[at least they were polite (?) to law. at least they bothered with a warning. did they ever even make it back to the loft eventually. who's to say. molly is probably just laying on the floor somewhere, even if there is a bed nearby. it's fine.]
... Don't tell Law about the table, he might kill us.
[ at least they warned him! that was very polite. we'll say yes, after all of that, they've made it up to the relative privacy of the loft. gu yun's up on the bed, sprawled sort of luxuriously, his dark hair and a single arm draped off of the side. ]
No wonder Pride likes him best. [ lol
can you blame him, though, they're menaces. ] I'll clean it up before he's back. [ probably. right now, he's pretty content not to move, drifting through a blissful evening. ] You alright?
[rolling over to try and grab that arm? Not pulling just. lacing his fingers with gu yun's. he'd probably attempted to go back downstairs for a towel or some food and just. gave up and laid down instead. the earth will simply reclaim him here.]
I'm so-so. Middle of the road. [waggling their hands together in one of those back and forth motions.] Eh?
Middle of the floor, more like. [ snort. it takes a little maneuvering, but, gu yun rolls back over onto his stomach instead of his back to watch molly, resting his cheek against the crook of his elbow, still pink cheeked and feeling remarkably relaxed. ]
I feel like I should be insulted. [ clearly he does not feel insulted, nor is he serious about this remark, nor does he have any issue with molly taking his hand. his fingers aren't as cold as usual, though some of the heat from their various activities of the evening is starting to fade, and gu yun lazily lets their hands move back and forth, like a big, contented cat. it's nice to have his hand back. ] Then again, I'll take your performance reviews as it was in progress as a sign that you're full of it.
[molly is just sprawled? it's kinda cold on the floor? his head is at an awkward angle because you can't lay very comfortably on your side with horns, so he's just proppted up on an arm too. he doesn't seem to care, either not bothered or just too content to complain for the moment.]
Should be obvious by now that I'm full of it, Marquis.
[grinning, like he thinks he's very, very cute and clever for that.]
... I really am about to starve though so I'm going to get up.
[ oh yes, you are very cute, and very clever. he shakes his head, huffing a fond laugh at the nickname (after all of this, he's starting to think actually being called that in bed is going to make him die of embarrassment, but he'd also probably rather die than say that he really likes hearing zixi instead, too, so. here we are!)
with a yawn and a stretch, gu yun moves to sit up. he pats around for a moment, lazily - his nightstand is charred black at the top, for some reason, and there's a steam lamp on top of it - and eventually comes up with a ribbon. that said and done, he pulls his hair over his shoulder in a low ponytail and starts to get up as he's tying it into place. ]
We really should have just brought the food up in the first place. [ are you gonna walk bare ass around his apartment, molly? gu yun is not, which is terribly boring, and he comes over to join him as he's half pulling on his outer robe and tying it loosely around his waist. ]
[he would have gotten plenty of zixi too. he did promise loudly and often! he did promise. yes he's not bothering with clothes - he'd put his coat back on but he doesn't know where the hell it ended up.
Actually, now that he's upright, he'll try and just push him back onto the bed?]
Just stay here? I'm going to go get it. I can handle a walk to the kitchen myself.
You sure? [ teasingly, of course, because his ego's not that huge. as gently nudged, he flops backwards, sprawling out in a mess of limbs and silk. "stay in bed", what a unique and foreign and new concept.
but, he waves a hand from where he's laying after, a nonverbal 'go ahead'. ] Bring something delicious, I could use a snack.
[He pauses, leaning over him, observing, limbs and silk and his face - he doesn't say anything. Just looking him up and down.
then just pecks him on the forehead and stumbles off. he's going a little gingerly down the stairs but it doesn't seem to bother him too much. absolutely bare ass out, he does not give a single fuck about that. if gu yun pays attention to his tattoos, there's a new one on his leg - just a simple stick n' poke of a red rose.
he'd doing his best to hurry because he's realized that he's friggin' cold and bringing back a few of the to-go boxes, dumping them on the bedside table and then yeeting himself back into the bed.]
There. That'll be 1000 gold for the delivery and whatever you'd like for the tip.
Ah, this establishment's high brow. I hate to break this to you, Molly, but despite all of my titles, I am not a wealthy man.
[ this is 100% true, actually. the marquis salary is pretty hefty, but gu yun doesn't keep much of it for himself. a pragmatist to his core, unlike his sometimes flashy outward personality - he likes beautiful things, and being particularly beautiful, but when it comes to his living, he's nearly spartan about it.
as he comes back in, gu yun makes grabbies for the nearest box. ] Suppose we'll have to barter.
I think I've figured that one out. You haven't shown up with a single string of gold or gem for me yet.
[He may snatch a box of what appears to be like those nice cubed breakfast potatoes. molly was definitely just. thinking about breakfast when he got all of these. it's a lot of like western style breakfast stuff. lots of carbs.]
I'll live, I suppose. Make more than I know what to do with even just doing odd jobs.
The lack of currency does tend to make that an issue. [ everything here is free? wild. ] Though, I haven't forgotten that I owe you flowers.
[ this date meeting between two bros was a bit more important, it seemed! but, gu yun pops the box open, resting it on his chest and plucking out a potato to pop in his mouth. breakfast in bed. ] I donate most of mine. I'm not home, anyway, there's nothing really for me to spend silver on when I'm out in the fields, besides supplies and liquor.
Here, try this. [ offering him an potato. ] And tell me something bizarre you've bought, odd jobs. I can only imagine!
[getting comfortable for a minute, very much like a cat trying to find a spot to curl up on, he's adjusting pillows and kneading them so he can rest with his horns on the side and kicking at blankets. it's probably all very annoying!
but he just listens to gu yun explain that he takes all his money and just gives it away and he doesn't take the potato because he's too busy trying to ignore how his chest just did an actual clench at that. mollymauk who tries to pay with gold pieces for one drink and leaves silver for strangers, but. again outdone by the charming and kind zixi. leaning in to just kiss his neck, fond.]
Yes, I-- get that. Once you've got solid boots and a decent pack of food, enough to grab a drink, what else is necessary? like to leave a little extra when I can.
[Then he remembers the potato and just reaches over to grab it. with his mouth not his hands, rudely.]
Mm. Let's see. Company of two companions at once and a plate of fruit at an inn called the Pillow Trove?
[ he does have to lift up the potato box at one point while molly's making the bed bounce around - gu yun watches him, amused, fond. this is not the first time he's seen this, but it's still charming, in its own molly way.
once he's done, he scoots up to sit near the head of the bed, propping himself up on what remains of the pillows. molly can have as many as he wants - gu yun doesn't really need them, and he finds himself nodding along with molly's point once they're settled, pleased. exactly. he just gets it, doesn't he? feels like molly always does. it's one of gu yun's favorite things about him.
so. his mouth lifts up in a smile, eyes crinkling a bit at the corners. ] Precisely. What am I going to buy, fine silks? Seems silly for someone who spends all day eating dirt in the trenches.
[ he goes ahead and just feeds him the potato at this point, plucking up another one and holding it out. here, you're getting fed now, congratulations. between potatoes, stopping to pop one in his mouth, gu yun chews over his molly's wild night, thoughtfully, then deadpans - ] So, a regular Tuesday, in this place?
[i look at my tuesday pcs and laugh and laugh and laugh
molly flops down, just barely upright enough he can eat without choking. the most accurate picture of lounging possible. flopping an arm across gu yun, sighing out, content. he'll lean over to take the offered food, not bothering much with trying to be sexy about it, but he does seem to really enjoy the act. it's still intimate and close. but it's a potato. feels less like a sexy food than, say, grapes or berries or something.
laughing a lot though at the typical tuesday thing though, tail thwapping on the bed.]
Something of a regular Tuesday here, yes.
[molly just grins at him for a second, reaching over to toy with the silk nightgown.]
[ it's still - it's not weird, but it's... satisfying? is that the right word? it's satisfying, to hear molly say his name like that. (it had been satisfying earlier, for a whole host of reasons.) there's a definite intimacy to it; gu yun has always been the soldier and the son of his father, but zixi is zixi. those two things aren't necessarily mutually exclusive, but, well. if he had a tail, it'd probably be wagging, too.
popping another potato in his own mouth, he hums an - ] Mmm? [ - lolling his head over on the pillows to look at him, lazy and content, corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. it's kind of hard not to, because that cheer is infectious. ]
[molly, as always, is the embodiment of the genuinely jus here for a laff mate xx tweet, looking pleased as you like to just be laying around and admired. though he's clearly bouncing back from his earlier face down on the floor levels of jellified. thot energy reserves.
he reaches up to toy with the piercing in his lower lip for a moment, gears turning.]
Should I pierce something new this week? That'd be a pretty good Pride one. Something new and shiny.
[...]
Or I suppose we can talk about my name, if you like.
anyway. gu yun watches him for a moment, the change in his expression. curiosity's piqued, again. ]
...Are those mutually exclusive? [ unless he's getting his like, tongue pierced, he thinks probably not. what does he know about getting pierced, he wouldn't yell if he got stabbed with an arrow, let alone poked with a needle, so. sounds like they could probably do both.
a beat. ] I'd like, if you would. [ he is dying to know. ]
[he knows gu yun is dying to know that's part of the problem. the anticipation!! like putting off an essay until you have four minutes left to write it.
molly rolls over onto his back, hands twining together on his stomach and just. staring at the ceiling for a minute.]
Alright.
[He. does not know how to start this conversation.]
... So the story about being raised by halfings was a load of shit.
he ends up scooting over further, and just kind of. props his cheek against his shoulder, turning his gaze away from molly and closing his eyes. he's listening as intently as humanly possible, actually, but like, trying to play it cool. ]
Mmn. [ now that he knows molly a little more, that's not so surprising. ] Well, I couldn't have called you on it.
[can't call him on it if he doesn't know better! Whatever, it's fine. We're in the shit now.]
How to put this. Just rip the arrow out I suppose. Two years ago, I crawled out of a grave near Shady Creek Run. I didn't-- I don't remember that much of those days. Sort of a haze. According to the others at the carnival, they found me in a bit of a state. No memories, head shaved, very few words. Or. One word, to be precise.
[ "head shaved" is like the weirdest part of this entire sentence, actually. he already sort of knew some of the context, from sharing a memory with him about it, last week, so. gu yun's quiet for a second, processing the mental image. ]
...'Empty', yeah? [ what a mental image that is. and... really, how lucky the carnival was the one to come upon him, it seems. ]
[Molly is still just looking at the ceiling mostly.]
So they took me in, taught me how to speak again, how to read the cards, how to get a little silver and give a little silver, and I got a bunch of wonderful tattoos to cover the-- [He waves a hand, flexing the fingers so the back of it moves. the eye.] I found out my blood could do strange things. That sometimes I feel a strange familiarity with certain words, things, places.
But I don't remember anything from before that grave. Nor do I want to.
[ that makes sense - why that first memory had been so confusing, for the both of them. gu yun watches the red eye as it comes in and out of his vision, and conflates naturally with the eerie memory, one that stuck with him long after the share was over.
eventually, he props his elbow up straight, and lifts his hand, leaving it propped up between them in the path of molly's. fingers partially open, an unspoken invitation. ]
No wonder you were so jarred, when that cat woman came by. [ "tabaxi" leave him alone hes trying. now that he thinks about it... ] Back when we were playing that game with Yuri, you'd mentioned something about the blood, didn't you?
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... Don't tell Law about the table, he might kill us.
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No wonder Pride likes him best. [ lol
can you blame him, though, they're menaces. ] I'll clean it up before he's back. [ probably. right now, he's pretty content not to move, drifting through a blissful evening. ] You alright?
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I'm so-so. Middle of the road. [waggling their hands together in one of those back and forth motions.] Eh?
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I feel like I should be insulted. [ clearly he does not feel insulted, nor is he serious about this remark, nor does he have any issue with molly taking his hand. his fingers aren't as cold as usual, though some of the heat from their various activities of the evening is starting to fade, and gu yun lazily lets their hands move back and forth, like a big, contented cat. it's nice to have his hand back. ] Then again, I'll take your performance reviews as it was in progress as a sign that you're full of it.
[ fufu. ]
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Should be obvious by now that I'm full of it, Marquis.
[grinning, like he thinks he's very, very cute and clever for that.]
... I really am about to starve though so I'm going to get up.
[he does get up.]
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with a yawn and a stretch, gu yun moves to sit up. he pats around for a moment, lazily - his nightstand is charred black at the top, for some reason, and there's a steam lamp on top of it - and eventually comes up with a ribbon. that said and done, he pulls his hair over his shoulder in a low ponytail and starts to get up as he's tying it into place. ]
We really should have just brought the food up in the first place. [ are you gonna walk bare ass around his apartment, molly? gu yun is not, which is terribly boring, and he comes over to join him as he's half pulling on his outer robe and tying it loosely around his waist. ]
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Actually, now that he's upright, he'll try and just push him back onto the bed?]
Just stay here? I'm going to go get it. I can handle a walk to the kitchen myself.
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but, he waves a hand from where he's laying after, a nonverbal 'go ahead'. ] Bring something delicious, I could use a snack.
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then just pecks him on the forehead and stumbles off. he's going a little gingerly down the stairs but it doesn't seem to bother him too much. absolutely bare ass out, he does not give a single fuck about that. if gu yun pays attention to his tattoos, there's a new one on his leg - just a simple stick n' poke of a red rose.
he'd doing his best to hurry because he's realized that he's friggin' cold and bringing back a few of the to-go boxes, dumping them on the bedside table and then yeeting himself back into the bed.]
There. That'll be 1000 gold for the delivery and whatever you'd like for the tip.
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[ this is 100% true, actually. the marquis salary is pretty hefty, but gu yun doesn't keep much of it for himself. a pragmatist to his core, unlike his sometimes flashy outward personality - he likes beautiful things, and being particularly beautiful, but when it comes to his living, he's nearly spartan about it.
as he comes back in, gu yun makes grabbies for the nearest box. ] Suppose we'll have to barter.
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[He may snatch a box of what appears to be like those nice cubed breakfast potatoes. molly was definitely just. thinking about breakfast when he got all of these. it's a lot of like western style breakfast stuff. lots of carbs.]
I'll live, I suppose. Make more than I know what to do with even just doing odd jobs.
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[ this
datemeeting between two bros was a bit more important, it seemed! but, gu yun pops the box open, resting it on his chest and plucking out a potato to pop in his mouth. breakfast in bed. ] I donate most of mine. I'm not home, anyway, there's nothing really for me to spend silver on when I'm out in the fields, besides supplies and liquor.Here, try this. [ offering him an potato. ] And tell me something bizarre you've bought, odd jobs. I can only imagine!
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but he just listens to gu yun explain that he takes all his money and just gives it away and he doesn't take the potato because he's too busy trying to ignore how his chest just did an actual clench at that. mollymauk who tries to pay with gold pieces for one drink and leaves silver for strangers, but. again outdone by the charming and kind zixi. leaning in to just kiss his neck, fond.]
Yes, I-- get that. Once you've got solid boots and a decent pack of food, enough to grab a drink, what else is necessary? like to leave a little extra when I can.
[Then he remembers the potato and just reaches over to grab it. with his mouth not his hands, rudely.]
Mm. Let's see. Company of two companions at once and a plate of fruit at an inn called the Pillow Trove?
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once he's done, he scoots up to sit near the head of the bed, propping himself up on what remains of the pillows. molly can have as many as he wants - gu yun doesn't really need them, and he finds himself nodding along with molly's point once they're settled, pleased. exactly. he just gets it, doesn't he? feels like molly always does. it's one of gu yun's favorite things about him.
so. his mouth lifts up in a smile, eyes crinkling a bit at the corners. ] Precisely. What am I going to buy, fine silks? Seems silly for someone who spends all day eating dirt in the trenches.
[ he goes ahead and just feeds him the potato at this point, plucking up another one and holding it out. here, you're getting fed now, congratulations. between potatoes, stopping to pop one in his mouth, gu yun chews over his molly's wild night, thoughtfully, then deadpans - ] So, a regular Tuesday, in this place?
[ but this place is weird so you kno ]
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molly flops down, just barely upright enough he can eat without choking. the most accurate picture of lounging possible. flopping an arm across gu yun, sighing out, content. he'll lean over to take the offered food, not bothering much with trying to be sexy about it, but he does seem to really enjoy the act. it's still intimate and close. but it's a potato. feels less like a sexy food than, say, grapes or berries or something.
laughing a lot though at the typical tuesday thing though, tail thwapping on the bed.]
Something of a regular Tuesday here, yes.
[molly just grins at him for a second, reaching over to toy with the silk nightgown.]
Zixi. Zixi Zixi Zixi.
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popping another potato in his own mouth, he hums an - ] Mmm? [ - lolling his head over on the pillows to look at him, lazy and content, corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. it's kind of hard not to, because that cheer is infectious. ]
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[molly, as always, is the embodiment of the genuinely jus here for a laff mate xx tweet, looking pleased as you like to just be laying around and admired. though he's clearly bouncing back from his earlier face down on the floor levels of jellified. thot energy reserves.
he reaches up to toy with the piercing in his lower lip for a moment, gears turning.]
Should I pierce something new this week? That'd be a pretty good Pride one. Something new and shiny.
[...]
Or I suppose we can talk about my name, if you like.
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anyway. gu yun watches him for a moment, the change in his expression. curiosity's piqued, again. ]
...Are those mutually exclusive? [ unless he's getting his like, tongue pierced, he thinks probably not. what does he know about getting pierced, he wouldn't yell if he got stabbed with an arrow, let alone poked with a needle, so. sounds like they could probably do both.
a beat. ] I'd like, if you would. [ he is dying to know. ]
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molly rolls over onto his back, hands twining together on his stomach and just. staring at the ceiling for a minute.]
Alright.
[He. does not know how to start this conversation.]
... So the story about being raised by halfings was a load of shit.
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he ends up scooting over further, and just kind of. props his cheek against his shoulder, turning his gaze away from molly and closing his eyes. he's listening as intently as humanly possible, actually, but like, trying to play it cool. ]
Mmn. [ now that he knows molly a little more, that's not so surprising. ] Well, I couldn't have called you on it.
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[can't call him on it if he doesn't know better! Whatever, it's fine. We're in the shit now.]
How to put this. Just rip the arrow out I suppose. Two years ago, I crawled out of a grave near Shady Creek Run. I didn't-- I don't remember that much of those days. Sort of a haze. According to the others at the carnival, they found me in a bit of a state. No memories, head shaved, very few words. Or. One word, to be precise.
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...'Empty', yeah? [ what a mental image that is. and... really, how lucky the carnival was the one to come upon him, it seems. ]
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[Molly is still just looking at the ceiling mostly.]
So they took me in, taught me how to speak again, how to read the cards, how to get a little silver and give a little silver, and I got a bunch of wonderful tattoos to cover the-- [He waves a hand, flexing the fingers so the back of it moves. the eye.] I found out my blood could do strange things. That sometimes I feel a strange familiarity with certain words, things, places.
But I don't remember anything from before that grave. Nor do I want to.
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eventually, he props his elbow up straight, and lifts his hand, leaving it propped up between them in the path of molly's. fingers partially open, an unspoken invitation. ]
No wonder you were so jarred, when that cat woman came by. [ "tabaxi" leave him alone hes trying. now that he thinks about it... ] Back when we were playing that game with Yuri, you'd mentioned something about the blood, didn't you?
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[He does take the hand offered though, at this point. Relaxing a little tiny bit when he's able to start joking about it some.]
I-- I told a lot of lies then. What did I say, exactly? You'll have to remind me.
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