psychoshenanigans | GRATIA // PSL

Entry tags:

robin,
tekhetsio

GRATIA // PSL

"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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ah. The dragon makes his consciousness known.

After the fun they'd had, Robin is not nearly as put-out with Tek's interruption as he had been back in the Archive... So he rolls his eyes and sighs a little and says "Good morning, Magpie," as dryly as he can manage, but hardly hesitates to put his paper off to the side and start running his fingers affectionately through the other's hair.

It is apparently still too "early" for words, as Tek's only answer is to happily groan and murmur while Robin plays with his hair. And with the way he wriggles himself up a little to be closer to Robin, take up more space where he drapes across his chest, he doesn't seem all that interested in waking up enough to become any more coherent.

In fact, he maybe seems intent on falling right back to sleep, happily pinning Robin there for the rest of his life.

There's a soft laugh at the edge of Robin's breath as he continues petting Tek's hair, running his fingers over his scalp and dragging his nails lightly and affectionately over the other's neck. He doesn't have any reason to go anywhere, or move, or pretend he wants anything other than to be lavished with sleepy affection--so there are no complaints from him.

"Fine, fine..." He can't help but continue talking a little, even if just to keep Tek conscious enough to weigh in on his next decision, "Do you want me to order food?"

He figures it's the one thing Tek might go for, outside of more sleeping.

Oh... yes. Robin does in fact know him very well.

If there is any question that might have a hope of actually piquing his interest at this level of contentment, it would be that one. The dragon even opens his eyes for it.

Without turning his head or moving the rest of his body an inch (he wouldn't want to interrupt Robin's doting) he peers up at Robin with lazy curiosity.

"...Food?"

And Robin rewards his participation with more attention, continuing to lazily drag his fingers over Tek's neck as he explains.

"I've paid for the room, technically. We get room service. They'll bring things here."

So they don't even have to leave. Robin can keep soaking up affection and Tek can continue his campaign of laziness for many more hours. And someone will feed him at the end.

Robin looks over at Tek after that, wanting to catch his beautiful face... but also interested in looking at his neck and shoulders, to see just how many marks have stuck around.

Between the promise of food being delivered basically right to his face and the nails dragging over his neck, Tek closes his eyes again and sinks into a very pleased smile. Like an animal, he arches his neck, craning his head to the side so that Robin has plenty of room to scratch... and incidentally gaze at the evidence left behind from all of their fun.

Dragons heal much quicker than mortals do, but apparently nothing compared to the rate of demigods. Robin's skin may have patched itself up back to flawlessness by now, but Tek's still shows telltale speckles and fingerprints of darkness just under the surface. Some of the bruises will even end up showing above the line of his tastefully high collar whenever he deigns to get dressed again.

Robin has successfully made his mark. Their hours of debauchery have, at least for some time, been recorded in flesh. It's a victory. At the very least, Robin can say that Tek has never come home from a jaunt with his clothier friend looking like that.

Seeing his work laid out like a map of constellations fills him with a sudden swell of affection, pride, even a little jealousy. He can't help but wish that his own marks would have stayed. It's a fleeting thought, though, nothing compared to the joy of slowly recounting the events that led them to this comfortable, perfect little place.

Tek can feel Robin's fingers slow down as he gets distracted, but only because he's brought his other hand to his own mouth to feel where he remembers Tek biting him very, very hard. He swears he can almost taste the ghost of broken skin, and it makes him smile.

"Missed you," he mumbles, the absent thought tumbling fondly between his lips before he can even consider not saying it. Maybe he realizes that it's kind of an embarrassing, stupid thing to say, because he follows it by nuzzling his face against Tek's soft, nice-smelling hair instead of doing any more talking.

It is kind of an embarrassing, silly thing to hear spoken out loud like that, regardless of the fact that Tek may or may not agree with it. It's one of those things that causes a small, nameless pang inside of him--but things are too comfortable and Robin is too quick to distract him again for the feeling to take hold for more than a second. The fickle dragon only gets as far as hesitating and opening his eyes, before Robin snuggles into his hair and soothes him again.

He does smell nice, but different. Tek must have used whatever of Robin's had been within reach when he'd last taken a shower, instead of using something of his own, because his hair smells like his friend's usually does. Clean and perfumed and overly familiar. Who knows if there had been a reason for it at the time.

And even though Tek doesn't feel compelled to push back against Robin's little comment, he does still feel the need to say something. Letting the words hang there and take up space in the silence is almost as bad as addressing them. So, Tek wriggles up higher against Robin's chest, settling again once his face is nearly resting on his shoulder--barely interrupting his grateful, boneless lounging, and only looking minimally more awake.

"What were you looking at?"

It's funny, for all the worlds they've visited and all the strange places they've wound up together, he doesn't think that Tek has ever smelled like his things before. It's almost enough to make him blush, that sudden realization that they're living together a little more than they usually are, almost like a real couple.

And that's a really stupid thought, so he definitely does not say anything about it. It just makes him all the more willing to move on when Tek asks his question, looking over for that little piece of paper again.

"This? I, ah, snatched it before we left." He picks it up with a spreading grin. It's just a clipping from some news article. It looks old. No pictures, with a clunky-looking typeface that's too small and squashed together to be easily readable. "I figured they'd be too busy trying to kick us out to search either of us properly. Maybe I can report them for failing to follow mandatory protocol."

He holds the paper up towards the lamp next to him (an electric bulb, harsh light softened by a tinted glass case), revealing something else. Thin lines, scribbles, and a few shapes come through, illuminated brighter than the rest of the page.

Edited 2019-03-18 03:38 (UTC)

"I can only imagine the screaming that would cause."

Reported for a breach of protocol by the man who had been caught screwing on their documents? The thought is horrifying enough to almost get a chuckle out of him.

But, he's feeling too lazy and content to put forth effort into actually make a sound. He settles for quiet smirking, while he leans over only an inch or two toward the paper as if the motion will make a difference in him seeing it more clearly. It's mostly just to show that he's interested, so that Robin will continue feeding him information that he doesn't have to work for.

Entertain him while he sprawls here, please.

"...Anything good?"

It would cause screaming, if he tried hard enough. He used to go for that kind of thing all the time... until he visited a couple of other dimensions and got his priorities screwed on a little straighter. These last few months have found him slacking when it comes to needlessly ruining the lives of others.

"Well, I'm not an expert in thieves' marks..." He tilts the paper this way and that, letting the light catch the edges of the strange, translucent scrawl, "But I think that this is a trap."

He starts to play idly with Tek's hair again, still smirking over at his mysterious piece of paper.

"Unless I'm being paranoid, of course, and then it's just a very coincidentally placed treasure map."

"What kind of trap," he asks--absolutely not meaning it, but having the decency to sound halfway believable anyway.

It's because Robin is playing with his hair. He'd probably be more interested in anything else happening in the world if there weren't nice hands doting on him right then. As it is, his halfway-believable tone is made a little less believable by the way he tilts his head against Robin's fingers like a needy cat. It's easy to see where his interest really is.

As it is, Robin is hardly offended. His own interest in the paper is quickly waning, as this pleasant moment with an affectionate dragon is far more valuable to him than a little personal intrigue. He looks back over at Tek, dragging nails lightly over his scalp wherever he leans.

"The spy kind, probably." The demigod says this with casual disregard, pausing just long between sentences to do a quick social calculation. "I think that someone is interested in meeting you."

Well, Robin's interest might be shifting away from the piece of paper, but in a matter of seconds, Tek's switches right back. In this peaceful moment, he could only be distracted by his very favorite subjects--himself being at the top of the list.

Tek opens his eyes and lifts his head against Robin's hand as his curiosity is piqued.

"...Oh? Are they?"

He had a feeling that would get him excited.

"Well, who wouldn't be?"

He drops the piece of paper on the nearby nightstand (a beautiful piece of furniture, by the way, carved from dark marble) so that he can wrap that arm around Tek, snuggling in close again, pressing their foreheads together. He doesn't go looking or anything, doesn't open himself up, either--he just wants their faces to be closer, no telepathy involved.

"With the way you find mischief, I'm surprised there isn't a longer line."

The statement is a little sardonic, but not as much as it should be. Maybe Robin is mostly over the thing that had them digging around a library for hours. Maybe having a good time really did the trick...?

Tek chuckles indulgently at all the snuggling and flattery. He conforms into the closeness, smiles near Robin's face, is generally obliging and appreciative of the whole affectionate atmosphere. For a few blessed seconds Robin has all of the dragon's precious attention.

...And after that, once there's enough of a pause for him to do any thinking at all, Tek's gaze does eventually slide past Robin and back toward the nightstand. He manages not to sound hopeful about it, in case Robin was only teasing him, but he has to ask anyway.

"Does it really have something to do with me?"

Gods, he really likes being this close to Tek. He likes being surrounded in the smell of him. Likes being able to feel him against his whole body. Likes being trusted enough to keep him there, even if only for a little while.

Even when Tek's attention starts to wander again, Robin finds it cute... Even if the dragon doesn't sound hopeful, the fact that he approaches with a question and not blatant self-assurance is a little endearing in and of itself.

"Again, unless I'm being paranoid..."

Which he could be. That was never not on the table. He gives Tek a quick peck on the cheek, nearly the side of his mouth, before putting a little bit more space between their faces again. He's got a broad, easy smile.

"But, come on. It's too much. A map to some hidden, magical artifact, conveniently on the back of an article about a brab'ja that no one would have bothered reading until about a week ago? Someone's fishing for information about you, at the very least."

There's a horrible little twinkle in his eye as this is all presented to him, looking flattered as if Robin had set the game up himself. Robin couldn't have gotten a better reaction if he'd gone out of his way to intentionally orchestrate a fun little surprise for him. A potential game of cat-and-mouse, all about him? How romantic.

"Do you think there are more of them?" He glances up at Robin's face in his quietly-building excitement, before looking over at the nightstand again.

"Though, I suppose if they had been fishing, and they hear about the disruption at the library, all they have to do now is go back and see which of their lures have gone missing."

Not that he's actually concerned, of course. His fingers drum one or twice wherever they're resting around Robin's side. "...Do you know where it leads?"

Robin had been so worried about Tek, earlier. A month ago, he could barely stand the thought of the dragon talking to anyone other than himself, for fear of Skeleton City turning on him. He's probably going to regret this, later, feeding him all of these things that will only make more trouble for both of them when the consequences finally come back around... But selfishly, all he wants in the moment is to be the center of Tek's attention.

If they can be like this for a little longer, well... Fuck it, the King of Eyes can get all the information he wants. Robin'll arrange a whole Gods-be-damned tea party for the three of them. What does he care, if it means that Tek will be happy with him?

"I don't, but I know who will..."

He reaches up, over the backboard, and tugs on something on the wall... It's a thin cord, one of a set of three, strung between two small holes about a foot apart in the stone. Something on the other side of the holes jingles lightly, probably a bell.

"We'll go find Vincent after lunch."

Or maybe it's dinner, at this point. Who knows?

Perhaps unfortunately for everyone involved, Tek is just as inclined to reward Robin's behavior as Robin is to indulge it in the first place. They're both in good moods, and that can only spell disaster down the road. If they'd been feeling like their more usual antagonistic selves, the fires would at least be started quickly. The regret for this one is going to have time to simmer and build before it finally falls on them when they're least expecting it.

So, for now, Tek kisses his companion on the cheek. The only thing that could possibly make him any cuter is if he'd do something about the smirk creeping across his face.

"...How mad do you think he's going to be?"

Getting a kiss on the cheek is so cute that it actually loops back around into disgusting, and it shows on his face--a slight wince, as if it physically pains him to be on the receiving end of this much attention.

(The honest truth is that he's just as disgusted with himself as he is with Tek. The both of them must look appallingly precious. It's so nice that it kind of hurts.)

It's a good transition into his thoughts on Vincent. "I don't know. Pretty mad."

But he doesn't seem all that bothered by it. He looks up, briefly, his attention going to some far off point that may or may not even be there.

"But he's always mad about something, so. It'll be fine."

Tek loves the wince. His sneaking grin only gets wider while he gazes affectionately at the disgust on Robin's face. The answer about Vincent only adds to it.

"He's so lucky to have you as a friend."

And with that, he finally leans up and away to put some space between them, rolling back toward his side of the bed... but he really only gets so far as to look comfy and inviting. He's not going to overtly ask Robin to follow him, but it's clearly there in his warm expression.

It might have something to do with the fact that he assumes someone will stop by soon to answer that bell.

"Funny, he tells me that a lot..."

His response is light (and equally sardonic) as Tek starts shifting around. He watches him, wondering where he's going, wondering if the dragon is already getting antsy to go on to the next part of their adventure...

But when it becomes clear that he isn't, he's just settling back down and inviting another round of attention, Robin lifts himself up with a bright smile and wastes no time following his friend to the other side of the bed.

The first thing he does is lean down to kiss him, of course.

As Robin follows and meets him there, Tek hums and gives his whole body a lazy, grateful stretch--before finally letting his arms fall again to settle around his partner's shoulders.

He's so comfortable there, somehow still warm and soft from sleep, conforming to Robin and drawing him in. It's as if he has forgotten all about that little bell. He's made of nothing but pure contentment, tempting Robin to stay right there forever, where it's just so nice...

Robin has not forgotten about their little bell, but he does not particularly care. He is pretty sure that Tek has also not forgotten about it, but he knows that, if anything, he's just going to get a kick out of someone walking in on them while they're busy snuggling up on each other.

So he starts to kiss the other's neck, trailing from jaw to shoulder in a line of comfortable, soft touches... And it's somewhere around him moving to the other side that they hear the telltale sound of their door unlocking and opening, and a (familiar) bored-sounding voice soon follows.

"You rang for room service."

It's the desk clerk from before. His statement probably should have been a question... But it sure doesn't sound like one.

GRATIA // PSL

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