we_meet_again | Overflow

[He touches the raised lines of it, careful, with the pad of one finger]

[The feeling that wells up is difficult to place; certainly, Thorn has no word for it. But it's slow and swelling, like water rising up to fill a clear, still pool]

...thanks, Suri.

Y-yeah...

[Cobalt's feelings are complicated, too; they start off with a hearty dose of bashfulness, keenly aware of his own artistic limitations. But he's also very touched, and honored, both that Thorn would ask for this in the first place... and that he can't even detect a hint of disappointment at the result.

He doesn't really know what he's feeling now, but it's a lot.]

My... my motor skills aren't very good, but it's supposed to be a cornflower. They're my favorites. We had them in the garden at home.

...I don't know why, but I kind of identify with them. Maybe it's something as superficial as the color, or how they grow in unassuming places...

but,

if the cornflower is me, then you can carry me with you, and know that I'm here with you wherever you go.

[Oh]

[That's]

[There are a lot of feelings, at that]

[A whole lot of feelings, all trying to happen at once - all of them touched, and most of them warm, and they all come with a feeling of dangerously compromised, and knowing that he's dangerously compromised, and feeling like that ship went down like months ago and if he was going to try and start bailing, he probably should have, but he doesn't know if he even wants to swim, and that's terrifying, too]

[Also, he's doing that thing with his hair. Where it falls in front of his face]

[It does a very good job of hiding his expression, but also, that does not help right now,]

Edited 2020-05-09 19:54 (UTC)

[Thorn's doing that thing with his hair again. Cobalt starts to feel his normal anxiety and unease about it when he suddenly realizes the feeling Thorn's having while doing it is not the one Cobalt assumed he had. It is, in fact, a radically different emotion.

Cobalt's anxiety stutters and vanishes like a puff of smoke, replaced with tentative understanding and a bit of hopefulness, that maybe this gesture didn't mean what he thought it meant after all. Maybe this is actually okay.

Maybe this is better than okay.

After that, everything gives way to a growing outpouring of love, simple and helpless and large enough that it feels like it could fill the room. He wants to kiss him, to wrap an arm around him and pull him up against his side and take comfort in the warmth of his body.

But for now he does nothing except desperately yearn for his touch.]

...Would—

Would you be willing to give me one, too?

[He shivers, a little - ducks his head a little more, to keep his face hidden, expression carefully blank]

[Inside, it feels like he's drowning; the water is higher than he thought, and Cobalt feels so much, and it's hard not to let his own feelings spiral out of control, caught in a feedback loop]

[He is not entirely successful, and that feels dangerous, too. Everything is very warm, and a little helpless, and a little alarmed]

[It takes him a long couple of seconds to reply]

...sure. What kind of thing do you want?

[Apologetic, he tries to reel himself in a little. He does feel a lot, and he's not used to having other people in the splash zone.

He tries to focus on something else to calm down -- the supplies laid out, the options here, a decision he should make.]

Um.

...A piercing, actually.

Would you mind piercing my ear?

[Reassurance, and something complicated under that, something that feels like an apology]

[It's self-aware, in an awkward sort of way; aware that he's bad at this, and that Cobalt ought to be able to feel what he feels without needing to reel it in (and, tucked in even deeper, a fumbling effort to do better)]

...yeah. I can do that.

Thanks.

[It's just. Even trying to dial it back, it's a lot of love.]

Maybe... right here?

[he indicates the helix of his left ear]

...With some kind of cuff, I think.

[It sure is. And he is Very Compromised]

[(And also not quite able to keep the love from spilling out the other direction)]

...sure. Did you want to pick it out?

[hhhhhhhhhh oh no Thorn loves him back he's so happy he's gonna die]

[—C'mon, keep it together, focus! He picks through the assortment of earrings and picks out a couple simple-looking ones that he wouldn't mind wearing permanently.]

Mmm, which do you prefer: black or gold?

[whichever one doesn't get picked, he's going to pocket for later anyway]

...hmm.

[Considers them, carefully; considers Cobalt, carefull]

[Absolutely buying time to try and beat his emotions into submission, he is feeling too many things]

...the gold, maybe.

[yes, same, for Thorn's sake he's trying not to explode]

The gold one, then.

[PLEASED]

[Getting the wipes to clean the area, and a needle]

All right. Come here?

[He goes wherever Thorn directs him.]

How's this?

That's good.

[He's hands come in, gentle; he brushes Cobalt's hair aside and wipes down the swath of skin]

This will sting for a second.

...I'm ready.

[He's quick, and efficient; it's like his hands remember doing this before, on himself, even if he doesn't]

[It stings for a moment - short, sharp, and fast, and then it's done, and he's affixing the cuff]

[It hurts, but he doesn't flinch; even these days he has a high threshold for pain. And even though he doesn't enjoy pain, the fact that it's due to something Thorn is doing to him —for him— kind of makes it ...enjoyable, in some strange way. It feels like the physical proof of... something. Trust? Ownership?? Attention?

The unfamiliar weight of metal feels like a continuing reminder that Thorn was there, and he likes it, to the point where even the pain is not unwelcome. He feels gratitude, and comfort, and a lot of other emotions he can't name and wasn't expecting to get out of this particular experience.]

...Thank you.

[Something in Thorn aches, warm and compromised, at the sense of trust, of ownership, of acceptance for this change]

[There's a swell of affection, of pride, of ~~love~~ something stronger]

...it looks good on you.

[//////]

Thank you. ❤

[He very nearly leans over to kiss him before he catches himself and sits up straight, instead. All of this -- the emotions, the crowd, the new experiences and the new pain in his ear -- is overwhelming, and the desire to kiss him or even just to hold his hand is sitting in his chest like an ache that's threatening to suffocate him.]

Would it... be okay if we went somewhere else?

[There's a flush of anticipation at the almost-kiss; he ducks his head, a little]

Yeah. Let's get out of here.

[Thank goodness. Let's GTFO.

Cobalt leads him to the exit. Once they're outside and no longer surrounded by a big crowd of people, he starts feeling like he can breathe again.]

Do you want to keep playing?

[eager hopefulness drifts though the bond, but also care about Thorn's comfort.]

[A surge of what is very decidedly stronger anticipation, and excitement on top of that, and a hint of embarrassment that Cobalt can feel both]

...yeah.

[ excitement intensifies ]

Not the dorm, then...

What about the love hotel? We can at least have a little privacy, there.

[...arousal begins to perk up the more he thinks about it, and now Cobalt has something to feel a little embarrassed about.]

[Well, it's echoing back at him, so there's probably not much to be embarrassed about? (though he is embarrassed, too)]

...yeah. Okay.

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