vatheon | He's not dead yet! [Closed]

Entry tags:

He's not dead yet! [Closed]

Who: Peony and Jade
Where: Their apartment
When: RIGHT NOW
Style: I adapt!
Status: Closed

His head was swimming.

With a groggy, almost ailing noise, the emperor managed to flop a numb arm up over his eyes. Everything was too bright, and it just fueled his brain towards a headache. Ow. There was pressure everywhere, it felt like; nose, temples... Man, this was completely unpleasant. After a bit of experimenting, Peony got his jaw working enough to try and call out.

...and got instead an utter lack of sound, like his voice forgot its cue.

Well. He tried again, then.

...and just got hoarse, scratchy noises for his efforts. It's like he hadn't used anything in weeks. It'd explain why his head hurt so much and why his body was so slow to start responding. Limbs didn't want to do anything right now. Lifting his head was out of the question, especially since he didn't want to aggravate his headache.

Which left Peony with just lying there, waiting for the feeling to return to various limbs, waiting for everything to stop feeling so heavy, and wait for his eyes to adjust to the lighting. While he waited, he tried to sort through wobbly memories, separate dream from reality. So long without conscious thought made that an adventure, that was for certain. A place underwater, trapped... Jade and Anise, Gailardia and Luke... Zelos, Ioder, and Zelda, starfish, changing into something nonhuman--had that happened? Meeting those people and all of that...

Jade's nightmare.

That had definitely happened. A chill ran down his spine at the memory.

Peony managed to slide his arm away from his face and roll over, trying to plant a hand against the mattress to push himself up.

Flop.

Nope, forget that. Time to just wait, since his voice was still refusing to cooperate with him. He croaked again anyway, just hoping to catch anyone's attention. He couldn't tell if he was still in the apartment he shared with Jade and Anise, or if he'd been moved somewhere else. That still wasn't registering. Wherever this was, he kind of hoped Jade was the first he saw, hoped he was alright. Peony obviously hadn't been for a while.

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If Peony strained his ears a bit, he could hear the soft sounds of Jade moving about the apartment, some tea being made, some settling noises as Jade seemed ready to nest for a bit.

He heard the few, tiny noises and he paused in his doings, trying to listen. When he figured it was just his ears playing tricks, the noise came again, and Jade finally gave into curiosity. After all, Peony could wake up at any time. Jade would like him to.

When the door gave a small creak as Jade opened it, he quickly went to Peony's bedside when he saw the movement. He first wanted to check if he was okay physically; mentally would have to be after. He sat down on the edge of the bed in front of Peony's midsection and the Emporer would feel Jade grabbing his wrist. His pulse would give Jade a good idea of blood pressure.

"Look who decided to awaken. Your Majesty might be nobility, but you can't sleep all the time."

He could wake up any time, and right that second had seemed like a good idea. Well, that's not really how it worked, but Peony would phrase it like that if asked. Strictly to be ridiculous, of course. ...Of... course that would no doubt earn a retort from Jade about him being lazy with his return or something else suitably bubble-bursting. Or, well, not bubble-bursting, but--

Physically, Peony was fine. A little trouble with the motor-skills, but that would come with time. Mostly just in regards to being able to brace his weight and push himself up to do anything but lie still. But he heard steps, felt what was now familiar weight, and turned his head as his wrist was taken; not even this situation managed to do much to smother the grin on his face.

His voice came in rasps and low drags as his body tried to get used to using it again after so long, but the tone was unmistakable.

"Oh, but I have no work to do here I need to be awake for~" Which wasn't entirely true, but it wasn't anything he couldn't shirk without feeling too badly for it. Sorry, Zelos. ...Well, no, he'd feel badly for that, so let's take it back.

His pulse was a little slow, but with the lack of physical activity for so long and his body effectively hibernating, there wasn't much reason for it to be up. It'd raise to normal levels once he managed to get out of bed and get moving. And probably touch the coral.

"Wha'd I miss?"

"A fair amount, depending on who you are. Your Majesty personally only missed a pirate-themed Club."

Jade sat back, holding back a smirk at Peony's half-failed attempts to move around. He'd help, but... really, some things one needed to do on their own. That, and Peony seemed to be doing a bang-up job for now.

"I, however, did not miss you staying out of my room at nights."

That was nice. Sometimes it's hard to sleep when you don't know if/when someone is going to sneak into your room and cuddle you until you overheat. Regardless, Jade kept mostly back the relief. Seeing the ever lively Emperor still and sleeping for what was a rather long time for anyone to be down had certainly been disconcerting.

Much as he was thankful he knew what the sleep comas were, he was in no sense of the word a fan of them. He simply didn't like having so little control over a situation like that. However, Peony was awake and Jade could be thankful for that, at least.

Peony was thoughtful with that revelation, attention turning on the ceiling as he settled back down for the time being.

"Pirates, huh?" . . . "Wait--" Peony half flung himself onto his stomach to stare up at Jade. "--You joined?" Biggest. Grin. This was fantastic and hilarious, clearly. Which was only dampened by Jade's little bit of indirect chiding. Weeeeeeell, he couldn't help it. Peony had considered just constantly going into Jade's room at a routine time of night, but...

Well, part of the reason wasn't something he wanted to share. There are funny things about knowing someone said you'd die and there were people who'd been willing to go fulfill that as soon as they found out because they thought it was the right thing to do. And not in funny-haha kind of way. Everyone handled things differently.

Peony didn't want to think of how this could have gone if Jade didn't seem to understand this and take it in such stride; maybe it happened normally, here in Vatheon.

But, all of that aside, he laughed.

"Of course. You sure you didn't miss me~?"

"Only to tend to the bar and keep the ruffians out and from ruining my organizational work."

He was, as ever, somewhat of a control freak. Well, also, as he'd kept to himself, to keep an eye on His Majesty. He wasn't exactly bound to too much here in Vatheon, and even so, Jade was sworn to protect the Emperor. Even on a different world, he'd do his job. No paperwork was nice.

But as a digression, Jade was more or less pleased that he was waking up more and being unconscious for so long didn't have any damper on his personality thus far. Truth be told, he wasn't as bothered about it as he made himself up to be. Peony was Peony and if anyone was going to try to get that close while Jade was sleeping, His Majesty was the only one that wouldn't be met with violence. Regardless, he still liked his space.

"I assure Your Majesty that I sat by your bed with baited breath every day, hoping for your return."

Cue mocking expression.

"I'm sure you do that well! Scaring them off with a single look ought to keep 'em sober, too."

Of course; duty didn't really apply here, and Peony appreciated the continued effort (even if there wasn't really much need). But it was always possible to assign Jade some kind of paperwork if he ever felt bored~

And Jade might actually get his space for the first couple days; Peony would probably not sleep quite so long or as much for a few days just for the sake of feeling more awake (he felt groggy and kind of brain-mush, right then). Of course, he'd be in bed before sunrise unless he took up a bit of costuming, but... Something to give Jade a little peace of mind, anyway. Otherwise the emperor would probably start to feel his age catch up to him (HORROR!) and sleep more than needed.

And that coming from a lazy guy?

Yeah.

Jade's jesting earned kind of a wary look and Peony leaned (or tried to) away just a bit. But even then, there was the unmistakable threat of a grin on his face.

"Say things like that and people might get the wrong idea, Jade."

"I'll keep that in mind, though if I'm not mistaken, His Majesty is the one who's been called out on 'the wrong idea'."

More of a teasing grin. It's that possessive term thing Peony uses that Jade's forced himself to adapt to. Really no point in asking the man to stop. Jade would appreciate the space given, in any case. He was a solitary creature at heart, always had been and presumably always would be. It was just in his nature. Regardless, Peony sounding far more awake would definitely help Jade from feeling the creeping sensation that the long sleep had any more adverse effects on him.

Peony made a bit of a face, caught between chastised and amused. Yeah, he'd been called--explained it, but nevertheless. He let himself settle face-first against the bed linens for a second, lifting a grinning face afterwards.

"Anyone been asking you about it?" Maaaaaaan, so weird to think someone would take him seriously... But then things were different, and who knew what people thought? It'd be interesting to see how many people he could fool, though... Be even more interesting to see what happened if he ever pointed out that no, he wasn't into Jade like that.

... ...Okay, no thinking like that.

But he'd continue to use the possessive as a matter of habit. It was just one weird little thing between friends, and it'd been that way for years and years. As for Jade's solitary behaviour, that was fair. Peony invaded that solitude from time to time, but that was also habit between friends. Nothing unusual, and something decently comfortable. At least they hadn't wound up living in different parts of Vatheon. Peony'd invade at all times; it was the closeness of how they lived that kept things so easy to maintain.

And in a couple of days he'd be fit as a fiddle and moving around easily enough! Nothing long-lasting from this bizarre sleep to speak of!

"Certainly not." An offhand comment. No one really talked about Peony to Jade, really. Most people didn't even know who Jade was or wasn't connected to and he was appreciative of keeping it that way. Whether or not others did the same for him was an entirely different matter. In any case, Jade always had other excuses for being in any certain proximity to His Majesty.

Being close to anyone was an odd idea. Jade wasn't exactly personable, what with his tendencies and lack of tact when it came to emotions or the like. They just weren't as important. The idea of being anything more with Peony was foreign in the sense that cooking was foreign to Natalia. It was a matter of context and looking at it from the perspective of Peony having to chip away at an iceberg for a lifetime before Jade allowed him in. On the other hand, befriending Peony was as simple as showing up. Or, in Jade's case, breaking into his home out of rampant curiosity.

If anything, living together certainly did have its advantages along with the disadvantages. He was more than sure of Peony's invasion if he had been forced to live elsewhere. In the end, this was how it was going to end up, better for Jade to be territorial about certain, smaller things only. His room was still his, at least.

"That's probably for the best." Because if anyone knew, that might make things way more awkward for Peony to have to consider. He liked Jade, and Jade was his in name and in duty, and he was his best friend. "My" was appropriate, in a way, because there were other people named Jade in the world, too, so it was like he was specifying which. But that was just all rationalizing the habit, which didn't really require any. Jade was just "his Jade" and that was pretty much that.

For all of Peony's flirtatious habits, he'd been very particular about who he let close. Between the opinions of his council and the attempts on his life, it was necessary. The council didn't worry him entirely too much, but when anyone could potentially be an assassin? Much as Peony was loathe to do so, that required caution. Not to mention, he had very, very particular principles in regards to romancing potential partners. Imagining Jade in a position like that? Was fairly alien. But they'd been close for nearly their whole lives, so maybe it followed. He certainly cared about Jade more than enough, just in a different way, he thought.

Really, no point thinking about that too much. It just sounded ridiculous.

Almost as ridiculous as Peony's childish habit of crawling into bed with Jade on account of the fact that Peony was a cuddler and now used to it. And maybe, somewhere under that, it was a comfort. Having come in on the edge of a nightmare, experiencing Jade's worst fears with him, just as much reasserting his presence for Jade as for himself. But only at night, only when there weren't other things they needed to be doing. Backing off was doable if necessary, even if he'd whine about it.

"You'd probably tell them something horrific in answer, anyway~"

"Wouldn't want untoward rumors floating about, would we?" To be honest, Jade was more upset about a rappig being named after him. He'd become so used to the added possessive it only registered when someone else pointed it out. In those cases, it was simply 'A jest His Majesty never gets tired of'. Anyone else would be taught to address him differently or be punished in that unspecified way that always got others' gusto to deflate. Peony was Peony and did as he pleased to a point.

Being the Emperor wasn't an enviable job, Jade was more than sure of that. If offered the title, Jade would not only laugh, he'd probably choke on his own laughter and die of that. After all, Jade could barely stomach the thought of being promoted to General, much less anything above that. No, he was a servant of His Emperor and he was happy with that. Truth be told, under different circumstances, he'd be in a far different position, but he wasn't much a fan of hanging onto the past; at least not anymore.

The nightmare was proof some things didn't just leave.

"It would be an obligation at that point, Your Majesty."

Part of him never would let go. That part of his life meant so much to him that no matter how far he ran, no matter how hard he tried, it would always come back. It just kept stewing in the back of that brilliant mind, festering forever and feeding off the guilt and shame of his days as the Necromancer. Something Jade would never tell Peony (Or even himself) was how large his part was in separating the him that he was now from the Necromancer he had been. He'd reminded him of what he had, what he could have; what he had become and what he would continue to be if he stayed the course of the Necromancer. After the nightmare? As much as Jade protested, all he could have asked for was a hug from Peony, reassuring him that he was still human and had long since given up such a hopeless dream. It was childish, silly, and emotional; a response for kids who still thought monsters lay under their beds, waiting to gobble them up when they closed their eyes. For Jade, the monster was behind his eyes and remained there.

"It's my duty to remind others that His Majesty has obligations." So he can't fall in love with a male, much less someone with such a torrid personality~

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He's not dead yet! [Closed]

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