"Care to join me?"
The question was rather innocent. They had walked into the rambunctious tavern without the expectation of even finding any seats but they had been pleasantly surprised with the sight that most of the bar had fallen into a drunken stupor on the floor. Bodies littered the ground, drunken snoring mixing in with the incoherent babbling of the usual patrons as they tried to talk themselves out of the fact that they had consumed far too much alcohol. Yes, inebriation should have been already out of the question considering that they could not allow themselves the luxury of letting their guard down. Darkness lurked around every corner, they they were prime targets, but one could not be constant vigilant, Even reasoned. Aeleus was on watch, and because of this the free time which had become such a rarity since the beginning of their journey was finally upon them.
Lumaria settled at the bar with an easy grace. His figure was perched on a stool, and even the worn nature of his pirate clothing did not seem to take away from his general appearance, Even noted. He was gorgeous. He removed his leather cap and set it down on the counter next to him as Even moved around the bar. If truth were to be told, he found the swashbuckling gear to be quite cumbersome. The worn, yet embroidered coat hung around to his knees and swished lightly as he passed to the back of the bar. Lumaria quirked an eyebrow in question but soon realized that the establishment was woefully 'unwatched'. Even the barkeep was busy taking shots with a rather voluptuous woman off in the corner of the dingy room and pretending to look down at his cards when he was really looking down her...well, you know.
Either way, both Even and Lumaria seemed more than willing to ignore the proceedings as the scientist in question (after disinfecting the cups, Darkness forbid he should ever be in contact with germs) poured liberal amounts of a few different liquors. Lumaria watched carefully as they slowly mixed and turned a striking shade of green which almost seemed to glimmer in the gentle lamplight which the tavern used. He set a few of the bottles down with a proud flourish. Pushing one of the two tall glasses toward his companion, he fixed him with a challenging grin, daring him to ask what was in it so that he could obviously refuse to tell. After a moment of silence between the two, he huffed and took a prolonged sip of his own glass. Lumaria thought it prudent to finally break the silence with the question which made the most sense between them.
"Should we have sex then?"
Even spat his drink on to the bar. Thankfully, Lumaria's good reflexes carried him through an easy dodge.
The scientist (and currently bartender) could have defined 'dumbfounded' with the kind of look he had instinctively fixed Lumaria with. His mouth was hanging open and his eyes were wide and blank, at a loss for words in a situation where words were serving him so very poorly to begin with. He snapped his mouth closed and wiped himself off with the back of his hand, quickly withdrawing his own lacy handkerchief to mop up his mess from the filthy counter. "W-what are you-?" He stuttered, his mind obviously still reeling.
"Don't be foolish. We've been moving toward this point for ages." Lumaria answered, his voice smooth yet casual. He ran a fingertip along the rim of his glass, taking a careful sip, his eyes never leaving the other man, his careful gaze watching for any signs of weakness. The taste of the cocktail was certainly something surprising though. Savory, and almost bitingly sweet, it was hard to find any trace of alcohol in the swirling liquid, yet he knew it was there just like he knew that he was correct.
"That isn't true!" Even scoffed, indignant yet the blush which was quite clearly spreading across his pale face was much more apparent as he backed away, and inadvertently into the light of one of the surrounding grimy lamps.
"It is." Lumaria argued. "You don't even seem to realize it, but it is. You have been intrigued by me. You study me carefully, and while I don't quite understand the technicalities of what notes you may be taking, I doubt they can all be about my fighting style or preferences of clothing." He continued onward, quite mercilessly as Even snorted in derision, rolling his eyes so hard Lumaria thought he might catch a glimpse of the wall behind him. He took another long sip while the other man made insulted noises but no actual words came forth. "You watch me. I'm not a fool, Even. I know what you want."
"How do you even come to these conclusions?" He snapped, incredulous. "So it's suddenly a crime for someone to look over and see-"
"It just so happens that you have not been alone. I've been watching you too." That stopped him dead in his tracks. He stared back at Lumaria rather dumbly, not for the first time within five minutes which may very well have been a record for the loquacious scientist. He snapped his mouth closed as though trying to take in the words which had been so plainly laid out before him, though his mind did not seem to want to comprehend.
"I do not understand-" But he hardly had the chance to finish his fumbling before Lumaria had a ready answer.
"I want to have sex with you. You do as well, I know this." He explained easily as he slid himself from his seat to step around the bar. Without the comfort of having that wooden countertop between them, Even shrunk against the wall, his brilliantly green eyes widening, if possible. For as smoothly as the man moved, he was remarkably fast and in a matter of a few seconds, he found himself not only pressed up against a wall, but also another body.
The heat coming from him was remarkable, striking. The scent of him, even despite their dingy surroundings, was intoxicatingly sweet and cloying as he felt his thoughts muddle into something far less than their usual snappy nature. It was as though he were peering at the world through water. In this moment, to his mind, all that seemed to exist was Lumaria's body, those crystalline eyes, the gentle, yet forceful press between the two of them and the kiss which followed.
Yes, the kiss. It was barely a brush against his own lips, but those perfectly formed, petal soft lips were something entirely different than the former Assassin's general attitude. There was a note of careful askance in the action. It did not force itself upon him, it did not pin him into a decision, it did not require anything in return. It simply was. Even opened his eyes, tentatively, and realized that Lumaria's own were staring directly back into his, entirely too close for comfort. The feel of his breath against his own lips was almost a suggestion of something more.
Words were failing his miserably. He wanted so desperately to look away, to break that contact which he was almost positive the other man had been holding this entire time, examining him for the same quirks and weaknesses which Even had been so keen to try to catch before, but there was simply no other place to look. Lumaria filled his vision wherever he tried to escape to, and Even didn't doubt for a second that he would take any opportunity to fill him completely and entirely.
His hand was trembling horribly. He realized it when he felt the glass which he still grasping spilling it's contents just slightly over it's edges, wetting his fingers. Everything about the situation was intoxicating, but above all else, there was one sensation which rose above all of the rest, one which overwhelmed and enticed him beyond even what his imagination could produce.
Lumaria was so comfortingly warm.
Even leaned into the touch, setting his glass down with a soft clunk on to the countertop as his arms wrapped involuntarily around the other man's lower torso, resting easily on his hips. His vision swam as he stopped fighting the urge to look away and forgot the instinct completely. Lumaria was breathtaking, quite literally. It did not distract him from the one, singular nagging quip in the back of his consciousness. He had a fleeting thought, a flash of a memory. In his mind's eye, he saw Arlene so clearly, the look of longing which she had fixed on Lumaria so very frequently. He never seemed to take note of it. Strange, for a man so preceptive.
"What about Arlene?" He whispered. The question felt unwieldy, unnatural, as though the situation were begging for him to simply overlook it and pretend that his mind never wandered thus far, yet he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it needed to be aired.
To his surprise, and perhaps a bit of disdain, Lumaria seemed at first taken aback and then he smirked as though sharing a joke. "Arlene?" He murmured under his breath. "Why would you-...Oh, Even, you thought that I was her's?" A deep chuckle resounded in his chest, stifled by his full lips as he kissed the soft skin on the side of Even's neck. The other man shivered and blinked, as though trying to clear his mind.
"You mean, you're not?" He asked, just a touch more forcefully.
"Of course not." He laughed. "No, it is purely physical between us. We are far from exclusive, she is simply a distraction, though a particularly close confidante." With a flippant smirk he continued his attentions to Even's slender neck, brushing his lips along the tender skin, but to his dismay the other man seemed to have remarkably tensed. He stared blankly forward, blinking his brilliantly green, unfocused eyes slowly.
"What's wrong now?" Lumaria whispered imploringly, his fingertips running along the other's long strands of cornsilk colored hair before resting on his chest. There was an intimate pause between them, almost as though Even did not want to hear, or could not bring himself to believe the other man as he held his breath in shocked silence. He could not seem to forget Arlene's face, those eyes which trailed after Lumaria in restless hope which she knew that the man would never really see. Had they convinced themselves of complacency? Had they fooled themselves into believing their lies?
And where would Even ever fit in to this equation? He was the extra man after all.
Even shoved him, quite hard. With a staggering thunk and a hiss of alarm, Lumaria recoiled, looking both affronted and enraged. Opening his perfect mouth to retaliate, he found that his moment had been stolen by the scientist in question.
"You idiot!" Even shrieked. If Lumaria was insulted at this moment, it was nothing to how Even looked. Searing hot rage burned beneath his scathing glare, his deep scowl. "You absolutely mindless fool!" He cried, seething in sheer anger as he blindly swiped at the other man to get him away. "How could you trick yourself into believing such blatant lies?" Somehow, his hand found his glass and he picked it up, and with remarkably adapt aim for someone so incensed, he flung it on the man before him, hitting him squarely in the face. The green liquid splashed true, hitting it's mark with an oddly adapt and satisfying precision.
Lumaria sputtered, shaking his head in shock and dismay. This certainly was not turning out as he had planned in the slightest.
"I deserve better! You deserve better!" He shrieked onward, yelling so loudly that a few of the drunken patrons snorted in their sleep before rolling over in unison. Lumaria backed away as the hysterical scientist continued. "And she deserves more than just your casual dalliance! So if you intend on continuing any sort of relationships, I suggest that you clarify exactly where they stand! If you can't see her feelings for you, you're just as blind as you claim I am!" He screamed, plowing mercilessly onward as Lumaria shuffled back, looking quite ungraceful for a beat.
Even grasped hold of the door handle which was right behind him. "You disgust me." He growled, looking murderous as he retreated through. Lumaria stood, dumbfounded and breathing heavily for a moment, about to wipe the cocktail from his eyes when Even burst out once again.
"And, you had better apologize to her immediately!" He added, retreating once more with a deafening slam. Marluxia edged back again, happy to be rid of the rather unpredictable scientist (no matter how fascinated he was by him) until the door was flung open once again.
"THAT is a BROOM CLOSET!" He spat, red-faced with anger, before storming past Lumaria, heading for the front door. Even though Lumaria knew how to make an entrance to any room, the Scientist could, without a doubt, make an exit. Lumaria followed along, thankful that no one saw him trip and reel over a bar stool on the way out.
The only problem was that someone had been there after all. From high in the rafters, tucked into the most hidden corner of the hanging, and nearly broken, wooden chandelier as though she were a carving herself, was the nymph, eyes hidden from sight in the dark shadows of the room, she shuddered and stifled a sob. Lies may be upsetting, but it was nothing compared to the truth.