metalogs | (closed) | good old fashioned romance

Entry tags:

(closed) | good old fashioned romance

Who: Balthier

portolan and David

helpdesk_hero
What: a series of dates following the Love Potion #9 event
When: Feb 9, 12
Where: Central City
Content Warnings: N/A

Tabbard Winery

[ The Tabbard Winery sits in an old 19th-century building in Central City. The walls are rich wooden panels imported from Europe and the furniture is heavily tufted leather. Oil paintings and chandeliers decorate the space, punctuated with antiques and exquisite plants. It reminds Balthier of some of the modern luxury spaces at home, and he remembered that David mentioned an affinity for wood panels.

He's seated in a big leather chair in a back corner near a multi-paned window that looks onto a snowy patio. He's dressed more modestly today -- an admittedly pirate-esque white shirt and fitted black pants.

He doesn't quite have the habit of checking his phone obsessively yet, but he's doing the mental equivalent, spinning the ring on his little finger. While he has his gaze fixed on a painting across the room, his head tilts involuntarily every time he hears the door open.

Scions he's giddy and nervous as a schoolboy. He chooses a bottle of wine, though he doesn't recognize the makes or locations. He asks for something full-body, for David's coffee tastes. Given three options, he chooses the one that has a ship on the label. Everyone here seems to think that's what pirate means. He finds that amusing. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Balthier clears the dirty dishes to the sink and trash to the appropriate receptacle as they talk. ]

A lot to learn on cuisine and geography, I think. I'm certainly leaning toward a city -- guild told me today it's looking like Excelsior is going to have a better job fit for me, but they're still working out details. I know they're normal here, but gods I never expected to have a job.

[ He returns to the coffee table to pick up his tea, settling back in against the arm of the couch so he can look at David. He drapes his leg so that a small part of them is still touching. ]

As for the tea, the mystery box sounds very much in my tastes, but I'll admit, I'm reluctant to give up walking into a shop or market and smelling my tea before I buy it.

[Never expecting a job was fair. And David couldn't help but smile at his boyfriend ~~the word made him so giddy~~ as he moved about and talked about a job. One that would keep David relatively close to him.

When Balthier sits David has to snicker briefly because his mind is going 'bi people can't sit in normal ways' and it's amusing to him.]

I hope the work they're helping you set up is something that will suit your more free spirit.

[He moves carefully to let his leg rest more fully against Balthier's.]

See, you could do both. One as a little gift to work on when you consider it, and the other for when you want something real. But I respect your choices. I can be like that with coffee.

[ Please explain that joke to him sometime. He will protest and then realize it's true. ]

They've been more accommodating than I expected. I was looking at art dealing or acquisitions traditional and non [ he 100% means stealing ] but given my need to study the last 500 years of Earthen art history and my glorious countenance, I may take over an existing shop. Someone was retiring -- would give me an established client list. I think it's about as free as I'm going to get if I want things like an apartment and a budget for my tastes.

[ He mostly wants that. It's easier to want it with the promise of seeing David regularly. But if acquisitions occasionally take him galavanting around the country or globe, he's not going to complain.

He smiles at David adjusting to touch him more fully. His mind replays the conversation about wanting to be his and to have him, and he has the urge to grab David and kiss him again. He smiles into his tea, just enjoying the wanting and being wanted. ]

You still owe me a coffee tasting at some point.

[Keep doing this and he'll happily talk about it, probably while chuckling.]

Sounds like a nice fit. If you ever need someone to consult to confirm the art isn't forged, let me know. I can play an art historian well enough, and mostly it's a simple psychometric check.

[Yes, he does owe that doesn't he?]

I'll look into a place that does Turkish style coffee. Really traditional. I think it would please you more.

I may take you up, at least until my eye is up to speed. I have a handle on materiality and process, but I don't have the mental library of movements and which materials existed with which styles to consult with yet. Also more than happy to show of my beautiful, brilliant boyfriend.

[ Boyfriend still feels a bit clumsy to him, but the my doesn't. ]

So far your read of me has been excellent. I look forward to it.

Well, I'm glad to provide my own eye to help you, if you should ask. Helping small business owners is a thing that I should do. It's good to support people like that. Local economies and the like.

[That's going to prompt him looking into places for them to go together in Excelsior in the future.]

For now, I mostly want to find and do things here, while we're still here to enjoy it. But I fear I'll be quite busy soon.

I think that sounds wise to make the most of Central City while we're still here. I'd like to see a few of the museums.

Also, David, I am thrilled to see you as often as you're willing, but I'm a patient and I hope understanding man. If you need to take care of other things, I'll be alright. And I promise I won't disappear.

[ It's easier to feel patient with the commitment of future dates, of asking to call each other theirs, of speaking easily of a future that involves seeing the other. He doesn't want to see David any less, but he also wants this to be sustainable. ]

You want to go to museums? Dear lord if you keep talking like that I might truly fall fully in love with you. Please spare my heart from racing that far that fast when I am so recently burned.

[He... doesn't buy the line about not disappearing. He won't do it by choice perhaps. But that doesn't mean he won't.]

I will try and not plan out too far in advance because I have no clue what contract talks and onboarding and trying to find a residence and Alliance onboarding is going to be like. Which is rude because I want to make more set plans for you. I just want to keep hearing your voice and reading your words to.

[ That's the dream, isn't it? It's so early and yet, Balthier thinks -- hopes -- with the right care, it could grow there. Maybe that's foolish. He's been cast away when in love before. But no one else has asked to lay claim quite like this. No one else has been brilliant and sweet and thoughtful and kind. Maybe David is wiser, to be wary of a disappearance that isn't either of their choice. But maybe Balthier is wiser, to try to hold off the expectations of past disappointments.

He rubs the leg that is touching his. ]

I'm afraid I can't do anything about you finding me unbelievably attractive. It's just who I am.

I suppose I'll probably have similar schedule restrictions -- who knows, the guild is inconsistent in some of it's practices and I'm certainly not culturally primed for them. David I cannot tell you how unappealing looking at apartments that aren't rooms on ships is to me.

But so long as we're both here, it should be easy enough to see one another. If nothing else, I, Balthier, technical prodigy, know how to use a cell phone now. And I know how to deliver letters. I'm a real sage for the ages.

[David's fear of loss comes just from experience, and with time he might find it soothed. But time was something that came upon people slowly, and that had to be carefully cultivated.]

Trust me, I find it unappealing for other reasons. Maybe the Guilds will go a bit with what the ImPort Earth's government did with new people and assign them homes. I started like that. A four bedroom forced living experience, until Josh bought a house and brought me along for the ride.

I have to warn you, sooner or later Josh will want to meet you, and he'll probably trot out the scariest shovel talk you've ever received.

[David laughs at the idea of Balthier as a sage for the ages.]

My mind has three connotations for sage. One is an herb. The second is an old person who has studied tons and is all dusty and wrinkly. The third has a technopathic woman I look up to quite a bit with a sharper wit and more sarcasm than the two of us combined. None fit you.

If I had the Strahl here, I'd offer to take you with me until you found something more suitable. I know that doesn't really help the given situation, but, I would.

The only piece of joining the Society I'm questioning is who I might end up housed with. Maybe I really will turn villain.

[ He doesn't press for more details about Josh, but he registers the name has come up before, and that he's important to David. ]

I have no idea what a shovel talk is, but I'm hoping anything that's just talk I can handle.

[ And at David's rejection of the term... ]

Oh? Well what title would fit me better then?

Joining you on the Strahl at this point would definitely be more than I think my heart could handle right now. But I doubt influences like you might get with assigned housing would really drive you to crime. I lived for a while with not one, but two supervillains. I came out fine.

[And he has faith in Balthier. Not to mention faith in his own influence on the man.]

I think I would call you a treasure. And a scholar. And a charmer.

[ Balthier quietly notes the too much comment and to steer clear, even teasingly. He doesn’t want to make David feel uncomfortable or pressured. ]

Oh, no, I meant I might murder my roommates if they’re terrible enough.

To be clear I am joking. I will not murder anyone unless they are threatening global safety and other means haven’t worked. I appreciate your faith in me though. And I want to hear about your supervillain roommates sometime.

[ David seems too noble for that to work well, but maybe Balthier is being a hypocrite.

He grins at David’s names though. ]

I accept all of these titles.

[Perhaps someone would tell Balthier that, in David's world, moving in with someone was a very big step romantically. Even a temporary gesture might mean more.]

Well, what's your opinion on clowns? I mean literal ones, grease paint and everything.

[The acceptance makes him smile and he sips his tea more.]

I'm leaving all of the electronics here for you. If you have any questions, message me. For now I have it on settings to try and keep you safe from computer attacks but a technopath can get right by them. So, you know, don't use that to pry into Winters or anything like that, okay?

[ He will definitely do some research and ask around about dating protocols after this. He’s used to anything outside the way he was raised already being risqué, and he’s lived with people who were much less serious than he and David already are. Honestly he may be somewhat relieved for a clearer structure. ]

I don’t know what a clown is.

And thank you, again, for the lessons and the laptop. I’m not planning on getting into digital piracy. Or digital digging of any sort. I think you’ve thoroughly demonstrated I am out of my element. I’ll stick to cons, illusions, and treasure for the time being.

[Yeah, asking about them might not be bad. This was already, in a lot of David's metrics, so wonderfully and excitingly paced, and rushing it ahead would throw him off so much.]

Well be glad you don't know what a clown is and hope you never have to deal with them. And while you're somewhat out of your element, this?

[He gestures to the laptop and the likes]

You'll learn this. I have faith in that. People pick this stuff up fast when they want to.

[ Balthier may make some inadvertent missteps but he has no desire to rush this. Honestly he’s out of his element enough that he’s going to have to process some of this, especially when he realizes boyfriend is more serious than he initially thought. He will still be pleased for it though. ]

I’ll take your word on clowns.

Thank you, for the encouragement. Truth be told I’ve mostly been doing well with it all but some days, some moments I feel overwhelmed by how much I don’t know and how different it is here.

[ David has felt grounding and right though. It’s helped. He doesn’t want to put that on David — he knows that much about relationships. But it’s true. ]

I would like to think that, in a situation where I crossed into your world, you would be willing to help me adjust. But in the end I have to admit I just favor you with this help because I favor you.

[And he sips his tea again before a thought occurs to him.]

Oh! I promised when we were alone to show you things. The Boneyard and my Gala outfit

[ David in Ivalice is a curious thought. Balthier is curious how his tech abilities would work with their magical tech blend. He’d certainly like to show David the skies, but Ivalice is full of monsters both literal and human. He doesn’t want that for David. ]

I’d like to think that too. I could have taught you magick and flying. Because I certainly still would have favored you.

[ And probably been extremely protective. ]

Oh, yes, excellent idea. I’d like to see both.

[As if human monsters were at all a concern to him. He had seen more than enough.]

In think in a world of wonders like yours, I wouldn't have stood out for you to see. But I would have liked being shown it.

[He set his tea cup aside and held his hands out before him, focusing on his powers. This was a better topic. With a focus and twisting of light a tower formed over his hands, nestled in a forest, and it rotated slowly around.]

This doesn't do it justice. It is a confection of silver and gold and open air spaces and glass, with a green space in the middle. And it's alive and aware. It changes to suit our needs. The room are all very tall because of how many fliers we have living there, so the height is rather variable.

[ Balthier sets his tea down as well, sliding back next to David so their legs are touching again. He watches as the light forms into the tower, eyes absorbing every detail they can. ]

It sounds wonderful. How long were you there?

[It feels nice, being close like this. But David tries not to focus on it, instead shifting the projection so that it zoomed in on a window, the edges of the building fading away, until it was a little projection of David's room.]

Months. It's been a pretty intense time back home for me. But they wanted me, to help them. It was amazing, to be asked to join the team. I work with some really amazing people. Jean-Paul and his sister Jeanne-Marie are fliers and speedsters, and if they pushed themselves they could hit the speed of light. Or nearly it. Lorna Dane, she's here actually, she's capable of manipulating metal and magnetism, she's the one that made the initial tower. If you ever meet a woman with green hair, far too much smarts, and maybe flying, that's her.

Rachel, she's our telepath and telekinetic, and powerful at that. Also has psychometry, getting to know her has made controlling my gift easier from picking up on how she uses hers. Then there's Akihiro. Dude's about eighty, looks our age. He's the son of a famous mutant named Wolverine, has what we call healing factor so he can survive just about anything, and he has claws too, bone claws. And enhanced senses, and pheromone manipulation.

Then there's Trevor, our youngest member. Eyeboy. He can see, well, everything. I can't even explain how amazing Trevor is. He's the one I work with most closely because he sees all that I need to analyze and I put the pieces together, with data the rest of the team give me.

They're... They're my family right now. I miss them.

[ It's lovely, seeing the projection of a place that means so much to David, and hearing about all these people he so clearly loves. But it's painful too. He knows there's nothing for pain like that, except being allowed to feel it.

Balthier puts an arm around David's back, squeezing gently in a companionable embrace. ]

I don't see how you couldn't. I'm feeling some of the same. Fran and I -- we've been together for nearly six years. I barely spend more than a week at a time without her. She's brilliant -- doesn't miss anything, though not much of a talker. Incredibly archer and magician, best pirate I've ever met. First person who ever saw me for myself. She keeps me honest, doesn't let me hide. I feel...very untethered without her.

And honestly, I'm missing the rest of the crew I was working with the past few months. I don't think I'd realized how dear they'd become. There was Ashe, the queen I told you about. Gods, she was...out of her depth when we started, and yet, she had such a commitment to her people, to her morals. You share that. And incredible with a sword, quite good with magic. Decent liar. Her bodyguard, Basch, was a pain in my ass. Hated pirates. Yelled a lot. Never met anyone so loyal. He'll be a good head of defense. He won't start pointless wars, and he won't turn his men into aggressors.

There was also Vaan and Penelo. Gods, they were just kids. About the age I was when I left. I -- they're so fragile at that age, and so indestructible. Penelo had a head on her shoulders. Vaan decidedly did not. They'll be alright, I think. I left the Strahl to them.

[ Because he thought he was going to die. He's still worried, more than anything, that Fran didn't make it out. ]

I didn't have a huge community at home. Knew a lot of people, of course, but it was the first time in a long while I felt like I was a part of something, that I cared about people who cared for me. I miss that a lot.

I know what you mean, about missing people you haven't known long. About being a part of something. About community. I was... estranged from my people for a long time. Until just before these guys took me in.

[He hadn't belonged, and the way he'd come to belong again wasn't exactly the easiest thing to deal with. Which was part of why he cared for the last world so much. He'd belonged.

For now he sighs and leans against Balthier, the projection fading.]

Still wanna see the dress?

[ Balthier is glad he's given David something positive here, at least. It feels tiny, a candle against the sky, but he knows first hand those tiny lights can be the difference between fighting through and giving in. He pulls David close to him, squeezing his shoulder. ]

I'd be lying if I said my thoughts haven't wandered to it multiple times. Please show me the dress.

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