[ the wards for stephen’s apartments in duplicity, as well as for the room in vrenille’s inherited manor in which stephen had barely settled before he was ripped back through the cosmos, have always operated on trust. not even documented trust, for all that stephen loves lists--like the cloak he wears every day, his quarters respond to something more intrinsic to stephen, something marrow-deep.
whether stephen knows it or not, hakkyuu has had access from day three.
anyway the apartment is clean, and familiar, because stephen always does his rooms up the same. keeps the standard-issue furniture, uses magic to fix the vents and the window trimming. there are protective carvings in the wood of the doorframes and windowsills, a set of mismatched candles on various ledges, a scatter of books haphazard on the floor.
the cloak of levitation peeks around the doorframe to stephen’s room and gives hakkyuu a little enthusiastic wave of its collar in ready recognition. stephen, in his room, is on his bed: sweatpants, no shirt, oddly highly arched feet. there’s fading bruises on his body in the shape of a tenacious roll in the hay. most importantly, stephen himself is in bed, on top of the sheets, a book abandoned for now low on his belly above his interlaced fingers. his eyes are closed. ]
[Being welcomed by the cloak feels like a sort of approval that is incredibly hard to put into words and yet he appreciates all the same.]
Hey.
[Said to the cloak, mind you, not Stephen just yet, who looks quite comfortable where he is right now so Hakkyuu can focus on him a bit later.
In the meantime, he gives the cloak a brief glance over, realising in all the catching up there hasn't really been a moment to even passingly reacquaint with the semi-sentient item of clothing and that somehow feels... rude. Look, no one ever said dealing with Stephen and things adjacent to him need to make sense. He reaches out to give the front of the cloak a light nudge with the back of his knuckle before frowning and peering more closely.]
Oh man, what did he do, huh? [Referring to the blue section now in the back.] Is he not taking good enough care of you? Because if you want someone who can, y'know, talk, I'll have words with him, yeah? I gotcha, buddy.
[ the cloak in question, whose behavior when not in battle is some mix between hyperfocused dog and misguidedly helpful child, seems to appreciate the attention but ultimately defers to stephen for the explanation. it even turns halfway to him again.
[He's still looking to the cloak as he speaks, giving the edge of the blue field a partial tracing with his finger if the floating clothing will allow before finally looking to Stephen directly.
It probably says something about Hakkyuu that even in that state Stephen is unfairly easy on the eyes.
Reaching into the bag, he pulls out two cans of cold coffee and sets them on the bedside table beside Stephen's head before reaching in to pull out one of the wrapped sandwiches.]
Went ahead and got you a Philly cheesesteak, hold the meat. [He sucks his lips in, managing to show only the bare minimum amount of restraint.] ... because you've been holding more than enough yourself for the time being.
[Don't worry, he did actually get you some good veggie eats, Stephen.]
[ the cloak remains amenable to scrutiny, then politely withdraws to the other side of the nightstand when hakkyuu approaches stephen. it oscillates without warning between seeming like another living thing in the room and seeming content with utter stillness when stephen doesn’t need it for anything immediate: it just floats. ]
That’s two.
[ thin ice, pal. stephen sets his book aside and pushes up on an elbow, wincing, a living bruise. he reaches for the coffee first, magics a chair over for hakkyuu to sit catty-corner by the bed. it’s the visible kind of magic to boot, a courtesy he affords to people he likes; most people just blink and they’re situated differently, stephen arranging people like ken dolls to his satisfaction. he’s not always a good host. ]
Did they put you through that medical exam crap too?
[That's said as he also takes up a coffee, holding, shaking and cracking open the ring pull in the same hand. He doesn't think about how smooth everything is--how easy it is to sit down, how he doesn't really question or double-take when the seating is made available as he flops down.
He shifts the can back and forth a few times, then gives a small shake of his head.]
Missed me this time. Sure they'll catch me for the next one though. [And then, muttered against the cool metal rim--] They always do. Y'know the drill.
[ part of hakkyuu’s ambient draw is that he’s constantly in motion, a well-oiled machine with fiddly and fiddling parts. it means he’s hell in a card game, someone with too many tells from which to draw a single distinctive truth. but it’s also a good reminder, for a man prone to solitude and stillness, that there’s a world outside of himself. that it’s lively. ]
As a physician it’s downright offensive, what they get into over there. They put all the tackiest doctor-patient roleplay porn in the world in a blender and then force you to drink it.
[Giving a slow nod as Stephen speaks, Hakkyuu can sympathise with the sentiment on a logical level without needing to get it on a direct experiential level.
For the occasional doctor jokes and nicknames, Hakkyuu hasn't asked much about Stephen's previous life in the same way he doesn't really want Stephen asking about his. Because if he did, Hakkyuu would have to tell him. And he's pretty sure if he asked Stephen, then Stephen would have to share. It's just something to respectfully tip-toe around for now.]
So it's the principle and nothing at all to do with being, I assume, the patient in this scenario with someone who wouldn't know a, I dunno, thermometer from a... scalpel [He shrugs.] I mean, I'd be that person too; I don't know what healers do.
I mean, obviously it was degrading, water is wet, who cares.
[ stephen has been in duplicity long enough that these incidents are starting to register as annoying more than violating. any landing you can walk away from, right? he figures he should be more cautious in the future, though; if he takes it too much in stride he knows he’ll be tested.
he pulls the tab on the can, shakes his hand out after, a gesture hakkyuu has likely seen before back when they shared a kitchen. it’s not something he does in front of most people: cans get opened magically, between one blink or the next; or he just bears the discomfort without so much as a grimace. more ready admissions of comfort. ]
It just added insult to injury. On that note, have you met a Duncan Wells?
[Annoying rather than violating is a mental place Hakkyuu relates to when it comes to Duplicity—one day it's pony play down the thoroughfare, the next it's anal training to the network, the next it might be waking up to find a different kind of anatomy between your legs. It's the other stuff that gets Hakkyuu, the instances that compel honesty, confessions or secrets. Physically, he can deal with much anything.]
Can't say I do.
[Duncan Wells. He makes a note of that name as he rummages in the bag to offer Stephen a sandwich.]
[ he accepts the sandwich gratefully. with a flick of his wrist the nightstand slides over just so, a round thing on three legs amenable to being moved, and in this case used as a makeshift lunch table, not quite fully between them but near enough to rest drinks or food on in parentheses around conversation. ]
He was genteel enough about it. A decent conversationalist. [ that bone-dry tone again. he’s in discomfort and he’s crabby about it. ]
[Stephen could be overtly surly and snippish with Hakkyuu and it would roll off him like a choya going downhill, but he catches the overall mood with a thoughtful hum as he tears back one end of his sandwich.]
You make it sound clinical in a way that makes it unclear if that was his approach or yours now. [And, with a small bite shoved in his cheek --] Like the small talk was acceptable before asking you to cough.
It helped take my mind off the fact that I was basically ramming a streetlight up my ass.
[ it’s coarser than stephen usually is, but again, he’s crabby. he can still grudgingly appreciate the humor in the situation, though. he takes a moment to enjoy some sandwich, and then he says, ]
He did remind me of the type of person usually doing superheroics at home. Something about the build.
[Hakkyuu snorts and gives a short, close-mouthed chuckle at Stephen's retort, not really laughing at him so much as at the comment itself. It sucks for Strange, sure, but Hakkyuu likes when he's like this--a little less refined, a bit more crass beyond his usual dry smartass remarks.]
See, that's why I don't tend to fuck too many Norn back home. At least not often or in succession. Everyone here wants to talk up the size queen shit but the truth is size does matter and not in the ways they all wanna act like it does.
[He getsures at Stephen with his sandwich.]
Kinda like fisting. Not your everyday kinda thing unless you've got a real niche interest which, let's be real, isn't so much your thing from what I can tell.
[He arches a brow as something else ticks briefly through his brain.]
Would he count as a different kind of super-type to you back home?
[ passive munching as he thinks back on the slate of capes he knows back home ... ]
Different from me, certainly. I got the impression he was a career man. Not that I’m not either, just ... yeah, different. I took an oath; guys like that are working something else out. --can you hand me the soup too? Thanks.
[ continuing: ]
All this to say, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but I’m not eager to repeat the experience anytime soon. If he wants coffee, sure. Can’t say I couldn’t use more acquaintances closer to my age.
[The soup gets passed over easily, hand on the top in a steady hold for whenever Stephen is ready for it.]
See, that's what I'm sayin' about niche interests! And, shit, even if he was way more lube-efficient that we that first night something like that's gonna leave a sting.
[A small smirk tugs at his mouth as he glances at Stephen without lifting his head.]
Feelin' your old age in this place? I mean--[He pauses to thumb away a small smudge of mayo at his lip.]--does kinda feel like they skew pretty young here, don't they?
[ it's funny, obliquely, that hakkyuu refers to their first night together so casually when it was in all likelihood the least casual sex they've ever had. stephen is smart enough to keep that shit to himself. ]
The city certainly seems to skew young and nubile. This probably won't be the last time I pull something in bed.
Hopefully not from a jumped-up barely-twenty-year-old who also happens to be packing a nine-and-larger in the next... what, two to three weeks at least?
[He shifts in the chair, drawing a leg up and chewing thoughtfully. Some of this feels like uncharted waters. Waters worth checking at least a bit before deciding if its safe to fully jump in.]
[ stephen mulls over both the question itself and - there's no other way to put it - its appropriateness. but he's already been forward enough, and if he can't tell hakkyuu something it'll never find open air.
he takes a long sip of the soup straight from the carton, no spoon. very new york. ]
Full marks for competence. It's ... [ ... shrug. ] not my usual speed. That's probably the best way to put it.
[With a knowing smile on his face, Hakkyuu reaches across for his coffee with a breezy roll of one shoulder.]
Yeah, that much has been pretty obvious; I'd have had you right to the hilt by our second go at each other. Third at best.
[He glances toward Stephen, watching him for a few seconds without much agenda beyond enjoying his company and voice, liking how this time can exist again and feeling the significance overall of this discussion since he can't easily picture Stephen chatting sex debrief with most people for a number of reasons.
He leans back into the chair, weight balancing to not tip or tumble unexpectedly.]
You don't enjoy it at all? Even when it's someone whose dick isn't the circumference of a thermos?
[It's casual and conversational way rather that coming from a place of needling amusement or that brand of poking-someone-with-a-stick thing he's sometimes prone to do. More than that though, it's a genuine interest; he's not setting a stage to mock or humiliate Stephen on the topic of sex act preference.]
[ the suggestion feels left-field, but stephen knows that's just kneejerk, reflexive. the image flares up mercury-quick, a little too confusing to be alluring in the immediate - a confused impression of familiar limbs in an unfamiliar arrangement - would he be on his back, or -
right, that's a later puzzle. to be considered in private. he only pauses for a second mid-sip, then sets the carton down. ]
I can ... I have before.
[ he touches a hand gingerly to his side and thinks, unbidden, of akande. his first dominant in duplicity. now that's a name he hasn't said aloud in awhile.
he's all business casual, though, picking his sandwich back up. ]
It's a lot of work, and inasfar as my experience is concerned, not always rewarding. [ shrug. ] I haven't really thought about the particulars.
[It's a fair and seemingly honest answer, though not exactly detailed, which probably points to something and nothing depending on your perspective--nothing if 'everyone's got their preferences' is where the thought starts and ends, and something if there are follow-up questions. Hakkyuu is almost uniformly in the latter camp even if he doesn't ask them outloud.
This feels interesting though in an unexpected sort of way. He and Stephen have never really talked sex. Sure, they've had dirty talk, suggestions and requests often if not exactly in the heat of the moment in the ones leading up to it, but never personal particulars. This is far more the sort of thing Hakkyuu would do with Vrenille, talk hook-ups and feelings on acts--candid and relaxed without shame or restriction.
It's different with Stephen if only because it's atypical for them.
He pucks his own soup out of the bag, giving his eyes somewhere else to be so Stephen doesn't feel so pinned down by Hakkyuu's stare--he knows how he can look sometimes even unintentionally.]
It's not everyone's thing, I'll grantcha. I'd say you got unlucky, but if we're being real not all guys know or care about what they're doing as long as it works for them. Goes double for if they don't take it themselves all that much.
[He does glance up then, giving Stephen a look as if he's already anticipating a very particular question or comment to follow.]
[That was certainly the expected sentiment and Hakkyuu can't hide the creeping smile as he rips a piece of bread off what's left of his sandwich to dunk in his soup.]
Nope. Your technique is just fine and you damn well know it.
[He tips his head back slightly to set Stephen with a more pointed look.]
Or did you think I was makin' sure to keep your neighbours awake all night just to keep your ego in tact? If you needed pointers, you'd have gotten them already.
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whether stephen knows it or not, hakkyuu has had access from day three.
anyway the apartment is clean, and familiar, because stephen always does his rooms up the same. keeps the standard-issue furniture, uses magic to fix the vents and the window trimming. there are protective carvings in the wood of the doorframes and windowsills, a set of mismatched candles on various ledges, a scatter of books haphazard on the floor.
the cloak of levitation peeks around the doorframe to stephen’s room and gives hakkyuu a little enthusiastic wave of its collar in ready recognition. stephen, in his room, is on his bed: sweatpants, no shirt, oddly highly arched feet. there’s fading bruises on his body in the shape of a tenacious roll in the hay. most importantly, stephen himself is in bed, on top of the sheets, a book abandoned for now low on his belly above his interlaced fingers. his eyes are closed. ]
Hey.
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Hey.
[Said to the cloak, mind you, not Stephen just yet, who looks quite comfortable where he is right now so Hakkyuu can focus on him a bit later.
In the meantime, he gives the cloak a brief glance over, realising in all the catching up there hasn't really been a moment to even passingly reacquaint with the semi-sentient item of clothing and that somehow feels... rude. Look, no one ever said dealing with Stephen and things adjacent to him need to make sense. He reaches out to give the front of the cloak a light nudge with the back of his knuckle before frowning and peering more closely.]
Oh man, what did he do, huh? [Referring to the blue section now in the back.] Is he not taking good enough care of you? Because if you want someone who can, y'know, talk, I'll have words with him, yeah? I gotcha, buddy.
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in his usual dry register he says, ]
A witch blew a hole in it. It’s fine.
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[He's still looking to the cloak as he speaks, giving the edge of the blue field a partial tracing with his finger if the floating clothing will allow before finally looking to Stephen directly.
It probably says something about Hakkyuu that even in that state Stephen is unfairly easy on the eyes.
Reaching into the bag, he pulls out two cans of cold coffee and sets them on the bedside table beside Stephen's head before reaching in to pull out one of the wrapped sandwiches.]
Went ahead and got you a Philly cheesesteak, hold the meat. [He sucks his lips in, managing to show only the bare minimum amount of restraint.] ... because you've been holding more than enough yourself for the time being.
[Don't worry, he did actually get you some good veggie eats, Stephen.]
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That’s two.
[ thin ice, pal. stephen sets his book aside and pushes up on an elbow, wincing, a living bruise. he reaches for the coffee first, magics a chair over for hakkyuu to sit catty-corner by the bed. it’s the visible kind of magic to boot, a courtesy he affords to people he likes; most people just blink and they’re situated differently, stephen arranging people like ken dolls to his satisfaction. he’s not always a good host. ]
Did they put you through that medical exam crap too?
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[That's said as he also takes up a coffee, holding, shaking and cracking open the ring pull in the same hand. He doesn't think about how smooth everything is--how easy it is to sit down, how he doesn't really question or double-take when the seating is made available as he flops down.
He shifts the can back and forth a few times, then gives a small shake of his head.]
Missed me this time. Sure they'll catch me for the next one though. [And then, muttered against the cool metal rim--] They always do. Y'know the drill.
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As a physician it’s downright offensive, what they get into over there. They put all the tackiest doctor-patient roleplay porn in the world in a blender and then force you to drink it.
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For the occasional doctor jokes and nicknames, Hakkyuu hasn't asked much about Stephen's previous life in the same way he doesn't really want Stephen asking about his. Because if he did, Hakkyuu would have to tell him. And he's pretty sure if he asked Stephen, then Stephen would have to share. It's just something to respectfully tip-toe around for now.]
So it's the principle and nothing at all to do with being, I assume, the patient in this scenario with someone who wouldn't know a, I dunno, thermometer from a... scalpel [He shrugs.] I mean, I'd be that person too; I don't know what healers do.
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[ stephen has been in duplicity long enough that these incidents are starting to register as annoying more than violating. any landing you can walk away from, right? he figures he should be more cautious in the future, though; if he takes it too much in stride he knows he’ll be tested.
he pulls the tab on the can, shakes his hand out after, a gesture hakkyuu has likely seen before back when they shared a kitchen. it’s not something he does in front of most people: cans get opened magically, between one blink or the next; or he just bears the discomfort without so much as a grimace. more ready admissions of comfort. ]
It just added insult to injury. On that note, have you met a Duncan Wells?
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Can't say I do.
[Duncan Wells. He makes a note of that name as he rummages in the bag to offer Stephen a sandwich.]
So which was he first: the insult it the injury?
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[ he accepts the sandwich gratefully. with a flick of his wrist the nightstand slides over just so, a round thing on three legs amenable to being moved, and in this case used as a makeshift lunch table, not quite fully between them but near enough to rest drinks or food on in parentheses around conversation. ]
He was genteel enough about it. A decent conversationalist. [ that bone-dry tone again. he’s in discomfort and he’s crabby about it. ]
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You make it sound clinical in a way that makes it unclear if that was his approach or yours now. [And, with a small bite shoved in his cheek --] Like the small talk was acceptable before asking you to cough.
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[ it’s coarser than stephen usually is, but again, he’s crabby. he can still grudgingly appreciate the humor in the situation, though. he takes a moment to enjoy some sandwich, and then he says, ]
He did remind me of the type of person usually doing superheroics at home. Something about the build.
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See, that's why I don't tend to fuck too many Norn back home. At least not often or in succession. Everyone here wants to talk up the size queen shit but the truth is size does matter and not in the ways they all wanna act like it does.
[He getsures at Stephen with his sandwich.]
Kinda like fisting. Not your everyday kinda thing unless you've got a real niche interest which, let's be real, isn't so much your thing from what I can tell.
[He arches a brow as something else ticks briefly through his brain.]
Would he count as a different kind of super-type to you back home?
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Different from me, certainly. I got the impression he was a career man. Not that I’m not either, just ... yeah, different. I took an oath; guys like that are working something else out. --can you hand me the soup too? Thanks.
[ continuing: ]
All this to say, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but I’m not eager to repeat the experience anytime soon. If he wants coffee, sure. Can’t say I couldn’t use more acquaintances closer to my age.
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See, that's what I'm sayin' about niche interests! And, shit, even if he was way more lube-efficient that we that first night something like that's gonna leave a sting.
[A small smirk tugs at his mouth as he glances at Stephen without lifting his head.]
Feelin' your old age in this place? I mean--[He pauses to thumb away a small smudge of mayo at his lip.]--does kinda feel like they skew pretty young here, don't they?
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The city certainly seems to skew young and nubile. This probably won't be the last time I pull something in bed.
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[He shifts in the chair, drawing a leg up and chewing thoughtfully. Some of this feels like uncharted waters. Waters worth checking at least a bit before deciding if its safe to fully jump in.]
Was he actually any good or just huge?
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he takes a long sip of the soup straight from the carton, no spoon. very new york. ]
Full marks for competence. It's ... [ ... shrug. ] not my usual speed. That's probably the best way to put it.
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Yeah, that much has been pretty obvious; I'd have had you right to the hilt by our second go at each other. Third at best.
[He glances toward Stephen, watching him for a few seconds without much agenda beyond enjoying his company and voice, liking how this time can exist again and feeling the significance overall of this discussion since he can't easily picture Stephen chatting sex debrief with most people for a number of reasons.
He leans back into the chair, weight balancing to not tip or tumble unexpectedly.]
You don't enjoy it at all? Even when it's someone whose dick isn't the circumference of a thermos?
[It's casual and conversational way rather that coming from a place of needling amusement or that brand of poking-someone-with-a-stick thing he's sometimes prone to do. More than that though, it's a genuine interest; he's not setting a stage to mock or humiliate Stephen on the topic of sex act preference.]
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right, that's a later puzzle. to be considered in private. he only pauses for a second mid-sip, then sets the carton down. ]
I can ... I have before.
[ he touches a hand gingerly to his side and thinks, unbidden, of akande. his first dominant in duplicity. now that's a name he hasn't said aloud in awhile.
he's all business casual, though, picking his sandwich back up. ]
It's a lot of work, and inasfar as my experience is concerned, not always rewarding. [ shrug. ] I haven't really thought about the particulars.
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This feels interesting though in an unexpected sort of way. He and Stephen have never really talked sex. Sure, they've had dirty talk, suggestions and requests often if not exactly in the heat of the moment in the ones leading up to it, but never personal particulars. This is far more the sort of thing Hakkyuu would do with Vrenille, talk hook-ups and feelings on acts--candid and relaxed without shame or restriction.
It's different with Stephen if only because it's atypical for them.
He pucks his own soup out of the bag, giving his eyes somewhere else to be so Stephen doesn't feel so pinned down by Hakkyuu's stare--he knows how he can look sometimes even unintentionally.]
It's not everyone's thing, I'll grantcha. I'd say you got unlucky, but if we're being real not all guys know or care about what they're doing as long as it works for them. Goes double for if they don't take it themselves all that much.
[He does glance up then, giving Stephen a look as if he's already anticipating a very particular question or comment to follow.]
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Are we critiquing my technique now?
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Nope. Your technique is just fine and you damn well know it.
[He tips his head back slightly to set Stephen with a more pointed look.]
Or did you think I was makin' sure to keep your neighbours awake all night just to keep your ego in tact? If you needed pointers, you'd have gotten them already.
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Right. And for my part I don't find giving pointers a good use of my time. At least not in the moment.
[ aka if i have to tell you how to do it i would simply rather not do it!!! ]
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