herobox | code word steamy

[ While Riku and Kairi were off investigating something about aliens, Lea was taking the night off. It had been a long day of chasing a six-year-old girl around without being spotted, and it was the kind of thing that emotionally exhausted you, so Lea begged off to soak in a volcanic hot spring and think about his life.

Or, well, he would have, but apparently despite being lousy with volcanoes, Hawaii doesn't actually have hot springs. So he's in the hot tub, in a garishly patterned pair of swim trunks, out back of some tourist bar with no tourists in it (out of season), sipping on a really watered down fruity cocktail and sulking about some conversation he'd had with Riku. ]

Can't believe it...

[ So the guy had asked him, on one of those long and soul-searchy kind of nights where you actually have Real Conversations with people, about Girls. And Lea'd had no answer for him because, well, that was a whole two weeks of high school back in the Day when he'd removed Girls from the list of things he needed to worry about. And then when that had been made clear, Riku was apparently just as in need of knowing about Guys... and Lea had still had. no answer for him.

Like, so what?! Lea kind of had his heart ripped out of his chest at some point, that sort of put a damper on caring about that kind of thing! It's not like it makes him really inadequate as a twenty-five-year-old man or anything...

He pulls the lime off his drink and chews it, peel and all, in a defiant sort of way. ]

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Hehehe.....

[Myde grins back, and the look is anything but sharp--he just looks goofy, honestly, bright and playful and bedraggled with his clothing so waterlogged and wet hair clinging to his face. They're practically sitting right next to each other now, and with Myde turned to look up at him like this, he could probably lean on Lea if he had a mind to.]

Okay, okay, you got me..... It's actually Mr. Snow Miser's. Mostly, anyway. I just trimmed off most of the complicated words and extra stuff he was rambling about with it.

[ Contrary to what Lea's intentions to stay cool and tough, he starts laughing at Demyx's nonsensical nickname for Vexen (it's obviously Vexen. Even. Whoever. Fuck that guy). What the heck is a snow miser? The image enters his head of Even hunched over piles of snow, counting out snowflakes like microscopic coins, and shutting icicles up in vaults, and he laughs even more. Those cocktails have totally gone to his head by now. It doesn't bother him at all that Myde is nearly leaning on him. It's... kinda nice, actually. ]

So - ok. So we're here chasing down somebody's dog because we jumped to conclusions, which is not good in recon.

[ Lea makes a mock-deferral gesture with his free hand, the one not attached to the shoulder closest to Myde. He's still a little giddy from the laughing fit. ]

I - I submit the question to a veteran of recon. What would you do, if you were me, in this situation?

[Even Myde has to laugh at how..... giddy Lea is getting, grinning up at him. Yup, that alcohol is totally working its way through his system; how many has he actually had, even? Two? Three?

Well, no sense in not taking advantage of him while he's compromised, right? Or at least, taking advantage of him not being a fraidy cat about people touching him. Drunk cuddles are pretty awesome; Myde wastes no time in cozying up against Lea.]

You're an adorable lightweight, you know that?

But let's see, here, if I was you, and I was sent on a recon mission like that..... Well, for one thing, I'd go relax in a hot tub with some drinks, so good job. For another, I'd declare it mission accomplished! I found out what I was looking for, right? Then, I'd write a report about how much I searched and how sneaky those crazy aliens were, hiding with the natives like this. And I'd end by saying that I'd found them, but they were undercover, so all suspicious activity was suspended for now.

But of course I'd need to come back regularly to keep them under surveillance, just in case! That goes in the report, too. So I'd come back sometimes to at least keep an eye on them, if I didn't get to know them, because they're actually pretty cool. And then I could spend the day with them, or just spend the day with more drinks in a hot tub. Either way, it's win-win.

[You asked for a glimpse into his mind, Lea? You got it. Kinda scary, isn't it? Shame that probably doesn't actually answer the question you most likely meant to ask.....]

[ Lea doesn't even flinch when Myde starts getting a little... cozier. At this level of buzzed, flinching is active work. And it feels kind of... nice. Human contact, that is. Lea hasn't gotten out much recently. ]

Man, you've got it all figured out... [ Lea laughs. ]

[ Myde sure knows the system, doesn't he? Like, that is a flawless alibi right there. Completely bulletproof.

But of course, he'd have to. He's a recon expert. He has to know about his surroundings. He's observant, after all. He watches things.

Come to think of it. Demyx always was the one who acted the most like a person with a heart. Most committed to the act. And he was quieter in meetings, when Xemnas was running his mouth all the time about how terribly empty they all were, always, sometimes completely unprompted.

Demyx -
Myde -

He probably knew, in the end. ]

[ Softly: ] You know...

[ Lea's stopped moving enough that he's barely even creating ripples in the water now. He hadn't meant to start talking. He hadn't really meant to go back to anything heavy at all. Nobody likes heavy. But it's something that needs to be said, and it's pushing for him to say it. His heart, maybe, demanding to be heard.

He doesn't know how to say, "You were right, all along, and for what it's worth, I'm sorry that it came to this."

Well. He knows how to say that. He just doesn't know how to get there from a jovial conversation about alien dogs. Which he has just derailed by starting to talk before he knows what to say. ]

Mmmhmm.

[Myde smirks to himself, nuzzling against Lea's chest; it's supposed to feel good, duh. He's gotten that figured out, too, the pleasures of reaching out and touching people--even if nobody is willing to touch the other's heart and form a bond, there's still touching each other's bodies, the electric connection of skin on skin, exciting their senses and seducing their wits. Feelings could refer every bit as much to pure sensations as they could to emotions, couldn't it?

He's gotten it all figured out to the point where the challenge and entertainment of figuring out how to get away with what he did--does?--is rewarding in and of itself. He knows the system, and he games it mercilessly, because..... well, because he can. Because it's fun. Because it feels good, vindicating, like he's reclaiming some little bit of everything the Bossman and the others have stolen from him for all these years. It's interesting and engaging in its own way, the way missions and those endless speeches never have been on their own merits, just..... being there, immersing himself in a place and doing holistic recon, including the Castle. Darkness, maybe especially the Castle; he had to know who and what he was dealing with, to understand what he could slip under the radar.

Thought of that way, it all made a little more dense, didn't it? How quiet Demyx usually was during the meetings, aside from the periodic murmured commentary (mostly questions or complaints, or a bit of poking fun at Xemnas' philosophical pontificating) to his neighbors, or the occasional question or dumb joke. How loud and obnoxious he could be in the Grey Room, playing music or napping on the couch, or gossiping or complaining to anyone who'd listen, almost as though he were publicly flaunting his own worthlessness as a coworker. How much he'd cut up during the League's poker games, laughing too loud and chattering too much, bright and friendly and alive, acting practically human as though the drinks were going straight to his head. How jumpy and cowardly he was on paired missions in places like Halloweentown.....

He'd clung to Axel's arm and nearly shrieked when a spider the size of a small dog had skittered past, and practically hidden behind him the first time they'd met ghosts in person. He'd been shaking half the time while they were on that mission, and blushed at the weeks of teasing that had followed. He'd spluttered and protested how scary monsters were, how creepy spiders were, when Xigbar had gleefully told everyone about their midnight horror move marathon ("world research" was what they had decided on for the excuse) the night before that mission. He'd jumped at the scary parts, even screamed once or twice, and hidden his face against Xigbar's shoulder during particularly gory bits.....

He'd been a recon expert acting differently in different environments, to get different outcomes, always watching and learning. It had served him well, right up until the situation he'd been forced into had left no room for anything but fighting and dying like a cornered rat. It's human for terrible things to frighten you, for reminders of personal failings to embarrass you, to be horrified at reminders of mortality and the sight of other people getting hurt..... It took a heart to feel empathy, to resonate with someone's agony enough to truly understand their plight, whether or not you actually held any sympathy for them.

He'd been the weakest and dumbest member, the most secondhand-embarrassing and irrational of them all. He'd been the most fallible of their number by far, and--barring Roxas and Xion--possibly the most human. To err is human, right?

Even when it's an awkward, dumb error like butting into a playful conversation with something serious before he even knows what the hell he's doing--that's human, too. Lea's heart may still be clumsy and young, but it's doing its job. Myde makes a little questioning noise, tilting his head up to peer at Lea.]

Huh?

code word steamy

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radiant garden didn't have rankin-bass christmas specials

That's just a travesty bro

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