neopoints | (no subject)

[ a mutant and a dreamer aren't the strangest pairing in the universe. an ex-assassin and a goth farmer barely scratch the surface of strange. when josh had breezed into town, it had been with the intention of staying only a night. long enough to get his bearings on his never-ending quest to outrun his past. he hadn't expected to find anything - or anyone worth staying for.

what's strange is how peaceful life is.

how quiet things are on this little patch of heaven nestled in the virginia countryside.

it probably won't last forever. but he's been around long enough to know nothing really does. while he's here they're focused, on a mission, trying to undo the connection between dreamer and dreamed.

ronan's dream things don't scare him. the - concept of the dreaming, of the reality warping, unsettles him for obvious reasons - but ronan isn't wanda. and if they can solve this mystery, if they can figure out how to infuse magic and life into one, then maybe it can be used to undo what she'd done. nothing about ronan scares him... even when it should. he'd shrugged off any warnings of the threat that lurked in his mind (dude, no offense but you couldn't kill me in a million years) and slept plastered to his side, practically daring the worst of ronan to come out and fight him.

because its not josh that ronan's dream things like to hurt. ]

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[ the psychological damage will linger, but the wounds will heal without a scar. greatest blessing of his power is allowing people that fresh start. he could heal the rest, it's not a conversation he's wanted to broach yet. some people find solace in their scars, reminders of the trials and tribulations they survived.

but ronan doesn't need that. ronan's got an empty house, nightmares, and the weight of the world crushing him. josh turns to get the shower going, kicking off his ruined pajama pants and considering them for a moment before carelessly tossing them towards the far corner of the bathroom. no saving those.

clothes don't matter. instead he turns to ronan, resting a hand on his hip. stroking soothing circles into his skin, letting his powers wash over him to soothe away the aches and steady him. ]

Sooo I'm thinking... Shower, then bubble bath?

[ he huffs a laugh that he doesn't actually feel at the suggestion, trying to focus on the comfort of josh's hand on his hip, his familiar warmth. ]

Yeah, that-- Yeah. [ ronan rarely takes baths over showers, even more rarely bubble baths, but at this point, josh could suggest going outside to clean off in the pond and he'd agree because josh is the one that said it. besides, curling up with his boyfriend in the tub doesn't sound awful right now.

he leans in briefly to push their brows together, then eases away from josh to step into the shower and directly under the spray, watching the water swirling under his feet as it goes red and black. ] It's-- I-- [ he braces a hand against the wall, fingers curling into a fist. ] It's been months. [ since he brought something bad back. ]

This doesn't take away from how much more control you've got. You set a new record.

[ he watches the water clear away the pale skin, eyes sharp for any marks he missed of magical maladies that might have been lingering on those claws.

ronan's sense of right and wrong is unyielding, an uncompromising moral code, even when it doesn't necessarily make the most logical sense. it's one of the things josh loves most about him, what drew him to him.

and it's also an incredible point of frustration - he heals, ronan doesn't.

he can't die, ronan can. ]

Now we beat the record.

[ for a few moments, he's silent, glance lifting and blinking away the water running down his face. it doesn't feel like control when he has nightmares like this, when he fights the ugliest parts of himself and loses. it makes him want to get fucked up and fight. it makes him want the open road and the accelerator pushed to the metal.

instead, he uncurls his hand against the wall and steps in close against josh again, both hands coming up to cup the sides of his neck, fingers curling loosely in the hair behind his ears. he leans in to kiss him, coaxing, almost pleading. ]

[ when you have the weight of the world on your showers, unimaginable power to do both great good and great evil, every tiny slip feels like a failure. someone has to be there to slot the pieces back together, to remind you it isn't the end of the world.

its hard to be kind to yourself when you feel like every breath you take could be one stolen from a loved one.

he tilts his head to catch ronan's lips, giving him everything he asks for and more. i'm okay the returning kiss says, you can't hurt me, and i love all parts of you, even the parts you don't. he backs them up a step until he's under the spray too, washing off any trace of the mess. ]

[ ronan lets himself be backed up beneath the spray, shoulders easing back against the cool tile as he curls his arms around josh's neck instead, keeping him close as they kiss. his fingers curl, kneading absently at the older man's nape, eyes sliding shut as the water cleans them both.

this-- this he can focus on right now, the pure physicality of josh in his arms, his mouth against his, his warmth and his hands. if he thinks about the dead night horror in their bedroom, how easily he could have died, how easily it might have killed opal or someone else if they'd been staying the night, he knows himself well enough to know how he'll react.

when the kiss finally ends, he's flushed and a little breathless, but he just moves his lips to the corner of josh's mouth, then his jaw, shifting to roll his hips against his boyfriend's. he's not hard, not yet, but he doesn't really care right now, either. ]

[ his head tilts easily, letting ronan's lips trail along his throat.

[ he's not a psychic. he can't gently excise the memory, cut away the feelings and leave a healed scar in its place, but he can distract. his fingers dance along ronan's sides before sliding back, palming his ass. ]

Let me take care of you.