IC Inbox | un: ANoble

[rosebyanyother]

(credit to lesmiserabelles)

"Alexander Noble. I'm afraid I'm too busy to answer at the moment, but leave a message and I promise to respond as soon as I'm able."

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text | un: jtk

[willrevile]

Still kicking?

[rosebyanyother]

Perhaps a little less forcefully than usual, but yes. I am.

How are you?

[willrevile]

I'll take that answer.

I'm fantastic, I have both feet and all my digits.

[rosebyanyother]

That sounds like a victory to me.

[That's...sort of sarcasm. Maybe. But not entirely.]

[willrevile]

Sure is, for my toes and I.

You taken care of?

[rosebyanyother]

I've been through Medical, yes.

I assume you have been as well.

[You better have been, Jim. Though Peter isn't too worried about it, in the sense that he doesn't think Jim is the kind to shirk medical care. He'd been the sensible one on the battle field, after all.]

[willrevile]

Yeah. Not quite up to par with home, but still handy. (Footy?) Just taking it easy and trying to parse Darma's fast one.

[rosebyanyother]

"Footy"?

Yes, that certainly was an impressive deus ex machina. Who knew they had that kind of power.

[willrevile]

My foot almost melted all the way off, I have a really artsy scar now.

I've been of the opinion since I got here that they have the ability to either meddle with time, or they're just not linear beings, and I suspect this confirms it.

[rosebyanyother]

Well. That sounds nasty. But scars do add character.

I suppose you must be right, especially considering that they pulled people from different points in time from the same galaxy. But stopping time in its tracks is still very impressive.

[willrevile]

I'll happily add 'character' onto 'still having both feet'.

Now the question for me is: do they have an innate ability to do that, or is it mechanical.

[rosebyanyother]

One does seem more important than the other.

It seems hard to imagine the scope of something mechanical. But then again, if they've rescued as many people as they say...well, they are incredibly advanced. One way or the other.

[1701]

It's a mystery I want in on, either way. Feel up to grabbing lunch sometime while we're stuck up here?

[rosebyanyother]

I'd love to. Maybe after a little more recuperation? How does the day after tomorrow sound?

[1701]

Sounds very good. I'll see you then.

carnival things // bc i'm too tired for logs and i'm shocked i haven't hit up your ic inbox yet.

[stuns]

hey, n.

[ typing out "noble" is WEIRD. and he's not going to leave your name lying anywhere for someone to find it. speaking of which: ]

i've got something of yours.

[rosebyanyother]

[He's tickled by the abbreviation, honestly.]

Do you? I wasn't aware I was missing anything. But I'm curious.

[stuns]

[ tickled. ]

it's a letter from a while back.

it's mine, technically but. it's got something of yours too.

[rosebyanyother]

[Peter's a sharp cookie, it doesn't take him too long to figure that one out.

The response actually takes a minute or two though.]

You still have that? After all this time?

[Color him surprised. And...more than a little touched.]

[stuns]

yeah. thought it was destroyed by the storm since i left it in my safe but

it’s here and they gave it to me. they said if i keep it it’ll disappear in a few hours.

but if i give it to someone it’ll stay.

[ juno is loathe to have to make this call. he selfishly wants it. but he also would rather have this last trace of nureyev’s name be gone to keep it from falling into someone else’s hands by accident — from their world or not.

maybe it’s the principle of it. nureyev’s insisting on keeping his alias, juno’s sworn to keep his name a secret. it only feels right to involve him in the decision. ]

[rosebyanyother]

[It is a curious dilemma, isn't it. Without that paper, he's exactly who he says he is, here. Every hint of Peter Nureyev gone. Or at least gone again. The paper is...a liability. If only a very small one.

...But the fact that Juno kept it means something. Something that warms Peter a little, makes him smile to himself.]

Well. If you can't keep it, I'll take it off your hands.

[stuns]

[ juno can't give that page to just anyone - all annoyingly legible handwriting written behind a clever man's back. and maybe he doesn't want to. maybe there's only one person he'd trust with it. but does that person want it gone?

he'd do it if nureyev said to. it's his name. his... gift. ]

you'd be okay with that?

with it staying around?

[ a hungry part of juno wants that more than anything. there's a secretly delighted bit that relishes in nureyev's name where maybe he used to consider it pointlessly ostentatious to call it a "gift" of some kind.

but he knows now. he knows more than everyone here. ]

[rosebyanyother]

I think I should be able to take care of it properly.

[This is probably a very strange conversation to anyone who might stumble upon it - although what are the chances that....well. Peter will certainly be deleting the conversation from his history. But he's being intentionally vague and that's probably for the best because how likely is that that Juno knows how to delete his.

In any event, he'll keep it and keep it safe because Juno did the same.]

[stuns]

[ aren't you lucky, he's learned how for a lot of reasons — to delete things anyways. he lets the giddy relief settle in his stomach, cozy underneath the guilt of having this letter here in the first place. he's folded it up as small as possible, tucked it away deep in an inner pocket in his coat. ]

want me to meet you anywhere in particular?

[rosebyanyother]

What about that sweet little coffee house on the north end of the market?

[stuns]

yeah

that works.

are you free now? ish? they told me it doesn't stick around that long and i might have already killed some time [ staring at it. a lot. ]

[rosebyanyother]

I can be free now. I'll meet you there shortly?

[stuns]

great. shortly's great.

[ he'll leave it at that and head over to the coffee house. it's still open, surprisingly, but with all the festivities going on that means it's slow and easy to find a quiet and cozy corner with a carafe of something hot sitting in the middle with two stacked cups the waitress has set down.

juno maybe looks like had a long night already (isn't that how he always looks?). he'd like for this portion to be easy.

he's mid-temple rub when he sees nureyev move through the door and when he approaches, there's a softened smile, fingers pulling from his forehead. ] Hey.

[rosebyanyother]

[It is how he always looks. Which is infuriating and charming all at the same time. It probably shouldn't be charming. That's Peter's bias talking.

But oh, that smile. Peter's heart melts a little, because he will always be a fool. He lowers himself into the chair across from Juno.]

Hello. Enjoying the carnival?

[stuns]

[ it's absolutely peter's bias talking. lucky.

juno's fingers retreat into his coat for a moment, finding the familiar folds of that note and pulling it out. setting it down between them before taking one of the cups from the stack and filling each cup. is it something else to do besides acknowledge the incriminating piece of paper?

oh yes absolutely. ]

Never really been one for amusement parks, so not really. Especially ones that go pulling incriminating pieces of paper out of thin air.

[rosebyanyother]

Yes, that is a strange magic trick to pull.

[Peter lets the note rest on the table for a few moments - it wouldn't do to immediately call attention to it, though...he very much doubts anyone cares here - before he picks it up and slips it into an inside jacket pocket without opening it to see the contents.

After all, he already knows.]

Though, I'm curious why they chose that of all things

[stuns]

[ he almost misses it already. between his fingers, knowing it's safe, stealing around a corner because somehow the cologne nureyev wears has this lingering effect, reading the words quickly with an anxious nostalgia that punctuates itself with your better half.

better half by far. ]

I don't know, to be annoying?

[ he hunches his shoulders just a bit more. ]

The person who gave it to me said it was valuable. I didn't know what it was until I opened it up.

[ when he meets nureyev's eyes, there's honesty there in his expression. ]

Didn't say it had to be worth money. I'm not really a materialistic kind of lady.

[rosebyanyother]

No, you don't seem like one at all.

[Peter makes that observation with an amused smile. It's faintly masking the fact that he's actually very touched. The idea that this is valuable to Juno is...

Well.

Enough for that smile to soften, after a moment. Maybe it's the honesty in Juno's eyes too. Peter reaches out briefly brush his fingers over the top of Juno's hand before withdrawing it a short distance.]

It's very refreshing, really.

[stuns]

[ nureyev's fingers brush his hand, and for a second juno wants to pull back. not because he doesn't like it, but more because he's almost certain it has to be accidental. until he lingers, and lingers long enough for juno to really believe it. ]

Oh yeah? How come?

[ curious, actually making eye contact with him. wow. ]

[rosebyanyother]

[Peter doesn't try again, but he continues to smile warmly at Juno.]

This may be a surprise, but I don't come across too many people like you, Juno. You're very unique.

[stuns]

[ there’s relief that he doesn’t, but maybe a little bit of disappointment to. that’s the disconnect probably. the wall that juno hits and is too tentative to move forward with.

he taps his finger against the table instead. when he speaks, it sounds a little hoarse, like he hadn’t intended to let it out, caught in his throat. ]

It kind of is a surprise. I’d substitute "unique" with "frustrating" maybe. "uniquely frustrating."

[rosebyanyother]

Well. You are that too, sometimes.

[Peter's smile doesn't change as he admits to it, though. It stays just as warm. Because:]

But it's part of your charm. I told you before, I like your strength of will.

[He definitely did not say that in those exact words last time, but he's definitely pretending like he did.]

[stuns]

Yeah, well...

[ juno feels a weird warmth, (maybe) reassurance, settle high in his chest as peter's expression doesn't seem to shift at all when he confirms just that.

gross. ]

If there's anyone I had to be abducted by aliens with, I'm glad that it's you.

[ it's good. after six months of regretting letting everything go. to come back and revisit it and to slowly find himself wanting to piece it together again.

there's nowhere to run this time, after all, and it's kind of tacky to go and do the same thing twice.

juno doesn't believe in fate, but he does believe in the world giving you a slap to the face and setting you back to a similar fork in the road to make a call again. to walk it on your own or to let someone in. actually. maybe that is fate. fuck. whatever. ]