#( ㅤ desiderius ㅤ ) interaction

[aeternals]

@factiousfcrged gets a starter

the smells in the air, even hidden deep in the cave, had shifted shortly after his initial conversation with his sister. sounds reverberated down the walls that made him think of movement and packing. hard to tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing. either way, desiderius would learn what his fate would be and, at the very least, he'd go with a little more dignity than he originally thought. while not being as clean as he was used to, he'd been able to wipe a layer of blood and grime from his skin. that alone was worth a mountain of gold.

days later, perhaps more, there was another commotion on the outside. different voices came together in a muddle of white noise. being so far removed from the mouth of the cave, the vampire couldn't tell ( again ) if it was good or bad. anxiety dug all five clawed fingers down into the center of his chest, yanking. muscles tightened in his throat, making it hard to breathe.

several forms came walking towards him, desi flinched and then cowered back. hannah was distinctly not one of the shapes. maybe it was death, after all. fingers flex into a fist but hesitate on lifting. did he fight? all those fears about putting her in danger come rushing back but so does the image of amos's face.

instinct makes him growl, even as he pulls his legs up towards his chest.

[aeternals]

leaning against the side of the bucket also helps prop him up while the blood works it's way through his veins. looking down, he can see the wrinkles on the backs of his hands starting to smooth out. if he drank twice as much he'd be pretty close to full strength again. is body had been trying to eat itself, though. not smart to try and gorge himself no matter what his growing fangs were begging for.

once he felt confident enough to straighten back up, the vampire pushes off the wood. a darkened rag is dropped back into the copper tinted water, swirled around, and squeezed back out. desi rubbed harshly at his lower lip because he could feel the way the blood kept dribbling down after his fangs were ripped from his mouth. even after three or four more dunks back into the water, he had to accept that the feeling wasn't going away any time soon.

" i hope he is, " desi tilts his head to the side. for the first time in their conversation he allowed himself to really look at his sister. " and i'm sorry i didn't make it back to you in time. i'd hoped my status with the pike men would be enough to deter him from.... "

the thought lingers back to the water. it's not a sentence that needs to be finished considering how their lives turned out. thankfully, there's the distraction of a nephew. the vampire's head pops up. eyebrows furrow together with something between pride and sorrow. " he sounds like he takes after his mother. you have no idea how many times i swore you'd turn me grey or push me into an early grave. "

Tell him I said goodbye.

The words that he had spoken, the message that he had asked to be delivered to Lucian when he was certain death was the only mercy left to him, echoed in her thoughts. To Lucian. A Lycan? She tried to keep the trail of her thoughts from being read by distracting herself, taking the time to tuck the chain back around her neck, absently tucking the key back beneath her shirt. Drawing close enough that she could sit, cross legged, within easy reach of him, if either of them might want, but far enough away that she could leap free if needed, she busied herself by dipping and wringing out another couple of the rags for him to use to clean, or bandage himself if needed.

A smile played at the edges of her lips, and she glanced up towards him. "If Father was ever given a grave, he must be writhing in it now, hm?" The bitterness was old, withered on the vine from starvation and age, but it still lingered there. "What a pair we must make." Her smile grew, then, and the glint in her eyes was defiant. A shake of her head follows, and she glances briefly towards the tunnels and cave system, and to the pack beyond. "I have a son." Her gaze flickers back to him. "We have a son, Cash and I. Nathaniel." A pang of grief, for the lives that might have been. For the futures they might have lived. Once upon a time.

"He's young. He's inquisitive -- and does not yet truly understand the meaning of fear, or caution." She would let him savor that as long as it lasted. "If I do ever go gray, I am certain it will be from him."

[aeternals]

@factiousfcrged gets a starter

letting hannah out of his sight had been one of the hardest things he'd had to do in a while but once she was ready to settle down for the night there was really nothing left to do but give her space. so, he'd walked her over to the hotel that had an opening. no favors were involved with the room, just a little flirtation over the hand terminals. the woman at the front desk happened to be one of the very first people he'd fallen into bed with when arriving on tycho. while that had not continued they'd bonded over a love of music.

even after checking in hannah and watching her go into the lift, his anxiety forced him to stand still. doors opened and closed. several times he'd expected to look up and be in the gallery, having woken up from some kind of dream.

she'll be okay, the martian agent placed a hand on his shoulder. security's got an eye on her.

there was little else left unless he was determined to sleep right in front of hannah's door like a lost puppy. gathering all his courage, desiderius turned on his heel to finally make the short trek back to his own apartment.

by the time he was back in his own home his heart was still knocking on his ribs. honestly, it felt like the hammering hadn't stopped since hannah fainted into his arms. maybe if he'd stood longer with amos's hand over his heart he would've been able to calm down. no sense in thinking about that, though.

especially not when amos was there right in front of him again.

all those feelings from earlier come rushing back. all that thinking he'd done on how to introduce amos. boyfriend? partner? love of his life? things they'd never talked about and labels they'd never had because they both had a strange relationship with such things. amos never brought it up so, neither had desiderius.

" i love you, " he blurts out into the room. lips press together at the sound of his own voice. with the words ringing in his own ears he can recognize just how many times he'd thought it over the years. or, how close he'd come to saying it down on ilus. then several other times it almost slipped when they were on earth. " i just...need you to know that. i love you. i've been scared to tell you because i thought that would make this too serious or....you would...i don't know. but, i've also been thinking about what happens if i lose you and never told you? so...that...there it is. i love you. "

[aeternals]

@factiousfcrged gets an ish-plotted starter

another day, another tussle with james holden of the mighty rocinante. this one wasn't as rational as other times desi has raised his voice and, really, was only a heavy sigh. amos had been shot, someone else patched him back together, and desiderius was far too emotional to let the other man out of his sight. it was a dangerous game he was playing. the more time they spent together the deeper and deeper he'd found himself falling. tripping, really, into some emotional attachment with amos burton.

anything that could be diverted away from the gallery office and onto a video conference was moved. the data broker had cleared off the small table in the suite's kitchenette to serve as a new ' desk ' for the time being. realistically speaking, only about half of what he'd been working on was able to be moved in that way so he was in and out of the suite much more than he'd liked. gave him a great opportunity to re-evaluate where his head was, though.

on the way back from the gallery, desiderius picked up a bottle of whiskey, a bottle of wine, and food for them both. a place not too far from the gallery served amazing burritos, which were easy to carry along with everything else. it also allowed him to get another one for amos to eat while he was at the gallery the next day without having to worry about how much he was carrying.

" here, " he says with more exhaustion than he meant to. the bag of burritos and both bottles are set on one of the chairs in the room then slid over to the edge of the bed. " i brought food in case you're hungry. " auburn hair is brushed out of the way. another chair grabbed so that he can sit in it while sipping away at his wine. " how are you feeling?

[aeternals]

@factiousfcrged gets a kind of random starter

the ride towards the river was even more excruciating than being held captive by a pack of wild lycan. both of them were quiet save for the argument that erupted over someone who tried to rob them no less. amos gently requested desi have something to drink while the vampire kept insisting, in a variety of ways, that he wasn't hungry. in the end both sense and amos won out. desiderius took his fill of the cutthroat's blood and then snapped his neck like a twig, barely hidden by the brush for the wildlife.

finally within the comforts of his own home again, the first thing desiderius did write a letter for arthur to let him know everything was alright. it wasn't. it most certainly was not but that wasn't something he was about to admit to his lover let alone his maker.

with it sent off, the only thing left for him to do was try and wash away every single memory since his capture. luckily, with the temperature of his own body, room temperature water was more than sufficient to sit in. he didn't have to worry about having anyone reheat it as he sit in the large tub with his knees pulled to his chest. dirt, grime, and old blood settled into the water as the vampire tried to scrub the very skin from his bones.

even after crawling out of the water, all desiderius managed to do was sit on the floor right next to the tub. the linen he used to dry himself with was in a small pile next to him.

there's still droplets on his skin by the time amos's face turns the corner. " i'm still here, " the vampire manages a small grin. " i tried to get out and i just....froze. " his hand comes up so thumb could press along the fangs that finally grew back in. " it's like the room is too big. why is the tub in the middle? " because he had it placed there but, that was besides the point.

[aeternals]

yet another mental note is made to do a little digging into certain situations down on the planet's surface to see what he could do or, really, whose day he could fuck up. with all the information he had coming and going, desi had been blind to that certain plight. probably because that wasn't the sort of thing he advertised himself for. the one person who tried to ask about something adjacent without asking had suddenly disappeared from tycho less than an hour later. all records of the ship's manifest erased from the station's system. funny, how that happened.

no, desiderius was in the business of political information. a balance, if you will, of all the players in the game. fred johnson didn't pout against his dirt because desi also had information on dawes, ashford, members of the unn parliament, and a number of martian diplomats. plenty of shit storm to go around and plenty to help him get funding for things like school supplies.

on another day, he might have been a little more self conscious on the not answer regarding how he felt. given the circumstances it was the most graceful thing he could've asked for even if he highly doubted he'd have the opportunity to say as much again. or, the courage. part of not being able to read amos like an open book was second guessing some of it. at the same time, he needed to remember that amos was willingly talking about things like his history, how he grew up, and how that affected him.

" i'm not honestly sure how i feel about that. " a teasing answer, nothing more. surprising, though. everything the roci had reportedly saw and it didn't affect his libido? either extremely impressive or extremely telling about that last tidbit of personal history. when his lips part it's to say something sappy like you deserve to be loved, amos. or, if i were less broken, i'd love you like you deserved. not the time or the place, though.

maybe never the time or the place.

closing that last little bit of distance between them, desi leans forward to kiss the stubbled plane of amos's jaw. " i'm good. i promise. i'll hold off on being tied up for a different time, though. " head tilts to the side to see if the other man's expression changes. " how about you fuck me hard enough to help me forget. " forget how much he cared.

forget how in love he was.

Amos’ expression hadn’t changed all that much in the time he’d told part of his story - there was a stiffness underneath it all, but that was as much from the effort of trying to find words to put his thoughts into something that would make sense as to why he was telling them, as anything else. The apology is met with a shrug. More stilted than the ones before, and there was a vein that twitched at his temple, but he wasn’t inclined to make it a thing. “What’s done is done,” he said, rehashing some of what he’d tried to offer to Desi in the form of advice. “I got out. Most don’t.” And that was the best he could’ve asked for.

He pulls himself to his feet, wandering over to the fridge in the kitchenette while Desi spoke, poking around and coming up with a beer to pop open and down most of in one swallow. Alcohol helped. Or made things worse. This seemed to be one of the first ones, he decided. He listened, a small nod offered somewhere along the way to serve as some kind of confirmation that he was, actually, listening. He’d guessed something of the kind of situation that Desi described. As for taking something bad, and making it yours, he got that. In a vague sort of way. Wasn’t that what he did, every place they berthed? Wasn’t that what this was, or … had started out as?

“For what it’s worth, I haven’t had a thing happen yet that made me not want to fuck, and given the shit I’ve seen since the Cant, this …” A vague wave of a hand to the general space around them. “Ain’t even touching the top twenty list.” Shit, after Eros, probably not the top hundred. Not that he’d taken the time to really catalogue the number of fucked up shit he’d seen or been part of. He downed the rest of the beer before setting it down beside Desi’s wine bottle, stepping closer, almost but not quite closing the distance between them as snug as it had been … before. “You tell me you’re good to go, I’m good. Just tell me what you want.”

[aeternals]

@factiousfcrged said, ‘ where is my goddamn shoe? ‘

desiderius very rarely dozed off during these little interludes, mainly because he wanted to enjoy as much time with amos as he possibly could. there's a small hole in his memory this time, though. he remembered laying his head against amos's chest and the next thing he knows there's the sound of rummaging in the small hotel room.

" mon loup, " the vampire rubs the sleep from his eyes. there's still warmth on the pillow that had been beneath amos's head, so desi hugs it to his chest as a last memory to take along with him. " the room's only so big. " to be fair, they'd been extremely impatient. or, well, he had been a little too fervent in his need to feel the fore of the wolf's skin against his hands. his lips.

the sheet shifted with his legs. reluctantly, he pushed to his feet to try and play their time together in reverse. when nothing came to mind he kneeled down to the floor only to be met with the shoe in question almost immediately.

sadness makes him sluggish, but he closes the distance over to amos, anyway. the shoe is pressed gently to the wolf's chest and a kiss lands at the corner of his lips. " one day i'll be able to wake up next to you. " one day in the all too distant future. desi didn't need to say that part out loud, though. " please be careful. "

[aeternals]

@quixoticfcrged said, " you might learn that we're not so different. "

the great thing about tycho was that it was a giant station where people could easily stay out of one another's way when time called for it. he didn't hang in the same bars as holden or, as far as he knew, even go to the same restaurants. if the idealistic bastard had ever been to the gallery it wasn't while desi was in the office.

he didn't hate the man, perse. in other circumstances james holden would be fucking interesting for all the information he had about the universe. hells, for all the information he had about the things he'd seen and survived.

problem was, desi's heart was already tangled with another of holden's crew, which made everything the idiot did a lot more personal. instead of fascinating from an outside perspective it was heart wrenching. what should've been incredible information was reduced to a series of unfortunate events from a man hellbent on saving everyone from everything.

sighing, desi sets the chopsticks down on the edge of his noodle bowl. the message from his hand terminal is waved away purely out of habit. at least this time, he can talk to holden without screaming at the high heavens but that was because he was confident in the knowledge that amos was ( relatively ) safe somewhere on tycho.

" if this is your way of saying i don't need to glare every time i look at you than it's a great argument. have you ever considered public speaking? "

leaning forward, he tops off the glass of water he'd been sipping from while ( attempting ) to enjoy his meal. cool liquid slides down his throat before the glass clatters to the table again.

" the next part is ' we all want the same thing. ' right? we both care about amos or we both care about what happens to the people we love. i'm crying inside, i promise. " head tilts to the side. " let's pretend, for a second, we aren't very different. why does that matter? "

[aeternals]

the small thermal mug is smaller than what he's used to but the shape makes it perfect to nurse in one hand. when tilting it to the side he notices the logo of the tachi; the rocinante's predecessor . for some reason that makes him smile. evolution, maybe, or a distraction from being caught unawares. either way, he pulls on the spring that keeps the small hole covered and takes another sip.

" interesting is one way to put it. " he can't help think of all the times they met in the bar, their conversations, and what happened the first night they slept together. desiderius should've known then that trusting the man after such an outburst would lead to something he was never counting on.

" no, ma'am, " another ship of coffee. her chuckle pulls him from his thoughts and bring his gaze up to look at her beauty. naomi nagata wasn't someone he knew a lot about considering the infamy of the ship at this point. most intel focused around holden, though. he was their face and their voice. " i started in the un military. strike team, actually. then i decided that world was no longer for me. " the broker shrugs because he's not sure how much truth to tell in that moment. had amos told them anything about his relationship with information? or that the current popular product was this very ship?

" now i run an art gallery on the station. with the profit i do what i can to help the children and the education system. we've been especially busy with all the refugees coming on board. "

The engineer takes the time to fiddle with her tea, adding a touch of sweetener that she usually didn't, pulling open a drawer to dig out one of the metal spoons to stir it in with, giving the man what she hoped would be enough time to regain his composure. Her expression remained amused, if kindly so, a glint of humor brightening her dark eyes even as she finally turned back around, letting her weight rest against the counter behind her rather than immediately going to join him at the table after he sat.

"It's nating," she assured him, a dismissive wave of a hand accompanying the assurances. "Yes, Amos ... does have a habit of making life interesting," Naomi mused, taking a careful sip of her hot brew as she watched him. Amos was someone that most people didn't bother to take the time to see past the hard stare and the scarred hands, which was as much a loss on their part as it was a shame. Clearly, however, that was not the case with this one.

"Oh ... it is, in fact, that," she replied, a soft chuckle following. "But, ah, he's always kept the brothels at the brothels," she added, pushing off lightly to drift her way towards the bench across from him, so long as he didn't look suddenly skittish. "And you don't exactly strike me as a member of the entertainer's union, Desi."

[aeternals]

@carbonfcrged sent, [ CLOSE ]:          while standing remarkably close to one another, the sender is unable to stop themselves from running their gaze across the receiver’s body, lingering for a moment on their lips, before returning to initiate prolonged, intense eye contact.

takeshi kovacs was a mystery despite all the access to information as desiderius's disposal. the name came to him through interaction through both arthur and chrisjen. that led to a personal curiosity and an eventual rabbit hole that, admittedly, blurred the line between respect and lust.

arthur was always the first to link desi's need for dangerous men with control over the violent man he'd always tried not to be. desi would return with a question of who doesn't like muscles and blood? a lot of people but neither of them brought up that particular point. muscles? understandable. the latter happened to be the part where his blonde best friend tended to raise an eyebrow.

thank god it was none of his business, anyway.

finding the soldier in his very own art gallery was both a blessing and a curse. a number of practial, business related questions surged through his mind. desi would love nothing more than to pick the brain of someone who'd been chasing the protomolecule for avasarala herself. what else had he been privy to? did he know of some of the ghosts in her closet?

unfortunately, all of those questions fly out the proverbial window when his gaze lingers down towards desiderius's lips. breath hitches at the back of his throat and blood roars through his ears. the temptation to get naked now and ask questions later is so strong he reaches out to grab takeshi's forearm, using his thumb to rub small circles against the skin.

the touch offers an anchor between mind and body. the broker leans in, brushing lips against the larger man's jaw before whispering, " may i interest you in my office? it's very sound proof and the desk is very durable. "

[aeternals]

DESIDERIUS MATHIEU.

desiderius "desi" mathieu

july 25, 1392

600+ ( first death at 27 )

sion, valais ( switzerland )

green eyes

reddish brown, wavy hair to the shoulders ( often in a ponytail )

5'10"

cismale ( he/ him )

panromantic pansexual

mercenary / entrepreneur

FAMILY.

father: claus mother: hannah siblings: prisca ( older sister ) extended: arthur pruitt, remy mazza

SKILLS.

hand to hand combat ( dagger & pike proficiency )

multilingual: english, french, swiss french, german, bavarian, russian, burgundian, romansh, italian, greek, turkish

rock climbing

violin

guitar

reading

easy demeanor

HISTORY.

1398: his father brings home prisca to live with them because her parents die in an accident.

1412: hannah lost to a fever

1419: first “ death “ during the raron affair ( the second battle of ulrichen while trying to ambush the bernese army ), which was a rebellion between several cantons and the swiss confederacy.

1421: battle of baugé, after taking refuge in france while he wraps his head around why he’s still alive, he fights alongside them to hold back the english.

1422: learns of his father’s death, assumed to be of natural causes.

1428: beginning of the siege of orléans.  he stayed with the french army after the success near angers because it felt so much like home.  fights alongside joan of arc.

1498: after wandering ( and fighting ) his way through france, ends up in italy where he finds refuge in the republic of venice.  becomes entangled in the war of the league of cambrai.

1500: meets leonardo di vinci while he’s staying with servite monks in santissima annunziata ( florence )|

1504: the unveiling of the statue of david in the piazza della signoria

1572: meets arthur while in the employ of william i’s mercenary army, fighting for the dutch republic

1999: founds trysor inc. in a joint venture with arthur & vinny.

VERSES.

tbd.

[aeternals]

ever since the first fateful interaction with william and his cohorts, desierius had lost a good chunk of himself. that didn't mean the physical bits that happened during the experimentation. no, he'd barely been able to play an instrument since he'd escaped. he didn't care about his violin anymore. nightmares plagued him even when his eyes were open. furniture? always re-arranging it to feel like he was sleeping in unexpected place. some nights he moved something in front of his bedroom door.

the list went on. point was, he was no longer the confident pikeman the swiss taught him to be. now, desiderius cowered in the dark.

it'd been easy to talk himself up to violence if he ever saw william again. now that they were face to face all he could do was choke on his heartbeat as it climbed up his throat. up and up until he was going to spit it out on the table. likewise, all the venomous things he'd wanted to say were lost to the ether. in fact, the very idea of saying anything at all made him sick. desi could feel the blood continue to drain from his face.

" don't change your routine on my account, " the wine comes back up to his lips if only to try and hold on to something normal. hearing about the jars made him nauseated enough that his whole body jerked to fight the sensation.

as much as he didn't want to, desiderius steels himself to open the file. blue eyes flutter closed. he didn't give a damn if william watched him do it. several slow breaths later, his hand slips inside to pull out a number of photographs. he's proud that his only reaction is a slight tightening of his grip against everything in his hands. a number of photographs of the ones he holds close; other immortals, no less. some documentation of his own falsified identities are tucked inside.

" what can i say? they appreciate my quiet demeanor. " as much as he wanted to keep himself collected shoving everything back inside the envelope, desi's hands started to shake. after another few seconds of collecting himself, hands fold out in front of him. quietly, he asks, " what the fuck do you want, william? "

A hand raises casually, gesturing to his glass and to Desi's for the waiter to refill, as calm and collected as if they were old school chums that had run into one another unexpectedly. Leaning back in his chair, he let long legs extend out to one side of the table, making himself comfortable, even going so far as to lightly loosen the knot of the tie at the base of his throat. Yet, for all his air of ease, there was never a moment when at least part of his attention and focus was not on the immortal. One never knew when a man might decide to throw all caution to the wind and try something foolish.

"Yes, it is a shame," William agreed, amicably enough. "I think few men would have the ... willpower to stomach such a feat, though. Did you know, we still have parts of you in jars?" An amused chuckle. "Quite the conversation starters, in the right circles."

A hand slides inside the pocket of his jacket, a small manilla envelope withdrawn and tossed onto the table between them, perhaps timed with the intention to distract Desi from whatever instant revenge he might have wished to meter out, or perhaps just convenient timing. "I don't tend to go for repeat performances, myself. But all that being said ...." A tighter, smaller smile. "I have been known to make an exception now and then." The envelope, if opened, would reveal photographs. Photographs of Andy, of Nicky and Joe. Booker, too. Arthur. Mikkah. Copies of faked identity papers. Deeds. Bank records. License to practice medicine. "For a man who had so little to say in our time together, you do seem to have quite a few friends."

[aeternals]

prior to the events that had torn him apart both metaphorically and physically, desierius had been quite the flirtatious man. he would take people to bed whenever it suited his fancy, maybe extend that relationship as long as he was in town, and then waltz right out of their lives. he'd always established it would be a short thing because, he felt, that was only fair. but he'd never settled down like andy or arthur. there was no achilles nor michele in his past. for the most part, he was okay with that. being an immortal meant time would rip everything from you, eventually, and after losing his family in such a way he wasn't really primed to lose any further.

but, then he'd closed himself away in almost every sense. that's really when desiderius dove into the idea of business and art collecting. both arthur and vinh helped him track down anything resenmbling in formation about immortality to both research and lock away to prevent anyone else from looking into it.

dante was changing all those views one kiss at a time. the immortal had been more than timid at first. truth be told, his younger self would be embarrassed to see how long it had taken to enjoy the other's body for the first time. as soon as he learned to feel safe enough, it'd become a pleasantly regular thing. to the point where he felt brave enough to open the door for anything else dante might want. there was a kinky bastard locked away in there somewhere, desi just knew it. one day, he might even enjoy it.

when their lips meet, desiderius slides his arms around his lover's neck. the only thing he was currently wearing was the sheet draped over his hips. " until time takes you away from me, " was not the response he meant but the one that accidentally slipped out. " or until you decide you need more than i can give you in this broken state. " his body, on the other hand, was not responding as melancholy as his voice was. in fact, his body was standing at attention, begging for some of that love dante spoke so poetically about. though, desi was also not one to push.

@aeternals / desi sent a meme.

"You can do whatever you want to me."

His fingers, with knuckles criss crossed with scars, and fingertips worn heavy with callouses, trace the curve of Desi's side, from the shoulder, etching down his arm, teasing and tangling briefly with Desi's fingers before easing free and wandering over the arch of hip, to outer thigh. Simply savoring, admiring. The caresses were gentle ... perhaps not chaste, but not driven by lust, either. As much as he might enjoy the passions they shared, he was as content simply to be in Desi's presence, as anything else.

The words catch him off guard, his hand falling still, warm, nested against Desi's hip, a calm, if tinted with curiosity, gaze cast up to meet his lover's gaze. He doesn't know everything about Desi's past. He doesn't need to. Those stories were Desi's to hold to, or share, when he was ready, or never. He knew enough to know that Desi had survived something terrible. The nightmares, the strangled whimpers that would jolt him from his sleep, the occasional mood swings and paranoia. They were symptoms he'd seen in men he'd served with, enough to have some grasp of the root cause. It made him angry, at times, brewed a red hot pit of lava in his chest when he thought of anyone causing Desi to suffer...

But those were not thoughts, for here and now. Shifting to prop his weight up on his elbow, he drew his other hand up from Desi's hip, to trail along the lines of his jaw, settling in behind his neck to hold him lightly in place as he brought his lips to graze softly against Desi's, once. Twice. Again, they were gentle, not quite chaste, but not demanding, either. "The only thing I want to do to you, is love you, if you'll let me, for as long as you'll let me."

[aeternals]

inviting chiara in had the effect desiderius had been hoping for. the opening was a fundraiser of sorts; a way to give back to tycho while refilling some of his own cup. frankly, all the donations he made were expensive and while that was not going to stop him from helping where he could he also wanted to continue to do so.

pozza d'acqua's exclusivity made it an offer certain clientele refused, especially if that included a specially catered event.

" they have a hard time leaving your food behind, " desi can't help but smile.

he picks up his own glass of wine, takes a sip, and nestles into the opposite end of the couch. he sets the glass on the floor, in between his feet, before he reaches out to urge one of chiara's feet into his lap. fingers work on the task of relieving some of the stress caused by hours in several inch heels. it was, after all, the least he could do for the assistance of all the food she'd cooked for the occasion.

" incredibly rude. some of us might have plans for later in the evening. " his smile remains even as he tilts his head to the side. his hands, however, stop the small circles they'd been rubbing against chiara's ankle. " i didn't have time to thank you for the help. this one would not have been as successful without you. thank you. "

@aeternals / desi gets a starter.

She let herself recline, her petite form somehow taking up an inordinate amount of space on the couch, toes wiggling in appreciation of having been let out of the four inch heels she'd been wearing for the last several hours. "Don't you just hate it when the stragglers just refuse to take a hint," Chiara remarked, an amused smirk accompanying the words, seeing as now she was the one and only straggler at the opening he'd hosted, and she'd catered for, at his gallery. She scooped up her champagne flute, tilting it one way and the other before taking an appreciative, small sip of the beverage, still chilled. "Unbearably rude of them to keep you so very late."

[aeternals]

seeing astoria and arthur together always has his own thoughts drifting towards the elegant and ever radiating saskia. how maybe, just maybe, they could be their own similar fairy tale if desi's head wasn't stuck so far up into the past. or, his ass. fear stops him, just shy, of letting his own heart be that wide open with the mental reminder that he'd lose an eternity of friendship if when they ever went sideways.

luckily, they weren't here to talk about saskia, her beauty, her heart, or anything else that had to do with the way she made his heart sing.

" arthur is always the stalwart image of survival, my dear. " with his cigarette out he grabs the remainder of his glass of wine and walks over to the couch. before sitting down he unbuttons his floral vest, allows his palm to flatten down the solid black beneath. legs cross at the knees. settling in allows him a few selfish moments to gather his story together.

" i don't know how much arthur mentioned of my part in his story so if some of this is repeat, i apologize. " long after the words leave his lips he realizes he'd never actually told his story to anyone. the great and legendary king knew it already. others of the guard knew bits and pieces from passing conversation but he'd never done this.

" i was born in switzerland in the summer of 1392 and the religious turmoil of the time is hardly interesting. but because of it, i'd chosen to go the military route rather than the other option, which was the priesthood. me? turn down a pretty face? absolutely not. my father, you see, wanted notoriety and fame. power. clearly, " his hand motions down to the rest of his sitting form. " i died because of it. there was a rebellion, i got stabbed with a pike. " he can't help but shrug and take another sip of wine.

" arthur introduced me to the rest of the guard after we fought together for william i. i'd spent all that time playing mercenary because it was the easiest way to earn room and board. ugh, but i hated it. my heart was never in fighting, as i'm sure you've guessed by now. "

desi stumbles over a memory, mainly a thin tendril from his time in florence. " despite what they do, being with the guard helped me settle down and pivot towards more artistic passions. it was so much easier back then with record keeping and such. you could easily slip from one life to the next and no one was the wiser but each of them have stashes everywhere things lost to history and time. modern technology might find it one day but for the time being it's insanity. painting and statues and jewelry.documents. " it's then he lets out a wistful sigh. only for the sake of keeping astoria distracted does he push himself from thinking about some of the things in andy's possession.

" trysor came about as an idea based on all that. we have a mutual friend you haven't met yet, we call her vinny. she's been a pirate her whole life. can't get her away from the ocean if her life depended on it. " not even after what happened to noriko. that thought has him stumble. lips part in a brief flash of sadness but that, too, is swept away. " she's actually our third partner. the original intention was a legal way to have tangible funds. hard to do cash with everything nowadays and i suspect that will just get more and more difficult. when andy started getting worried about technology uncovering our existence arthur and i thought that, maybe, we could use trysor as a way to hunt some of that down and bury it. "

@aeternals said: i thought you’d like some company / desi

"Does it ever get easier? Worrying about them?"

It's rare that she lets anyone see this side of her—she is not a creature prone to nervousness or fear, even less so the sort to allow anyone to see her vulnerabilities. Part of it is business: no one will bother hiring her if she seems anything less than confident in all things, even to the point of arrogance.

But until recently, she was not a creature with many attachments, so Astoria supposes it's a natural evolution. She worries her lower lip between her teeth, looks up at Desi with a helpless little smile, gestures for him to sit beside her on the sofa as she shifts and settles in to make room.

"Hasn't died yet doesn't mean can't die. And I appreciate wanting to protect me but it might actually be making me insane to not be there." Astoria lets out a choked burst of laughter, and she shrinks back against the cushions, bites down on the edge her thumb nail with enough force that her teeth connect through it. Once Desi is seated beside her, she shifts to lean into him, comforted by the presence of someone so warm, so familiar. "But—I appreciate the company. You're a saint."

Astoria smiles now, really smiles, though the unease is still visible in her face. "Distract me," she suggests, rather than give the discomfort voice. "I know Arthur's story. I don't know all of yours. How'd you get into all of this?" The Guard. Trysor. Anything. Everything.

[aeternals]

the coil he'd picked up to continue greasing suddenly drops at the unexpected follow up question. one hand lashes out to catch but the metal bounces once, twice, and again right back onto the body of the rifle. somewhere off in the distance he hears the distinctive sound of a chuckle. or, maybe a snort? that is most definitely not their resident king ( who would probably kill him several times over for considering to answer ).

" i... " fingers splay out with his palms resting against the corner of the table. his eyes planted firmly on all the pieces spread out to make sure none of them wanted to misbehave and bounce about. " yes. " head cants to the side for several heartbeats until desiderius decides to nod the truth. " i mean...yes. "

the immortal clears his throat. it was rare for him to not only be caught off guard ( hypervigilance is a bitch ) but for a flush of color to reach his cheeks, radiating like the sun relocated itself right onto his face. " but, you have to understand that dumah is....ah.... fallen? in a sense. more like thrown, really. " one shoulder raises in a shrug. " he's had millenia to acclimate himself to humanity and human ways. we actually first met right after...ah... " jaws clamp shut. suddenly, he no longer sees his hands. they've become naught more than bloody stumps trying to regrow themselves for the umpeenth time. " geneva, " desi forces himself to nod. " he didn't speak then. he's not very big on speaking. better than he used to be, though. "

it's almost like the angel's listening because there's a warmth on his shoulder that helps the shaking stop. desi clears his throat and tries to navigate his mind back to that night in ibiza. several nights, actually, but vinnie didn't need to know that. " not that i can speak to whether or not every angel partakes. dumah does. considering the relationship between your mothers they, you know. "

Out of all of Vinnie's 'aunt's' and 'uncle's' Desi was probably the one that she knew the least about -- on a personal level. He was easy going enough, as much as any of her mom's rag tag family was, and he'd never treated her with anything other than kindness. He was just. A little more guarded than most of them. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure there were reasons for it.

She didn't need to know them, she didn't need to pry. Everybody was entitled to their secrets and their truths, to their scabs and scars. And he had plenty of those. Not in the way people did, per se, but they were written all over him in fine cracks and fissures and he was always the one that got the quietest, the most withdrawn the night before shit hit the proverbial fan.

She couldn't do much to help. She did what she could, when she could, and tonight that meant prattling away in the rambunctious and capricious way that might just keep him from falling too far down into the black hole of funk in his head. All that said, genuine interest and maybe even a bit of respect and surprise widened her eyes at his revelation when it came, and she found herself scooting closer to him, cross legged, on the table that he'd set up to prep his weapons. "Wait, like -- biblically?" Eyebrows quirked upwards. Sure, one of her moms was a demon, but she hadn't had much in the way of interactions with a heavenly host ... mostly cause her moms were convinced it'd end in tears and blood shed. "Are you serious? I thought they like -- you know. Didn't do that --?!"