two ○ voice / text

[mylegacy]

Who: Caesar Zeppeli & u
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: None this time!
When: Late night, 7/28

( joseph : voice : 1 am )

[The dreams are always the same. A great wind comes and cuts his skin; he is alone, and it hurts, but he doesn't cry out, his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth in the dry air. Blood bubbles out of his nose. He is very afraid.]

[He's pretty sure he doesn't make any noise during these dreams. No one's said anything, anyway. He could get away with keeping it to himself. But tonight something at the base of his skull urges him to tell secrets.]

[His voice, when it comes, is very quiet.]

Are you awake?

( public : text : 2 am )

I have questions about nightmares.

Do you have them? How often? What do you do to make them go away?


( ooc ; caesar is affected by augment glitches / compulsion! )

Comments

[nextlineis]

[If he was aware of the decision, Joseph would be grateful for it. He knows something's changed tonight. Or maybe one or both of them has changed and they're reacting to it. Whatever the case is, noticing the change is more than enough for Joseph. He'd much rather leave the thinking to someone else or, at the very least, for another time. He's okay with where things are and he's comfortable staying right there with them.]

[But as with many things, Joseph is oblivious to how much Caesar is holding back and why. The only thing he's noticeably skeptical about is Caesar claiming that Joseph's snoring won't bother him. Given how particular Caesar can be about some things, he would expect that he needs noise to be at or below a certain volume to sleep. But even in the dim light, he can see a sincere look in Caesar's eyes and smile. He breathes a small sigh of relief he didn't know he was holding back because he wanted to stay, but he also didn't want to be contributing to Caesar not getting any sleep. He quickly tries to cover that relief up though because that's not like him to feel insecurity or unsure of himself. He glances elsewhere for a brief moment before decidedly closing his eyes so he doesn't have to see if Caesar noticed or not.]

[And also maybe to try and cover up any amount of giddiness he feels at being what he assumes to be helpful simply by being here.]

Then I better not hear any complaining in the morning. I'll remember you said that.

[mylegacy]

[He sees it, that indecision, that insecurity, but he doesn't quite know how to place it. Joseph is so rarely unsure of himself that it's a completely foreign expression on his face. Caesar considers trying to pick it apart, to figure out exactly what it is that Joseph is thinking and feeling, but then decides that that's contrary to what he's already decided: that Joseph's been pushed far enough, that they should be allowed to rest now.]

[So when Joseph closes his eyes, Caesar doesn't pry into why, just rubs small circles on Joseph's back and turns his face into the pillow, this time not out of discomfort but exhaustion.]

I'll only complain if you kick me out of bed.

[Even then, he might not. He's definitely tired, but he doesn't think he's going to fall asleep anytime soon. There are some things he has to think about, questions he wants to ask, which he'll do after Joseph's fallen asleep. Because the first thing on his list is paying Joseph back for what he's done tonight, giving him a safe and comfortable space to be just like Joseph's given him that safety, that comfort. Their relationship isn't one that needs equitable exchange, but it helps. It smooths the way, and Caesar very much wants things to be smooth at least for a little while longer.]

[nextlineis]

Mm... I'll try not to. But I'm not making any promises.

[The hand at his back has Joseph's near entire attention. Joseph stays at least vaguely aware of Caesar tucked under his arm and Caesar's breathing. His skin tingles a little where its already been, tingling a little more when he goes over the same spots again. After a while, it seems to be the only thing he can actually feel or even begin to notice. He starts predicting where Caesar's hand will go for the next circle, a little private game he plays by himself.]

[He's not thinking about anything else, not about what happened tonight or what will happen tomorrow. He's just sorta there. With Caesar. He ends up scooting just a little closer to Caesar as a source of warmth before he really settles and starts drifting.]

[mylegacy]

[Listening to Joseph falling asleep is an oddly fascinating experience. He spent an exorbitant amount of time getting his siblings to go to bed when he was younger, of course, before they were able to regulate all of that themselves. But he never took this kind of comfort from it. He always paid careful attention to their breathing, to making sure it was even and that they felt safe and weren't having bad dreams. With Joseph, though, he's attentive to every detail: the way his muscles begin to relax as he drifts into sleep, the way he curls a little closer without seeming to mean to, the way his voice trails off and he goes quieter than Caesar's ever heard him before.]

[When his breathing is long and slow and even and he's kept his mouth shut for five whole minutes at a stretch, Caesar lets his hand still. He watches Joseph in the dark for a moment, entirely unconscious of the fondness in his expression; then he presses his face into Joseph's shoulder one more time, breathing in the smell of him and letting exhaustion wrap around him like a blanket.]

[He turns in Joseph's grip so that his back is to Joseph's chest, his hair tickling his chin, and gently pulls his arm around his shoulder. Then he reaches out for his communicator. He's not ready to sleep yet, but he doesn't want to leave the bed, either, so this is, he thinks, a good (safe, warm) compromise.]