MESSIER 102

also known as the spindle galaxy

Violence

[messier102]

🔭 worlduphigh:

As this was completely different from the way they had spoken before, Sierra realised she needed to do something about the ways to address him. She wasn’t threatening him in any way and she also didn’t think it was necessary for him to be as nervous as he seemed, though yet he was here and she needed to make sure that he wouldn’t flee the first chance he got. There was no threat in being here, and Sierra felt that he simply needed to realise that. “So, you would like a drink, then?” She smiled, but she also thought it must have sounded a little strange for her to ask the other to clarify a ‘yes’.

For a moment she felt like he– Hugo– wasn’t all too different from the many ways he had been presenting himself through his pictures. He’d never been clear. He’d always been open for interpretation. Just like now. Perhaps she just needed to get used to it. 

When she heard the stutter, she turned to look at him. She couldn’t deny that he looked endearing in how uncomfortable he was, even though that immediately made her wonder what he would look like when he would be a bit more at ease. “The box,” she noted, and that immediately made her grin. She knew about this already. In fact, she had wondered about this for days on end, wondering what he had picked out for her and how that fit in with the way their… friendship had been growing on them. She laughed softly, but she definitely wasn’t laughing at him. She was laughing because of this entire situation. The discomfort between the two of them wouldn’t matter when all of this was behind them. “I’ve been wondering about this box.”

She looked at him a little more curiously then, wondering whether she wanted to take him into the room and blend him in with the others just yet. Perhaps she wanted to keep this moment to herself a little longer as she was curious and didn’t want that to be interrupted by her family members and friends asking for his name while she had only learned his a couple of moments ago. “I want to show you something too.” She therefore said, stepping away from the door and heading for the stairs instead. 

It was no surprise that she’d been wondering about the present. Likewise he’d been wondering what she was going to think of it. In many ways it didn’t matter whether she would like it or not. He’d never sent her a picture in the hope she’d like it. It was about something deeper than that, as was the content of that box.

He looked towards the living room once more when loud laughing sounded. It was clear people were enjoying themselves in there and Hugo became very aware--once more--that he had no idea how to mingle. Was where the customs at a party like this? He had no experience to go on, but Sierra knew that. Hopefully that meant she wouldn’t expect the impossible. He was glad when she stepped towards the stairs. That’d at least give him another little moment before he’d have to face his fears.

He didn’t say anything--he rarely said something when he didn’t absolutely have to--and followed her towards the stairs. Did this mean she would take him to her bedroom? He wondered what it’d look like. He wondered if it’d be exactly how he’d pictured it. It probably wouldn’t be, which was exactly what excited him.

[messier102]

🔭 synthmia:

She nodded, understanding that he knew how to deal with the situation. She was glad he was alright. “If you know I can’t tell you anything, then what do you want me to stay for?” she asked, trying to figure out what it was that he wanted to know. She couldn’t spill any information about herself, nor could she actually confirm that she was what he thought she was.

He perfectly understood why she couldn’t talk to him about this, but it was impossible to accept that he had to let her walk away. He would never stop thinking about her and the questions would just keep piling up.

“I have to u-u-understand.”

[messier102]

🔭 synthmia:

She didn’t stop watching him, even though she knew that was rude. She could see he was in pain and his response to it, taking the pills out of his bag, showed that this wasn’t new to him. He was sick. That told her a lot more about him and it instantly took priority over what had been said before.

“Are you alright?” she then asked, ignoring his question. “Do you need medical assistance? I can call a doctor.”

He was surprised to hear the change of tone in her voice and it caught him off guard. Somehow he’d not expected her to care about anything other than getting away from here. He looked up at her in surprise, but then continued to take one of the pills so he could hopefully control the pain, before it’d control him.

“No,” he replied. “I-I’m fine...” Did she care? Apparently she did. “Just a bad day, that-that’s all.”

[messier102]

🔭 synthmia:

That was not a question she was going to answer. There was one thing she’d never do deliberately and that was bring her family in danger. She was already doing that now she’d performed her act badly enough for a human to see through it. “It’s none of your business,” she replied and turned around to the boy. “I can’t talk about this.”

Whether the boy was genuinely interested or not, she couldn’t afford the risk. No matter how innocent he looked and how the look in his eyes reminded her of Leo when he was younger. There was such a passionate curiosity behind those eyes. “I can’t help you any further.”

“But--” he started immediately, although he knew it was useless. He understood why she couldn’t answer any of his questions, but that didn’t mean he could just let her go. His stomach was twisting and turning with fear and curiosity. He had to understand what was going on, because this was the most amazing thing he’d seen in his life.

If he wanted to convince her, then he was going to have to calm down. He couldn’t talk properly like this, and he felt his body tense with every second. Soon he was going to have a problem if he couldn’t get his heart rate under control. Actually, he was hurting more than he’d realised when he was sitting. His hand moved to his bag to take out a small bottle of pills, but he never took his eyes of her.

“L-look... I get you don’t trust me. But you c-can’t walk away!”

[messier102]

🔭 synthmia:

She watched him and how he behaved before and after he spoke to make sure his responses were genuine. It was clear he was on edge, maybe even scared, but she was quite sure that was her fault. She couldn’t see that he had an earpiece or any other device that communicated what was happening now.

“Good,” she said, shifting in her seat. She looked as if she was going to get up again. “You don’t have to know or understand what I am,” she then stated. “You shouldn’t have seen it.” She moved to stand up and remember the desperation he’d shown when telling her that he didn’t understand. “I’m sorry, Hugo. I can’t explain this to you.”

This time he got up in an instant and it took quite some willpower not to reach out to her and physically stop her from leaving. That would probably be a terrible idea, but he was desperate enough to try. He liked understanding things, and this was the strangest thing that’d ever happened to him.

“Y-you have to!” he replied. She didn’t have to do anything, but he didn’t want to believe that. “Are there more like you?”

[messier102]

🔭 synthmia:

She watched him as he spoke, unable to detect a lie. She hadn’t been able to detect a lie in anything he’d said, but now she watched him closer, it became easier to see that he was telling the truth. She then eyed the camera. “I won’t allow you to take a picture of me,” she said, before looking back at him. Admitting who and what she was wasn’t something she was at all comfortable doing and it was also not what she had sat down for. She had to ensure that whatever he knew wouldn’t spread.

“You can’t tell anyone about what you think you saw,” she stated. “Do you understand?”

He didn’t nod in response to her question, as something about it bugged him. “What I th-th-think I saw... is what I s-saw.” Obviously she didn’t want to confirm it, but there was no point denying it either. He didn’t like to be called stupid, even if it was between the lines and unintended.

“I w-won’t tell anyone.” That was quite an easy promise to make. The only people he ever spoke to where his parents and he was certain their lives were already complicated enough for the moment, even if they didn’t know that themselves yet.

[messier102]

🔭 synthmia:

She didn’t know how to get out of this situation. Now he had seen her, she had no knowing where the information would go, but the idea of staying didn’t seem safe either.

Her eyes scanned the crowd for anyone who was watching them, anyone he might be working together with, but she saw nobody. She turned back to the boy, stepped closer to the bench and sat down beside him in one swift move. “Who are you?”

It almost felt like a victory to watch her sit down beside him, but he instantly felt scared too. He had no idea what she was capable of, but he had the feeling that if it came down to it he wouldn’t stand a chance against someone like her. Maybe it was for that reason he really didn’t want to answer her question. He knew, though, that if he didn’t tell her anything about himself, she would certainly not tell him anything about herself either.

“I’m Hugo,” he replied. “I-I-I’m not anybody, r-really... You?”

[ren-walker]

[klennnik]

[1budgies]

[madderston]

[doe-eyes-and-biochem-blog]

[messier102]

mydevilsarehere:

He tightened his grip a little around the back of the boy’s neck and kissed him a little firmer, his free hand moving to the boy’s waist. He pulled Ganymede in closer and let the kiss part, opening his eyes and looking down at the boy. He moved a hand through Ganymede’s hair.

“Is this okay? What might you like to try?” He asked, not wanting to leave the question unasked for too long, as he didn’t want to start wondering. He knew the boy was tipsy and therefore he wasn’t sure to what extent he really wanted this. He looked nervous.

He slid his hand down a little, resting on the back of the boy’s hip and he waited to see what Ganymede thought of it. All the while he could feel his own trousers grow tighter. This boy was gorgeous.

It would have been easier to be asked specific questions, because then he could answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and they didn’t require him to know anything about other options. Did this and for a moment he stared at the wall opposite, while he tried to think of a plausible and true answer.

“Sex,” he said then, his voice barely a whisper. He looked in Jake’s direction. “Is that not what--” he shrugged.

[beautyaboveus]

An airplane flies past the sun as it goes into a partial solar eclipse in Singapore, March 9.

Photo: Edgar Su/Reuters

[messier102]

mydevilsarehere:

Not getting a response didn’t mean that he’d failed or that Ganymede wasn’t enjoying it. Maybe he had forgotten that he needed to be doing something, he couldn’t be sure.

He moved his hand back up Ganymede’s chest and down his arm, taking hold of his wrist, by which he guided the boy’s hand towards him. He rested it on his own shoulder and let Ganymede decide what he wanted to do now he was there.

Ganymede wasn’t certain what Jake was planning and therefore he uneasily let Jake guide his hand. Once it rested on Jake’s shoulder he slowly relaxed again, although he wondered what he was supposed to do now. He took hold of the material of Jake’s shirt, as it felt nice to hold on to something.

It almost felt unreal to be here, as he had never expected it to happen. He was in a hotel room, kissing a stranger... and this might only be the start.

[messier102]

mydevilsarehere:

He wondered what the boy was thinking, but he didn’t want to ask. He wanted to feel it in his responses. He wanted to feel Ganymede push closer, or gasp for air.

He pressed his lips against the other’s more firmly, his eyes shut. While one hand was still at the back of his neck, he let the other slowly move down from his face to his shoulder and down his chest slowly, feeling him.

He began tilting his head a little so he could deepen the kiss. He was definitely taking the lead, but going slowly enough for Ganymede to be able to keep up with him.

Ganymede let Jake take the lead and didn’t move away from his touches, as that was what he was here for. If he wouldn’t let it happen, then there had been no point in coming along. His eyes had shut as Jake was close enough to blur his vision, but every now and then he opened them to see whether Jake was planning something else.

He was tense under his touch and didn’t initiate anything of his own accord, but hopefully Jake wouldn’t mind. Ganymede had no idea what to do, even if he did want to try it out.

[messier102]

mydevilsarehere:

He wondered what the other was thinking and it made his stomach turn even more. This was the first time he was kissing someone of the same sex and although he was trying to tell himself it wasn’t any different to kissing a girl, it was. This boy’s body was different. It would feel different and do different things and just because he was so curious to find out in what way exactly it would be different his stomach was completely in knots.

He smiled a little when he felt Ganymede’s breath against his lips and he moved back a little. “Breathe through your nose,” he said, caressing the boy’s neck, before moving his other hand up to cup his face. He hadn’t opened his eyes in the meantime and when he moved to resume the kiss again he made sure to still go slowly, but more firmly than last time. He really wanted to kiss this boy and he really wanted Ganymede to know that. He hoped desperately that he liked it.

He could feel Jake smile against his lips and the sensation was strange, but he didn’t dislike it. It was sort of nice, as was the rest of this. But he still thought it was an odd idea to have someone’s lips against his own. He wasn’t sure what it had to do with love.

Breathing through his nose was easy enough and he didn’t really need Jake to tell him what to do for the moment, but it did make things a little less awkward.