caycay | IC Inbox

[after a heart to heart, a meeting, and quick walk home montage, Fearless and Cater find themselves in the Hellraiser Hotel again. The inside of Fearless's apartment can only be described as 'retrofuturistic', with clean white metal walls all segmented with orange accents. it isn't immediately clear where the closet or bathroom or anything else is, at least not to someone who isn't from 216X Mars.

what is immediately visible is the bed at the far end of the room, the sunken 'conversation pit' style reclining area with its orange leather couchette, a window directly across from the door letting in the blurry view of a glowing neon night in Tharsis. There's also some kind of tiny little kitchenette in the corner, and if Cater looks up, one of those segmented walls is retracted for a view of the stars one could never get in a city.

there is very little in the way of personal effects in the room despite Fearless saying he's been here a year. a little trash can by the door is littered with takeout boxes, there's like four ashtrays on separate surfaces, and there's an actual car engine in front of the couch, but other than that and the pre-furnished parts, it's rather bare.]

Go ahead and get comfy. Or, uh, you can leave your stuff on the table, if you want.

[he himself goes over to the coffee table that is next to that car engine, starting to pull his keycard, phone, a pack of actual cigarettes and the joints he'd snagged from earlier and his wallet, out to drop on the table, too.]

[By the time they reach Fearless' room, Cater is definitely more subdued. There's still a buzz he's riding on, but between his overall demeanor and ability to walk steadily on his feet, it's clear that the combination of water, fresh air, and time has helped him move a significant pace closer to lucidity. For awhile, he just kind of takes it in, curious as he is enchanted by these unfamiliar aesthetics.]

Never seen vibes quite like these, before. I really dig it, actually.

[He'd be tempted to take some photos, but...nah. Not right now. He pauses, instead, to watch Fearless emptying his pockets. Considers for a quiet moment...then comes over, adding his own few possessions onto the table as well. There's not much--just his phone and keycard, seeing that he'd sort of just bounced around from location to location all day and night since his arrival without ever stopping to acclimate himself. It felt like it meant something, though, to put them down. An affirmation that he wasn't planning on trying to cut and run.]

Don't spend a lot of time here, do you?

[Fearless doesn't look at Cater when he answers;]

Well, y'know. I stay busy.

[—but he does look up at Cater after that, still all gentle with his smile.]

There is food, though, if you're hungry. And we can smoke more if you want.

[hands resting in his pockets, Fearless sort of wiggles slowly side to side, still angling himself toward Cater. it's probably going to become clear Fearless doesn't tend to sit or stand very still for very long, but it's not exactly like he's antsy that Cater's here, either.]

[Cater knew the signs of a house you didn't consider yours. Of course, a hotel room in Hell was effectively a rental space by definition. Cater wasn't going to look into it too hard right now--it was better, anyway, if neither of them learned too much more about each other. In the span of one night, he already felt like he'd revealed too much of himself. It was less dangerous to do that with a stranger, but only if they stayed strangers.

Fearless had said he wanted to see him again, so...it was time to be a bit more cautious.]

Nah. I'm pretty bloated from all that liquid in me. I don't mind smoking more.

[He could go either way, on that. If Fearless wanted to smoke more, he'd smoke with him. If he didn't, that was fine, too. Cater's eyes keep going back over to that peek of stars.]

Would it be cool if we sat over there?

Sure, yeah.

The bathroom's past that— orange wall there? It opens when you step up to it, so.

Whenever you need it.

[Fearless grabs the pack off the table and beckons Cater along with him to the bed, where the view is most easily accessed long-term without neck pain. He flops onto his back with his legs hanging off the edge, leaving room for Cater on the other side and starting to pull one of those joints out again.

he doesn't particularly care what happens one way or another from here. there's a lot of things that could happen that might be nice, but he isn't particularly leaning one way or another tonight. if anything, Cater's already given him enough tonight, making him feel for just a moment the way he did around Angel— at least, similarly.

so he waits, really, for some kind of indication of what Cater needs in return, fussing with the joint until he's got it how he wants it and breathing a little puff of flame out to light it.]

[It's a tossup for Cater, too. As he flops down beside Fearless, he's still trying to decide where his head is at. He was the kind of person who could force himself to be energized even when he was running on empty, which...he's realizing now that he's horizontal, he very much is. Social battery hovering dangerously at 1%. The problem was, the guy he was with was much more likely to notice if Cater was forcing it, and he didn't want Fearless to think he was doing that because of him. Like he wanted it any less.

No, he did want to get fucked. He wanted to wrap himself up in anything that would allow him respite from his own brain. Wanted, in turn, to show Fearless a good time for the attention and consideration he'd given.

But right now, he can't stop staring at those stars.]

It's so beautiful.

Nice, right?

Almost makes me miss being out in space.

[terrible place to live. beautiful place to die. really strange place to revisit when dead.

He blows little rings of smoke that spiral out and disappear before they reach the skylight, passing the joint absently Cater's way, tapping his wrist with the back of his hand for attention.]

I know the views in these places aren't real, but they do a damn good job of looking like it.

You were in space? That explains it...I've never seen stars look like this on the ground. Not even when I went stargazing outside the city.

[Whatever city or town he was in at the time. Not even on Sage Island. The view here can't compare, even if it's just a magical copy. Cater accepts the joint, taking a slow, unhurried drag.

Almost, though, Fearless had said. Cater wasn't distracted enough not to notice. He passes the joint back again, but doesn't comment on that admission. Between that, and the overall unlived-in state of the room, a picture was slowly painting itself. A place that didn't hold very many happy memories.]

I've liked looking at the stars as long as I can remember. I like studying them.

Ah, sort of. I mean, you're probably from Earth... or... something that looks like Earth. I was one planet further out from the sun.

[. . .

a beat, and Fearless presents in a voice that, if one were to assume that he were that kind of person, might sound almost bashful in the way a punk asking about something he isn't supposed to be into might ask, or the way a child might ask if they don't want to seem too eager.]

What kinda things do you study about stars?

I'm from a world called Twisted Wonderland.

[If it looked like Earth, Cater wouldn't know--he's never heard of it. Maybe it was the place that the Prefect came from?]

Astrology, mostly. I'm into all kinds of fortune telling, but that's my favorite.

[One of the only classes he actively pays attention in and enjoys learning about independently. Certainly the only class that was primarily lecture based. A smile plays on his lips to actually talk about one of his interests, and he finally shifts to look more at Fearless versus the view.]

[Fearless turns his head to look at Cater, too, and there is a smile to match. they're almost like kids at a sleepover like this, really. he points to Cater and;]

That explains so much about you, actually.

You're one of those magic boys like Idia.

[rude that they're all obnoxiously gorgeous, but Fearless kind of likes the idea that one of them is into astrology, actually.]

You're not gonna tell me there's star magic, are you?

Yeah! Idia and I are suuuper tight--we're total besties!

[Caters laughs, grin going wide. Clearly, he doesn't mind the "accusation".]

Nah. Cosmic magic, but it's more, like, light and darkness. I can show you, later, if you want.

[When his pen isn't on the table, which I forgot that he had on him and didn't mention. It's fine. He has decided to disarm himself. Important.]

That would be pretty cool, though.

[Fearless snickers at the comment of 'besties'. Yeah, he's sure. You and him both, Cater.]

...Yeah, y'know, I'd love to see it. Magic on Mars is just sleight-of-hand, so.

[he reaches to tap ash off onto a tray on the bedside table before puffing and passing once again;]

Astrology's still pretty popular on Mars, too. I am—

[he has to laugh—]

kinda struggling to imagine fortune telling class, though, man.

One of my underclassmen is really into that--sleight-of-hand tricks. He's pretty good! Definitely needs to work on perfecting it, though. He's made some other kids pretty mad getting caught cheating at cards.

[Oh, Ace. Such a troublemaker...but Cater couldn't help feeling fond, anyway.]

I could show you that, too, sometime. I'm sure I can find some materials if I go shopping; most fortune telling is popular among non-magic users, just like astrology, so...I mean, like, can definitely help you read your tea leaves, if nothing else.

[He winks.]

Anyway, what's your sign?

['underclassmen'. these guys really do just have normal lives, don't they? Cater paints a picture in Fearless's mind of a kind of company Fearless is only just getting settled into accepting here in the afterlife.

ah, maybe the way he looks away from Cater can be passed off as just thinking that wink was too cute. it's not like he seems put off, or anything. put off isn't the right feeling. it's somewhere between fascinated and melancholy, really. saudades, nostalgia for something he's never known.]

Tell you what.

Guess with me. I'll guess one, you guess one.

Hmmm...alright! That sounds fun.

[Time to put his skills to the test. Cater's smile doesn't diminish as he stares at Fearless, but suddenly there's a shift in the way he's looking at him--searching, intent. Faced with a challenge to put his knowledge of a subject he's so passionate about to the test has him locking in, in a way that should be harder for how inebriated he's been most of the night. There's a sharpness in his eyes as he considers everything that he's experienced so far with Fearless.

His behaviors in their interactions, the choices he's seemed to make even if he didn't speak on them out loud. Just his vibe, in general. Cater's pretty confident that Fearless is a water sign, but waffling between two of them, he makes a decision based on instinct.]

I'm going to go with...Cancer.

[it's really, really weird, being the one perceived instead of being the one doing the perceiving. it's weird for a lot of reasons.

mostly, it's weird because Fearless doesn't have a real birthday— or no, he'd argue he had a real birthday, just like once upon a time he must have had a grandmother or grandfather and doesn't know them. he's an orphan, not an alien, he'd remind, he has to have a birthdate.

his birthday was chosen for a number of reasons, but mostly to write documents for someone who didn't have a legal identity.

Just use mine, Vicious had said. We'll share.

And they had. June 26, the day two absolute rejects were brought into the world— or at least a bittersweet celebration thereof.

maybe that's why Fearless squints at Cater before he smiles, like the kind of reaction someone has when they've experienced a taste they aren't immediately sure they like, scrunching up their face as it washes over them.]

Oh, fuck off.

[he shoves Cater's arm, quick and casual.]

Lucky guess.

[Cater wasn't a sore loser or winner by any means, but he had to admit there was something just a little bit satisfying about Fearless' reaction. About knowing he'd gotten it right--but more than that, surprised someone who might have been underestimating him just a little bit. He laughs, pretending to be wounded at the shove.]

You think so? I can explain my reasoning.

[He might feel way more seen than he already does, however.]

[and he had been underestimating him, to some degree. then again, at the same time, it isn't like he's surprised on his second thought. there were so many things about this guy that reminded Fearless of Angel despite what screamed as being a lack of experience— a certain amount of resourcefulness, a commitment to a character. the acknowledgement between the two of them that playing a character is acceptable to do in front of each other had come as a result of Angel and Fearless both having played the game so long, was all.

but whether or not Cater himself realizes that's the same space he's entitled to here, Fearless makes it open. where he might usually not want to hear what someone has to say about him, Fearless turns onto his side more like a child at a sleepover ready to share secrets after lights out.]

Alright, prove it, then.

[There's a quick instant where Cater feels doubt--he knew the reasoning he'd used to make his choice, but what if he was still off-base about it. Sure, he was right, but he was about to assign actual motivation to some of the behaviors he had seen today. What if laying this all out there ended up offending him?

No, he decides just as quickly. Fearless was clearly interested in astrology, so if he didn't like what he heard, well, it was just your typical understanding of a Cancer, right? He could play it off, if he had to.]

Alright, well...I get the impression that you're good at reading people. For better or for worse, if you see something in someone that resonates with you, you have a hard time leaving them to struggle on their own. And when you like someone, you don't want to let them go--even if that's not something you're willing to say out loud.

[He thought about what Fearless had said to him at the club, before Greed had walked in on them. That he didn't need to put on an act in front of him. Like he knew him already.]

You could've ignored my drunk-ass text and let me learn my lesson by facing the consequences firsthand...but you didn't. [A slight pause.] I think you're quick to forgive people who fuck up, but you don't forget that it happened. But I also get the feeling...that you do have a boundary you won't let anyone cross, and when they try, you get real serious real fast.

[He looks like he's going to say something else, for a second. You seem like you're looking for someone that you're missing. I think you're desperate for the feeling you had with them.]

Am I, like, totally off base?

Edited 2025-06-17 08:51 (UTC)

[there is a moment where the quiet staring coming from Fearless must seem like being watched by an animal. the way he looks now, without a demonic ring of red around his iris, still looks so strange. like there's no light in his eyes, some have said, like a newborn infant before they've become aware. still as a statue, it might seem like Fearless is waiting for something. like a snake about to strike.

but instead, he stretches out his arms and rolls his eyes, lifting his head just enough to fold his arms under. ]

Damn.

[it's strange, really. it's been a long time since anyone has looked at him like that. no— that's not right, that's not exactly the feeling, he realizes in that moment.

it's strange because on Mars he was invisible. a statistic. one little boy looking at him, bothering with him, saving him from the streets eventually— that was a fluke. catching Vicious's eye had never been a given. if he'd shown up even a week before or a week later— would things have been different?

but here in Hell there are people like this, like Seras who doesn't always get what she sees in front of her but for some reason always does see it; like Greed whose deep unknown origin gives him some sort of timeless insight into the hearts of men; like Angel, who saw the warning signs of self-destruction because he made them himself.

Cater is strikingly perceptive, and months ago this would have been alarming. now, it's just strange. like Fearless is blinking through a blinding light only to find out that he's on a stage in a near-empty room, being looked up at.

like Fearless is the tiger Cater is seeing in the zoo, not the other way around.]

Eh.

Perception's subjective.

[and sometimes those subjective perceptions happen to be correct, which is probably why Fearless doesn't deny anything.]

Alright, so then, which is the nosiest sign, again...?

[There was a second there where Cater thought maybe he was right to be nervous--that he'd hit a nerve with something he'd said. The look in Fearless' eyes reminded him slightly of the way Leona's eyes would change when he got pushed over a line. That cold, predatory warning to back off.

But then it passes, and the tension falls off of Cater with the same ease in which it seems to fall off of Fearless.]

Oh, you think I've been noisy already, you haven't heard anything yet.

[He grins, reaching over to poke him teasingly in the cheek. If he was in for a bit of a roasting, well, he supposed that was only fair.]

Edited (you hear sound you don't watch it) 2025-06-18 04:19 (UTC)

Ohhh, so we've got noisy, we've got arrogant,

[teases Fearless back, pulling one arm back out to start keeping count of his little traitlist.]

Outgoing, sociable, little party boy goin' on...

[that trait-listing hand turns into an accusing point.]

Pretty sure there's a sign you're pushing me toward.

But nah, that's too easy.

[he swats the thought away with the wave of his hand, and looks back at the simulated stars.

'easy' isn't what Fearless gets out of Cater. desperate? sure. that's not 'easy', though. Fearless is desperate, but he isn't easy, in many senses of the word. the way Cater was with him earlier? that's desperation, baby.

Fearless takes another moment to look at Cater again, and then rolls over, just a bit closer, onto his stomach. at a closer distance he takes in the lines drawn over Cater's lashes; nearly pristine, aside from the blur of sweat and wiped eyes. Cater's hair is well-kept and long. his outfit is, in some way, coordinated.

and in a flash Fearless takes in a lot of things that he's had to all his life. this non-committal punk style from a boy who's clearly acting out. this wall put up between them that Fearless is actually quite content with.]

...'Cos you're not doin' it for the glory. You're not even doing it for the fun, are you?

Too much of a little smarty pants.

[he raises his hand again, for a new list of traits. he doesn't exactly give the sense of laying into Cater with a read, though— he's peppy, playful, cute.]

The kind of guy who might only know what he knows, but knows it well. Optimistic, probably to a fault, considering the way you stumbled out here— but that rebel heart of yours just...

[he scrunches his face up when he says—]

really gets me.

Definitely an air sign, or else— you'd probably be somewhere better than this tonight if you weren't, definitely in bed by now if you were an earth sign— buuuut you're not really giving Gemini...

'm I on the right track?

[Not that Cater wanted Fearless to be wrong, exactly--kind of had a feeling he wouldn't be, just based on what happened between them at the Nest. But still, it's almost a relief when he seems to be summarizing him based on the pretty little checkboxes he lines up for people to observe.

And then Fearless reads him for filth. The easy little smile on his face vanishes. You're not even doing it for the fun, are you?

He wanted to lie, but what would be the point, when Fearless clearly had him figured out from the start? His birthday would get found out eventually either way. Fine. He'd be honest, but he was going to do it in his own way.]

Hmm...I'd say you're getting hotter and hotter.

[Which is to say, Cater walks his fingers along Fearless' chest, propping himself up on an elbow so he could look down at him.]

Mmm, that's just the bad decisions catching up to ya,

[grins Fearless, bouncing his brows. anyway he's watching Cater's face, knows he's close.

honestly, it's just like a game of poker. a little bluff, a lucky guess, watching the reactions— that's all. you can twist almost any horoscope to a particular set of traits if you really want to. it's not like Fearless actually believes the shit he spouts (though a part of him has to wonder; is it different in a world with magic?) but there is something to the collections of traits people themselves find resonate with them.

boldly, without hesitation, Fearless takes Cater's hand and pulls it up to his own face, humming against Cater's fingers as he muses;]

I'm gonna go with Aquarius.

I'm not gonna believe you if you say Libra.

[Cater brushes his thumb against Fearless' lips, shifts to cup his cheek.]

If I was a Libra, I wouldn't be decisive enough to go for what I want.

[He swings his leg over, placing himself over the man's hips. Although he's looking down at him, he's not quite blocking the view of the stars.]

Ding ding ding! Winner, winner! Ready for your prize?

[emotionally avoidant. classic Aquarius.

but see, Fearless doesn't get anything out of prying, and he is perfectly satisfied with what he gets out of this. his hands are on Cater's thighs immediately, and he nods before he speaks, his body starting to answer before his mouth.

he shrugs, tilting his head to the side and acknowledging;]

I mean, who doesn't like winning?

[he's a changed man, sure, but not that changed.

and Cater is... well, Fearless is taken for a moment, by the way Cater looks framed by the stars, and for that moment those dark eyes of his are wide and curious.]

[He was being all too obvious, he knew, pulling a stunt like this right after everything that Fearless had said. Admitting to it all in the worst possible way. And yet, somehow, he doesn't feel like he's being judged for it. Fearless looks at him like he gets it, and while it's incredibly frightening to be seen, there's something comforting in being understood.

Maybe this would be scarier, if it were someone he knew from home. But what was happening here, it wasn't like either of them were trying for some kind of deep connection, right?

It's hard not to soften at the way he's being gazed at, right now. Like Fearless is seeing something that Cater couldn't possibly see for himself.]

I wanna pick up where we left off.

[He leans in a little closer, hands running down Fearless' chest.]

I don't really care if you tell me it's a bad idea.

Well, I wouldn't tell you that now.

I'm not tryn'a chase you off.

[he drums his fingers against Cater's thighs, mouth drawn into a little grin like someone who's just been served their favorite meal as he looks Cater up and down again. and then he moves one hand up to Cater's face instead, pushing some of that hair out of the way so he can keep a good look at him, so he can rest his palm on the back of Cater's neck.]

In fact, I think it'd be a great idea if you let me kiss you again.

[Looking down at Fearless, some of that maybe-a-bit-desperate edge to what he was doing softens even further than before. He lets himself be drawn closer by that hand, stopping short from actually going in for a kiss himself, this time.]

You have some pretty good ideas. So, what're you waiting for?

[Fearless leans up to speak against Cater's lips;]

Permission.

[he answers, playful and sweet, before giving Cater that kiss he wants so bad. Finger curling in a lock of hair at the base of Cater's neck, Fearless hums, satisfied.]

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