshapen buildings that signify the outer edge of something, through the middle of nowhere. he'd never send his location along to anyone, and even just sending a picture says a lot about the level of trust he has for jiaoqiu, even if it's blurry and you can't really tell where he is. ]
[ is all he gets at first. therion can't possibly know that he spends a good couple of minutes just staring down at the picture, absorbing all the details that he can barely see, like he could put himself in that picture with him. like he could be there too.
therion gets a picture back. it's his side of the bed, empty, with jiaoqiu's tail poking into the frame. the blankets are not down, implying that jiaoqiu is just flopped out on top of them like an idiot. ]
[ oooooooghghg. i miss you, he says. has anyone ever missed therion in his entire life? you're drunk, he thinks, but he doesn't type, and sinks further down in his chair, trying to decide what to say. "i'll be home soon" - god, no, he can't do that for a thousand reasons. ]
get under the covers if you're cold, dumbass
[ another typing notif. ]
be back eventually.
[ there that's. that counts. he's embarrassed by it. ]
and then another picture, and this time it's of jiaoqiu. or, it probably is. it's very dark, and there's pink fur in the shot, and like, fabric? a blanket. it looks sort of like he took a selfie of him under a blanket, because that's exactly what he did. at least he's good at following directions. ]
I know I want eventually soon I like it here but I miss you
[ god. during the pause, he glances up at the train's signage. it's heading off for a travel hub, cutting through the desert. there's no stop for sunshade, but it passes through on the long march - direct route.
everything outside is dim and dusky, but the glowing lights of a familiar city will be passed by. he looks down at his phone, at the stupid, terrible picture that makes him laugh, and then close his eyes. i like it here, but i miss you. i miss you, therion. his chest feels tight. ]
[ he has a hard time making sense of these texts, and it takes him a bit to formulate a reply - it's mostly because he's so fuzzy. he doesn't really drink ever, so these hit him hard. he's going to regret it in the morning. ]
he doesn't reply for a little while - a few minutes extra, because he's on the move. to the back of the train, to the little doors between. an in and out step into the cold desert night, then the next car. and then the next. and then the next, until he's at the back of the train. he checks his phone, glances outside. ]
stay on this planet, medicine man.
[ another pause between texts. sunshade's getting closer, now, the train rattling around the closest bend. he has to time this right. ]
[ stay. he always asks therion to stay, so he supposes it's fair that therion's asking him to do the same. it's tempting to just fade out, but. he thinks it might be harder to do, now. he thinks about how it might scare primrose. he thinks about acheron resting her hand on his own, and telling him that the only way out of self-annihilation is to find something to bond yourself to. he thinks about boothill laughing at him and shoving his shoulder and telling him he's got a home, and how lucky he is for that.
that's true, he thinks. he's got a home. his home wanders away from him sometimes, but that's okay. his home always comes back.
[ to say this shocks him is putting it lightly. he checks his phone at the last second, as he's watching the lights of sunshade get closer and closer, standing out in the cold, brisk air, a spectre of white hair in the dead of night on a moving train.
and it's kind of convenient, in a way - because it's about time for him to jump.
therion's used to jumping. leaping across rooftops, despite the way sometimes his heart shudders at the height. he ignores it, lets the adrenaline power him through, the feeling that darius couldn't break him of his skills because he tried to break his body and his soul all in one go. but nothing kicks his fight or flight off than that. three simple words, typed into a phone.
he leaps.
and when he hits the ground in the sand, and rolls and rolls, he's still clutching his stupid burner phone, and he's so, so alive, and the phone screen still says "i love you". therion's gut instinct says its fake, that he's just drunk, that he does not mean that, that inevitably something like that is going to fall out from under him, more wobbly than the sand under his feet. too cynical. too much.
he's up to his feet in a second, in the outskirts of sunshade. fight or flight, not sure which one, but he's moving through the outskirts of familiarity, past rowdy bar-goers out late at night, through alleyways and dark corners, to a tavern in the center of town that is the closest thing he's ever called to a home.
he never responds to the text message, and time passes. that's probably scary. ten minutes, fifteen pass by. twenty, and there's nothing, like maybe he left it silent - message left on read.
but then, there's a tiny noise, the tchk-tchk of a latch unlocking, of a window sliding open. and like a bolt out of the. blue, covered in sand and looking dishelveled, a thief slides into jiaoqiu's room, feet thudding as he hits the ground, and making the least subtle entrance he's maybe ever made in his life. he's still holding his phone. ]
[ at some point in the future, if therion ever tells him he jumped off a moving train in order to get back to sunshade early, jiaoqiu is going to give him a six hour lecture and then kiss him so hard he suffocates,
but jiaoqiu does not know about that now. he just says those words out loud, and he's so drunk that it doesn't even really occur to him to be freaked out about it. at first, anyway. but the message gets left on read, and he thinks - oh. oh, no? he said something wrong. eventually, therion said, he'd be back eventually, but what if this scared him? what if this was the one line he wasn't supposed to cross? what if he doesn't come back after this?
he waits. maybe he just needs to... maybe he just needs to wait.
therion, when he thuds into their room, will see jiaoqiu on the bed, clutching his phone. he's got it in both hands like a lifeline. that jade bracelet is sitting around his wrist - it never comes off, really. he's half dressed otherwise, with blankets tangled around him in disarray, and... he's asleep. or, he was. the thud gets his ear to flick, and he jolts slightly in the way people do when they're trying to pretend like they didn't pass out. he blinks groggily at his phone, like he thinks it made a noise, and then blearily looks up at the window, eyes unfocused.
he's sooo wasted, which means he has no control over the way his tail wags lamely when he sees therion, fuzzy brain trying to catch up with reality. ]
[ god - god. something in him just collapses, like a deflating balloon. there's jiaoqiu, half asleep, jolting when he came in. he was right, he is definitely drunk.
(i miss you. i love you.)
god. god, this was so uncool. it's all catching up to him as he stands there like an idiot for a long minute, staring at him, feeling his heart shrivel up in his chest and then burst into something brighter, something that just feels ridiculous. what did he run all the way here for? why did he -
god. he reaches up and scrubs a hand across his face, though it's not like he's upset or anything. just kind of flabbergasted, at himself, at this situation, and he pulls it down and looks at jiaoqiu, and then sighs. he just sighs to the heavens, and rolls his eyes, and comes over. his heart is pounding like a million miles an hour. ]
Aeber's asshole. [ he mutters, to himself, brushes himself off like he is Cool, and then comes over, folding his arms. ] Look at you.
[ it doesn't quite register that therion is actually there, at first? when therion said he'd be back eventually, jiaoqiu thought he was somewhere really far away. he didn't ask for details because it wasn't really all that important. he trusts him. he was somewhere that wasn't here, and he'd be back.
but therion crosses the room and makes grouchy noises, and jiaoqiu is drunk but that doesn't mean his foxian senses don't work. he catches therion's scent, and his ears perk up. and then he's sitting up, dropping his phone on the floor and reaching for him with a pleased look. ]
You're back.
[ his stupid tail is now wagging in earnest. ]
Therion. [ soft, full of affection, sleepy. ] I'm dreaming. Therion.
he opens his mouth to say something else and then shuts it, rapidly, flustered at the sheer amount of dopey affection that is being beamed his way. the tailwagging. the sleepy, cute voice. this is a lot. he sees i love you in text at the back of his mind, flusters harder, and starts to reach for him so he doesn't like, fall off the bed. ]
Yeah, no. What kind of dreams are you having.
[ he should just push him over, but he does not do that, not even sure what to do with himself with this reaction. his ears are starting to turn red. ]
[ okay but this is why he's going to walk directly into traffic tomorrow,
he is in fact about to fall off the bed, so therion catches him a bit, thankfully. he is half hanging out of it, wrapping his arms around therion and pressing his face to his chest, breathing him in. his ears fall back, droopy and tired, relaxed. ]
I'm sorry.
[ he says absently, muffled. ]
I called you back. The nothing isn't here. I'm not hurting myself. You don't have to stay if you weren't ready. [ he says, like he's not digging his claws in, like his tone doesn't get sad when he says it. you don't have to. don't trap yourself. slurred out, as he noses at therion: ]
I missed you. The pillows don't smell like you anymore.
[ oh my god. well, listen. he just pushes him over.
back, towards the bed. harmlessly, he pushes jiaoqiu over. if he's holding onto therion, then that's fine too, because he just goes with him. it's messy fall backwards, limbs everywhere, but it's gentle. ]
Shut up. [ god. he's not sure if he's saying it to all the slurred - not necessarily niceties, but the things he feels that he has to actually say - or to "i missed you", but it works, for both.
pushing him over puts them close, therion propping himself up and over him, staring at him - one focused, bright green eye. he thinks he should probably say something, but he catches himself just staring at jiaoqiu instead, flustered, pink across his nose, staring at jiaoqiu, pink faced and sprawled on this bed that they shared, that he missed therion in, that he just keeps saying that he missed him in , that he said he -
there are no words, so he just gives up, and kisses him. once, messier than he wants it to be, but he doesn't even know what to do or how to even begin to handle how he's feeling about this entire situation, but that seems to be a step in the right direction. ]
[ he makes a very embarrassing noise when therion knocks him over, like - almost a yelp. his center of gravity is absolutely fucked, and he's not very balanced when he's sober so he absolutely gets thrown down to the bed.
but therion comes with. props himself up over jiaoqiu, and he gets caught looking up at him, expression softening slightly at that bright green eye. if he wasn't so preoccupied, he'd run his fingers over his jade bracelet, admiring the matching color. his own gold ones are glazed, but pleased to be where he is. and he's even more pleased - if a little startled - by the way that therion kisses him. the noise he lets out is surprised, but. he very easily leans up into it. his tail loosely wraps around therion's leg, instinctively.
he is very clumsy with it, and it makes him dizzy. but he does his best to return it, because his brain is just a steady stream of yay! therion is here! i love him! i love when he kisses me! this is a nice dream.
his hands sort of just gently come up to hold onto him, too. if he can figure out where therion's hands are he will hold them, by god. ]
[ somehow, therion gets to be the one who pulls back from this more flustered. kissing him did get him to stop talking, but it doesn't make him any less embarrassed. everything about this is a mess, from the fact that he jumped out of a damn train to get over here, that he's getting sand everywhere, that jiaoqiu said that and he won't even remember it.
it probably doesn't mean anything - just drunk rambling, and it is that cold thought that finally frees him away from the actual kiss, except he can't even bring himself to be that cynical about it. no, the best he can manage is exasperation, pulling back a little to look at him more properly, red in the face and smacking his lips together like he tasted something weird, because. ]
Fuck, that's strong. You smell like a distillery.
[ god. okay. okay!!! whatever, he totally didn't just freak out about this, he totally didn't just literally throw aside whatever he was in the midst of doing to show up. he lets jiaoqiu grab onto one of his hands, but the other one comes up and takes his face, and then squishes it, and just stares at him for a second, like he's recalibrating exactly what to do with this situation. ]
[ he's kind of confused when therion pulls away, because he liked the kiss and he kind of wanted to do it more. he'd actually almost considered, when he'd crawled into their bed, calling therion and goading him into phone sex wherever he was, but then he started missing him too badly and it all went to feelings instead. those feelings are still swirling around in his chest, threatening to capsize him. they're a little distracted, at least.
a beat, as he tries to puzzle out why there is... sand everywhere. it takes him a second of staring at said sand before he realizes therion spoke. oh. right. boothill. scowls. ]
I had...
[ he says, squinting. ]
Four glasses. Asdana White Oak. [ which is like, stupidly strong liquor, it's boothill's favorite. fun fact, it comes with a fucking bullet in it because apparently that makes it taste better.
he's going to say more, but then therion's got his face in hand and he's being squished, and he makes a fussy sound, squirming. he does not let go of therion's hand, though. now you're trapped forever, thief boy. ]
[ help the scowl. this is the least threatening and scary frown he's ever seen. he feels himself think that it's cute and stops himself in his tracks, staring at jiaoqiu now that he's got his face squished. ]
No kidding. [ it sure tasted like four.
squishing him makes him feel a little less out of his mind insane, actually, a little more normal even if he's still red in the face and might be forever. though jiaoqiu has his hand, he keeps the other one on his face and squishes it again, scowling in the way that he's really just embarrassed. ]
You're gonna regret this in the morning, and I'm gonna have to hear all about it. [ god. he releases his face and then looks at him again, and starts to lean back like he's getting up. ] You need water.
jiaoqiu does not have the dexterity required right now to keep therion on the bed, so he does let therion get up, but he looks very sad about it. he knows he probably needs water, too, so. very thoroughly squished, jiaoqiu slowly sinks back down to the mattress right where he's sitting and hums. he's not even facing the right way, head at the foot of the bed. ]
Does that mean you'll be here when I wake?
[ he asks, looking up at therion a little hopefully. ]
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gives up
the city they'd previously been in - we're gonna go with it being new londinium except the au version where it's more habitable and you can travel around without an air purifier, so like, the blade runner city it's fine - isn't all that great of a place. it's dark, controlled by the ipc for the most part, and the part that jiaoqiu lived in wasn't exactly high class. he has no connection to it, just was given a place to work by the military company that dismissed him after feixiao and moze's death. he doesn't miss it. he misses sushang, sometimes, but mostly? he is glad to be somewhere new.
sunshade is nicer. it's hot here, but it's lively. the people are fascinating, and the colors are bright and vibrant, and the air feels better to breathe. primrose is a wonderful woman and jiaoqiu adores her, and so when it gets to be that therion is itchy to leave, jiaoqiu tells him to go. he can stay here, do some healing work for her. cook, too, if she needs it. it's a lot more difficult for him to void out in this place, and he's been trying really, really hard to keep that streak going.
just come back, he tells therion. i'll wait for you is implied.
he hangs out around sunshade for a while. a couple of weeks on his own is nothing, he's spent most of his life alone now. primrose is good company, and so are the other frequenters of the bar. boothill gets on his nerves, but he doesn't mind him as much when robin is around. she tends to balance out the worst of his rowdiness, and it makes for some very entertaining evenings, especially when rappa comes along with and starts trying to get people to do various ninja handsigns.
his favorite, however, is acheron. a quiet, thoughtful woman who has a similar view on life as he does. there's a melancholy to her that he wishes he could ease, sometimes, but she assures him it isn't fixable, and buys him another drink. they have a couple of very good conversations late into the night, even after primrose has started shutting down the tavern and shooing out the last couple of customers.
the point is - jiaoqiu does okay. he exists just fine from the day to day while therion is away, and his life is busy enough that the void doesn't get to him too badly. but he does miss him, and that's starting to build. one night, boothill coaxes him into having a drink, and that drink turns into another and another, and eventually, he stands up and nearly falls over because what he was drinking turned out to be waaay stronger than him. the thought occurs to him that he wants to go to bed, and he wants to curl up with therion, but... therion isn't here. he mumbles that into his arm, and boothill gives him a raised eyebrow before going, alright, buddy, think it's time for you to head on up to sleep, before you start telling me secrets you don't want no one hearing.
so, up he goes, to the room he was sharing with therion. he crawls into the bed, and he noses at the pillows, and is actually upset when he realizes he can't smell therion in them, anymore.
which is why therion gets a text message at three am: ]
H elloo
no subject
part of it is his "job", if you can call it that. a career thief cannot stay in one place for too long, or people start to get suspicious. the old city had so many nooks and crannies he could hide out there for weeks, before the borisin thing happened. (before darius happened.) not that that really bothered him - it didn't feel like a loss of a home - because, well. the only thing he wanted from that city found its way out with him.
it's something therion's gotten - if not used to, it's something that he's settled into, bit by little bit. it started off back in the city, with a cellphone that he actually used, bought solely to communicate with jiaoqiu, and it's come to this, where he knows he has a home base, for now. he knows there's someone to come home to, because that someone is the closest thing he's ever had to a home. and, beyond that, he knows that jiaoqiu's safe, in sunshade. he's with primrose, who saw right through therion the first day he showed up there, who took jiaoqiu into her fold without any question. she was thrilled to have a proper doctor around, and picked up learning tips and tricks from jiaoqiu here and there - with that, and the spicy food occasionally on special now at the tavern, he's a more than welcome addition to the fray.
as for therion, he communicates on and off while he's gone, just like they used to, and the combination of being free and being settled all at once soothes something in his soul. he spends his wandering time stealing, picking pockets and taking treasures, travels out to the tiny town of bolderfall to see one of the only other connections he's ever allowed himself to have.
"You look happier, Mr. Therion." cordelia had said to him, with a smile on her face, when he showed up to see if the ravuses had any work for him - it embarrassed the hell out of him, and he put up all his walls and snapped about it, but cordelia's never been afraid of him, and unfortunately, he's probably softer for her than any other person in this world. except, well.
... needless to say, jiaoqiu is on his mind. he's on a train, heading back in sunshade's relative direction - though he may hit somewhere else before he returns, he hasn't decided, when at three in the morning, his phone buzzes in his pocket. he glances down at it. squints at the screen.
one new text. three am? why is he awake. it's not like the graveyard shift at the pharmacy, anymore... therion's nose wrinkles, and traitorously, he feels a little warmth, and then embarrassment at himself for feeling that way over a typo ridden text message. hello.
there's a couple minutes of nothing. but eventually... ]
Isn't it past grandpa's bed time?
[ terrible ]
no subject
there's no response for a little bit, and maybe it's because he fell asleep. but no, it's just him fighting with the phone's system that allows for sending messages with voice. the message that comes through next is clumsy, but at least it sends. success... he is not too drunk for this. clearly. ]
Boot hill is a terrible influence Asdana's is tem makes malt that burns the whole way down
Our bed is cold
no subject
and then he gets to our bed and about dies. it's fine. he curls a little further into his seat on the train. ]
get more blankets, then
?
[ the [...] notification pops up for a minute, as he types. realizing. ]
ohhh. you're wasted, huh
no subject
It isn't the same
Em nut
No
I'm. Yes, that's the word I'm not wasted
Tipsy
Where are you?
no subject
really convincing.
i'm on a train.
[ there's a beat, and eventually, he snaps a subtle picture - the sill of the train window, the dark planes of the world outside, misshapen buildings that signify the outer edge of something, through the middle of nowhere. he'd never send his location along to anyone, and even just sending a picture says a lot about the level of trust he has for jiaoqiu, even if it's blurry and you can't really tell where he is. ]
no subject
[ is all he gets at first. therion can't possibly know that he spends a good couple of minutes just staring down at the picture, absorbing all the details that he can barely see, like he could put himself in that picture with him. like he could be there too.
therion gets a picture back. it's his side of the bed, empty, with jiaoqiu's tail poking into the frame. the blankets are not down, implying that jiaoqiu is just flopped out on top of them like an idiot. ]
I m iss you
no subject
get under the covers if you're cold, dumbass
[ another typing notif. ]
be back eventually.
[ there that's. that counts. he's embarrassed by it. ]
no subject
and then another picture, and this time it's of jiaoqiu. or, it probably is. it's very dark, and there's pink fur in the shot, and like, fabric? a blanket. it looks sort of like he took a selfie of him under a blanket, because that's exactly what he did. at least he's good at following directions. ]
I know
I want eventually soon
I like it here but I miss you
[ you said that already, you dingus ]
Therion
no subject
everything outside is dim and dusky, but the glowing lights of a familiar city will be passed by. he looks down at his phone, at the stupid, terrible picture that makes him laugh, and then close his eyes. i like it here, but i miss you. i miss you, therion. his chest feels tight. ]
MARKED AS READ 3:10AM
[ and then. after a beat, two. ]
cmon, full bed to yourself? no one kicking you?
were you like this before?
no subject
You know what I was like
[ which is maybe not what therion meant, but. ]
Waking up with you makes me feel like
[ ... ]
The bed is too big
Life is too big
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he doesn't reply for a little while - a few minutes extra, because he's on the move. to the back of the train, to the little doors between. an in and out step into the cold desert night, then the next car. and then the next. and then the next, until he's at the back of the train. he checks his phone, glances outside. ]
stay on this planet, medicine man.
[ another pause between texts. sunshade's getting closer, now, the train rattling around the closest bend. he has to time this right. ]
or else.
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that's true, he thinks. he's got a home. his home wanders away from him sometimes, but that's okay. his home always comes back.
no response for a bit, and then: ]
I'm here
I love you
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and it's kind of convenient, in a way - because it's about time for him to jump.
therion's used to jumping. leaping across rooftops, despite the way sometimes his heart shudders at the height. he ignores it, lets the adrenaline power him through, the feeling that darius couldn't break him of his skills because he tried to break his body and his soul all in one go. but nothing kicks his fight or flight off than that. three simple words, typed into a phone.
he leaps.
and when he hits the ground in the sand, and rolls and rolls, he's still clutching his stupid burner phone, and he's so, so alive, and the phone screen still says "i love you". therion's gut instinct says its fake, that he's just drunk, that he does not mean that, that inevitably something like that is going to fall out from under him, more wobbly than the sand under his feet. too cynical. too much.
he's up to his feet in a second, in the outskirts of sunshade. fight or flight, not sure which one, but he's moving through the outskirts of familiarity, past rowdy bar-goers out late at night, through alleyways and dark corners, to a tavern in the center of town that is the closest thing he's ever called to a home.
he never responds to the text message, and time passes. that's probably scary. ten minutes, fifteen pass by. twenty, and there's nothing, like maybe he left it silent - message left on read.
but then, there's a tiny noise, the tchk-tchk of a latch unlocking, of a window sliding open. and like a bolt out of the. blue, covered in sand and looking dishelveled, a thief slides into jiaoqiu's room, feet thudding as he hits the ground, and making the least subtle entrance he's maybe ever made in his life. he's still holding his phone. ]
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but jiaoqiu does not know about that now. he just says those words out loud, and he's so drunk that it doesn't even really occur to him to be freaked out about it. at first, anyway. but the message gets left on read, and he thinks - oh. oh, no? he said something wrong. eventually, therion said, he'd be back eventually, but what if this scared him? what if this was the one line he wasn't supposed to cross? what if he doesn't come back after this?
he waits. maybe he just needs to... maybe he just needs to wait.
therion, when he thuds into their room, will see jiaoqiu on the bed, clutching his phone. he's got it in both hands like a lifeline. that jade bracelet is sitting around his wrist - it never comes off, really. he's half dressed otherwise, with blankets tangled around him in disarray, and... he's asleep. or, he was. the thud gets his ear to flick, and he jolts slightly in the way people do when they're trying to pretend like they didn't pass out. he blinks groggily at his phone, like he thinks it made a noise, and then blearily looks up at the window, eyes unfocused.
he's sooo wasted, which means he has no control over the way his tail wags lamely when he sees therion, fuzzy brain trying to catch up with reality. ]
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(i miss you. i love you.)
god. god, this was so uncool. it's all catching up to him as he stands there like an idiot for a long minute, staring at him, feeling his heart shrivel up in his chest and then burst into something brighter, something that just feels ridiculous. what did he run all the way here for? why did he -
god. he reaches up and scrubs a hand across his face, though it's not like he's upset or anything. just kind of flabbergasted, at himself, at this situation, and he pulls it down and looks at jiaoqiu, and then sighs. he just sighs to the heavens, and rolls his eyes, and comes over. his heart is pounding like a million miles an hour. ]
Aeber's asshole. [ he mutters, to himself, brushes himself off like he is Cool, and then comes over, folding his arms. ] Look at you.
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but therion crosses the room and makes grouchy noises, and jiaoqiu is drunk but that doesn't mean his foxian senses don't work. he catches therion's scent, and his ears perk up. and then he's sitting up, dropping his phone on the floor and reaching for him with a pleased look. ]
You're back.
[ his stupid tail is now wagging in earnest. ]
Therion. [ soft, full of affection, sleepy. ] I'm dreaming. Therion.
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he opens his mouth to say something else and then shuts it, rapidly, flustered at the sheer amount of dopey affection that is being beamed his way. the tailwagging. the sleepy, cute voice. this is a lot. he sees i love you in text at the back of his mind, flusters harder, and starts to reach for him so he doesn't like, fall off the bed. ]
Yeah, no. What kind of dreams are you having.
[ he should just push him over, but he does not do that, not even sure what to do with himself with this reaction. his ears are starting to turn red. ]
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he is in fact about to fall off the bed, so therion catches him a bit, thankfully. he is half hanging out of it, wrapping his arms around therion and pressing his face to his chest, breathing him in. his ears fall back, droopy and tired, relaxed. ]
I'm sorry.
[ he says absently, muffled. ]
I called you back. The nothing isn't here. I'm not hurting myself. You don't have to stay if you weren't ready. [ he says, like he's not digging his claws in, like his tone doesn't get sad when he says it. you don't have to. don't trap yourself. slurred out, as he noses at therion: ]
I missed you. The pillows don't smell like you anymore.
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back, towards the bed. harmlessly, he pushes jiaoqiu over. if he's holding onto therion, then that's fine too, because he just goes with him. it's messy fall backwards, limbs everywhere, but it's gentle. ]
Shut up. [ god. he's not sure if he's saying it to all the slurred - not necessarily niceties, but the things he feels that he has to actually say - or to "i missed you", but it works, for both.
pushing him over puts them close, therion propping himself up and over him, staring at him - one focused, bright green eye. he thinks he should probably say something, but he catches himself just staring at jiaoqiu instead, flustered, pink across his nose, staring at jiaoqiu, pink faced and sprawled on this bed that they shared, that he missed therion in, that he just keeps saying that he missed him in , that he said he -
there are no words, so he just gives up, and kisses him. once, messier than he wants it to be, but he doesn't even know what to do or how to even begin to handle how he's feeling about this entire situation, but that seems to be a step in the right direction. ]
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but therion comes with. props himself up over jiaoqiu, and he gets caught looking up at him, expression softening slightly at that bright green eye. if he wasn't so preoccupied, he'd run his fingers over his jade bracelet, admiring the matching color. his own gold ones are glazed, but pleased to be where he is. and he's even more pleased - if a little startled - by the way that therion kisses him. the noise he lets out is surprised, but. he very easily leans up into it. his tail loosely wraps around therion's leg, instinctively.
he is very clumsy with it, and it makes him dizzy. but he does his best to return it, because his brain is just a steady stream of yay! therion is here! i love him! i love when he kisses me! this is a nice dream.
his hands sort of just gently come up to hold onto him, too. if he can figure out where therion's hands are he will hold them, by god. ]
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it probably doesn't mean anything - just drunk rambling, and it is that cold thought that finally frees him away from the actual kiss, except he can't even bring himself to be that cynical about it. no, the best he can manage is exasperation, pulling back a little to look at him more properly, red in the face and smacking his lips together like he tasted something weird, because. ]
Fuck, that's strong. You smell like a distillery.
[ god. okay. okay!!! whatever, he totally didn't just freak out about this, he totally didn't just literally throw aside whatever he was in the midst of doing to show up. he lets jiaoqiu grab onto one of his hands, but the other one comes up and takes his face, and then squishes it, and just stares at him for a second, like he's recalibrating exactly what to do with this situation. ]
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a beat, as he tries to puzzle out why there is... sand everywhere. it takes him a second of staring at said sand before he realizes therion spoke. oh. right. boothill. scowls. ]
I had...
[ he says, squinting. ]
Four glasses. Asdana White Oak. [ which is like, stupidly strong liquor, it's boothill's favorite. fun fact, it comes with a fucking bullet in it because apparently that makes it taste better.
he's going to say more, but then therion's got his face in hand and he's being squished, and he makes a fussy sound, squirming. he does not let go of therion's hand, though. now you're trapped forever, thief boy. ]
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No kidding. [ it sure tasted like four.
squishing him makes him feel a little less out of his mind insane, actually, a little more normal even if he's still red in the face and might be forever. though jiaoqiu has his hand, he keeps the other one on his face and squishes it again, scowling in the way that he's really just embarrassed. ]
You're gonna regret this in the morning, and I'm gonna have to hear all about it. [ god. he releases his face and then looks at him again, and starts to lean back like he's getting up. ] You need water.
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jiaoqiu does not have the dexterity required right now to keep therion on the bed, so he does let therion get up, but he looks very sad about it. he knows he probably needs water, too, so. very thoroughly squished, jiaoqiu slowly sinks back down to the mattress right where he's sitting and hums. he's not even facing the right way, head at the foot of the bed. ]
Does that mean you'll be here when I wake?
[ he asks, looking up at therion a little hopefully. ]
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