"Copy!" he calls back immediately, gravitating towards the room and leaning on the doorway when he arrives, just to take in the scene.
Jedao and Gonou really are cute together. Gonou looks young, when he's asleep, and knowing Jedao isn't really much older, despite the face, makes it all very puppy love.
(If he lingers on that too long, Eiffel's gonna feel really old.)
He gives Jedao a warm grin, at least, before he comes to sit on the edge of the bed next to him. He still smells like fresh cigarette smoke from how fast he came below deck. "Well, we've got one Sleeping Beauty back in the story."
"Well, it kinda depends on the version you wanna subscribe to. Disney sanitised the whole thing but Grimm goes hard-core with a date rape pregnancy."
He had a daughter, God knows how many versions of this he's been mandated to cover.
"So the royal highnesses have a big ballroom blitz about their brand new bouncing baby girl, invite all the cool kids except the wicked fairy, and when she gets mad about being snubbed she curses our sweet baby heroine to die when she turns sixteen when she jabs her finger on this pointy spinning wheel. Only one of the good fairies changes the T-and-C so she only falls into an eternal slumber until Prince Charming gives her true love's kiss. So when the princess turns sixteen, she finds the spinning wheel, gets poked, and goes straight to sleep - aaaaand so does the rest of the kingdom with her, and the whole place fills up with these wicked thorny vines. And of course all these other princes try over the years, but mostly they keep dying in the thorns, so a hundred years pass until the hero currently known as Prince comes by, kicks down the thorns, gives her a big ol' kiss and saves the kingdom."
Jedao sympathizes. He didn't really sleep for four hundred years, but it sure felt like it at the time, bewildered by everything from the clothes to the servitors.
"Eiffel, did you kiss us while we were asleep and couldn't enjoy it?"
His tone is wry and teasing; he's almost certain Eiffel wouldn't have gotten that much more forward, no matter what the recording sounds like. But Jedao doesn't mind taking the opportunity to put the image in his head.
He knows it's teasing him, but it doesn't stop him from turning cherry red and sputtering a little.
"I like to think I know not to try something like that on someone who can't say no," he comments, only a little defensively, but he nudges his shoulder into Jedao's anyway.
Jedao doesn't answer, just swallows and leans into Eiffel a little more, tucks his head against Eiffel's shoulder. He puts down the brush and reaches for Eiffel's hand, and squeezes just a little too tight.
"I've - I've had someone give me really. Confusing answers, before. I've made mistakes I didn't want to make. So. It's yes, from me, for you. Anytime. Just so you know."
But he says it quietly and doesn't make any move beyond holding Eiffel's hand, or even shifting so they could meet each other's eyes. He didn't plan to tell Eiffel this, even obliquely, doesn't want to tell anyone. But it feels like a more active lie, to just let the topic go by when Eiffel actually mentioned it.
The snuggling is rapidly becoming normal. That squeeze is worrying, though, and he tilts his head to look at Jedao even if Jedao doesn't look up.
And he'll squeeze back.
"My ex-girlfriend and I did a lot of yelling at each other. Like, one time the neighbours called the cops about it yelling. Which we'd always fix by having make-up sex and pretending it didn't happen." Which wasn't helped by him being drunk as shit half the time. "She was an awful girlfriend. But... I was a bad boyfriend, too."
It's rare form for him to be this straightforward about... pretty much anything. He really does want to make sure Jedao doesn't get hurt by it.
He squeezes Jedao's hand back, more gently. "You're great, Jedao. I just... don't think I'm good for relationships."
"The only times we've had yelling, I was yelling at you about warden stuff, not feelings stuff," Jedao points out. And mercifully does not add, and you were into it.
"I was really...I was a bad boyfriend too. I believed things I wanted to believe and hurt people. But I think I'm doing okay with Gonou. I think it can be really different, with different people." He wants to believe that, too - has to believe it. His track record can really only get better, after Dhanneth. But he resists the urge to make baseless reassurances; he had been hurt, even if it was something that wouldn't have hurt anyone else.
"When you told me yes, okay, I could kiss you, and then ran away, it felt like - like I was being bad again." He's trying not to be melodramatic, to say I felt like a monster. His voice is very small, instead. "Like I'd - pushed you. So if - I don't know. I didn't even think you, um, wanted relationships? Like that?"
There's a few seconds of silence from Eiffel, as he does genuinely try and think about what he wants to say.
And then he rests his head on Jedao's, tucking him into the crook of his neck with the motion.
"You're doing all the right things, hot stuff. I'm the one freaking out over you doing crap like telling me what you want and junk. All that crap people say you're supposed to do with good relationships, you're ticking all the boxes. But all of this is like- the being flirted with, you being in a relationship and still wanting to play around with me-- sure it's one small step for Jedaos, but it's a pretty big leap for Eiffel-kind."
He's silent for a few seconds, before he adds, casual in the way where it's really obvious how hard he's trying to be casual, "Sex is fine, sure, but I've never done that with a guy either."
He can feel more than hear a tiny exhalation, a little bit of tension leaving Jedao's shoulder as Eiffel leans back into him.
"It's not all small for me," Jedao insists softly. "I never thought Gonou would be okay with me sleeping around until he said he was. I'm scared I'm going to lose the best thing in my life because I'm greedy. But I'm not too scared to trust him, I guess."
He is trying to take yes for an answer. And it went okay with Norton.
"Gonou said that too," Jedao tells him. It's a small breach of information, but he thinks Gonou would approve it. "But I don't...think it's that different." Not that he's ever been with a woman or an alt, but Gonou seemed to have plenty of...applicable skills. But Jedao can also tell, even if he doesn't understand, that whatever is making Eiffel hesitate, it's more than simple insecurity.
Eiffel frowns gently. His introspection, usually limited to life or death situations, is very much reaching the limit of its capabilities.
If Jonathan Sims still had his powers this question would be a lot simpler.
"I dunno. It's just... something I haven't thought about before. It's not, like, one single thing. It's all the straws ganging up to break the camel's brain." He shrugs gently, smooshing Jedao's head for a moment. "I guess part of me's worried that I might not be good at the benefits part of friends with. I don't wanna lose the friends part."
"We've already been friends this long without getting to mess around," Jedao points out. "It's not, like, not enough? I just...got the idea you might be into it after all. If it doesn't make us happy we can just stop. I won't be mad or, or heartbroken or anything. But I'd be heartbroken if I lost you as a friend. I don't want to lose that either."
"I've wanted actual friends since I was in second grade, Jeepers, I didn't exactly have a lot of them growing up. And I really don't wanna screw up on the ones I've got now, not more than I've already done to folks here. Having you guys- like this? That's totally enough."
He doesn't know what to do with himself and he's bad at sitting still, so his face turns red as he brushes his thumb along Jedao's hand.
"But- y-yeah. We might as well give the upgrade a shot, you know? Once around the block, see how we like it or if I go and make things even more weird and awkward. You just... I mean, I know you're gonna go easy on me. Take it slow the first time."
Jedao's hand kink means it comes across as a less innocent gesture than intended; he sucks in a breath, fidgets minutely and has to think about eating food to stop himself getting hard about it.
"Right. Easy," he echoes, voice a little breathy.
Then he grips Eiffel's hand a little tighter, leans back enough to look at him.
"Hey. Why don't we go do friend stuff right now? Just hang out. Like - since that's what's important to both of us. Walk the walk, you know? We could go see the caves or whatever."
He'll give Jedao's head another quick squish with his own before he goes to stand up, letting his hand slip free from Jedao's. "I haven't actually hopped off the ship yet, I didn't feel like seeing how badly my screams are gonna echo when I inevitably get caught by whatever's living out there. But hey, if you're with me I'm in great hands."
"I won't let anything get you," Jedao promises, and wants badly to kiss him again, for no reason at all. "I mean - you don't have to, I just - I haven't seen planets that much? And it's been a while for you, too. Even if it's not outside outside."
"It's off the ship, I think that's enough for most folks, you know? Get our Forrest Gump on somewhere with room to stretch." He gives Gonou a brief look, worried but warm, before he goes to lead the way out of the room. "But the big guy upship gave us a bunch of supplies for going out and collecting weird rock dust for the Engine, so this one's entirely for giving our girl a bit of a boost of her own."
Jedao gives him a brief, intense but inscrutable look as he tries to assess whether get our Forrest Gump on is a euphemism or not, which at least serves to him out of the bedroom without weirdly agonizing over Gonou's - stillness.
"I can't get lost in the dark. But I'll carry spares or whatever, or course. and maybe if we get some, you can come back to the engine room to install it?" Jedao offers.
Eiffel can't quite hide fast enough that he's a bit touched by that, and his face softens before he can brace and catch himself.
"I mean, if the Admiral lets you, you know? Or if she does," he adds, clapping both hands on the doorframe to the hall. "She's got every right to slam the door in my face."
"He took your key, but he didn't take mine," Jedao points out with a half-shrug and a brief flash of a sneaky little grin. "That means I get to decide." And it's not like he hasn't let other people in under supervision, once or twice.
"I think she'd like it. She's almost made of forgiveness, you know? It's what she's for."
"Fair enough." He's not gonna fight being let back in, that's for sure. "And honestly? I'm really frickin' curious where she's supposed to be putting the pixie dust. It oughta be pretty interesting, right?"
"I can kind of...not talk to hear exactly. But I can nudge her and get an emotional impression back," Jedao admits as they reach the deck and start sorting through equipment. "She's not mad at you."
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[Jedao is firmly refusing to borrow trouble. If Gonou disappears, Jedao will go after him. For now, he's here.]
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[There's a grin in his voice, though, and it's only about half a minute later that Jedao's door opens so Eiffel can let himself in.]
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He's sitting up against the headboard, Gonou in his lap, carefully brushing Gonou's hair. The recording has moved to the bedside.
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Jedao and Gonou really are cute together. Gonou looks young, when he's asleep, and knowing Jedao isn't really much older, despite the face, makes it all very puppy love.
(If he lingers on that too long, Eiffel's gonna feel really old.)
He gives Jedao a warm grin, at least, before he comes to sit on the edge of the bed next to him. He still smells like fresh cigarette smoke from how fast he came below deck. "Well, we've got one Sleeping Beauty back in the story."
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He had a daughter, God knows how many versions of this he's been mandated to cover.
"So the royal highnesses have a big ballroom blitz about their brand new bouncing baby girl, invite all the cool kids except the wicked fairy, and when she gets mad about being snubbed she curses our sweet baby heroine to die when she turns sixteen when she jabs her finger on this pointy spinning wheel. Only one of the good fairies changes the T-and-C so she only falls into an eternal slumber until Prince Charming gives her true love's kiss. So when the princess turns sixteen, she finds the spinning wheel, gets poked, and goes straight to sleep - aaaaand so does the rest of the kingdom with her, and the whole place fills up with these wicked thorny vines. And of course all these other princes try over the years, but mostly they keep dying in the thorns, so a hundred years pass until the hero currently known as Prince comes by, kicks down the thorns, gives her a big ol' kiss and saves the kingdom."
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"Eiffel, did you kiss us while we were asleep and couldn't enjoy it?"
His tone is wry and teasing; he's almost certain Eiffel wouldn't have gotten that much more forward, no matter what the recording sounds like. But Jedao doesn't mind taking the opportunity to put the image in his head.
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"I like to think I know not to try something like that on someone who can't say no," he comments, only a little defensively, but he nudges his shoulder into Jedao's anyway.
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"I've - I've had someone give me really. Confusing answers, before. I've made mistakes I didn't want to make. So. It's yes, from me, for you. Anytime. Just so you know."
But he says it quietly and doesn't make any move beyond holding Eiffel's hand, or even shifting so they could meet each other's eyes. He didn't plan to tell Eiffel this, even obliquely, doesn't want to tell anyone. But it feels like a more active lie, to just let the topic go by when Eiffel actually mentioned it.
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And he'll squeeze back.
"My ex-girlfriend and I did a lot of yelling at each other. Like, one time the neighbours called the cops about it yelling. Which we'd always fix by having make-up sex and pretending it didn't happen." Which wasn't helped by him being drunk as shit half the time. "She was an awful girlfriend. But... I was a bad boyfriend, too."
It's rare form for him to be this straightforward about... pretty much anything. He really does want to make sure Jedao doesn't get hurt by it.
He squeezes Jedao's hand back, more gently. "You're great, Jedao. I just... don't think I'm good for relationships."
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"I was really...I was a bad boyfriend too. I believed things I wanted to believe and hurt people. But I think I'm doing okay with Gonou. I think it can be really different, with different people." He wants to believe that, too - has to believe it. His track record can really only get better, after Dhanneth. But he resists the urge to make baseless reassurances; he had been hurt, even if it was something that wouldn't have hurt anyone else.
"When you told me yes, okay, I could kiss you, and then ran away, it felt like - like I was being bad again." He's trying not to be melodramatic, to say I felt like a monster. His voice is very small, instead. "Like I'd - pushed you. So if - I don't know. I didn't even think you, um, wanted relationships? Like that?"
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And then he rests his head on Jedao's, tucking him into the crook of his neck with the motion.
"You're doing all the right things, hot stuff. I'm the one freaking out over you doing crap like telling me what you want and junk. All that crap people say you're supposed to do with good relationships, you're ticking all the boxes. But all of this is like- the being flirted with, you being in a relationship and still wanting to play around with me-- sure it's one small step for Jedaos, but it's a pretty big leap for Eiffel-kind."
He's silent for a few seconds, before he adds, casual in the way where it's really obvious how hard he's trying to be casual, "Sex is fine, sure, but I've never done that with a guy either."
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"It's not all small for me," Jedao insists softly. "I never thought Gonou would be okay with me sleeping around until he said he was. I'm scared I'm going to lose the best thing in my life because I'm greedy. But I'm not too scared to trust him, I guess."
He is trying to take yes for an answer. And it went okay with Norton.
"Gonou said that too," Jedao tells him. It's a small breach of information, but he thinks Gonou would approve it. "But I don't...think it's that different." Not that he's ever been with a woman or an alt, but Gonou seemed to have plenty of...applicable skills. But Jedao can also tell, even if he doesn't understand, that whatever is making Eiffel hesitate, it's more than simple insecurity.
"Can you tell me what about that scares you?"
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If Jonathan Sims still had his powers this question would be a lot simpler."I dunno. It's just... something I haven't thought about before. It's not, like, one single thing. It's all the straws ganging up to break the camel's brain." He shrugs gently, smooshing Jedao's head for a moment. "I guess part of me's worried that I might not be good at the benefits part of friends with. I don't wanna lose the friends part."
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He doesn't know what to do with himself and he's bad at sitting still, so his face turns red as he brushes his thumb along Jedao's hand.
"But- y-yeah. We might as well give the upgrade a shot, you know? Once around the block, see how we like it or if I go and make things even more weird and awkward. You just... I mean, I know you're gonna go easy on me. Take it slow the first time."
transition to Cave Hang?
"Right. Easy," he echoes, voice a little breathy.
Then he grips Eiffel's hand a little tighter, leans back enough to look at him.
"Hey. Why don't we go do friend stuff right now? Just hang out. Like - since that's what's important to both of us. Walk the walk, you know? We could go see the caves or whatever."
Cave Hang Time!
He'll give Jedao's head another quick squish with his own before he goes to stand up, letting his hand slip free from Jedao's. "I haven't actually hopped off the ship yet, I didn't feel like seeing how badly my screams are gonna echo when I inevitably get caught by whatever's living out there. But hey, if you're with me I'm in great hands."
Re: Cave Hang Time!
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"I can't get lost in the dark. But I'll carry spares or whatever, or course. and maybe if we get some, you can come back to the engine room to install it?" Jedao offers.
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"I mean, if the Admiral lets you, you know? Or if she does," he adds, clapping both hands on the doorframe to the hall. "She's got every right to slam the door in my face."
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"I think she'd like it. She's almost made of forgiveness, you know? It's what she's for."
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