So Familiar a Gleam: Conclusion

[voidtreckermods]

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.

Comments

[subcircuits]

"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."

[its_dad_sanzo]

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

[subcircuits]

"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."

[its_dad_sanzo]

"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."

[subcircuits]

"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.

[its_dad_sanzo]

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!

[subcircuits]

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."

[its_dad_sanzo]

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."

[subcircuits]

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.