(no subject)

[topino]

OPEN POST

Comments

[topino]

[ Nicky's leg relaxes against Joe's, a sign that he'd let Joe do anything to him under this table, which would get them kicked out of lunch. Since Nicky is buying, he needs to prevent that from going completely wrong. ]

I would. [ Joe is right on that score. ] Still, you are the most handsome man I have ever known, and when you smile, I feel a piece of myself break into pieces because it makes me melt.

[ He pulls Joe's hand closer, kissing the knuckles the way he had before. ]

I am forever grateful I learned that you were not my enemy, but my soulmate. [ By now, Nicky's fairly sure other tables are eavesdropping, given the slight hush around them. ]

[thattime]

[ They need a much longer table cloth for that sort of fooling around. ]

And you think you're not a romantic. [ He brushes his thumb along Nicky's hand, smiling warmly.

Let them overhear. Perhaps it would inspire their own declarations of love and devotion to their partners. ] It was a strange moment, wasn't it? We had spent all that time furious and when it was burned out a different sort of fire remained.

[topino]

I am still a romantic, but I know I will always be eclipsed by you, my sun.

[ He presses Joe's hand to his cheek, staring at him adoringly, though when the wine arrives, his love for Joe must wait so he can sip at it, nodding at the quality. ] I think I was still trying to kill you, only using my mouth on yours instead.

I really thought maybe it would work. Then I couldn't drag up the courage. How could I have been so impulsive with a blade, but not my body? I still wonder.

[thattime]

No, no, we're equals. You are my other half, no more, no less. My balance. My soulmate.

[ Ah, yes, Nicky's second love. Joe watches him with fond amusement before he thanks the waitress. She seems to be enjoying serving them. ] Well, you were a priest. I remember you being very shy and uncertain when you did finally calm down.

[ Honestly, they both had been so careful the first few times they dared to be gentle and loving with each other. Joe remembers the tenderness well. ] Now look at you with your declarations and flirtations.

[topino]

My sun to my moon. Equally important, equally romantic. My soulmate.

[ He sips at the wine as he stares at his soulmate, letting out a huff of laughter to be reminded of his former profession. ] And yet, you made sure I would never wear my priest's garbs again, never give Holy Communion, or commune with God.

[ And he is absolutely delighted for it. ]

You've helped me to open up. [ Even if he is still somewhat subdued, but that's just Nicky's more introverted and quiet nature playing up ]. Did you ever fantasize about that? About defrocking a priest?

[thattime]

[ Now there are a few who are scandalized. Joe always find it amusing. ]

You’ve found other ways to have faith. [ Ones that didn’t require refusing his love. Ones that Joe felt were much healthier. ]

No, no, that wasn’t what played through my mind. [ He had wanted love and passion but imagined he would never find it. ] You know I would’ve married to make my family happy and quietly longed for an entirely different life. The whole course of my life changed when I met you.

[topino]

[ Nicky hasn't even noticed them, if he's honest, because he only has eyes for Joe. ] You are the only religion I need.

[ He reaches over to stroke Joe's hair, tangling his fingers in his curls, giving him a gentle tug towards him. ] I'm very relieved you had no wife and children. I think I would have been too scared to make any move, in an attempt to be honourable.

[ A terrifying thought, really. ]

[thattime]

Oh, how I love when you worship. [ Joe leans forward and kisses him slow and deep. There’s heat behind it as well but he reigns it in because they are in public. ]

I couldn’t bring myself to marry even though my family was hounding me. My brothers had all found wives but women had no power over me. [ He brushes his fingers along Nicky’s arm. ] And now you hold all the power.

[topino]

[ Nicky knows they're going to start getting the kind of attention that gets them documented on social media. Usually, him talking about how he was a priest who was seduced away from his faith gets attention.

Those kisses from Joe have a tendency to do the same thing.

He's staring at Joe with big moon-eyes now, staring at him with adoration. ] It is like destiny. You knew that there was something out there for you. And I am forever grateful, my sun.

Your family must have been very done with you. Thirty-three and no wife?

[thattime]

[ Let them snap their pictures. Joe is too busy staring back, returning his feelings. They really did tone it down around the others. ] I was very restless. Being a merchant suited me.

[ He laughs because it's completely true. ] I told them I wanted to be wealthier and done with traveling before I married. My father reluctantly accepted the answer. My mother and aunts did not.

[ And then there was war and his excuses didn't matter. He died and was reborn as the man that would come to love Nicolo forever. ] My destiny was always with you.

[topino]

[ Nicky is smiling, because he is beyond grateful that Joe had not been pressured into anything that he might then have needed to walk away from. He slides his fingers from Joe's hands to bend and stroke his cheek. ]

And? Were you suitably wealthy and done with travel when you met me? Or did it take all those years before you first wed me for you to feel comfortable with your means?

[ His eyes soften, knowing that they speak of destiny because of how firmly Nicky holds to it. ]

[thattime]

I learned that money and travel were all pointless. [ He turns his head and presses a kiss to his palm. ] It meant nothing when I had you. You were all I needed.

[ He smirks. ] Well, once I had fallen for you. Before I think we were too mad at each other.

[topino]

I was furious with you. [ In Italian, in case anyone is listening. ] You would not stay dead, and every time you rose from death, you seemed more handsome than before. I should have known I was falling in love with you.

[ He drags his nails over Joe's beard, scratching firmly. ]

A shame, really. Maybe I would have liked the finery, once I gave up the priesthood.

[thattime]

[ Very old Italian to doubly make sure no one understands them well even if they know Italian. ] Remember the beard you had? And long hair. You looked wild and unstoppable even though I had killed you. Passionate.

[ He leans into the scratching even though he takes good care of it, it still feels nice. ] I will buy you all the gold and silk you could want, love. Simply say the word.

[topino]

I think the passion was helped by the wild and frantic look in my eyes when you returned to life and I thought to myself I would have to fuck you to keep you in the ground.

[ Such ungodly thoughts for a priest, but not for a warrior.

He grins as he scratches again. ] Buy me silk finery, and I will wear only what you buy to bed.

[thattime]

We were both such brutes. [ Joe could spend all of lunch like this letting Nicky play with his hair and scratch his beard. ] Much better men after we loved each other instead.

[ Sadly, he has to sit back a bit when the waitress brings their food over. He picks up an olive and presses it against Nicky's lips. ] You keep making these promises and will have to ravish you.

[topino]

You improved me endlessly.

[ It's true, and not only in love, but in language and art and culture and kindness. He would not be as kind, he knows, if not for Joe.

He turns some of that brightness towards the waitress in thanks, as his jaw goes slack and his lips part to let the olive in, murmuring a sound of gratitude for how good it tastes ]. If you are going to adorn me in sheer silks, I would be disappointed if you didn't. I'll buy the gold for you, and that will be all you wear.

[thattime]

[ Joe almost forces himself to focus on lunch instead of simply wasting the afternoon feeding Nicky by hand. He needs to eat to keep his energy up for later. ]

Silks and gold. Quite a shopping list we've made for ourselves. [ He's definitely going to get Nicky some silk scarves to wear. ] I think something indigo to bring out your eyes. That color looks very good on you.

[topino]

[ Nicky leans forward to start cutting the sandwich in half, popping another olive into his mouth as he hands the sandwich to Joe, grinning as he looks down at himself, tapping the side of his hip where Joe can barely see. ]

Right here? Draped over me in the old Roman ways, like a toga? Or will it be less fabric than that?

[thattime]

Somewhere between a toga and that swimsuit you like me to wear.

[ Modest enough for when they're alone but it would leave nothing to the imagination. ]

And we'll drape it different ways, I'll sketch a little, and decide what I like best. [ He winks at him before taking a bite. ] Mm, very good.

[topino]

[ Nicky's smile is sly and smug and small, but Joe will be able to see just how much he likes that idea and intends to truly make the look work. ]

Oh, well, if it is for your sketches, then I will wear nothing at all and a gold chain. [ Lucky that he's slipped into old Italian for that. He's drawn to the way Joe's mouth moves, his jaw, and all the saints above, the way he swallows.

Nicky closes his eyes and offers up a prayer for patience, squirming a little as he slides his foot against Joe's. ]

[thattime]

That sounds better than this food tastes. [ And it's very good food.

He can practically feel Nicky's impatience radiating off of him. Joe cannot wait until they are truly alone and all their passion can be unleashed. ] While we're on the ferry I'll see if Copley has made arraignments for us. If not, I'll find a hotel.

[ And then as soon as they're alone, make love for hours. Joe feels the same need tugging at him. ]

(apologies on the late tag, I never got this notif!)

[topino]

[ Nicky's smile blossoms at the thought of them together, in silks and golds and nothing else, of Joe's sketchbook, and maybe better wine in Malta. He hungers for it, an ache that can't be met by anything until they have it. ]

We should book a hotel regardless. There is something I love about the idea of being two lovers, anonymous, in a penthouse.

[ Because yes, it must be a penthouse. ]

And we can stop by the market on the way for silks.

i've been having that problem too. it's so weird.

[thattime]

You are so enamored with this idea.

[ He wipes his hands on the napkin in his lap so he can run his fingers through Nicky's hair. ]

Find a hotel to your liking and book us a room then. [ His voice is warm and full of promise. He will meet all the demands of Nicky's imagination and more. ]

[topino]

I have fallen in love with the idea of being draped in finery and tortured by the softness of it while you sketch me, until I am begging for you to take me apart.

[ Maybe it won't even take a little swimsuit.

He finishes another olive and sips his wine as he turns his head into Joe's touch, digging out the burner phone with internet. ] King sized bed, a balcony, and a large tub. These are my demands.