[Is that a bitter laugh on Luca's part? It must be, considering the wry smile that he offers the gargoyle.]
Let's not make assumptions, yes?
[He waits for Zahliya to retreat behind closed doors, before digging out an extra shirt and a pair of trousers. Once he's better acclimated, he might take the time to ask Heimr for some better clothes that actually came from home, but that was something that could be dealt with later. For now, he was content with the basic, loose fitting clothing he had dug up.
(And if he just so happens to pick up the nice, burgundy one that looks near to his hair, well... surely that was just coincidence.)
Satisfied with his selections knocks on the door. The clothing his held off to the side, while Luca glances the other way. He's a very polite young man, thank you.]
[Yes, surely it's just a coincidence :) Anyway, Luca does not get to see Zahliya's various battle scars in that case, but a little purple hand does snatch the clothing before the door shuts and he changes. They're comfortable, if almost imperceptibly too large on him. Zahliya is very petite.
When the door opens, he's decent, so Luca won't have to turn away and Zahliya can theoretically shut his mouth and not make things super awkward. Probably. In either case, his hair is down, and he's brushing out the waves with his fingers.]
[The way those words twist at his chest. Unfamiliar as genuine kindness and friendship have become, their warmth nearly burns him from the inside out. He glances to the side after Zahliya speaks, unsure, at first, if he should say anything at all. It would surely be better for them both if Luca only nodded and let things be.
Instead, he opens his stupid mouth, letting all those halting and stammering words spill out at will.]
I am glad you are here as well. If only because it means you are not being poked and prodded elsewhere. [He really, really doesn't want to deal with this Add guy, he's realizing.
He moves past Zahliya, heading toward the bed. He peels away one single blanket and a pillow for himself, then moves to set up a little nest for himself on the floor.]
The bed is all yours. I have slept far worse places than the floor.
Not if you're going to make a big deal out of it!! [what] I thought it may be nice for neither of us to have to sleep on the floor! Have you never hugged someone in your life?
[ZAHLIYA, YOU'RE TERRIFIED OF TOUCH. WHAT???]
I just— perhaps I enjoy having you around and missed you for two days! [what are we fucking arguing about]
[What is he supposed to say to that! Nothing, apparently. He just plops down onto his pseudo nest on the floor, arms crossed over his chest and chin tipped toward the sky. A muscle within his jaw works, the tension evident in his frame even as he tries to work through it.]
I was never... around people like that back home. [His words come out slow, almost through gritted teeth.] And over the last few years, companionship has been far less... compassionate.
[His arms finally loosen, falling down into his lap.]
But. I suppose I can admit it was... quiet without you around.
[Well, Zahliya, you stab anything that wanders out of the fog, so...]
...sorry, Lu. [Oh, we have a nickname now.] I don't mean to yell or assume. But I do think it would be nice if you were to be up here with me. ...that's all. You don't have to, of course.
[Zahliya only sang to him once, but he finds himself humming the melody without thinking when he works.]
I'm sorry too. [And as if to prove it, he picks up his little nest and... pitter-patters over to the bed. The blankets are set down, before he promptly - turns his back to Zahliya.]
[Zahliya decides "look away" means "roll over and face the opposite direction". He doesn't want Luca to think he's peeking through his fingers, therefore, he flips over. There's a hiss when he lays on an injury, but beyond that...]
[Really, it would have been smarter to strip this particular layer off while Zahliya was changing earlier, but Luca nor I thought about that so...
He quickly unbuttons his shirt and pulls the binding strip of fabric over his chest off. A deep breath follows, loosening aching muscle and allowing relief to the bones trapped beneath. He tucks errant strip back beneath the bed before turning back once more. He makes quick work of the buttons there before allowing his shoulders to relax.]
Okay. You're good.
[The shirt is loose enough, at least, that he doesn't feel that any differences are immediately obvious. It should, at the very least, buy him time to get tucked into the miles of blankets that would otherwise cover his torso.]
[Oblivious because he's been looking at a wall and maybe a pillow or something, Zahliya carefully flips back over and faces Luca without much preamble. He could hear the sounds of fabric rustling, yes, and assumes that Luca was just changing into something or doing... a human thing? The gargoyle is still unclear on the human things.]
Hello. [...why is that the first thing out of his mouth, he wonders. What's wrong with him.] Mm... you aren't going to find the green lights in my skin difficult to sleep around, are you?
[It's a very silly thing to say, and yet Luca is smiling at it all the same. Shyly, but smiling nonetheless. Why was he so worked up earlier, anyway? It's not like he hasn't shared a bed with someone before. Granted, he hasn't done so on good terms in close to seven years but... who's counting, really.]
Hi. [And then a laugh. He shakes his head as the sound trickles out, throwing the noise this way and that.]
Not so long as you do not mind me waking up in flames in the middle of the night, speaking in tongues. [A pause, and then a second bout of laughter.] That... will not actually happen. Not unless something attacks us.
[Is it good terms if he's injured (but somewhat-rapidly healing)? Maybe not, but at least Zahliya is fond enough of Luca to be here in the first place. That must count for something.]
I am immune to flame. [He is rocks.] If we are attacked all the way up here, I would be shocked, considering the number of creatures I eliminated. Any stragglers wandering through will be caught by Moder.
[Or any number of the other freaks here with wild powers. Mizuki tends to eat them, for example.]
...in the meanwhile, consider me something of a nightlight. If it does keep you awake, bury me under the blankets. I'm sure that will fix it.
[Anything is better than Fishy hate sex, at least in Luca's book. Probably in Kiera's too.]
Sounds as if I have nothing to worry about. [It's more relieving than he lets on to know that Zahliya won't be singed if Luca does manage to lose control. It's not something that happens often, generally in the wake of him dying more than anything.]
At least I know I won't bash my toes in if I have to fumble around in the middle of the night. [Curse those midnight toilet runs.
Anyway... is he snuggling just that little bit closer? Maybe.]
[Maybe he is snuggling closer! And maybe Zahliya acknowledges it with a momentary surprised blink, and perhaps he even reaches out to try taking one of Luca's hands in a loose, noncommittal hold. You don't have to hold his hand, but something in the way they're laying now makes him want to.
He can't figure it out. Zahliya is not, by nature, a nervous person, and yet... Luca makes him feel light, like he could float off at any moment. Instinct tells him to run off. Something makes him stay.
[For just a second, Luca's hand shies back, almost as if he's been burned. His heart kicks up a notch, feeling high within his throat. It takes him a moment to swallow the discomfort down, and another still to reach out and lock his fingers around Zahliya's in kind.
It feels nice, he won't deny that. The night feels far less oppressive when he has someone beside him. And while Zahliya's presence won't diminish the voice squawking within the back of his mind, it makes it just that little bit more bearable, at least until he falls asleep.
There are, ultimately, worse things to have to "suffer."]
[Somehow, somehow, they wind up spooning in their sleep. Zahliya wakes up very early in the morning feeling something (someone) pressed against his back, likely buried in his mess of a mane, and his heart immediately seizes in his throat. He's not sure when he flipped over or when Luca got so close or maybe Zahliya did it himself, and that doesn't matter, because Zahliya's first internal reaction is to freak out and lie there, silently panicking.
God, he's never actually been this close to another person for longer than fifteen minutes before. He and Mizuki hugged once, yes, and that was fine because Mizuki was severely depressed and needed it and Zahliya didn't exactly mind. This is much, much different.
He feels weird. Fluttery, light. Nervous. Terrified? His skin is burning in the places Luca's hands rest. Is he feverish? Dying? Fuck. What the fuck.
Fight or flight kicks in, and normally Zahliya's instincts go directly to fight, but this time... this time, they're telling him to flee out the window, which he can't actually jump out. He's going to need to sneak down the stairs. Oh God what if Luca wakes up...
Zahliya slowly extracts himself from the bed, trying not to wake Luca up. When he doesn't immediately wake, the gargoyle takes off the borrowed clothing, switches back to his own currently-ruined ones, grabs his broken blades, and quickly and quietly-ish (hooves clack) skedaddles toward the door.
It feels bad. He feels bad. But something is wrong with him, and he can't figure it out, and it's better if he goes and dunks himself in the river to try to get rid of the gross feelings rather than stays up here with Luca where he'll catch onto Zahliya's mental state.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2024-02-27 01:04 am (UTC)Let's not make assumptions, yes?
[He waits for Zahliya to retreat behind closed doors, before digging out an extra shirt and a pair of trousers. Once he's better acclimated, he might take the time to ask Heimr for some better clothes that actually came from home, but that was something that could be dealt with later. For now, he was content with the basic, loose fitting clothing he had dug up.
(And if he just so happens to pick up the nice, burgundy one that looks near to his hair, well... surely that was just coincidence.)
Satisfied with his selections knocks on the door. The clothing his held off to the side, while Luca glances the other way. He's a very polite young man, thank you.]
no subject
Date: 2024-02-27 01:32 am (UTC)When the door opens, he's decent, so Luca won't have to turn away and Zahliya can theoretically shut his mouth and not make things super awkward. Probably. In either case, his hair is down, and he's brushing out the waves with his fingers.]
These will do. Thank you, Luca.
[Tail swish.]
I'm glad I came here.
no subject
Date: 2024-02-27 01:58 am (UTC)Instead, he opens his stupid mouth, letting all those halting and stammering words spill out at will.]
I am glad you are here as well. If only because it means you are not being poked and prodded elsewhere. [He really, really doesn't want to deal with this Add guy, he's realizing.
He moves past Zahliya, heading toward the bed. He peels away one single blanket and a pillow for himself, then moves to set up a little nest for himself on the floor.]
The bed is all yours. I have slept far worse places than the floor.
no subject
Date: 2024-02-27 02:03 am (UTC)Why are you sleeping on the floor? [explain to him your strange human habits.] You do realise I sleep on a roof every night, yes?
no subject
Date: 2024-02-27 02:05 am (UTC)[Petulant and matter of fact as can be.]
Get comfortable. I will not be arguing this.
no subject
Date: 2024-02-27 02:10 am (UTC)[......and then he just. Gets into the bed. Gets under the mass of blankets. Rolls around... scoots over... looks at Luca.]
There is room for you. See?
no subject
Date: 2024-02-27 02:20 am (UTC)[Hang on, what -]
You... want me to... Sleep with you?
no subject
Date: 2024-02-27 02:38 am (UTC)Not if you're going to make a big deal out of it!! [what] I thought it may be nice for neither of us to have to sleep on the floor! Have you never hugged someone in your life?
[ZAHLIYA, YOU'RE TERRIFIED OF TOUCH. WHAT???]
I just— perhaps I enjoy having you around and missed you for two days! [what are we fucking arguing about]
no subject
Date: 2024-02-27 02:45 am (UTC)[What is he supposed to say to that! Nothing, apparently. He just plops down onto his pseudo nest on the floor, arms crossed over his chest and chin tipped toward the sky. A muscle within his jaw works, the tension evident in his frame even as he tries to work through it.]
I was never... around people like that back home. [His words come out slow, almost through gritted teeth.] And over the last few years, companionship has been far less... compassionate.
[His arms finally loosen, falling down into his lap.]
But. I suppose I can admit it was... quiet without you around.
no subject
Date: 2024-02-27 03:13 am (UTC)[Well, Zahliya, you stab anything that wanders out of the fog, so...]
...sorry, Lu. [Oh, we have a nickname now.] I don't mean to yell or assume. But I do think it would be nice if you were to be up here with me. ...that's all. You don't have to, of course.
no subject
Date: 2024-02-27 03:21 am (UTC)[Zahliya only sang to him once, but he finds himself humming the melody without thinking when he works.]
I'm sorry too. [And as if to prove it, he picks up his little nest and... pitter-patters over to the bed. The blankets are set down, before he promptly - turns his back to Zahliya.]
Look away. Just for a moment.
no subject
Date: 2024-02-27 03:24 am (UTC)Okay. I'm looking away.
no subject
Date: 2024-02-27 03:31 am (UTC)He quickly unbuttons his shirt and pulls the binding strip of fabric over his chest off. A deep breath follows, loosening aching muscle and allowing relief to the bones trapped beneath. He tucks errant strip back beneath the bed before turning back once more. He makes quick work of the buttons there before allowing his shoulders to relax.]
Okay. You're good.
[The shirt is loose enough, at least, that he doesn't feel that any differences are immediately obvious. It should, at the very least, buy him time to get tucked into the miles of blankets that would otherwise cover his torso.]
no subject
Date: 2024-02-27 03:37 am (UTC)Hello. [...why is that the first thing out of his mouth, he wonders. What's wrong with him.] Mm... you aren't going to find the green lights in my skin difficult to sleep around, are you?
no subject
Date: 2024-02-27 04:12 am (UTC)Hi. [And then a laugh. He shakes his head as the sound trickles out, throwing the noise this way and that.]
Not so long as you do not mind me waking up in flames in the middle of the night, speaking in tongues. [A pause, and then a second bout of laughter.] That... will not actually happen. Not unless something attacks us.
But no. It will not keep me up.
no subject
Date: 2024-02-29 09:29 pm (UTC)I am immune to flame. [He is rocks.] If we are attacked all the way up here, I would be shocked, considering the number of creatures I eliminated. Any stragglers wandering through will be caught by Moder.
[Or any number of the other freaks here with wild powers. Mizuki tends to eat them, for example.]
...in the meanwhile, consider me something of a nightlight. If it does keep you awake, bury me under the blankets. I'm sure that will fix it.
no subject
Date: 2024-03-01 01:55 am (UTC)Sounds as if I have nothing to worry about. [It's more relieving than he lets on to know that Zahliya won't be singed if Luca does manage to lose control. It's not something that happens often, generally in the wake of him dying more than anything.]
At least I know I won't bash my toes in if I have to fumble around in the middle of the night. [Curse those midnight toilet runs.
Anyway... is he snuggling just that little bit closer? Maybe.]
Good night, Zahliya.
no subject
Date: 2024-03-02 10:21 pm (UTC)He can't figure it out. Zahliya is not, by nature, a nervous person, and yet... Luca makes him feel light, like he could float off at any moment. Instinct tells him to run off. Something makes him stay.
Guh. He'll think about it in the morning.]
Goodnight, Lu. Wake me if you need something.
no subject
Date: 2024-03-03 01:11 am (UTC)It feels nice, he won't deny that. The night feels far less oppressive when he has someone beside him. And while Zahliya's presence won't diminish the voice squawking within the back of his mind, it makes it just that little bit more bearable, at least until he falls asleep.
There are, ultimately, worse things to have to "suffer."]
no subject
Date: 2024-03-04 07:09 pm (UTC)God, he's never actually been this close to another person for longer than fifteen minutes before. He and Mizuki hugged once, yes, and that was fine because Mizuki was severely depressed and needed it and Zahliya didn't exactly mind. This is much, much different.
He feels weird. Fluttery, light. Nervous. Terrified? His skin is burning in the places Luca's hands rest. Is he feverish? Dying? Fuck. What the fuck.
Fight or flight kicks in, and normally Zahliya's instincts go directly to fight, but this time... this time, they're telling him to flee out the window, which he can't actually jump out. He's going to need to sneak down the stairs. Oh God what if Luca wakes up...
Zahliya slowly extracts himself from the bed, trying not to wake Luca up. When he doesn't immediately wake, the gargoyle takes off the borrowed clothing, switches back to his own currently-ruined ones, grabs his broken blades, and quickly and quietly-ish (hooves clack) skedaddles toward the door.
It feels bad. He feels bad. But something is wrong with him, and he can't figure it out, and it's better if he goes and dunks himself in the river to try to get rid of the gross feelings rather than stays up here with Luca where he'll catch onto Zahliya's mental state.
Maybe they'll see each other later.]