Masculine Devil | For Sei

[hateless]

This place was like Platinum Jail on overdrive, Trip thought. Depravity. Hedonism. An entire massive station devoted to the pursuit of pleasure, though for all its variety, it was kind of funny that it was so limited at the same time. Everything all for the purposes of sex....

Trip's getting here had been easy. The mystery was more that it existed at all, that Sei existed here at all. The latter was the only half of that mystery he was really interested in figuring out, though. The last time Trip had seen him, "Sei" hadn't been Sei at all. He might not even be entirely surprised to find out if this entire place was some creation of his long-lost charge, some warped expression of things he'd never gotten to experience in life but might have glimpsed piecemeal all across Rhyme.

He wasn't ignorant to the fact that something about his questioning had caused a stir in the primary chat room, not the least of which being the reveal that Aoba was apparently here too and having memory troubles again by Trip's perception, but it was Sei that he'd come to see initially and it was Sei that had eventually sent him a private message directing him to this particular little cafe.

It seemed innocent enough, just to be sitting inside of it, but anything could be warped if you applied yourself to it. Not that Trip had such intentions. Everything was petite and pastel, overwhelmingly cute. Lacy cloths on the tables, doilies under the plates, delicate china teacups, and sweets of all shapes and sizes. Trip had arrived first and laid claim to a little two-person table by the front windows, looking out on a sculptured "lawn" that gave the illusion of being someplace other than in the bowels of space metropolis.

A massive black form sprawled beside his chair, helping preserve their seats for the only other person welcome to join them. Trip hadn't brought Wärter along out of anything like sentimentality, but Sei had always enjoyed the lion's presence and the whim of bringing him along hadn't been a bother, since it had only been an extra line on his application asking if he had any "pets" to accommodate.

Sei. Alive after all. Trip smiled to himself, taking a tiny iced cupcake from the tray he'd ordered, idly working it free of its wrapper as he watched the street through the glass. His gaze was only marginally less predatory than that of the creature at his feet.

Comments

[c4p71v3pr1nc355]

It didn't take long for Sei to get there himself, already on the way as he texted some friends to let them know where he was going and check on them before he turned his comm on private. He still had to pace himself a lot of the time, his body recovered from the worst of his ails but still not as fit as other people with healthier lives and habits preceding their arrivals.

When Sei finally came in view of the cafe he was breathless, his hair a wild, windblown tangle without his usually present hat. Skinny little legs were in ripped black jeans tucked into his large white boots, and his slim shoulders barely held up a sweater that would have been large on Trip, let alone the small figure that spotted the blonde through the window, instantly lighting up.

Even though he was clearly exhausted, Sei jogged across the busy throughway and into the cafe, letting his momentum launch himself into an incredibly animated and very out of the norm full embrace, crushing himself against what half of Trip's broad form he could.

"Trip-san! I'm so happy to see you!" he cried out in earnest delight. The blame game wasn't something Sei wanted to play; what mattered to him was someone he'd known his whole life was there, and came to see him, but not - evidently - to take him home. That was reason enough to convince himself that Trip's intentions were altruistic, whether he was right or not.

[hateless]

...look at him.

Not even Trip could say that seeing Sei on TV had prepared him for seeing his charge not just alive again, but far, far more vibrant than the frail little creature had ever been capable of being. Surprise first softened his expression, then split it into the broadest of grins as he put the cupcake down again and pushed his seat back to stand.

Trip's emotions did not come from the same place that others would have found them, his heart long rendered empty by nature and nurture alike, but it was not a lie to say that for what he could feel, he was delighted. Sei, alive again. Ever fascinating, ever the purpose of his existence. Trip had believed him gone and accepted the fact without mourning, moving on because that was how existence went and it was the natural thing to do, but here he was again against all human odds.

Trip needed no reminding that Sei had never been truly human.

His arms opened up in prediction, perhaps not knowing Sei's energy but knowing Sei, and there it came as expected: an embrace that did nothing at all to rock his mass, a willow bending into the boughs of a sequoia, which folded down around him and drew him in tightly. Gentleness had never been natural to Trip. He'd had to learn it, have it trained into him by the necessity of being chosen to protect someone so fragile. He meant no harm, but most would have found it too tight, too confining. To Sei, it would be the same as it had ever been.

"I'm happy to see you too, Sei," he answered, his own voice its usual mellow rumble. It was no lie. Trip never lied. "Look how lively you are! I've never seen you look better."

[c4p71v3pr1nc355]

Much as he was afraid of Platinum Jail and being forced to return, he'd never been afraid of his caretakers. While he knew they weren't - strictly speaking - good people, they had been as good as who and what they were allowed. They were better than the doctors, and they treated him more honestly than anyone. Well, Trip had, at any rate. Virus was very much the kind to lie for the sake of candy-coating, but that wasn't necessarily less decent of him, particularly when Sei's life was one bit of bad news after another. Eventually lying to him was what kept him alive. The eternal conundrum, when Sei valued honesty so much. It made sense to have caretakers playing both games.

"They don't make me do anything like back home, and the doctors here were very nice - for maybe kidnappers," he whispers the latter bit conspiratorially, patting Trip's back gently before looking up at the blonde with the sort of relieved fondness that said how grateful he actually was to see the man. He still hadn't found his footing on The Station, and while he was extremely close with a handful of people, it still felt good to have a familiar pillar nearby again. One he didn't need to rely on quite as much anymore...

"Are you really happy to see me? You're really not mad at me for ruining everything? I made sure everyone got out! I just...I thought it was the only way..."

[hateless]

Trip liked this new Sei. A Sei that had never changed had still been a unique existence in a world of sameness, a face among the blurs of faceless he'd had to be trained to see as people, but things that could change were things that could lead to infinite possibilities. Trip might have had wants, intents of his own, but letting things happen and watching them unfold could be just as fascinating.

Virus and Trip had themselves been leashes, but they hadn't been the hand at the other end. Sei hadn't been the only one freed by the destruction of Oval Tower.

Trip took his hands back and cupped Sei's face with them instead, catching that doll-like visage between callused palms to better admire it, to take in the faint spots of color in Sei's cheeks and the sparks of animation in dark eyes no longer dead. Beautiful, Trip thought, as one might of any other priceless treasure broken out of the vault where it had been forever protected but unadmired.

"I'm really not mad," he mirrored the words, the surest way to counter Sei's doubts. "You managed to do something that no one ever saw coming, not even me or Virus. That's pretty amazing."

And they had been children once, growing up together. Not in the way that normal children did, and of the three of them only Virus had succeeded at growing up all the way, but even Trip could have moments where he was utterly harmless. With Sei's face in the rough cradle of his hands, Trip bent down and pressed a short kiss to his hair, affection from an empty heart.

"You didn't ruin anything, Sei. You just started a whole new story, that's all."

[c4p71v3pr1nc355]

A new story. Sei's face lit up again, and he didn't flinch away from the kiss to the top of his head, growing more accustomed to them every day. A new story! Like his books and video games, like the stories he used to tell his secrets, to tantalize the treasure-hunters, of a kind. Trip said the right thing, easily falling upon the answer like his namesake, stumbling blithely into success.

Inhaling deeply, eyelashes glittering with unshed tears of joy, he raised his hands to cup over the comparatively absolutely massive ones holding his face.

"Am I amazing?" he asked, looking up into those artificially blue eyes, reaching for the praise he desperately wanted to hear from someone whose opinion mattered more than most; after all, Trip and Virus were two of the three people in his life he'd needed to please more than anyone. If he heard it from the horse's mouth, perhaps he could believe he was worth enough to feel less like an imposter when talking to Leo or Kusakabe. Maybe if Trip validated him just that much, he'd have the courage he lacked when he was with the other men.

[hateless]

"The most amazing of all," came Trip's answer, unhesitating. It was a spot tied with Aoba, but that was why ties were ties. It wasn't like first and second place, where one beat out the other. Aoba and Sei were different, but equally the most incredible existences Trip had ever encountered.

He let his hands drop out from under Sei's and used them to indicate the table, the tray of little cakes and a pot of floral-smelling tea upon it. "Has your appetite changed along with the rest, too? We should eat them while the tea's still hot. And it looks like someone else is getting jealous, too~"

An Allmate bound to one such as Trip was a little short of individuality as well, a very intelligent animal rather than a true sentience, but Wärter was levering his great bulk off the floor -- predicting or prompting Trip's words, who could say -- with a rumble so deep it sent ripples across the surface of his master's tea.

But the only thing that great and mighty head did was butt at Sei's side, insistent on a moment of attention, himself.

[zgok]

Upon the invitation to join the two of them that Kusakabe had received, he had looked up the location of their meeting place, and huffed some at the cutesy, frilly nature of it. It was so very Sei, and Kusakabe might have begun to resent the fact. His brain had been screaming since the moment he'd learned that someone from Sei's past had arrived there on the station, and that he was actively looking for Sei. He'd tried to be cagey and only a little bit helpful in locating him, but the effort had come to naught thanks to Sei himself, and his proclivity toward trying to diffuse tension as quickly as possible.

When he arrives in the little cafe, he doesn't immediately make himself known, particularly upon spotting the enormous black lion that accompanied Trip. He'd never seen an Allmate, had no idea they existed really, and so all he knew was that there was a big fucking lion right there. In addition, Sei was looking up at the man with such trust and such happiness and it made everything in him want to lash out, because it wasn't right. But he doesn't want to upset Sei. He doesn't want to start something here. He likes to think that he's more mature than that now.

So instead he approaches the counter, ordering a boba tea and keeping an eye on the two of them. Sei would notice him eventually, he's sure. He was observant like that. And it's not like Kusakabe is making any attempt to be sneaky. Hell, he's dressed in loud green skinny jeans and a motorcycle jacket, not to mention the puff of blonde hair that made him all the more noticeable.

[c4p71v3pr1nc355]

Sei was fit to burst with delight over being called amazing, even by someone not necessarily difficult to impress, by his estimation. Still, for someone who received praise so rarely, every compliment was a blessing; and he'd been getting so many from people lately!

"Aaahhh! Wärter!" he squeals happily, practically throwing himself against the lion the same way he had Trip, though with far more cushioning in this collision. He dis his best to hug the lion around its fluffy tree-trunk neck, burying his face in the fur for a moment before scratching in great big circles with both hands on either side of the lion's mane.

"Oh, I missed you, too! I'm sorry! I just get so distracted," Sei murmurs apologetically, trickling kisses on the lion's snout with affection he knew was granted to Trip as an extension. Allmates were a complicated thing, sometimes being their own people, sometimes being shadows of their owners.

Patting the lion's mane down gently once it was suitably ruffled from scratches, Sei turned and daintily sat on one of the seats, looking up to Trip with a sort of odd relief on his face. It took a great weight off his shoulder to know at least one person wasn't upset over everything that had happened.

"Was Virus very angry?" He asks, though he doesn't mention Toue. He knew how that ended...

While waiting for Trip to answer, Sei does a quick scan of the cafe, hoping at least Kusakabe had decided to show. At first, he didn't see the man, looking back to Trip just as Kusa walked in. Glancing away again, Sei does indeed spot the fluffy blonde, his smile changing, becoming something very different than the smile he gave Trip, but no less fond. Perhaps even more, as they shared an entirely different bond, having been particularly intimate in recent memory. An episode Trip may have seen...

Black eyes cast a questioning look to Kusa before flicking to the seat beside him, wordlessly inviting the youth to join in. He'd been asked, after all.

[hateless]

Wärter's rumbling only got louder, quite pleased with the enthusiastic show of affections. The lion's eyes narrowed to contented slivers of blue-against-black, and this time it was Trip that mirrored his Allmate's look instead of the other way around.

"Nah," Trip dismissed Sei's question as simply as that, retaking his own seat and pouring a cup of tea for his old ward. The dainty teapot looked ridiculous in his large hands, but he handled it with particular familiarity before sliding the filled cup across the table. "He thinks the same thing. You did something amazing, and it was much more interesting to watch everything happening afterwards."

And while Trip might not know Kusakabe to watch for him, there's no missing Sei's deliberate glances. They're plainly telegraphed and seeing them curls the edges of Trip's smile, his own gaze staying firmly on Sei for the first round. What a novel thing it is, to see Sei look for someone other than himself or Virus. Trip wonders if it's anyone he's seen already....

Then Trip's gaze moves too, following the shift in Sei's eyes and smile, and he spots him. Ahah. So Trip has indeed. While Wärter shuffles himself into a place where he can wrap around Sei's chair and put rest his chin on the small man's lap, Trip just chuckles and regards the familiar-enough stranger with a warm smile and cold blue eyes.

"You have a thing for blonds, Sei?" he teases, hooking his foot into the rungs of a third chair and dragging it over to where Sei's friend would have to sit neatly between the two of them, if he did indeed join them. Kuba? Kuse? Something like that, wasn't it? Whatever his name was, Trip was honestly quite eager to meet him. To see for himself the kind of person Sei had chosen to be so... intimate with.

[zgok]

Kusakabe has his tea in hand by the time he gives in to Sei's urging to join them, silent though it was. He doesn't want to get close to Trip, he doesn't trust himself not to be a giant asshole around the man. He knows himself well enough to know that when his hackles rose, they were on full display. He is not a subtle person.

Still, he moves the chair that Trip has pulled over for him, turning it some so that he's facing the other blonde, seated a little closer to Sei's side of the table. It could easily just be construed as a familiarity thing.

"Thanks for inviting me, Sei-chan," he says quietly, starting to offer a sip of his tea. He pauses though, thinking better of it since Sei has his own drink already.

[c4p71v3pr1nc355]

Sei's smile briefly faltered, replaced with a confused look followed by an embarrassed smile and shrug. He didn't see himself as having visual preferences; he liked people, not whatever shell they were in, and he knew a lot about outward appearances being completely meaningless.

Shifting comfortably and resting both hands on the lion's head to absently massage the beast's ears, Sei's smile flutters back to life again as Kusakabe joins them. He does tilt his head in question when the cup rises, then gets drawn back, not quite sure what to make of it. Meanwhile, he debates whether he should start dressing his own tea or not, being that he's already started catering to the feline and doesn't want to be rude by stopping.

But...he really wants milk and sugar...but...cat...

"Thank you for coming! Kusakabe-san, Trip-san," he offers, introducing them in a simple, polite manner. "Trip-san took care of me when I was sick. We've known each other since we were children."

[hateless]

A moment later, Trip's already on it. While Wärter rumbled as quietly as a beast his size was capable of, watchful blue slits of his eyes never leaving Kusakabe, Trip added milk and sugar to Sei's cup in generous amounts. Never anything less than generous. It was the same way he prepared it for himself and not necessarily how Sei would have done it on his own.

"Yaho, Kusakabe." Right, that had been the name. Trip's greeting was a casual one, syllables drawn out just enough to play with the sounds. He didn't miss that scoot of the chair, the deliberate imbalance of space. It put a spark of laughter in his unnaturally blue eyes.

"Any friend of Sei's is a friend of mine."

[zgok]

He can't say he likes the way the lion is looking at him, but he isn't going to say anything about it. Animals in his mind, weren't beholden to the same rules as the rest of them. Calling them out is meaningless.

The way Trip does Sei's tea makes his eyes narrow subtly. That's not the way he's seen the other do it himself...

"I've heard about you," he replies, watching Trip over the top of his cup, the straw poised at his lips and held in long, calloused fingers. "And Virus, and Platinum Jail."

[c4p71v3pr1nc355]

"Thank you~ Trip-sa~n!" Sei chimes happily, reaching with a briefly freed hand to lift the teacup, sipping delicately. He only flinches slightly at the strong sweetness before just drinking gratefully. He wouldn't say anything unkind about the courtesy, setting the cup down and tilts his head to look over the tea sandwiches and cakes.

When Kusakabe mentions Platinum Jail, Sei's hand stops mid-reach for a treat, though he quickly continues, trying not to pay too much attention to the conversation. While he didn't want to bring up any potentially unhappy topics himself, after being reassured that he wasn't in trouble, he couldn't stop someone else from asking. So he picked up a tea biscuit and nibbled quietly, one hand stroking the lion's fur, his dark eyes wide and flicking back and forth between Trip and Kusakabe.

[hateless]

"Pretty wild story, isn't it?" Trip answers easily, as if assuming every sordid little detail of all those years had already been shared. Maybe it has been, maybe it hasn't. He knew now that Sei was just as capable of keeping secrets as anyone else, but really, what did it matter either way?

He props his chin in his hand as he leans on the table, overall a man of proportions far too large for this delicate little eatery. Throw his weight around a little and he could be the proverbial bull in a china shop, to say nothing of his giant Allmate joining in. His own teacup looks like a child's toy in his fingers as he takes a sip of his own, eyes expectant.

[zgok]

And Kusakabe, while wary of the lion, doesn't seem even the least bit intimidated by Trip's size. He's decked men larger and older than himself before without flinching. You don't scare him.

"Wild," he repeats, rolling the word around in his mouth as if it tastes off to him. "It's wild. Or...it's horrific," he states bluntly, fixing Trip with a dull, sour look.

[c4p71v3pr1nc355]

Chewing his bottom lip, wondering if he ought to break the tense silence, Sei glances between both men and clears his throat.

"I haven't told anyone everything," he says, addressing them both at one time with the comment, trying not to hunch uncomfortably as he does. Glancing at Kusakabe for a moment, then Trip, he sighs and shakes his head.

"We should focus on good things now, right? Like making new friends and having fun, taking advantage of all the neat things here, counting our blessings for our health and the health of our friends..." he trails off, clearing his throat quietly, eyes gradually lowering to gaze down at the lion, wondering if he was being too pushy or annoying, chattering on trying to lighten the mood just a little.

"The sandwiches are good..." he adds a bit lamely, trying to redirect attention to literally anything else the only way he can.

[hateless]

"Horrific, huh?" Trip tests the word, himself, glancing off for a moment. "From the outside looking in, I suppose."

But then his attention returns to Sei when the other speaks, considering the dark-eyed man for a moment more, before chuffing a sound of amusement.

"That's just like you, Sei," he observed, with a pleased little smile and that spark of amusement in his eyes once more. It probably hadn't been since their childhoods that Sei had been so talkative -- the years before he'd been experimented on so thoroughly that he spent most of his time in an unresponsive state -- but it was immediately familiar. Comfortable, even. "Sure, I'll agree with that. Toue's gone and we can do whatever we want now."