GRATIA // PSL

[birdsbirdsbirds]

"The Archive", as people call it, is the single-greatest collection of written information in all of Skeleton City. It is a massive, multi-leveled cylindrical chamber filled with concentric rings of tall, imposing shelves made from wood, metal, and occasionally, the cave walls themselves. Large platforms are suspended on stone bridges above and below the main level, allowing for study spaces and the occasional, separated collection. The space is hushed, as these spaces usually are, with most of the sounds of shuffling feet or conversation reduced to muffled background static between the rows of soft binding and thin parchment. High up in the ceiling is a large, back-lit, stained-glass window, which casts the entire chamber in dim, gently-shifting colors.

Despite all this, it's actually rather boring. There are very few actual books in this library, and most of those are recently-written biographies, historical accounts, philosophical texts, or extremely repetitive business ledgers. The rest of the space is taken up by scrolls, loose files, and what amount to simple index cards. A significant chunk of the Archive is taken up by identification records and police procedural. You could probably look up any recorded crime from any day in the past three decades, but good luck finding simple field guide or a scrap of poetry. The only people who frequent this building are religious scholars, hired detectives, and the spies who actually know how to read.

There are treasures to be found, of course, interesting folk stories or old books that have been lovingly hand-copied by someone onto a six-part series of scrolls, but the effort is not worth the prize for very long. The Archive also has a significant lack of information regarding magic or the existence of monsters, which is why it has taken Robin so long to find anything even remotely relevant to his current plight.

He's still where Tek left him, tucked into a desk near the edge of the room, mostly out-of-sight of the main walking paths but not so hidden away that he couldn't be wandered-upon by another visitor. At this point he's amassed several stacks of old-looking articles, genealogy charts, and weathered journals, and has slowly progressed from sitting like a human to hunching over some written account with his legs crossed and his head propped up by a gloved hand.

He hasn't found the answer he was looking for. He has some ideas, vague scraps of information that he could scrape together into a cover story... But if worse comes to worse, he'll be going up against someone almost as smart as he is, so vague ideas will only buy him time. They won't fix the problem.

The big... dragon-shaped, magic-using, monster-attracting problem.

He's not actually confident on the causality of that last one, but his research into that has not gone much better than his research into a new cover story. He's very wrapped up in his own busy thoughts by the time his aforementioned problem comes looking for him.

Comments

[birdsbirdsbirds]

Gods... Years ago, he wouldn't have been able to help himself. He would have dragged Tek into the nearest alley without a second thought. He barely has the self-control to keep from doing so now, with the dragon hovering near his neck and purring up at him like that...

He doesn't dare say anything. Another sign of personal growth, perhaps--he knows that telling Tek to wait would just turn it into more of a game than it already is. Tek would only double his efforts and then this whole trip would immediately be a lost cause. Still, the sigh that comes slithering out of him is very deep and unarguably tortured, a sure sign that there isn't much he'd rather be doing right in that moment either.

By some miracle, he gets them to the beautiful, dark wood door, turns the door handle, pushes inwards, and... also pushes Tek up against the doorframe so that he can grab the other's face and smash their mouths together again.

"Uh... Can I help you?" is the vaguely-offended response that floats over from the poor soul manning the front desk this afternoon. They don't sound happy, but really, they don't sound all that surprised either.

[heresyandlace]

The unfortunate person manning the desk is only answered by a deep, appreciative sound as Tek is happily caught and pinned in the doorway. They're going to have to wait at least a few long seconds as Tek keeps Robin wrapped up there, the hand in his shirt hooking around his back to hug him closer.

It's terrible. With his back shoved up against the doorframe, Tek has leverage enough to shamelessly roll his hips against Robin's. He digs impatient nails into his back, into his hair.

Hopefully the clerk is a patient sort, because it might be a minute.

[birdsbirdsbirds]

This clerk is apparently very patient. The only other thing out of him for a minute is a deep sigh and the sound of him slumping forward on his desk to wait for these two horndogs to either acknowledge that they're still in public, or do something worth calling the cops over.

Somewhere between hips and nails, that second one becomes a real possibility--as Robin nearly blacks out, coming back to the present with a couple of seconds unaccounted for and one of his hands digging into Tek's hip to try and somehow get him even closer. The demigod makes a sound of something--Insistence? Surprise? Remembering what he was doing?--against Tek's mouth, starting to disengage in whatever capacity he has left to drag the two of them further into the room. And to the side, down one of the hallways, getting lost between kissing and trying to dig something out of his pocket and walking backwards all at the same time.

"Excuse me," the clerk says, bored, "You can't just--"

Robin (almost blindly) tosses something round and gold in the direction of the desk. It bounces off the counter with a clatter, the clerk catching it with a surprised sputter, followed by silence, and one final, "Uh, nevermind."

The demigod drags Tek into the first hallway, lined on either side with nearly-identical doors. Someone is going to end up getting pushed up against one of them, but with the way they're both practically clawing at each other, it's hard to say which one will find themselves there first.

[heresyandlace]

Those doors are each begging to become a landing spot, and Tek won't leave the decision to hang unanswered for very long.

It only takes him a few moments to realize that Robin isn't leading them to any one door in particular, being that a key hadn't been acquired, so he casts out a quick intangible reach to cut the search short.

A quick moment later, they come up next to a door that Tek is reasonably sure doesn't already have human presences tangled up behind it, and he suddenly alters their course. This is the one--though, with the way he immediately bullies Robin into one spot, it's hard to believe that he's actually expecting them to make it all the way into the room.

He pivots, bringing Robin's momentum around and shoving his shoulders solidly back against the door. And there, he immediately presses his entire body up against him with a heady growl, finally getting him still enough to move from his mouth to his neck. His hands are all over.

They're so close to where they can finally dive into each other, but Robin is still going to have to fight Tek just a little bit if he wants to actually make it there.

[birdsbirdsbirds]

You know, for all his bravado... at the end of the day, all Robin really wants is for someone to shove him up against a wall and have their way with him. He has no chance of keeping quiet, breath growing ragged as he is set upon by his hungry partner. They are so close to having somewhere to land, a room, a bed... But every urge he's been trying so hard to ignore the entire way here is coming up all at once, and it's nearly a miracle that he doesn't just give up right there and then.

The only thing that keeps him from sinking is a stupid, silly little thought... The foolish, romantic notion that he'd like them to finish somewhere comfortable, because curling up together afterwards would make this the perfect experience. And when's the last time that he and Tek had something perfect?

Maybe never. He wants that for both of them, even if he doesn't realize it, because a couple of months ago, he was starting to think he'd never get a chance to see Tek ever again.

So he finds just enough sense to bring his bare hand to his mouth and bite down hard (maybe too hard) against one of his knuckles, reaching blindly back with it a moment later to fidget and fumble against the doorknob until he can unlock it with a little bit of magic and a lot of reserve willpower.

He nearly falls over when the door suddenly opens in behind him, stumbling back several steps with a startled laugh--but it doesn't matter for long, as he swings Tek around, kicks the door closed behind them, and starts bodily herding him in the direction of the bed in the middle of the room.

It's a nice bed. Queen size, at least. The sheets look clean, and therefor ruinable.

[heresyandlace]

Tek might not be thinking along the same sentimental lines as Robin, but while he has him boxed in against the door, hungrily chasing after the way that his partner's breath hitches and groans, he also finds himself entertaining thoughts of perfection. His ideas of it have more to do with a singular, carnivorous passion shared between two people, but it still means something to him. Ever since being pulled from home, it has been so very hard for him to find again, but whenever he does, it causes a strange sort of settled satisfaction that keeps his restlessness and anxiety at bay.

So, he's busy making out with his friend and getting hands under clothing until his legs bump into the bed. It's that moment that he bites Robin with a sudden fierceness--all sharp teeth without the sort of reservation that he'd give to lesser, mortal partners.

They're both horrible, ravenous monsters, and that's his very favorite thing about them

[birdsbirdsbirds]

Robin has settled down a lot since those early days, when he would practically bite anything that moved... but it always surprises him how quickly those old habits can resurface, and how quickly the feeling of a sharp, mean bite against his lip gets him to bite back, just as hard, just as sudden.

He shoves Tek backwards, too, quick to climb on top of him and try to pin him down. He doesn't have to pretend to push him around anymore; Tek's got him riled up enough that he'll have to really fight if he wants to get out of having a demigod ravishing his neck and using whatever he can grind against to get off.

Ravenous is a good word. He doesn't even think to say anything, a rare treat all on its own.

[heresyandlace]

Tek likes the lack of words. It leaves room for things like grateful, open-mouthed growling when he's being shoved down and bodily pressed up against.

The way that Robin pins him there, though--that is what he likes the best. He loves the rush of surprise when pushing back doesn't actually get him anywhere. Here, he's with someone who even can hold him down. Half of his struggling is just for the fun of testing it.

However, the other half of the struggle actually does have a point. While he's busy ecstatically writhing under the teeth at his neck, he can easily kick off his boots without distracting anything... but, anything more than that is going to require significant effort.

So, he does fight. He shoves back against Robin's more-than-human strength, and mostly only succeeds in rolling against his partner's body in a way that really isn't going to help his case, at first. It takes him a few attempts until he can bully himself enough room to finally be able to reach down between the two of them and hurriedly claw at waistbands and fasteners--trying to get clothing at least halfway out of the way before Robin can just go ahead and finish without him.

If any buttons are ripped off or zippers broken, he really can't be held accountable.

[birdsbirdsbirds]

It's not an easy sell, but somewhere at the back of his sex-addled brain, Robin does want clothes to come off. He's at least done this enough times that the clawing at his waistband eventually triggers a couple of instinctual reactions: slowing just enough to give the other some room to work, and reaching down himself to likewise help his partner get their pants out of the way.

At some point, Robin laughs again--though whether it's because he thinks something is funny or because he's just having too much fucking fun is hard to tell. Tek is soon thanked for his consideration, pressed back into the bed again as Robin moves against him and the low, breathy laughing trails away at his ear. There's almost a moment of calm before everything winds back up, and it isn't long before Tek is getting exactly the kind rough time he was hoping for.

[heresyandlace]

Tek isn't selfish with his sounds. He rewards Robin for all of this perfect attention with grateful groans when he's held still and driven against, and hungry, happy snarls near his face when he wants more. He's generous with his nails and his teeth too, whenever they get near enough to Robin to sink in. They help him fight--wrestling for a little control when he wants room to move, or just to incite Robin into putting more effort in battling him back down and taking what he's after.

Really, the fighting is the only thing that drags out this encounter at all.

Even with the fun of struggle and contest, it isn't all that long before Tek's insistence begins to change direction. He has writhed until he's properly cornered up against pillows and headboard, and there, when he manages to twist his hands free again, he stops pushing away. This time, as his growling trails off into something more shallow, more tense, he tangles one hand roughly into Robin's hair and hugs the other around his lower back, and pulls him closer.

[birdsbirdsbirds]

In all of his passionate violence, Robin should be thinking of something. It should occur to him how ironic it is that he normally hates chasing after Tek for anything. He should be thinking of what a rush it would be to win this struggle of theirs, and finally have Tek at his complete and utter mercy. He should be thinking of bruises that linger and bruises that don't, and of petty revenge, and of grandiose proclamations of love or lust or even bitter, lingering hatred. But he isn't, because he isn't thinking of anything.

For once, there is nothing to think about. Between grasping fingers and sharp nails, there are no whispers or worries or empty, hollow promises to himself. His battling to push the other over the edge leaves no room for false optimism, or even a strategy, just... the feeling of their bodies heavy and warm together, and the sounds of their shameless growling, panting, moaning as they finally drag each other as close as they could possibly get to one another.

In that moment, they're inseparable, and Robin knows they've clawed so far into each other's hearts that they'll never really be apart again. Tek wrote his name on the wall, after all. Not even the Gods could take that from him.

He bites Tek pretty hard as he finishes, but he doesn't remember doing it. It'll leave an ugly bruise in the crook of his neck. It takes Robin a little while to realize that he has thoughts of his own again, like the one about the bruise, before a wave of exhaustion finally starts crashing over him.