maskormenacelogs | (no subject)

[ So Miles got himself arrested along with Ed, and no one was surprised in the least. Fortunately this incident was minor at worst, a warning and prompt ejection from the caves with a bit of detaining to top it off. He spent most of his time talking to the Americans to get him and Ed out early... Mostly he's just annoyed he didn't get to see more of the caves. He make a mental note to track down Ed and ask for more details on what, exactly, that whole alchemy attempt was all about ...

For now he returns to DC7 rather thoughtful, and definitely a bit smug. Having retrieved a certain special (if utterly mundane) mineral sample of his own ... The precious bit of metal is in his pocket; he's grateful to himself for having the forethought to make Tex carry it rather than insisting he do the honors. Surely the guards would have relieved him of it otherwise.

As soon as he comes in the door, he knocks gently at his imperial boyfriend's psyche. Assuming Gregor isn't there waiting for him already. ]

Gregor? I'm home.

Edited 2016-05-04 10:34 (UTC)

[ Gregor hadn't been too concerned to hear that Miles had gotten himself arrested, really. The American government has been a familiar sort of questionable but not unreasonable so far.

Accordingly, he's perfectly calm as he walks out of the kitchen to greet him. ]

Welcome back. How was being mildly arrested? [ He is curious. He hadn't wanted to distract him with a request for running commentary while it'd been going on. ]

[ It likely helps that Miles wasn't the least bit alarmed. Sure, they'd been a bit fussy about his nonregistered status, but he'd found it easy enough to convince them that he was no danger whatsoever.

Warmth effuses the link as he spies Gregor. Even with this short of a trip, Miles found himself missing the emperor just a bit. He grins and gets on his tiptoes, reaching up to pull Gregor into a brief, fond kiss. ]

Eh. Hardly anything at all. Mostly I'm disappointed I spent half my time looking at the inside of a room instead of roaming through the caves.

[ He has to bend fully at the waist to reach him to kiss, but Gregor is all warm reflection back, like a cat luxuriating in the sun. It hasn't yet faded for him, the sincere enjoyment of having someone to be this disgustingly domestic with.

Gregor loves being disgustingly domestic. ]

That is the risk you run, [ he says succinctly. ] How did things go with Mr. Elric? Was he a hassle to keep track of?

[ And Miles adores sap in turn, so isn't that just perfect? He keeps his hands on Gregor's arms afterwards. ]

Surprisingly, no. It's as though he was trying to protect me in turn. Funny, eh?

[ With just a small trace of subtle satisfaction, ] I thought he might. It seemed more expedient not to ask him, if you catch my drift.

Yes, yes ... well-played all around.

[ But he's not fussed about it. Long-suffering at most. He knows very well that Gregor directs him - and doesn't take any real offense to it. ]

We did get to see some of that continuum up close, at least. I suspect it has a mutagnic property to it.

[ Does it count as looking after Miles if he'd been looking after him by not asking someone to look after him?

Hmmm. It figures these are the sorts of things people like Miles and Gregor would have to deal with in their relationship, he thinks with good humor. But then he's sobered completely to deal with business, frowning just slightly in thought. ]

What makes you think that?

[ It suits them very much, for sure. Miles keeps running the fingers of one hand up and down Gregor's forearm. ]

Well ... the creatures we saw down there were very unusual. Centaur-like beasts with very little speech comprehension.

[ Gregor doesn't mind that at all. He does tug him lightly over to the couch to sit with him, which by this point has managed to fade, mostly, in its looming associations. Miles is sufficient distraction from them, at least.

He makes a low noise in his throat, soliciting further description. ] Little but not none?

[ Miles settles himself bodily into Gregor's lap, then. More like an exhausted dog than a romantic partner at the moment. ]

Not none, no. Rather more like some genetic experiment. I recall seeing holovids for some of the Kibou-daini ones while I was studying at Beta Colony. But here ... One wonders how they got here.

[ Oh. Well. He'd been envisioning them sitting rather properly side by side, but that's Gregor for you. He doesn't protest this at least, though he does have a little internal flutter of shy awkwardness imagining someone coming in and seeing them like this...

No, that's just learned habit. He doesn't really mind; Gregor is just fighting his ingrained belief that he has to hide anything important to him.

He slides an arm fully around Miles to support him. He's equally happy with exhausted pet as romantic partner. ] I'm familiar with the vids you're thinking of. You think it might be a side effect of continued exposure to the continuum? It's meant to resurrect us, isn't it?

[ That's what you get for expecting Miles to be remotely proper. He skips past all that to just settle in Gregor's arms instead. ]

Just so. And thus the distortion of wildlife seems apt, don't you think?

[ It's a completely unconscious assumption that you think he'd have broken from his time with Kitty, but not so. Years of upbringing take longer to dismantle than that. ]

It's certainly curious. I was wondering if we shouldn't set our hypothetically burgeoning R&D department on these nanomachines we have. I've been attempting not to think about them, but we can't exactly keep our heads stuck in the sand forever. It is how they kidnapped you.

Don't remind me. The thought terrifies me sometimes.

[ Rarely, nowadays, but in the time since they've gotten together Miles has definitely sat upright in bed a few times, certain he was back on that sub. ]

... It's a good idea. Now, before something else happens.

[ Gregor's woken up a couple times himself, thinking Miles was back there and he was being tortured... But it's not something he ever encourages talking about, if Miles is awake to notice it. ]

So I was thinking. [ But perhaps this isn't a good conversation for right now, when Miles is already tired from the day. Gregor smooths a hand down his crooked back. ] Do we have everything arranged for the meeting this weekend? It's looking like it'll be a full house.

[ Not quite awake enough so far. Perhaps one of these nights they'll both wake up at the same time and realize.

He relaxes against Gregor, allowing himself a small shiver at Gregor's long, comfortable fingers. Despite his best efforts, he still aches dully from his exertions today. ]

Everything's set. Cass didn't have any last-minute objections, so ... I can't believe we're up to ten now.

[ He doesn't know about Jim and Spock yet. ]

Twelve, [ he puts in helpfully. ] I think Spock and Kirk have come around.

[ Gregor can sense his aches, likes feeling that shiver, and thus encouraged he digs his fingertips carefully into the narrow, dense clusters of ropy muscle on either side of his spine. For now there's no friction, just pressure applied in points, his mental presence listening in with cocked ears. ]

[ Oh. There's a nice start. Despite Miles' casual air tonight, he's still pretty wound up from the events of the day. Even with the majority of his bone aches drawn away by Aral or Cordelia right now, there are certain sorts of pain that don't quite transfer properly. Eventually this will be a full-blown osteo inflammatory attack, but he's not there yet ... He sucks in a sharp little breath as Gregor's fingers find a good spot.

And of course he's pleased about their Starfleet officers too. ]

I wasn't expecting that. Glad to hear you convinced tem.

I'm sure you had at least as much to do with it.

[ Even before this telepathy, Gregor had had a suspicion, strong enough to basically serve as fact, that Miles hid most of his pain and discomfort on a daily basis. He didn't blame him for it; Gregor did much the same thing himself, just emotional instead of physical. It was a survival strategy, but it was also a way to demand respect. There was nothing more grating that someone else trying to kindly tell you to stop taking on so much, when what you were taking on was your duty, and you felt that if you didn't live up to it your whole existence was pointless.

Yes, in that respect, Gregor and Miles have always understood one another perfectly. Which is how Gregor knows not to ask, not to imply, just to go straight for trying to relieve some of those aches without acknowledging outright that they exist.

His fingers creep up higher, deftly feeling out where his vertebrae twist and paying more attention to the nearly-hardened-to-steel muscle tissue there rather than shying away. Gregor leans his head down to murmur in Miles's ear, ] If we move this upstairs, I can do this properly.

I'm not so sure about that. Attracted their attention, perhaps.

[ He begins to relax, slowly, under Gregor's ministrations. The nice thing about telepathy - among many other perks - is that Miles instinctively reacts to Gregor's positioning, effectively guiding him to the exact spots he needs soothed. A soft sigh escapes his lips. Accompanied too by a warm shiver as Gregor leans in close. ]

I suppose I could get up for that.

[ If anything's going to make Gregor motivated past his self-consciousness at practicing this on more than just his own leg, it would be Miles doubting his own role in recruitment.

Well, that and his abrupt realization that he can tell exactly how well he's doing through Miles's head. Instant feedback, as good as his own. What a delightful cheat. ]

You certainly attracted my attention, [ he says in the same murmur, gently prodding Miles to his feet so they can transition to privacy. Gregor has a low thrum of anticipation now that it's occurred to him. ] It's the only reason I'm in the business at all. [ Which isn't a lie; pretty much everything Gregor does for the Dendarii is in reality for Miles. He couldn't care less about the business as an institution. ]

[ Which Miles understands fully, but it doesn't stop a pleased little hum from echoing back. He takes the stairs slowly, then flops bodily into Gregor's bed. He's gotten to the point where he's started leaving his clothes in here so as not to have to return to his room to dress in the morning. There's another pleasant thought... As manic as Miles is, he finds his favorite parts of this relationship are all in the quiet, everyday moments. Like this. ]

The blame rests squarely at my feet, eh? I think I can handle that.

[ Gregor climbs on the bed after him and tugs teasingly at the hem of his shirt. ]

You're just going to have to sit up again to take this off for me, you realize.

[ Everything he's watched has presupposed he's working with direct skin, and Gregor has no idea how to add clothes in to navigate. He hadn't actually thought he'd get this far. ]

[ It's not as though Miles is about to argue here. He grins as he sits back up, pulling off the (always) slightly oversized t-shirt easily. One positive side effect of being just a hair too small for any truly fitting clothing. And then he sprawls back down again in some sarcastic parody of a pin-up pose. Amusement wound all throughout. ]

Well? Is that better?

GREGOR, post caves

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