deduety: (⚘ surrounded by flames)
dedon't worry about it ([personal profile] deduety) wrote in [community profile] sleepytimejunction2021-10-06 07:26 pm

⚘ two giant handsome men



[The greenhouse is one of the few spots that Dedue feels comfortable enough in. He's given plenty of space usually by other students and staff, so he has little to be concerned for as he tends to the plants. That being said, he's also quite used to people hovering, whether being wary of him or being curious. Neither really matters as Dedue minds his business and continues to work.

It's not often that Balthus is out of Abyss, though.

For several minutes, he is quiet, disposing of weeds into a basket before he's watering some of the plants. Some are left alone as they don't need as much attention.

Eventually, he finally addresses Balthus.]


What is it?
ashenputtel: if i put you six feet under the top of my head you'd be six inches off the ground (TAUNT 👊 gonna put you six feet under)

[personal profile] ashenputtel 2021-10-17 06:02 pm (UTC)(link)
And you caught it with your face?

[He sounds almost cheerful. Not mocking, but deliberately light, in that mood-lifting way he has such an innate knack for.

The damp rag dabs gently against the cut. There's dirt in it, and dried blood, so he wets it again and decides to hold it against Dedue's face, trying to soak as much of it loose as he can.]


It's a good idea for one big reason. He deserves to hear you say it.
ashenputtel: let's be honest i'm basically a fantasy au jojos protagonist (BITE 👊 yare yare and all that stuff)

[personal profile] ashenputtel 2021-10-17 06:19 pm (UTC)(link)
There really aren't.

[Both his hands are occupied, now; one holding the rag against Dedue's face, the other with its fingers woven through the injured man's. It's kind of nice, that way, to be bound up so inextricably in each other. It doesn't leave anybody the opportunity for flinching away or trying to be avoidant.]

War's had me thinkin' about that a lot lately. How anytime you see somebody, it might just be the last. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a big fan of living today for today and worrying about tomorrow tomorrow. But I wouldn't want to risk it, either — someone I care about dying without knowing I cared about 'em.
ashenputtel: so do pretty girls just regularly hang out in bogs these days, or what (PROFILE 👊 hang on byleth's talking)

[personal profile] ashenputtel 2021-10-17 06:49 pm (UTC)(link)
[Balthus's eyebrows bolt for his hairline; there's no denying he'd been provoking Dedue to some degree, carrying on the way he had, but it's clear he wasn't expecting that vehement of a reaction. His lips purse, and he's the one who finally gives in and looks askance, stinging with the barbs of Dedue's words.

Dedue never talks about Duscur, or when he does it's only in bits and pieces pried out of him, or coaxed out, or referenced sideways in other things. To hear his thoughts and feelings laid bare so openly like this...

Of course he thinks of Kupala. Why wouldn't he? And it'd be easy to assume that that's the hypocrisy that Dedue identifies in him, but there's an equally good chance that it's not.]


My hypocrisy, huh.

[He says, a little flat, and waits.]
ashenputtel: sometimes he invents universal basic income, sometimes he's contemplating heely warfare (UNWIND 👊 a pioneer of social reform)

[personal profile] ashenputtel 2021-10-17 07:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[...Ah. So there it is.]

...You're not wrong.

[He falls silent, uncertain beneath the weight of that admission.]

But I meant what I said, even if it makes me a hypocrite. About how it's been on my mind. Losing people. Not getting to say...things that maybe you wanted to say.
ashenputtel: i know you're not the only starfish in the sea but you're mine (HUG 👊 i think it's gonna be all right)

[personal profile] ashenputtel 2021-10-17 07:45 pm (UTC)(link)
...Dedue.

[He swallows hard, still not quite looking at him — until at last something seems to rally within him, and he turns his eyes back to find Dedue's, determinedly holding his gaze.

...Hypocrisy, huh...]


I thought you were dead. When we spotted your wyvern — from that distance, it looked like you were dead. Like she was just dragging you along, but you were already gone.

[His grip tightens, just faintly.]

If I'm gonna quit being a hypocrite, then I've got to start somewhere, haven't I...?
ashenputtel: when you make deals with the goddess you usually lose (INTROVERT 👊 keep running up that hill)

[personal profile] ashenputtel 2021-10-17 08:16 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't want you to think...that I'd ever ask you to stop loving Dimitri. I don't want you to think that I don't understand. I want you to love him. You wouldn't be you if you stopped.

[He probably shouldn't set the damp rag aside this early in the soak, but he does. It drops back into the pail with a soft plop, and his damp fingertips come to rest against Dedue's uninjured cheek, just like they had the first time they'd kissed.]

Earlier, I meant you. That I don't want you to die without knowing I care about you. And I don't ever want you to feel...like I felt, when I saw your wyvern and thought we'd gotten to you too late.
ashenputtel: tell me tell me i'm the only one even if it's not true (STARS 👊 collapsing with tunnel vision)

[personal profile] ashenputtel 2021-10-17 09:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Hey...if anybody could change my mind about it, it's you.

[He smiles, and it's far from his usual brash, bold grin. It's fainter, but still just as warm: a sunset, rather than the brilliance of midday.]

What kind of climate do Duscur flowers need? Is it hot there? Dry?
ashenputtel: sometimes problem-solving means mailing your buddy halfway across the world (STEADY 👊 time for some lobster claws)

[personal profile] ashenputtel 2021-10-17 09:49 pm (UTC)(link)
I wonder, then. I know a place in the eastern mountains, out on the edge of the Alliance. It's probably not much like Duscur. But maybe your flowers would grow there, too.

[He laughs, softly.]

If those flowers are anything like you, I bet they'd be hardy enough to weather it.
ashenputtel: dirty talk feat. balthus muttering "sorry, mom" under his breath after every statement (SMOLDER 👊 the goodest of good boys)

[personal profile] ashenputtel 2021-10-17 09:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Believe me when I say they'd welcome you with open arms. The villagers there don't like to leave much, but I know they'd like to see what you could make grow there.

[His fingers graze light against Dedue's cheek, once again.]

Now rest up. It's a long way back to Abyss, and you'll want to get your strength back as soon as you can. It's my cooking you're eating until you're well enough to take over.
ashenputtel: yare yare do you mean the chaos emeralds? (JOESTAR 👊 hey bro do you even pose)

[personal profile] ashenputtel 2021-10-19 02:22 am (UTC)(link)
[On its face, maybe some would find it odd, the fact that when the day comes that Dedue is able to get up and keep himself up on his own two feet, Balthus's response is quite simply to...grab his gear and leave Abyss to head out into the wild on a moment's notice. If someone didn't know better, it would seem strange, leaving Dedue alone at such a significant moment. If someone really didn't know better, they might even think it was an abandonment.

But if there's one thing that Balthus knows Dedue probably doesn't want, it's having people hover around him and fuss over him while he slowly and methodically works things out for himself. And he would hover if he were there, so he simply respectfully makes sure not to be. Give Dedue plenty of chance to figure things out on his own terms, at first; there'll be plenty of time for the rest of it later.

Besides. He's got a promise to keep.]


Hey, where's the chef? Special delivery!

[He raps on the kitchen door with the toe of his boot, the sound distinctive from the leather on wood, rather than a gauntlet or fist knocking.]
ashenputtel: if switchblade combs existed in fodlan i would definitely own at least five (PREEN 👊 just call me greased lightning)

[personal profile] ashenputtel 2021-10-19 02:40 am (UTC)(link)
Better believe it. Brought you something good, too, I think.

["Good" comes in the form of what appears to be a wild goat, freshly-killed, with its legs trussed front and back for ease of carrying across his broad shoulders, and a big cloth sack dangling from one hand that, somehow, appears to be squirming.]

Had a lucky break out there. Think you can do something with this?

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