[SE] I walk my days on a wire

in space the stars are no nearer; just glitters, like a morgue

"I think so," Danta replies, his eyes closed as if to better hear the tap of the rain against the window outside. "If I'm inside, at least," he adds as a caveat. No Ancient is much of a fan of being cold and wet, after all. From here, though? The storm's music fills the silence of any thoughts that might want to flit through Danta's head, and he relishes the quiet of it, however contradictory it might seem.

He can sense the lights dimming even with his eyes closed and his face buried against Asta's neck and chest, the Maverick relaxing further into familiar heat, and the scent of pipe smoke, of blood and honey and wine. Only as Asta speaks about the food does Danta raise his head, his blue eyes quietly fixed on the butcher's face as if spotting the tells the other man had missed in him. 

"A deer will keep the beast from your door, even if it isn't your preference," he points out, voice soft. "I know neither of us wants a repeat of what happened to me." His floor is still scorched from it.

So saying, he shifts to sit up as best he can with the other man still wrapped around him, groping for the bottle of whiskey and the tray of food, just to keep the butcher happy.

Dantalion

reaching for a book of matches
strike a light and then you'll see the real mess that i am

That much they can agree upon, that cold rain was absolutely not the preference of the two Ancients clinging to one another for warmth. Astaroth had only known rain upon leaving Whitebrim’s boundaries, and had then decided that he would rather take the snow over the cold wet droplets any day.

Feeling Danta shift to look at him, he opens his eyes in the dimmed light, so much more relaxed than he had been all day, even with the easy banter of planting the seed that he’s pretty sure is drowning in pools of water. Ah well. It’s a fleeting thought when the Maverick’s voice reaches him and he sighs, lips parting to complain when Danta makes his point. He’s right, but it still isn’t easy to swallow.

“No, we do not.” He agrees eventually in a weary tone, heaving a sigh as he shifts to follow Danta up, twisted to rest his head on the Maverick’s shoulder as his arms loop around his middle, peering down at the tray of food that looks like it may not have even been touched. Reaching for the nightstand, he snags his glass and sets it on the tray in the Maverick’s lap, figuring they might as well share the glass. “I haven’t found the time.” He says after too long of a moment has passed, like it’s still on his mind.

He still doesn’t reach for the food, not for the way his nose brushes up against Danta’s pulse before he pulls away slightly.

Astaroth

i swear it's nothing personal - i swear it's nothing personal //////

in space the stars are no nearer; just glitters, like a morgue

Content to pour them a glass of whiskey to share and leaning back comfortably in the butcher's arms, Danta takes a long sip before handing it back to Asta. He focuses on a hunk of cheese and some honeycomb from the tray first - and the fact that even the sweet items haven't been touched is evidence enough for Danta that the other man's bloodlust is close to the surface. "I know that feeling," he says, of not being able to find the time - because Asta has been just as preoccupied by the events since Longnight as he has been, he realises.

"Go soon," he urges nonetheless, finishing off the snack he's made for himself and licking the honey from his fingers. "I haven't seen anything of Maea since that conversation I had with her in the Temple," he mutters, almost offhandedly, as if wondering if the pale Ancient had decided to leave the Grounds after all. "Have you?"

Dantalion

reaching for a book of matches
strike a light and then you'll see the real mess that i am

He knows Danta knows that feeling, but the butcher should be more on top of it than he has been. He knows when he’s hungry, he knows when it creeps in, he knows when to abandon everything and go and sate it. And even despite all of the ways the signs are fully in swing (the way he’s lingered by Danta’s pulse, the way he hasn’t touched his food, the way he’d scented the very small droplet of blood Flora had painted her lips with), the butcher still hadn’t gone and done it.

Maybe it was a subconscious punishment for how he had acted when Danta’s was out of hand.

“I will.” He vows quietly, reaching for the glass to take a long slow sip from over Danta’s shoulder, before he cradles it in both hands resting against the blonde’s lap. The subject of Maea sparks immediate tension, though, head tilting to press his forehead against Danta’s bare shoulder as he barely hides the groan of a sound that leaves him.

“Unfortunately. She was at Frey’s Breath when Flora and I arrived.” Danta would be able to feel the way his nose wrinkles, the way that he shakes his head slightly and a lock of hair falls out from behind one of his horns, brushing against the other man’s skin.

Astaroth

i swear it's nothing personal - i swear it's nothing personal //////

in space the stars are no nearer; just glitters, like a morgue

"Was she?" Danta raises his eyebrows at that - understandably he'd not really been interested in the details at the time, what with the whole going insane from bloodlust and being fucked off at Asta situation that had developed. "Well, shit. I hope she didn't cause you any trouble." Wiping his hands off on a napkin, the Maverick reaches back over his shoulder to affectionately twist his fingers through Asta's hair.

Subconscious punishment or no, Danta is at least satisfied to hear it from the butcher's lips that he will go to sate his bloodlust, and while no part of him feels unsafe right now, it's probably a wise idea for them not to sleep with the other man's teeth anywhere near his main arteries. "If it weren't raining so hard I'd suggest we go out now," he admits - not that there would have been much about at this time of night either way.

Dantalion

reaching for a book of matches
strike a light and then you'll see the real mess that i am

“Just the usual. Evidently commented something within Flora’s hearing and rather than apologize immediately, she sat there awkwardly and silently before I got there.” Tilting his head into the touch that runs through tousled hair, the butcher huffs a whiskey scented hot breath against Danta’s shoulder. “She then tried to relate to me about traumas and reactions, as if I didn’t know what caused mine.” He lifts his head and the glass to take another sip to drown it out. “We left her by the entrance before anything else could be said or done. I did not wish for her to ruin my day again.” He offers the glass to Danta next.

On the subject of bloodlust, however, Astaroth nods and reaches forward to pluck an apple slice with a drizzle of honey, letting the crunch of it try to sate him for the meantime. “Even tomorrow the ground may be too waterlogged to do much.” The last thing he wanted to do was slip and slide around, get all muddy and messy, even if it would be relieving.

“I need more terrible people to step foot in the Dusklight.” The joke is paired with a deep hum of hunger, deepening it into a quiet vow of violence rather than the teasing he aims it to be.

Astaroth

i swear it's nothing personal - i swear it's nothing personal //////

in space the stars are no nearer; just glitters, like a morgue

Scowling to hear of the Maea element of his first date with Flora - and honestly, the fact that they had made it through that in the first place is admirable - Danta huffs and leans his head against the other man's, accepting the whiskey back and taking a quick sip of it before lowering the glass back to his lap. "The less we talk about that particular day being ruined the better, mm?" He raises his eyebrows, because it isn't as if things had gone swimmingly for Asta after that point.

Scrunching his nose - because Asta is right, but that doesn't make it any less of a priority - the Maverick carefully slips his fingers back out of dark hair and shifts enough to glance at the other man's attempt on an apple slice. "What you need is a deer or a boar or a wolf," he corrects, tilting Asta's chin up and leaning in suddenly to kiss the honey from his lips. "After that, though," he murmurs, as if to sweeten the low and vicious tone he can hear in his voice, "there are plenty of people coming and going in Jack Tar. I'm sure someone could go missing."

Dantalion

reaching for a book of matches
strike a light and then you'll see the real mess that i am

It had been a series of days of bad things all coming for him, it seemed. So, once again, Danta is right when he says to not talk about it. It boosts his mood, of course, not wanting to dive down the path of frustration and panic and coming home and saying gut wrenching things he never meant to say.

Biting into the apple slice with extreme ease, the butcher glances sidelong at the Maverick. “Need—” Cut off by the correction, his lips are sealed by the press of the kiss, the honey sweet taste easily transferred to the Maverick’s lips. It stays any comment he might have when he presses his forehead against the blonde Ancient’s, hovering over his shoulder easily.

Humming a sound that is so close to a moan that he doesn’t even attempt to hide, it breaks into a breathy laugh. “I have been so good lately.” And he hates it. So much. “It’s terrible.”

Astaroth

i swear it's nothing personal - i swear it's nothing personal //////

in space the stars are no nearer; just glitters, like a morgue

"Yeah? Need what?" Danta quips, laughing and closing his eyes against the casual touch and affection their share, before turning promptly back to the tray of food and the booze as if to catch himself before he notices what he's done. "You sound like me after that Midwinter Ball," he scoffs, grinning back over his shoulder at Asta and folding a slice of bread around some cherry preserves.

"You have been good, though," he agrees. "When you aren't covering me with bruises or gallivanting off into the world for days at a time." Tipping the other man a wink and taking a quick bite of his sort-of-sandwich, Danta lets out a content sigh through his nose. "Now that the portal to The Climb is up, maybe you can go haunt it like you used to. There are a few travellers who go there nowadays, so I've heard."

Dantalion

reaching for a book of matches
strike a light and then you'll see the real mess that i am

Rolling his eyes in playful annoyance, Astaroth tilts his head a little, catching that affectionate look from the Maverick that has his chest bleeding tension. “Need and want can be subjective, is what I was intending to say.” He says on a sigh before his chin rests on Danta’s shoulder again once he’s done with his slice of apple. “Ah yes, but I was not threatened like you were, before the ball.” His lips twist into a smirk, a sharp tooth and too sharp fang on display.

Scoffing with a soft huff of laughter, the butcher watches as the “sandwich” is lifted to the Maverick’s lips. “Do not pretend to tell me you do not enjoy the bruises.” His hand slips to Danta’s hip, toying and playful as he digs in his fingers to leave a few more.

Thinking about the option, it seems as good of one as any, and easier to keep from getting traced back to him. “Perhaps I can utilize the Cathedral.” It’s practically abandoned anyway, if he used it as a temporary torture chamber perhaps Dygra might enjoy it equally as much. It’s a thought that has him deeply invested, focused intensely on it and seeming far away for a few long moments.

Astaroth

i swear it's nothing personal - i swear it's nothing personal //////

in space the stars are no nearer; just glitters, like a morgue

"That's true enough I guess," Danta agrees, though really, the less said about need and want right now the better, especially given that they've both quite clearly crept out of their rooms (well almost, Asta) to seek each other out in the dead of night. "And you weren't threatened, but you've also hardly had an easy time of it since Longnight. And you have been very good." With a saccharine smile directed over at the butcher, Danta glances back to focus on his snack and not getting it everywhere. (He is mostly successful).

Hissing in a soft breath of surprise mixed with pleasure, the Maverick flinches at the grip of fingers against his hips, relishing the shape of Asta's hands he knows will bloom there before long. Humming his approval at the idea of using the Obsidian Cathedral for such matters, he's finished his sandwich and taken a sip of whiskey to follow it up before realising how quiet the butcher has grown.

"Mm, Caido to Asta - come back," he trills, giving him a gentle nudge and turning to dab a little of the cherry preserve against his lips, as if to smear it there like a bloodstain.

Dantalion

reaching for a book of matches
strike a light and then you'll see the real mess that i am

He’s not going to read into it too deeply — because the last time he tried to form thoughts to the feelings, he was absolutely incapable of it, had pushed it too far to where the Maverick had recoiled hard from it. He doesn’t intend to make the same mistake again. “I have.” Both had a hard time and been good. Maybe that is why things have gone so poorly lately, he wasn’t his usual self.

He certainly hadn’t produced the image of being terrifying yet, so there was a lot of work to still be done.

Far away as Asta is, he does hear the breath that hisses into the blonde’s lungs, his fingertips twitching against soft skin and wine dark pants. The hum of sound is distant, even with his name included, but he blinks back into himself with the touch of Danta’s cherry dipped finger against his lips.

His tongue dips out to swipe away the cherry sweet, before he’s leaning in to chase after the finger that had placed it like a bloodhound, hands possessively keeping Danta sat exactly where he is.

Astaroth

i swear it's nothing personal - i swear it's nothing personal //////

in space the stars are no nearer; just glitters, like a morgue

The hiss that leaves Danta's lips this time is less like anticipation and more of a mild scolding, and as Asta follows after his index finger the Maverick's hand opens like a snare to catch the butcher's jaw in its soft grip. "I trust you," he whispers, his voice slow and quiet as he directs the other man's dark eyes towards his cool blues. "More than I ever thought I would. If you told me back in The Climb that this is what I'd be doing with my night, I'd have laughed you out of The Burrows."

There's a but coming, and Asta likely knows it, and even when it does tumble from Danta's lips, his tone is nevertheless sweet. "But if you think I'm going to let you get handsy with me when you're like this, you must think me a fool." Letting his expression melt into something softly amused and just a little concerned, his hand relaxes enough that he can lean in and kiss the butcher's dark hair.

"Let's get some sleep. Once you've taken yourself hunting, you can lick jam off my body from head to toe for all I care."

Dantalion

reaching for a book of matches
strike a light and then you'll see the real mess that i am

Between the two of them, Astaroth’s body may be lean and spidery with his height and thin frame, but it’s Danta’s hand that springs open like a trap, capturing his jaw and clamping it shut as it does draw that dark gaze toward cool responsible blues. A dark brow lifts at the first statement, a mumbled “as would I have,” passing his lips before he waits with surprising patience to hear the but that’s coming.

His hands smooth out from their possessive, bruising grip, smoothing up his sides in slow languid strokes. “When did you become so wise?” He teases in a rough tone once the blonde’s grip softens, and he focuses his attention elsewhere. Notably, the glass of whiskey. Filling it up a little he takes a sip, downing enough of it to leave the last bit for the Maverick before he hums his agreement.

“Fine, fine.” He drawls with a playful roll of his eyes, arms winding around Danta’s middle to keep him close, waiting until he’s put the tray back before he tries to nestle them back into the blankets.

Astaroth

i swear it's nothing personal - i swear it's nothing personal //////