middleofsomewhere | So Familiar a Gleam: Conclusion

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So Familiar a Gleam: Conclusion

Time to leave!

There is not much of the city left, but the park is holding together as those anchoring help those who are not voidtreckers through back to where they belong. Monsters continue to attack and a little further out there is a battle of hearts and minds being fought with the mass of colours and chaos.

Eventually, after the bulk of citizens had been evacuated everyone with SCA's on would hear Jin-Roh's voice after a few frantic beeps, as Chiff aligned everyone's SCA's. "We are almost done here, if you are with anyone not tethered to a voidcraft get them to the evacuation point, as quickly as possible."

Anan pulls out of the anchoring point to call out to any defenders in the park. "Come on! Anyone who isn't a voidtrecker! It's time to go."

Luckily those off fighting the entity headed the message and made their way to the park as Jin Roh spoke again.

"Everyone else get ready. When we call it you need to leave. If you don't have your SCA on then get to someone who does."

As the last people rushed to the park Anan calls out again, through her SCA and outloud to the park. "You need to unanchor, before you can evacuate. Everyone be ready."

She goes in again though, because there are some last people, those from the large battle, getting through as another message was called.

"Almost there. Be ready. On my command..."

Anan unanchored again. "Quick everyone unanchor."

"NOW" Jin Roh's voice came through strong on their SCA's. Hopefully those with SCA's would grab those without.

There is some outside help as well, the train pulls anyone who is unconscious or still under the entity's control, forcibly evacuating them. This includes Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji and Zagreus.

Luggage Carriage

There has been a mass evacuation before and that was crazy enough but since then the population of the train has almost doubled and now it is an extremely tight squeeze as everyone crashes into the luggage carriage at the same time.

The train jerks and rolls as they enter into the void at breakneck speed and again as they seem to slow, rather than speeding off though the void.

There's a crackling from their SCA's. "Voidtreckers? Voidtreckers come in!" Anan's voice. "Please tell me you made it..."

There's only a few moments of signal and soon they are flying though the void again, away from the strange non-world, the entity sealed for now. To new adventures, but first hopefully some time to recover from all that has happened.

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Well. That gives him a very different perspective on Genjo's possessiveness of the weapon, then, doesn't it? He settles down a little heavier in the bed and makes a quiet, thoughtful noise. "No wonder he didn't want to hand it off to me at first."

"Well, there's also the fact that I never... taught him magic," Koumyou adds, teetering back on the edge of his 'wow I'm a fucking failure' chasm.

"Though even if I had, he would have had to chant to use it. Jikaku, Ukoku, and I are the only ones I've ever heard of who could use chi without that lead-up."

Devero smooths a hand up and down Koumyou's back, perhaps able to sense the presence of that chasm yawning open. "You also aren't the only one who could have," he points out as gently as he can. "You're not the only one who knows how to use magic on your world."

"But I'm the one who should have."

Sorry Dev, Koumyou's not letting himself off the hook that easily.

"Sanzos are always hunted, but a Sanzo with two sutras to look after? I knew what he was inheriting. I should have actually trained him."

"You don't teach," Devero points out. "That's another defense coping mechanism that you had to develop, to be able to get through your past intact." He continues stroking, up and down, the movement steady. "And where I come from, caretakers don't teach and teachers don't caretake anyway. They're separate roles for a reason."

Sorry Koumyou, Devero's not letting you stay on that hook without a fight.

"I teach now, apparently! I should have tried for him, too."

Koumyou curls himself up a bit, hiding his face in Devero's shoulder.

Yes, he knows there's a difference between teaching a tiny child for whom you are the only safety, and trying out teaching with your six-foot-four beef slab of a boyfriend. Even if said beef slab is riddled with his own trauma.

But, still.

"You teach now because you're here," Devero persists. He cradles Koumyou, letting him hide once more. "Because you feel safe enough to try."

Koumyou doesn't keep arguing at least, and after a few moments he peels his suspiciously damp face away from Devero's shoulder again. "Safe with you."

Dev's not his charge, not someone he has authority over on the day-to-day. If he over-steps with Devero, he will hopefully let Koumyou know.

Kouryuu... wouldn't have. Thinking about it, Koumyou's certain of that. He could have told that boy to jump into lava and he'd have done it.

"Yes," Devero says, though he colors and squirms a little. It still means so much to him that Koumyou chose him, that Koumyou does feel safe enough with him to be willing to teach him. It always will.

His own eyes are damp as he gazes down at his Sanzo, reaching to caress his cheek again. "You're not the same person you were when you died," he says quietly, stroking his thumb back and forth over Koumyou's cheekbone. "Try to have some compassion when you consider that Koumyou; he was doing the best he could in a fucking terrible, terrible situation."

Koumyou watches him for a moment, then nods, just a little. "I'll try."

No promises beyond that, but it's at least something?

"You are unspeakably good to me, Devero."

Devero nods back. That's all he can ask.

"And you return the favor," he says, hand sliding down to cup Koumyou's neck now. "I've never been so happy in my life, Koumyou."

That gets a wide-eyed look of wonder from Koumyou, and a quiet, "Really? Even before-- even when you were in the Guard?"

"I was happy with the work I was doing, sure, but I was still lonely," he says. More quietly, almost reverently: "I didn't have a family, then."

"Oh," without context, Koumyou wouldn't have assumed Devero meant him. But there is context, so... "I... I guess we are, aren't we?"

"If... you're okay with that," he says delicately. He looks away, suddenly self-conscious. He remembers talking about marrying Koumyou, and promising not to propose unless he really meant it.

He's not proposing now, not really. It's just that-- "I can't imagine my life without you in it anymore," he says. "I want to be with you so bad that when that-- rainbow asshole tried to make me fit into their happy little city, I knew something was wrong because I wasn't with you."

"I was miserable because part of me knew I should have had you with me, too," Koumyou tells him quietly, "even though the rest of my fake life was so wonderful, there was this huge... hole where you were supposed to be."

He'd had his son back! And a daughter that even now, he might not mind thinking of that way... if only he could get over his certainty that he's a failure as a father.

But with no Devero?

"That's why a certain dog was always finding me anxious and sad on campus," Koumyou adds quietly. "I guess part of us knew, huh?"

But that's not the point of now--

"I'm... I'm very okay with that, Devero. I--" even now, he can't help himself but to add, "If you're sure."

"That's exactly why," Devero says with a little nod. His eyes prickle and burn-- is he tearing up again? He laughs, a soft, wet laugh, and says, "Want to hear something sad? Even my ideal fake fantasy life was boring and lonely."

No wonder he'd been able to stay out of the illusion after he'd broken free the first time. He'd had nothing to tempt him back in, and everything to lose if it got him again.

He gathers Koumyou up in his arms and rolls with him, so that he's entirely underneath the man he loves. Now he can slide both hands up his arms, tracing his throat before cradling his face with them. "I'm sure," he says, and leans up for a kiss.

Koumyou holds himself up with his forearms just enough that they can look at each other without going cross-eyed, and smiles down at Devero as his hands move. When he leans up for a kiss, Koumyou leans down to meet him, slow and lingering and not... entirely chaste.

They're both far too tired to get up to anything, but. Hey, private room.

They can smooch however they want to!

They sure can! Devero doesn't have the energy to sustain the kiss for long, but he's more than happy to indulge in at least a moment of parted lips and curious tongues.

"Vice and virtue," he whispers when they separate, flopping bonelessly down again. Between the kiss, the emotional turbulence, and the profound exhaustion, his expression is a little punch drunk. "I love you so much."

Koumyou scoots down a little so he can put his head down on Devero's chest, his long unbraided hair splayed out over them both.

He can't quite dare those words a forth time in one night, but, "It's very mutual."

Devero smiles, and loops his arms loosely across the small of Koumyou's back, and says, "I know." His eyes close and he releases a sigh of utter contentment ~~not unlike a dog~~. Sleep is waiting impatiently for him, and he finally feels secure enough about things between them to release himself to it.

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So Familiar a Gleam: Conclusion

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