dead to the power of two | OPEN

[runeing]

Who: celen's boys (aka charles and viktor), you?
Where: viktor's lab, lupin, the farm
What: viktor finally loses the battle against his illness and comes back. meanwhile, charles is learning magic (badly).
Warnings: death and dying, mentions of child abuse



PROMPTS IN COMMENTS.

▷ charles.
▷ viktor.

Comments

[coolerjunpei]

Hey, come on. You're doing the thing.

[The Thing, their mutual bad habit, deprioritizing himself because of something difficult to hear. They both know this one, so Junpei leaves it at the thing and squeezes Charles tighter, for emphasis. None of that, sir. No thing.

That and, well, on the tail end of this conversation in particular, in which Charles has admitted to protecting himself less for someone else's sake, well! Junpei would rather he not have to do that, or feel like he has to do that, ever again.]

You know I just... want to know where you're coming from. About stuff. And it's pretty fucking terrible stuff, but... thanks for telling me.

[That's what counts! He asked in the first place knowing full well it might be dreadful, like all of his own stuff is dreadful, so— he's fine. Harrowed, maybe. But fine.]

Would it help if I took my shirt off too...? Uh, not in a sexy way. Like an in-this-together way. [it made sense to him—]

[incorrigibles]

Sorry, [ he says automatically, and grimaces immediately after at that very reflex. at least he can recognise it, now, even if shaking it entirely is proving to be something far more challenging. but it's something they're both trying to fight, so at least they're together in this.

still. he thinks back to their conversation around the new year, to how terrible that had been, too, and yet how necessary. ]

Yeah. And I do want you to know. I don't like talking about it, but I... you're the first one, ever, who I actually want to tell this to.

[ and though the telling it part is still so, so hard for him — that doesn't mean he doesn't want junpei to know him, all of him, the terrible, horrible parts, too.

the offer, once again, is so uniquely junpei logic that it startles a laugh out of him, a breath of air more than anything else, and then he's shuffling them around so he can just pull junpei to him, hold him close to his chest. ]

God, I love you. [ if he sounds a little choked up, over this of all things in this conversation, well! surely he's allowed.

and then, softly, ]

Sure. I mean, I don't want you to feel cold, but we can get a blanket.

[ and they can wrap the blanket around them and cuddle and it really makes no difference if junpei is shirtless, too, except the offer is so sweet and charles truly loves him so, so much, so that's going to be what they're doing. ]