CLOSED ❯ the hauntings and the haunted

[runeing]

Who: celen's boys aka viktor and charles + various
Where: around
What: charles has a bad time with his death anniversary + helps with cleanup, viktor tries not to die
Warnings: talk about death / hate crime / terminal illness

( closed starters in comments! if you would like something with either charles or viktor, please feel free to hit me up on plurk @ celen or through pm or via the game discord! )

Comments

im shutting my eyes.

[incorrigibles]

[ he would be entirely happy with just that reverse-same — would be happy with nothing at all said back to him, really, because he doesn't expect anything, doesn't need anything else than junpei, right where he is, leaned in close like this... but he does hold, actually, looking back with his head tilted slightly, and when junpei comes out with, hm, that —

charles looks at him, then, with a small, charmed and befuddled smile that's simultaneously i wish i understood how your brain works and you're so cute, because yeah, this is what he's attracted to, apparently! so much so that he lets out a light laugh and says, eyes bright and voice brimming with affection, ]

I love you so fucking much. [ and he's pausing the, ah, new date night plan briefly so that he can just wiggle in as close as he can and pull junpei into a tight hug. ]

I get it, [ he says then, pulling back and looking at junpei tenderly, ] I feel the same way. I mean, not the wrapping paper part, specifically, but... well. If I could, I'd tie what remains of my soul to you, so nothing'd ever be able to separate us.

[ and he just smiles, like this is also a normal everyday thing to say! ]

truly this is gay new year 2025, congrats to them

[coolerjunpei]

[What Junpei has learned from this interaction is he still can say literally anything, in any context, and be rewarded for it. He laughs as Charles pulls him in, squeezing into the hug in turn and saying, muffled into Charles' shoulder,] Love you too.

[Then Charles goes and says that equally normal and sane thing to say, and Junpei can't help the immediate fresh blush that that earns. Holy shit? Is he allowed to say that? Holy shit—]

Uh, damn, is that- wait, is that a thing? [is it ghosts only, wait-] Yeah, that's definitely the same as wrapping paper, huh...

[Ha ha, no, Charles is a romantic professional wordsmith and Junpei is a court jester who isn't even that good at jokes, it feels like— not in a bad way, just-! Holy shit, again. Junpei tugs him back in close so that their foreheads press together, voice dropping to something soft and quiet, like a secret here in the privacy of their own bedroom,] It's you and me no matter what, yeah? Nobody else even comes close to you, so...

here's for them being as gay as possible in 2025

[incorrigibles]

I don't know, [ he answers earnestly, even if junpei's question about whether it is all actually possible might not be entirely fully meant; and it's equally soft and earnest and absolutely not very sane at all when he says, ] I could find out.

[ because as much as it's a sweet, romantic thing to say, that's the thing with the stuff he says: he always means them, too, doesn't say them just to be romantic but rather says what he actually feels, and what he feels is — this, to let the atoms that make up his soul shake loose and entwine with junpei's, to burrow into his very being and never leave —

and that, well, he does realise saying all that out loud might make him sound just a tad bit intense, and so he simply leans into the touch, exhales quietly, nods. ]

... Yeah. Yeah, it's you and me. I'll make sure of it. [ whatever it is he has to do to make sure they stay together for as long as possible, whether here or elsewhere... he will. gently, he slides his hands to junpei's face, looks at him with that same, tender look, ]

You know that's the same for me too, right? It's just you. No one else compares. The only thing I want... is you. For you to be happy, and with me. [ see, he's saying what he wants, this is progress, ]

turbo gay 2k25!!

[coolerjunpei]

[That would be a lot closer to the sentiment of Junpei's wrapping paper metaphor, to be fair, in a normal and sane way. And while thinking very literally about it is, yeah, pretty intense, there's a part of Junpei that absolutely wants to lean in. Imagine that, being wanted that much? Needed that deeply, that Charles would tie their souls together. It's more than he's ever had, more than he's ever felt like he could, hm, ask for? People don't—

Well.

He's thinking about it. Maybe wanting to soul-commit and just stare at Charles like this forever and ever is, you know, avoiding a few issues on top of being intense, but it still sounds pretty great.]

You've already got me, I'm not going anywhere. [No one else compares, yeah, that's it completely,] Wrapping paper or souls, I'm with you.

[Or both! Maybe he should find out about the soul thing, it's not a bad idea. Just not right now, as Junpei tilts his face up to kiss him, slow and indulgent and warm.]

yes. the year of the gay.... we love to see it

[incorrigibles]

[ perhaps eventually he'll stop self-censoring and say as much, intense or not; and he is going to find out about the soul thing, it is going on his list — if he can get some books on magic... maybe. and perhaps it should be a scary thought, the way he's not even hesitating one second with his willingness to tie their very souls together for all time —

well. he'll examine that eventually, not that anything's going to make him change his mind; right now, he's humming a "good" into the kiss before he sinks into it, lets everything else fade away until the world shrinks down into just the two of them, the way the kiss turns ever warmer, the way he lets his hands fall back down, tracing junpei's chest before he slides them down and over his hips to rest on the tops of his thighs, fingertips on his belt. ]

With me on this, too? [ he mumbles the question against junpei's lips, unwilling to move away even an inch more. ]

[coolerjunpei]

[There's nothing left in the world but the two of them and Junpei's pitiful collection of dress shirts hanging judgmentally unworn in the closet...

Junpei hums approvingly into the kiss; he really hasn't given enough intentional approval to everything Charles has been doing since lifting him up here, and as long as he can stamp down on his instinct to give a thumbs up, he'll make a mental note to do that more. Now, too, squeezing his legs around Charles' hips and kissing him again far more swiftly and... encouragingly? He doesn't know how to be smooth, he's winging it on that part, but the intent is there.

He goes for one more quick kiss and tangles his fingers in Charles' hair, equally unwilling to part any more than the space it takes to murmur his response,]

Yeah, always. [A beat—no, it really is always, aha ha,] I'm all yours.

[incorrigibles]

( tbc over elsewhere, )