[RQ] and the rest is rust and stardust

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

"Only you would know," Danta points out, though it's probably for the best these days that there aren't too many of either types of children prowling about. Full-grown Ancients are bad enough, as is evident by their antics in the past few minutes. Still, no one had been maimed or hit their head or almost drowned, and so the Maverick settles back in Asta's arms, only to find himself caught in the butcher's dark gaze.

What? he almost asks, only he knows the answer more than well enough by now despite the fact that neither of them will say it, his head tilting into the other man's wandering fingers and his eyes slipping shut for a moment. "For once?" he echoes, a laugh rumbling through his chest at that. "Perhaps here, yes - but I've made it a point to be frivolous as often as I can since waking up." He'd just tripped and fallen into leadership while he was at it.

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

// we haven't won, and if we win, //

“And I am telling you, it is not that different.” He teases lightly, able to make those little jests and jokes before he’s wholly captivated, letting Danta settle in his arms as he continues to trace and run his fingers along the shiny adornments. He’s glad that Danta doesn’t ask what he’s looking at, because if he were to have to try and admit it, he’s sure he would fail.

Instead, as the Maverick’s head tilts into the touch, his other arm slips up to run his thumb along Danta’s sharp cheekbone, a dark brow lifting as he chuckles a quieter sound along the laugh bubbling out of Danta’s chest. “Here, darling. I am well aware of your frivolities elsewhere.” He drawls a touch exasperated, but it’s a moment that doesn’t last as he tilts his head a little and his hand moves to cup Danta’s face a bit more, before selfishly leaning in to steal a kiss, like he can't help himself but to in the moment.

Astaroth

// and if the morning light sets in, we've cheated fate again //

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

"Good. I am a very frivolous person these days," Danta informs the other man, not that he needs to, and any exasperation in Asta's voice is treated very much with amusement by the Maverick. That being said, as his eyes blink back open his smile fades somewhat, caught as he is in the treacle-dark light of the butcher's gaze. Part of him wants to reach up and touch his fingers to Asta's lips, to ask okay but what are we doing? only in the next moment the other man's mouth is on his and honestly, it doesn't matter any more.

(It very much does matter, in truth, but once again it's a conversation for never later).

Pressing back into the kiss, Danta's fingers sneak up to try to tease some sort of order back into the butcher's bloody hair (for however much good it does), and by the time he remembers he needs to breathe there are small stars beginning to dance at the fringes of his vision. "I don't suppose they taught you how to do this in The Climb as well?" He raises his eyebrows, smirking.

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

// we haven't won, and if we win, //

“Yes, we know.” The butcher huffs another soft laugh, before he can’t stop himself from leaning in and pressing his lips to Danta’s own, a gentle and greedy kiss, one that’s selfish and needy, that has him blanketing the Maverick in such a way that it feels like they collide, like they’re one single entity, awash in blood and the heat of the Climb and eyes of vibrant blues intermixed with blackest black.

His lungs burn and he withdraws, panting as he plants himself above Danta again, eyes a touch softer, until the smirk crosses Danta’s face and the words leave his lips, and Astaroth could be honest and tell him that he didn’t learn it here – but what fun is that when he can poke and prod and have fun with it in a version of his own chaos.

He smirks down at Danta and cocks his head. “Sari was my first kiss.” He touts, keeping that smirk on his face. “It is why she was so upset that I hated her chocolate pepper concoction.” It’s absolutely a full blown lie, but he plays it off with such perfect seriousness that it’s believable.

Astaroth

// and if the morning light sets in, we've cheated fate again //

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

Lounging back against the warm stone and with an even warmer body pressed against him, Danta would already consider himself very content before adding in the iron rich air and the blood coating their bodies. Asta's kiss, then, is the cherry on top, even if it leaves them both panting for breath, and Danta feels a laugh trying to rise up in the back of his throat of its own accord. Letting his fingers trickle down from the butcher's dark hair to swipe away the drying blood from his cheek, to hear that Sari was his first kiss (lie or otherwise) has his jaw falling open.

"She was not," he hisses, as if this is the best gossip he's heard in years. (And honestly, given how long they were asleep and how few people knew the circles they'd run in previously, it kind of is). "Wait, if she was your first kiss, though, does that mean the Mighty Astaroth had never known an intimate touch before he became an Ancient?" Now it's true mischief in Danta's eyes, and he leans up to brush his nose against the other man's.

"Go on, who snatched your virginity up here? Did they survive it? Did I know them?"

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

// we haven't won, and if we win, //

It is comfortable and content, and when Danta’s laugh begins to echo around them and his jaw opens, Astaroth knows his lie has been believed, and an arrogant gleam sparks in his dark eyes. At least, until the realization of the honesty of the portion of truth within comes out, and Danta’s so far focused on the butcher’s virginity and when it was lost, does Astaroth bark a laugh and sit up a little, propping himself up on both hands to hover above the other Ancient. “Of course I did not. Didn’t I tell you how the Whitebrim I knew reproduced? I was not going to get involved in that.” If he did, he wouldn’t be here. He would’ve been quite literally devoured.

“No one here took my virginity, Danta.” He drawls as if it were common knowledge. “And no, they did not survive it, and no you did not know them.” Shaking his head, he sits up more fully, still in between the Maverick’s legs to sit back on his ankles, peering down at him curiously. “Sari was the only one I ever kissed up here, and it was nothing more than that.”

Astaroth

// and if the morning light sets in, we've cheated fate again //

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

"Mm, I do recall something about scouting or being eaten, yes," Danta admits, lifting his chin to peer up at Asta as he readjusts himself, the lean length of his body held almost effortlessly over the Maverick's. He can still feel the heat rolling from him, even as the other man shifts further to sit up, squashing Danta's dreams of playing Virginity Bingo with those he'd known best in The Climb.

"How boring," he informs Asta, stretching against the hot stone and beginning to let a flicker of fire start to burn around their heels only to start to envelop their legs, burning away the drying blood and leaving them clean. "Also it's a lie. Sari was the only one you ever kissed up here until today." He gestures playfully to himself, as if to remind the other man that he had, in fact, stolen a kiss not moments before.

"Unless I still don't count?" Still sitting out on the sidelines, as it were.

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

// we haven't won, and if we win, //

Nodding to Danta’s memory of what he had told him, the butcher confirms it easily while Astaroth readjusts, ruining the dream of bingo for the other man. Not that Astaroth minds it, because each and every one of them would have resulted in a wrinkling of his nose and absolute disgust. But, if they’re going to be pedantic about it, as Danta’s next tone seems to have, Astaroth gladly embraces the warmth of the fire, peering back down at the Maverick as the controlled fire begins to flake off the blood clinging to them both.

Blinking down at him (wondering if he’d poked a hole in the lie of Sari being his first kiss), Astaroth huffs a soft laugh and rolls his eyes, hands moving to take some of Danta’s fire to start utilizing it to blanket the Maverick and fleck the blood from his chest, wrapping him in heat and warmth. “You do count.” He concedes, rolling his eyes playfully, even if his tone is a touch softer initially. “And by that logic, we would have to include the kiss we shared when we collected the obsidian a few weeks ago.” And because the butcher is known for being a bit of a bastard at times, he tilts his head. “And by that logic, I would have to include my kiss with Flora as well.” Raising a dark brow playfully, he peers down at Danta as he moves more of the fire over them.

Astaroth

// and if the morning light sets in, we've cheated fate again //

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

Humming something indulgent and incoherent as his stolen fire is used to burn even the slightest chill from his bones, Danta's skin is left pale and free of any lingering traces of the Mountain's Roar as Asta coaxes it across his chest. "Good to know," he purrs; in reality he doesn't care any longer if he counts, not when he'd had at least a year to run riot in The Climb with only a handful of other Ancients prowling about - and most of them had left almost right away. With Asta, though? Knowing he has a place standing at the butcher's side strikes a chord in him, and the Maverick clears his throat as if to stop the words from escaping.

"Oh, I see," he continues instead, injecting playfulness back into his tone and letting fire twist between his fingers to smooth them against Asta's cheek and up through his dark hair. "By that logic, then, you're quite the slut." The amusement is already threatening to twitch his lips into a helpless smile even before the words are completely out, and he does his best to keep his nerve. "And here I thought I knew you, Asta."

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

// we haven't won, and if we win, //

Running the fire along further until he’s satisfied with the cleanliness of Danta’s skin, Astaroth flashes him an easier smile – not reading between the lines, because he’d told himself he wouldn’t – that he couldn’t - because even if Danta’s touch and embrace had felt the safest, most comfortable place to be, the butcher had pushed too far, had offered up emotions that had caged the Maverick, and he refuses to do that again. Those types of thoughts aren’t allowed to invade, even if they still him and catch his breath in places he otherwise doesn’t know how to deal with. Why delve into it and shift the status quo which has been so easy and comfortable to fit into?

Fire licks at his bearded cheek and his hair, flaking off blood into ash as it releases from his hair, and the butcher leans into the touch as his eyes close comfortably chasing the warmth, before Danta’s words have his eyes opening in a snap and a huff of a laugh leaving him. “Oh, because I have kissed a grand total of three people in the Climb?” He asks, the laughter tensing his shoulders as it leaves him again, scoffing playfully. “What number are you at these days, darling?” He raises a brow as he starts to stand, offering a hand for the Maverick should he wish to take it.

Astaroth

// and if the morning light sets in, we've cheated fate again //

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

"I never kiss and tell, Astaroth," Danta drawls, clasping the other man's hand and drawing himself back onto his feet, before letting his fire flare out and consume both of them. Head to toe in cleansing flame, by the time it dies once more to embers both Ancients will be left clean, the Maverick with only a lingering smudge of kohl around his eyes. "Unlike you, since I now know the names of all of your latest dalliances." Grinning - because Sari was centuries ago but given their little snooze in the rock, she still counts as latest he thinks - Danta releases the butcher's hand at last to begin to pick his way back across the rocks.

"So we've got the water, and I know Kiada and Charlie are collecting some smoulder blossoms. After that, we should be in a position to make the room. I assumed it would be tucked away in the Temple somewhere." That way their resident pocket-sized priestess could incorporate it into any form of worship she pleased without ruffling any moralistic feathers from those visiting the Hollowed Grounds.

Assuming Asta will say so if he has any thoughts or objections, Danta gets himself back to the outskirts of the pool without falling in again, tail waving contently as he circles around to get both of their canteens.

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

// we haven't won, and if we win, //

“Ah, so you’re saying you have reached a number so high you have forgotten them all?” Smirking despite himself, the butcher is gladly accepting of the fire that cleanses them both, until no more of the bloody water remains. He lets the Maverick’s hand go, carefully making his way back over toward their piles, collecting the neatly folded wardrobe he’d left beside the shore.

Slipping the clothes on, the butcher leaves his pants unbuttoned, if only to shrug the shirt on and button it and tuck in the rest. “I am sure there is plenty of space. Charlie and I have already picked the spot for the shrine and carved the obsidian for it.” Flashing Danta an easier grin, Astaroth’s tail waves contently. “What else is required for the room?” He asks, cocking his head as he slips the belt on, stepping over toward Danta to glance at the canteens in his possession.

Astaroth

// and if the morning light sets in, we've cheated fate again //

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

"That is not the gotcha you think it is, Asta," Danta sings behind him. The Maverick owns a brothel and runs his region from it, after all; to have forgotten the number of people he's kissed is absolutely an accomplishment rather than a source of shame.

Hopping across a small boulder to reach his own scattered clothing once more, Danta has a quick fight with the leather pants and the patches of lacework that creep over them, before shimmying into the flimsy pieces of material that count as his shirt and straightening up to go on a hunt for his boots. "Oh? It's all coming together then, I see. Perhaps I'll be able to introduce Dygra to the rage room personally, if it's finished by the time we're done with this."

Bouncing his eyebrows at Asta as if to ask if he ought to be getting his hopes up, the Maverick laces his boots and is just tucking both canteens back into his bag when the other man approaches. "After we're done with our collections and setting the room, we need to catch and kill something within it, and also use it in one of the other ways we might enjoy, once it's finished. Perhaps you and I could fight in it." He laughs, rising back to his feet again.

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

// we haven't won, and if we win, //

“Ugh.” Astaroth rumbles, rolling his eyes a touch playfully as he continues to dress himself — getting the point that Danta is making and realizing that it absolutely was an accomplishment for the Theocrat, rather than anything else. Straightening out his tie and vest, slipping his shoes on tying them swiftly.

Humming a soft chuckle, the butcher nods. “That is the plan.” He murmurs, collecting his bag and opening it to offer a place for Danta to deposit the canteen amongst the towels placed within it, before realizing he’s tucked them into his own bag.

Closing it up, he slips it up over his shoulder. “The shrine requires much of the same to be completed after.” The bloodlust and the enjoyment, that is. “Then, fully putting it together.” All in all, not that much different.

At the idea of them fighting, his grin turns a bit sharper. “An ideal time to practice my bloodbane again would be nice.” He muses thoughtfully, before he brushes his shoulder against Danta’s, before picking the trek back toward the cavern from whence they’d come, toward the portal.

Astaroth

// and if the morning light sets in, we've cheated fate again //