[SE] find my home

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

“It is a bit gaudy, of course, but I suppose that is Frey for you, no?” The butcher drawls as he guides Danta toward the Rainbow Road, as if he hadn’t purposefully guided them toward here, Unsure if the Maverick has ever been, there is a purpose of which the butcher has taken them here – and no, it isn’t just to shit talk Frey for a brief moment in their color choices. “Anyway, I have been here once before and it reminded me of your horns.”

As if suddenly realizing he might have assumed they were gaudy based on his previous conversation, the butcher’s head swings to Danta sharply, enough that the sunglasses slide down his nose as he chuckles. “Not in a bad way, of course, I love your horns. This is just… Much to be inundated with.” The backtracking is so sharp it’s a wonder the butcher doesn’t trip with how much he aims to retreat from the statement, snickering for the blunder he’s made.

Because he knows Danta will run with it regardless.

Astaroth

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

// I thought of angels choking on their halos //

Run with it? Danta doesn't feel as though he needs to do anything at all with the blunder that Asta has made, given that every time the butcher opens his mouth he just continues to dig himself into a deeper hole. Grinning at him broadly and nodding as if to tell him to continue as they walk over the opalescent stones of the Rainbow Road, when he finally tapers off into a laugh, the Maverick reaches out to give him a good-natured shove.

"I was going to agree with you about them being gaudy, you know," he tells him smoothly. "That adjective isn't the insult you think it is, for me." Turning his head this way and that to allow the prismatic ridges of his diamond horns to catch the light, this place absolutely does seem to suit him quite well. He does jump, however, as a geyser suddenly sprays a jet of water high into the air nearby, the Maverick almost stumbling in his haste to hope out of the way.

"You didn't tell me about those!" he complains.

Dantalion

// get them drunk on rose water //

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

The shove tips him off balance with the hole he’s dug, and the butcher’s laugh is vibrant and richer than it had been just previously. Anything else and he might make it so he can’t crawl back out of the hole, so instead the butcher just shakes his head, sighs, and gets his feet back under him. His lips part to comment on the adjective while Danta shows off his horns and the way they glitter beautifully in the warm heat of the sun, but before he can say so much as a word, a geyser erupts and begins to rain the mist of warm water down onto them, the stream casting even more rainbows from the sun.

“I figured you would enjoy the surprise.” The butcher murmurs casually, his shoulders shrugging in an almost haughty, arrogant movement as he steps away from Danta just enough to hopefully avoid any immediate retaliation – though if Danta wants to, he walks along the edge of the colorful stones enough that one knock off balance might have him tumbling into the water. “Well? Did you enjoy it, darling?” He prods, smirking over at his lover.

Astaroth

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

// I thought of angels choking on their halos //

Trying to wipe the warm and misty spray of water off his body until promptly realising the source, Danta steps back a few feet and shields his eyes to peer up at the geyser and its cascade of rainbows. Gaudy. Yes, he really is starting to understand what Asta had meant now. Not that the butcher has an ounce of humility or empathy for him, and Danta scoffs to him as he turns, finding him walking a very precarious pathway along the edge of the cobbles.

"Not as much as I'm about to enjoy this," he announces - there's no casual tripping up or sudden shoving over from the Maverick, though Asta might have guessed that would be the case by now. No, he walks with intent, his arms trying to grapple the other man to send them both splashing into the shallows that trickle alongside the Rainbow Road.

Dantalion

// get them drunk on rose water //

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

He expects it, if he’s being honest. Something over the top, something to trip him up on the path he takes – feet carefully following along the edge of the rocks. He expects a tail to fly out to trip him up, or a sudden shove from his lover (which he’d likely be able to see either with how far Danta is from him right now). But as he balances along the edge of the rocks, he glances over toward the Maverick as he approaches.

Not with mischief or innocence, but with intent. At first he thinks it’s a hug, arms winding around him in a way that would suggest the sort, until of course Danta doesn’t stop. The intentional press of his body against his and the grappling has Asta reaching for Danta’s shoulders, winding his arms around them as a grunt of surprise leaves him – one that breaks into a cackling laugh akin to a hyena. “Hey!” He calls, briefly, before the wind is taken out of his lungs with how he back hits the stones beneath the water. "Oof--"

It's with a moment of hesitation as he realizes where they are, before the retaliation comes in, legs immediately trying to hook around Danta’s to spin them, scrabbling at his shoulders to try and keep the Maverick’s hands from keeping him on his back for too much longer. The action is very much that of a cat trying not to get more wet, scrambling for purchase on flipping Danta over so that he can rise from the rainbow water, dripping wet but at least no longer deep in it.

Astaroth

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

// I thought of angels choking on their halos //

As fun as the more subtle mischief might be, Danta is evidently here for unbridled shenanigans since they're on vacation, and so it's with Asta's rich laughter echoing in the air around them that he all but tackles the other man into the water. His landing is much softer (it's the butcher, so) and he has the good sense to hold his breath as they go under, but he only has a second or two to enjoy his victory before Asta is wrestling to try and flip their positions.

"NO," he announces through a laugh, as if that will make any sort of difference, before his voice is cut off entirely by the water and the stone hitting his back. Swatting out and flailing arms and legs, he's not sure who is winning or what he's actually trying to achieve other than to sit himself up. Whether he ends up striking Asta in the face or clinging to him like a limpet is entirely up for debate right now, either way.

Dantalion

// get them drunk on rose water //

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

His laughter breaks from him as he manages to get them twisted around – so that if nothing else at least the butcher can suck in a deep breath rather than drown beneath the water of the Rainbow Road (what a letdown that would be). Still, he hears Danta’s laughed complaint even as Asta flips them – rising above the water and his lover precisely at the time the Maverick starts flailing.

And holy fuck does he flail, limbs flailing every which way, he misjudges the space he has that seems safe, because no sooner does he try to evade a smack from Danta’s left arm, that his right fist comes in sharp into the corner of his mouth – immediately slicing his lip open with the sharpness of his teeth and pushing him off of Danta into the water. Stinging, singeing pain shoots through the butcher accompanied with a laugh that only splits his lip open a touch more, and within a second the blood begins to pour down his chin, washed partly away by the splattering water. “Ow, fucking asshole!” He calls out hoping Danta can hear him through the sound of splashes as he tries to grapple to come back out of the water, trying to land any kind of hit on Danta for playful retaliation.

Though maybe trying a little harder than he should be.

Astaroth

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

// I thought of angels choking on their halos //

He's aware that he hits something, sure, his heavily ringed hand thumping into what can only be the man above him, but Danta's still a little busy trying not to inhale the Arclight to notice or apologise. Popping up and taking a deep, raggedy gasp of air once he feels Asta back off, as he sweeps his wet hair out of his face and back behind his horns, only then does the scent of blood hit him. "Wh--" Over the butcher's laughter and cursing - and his thrashing towards him - the Maverick can only briefly see the way he's split his lip and the blood pouring down his chin, but he knows retaliation when he sees it.

"Oh shit - sorry - oh shit--" Barking out a laugh and unsuccessfully trying to back up in the waist deep water, Asta's fist lances out to catch him across the cheek before he's so much as hopped three paces. Pain explodes at the side of his face and he splashes back into the water with an oof, tasting blood from biting the inside of his cheek, and his hands come up again, but this time to try and catch Asta's hands and wrists from any further blows.

"Fair's fair, you got me!" he calls out, still grinning but equally trying not to let things devolve into a real fight. "Fuck," he adds, prodding at the cut inside his mouth with his tongue.

Dantalion

// get them drunk on rose water //

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

At this present moment, it’s gargling laughter and curses now, even as he feels his own flailing connect with some portion of the Maverick. Immediately feeling bad because he hadn’t meant to hit him that hard – just as he’s sure Danta didn’t mean to hit him that hard, the butcher flattens into the water briefly before rising, hair a mess and spun around his horns with blood dripping anew from his lips while his arms are held from any further retaliation by Danta’s own.

Coughing up a bit of water and blood, the butcher spits it out off to the side and peers over at Danta a mess, scanning him for where he might have hit him. “I would say we are even now, no?” He says through a hoarse laugh, prodding his split lip with his tongue, feeling and tasting the fresh flush of metallic blood as it hits his senses.

Astaroth

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

// I thought of angels choking on their halos //

Oh, its pretty obvious where Asta has hammered his hand into Danta's face; his cheekbone is already reddening with the welt, and there's sure to be swelling and bruising there within a short period of time. Good thing they're in Torchline with its glorious healing fountain, right? Still, now that he's managed to hold the butcher at bay, it's with a smile as pained as it is amused that he nods his agreement.

"Yeah, and then some. You got a mean right hook." Scoffing and getting himself upright in the water, at least now that the initial playfight-turned-real-fight is over, Danta is more inclined towards remorse and penitence. "You okay?" he asks at the fresh spill of blood from Asta's lip, reaching out with warm and gentle hands this time to cup his jaw and examine the blow.

"We're getting good at hitting," he decides with a smirk.

Dantalion

// get them drunk on rose water //

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

They settle and the butcher sits up a little easier, his tail weaving beneath the water with ease, casting a dark shadow of color against the otherwise opalescent stones. He works on getting his breathing regulated – between half nearly drowning as he cackled his delight at the turn of events and the thrashing that had taken a lot out of him – the butcher’s malleable in Danta’s touch. “Thank you darling.” He boast proudly, spreading a bit of the blood in the crease of his lips from the movement of talking. “Yes, I am. Are you?” He asks as he rests his head easily into the hands that cup them, his wet fingers lifting to trace against the reddened spot to his cheek.

Inspecting it as he, himself, is inspected, the split lip itself is minor but clean cut thanks to the sharpness of the butcher’s teeth. He’s still mostly until Danta’s decision hits the air and the butcher’s chuckling again, lips quirking into a smile that tugs at the wound again – because yeah, they are getting better at it, even when they aren’t trying to be. “Do you recall when you pushed me into the Oasis and I attempted to use you like a stepping stone to get out?” He asks in a mischievously playful tone, dark brows lifting as his honey dark gaze focuses on Danta’s vibrant blues.

Astaroth

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

// I thought of angels choking on their halos //

"Mm, nothing a bit of fountain water, sunbathing and a cocktail won't solve," Danta assures Asta, the corner of his eye creasing a little as the other man's fingers dance over the welt to his cheek. "Next time I hit you, even by accident, remind me not to crack you across the mouth though?" It makes it all the more difficult to kiss things better, not that it will stop him, the Maverick tipping himself forward enough to leave the ghost of a kiss against Asta's lips, the touch soft and barely there.

Not expecting the call back to the Oasis, Danta raises his eyebrows and smirks. "I do, yes," he drawls, resisting the urge to pull back from the other man even though every instinct in him sees the mischief in the butcher's eyes and wants to be suspicious of it. "Why? Ought I expect to be a stepping stone again today?" he wonders.

Dantalion

// get them drunk on rose water //

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

“A perfect remedy.” One he nearly adds that he thinks Isla would approve of – not that he would presume to assume what an actual doctor might say about that plan. For now, though, his hand drops to Danta’s shoulder, gentle and warm and still very much damp with the water of the rainbow road they’re sitting in.

He can’t answer immediately with the way Danta leans in to press the ghost of a kiss to his lips – and he mourns the loss of the true kiss even if it would likely spread more of the blood to flow into his beard. But he takes what he can get for the moment. “I will do my best.” He vows to the reminder, because it’s not like it would matter if it was by accident anyway until after the damage had been done.

Besides, he’s reminiscing right now, and the playful mischief in his gaze is one he knows Danta should be wary of whether he does or doesn’t put out. “Mm, no, I was recalling how dreadfully cold the water was and how much better this one was.” He drawls, but the distraction proves useful as he surges in to claim a real kiss, split lip be damned, at the same time the ground vibrates a precursor to the geyser that erupts away from them but enough to shower them in another fine, rainbow sheen mist.

Astaroth

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

// I thought of angels choking on their halos //

"Mmhmmm," Danta drawls, still suspicious even when apparently it's just all about how pleasant the water is compared to the chill of the Oasis. He's still trying to subtly peel himself back from Asta when the butcher sweeps forward, quick enough that the Maverick's lips are still parted in soft surprise when he claims them in a real kiss. Humming a note of sharp surprise and forced to hook an arm around Asta's shoulders so as not to fall, it should be no shock to anyone that he accepts the bloody affection with little protest.

Toppling forward against the other man's chest and only noticing the nearby geyser as a warm spray of water, he kisses the copper tang from his lover's mouth until his lungs scream for air, and when he draws back, he's willing to tell any healer that they're both pretty much fine now. "You're a mess," he tells Asta sweetly, smirking and reaching up to disentangle his dark hair from around his horns. "But you're my mess."

Dantalion

// get them drunk on rose water //