|
Twins
Jan 17, 2017 15:13:27 GMT -5
Post by Philip Garwin on Jan 17, 2017 15:13:27 GMT -5
Kellen is almost more trouble than he's worth most of the time - but then again, Landon feels that way about people in general (minus the 'almost', barring very few exceptions). It's why he works with electronics instead of people, why he leaves the blood and gore to Rin and their grandfather, the easy charm and mingling to Dad and Gen, the teaching of the next generation to Liam. Landon knows his limits. Given some semblance of the right components, he can fix together a reasonable approximation of anything his family might ask for; he can assemble a bomb from scratch in under half an hour and defuse one in less than a third of that time. In his workshop, with his tools, Landon can turn metal and wire into a creative masterpiece of explosive proportions, but force him into a suit, put him in a room populated with people outside his immediate family, and he would find it easier to garrotte himself with the wire elaborately twisted around his left wrist like a bracelet than to carry on a conversation. So yes, people are bad. People are tedious and predictable and messy. Landon has no idea how his family manage it.
("It's easier when you have something sharp to shut them up with," Rin quips with a flash of dark humour when he mentions it in passing, her smile rarer now than it had been before Cayden - see, Landon thinks pointedly, messy. Also, predictable. He doesn't think it takes a genius to realise that Cayden isn't actually emotionally equipped to be in love with anyone. Neither, he thinks, is Rin.)
His brother is the charismatic one, in so far as either of them can actually make a claim to charm. Neither of the twins will ever be like their dad, with his collected smile and elegant mastery of business, or vivacious and extravagant as Gen is, neither do they have Uncle Tristan's deliberate smirk or Liam's oddly sincere interest in the people around him. Kellen is just better at faking it, at saying the right things at the right times and making people believe that he cares. Landon simply doesn't see the point; small talk bores him, people irritate him with their unnecessary noise and insincerity, and his mind is continually occupied by the pile of unfinished projects and schematics scattered around the flat he shares with his brother. It gets too much sometimes, the chaotic whirl of his thoughts can drown him if he's not careful to surface. He's lost days before, locked away in his workshop without any sustenance but a few bottles of water and whatever crackers or biscuits he's stocked his drawer with that month.
("You're going to waste away one day," Gen tells him exasperatedly, her hand gentle and loving as she brushes his fringe away from his eyes. Landon doesn't remember having a fringe but he supposes he also can't remember the last time he got a haircut so it's not out of the realm of possibility that his hair has exceeded its usual unkempt shagginess. She masks the worry in her eyes with a smile but Landon doesn't miss the way she rests a hand against his right forearm; they both notice that her fingers could easily circle his wrist and Gen's smile immediately forces itself at least three degrees brighter at the realisation.
He's fourteen years old; Dad immediately starts spending more time at home, Flick switches into overdrive in spoiling him as she always does when confronted with a new stray to take care of, Uncle Stephen hands him over to Aunt Ana in training, which is just cruel and unusual punishment because Ana is more of a taskmaster than her husband despite her motherly smile. Kellen studies him through narrowed eyes for days until Landon wakes one morning with wire twisted around his left wrist. It doesn't come off when he tugs at it but the true beauty is in the electric shocks that spark over his skin if more than six hours passes without him eating. It hurts, as electrocution probably should, because Kellen might be brilliant but he's still just barely a teenager and the spellwork woven into the metal should be far beyond him as it is. Dad offers to adjust the intensity after noticing Landon wince a few too many times but Kellen loves spells in the way that Landon loves fire and coils of wire. It'll get fixed when Kellen fixes it, Landon doesn't say, but his twin reads it in the stubborn shake of his head and squeezes his hand in solidarity.)
Not all of it is faked, of course. Dad must anticipate the possibility that their Cartier blood will run true because he takes pains to highlight the tenuous blood link between them and the Graas' and the MacFarlanes. Blood above all, of course. So Kellen and Landon grow with the knowledge that Rafe and Drake and Wyron and Cayden are more than allies: they're family - blood family, Julien stresses, because Meredith Garwin and Philip Cartier might not have had the same surname but they shared the same parents and the same childhood. Cayden isn't blood but he may as well be with how easily he fits in. Flick and Tara are likewise easy to accept; Flick has the same mother as their grandfather and great-uncles, a woman who is not spoken of with much respect by anyone on the rare occasions she is mentioned at all. Gen is another matter entirely; it feels like she's there from the very moment they're born in the place of a mother neither twin remembers.
With the obvious exceptions of Dad and each other, Gen becomes the first person to mean more than merely family, to earn more than an obligatory affection and loyalty beyond that which is offered to family by sheer virtue of shared blood. Liam joins that short list of people very quickly for reasons that Landon and Kellen find difficult to explain - because Liam is quiet and studious enough that he should be boring but he also comes up with the most wicked and cunning of schemes. Between the trouble that he can think up and his incredible ability to outrun them both when they inevitably get caught despite being younger and shorter, Liam is adopted into their own little family almost without them noticing. The list ends there, for a very long time. Kellen likes people for the most part, Landon primarily tolerates them as a necessary invasion, but no one else really gets close. Until they do.
("Really?" Landon doesn't quite whine, but he does cock his eyebrow and fold his arms which is much the same thing when it comes to him. The half-finished tangle of wires abandoned on the table in front of him sparks and fizzles threateningly but neither of them lay any attention. "I am a bit busy, not that you seem to have noticed."
Kellen considers his brother thoughtfully. "You can use the prototype that Dad never let you test out," he offers and Landon's expression immediately shifts to a mixture of unbridled glee and contemplation.
It takes a few moments of rooting through drawers before Landon finds what he's looking for: a deceptively innocent looking opaque plastic ball with six buttons arranged in the shape of a smiley face. It had been built in response to something that Jas had commissioned but Dad had looked through the specifications and immediately banned it from being used on a mission. This, Landon justifies quite logically, isn't a mission so much as Kellen asking his permission to add someone else to their list. "So," he drawls, throwing and catching the sphere without care for the explosives packed inside, "Wyron, huh?"
Kellen shrugs, falling into step with him automatically. "He's taught me a lot already. Besides, you're the one who offered to tinker with his medicine machine thing."
At your behest, Landon thinks dryly with a sideways glance at his brother's deliberately innocent expression. Neither of them will fool themselves into thinking that Landon is participating in this ridiculous jailbreak for Wyron's sake. He will do his utmost best to enhance the medicine machine thing, as Kellen so eloquently named it, to lengthen and improve Wyron's life as much as he can but he remains emotionally objective. He has to, because he knows that Kellen can't, not anymore. That's the danger in learning to love people, Landon thinks. They're predictable, they all die. Nothing is more predictable than the inevitability of death.)
They're both covered in soot and dust, Dad's lecture drags on for what feels like hours, and Landon is mostly certain that he has a concussion and, yes, that's almost definitely blood dripping down the back of his collar. Even discounting the way that Wyron had casually unlocked his own cell door, nothing about this screams success - or even subtly hints at it, really - but Kellen's hand twitches against his and Landon nudges back, both twins fighting back an identical grin. Kellen might almost be more trouble than he's worth - very much so, some days - but Landon guesses he probably is too. After all, the jailbreak might have been Kellen's idea but Landon had been the one to bring along the bouncy ball bomb.
"Oh really," Dad surveys them both knowingly, his own mouth twitching upwards faintly. "You two think this is funny, boys? It won't be quite so funny when you lose all access to your workshop for a fortnight, Landon, or when you can't see your penguins for the same length of time, Kellen. It definitely won't be funny when you're both helping Stephen and Liam in the training academy - as practice dummies for the kids. But for now," he finishes, the brisk strictness dropping from his tone as he circles around the desk to tip Landon's head forward and examine the oozing wound gently, "medical attention and a hot cup of tea each, I rather think. Avis won't expect me back until tomorrow, given that I was called away because my only children had managed to explode part of her step-father's home."
|
|
|
Twins
Aug 27, 2019 14:02:13 GMT -5
Post by Philip Garwin on Aug 27, 2019 14:02:13 GMT -5
Kellen keeps Landon in France for almost two weeks, more than long enough for his twin to start resenting him for the forced solitude. Truthfully, Kellen isn’t too happy with Landon either by the end of the first week. They’re both stubborn men, always have been, but this is the first time their views have differed quite so significantly. Landon is determined not to break his silence whereas Kellen is painfully aware of each day that passes, mentally crossing off each lost opportunity to meet his future wife within the limited timeframe dictated by his family.
The first few days feel almost like their childhood again, the two of them coexisting in easy harmony, back in their own little bubble with no one to disturb them. It’s unbelievably relaxing, the illusion that they have no responsibilities and no one to answer to. Rin has never been overly thrilled at the prospect of being his unofficial heir until Kellen has a child but Kellen can still handle most of the daily tasks associated with keeping their family running smoothly; Rin will just have to show her face at an event or two if required and be prepared to smack a few heads together in the event of an emergency. Cartier problems can usually be resolved, at least in the short term, via the judicious application of violence and force, both of which are Rin's areas of expertise. From that angle, there’s no one more qualified to take his place while he focuses on Landon.
Landon finally breaks his silence on the tenth day. He slinks into the room Kellen has claimed as his office, hovering for a few moments before he settles on the couch in the corner, bringing his legs up to his chest as he blinks at his brother. Kellen lifts his head to acknowledge Landon's presence before returning to the contract in his hands, determined to wait his twin out. Twelve minutes pass before Landon finally opens his mouth, his tone sullen. “I want to go home. I miss him.”
Kellen hums agreeably, laying down his quill. “I know you do. But I want to make sure that you and Rai don’t end up having a shouting match during the next ball you both attend just because someone flirts with him and you don’t like it.” Landon scowls but remains silent when Kellen fixes him with a serious gaze. “He loves you just as much as you love him,” he says gently, “but other people will offer for him, just as they do for you. You have to trust that Raidon and I won't accept any of the offers. Even if Raidon was inclined to consider it for some ridiculous reason, you need to believe that Rai wouldn’t ever hurt you that way. If he ever gets married, it’s going to be to you. You need to have faith, and you need to talk to him.”
|
|
|
Twins
Aug 27, 2019 15:20:22 GMT -5
Post by Rister Graas S6 on Aug 27, 2019 15:20:22 GMT -5
Raidon idly wondered whether any previous Graas Head had ever tried to calculate the exact percentage of how much easier life would be if they just disbanded the entire family tree. Now that it would particularly help on this occasion as Rai would probably still be sulking at him seeing that Kellen has taken his twin away, but there are moments he did wonder as he absently attempted to arrange the thought into numbers on a scrap of papers. Especially as Rai was sulking. Has been sulking for the last week because Kellen took his twin away. And a sulking chemist really wasn't particularly fun – especially if in sleep-deprivation he brings his latest test to dinner table and manages to spill it on the food while no-one is looking.
Raidon and Cayden had agreed to take him out for lunch just in case after that dinner fiasco yesterday, not that lunch had gone particularly well either. Oh, the food had been good and the weather glorious as the three had basked in sunshine on the roof-terrace to polish off a glass of wine. Well, Raidon had basked, stretched out in the lounge-chair with his crossed ankles on the balustrade, while Cayden was petting the cat of the owner's corner in a nook created by the flower-support and Rai continued to sulk. Only for the afternoon to take a marked turn for the worse when a somewhat tipsy socialite had spotted them and made their way over. And really, the man had been crude – made worse by the drink he had obviously had – but nothing Raidon couldn't handle. But then the man, aware that Raidon was engaged but clearly curious about the male form with drink-boosted courage, turned towards his cousins. Cayden merely sneered in response with a dark look but when the man had jokingly reached out towards Rai's shoulder, Rai (who had had five glasses of wine himself) exploded out of his seat. And sure, the Graas were nowhere near as trained or lethal as the Cartiers – or at least not lethal in the same ways – but they knew the basics. And Rai's mother had ensured that he started learning martial arts since he was a kid in a nod to his Japanese heritage. So Raidon recognised the crack of a breaking bone with a slight wince around his eyes and a dull thump (a concussion his mind helpfully translated as he closed his eyes to mentally count to three) as Rai gave the man a vicious tongue-lashing about not being available to scum like him even if he were single, before stomping off in a huff.
Cayden was looking oddly drawn between surprise at Rai's reaction and a defensive desire to get angry on his behalf as well. But stood obligingly enough when Raidon gestured for him to follow Rai. Although not without loyally giving the man a discreet kick in the ribs on the way. “Everything's under control,” Raidon said out loud, standing himself to step over and crouch down next to the man – daintily adjusting his slacks to ensure he wouldn't get any blood on the hems (nor stretch the knees) as he crouched next to the stunned man's head. “Now, now,” he murmured, shoving the man back down as he attempted to rise with an indignant splutter. Not like he could do anything else after Rai's outburst and Cayden's gesture of loyalty. And a hospital probably was going to be the safest place for the man for now. So Raidon smiled, leant closer and in a careful whisper detailed just how much the Graas' dislike someone trying to take liberties and just how big of a legal team would be involved in countering any possible legal action from the man with accusations of sexual harassment; absently pressing down on the man's throat when he attempted to speak. “Understood?” he finished, deciding to accept the faint gurgle as agreement as he loosened his hold and smiled, “Good. Glad we understand each other.”
With a sigh Raidon headed in to make his apologies to the owner and settle the bill – adding a generous gratuity of twice of it as a tip to make up for the scene. Which would undoubtedly be splashed across some gossip rags he realised with another internal sigh. And so he added another 100 to borrow the owners owl to send a quick missing to Kellen forbidding him from sending any of his family after the man as he really hadn't been all that offensive, unless you were sulking and starting to get tipsy. Only then did he sigh and close his eyes for a moment to locate his wayward cousins. Who had thankfully headed back to the castle Raidon realised with mild relief as he made his way home himself.
Which brought him here. Contemplating the benefits of disbanding the Graas' while nursing a glass of wine and keeping an eye on his cousins. Caydon, while never a big drinker, had accidentally ingested some of Rai's concoction when he had splashed it into some food without anyone noticing and was probably still feeling the impact of that was asleep on top of the highest wine-rack, curled up into a tight ball. Raidon had no idea how he was going to get him back down from there, but supposed he should thank his lucky stars Cayden was a quiet sleeper. Maybe he could leave him up there for the night, for all that the location seemed uncomfortable and he had never quite imagined a grown man being able to curl up quite that tight either.
Rai on the other hand had gone straight through four additional bottles of wine and half a bottle of whiskey. But at least he was sleeping on the table. Well, mostly sleeping. He was murmuring nonsense about robots and... something... that made no sense to anyone but him (and probably Landon), with his cheek resting on one robot while another one was slowly twisting on top of his head. Raidon did wonder if it would take scissors to remove it, but perhaps there was some secret engineering trick to it. At least Rai wasn't complaining and the robot looked happy. A third robot was almost upright and... well Raidon wasn't entirely sure what the robot was doing with Rai's leg, but he was going to assume it was attempting to hoover it; while a fourth attempted to discover the lay of the land in the wine-cellar. Raidon wasn't entirely sure how he was going to move that bunch out of the cellar either, so he was rather pleased when the castle wards welcomed someone and he realised Kellen and Landon had arrived at the castle. “Tell Landon to come collect his boyfriend,” Raidon ordered a house-elf having been summoned with a snap of his fingers and then leaned back to wait.
It was the foxes who got in first as soon as the door opened a crack. The two felines paused for a moment to take in the smells before making a bee-line towards Rai. One jumping up on the table and cocking its head, before starting a fight with the robot twisting in Rai's hair for the right of sitting on his head, while the other jumped in Rai's lap, half disappearing underneath his untucked shirt. Landon's shirt really, judging by the oil-stains on the sleeve. “Good. I was just about done baby-sitting this bunch, all of whom have been sulking for days. They're all yours,” Raidon said, glancing up at Landon while gesturing lazily at the pile of robots, man and foxes.
|
|
|
Twins
Aug 27, 2019 16:04:25 GMT -5
Post by Philip Garwin on Aug 27, 2019 16:04:25 GMT -5
Kellen is undecided as to whether let Landon return to Italy or keep him in France a little while longer, but Raidon's note settles the matter for him. Rai is drinking to excess and causing public scenes. Landon is sullen and sleepless, unable to concentrate even on his inventions. It’s time for the two men to reunite and have a proper conversation, if they can manage it.
“You’re not coming,” Landon says flatly. It wasn’t a question but Kellen nods anyway, clapping his brother on the shoulder firmly.
“It's time,” he answers simply. He can’t live in the Graas castle forever, not now that he's the Head of his own family. They’re allies but they’re still different families with different goals and motivations. Besides, Kellen has to be a husband soon. Starting a life with a stranger will be difficult enough; he doesn’t need a crowd of witnesses for every moment.
Logically Landon knows that he's been breathing fine for the past eleven days but it still feels like a tightness in his chest eases when he enters the bedroom he shares with Rai, the foxes close on his heels, and finds himself surrounded by their mingled belongings. Copper yips crossly, as if in disappointment that the room is empty, and Landon stoops to gather her in his arms. She and Nickel have both missed Rai too; he wonders if they have also felt his absence from their lives like a jagged void that cut deeper every day. It doesn’t seem right that one man can have such an effect on his life, that Rai can move him to joy or contentment or jealousy so easily, and Landon fears it far more than he's told even Kellen. He's terrified of the hold Rai has over his heart, of what will become of him if Rai ever changes his mind or finds someone better.
The summons comes as no surprise. Raidon will have known the moment Landon and the foxes returned. Copper and Nickel lead the way, trotting along a few steps in front of him as they descend to the wine cellar - Landon arches an eyebrow in surprise at the choice of location but falls silent at the sight in front of him as Nickel noses the door open. Both foxes abandon him immediately; Nickel starting a fight with Tiny, who seems to be attempting to braid Rai's hair, while Copper claims Rai's lap as her seat. “What happened?” Landon asks in a murmur, careful to keep his voice low in the hopes of not waking Rai. “He looks exhausted.”
|
|
|
Twins
Aug 27, 2019 16:25:41 GMT -5
Post by Rister Graas S6 on Aug 27, 2019 16:25:41 GMT -5
“Today or over the last 11 days?” Raidon asks, not bothering to modulate his voice. He already knows that neither of his cousins will wake. He tried. “And he probably is. He hasn't been sleeping well.” Rai doesn't go down the rabbit-hole anywhere near as deep as Landon does, but even so Raidon had to actually bar him from the lab for sleep at one point.
“He has issues with loneliness and being left alone,” he added with an idle shrug, wondering whether it would be too much to ask Landon to leave a note next time, “And he's been missing you.”
“He also accidentally poisoned Cayden and almost me as well yesterday. Although Cayden got the worst of that really,” Raidon continues, because that's a point that needs to be made and he isn't going to let Rai forget that once he's no longer moping, “Sulking really isn't a good look on him. He also broke the arm and nose – and gave a concussion – to a stranger who suggested a drink earlier today. So you might actually have to fight Rin for some time with him tomorrow. Right now he's just had about five bottles of wine and a couple of neat whiskeys, so he'll have a mild hangover tomorrow morning.” The Graas were trained to carry their alcohol, so a hangover would be the worst of it really. “And he almost poisoned me yesterday, so I'm not feeling benevolent enough to cart him off to bed, so that pile is all yours to cart off to bed.” Raidon paused. He had been ignoring it, but he really couldn't. “And I'm starting to get a bit disturbed by that robot, er, worshipping Rai's leg. How sentient is it exactly?”
|
|
|
Twins
Aug 27, 2019 16:50:07 GMT -5
Post by Philip Garwin on Aug 27, 2019 16:50:07 GMT -5
Landon winces at the accusation he reads in Raidon's voice. Kellen had commanded him to France, yes, but Landon is possibly the only person alive who could ignore his Head completely and not even be reprimanded for it. He could have stayed, but things had been strained between him and Rai and he had been hurt and he had needed to get away for a while. Taking the foxes and not leaving a note had been either thoughtless or cruel; Landon hasn’t wanted to examine his motives enough to determine which of the two had driven him most.
“He certainly smells like he’ll have a headache in the morning,” Landon comments mildly. He can smell the alcohol despite the distance between him and Rai; it’s strong enough to make him wary as he moves closer. Drunk people are unpredictable, which is a trait Landon can appreciate, but he’s already unsure of the reception he’ll receive when Rai wakes. He had pictured a sober discussion, not that he would be returning to a man who smelled like he might have bathed in whiskey.
“Tomorrow can be tomorrow's problem,” he murmurs mildly, surprise evident on his face upon learning that Rai had severely injured someone. Rin will demand a demonstration of his skills, Landon has no doubt, but not tonight. He would sooner she work off any protective anger at Cayden being poisoned before she approaches Rai. “Oh, he doesn’t have a properly functioning processing unit yet,” Landon offers idly, calling off the little robot with the whistle he's programmed them all to respond to. “He’s probably been trying to hoover everything in the castle since he first woke up, poor thing.”
Landon pauses, hand resting over Rai's shoulder without quite making contact, and tips his head towards Cayden. “Are you leaving him here or sending Rin to collect him? That doesn’t look the safest place to sleep.”
|
|
|
Twins
Aug 27, 2019 17:08:58 GMT -5
Post by Rister Graas S6 on Aug 27, 2019 17:08:58 GMT -5
“He deserves it,” Raidon said with a simply shrug, “He can carry his alcohol, but he doesn't drink often. But he's a big boy - he'll be fine.”
Landon's whistle also has the side-benefit of half-rousing Rai. Not that he could lift his head with a robot and fox fighting over it, but he did twist it – getting a lungful of fox breath for it – while murmuring a drowsy: “Landon? But you left. With the foxes. Did you come back?” His voice stretching into a yawn, Rai's eyes slid closed again even as he shifted backwards to come into contact with Landon's side. Pliant with sleep but he trusted Landon. And the sleepiness kept him from being wary of his welcome. “You are...” he murmured with unhidden pleasure, the word “back” almost inaudble over an exhale as he slipped back into sleep again.
“Of course he listens to you,” Raidon sighed with a shake of his head, before waving a hand at the door, “Why am I surprised? For all that he might be one of my spymasters, he is yours. And Rin's away finishing a job. She should be back tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on Cayden until a I decide what I'll do with him. Just take Rai to bed to sleep the alcohol off. Or dump him in the shower, if you can wake him enough for that. He'll be glad to see you."
|
|
|
Twins
Aug 28, 2019 12:42:38 GMT -5
Post by Philip Garwin on Aug 28, 2019 12:42:38 GMT -5
Landon smiles softly, his expression unguarded as he reaches out to touch Rai's dark hair and brushes a few wayward strands away from his closed eyes. Nickel noses at his hand when it comes close, earning a few scratches around his ears for his persistence. He’s missed this man so much more than he ever thought possible but the lingering distance between them keeps him tentative. There’s still a discussion to be had, a discussion which might yet turn into an argument depending on how things unfurl. “Aye, I'm back,” he promises lowly. “I’m here and so are the foxes. We're back.”
“He’s a light sleeper,” Landon murmurs absently as he carefully transfers first Nickel and then Copper to the floor. Both foxes make unhappy noises at being disturbed but he pays them no mind, instead focused on disentangling Tiny from Rai's hair. The other robots are more easily shooed away but Landon frowns at Tiny for several seconds, seriously considering just leaving him attached to Rai's head until the small robot chirps and spins himself free. “Up you get,” he says to Rai as he coaxes the other man into a sitting position with firm hands, adopting the strict tone that he usually hears directed at himself after too many hours in his lab. “It's time for bed. You can’t sleep in the cellar.”
|
|
|
Twins
Aug 28, 2019 14:14:14 GMT -5
Post by Rister Graas S6 on Aug 28, 2019 14:14:14 GMT -5
Raidon merely hums at the back of his throat, looking down into his own glass but doesn't comment. Because Rai usually is a light sleeper. As is Cayden. But they are both relaxed and in company they trust, so they let themselves sleep. Besides the moment between intimate enough that he has no desire to interfere.
Rai mutters disagreeably as the robot he had been resting his cheek on whirs away at Landon's comment, his cheek impacting rather loudly against the wooden desk. And then grumbles further as Landon coaxes him to up. "No. Why," he complains, his body slumping backwards - half into the backrest, half into Landon - as Landon tugs him off the desk. And really, why couldn't he sleep in the cellar. "The Castle. Safe," Rai mutters, because Landon likes logic, his head flomping back onto Landon's shoulder as he half-slides into the man, not at all willing to get his feet under him. Sleep is far more tempting.
|
|
|
Twins
Aug 29, 2019 13:17:12 GMT -5
Post by Philip Garwin on Aug 29, 2019 13:17:12 GMT -5
Oh, honestly. Landon regards Rai with fond exasperation, suddenly missing Wyron so much that it actually hurts to breathe for a moment. He has no doubt that Wyron would be cackling with laughter if he was here, gleefully declaring that this must be karma for all the times someone has had to force a resistant Landon out of his workshop and into bed. He would have loved this turn of events.
“Bed,” Landon repeats firmly, adjusting his position to better support Rai's weight. Years of hauling bits of scrap metal and machinery through his workshop and reluctantly training with Rin, who doesn’t accept his logic that he’s really more of a support figure in their family than anyone who might ever have to go out into the world, have given him deceptive strength despite his lean frame. “The cellar might be safe but it isn’t comfortable. And the foxes can’t cuddle with you properly if you sleep down here,” he coaxes, easing Rai to his feet cautiously before taking a few steps to test if Rai is awake and aware enough to be led upstairs without falling over his own feet.
|
|
|
Twins
Aug 29, 2019 14:24:25 GMT -5
Post by Rister Graas S6 on Aug 29, 2019 14:24:25 GMT -5
Rai grumbles, but allows himself to be manouvered into an upright position. Not that he does much more than sag into Landon's side, his eyes still closed. Raidon grins while watching it, contemplating whether to remind Landon that he's a wizard or not. Wyron was a pretty strong man, especially after his transformation but he tended to use a subtle Wingardium Leviosa to take most of Landon's – and on occasion everyone else's – weight when hauling someone to bed. Raidon did deign to be helpful enough to flick a finger to the door to have the castle's magic catch on his magic and the door swing open for the pair.
“Foxes,” Rai muttered to himself, taking a few long moments to think about even as he let Landon drag him towards the door. Lifting his feet would be far too much effort, so Rai let them drag. He wasn't wearing any shoes – having kicked them off a few hours ago – so it wasn't like he was wearing on his shoe-soles by doing that anyway. “Soft,” he decided and managed to flop his head around enough to nuzzle into Landon's neck. “Robots,” he added with an attempt at a nod into the neck as well, waving a careless arm around in an encompassing gesture onto to slam it into the doorjamb and yelp into said neck – and there might have been a subconscious attempt to bite aimed at the same neck in a semi-feral sleep-counterattack at the sudden pain.
---
It was the decision that he needed to go to the bathroom that woke Rai. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter in an attempt to ignore the urge, but there wasn't much to be done other than to shift to get up. It was only then that the headache kicked in. Rai squeezed the eyes he had been in the process of opening closed again and took a few moments to try and orient himself before dragging himself to his feet. Regardless of what his head thought of moving, his bladder demanded it and wasn't about to allow itself to be ignored. So keeping up a muttered litany of curses made his way towards the ensuite. He even managed without hurting himself – barring a nip at his bare ankle from one of the foxes, which was probably well deserved as he was still wearing yesterday's clothes and was starting to smell – as Landon was enough of an engineer to keep even his room orderly.
So once urgent matter were resolved, Rai fumbled the shower on – actually having to resort to his magic for it in the end, as he refused to open his eyes – and stepped into the shower with his clothes on. The water was cold, making his bare toes curl on the tiles, but it was actually quite good for his headache. So Rai stayed under the falling water until he heard movement and cracked one eye fuzzily open to catch just the outline of Landon. Closing his eye again, he held out his arms demandingly. “The clothes are soggy and disgusting,” he said expectantly and when no help in getting out of the clothes was coming, he stuck his lower lip out on a full pout and threatened, “If I bend over, I'll throw up.”
Once he was out of the wet clothes – even if he had had to tolerate the water temperature going up for it – Rai stumbled his way out of the shower-stall and into Landon, not bothered by his nakedness as he half-pushed, half-fell into Landon to steer him back to bed. His head hurt, so he was going to sleep some more. And he had missed Landon so he was getting cuddles while napping. Managing to wrap himself into a blanket caterpillar style, even his head pulled deep into the covers, Rai wriggled half on top of Landon and signed contently and snuggled in; the approving sound he let out growing into a groan of pleasure as one of the foxes jumped onto his back and padded up to his shoulders. The weight was just right. And having gotten comfortable, of course this was the moment for his stomach decided to announce that it was ready to eat half a boar as well.
Well, he did fancy something fatterning and greasy, but but he was not moving again just yet. Although. “You still have your appendix, right?” he muttered into the blanket between his face and Landon's chest, attempting to fuzzily recall what he knew about human anatomy. Humans didn't need the appendix as he recalled. And... it was right there. Sure, he'd need to figure out how to cook it, but no point in expending brain-power on that until he knew an appendix was there to be cooked.
|
|
|
Twins
Aug 29, 2019 15:25:02 GMT -5
Post by Philip Garwin on Aug 29, 2019 15:25:02 GMT -5
“The foxes are coming too,” Landon assures patiently, dipping his head at Raidon in grateful acknowledgement of his assistance, minor though it is. The robots...Landon glances over his shoulder briefly; he hadn't taken them off the table but he’s pleased to see that they at least have the processing power to only roll up to the edge and wait rather than plummeting to the ground in their attempts to follow. “They're going to stay with Cayden and Raidon for now,” he decides, if only because he doubts his ability to separate Rai from the table again if they go back. The abrupt pain in his neck is an almost familiar sensation except that Rai is never that harsh when using his teeth. Landon hisses reflexively in response, eyes darkening, but merely readjusts his hold on Rai to angle his lover away from his neck. “Not the time,” he murmurs wryly. “Definitely not the place.”
It takes longer than he'd care to admit before Landon finally deposits Rai on their bed, especially with the foxes attempting to trip them up a few times along the way. At least Rai isn’t wearing any shoes, Landon notes with a sigh of muted relief as he draws the duvet up around him and pats the bed in silent permission for the foxes to jump up and snuggle into Rai's side. Landon himself takes the armchair in the corner which he usually uses for quick naps, long limbs contorted into what really should be a terrifically uncomfortable position except that he’s slept in far worse places. Rai had seemed pleased to see him but he's also ridiculously drunk and they hadn’t parted on the best terms. Landon isn’t sure of his reception should Rai wake in the morning and find him in the bed so, for once in his life, he takes what seems to be the less risky option.
---
Landon wakes to the sound of the shower running and the weight of a fox on his feet. He’s a fairly heavy sleeper once he actually falls asleep, possibly because he always has a sleep deficit to make up for, so he has no idea how long Rai has been awake when he yawns and unfolds himself from the armchair gingerly and shakes the pins and needles out of his limbs with a wince. Well, Rai is at least sober enough to not have fallen asleep in the shower and accidentally drowned, he notes absently; that’s a vast improvement over what he imagines would have happened if he had tried to put Rai in the shower the night before.
“That’s what happens when you step into the shower fully clothed,” he agrees blankly, only realising the nuances of Rai's words when he looks at him expectantly and expands on his point. Landon never has claimed to be a fully functional human immediately after waking. It takes him several cups of coffee to even begin the process of properly waking and he hasn’t even smelt coffee this morning, much less drank any. “Cold,” he whines incoherently when the water hits his arm, fumbling uselessly for the temperature dial for a few seconds before his fingers finally curl around it and the water heats up to an acceptable temperature. “Buttons,” he sighs dismally but eventually manages to clumsily divest Rai of his sodden clothes. Landon had fallen asleep in jeans and a t-shirt but even half-asleep he's logical enough to pull Rai forward and stay enough out of the spray that only his forearms are wet, except for a few splashes of water on his torso.
“You don’t get to dissect me just because you’re mad at me,” Landon mumbles into the pillow, not entirely sure how they got from the bathroom to the bed but too comfortable to really care. He hadn’t slept well since leaving and the familiar warmth and scent of their bed is enough to lull him almost back to sleep. “No cutting out my appendix. Not allowed.”
|
|
|
Twins
Aug 29, 2019 15:54:28 GMT -5
Post by Rister Graas S6 on Aug 29, 2019 15:54:28 GMT -5
“Humans don't need the appendix. There's been...” if his hands had been free, Rai would have waved them around. Caterpillared into the blanket as he was, he settled for nudging his head into Landon's... stomach? Rib-cage? “Studies. Research. Logic!” he finished victoriously, because Landon could not argue with that. “I'd share,” he added plaintively as his stomach grumbled again in preparation of starting to eat itself.
It took a few moments for the rest of Landon's words to sink in. “Wait, I'm mad at you? I am? Why?” Rai asked with genuine puzzlement, actually going so far as to wriggle upwards enough to be able to tilt his head enough to manage to catch sight of at least a quarter of Landon's... jaw... before the flopping blanket cut off the rest of the view. “I missed you. Why would I be mad at you?” he repeated with genuine bafflement.
|
|
|
Twins
Sept 9, 2019 17:20:47 GMT -5
Post by Philip Garwin on Sept 9, 2019 17:20:47 GMT -5
Landon yawns, eyes slipping closed as his body recognises the familiar give of his mattress and the tension begins to drain from his shoulders. He likes this bed. He had grown up in France and he'll always have a soft spot for his home country, where the people speak his first language - the younger Cartiers are all at least trilingual by the time they’re of an age to go to school, and the twins also absorbed enough Spanish to be fluent by sheer virtue of growing up around Gen and Tara - and the surroundings evoke a feeling of wistful nostalgia, but Italy is home now. Rai is home, and this bed has Rai. His bed in France didn’t. “No appendix,” he murmurs, “don’t need it.”
“You’re mad,” Landon repeats sullenly, his voice muffled by the pillow because he refuses to move his head and have this discussion like an adult. It would have been easier to dismiss the topic entirely and let it go without having to discuss it further but Kellen's stern voice echoes inside his head, telling him firmly that they need to have a proper conversation. Landon doesn’t always listen to his twin but he was raised to obey the family Head; he's still figuring out the boundary line where his brother ends and the Head begins, and the grey areas where they overlap, but he can logically agree that leaving for such a long time isn’t something that he and Rai can just sweep under the rug and ignore. “Or maybe you’re not mad anymore but you were. Either way, you can’t use that as an excuse to cut out my organs, even the unimportant ones.”
|
|
|
Twins
Sept 10, 2019 13:44:51 GMT -5
Post by Rister Graas S6 on Sept 10, 2019 13:44:51 GMT -5
Rai blinks at Landon thoughtfully, taking a moment to process the mumble – and that should really not be expected from someone with a hangover! - and then taking a long moment to consider why Landon might think that. “Landon,” he said patiently and when that didn't get him the attention, he headbutted him – gently – in the ribcage again. With a muttered ow – his head didn't like the move on top of his hangover – he peered back up. “I'm not mad at you,” he said calmly when he managed to meet Landon's eyes, “You irritated me at the party, because you clearly didn't want to be there and kept me from talking to people I needed to for Raidon, when you weren't even required to be at the party. But I'm not and I was not mad.”
“Is this about the marriage thing? It is a technicality and a pointless one, but as a scientist you usually appreciate accuracy and we are not married. I'm not about to go off with anyone else nor would Raidon even consider pairing my with anyone else. You have my ring. So I was confused. And I missed you – but everyone needs some time to themselves. I do it often enough myself, although you rarely notice when I'm gone for the day while you're working on something. So I missed you while you were gone, but I wasn't and am not mad at you.”
Rai paused as his stomact grumbled loudly as if to punctuate his small speech. “I am hungry though,” he said somewhat sheepishly while blinking up at Landon through the whole on top of the blanket cocoon he was wrapped in.
|
|