Room 322, Tuesday Afternoon

[not_every_mage]

If Anders was being honest, he'd have to admit that the tall box from Kathy that Ringo had given him some months before had fallen completely out of his mind.

It had started with good intentions: He'd dragged the parcel back to his room and stuck it in the closet so he could save it for his actual birthday and feel like Kathy was there, just for a moment. And then there had been the madness of trying to summon a demon, and the dull terror of the Circle, and by the time he was home again his birthday was some weeks past and the tall package entirely forgotten in a back corner of his closet. The fact thinking about Kathy hurt and he avoided it when he could had only added to his amnesia.

It might have stayed there forever, if Lachlan hadn't managed to hit one of his toy mice deep into the closet. Anders went digging through a mess of discarded paper to find it, and ended up bumping into the box. The tall, slender package wobbled worryingly for a moment before he was able to catch it.

And then there was nothing to do but open it. Lachlan's mouse was forgotten as he pried the paper off and found --

A damned fine staff. The kind he'd never expect to afford on his own. He could feel its power singing to him as he held it in his lap. Some part of him couldn't wait to get to a space where he could test it safely.

The rest of him mainly wanted to cry.

"Dammit, Kathy," he muttered. "Just ... damn it."

[OOC: Cracked door, open post.]

Comments

[rebelseekspizza]

"Good," Dante said quietly. He dipped down and kissed Anders' throat. Gently, for his standards. "I want you to feel better."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Yeah." Ringo nodded slowly. "Just, you know, her friends. To, um, remember?" She managed a sort-of-pained smile. Because she did a lot of remembering, and a good chunk of it hurt.

[not_every_mage]

"I miss you too," Anders said, but he was quieter. "I just -- is this helping us? Or is it only making it hurt worse when I wake up and you aren't with me?"

Maybe there was a reason his subconscious had kept him away.

[spin_kick_snap]

"I don't know," Kathy said, arms wrapping around her knees. She looked lost, then, and vulnerable. "I'm just dead, Anders, I wasn't given all the answers. I just know I'm here and the only time I feel, well, much of anything is when you're here, too."

[not_every_mage]

"You died," Anders said, mock-cross. "The least you should have gotten out of it is some eternal wisdom."

He sighed. "Maybe I should try harder not to come. If I'm keeping you here when you're supposed to move on, that's just selfish."

[not_every_mage]

"To remember," Anders agreed. "And to say goodbye and send her soul to ... wherever it's supposed to be."

He wasn't even sure whether Kathy believed she had a soul. He knew what he'd seen of her in the Fade, of course, but the fatc he saw something there and wanted to believe in it didn't make it real.

[not_every_mage]

"And I want to feel you better," Anders said, which he knew was probably terrible even as it amused him. "So we're a good team."

He reached to unzip Dante's pants, just to make the point a little more obvious.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Move onto where?" Kathy asked. "To what? I don't know what's supposed to happen to me. Shouldn't it already have happened?" She shook her head. "I will understand if you don't want to come visit me anymore, but don't pretend that it's somehow for my benefit."

[soniaroadsqueen]

Another slow nod. "Yeah. It doesn't have to be a big thing."

Ringo paused for a moment, then spoke again. "Shouldn't be a big thing, probably." She went for a sort of grin again. "Kathy wouldn't have wanted it to be."

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante chuckled faintly, because he had to appreciate the attempt if nothing else. "Fine, fine," he said, as he moved to return the favor with Anders' pants.

He nipped at Anders' jaw and whispered, "So what do you wanna--?"

[not_every_mage]

Anders squirmed happily. "Would it be boring if I said just kissing and hands?" he asked.

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante pressed a few kisses into his neck. His hand slid into Anders' pants, wrapping around his length.

"Nah," he said, his mouth working its way back up. "I think we can rock it."

[not_every_mage]

"You think?" Anders asked. "I'm not sure. She was shy about it, but she liked attention when she got it."

He flashed a slight smile. "Not that it matters. We don't need it to be a big thing."

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo laughed softly, eyes still full of memories, but mostly good ones for the moment. "That's true. But for something like this?" She shrugged. "I guess I don't know for sure, but something small and private and just friends feels right somehow."

[not_every_mage]

Anders frowned, a crease forming in the middle of his forehead.

"I want to see you," he said. "But only if it's really you. I -- don't know that you are, anymore. This place has changed things."

Just then, she seemed more like the demon Kathy of his Harrowing than like the flesh-and-blood girl he'd loved.

[not_every_mage]

Anders nodded in agreement. "Should we do it a week from Sunday?" he asked. "That'll give us time to let people know."

[not_every_mage]

"We always do," Anders returned as he grasped Dante's rod and worked his thumb around the head. He kissed Dante again, letting his tongue tangle with Dante's.

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante made a soft noise in the back of his throat as Anders touched him, channeling the feel of it into the kiss. His hand pumped Anders slowly, until it slid further down still to play with his balls, but he wasn't thinking all that much about technique or-- any of that.

It was Anders' tongue that drew a shiver out of him, made him press closer, shutting his eyes and following Anders' lead entirely.

[soniaroadsqueen]

Her head tilted to one side, considering that. Then she nodded. "Yeah. I think that's a good idea. And it'll give us time to figure out where we want to do it, too."

[not_every_mage]

Even when Dante wasn't thinking about technique, his technique was nothing to complain about. Anders whimpered in need, toes curling against the sheets.

He kept working his hand over Dante's flesh, keeping his touches as slow as he thought Dante could stand.

[not_every_mage]

"Right," Anders said, and blinked awkwardly before offering his arms to Ringo. "Er. Would you like a hug?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

She blinked back, surprised, but then her face relaxed into a grateful smile.

"Very much," she said quietly, her eyes darting away from his face awkwardly as she stepped toward him.

[rebelseekspizza]

Under other circumstances, Dante would've called him a tease. Right now, he suspected there was something else going on, and he didn't want to argue or joke about it. It was enough: enough to make his breathing speed up, enough to keep making him shift closer until his body was pressed up against Anders as much as it could without getting uncomfortable.

He kept one hand moving; not quite as slow as Anders, because he didn't have that in him and he never had, but still slow.

The other one slid up, brushed Anders' hair back, cupped his cheek. Settled there.

[not_every_mage]

"Good, because I need one too," Anders whispered, and squeezed Ringo tight.

[not_every_mage]

There was some teasing in Anders' motives, to be fair, and also wanting this to last as long as it could. Besides, Anders felt tired and fragile, and the energy for the kind of breathless fucking they sometimes went in for was beyond him.

So they'd be slow and gentle.

"You're being nice," he whispered, eyes meeting Dante's as his hand sped up the tiniest fraction. "I like it."