evowhisperer | IC Voicemail

*He lowers the cloth, and L can see that he's pulling his mouth up into a short, tight grin.*

*His nose is an angry pink from the forming bruise, but the only sign of blood is the steady trickle of blood from his nostrils. It's slow enough that it takes a few seconds to reach his lips, and by the time it passes them Cesar is blotting it away with the cloth.*

*His hands lower briefly.* {I don't think it's broken. Just bleeding.}

[L can't quite quell a wince when he sees Cesar's nose. The other man is handsome and anything interrupting the easy symmetry of his features is a bit jarring. He nevertheless returns the grin with a smaller, paler smile. Cesar's nose is still bleeding; maybe it's better to focus on his hand, and he does so after the signs and their dual meanings are revealed.

He laughs, a strained, unexpected sound.]

Thank goodness it'll heal.

[He's not looking forward to going and finding his doppelganger, who is, by this point judging from the dose and what L knows all to well it'll do to him, lying prone somewhere. They have time; for now, he likes this. It feels like the beginning of healing, and that extends, of course, to far more than a nose.]

[L watches silently as the oven heats up. His concern is probably palpable, and he grapples with whether or not to say anything further about it. He's doesn't have a leg to stand on in the "self-control concerning substances" department, but he understands the need to escape, and, well... his doppelganger was just the kind of thing that would overwhelm someone to that extent, wasn't he?]

I can take it straight...

[He doesn't, though, not right away. He just turns the glass in his hands, watching Cesar.]

Do I have permission to speak frankly?

[He doesn't wait for it.]

I want to engage in intercourse with you tonight. I've prepared a list of reasons it would be beneficial, if you have doubts.

*That--well. That was not what he expected, and his face is unreadably blank.*

*As if realizing that an answer is expected of him, he moves his glass in a horizontal circle as though prompting, 'Go on.'*

*There's a certain irony that no matter how similar L's overall request had been to his copy's, L has just separated himself without even trying. That poorly concealed concern had been directed at Cesar's well-being. He's awkward.*

*He just asked to have sex--no, 'intercourse'--with a list of reasons why they should. Cesar immediately grasps the fact that listening to these reasons might be uncomfortable, maybe even harrowing, and he's already decided that he's not going anywhere until he hears all of them.*

Edited 2015-04-08 07:01 (UTC)

That's what I hear.

I have you to thank for this, don't I?

[Lazarus is only a little surprised that Cesar actually wants to hear the reasons; it's a pedantic and tedious proposal, not to mention bizarre, and he half-expected Cesar to shoot it down for one or more of those reasons. But he's not. He's inviting L to proceed with his measured and precise brand of insanity, and it occurs to him that maybe it was something he missed when his doppelganger was fucking him on the regular.

He slips a hand into his back pocket and withdraws a folded piece of paper.]

I did my absolute best to keep it objective, knowing that as a scientist you were likely to appreciate this approach far more than an overly sentimental one. That being said... on the off-chance that this hypothesis is incorrect, I have included some sentimental reasons as well.

[He clears his throat as he unfolds the list, which he... absolutely has written out in his nearly illegible hand.]

I've started with what I consider to be the most tenuous reason and ended with the strongest, because my intent is to be persuasive and when presenting an argument, it's best to end with a compelling point. To begin... it's been established for a significant amount of time, at least, that we consistently succeed at arousing one another, or if you'd prefer a more colloquial descriptor, we 'have good chemistry.'Physical and intimate contact feels good and our desires in this capacity tend to be compatible, which was proven definitively on the evening of January 23, carrying over into the early morning of January 24.

[He is not done, sweet summer child Cesar. He presses onward, reading carefully with his clipped, precise inflection.]

Such a list could not be compiled, of course, without referencing recent trauma and tribulations. We both resent our Doppelgangers for taking advantage of our trust, but no one is good at sex the first time. Therefore, for my second reason I propose "skill." The fumbling idiocy of initial attempts is something we are blessed to be spared for our actual "first time;" we will not hurt each other or come away unsatisfied.

[Still with him? He goes on.]

The third and final reason is one I have titled "association," with "expectation" by it in parentheses. We both hold these, and we both do so unfairly... but it's not our fault. Truly, we each have a standard that we have grown familiar with in the last weeks, and it's my belief that we will continue to hold each other to these standards, associations and expectations until they are reset. Sleeping together will put these things into perspective and, with any luck, help us move past the people who tried to step into our lives.

[Though he intended to end on that third and strongest point, he pauses and then adds a small closer.]

As I mentioned, there are sentimental reasons too, chiefly that I like you and the way things were going before. I'd go back and step into that sequence if I could live it uninterrupted, but this seems like the next best thing.

Edited 2015-04-08 07:22 (UTC)

I only finished what he started.

He took on more than he could handle.

Are you alright? L wouldn't go into detail, but I'm gathering there were injuries.

So he did. Nathan got out of it unharmed, physically anyway. Whole thing stressed him out, can't blame him though I know the feeling. I'm fine, shot me a bit but nothing worse than I've already been through.

*It's not just a list, it's a speech, and Cesar listens as though entranced. By the time L finally draws to a close, Cesar simply keeps staring for a few seconds longer.*

*Then he puts the glass down, turning to face him.*

{Yes. To intercourse.}

*His eyes are warm, and his mouth has been taking on a slow, small smile.*

{Yes to everything else, too. You made some good points.}

I still can't believe this happened.

Are you okay? You say you're fine, but will your wounds leave any permanent effects?

Edited 2015-04-10 06:42 (UTC)

Can't say I'm surprised by things going south anymore. Guy really had it out for me. Like I said, I'll be fine. You bleed to death once after that everything else seems easy.

[Tony that's not how you do reassuring.]

... That's not comforting to hear.

*He switches to video. The room around him is mostly dark, and his brow is furrowed with concern. Hopefully Tony can read the sincerity in his expression as easily as the paper sign he's holding.*

I'm really very sorry for all of this. I feel at least partially responsible, considering that he was an alternate version of me.

Heh.

[The response comes once the feed is switched to video. Tony can read it well enough, and Cesar can likely read that Tony doesn't really appear any worse for wear at this point. It's been a few days, he's eaten a lot to make up for all the healing. He's fine, not that Cesar can possibly know that.

Not yet, anyway.]

Don't sweat it, you're not responsible for what someone else does. Even if he was wearing your face.

*He... looks okay, doesn't he? The klaxons that went off at hearing 'bleed to death' start to quiet.*

Well, I'm glad you know the things my evil twin refused to acknowledge.

[Quite fine, miraculously fine, in fact. Though Cesar didn't know the extent of the damage and that was by design. Tony kind of didn't have the heart to tell him about having his eye back just yet.]

Yeah. Guess not everyone's so forgiving. So, what'd he tell you about me, anyway?

[Tony wouldn't be surprised if the copy had a backup 'murder this fool' plan.]

[If anything, L has undoubtedly proved that he's himself, and no kind of copy. He blinks twice rapidly after Cesar gives him the answer he was hoping for, then nods, hand going to the back of his head to scratch self-consciously at the short hairs there.]

Well, I thought about it a lot, so... I'd hope that the points are good. At least persuasive.

[Well, shit. Where is he supposed to go from here? Maybe it's best to drink more; he downs a fair amount of tequila in one drink.]

It's probably good to eat first. If it's going to be good... the intercourse, I mean... it's better not to try to go at it with an empty stomach. We should be levelheaded about this, it... probably decreases the chances that we'll be reminded of encounters we'd rather put behind us.

*The fleeting charm of Lazarus reading a list of reasons why they should have sex fades as L continues to talk, and Cesar downs some of his own glass, before taking out a fresh bag of corn chips and opening it. He offers it to L, but not before taking the top chip and putting it in his own mouth.*

*If L doesn't take the bag he'll just put it on the counter beside him, and turn to put the lasagna in the oven. The preheating timer hasn't finished, but it shouldn't make much of a difference.*

About what you'd expect. He warned me that you were an abomination from the void that was going to destroy us all.

He also said my brother would rather stay dead than see who I've become today, so I'm inclined to take everything with a grain of salt.

Wait, what? Who the hell says something like that? Screw the shit-talk about me I don't even give a shit, but that's a low blow.

[Wow, doppel-Cesar, you were a dick.]

Considering his recent actions, 'low blows' seem to be his first resort.

Edited 2015-04-16 03:39 (UTC)

[The whiplash of the mood is a little bit much, to the point where even the socially atonal L kind of picks up on it. In a perfect world, his treatise would have been followed by seamlessly rolling into the sheets with a successfully seduced partner, but the oven is on and the half-frozen food is uneaten, and here they are standing awkwardly in the kitchen with cups of tequila.

He glances around for a conversation topic, counting on his desperation to provide one quickly. He notices an odd-looking appliance and is quickly moving to lift and examine it with the hand not holding his drink.]

This is different. I don't think I saw it the last time I was here.

*He turns back to him, eyebrows lifting.*

{It wasn't there, then. It appeared when I echoed back some memories from my Other.} *He holds out a hand, asking for it nonverbally. It's a small enough device that he can still sign and not be overly encumbered.*

{He used it to make mango smoothies, apparently.}

[Lazarus' eyes move between the appliance and Cesar's signs during the explanation, and he hands it back. His eyes are wide and trusting; he doesn't even entertain the notion that it might be some kind of weapon. Why would he?]

...D'you have any mangoes? That's something I feel like I have to see. Did he make it?

*Cesar's own expression is completely unguarded: Lazarus isn't the only one with no idea.*

{No mangos, but there are oranges. Hold on.}

*He hands the magnet back and turns to a cupboard, then a fridge. The first gives him a metal canteen, and the latter a jug of milk, ice, oranges... There's more things he could remove, but he stops here, handing L an orange. This done, he takes another and starts to peel it.*

*Oh wait Lazarus asked a question, did't he. Signing while holding something is harder than talking with your mouth full, but that's not stopping him.*

{I don't think so, but I don't know for sure. The echo didn't say.}

Edited 2015-04-16 04:49 (UTC)

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