Idia breathes a sigh of relief. “Okay… sorry, I wanted to be sure. The idea of being complicit in your misery makes me sick. I’m not saccing a party member for my own benefit, especially not you.”
He will, however, face things he’d never imagined he could stand against for Cater’s sake. Like pleasing their case to his parents. Hopefully he can convince them of the merit of his plans for STYX, but it might also come down to revealing their relationship and what it’s done for both of them. Distant as they are, his mother and father haven’t been blind to the effect of Ortho’s death on Idia. They’re still harping on him for what he caused while they were away. If they can see how good Cater is for him, it might give him the leverage he needs.
He doesn’t want to think about the chain of disasters that will follow if he fails.
“Do you want to stay here tonight? We can just sleep, you’re definitely exhausted.”
At the apology, Cater shakes his head. "No, I get it. Any time you need to be reassured, I'll be sure to make it clear."
There are definitely people who would get annoyed at having to reaffirm themselves, but having felt a lot of similar insecurities, Cater completely understands where Idia's coming from. He'd rather take a second to restate his happiness than cause Idia to question himself further. And in all honesty, Cater just enjoys being able to express how happy he is with his boyfriend.
"Yeah," he agrees at the question of whether he'll stay overnight or not. "I should change out of my uniform--but I want to be here with you tonight."
After brushing his lips against Cater's forehead, Idia extracts himself from his boyfriend's arms and the comfort of the bed. "I already showered, but if you want to hop in there really quick I can stay in the room with you. If not, at least go splash some cold water on your face. I'll get out your sleep stuff."
He'd never wanted to do domestic stuff before, but taking care of Cater with these small gestures feels good and makes them both happy. Gods, he's changed so much, hasn't he? They both have. The Idia and Cater from the start of the year wouldn't recognize themselves if they saw who they'd become. But it's a good thing. They weren't exactly healthy people before, and even if they have a long way to go, they've made progress.
"Too tired to shower, I'll just wash my face." With extreme reluctance to get up, Cater slides out of bed. His hand stays squeezed in Idia's for as long as it can before he finally pulls away. Even then, he stops at the doorway to the bathroom to lean against it and look back, gazing with exhausted affection at his perfect weirdo.
"Thank you," he says, and because reaffirming the sentiment is never a bad thing, adds a sweetly spoken: "I love you, Idia Shroud."
Idia’s halfway up from the bed to get Cater’s pajamas when his boyfriend pauses at the bathroom door. The assertion of love brings a renewed glow of happiness to Idia’s eyes. “I love you too, Cater Diamond. Always.”
He kisses his fingertips and extends them toward Cater for a moment, echoing the air kiss during their recording. Then he finally gets up and goes to his wardrobe to pull out Cater’s sleeping clothes from one of the drawers. He’s going to take care of his boyfriend tonight, because even if things are calmer for the moment, Idia knows he’s still needed.
Like the completely infatuated doofus he is, Cater catches the kiss in his hand and presses it against his heart before he finally disappears into the bathroom to freshen up. The cold water on his skin is rejuvenating, and he presses his wet hands against the back of his neck as well, letting the coolness sink in.
His body is tired but his heart feels full, the weariness having been washed down the drain. Now, he can safely return to his boyfriend's arms, already pulling off his uniform so he can replace it with his pajamas. There's something extra comfortable about the pair that lives in Idia's dorm.
By the time Cater comes out of the bathroom, Idia has his pajamas laid out on the bed and has changed into his own. The Housewarden stretches out under the covers, watching Cater with a smile. Once his boyfriend is changed, Idia will flip back the blanket and hold out his arms.
"I'm sorry for the circumstances, but I'm glad you're here tonight. We both sleep better like this."
Slipping into the soft clothes, Cater's eager to slide in and tuck himself into Idia's arms. "I'm not sorry," he tells him. "Even though I nearly had a full panic attack...we figured out something important."
And thinking about that, he can't help but give a small laugh. "You know what, I think this is the first time I've ever really looked forward to the future...and it's all because of you."
Idia snuggles close, holding Cater to his chest and stroking his hair. "And you're the reason I'm fighting for a future I want, rather than letting my fate decide for me. Hope was never something I understood before you."
Well, maybe the other Troublesome Children had opened the door, but Cater was the one who shined a light into the gloom beyond. That's something Idia knows he can never fully repay, but he'll spend the rest of his life trying.
There's no way he can't steal a kiss when Idia says something like that. Cater can feel his heart like it's radiating outward from his skin right now, his love this deep warmth that he couldn't have ever understood before. With those kisses, he lets himself drift off to sleep, snuggled as close as he can be to the love of his life.
The busy days that follow were once terrifying, but now have a sort of excitement to them that undoubtedly both of them would've never anticipated. On Idia's side in particular, there's plenty of work to be done to prepare STYX for Cater's arrival--what it means, how it's going to work, what his internship will actually entail...
And then there's the schoolwork. The closer they get to summer, the closer they get to final projects and exams. It's fortunate that the two of them share a year and classes--it means that when the two of them aren't caught up in dorm-specific responsibilities, they're able to work together as study buddies. Very special study buddies. Therein lies a specific problem that Cater voices as he flops over on top of his textbook.
"I don't want to study anymore," he whines. "I want your hands all over my body...Flambae, put me in horny jail..."
Idia looks up from his own notes with a smirk. “I dunno. If I put you in horny jail, that means you’re not getting any action. You really want that story path?”
Honestly, he hopes Cater doesn’t go to horny jail because he’s feeling a little frisky himself. Most of the material on this unit he knows really well, bordering on eidetic memory levels. He can manage an extended break, but Cater still struggles with some of the concepts. The fact that his boyfriend is bored proves that. If Idia can make studying more interesting and rewarding, Cater might get all of this down in one or two nights.
"Bah, of course I don't!" He kicks his feet in obvious protest, totally slumped over. "But this is my worst subject, so I really need to focus."
He rolls his head to the side to look at Idia with a pout. With his focus already so shot, he can't imagine that caving in to his temptations is going to do anything other than make him less productive. "Share some of your genius with me for, like, a week? I'll give it back."
"Even if I could, you'd probably get my malware with it. Not a burden I want you to carry." Idia sets his tablet aside and leans closer to Cater, still grinning. "I have another idea, though. It might work for scratching your itch and improving your focus at the same time. But you still have to put in some effort. If you can't...."
He sits back casually, shrugging. His expression betrays none of his eagerness, his curiosity. Cater has taught him something about teasing in bed, surely his boyfriend deserves to experience the realization of what kind of monster he's created?
At Idia’s teasing words, Cater is more than eager to purposefully take the bait. “Um, excuse me?” Shifting, he stretches out to nudge him with a socked foot, eyebrows raising. “You can’t just say something like that and then diss me! What, do you think I’m lazy or something?”
He nudges him again, playing up his indigence to make this even more fun. “Well? Go on, what’s your great idea that I may or may not be able to handle?”
Idia’s grin widens, shark-like. His eyes gleam. Uh oh, that’s the look of a gremlin that’s up to no good. “I could tell you, or I could show you. You wanna take on the challenge? Then go full unequip first.”
Step one is getting Cater hot and bothered with the possibilities while remaining clothed and casual himself. Idia’s a little nervous to be taking charge like this, but he doesn’t let it show. He wants Cater to be surprised and proud of him.
Cater purses his lips as he watches Idia get that look on his face. That's absolutely the look of a troublemaker, alright. "Hmmmm," he hums as he pretends to think it over. Like, obviously he's up for the challenge, and he definitely wants to know what in the world that beautiful imp is up to. It's just that when Idia gets that particular tone to his voice, it absolutely triggers Cater's intense desire to be a brat.
"All right," he concedes, standing. "I'm in your capable hands. Please look after me, senpai~"
Naturally, Cater takes his time stripping, undoing and removing each article of clothing with as much sensuality as he can muster. If Idia's up to something mischievous that's going to surprise him, it's the least he can do to get Idia frothing at the mouth with anticipation. You know, like he is, himself.
Senpai, he says, when Idia is only about a month and a half older. Chuckling, his eyes still shining with playful desire, he soaks in the show of his boyfriend stripping. Seven, he’ll never tire of the sight, Cater’s lovely body a siren call to him. He lusts as much as he loves, there’s no denying it. He allows himself one slip of decorum as a reward for Cater, a slow lick of those grinning sapphire lips.
“Good. Now on your hands and knees on the bed. Time for phase two.”
Once again, Cater's eyebrows raise. On his hands and his knees? That's a new one, and especially when it's a direct order. Right now, he definitely can't see how this is going to help him with studying...but honestly, Cater isn't about to complain. If anything's going to distract him, this is the most welcome kind.
How many phases even were there? Cater slinks over to the bed like the little minx he is, definitely slapping himself once on the ass just for effect before crawling up onto it. Even without sprawling out fully, there's something so notably cat-like about the way he positions himself. All it would take is a raising of one hand in imitation of a paw and a nyaaaan to really sell it.
The order of events is especially important, Idia has learned. Building of anticipation, subversion of expectations… he’s been researching. So first he nudges Cater’s knees further apart, opening his boyfriend for a nice view of his eventual goal. But he does nothing else back there just yet, instead moving around the front to meet Cater’s eyes with a smile that’s gone suddenly a little too sweet.
And he plunks Cater’s open textbook down on the bed in front of his boyfriend. “Study time~”
Study time, he says! Fah! Cater's coy expression falters as he looks from Idia's cute expression to the textbook now sitting open before him. "Eeeehh..."
Okay, clearly this isn't all, but it's definitely a momentary boner-killer in its surprised. Getting all feisty and sassy just to be expected to study more? Well, Idia did say this was about studying, after all, and maybe Cater was just looking for an out. He'll give it to his boyfriend: he's definitely defying expectations, here.
"I hope phase three has a bit of a better payoff," he jokes as he scans the open pages to re-find where he'd left off.
“Hmm, I suppose we’ll see.” Idia doesn’t chuckle but Cater will clearly hear amusement in his voice. He moves out of Cater’s view, slowly shucking out of his clothes before sitting back against the headboard. Picking up the lube from its spot in the bedside drawer, he nudges the back of his boyfriend’s thigh with a toe. “Start reading out loud. It makes you focus more on what you’re reading. And no taking your eyes off the book.”
"Okay, okay, okay," Cater promises. Eyes forward, head bowed, he begins to read. Just knowing that Idia grabbed the lube, hearing him moving around behind him, re-invigorates him. His exposed genitals twitch in anticipation as he fills the room with explanations of different alchemical reactions.
For a minute or two, Idia does nothing but sit and listen to Cater's recitation. Good, the other boy is focused, or at least enough to not trip over his reading. Idia has practiced opening the lube with almost no sound, preparing for a time when he can surprise his boyfriend, and what little noise the cap makes is all but lost under Cater's voice. It means the slick, cool fingers gliding along the ginger's cleft likely come as an anticipated but startling sensation, not dipping into the opening there but slowly working from tailbone to testicles and back again. There's no satisfied chuckle from Idia, no noise at all save for steady breathing, but Cater can't see the hunger in his eyes.
If he wasn't totally naked and up on his knees, it would be pretty easy to forget that he's doing anything other than studying. As it is, Cater's voice has settled into a pretty even cadence as he reads--Idia's so quiet that there's no anticipating his movements. When those slender fingers do hit his skin there's a jump in his reading, pitch raising in surprise at the sudden slickness. It takes a decent amount of willpower not to look back at Idia, and even more to keep reading.
The effects that his boyfriend have on him are so obvious. The light arousal in his shaft is already stiffening in gratitude for the attention. As Cater steadies his voice again, his hands tense slightly against the bedspread.
Idia hums in approval, fingers still tracing their slow up and down path, occasionally diverting to swirl around the tight pucker or flicker against Cater's balls. Now and then he stops to reapply a tiny bit more lube, only to return to his teasing. Yeah, this is definitely making an impression on Cater, which will hopefully improve his memory retention. It's most certainly an interesting experiment.
He waits for Cater to be in the midst of a more complex formula before he suddenly pushes his middle and ring fingers inside his boyfriend without warning, sheathing them completely but making no further movement. His other fingers and his palm cup Cater's backside with the cool touch of his skin.
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He will, however, face things he’d never imagined he could stand against for Cater’s sake. Like pleasing their case to his parents. Hopefully he can convince them of the merit of his plans for STYX, but it might also come down to revealing their relationship and what it’s done for both of them. Distant as they are, his mother and father haven’t been blind to the effect of Ortho’s death on Idia. They’re still harping on him for what he caused while they were away. If they can see how good Cater is for him, it might give him the leverage he needs.
He doesn’t want to think about the chain of disasters that will follow if he fails.
“Do you want to stay here tonight? We can just sleep, you’re definitely exhausted.”
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There are definitely people who would get annoyed at having to reaffirm themselves, but having felt a lot of similar insecurities, Cater completely understands where Idia's coming from. He'd rather take a second to restate his happiness than cause Idia to question himself further. And in all honesty, Cater just enjoys being able to express how happy he is with his boyfriend.
"Yeah," he agrees at the question of whether he'll stay overnight or not. "I should change out of my uniform--but I want to be here with you tonight."
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He'd never wanted to do domestic stuff before, but taking care of Cater with these small gestures feels good and makes them both happy. Gods, he's changed so much, hasn't he? They both have. The Idia and Cater from the start of the year wouldn't recognize themselves if they saw who they'd become. But it's a good thing. They weren't exactly healthy people before, and even if they have a long way to go, they've made progress.
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"Thank you," he says, and because reaffirming the sentiment is never a bad thing, adds a sweetly spoken: "I love you, Idia Shroud."
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He kisses his fingertips and extends them toward Cater for a moment, echoing the air kiss during their recording. Then he finally gets up and goes to his wardrobe to pull out Cater’s sleeping clothes from one of the drawers. He’s going to take care of his boyfriend tonight, because even if things are calmer for the moment, Idia knows he’s still needed.
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His body is tired but his heart feels full, the weariness having been washed down the drain. Now, he can safely return to his boyfriend's arms, already pulling off his uniform so he can replace it with his pajamas. There's something extra comfortable about the pair that lives in Idia's dorm.
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"I'm sorry for the circumstances, but I'm glad you're here tonight. We both sleep better like this."
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And thinking about that, he can't help but give a small laugh. "You know what, I think this is the first time I've ever really looked forward to the future...and it's all because of you."
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Well, maybe the other Troublesome Children had opened the door, but Cater was the one who shined a light into the gloom beyond. That's something Idia knows he can never fully repay, but he'll spend the rest of his life trying.
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The busy days that follow were once terrifying, but now have a sort of excitement to them that undoubtedly both of them would've never anticipated. On Idia's side in particular, there's plenty of work to be done to prepare STYX for Cater's arrival--what it means, how it's going to work, what his internship will actually entail...
And then there's the schoolwork. The closer they get to summer, the closer they get to final projects and exams. It's fortunate that the two of them share a year and classes--it means that when the two of them aren't caught up in dorm-specific responsibilities, they're able to work together as study buddies. Very special study buddies. Therein lies a specific problem that Cater voices as he flops over on top of his textbook.
"I don't want to study anymore," he whines. "I want your hands all over my body...Flambae, put me in horny jail..."
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Honestly, he hopes Cater doesn’t go to horny jail because he’s feeling a little frisky himself. Most of the material on this unit he knows really well, bordering on eidetic memory levels. He can manage an extended break, but Cater still struggles with some of the concepts. The fact that his boyfriend is bored proves that. If Idia can make studying more interesting and rewarding, Cater might get all of this down in one or two nights.
But Idia’s still going to tease him a bit first.
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He rolls his head to the side to look at Idia with a pout. With his focus already so shot, he can't imagine that caving in to his temptations is going to do anything other than make him less productive. "Share some of your genius with me for, like, a week? I'll give it back."
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He sits back casually, shrugging. His expression betrays none of his eagerness, his curiosity. Cater has taught him something about teasing in bed, surely his boyfriend deserves to experience the realization of what kind of monster he's created?
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He nudges him again, playing up his indigence to make this even more fun. “Well? Go on, what’s your great idea that I may or may not be able to handle?”
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Step one is getting Cater hot and bothered with the possibilities while remaining clothed and casual himself. Idia’s a little nervous to be taking charge like this, but he doesn’t let it show. He wants Cater to be surprised and proud of him.
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"All right," he concedes, standing. "I'm in your capable hands. Please look after me, senpai~"
Naturally, Cater takes his time stripping, undoing and removing each article of clothing with as much sensuality as he can muster. If Idia's up to something mischievous that's going to surprise him, it's the least he can do to get Idia frothing at the mouth with anticipation. You know, like he is, himself.
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“Good. Now on your hands and knees on the bed. Time for phase two.”
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How many phases even were there? Cater slinks over to the bed like the little minx he is, definitely slapping himself once on the ass just for effect before crawling up onto it. Even without sprawling out fully, there's something so notably cat-like about the way he positions himself. All it would take is a raising of one hand in imitation of a paw and a nyaaaan to really sell it.
"This good, or should I open my legs wider?"
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And he plunks Cater’s open textbook down on the bed in front of his boyfriend. “Study time~”
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Okay, clearly this isn't all, but it's definitely a momentary boner-killer in its surprised. Getting all feisty and sassy just to be expected to study more? Well, Idia did say this was about studying, after all, and maybe Cater was just looking for an out. He'll give it to his boyfriend: he's definitely defying expectations, here.
"I hope phase three has a bit of a better payoff," he jokes as he scans the open pages to re-find where he'd left off.
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The effects that his boyfriend have on him are so obvious. The light arousal in his shaft is already stiffening in gratitude for the attention. As Cater steadies his voice again, his hands tense slightly against the bedspread.
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He waits for Cater to be in the midst of a more complex formula before he suddenly pushes his middle and ring fingers inside his boyfriend without warning, sheathing them completely but making no further movement. His other fingers and his palm cup Cater's backside with the cool touch of his skin.
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