rosebyanyother | duplicity inbox

yeah.

but cut the bullshit. i'm not in the mood for it.

（ he knows peter means well and that it's just part of their established dynamic, but he wants to make it clear that he's not in the headspace to navigate it without turning into a raging asshole. more than usual, anyway. ）

[Hm. Interesting.]

Very well.
I don't have any particular plans today that can't be shifted around. Let me know when you're planning to show up and I'll be here to let you in.

half hour.

I'll see you then.

[...And he'll tidy up a bit in the meantime.]

I think Jon might be being threatened or held against his will because his recent post is really weird.

Yes, I got that impression as well. He SAYS he's alone, but I'm still worried.
If you aren't free to check on him now, I can.

[There's a long pause, and then another message.]

I hate that this is being done to him.
And some of the responses he's gotten.

（ he doesn't actually

knock.

or try the door.

nope.

not this asshole.

he just straight up teleports into the living room. he's got his battered old guitar slung over one shoulder, neck pointed towards the ground, and a bottle of some indescribably strong liquor in one hand — the bottle is artfully shaped like a tentacle dick, because that's just the city theme or something. he extricates himself out of the guitar's strap, sets it down beside the couch and drops into the cushions with a whump. ）

If I ask real nice will you get me a glass with some ice in it?

I'll go find him. Hopefully he hasn't been kidnapped again.

I'll let you know if he's okay. I guess if you don't hear from me tomorrow then something awful has happened?

...me too. He's really not someone to be comfortable with this. He's a private person.

[...Rude, Cy.

Peter is actually in the middle of ferrying a few pieces of clothing back out of his living room and into his bedroom when suddenly there is a person in his space. Cy will get to see Peter startle if he's paying attention, hand flashing towards a pocket - he almost drops a shirt to do so - before he recognizes exactly what is going on here.

He breathes out, refolds the shirt back over his arm and...considers scolding Cy but ultimately decides not to. That warning about 'bullshit' keeps his expression relatively pleasant.]

Of course. It's what any good host would do, after all. Just give me a minute.

[...Cy hasn't actually asked real nice but Peter isn't going to make him. He makes his way to his bedroom to deposit those clothes on his bed and then goes to the kitchen to perform the asked-for task.

Coming back into the living room, he deposits the glass of ice in front of Cy and then takes a seat in a chair near the couch.]

Should I ask why you're seeking refuge in my living room or should I just let you drink?

（ he catches it. the flinch, the twitch, the quick recalibration. he's fucked up, but he's not that fucked up. he's not sure he ever could be — he's too good at surviving to miss even the most minute of clues.

but ultimately, it gets ignored. he picks up the glass of ice, dumps the brandy in over it and lifts it in a universal little gesture of 'cheers'. ）

Someone left. （ not even remotely true. he's actually been damn lucky in that regard — not only has no one he cared for especially deeply left, but anna actually came back. so. no. not the truth. ） Frankly, I just needed to get away for awhile.

[Absolute lie though it may be, it still gets an actual reaction from Peter, a look of recognition and sympathy passing over his face before he nods.

He doesn't do particularly well with people leaving him behind either.]

Well. That's certainly understandable. You're welcome to stay as long as you like. Especially if you use that little trick to keep my neighbors out of my business and both of us out of trouble.

[You know. Being a dominant and submissive who are both contracted to other people. Not having Cy coming and going from his door would be a nice little thing, considering.]

You can make yourself at home...I don't really have much in the way of groceries, to be honest, though. I don't really cook.

Hostage seems more likely than kidnapping. It looks like he's in his library, after all.
If it's all the same to you, I'll worry if I haven't heard from either of you by this evening.

He doesn't need more insecurities or self-doubt. Which I'm sure this is going to give him.

[He knows he needs to be careful complaining about this. He doesn't need to bring to Martin's attention the fact that kitten play is something that's special for Peter and Jon, together. But...the urge to commiserate is strong.]

Yeah. He's still at home.

[Which could be worse? He remembers how violated he'd felt when Jane Prentiss had held him prisoner in his house.]

Right. I'll let you know. He gets forced into too many things, to expose too much.

Yes. He does.

Be safe, Martin.

[He doesn't think there's actually that much danger involved, but it doesn't hurt to say.]

Will be.

I spoke to Jon. He's not kidnapped or being held hostage. And we're both safe.

I'm glad to hear that.

Thank you for letting me know.

[Once he's in the church, Jon has sense enough to reach out to Peter, just to let the man know he's alive and all right. He's also trying to find out what the hell is going on, but between the censoring and the network failures, not terribly much gets through.]

Morrigan, I'm ~~stuck in~~ the Down.
What ~~the hell is going on~~ in the Up?
It's chaos down here.
SIN Guards are everywhere.
I think they're fighting the gangs?
The Rubies, maybe?
The train and Elevators are both ~~being guarded.~~
Are you all right?
I don't know how to get back.

[This hasn't been a time when Peter was expecting to see Jon, but he has had a message go unanswered for a day or so and...yes. That is mildly worrying.

...So is getting these....messages, honesty. At least he's good at reading between the....errors. Somewhat.]

Jon! I'm glad ~~to hear from you.~~
~~The Up~~ is normal.
The Spring Festival is starting ~~early~~.
I'm fine.
I'll see what I can ~~find out about~~ the Elevators.
Do ~~you know where~~ Martin is? I can try ~~and find him.~~
Please, be safe.

[He might not know exactly what is going on, but it does sound like Jon isn't leaving the Down anytime soon and that is also worrisome.]

Edited (too much strike) 2021-04-20 04:01 (UTC)

Martin's with ~~me at the Church.~~
Elias, ~~as well.~~
Lucky us.
Sasha's at Haven.
People are being captured and killed down here en masse.
The Festival's probably a distraction.
Stay safe, all right?
~~Don't~~ trust anything at that Festival.

[The message comes at 3 AM a few days after Jon's been incarcerated for a week.]

Is there something that's like sexting, but without the sex?
Romantic sexting?
Romexting sounds ridiculous.

[Jon is bored out of his mind, has been unable to sleep in this unfamiliar and unsafe place for the past 48 hours, and is without work to occupy himself. He can't even do Elias' stupid 'homework' without tempting fate on losing himself to his powers. That will almost certainly result in getting shot and left in an unconscious heap for half a day.]

[Peter is.....not awake at 3am. So, at least 4 to 5 hours later, a response comes.]

Romexting DOES sound a bit silly.
I don't know that there's a phrase for what you're talking about, specifically.
I think it would probably just be flirting over text?

[Thanks to Elias, whom he will never thank, Jon has been able to catch an hour or two of sleep, at least. It means he groans at himself when he reads what he'd written last night.]

Ignore that.
Sorry.
I've just been having trouble sleeping in the cell.

[backdated to a day or so after this]

Jamie's relieved to hear from Morrigan after everything is said and done. He'd trusted that he would, but that didn't stop the concern. He feels like he should bring something with him as he heads over to Morrigan's place, but what the hell would make any of this better?

He makes it a point to look a bit... softer than he did the last time they saw each other. Still quite put together, but not the wicked creature that had been on the other side of the camera.

When he gets to the building, he gives Morrigan a buzz to let him know he's here.

Well, I can imagine.

[...Jon barely sleeps well normally.]

I know there's probably not much I can do from the outside but if there is anything....

I could break in to keep you company for a bit.

[That may or may not be a serious offer.

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