man I don't even know

[canceller]

[It's been less than 24 hours since he landed back here, and already Jeremiah's finding himself breathing easier. It's drier here, the winter colder, and he welcomes it, in spite of years in Area 11. The mainland will always be his home, after all.

Pendragon sometimes feels less so, and other times more. It still feels like fate brought him here, it just depends on how surreal that particular moment feels to him. Right now, all he can do is keep strolling about the grounds, gaze sweeping the gardens, the sprawling build of the place, the mountains in the distance.

It's good to be back.]

Comments

[canceller]

[Yeah he's not looking away. Even his robo eye is locked on your face, buddy.

Sip.]

[explores]

[ Folds his arms!!!!! But eventually he gets around to looking back at him, staring unblinking for... well, by normal people standards, a pretty decently long time. Can't beat the robo eye though, and he blinks hard when it finally happens. ]

See anything interesting?

[canceller]

Not yet.

[Sip. Jeez here he was criticizing Gino and he's almost done with his glass. Whoops, refill time.]

[explores]

[ WOW RUDE!!! Looking pointedly away again. ]

I see.

[canceller]

You could always change that.

[Is he smirking to himself while he's got his back turned? Maybe.]

[explores]

How do you propose I make my face more interesting to you?

[ He is sulking like a little girl, and it is all completely fake. And he's okay with it being obvious. He simply doesn't do things he doesn't intend to have people notice. ]

[canceller]

I didn't say it just had to be your face, did I?

[Glances over his shoulder. Hey.]

[explores]

[ He looks up and around at that, perked up like someone rang the dinner bell. Sadly, he's too taken off guard to respond flawlessly, but he recovers fast, narrowing his eyes and dredging up a smirk. ]

I think you better let me have another drink if you expect to have any access to anything more interesting than just my face.

[canceller]

So I have to get you drunk first? That's a bit questionable isn't it?

[Jeremiah just stands there, certainly not pulling away from the table just yet.]

[explores]

Take it or leave it.

[ Is what he says, but what he means is he fully intends on making him work for it. ]

[canceller]

You assume a lot about the levels to which I'd sink, Gino. What of my moral code?

[Said nothing if not haughtily, taking another generous sip of wine. Yeah, he's not even trying to savor it at this point.]

[explores]

Orange, you left your moral code all over my bedsheets when I was nineteen. Don't kid me with your false pretenses.

[ He drapes one leg over the other, hitched up expressly so he can rest his elbow on his knee and put his chin in his hand. Because that's the pose he needs to be striking right now and he has nowhere else to lean to make it happen. ]

[canceller]

Well at least you were sober.

[At that, he finishes off his glass and sets it down before pouring another shot and carrying it over, offering it up to Gino's mouth directly.

Guess how many fucks he gives.]

[explores]

[ He seems plenty mollified now that he's won, smirking up at Jeremiah for just a moment longer before he opens his mouth and tips his head back a little to let him pour it in. ]

[canceller]

[Jeremiah nudges the glass to his lower lip and tilts slowly enough so he can drink it down in one steady gulp, not pausing as he plants his knee into the edge of the bed next to Gino's legs and lowers the glass enough so when it suddenly hits the floor it only gives a heavy thunk instead of cracking. He waits, though, gently tilting Gino's chin with a few fingers rather possessively, and watches wordlessly to make sure he swallows it down first.]

[explores]

[ Gino lets his head be moved with no resistance, swallowing evenly and never once taking his eyes off of Jeremiah (except for maybe a split second where his gaze darts at the thudding sound of the glass hitting the floor, but then it slides back up again). His lips quirk again when he's finished, head still tilted back. ]

[canceller]

[He actually smiles surprisingly warmly at that—he's honestly probably helped by those two very quickly downed glasses of wine, but it's only making his expressions, his movements more earnest—and closes the distance only slowly enough to murmur something before pressing their mouths together.]

Good boy.

[explores]

[ He huffs a little through his nose at that, but it's either that or the kiss or both that wipes the smirk off his face, leaning up into him without a trace of his coy bullshit from earlier. He doesn't stay that way, though, draping an arm around Jeremiah's neck and leaning back again. ]

You missed me, didn't you?

[canceller]

I don't know where you got that silly impression from.

[Said with a smile, no less, although Gino would have to be quick to catch it before Jeremiah steals a second kiss, and then a third before he can really pull away, already parting his lips to coax the blond to do the same.

Yeah. Yeah he has.]

[explores]

[ He can tell. He's only just beginning to feel the faint bubbling burn of alcohol (and it feels pretty awesome, like everything does about now), following Jeremiah's cues and letting his tongue glide teasingly forward before he pulls it back again.

In fact, he pulls everything back, and reaches up with both arms around Jeremiah's neck to encourage him to pull forward, dropping back against the bed with a quiet little mmf against the older man's mouth. ]

[canceller]

[Jeremiah follows easily, grabbing hold of his side with one hand, the other planting in the bed for some support, for all the good it does as he just keeps their mouths latched firmly together, lips pressed hard against lips and tongue still catching a strong trace of orange, strong and sugary and really damn addictive. He didn't spend his time away entirely alone, but chaste, teasing kisses over drinks in a lounge with a noblewoman far too forward for her position—and oh, how years ago he very well would have protested—don't compare to this. Those were shared moments spawned by the carelessness of inebriation. This is something else entirely.

And damn, if he isn't pent up after, in spite of everything, having no one in his bed since he left. Everyone else failed to interest him, and well. Here we are.]

[explores]

[ Gino missed him too, it's abundantly clear in plenty of ways that he wants Jeremiah to see and feel and maybe in some ways he doesn't, too. He kisses back long and slow and heated, plenty eager to pick up speed but not quite ready to. Not yet. For right now he's content to run his hands up and down his back, through his hair, along his jaw, bending one leg to brush it against Jeremiah's hip.

He missed him a lot, honestly. A trifling affair here and there didn't do much but drag the time on and pining after someone else made it worse. He's got just as much to give back after all that time, and he does. ]

[canceller]

[Jeremiah just pulls himself up further, his left hand drifting from the blond's side to cup his face instead, crouching over him and kissing him just that much harder. This is what he wanted, the feel of the younger man beneath him, pushing up against him, returning the gestures in kind if not yet challenging it, which is... actually a pretty nice change of pace.

Guess his actions say how much Gino's missed this in turn.]

[explores]

[ He makes a sound kind of like a whine, short and quiet and very clipped, snaking his arms between the two of them and cradling Jeremiah's face in his hands. Gino has always been an eager font of energy, but there's definitely something to be said about absence makes the heart grow fonder (although whether this is a matter of the heart remains to be seen, but he does tend to think the two things go hand-in-hand no matter what the situation). Maybe absence makes the heart grow more impatient is a better line.

Because it hardly takes much more than feeling Jeremiah hovering over him to make him arch up, pushing his shoulders back and his hips forward to get them closer together. It is fucking hot in here and he is in full uniform (sans cape) but closer is the only thing on his mind. ]

[canceller]

[Well that certainly results in his hand shooting back down to Gino's hip, gripping tight but neither pinning him down nor pulling him closer, just holding him steady as his mouth pulls away to murmur low against his lips.]

Hey now, easy. Are you really that desperate for something? [Shut up Jeremiah, like you really have that much room to talk.]