ㅅㅈㅎ

서지훈 | Alexios Son of Eros 18 August 1992

[exmp-alexios]

❛ you look ridiculous in that outfit, by the way. ❜ Eros says before patting his son on the back. “It’s the crocs… they unnerve people.”

Alexios scrunches his nose as he wiggles his toes in his crocs. "They're comfortable! Besides, I usually only wear them as house slippers. It's rare that I run out in them and if I do it's either an emergency or I just get lazy when I'm just trying to grab something from the convenience store," he explains.

He does, however, walk towards the front of the mirror to have a look at himself and he chuckles before turning towards his father. "I'm not wearing the crocs with the suit if that's what you're worried about. I may be a heathen, but not that-- well, that remains to be judged I guess," he laughs before slipping the crocs off and putting them aside.

[exmp-alexios]

❛ if i say yes, will you shut up? ❜

"Maybe. Maybe not," he grins as he teases the oracle as he opens up the next box containing rows of kataifi and pieces of tulumba packed together over decorative paper. "Come on, it's been a minute and I can even have the kitchen prepare food you requested. I'll even help prep it myself," he chuckles as he sets the box down on the coffee table of the sitting room. Alexios tilts his head a bit with a smile, "Besides, I do enjoy having you around and making food for you. It's always nice being able to sit with you and just talk."

[exmp-alexios]

Invidia looks up from where he has fallen in the snow after climbing a too high branch in a park tree. ❛ oh great, it's you again. ❜

Alexios tries to hold back his laugh as he offers a hand to his boyfriend's dear cousin. "What the hell were you trying to do anyways?" he asks, a wide grin on his mouth that he couldn't quite hide.

"You're gonna break something if you keep that up, y'know?"

[exmp-alexios]

❛ when we meet again, you can give it back to me. ❜

In the past...

Alexios looks at the bracelet in his hand as he leans against the wall, his eyebrow lifting as he looks up to Billie. "Again? Expecting to date another rich dumbass in the near future?" he laughs as he shakes his head before pocketing the bracelet.

"Then maybe I'll see you again soon, Bills," he says as he pushes off the wall and grins. "Good luck with the next one, and you know how to find me if you need... help getting rid of your boytoys."

Currently...

He picks out a small velvet pouch from his pocket and places it on the table before sliding it over to her with an amused grin on his lips. "Surprisingly, I still have this old thing and I'm not sure if you really meant it, but I do hate owing people things."

[nightprompts]

&. 𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐬 (𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬?) 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.

(  various  dialogue  prompts  to  send  to  your  worst  enemy  (affectionate).  feel  free  to  change  how  you  seem  fit.  )

❛ oh great, it's you again. ❜

❛ you? kill me? that's funny. ❜

❛ for being someone you hate, i'm sure on your mind a lot. ❜

❛ you're the last person i wanted to see, actually. ❜

❛ do us both a favor. stay away from me. ❜

❛ you really are an asshole, you know that? ❜

❛ i'm the asshole? what does that make you then? ❜

❛ sometimes i think you must hate me. ❜

❛ i thought you said you never wanted to see me again. ❜

❛ if you want me to go, then you have to tell me to leave. ❜

❛ well, someone's cranky today. ❜

❛ well, someone needs to shut the fuck up. ❜

❛ just stay out of my way. ❜

❛ of all the idiots in the world, i'm stuck with you. ❜

❛ what is it you want this time? ❜

❛ sometimes i wonder if you're in love with me. ❜

❛ do you honestly think this is easy for me? ❜

❛ why would i ever want to be friends with you? ❜

❛ can we please just talk? ❜

❛ there is nothing for us to talk about. ❜

❛ you can yell at me later. just let me help you. ❜

❛ touch me, and you're dead. ❜

❛ oh, so now you care? ❜

❛ there is something deeply wrong with you. ❜

❛ i know i'm the last person you probably want to see, but... ❜

❛ you don't think we could be friends, do you? ❜

❛ i'm tired of fighting against you. ❜

❛ don't pretend you give a shit about me. ❜

❛ you're an idiot, but... i trust you. ❜

❛ oh, don't be cute. ❜

❛ wait, did you just say that i'm cute? ❜

❛ we're not good for each other. ❜

❛ if i say yes, will you shut up? ❜

❛ don't you have to be stupid somewhere else? ❜

❛ maybe we should kiss just to break the tension. ❜

❛ i'm sorry i can't turn off my feelings as easily as you. ❜

❛ maybe there's a universe out there where we're friends. ❜

❛ how can you be so smart yet so dumb at the same time? ❜

❛ don't think this changes anything between us. ❜

❛ you look ridiculous in that outfit, by the way. ❜

❛ if you die, i'll kill you. ❜

❛ is that a challenge? ❜

❛ ah, so you're not heartless after all. ❜

❛ i don't think i've ever seen you smile. ❜

❛ you never cared about me, so why now? ❜

❛ why didn't you kill me when you had the chance? ❜

❛ i don't even remember why we started fighting. ❜

❛ i don't have time for distractions right now. ❜

❛ you're not as bad as everyone says you are. ❜

❛ enemies make the best lovers, you know. ❜

[mpxnoel]

Bad Men ™

a starter from here because i thought it was funny and also I miss our boys >:) @mp-alexios

"Life here definitely is something." Bothering Alexios was always fun for Noel as they knew each other in a different light than most others did. He was one of the bridges the inked man did not burn when he too left his previous life behind. Only people like them would understand (or maybe not?) why they did the things they did, and why they chose not to do them anymore. Noel chuckles as he too indulges in his drink, giving into the way it losened his tense muscles.

It was just a habit, being cautious. One he hoped he'd be able to break eventually.

"Shit, you told him?" Noel knew better than most what an angry Dakota looked like after being on the receiving end of it more times than he'd like to admit, so Alexios managing to talk to him about his life outside of the island was no small feat. "I see he didn't take it too badly, considering you're in one piece." He teased the older man as he reached to refill his empty glass. "Do you regret not telling him before?"

[exmp-alexios]

"It wasn't easy," he admits as he stares at his glass for a bit before continuing. "The first time I told him, I think he thought I was making shit up, trying to find excuses to worm my way back into his life. Hell, I tried, and nearly gave up," he says before pouring more liquor into his glass.

He watches the liquid until it completely settled and he smiles and takes a deep breath, "He'd been with someone else then because I was a dipshit and left without a word, and honestly I deserved it. I don't know what country or world I saved in my past life to deserve him," he chuckles as he picks the glass back up and taking a swig.

"All I know is I'm glad I finally told him. I've had nightmares about it before when we first got together," he smiles bitterly as the memories flood his mind of his sleepless nights and guilt eating him up for not being able to tell him about his entire self. "I don't know what would've happened back then, but right now? I'm just glad to have him back, and if I have to kill again to keep him by my side or he asks me to do it for him? You already know it's not even a question of whether I do it or not. It's going to be when and how."

[mpxmalea]

Conundrum 𖤐 Alexios

An unusual and interesting meeting continued from here with @mp-alexios

☽༺𖤐༻☾

🔮

     He was strange, but he was also relatively pleasant.

     Alexios, she had learned his name was that, was not only bizarre but remarkably closely tied to a great many of people that either frequented or work within her business or was a friend to someone of someone in those categories. The ten degrees of separation was truly a map she would have to invest in learning within the city as it seemed, though it was massive in its own way, it was also wickedly small. 

   The place she was in now was one that this young man owned and with it’s meticulous attention to detail it was not a surprise. Malea’s eyes gave a curious once over of the man and noted that while he gave a relaxed demeanor outwardly, he too was very concise in everything about him. His outfit, the way that his hair was styled, and even the information that he did choose to share was carefully curated to the receiver. He had an image he placed out and that, and only that, was what you were getting.

   “Dakota,” she says, “I will ask him at some point. I have met with him only once to confirm an emergency contact for someone who works in my care, but he seems an interesting one. Tell me, has he always been so…”

   Malea searches for the nicest way she can say it. Finding nothing that suffices in the language they are currently sharing between them she crosses her arms over her chest and rolls back her shoulders creating a half scowl on her features that is nearly a copy of Dakota’s resting bitch face.

[exmp-alexios]

"Did he?" Alexios smiles as he tilts his head. "As an emergency contact, you say? Must have been his cousin Invidia then," he chuckles a bit then sighs at the follow up question, followed by a laugh.

He never thought it to be a detriment in his beau's qualities, and if anything it was one he adored quite dearly no matter how people would view that as.

So, he smiles as Dakota's face remains in his mind and he hums for a moment before shaking his head with a soft laugh.

"I don't see what you mean?"

[dakotaxmp]

//

   Awww he wants it so bad!

     Dakota had smiled darkly as he watched and felt the way that Alexios’ form leaned to engulf him in want of a kiss. Were he not trying to teach him something he would have given in. The sweetness off the cusp of those lips is a poison that Dakota wants to succumb to again and again and it makes tatters of his sanity each time he does. 

                    Resisting what he wants is a habit Dakota doesn’t want to learn!

     Still he makes his way out the room only to turn and walk backwards as he hears Alexios talking to him. His lover follows him out the hidden room and out into the bedroom where Dakota is moving. Oh!

    “Is that why you think I did that, hm? Why I said that too?” Dakota teases playfully smirking. That expression falters only for a half second as he bumps into the bed with the back of his legs before it melts into a wider grin. “What’s on that mind of yours, mi vida?”

      But the way that Alexios closes in on him and the feeling that he’s being hunted in the minimal space between their bodies makes it clear. Dakota welcomes the corruption and leaves himself open for it at the hands of this dangerous man. His eyes leave Alexios’ only to look at the damage he’s done to his skin and reach with seeking hands to touch it. “Will you pierce me to match?”

[exmp-alexios]

With the blood now slowly drying on his chest and the bleeding slowing down with how shallow the wound is, a small part of him wishes it was just a tad deeper. He doesn't voice it out, but the darkness from the thought is reflected in his eyes instead as he steps toward Dakota.

Alexios remains quiet, only mirroring the smirk on his beau's lips. He keeps the question in his mind as he slows his steps as he watches him walk backwards towards the bed. He doesn't stop though, only slows down as if he's a predator preparing for an ambush.

It's when he steps into Dakota's space that he opens his mouth to speak again, but he pauses as he feels his fingertips on his skin. He grins as he leans closer, crowding him until his lips are merely a centimeter away from his.

"Run, cielito," he says, voice dropping slightly as he tilts his head slightly, the grin on his lips widening as his hand reaches up to tilt his head up slightly with the crook of his index finger. His thumb then presses towards his lower lip which he pulls down almost too gently as his eyes finally leave his to look at where his thumb rests before he whispers. "Corre."

[exmp-alexios]

❛ i wonder which will get you killed faster: your loyalty or your stubbornness? ❜

"Good question," he says as he rubs his chin in thought. "Honestly I might ask 'Kota what he thinks because honestly? He'd probably know better than I would." He laughs as he takes a sip of his drink.

[dakotaxmp]

Made a Rebel Out of You pt.2 \\ Alexios&’Kota

Continued from the main thread because tumblr is on it’s bullshit once again with the cheesy @mp-alexios

//

   The absence of fear in Alexios should be concerning to anyone but most especially to Dakota. He stays right where he is with the dagger still pointed at the other’s man chest right where he knows his heart is. That heart. The one that he missed the beat of every single night they were separated, the one that he was getting to learn again now that they were once again together. The one that kept his love cradled to itself even when Dakota had tried to move on without him. Dakota was a fool to think he could at the time but he did try.

   He watches as the tip of the blade pierces the fabric of Alexios’ shirt front and visibly winces himself as he watches a bead of red make a flower of the same color slowly blossom. A knife was too much power to give him. Far too much.

  “Shut up,” he says and withdraws the point away from his lover. “Before I take your tongue out instead.”

    The malice the words would have is not present though because Dakota is blushing just the same as he places the knife to reconnect with its keeping box again. He moves to step closer to Alexios now, arms coming up to loosely wrap about his shoulders and bring them nearer; hips to hips, legs framing each other’s, chests apart only so they can still see each other as Dakota says, “I’ll stay.”

   He leans more then the action meaning to draw the other into a kiss but he stops just short of it. Like a hush over water before a storm he continues, “But you’re going to have to seduce me again.The knife was a good start~”

    Then he’s drawing away again to turn and walk out of the weapons room and out into the main area.

[exmp-alexios]

He must've looked insane with how calm he was about being stabbed, and quite literally the lack of reaction despite the blood now dripping on his chest and staining his shirt. If it wasn't Dakota with him, perhaps he'd be told to see a psychiatrist or something.

But he only smiles at the sass coming from Dakota. One of the things he loves about him, of course. He then tilts his head slightly, watching as his cheeks turn pink as he places the blade back in its case, which he sets aside as he steps closer.

A breath fills his lungs as he hears the response from him, the warmth of him swallowing the cold that filled him as he waited with bated breath for a response. He leans down to meet him halfway for a kiss and stops he hears him speak again.

Shock.

There's shock on his face as Dakota pulls back from him, and he couldn't help but laugh a little as an idea pops to his head.

"That why you decided to get blood on my shirt, cielito?" he begins as he pulls the shirt off of him and follows him out the hidden vault before chucking the shirt to a hamper as he continues to walk.

"You could've just asked instead of getting my clothes involved."

[exmp-alexios]

❛ the sea's been calling. well, not exactly calling, because i pretty much can't swim, but you get the idea. ❜

Alexios raises his eyebrows at the words that completely contradicts one another, and rather than staring confused, he chuckles and shakes his head. "Well, I could teach you how to swim if you'd like?" he asks with a grin and a slight tilt of his head.

"Perhaps you can answer the call or see what it's calling you about?" he suggests before he turns to his smartwatch briefly as it buzzes with a notification, "Maybe not today. It's too damn cold to go swimming, but if you're such a masochist and want to do that, then my schedule would be a little more... open after the holidays."

[exmp-alexios]

❛ not everything can be solved with violence. a man needs to be strong, but he also needs to be good. ❜

Alexios stares for a moment, looks around, then turns back to the man with a soft chuckle on his lips. "Well said, however, sometimes some people need to be persuaded with violence if civility won't work when it comes to... some situations."

"Nevertheless, it's not always bad to have violence as a back up if necessary," he says with a wink and a smirk before patting his shoulder before walking past him to find an empty seat at The Pits.

[exmp-alexios]

❛ i’d say you live up to your reputation. ❜

"Well, I believe that depends which reputation we're talking about, but honestly at this point, I do try, probably with whichever one you're speaking of," he chuckles as she shoves his hands in his pockets. "Now, I'm curious which reputation that might be that you meant."

[exmp-alexios]

❛ we do very bad things, and we do them very well. ❜

Alexios swirls the amber liquid in his glass as he shakes his head. There's a laugh brewing in his chest as he smiles and takes a sip, humming before setting the glass down on the coffee table. "That we do," he says as he grins, then it slowly falls as he looks out the glass wall as the rain cascades and the drops race towards the floor of the balcony.

"I don't miss it as much as I used to anymore. If anything, life here helps me not miss it at all. I don't always have to have eyes on the back of my head at all times," he says, turning back to Noel with a smile on his lips, "I even managed to finally tell Dakota about that side of my life and past." He laughs for a moment as he shakes his head once more, "Out of all the shit I been through, that was one of the things that scared me shitless."

[dakotaxmp]

//

   He watches that hand drop and feels the way the energy in the room shifts along with it. This is what he had been away doing. This is what he thought Dakota couldn’t handle knowing about. Funny, the scuff and scum that he tried so desperately to keep himself and those he cared about away from found its way back to claw at the edges of his sanity again. It was bad enough allowing the man that his cousin was interested in be among the sorts that he kept close, even with keeping a watchful eye on the pair. When the muck and ruin of knowing all that was at the surface for his kin, Dakota was there to vouch for the caliber of person Noel was and why he was chosen.

    Dakota didn’t imagine that he would have to look at his own lover in the same ways, with the same careful watch for proclivity toward danger. He had wanted a life free of the gangs and violence he had grown up around. Quietly, he watches as Alexios moves into the little room and stands near the case of knives. He hears the worry, the fear in his lover’s voice and it melts at the icy tower that is forming up around his heart to protect itself again just a little. Alexios says he’s not going to leave again and that he need not be involved in the way that he had been… but given the past… Dakota takes a breath in.

     “If you what?” There’s much to say, more to ask, but he’ll start there. His hazel eyes are on the box that Alexios has produced from under the glass case. “If you are done with all of this… secrecy, does it mean that I will not lose you if someone thinks to question this ‘hierarchy’?”

[exmp-alexios]

[ A & Dakota ] Made a Rebel Out of You

One shaky breath after another.

Alexios feels as if the space begins to grow colder despite knowing that would be impossible. Not with how his place was set up at all. So he closes his eyes for a brief moment, collecting every ounce of courage before looking back up to Dakota.

“No. You won’t lose me,” he says with as much sincerity as he could show through his words. “I’ve made sure of it, but the if,” he chuckles a bit, a touch of his nerves showing with it as he tries to keep a small smile.

“If this was not something you would accept, then I would understand. If you walk out of these doors and tell me you don’t want none of it, after all the secrecy, I would listen,” he says before opening up the box he had taken out.

Inside the box lay an ornate dagger laying on a soft silky material of the paddings of the box. “Don’t run away just yet,” he tries to say jokingly, a small smile on his lips, “I’m not proposing, because that would just be insane after all of this,” he takes a deep breath before he tries to search for his eyes.

“It’s a promise. Kind of like a promise ring, but given my… fascinations, I… I thought this was a little more fitting. That I’ll stay, y'know? And honestly, if you wanna use it to send me down The River Styx, I won’t blame you at all. I’m sure Hades would have a field day with my soul.”

[dakotaxmp]

//

    Alexios says he won’t lose him again. Words. Dakota bites back the urge to tell him that’s what he said last time… and the time before that too. It’s an ugly venom that lives on the end of his tongue that he knows will do nothing for either of them now. The hurt will have to be resolved with trust. And that trust has to come from him right now.

    His eyes fall on the box as its contents are open and revealed to him. A knife? He steps a little closer. A dagger! It displays beautifully against the box and it’s brace to keep it safely tucked in there. Knives are bad luck gifts to give partners in most cultures and it makes him apprehensive to take it up into his hands. Still, he reflects on it being different for them. Everything is different for them.

   It’s after he hears the last bit, that it’s a symbol of his promise to stay does Dakota move. His hand wraps around the handle of the blade and he quickly flips it point side toward his lover’s chest. It’s not enough to wound just yet but to make his point clear as he presses the tip just a bit to the other’s chest.

    “You fuck me over again ‘Lex and I’ll use it to carve out your heart. Got it?”

[exmp-alexios]

Alexios watches carefully, waiting with bated breath for what Dakota has to say after everything. He's not beyond hoping that he'll stay with him. Gods, that's all he wants. This wasn't a new beginning for them, no. If anything, he's on borrowed time; borrowed time that he means to spend as well as he could because they have already lost way too much and he's the only one to blame for it all. Him and his stupid, stupid head.

The letters he keep locked in a box within the room claws at his mind still. He should've sent them, but he was so paranoid that they'd find him, that he was next on their list after his next to kin. He should've let the rational part of his brain take over, but he refused, and that was on him entirely.

So as soon as the blade was in Dakota's hand, he doesn't even watch his hand, he remains locked in his beau's eyes and he takes a step closer as he sets the box in his hand aside and he smiles as he feels the tip of the metal dig through his clothes and into his skin.

"You have every right to it, cielito. It's yours to take however you want to, and if I die at the hands of the person I care for most, then I'll die with a smile on my lips, and with nothing but love for you."

[nightprompts]

&. 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 (𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧) 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.

( dialogue prompts taken from episodes 1 & 2 ( "romance dawn" & "the man in the straw hat" ) of the netflix live action one piece series. feel free to edit and change as you seem fit. )

❛ do you have any last words? ❜

❛ the sea's been calling. well, not exactly calling, because i pretty much can't swim, but you get the idea. ❜

❛ so what do you say? are you with me? ❜

❛ liar! i know zoro must be after me. who else is worthy of his pursuit? ❜

❛ who's the most powerful pirate on the seas? ❜

❛ first things first. do you have any food here? ❜

❛ you don't look like a pirate. ❜

❛ i'm not afraid of getting hurt. and i'll prove it to you. ❜

❛ i don't get it. why would anyone want to be a pirate? ❜

❛ you have the wind on your back, the salty sea air, your loyal crew by your side. you never know what's on the horizon. it's all about being... free. ❜

❛ you should never let anyone tell you what you can't do. ❜

❛ well, remember the name, 'cause i'm gonna be king of the pirates. ❜

❛ people often visit shrines to light candles for those they've lost. who are yours for? ❜

❛ you've been following me for three days. what do you want? ❜

❛ look, i've been practicing what my face is gonna look like on my wanted poster.❜

❛ i've no doubt your mug will be on a wanted poster one day. ❜

❛ all he did was spill a drink on me. ❜

❛ you should've fought back! why didn't you kick his ass? ❜

❛ not everything can be solved with violence. a man needs to be strong, but he also needs to be good. ❜

❛ you're not a real man. you're nothing but a coward. ❜

❛ you ate a devil fruit? ❜

❛ ever since i was a kid, i wanted to protect people that can't protect themselves.❜

❛ if that's what you want, i think you should do it. i'll help you out. ❜

❛ my crew was attacked by pirates. i barely managed to make it out alive. ❜

❛ rice balls. for you. ❜

❛ you shouldn't draw your blade unless you're prepared to use it. ❜

❛ don't kill me, please. my father will give you anything you want. ❜

❛ i'd say you live up to your reputation. ❜

❛ what's up with the third sword? i mean, where does it even go? ❜

❛ what do you say, puppy? do you want to do a trick for me? sit up and beg. ❜

❛ i kill your kind for a living. ❜

❛ i mean it. i don't owe you anything. ❜

❛ you are going to get us both caught if you keep stomping around this place. ❜

❛ that was amazing. admit it. we do make a pretty good team. ❜

❛ so why did you decide to become a thief? ❜

❛ i needed to eat. you do what you have to, to survive. ❜

❛ you're right. nothing is more important than food. ❜

❛ all great fighters call out their finishing moves. ❜

❛ i don't work for you. ❜

❛ i'm sensing a little bit of tension amongst the crew. ❜

❛ before we met, every choice was made for me. but now i'm gonna do what i want to do. ❜

❛ next time we meet, we might be enemies. but for now... we're friends. ❜

❛ i'm feeling so... so piratey. ❜

❛ well, you're gonna end up feeling watery if i have to throw you overboard. i told you i need absolute silence. ❜

❛ don't mess with my hat. ❜

❛ oh, i'm sorry. were we interrupting your beauty sleep? ❜

❛ don't like what you see? look away. ❜

❛ you have a lot of names. i bet everyone in the east blue knows who you are. ❜

❛ are you making fun of my nose? ❜

❛ i know your type. if there's nothing to gain, you're out. ❜

❛ truthfully? i'm kind of hungry. ❜

❛ who are you trying to impress? a lost love? an absent parent? or was it someone that you worshipped? ❜

❛ i used to know a pirate that wore a hat just like this. ❜

❛ for a time, i even thought we were friends. until he betrayed me. just like all the others. ❜

❛ he wanted to keep me out of the spotlight! he wanted to keep my star from shining too brightly! ❜

❛ is that what he did to you? did he betray you, too? ❜

❛ you can slice me and you can dice me, but i'll always put myself back together again. ❜

❛ i've been thinking about you for years. ❜

❛ i know you're upset, but you should eat something. ❜

❛ you're never not hungry. what's going on? ❜

❛ you can spill a drink on me and i'll let it slide, but don't you ever threaten my friends. ❜

❛ you can't make people love you. just like you can't make them smile. ❜

❛ you really think anyone is coming for you? they don't care. and no one is gonna miss you when you're dead. ❜

❛ get lost. ❜

❛ i'm just glad that you're okay. ❜

❛ what was that? i couldn't hear you over all the drowning. ❜

❛ you really don't fear death, do you? ❜

❛ what's the plan? you do have a plan, right? that's your thing, plans. ❜

❛ you want out? you know the price you have to pay. ❜

❛ you want a piece of me? let's see what you got. ❜

❛ i think i'll miss you most of all. ❜

❛ we're gonna be the greatest pirates the world has ever seen. even greater than your crew. ❜

❛ this hat is the most precious thing i own. it means the world to me. and i want you to take it. ❜

❛ when we meet again, you can give it back to me. ❜

❛ is every day gonna be this crazy with you? ❜

❛ if the path to what you want seems too easy, then you're on the wrong path. ❜

[ezraxmp]

Ezra appreciated the understanding and respect that Alexios was showing. It was a step into unfamiliar territory, but they were willing to give it a chance. They couldn’t deny that the weight of their hidden experiences had been burdensome, and perhaps, just perhaps, sharing some of that weight with someone who seemed to care could make it more bearable.

They hoped.

“I don’t really have a preference,” Ezra admitted as they set their journal aside. “There’s a café not far from here. It’s quiet and cozy… But if you have another suggestion, I’m open for it.”

They offered Alexios a small, genuine smile, one that conveyed their gratitude for his willingness to listen and his understanding of their boundaries. It was a delicate balance, opening up to someone while still safeguarding the most painful parts of their not so distant past.

[exmp-alexios]

Alexios nods as they tell him of a place, and he smiles at him. "That works. Somewhere familiar and comfortable for you would be the best place," he says and he slides a folded piece of paper over the desk.

"My phone number. Just in case you change your mind or need some more time. Well, you can throw it out if you really don't want to speak to me at all, and I won't hound you," he says, trying to bring the conversation to a more lighthearted tone rather than the solemnity they held after his confession.

With that, he steps back with a smile. "I hope I'll see you later," he says before he ducks out of the shop, heading towards the café nearby.

Timeskip

Alexios sits at one of the tables in one of the corners of the café, not wanting to sit right in the middle for the possible sensitive conversation that he and Ezra might have. He waits with a cup of cappuccino on the desk, scrolling through a tablet as he waits for them.