Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
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"I understand it better, now." For all of his observations and diligent notetaking, Everest truly was learning firsthand that understanding was not the same as knowing, and gods what a keen student he suddenly was.
Glancing slyly around for the snuff box and finding only a bit of dust on the table to satisfy himself with, Everest pauses. "But other firsts might?" Knowing enough about anatomy and having listened politely for enough years about Mateo's exploits to know that there were several other firsts he might experience, he sits up suddenly, wondering if perhaps he's just found a loophole. "What about first kisses with someone new?" If the magic had been used up with Dahlia, why, there was still an entire city—an entire world—of new lips to experience.
"No, no, I don't ever want to be sober. I only want this—" Gesturing around as if Mateo's boat was Dopamine Land the sensory equivalent of nirvana, he nevertheless allows himself to be pulled (shakily) into a standing position. "Oh gods, the lavendar!" Wasting no time at all, he releases Mateo and begins to trip his way toward the door, pausing only to call, "-and bring the blue box!" over his shoulder
If you keep adding stones Soon the water will be lost in the well
Champagne, cocaine, gasoline and most things in between
Don't be a bad influence, Mateo tries to scold himself, only for but that's the only influence I know how to be to sneak in and take over. And thus, it's with the snuffbox in hand (it's a quirky combination of ThirdEye and Dreamdust, not that Ever will know that currently) and having poured himself a nice, strong drink that he meanders after his friend. "First kisses with new people always have a bit of magic in them, in my experience," he says - and gods, if anyone should know, it's Mateo.
Heading onto the deck of La Verbena and up again to where the canopy of lavender has been carefully cultivated to begin its crawling descent, the botanist takes a comfortable seat and a large sip of his drink. Garnishing it with a bit of the fragrant blooms all around, he offers it out for Ever to try. "I am really happy for you, you know," he murmurs. "It is nice to see you without any worries."
I roam the city in a shopping cart a pack of Camels and a smoke alarm
Reaching for the drink Ever sniffs at it and then smirks as if only just realizing that regardless of what it smelled like, he was going to drink it. Taking a healthy sip and then spluttering, he swallows past the burning in his throat and grins at Mateo. "It's nice to be without any worries. Is this how life feels for you, normally?" Looking adoringly at Mateo much the same way he would as a dog, the aviator reaches for a bit of lavender overhead, only to end up falling onto his back.
Despite the drugs already at work in his system, the alcohol felt like a river of fire as it trailed through his stomach. Wanting to do nothing more than enjoy the heat and the purple smell in the air, having already shed his sweater, the aviator began to (in his mind, very subtly remove his pants) (in reality, yank at his buttons and tug at his pant legs to remove them) in an effort to expose as much of his body to the purple air as he could.
If you keep adding stones Soon the water will be lost in the well
Champagne, cocaine, gasoline and most things in between
"Mm... more or less," Mateo says with a lopsided smile, taking the drink back and indulging himself in another sip, before he sets it down alongside the snuffbox. "I think the scale of worry was a lot different for you than it is for me." There's still stress, world-ending events and a whole load of assorted trauma, but compared to the squeezing, tightening pressure Everest had described as his entire existence...yeah, things are pretty sweet for Mateo.
Having been the one not-so-subtly removing his clothes on several occasions, of course Mateo is the perfect sober babysitter, because he does nothing to stop the aviator providing he's not putting himself in danger. "Do you think that this is permanent for you?" he asks, leaning back on one hand and picking a sprig of lavender to try and tickle it across Ever's collarbones.
I roam the city in a shopping cart a pack of Camels and a smoke alarm
Stripping out of his clothes in order to lay adorably if not embarrassingly spread-eagle amidst the carefully cultivated flora, Everest stretches out his arms and makes gentle sweeping motions as if to try and coat himself in the warmth of the moment. It wasn't as though the botanist had never seen his friend naked before—they had grown up together—but certainly neither could likely have predicted that this would be the way in which Everest would willingly strip down.
Shivering and tilting his chin up to encourage the feeling of the lavender, not necessarily realizing that it was Mateo's doing the aviator gives his head a little shake. "I hope so." He answers, before shielding his eyes with one hand in order to better gaze up at his friend. "After she kissed me, it was like I suddenly couldn't remember what I was so anxious about all the time. It felt so light, and now all of this..." He nods vaguely toward the glass Mateo is holding. "..it makes everything so beautiful."
If you keep adding stones Soon the water will be lost in the well
Champagne, cocaine, gasoline and most things in between
"I hope so too, Ever," Mateo murmurs, smiling softly and tickling the aviator's nose with the sprig of lavender before setting it down. "You deserve this. And with all the void stuff going on, I think it is nice to have something good happen for once." Draining his glass of gin, the botanist shifts to lay down beside his friend, and it is probably the first time either of them can remember where Mateo hasn't been the one naked.
"We should go down to Torchline," he suggests suddenly. "It is lovely at Longheat - we can go swimming, and you can try cocktails and we will sit around a bonfire." And just like that, Mateo is planning Ever's My First Vacation without anxiety. "I bet you could also find some new kisses to try, as well."
I roam the city in a shopping cart a pack of Camels and a smoke alarm
Exhaling against the petals tickling his nose, what begins as a chuckle quickly transforms into the sort of laugh that has Ever's entire body shivering with joy. It feels to him as if the sweeping rays from the sun have become tangible, wrapping around his body like vines that will sink into his bloodstream if only he moves in just the right sort of way. Laughter, it seems, is one of those ways.
Moving to lean his shoulder against Mateo and immediately groping for the botanist's hand, Ever lets his head flop to the side to better peer into his friend's eyes. "Do you think.." Growing both serious and distracted at precisely the same time, the aviator falls silent for a moment as his mind teeters between the drug-sweetened greens of the flora and oceanic blues of his friend's eyes, and the thoughts trying to form in the purple haze of his mind. "..do you think I'll like people, now?" Certainly he always understood what it meant for people like Mateo to be attracted to others, and had always just assumed that those sorts of feelings didn't apply to him.
"And..how do I know? What if I pick the wrong person to kiss?"
If you keep adding stones Soon the water will be lost in the well
Champagne, cocaine, gasoline and most things in between
Grinning and finding Ever's laughter contagious, it isn't long before the sound of their combined euphoria is ringing off the side of the schooner for the rest of the Skyport to hear - and it's a good thing that they're almost entirely camoflaged by the trailing lavender, else people might peep over and get more than they bargained for. "You know, I am not sure," he manages eventually, sweetly gripping hold of the aviator's and and turning to look at him.
"If you do not, that is still fine. It does not make you broken if you are not attracted to anyone in that way." As long as he's not plagued with fear and anxiety - as long as he can start to feel happy - Mateo really doesn't think it matters. As for kisses? "Oh, I just try it and see," he admits with a crooked grin. "If you pick the wrong person, it is fine. You will not always kiss the right person - the sky will not fall. Just do what feels good."
I roam the city in a shopping cart a pack of Camels and a smoke alarm
"But what if it's the magic of kisses that has ... well." Not wanting to say he was broken before, instead Everest holds up his free hand, makes a fist, and then releases it. "Done that?" Then again, he hadn't been attracted to Dahlia (or anyone) before she'd kissed him and it had still worked, so maybe Mateo was right.
Still feeling warm in a way that made him both want to peel off his skin but also to wade into a bonfire that he might continue to radiate heat, Everest did as he was inclined to do before Dahlia had infected him, which was to take things literally. "Okay." So saying, he did as his friend suggested. Leaning forward and stretching out his neck rather than just leaning onto his side (or indeed any of the number of things that would have made it much easier), amidst the little slice of botanical heaven Mateo had created, Everest tried to kiss his oldest and best friend and snow-brother.
If you keep adding stones Soon the water will be lost in the well
Champagne, cocaine, gasoline and most things in between
"I think it is more likely to be literal magic than kiss magic that did this, if anything," Mateo points out gently. "The kiss might have just been the means of delivery, you underst--" Cut off by the sudden presence of his friend closing in on him, let no one say that it doesn't at least look like a romance novel, even if the nuances are tangled to hell and back.
It takes a lot to surprise Mateo, and while this is certainly a surprise, he does take it with ease. Bottling back a laugh and instead smiling good-naturedly against Ever's lips, he even keeps it chaste between them before gently guiding the aviator back by the shoulders. "And how was that for you?" he asks with a raise of his eyebrows. "I want you to know that many people would have paid good money to see that. My sister included."
I roam the city in a shopping cart a pack of Camels and a smoke alarm
"Literal? I'll have to ask her when I see her next." Everest mumbles, more to himself than to Mateo, though thanks to the drugs humming their melodies in his veins, his control over the volume of his voice was shaky at best.
Unable to say that kissing Mateo was or wasn't what he'd expected—he'd had no expectations, really—the aviator wasn't sure how to answer at first as he was gently pushed back. Mateo tasted like the gin Ever had sipped only minutes before, but different somehow for remaining on the botanist's skin. He was warm too, pleasantly so, and his lips were just as soft as his hands had been. Whether or not his lips were meant to grow thinner for his smile, Ever didn't know, nor was he even sure he'd actually kissed his friend properly. It certainly hadn't been unpleasant, though given what and how he'd seen others kiss in the past, Everest had the distinct impression something had grown wrong somewhere.
"It hurt my neck." The aviator answered honestly, while silently trying to reconcile the blue of the botanist's eyes with the softness of his lips.
"They would? Why would they do that?"
If you keep adding stones Soon the water will be lost in the well
Champagne, cocaine, gasoline and most things in between
"Well, you did try to bend yourself like a pretzel to lean over me," Mateo points out, shifting to lean up on his elbow so he can gaze down at Everest, in much more of a traditional here is how I would be laying if I wanted to lean down and make out with you position. "They would, because many people have suspected you and I to be more than friends for quite some time," he murmurs. "Many people also find you very attractive, Everest Hart, regardless of whether you feel attraction in return. They need to entertain themselves somehow."
But that brings him back to the here, the now, and everything that has brought them this far. "Would you like me to kiss you?" he asks the aviator. "Properly, I mean. You are my best friend, Ever, and I would not want to do anything to hurt you or confuse you. If you were anybody else, we would already both be naked by now. But I care about you, and I need to hear you say it."
I roam the city in a shopping cart a pack of Camels and a smoke alarm
02-17-2024, 10:31 PM (This post was last modified: 02-17-2024, 10:32 PM by Everest.)
"It seemed like a good idea at the time." Everest admits plainly, shrugging against Mateo and then shivering as a new wave of sensations raced up the base of his spine. He could 100% understand now why his friend was as invested in cultivating his drugs as he was his blossoms.
'We are more than friends.' Ever counters as he gazes up at Mateo. say]"We're best friends." As for what he did or didn't look like, Ever can only shake his head slightly. "But why would they waste money on it?" He wonders, more or less rhetorically, given that even in his current state he could surmise he wasn't going to get a satisfactory answer.
"Mm, so I didn't do it right." Ever mutters to himself as Mateo clarifies he'll do it properly. Shifting his shoulders slightly so that his friend's halo of curls will help to block out the sun, the aviator looks innocently if not boyishly up at the botanist with a slowly spreading smile. "You learned all of this when we were younger, and I...didn't." Ever answers softly.
"Maybe this will last forever but maybe it won't." He reasons. "So if I don't have long, I can't think of anyone better to show me how."
If you keep adding stones Soon the water will be lost in the well
Champagne, cocaine, gasoline and most things in between
Mateo's lips part as if to ask where Ever is going with his remark, before he fills in the blanks himself, and the botanist lets out a soft laugh and shakes his head. "You would be surprised how many things people will waste money on," he remarks, preferring not to mention that, of all those things, seeing he and Ever kiss probably isn't considered a waste.
"And you did it just fine - you just caught me off guard," he adds, and if he weren't still conditioned into knowing how to treat Everest from their years of friendship, he might have reached out for the aviator to pinch his cheek or muss his hair. Alas, he's left almost blushing down at the other man for his sweetness and sincerity, Mateo inhaling a deep, slow breath and letting it out again.
"Well when you put it like that, I would seem like a real bastard if I refused," he grumbles with a playful smile, before offering a gentle nod to his friend. "Alright. Come here."
It won't actually be necessary for Ever to move despite Mateo's final comment; the botanist leans in amid the lavender blooms and the afternoon sunlight, delivering a soft kiss on slow, gentle lips. Contrary to the messy, groping makeouts he often sees (and enjoys) in the alleyways of the Silk Houses, this kiss is an invitation, a prelude for more, followed with the gentle press of his hand against the aviator's side.
I roam the city in a shopping cart a pack of Camels and a smoke alarm
