middaeg | Closed

Entry tags:

Closed

Who: L, Niles, and likely Light at some point.
When: Early days of Aguril.
Where: L and Light's house.
What: Emergency tattoo touch up.
Warnings: R rated conversation.

[Normally he would have sent a courtesy text. Asked about logistics. Normally he wouldn't be absolutely bone dry on magic before he needed to set this up. Courtesy and coordination matter a lot less to him when he's partially unarmed. That naga they'd branded together lurks at the back of Niles' mind. From what he could tell he'd been gone two months. Plenty of time for things to have escalated or festered between him and L. If that's the case he doesn't want his anti hypnosis tattoo to be inert one second longer than it has to.

Arriving at L's house in the dead of night feels almost like a guilty pleasure. The windows are dark from the front, but Niles traces a familiar path around the perimeter that gives him a decent line of sight into a few windows without leaving the shadowed cover of the tall hedges dividing the property from its neighbors. Each room he gets a view into is empty and still. Some of the familiarity of his actions fades, but it's a relief. Enjoying the skulking and spying is one thing, seeing L's house in a state of alcoholic dissaray like it had been during the months Niles stalked him would be entirely different. He likes stretching his skulking and spying muscles, but the last thing he wants to do is actually return to needing to use them.

Finally Niles finds one window softly illuminated by a small lamp inside. It's L's study, and Niles is willing to bet his nose is buried in a book. He keeps out of sight anyway, just in case L isn't alone. He shifts into his feline form so he can stay below the level of the window as he approaches. When he gets a glimpse of L's hunched outline, and sees no second humanoid silhouette he relaxes and peers over the ledge, ears, eye, and horns all now lit up by the glow from inside. Now with a full clear look into the room he realizes that the dark shape he'd mistaken for new furniture is....some sort of great hulking animal. And floating? It looks aquatic, is it some strange warped mer form? Confused and curious as he is he doesn't stop to consider the fact that the thing itself has as clear a few of him as he does of it.]

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Do you? Water's a dreadful lubricant.

[He's decided that no matter how obnoxious Niles desires to be, it won't get to him, make him squirm, cause the color to rise in his cheek or require a compulsive clearing of his throat.

Hypersexual, Niles might be. L has hyper tendencies of his own, and obnoxiousness is probably one of them.]

And then you kiss, and then you tell. I follow, right enough.

[Spoken almost in a singsong tone as he fills a vial with dark, rich blood, like ink.]

You're right, I thought we'd be limited to frottage but as it turns out, his cock gets wet. The stuff is thicker than a woman's, almost like a jelly. Works wonders. [He knows L is difficult to fluster and honestly likes that about him. Sometimes he sees it as a challenge, but right now it's something more like a...relief. L's someone he can vent to with full vulgarity and not worry about scandalizing him unless he really tries to.] I'm capable of discretion when I feel like it. But he's not a client, I'm not his dirty little secret, and you asked. Besides, he's a catch worth bragging about in my opinion. [Okay...one more little attempt to get a reaction.] You know he doesn't need to breathe right? Even on land? At first I was frustrated he had such an unfair advantage for someone so green, but it feels fantastic to finally get as good as I give.

[Perhaps it dawns on L, at some point, that Niles is relying on him for his relative resistance to scandalization. Thicker than a woman's is something he doesn't comment on, though familiarity lights up in his eyes, seems accessible to him. He's been with a woman since he and Niles last spoke; he has context, where he didn't before.

He doesn't tell.]

A catch worth bragging about... I wonder what his unfair advantage is.

[Niles gives up on flipping through the book he'd chosen. He's not paying enough attention to the letters to actually parse any meaning from them, much less track down the specific page he's thinking of. Instead he uses his free hand instead to trail a finger down his neck as he talks tapping suggestively at a point below his adam's apple.] Since he doesn't need air, when he gives head he can take it to the hilt and keep it there as long as he likes. And while that's certainly one way to keep him from singing me into a stupor, I'd like a more...[His tail twitches under the table. His smile stays in place, still full of lecherous glee, but it's a little more sour now, a little more brittle.]...general solution.

Hm. Good to know, all of it.

[It's more something to say, than something meant sincerely. L is a private person when it comes to sex, neither a virgin or a whore. He seems immune to lust, though obsession is his grasping mistress.]

If I ever sleep with Connor, I'll keep it in mind.

[He probably won't. Everyone he wants to engage with this way is forbidden, somehow.]

Just giving you a little fodder for some sweeter dreams than the ones you're used to.

[Niles is convinced no one is immune to lust. Even the most strait laced, devout, celibate monk has a breaking point, and he's seen enough of L's more unorthodox hungers to know he's far from exempt from the messy, inconvenient, base urges that Niles makes his living on. All that said, he knows sarcasm when he hears it.]

My point is that I need a mark to counter his voice, and I need to put somewhere a little unorthodox. Somewhere he won't find it, even when he strips me down and works me over.

[He's got something in mind, but he's curious to see where L's mind goes first with the problem as presented.]

Save it. Bring me some literal fodder; chocolates, maybe, or something sufficiently alcoholic so that everything seems sweet.

[Spindly body mass aside, L has built up enough of a tolerance through secretively binge-drinking himself to sleep that it would take a fair amount. Princely gift, indeed, and a pretty shameless hint about it.

What's not quite so shameless are his own sexual escapades. Unlike Niles, he holds them close to his chest, doesn't speak of them nearly so freely. They're a secret smirk, knowledge that is gently comforting to the person who matters.]

Your tongue comes to mind, first. Lovers don't tend to examine the muscle, but tattooing them is quite possible.

I can make that happen.

[He might not have many cunes to his name or his old job back (yet) but a few of his former coworkers owe him favors. He can ask one of them to get him something from the top shelf. At L's suggestion Niles' tilts his head and gives a considering hum.]

Not a bad idea...but avoiding oral while I wait for it to heal might get him suspicious. No, I was thinking here. [He uses his hand to push aside the thick tuft of fur that curs around the opening of his left ear. The fur thins considerably past the outer rim, down to nearly bare skin at the base of the shell. It tries to flick away from the intrusion reflexively, and Niles gives a little tsk of irritation. He catches it between two fingers and stretches it taught. His other hand even joins to flatten down any human hair in the way, making sure L has a good view of the spot he's suggesting.] Depending on how much room you need, I can shave a bit to widen that area but still keep it covered easily.

[L tilts his head, peering where Niles specifies.]

I offered to tattoo your tongue. Considering as much, you know how delicate my runes can get, I hope.

[They've been at this long enough, over time, after all.]

Why are you so intent on keeping him from noticing it, anyway? Seems someone like Connor would understand your reasons.

[Niles frowns, hand sliding back to scratch the base of his ear. It's a reasonable question, but it's an urge he'd been acting on without thinking about too hard. Now that L pointed a floodlight on it though. It's half habit half, setting up a test. He hums, tail twitching as he irons out his motives.]

Well, first of all I value being able to feign surrender. [It's an old rule of his. Always tap out with enough energy and composure to react to escalation.] Second...bonds are tricky, overwhelming things. We've talked, set up some lines in the sand, but the full moon brings high tides. [He shakes his head.] I want this to be a trip wire, not a wall. See if he remembers where the line was without having to install a pier.

[His frown fades, replaced by something like a resigned smile, and a shrug.] This of course, hinges on you not telling him. With all that said, having the protection itself is the priority. The cloak and dagger of it all is, [He waves a hand through the air.] tassels and finery on armor.

Just so long as you're only feigning, I'm sure.

[Oh, yes. He's sure, after months of being locked in bitter battle with the chimera. No one could be more sure.]

Bonds grow around you, like any good or bad habit. You'll adjust. And rest assured... I have no interest in telling him.

[No interest, investment, or passion. L's dully professional as he goes about his preparations as though by rote, like a cat too lethargic to even perk up at the sight of a rubber mouse on a string dangled in its face.]

Speaking of tassels and finery, you're not interested in embellishments or artistic touches for something that's meant to go unseen, are you?

[He's not sure he has "artistic" in him, in truth.]

[Tap out early only served to protect him if he had a way out. Enclosed on all sides by ice and water, the memories of those battles was definitely spurring his over-cautious attitude towards Connor's particular powers.

He smiles a bit at L's complete deadpan. He'd been counting on that when telling him all the relevant details. He knew the man was discrete, even if it was only due to apathy. Then he nods as they get back to the task at hand. He reaches over for the book, thumbing back open to the glossary again.]

Not at all. Function over form, the simpler the better really. In fact I was reading something- [He finds the term he was looking for, and pauses find it in context.] this. "Somatic placement". [He looks over a full page diagram of a body, with parts color coded and a little table of runes along the side.] The location itself can take the place of a rune in some cases.

[L's dark eyes flick up to the book, a glossary he's all but memorized. Almost effortless except enough to make it satisfying, the way some do a sudoku puzzle or a crossword on their lunch break.]

Location can matter. If you want a blue wall, you're going to put the runes on the wall that you want to be blue. That being said...

[Now that the stupidly obvious example is out of the way.]

Your brain is actually the focus for runes like this. The auditory cortex in the temporal lobe, specifically... as that's the part of the brain that processes music, with some influence from the amygdala, which regulates emotion and drives motivational and incentive salience. Mer songs are based in temptation, so it makes sense that dopamine would be a factor. All of this is to say that I can't actually tattoo your brain, and almost anywhere on or inside the head is close enough to count for this kind of relatively holistic approach to curtailing future influence.

[Niles processes and absorbs precisely...none of that. His ears swivel, trying to pick out individual words to look for in the glossary. Amygdala sure. That sounded like it started with an a, he'll try that one first. He flips pages, scans down the list, and sees nothing. Okay uh, dopamine? Not there either. His ears lay flat. Is L making up gibberish to mock him? A sidelong glance has him discard that theory. L's not even looking at him, not searching for Niles' confusion and frustration. He's taken off into his own world of magical mechanisms that's just beyond what Niles can keep up with. He holds his tail steady, stifling the urge to flick it in irritation. He closes the book and crosses his arms over his chest instead of chasing lofty vocabulary.]

Right. [Flat. A decent impression of L's own monotone.] How long will it take you to create the design?

[L didn't think that Niles would understand. He said it all, thinking as much. He waits patiently as Niles flips through the text, glances through, and fails to find what he's looking for.

It's easy, because like Niles believes, he's somewhere else. His mind is a beautiful place; his mind is limitless, unlike his body, or the world he finds himself in. Light Yagami also has a mind like that.]

Hm?

[Distracted. Ironically, because he's so very focused.]

Not long. I've thought of it already, actually. It's just a matter of putting it on you, which... takes as long as it takes.

[He nods as though to hammer that assertion in place. So much on his mind, lately, that being able to focus completely on something is a coveted oasis.]

[Niles lets out a scoff and shakes his head.] Oh no, I'm not just giving you free reign to mark me up however you please.

[He leans over the table, deliberately pushing into L's personal space and he lingers there. His ears are forward, and his eye is intense and searching when it meets L's own. The first tattoo he'd had inspected by both Azura and Henry, neither of them rune specialists, but both more literate in magic than him. For the second tattoo L had a direct interest in keeping his fellow vigilante from falling prey to a hypnotic snake. For this one however he'll have to watch his own back.

He reaches past him and snatches a pad of paper resting near L's elbow, as well as a nearby pencil. He flips the first few pages until he finds a fresh one, then slides it back across the table along with the pencil. He taps the empty page with a clawed finger.]

Show me first. And go slow. Remember, I'm a simpleton. [He then picks up the anthology again. He knows he won't be able to decipher all, or probably even a fraction, of what L's about to scrawl out, but he's hoping at least he could catch it if L tries to sneak in anything wildly off topic.]

[For the first time, even after the shock of Niles reappearing after a disappearance, L actually reacts to the invasion of space. His chair slides back; his limbs are stiff and his chest does not rise and fall with breath.]

What-

[A pause. Indignance.]

What do I have to gain from screwing you over. Everyone who's anyone knows about our grudge. They'd know who to blame if something went wrong. Do what simpletons do and just trust that my skills, knowledge and abilities aren't things I'd pollute by betraying you, now.

[Niles crosses his arms over his chest, the thick tome awkwardly tucked into an elbow as he does. He huffs out an annoyed breath. The truth of L's words combined with his prying earlier about all the smoke and mirrors with Connor has him distinctly off kilter. His tail twitches, and this time he doesn't catch it enough to stifle it. It gives one quick back and forth lash before he shifts in his seat, crossing his legs and tucking his stinger between his hoof on the ground and the leg of his chair. If it starts acting up again it'll be pinned with nowhere to go. What exactly is so strange, offensive, and unexpected about trying to protect himself?]

Obviously I don't think you'd go for outright sabotage, but this is your magic going on my body. I think I have the right to ask questions about what it is and how it works. [He grunts in annoyance, shifts again. The corner of the book is digging into the small window of fur free skin he still has on his chest so he tosses it back to the table where it lands with a louder thump than he really intended. His ears twitch at the sound, a wince where his face stays motionless.]

...Look, I do trust you. [It's not something he's voiced before to anyone, but it's the strange ugly truth.] But also, I don't trust anyone. You're not special. Just, show me. [He won't say please. He's done enough groveling at L before now, but his last words are quiet. Almost soft. Not an order, but a request. It makes him queasy.]

It's not my job to feed you the questions to ask. If you have them, ask. If you just want to inconvenience me or make me work harder than I have to, fuck off.

[He holds his sharpened implement like a steak knife, pointed downward.]

If it changes nothing, in the end, save us both the breath. Let me do my job, and get out of here.

[Niles outright growls for one short instant and he feels the tug of his tail trying to free itself from where he's pinned it with his leg. He doesn't let it though, keeps it tamped down where it can't be mistaken as a threat. He's keenly aware that somewhere behind him there's a great big mouth full of daggers just watching and lurking. He takes a deep breath, puts his hand on the pad of paper and slides it forward until the bottom edge bumps against L's middle.]

I'm asking you to write your little lines twice, rather than once. Surely your delicate, fragile, twiggy fingers can handle that. [An unwise dig. He knows it the second he says it, but there's no walking it back now.] Show me the design. You said yourself you already have it in your head, so just put it on the paper then we can move on.

Edited 2021-09-25 06:23 (UTC)

They can.

[Stiffly.]

I just see no point, when it would mean next to nothing to you.

[He goes through the motions of cracking his knuckles, but he's never quite been able to do it since his fingers were reattached. Lingering fear, perhaps, of that state changing again, the stuff of nightmares.]

It's clearly about control. Am I wrong?

[His eye stays fixed on L's hands as they preform their incomplete stretch. He's waiting to hear the pop, anticipating a stab of guilt or regret when he hears it, but it never comes. Just the knowledge that internally, he flinched. He looks away.]

I'd understand more than you think. [It's a subdued protest, more than a mumble, but not by a lot.] I've studied some...I just. [He trails off, dropping the point since they both know it's mostly posturing. He looks down at his own hands now, curling them into fists on the polished wood surface.]

Yes and no. Control and respect. [He meets L's gaze finally.] This is a boundary I'm not backing down on. If you insist on pushing this line, then we're done here. [He wants this tattoo, but between Connor and L, letting L call the shots and have his way will have far more lasting consequences. He's sure of it. He'd asked for something small, something reasonable, something simple to make him feel safer. If L couldn't crawl out of his own ass to recognize and respect that then he needed to move on.]

You came to me. I'm not asking to be paid for this, and you're in my home. If I can do what you're asking for on the first try, and know that, respect is definitely the issue. You might just have it backwards.

[He pushes his chair back and stands.]

It's child's play, you know. Can you imagine if someone asked you to prove that you could safely walk, before you ran a short distance? That's what it's like. It's an insult, Niles.

[Niles glares up at L for a long moment. He wants to deescalate this. He wants to get it through to L that this has nothing to do with him. He wants a new tattoo. But like plenty of times before he's got no way to get what he wants here. He grabs the vial of L's blood from where it rests on the table, and dumps it over the existing tattoo on his forearm. The excess is mostly caught by his fur, soaking into the thick white and grey mass of it but a few solitary drops find their way onto the table below. He stands then and thrusts his arm forward, palm up and his hand a fist.]

Fine then. Recharge this, then I'm gone.

If it's a gift, then I don't work for you.

[Simple as that. He heads to the liquor cabinet. Cerise lowers her head, the rows of teeth glinting in the cottage's dim light.]

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