[There's no point in being afraid, at least that's what Jack tells himself. But it's hard to fight the sick-sour taste in his mouth, and more than once he thinks about trying to wash it down with the scorch of a drink. He wants to live, more desperately than he ever has in his life, but Johnny's at the heart of that desire.
If death does come, he wants that to be for Johnny too.
He's wiping his hands when Johnny come in. They're numb by now, damp and dripping. He's been practicing, focusing on forming small things like arrows and daggers. If these things have a weakness at all, it's going to be small too, something overlooked. Jack sighs and lays the towel down.]
No, Johnny, you're not going against them. [The waters need to be tested first, and to risk a baron at that stage would be foolish.] You should be forming evacuation plans, one for shardbearers, one for everyone else. Keep them separate. You know what these things are coming for.
I am. I know exactly what they're coming for. [ And in Johnny's plans, Jack is far, far away. He doesn't think of death the way Jack does, refuses to accept any of it because there's got to be a way out -- and what is left for Johnny if Jack dies?
He knows a baron's responsibilities and duties, but Johnny's always been more passionate, and just as Johnny is at the heart of Jack's desire to live, the prince occupies the same in his own. This is what heroes do, don't they? They're the first and last bastion of defence, the ones who go up against the monsters for the sake of the others.
Johnny's staring at Jack's hands, knowing that he's practicing. Jack's getting better at it; but Johnny doesn't know how it would fare against the giants, how it would keep Jack safe.
He steps closer, frustration evident in the tense line of his shoulders. ]
What are you going to do, test what they're weak to? What if they get you?
[Jack's jaw clenches. He knows this is a fight that will get them nowhere. Logic and passion can't occupy the same space at the same time, and the latter will always win - especially where Johnny's concerned.]
We can't run forever. And if something can be done against them, it must be discovered as quickly as possible.
[If they don't find something, it's not a question of what if but of when.]
[ Fuck logic. Johnny's not in the mood to entertain that right now, not when his emotions are roiling and he's desperately trying to dissuade Jack from putting himself in the line of fire. ]
I'm not talking about we, Jack. I'm talking about you. Why do you have to be the one to do that? I can do it. I can help the others find a way.
[ Because that's the thing when you're in love -- there's very little that can override the instinctive need to put yourself in your loved one's place. (Not him, take me instead, and I'll burn going down.) ]
[And maybe Johnny's right about the love thing, because he doesn't like his eagerness to serve on the front line. Jack was even hoping to get out there ahead of him.]
You've done enough and may be called upon to do more. See to your people and leave this to me.
How are you going to fight massive monster machines?!
[ Johnny snaps, raising his voice because can he not see this? Can he not see the problem? He doesn't care if anyone else in the castle hears him; it's primitive, the desire to protect. He doesn't want Jack going there ahead of him, he doesn't want him there at all. ]
[And he says it casually, almost flippantly, because he doesn't know. None of them do, but someone has to bite the bullet and try. He looks down at his hand and concentrates on forming a dagger, the blade also ice-charmed, as strong as steel but paper thin. But could it fit between a seam...]
Johnny scowls at him, angry and unassuaged. He paces, biting back his snappy response, trying to find a way to keep him from doing what he apparently wants to do. Jack is tremendously stubborn when he digs his heels in, and the last thing Johnny needs is for Jack to be more hell-bent on doing this. ]
[Jack looks back up at him again, his voice as quiet and calm as ever despite the way his throat works.]
I know you don't want me out there. I know you can't stand the thought of it, and I know why. [He looks at Johnny with adoring eyes, and does he really need to say it?] But I have to try for that very same reason. I want to protect you every bit as much as you want to protect me.
[ Johnny stares at him for a long, long moment, caught off-guard by the look in his eyes, the purity of the intention behind them. He might not be quickest on the uptake when it comes to relationship things, but he knows this: he's never seen Jack look at anyone like this, and this particular look makes his heart skip a beat and consequently start racing, like this is the most important thing in the world.
He knows why. Of course he knows why. Jack is so important to him that it's ridiculous, and he has to swallow a lump in his throat. Johnny softens, rubbing at his face. He feels oddly, strangely helpless and warmed all at once. ]
I don't want you to get hurt, or -- [ He can't say it. He can't even bring himself to consider such a terrible, damned thing. ]
[Jack knows that his hands are freezing, so he doesn't touch Johnny with them when he walks over to kiss him. He cuts off that word, derails even the thought of it.]
I have the mail that you gave me, and a fireproof cloak. If these things are as big as they say, they can't be fast. Cearul can get me away from them.
[All the little reassurances, whatever good they'll do. He smiles gently at him.]
I plan on coming home to our bed, so don't be inviting anyone else into it just yet.
[ Jack doesn't touch him and Johnny knows why, but he's the one who reaches out to his lover, both hands coming to clasp Jack's to warm him up, rubbing heat into them with care and affection that goes beyond so far, far beyond physical affection.
He's warmer than usual to compensate, to heat up those freezing fingers (he must have been practicing for too long). He kisses him back, keeping Jack's hands clasped between his own. Little reassurances, the way Jack drives the thought away from Johnny's mind, terrible as it is to contemplate. In fact, Johnny had recoiled from the very idea of it, rejecting the thought with every fiber of his being the way he rejects Jack's quip now. ]
There isn't going to be anyone else. I don't want anyone else. [ He presses his forehead against his, bringing their joined hands to his lips. Johnny kisses Jack's fingers, eyes lidding. ] I think you've permanently ruined me for other people, Jack. What am I going to do about that?
[Johnny's hands feel like heaven. On warm nights, it's something different, and Jack has to squirm away while maintaining some form of contact. He couldn't sleep without it, he had to be touching him, he had to know for sure that Johnny was still there.
But his words are even warmer than his hands, and bring feeling into every part of him.]
There's nothing for it. [And one or both of them should despair at that, being so tangled together with another person. But it makes Jack smile.] I guess we both have to survive.
[ Johnny's hands cup Jack's face in them, and he's uncharacteristically serious, brows knitting. He's going to extract this promise from him no matter what. Johnny doesn't know when his life had become so entwined with Jack's, but it doesn't matter, and it's too late for him to want to do anything about it now. ]
I don't care what you have to do, but you do it and you come back to me, okay?
[ He sighs, pressing his forehead to his, thumb smoothing over Jack's cheekbone. ] Sometimes I wish you'd just do what I say.
[ But they both know better -- they would both come to hate that in time. ]
[Jack actually snorts at hearing Johnny say the words about him. He lets his arms rest over Johnny's strong shoulders, holding him close.]
And I'm grateful that it's never been granted. I love everything that you are, Johnny Storm, the good and the bad. I don't fight for courts or worlds, I fight for the chance to come home to you.
[ Johnny finally smiles, but it's small and tired. Even so, it makes Johnny happy to hear it from him. Months ago, he would never have imagined hearing that from him, but now, it makes him all the more fierce and determined to fight for the both of them and his world, to keep his loved ones safe.
He dreams of taking Jack home to his world one day, and he huffs softly before he wraps his arms around him and picks him up, hauling the man into his arms and walking him to their bed. ]
You're getting sappy in your old age, Jack. [ But he's beaming at him when he places him against the pillows. ] And I'm gonna burn down everything to get to you if you don't keep your promise. We're always gonna come back to each other. [ He pauses. ] I should really make you that blood necklace soon.
[It surprises him when he picks him up, but Jack quickly realizes that it shouldn't. It's so very much a thing he would do.]
You're the one practically carrying me over the threshold. [He shoots back, smiling and reclining back comfortable. Jack lifts a hand to his face, idle touchings.] I don't need you blood against my skin. [He taps a finger against his chest.] As long as it pumps through this.
[ Johnny grasps Jack's hand, guiding him down to between his legs, right on his boner. Look, you don't say those kinds of things and not expect Johnny not to do it. But the gesture is more playful than sensuous, really. Underneath all the baron, he's still a frat boy. ]
Mmm, it's all your fault. You should be less sexy. [ He totally gave that one to him, and Johnny feels the tension dissipate, if only for a moment. He's still worried, he's still busy working out whatever plan there can be for evacuation, but there's a bittersweetness here with Jack, because who knows how long they can stay like this?
Who knows what the future holds for them?
He draws Jack's hand away after he feels that gentle squeeze, bringing it to his lips to press a kiss to his knuckles, more thoughtful than he normally is. He's still afraid to lose him, and it's a new, unpleasant feeling -- Johnny Storm is not usually afraid of anything. ]
[Jack moves their hands away, clearing a path for him to press the next kiss against Johnny's mouth. He can sense his fear, see it in his eye, and it makes him never want to leave this bed.
He lets go of his hand to open his palm. The ice crystals encase his hand before they start to form the dagger, an intricate handle and a sharp blade.]
I don't mind the cold, not when I have you to warm me up.
[ Johnny frowns. It's a beautiful, marvellous thing that his lover could do, and he's fascinated. But all the same he's concerned; he's never cared for anyone the way he cares for Jack.
He's never been more attached to anyone, and he cups his face, free hand lightly resting on the ice encasing his hand. ]
[Johnny's worried about it, but Jack doesn't want him to be, doesn't think there's a reason he should. It doesn't bring him any discomfort, and maybe that should trouble him, but it doesn't.
The numbness suits him. But the ice starts to melt, dripping immediately with Johnny's touch.]
[ It takes a cosmic pair of pliers to extract Johnny Storm's mothering tendencies (he has 0). But alternatively, that rare sight can be seen when it comes to Jack Benjamin. He kisses his fingers, ice be damned, before taking both hands between his again and heating them up. ]
Do you think the Seelie will still come after us? I don't. But if we empty out this Spire, it could be easy pickings.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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If death does come, he wants that to be for Johnny too.
He's wiping his hands when Johnny come in. They're numb by now, damp and dripping. He's been practicing, focusing on forming small things like arrows and daggers. If these things have a weakness at all, it's going to be small too, something overlooked. Jack sighs and lays the towel down.]
No, Johnny, you're not going against them. [The waters need to be tested first, and to risk a baron at that stage would be foolish.] You should be forming evacuation plans, one for shardbearers, one for everyone else. Keep them separate. You know what these things are coming for.
action;
He knows a baron's responsibilities and duties, but Johnny's always been more passionate, and just as Johnny is at the heart of Jack's desire to live, the prince occupies the same in his own. This is what heroes do, don't they? They're the first and last bastion of defence, the ones who go up against the monsters for the sake of the others.
Johnny's staring at Jack's hands, knowing that he's practicing. Jack's getting better at it; but Johnny doesn't know how it would fare against the giants, how it would keep Jack safe.
He steps closer, frustration evident in the tense line of his shoulders. ]
What are you going to do, test what they're weak to? What if they get you?
action;
We can't run forever. And if something can be done against them, it must be discovered as quickly as possible.
[If they don't find something, it's not a question of what if but of when.]
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I'm not talking about we, Jack. I'm talking about you. Why do you have to be the one to do that? I can do it. I can help the others find a way.
[ Because that's the thing when you're in love -- there's very little that can override the instinctive need to put yourself in your loved one's place. (Not him, take me instead, and I'll burn going down.) ]
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[And maybe Johnny's right about the love thing, because he doesn't like his eagerness to serve on the front line. Jack was even hoping to get out there ahead of him.]
You've done enough and may be called upon to do more. See to your people and leave this to me.
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[ Johnny snaps, raising his voice because can he not see this? Can he not see the problem? He doesn't care if anyone else in the castle hears him; it's primitive, the desire to protect. He doesn't want Jack going there ahead of him, he doesn't want him there at all. ]
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[And he says it casually, almost flippantly, because he doesn't know. None of them do, but someone has to bite the bullet and try. He looks down at his hand and concentrates on forming a dagger, the blade also ice-charmed, as strong as steel but paper thin. But could it fit between a seam...]
action;
Johnny scowls at him, angry and unassuaged. He paces, biting back his snappy response, trying to find a way to keep him from doing what he apparently wants to do. Jack is tremendously stubborn when he digs his heels in, and the last thing Johnny needs is for Jack to be more hell-bent on doing this. ]
That's not funny. I don't want you out there.
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[Jack looks back up at him again, his voice as quiet and calm as ever despite the way his throat works.]
I know you don't want me out there. I know you can't stand the thought of it, and I know why. [He looks at Johnny with adoring eyes, and does he really need to say it?] But I have to try for that very same reason. I want to protect you every bit as much as you want to protect me.
action;
He knows why. Of course he knows why. Jack is so important to him that it's ridiculous, and he has to swallow a lump in his throat. Johnny softens, rubbing at his face. He feels oddly, strangely helpless and warmed all at once. ]
I don't want you to get hurt, or -- [ He can't say it. He can't even bring himself to consider such a terrible, damned thing. ]
Re: action;
I have the mail that you gave me, and a fireproof cloak. If these things are as big as they say, they can't be fast. Cearul can get me away from them.
[All the little reassurances, whatever good they'll do. He smiles gently at him.]
I plan on coming home to our bed, so don't be inviting anyone else into it just yet.
action;
He's warmer than usual to compensate, to heat up those freezing fingers (he must have been practicing for too long). He kisses him back, keeping Jack's hands clasped between his own. Little reassurances, the way Jack drives the thought away from Johnny's mind, terrible as it is to contemplate. In fact, Johnny had recoiled from the very idea of it, rejecting the thought with every fiber of his being the way he rejects Jack's quip now. ]
There isn't going to be anyone else. I don't want anyone else. [ He presses his forehead against his, bringing their joined hands to his lips. Johnny kisses Jack's fingers, eyes lidding. ] I think you've permanently ruined me for other people, Jack. What am I going to do about that?
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But his words are even warmer than his hands, and bring feeling into every part of him.]
There's nothing for it. [And one or both of them should despair at that, being so tangled together with another person. But it makes Jack smile.] I guess we both have to survive.
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[ Johnny's hands cup Jack's face in them, and he's uncharacteristically serious, brows knitting. He's going to extract this promise from him no matter what. Johnny doesn't know when his life had become so entwined with Jack's, but it doesn't matter, and it's too late for him to want to do anything about it now. ]
I don't care what you have to do, but you do it and you come back to me, okay?
[ He sighs, pressing his forehead to his, thumb smoothing over Jack's cheekbone. ] Sometimes I wish you'd just do what I say.
[ But they both know better -- they would both come to hate that in time. ]
action;
[Jack actually snorts at hearing Johnny say the words about him. He lets his arms rest over Johnny's strong shoulders, holding him close.]
And I'm grateful that it's never been granted. I love everything that you are, Johnny Storm, the good and the bad. I don't fight for courts or worlds, I fight for the chance to come home to you.
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[ Johnny finally smiles, but it's small and tired. Even so, it makes Johnny happy to hear it from him. Months ago, he would never have imagined hearing that from him, but now, it makes him all the more fierce and determined to fight for the both of them and his world, to keep his loved ones safe.
He dreams of taking Jack home to his world one day, and he huffs softly before he wraps his arms around him and picks him up, hauling the man into his arms and walking him to their bed. ]
You're getting sappy in your old age, Jack. [ But he's beaming at him when he places him against the pillows. ] And I'm gonna burn down everything to get to you if you don't keep your promise. We're always gonna come back to each other. [ He pauses. ] I should really make you that blood necklace soon.
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[It surprises him when he picks him up, but Jack quickly realizes that it shouldn't. It's so very much a thing he would do.]
You're the one practically carrying me over the threshold. [He shoots back, smiling and reclining back comfortable. Jack lifts a hand to his face, idle touchings.] I don't need you blood against my skin. [He taps a finger against his chest.] As long as it pumps through this.
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[ Johnny grasps Jack's hand, guiding him down to between his legs, right on his boner. Look, you don't say those kinds of things and not expect Johnny not to do it. But the gesture is more playful than sensuous, really. Underneath all the baron, he's still a frat boy. ]
-- this?
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You're ruining the moment.
[He's not. The normalcy of this is nice, they can forget all the terrible things for a little while. Jack gives his dick a squeeze.]
This does see more of your blood though, I'm sure of it.
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Who knows what the future holds for them?
He draws Jack's hand away after he feels that gentle squeeze, bringing it to his lips to press a kiss to his knuckles, more thoughtful than he normally is. He's still afraid to lose him, and it's a new, unpleasant feeling -- Johnny Storm is not usually afraid of anything. ]
How are you doing with your ice weapons?
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He lets go of his hand to open his palm. The ice crystals encase his hand before they start to form the dagger, an intricate handle and a sharp blade.]
I don't mind the cold, not when I have you to warm me up.
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[ Johnny frowns. It's a beautiful, marvellous thing that his lover could do, and he's fascinated. But all the same he's concerned; he's never cared for anyone the way he cares for Jack.
He's never been more attached to anyone, and he cups his face, free hand lightly resting on the ice encasing his hand. ]
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[Johnny's worried about it, but Jack doesn't want him to be, doesn't think there's a reason he should. It doesn't bring him any discomfort, and maybe that should trouble him, but it doesn't.
The numbness suits him. But the ice starts to melt, dripping immediately with Johnny's touch.]
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[ It takes a cosmic pair of pliers to extract Johnny Storm's mothering tendencies (he has 0). But alternatively, that rare sight can be seen when it comes to Jack Benjamin. He kisses his fingers, ice be damned, before taking both hands between his again and heating them up. ]
Do you think the Seelie will still come after us? I don't. But if we empty out this Spire, it could be easy pickings.
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[It's his war experience talking, though anyone with eyes can see the Void creeping closer.]
Besides, these things have no preference for court. They'll have their hands just as full.
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