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(no subject)

Who: Erik and you
Broadcast: Text, fleetwide
Action: the Heron
When: July 23rd

text.

If anyone - for whatever reason - wants some novelty fridge magnets, there is a sponsor crate of them on the Heron. You can take as many as you want, though there isn't that much variety.

I will note at the outset that no, there are no alphabet pieces.

[Along with this rather brief message is attached a photo of the crate's contents. Half the magnets seem to be little cartoon planets. The other half are... well... magnets.]

action.

[Anyone inclined to visit the Heron to take up this exciting offer - or just to visit - will find Erik leaning against the crate in the cargo hold. He has a number of the magnets suspended in the air above one hand, and every few minutes he flicks his fingers, sending one flying into the hull wall.

The crate itself is emblazoned with the message "To the most ATTRACTIVE guy on the Fleet! - Magnecessities". Maybe that's part of why he looks faintly irritated.

Flick goes another magnet.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Erik folds his arms, rolling this new idea around in his mind. What Charles is saying has the weight of possibility, only that would mean that these bodies may be false. If it was similar to the prison Kitty was in, this whole thing could be faked, a virtual reality. That could explain 'remembering' something they hadn't before.]

Not everyone suddenly remembers new events here, though.

Of course not. I imagine the "remembering" happens at the whim of the Atroma. To boost ratings, to encourage drama and the like.

[Once again, the notion that they're all playthings for an unseen audience makes his expression twist, something dark in his eyes. Getting memories purely to see how they'd react is repulsive. He shrugs tightly.]

Of course.

[ Charles looks away briefly. ]

It's only a theory.

[After a pause, he jerks his head in the direction of the doorway.]

I'm going to be minding this for a while. If you'd rather not wait, I'll meet you later.

[ Charles smiles briefly, taking Erik's hand and pressing a kiss to his knuckles. ]

All right, dear. Don't stay up too long.

Don't worry. If they're not all gone in an hour, they're going into the garbage.

[ Casually. ] Seems fair.

[ With that, he wheels out. He's not too worried, and moods come and go. Just checking up on him seems to be enough and Charles knows if it's a real issue, Erik would come to him. ]

[Regardless of real issue or not, Erik does come back to the inn, a couple of hours after Charles had left. Night has well and truly fallen by then, the insects singing in the distance. Trekking back through the forest and the villages had served to sand down some of his sharper edges on the way, though his irritation lingers under his skin.

Erik pulls the door to their room open without knocking, letting out a sigh as he puts his bag down.]

[ Charles rubs his eyes, the contact of another mind nudging against his. Still, he smiles, sleep-tinged. ]

Welcome back.

[Erik welcomes the brush of thought, a sensation he's come to associate with coming home. Pulling off his shoes, he crosses to the bed.] Hi. [He leans in to kiss him briefly, affection flaring through his skin.]

[ He runs a hand over Erik's shoulders. ]

How are you feeling?

Spiteful. [He doesn't sound it, because it's not directed at Charles. Sliding onto the bed, he slots himself in next to Charles, wrapping one arm around his shoulders.]

But the magnets are gone.

[ Teasing. ]

I knew your attractive powers knew no bounds.

That was never in doubt. I attracted you, after all.

And how many others, I wonder.

[ He brushes Erik's hair back, smoothing over his wrinkles. ]

Not very many, I'm sure. I'm not approachable.

[He gives Charles's shoulder a squeeze, warmth filtering through, thawing some of the ice despite himself. He's still infuriated at the implications of that sponsor drop. It's nothing he can help, or change. He can only let it slide into the darker part of his mind, to wait coldly for a moment when he can do something in response.]

[ Charles murmurs. ]

They just don't know you like I do.

That's a good thing, you realise.

Oh, I'm not discounting it.

[ He continues to rub small circles into Erik's back and neck. ]

[He mutters something formless, pressing his face into the crook of Charles's neck. The feel of Charles's fingers against his neck is relaxing.]

Isn't this usually the other way around?

How so?

I haven't given you a massage in some time.

[Only a few weeks, give or take. There had been a myriad of other ways to unwind here, so it had slipped their minds. Charles's ministrations had reminded him though, of all those other times.]

[ Charles chuckles, pressing a light kiss to Erik's forehead. ]

You look like you could use it more than me right now. Take a rain check.

Are you volunteering?

[He huffs slightly, trying to bank his lingering annoyance.] It's frustrating. I already knew they could see more than I wanted them to. [The incident with his augment had proven that much, images of his cell beamed directly into his mind and taking over his life. Maybe they had only tweaked the nameless terror that still lurked in him rather than constructed the image themselves, but... but.]