chokuto

Yes.

okay

come find me

im not gonna make it easy for u 😌😌😌

I wouldn't want you to.

It won't take me long.

kinky

whatcha gonna do when u find me

Claim a reward.

u may have one (1) kiss. as a treat.

Just one?

don't get greedy smh

You're the one acting stingy.

maybe you can convince me otherwise

Fine. I will.

[A sucker for a challenge...

He isn't far from the Vale, which houses the tallest trees in the resort, so it's simple to cut over through the conservatory and descend down into the humid, forested area below. Unless Cy uses his ability he's not going to be able to sense him, but that's okay. He leaps into the first tree he finds; he'll check every single one if he has to.]

（ cy, meanwhile? is literally just chilling in a tree, comfortably sprawled out. his back to the main trunk, legs crossed and supported along one of the branches — he's got a stalk of grass between his teeth and he is idly whistling in a soft refrain — not loud enough to be heard from far away, but enough that once sasuke's close he'll hear him.

he doesn't want to make it too easy — but he also doesn't want to make it too hard. ）

[The whistling certainly helps in proximity, but Sasuke does not lack skills in hunting men down, so he follows other signs of trespass in the greenery — Cy had no reason to cover his trail to take a nap in the trees. Perhaps he should have made it harder.

After a short time, he's in range enough to pinpoint the correct branch, hesitating only in the decision of his approach. In the end, he drops down from above — utilizing stealth not to be noticed — weight jostling the branch where Cy reclines.]

Too easy.

（ cy just gives him a broad grin, shifting the stalk of grass from one side of his mouth to the other as he laces his fingers behind his head. he gives sasuke a once-over, gaze lingering briefly on a hickey of their mutual provenance, and then: ）

I can make it harder if ya' nasty.

[He crosses the branch with effortless balance, then nudges at Cy's legs until they drop to either side so he can kneel between them. There's a quick shake of his head.]

I'll just take my reward.

（ he reaches for the boy, palm settling at the nape of his neck as he pulls him in for a kiss. it's sweet and chaste — and ends in a playful nuzzle at his cheek, fingers feathered in his hair. he is also absolutely going to nudge sasuke in all the right places to get him straddling his hips, because that's way more fun than just having him kneel. ）

Welcome to Casa del Arbre.

（ someone tell this man to stop mixing languages, actually. ）

Up to no good?

[Easily handled, he shifts to fit himself into Cy's lap, right arm draped around shoulders for stability. The kiss causes his chin to tilt up, like he's asking for more — but he's also content to let it be.]

Your languages are all over the place.

[He'd noticed one before that he had never heard, back when Cy was... dealing with the portrait's curse on his own, but given the circumstances he hadn't asked.]

I don't know if you've been to the conservatory recently, but it's overrun with baby rabbits. They're eating a lot of the vegetation. So, I was helping to set up defenses.

Oh, yeah. This place is spoiling me. If I go back to a place where it's mono-linguistics only, I'm gonna be fucked. I'm getting used to just doing the language grab bag in my brain.

（ he doesn't miss the little tilt to sasuke's chin, but rather than kiss him directly, he leans in to mouth at his throat. ）

Somebody should probably see if we can sterilize them, otherwise the problem's going to continue until someone starts making bunny stew.

（ people gotta eat, but — you know, him and his 'animals tho 🥺🥺' bleeding heart animal vibe. ）

We'll find a way to avoid that. [The crinkle of his nose betrays that he, also, does not want to consider bunny stew.] We've found ways to quarantine them for now, but yes, it won't resolve the problem.

[The attention paid to his neck is distracting, but — he only nuzzles his head in against Cy's, repaying physical affection without thought.]

How many languages have you learned? Do you know?

（ he makes a speculative sound that comes out as a low rumble pressed in against sasuke's skin. ）

Eh, a lot of it leaves. If you mean 'how many are you fluent in right now' — I could probably pull a couple dozen languages outta my ass at the drop of a hat. If you chucked me on a planet where a language was dominant in the region and I'd known it previously it would come back to me quickly. But if you mean 'how many have you known in your life'... I usually stay on a planet long enough to pick up fifteen or twenty, not counting things like creoles. I usually do a couple planets a century.

（ he doesn't need to tell sasuke that's about the time it takes for him to outlive someone.

he pulls back enough to drag a hand through his own hair, expression wrinkling in thought. ） Probably about a thousand, give or take? Man, the mathematician in me really hates approximating that shit.

（ a bit of a laugh, wholly self-directed. ）

[He considers Cy seriously as he speaks, weighing that answer. A thousand.]

Your mind is incredible.

[And before Cy can respond —]

Despite age, and time. If I were you, I don't think that I could have retained as much as you have.

（ if he were less controlled, perhaps, the earnestness of that compliment might have made a shiver of pain eclipse his expression — instead, it's confined to a slight increase of pressure by his fingers where his hands rest against sasuke's thighs. ）

I think you'd surprise yourself.

（ it's the only thing he can say that isn't please don't talk about you being in my position. ）

Maybe.

[The squeeze at thighs earns a slight shifting of his weight in Cy's lap. He doesn't notice anything amiss — but his next question comes in French, to demonstrate that, yes, he's still teaching himself. And Cy is a perfect practice partner.]

Comment se passe ta journée?

（ this time, the emotion — soft fondness and wonder — is allowed free rein. there will never come a time in their relationship when all of those thoughtful things sasuke does don't affect him — and learning a language only because he knows it is certainly right below cleaned his room that one time on the list. ）

C'est mieux maintenant que tu es là.

（ there's a stroke down sasuke's thighs, and then: ）

Do we need to talk about Tseng?

[He picks up the pieces of that reply, inspiring a bloom of warmth that has him unable to resist leaning forward, cheek tucked in against Cy's throat. A full breath relaxes him in against Cy's body.]

We probably should. Did you speak with him? [And then, more thoughtfully:] How do you... feel about it?

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject