themightybosstone | Limelight IC Inbox

[ Hang on, his eyes are just gonna take a lazy journey from collarbone down to beltline. But you know, a man cut like that, you can't just go STRAIGHT DOWN, there's switchbacks you gotta travel. Scenery to appreciate.

He swallows hard. ]

I ah.. was gonna ask how yer doing. [ His dick is doing the can-can to the songline of "LET IT GO AND GET LAID" but bro this would make the worst pillow talk he reasons back. ]

I heard some about the marbles and- wanted to make sure yer okay.

You're really asking about that now?

[Cheese-grater abs aside, he sits back down onto Cade's lap and scritches absently behind an ear as he thinks.]

It was strange. I touched one and it was like - I had a waking daydream, and Velveteen and Zibeline were there. The bird I sent you - I remember, it was on Velveteen's sleeve, it was really good embroidery. We were a group of five heroes, with a corny name like... the High Cloud Quintet...

[It happens, and passes fast, like a sudden storm: Lithium's hand spasms in his hair, tightening painfully in it, and his face twists ugly with a violent rage neither of them would have seen before.]

Ugh - What-

[ The bird? Oh! OH the drawing. He's contented under that touch, listening to Yingxing recount it, hands already settling back around the man as he sits.

And then it happens.

Normally, the cruel yank at his scalp would be something he'd enjoy but he hardly even feels it. His nose is flooded with a burst of a scent deeply wrong for Yingxing, almost someone else's. A flower's perfume and overripe fruit, the tang of blood. ]

Yingxing?!

[ Those hands come up to hold that face and it's stranger's rage. ]

That's not - don't call me that--

[It comes out in a snarl, and he tries to bite at one of those hands.]

[ Flat teeth bite into the flesh of his palm but. His ears are filled with ringing. Don't call him that. Don't call him that. His stomach drops out.

Cade forces himself to stay steady, not panic, not yet. ]

Lithium. Hey. Love. Breathe, okay?

[He's not sure where he is, or what's happening. Is he dreaming? He's never felt this sick. Awful, like he's burning up with the worst fever, like nothing would ever be okay, like he's lost--]

[He heaves a breath. Pants into something soft. He blinks back to himself, and that awful scent vanishes. He's buried his face in Brocade's palm, like a bird hiding in his hand, terrified.]

Brocade?

Huh? [He pulls back. Tips his cheek into Brocade's hand again, easy as anything. Yingxing again, his husband-to-be.]

Yeah, I'm breathing. What's up?

[ His palm throbs with the aftershocks of the recent bite, at complete odds with the gentle press now, sweet and easy. ]

I...

[ The words die. Was it something in the vision or the dream? Could he make it worse? What the fuck is going on?? ]

You were burning up for a second there.

Is that some sort of pickup line? That's terrible.

[He snorts, holding that hand to his cheek but putting his own hand over it, lacing their fingers together.]

You were asking me something?

[ His ears lay low, and there's just this rush of air across Yingxing's skin as Brocade just, keeps testing his scent. It's still him?? It's definitely him now?

Then what just happened?

Fuck did BROCADE imagine it? ]

Uh, Lith, [ The name is awkward in his mouth. He uses it all the time with other people, sure but... it doesn't FEEL right. ] I already asked?

What? You were just remembering something. Maybe I didn't hear?

[Why are you being weird? He tips his head to offer the unbandaged swathe of his neck. He doesn't understand why he feels vaguely uneasy, bringing one hand - down? From Cade's hair? Huh?]

You haven't called me Lith in ages, did I do something wrong?

[ Some of Brocade's hair is still between his fingers, pulled loose. When did that happen?

For his part, Cade just stares for a moment, feeling the collar tight on his neck. Was he just remembering something? Spacing out? Is this some additional punishment that the Showmaster didn't talk about? Fuck.

Dude, if he freaks out, is he gonna ruin everything. Slowly he shakes his head and then nuzzles that offered patch of skin. The stubble scraping it before his sandy tongue does the same. There's a light kiss, and murmurs- ]

No, no you didn't do a damn thing wrong. I dunno, maybe this game loss is messin' with me some.

[ Maybe that's it. ]

Sorry, I think I pulled too hard.

[He scrapes blunt nails against Cade's scalp, leans into his chest, an apologetic curve tucked against him. He can taste copper faint at the back of his throat, maybe- maybe he drank something weird? He shifts closer, seeking comfort.]

Well, let me mess with you instead? [He slips a finger under the collar.] Say 'yes, Yingxing'.

[ It should have been a struggle to switch gears back. There's a grip of fear and confusion still lingering, a concern that ties them both together.

But maybe it's that he wants comfort too.

So the command burns through him. His mouth is dry and he straightens a little. ]

Yes, Yingxing. [ Maybe that's what adds the gratitude to his voice when he uses his private name again. ]

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