citynet | text, un: gautier, cw: some references to alcohol use and sexual content

Oh hey, Midnight. I've met him before. ...........And I'm suddenly very glad I've been handwashing my work uniform so I didn't lose it and cop heat from my boss ahahahahahaha.

You want some help, bud? I could probably give him my coat. Not like it's made for me.

[They really sized him for a uniform coat and then made sure he can't put it on over his claw. Fucked up if true.]

hello gregor :)))))))))
u have my coat!
*i have my coat

it's over here. see?

[ Attached is a picture of his coat hanging from a chair. Well, it's a little blurry, but it's very identifiable. Not bad for someone fairly trashed. ]

Hey bud! Nice picture you took. Glad you haven't lost all your clothes, just the shirt.

What are your feelings on white? And buttons. I think your old shirt had buttons, but I wasn't looking too closely. But I could lend you my work shirt and find another without much effort, long as I kept the vest and everything

Or maybe I could bring you fellows some water!

please bring us some water. given what's been going on i really don't feel like leaving this guy alone but i dunno if i can drag him anywhere by myself.

OH I DON't mind being shirtlyess, it'ss tlosing the shirt itself that bothers me

i'll tell you about it when you get here

Water and bread. Soak up the alcohol. Give me half an hour.

[...Looks like he's going to hear a grandiose tale of losing shirts from Midnight when he gets there anyway, so Gregor only makes a stop at a konbini to grab some soft bread rolls (the sort that go down easier than just plain bread, you know the type) and a litre of water, writes up his tab as always, and

stops]

Wait where are you guys? Near the laundromat or what?

inside the laundromat, i figured we'd be better off not taking a walk

i'm with sylvain if you didn't know

Okay good, I had it right. On my way, gents.

[Maybe a little longer than half an hour, since he turns himself about at one point, great job Greg, but.

He shows up at the laundromat all the same, arms full, face red, smile wide.]

Alright, who needs snacks and hydration? I got the best I could spare. Huge bottle of water, fancy bread, the works; went over budget, but I'll be fine eating tinned fish for the next week.

[A joke. please laugh. please laugh. please la]

[Right now he's sitting on a washing machine, but at Gregor's appearance Sylvain looks up at him, and he looks at him the same way the generic soldiers at Helm's Deep likely stared at Gandalf as he showed up out of nowhere. He's a drowning man, and his lifeline showed up. That sort of look.]

I'm so glad to see you.

[Utter. Sincerity. He got hugged by Midnight, he was confronted with a vision of the future, called out a few times, people care, feels weird, someone normal(??? the bug arm is now normal) is here, and he can relax(???????).]

You didn't run into too much trouble, did you?

[ Midnight, for his part, takes a moment to realize that someone's arrived, but once he looks up and focuses, an absolutely delighted smile wreathes his face. No, really, every holiday wrapped up in one and all. ]

Hello, darling.

[ Midnight gets up from his seat, puts his phone down, and reaches out to touch Gregor's hair instead of taking anything that will actually improve the inevitable hangover. One thing at a time. ]

What's all this about tinned fish? Your hair is very soft, by the way. Thank you.

[why does he bother making jokes.........woe is Gregor.......But at least being around Rodya with her pet names and casual closeness is enough to steel him when Midnight decides to just. Touch his hair. Pet pet pet. This is fine. 'Darling' is fine. Just hold onto the bread and shoot Sylvain a grin that's a little too sharp to be all there.]

It's all good. What trouble is there, here? Apart from the obvious. Let's not talk about that. [The way his kid killed another person and all. She deserved it, no big.] All that matters is that I come bearing supplies, and maybe I can help look for the pink shirt! I guess? Here, no need to hold off--

[One bottle for the redhead, which he's going to insistently waggle until it's taken, and then another pointedly pressed right in Midnight's cleavage. Cold shock.] Start with this, then we can work on the bread.

[He...absolutely did not expect to have water brought for him, and he stares at it in surprise that he can't even mask, half-expecting to have it thrown at his head or something? What? He's not going to say no, but.]

Thanks?

[What? What's...

He's just going to unscrew the cap and take a drink.

Tastes like water.]

[ Oof. Midnight hisses as soon as his delayed senses inform him that his titties are in ice hell, then accepts the bottle with both hands, unconsciously opening it and taking a sip. ]

Shirt is gone. I mean, I'm not certain about that, but I trust Sylvain implicitly. Have you met him? He's right there.

[ He points at Sylvain, his newest friend, as though Gregor hasn't seen him yet.

Wait, keep drinking! Good ideas from good friends. He continues to sip, humming happily. It's so nice to be with people. ]

[Sylvain gets a wink and a quick little salute. All good, baby boy. You're doing amazing.]

Gotta take care of all the troops, right? But damn, that sucks to hear about the shirt. Seems like folks were getting themselves in a tizzy over it online. Don't want 'em to get the wrong impression just because a shirt slipped away into the void...

[Like, there's being a flirt, and there's being an actual sex pest one should feel unsafe around. He thinks? The closest he's ever come to that is the one guy who asked him a little too intensely about his arm, and he got the bad vibes. Anyway!]

--and yeah, I've met him. He's a good kid, right? Better than I was at his age, that's for sure. [joke's on Gregor they are BOTH child soldiers! Har har!] You guys are pretty chummy already then, I take it?

[So, here he is. Sitting around. Minding his own business. Drinking the water. Relaxing a little. At long last, he's not alone; at long last, he's got someone who can help him drag Midnight to a bed.

And then Gregor says he's a good kid and Sylvain chokes on his water, he fucking chokes on it, he gestures that he's okay if either of them look at him while thumping his chest a little because Saints, he was not prepared for that.]

I'm fine.

[See, he's fine. Wheeze! Breaths. Words?]

I guess? [They just met. Are they? What? Good kid? The existential crisis continues.]

It's quite all right. I understand that some may just not be ready for me...

[ Midnight understands the difference between a sex pest and what he does well enough. He is happy to stay drunk and in his own lane!

He's about to agree and inform Gregor that although he doesn't know if the sentiment is returned, he likes Sylvain very much, but he does notice Sylvain accidentally waterboarding himself before he gets a chance to open his mouth. Hey, it's loud, and Midnight's drunk, not dead. ]

Sylvain, love, you all right?

[ He makes his way over with a much more steady pace than someone as intoxicated as he is really has a right to, peering at Sylvain with great concern. He holds out his own water. (Sylvain has a water. Okay, please, this drunk man wants to be helpful.) ]

Oh-- hey, uh. [He's beat on the punch to checking if Sylvain's okay, but Gregor's still going to swoop in and offer two (2) solid, masculine thumps between the shoulder blades for all that effort. Cough it up, spud.]

Sorry if I embarrassed you, heh. More friends is a good thing here, let's be real; doesn't matter if they're old or new, right?

[Sylvain also gets a gentle hair ruffle, because we are all just touching each other's hair in this laundromat tonight, nature is healing.] And I'm sure Midnight's going to be fine; a little accidental nipple showing online is better than, uh.

Some of the stuff some folks [himself included] have gotten up to on the internet lately!

[Cough, cough, he's fine, he waves it off, it's okay, he can breathe.

Inhale.

Exhale.]

I'm fine, I get it, we gotta look out for each other. And you're...uh, definitely right about that.

[There's no good way of admitting that after he saw the casual murder mention on the network he inhaled, exhaled slowly, and tried (and failed) to find something sturdy like an axe to carry around, so that if anyone went after Dimitri he could fucking chop off their head before they could lay a finger on his prince. Because a knight's gotta do what a knight's gotta do.

So, in lieu of that, Sylvain chuckles! A slightly uneasy laugh, but he tries. It's a big night full of emotions.]

Probably half the reason why people got worked up over Midnight's nipples; it's something to look at that's not, uh. That.

[ Why is everyone talking about his nipples? Midnight... all right, he pulls the collar of his godawful tunic and peeks down at his own chest. Not that he doesn't have some excellent boobs, but the nips are the most ordinary part of them.

... He stays like that for a moment. Okay, look, he is really into his pecs. He worked hard on them. He's very proud of them. ]

Should I post more shirtless pictures of myself, then? I don't mind.

[ Midnight just, you know, heroically providing the network thirst trap pics to drown out the doomposting. He will do this. He is a generous soul. ]

True. The dying thing spooked a lot of folks, right when we'd gotten into a sense of normalcy. I don't blame anyone for wanting to get upset about something mund--

[what]

Absolutely not!

You'll have people thinking you're a creep if you actually keep doing that! Don't go ruining your reputation already, man!

[LISTEN, BROTHER. Time to pinch Midnight's cheek, since Sylvain is Not Dying and Alright, Probably. STOP THIS. HE'S GOT ENOUGH TO WORRY ABOUT AS IS?] Once was for identification, but twice? Twice is going to be harder to smooth over!

[This could've been him. This really could've been him. This still could be him. Is this him? This might be him. Much to think about, much, much later.

For now, they have a situation. Sylvain takes a drink, swallows, washes the taste of sincerity from his mouth. It's okay. He can handle this.]

And if you're thinking 'it's my chest; what's so bad about that?' consider this: if you constantly post shirtless pictures, over and over, people will get used to it. They'll say, "That's Midnight's chest. He posts it weekly." Nobody wants to be a regularly scheduled event that everyone comes to expect and nobody cares about.

If you want to have the maximum impact, you'll need to at least space it out. A lot.

[See? Strategy.]

[ Midnight, once again, is a bit numb to the world, but that pinch does make it through the intoxication wall eventually. ]

Ah — ow. Well, if everyone needs a distraction...

[ But it is, once again, Sylvain to the rescue. Midnight, whether Gregor lets go of his beautiful, beautiful face or not, nods solemnly. ]

Although I feel as thought the appeals of my body are evergreen... You're quite right. Even the most sweeping of mountain vistas become commonplace through... through habit? No, through constancy. Thank you.

Gotta be more subtle about it too, or the girls are going to just roll their eyes even if it's only done once in a blue moon.

[Said like he knows shit! He doesn't! Who would believe him! But he lets go of Midnight's face all the same, punctuating it with a placating pat.]

Honestly, I can probably only think of one woman I work with who'd be into you, and [it's the woman he has a thing for so fuck you fuck you fuck you] even she'd get tired of evergreen mountain vistas after short time, I think. And she's from a cold part of the City! It's about absence making the heart grow fonder, and pseudo-rarity.

That's how they drive up demand for goods, anyway. If it feels rare, you feel special for seeing it or having it!

-you sound like you've got a lot of experience with this sort of thing.

[HE ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT, but you know what? You know what?]

Got more advice you can share with the two of us?

[Please, share with the class.]

text, un: gautier, cw: some references to alcohol use and sexual content

text, un: 013

un: The Seventh Crown of the Seventh Demon King

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